Jewish Sexuality dot Com

The Road To Rectification

5. Tikunim

“The early and later Torah authorities stated that the majority of major tribulations that men suffer, whether pestilence, famine, or war, the majority stem from transgressions against the Brit.... Therefore, if a man comes to serve G-d, he should first properly rectify blemishes to the Brit, and afterward begin to serve G-d. And it is all of the transgressions against the Brit, and the evil occurrences that stem from it, that are hinted at in the admonishments of this Torah portion. And the things that are written, “But if you will not hearken to me...” (Vayikra, 26:14,) and, “and if you despise My statutes...” (ibid,) does not mean that they do not perform any commandments, nor study the Torah. Rather, even though they study Torah and observe the commandments, the principle thing is missing, because the Brit, which is the main thing, is blemished and they did not rectify it. And since the Brit is blemished, and was not rectified, everything is considered as being nullified and non-existent.”

1. The “Tikun HaYesod” of holy Gaon, Rabbi Yosef Chaim, z’tzal, also known as the Ben Eish Chai.
2. The “Tikun Clalli” of the holy Tzaddik, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, z’tzal.
3. The “Tikun Yesod Yeshuat Eliahu” of the holy Tzaddik and Kabbalist, Rabbi Eliahu Leon Levi, shlita.
4. The Kaballistic version of “Pitom Haketoret,” as formulated by the Ari HaKadosh.

“The sin of spilling semen in vain is, at the same time, a transgression like all Torah transgressions, and yet much more severe in its devastating influence, in that it causes deep and high reaching damage, far greater than other prohibitions of the Torah. Because of this duality, we cannot understand the magnitude of this transgression and its powerful influences according to standard explanations. Rather, our understanding must come from the inner explanations of the Torah, from the spiritual realm that extends beyond our ordinary physical orientation. This understanding derives from powers that are beyond human intellectual reasoning, which are found in the world of Kaballah.“Within the physical drop of semen emitted from our material bodies is to be found a Divine creative power hidden from our eyes, beyond our conceptual understanding, beyond our ability to create it ourselves.
“When we recognize this wonder, it becomes clear that the rectification of any blemish to this Divine essence cannot be among the ordinary paths of correction that we are familiar with. We cannot even understand how or why a particular tikun works to rectify the transgression, or how some particular advice can make whole what was blemished and erase the damages incurred.

“With the help of G-d, when we merit to increase our learning and knowledge, when we fill ourselves with Torah and faith, with the fear of G-d, and with greater purity, then we will merit to fathom what is hidden from us now... Until then, our desire to emerge from our quandary and to improve ourselves, brings us to proceed forward with the willingness to bow our heads and submit to the giants of the inner workings of the soul, the masters of Kaballah. In doing this, may there be a balancing atonement – a sin that we committed wantonly, without thinking about its consequences will be rectified through tikunim that are beyond our thinking processes and intellectual grasp.” (Essay on Shmirat HaBrit, in the book, “V’Hayitem Kidoshim,” Pgs.150-151.)