Every Saturday night after the Sabbath is over, the prophet Elijah sits beneath the Tree of Life and records the merits of the Jewish people.

The secrets of the Torah are the trait of the manifestation of Elijah.

Therefore, if you have any connection to a desire for the secrets of the Torah, on any level whatsoever–even if it is merely something you imagine, or a feeling, or something that you can grasp with your human intellect; and certainly if (aided by God’s supernal love) you have risen to higher levels–then every Saturday night after the Sabbath is over, you should engage in the activities of Elijah. Involve yourself in the merits of the Jewish people.

With a conceptual understanding, with a bright and clear grasp, recognize the holiness of the Jewish people and their precious worth. Cling to the totality of the holy nation, the nation of God, His special inheritance, upon every individual member of which God’s holy light shines infinitely–for the world rests upon even the most empty of Jews.

Tremble with a holy awe at the holiness of the divine, supernal soul of every Jew. Be filled with a transcendent yearning and desire for the holy elevated advancement of the Jewish people in general, and for the success of every individual Jew in all the works of his hands, in physical and spiritual matters, [bringing him] everything good.

From the midst of the depths of your soul, sing and proclaim, “Happy are you, Israel, happy are you, Israel! Who is like you, a nation redeemed by God! I have loved you, my nation and people, I have desired you with all my heart, with all my soul. I yearn for you with all the warmth of my heart, with all the fire of my bones. I yearn to see your glory, your beauty and your grandeur, the time that you will be raised and uplifted, the time that you will grow in your own characteristic beauty, when all your special qualities will come to the fore and the wondrous things hidden within you [will emerge] from the potential to the actual, a time that you will be planted in and become an inhabitant of the land that matches your character, the land of your beauty. Then, to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west, the beauty of your strength and the height of your horn will be revealed.

“The nations will see your righteousness and all the kings your glory, and they will call you by a new name that the mouth of God will pronounce, and you will be the diadem of beauty in the hand of God, a headband of sovereignty in the hand of God.”


Olat Harayah

Yaacov Dovid Shulman’s Writings can be found at ravkook.net and jewishlights.blogspot.com