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Teachings
and Writings of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach
Secrets
of the Mikvah
by
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z’l
Recorded by Libby Bottero and Jesse Rappaport at Temple Beth
Israel and Cougar Hot Springs –Eugene, Oregon –
April 13-14, 1992
I.
First,
I want you to know there are two kinds of closeness. One closeness
is when I'm standing face to face with you, right. Momish,
you look at me and I look at you, very close, but that's not
the closest. The closest is when I'm so close to somebody
I can't even see them anymore. In the mikvah we close our
eyes. When you kiss someone you're so close to them that you
have to close your eyes to really see them on the inside.
In the mikvah you close your eyes, because you're so close,
you see so much, so deep.
Reb
Nachman says when Moshiach is coming, the world will be filled
with G-d knowledge like water in the ocean; when Moshiach
is coming to us it will be like under the water of the mikvah,
so deep, awesome. Moshiach knowledge is like water knowledge.
Reb Nachman says there are two levels: G-d is First (rishon),
like G-d is the first and the last; and G-d is One (echad),
when we say “shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem echad.”
This is so important. So I want you to know in the deepest
depths that Earth is on the level of G-d is First; Water is
on the level of G-d is One. Under the water we know that G-d
is One.
In
Hebrew, "mayim" has no plural, water and waters,
there is only mayim. Water accommodates more water gladly.
What is so special about water? What is water all about? Gemara
says if only one hair is sticking out it doesn't work in the
mikvah; you must be completely immersed in the water, inside
knowledge. Before Adam ate from the tree of knowledge he was
.momish so connected to above. This doesn't come from outside
knowledge, from a book. This is momish inside knowledge, what
a difference. 1+1=2 is outside knowledge; 1+1=1 is inside
knowledge. Tree of knowledge is outside knowledge. I want
you to know when you're in the water completely covered with
water you have inside knowledge.
After
Adam ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, G-d
is hiding. Adam says to G-d, I heard your voice in the garden.
G-d cursed the snake; the snake is on the earth. Growing things
are in the earth; seed planted in the earth needs water to
grow. Water connects the seed to the inside of the earth,
so inside us we also need the water of inside knowledge to
nurture our growth. Water tells to the earth: open your inside,
open inside. Pure and impure means open to receive and not
open to receive. Sweet holy knowledge is coming to us from
heaven but we need to be open to it, to be pure to receive
it, so we must go to the mikvah. A pure person is someone
who is so open. The more I connect the more I remember. You
know in Hebrew the word "choshech", darkness, is
like the same word as "shakach", forgetting.
You
know what the tree of knowledge is? Why does it bring death
into the world? Because it is disconnected from the inside.
You know what death is? Death means the soul is not connected
to the body. You know what water is? When G-d created the
world there was separateness. You know what it means G-d is
hiding from the world? Because G-d is One and the world is
two. You know what happened to Adam and Eve after they ate
from the tree of knowledge? They became two, but Paradise
is one. Torah does not mention that water was created, because
after creation it would be two, but water is still one. Shabbos
-- you know that G-d is One; Shabbos is peace and blessing.
Always go to the mikvah before Shabbos. Reb Nachman says that
mikvah comes from the word "tikveh" which is hope.
Water is anti-death because giving up hope and dying are like
the same thing.
Reb
Nachman says that mikvah is the water, the river that comes
out of Paradise. Mikvah water is pure on the level of Oneness.
Why is water from the mikvah to be untouched? Because it is
untouched as water coming down from heaven. Mikvah water is
pure and untouched on the level of Oneness. Water comes to
the inside of your life. The greatest crime in the world is
when you are disconnected from your inside. If you live your
life outside without being connected to your inside, what
good is it? Water comes to the inside of your life. You know
what it means G-d blew a soul into me? It means my soul is
belonging to another time. Every soul, every breath is praising
G-d. Air, "avir", is coming from two Hebrew words:
"av" and ir, the light of G-d. Water and air are
the deepest G-d revelations.
What
is the water doing to the earth? What is the water doing to
me when I go into the mikvah? The earth has to believe in
itself in order to grow. The snake comes to Eve and says,
you want to be like G-d, eat from the tree of knowledge. You
know what the snake does to you? Why is the snake biting you
in the soul? Because the specialty of the snake is to reduce
you all the way down to nothing. The snake says you are nothing,
but if you eat from the tree of knowledge then you'll know
what's right and what's wrong, then you'll be like G-d, imitating
G-d. But my knowledge of good and evil doesn't come from outside,
it doesn't need eating apples to know what's right and what's
wrong, it comes from inside. The snake cuts you down all the
time. Humanity needs the most for someone to lift you up.
G-d says to Adam cut off the snake's head. Take the lowest
person and lift them up.
You
know friends, people who never tasted the tree of life, what
can I tell them about good and bad. Reb Nachman says the water
of the mikvah is momish the highest from heaven. A person
has to know that all my problems and brokenness, all my falling
apart is because I am not completely surrounded by G-d's heavenly
love. If they go to mikvah they will feel surrounded by G-d's
love. Deep inside nobody wants to do wrong, deep inside they
want to be so good, but sometimes my inside and my outside
are disconnected. Water connects the outside of the earth
to the inside of the earth, water connects my outside to my
inside, water connects my inside to the deepest surrounding
light. Under the water in the mikvah I'm momish completely
surrounded by the most heavenly illumination. You know what
water does to you? Mikvah makes you momish into one, every
drop of water is one. Zohar ha-kodesh says one and one is
one.
Reb
Nachman says when you go to the mikvah momish it takes away
all the fighting and all the anger; this has such deep meaning,
because mikvah makes you connect to G-d is One. Reb Nachman
says that anger comes from when I think I'm the master of
the world, but in the mikvah I know that only G-d is my master.
Compassion is better than anger. Angry words can be like a
knife in the heart because we're disconnected from our inside
place, disconnected from our Oneness. Reb Nachman says there
is earth knowledge and water knowledge. Remember what I said
before that when moshiach is coming the world will be filled
with G-d knowledge like water covers the ocean. Water knowledge
is so deep, so pure, so beautiful, so good, so inside. Reb
Nachman says, some people think when I have a cold I shouldn't
go to the mikvah. Mikvah doesn't make you sick; on the contrary,
it's the most healing thing in the world.
Reb
Nachman says when I'm in the mikvah, holy knowledge enters
me; when I'm in the mikvah I have vessels to receive knowledge
from the heavenly Source because I'm in another world in the
mikvah, not this world. When I go to the mikvah I close my
eyes, like when kissing, and connect to higher world, deeper
knowledge. When I'm in the mikvah, completely surrounded by
heavenly water, I see that G-d is absolutely surrounding me,
G-d is taking care of my every step. G-d helps us. When you
pray in the mikvah, when you turn your heart to G-d, when
you pray at that moment G-d is taking care of you.
Reb
Nachman says, what did Eve do when she ate from the tree of
knowledge? She disconnected herself from heaven and earth
and she connected herself to outside knowledge, the knowledge
of good and evil. Mikvah is connection to inside knowledge.
Friends, open your hearts to this, so anyone who wants to
purify him/her self can go to mikvah. Why did the snake come
to Eve and not to Adam? Because Eve is woman and to bring
children, life, into this world is so holy, it's god-like.
Husband, wife, and children are connected to holiness and
oneness by mikvah. Pure is coming from heaven; holiness is
coming from heaven. Pure is a vessel for receiving the highest
and deepest heavenly inside knowledge. If we are disconnected
from our own hearts, the snake talk is outside knowledge,
but inside is the will of my soul, inside knowing. Mikvah
is giving strength to the inside of my inside of my inside
and connecting me to the highest place in heaven; water knowledge
is inside knowledge.
Jerusalem
is the mikvah for Israel. Mikvah gives hope to people. The
world needs to be purified, needs hope. Water is inside, mikvah
is inside, Shabbos is inside. Under water I disconnect from
outside knowledge and connect to inside knowledge. Reb Nachman
says to go to mikvah is to know G-d is One, not that G-d is
First, but G-d is One absolutely. You have to go to mikvah
to be connected to inside, to Oneness, deepest, highest.
II.
(At
the springs, before the mikvah, Shlomo first tells several
stories about mikvah from Hasidic rebbes in Russia before
going on to teach a little from Reb Nachman on mikvah.)
Reb
Nachman says, “Kabbalists say, it doesn't say G-d created
water. It says G-d created heaven and earth.” Water is
between creation and before creation. Water makes things grow,
water flows beyond space, infinite. Our mistakes come from
when we disconnect ourselves from before creation. When you
immerse yourself in water completely, you connect beyond time
and space. Pure means open, I'm open to receive. Impure means
not open to receive, not ready, closed up. One of the things
given to Chava to fix the tree of knowledge is going to the
mikvah. The tree of knowledge is knowing and doing things
on outside, but closed up on inside. Water is open to inside.
In Hebrew mayim is water. Before creation there is only Oneness,
after creation then G-d and the world is twoness. Water has
deepest depths of Oneness.
Q:
Shlomo, when you go into mikvah it's a little like dying,
right? (Jesse Rappaport)
A:
Yes, dying and being reborn, knowing that G-d is One.
Q:
Shlomo, can you give us a kavannah, intention, before we go
into the mikvah, into the living waters? (David Zaslow)
A:
You know, the first time you go down to immerse yourself is
to cleanse yourself. The second time is to purify yourself.
The third time is to sanctify oneself. The fourth time is
beyond...the level of Oneness. (Hay-Vav-Hay-Yod). The High
Priest on Yom Kippur immersed five times: four times for the
Holy Name, and the fifth is beyond everything, the deepest
depths of Oneness.
Teachings
and Writings of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach
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