Foundations of She’ifos
From the moment a person is born, a spirit beats within him that yearns to rise and grow. “אדם” is an anagram of “מאד” (very much), as Chazal explain (Bereishis Rabbah 9:12), and embedded in his nature is the desire and she’ifah to become more. This is the force that propels even a child from infancy to crawl, to stand, to walk, and to develop.
In his early years, a person is privileged to have the constant accompaniment of parents and mechanchim who point out the various rungs of the ladder upon which he must climb. His mechanchim sharpen his awareness that one cannot skip rungs, even when the desire is intense and powerful. They reveal to him that the path to growth is sometimes accomplished in a manner entirely different from what appears in his childish perspective.
The Need for Guidance and Accompaniment
As the years pass, however, such accompaniment becomes less frequent. At times, we even mistakenly believe that it would somehow contradict our independence. Thus, even when desire and she’ifah remain strong, we lack the proper chinuch and guidance to actualize them; we then become broken and abandon the dream and she’ifah altogether.
We must recognize that even when a powerful she’ifah for spiritual growth exists, the person who harbors that she’ifah still requires accompaniment and guidance concerning the steps toward that destination. Alone, not only will he fail to accomplish it, he may become broken and commit very serious mistakes along the way.
A person who has a mechanech expert in kochos hanefesh and who knows him personally will witness that the mechanech sometimes instructs him to undertake matters that do not appear connected to his she’ifos. Yet the mechanech who knows his talmid understands, from his own knowledge, that the path to that she’ifah begins with avodah on other areas. For example: in order to realize our she’ifah for proper kavannah in Shemoneh Esrei, the Rav may first direct us to work on menuchas hanefesh, even though this seems to us clearly unrelated.
The Mashal of Physical Training
This is comparable to someone who needs physical exercise to stabilize his body, straighten his back, or strengthen his muscles. From the outset, his she’ifah is to reach a state of bodily strength, but if he acts according to his own perception without a qualified instructor, not only will he fail to advance properly—he will actually harm himself. When guided by an instructor, however, he will be surprised to find that the instructions sometimes involve actions that do not appear at all connected to the needed strengthening. The instructor, from his vantage point, already knows how matters influence one another and navigates him along the correct path.
The Model from Ma’amad Har Sinai
At Ma’amad Har Sinai, we were privileged to behold the proper derech of chinuch in ruchniyus. Klal Yisrael received the Torah in the manner of “פנים בפנים דיבר ה’ עמכם—face to face Hashem spoke with you” (Devarim 5:4). “Panim” derives from the root of “p’niyah” (turning toward). The virtue of panim b’panim is that we turn toward the face of the Borei by virtue of His turning toward our face. When the talmid sees that the Rav is interested in him, thinks about him, and speaks with him from a place higher than himself, this creates space for healthy she’ifah.
From the manner of Matan Torah we also learn that it is not sufficient for the talmidim to raise their eyes to the highest point—to the Rav. Rather, there is required a p’niyah of the mature mechanech toward them; only through this can they aspire and work in the proper manner, turning in response to the Rav’s turning toward them.
Many times, she’ifos are awakened by inspiring stories about illustrious figures from generations past. Indeed, these are wonderful stories that have the power to place an image before our eyes. Yet we require a Rav who will guide and educate us as to how to bring that image down into our own lives, and who will instruct us in our derech of avodah in accordance with the virtues and deficiencies that we possess. For the purpose of navigating our she’ifos, we require a Rav and mechanech, so that we may elevate ourselves in a proper and healthy manner.