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5/24/12

Bamidbar


And when the camp journeys on, Aaron and his sons shall come and take down the dividing curtain [of the Sanctuary] and cover the Ark of Testimony with it. They shall place upon it a covering of tachash hide, and spread over it a garment wholly of blue-wool (4:5-6)

Like the Ark, the soul of man is encased within three coverings: 1) it is overlaid with a selfish and materialistic character (what Chassidism calls "the animal soul"); 2) it is imbedded within a physical body; 3) it is placed in a physical world which obscures and distorts the Divine reality.
As long as the Ark stood in its place in the Holy of Holies, it had no need for coverings. But when the time came for it to journey on, G-d commanded that it be "swallowed up" by its three-fold vestment. The same applies to the soul. A "spark of G-dliness," the soul is perfect and complete unto itself. But to journey on--to advance further in the infinite journey toward union with its Infinite Source--it must undergo on a "descent for the sake of ascent." It must be subjected to the three-fold concealment of human nature, physicality and worldliness, to discover, in the lowliest reaches of creation, the key for even greater connection with G-d.

(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)

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