Acharei Mot—Outer
Body Experience—Adapted by Rabbi Yossi
Marcus“When they came close before the L-rd and died…”
(Leviticus 16:1)
The
fifth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dovber, writes:
Sudden
death, Heaven protect us, is caused by a revelation of light from the
soul that the body’s vessels are unable to receive and contain due to
the abundance of light. This is also the condition of “Death by Kissing,” where there is a revelation of such intense light from
above that the body’s vessels cannot contain it. The soul then ascends
and becomes enveloped in and attached to [the light] on high. This is
also what occurred with the “three elders who died in the idra”
(Yom Tov shel Rosh Hashanah 5659).
[The
idra (granary [?]) was the place where Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
and his colleagues would gather to discuss mystic matters.]
Rabbi
Sholom Dovber refers to a story in the Zohar (3:144a) about an intense
mystic journey turned fatal experienced by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and
his circle:
When
these [mystic] matters were revealed [by Rabbi Shimon], heaven and earth
shook and a voice declared: “Sublime matters have been revealed below!”
And while these [men] were basking in those matters, their souls departed
with a kiss…and the angels took them… Ten entered [the idra], and seven
left….
Before
the chaverim (members of the mystic circle) left the Chamber, Rabbi
Yose Ben Yaakov, Rabbi Chizkiah, and Rabbi Yeisa died….
Rabbi
Shimon cried out: “Perhaps, G-d forbid, it is decreed that we be punished,
for through us has been revealed what has not been revealed since the
day Moses stood at Mt. Sinai!”
…He
then heard a voice: “Fortunate are you Rabbi Shimon…for to you has been
revealed what has not been revealed to all the supernal hosts… Rabbi Shimon
said: “How fortunate are these three [that passed away]…”
They [the survivors] arose and went…the
faces of all of them shone and people were unable to look at them…”
Rabbi
Sholom Dovber continues:
Such
a revelation [that causes death] can at times be triggered by the body’s
vessels, i.e., when the body’s vessels are overly stimulated in a state
of yearning. This elicits a light that cannot be manifest in the body’s
vessels.
This
is similar to the death of Aaron’s sons, “when they came close before
the L-rd” (Leviticus 16:1) in a state of yearning, [but died] due
to the inadequacy of their vessels.
In
fact [the act of Aharon’s sons] was considered a sin, since “not for
chaos did He create [the world]; He formed it to be settled” (Isaiah 45:18).
[The
death of Nadav and Avihu is considered “sinful,” whereas “death by Divine
kiss” is generally seen as a positive experience. (Note also that the
“the three elders” are praised by Rabbi Shimon.)
For
as Or Hachaim explains:
“The
righteous die when the divine kiss approaches them, while Nadav
and Avihu died by their approaching it…”]
Rabbi
Sholom Dovber continues:
Thus
a vessel is only considered genuinely selfless when it is in tune with
Heaven’s true intention. Its yearning should be in a way that will elicit
a lofty light that will find expression in a manner of shov.
[Rabbi
Sholom Dovber refers here to the concept of ratzo and shov—yearning
and return—the constant pull of the soul towards heaven (ratzo)
and its mandate to remain earthbound to fulfill its mission (shov).
So
yearning to transcend the physical is not only permissible, it is necessary.
But the yearning must be premised on shov, “return,” and imbued
with bittul, selflessness.
The
Talmud (Chagigah 14b) relates that four sages “entered” the sublime
sphere called Pardes, “Orchard,” but only Rabbi Akiva emerged spiritually
and emotionally intact. In the words of the Talmud, “Rabbi Akiva entered
in peace and left in peace.” By describing the manner in which he entered
(which does not seem to be pertinent to the story), the Talmud implies
that his peaceful emergence was the result of his peaceful entrance. I.e.,
since his initial motivation for entering the Pardes was predicated
on bittul and the intention of shov, his ratzo came
to a positive conclusion (Likkutei
Sichos vol. 3:990).]
Contemporary
Escapes
Even
in recent generations, many mystics experienced outer-body experiences
but like Rabbi Akiva returned to their earthly state.
The
sixth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, related the following
about his father, the great kabbalist and Chassidic master, Rabbi Sholom
Dovber Schneerson, known as “the Maimonides of Chasidism”:
“When
Father and I were in Vienna our rooms were adjacent to each other, an
open door stood between our rooms. Father gave me some manuscript to transcribe
and sat on the couch. (This was at about five o’clock in the afternoon.)
He had one foot up on the couch and one on the floor, a cigarette between
his fingers. I approached him a few times and saw him sitting there motionless,
his eyes open. He remained in that position until 3:45 in the morning.
Then he awoke, looked hastily at the cigarette and threw it away. He took
his watch and in amazement saw the time. He approached the window and
then said to me, “It seems it is already evening and the time has come
to daven maariv.” I told him that almost the entire night
had already passed. I also had to remind him of the date (!) since
he was completely removed from the world. We were then learning
the commentary of Ramban on the Chumash and he began asking me
in a roundabout way about what we were to study, and I realized that he
was trying to determine what day it was.”
The
seventh Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel, once related this story adding
that some say it was then that Rabbi Sholom Dovber contemplated the concepts
that formed the foundation of the deepest and longest series of his discourses,
the series known as Ayin Beis. The Rebbe added that Rabbi
Sholom Dovber had then experienced a form of kelos hanefesh,
where the soul leaves the body (Reshimot 8).
The
Rebbe compared this to the experiences of Nadav and Avihu, and that of
Rabbah and R. Zeira.
[The
Talmud ((Megillah 7b)) relates that the Talmudic sage Rabbah once
got very drunk on Purim and “slaughtered” Rabbi Zeira and later revived
him from death. When Rabbah invited Rabbi Zeira the next year, the latter
declined the invitation, saying: ”It is not every time that a miracle
occurs.”
The
commentators struggle to explain this mysterious story. However, in Chasidic
literature the story is seen as an example of kelot hanefesh, where
the soul escapes from the body due to an overwhelmingly spiritual and
mystic experience. In this case, Rabbah (which means “big” or “great”
and thus connotes a large capacity for ecstatic experience while remaining
earthbound) revealed too much to Rabbi Zeira (which means “small”) and
thereby caused the death of the latter.
(See Beacons on the Talmud’s Sea (S.I.E.) pp. 149-156, or http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/beacons-on-the-talmud-sea/15.htm.]
As
other examples of such experiences in recent generations, the Rebbe cited
an incident that occurred with the Alter Rebbe who after studying a particularly
sublime kabalistic concept with Rabbi Avraham “the Angel” (son of the
Maggid of Mezrich), immediately went and ate a “bagel with butter.” He
felt that without it his soul would have left his body.
(See http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/sichos-in-english/30/13.htm)
(As
another example of such transcendence achieved by the chasidic masters,
the Rebbe related that when the Rebbe of Modzhitz had to undergo surgery,
he sang a niggun (Chassidic introspective tune) and entered its “depth”
and was therefore oblivious to any pain.)
For
people of our caliber, we can strive to attain at least some degree of
aloofness from physical consciousness even if only in midget-like imitation
of these great mystics. (See Likkutei Sichos 27:273-6.)
This
is why their service completed the service of Moshe and Aharon and sanctified
the Temple. Although the Divine Presence had already descended upon
the Temple, the Temple and the Divine Presence remained two separate
entities. This paralleled the service of Aharon, who had done all that
he was commanded but had not reached the level where commandment was
superfluous. He had remained separate from G-d albeit fulfilling His
will and in reflection of his service the Divine Presence descended
upon the Temple but did not become one with it.
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