Healing Well of Miriam

ב״ה

Tuesday, April 27, 2010 / 13 Iyar 5770

 

Erasing Names of Idols~Rectifying the Nervous System

It will happen on that day—the word of Hashem, Master of Legions—that I will eliminate [erase] the names of the idols from the land, and they will not be mentioned again; I will also remove the [false] prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. –Zechariah 13:2

Within the texts concerning prophecy of the “End of Days” are hints that can only be truly understood in Hebrew.  The abovementioned passage from Zechariah seems very straight-forward, and much has been said about it.  On the surface, it is promising that there will be a purified worship of Hashem in the Land, and this is an essential that He Himself will cause to happen.  However, a look at the terms in Hebrew causes pause to see something deeper, and yes, even a deeper level of the pashat (simple) understanding.

First, also on the pashat level, it is not only the idols whose elimination is being promised, but their names.  This says something very significant about the power of a name.  Whenever it is mentioned, the spiritual root of the entity is being invoked, drawing energy from that spiritual root into the physical world.  Concerning the link between the spiritual root and the name, Harav Dovid Shlomo Eibshitz z”l is quoted as saying:

Every entity in the universe draws its vitality from a spiritual root. The channels through which this lifeforce flows to one’s soul are the letters of his name, which combine to form pipes or tubes. When one observes the Torah’s commandments, his lifeforce expands, and the letters of his name acquire what is known as “filling” or “padding.” If he sins, the letters discharge this filling. When this occurs, his lifeforce shrivels, and the letters of his name form negative combinations, corresponding to the names of the Sitra Achra (evil forces). If he continues to sin, the main letters of his name crumble. If he falls so low that all the letters of his name disintegrate, the pipes which connect him to his spiritual root cease to function, and he dies.[i]

Rabbi Eibshitz is referring to the name of a person and its connection to his root.  The “filling” or “padding” is shefa (divine radiance) that he attains or loses according to his observance of the Torah.  However, if his connection to his root does become tenuous, due to his lack of merit, he does not become unattached, but is connected to a “shadow root” in the Sitra Achra (evil forces).  So, too, are the names of idols, which serve to divert a person’s attention from Hashem and attach his spiritual root to the Sitra Achra.   

There are several names used for “idol” in Hebrew.  Most commonly idols are called “peselim” or “elilim” or “terafim.”  In this verse of Zechariah they are “atzabim” (עצבים).  This is a rare term referring to the type assembled from different parts.  Every word in the Tanakh is chosen very deliberately with intent on varying levels.   Whenever reading the Prophets, it is advisable to understand that whatever is being said had significance in the time of its telling, as well as in the future—or it would not have been written to be preserved for posterity.  Reference to “nerves” is not found in the Tanakh, but this word is commonly understood in modern Hebrew to mean just that.  This brings a question to mind concerning a deeper meaning in the choice of the word that might have been concealed even at the time of the writing.

The root “ATZaB” (עצב) is also shared with the word for “sadness” or “sorrow”—“atzuv” (עצוב).  It is the root of a word for “pain”—“etzev” (עצב) as well.  When Hashem spoke to Eve after the expulsion from the Garden He told her: 

“I will greatly increase your suffering (eetzbonech   עצבונך) and your childbearing; in pain (b’etzev  בעצב) shall you bear children….” –Genesis 3:16

Sorrow, sadness, and pain of all types are felt in the body through the nerves, which are the communication system for the brain.  If something causes distraction in a communication system other messages can be disrupted.  Pain is a great distraction, causing a person to be so focused on it, that he cannot pay attention to anything else.  Before Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they received divine communication directly.  After the expulsion, however, their nervous systems became distracted by pain and sorrow of physical existence.  The verse in Genesis is but an example of the change that Hashem told them would take place.  It is very interesting that this particular root is used twice in two separate contexts.  It is also very interesting that this root is also used in connection with idolatry, which distracts a person’s focus from Hashem—for that was what caused the fallen state of Adam and Eve—and of the world descended from them. 

The Torah speaks of the “pollution of idols,” and with this reference (atzabim) it is clear that this pollution is something akin to a neurotoxin, causing a blockage to the flow of information, inhibiting the ability to act, or react, properly.  This results in emotional trauma, such as sadness, sorrow, nervousness, neurosis, edginess or jumpiness; (the list may be nearly endless.)  Negative emotion robs one of hope and the light of God.  The names of idols are words that are very powerful in convincing human beings they are alone in the world, without hope—a world in which death and lies reign supreme over life and truth.  Since idolatry separates the consciousness from God, idols are considered akin to death, so their names would invoke the spiritual root of death.

Zechariah continues that the false prophet and the spirit of impurity would be eliminated from the Land—they would no longer have power to convince.  Negative emotions convince a person of hopelessness, sometimes to the point that nothing can convince him otherwise.  This powerful vibration of falsehood in his aura field becomes his truth.  Adam and Eve were influenced by the words of the serpent, and as a result the nervous system of Man fell into vulnerability to negative emotions’ “false prophecy.”  The usage of this root in the terms for Eve’s sorrow and pain indicate the connection with idolatry and that such suffering (of the nervous system) was never the intention of Hashem, but rather a result of falling away from Him in a way the He terms “pollution.” 

The nervous system is the communication system of the body, through which a person perceives the world in which he operates.  This communication system can also be used to perceive the upper world and to receive spiritual messages.  As long as the nervous system is contaminated, however, it is not a reliable conduit for these higher messages.  Eliminating, or erasing, the “names of the idols” is nothing less than rectification of the nervous system in order to clearly connect with the communication system of God.

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[i] Harav Dovid Shlomo Eibshitz z”l, author of Arvei Nachal, quoted by Glazerson, Matityahu, What’s in a Name, The Kest-Lebovits Jewish Heritage and Roots Library, Jerusalem, Israel, English edition 2000, pp. 27-28.