Taking Back from the Opponent

This week, the last before Rosh Hashanah, we have two portions connected together, Nitzavim and Vayelech. We know that every month in the Shabbat before the New Moon we have a special connection called Mevarchim hachodesh, in which we announce the exact moment that the new cycle of the moon will start during the coming week.

The only month of the year in which we don't ‘bless the new moon’ and don't announce the exact moment of the new cycle is the month of Libra. The reason for this is simple: we know that on Rosh Hashanah, the moon is "covered". Bekase leyom chagenu means that the moon is covered by judgment, that the Opponent has the power to control these two days of Rosh Hashanah. If we inject Light into the moon on the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah, it can give strength to the Opponent – and he can use it against us during Rosh Hashanah.

So what is the solution? Do we still need to give power and Light for the cycle of the New Moon so we can have a month full of Light and positivity?

The answer that Rav Berg teaches us is that on the portion of Nitzavim, we have a large letter, Lamed, (in Deuteronomy 29:27) which is the letter that controls the month of Libra. This is also the only letter in the alphabet that goes above the line. This letter draws its energy directly from Binah. Here we have the large Lamed, which symbolizes that we can receive all of the Light of Binah that we need for the month of Libra – and the entire year to come – right here and now.

It's like a trick that we use to fool the Opponent. When we read the Torah this week, we will stop in the exact place where the large letter Lamed is, and we will all meditate to inject Light and energy into Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot – without the interference of the Opponent. It’s beautiful to see how no matter what the challenge may be, or what kind of obstacles are in the way, the Light will always find a way to make sure that we have the energy that we need to overcome darkness.

One more point about the portion of Nitzavim: in this portion we find, for the tenth time in the entire Torah, dots above letters (in Deuteronomy 29:28). This time we have 11 dots above 11 letters. The kabbalists teach that the number 11 has special significance – it has the power to defeat the Angel of Death.

In the book Satan: An Autobiography, it explains that the number 10 represents 10 dimensions of the Light force of the Creator, and that the 11^th dimension is where the Opponent exists.

Every time we commit a negative action, we lose Light from our soul. The Opponent captures this spark of Light and uses it against us to make us more reactive and selfish. When we read the Torah this week, we will stop at the moment of the 11 dots and meditate to bring back all of the sparks of soul that we lost in the last year to the Opponent.

Try to remember each and every time that you were reactive – each time you judged another person, each time you gave in to anger, each time you complained – in the moment of connection to the 11 dots, then meditate to take back all of the Light that the Opponent stole from you, returning it to your soul. This concept is quite important to understand before Rosh Hashanah, since we have the ability to change our behavior and transform ourselves with a commitment to not let the Opponent steal these sparks again. Good luck to all of us. Have a great year!