Dancing Before The Bride

Rabash’s article: “The Importance of the Groom”: The sages talked about “dancing before the bride,” but they never mentioned “dancing before the bridegroom.” About the wedding meal, it is said: “Those who enjoy the Groom’s meal…” The bridegroom stands for the Torah, and the bride, faith, and faith must be above reason.

Reason cannot tolerate constant rises and downfalls that are called “a dance” like feet that rise and then fall during a dance. Lifting one’s feet (“raglaim” comes from “meraglim” – spies) signifies “faith above reason, ”taking his feet off the ground (desire).

However, one doesn’t always have the strength to go above reason; so one places one’s feet back on the ground. This process is called Dancing before the Bride.

The Upper Light never changes; it constantly stays in a state of absolute rest. It is the source of complete absolute good that never changes. All changes occur solely in man. If one is engaged in work for the Creator, i.e., wants to reach a state similar to the Creator—bestowal and love—then one has to work for the “groom” and the “bride” and transform himself into a bride worthy of the groom.

We must always say the bride is good-looking and virtuous irrespective of how she actually looks: Sometimes she is really beautiful, sometimes not, regardless of whether she stimulates the desire to work in a man or not. These changes cannot happen accidentally; this is how Reshimot (spiritual genes) manifest and make us go through various states.

Only the changes that are related to the Creator should be taken into consideration; we have to base our work only on these issues until we sense that there is none besides the Creator who is good and does good.

Our vessel is called “a Bride,” Malchut, a constantly changing will to receive pleasure. Our job is to work on top of all possible changes so that we receive a state at which there are no changes at all. By staying inside the will to receive, regardless of any changes that take place in it, we build a vessel above the receiving desire that also is undergoing constant alterations, but in a form that is opposite to the desire to be pleased.

The bigger the minus in our will to receive, the bigger the plus we can attain in the vessel that is created above the desire to receive pleasure. This is how we “dance.” We are happy to dance since this work turns into a very exciting adventure for us.

Impressions that transpire in our uncorrected will to receive serve only one purpose: we begin appreciating a chance to rise above our egoistic desire. It is called a dance before the bride.”

When we are done with this work, we are treated to the “groom’s meal.” A bridegroom stands for the Torah that is given to us as a gift. One understands that one doesn’t deserve such a great and holy present, but due to the work one has completed, one becomes prepared to adhere to and merge with the groom. One has already built a foundation for that.

When one reaches a state that allows him to see his bride, who is sometimes beautiful and sometimes ugly, as perfect and righteous, she becomes his real bride. “Beauty” denotes the Light of Hochma whereas “piety” stands for the Light of Hassadim. In other words, the Light of Hochma is ready to dress in the Light of Hassadim. This is how a person corrects his vessel and arrives at the groom’s meal.
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From the Preparation for the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/12/14