The YERIDAH of 17 Tamuz

This can refer to several things. On a national level, it is the tragic events - both spiritual & physical - that happened on this date, beginning with the Cheit HaEigel. (NOTE: The Krias HaTorah that is read on all fast days - besides Yom Kippur - includes Moshe's prayer to Hashem on this very date of 17 Tamuz upon hearing the bad news about the Cheit HaEigel from Hashem). It can also be said that this refers to Saba eating in the early morning of 17 Tamuz. But there is another thing that can be said that this refers to.

A few months ago, I came across a Sefer about the Petek authored by Amos Levi. This is a most unique Sefer, as it relates each of the 51 words of the Petek to a span of 120 years. (The 51th word corresponds to time following the 6,000 years of the world's existance - Ein Sof). Each word is then divided into its letters, dividing the pie of 120 years evenly. Anyways, as the Petek is the letter from Rabbeinu - corresponding to which letter in the Petek does Rabbeinu's lifespan correspond to? It is in the very phrase Yud Zayin B'Tamuz (17 Tamuz), in which the first letter of this date - Yud - corresponds to the time period of 5520-5580 which includes the 38 and 1/2 years of Rabbeinu's life! Indeed, it is a big Yeridah for one's Neshama to come DOWN from the Olam HaEmes to this Olam HaSheker, which will be in existance only up to 6,000 years (6,000 is 10 times the number 600, the Gematria of Sheker!). But, it is up to one to use his Bechira to be perhaps even on a higher level that the angels.

When Rabbeinu was a young boy of four years old, there was a major event in the world - particularly in the United States of America - that took place - the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. And my friends, on what date of the Jewish calendar did this fall on? 17 Tamuz (5536)! Indeed, there is truth to Amos Levi's Sefer on his theory of the words of the Petek corresponding to the 6,000 years of this world's existance. The timespan that includes this event that happened on 17 Tamuz corresponds to the first letter of this date of 17 Tamuz!

The first Yerida of Klal Yisrael since Matan Torah when the spirit of impurity was taken away from us which would have meant that we would not die from the first sin of the Eitz HaDa'as, took place on 17 Tamuz (the events leading to this began the day before, but they didn't actually sin worshipping Avoda Zara until the morning of 17 Tamuz), which allowed us once again to die like everyone else. But the question can be asked, were the events of 17 Tamuz of July 4, 1776 - a Yeridah?

Well, believe it or not - the three events of 17 Tamuz - Cheit HaEigel, the Declaration of Independence, and Saba eating on the morning of this day - all took place on a Thursday!
Is there a significance to this?

Let's look up the original source - Hashem's Creation of the world for the 5th day of the week (Thursday). Hashem created the Sheretz - the name for loathsome looking creatures, and the birds. This signifies that a person can either lower himself to the enth degree following his Yeridah to Olam HaZeh/Olam HaSheker like the Sheratzim & Shekatzim, or can fly high in the sky spiritually like a bird. While we all have pitfalls, and is virtually inevitable that we won't sin at some point in our lives, it's not the end of our existance. Just like Hashem spared us Jews of being destroyed thanks to Moshe's prayers, so even though we should technically die as soon as we do a sin according to the strict rules of Midas HaDin, Hashem in his great Rachamonus for us let's us live to have a chance to do Teshuva, and perhaps be even on a higher level than we were before our soon - SHOULD WE CHOOSE. Rabbeinu Nachman tells us that despite no matter how low we have sunk - our Neshama looking terrible like the Sheratzim - we can pick ourselves up once again, even a 1,000 times over, and start anew, as Chodosh, as the moon begins anew every Rosh Chodesh, and we can still become like the full moon - as B'nei Yisroel is compared to the moon, reaching our full potential. The date of 17 Tamuz shows us that this is already a decline from the full moon which occurs around the 15th of the Jewish month, but our downfalls should not discourage us from becoming better once more. It was on 23 Tamuz - halfway between 17 Tamuz & the end of the month when the moon is virtually unnoticable, that Saba had his great Aliyah of Simcha.

And so the beginning of creation of the State of America as the United States of America indeed fell out on one of the most tragic dates of the Jewish calendar. In the early years of Jews coming to the States, the country was called a "Treifa Medina". Young Jews coming from the Shteitel life of Europe upon reaching the shores of the United States threw their Tefillin from the ship before disembarking because now they saw America - the "free" country. And most of the known Yiddishkeit in those days in the States was the Enlightment or Reform "Judaism" which sadly made so many Jews mock authentic Judaism of Toras Emes. And even among the few observant Jews of "Orthodox" Judaism who were mostly in New York, the common scenario was Jewish adults going to Shul while their children went to public school, and so it wasn't until after the Holocaust that much happened in the way of Yiddishkeit in this country.

The good part of Jews living in the United States is that it did serve as a refuge for large numbers of Jews fleeing the Holocaust, we had freedom of religion for the most part, and many Jews have returned to the fold due to numerous outreach programs. But as it did start off on the wrong foot - as evidenced of the creation of the country on the tragic date of 17 Tamuz - it is now exactly 233 years from that date 1776-2009, and 233 is the Gematria of Regel - foot, the wrong foot, and Obama is at the tail end of that - someone who is not able to prove his birth on the soil of U.S.A., because he was in fact not born in this country, but in Kenya, a total violation of the most important document of the country - the Constitution - which allows only a natural born citizen of the country to take oath as president.

Yes, the Regel, the foot, the end of the "good life" of the United States is at its end. A violation of the Amendment as to who can be president of the country will no doubt lead to a violation of the Amendment guaranteeing religious freedom and rights. The failing economy was soothed by a mere temporary bandage by Obama, but the Mekubalim and autistic children have already made it clear that the United States will NOT recover from its recession, unlike its several previous times. And you know who gets blamed when the economy is in trouble in any given country.

Enough of the "good life" of Avoda Zara that had it roots beginning exactly 233 years ago on 17 Tamuz in the States! Most Breslovers and Nanachs live in Israel. While there are a few who became this way in the States, I can tell you on a personal note that despite knowledge of Breslov teachings and about the Petek while in the States even as a teenager, it was only in Israel in my later 30s that I was able to see the light. The States is an Olam HaSheker, and for those who are still lingering there, get out of there as quickly as you can before spiritually OR physically - it will be too late to leave when marshall law kicks in, and will turn to a Communist country like Russia used to be!

I also had a Yerida on a Thursday. It was on a Thursday morning that I was born into this Olam HaSheker...

P.S. For more details on the significance of this time period in relationship to the United States as proven from the Torah, click on my blogspot www.gematriot.blogspot.com.