יום ג Date: 23 Adar, 5777 (3/21/17) – Bava Basra Daf 58 ~ Eliezer Guterman

HIGHLIGHTING HEELS

[58a middle] R’ Ba’naah went into the Maaras Hamachpaila (Tomb of the Patriarchs), saw Adam’s two heels, and commented that they were shining just as bright as two suns.
R’ Akiva Tatz: If even after he passed away, the lowliest parts parts of Adam were shining as bright as the sun, imagine how brilliant his face must have been while alive! Pure Holiness is manifest as blinding light and if we are able to squint hard enough, we might be able to make out a slim outline of a physical body. Nowadays, we can only perceive all physical bodies, but on a Holy enough person, we might be able to sense a faint outline of a spiritual aura.

D-E-ep Thoughts: We must recognize and remember that our true selves are our shining souls. In order to light up the world around us, we must minimize the clingingness and dependency on lusts for physicality/externalities. True gratification, happiness, and real ultimate pleasures are only obtained through closeness to our Creator.

Today’s P.I.P. (Put Into Practice) TIP: We may say “my body” because we HAVE vehicles to work with, but we should not use the terminology of “my soul” since souls are what we essentially are (it is what “I” am).