Itzik HaKadosh – reprise
This morning, shortly before dawn, I had a dream.
***UPDATE – PRAYER FROM THE RAV TO OVERCOME FEAR***
In the dream, Itzik HaKadosh visited me, and told me everything was going to be OK – even though I’m honestly feeling very apprehensive today, like the whole rest of Israel.
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I wrote about Itzik HaKadosh exactly a year ago, on October 22nd, 2023.
HERE is that post, written a couple of weeks after he’d been murdered at the Nova Party on October 7th, 2023.
I wanted to put the video of him speaking here, but for some reason, my blog isn’t letting me. It could be, it’s not kavod for Itzik now, to show him how he was a year ago.
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In the dream, Itzik said he’s in a very good place.
He also stressed how very important it is to do kindnesses for other people – that this is really the measure of a person, how many kindnesses they do for someone else.
Because not everyone has money for tzedaka, or to do pidyonot, but everyone has the ability to do kindnesses for others, all the time.
And those kindnesses ‘speak’ for a person, and act as spiritual defenders for them, in times of trouble.
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In the dream, Itzik said he can’t tell me what’s going to be, except that very soon, it’s going to be very good here in Israel.
I got the impression there is a ‘narrow bridge’ we have to all cross over before that happens, but it was good to have the reassurance that whatever it looks like short term, very soon, it’s going to be good.
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This morning, it took me ages to get out of bed.
My husband came up at 9.30, to tease me about having a ‘duvet day’. I had no idea what he was talking about – I thought it was still around 7am.
Apparently, my clock lost two hours in the middle of the night.
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I was in two minds whether to write about the dream today.
But then, two things happened.
First, I saw that thousands of people showed up to the Nova Plaza today, to hold the Hoshana Rabba prayers there before dawn:
This is the same time I had the dream about Itzik this morning.
Those prayers at the Nova site this morning must have done some very big things, spiritually, to help the souls of the people who were murdered there last year.
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And the second, smaller thing is when I came back to check when I wrote that last post, and realised that it was exactly a year ago, on the secular calendar.
And of course, it’s exactly a year ago that Itzik died, according to the Jewish calendar, which this year had an extra month for the leap year.
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Tonight, the Rav is going to the Kotel for Simchat Torah, same as last year.
I am having quite a lot of deja vu / PTSD today.
I don’t know if I’m scared and anxious because I’m being ‘flashed back’ into what happened last Simchat Torah, or scared and anxious because I’m worrying about what’s on the cards for this Simchat Torah.
Probably, it’s both.
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The Shuvu Banim prayers will begin at 8.30 pm tonight, down by the Kotel, and everyone is welcome to join.
My friend just sent me this picture of the Rav, I think from this morning, holding the lulav and etrog for the last time this year:
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She accompanied it with this:
I think we have reached the tipping point.Something is bound to happen tonight / tomorrow
BH, may we all be signed in the book of life this year, 5785.
UPDATE:
After I typed this up, this morning, I went out to get a yahrtzeit candle to light for Itzik HaKadosh.
It wasn’t there before I lit the candle, and I have never seen this prayer before, even though my house is full of the Rav’s prayers.
I’ll translate it for English speakers at the bottom of the post – it’s a prayer to merit to overcome fear.
And look who it’s in the zchut of, the ilui neshama of, at the bottom:
YITZHAK CHAIM
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There is a bunch of weird stuff happening today, at least in my dalet amot.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
To merit to overcome all the fears
Ribonu shel olam, help me to not be scared at all, and to know that the ‘fear’ doesn’t make [a person] scared.
It’s just a thought that lacks the emuna and bitachon that everything that happens is done by Him [i.e. Hashem].
‘Fear’ is the ‘father’ of all the progenitors of tumah.
It drives away from me all the complete bitachon (trust) in You, [that You] will totally do Your Will.
[I] want to believe that everything that You do, it’s for the good.
Strengthen me, Abba, like a lion, to overcome all the fallen feelings and the thoughts, and to raise up the yirah (fear / awe) to its root, of only fearing and being in awe of You, the Doer of great wonders.
Assist me to strengthen my soul, to overcome all the worries and apprehensions, and that I should always merit to thank You.
Very nice. Thank you for sharing, not everyone receives such a spiritual visit. Despite some who may be calling for curtailing a bit the Simcha, I say increase the Simcha because it is to Hashem we are thankful and commanded to be B’Simcha. No matter how difficult it may be for some, we owe our lives to HKB”H.
I agree with you, Neshama. But it’s very hard to do it.
EVERY BREATH WE TAKE !
אָמֵן אָמֵן אָמֵן
Beautiful and very moving. Thank you for sharing.
beautiful