Kav HaYashar

The 15th of Adar is the Yahrtzeit of Rav Tzvi Hirsch Kaidanover of Vilna and Frankfurt, author of Kav HaYashar (1712) Come and see what I have found written in the book, The Letters According To Rabbi Akiva: “There is an angel that stands close to the lowest heaven and observes people’s actions. He cries out to another, higher angel, who then announces people’s actions to more angels and so on, until the Holy Sanctuary is filled with the information. Therefore, when the angels announce a sin, they cause the angels that desire to sing God’s praises to be distanced, until all the places where the announcement was made are purified with the waters of the Mikvah.”

We must consider that if even the place where a sin has been mentioned must be purified, how much more so must we purify and cleanse the place where the sin actually took place!

A person should not say, “Woe is me! My heart is bitter in me for there is no healing for all the sins I have done!” Just the opposite: A person must recognize God’s abundant mercy, Whose hands are always spread open to receive those who do Teshuva.

In fact, the moment that a person takes the time to reflect on his actions and on God, the Almighty will help him construct fences that will protect him in the future. (Kav HaYashar)