Seventy Years Of Growth

Someone sent be an email to write something on 10 שבט.  Which is a big surprise seeing as no one reads this blog, but maybe he does, so I will attempt to fulfill the request.  The Gemorah in Taanis (23a) brings the question of Choni Hamagael: אמר ר' יוחנן כל ימיו של אותו צדיק היה מצטער על מקרא זה (תהלים קכו, א) שיר המעלות בשוב ה' את שיבת ציון היינו כחולמים אמר מי איכא דניים שבעין שנין בחלמא.  The Gemorah continues, יומא חד הוה אזל באורחא חזייה לההוא גברא דהוה נטע חרובא אמר ליה האי עד כמה שנין טעין אמר ליה עד שבעין שנין אמר ליה פשיטא לך דחיית שבעין שנין אמר ליה האי [גברא] עלמא בחרובא אשכחתיה כי היכי דשתלי לי אבהתי שתלי נמי לבראי. יתיב קא כריך ריפתא אתא ליה שינתא נים אהדרא ליה משוניתא איכסי מעינא ונים שבעין שנין כי קם חזייה לההוא גברא דהוה קא מלקט מינייהו אמר ליה את הוא דשתלתיה א"ל בר בריה אנא אמר ליה שמע מינה דניימי שבעין שנין חזא לחמריה דאתיילידא ליה רמכי רמכי.  What is the message of this story and what was bothering Choni so much?  Everyone understands the possuk means a mushal of a dream, not that we are actually asleep, so what was Choni missing?

What was bothering Choni was how can we be in golus, disconnected from Hashem for so long and still be able to come back?  70 is 7 x 10.  7 is the completion of טבע or the 7 middot of a person.  10 is the ultimate perfection.  Being in golus for 70 years represents that our complete entity, all of out middot are completely disconnected from God.  In the lingo some people like the מוחין are asleep.  Choni wondered how could we recover from this?  He then saw the planting of the carob tree.  The lesson was that just as the seed of the tree gets crushed and hidden under the ground, yet years later it is able to sprout into a full, fruit bearing tree.  Even as the seed appears to vanish under the ground, that process is merely to elevate it into a greater state.  So too the golus; we may become completely crushed and seem to be concealed from Hashem but that leads to the greater good.  The seed of Klal Yisroel was planted into golus.  We may appear to be crushed and beaten but ultimately when it appears we have reached the end of the line, 70, complete disconnection, the seed will emerge as a tree, bearing fruit.  The message of the donkeys is that even after 70 years past, the חמור, חומריות of the individual is still standing next to its master, the נשמה and just waiting for it to take control and ride upon its back.  Even after all the years of the גלות פנימי of a person’s נשמה, it is able to emerge and take control.  How is that possible?  Because a seed was planted.  When we reach 70 years, when we are falling into the depths of complete disconnect with G-d, then the seed we contain deep within us comes forth and produces a tree.  The power contained in the seed is only able to be brought forth through all the crushing and affliction it has gone through and it is the golus that leads to the producing of the tree.  (See also Likutay Moharan #60:9.)