Day 44 of the Omer

עֲלִיַּת הַנְּשָׁמָה הִיא שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים בְּכָל יוֹם בְּהַג' תְּפִלוֹת, וּבִפְרָט נִשְׁמַת הַצַּדִּיקִים דְּיֵלְכוּ מֵחַיִל אֶל חָיִל, וְדָבָר וַדַּאַי, אֲשֶׁר בְּכָל עֵת וּבְכָל מָקוֹם קָדוֹשׁ הֱיוֹתָם, נוֹשְׂאִים רִנָּה וּתְפִלָּה בְּעַד הַמְקוּשָּׁרִים אֲלֵיהֶם וְאֶל פְּקוּדָּתָם וְשׁוֹמְרִים פִּקּוּדֵיהֶם, וּבִפְרָט בְּעַד תַּלְמִידֵיהֶם וְתַלְמִידֵי תַלְמִידֵיהֶם, לְהִוָּשֵׁעַ בְּגַשְׁמִיּוּת וּבְרוּחָנִיּוּת.

The soul ascends1 three times a day, during each of the three prayer services. This is especially true of the souls of tzaddikim, of whom it is said,2 “They proceed from strength to strength.” It is certain that at all times and in every holy place they may be, they offer supplication and prayer for those who are bound to them and to their directives, and to those who carry out their directives — especially their students and their students’ students — that they be delivered materially and spiritually.3

A Faithful Shepherd

One would assume that souls, being spiritual, are far removed from material concerns. Nevertheless, even as they ascend to higher spiritual planes after their passing from This World, tzaddikim maintain a connection with people in this world who bond themselves with them, bringing them a flow of blessings and assistance.

This is true not only of spiritual needs. In the words of the Alter Rebbe,4 “And as for mundane matters, it is stated explicitly in the holy Zohar5 that the tzaddikim shield the world, and after their death even more than during their lifetime. Moreover, were it not for the prayers of the tzaddikim in the Other World, This World would not endure a single moment.”