100 Priceless Pearls from the Angel Gabriel for the Jewish Soul

100 Priceless Pearls from the Angel Gabriel for the Jewish Soul

Rabbi Aharon Roth (may his merit protect us), author of the book “Shomer Emunim”, quotes the words of guidance spoken by the angel Gabriel before a Jewish neshama (soul) descends into this world: “You are the daughter of the holy King. Know that you are about to leave the higher worlds and descend into the lower world in order to fulfill there the mission assigned to you by the King of Kings and carry out the rectifications that you alone must make. This will be your task in that world. And you must know that you will have to undergo many trials. For there you will have to unite with various forms of evil that will surround you from every side—your material body, as well as the evil inclination (yetzer hara) and its servants, who fill the entire space of the lower world. They will besiege you, divert you from the holy path, and tempt you to become attached to the lowly pleasures of this world. You will therefore have to be extremely vigilant so as not to fall into the traps they have set for you! Therefore, in order to protect you from danger, I am giving you a gift from the Master of the Universe: 100 priceless pearls—100 holy blessings, brachot. And now, holy daughter of the Almighty King, if you recite these 100 blessings, if you recite these 100 brachot with proper concentration and heartfelt devotion—with love for the Creator and awe of Him—you will be rewarded with great joy and heavenly light beyond description. All the treasuries of Heaven will be opened to you. And in the merit of faithfully reciting these blessings, all the higher worlds will assist you in fulfilling your mission. Then the body that will be your dwelling and companion in that world will be purified and attain holiness. The evil inclination will retreat and cease tempting you, and you will remain holy in the lower world. And when your time comes to return to your Master, you will have to give an accounting for every blessing—for how it emerged from your lips. With such “baggage,” daughter of the holy King, you descend into the material world in order to carry out there the task entrusted to you by the Master of the Universe.” (Shulchan HaTahor) The Torah says: “100 sockets, (made) from 100 talents of silver, one talent per socket”. (Exodus 38:27) Ba'al HaTurim comments: “Accordingly, they instituted the recitation of one hundred blessings each day.” But what is the connection between the sockets of the Mishkan and the blessings? The book “Chiddushei HaRim” explains that the word “adanim”—(sockets)— alludes to the word “Adon” (Master). With every blessing we recite, we proclaim G-d as the Master of the Universe. And just as the 100 sockets formed the foundation of the Mishkan, so the 100 blessings recited day after day form the foundation of the Jewish home—the miniature Temple that each of us builds. (From the book by Esther Stern, “Just One Word”)