[Avodah] To Whom Should One Pray At A Tzaddik's Kever?

[Zev Sero]

On 22/08/18 10:50, Micha Berger via Avodah wrote:
> I would think,
> as you implied elsewhere, that the Tanya's "tzadiq" was meant as an
> archetype to strive for. But if this is your standard, an archetype
> noone has ever and can ever fully embody.

On the contrary, the Tanya insists there have been and are tzadikim, who 
have no yetzer hara at all, or else the world could not exist. "HKBH saw 
that tzadikim are few, so He planted them in each generation."

The example from whom the Tanya (ch 1) derives its definition of a 
tzadik is David, who wrote "my heart is hollow within me", and its 
source for the difficulty in determining whether one is a tzadik or a 
benoni is Rabba, who mistook himself for a benoni until Abaye objected 
that he must be a tzadik for if he was not then there must be no 
tzadikim at all, and nothing could live in such a world.  The iconic 
example of the merkava, the "car" that responds completely to its 
Driver, is the Avos.  "Avos hein hein hamerkava."

What it says is that one cannot achieve this by ones own effort; one 
must try to come as close as one can, and ask for Divine help to take 
one the rest of the way. But this help is not always forthcoming, and 
if/when it does come one does not perceive it, so one can never be sure 
whether one got it.

-- 
Zev Sero            A prosperous and healthy 5779 to all
zev at sero.name       Seek Jerusalem's peace; may all who love you prosper