FROM 'HALF A PERSON" TO A WONDER

As I wrote in the previous post, in Torah 14 Rabbeinu calls those people (baalei teshuvah and geirim) who haven't yet truly entered the realm of holiness by the term "palga", which in Aramaic means "half". Today I'd like to look at this concept from a different angle.

I find it fascinating that, if we take the word "פלגא" ("palga") and take the letter "ג" out of it, we'll get "פלא" ("wonder"). So it's possible to say that the way to turn "half a person" into a true wonder is by finding out what this letter "ג" represents and taking that out. Indeed, Rabbeinu says in that Torah that, in order to come close to holiness, baalei teshuvah and geirim have to remove their "soiled garments" that are blocking their way. So how does the letter "ג" allude to those soiled garments?

I think that there are two types of people that have to get rid of two types of dirty garments, and the names of both of these "garments" start with the letter "ג". For the first type, the main obstacle is gashmius (גשמיות) - an excessive attachment to this world, which can mean strong physical desires, constant worries about making ends meet, feeling miserable about not having enough, and many other things besides.

For the second types, this same "ג" becomes the first letter of the word "gaavah" ("גאווה"), which means excessive pride and a desire for honor. It is interesting to note that, in two pieces in "Likutei Halochos" which are related to Torah 14 ("Betziyas HaPas 5" and "Orla 5"),  Reb Noson discussed these different types of soiled garments separately: while the first Halacha mainly speaks about passions and thoughts about this world, the second Halacha says that the most important dirty garments come from a desire for honor.

So first we have to determine which type we belong to. And then we have to work, and strive, and daven to Hashem about being able to get rid of whatever it is that mainly blocks our way to holiness. Then, even if we started out as "half a person", we will be well on our way to becoming a true wonder.