1. The 14th and 15th of Iyar.

The[266] present farbrengen, which is taking place after Maariv on the eve of the fifteenth of Iyar, is still connected to Pesach Sheni,[267] which falls on the fourteenth, because the times at which the sacrifice of Pesach Sheni was offered and eaten correspond to the times at which the sacrifice of the first Pesach was offered and eaten. In both cases, the sacrifice was offered on the fourteenth, and eaten on the eve of the fifteenth.[268]

There is another connection between Pesach (Sheni) and the fifteenth of Iyar:[269] "On this day they ate the last of the hastily-baked matzos[270] (as it is written of the time of the Exodus,[271] 'They baked the dough which they had brought out of Egypt into matzah-cakes') and [now] needed manna."

(There is some debate[272] as to whether the manna actually began to fall on the fifteenth, or whether this was merely the date of the Divine promise[273] -- "I shall cause bread to rain upon you from heaven" -- which was first fulfilled on the sixteenth. At any rate, there is no disagreement as to the above statement that the provisions brought from Egypt lasted only to the fifteenth.)

2. A Misprint with a Message.

In the Counting of the Omer, the Sefirah which characterizes Pesach Sheni is Chessed shebeHod.[274]

In the Siddur from which my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz], prayed during the last years, this phrase appeared by mistake as Hod shebeChessed, which he corrected to Chessed shebeHod.

(In addition, it was the custom of the Rebbe [Rayatz] to make a mark in his Siddur after each evening's count, even though he certainly did not have to seek out ways of coping with possible forgetfulness; this might be appropriate with ordinary people, but not with the Rebbe.[275])

The Baal Shem Tov taught[276] that everything that occurs is regulated by Divine Providence[277] and contains a lesson for one's service of G-d. (As was stated recently,[278] every subject should be related to one's service of G-d, for which reason the Rebbe [Rayatz] did not answer the query of a certain individual concerning avodah as practiced by angels.) Accordingly, there is a need to explain the meaning of this circumstance, whereby the Siddur, by Divine Providence, carried the misprint Hod shebeChessed, which the Rebbe [Rayatz] corrected to Chessed shebeHod.[279]

3. Pesach Sheni in the Sefiros.

By way of introduction, let us understand the distinction between Chessed shebeHod and Hod shebeChessed as they relate to their respective days as counted in Sefiras HaOmer. The Sefirah of Chessed shebeHod relates to Pesach Sheni, which is called a Yom-Tov (as in the language of the Mishnah,[280] "Pesach Katan" -- "Minor Pesach"); the Sefirah of Hod shebeChessed, by contrast, relates to one of the non-festive intermediate days of Pesach which are known as Chol HaMoed.

Now this is paradoxical. The dominant element of Hod shebeChessed is Chessed, which belongs to the Sefirah-sequence of the right side. Indeed, Chessed is situated at the very beginning of the right side (relative to the middos, or in the middle of the right side, relative to the entire sequence that begins with the mochin). At any rate, the right side is characterized by a disposition to diffuse and reveal [the Divine light or energy], not only on a theoretical but also on a practical level (as in the triad of Sefiros comprising Netzach-Hod-Yesod). This, indeed, is the function of Hod shebeChessed.

The dominant element of Chessed shebeHod, by contrast, is Hod, which belongs to the Sefirah-sequence of the left side. Indeed, Hod is situated at the very end of the left side, which is characterized by Gevurah, a disposition to withhold and obscure [the Divine light or energy].

How, then, is it possible that the day of Chessed shebeHod, which belongs at the end of the left side, should be a Yom-Tov, while the day of Hod shebeChessed, which is predominantly Chessed that belongs at the beginning of the right side, is no more that one of the non-festive intermediate days known as Chol HaMoed?

This paradox may be resolved as follows.

When we are close to the Yom-Tov that celebrates the Exodus from Egypt, at a time at which Chessed is revealed, then even Hod shebeChessed suffices, that is, no more than the lowest level of Chessed (in terms of its practical manifestation). Accordingly, the day on which this Sefirah is dominant is not Yom-Tov, but merely Chol HaMoed.

However, as with time we grow progressively further from the revelation of the Yom-Tov and approach a state in which the light is obscured -- a state of Gevurah, which includes Hod, a branch of Gevurah -- then the attenuated irradiation of Hod shebeChessed no longer suffices (since this is not a time of revealed Chessed). Instead, there is a need to reveal the underlying element of Chessed which is to be found within Hod. There is a need to reveal that the ultimate intent underlying the obscurity [i.e., the Divine self-concealment] of Hod, which is a branch of Gevurah, is the revelation expressed by Chessed. Indeed, the Divinely-intended revelation of Chessed is so sublime, that the day on which this Sefirah is dominant is Yom-Tov, (and thus superior to the day of Hod shebeChessed, which is no more than Chol HaMoed).

4. A Cosmic Correction.

The above insight will enable us to understand the inner meaning of the correction which my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz], made in his Siddur, from Hod shebeChessed to Chessed shebeHod.

The fact that during the printing of the Siddur the phrase Chessed shebeHod was (by Divine Providence) omitted, indicates that because of the thickening gloom of the galus, there was a kitrug -- a prosecuting voice in the Heavenly Court -- that would seek to withhold the revelation of Chessed that underlies the obscurity of the Gevuros.

This was rectified by the Rebbe [Rayatz], the Nasi of the Jewish people at the end of the galus. By writing Chessed shebeHod in his Siddur, he secured the revelation of Chessed that underlies the obscurity of the Gevuros, so that the ultimate intent underlying the obscurity would be revealed -- and this gives rise to a revelation even more sublime.

5. A Bond of Unfailing Love.

With regard to our present situation,[281] the above concept[282] serves as an instruction, a directive, and a source of strength.

Despite the concealment that the histalkus entails, and the ascent that has taken place, we need to know that the bond[283] and the cleaving that existed until now -- with those who were privileged to see the Rebbe [Rayatz], whether often, or rarely, or once, and even with those who were only privileged to receive a letter from him, and with those who heard of the Rebbe [Rayatz] by studying his maamarim and sichos, -- with them this bond endures in all its intensity, with no possibility of weakening....

[At this point the Rebbe wept, then resumed:] My father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz] once said:[284] "The teachings of Chassidus brought about a situation in which the Rebbe is not solitary, and chassidim are not solitary." This means that the Rebbe [Rayatz] watches over and cares about every detail in the lives of the chassidim. Now, too, when he is on a higher plane, he watches over and cares about every detail in the lives of the chassidim (as discussed above[285]). Accordingly, we are being given the strength to carry on with all the tasks which the Rebbe [Rayatz] demands and expects of us.

Indeed, since the purpose of the concealment is the consequent revelation, we should now engage in all the tasks which the Rebbe [Rayatz] demands of us, with redoubled energy.[286]

6. A Slap in the Nation's Face.

During the [Second World] War, when many people from other circles used to come to speak to the Rebbe [Rayatz] about the situation in Europe, he would urge them not only to express their gratitude to G-d that they were not located in that Vale of Tears, but at the same time to do whatever was possible to help their fellow Jews there.

One day a certain thinker of renown asked the Rebbe [Rayatz]: "If the ultimate intent of the entire Creation is in fact the Jewish people, how can G-d possibly allow that execrable villain to burn great numbers of Jews at the stake, and indeed their most superior individuals?"

The Rebbe replied: "When one wants to strike a man in such a place that his whole body will feel not only the pain but also the indignity, one slaps him in the face...."

---

It has been retold that when the Rebbe [Rayatz] himself was a little boy studying in cheder under the melamed Reb Shimshon, he had to suffer for all the other little pupils. Whenever one of them misbehaved, the melamed would call the [future] Rebbe to the front and threaten to punish him, explaining himself as follows: Even though the Rebbe had done nothing wrong, nevertheless, when his classmates saw what he was undergoing, they would be awestruck and would mend their ways....

---

The present slap in our collective face we should feel in our entire body, and this should lead us to invest increased vigor in all the tasks that the Rebbe [Rayatz] demands of us.

7. Never Too Late.

There is a well-known teaching of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz],[287] that the message of Pesach Sheni[288] is that[289] "there is no such thing as too late." One can always rectify things. Even if one was impure, or[290] "on a distant road of yours" -- even if a man was at a distance of his own choosing -- he can still rectify things.

This teaching is also instructive in relation to our bond with the Rebbe [Rayatz].

There are people who were never in the presence of the Rebbe. There are others who technically saw the Rebbe, and not once but many times, yet since this had no effect on them, they never really were in the presence of the Rebbe. Since they sensed nothing, they only imagined that they saw the Rebbe.

This being so, such people might think that their opportunity is forever lost.

At this point the message of Pesach Sheni reminds us: Even one who did not offer the sacrifice on the eve of the first Pesach, and even when the fault was his own ("on a distant road of yours"), he can correct the past by offering the sacrifice of the Second Pesach. Here, too: Even those who until now were lacking the above-mentioned awareness and sensitivity[291] can experience it now, and in this way correct the past as well.

This is possible because, as explained above, "the Rebbe is not solitary, and chassidim are not solitary." By virtue of the power of the Rebbe who is to be found among his chassidim, even those who in the past did not experience the above-mentioned sensitive awareness can experience it now.

8. Recalling a Face: Recalled by a Face.

One of the ways of arriving at this, is to picture to oneself the Rebbe's countenance.

Whoever visited the Rebbe at yechidus should recall how the Rebbe appeared when he entered his study for yechidus. Those who did not see the Rebbe should visualize his face by means of a picture.

By[292] visualizing the Rebbe's face one in a sense beholds him. In a certain way this is superior to studying his teachings, just as seeing is superior to hearing.[293]

By contemplating a picture of the Rebbe such people will now be aroused, even if never before, to a sensitized level of apprehension.280

9. Forty Years of Hindsight.

Surely, one might object, this is paradoxical -- that when one used to face the Rebbe at yechidus and the like, one did not arrive at this degree of sensitive awareness, yet it should be attainable now?!

A solution may be found in a parallel teaching of the Sages:[294] "No man plumbs the profundity of his mentor's understanding until forty years have elapsed." This implies that once forty years have elapsed, he can do so. This does not mean that now, forty years later, he has to see his Rebbe and hear Torah teachings from his lips, and then he will understand them in all their depth. Rather, it relates to the teachings he heard forty years ago: though when he saw his Rebbe and studied under him he did not appreciate their full weight, it is now granted him to do so.

The same is true in our context: Though at the time spiritually unresponsive to the Rebbe's presence, a person may now -- by means of a picture that enables him to see the Rebbe in the mind's eye -- attain the appropriate sensitivity now.

At any rate, whether this finely-honed awareness is attained or not, this is not our primary concern. Our task is to do what is expected of us.

Be what may, it is clear and certain that the intent of the Rebbe [Rayatz] will be realized. However, in order that this should take place in a spirit of Divine lovingkindness and compassion, we should endeavor to do what the Rebbe seeks and demands of us, to meditate and to meditate again. For[295] "there is a sworn promise that exerted endeavor... will never be futile" -- and this applies too to exerted endeavor that relates to oneself. Ultimately, then, this meditation will yield the sensitive awareness that had been lacking.

10. Self-Sacrifice at No Cost.

In addition to the comprehensive message of Pesach Sheni, viz., that it is never too late,[296] we can derive another directive by considering the cause of the impurity that prevented certain people from offering the Pesach sacrifice at its proper time. The Torah writes,[297] "There were people who were defiled by contact with the dead and were unable to offer the Pesach sacrifice on that day," and the Gemara[298] records various opinions as to the actual cause of their impurity.

Let us consider the directive that can be derived according to the opinion that287 "those people... had been occupied in the burial of a mes mitzvah."[299] In the case of[300] "any Jew who was found (slain) lying by the roadside with no one to bury him," the law prescribes that289 "[even] a Kohen[301] who encountered him on his way is obliged to defile himself by contact with him, and even a Kohen Gadol[302] is obliged to defile himself by contact with him, and to bury him." This obligation applies even if the Kohen is on his way to slaughter and sacrifice his Pesach sacrifice, which he will now be unable to do because of his defilement -- as in the opinion cited above.

A similar obligation applies on the spiritual plane: When one encounters out in the street a fellow Jew who is (G-d forbid) spiritually dead, one is obliged to get involved with him (even if this entails a measure of impurity) in order to get him out of his present situation. One is obliged to actively encourage him in basic matters like putting on tefillin and observing Shabbos, even if one's own divine service will suffer as a result -- so that (for example) one will not be able to apply himself with due concentration to the study of Chassidus, or daven at length with appropriate meditation -- just as those who were occupied with a mes mitzvah were unable to offer the Pesach sacrifice.

---

In passing, one could derive an additional directive concerning one's involvement with a person who is spiritually dead, from the laws of eglah arufah (i.e., the heifer that was to be killed in expiation for an unsolved murder),[303] for there too[304] we find the term chalal ("one who is slain").

[When measuring the distance from the cities which are nearest to the body in order to determine whose Sanhedrin is obliged to fulfill the mitzvah of the eglah arufah, one consideration is rov (lit., "majority"; i.e., Whose population is more numerous?), but] the law also takes into account the counter consideration of karov (lit., "near"; i.e., Which city is nearer?), for the verse says,[305] "Then, as for the city which is nearest...."[306]

Translated into spiritual terms that relate to the fellow Jew described above: One should not be overawed by the fact that this individual is "slain", that for the major[307] and overwhelming part he is evil. Rather, one should perceive him as he is with regard to his soul, which is [irremovably] near[308] to Divinity (as described in the phrase,[309] "clinging and cleaving to You"). This being so, there is a possibility and an obligation to bring him near to Divinity.[310]

---

To resume the above comment on possible loss to one's own spiritual labors: In fact, however, nothing will ultimately be lacking in one's own avodah because of one's involvement with a mes mitzvah. For this is the central message of Pesach Sheni, the Second Pesach -- that even those who had become defiled because they were occupied with a mes mitzvah should be enabled to offer their Pesach sacrifice.

In the spirit of the above assurance, an incident has been handed down about a certain individual who was related to the family of one of the Rebbeim. He was a man of modest intellect, and in addition a shlimazl: every enterprise that he tried proved luckless. One day his friends collected a sum of money that would enable him to invest in some sort of business. Before he got started, however, he met a man from a nearby township who told him that he urgently needed a sum of money for a dowry so that he could marry off his daughter, and he promptly gave away every penny for hachnassas kallah....

He was ultimately recompensed from heaven, and indeed he became one of the greatest magnates in the whole of Russia.

11. Carrying the Ark of Yosef.

Let[311] us now consider the directive that can be derived according to an alternative opinion -- that[312] "those people [who had been defiled by contact with the dead] were those who carried the coffin of Yosef [out of Egypt]."

The Sages here specify "the aron [i.e., the ark, or coffin] of Yosef." Since a coffin is not used for burial,[313] one would have expected them to echo the language of the Torah, and to refer instead to[314] "the bones of Yosef." In fact, however, the phrase used by the Sages accords with the teaching of the Zohar,[315] that "no one should be placed in a coffin except for a tzaddik who knows within himself... that he has never sinned with regard to the bris -- the sign of the holy covenant -- but has guarded it as he ought to do; if not, a person should not be placed in an ark [i.e., coffin] and thereby blemish it," [for] "the side of holiness [in the universe] is called aron habris -- the ark of the covenant.... What does the Torah say regarding [the burial of] Yosef?[316] -- 'He was placed in an ark....' Because he guarded the [sign of the] holy covenant..., he was worthy of being placed in an ark."

To relate this to our subject: When we are speaking of the "ark of Yosef" -- i.e., the directives and instructions of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Yosef Yitzchak], the Yosef of our generation -- the task at hand is to carry this ark forward, regardless of all obstacles. Even when it sometimes seems to us that for holy reasons, such as the observance of the Shulchan Aruch, we should conduct ourselves otherwise, such considerations do not concern us: our task is to carry forward the ark of Yosef.

(It should be noted that a person's calculation that he should conduct himself otherwise is perhaps false, an instance of deceit in his divine service. Indeed, one of the interpretations of the phrase[317] yonasi tamasi (lit., "My dove, My perfect one") relates the former word to onaah ("deceit")[318] -- to the self-delusion that one's desired conduct is prompted by holy motives.)

Though carrying Yosef's ark sometimes requires one to arrive late for the delivery of a maamar (a chassidic discourse), or an educational parade, this is no reason to be disturbed, since at this time one is fulfilling the mission and directives of Yosef.

At the same time, the fact is that when people fulfill the will and the mission of the Rebbe [Rayatz] they lose nothing, just as the men who carried the ark of Yosef [out of Egypt] were given the singular command of Pesach Sheni.

Thus, for example, when the Rebbe [Rayatz] first delivered the maamar beginning Taamu U'Re'u on 13 Tishrei 5693 [1932],[319] some of the young men whom the Rebbe had sent out on a certain mission did not return in time to hear it. When they finally arrived, the Rebbe repeated the maamar especially for them. From this we see that when one goes out to fulfill the mission of the Rebbe [Rayatz], one loses nothing.[320]

12. Mitzvos and Takkanos.

The directives of the Rebbe [Rayatz] resemble the ordinances (takkanos) that Moshe Rabbeinu ordained for the Jewish people; for example,[321] "Moshe Rabbeinu ordained that Jews should enquire and give expositions concerning the subject of the day -- the laws of Pesach on Pesach, the laws of Shavuos on Shavuos, and the laws of Sukkos on Sukkos."

It will be noted that the Sages here chose to use the verb tikken ("ordained" or "instituted"), rather than (say) tzivah ("commanded"). For mitzvos,[322] whose authority is rooted in the Torah, derive from and depend upon a source above; takkanos,[323] by contrast, whose authority is rooted in the words of the Sages, derive from and depend upon a source in this world below, and their purpose is to correct and perfect this world below, to complete and perfect the soul of the individual observing them. This is why they are called takkanos -- from the concept of tikkun, which means correction or restitution.[324]

In fact, of course, mitzvos too emphasize the task of refining[325] the world below; indeed, this is why they must be fulfilled within the parameters of nature.

This principle enables us to understand a well-known episode that took place during the Alter Rebbe's imprisonment.[326]

One night, as one of his captors was ferrying him across the river, the Alter Rebbe wanted to fulfill the mitzvah of Kiddush Levanah [by reciting the appropriate blessing over the waxing moon].[327] When the ferryman, who was a villain of a man, refused the Alter Rebbe's request to stop the boat for a little while, the boat stopped of its own accord. When it resumed its voyage the Alter Rebbe repeated his request, and after many refusals the ferryman finally obliged. Only then did the Alter Rebbe recite the blessing.

Now since the Alter Rebbe was able to stop the boat at will, why did he have to beg favors of the ferryman?

The answer to this question is provided by a study of Chassidus:[328] It is a major principle in avodah that a mitzvah should be fulfilled [not metaphysically but] in its natural garb -- for the sake of refining and uplifting the materiality of this world below.

This principle is even more evident with respect to takkanos, whose entire source is in the world below, and whose entire purpose (as explained above) is the rectification of the world below.

By way of illustration: A certain chassid once entered the study of the Rebbe [Rayatz] in order to ask his advice as to how to rectify a certain matter in his spiritual life. In response to the Rebbe's advice, however, he argued that he would find the proposed course of action difficult to follow; he would prefer easier advice, in the spirit of the episode[329] in which the Alter Rebbe once healed an entire community by means of a piece of shemurah-matzah and a glass of water....

The Rebbe [Rayatz] responded: "Why resort to fancy exploits[330] when one can manage without? Indeed, Chassidus teaches us that one's avodah should be done specifically within the parameters of nature."

---

To return to the quotation at the beginning of this section: Just as310 "Moshe Rabbeinu laid down ordinances for the Jewish people," so too are there ordinances (takkanos) instituted by the heads of the Jewish people in every generation, by the[331] "extension of Moshe in every generation." The function of these ordinances likewise is to complete and perfect the souls of those who observe them -- to bring them to a state of tikkun. This applies too to the takkanos instituted by my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz], the extension of Moshe in our generation; for example, the takkanah that instituted the daily study cycles known by their acronym as Chitas[332] -- Chumash-with-Rashi, Tehillim and Tanya.[333]

   

Notes:

266. (Back to text) The above text is taken from the unauthenticated notes recorded by one of those present when the talk was delivered at the close of Pesach Sheni, 5710 [1950].

267. (Back to text) Pesach Sheni (lit., "the second Pesach") was an opportunity given to certain persons who were unable to offer the Pesach sacrifice (on 14 Nissan) to do so one month later (on 14 Iyar); see Bamidbar 9:6-14.

268. (Back to text) Rambam, Hilchos Korban Pesach 8:3.

269. (Back to text) Mechilta, and Rashi on Shmos 16:1 (based on Shabbos 87b).

270. (Back to text) In the original, chararah, which was the remnants of their matzah or dough.

271. (Back to text) Shmos 12:39.

272. (Back to text) See (e.g.) the commentaries of R. Eliyahu Mizrachi and Gur Aryeh on Shmos 16:1.

273. (Back to text) Shmos 16:4.

274. (Back to text) Literally, Chessed means "kindness" and Hod means "splendor". See footnote 205 above.

275. (Back to text) This subject is explained in the sichah of Lag BaOmer, 5710 [1950], sec. 12 (p. 106 below).

276. (Back to text) Hosafos (Addenda) to Keser Shem Tov, sec. 119ff., and sources indicated there.

277. (Back to text) In the original, hashgachah peratis.

278. (Back to text) See the sichah of Parshas Shemini, 5710 [1950], sec. 4 (p. 47 above).

279. (Back to text) See the sichah of Beis Iyar, 5710 [1950], sec. 3 (p. 62 above).

280. (Back to text) Conclusion of Challah; Rosh HaShanah 18a.

281. (Back to text) This sichah was delivered two months after the passing (histalkus) of the Rebbe Rayatz on Yud Shvat, 5710 [1950].

282. (Back to text) Viz., that the ultimate intent underlying the Divine self-concealment expressed by Gevurah, is the revelation expressed by Chessed.

283. (Back to text) In the original, hiskashrus.

284. (Back to text) Sefer HaSichos 5700 [1940], p. 111ff.; HaYom Yom, entry for 22 Iyar.

285. (Back to text) Sichah of the last day of Pesach, 5710 [1950], sec. 1ff. (p. 35 above).

286. (Back to text) See also the sichah of Shabbos Parshas Terumah, 5710 [1950], sec. 5 (p. 20 above).

287. (Back to text) See the sichah of Pesach Sheni, 5701 [1941], sec. 5, in Sefer HaSichos 5701 [1941], p. 115; see also HaYom Yom, entry for Pesach Sheni.

288. (Back to text) See footnote 256 above.

289. (Back to text) In the Yid. original, es iz nito kein farfaln.

290. (Back to text) Bamidbar 9:10.

291. (Back to text) In the Yid. original, derhern.

292. (Back to text) This comment, based on the notes made by one of those present, was later added to the record (hanachah) of the farbrengen as originally drafted and distributed.

293. (Back to text) See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. VI, p. 121, and the sources indicated there.

294. (Back to text) Avodah Zarah 5b.

295. (Back to text) HaYom Yom, entry for 12 Tishrei (et al.), where the context relates to one's endeavors in disseminating Yiddishkeit.

296. (Back to text) See sec. 7 above.

297. (Back to text) Bamidbar 9:6.

298. (Back to text) Sukkah 25a-b.

299. (Back to text) Lit., "the dead [whom it is] a mitzvah [to bury]," because he has no known relatives to do so.

300. (Back to text) Rambam, Hilchos Avel 3:8.

301. (Back to text) Cf. Yayikra 21:1 (and Rashi there) and v. 2.

302. (Back to text) Cf. Yayikra 21:11 (and Rashi there).

303. (Back to text) See Devarim 21:1-9; Rambam, Hilchos Rotzeiach U'Shemiras Nefesh 9:1ff.

304. (Back to text) Devarim 21:1, as in the above-quoted law of the mes mitzvah.

305. (Back to text) Loc. cit., v. 3.

306. (Back to text) On the subject of rov vs. karov, see Bava Basra 23b.

307. (Back to text) Cf. the above-mentioned consideration of "majority".

308. (Back to text) Cf. the above-mentioned consideration of "nearness".

309. (Back to text) From the liturgy of Hoshaanos for the third day of Sukkos (Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 327). See also HaYom Yom, entry for 17 Tishrei.

310. (Back to text) There is no record extant of the explanation that was given at this point on the subject of rov vs. karov.

311. (Back to text) See the first paragraph of sec. 10 above.

312. (Back to text) Sukkah 25a-b.

313. (Back to text) See Tur Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, beginning of sec. 362.

314. (Back to text) Shmos 13:19.

315. (Back to text) II, 214b.

316. (Back to text) Bereishis 50:26.

317. (Back to text) Shir HaShirim 6:9.

318. (Back to text) See Or HaTorah, Parshas Behar, p. 190ff.

319. (Back to text) Sefer HaMaamarim -- Kuntreisim, Vol. I, p. 251a ff.

320. (Back to text) At this point the Rebbe went on to discuss the teaching of the Sages (Midrash Tehillim 1:8) on the verse, Yihyu leratzon imrei fi... -- "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, G-d, my Strength and my Redeemer" (Tehillim 19:15). On this verse the Sages comment: "[King David asked G-d that Jews over the ages] should read [and study] his Psalms and be rewarded for this, just as they are rewarded for the study of Nega'im and Ohalos." [These two abstruse Talmudic tractates, the preserve of the scholarly elite, deal respectively with the various categories of ritual impurity contracted through certain kinds of leprous ailments and through certain degrees of proximity with the dead.]

     "Why," asked the Rebbe, "did David HaMelech ask specifically for a reward such as this, rather than some other reward, such as the '310 Worlds' of Divine revelation which the righteous will enjoy in the World to Come?"

     "In whimsical vein," answered the Rebbe, "one could offer the following explanation. If the Tehillim-readers over the generations were to be granted some other reward, certain persons would no doubt protest: 'Whatever will come of lomdus, of abstruse erudition? Who will be qualified to grant agunos legal permission to remarry, and the like?' And that is why David HaMelech asked that the Tehillim-readers be rewarded 'just as they are rewarded for the study of Nega'im and Ohalos' -- so that the claims of lomdus won't be overlooked...."

     [Note by the publisher of the Hebrew edition: The above comment evidently came as a continuation of the theme that those who carry the ark of Yosef will lose nothing -- including attainments in nigleh, the revealed and legalistic plane of the Torah.]

321. (Back to text) Megillah 32a.

322. (Back to text) This noun corresponds to the verb tzivah.

323. (Back to text) This noun corresponds to the verb tikken.

324. (Back to text) The Rebbe here added that the above concept allows us to appreciate (a) the comment of Rashi on the above quotation, and (b) the relevance of the above quotation to Megillah, the tractate which it concludes, [for] "we are still the servants of Achashverosh" (Megillah 14a).

     [Note by the publisher of the Hebrew edition: (a) The above statement perhaps refers to Rashi's concluding comment on this tractate: "[The Jewish people] accepted and retained the reward for the mitzvos for themselves and for their children, in this world and in the next." For this comment highlights the divine service initiated by those in the world below, in the spirit of the above discussion of takkanos. (b) As to the relevance of the above quotation to Tractate Megillah: The need for takkanos, for the rectification of the world below, is felt most during the time of galus, when "we are still the servants of Achashverosh."]

325. (Back to text) In the original, beirur -- the task of sifting the materiality of this world in order to extricate and elevate the divine sparks embedded within it.

326. (Back to text) The narrative is retold in full in Likkutei Dibburim, Vol. IV, p. 1504 (and in Eng. translation: Likkutei Dibburim, Vol. V, in the chapter headed "Yud-Tes Kislev, 5632").

     Visitors to Petersburg today can see the very cell in the Peter-Paul Fortress overlooking the River Neva, where the Alter Rebbe was incarcerated under capital sentence in 1798 until his liberation on 19-20 Kislev.

327. (Back to text) For the Sanctification of the Moon, see Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 238ff.

328. (Back to text) Cf. Likkutei Dibburim, Vol. IV, p. 1505 (and in Eng. translation, loc. cit.).

329. (Back to text) See also Sefer HaSichos 5701 [1941], p. 102; Sefer HaSichos 5702 [1942], p. 91; Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XV, p. 285.

330. (Back to text) In the Yid. original, kuntzn.

331. (Back to text) Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 69, pp. 112a, 114a.

332. (Back to text) See Sefer HaMinhagim: The Book of Chabad-Lubavitch Customs (Kehot, N.Y., 1991), p. 38ff.

333. (Back to text) The Rebbe went on to speak of those who shave their beard by chemical or other means, and stated that even though there are opinions that this practice is permitted according to the law, it is self-evident that it does not accord with conduct that is guided by the takkanos of the Rebbe [Rayatz].