1. This gathering is taking place in the days following the festival of Shavuos, the “Season of the Giving of our Torah,” when all Jews gather together to hear the “Ten Commandments” read from the Torah. At the original giving of the Torah all Jews of that generation, and all Jewish souls of all generations, were present and heard the Ten Commandments from G-d Himself. So it is today: A Jew who reads the Ten Commandments in the Torah on Shavuos must know that he does so in the mission and strength of G-d (similar to the original saying of the Ten Commandments by G-d Himself), in order to effect extra renewed strength and life in all things associated with the Ten Commandments.

This is particularly relevant to Jewish children, who, our Sages tell us, were the “guarantors” in whose merit the entire Torah was given to the Jewish people — when the Jews promised G-d that their children would be reared in the spirit of the Torah.

Since this concept applies to all Jewish children, it is certain that all members of Tzivos Hashem were present in the synagogue for the reading of the Ten Commandments. When they heard it being read they surely undertook to conduct themselves in its spirit the whole year, such that it be recognizable in their thought, speech and deed — “for the thing is very near to you in your mouth (speech), and in your heart (thought) to do it (deed).”

All this must be done with joy, as stated “Yisrael should rejoice in its maker,” meaning that all Jews rejoice with G-d, and therefore rejoice with His Torah that is given anew at the “Season of the Giving of our Torah.” This is particularly so since each of you has a letter in one of the general Sefer Torahs. For on Shavuos the bond of each of you with your letter is renewed, and extra strength is given to be victorious in the battle against the Yetzer.

And since “Love your fellow as yourself is a great principle in the Torah,” each of you must seek to influence your friends to do likewise.

We are in exile, and one may ask how is it possible to conduct oneself so and to prepare oneself for Mashiach’s coming without being affected by the tribulations of the exile. The answer to this is found in a special instruction in the beginning of the Ten Commandments. G-d says to all Jews (and especially to members of Tzivos Hashem, Jewish children): “I am the L-rd your G-d Who took you out from the land of Egypt.” This tells us that G-d is the strength of every Jew, and takes every Jew out from the exile of Egypt — “In every generation a person must look upon himself as if he personally had gone out of Egypt.” And since G-d is with every Jew, and daily takes him out of Egypt, He will certainly take us out of this exile and we will go to the Holy Land. Knowing this, a person fulfills all of the above with joy and life. And through the joy G-d has from our proper conduct, we merit increased blessings from G-d.

2. The Baal Shem Tov taught that everything contains a lesson in service to G-d. Hence, there is a lesson to be learned from the day on which this gathering is taking place — Tuesday, the 10th of Sivan. On Tuesday, the third day of the week, “it was good” was said twice (at creation) — “good for heaven and good for creatures.” One must conduct oneself in a proper fashion (“good”) in regard to “heaven” — fulfilling G-d’s directives, and in regard to “creatures” — to “love your fellow as yourself.” This gathering on the third day renews the idea of “good for heaven and good for creatures,” and it is to be fulfilled with joy and good heart. Service with joy gives victory in the battle against the Yetzer, who, when seeing that a Jew rejoices in learning Torah and fulfilling mitzvos, forfeits all hope of causing a Jew to do wrong.

The lesson from the 10th of Sivan is derived from the portion of Psalms said on this day (55:19): “He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle against me, for the sake of the many who were with me.” This teaches us that the redemption of the soul and body of every Jew is effected with “peace,” meaning that battle against the Yetzer is not even necessary, since the Yetzer is automatically eliminated when it sees Jews rejoicing in their Torah study and fulfillment of mitzvos. Hence one need not fear the Yetzer at all.

3. An additional lesson learned from the above verse comes from the Talmud which states (Berachos 8a): “The Holy One blessed be He says: Whosoever engages in Torah and deeds of loving kindness and prays with the congregation, I will consider it as if he has redeemed Me and my sons from between the nations.” When a Jew is engaged in the three areas of Torah, prayer and good deeds, he redeems his soul and body from the exile of the Yetzer together with all those who do likewise, and hastens the redemption. Hence, on the 10th of the month, there is added emphasis to engage in these three areas.