Parshas Naso - Shavuos 5783 | # 63
Please note that everything written within these pages is the result of the writers' and translators' humble understanding and interpretation of the Rebbe's teachings.
D'ei Chochmah L'Nafshecha
Excerpts from Shalosh Seudos Torah
The Light of Shavuos and
the Ba'al Shem Tov
The great light of the Ba'al Shem Tov shines
on Shavuos, which is also the day of his
yahrzeit. Reb Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk
zy”a said that the Ba'al Shem Tov was utterly
unique, and that there hasn’t been another
like him since ancient times. He said that the
passuk, “‫ ”ו ְתִ ְגזַר אֹומֶ ר וְי ָקָ ם לְָך‬/ “And you shall
make a decree and it will be upheld for you,”
(Iyov 22:28) applied to him.
Reb Yisrael of Ruzhin, zy”a, wondered at
this statement – for were there not many
tzaddikim throughout the ages whose
deeds made an impression in heaven
and whose decrees were fulfilled? What
was unique about the Ba'al Shem Tov that
made Reb Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk
say that there had been no other like him?
The Ruzhiner explained as follows: it is
well known that the mazolos, stars and
constellations have an influence on all the
worlds. But the Jewish people transcend
all of the mazolos, as we find in the Gemara
(Shabbos 156a): “Yisrael has no (‫ )אין‬mazal”.
The Arizal taught (Pri Eitz Chaim, Sha’ar
Shabbos #23; Emek HaMelech) that the
inner meaning of the statement of Chazal is
not that Yisrael does not have a mazal, but
rather that the level of Ayin (‫ )אין‬is the place
from which our mazal flows. Ayin is the level
of Kesser; it is from there that our mazal
descends.
63 ‫בס״ד |יו״ט שבועות (נשא בארה״ק) תשפ״ג| גליון מס׳‬
A Collection of Teachings about Shavuos
The Jewish people are bound to Hashem decree.
in the innermost way, not superficially, and
Now we can better understand the
so they have the power to override natural
uniqueness of the Ba'al Shem Tov.
decrees, because Kesser is so far above
Throughout the year, it is possible for
and beyond the lower world of natural
righteous Jews to change nature, but
astrological influence. As Reb Yonasan
they do not necessarily have the ability to
Eibeschitz said, anyone who is familiar with
overturn every single decree. However, at
the ways of the stars and constellations can
the time and level of Shavuos, it is possible
see for himself that every single Jew is under
to overturn any decree – and this was the
the threat of terrible decrees, chas v’shalom,
level of the Ba'al Shem Tov at all times. On
because each and every Jew derives from
Shavuos, we too can rise to the place where,
Avraham who was destined to never have
from above, we overlook the stars; where we
children. So it is written in the stars that
can, “Gaze upon the heavens and count the
every single Jew will have to undergo all
stars.” This is the pure light of the Ba'al Shem
kinds of obstacles and darkness. Yet the
Tov, who could make decrees and they were
Jewish people also transcend nature, and
“upheld” for him – so that the world could
through attaining great merits and rising to
continue to exist.
the place of Ayin they can overturn all harsh
decrees.
Seeing Divine Names in the
This is especially true on Shavuos, which is World of Asiyah
when the light of Arich Anpin and Kesser – of
“‫ ”והיה יום אחד הוא יודע להוי”ה‬/ “There
Ayin – is revealed. This actually has a deeper
will be one day that will be known to be
aspect, as the Arizal explains. The mazolos
Hashem’s...”. This one day is the Yom Tov
are sourced in Arich Anpin. On Shavuos
of Shavuos. To merit the level of this “One
morning, the Kabbalistic meditations are
day,” we must first obtain the states of (1)
focused on the levels of the two aspects of
the Midbar Sinai – wilderness of Sinai, and
Arich Anpin. What this means to us is that
(2) the Ohel Moed – tent of meeting, which
the power of Torah, the time of which is the
represent the two main forms of avodah
morning of Shavuos, can uplift each and
that exist in the world of Asiyah.
every Jew to the heights of both aspects of
Arich Anpin which are the ultimate source The avodah of the Ohel Moed involves
from which the stars/planets and mazolos developing the potential within every
receive their strength. At this lofty place, it single Jew – since each of us has a spark
is possible to overturn every single harsh of Moshe Rabbeinu inside of him – to
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see combinations and permutations of the
Sheimos HaKedoshim (Divine Names) even
as we look at the physical matter of the world
in which we live. The ability to see Hashem’s
presence animating all of creation will not
only be active during davening, when one is
“tuned out” of the outside world and focused
on the inner state of dveykus, but rather
when one is immersed in the mundane world
itself. And even if it demands a great deal of
effort, nevertheless, the goal is within the
reach of every single Jew, in the merit of the
spark of Moshe Rabbeinu that exists within
him. Each of us can reach the level where
his spiritual eyes illuminate and invigorate
his physical vision so that he can see the
holy Names and fulfill the commandment
of: “‫ ”שויתי הוי”ה לנגדי תמיד‬/ “I place
HaVaYaH (Hashem’s Name) before me
always.” Such focus brings about a powerful
yichud, so that the light of the Shechinah can
shine within the lower worlds, into the realm
of the “End of Days.” One can then delight in
Hashem’s presence even with his eyes wide
open to the permitted sights of this world.
To attain this level, however, one must be
tightly bound to the neshamah of Moshe
Rabbeinu through learning the holy works
that explain the Torah’s secrets. Then this
world becomes an Ohel Moed, a “tent of
meeting” – a place where the Shechinah
is revealed within the lower worlds. Yet this
form of avodah must be united with the
avodah of the Midbar Sinai / “wilderness of
Sinai” – the place of desolation and thirst.
This is the avodah of developing the highest
aspect of the ratzon / will, so that one is
always filled with longing for Hashem.
When one does the avodah of seeing
Hashem’s presence in the world of Asiyah,
he must also ask the question, “Why did
Hashem make all the worlds in this way,
a descending spiral of ever-increasing
concealment of His presence?” When one
asks himself this question, he comes to
realize that the purpose is to stoke the fires
of yearning, because one can only long for
D'ei Chochmah L'Nafshecha
Excerpts from Shalosh Seudos Torah
something that is far from him. Hashem
created worlds upon worlds of barriers
and distance so that we should be filled
with longing to find Him, in the place of
thirsty desolation where, “‫צמאה נפשי לאלקים‬
‫ ”לאל חי‬- “My soul thirst for You, Hashem, for
the living G-d” - for the living waters of Your
revealed presence.
This combined avodah awaits us from
the moment we wake up in the morning.
Even before sleep is fully banished from
our eyes, we rise up thanking Hashem for
His giving us another day of life to seek
Him. We are still, at that point, in the lowest
state of Asiyah - we have not yet begun the
upward journey through all of the worlds
that is accomplished by the ladder of the
morning prayers. Even so, we wake up with
a statement of thanks, with our hearts filled
with longing to find Hashem, to turn this
desert of a world into a tent of meeting. We
begin the day without the means to achieve
our goal of seeing Hashem in everything - to
see His “face” - but we nevertheless have the
yearning, and so we have already started the
process . This is the elementary pathway of
first fulfilling the mitzvos because we accept
upon ourselves the yoke of heaven. This is the
initial step in the realm of Asiyah. If one really
longs for it, on Shavuos a Jew can receive the
Torah of Atika Sesima’ah that shines all the
way down to the lowermost extent of Asiyah,
the Torah that can redeem a person from all
exiles and obscurity so that the ‫ נחש‬/ snake
is transformed into the ‫חשן‬, and the ‫ חשן‬into
‫( משיח‬the gematriya / value of both ‫ משיח‬and
‫ חשן‬are equal, 358).
The Wakefulness on Shavu-
os Night
The Jewish people remain awake all night
on Shavuos, just as Reb Shimon bar Yochai
was called an ‫ עיר וקדיש מן שמיא נחית‬- a “wide-
awake angel and holy one that descended
from heaven.” [The phrase is from Daniel, and
Reb Nachman highlighted that its initials form
the name ‫שמעון‬, Reb Shimon bar Yochai.]
Reb Shimon bar Yochai was wide-awake in
the same sense that Dovid HaMelech had
been; never sleeping because he was seeking
the Shechinah constantly. On Shavuos night,
we want to follow their example, and so we
remain awake. Sleep itself is related to the
moon, and the tzaddikim are so attached
to the Shechinah that they are awake at
its light throughout the night and have no
need to seek sleep. Even if they must sleep
for physical necessity, they sleep in a state
of dveykus so that even as they sleep their
souls are awake. With the tzaddik, even the
state of katnus (when one’s consciousness
of G-d is most limited, and inner pain from
the concealment of the Divine presence) is
suffused with dveykus; in truth, real dveykus
with the Shechinah demands the descent
into katnus.
We merit to receive the Torah on Shavuos
morning. What distinguishes the person
who does merit to come close to the tzaddik
and the Torah from one who does not is
the degree of his dveykus with the light of
emunah and the Shechinah. And the inverse
is also true; when one merits to draw close
to the Torah of the tzaddikim, he merits
the light of emunah.
The Recitation of Akdamos
We preface our receiving of the Torah on
Shavuos with the recitation of Akdamos [in
Aramaic]; this represents the purification
of the realm of nogah (the klippah, husks
or barriers, that can be either good or bad)
before we draw close to receive the Torah.
[Aramaic is an admixture of lashon hakodesh
and foreign speech that is uplifted and
sanctified when it is utilized for Torah study
and prayer. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov
taught that this is called, “the completion of
lashon hakodesh.”] When we work to refine
the realm of nogah, we can each become
“men of G-d” like Moshe Rabbeinu.
Moshe Rabbeinu was certainly a man of
flesh and blood, yet through doing the
work of self-purification he changed his
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existence completely. So too, when
Shavuos comes each and every Jew
receives a fresh inspiration to receive
the Torah like Moshe Rabbeinu, to purify
himself properly so that he can hear the
“thunder and lightning” of Sinai with
spiritual arousal. The Torah’s holiness is
that of lashon hakodesh, and the process
of refining the realm of nogah is that of the
Aramaic Targum - the completion of lashon
hakodesh.
Reb Nosson of Breslov explains further how
this concept relates to the specific customs
of Shavuos: staying awake all night and eating
dairy in the morning. Shavuos is the time of
receiving the Torah, it is the completion of
lashon hakodesh that has the force of purity
that subdues the negative influence of all the
seventy nations, the most powerful of which
is lust. Shavuos is when we merit to guard the
covenant. Personal purity is a prerequisite
for receiving the Torah, and it is what made
Hashem choose us from among all the
other nations and “uplift us from all other
tongues.” This is why we remain awake all
night on Shavuos - in order to break through
the klippah of sleep which parallels the
negative within Targum-nogah and uplift
the good that is within it to the higher state
of lashon kodesh. This is also why we recite
Akdamos in Aramaic - it is a very lofty song
of Hashem’s praises that was composed
specifically to uplift the good in Targum.
And this is why we eat dairy on Shavuos
morning, because the whiteness of dairy
represents the process of transforming
the heat and dinnim of the blood into
the nourishing purity of the Torah. “The
blood is clarified and transformed into milk.”
(Niddah 9a) This pure whiteness which is
the refined state of tikkun habris then flows
throughout all of a person’s veins to clarify
the “redness” of man’s base physical nature.
The Jealousy of the Mala-
chim / Angels
Reaching the innermost level, which is that
of Moshe Rabbeinu, is possible on Shavuos,
D'ei Chochmah L'Nafshecha
Excerpts from Shalosh Seudos Torah
when there is a revelation of the Torah of
Atika Sesima’ah - the “hidden ancient
one,” the light of the Torah’s secrets. Yet
this revelation comes with danger, since
the malachim are jealous of this high level
of Torah being revealed to man, just as they
were of Moshe Rabbeinu when he ascended
to receive the Torah. “What is man that
You should remember him?” they asked.
Hashem told Moshe to grab hold of Kisei
HaKavod / His Throne of Glory.
The malachim are jealous of the person
who seeks to bind himself to the pathway
of Moshe Rabbeinu. This is the innermost
nature of the Torah - the revelation of
Hashem Himself - and this is all that the
tzaddikim seek. In the very beginning of
Megilas Rus we read “‫ויהי בימי שפוט השופטים‬
‫ ”ויהי רעב בארץ‬- “And it was in the days of
the judges judging, and there was a famine
in the land.” When Hashem is judging all of
the ways in which we serve Him through all
of the middos, He mainly seeks out whether
or not there is, “a famine in the land.” Do we
hunger and thirst for the supernal land, for
the revelation of Hashem’s Majesty, for His
Malchus which is compared to the earth?
Are we longing to reach the level of the,
“Man who sits upon the Throne?”
This is what the angels resent - the one who
seeks this level - and so they try to confuse
the person and throw him off of his avodah.
But Hashem told Moshe to grab hold of His
Throne of Glory - change the focus of your
efforts to one of the other four pathways
of the legs of the throne, to love and fear of
Hashem, to Torah and prayer, and you will
be able to throw off the angels who seek to
confuse you.
On the night of Shavuos, you must throw
yourself into all of the four aspects of the
legs of the Throne - but in your innermost
heart and mind, hold fast to your desire to
reach the level of, “the Man on the Throne,”
the revelation of Hashem Himself. This will
fill a person with the holiness of Boaz and
Rus, because Boaz represents ‫בו עז‬, azus
d’kedushah, the bold pursuit of kedushah.
We have to have the inner courage to pour
out our hearts before Hashem in prayer in
the way of tzaddikim, to ask for the one
most important thing - the revelation
of the Shechinah. Even though we are far
from this, we must have the chutzpah to ask
that Hashem open the way for us to bind
ourselves in some way to the innermost
pathway of Moshe Rabbeinu.
However, to get there we must first throw
ourselves into all of the avodos that surround
the Throne; perhaps, with great effort and
time, we will merit to taste the tiniest bit of
the avodah of Moshe Rabbeinu, which is to
seek the Torah’s essence, so that Hashem’s
Majesty will be revealed throughout all of
the worlds. We must long to seek only the
revelation of G-dliness, and try as much as
we can to avoid self-seeking. To receive the
light of Kesser on Shavuos, we have to work
on completing the refinement of Netzach-
Hod-Yesod by purifying all of our lower
aspects. We must learn the language of the
angels, to say, “we will do and we will hear”
- “we will do” is the refinement of the lower
and external aspects of our beings, and “we
will hear” is our seeking after the highest
light of Kesser that is still so far beyond us.
To reach the innermost point, we must do
all we can to purify and complete the outer
avodos, realizing all the while that our goal
is the inner point and not the outer avodah
at all.
May Hashem help us, as we receive the
festival of Shavuos, to resolve to really
change in our Torah study and avodas
Hashem; not just in a superficial way of the
“legs” alone, but as a means of entering into
the innermost nature of the avodah – to
seek Hashem Himself.
3
 Yartzeit of the Rebbe’s Father
Yoma D’Hilula Reb Yaakov Menachem ben Reb Tzvi Zev ztz”l
11 Sivan
Parts of the Ma’amar – “Yaakov Avinu Lo Meis” – which the Rebbe Shlit”a wrote at the
beginning of his Sefer ‘Sheiris Yaakov’ on Maseches Megillah
“I will write a few things in honor of my father ztz”l in order that I,
all his descendents and similarly anyone who reads this can learn
from his ways. For every Yid has certain positive character traits
that others do not have, and only by learning from them can we be
zoiche and merit to emulate those holy actions as well…
It says in the passuk (Bereishis 33:17): “‫ ויבן לו בית‬,‫”ויעקב נסע סכתה‬
/ “And Yaakov traveled to Succos and built himself a house”. My
father ztz”l was very much connected to the aspect of the Mitzvah
of Succah, as the passuk says “‫ ”ופרוש עלינו סוכת רחמים ושלום‬/ “Spread
over us the Succah (canopy) of mercy and peace”. Rebbe Nachman
writes in Sefer Hamidos that through learning Meseches Succah
one is spared from any machlokes (debates and arguments), and
we shall soon mention some stories that show us how my father
had more than others the characteristic of spreading peace in the
world…
My father ztz”l would regularly say about the zemer that we
say Shabbos morning, “Chay Hashem”, that we mention in the
song, “I lift my eyes towards the mountains like Hillel and not like
Shamai”. He would say in the name of his father ztz”l that there is
a question about this phrase asked by one of the gedolim – what
is the connection between the mountains and the halacha being
like Hillel and not like Shamai? The explanation he gave was that
Chazal teach us that the reason why Hashem gave the Torah on Har
Sinai was because it was a humble mountain, and similarly Chazal
teach us that the reason why in halacha we follow Beis Hillel and
not Beis Shamai is because they had more humility. And this is what
it means, “I lift my eyes towards the mountains” – since I see that
Hashem chose Har Sinai out of all the other mountains, due to its
humility, therefore I know that the halacha is “like Hillel and not like
Shamai”.
This dvar Torah represents who my father was. The humility my
father possessed was not comprehensible; he ran away from honor
in such an amazing fashion his entire life. Even though he gave
tremendous amounts of money to tzedakah, he would never allow
his name to be publicized because of it. If he had any doubt in his
mind that the person to whom he gave tzedakah would publicize it,
he would ask that they not do so. In general, everything he did was
done quietly and modestly, without any commotion or publicity. I
once heard from him that he learnt this trait from the Beis Yisroel
of Gur ztz”l, who would regularly teach him the path of selflessness,
and this remained embedded in my father’s blood until his very last
day.
There are those in our family who say in the aforementioned zemer
on Shabbos: “I lift my eyes towards the mountains like Hillel and
like Shamai”, even though the custom of my father was to say, “Like
Hillel and not like Shamai”. He would mention many times that
there are some who have the custom to say, “Like Hillel and like
Shamai”. During the first week after his passing I saw that in truth
his essence was included in the words of both Hillel and Shamai, as
mentioned in Pirkei Avos.
It says in Avos (1:12): “Hillel would say: ‘Be of the students of Aaron
– loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and bringing
them closer to Torah.’” Further on in Avos it states (1:15): “Shammai
would say: ‘Make your Torah study fixed, say little and do much,
and receive everyone with a pleasant countenance.’” These two
mishnahs are literally the personification of my father ztz”l.
My father ztz”l was extremely unique in this generation as to how
he ran away from any machlokes (arguments and strife), and on
the contrary strove to promote peace. He brought much peace
between people in England. Even the Rabbonim knew that when a
big machlokes would occur in the kehilla, or the like, my father ztz”l
would be able to make peace. Within his own family he would never
utter a word of complaint or anything similar. Whenever someone
would dishonor or belittle him, he would forgive them right away.
People would clearly see how in this regard of good middos and
abhorrence of any machlokes, my father ztz”l was one of a kind in
this generation, without any exaggeration. We should all merit to
learn even just a little bit from his special ways, and follow his path
in these areas.
Many times, I would hear from him an explanation in the name of
the Ahavas Yisroel of Vizhnitz zy”a of the passuk in Parshas Naso:
“‫ – כף אחת‬one bending (giving in), ‫ – עשרה‬of a Yid, ‫ – זהב‬is worth
gold”, meaning that there is nothing greater before Hashem that
when a Yid bends himself for his friend in order to be at peace with
him. (It happens to be that my father ztz”l passed away during the
week of Parshas Naso.)
I heard from him that the Ahavas Yisroel once saw a heavyset Yid full
of leprosy, and he ran over to him and hugged and kissed him, and
called out, “Oy Oy! Such a great Yid!” My father would also tell the
story of how the Ahavas Yisrael of Vizhnitz zy”a once moved to a city
in which lived many Jews who were very distant from the Torah, as
well as many who opposed him. People close to him suggested that
he move away and find a more amenable place to live. The Ahavas
Yisrael responded that there is no need to do so because, “I will
love them and love them so much, until they will all do Teshuvah!”
And so it happened. Also my father would regularly say over from
4
 Yoma D’Hilula
the Imrei Emes that it says (Bereishis 28:11): “‫ויקח מאבני המקום וישם‬
‫“ – ”מראשתיו וישכב במקום ההוא‬And he took some of the stones of that
place and placed (them) at his head, and he lay down in that place”.
Rashi explains that: “They (the stones) started quarreling with one
another. One said, ‘Let the tzaddik lay his head on me,’ and another
one said, ‘Let him lay (his head) on me.’ Immediately Hashem made
them into one stone.” The Imrei Emes asked, what does it help that
all the stones were transformed into one large stone; they can still
fight over which side of the stone the tzaddik should lay his head
on? The Imrei Emes answered that once they were all transformed
into one stone, they no longer cared about which side the tzaddik
would lay his head down, because they were considered as one. This
is a great lesson for us all, that when there is unity in Klal Yisroel then
it does not matter if one person has more than the other.
The Mishnah concludes: “Loving people and drawing them close to
Torah.” Once there was a bachur who lived next to my father ztz”l,
and his parents were not so religious. He once came to my father
and asked him for money. My father greeted him with extreme
warmth and closeness, and told him that he will give him money if
he goes to shul every day. My father received him with so much love
and warmth, and with Hashem's help he and his brother eventually
became righteous and religious people adhering to the words of
Hashem.
Another time, after my father ztz”l had made peace between two
Jews who had been in a major financial fight, they invited him to
come and partake in a l’chayim and celebrate together with both
parties, to show him that they had really made peace. My father
took along one of his younger grandchildren, and told him to sit
next to him the entire time. He told the grandchild that he should
remember his entire life the tremendous happiness there is when
there is peace between Yidin.
The second Mishnah mentioned states as follows: “Shammai would
say: ‘Make your Torah study fixed [i.e. a permanent fixture of your
life].” All his life, my father ztz”l would have a strong keviyus ittim
(consistency) to learn Torah. Almost every single day he would
have a shiur with his Rebbeim, and even when he left Yeshivah he
continued to learn with his Rebbeim constantly. When my parents
got married, my father made a condition with my mother that she
should never disturb him when he is in the middle of learning his
daily shiurim. He learnt with great intensity every single day with
his first Rebbe, Rav Kokovitzky z”l, and with Rav Blau z”l. Later he
studied with Rav Honig together with my uncle z”l. They would
learn together everyday, no matter what, winter or summer; even if
they were far from their homes, they always got together to learn,
and nothing would stop them. People were amazed how they
would travel daily to learn, with mesirus nefesh, for two hours. Over
fifty years ago this was a great novelty in England, to have such
dedication for learning Torah. Many people told me how amazed
they were to see my father get together with his chavrusos to learn
everyday with mesirus nefesh.
My father always loved to learn b’iyun gadol / in great depth. He
would say that when one learns Torah in depth they acquire a greater
desire to learn more Torah and with greater intensity. Whenever my
father would travel he would always take along seforim, and he loved
to learn when traveling away from home. Especially on Shabbos and
Yom Tov, he would sleep for just a bit after the seudah and then right
away start learning. In was a great novelty to see how even in his
later years, he was still able to go to shul for the Shabbos afternoon
shiur of Reb Chuna Halpern ztz”l on the Ohr HaChayim Hakadosh,
and stay there to learn until mincha for hours on end, without ever
thinking that he was doing something difficult. On the contrary, his
pleasure was learning Torah. His entire happiness was from being
able to sit with his sons and sons-in-law and speak with them in
Torah. If anyone ever sent him a dvar Torah, he would greatly cherish
it and put it away in a special place. After he was niftar, I saw how he
had saved in a special place the letters of divrei Torah he received
over the years from his sons and sons-in-law. Even on the day he
was niftar, he was holding a letter with a dvar Torah that one of his
grandchildren had sent him. And this was his greatest happiness
in life, to see his children and grandchildren learning Torah and
growing in Torah, and he loved to learn with everyone.
I once told him a chiddush (novel insight) on Hilchos Shabbos. He
had such enjoyment from it that he remembered it his entire life,
and many times he would ask me if I remembered that insight on
Hilchos Shabbos that I had told him. He derived great enjoyment
from learning Torah in depth. I could tell every Shabbos evening
the difference between if I told him a simple dvar Torah or a dvar
Torah that had depth to it, because the enjoyment he had from a
deep dvar Torah was not the same; he literally had immeasurable
pleasure from it and it brought life to him.
The last Yom Tov of Shavuos of his life, my father was very pained
that he would not be able to stay awake the entire night like he used
to do. Nevertheless, he wanted to complete the night’s learning
by day, and so straight after the day seuda he ran back to shul and
learnt for many hours the entire day, in order to make up for what he
was not able to learn at night.
Once, when I was learning in Gateshead Yeshiva, my father came to
visit me for a short visit, since he had to travel elsewhere immediately
afterwards. As soon as he arrived at the Yeshiva, he sat down to learn
some mishnayos. I was amazed, since he would usually sit down and
learn for a long time and not just for a few minutes. He told me that
he did this because he had to drive for many hours, and he was not
able to learn while driving. And it is just not possible for a Yid not to
learn at all an entire day!
He always acted in this way until the end of his life. Even when
5
 Yoma D’Hilula
he was very ill and unable to attend his regular shiurim, he would
always try to learn at least a little bit. He would listen to recordings
of daf yomi shiurim, and buy gemarohs with explanations. The last
Pesach of his life, when I was together with him, I bought a Gemarah
Succah with an explanation. My father asked to see it and had much
enjoyment from learning in it; he was unable to let go of it. My father
found somewhere in the explanation a mistake that the author had
made. We discussed it in depth, and my father was indeed correct. He
had so much enjoyment from still being able to learn in depth despite
his debilitating illness; he wrote his insight and explanation on the
side of the gemarah, and this brought him great pleasure. If only we,
all his children and grandchildren, can learn from him the pleasure,
enjoyment and happiness one can get from learning Torah in depth,
and merit to learn Torah lishmah in depth and with great happiness.
My father would really fulfill the concepts of “Toras Chayim” (“the
Torah of life”) and “Ahavas Chesed” (“loving kindness”). His entire
life was Torah, toiling to enter into the depths of the Torah and the
gemarah. The learning was so precious to him and embedded in his
very blood. He had so much pleasure from divrei Torah that would go
into and explain the depth of the simple meaning of the Torah. Every
Shabbos, I would see how he learnt from many different Seforim
on the Parsha. Every time he had to fly somewhere, he would take
Seforim to learn on the way. He loved chesed, and simply loved doing
kindness. For years, when he was able to do so, he would dedicate
many hours of the night to giving tzedakah with his whole heart to
whomever needed and came to ask him for tzedakah. He greeted
everyone so pleasantly, and even though many of them came and
bothered him time after time, he honored every single request.
“Shammai would say: ‘Say little and do much.’” This too was one
of my father’s middos. He was very quiet, to the point were people
nicknamed him “the quiet one”. Yet at the same time, he carried out
many, many mitzvos of chessed. When Hashem bestowed upon him
wealth, he would generously give to others, and everything was done
with complete silence and without any publicity. Above all he fulfilled
the dictum, “Receive everyone with a pleasant countenance.”
During the shivah, hundreds of people came to us to tell us how my
father ztz”l fulfilled with them the mishnah, “Receive everyone with a
pleasant countenance.” It is impossible to comprehend how he gave
chiyus to so many people, and how he literally and simply received
them all pleasantly, young and old alike.
The acceptance of suffering with love was an outstanding trait of my
father. Even though he suffered tremendously at the end of his life,
he remained firm in his emunah and accepted everything happily.
No-one was able to know what he was going through, because he
showed no signs of sadness or brokenness. He concentrated his mind
on Torah and good deeds. I remember that once, when I was a bachur,
my father was going through a specific hardship with his parnassa.
He went to the Rebbe of Gur, the Lev Simcha ztz”l, for advice. When
my father came back I saw he was a different person. He told me that
the Rebbe had told him: a person has to always be happy. He would
constantly review this message from the Lev Simcha, and acted upon
it always when faced with all kinds of different challenges. It is not
possible to describe the greatness of his emunas chachamim in the
Rebbes of Gur. Whatever they would say he fulfilled his entire life, and
he believed in them as if hearing from a Navi (“prophet”).
I heard from my father how he once went to the Belzer Ruv ztz”l, and
the moment he saw his holy image he became overwhelmed with
fear. He told me how he appeared to him as a malach Hashem (an
angel of Hashem), to the point that that entire day he was unable to
eat anything at all due to the great yiras Hashem that entered him
just from seeing this great tzaddik. We see from here the greatness
of his emunas tzaddikim. There was rooted and embedded in him
such a strong emunah and belief in the true tzaddikim. Similarly, I saw
many incidents with my father ztz”l that showed the greatness of his
emunas tzaddikim.
I also once heard from one of the great mechanchim in Gur, Reb
Avraham Yosef Ernshtein ztz"l, who stood near my father ztz”l during
the tefillos on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur in Gur, how amazed he
had been with the tefillos of my father ztz”l during the Yomim Noraim,
which were said with complete outpouring of the soul. He told me that
when he would see my father davening he was embarrassed of him…
It is hard to finish writing about my father ztz”l without mentioning
his attribute of emes – truth. He was, like his namesake, “Ya'akov
Ish Ho'Emes” ("the man of truth"). He was moser nefesh never to
lie, and especially so when it came to monetary matters. I know that
he preferred to lose large sums of money in order not to have to do
things that were not truthful and straight.
Whenever my father ztz”l was told an insight in Torah, he would
always make it seem to the person telling it to him as if it was the first
time he was hearing it.
Yehi Ratzon that we merit to follow in his holy path, and we should
be zoche to behold the nechomas tzion v'yerushalayim and to be
together again very soon – when the passuk will be fulfilled, “‫הקיצו‬
‫ ”ורננו שוכני עפר‬/ “Those who dwell in the dust shall arise, awaken and
sing”. My father ztz”l, whose bris milah was on tisha b’av and was
therefore named Menachem, and who merited to bring nechama
(“consolation”) to many people through his attribute of peace – will
arise by techias hameisim together with all other tzaddikim of the
past – and we should all merit to see revealed the Majesty of Hashem,
so that “eye to eye we will see the return of Hashem to Tzion”, Amein
Kein Yehi Ratzon.”
6
 A Collection of Teachings
Connecting to the Tzaddikim – Connecting to Hashem
We can consider each individual person together with the tzaddik to be one
neshamah. The tzaddik is like the head and the other people are like the feet.
When one connects the feet to the head (meaning that one connects oneself
to the tzaddik), they attain clarity which path they should follow. The main
avodah of the tzaddikim is to help each and every neshamah. Connecting to the
tzaddikim must be done with the intention that one’s avodas Hashem should
be performed together with them. This is especially true at the time of davening,
as Reb Avraham Ben Reb Nachman explained, that through connecting to the
tzaddikim at the time of davening one can rectify the sin of the mei meriva
("waters of contention"). Reb Avraham Ben Reb Nachman also writes that at the
time of davening one should connect oneself to the students of the tzaddikim,
for they contain within them a part of the neshamah of the tzaddik, who will
then come to assist them in their avodas Hashem.
There were some tzaddikim who taught very high and lofty teachings that
most individuals could not understand; they did not explain it on a level
or with the language that they would understand. Each tzaddik has their
own specific purpose in this world. Every tzaddik has certain souls that
are connected to them, which gain specifically through these high and loft
teachings. The main intention one should have when going to a tzaddik is
that this should bring him closer to Hashem; to find by the tzaddik the light
of dveykus and the revelation of Elokus; strengthening oneself in emunah;
and to fulfill the commandment of ‫"( ובו תדבר‬You shall cleave to Him"), which
means to connect to the chachamim in order to be connected to Hashem.
Excerpt from Nishmasin Chadatin, Parshas Kedoshim 5782
The Power of Teshuvah and of Pure Desires
We must believe in the great power of teshuva – that when one asks Hashem
for forgiveness, He forgives immediately. This idea can be seen in the words
of the Rambam, that we do not remind a person before they pass away that
they have sinned, if they already repented and did teshuvah. We must also
appreciate the great power inherent in our desires and yearnings. Any pure
and holy desires that we have, especially when we verbalize these desires
with words of tefillah to Hashem, are considered as if we chose good from
bad. This is the main free will of a person, to constantly strengthen their
desire for holiness. The Rema Mi'pano taught that at the future seuda of the
levyoson (the feasting in the World to Come when the Tzaddikim will merit to
eat the flesh of the Leviathan), every Jew will receive all their holy desires that
they yearned for in all areas of avodas Hashem.
One specifically must constantly strengthen their desire to follow the advice
of the tzaddikim. For example, one should strengthen their will to fulfill the
words of Rav Nachman zy”a, “It is a great mitzvah to be happy constantly,”
and to fulfill the many teachings of Rav Nachman in regards to making
hisbodudus ('Personal Prayer'). By doing so, one connects two great forces
of energy and strength – the strength of one’s good desires together with the
energy of the tzaddik – which in turn causes very great unifications.
Excerpt from Nishmasin Chadatin, Parshas Kedoshim 5782
Attaining Dveikus Through Sanctity and Holiness
One should not mistakenly think that Dveikus and deriving pleasure
from Hashem (“le’hisaneg al Hashem”) are not applicable to everyone.
The Alshich HaKadosh writes at the end of Parshas Kedoshim that the
commandment of “Be Holy” was said to the Jewish people when they were
all gathered together in order to show that it is applicable to every single
person. Everyone has to try to reach the levels of Dveikus. The Maggid of
Mezritch said that before Moshiach arrives it will become easier and more
pleasant to reach levels of Dveikus and holiness.
One might ask that this does not seem to hold true for most people, because we
see nowadays that there are so many yeshivos and shiurim around, and the holy
Torah is being spread so much, yet we do not see “hashra’as elokus” (‘spiritual
awareness’) by most people in accordance with the amount of Torah learnt. This
is because learning Torah is not enough if the Torah study is not connected to
what is mentioned at the end of Parshas Kedoshim, namely distancing oneself
from anything that is not holy. This is the precondition that one must fulfil for
one’s Torah study to have an effect on him and to attain any level of Dveikus. The
Yetzer Harah’s main fight is in this regard, because he knows that even if a person
will spend a lot of time learning Torah and serving Hashem, without holiness it
is not worth anything. The Rebbe Rashab zy”a gave a parable for someone who
learns Torah without holiness, that it is like making a small hole in a big ship
which will eventually sink as a result of the small hole.
It is a grave mistake to think that one can learn Kabbalah and Chassidus and
at the same time not distance themselves from what Hashem dislikes. One
has to have Mesirus Nefesh / self-sacrifice to work on Sur Me’ra / refraining
from the bad. One has to take all the challenges, which are the aspect of
"maror" – representative of bitterness and difficulties – and transform them
to "mar dror", representative of the sweet fragrance of freedom, through
withstanding nisyonos and challenges.
This is the reason as to why at the conclusion of the holy day of Yom Kippur
we read the Torah portion of the “arayos” (illicit relationships), in order to
teach us that even on this holy day when we are compared to angels we must
know that we cannot attain any angelic levels without holiness. No Tzaddik
ever reached any high level whatsoever without a tremendous amount of
self-sacrifice, sanctity and holiness.
Reb Shmuel Shapira zy”a said regarding Rav Nachman’s statement that one
should not take upon themselves extra stringencies, that this does not apply
to areas pertaining to sanctity and holiness. Reb Levi Yitzchok Bender zy”a
taught as well that Rebbe Nachman did not mean that a person should be
lenient with following and keeping the Torah chas v’shalom; rather one should
not take upon themselves extra stringencies (“chumros yeseiros”) which will
disturb their Dveikus. However, even regarding such extra stringencies, Reb
Shmuel said that the rule of Rabbeinu z”l does not apply to areas of sanctity and
holiness, because in those areas one must be extra careful.
Reb Yankele of Pshevorsk zy”a said that whoever wants to connect to the Baal
Shem Tov should not read the news. Someone who is constantly searching for
Hashem does not have the time or the space in their mind to waste time on such
matters. This is what the Mittler Rebbe zy”a meant when he said one has to be
high and also very, very high – meaning one has to be distant from the distractions
of this world. Now, this does not contradict that which the Ohev Yisrael zy”a would
say, that one has to be both high above and down below at the same time. This
is because in order to be on such a level of being able to be down below without
getting caught up in the distractions of this world, one needs to be first very high
and sanctify oneself, and to be pure and holy. Then it is possible to attain the
special level that the Ohev Yisrael spoke about, where one is simultaneously high
above and down below, all at the same time. May it be the will of Hashem that we
should all be able to sanctify ourselves and merit all the levels of holiness, and may
we merit truly to see “eye to eye” Hashem’s return to Tzion, with the arrival of our
righteous redeemer in mercy, speedily and in our days, Amen.
7
 Pirkei Avos
Drawing People Closer to Hashem Through Love
The Mishnah in Pirkei Avos (1:14) says: “Be of the disciples of Aaron –
a lover of peace, a pursuer of peace, one who loves the creatures and
draws them close to Torah.” The Lev Simcha of Gur zy”a used to say that
through loving someone, that itself can bring them closer to Hashem.
The Ahavas Yisrael of Vizhnitz zy”a once moved to a city in which lived
many Jews who were very distant from the Torah, as well as many who
opposed him. People asked him how he is going to deal with these
people? Answered the Ahavas Yisrael, “I will love them and love them so
much until they will all do Teshuvah!” And so it happened.
This is applicable to all of us, and also to each person in relationship
with themselves. Everyone has to love the good points that they have.
Through the path of loving yourself you will come to repent and to do
Teshuvah, as Rav Nachman taught in his famous teaching of “Azamra”
(Likutei Moharan 1:282) which talks about focusing on the good points
in oneself and in others. Reb Nosson once asked one of his students,
whom he noticed was not listening to the lesson of “Azamra” with
enthusiasm when he was once teaching it because he had already heard
it many times before: “How many people did you bring closer to Hashem
through this teaching? The sign of one who has really fulfilled this lesson
of Rav Nachman is if he properly brought people to do Teshuva through
it, or if he himself did Teshuvah because of it.”
(Excerpt from a shiur on Pirkei Avos 5782)
The Importance of Having a Good Friend in Avodas Hashem
,‫ ושאינה תלויה בדבר‬.‫ בטלה אהבה‬,‫ בטל דבר‬,‫"כל אהבה שהיא תלויה בדבר‬
.‫ זו אהבת אמנון ותמר‬,‫ איזו היא אהבה התלויה בדבר‬.‫אינה בטלה לעולם‬
".‫ זו אהבת דויד ויהונתן‬,‫ושאינה תלויה בדבר‬
(‫ משנה טז‬,'‫ פרק ה‬,‫)פרקי אבות‬
“A love that is dependent on something, when the thing ceases the
love also ceases. But a love that is not dependent on anything never
ceases. Which is a love that is dependent on something? The love of
Amnon and Tamar. And one that is not dependent on anything? The
love of Dovid and Yehonoson.” (Pirkei Avos, 5:16)
Chazal teach us (Avos d’Reb Nosson, Ch.8) that a friend is considered a
good friend if you can “eat and drink with them, and reveal to them all your
secrets”. It is a great merit for one to have a good, true and trustworthy
friend who can constantly give them chizuk and encouragement and
who helps them out when necessary. This is especially true for help,
advice and encouragement pertaining to avodas Hashem. (A true good
friend is one who helps him with his eternal good and his ultimate
purpose, not just for matters in this transient world.) The Beis Yisroel
of Gur zy”a would explain the statement of Chazal, “One who works on
becoming pure and holy is assisted and helped”, that it means they assist
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him in finding a good friend. We know that the Beis Yisroel would often
give brachos to people that they should merit to have good friends who
will assist them in their avodas Hashem, and conversely that they should
not chas v’shalom have bad friends who could lower their level in serving
Hashem, G-d forbid.
In the Sefer Nesivos Shalom from the Slonimer Rebbe, Rav Sholom Noach
Berezovsky ztz”l, there is a long, amazing explanation and discussion
about the greatness of ahavas chaveirim (loving one’s friends). It is
worthwhile to learn what is written inside the Nesivos Shalom, as we
have not seen another Sefer that explains this concept with such clarity
and breadth.
Reb Hillel Paritcher zy”a once complained to the Mittler Rebbe zy”a of
Lubavitch that he cannot find a suitable friend for him who could help
him in avodas Hashem. The Mittler Rebbe told him that if you do not find
a friend who you feel is on your level, then you should take as your friend
any Jew with whom you can discuss avodas Hashem! [Reb Nosson of
Breslov zy”a also writes (Likutei Halachos, Hil. Tefillin, Halocho 2) that
the nekudas he’chaver (“point of the friend”) that is brought in Likutei
Moharan I:34 corresponds to the knot of the Tefillin at the back of
the Tefillah Shel Rosh, which has no Parshiyos. (This differs from the
Nekudas Ha’Rav and the Nekudas Atzmo that correspond to the two
Batim of the Tefillin, and both contain Parshiyos.) The indication here
is that one does not need a friend who has great Mochin (intellectual
prowess), but rather the main thing is that they should have the point
of a deep and mutual connection with one another, which is hinted at by
the Kesher Shel Rosh.]
There was an important Slonimer chassid who merited to eat the seudos
of Shabbos with complete ecstasy, elevated spirits and with great
dveykus, to the point where his eyes would shed copious tears out of
his deep dveykus and connection to Hashem while eating the Shabbos
seudos. This is not a simple level at all to achieve. When asked how he
merited such high levels of dveykus and hashra’as elokus (spiritual
awareness and feeling) during the seudos of Shabbos, he replied that
he has a good friend who works together with him in avodas Hashem,
and through that he merits such levels of hashra’as elokus. We see from
this how having a good friend to assist one in one’s avodas Hashem can
bring a person to such high levels of dveykus and hashra’as elokus, just
as hiskashrus (“binding oneself”) to the Tzaddikim brings one to true
dveykus and to a real, firm and permanent bond with HaKodosh Boruch
Hu. May we all be worthy of finding a truly good friend with whom we can
work to grow daily, meaningfully and correctly in our avodas Hashem.
(De’i Chochmoh L’Nafshecho, Parshas Bamidbar 5782, p. 57-58)
8