Pinchas: A Sicha Part 2 Read Part 1 here. But How is He Going to Make a living? It’s a fair question. Your shvigger asked the question about you and your wife will ask it about your future son-in-law. The simple answer is: G-d wants us to have a relationship with materialism and yet remain above it all. Now we can understand why the issue with Pe’or happened before entering the land of Israel after the first generation of Jews in the…
Pinchas: A Sicha Part One :וְהָיְתָה לּוֹ וּלְזַרְעוֹ אַחֲרָיו בְּרִית כְּהֻנַּת עוֹלָם תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר קִנֵּא לֵאלֹקיו וַיְכַפֵּר עַל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל “It shall be for him and for his descendants after him [as] an eternal covenant of kehunah, because he was zealous for his G-d and atoned for the children of Israel.” (Pinchas 25:13) The situation with Pinchas happened after the Jewish people began sinning with the Moabite women and doing serving idols (avoda zara) of Ba’al Pe’or with them. Rashi tells us that…
Part Two: Conceptual Background to Part Two: I. Elokeinu means, “our G-d.” In Chassidus, “Elokeinu” also is the type of relationship G-d has with us. He chooses to relate to the world as a king, i.e., Melech Ha’Olam (King of the universe), He chooses to relate to us as a father as well. As a general principle, in Chassidus, “Elokeinu” means “our strength and our vitality.” In Hebrew it’s “kocheinu v’chayuseinu,” which connotes our physical life itself, our energy, enthusiasm, life dedication, etc., as explained at…
Part Five: This Car Has Good Handling ה) וְזֶהוּ ״יְהִי הַוֲיֶ’ אֱלֹקֵינוּ עִמָּנוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר הָיָה עִם אֲבוֹתֵינוּ,״ This then is the meaning of, “May G-d, our G-d be with us just as He was with our forefathers.” דְּבֲּעַבוֹדַת הָאָבוֹת מּוּדְגָשִׁים שְׁנֵי עִנְיָנִים הַנִזְכָּרִים לְעֵיל The Forefathers’ service to G-d underscored the two types of humility we mentioned earlier (self-sacrifice as result of a decision vs. self-sacrifice as a result of being humbled by G-dliness). שֶׁקִיְימוּ כָּל הַתּוֹרָה עַד שֶׁלֹא נִיתְּנָה, דְבָּזֶה מוּדְגָשׁ שֶׁעַבוֹדָתָם הָיְתָה (לֹא מִפְּנֵי…
Part Four: Understanding the Language, Shedding Light on a Deeper Reality Translation and Integrated Translation of the Ma’amer ד) דְּהִנֵה לָשׁוֹן ״עִם״ שַׁיָיךְ כְּשְׁיֵשׁ דִמְיוֹן בֵּין שְׁנֵי הַדְבָרִים. כְּדְרָשַׁת רַבֹּתֵנוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה, עֲל הַפָּסוּק וְהִתְיַצְּבוּ שָׁם עִמָּךְ, עִמָּךְ בְּדוֹמִין לָךְ The use of the word “with” is relevant only when there is a relationship between the different elements at play. For example, on the verse where G-d tells Moshe Rabeinu (BeHa’alos’cho, 11:16), “…And have them [the seventy elders] stand there…
Part Three: Personal Relationship With the Divine. Humility and Self-Sacrifice “ג) דְהִינֵה הַטַעֲם עֲל זֶה שׁהַיִרְאָה בָּאָה בּעִיקָר עֲל-יְדֵי עֲבוֹדַת הָאָדָם, יֵשׁ לוֹמַר, כִּי יִרְאָה הִיא בִּיטוּל. וּבְּפְרַט יִרְאַת הַמֶלֶךְ, ״שֹוֹם תָּשִֹים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ״ שֶׁתְּהֵא אֵימָתוֹ עָלֶיךָ The reason why fear is specifically a result of our personal effort is, that fear is humility: especially the fear associated with a king. A possible reason why fear is humility can be understood by the following. Fear is, as defined in Chassidus, the…
Y’hi Hashem Elokeinu Imonu; Parshas Korach, Gimmel Tammuz, 5724 (1964) Historical Background to the Ma’amer: This ma’amer is based on the Frierdiker Rebbe’s sicha of 5687 (1927). The Frierdiker Rebbe delivered this sicha after being incarcerated for nineteen days at the Spalerno fortress, before being sent to exile in Kostroma. At the station, before boarding the train car, the Frierdiker Rebbe turned to the chassidim who had come to bid him farewell and delivered the sicha. (Days In Chabad, Kaminetzky & Cohen,…