Doing good for an ulterior motive isn’t always such a bad thing… Moshe Rabbeinu reminds the Jewish people about the time they believed the scouts’ report about Eretz Yisroel. He tells them that their children, who didn’t take part in that episode would merit to enter the Land. “[Furthermore,] your young children, [about whom] you said, ‘They will be prey,’ and your children who on that day did not know good and evil, they will go there and I will give…
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…
II. G’ula The Frierdiker Rebbe’s redemption on the 12th and 13th of Tammuz came about as a result of being imprisoned. A redemption happens only when there is first some form of imprisonment—and even in his imprisonment, the Frierdiker Rebbe had everyone in mind. The Frierdiker Rebbe incarcerated in the stead of others. In fact, his imprisonment wasn’t because of some personal reason— he was put in jail for spreading Torah and protecting mitzvos. Every Jew in that time a…
I. What is a leader? Simply put, a Jewish leader, the leader of the generation is a neshoma klollis, which means that the majority of his life is dedicated to his non-personal life— he’s life is dedicated to his mekushorim. When the Frierdiker Rebbe wanted to have a sefer Torah written to greet Moshiach, he wanted all Jews to partake in his endeavor. He said that although he could afford the parchment, the ink and the writing, he wanted every…
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…
Here, the Alter Rebbe explains how to have ahavas olam, eternal love. The general definition of ahavas olam, is a love that it’s based on one’s understanding of the greatness of G-d, that is, His Creatorship, Kingship, etc. Since it is a love based on understanding, there are two (basic) ramifications: 1. It is limited, like the mind from where the love was born and the subject which was contemplated (existence). a. Subject to change, for better or for worse. 2. It is…
The dew that fell in the desert to cushion the monn is the same [type of?] dew that will revive the dead. Likkutei Torah parshas Eikev.
This is an explanation from the Rebbe in this week’s parsha in the sixth aliyah. The first possuk was, “Sh’ma Yisroel…” arguably the most important possuk in the entirety of Torah, Jews, monotheism, etc. The second possuk is, “VeOhavto es Hashem Elokecho…(And you shall love Hashem, your personal G-d).” The Rashi explains that a person who serves their teacher/master out of awe does so in a stressed out way: he’ll bring whatever his teacher/master wants and departs immediately. The Rebbe explains further, adding that the…
Likkutei Sichos, vol. 19, page 42 “And the man Moshe was extremely humble, more than any person on the face of the earth.” Beha’alos’cha, 12:3 If the prerequisite to learning Torah properly is humility, and Moshe was the most humble of all men, then Moshe Rabbeinu learned the Torah the best. So, when Moshe Rabbeinu transmitted the Torah to us a second time from himself (“mipi atzmo”), not as a direct transmission from G-d, we know that his understanding and his…