1. [One of the participants suggested to the chassidim standing around the table that one of them should say Kiddush aloud, and thereby enable all the listeners {to answer Amen and} to discharge their obligation for Kiddush. In response, the Rebbe said:]
In the Kiddush of Simchas Torah, the object of the Shehecheyanu blessing is the Torah1 – and when it comes to Torah, no individual can enable another to rely on his efforts and discharge his personal obligation by proxy. Indeed, it would be good if every individual were to discharge at least his own obligation [to study Torah]!
2. It is implied in the commentaries on the Zohar and in the works of Kabbalah that singing a niggun is superior2 to speaking, because a niggun enables the melding of one’s soul-levels, [i.e., the conscious levels of one’s soul with its transcendent levels].3 However, this is not attained just by [consciously] singing; rather, the singing must happen spontaneously4 – and this happens when one’s soul surfaces. In such a case, the singing causes the [various levels of] souls to unite with each other. And that is brought about by means of Kiddush, which unites the irradiation of the soul with its essence.5
So now we ought to sing together a niggun that will permeate our very beings.
3. [Observing that someonewas handing out pieces of sponge cake to those who had made Kiddush and had said LeChayim!, the Rebbe said:]
One should give generously. I recall that one Simchas Torah, R. Mordechai Dubin was handing out pieces of challah of the size that a generous person gives. At that time, one of the recipients was in particular need of help from Above, so I too gave him some challah. That was for a certain spiritual reason, but R. Mordechai Dubin gave out challah in the way that a generous person gives. At that moment in particular I relished the concept of generosity. A gift that is given by an openhanded person becomes a vessel for success in all matters. However, in order that this potential blessing should come down and be expressed in practical particulars, the recipient must proactively draw it down, just as the sowing of a seed arouses the soil’s potential to promote growth.
At the time, this thought reminded me of my father’s [mystical] interpretation of the verse that says, טוֹב עַיִן הוּא יְבֹרָךְ – “A person with a good eye (that is, ‘with a generous eye’) shall be blessed.”6 [By reading the verb יְבֹרָךְ as a transitive verb (יְבָרֵךְ), the Sages unveil a coded subtext:] “A person with a good eye (that is, ‘with a generous eye’) shall bless.”7 [Now, הוּא יְבָרֵךְ normally means “he shall bless,” but in the forthcoming derush, the word הוּא is regarded not as the subject of the verb (“he shall bless”), but as its object. Moreover, Chassidus points out that the root ברך means not only “giving a blessing,” but also “drawing down.” Hence, in the mystical interpretation of the Rebbe Rashab], the phrase tells us that a person with a generous eye blesses – draws down – Hu (“Him”)! And since the word Hu signifies the very Essence of the Hidden Infinite One,8 it is G‑d Himself that the person with a generous eye reveals.
A father’s love for his son is intrinsic. He has only his child in mind, and that is what defines him as a father.9
It is hard to say [the following words], because we speak with fleshly lips and with fleshly words. [That said,] it is well known10 that fulfilling the commandment that “you shall love your fellow as yourself”11 is a means towards fulfilling the commandment that “you shall love the L‑rd your G‑d.”12 And in fact, the obligation to love a fellow Jew is even loftier – just as [the Kabbalah teaches that] the source of the spiritual “vessels” is [paradoxically] loftier than the source of the spiritual “lights.” Now, Jews are called G‑d’s sons, as in the phrase, “you are the children of the L‑rd your G‑d.”13 However, His love is veiled, and it takes a person with a generously loving eye to unveil it.
That concept crystallized in my mind while I observed how R. Mordechai Dubin handed out helpings of challah with a generous eye.
My father’s interpretation of the verse about “a person with a good eye” which I quoted just now,14 I heard when R. Shilem [Kuratin]15 was drafted for military service. At that time my father told him: “You are going to be exempted anyway. It’s only that the spark of Tohu that is destined to be refined and elevated by you must proceed via the regional conscription office, in order that the sparks of Tohu for their part should give their consent.”
Apart from him, not a single Jew was listed in all those conscription offices: they all existed only in order that R. Shilem should go through that route.
[The Rebbe Rayatz concluded his talk as follows:] The above-mentioned sponge cake is superior to all other sponge cakes by virtue of the fact that it generated the discussion of “a generous eye.” The Zohar likewise describes in detail the circumstances in which a particular teaching was first articulated, because that teaching came to light precisely by virtue of those circumstances.
4. “Living” and “reliving” are two distinctly-defined terms that people use in conversation. “Living” is defined by its time, its place and its circumstances, and those three factors also determine how a person lives. And if he is truly alive [in that time, place and circumstance], he will later be able to relive that experience.
A person sometimes relives only in terms of time, because he is still in the same place as he was originally; sometimes one relives not only in terms of time but also in terms of place; but there are also situations in which reliving an experience must make one alive. This concept can be wondrously sensed and grasped by those who are deeply engrossed in the study of Chassidus.
This is no time for a detailed discussion of the above subject, because right now, [on the highly-charged eve of Simchas Torah,] we are in the midst of [the bustling atmosphere of] a regional market day, so to speak.
5. We are not here because this is our kind of country or town or courtyard. We have no connection whatever with this place or this environment. However, Divine Providence brought us here, so there is a purpose involved. Divine Providence brought us wandering Jews to America in order to warm up the entire environment16 with the light of the Torah.
Every Jew must commit himself to actual self-sacrifice – with his body, and with his nefesh and ruach and neshamah – for the dissemination of Torah. Every individual must utterly dedicate himself in whatever way he can – with his mind and his understanding, with his head and his heart and his speech – to simply treading from house to house in order to enroll children in the kosher Talmud Torah schools and the kosher yeshivos.
Every mitzvah comprises an aspect of aseh, which is what the mitzvah commands us to do, and an aspect of lo saaseh, which is what the mitzvah commands us not to do. Thus, the prohibitive aspect of the mitzvah that “you shall teach [the words of the Torah] to your children”17 is that one is not permitted to entrust his children to male and female teachers who eat treife food and desecrate Shabbos. The positive aspect of that mitzvah is that one is obligated to give his children the kosher education that can be provided by male and female teachers who do observe the Torah and its commandments.
Fellow Jews! Fathers and mothers! Save your little sons and daughters from the treife Talmud Torah schools! Enroll them in the kosher Talmud Torah schools – and you will be blessed with healthy and genuinely Jewish children.
This is wartime, and people must realize that this war is a spiritual battle. True, the President is a great personality, his leading figures in every field are dedicated to the good of humanity, and enormous sums are being expended – but all of that is insufficient. This is a spiritual battle.
Every morning, people hurry to their newspapers to hear what is happening. However, if they want to know how things are holding in the physical war, they should take a look at how things are holding in the spiritual war. One should check the news as to how successful is the spiritual battle – the battle to save Jewish children.
In wartime, if an ordinary private forestalls the explosion of even a small bomb, he is awarded a medal. He can thus gain more in wartime than a general can gain in times of peace. And displacing a treife teacher before he causes spiritual damage to his pupils is just like neutralizing a bomb before it explodes.
6. After King Shaul spared the choicest of the sheep [of Amalek] and said, “I have fulfilled the word of G‑d,” the Prophet Shmuel replied, “You have rejected the word of G‑d.”18 What a polar difference between those two statements!
Shaul had wanted to offer the choicest sheep of Amalek as sacrifices to G‑d, but Shmuel told him: “Obedience is superior to sacrifice,” and indeed, offering such sacrifices would be a rejection of G‑d’s command.
[To express this contrast in Kabbalistic terms:] Shaul was a maskil,19 who came from Rechovos HaNahar, “the broad places of the river,”20 so he went to ask the prophet about [his father’s strayed] asses.21
It is true that in Epistle 22 of Tanya – Iggeres HaKodesh the Alter Rebbe [queries the custom of seeking advice on mundane matters from sages other than actual prophets, such as Shmuel the Seer, whereas consulting a prophet can be justified]. Nevertheless, a maskil is someone who seeks advice about asses, whereas the very name “Shmuel” (שְׁמוּאֵל) spells the words ,שְׁמוֹ אֵ-ל22 [which mean that “his name is G‑d”].
Shmuel was the son of Chanah (חַנָּה) and Elkanah (אֶלְקָנָה). [At this point, the original embarks on a complex and untranslatable exposition of the Kabbalistic implications of those two names.]
There are those who hold that one’s main concern ought to be other [i.e., secular] disciplines, and that Torah ought to be studied as well. However, although they claim that “I have fulfilled the word of G‑d,” in fact concerning them it is said, “You have rejected the word of G‑d.”18 Nevertheless, the two cases are different. We are outright opposed to the treife Talmud Torah schools, whereas expressing opposition to the part-time-Torah yeshivos is not our main concern. That said, the charge that “you have rejected the word of G‑d” applies to them nevertheless.
7. All fulltime Torah scholars23 and businessmen have a holy obligation to devote an hour every day to disseminate the public study of Torah. (I am not referring specifically to boosting my yeshivos, but to all kosher yeshivos.) This obligation should be undertaken with actual self-sacrifice, which should likewiseapply to one’s own daily study session.
In particular, let me address myself directly to the students of the [senior] yeshivos: You must offer a gift to G‑d,24 by devoting an hour every day to teaching children.
Doing so will bring those yeshivah students success [in their own studies].They will assuredly not be like those who, when they are dispatched [as shluchim] to some place, stipulate specific conditions. (In the Old Country, such people were described by a certain inelegant nickname.)
No one can decorate himself with epaulets,25 and when they are granted by another, the wearer can’t remove them himself.
The Mitteler Rebbe speaks of elevating the Divine sparks that are hidden in the native language of one’s host country. [Hence, to revert to what we said above about teaching others:] One should address the listener in plain words, and (Excuse me!) one must explain things to him.26 One must warm up the public domain and create one’s own environment.
Concerning the Prophet Shmuel it is written [that he went to a certain place] “for his home was there,”27 and on this the Sages comment that “wherever he went, his household was with him.”28 In whatever place he arrived, he brought his environment with him, and brought a stranger into his environment. He did not conduct himself like those who visit someone in his home and derive some benefit from him, and then the host becomes the dominant party. That’s the Polish custom. Instead, one must bring one’s fellow Jew into one’s own environment.
8. Many hidden things have been revealed recently, but there is more, in fact a great deal more, that cannot be made public. A great deal was lost in the last year.29 May G‑d grant that what was lost last year should be gained this year, as well as this year’s additions.
Let me suggest, albeit hesitantly, that everyone should keep a journal in which he should jot down what he had done each day with regard to opening up Torah study to the public.
9. What I am about to say is not being said on my own initiative, but because I was made a shaliach to speak forcefully.30 So let me now proclaim so forcefully that it will be heard in every corner of huge America’s hullaballoo – that every individual should devote himself to the dissemination of Torah with self-sacrifice that is not only potential, but real. This we must do with our body, with our nefesh and ruach and neshamah, with our feet and our heart and our head, each individual according to his capacity. One person can work via his feet, by going from house to house and enrolling children in Talmud Torah schools. Another person can work via his heart and head, by persuading people verbally, and so on.
With regard to shlichus in the time of Moshe Rabbeinu, we learn that [after the people assured him that they willingly accepted the command of G‑d], “Moshe returned the people’s words” [to G‑d, Who had dispatched him].31 In the same way, in order to enable me to report back concerning my shlichus, I would like every individual here to indicate whether he is committing himself to devote time every day, with self-sacrifice, to work for the dissemination of Torah.
Just as in the Beis HaMikdash [the participation of particular kohanim in certain sacred duties was indicated] by raising a finger, let every man of valor here, whose heart is irradiated by the awe of G‑d,32 now raise a finger.
[At this point every man present raised a finger, and the Rebbe looked at each face individually.]
Fifty years ago, at the time of my bar-mitzvah, my father gave me three instructions – not to fool myself, not to fool others, and not to allow myself to be fooled by others. And all three instructions were to be fulfilled without being conspicuous. For the last fifty years I have been working on them, month by month, week by week and day by day. So I can’t be fooled.
I… What am I? This entire “I” is merely a “What?”33 I don’t want to speak about this with regard to myself, but only insofar as it affects the public. Hence: Those who think that they are fooling me, even in the subtlest way, need to be told that they are mistaken. I recognize them. And when it occasionally occurs that they are not recognized, that information reaches me from other sources. My revered father once told R. Yaakov Landau that one can transform even an inborn faculty,34 to the point that something that one does not desire should not even be heard.35
We are about to begin Hakkafos, during which every individual holds the Etz Chayim rods of a sefer Torah. Since the scroll cannot circle the bimah unaided, the person holding it serves as its feet. Now, holding a Torah scroll while taking an oath in a Rabbinic Court is the ultimate confirmation of that oath. [Significantly, holding a holy object at such a time is called (in Aramaic) nekitas cheftza, and in the Holy Tongue, the latter word (חֵפֶץ) means not only “an object” but also “something that is desired,” as in the words of G‑d] with regard to the Torah, cheftzi bah – “I delight in it.”36 Thus, holding a sefer Torah during Hakkafos expresses one’s solemn and self-sacrificing commitment to the above-discussed avodah.
Moreover, the avodah of disseminating Torah study publicly is a means to make the triumphant banner of David flourish, causing that banner of our Righteous Mashiach to begin to flourish within this year.
10. Today is Simchas Torah, the Rejoicing of the Torah of Life. At this time, all the supernal angels have been entrusted with the mission of listening with eager ears to every word uttered by a Jew who is encouraging someone to study Torah. They are listening to every word of mutual blessing that Jews utter.
LeChayim! May this be a year of life – a year in which people willfeel the vitality that comes from G‑d, and will sense the elevation of the triumphant banner of David, which is the banner of our Righteous Mashiach.
A person does not feel his vitality, though he does feel the spiritual emotions of love and awe. If [his head] feels that he has a hand or a foot, this shows that that other organ is ailing. Vitality, being alive, is not felt: it is experienced as a matter of course.
Let me wish you my LeChayim, and you will all respond, LeChayim veliVerachah – “To life and blessings!”
11. There is a presumption in the halachah that one’s agent may be relied upon to have fulfilled his mission.37
Once, at a yechidus on Yud-Beis Tammuz, 5669 (1909), I was privileged to hear the following from my revered father:
The soul’s descent in a body is a mission, a shlichus, which the Essence of the Infinite One38 gives each neshamah to fulfill in the world. When that shaliach fulfills its shlichus – by diffusing Torah and avodah and ahavas Yisrael – in accordance with the Divine Will, it thereby (so to speak) adds power and light to the Divine power. This is the mystical meaning of the above-quoted Talmudic teaching about a presumption, a chazakah (חֲזָקָה). When that soul-shaliach carries out its shlichus, the result is חזק"ה. That soul-shaliach (as it were) strengthens (חזק) the letter ה', the fourth letter of the Name of G‑d, which represents Malchus, [the lowest Sefirah,] by drawing down the power of Atzmus into it.
This is hinted at in the phrase, “Her feet [as a metaphor for the lowest Sefirah, namely, Malchus] descend”39 [to This World], level by level, so that the loftiest intent of Atzmus will be sensed even at the world’s lowest spiritual levels.
Years ago, before telegraph access became widespread, urgent messages were transmitted by a horseback courier. As he approached each town, bystanders would discuss his various possible missions, because it was clear to all that he was no doubt on a mission that involved critical life issues.
My coming to you in America is likewise a courier-mission – to arouse and motivate people to make Torah widespread in America, so that it will become a place of Torah and mitzvos.
By way of due preparation for dancing with the Torah, let it be publicly announced that all those who intend to work for the dissemination of Torah study in a G‑d-fearing spirit should raise a finger. Here is my wine, to be distributed among all those who have raised a finger and to all those who intend to do so. Then, G‑d willing, after Yom-Tov, all their names and their mothers’ names should be listed and handed to me.
12. One Simchas Torah – I think it was either in 5659 (1898) or 5663 (1902) – my father was in very happy spirits. That Sukkos he held many farbrengens and delivered sichos every day, and at Hakkafos on that Simchas Torah he said: “The following maamar dates from the Alter Rebbe’s first arrival to Mezritch. His [concise] maamarim at that time were known as verter, even though each such vort (lit., ‘word’) conveyed an entire teaching.”
It is written: אַתָּה הָרְאֵתָ לָדַעַת, כִּי הֲוָיָ' הוּא הָאֱלֹקִים, אֵין עוֹד מִלְּבַדּוֹ. [At the straightforward level of pshat, this means: “You (i.e., the Jewish People) were shown (the revelations at Sinai) so that you will know that G‑d is the L‑rd; there is nothing aside from Him.”40 Those words the Alter Rebbe interpreted on the non-literal and mystical levels of derush and sod, as follows:]
אַתָּה – You, Atzmus Ein-Sof (the infinite Essence of G‑d)…
– הָרְאֵתָhave shown [or: “have shown Yourself,” as if the Yid. translation did not read host bavizn but host-zich bavizn41]…
לָדַעַת – that even created and embodied beings can know and intellectually grasp G‑dly concepts, particularly by comprehending…
הֲוָיָ' הוּא הָאֱלֹקִים – that Havayah is Elokim;i.e., that nature [itself] is supernatural. G‑d’s intent in creating nature is that mortals should grasp intellectually that…
אֵין עוֹד מִלְּבַדּוֹ – there is nothing aside from Him.
13. [This section consists of acomplex Kabbalistic interpretation of the verse, לְעֹשֵׂה נִפְלָאוֹת גְּדֹלוֹת לְבַדּוֹ, כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ.42 The verse literally means, “{Thankfully acknowledge} Him Who alone performs great wonders, for His kindness is everlasting.”43 Its mystical message describes the role of the 30 keilim of the seven Sefiros in the creation of the world.]
14. It is written, [כִּי מִצִּיּוֹן תֵּצֵא תוֹרָה, [וּדְבַר ה' מִירוּשָׁלָיִם – “For the Torah shall go forth from Zion, [and the word of G‑d from Jerusalem].”44Nowadays, Zion and Jerusalem are in mourning and despised,45 because of the over-eager [and godless] activists,46 the defiant maapilim-Jews,47 who do not believe in the Coming of Mashiach. What we pray for is a genuine Zion and Jerusalem, a pure Zion and a pure Jerusalem. As for those for whom teshuvah is within reach, may they repent. And as for those for whom teshuvah is not an option [unless a reminder comes from Above], we don’t meddle in situations that are in [His] authority.48
May G‑d grant that [salvation] should come with loving-kindness and mercy, and without suffering, G‑d forbid. After all, He is omnipotent. May the prophecy be realized, that “the Torah shall go forth from Zion and the word of G‑d from Jerusalem,”44 in the immediate future, Amen!
15. [The Rebbe asked: “What’s doing with our comrades?”49 After someone answered that an announcement had been made downstairs in the beis midrash and that there were now additional chaveirim, the Rebbe said:]
My fondly cherished students! There ought to be more and more chaveirim who commit themselves to avodah and to work on themselves. Every individual who is seriously involved in Torah study and in avodah has a personal spiritual obligation to explain this [to others].
One should work every day in the cause of Torah. If not, then such a day is (G‑d forbid) a dead day, a day that is missing from the year’s 365 days. The phrase, arichus yamim, literally means “a length of days,” that is, days and years in quantity. However, the true meaning of arichus yamim is that one’s days should be [lengthy, i.e.,] filled. [In this spirit, the Torah describes the passage of Avraham Avinu from This World to the next with a phrase that literally means that] “he came with days.”50 And like him, one ought to be able to give an accounting of days filled with accomplishment.
There can conceivably be gray-bearded elders who are still such toddlers that they can freely walk about under the table. I don’t mean to disparage their stature, because stature is precisely what they are lacking…
Fish live in the water because it is in that element that they can live. As soon as they leave the sea they die, because water is the source of their vitality. So, too, the source of our vitality as Jews is the Torah, and the fulfillment of its laws is what defines us.
The very same words are being said and repeated [by me] at every opportunity, but what is called for here is actual work – starting from today, without delay, with utter self-dedication, to make Torah widespread.
Whoever saves one child from a treife Talmud Torah school and enrolls him in a kosher one has saved an entire world.
As everyone knows, when one says Shema Yisrael before retiring for the night on Simchas Torah, he should make a commitment to devote his body and ruach and neshamah, to the point of self-sacrifice – to disseminating [the study and observance of] the Torah. Indeed, that commitment should constitute his entire raison d’être.
[My] present anguish is deep-seated. We Chabad chassidim cannot and may not be satisfied with superficial avodah. Such a norm arouses extreme pain and profound shame. Our spiritual endeavors have deteriorated considerably. People do listen to [the Chassidus being delivered]; they do take note of the very words and quote them repeatedly; and if someone draws attention to the omission of a word during chazarah, he is pleased with himself and so are his fellow listeners. However, so it appears, the desired end-product of those teachings – namely, practical hands-on avodah – doesn’t materialize.
The elder baalei avodah used to label that [disappointment] by borrowing the phrase, “Clouds, wind – but no rain.”51 A person can sing a Chabad melody, and clap his hands, and stamp his feet – but the obstinate rooster doesn’t budge…
