Likkutei Sichot - Volume 29

Introduction The Alter Rebbe taughtKovetz Michtovim [printed in] Tehillim, Ohel Yosef Yitzchak, p. 193; Hayom Yom, entry 25 Elul. The teaching was conveyed in the name of his mentor, the Maggid of Mezritch. that, in contrast to other months which are bles...

Introduction It was a moment that impacted our people’s spiritual history for centuries: Antigonus of Socho taught his students, Avos 1:3. “Do not be like servants serving the master for the sake of a reward. Rather, be like servants who serve their maste...

Introduction This week’s Torah reading contains the commandment for the Jews to build the Beis HaMikdash when they settle in Eretz Yisrael. In the sichah to follow, the Rebbe develops one of his frequent themes, comparing the Beis HaMikdash and the Mishka...

Introduction Our Rabbis Rashi, Berachos 13b. explain that the words “G‑d is one” in the Shema do not mean only that there is one G‑d, but that G‑d is one throughout all existence, that His unity encompasses the heavens above and all the four directions of...

Higher Levels on Mount Moriah; Ascending Plateaus of Holiness In Hilchos Beis HaBechirah, the Rambam writes: Ch. 6, hal. 1-4. The [Beis Ha]Mikdash was not built on a level plane, but rather on the incline of the mountain. A per­son who entered the eastern...

The Extent of Damage Necessary to Disqualify the Stones of the Altar and the Beis HaMikdash In Hilchos Beis HaBechirah 1:14, the Rambam states: Whenever a stone has become damaged to the extent that one’s fin­gernail would become caught in it [when passin...

The Torah portion Shoftim begins with the statement:Devarim 16:18. “Appoint yourselves judges and police” — “Justices who rule on matters of law, and police who insure that the judgments are carried out.”Rashi , Devarim, ibid. See also Tanchuma, Shoftim 2...

In the beginning of the Torah portion Vayeilech, Moshe tells the Jewish people that it is time to hand over the reigns of leadership to Yehoshua, for “Today I am 120 years old and I can no longer go out and come.”Devarim 31:2. RashiIbid. explains that thi...

The TargumTargum Onkelos ; similarly in Targum Yonasan. renders the phrase in the portion of Nitzavim “G-d will circumcise your heart,”Devarim 30:6. to mean “the foolishness of your heart.” The Targum does so to forestall the following question: “Circumci...

The body is the vessel of the soul, yet it elevates the soul to the greatest heights.