הפטורה: וְאִשָּׁה - בְּנָהּ וַתֵּצֵא.

The haftarah [for Parshas Vayeira] begins Ve’ishah and ends bnah vateitzei (II Melachim 4:1-37).

דִי נְשָׁמָה וואַרט אוֹיבּעֶן אוֹיף דעֶם זְמַן, וועֶן זִי וועֶט זוֹכֶה זַיין אַראָפּגעֶהן אִין אַ גוּף, וַוייל דִי נְשָׁמָה פִילט, וואָס זִי קעֶן אוֹיפטאָן זַייעֶנדִיק דאָ לְמַטָה. זִי קעֶן קוּמעֶן צוּ דעֶם לְהִתְעַנֵג עַל הֲוָיָ'. אִיז אוֹיף וועֶן לֵייגט מעֶן עֶס אָפּ?

In the spiritual realm, the soul awaits the time when it will be granted the merit of descending into a body, because the soul appreciates what it can accomplish down here [on the material plane]. It can arrive at a true delight in G‑dliness. How long, then, are we going to postpone this delight?1

To Fill In the Background

The spiritual realm is called “the World of Truth,” because nothing there prevents us from seeing reality as it is. The soul knows what is truly valuable — the connection with G‑d that can be achieved by serving Him in this world. Thus, it awaits the opportunity to descend and do so. However, when it finally descends into this world, it loses its clear perception and becomes distracted, imagining worthless trifles to be valuable. The above teaching provides us, so to speak, with the glasses to correct our faulty vision, as well as the impetus to move forward.

*

In the sichah from which this teaching is taken, the Rebbe Rayatz recalls that his father, the Rebbe Rashab, asked its concluding rhetorical question — “How long, then, are we going to postpone this delight?” — at the engagement celebration of the Rebbe Rayatz in 1896. The Rebbe Rashab then said that a foolish chassid postpones delighting in G‑dliness, expecting it only after his 120 years on earth. But in truth, he said, the term “foolish chassid” is a misnomer, because a fool cannot be a chassid and a chassid is certainly not a fool. Indeed, anyone who postpones experiencing this spiritual delight is much more fool than chassid.