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Delivered on the 4th Day of Chol HaMoed Sukkos Wednesday, the 19th of Tishrei, 5761 (Excerpts from the book Likutei Halachos are in bold type) “And this is the meaning of
the verse “And they cried to Hashem” that we say in the psalm ‘Hodu’
[Tehillim 107] as Shabbos begins. That is the time for lengthening
the Shabbos day by accepting it earlier than the actual sunset. ‘They ascended
to the heavens, they descended to the abyss.’ That is the time to raise
up all the worlds.” (Likutei Halachos, Orach Chayim, Eruvei
Techumin 5:41, explaining Likutei Moharan II:5)
“Ascribe to Hashem, oh you mighty. Ascribe to Hashem glory and strength. Give to Hashem the glory due to His Name; worship Hashem in the beauty of holiness. The voice of Hashem is upon the waters. The G–d of glory thunders, Hashem is upon many waters. The voice of Hashem is powerful; the voice of Hashem is full of majesty. The voice of Hashem breaks the cedars; Hashem breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them also skip like a calf; Lebanon and Siryon like a young wild ox. The voice of Hashem splits the flames of fire. The voice of Hashem shakes the wilderness; Hashem shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of Hashem makes the hinds to calve, and strips the forests bare. And in His Temple, everyone speaks of His glory.”Hashem made such sounds; they shook the entire world. All the mountains were uprooted. One must also make such sounds that uproot the mountains—that uproot all of one’s foreign concepts, all of the opinions that one used to hold, and all of one’s habits. “Go out from your land and from your birthplace, and from your father’s house” (Bereishis 12:1). Leave your habits, leave your birthplace—your lusts—the birthplace refers to desires. Go out from your desires, from Ur Kasdim. “And Haran died during his father, Terach’s, lifetime, in the land of his birth in Ur Kasdim” (Bereishis 11:28). Hashem should have mercy—this verse in the Torah is the biggest wonder! There are whole Midrashim, full pages in all of the books of Midrash—in the Midrash Tanchuma, the Midrash Rabbah, the Midrash HaGadol, and others. There are pages upon pages about this. A man leaps into a fiery furnace; do you know what it means to jump into a fiery furnace? He leaped into a fiery furnace and the Torah says nothing. It only says that Haran died in Ur Kasdim, but it doesn’t say what Avraham did. A man leaps into a fiery furnace. An Arab can also leap into a fiery furnace. An Arab also does hisbodedus. What does the Torah say? “Go out from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house.” Go out from your lusts, your habits. That which is in your genes, from your birth—escape from those things! This is infinitely greater than a fiery furnace! This is like being burnt alive every second! This is what the Torah writes! A person must detach himself from his lusts—“your birthplace” means lusts, how you were born. Escape from these things, the Rebbe says. A person fasts. “And, behold, they saw their money bound up in their sacks” (Bereishis 42:35). A person’s bundle of money is still in his sack. [See Likutei Moharan I:10:4 which explains that their money—their desires—and also the desires of their ancestors are completely bound up inside them.] Start to scream to escape from these things. Shmuel Shapira used to scream from Ma’ariv until the morning. He would vomit blood, his blood vessels would burst in his throat and he would bleed and keep on screaming. That is how he had such grandchildren and great-grandchildren that are all holy and pure. So Breslov has to be restored to its original glory. “The voice of Hashem is upon the water…The voice of Hashem breaks cedars, and Hashem breaks the cedars of Lebanon.” One’s screams have to be such that everything is uprooted and one comes to hear the seven voices through which one becomes worthy of the giving of the Torah. Then a person becomes worthy of the giving of the Torah. “Deep advice that comes through voices from the depths. During the week, one must scream from the heart.” One must scream all day long during the week—this is how one prepares for Shabbos. One doesn’t prepare for Shabbos by eating a piece of cake—the best kind of cake. A person can finish half the cake even before Shabbos starts…“Those who taste it merit life.” (From the Shabbos prayers.) So half the Shabbos food is finished before Shabbos. That is not how you prepare for Shabbos! You taste a little something. One prepares for Shabbos throughout the week with screaming out to Hashem. “The voice of Hashem makes the hinds to calve, it strips the forests bare and breaks the cedars. Hashem shatters the cedars of Lebanon.” They have to be the kinds of screams that uproot the trees from their places. That is the way one must scream to Hashem. “‘The voice of Hashem is upon the waters.’ Hashem, Himself, awakens His voice, as it were.” Then we merit hearing the voice of Hashem. The voice of Hashem speaks to us every second, every minute. Hashem speaks to us. Every minute, Hashem cries out to us. “‘The voice of Hashem is upon the waters.’ Hashem, Himself, awakens the aspect of His voice, as it were. A voice from above.” Hashem arouses His own voice. When a person screams to Hashem, then he hears the voice of Hashem. It is only when a person screams out to Hashem that he is able to hear the voice of Hashem, this voice from above, that Hashem cries with to him. That is when all of the deep advice of how to escape from the depths of hell is revealed. He isn’t able to enter the World to Come with all of his lusts, with all of the pitch that covers his body and his soul. He cannot enter! “The aspect of His voice, as it were. A voice from above.” Then he hears the voice of Hashem—that Hashem is speaking to him—so that he can discover the deep advice. Then all of the advice is revealed to him. This happens through the voice which he cries from his depths—“Deep waters, advice in the heart of a man. And a wise man draws it out.” Deep waters, deep waters…faith grows with such waters. These are the deep waters. One digs a little bit, just a little bit, and the water immediately rushes from above to greet you. Geysers of millions of cubic meters of water break through from above. “A voice from above, as it were, to reveal the deep waters that come through the voice of crying from the depths.” One must always scream to Hashem: this is called Breslov. Even if a person already has, thank G-d, long peyos and a long beard, and everything is wonderful, and he makes a terrific impression. If he doesn’t scream to Hashem, though, he is sunk in the deepest depths of hell with his peyos and his beard. He will be sunk there with all of his lusts. He needs to scream to Hashem all the time, to scream to Hashem every moment! “During the week, one needs to scream from the depths of the heart to achieve this.” One prepares for the Shabbos with all of the cries that one screams to Hashem the whole week long, and by screaming during the prayers. We hope that we will yet restore Breslov to its original glory, that we will be able to scream the way we used to in Breslov, the way they used to in the shul. They used to scream these terrible screams in the shul. Nowadays everyone screams, but Hashem should only help that we will also scream silently, until our lungs rupture with the effort. As the Rebbe says, until all of the bronchial tubes in the lungs shake. That is called praying! Not wandering around while we pray. That is not prayer. One must pray in such a way that “All of my bones will say, Hashem who is like You?” Thank G–d, everyone here is married, everyone merited finding their match. Everyone already merited having children. He sees such kindness that Hashem does for him, and he despairs—he feels despondent. The Rambam writes that one must shake the lulav with all his power. The commentary explains, “to escape from despair.” (Rambam, Hilchos Lulav in Zemanim.) He says to shake the lulav forcefully to escape despair. A person is lying down—his mind isn’t working. How can his mind work? You have to scream such screams. I saw this explanation of the Rambam in Rabbeinu Manoach’s work. To shake it forcefully! To escape from all the despair! Rabbeinu Manoach says, “To escape from all the despair.” He says there that one must shake the lulav forcefully so as to escape from despair. A person despairs: “What have I accomplished…?” A man prays forty days at the Kotel, and another forty days at the Kotel until he finally finds his match and they break the plate. Afterward, until they make the wedding…they try to push it off again and again. So he does another forty days so that the wedding will be on time. He gets married; Sheva Berachos are over, and he goes to sleep. Didn’t he work so hard? Now he needs to rest for a few years. He sleeps, and sleeps, and sleeps. Wake up! Go out! Scream to Hashem! Nothing will come to you without screaming to Hashem! No holy awareness is revealed without screaming to Hashem! Shaking the lulav three times in each direction, he says, is to escape from despair. This is not the explanation of the Rambam; it is the explanation of Rabbeinu Manoach, subsection 9 and 10. To shake the lulav with all one’s strength so that one escapes from despair. Everyone is in despair. So a person needs to scream to Hashem in order to escape from his despair. When he screams, he will hear that Hashem is screaming back at him to escape from his despair. When he screams, he will hear the heavenly echo that emanates from Mount Chorev crying: “Woe to humanity, woe to humanity for the insult to the Torah. Anyone who did not busy himself with the study of Torah is considered reprimanded; he is like ‘a ring of gold in the swine’s snout’” (Avos 6:2). Every second, a heavenly echo emanates, and when a person screams to Hashem, he begins to hear this echo. That is how he escapes from his despair. “To reveal the deep advice that comes through cries from the depths. And one must prepare for the Shabbos with the cries.” During the week, one must scream from the depths of one’s heart. Once the holy Shabbos comes, on the other hand, there is no screaming at all. On the contrary, you have to dance and sing, just as Reb Nosson says [in Likutei Tefillos] from the evening until the morning. “This draws down the advice which is the aspect of faith.” If a person then screams to Hashem, he is shown all of the advice. How to learn… Now there are five straight months of learning. Everyone should just start learning the Gemara or the Shulchan Aruch and not say, “I can’t!” What does “I can’t” mean? Hashem created you so that you would learn Torah! What does “it’s too hard” mean? It’s hard for me too. The Rebbe said that it’s hard to start to pray. Of course it’s difficult—it’s difficult for everyone. Everyone has to start to scream to Hashem, scream to Hashem! But a man was created to study Torah! A man was created to study Torah! What does “I can’t” mean? Everyone has a wonderful mind, everyone is already married, thank G–d. And those who aren’t married are engaged, thank G–d. And, thank G–d, there is such abundance and such success in Shuvu Bonim. Everyone has children, thank G–d, and everyone finds their match, thank G–d. They are the most wonderful matches in the world, even if people try to stop them from all quarters. Even so, that which is predestined for a man must come to him. No force in the world can stand up against the heavenly echo that calls out: “The daughter of so–and–so will be married to so–and–so,” or, “The field of so–and–so will belong to so–and–so.” They get the most wonderful apartments. The only thing is that we need, right now, to start to scream to Hashem. We need to start to learn right now. Hashem gave us everything—marriage partners, children, lovely apartments—everything. Now we have to sit and learn. That’s it! If not, then a person is an ingrate. Hashem says: “I gave you everything. What are you doing for me?” So we must start to cry to Hashem. A person goes out at night…Thank G–d, now Chatzos is at 11:30PM. One could cry to Hashem until 5:30AM. We must begin to cry to Hashem. One could scream for six hours in the field—six hours. The nights are getting longer. Until the end of Chanukah, the nights are getting longer. Until Tu b’Shevat, the nights stay very long. These are the “golden nights” [as they were called by Rav Pinchas Koritzer referring to the long, winter nights]. We must begin to cry to Hashem, going to the fields and not staying in bed. And we must scream to Hashem. The women are waiting to see their husbands going out to the fields. They want to see their husbands sitting and learning. Every woman married her husband so that he would sit and learn, so that he would cry out to Hashem. People said to her, “Your future husband is a Tzaddik. He’ll cry out to Hashem. He’ll serve Hashem.” She sees him sleeping. She gets up at 3:00AM, and he gets up at 3:00PM. At least there is a common denominator between them. Both of them get up a 3:00. What a bond! What unity! “A supernal unification”—they both get up at 3:00. They’re equal to one another. “For during the week, one needs the cries of the heart that are from the depths, but on Shabbos, there is no crying or screaming, G–d forbid. This is what the Sages said: ‘Shabbos is not for crying out, and healing is close at hand’” (Shabbos 12a). To the degree that we cry out to Hashem, we will be worthy of all healing. Everyone has some sickness. Everyone has some congenital sickness that is discovered when he is thirty, forty, fifty, or sixty years old. If a person would only cry out to Hashem, though, he would escape from all of his illnesses. All the advice comes when a person cries, only then a person has all of the right advice. Hashem made us ill so that we would cry out to Him. The moment that we cry out to Hashem, then all of the salvation and all of the healing comes on its own, without any doctors at all. “Healing is close at hand, for the cries of the heart draw down the advice and this fosters the growth of faith.” One receives new faith. Every day, one needs new faith! Then all of the healing to all illness comes. Rabbeinu says that all illness is a product of a lack of faith. A person doesn’t sense that he is losing his faith! He doesn’t feel it. He has what to eat; he has what to drink; he has money; he has a place to live; he has a villa; so, he doesn’t sense that, little by little, he is losing his faith. A person only has faith when he has a stomach ache. He should have a headache. Instead of having a stomachache, he should have a headache. He should feel how his mind hurts, how his soul hurts! If he feels that his mind hurts, that his soul hurts, then he won’t need to have a bellyache at all—no backache, no leg pains. He just needs to cry out to Hashem, to start to cry out to Hashem. Nothing comes from sleeping. A person doesn’t come to anything worthwhile by sleeping and eating! This is what is written in the Preface [to Likutei Moharan], that the Rebbe taught such new Torah concepts, one can see that they didn’t come from filling his belly or from getting a lot of rest. Such new concepts! The Rebbe would stay up for nights at a time; he would fast for weeks at a time. One year he fasted from one Shabbos to the next for the entire year. Later, the Rebbe said that one could achieve more with prayer than with fasting! So let us pray! Let us cry out! Praying means crying out. Thank G–d, we prayed for two and a half-hours. We began at 5:00AM and finished at 7:30AM. Even so, this is still not the way they used to pray in Uman; this still isn’t the prayer of Rav Shmuel Shapira or Hirsch Leib. All of them used to pray in Batei Machse. They would begin at 4:00AM and finish at 10:00AM, 11:00AM, noon. They would pray Shemonah Esrei at the proper time, and then continue to pray with load roars until their veins would rupture. They would burst their blood vessels, and this brought about healing and salvation. They were able to effect salvation for everyone. As much as we scream to Hashem, that is how much we will be worthy of drawing down healing. The Rebbe says in Likutei Moharan II:5 that all illnesses only come about because of a lack of faith. Then there can be extraordinary plagues, beyond any imagining. All of this comes because of a lack of faith. A person doesn’t sense that he has no faith. Thank G–d, he ate breakfast. He sits a little with his wife, they eat together, and there is peace between them: wonderful. But that isn’t what Hashem intends, that isn’t what the wife meant. She wants to see her husband screaming to Hashem, learning sixteen hours a day. If not, she falls into a depression. She can get ill from this. “For Shabbos is not for screaming, and healing is close at hand.” On Shabbos, healing comes about through dancing and singing. One must sing and dance as much as possible on Shabbos. “At that time, all the advice is drawn down from above with ease, without any crying out or screaming. That is the main time for the development of faith because that is when the deep, wonderful, and incontrovertible advice shines out. That is why the main time for the completion of the development of faith is on Shabbos, and that is why ‘healing is close at hand’. For the main element of healing comes from faith, as is explained clearly in the lesson mentioned above.” That is why the psalm says “And they cried out to Hashem” four times. “This is the meaning of the verse: ‘And His wonders to the children of man’” (Hodu, Tehillim 107). This psalm mainly comes to tell us that the most important thing is screaming to Hashem. Reb Nosson says that, all week long, one must scream to Hashem. Not just for the five minutes before Korbanos, [when we say Hodu before starting the Mincha before Shabbos]. “And Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying…” We need to say “Hodu” first. One needs this aspect of “And they cried out to Hashem” all week long. “They ascended to heaven, they descended to the abyss.” A person rises to heaven and falls to the abyss. One day he learns, one day he doesn’t learn. Suddenly his mind is blocked–up. One week, he manages to learn. For a month afterward, he can’t open a book, so he searches for something to do. Scream to Hashem! Go to the field and scream to Hashem that He should unblock your mind! “And they cried out to Hashem!” “For through this crying, ‘And they cried out to Hashem,’ one merits to draw down amazing advice. This is the aspect of ‘And His wonders to the children of man.’ The wonders come in accordance with the cries. ‘And His wonders’—this is the aspect of deep advice that is called ‘a wonder.’ For we need to draw down advice from the holiness of Shabbos. That advice is a wonder of wonders, it is wonders upon wonders.” Hashem does such wonders with us, wonders upon wonders. “Our fathers trusted in You, they trusted and they were not confounded. They trusted in You and they were delivered” (Tehillim 22:5). Hashem does such wonders with us. “Your thoughts directed to us are too numerous to count.” Hashem is always seeking out ways to do only miracles and wonders for us. “They are too numerous to count.” “For we must draw down the advice from the holiness of Shabbos. That advice is a wonder of wonders; it is wonders upon wonders. That is why we mention these ‘wonders’ four times, to parallel the four camps of the Shechinah.” Those are the four angels: Refael, Michael, Gavriel, and Nuriel. “They parallel the four camps of the Jewish people which are an aspect of the rectification of judgement. This is like the four concepts—the Tzaddik who experiences good, the Tzaddik who experiences evil, the wicked who experiences good, and the wicked who experiences evil. The deep advice is drawn from there, from the ‘wonder of wonders.’ The Tzaddik who experiences good, the Tzaddik who experiences evil, the wicked who experiences good, and the wicked who experiences evil, are altogether four aspects. Understanding these concepts is achieved though the rectification of judgement which one merits by binding the heavenly chariot together. This is the aspect of the four angels whose acronym is aRGMaN. Four camps, etc.” Now we are going to Likutei Halachos, Hilchos Rosh Hashanah 1. We learn there about the rectifications of Rosh Hashanah. “In general, when a person sees that he can’t pray and he can’t learn, and the darkness and the klippot surround him…” The Rebbe said this on Parshas Noach. Next Shabbos it will already be Parshas Noach. Next Shabbos, we will already be reading Parshas Noach at Minchah. “Make a light for the ark.” (Likutei Moharan I:9) Start to be an honest person, an honest person. The speech should emerge from your mouth with truth. “Through this, Hashem will be a light, as in ‘Hashem is my light and my salvation’—‘He is my light on Rosh Hashanah, and my salvation on Yom HaKippurim. He is my light on Yom HaKippurim, and my salvation on Sukkos. He is my light on Sukkos, and my salvation on Simchas Torah.’ A person can then make an opening in the darkness in which he is trapped. And I heard from the holy mouth of the Rebbe much more than what was written. Through this, the rectification of prayer, which is an aspect of Yaakov and his sons, is achieved. “And this is an aspect of the sound of the shofar.” The sound of the shofar is the cry from the depths of the heart. Who can blow the shofar? It is someone who can scream out from the depths! “‘Shifru / improve your ways, as it says: Wake up sleepers from your slumber!’” A person has to escape from his sleep. A person sees that his mind is blocked–up, so he goes to sleep. Your mind is sleeping? You should go out to the fields! Scream to Hashem that He should open your mind! “Therefore, the shofar is an aspect of the World to Come which is, itself, an aspect of Binah. For repentance allows one to rise to the World to Come which is Binah, and Binah is an aspect of repentance.” Now everything is rising to Binah. On Yom HaKippurim during Kol Nidrei, Rachel ascends to the top of Tevunah, and afterward during Ma’ariv, she ascends to Malchus of Binah. Afterward, during the silent Shemonah Esrei of Shacharis, she ascends to ChaGa”T (Chessed, Gevurah, and Tiferes) of Binah. Then, during the cantor’s repetition she ascends to Da’as of Binah. Afterward, during the silent Shemonah Esrei of Mussaf, she ascends to Chochmah of Binah, and then, during the repetition of Mussaf, she ascends to Keter. Zeir Anpin remains standing in his place. For the main ascension is in Malchut, in Rachel. “Therefore, ‘I called out to You from the depths Hashem.’ This is an aspect of ‘I called out to G–d from the straits.’” Everyone is in the straits. The Rebbe says, “It was also hard for me to pray. It was also hard for me to learn. I cried and screamed to Hashem.” A person can study mathematics and physics, but he just can’t learn Gemara. He can learn—the mind is a physical mind. It is an animal mind. When it comes to something spiritual—Gemara is spiritual—it is the very opposite. It is that which overturns the body. “‘I called out to You from the depths, Hashem.’ This is an aspect of ‘I called out to G–d from the straits.’ Meaning, because of the intensity of the forces surrounding him on all sides, he turns to the truth and calls out to Hashem in truth, from the depths of his heart.” If a person sees that he can’t learn and he can’t pray, then he should pray about that fact itself. He should scream about that fact itself. He should cry out to Hashem in truth, from the depths of his heart. True cries from the depths of his heart. “Meaning, because of the intensity of the forces surrounding him on all sides, he turns to the truth and calls out to Hashem in truth, from the depths of his heart. This saves him from the darkness, in the aspect of, ‘And you shall place an opening in the side of the ark.’” Place an opening in the side of the ark. When you are in the darkness, break through it. That will make millions and millions of people come and repent. For people only repent through the letters of the prayers and the letters of the Torah. “‘I called out to You from the depths, Hashem.’ This is an aspect of ‘I called out to G–d from the straits.’ Meaning, because of the intensity of the forces surrounding him on all sides, he turns to the truth and calls out to Hashem in truth, from the depths of his heart.” A person needs to know first of all, that the foundation of the Rebbe’s teachings is truth. Rav Yitzchak Breiter found some book, and he hid it. He found a book and he hid it, some book called “Meshivas Nefesh” or something. He found this book and put it in a closet. One day, he discovered that the book was missing and he was stunned. He spent about two months searching for it until, thank G–d, he had a miracle and found it. He saw that inside was mentioned [the town of] “Uman,” so he thought that it must be referring to some settlement called Uman in Eretz Yisrael, some town called Uman. Today, they are reconstructing the villages in accordance with the Tanach. On the way to Tiberias, there is a sign that says “Uman” that I saw once—some village, some settlement. So he thought that “Uman” referred to some settlement in Eretz Yisrael. There already were many settlements in Eretz Yisrael; they had already established many settlements by the time that Rav Yitzchak Breiter came close to Breslov. So he thought that it was some settlement called Uman. He wanted to know who to write to. He thought that it was a Chassidic moshav. All of the moshavim at that time were Chassidic. Like Zichron Yaakov, they were all Chassidic. He thought that it was from a Chassidic settlement—apparently they write such amazing books. He decided to ask someone, “Where is Uman? How does one write to Uman?” He was asked, “Uman! Why Uman all of a sudden? Why are you talking about Uman?” He responded, “I saw the name Uman written in the binding of some book that I liked very much.” “Uman! It’s in the Ukraine, not in Israel. It’s close to here. You could get there by travelling twelve hours by train—twenty hours by train.” Rav Yitzchak Breiter was so excited by this. How could it be so close? He sent a letter there straight away and it arrived during Chol HaMoed. It got to Rav Shimshon Barsky and he said, “We have to answer it right away, [even on Chol HaMoed when it is forbidden to write.] It’s a matter of life and death: a man is searching for the truth.” He wrote, “If you come to our camp, you’ll find out where the truth is.” The main point of the Rebbe’s teachings is the point of truth. It isn’t eating, and it isn’t drinking. It’s the point of truth! Afterward, when the letter got back to Rav Yitzchak Breiter, it was lost. A month went by, two months, and the letter was nowhere to be found. He didn’t know what had happened to it. One day, the servant girl poured out the laundry basket and suddenly some letter fell out of the hamper. He saw that this is the letter that arrived from Uman. After this happened, he traveled there. One must know that, “If you come to our camp, you’ll find out where the truth is!” Then one really cries out to Hashem in truth! All that the Rebbe wants is this point of truth! He doesn’t want politics—nor anything else.” In His Temple, everyone speaks of His glory.” If a person is talking about you, it’s all praises of Hashem. It’s just that your ear is crooked. You ate Bamba [a children’s snack in Israel] and got an ear infection. Someone asked me, “What’s with the Bamba?” You have to know, it is forbidden to eat Bamba! My doctor told us that it brings on all of the ear infections—it brings on all of the childhood diseases. It destroys all of the immunity. The Osem corporation had an international court case against it in London. They poisoned all of England. Hundreds of thousands of people got food poisoning and other sicknesses. They did an investigation and it came out that Bamba was the culprit. They then made some changes, but those changes are only superficial. This way, people won’t get sick immediately after only a week. Instead, they get sick after a month or two—that is the only difference. People will poison the public just to make money nowadays. They put phosphorus in Coca-Cola all along, but they only discovered it a few years ago. They didn’t want to disclose the fact that they had put phosphorus in the product to make it have that unique taste. Plain phosphorus! It simply burns a person! Coca-Cola’s stock dropped by fifty percent, people all over the world stopped buying it. Just recently, one of the big donors to the yeshiva told us how he had invested all of his money in Coca-Cola and that the stock had fallen fifty percent. They lost fifty percent of their sales. One must know that all of these things are dangerous. If the child wants something, so give him a dried fig. There are all sorts of alternatives. You can make natural snacks that are a little bit sweet but that won’t make your child sick. The Rebbe says, “How can one eat an onion? It is harmful!” The child gets sick, so they run to the emergency room. They don’t know why. His ear is running, and his eye is running, and they don’t know why. It destroys all of the immunity. Our point isn’t eating, and it isn’t drinking. It is the point of truth! We want the truth! When a person doesn’t feel well, he starts to cry out to Hashem. And when a person cries to Hashem, then millions of other people repent. With every letter of prayer, people repent. “And they call out to Hashem in truth from the depths of the heart. This saves them from the darkness, as in ‘You shall put an opening in the side of the ark.’ This is the aspect of ‘Hashem answered me from a wide open place.’ He merits that the place widens for him so that he can get out. For the sound of the shofar is the sound of truth. The one who blows the shofar receives all of the ‘three hundred and seventy lights’, which are the aspect of ‘Give truth to Yaakov.’” The one who blows the shofar receives all of the three hundred and seventy lights, this is written later in Hilchos Rosh Hashanah. The three hundred and seventy lights shine upon him. The one who blows the shofar receives them when his face reddens from the effort of blowing. His face reddens as he blows the shofar, and this shows that he has merited receiving the countenance of Moshe. “For his face shone.” The one who blows the shofar ascends to the level of Moshe, to the three hundred and seventy lights, “For his face shone.” The verse itself alludes to the shofar. [“Shone” is the same word in Hebrew as “horn”.] The one who blows the shofar merits the point of truth, and that is why the place where the one who blows the shofar is, takes precedence. The Halacha is that if there is a minyan in a certain village, but a person who blows the shofar lives in another village where there is no minyan, then the minyan must go to where the shofar–blower is. This is because the shofar–blowing is a Torah commandment. The blowing of the shofar takes precedence. The sound of the shofar is referred to in the verse; “From the depths I called to You, Hashem. G–d answered me from a wide open place.” The sound of the shofar is the aspect of truth. A person must begin to scream to Hashem in truth, as it says about Yaakov, “Give truth to Yaakov.” “The voice is the voice of Yaakov.” This is what Rabbeinu says there, that Yaakov is the aspect of prayer, for Yaakov is the pillar of truth. “Give truth to Yaakov, kindness to Avraham, just as You swore to our fathers in days of old.” For Yitzchak is the pillar of service, and Yaakov is the pillar of truth. “The main rectification of prayer is through truth which is the aspect of Yaakov. That is why only the sound of teruah is mentioned in the Torah, and the rest of the sounds are deduced from that, as the Sages said. For the teruah is the aspect of Yaakov, the main sound of the shofar alludes to him. Therefore, the teruah is a sound of groaning and wailing. One must moan and wail, to scream and cry, until one merits a drop of truth. Meaning, that a person moans and wails and calls to Hashem that he return to Him. Therefore, every teruah has a plain sound before it and a plain sound after it. This also alludes to repentance; at first everything is fine and dandy—that is before the problem.” “G–d created people upright, but they wanted to make many calculations.” (Kohelet 7:29) “After the problem and the breakage, ‘Insult has broken my heart.’ (Tehillim 69:21) ‘They chased them…as far as Shevarim.’” (Yehoshua 7:5) A person is broken to pieces, he is ground to bits, but then the Tzaddik raises him up to the highest heavens. The Tzaddik is in the heavens, and he can raise this person to the highest heavens. The more broken a person is, the more he can be uplifted. The more brokenhearted he is, the more he can be uplifted. The is the meaning of the statement, “The fall is for the purpose of the ascension.” When a person falls, he feels so brokenhearted, but it is only now that he can be uplifted. The Maharal of Prague says in Netzach Yisrael chapter 26, that this is the secret of the destruction of the Temple. Its rebuilding is actually a result of its destruction. [The Rav will often bring a quote or a conclusion from a Midrash or other Rabbinic teaching, without bringing the whole teaching. We usually refrain from inserting the whole teaching in order not to break up the lesson too much. Here, however we will do so, both because it is such a fascinating teaching, and also because the Rav refers to it again later on in the lesson, in more detail, but equally obscurely. The lesson in Netzach Yisrael refers to the Midrash Rabbah, Eicha I:51 which tells the following story: A Jew was plowing with his ox. Suddenly the ox let out a huge bellow. An Arab who was passing by said to him, “From which people are you?” He answered, “I am a Jew.” They Arab said to him, “You can leave your plowing because the Jewish Temple has just now been destroyed.” “How do you know?” the Jew asked him. “From the ox’s bellow.” As they were speaking, the ox gave out another huge bellow. The Arab said, “Now you can resume your plowing, the Jewish Savior has just been born.” “What’s his name?” the Jew asked him. “Menachem.” “What’s his father’s name?” “Chizkia.” “Where are they now?” In the Arab capital, Beit Lechem, in Judea.” So the Jew sold his ox and plough, brought a huge pile of baby clothes, and traveled from town to town until he came to Beit Lechem. All the mothers in the city came out to buy baby clothes from him, but this particular child’s mother didn’t buy. He asked her, “Why aren’t you buying clothes for your baby?” She answered, “Because he was born under a sign of bad luck.” “What was the sign?” he asked her. “He was born at the same time as the Temple was being destroyed.” He said to her, “We trust in Hashem, that just as he was born during its destruction, so he will live to see its rebuilding. Take some clothes for him now, and I will come at a later date for the money.” She took some clothes and left. Later he decided to go and see how the child was. He came to the house, and asked the mother how the child was. She answered, “Didn’t I tell you that he was born under an unlucky sign. Some time after you gave me the clothes a storm wind came and carried him off.” He said to her, “Didn’t I say to you, through him the Temple was destroyed, and through him it will be rebuilt.”]Hashem saw that people were sinning so he immediately brought on the destruction. At that very moment, it would have been possible to build the third Temple if the people would only have repented. The third Temple would have been built, says the Maharal in chapter 26 of Netzach Yisrael. “This also alludes to repentance; first, things were simple and orderly, before the problem. After the sin and the breakage, as in, ‘Insult has broken my heart.’” What is this “insult”? The negative desires! One doesn’t escape from his lusts! He doesn’t escape from his lusts! He doesn’t understand what is going on here. He thought that after he got married, he’d escape from his lusts. He thought that as soon as he would have a child, he would escape from his lusts. His wife already says to him, “Enough, we’re done.” And he is still like a burning flame. He is on fire. “Therefore, every teruah is preceded by a plain sound, and followed by a plain sound.” People are sunk into…G–d have mercy, where people are sunk! “This also alludes to repentance; first, things were simple and orderly, before the problem. After the sin and the breakage, as in, ‘Insult has broken my heart’…After the problem and the breakage, ‘Insult has broken my heart.’ ‘They chased them…as far as Shevarim.’” A person sees where he is—a burning fire! Instead of being like a flaming torch…We said the other day (at the Hachnasas Sefer Torah) that the gematria of the words “fiery torch” is the same as the words “Moshiach ben David”. The children walk with torches. “Torch” = 124, and “fire” = 301. Together, they come to 425. The words “Moshiach ben David” = 424, plus another 1 which represents One G–d, the “kollel number”, the encompassing intellect, the Tzaddik Moshiach ben David who is the embodiment of the encompassing intellect…With that added 1, we have “fiery torch” exactly. But you are burning like a fiery torch for other things. So what do you do? You go and cry out! You go and cry out! Go and cry out to Hashem! “This is the aspect of tekiyah, which is followed afterwards by the shofar sound, which is a plain sound. That is why we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, for that is a time of the strengthening of the judgements, which are like the darkness. Therefore, a person must pull himself towards the truth, which is like the sound of the shofar. It is a ‘remembrance of the first day’. It was then, at the beginning of creation, that the darkness that covered the abyss held sway.” A person is in the abyss, in the midst of awful lusts; he is in the deepest depths of hell. Until a person experiences this lust, however, the Rebbe says that he cannot ascend at all! “This is the aspect of ‘And the spirit of G–d hovered over the face of the waters.’ This is the aspect of Yaakov who parallels the spirit. ‘And their father, Yaakov’s, spirit was revived.’ Yaakov is the pillar of truth. ‘My power and the first of my strength.’” At eighty–four years of age, he could say, “The first of my strength.” He had never had an emission of seed before Reuven was conceived. “My power and the first of my strength.” That is why he is the pillar of truth. “The aspect of Yaakov who parallels the spirit. ‘And their father, Yaakov’s, spirit was revived.’” There are grooms who tell me that they don’t know what a wedding is! They don’t know what a wedding is! They already have a home, and they don’t understand what anyone wants from them! They don’t know! “Yaakov their father is the aspect of truth. ‘And the spirit of G–d hovered over the face of the water’—to banish the darkness through the aspect of truth.” The Rebbe says that truth is the first prerequisite. Rav Shmuel Shapira would say, “What is the truth—the first thing is sanctifying the covenant. A person should cry out to Hashem about this!” A person can be at the very opposite end of the scale, but he should at least cry out about it! He should know that as long as he is the wrong end, he is without a rectification! His prayers don’t ascend; his Torah study doesn’t ascend. “The aspect of truth. Through this, the light is revealed. As the verse says, ‘And G–d said: Let there be light! And there was light.’ Through the truth, Hashem’s light is revealed. As in, ‘Hashem is my light…’” “This is called, ‘Please, Hashem, save me! Please, Hashem, help me to succeed!’” [As is said in Hallel during these days of Chol HaMoed], Hashem, help me to escape from these things! “Help me to succeed!” Help me to succeed to escape from these things! This is what the Rebbe means, “Hashem, save me! Really save me!” Fine, a person needs to cover a check. He owes $100,000 or $10,000. He is looking for a loan so he goes and screams, “Please, Hashem, save me!” Now it’s over, he got the loan. Someone donated the money. What does he have to scream about now? “Save me, Hashem!” is about escaping from one’s lusts, the awful desires. It’s about escaping the blemishing of the covenant, of forbidden gazing. Hashem, save me so that I will escape from these things already! “This is called truth…And then the world is sustained.” When a person truly cries out to Hashem, this sustains the world. People have been talking about a secular revolution, and now the whole country is in turmoil. They said that there would be public transportation [on Shabbos] and that people would be able to travel day and night. Now all the roads are closed. They said that, now, life was going to be so wonderful. Just now they removed sixty families from their homes, and no one knows where they sent them. To Auschwitz, to Siberia…? No one knows where they were sent. They removed one hundred people. It’s a deportation. They remove people from their apartments, from their homes. They signed that it is forbidden to fire a shot. Now it is sixty families, today they will evacuate five hundred families, and afterward they will evacuate all of Yerushalayim because they signed that it is forbidden to fire a shot. They are honest people, people seeking the path—they are looking for the truth. “The truth causes Hashem’s light to shine, as in ‘Hashem is my light’. Through this, creation came into existence. That is why the truth sustains the world.” The truth is only manifest when a person escapes from his negative desires. We see to where the secularists have gotten with their truth. They are already evacuating Jewish families from their homes. They are removing them from their homes. “That’s it. Get out. Get out, we signed. We signed, it is forbidden to shoot.” Arafat is screaming, “You must keep the agreement. You signed.” He didn’t sign—he had some brains. Afterward, they pushed Barak to sign, and then they went to Arafat. But he said, “Leave me alone. This isn’t for me.” No one knows if he signed or not. They say that he didn’t. Everything is a lie. In any case, he said, “I signed not to shoot. I didn’t sign on behalf of other parties. I can’t control two million people now. What do you want from me? You go and control them! You explain it to them. You can talk to them.” This will last at least nine months for certain. In the meantime, the secularists are having a mental revolution. They said they wanted a secular revolution, but now all the secularists are revolting. They said a secular revolution. They screamed, “Secular revolution!” And now they are experiencing a revolution. They are all now having an upheaval. All of them are absorbing what happened here, with whom they are doing business, with what kind of insane man they are dealing with. He’s wise like the wise men of Chelm. He doesn’t know what’s going on here. He is the leader of the wise men of Chelm. I read those stories when I was ten years old. I didn’t know that I’d be reading them all over again at the age of sixty-three. “For the truth was the main means through which creation came to be.” What is the truth? According to the secularists, the truth means not firing a shot. Their truth is to evacuate Jewish families from their homes. This is the truth according to the secularists. This will bring about the true secular revolution. Now everyone will open their eyes and see what they’ve come to. They’ll see to what abyss they’ve fallen with this crazy man. Our truth is an entirely different truth! Our truth is about escaping from the negative desires! Escaping from blemishing the covenant is our truth! “For creation came about mainly through truth. This is what the Sages said on the verse, ‘Your Creator, Yaakov.’” The world is created through truth; a new world is created. Every moment is a point that has truth inherent within it. A person can be in the deepest pit of hell, but when he screams out to Hashem, “Save me!” then he has reached that point of truth. This is what the Rebbe is revealing to us. You’re in the deepest pit of hell, your evil inclination is burning inside of you more fiercely than a million bonfires, a trillion bonfires. Scream out to Hashem, “Save me!” Then you will reach that point of truth! But you must know what to cry out about, not to cry out, “I need dollars. I need an apartment with ten rooms now. I need the nicest car.” This is not what you cry out about! You must scream about escaping from your negative desires. Then the point of truth is revealed. And the deeper you are in hell, then the more honest you are, because you are crying out in truth! This sustains the world, and it re-creates the world. “This is what the Sages said on the verse, ‘Your Creator, Yaakov’—‘My world, my world. Who created you? Yaakov created you.’” Yaakov creates the world. When a person possesses a point of truth, then he creates the whole world. “My world, my world. Who created you? Yaakov created you.” Yaakov created you. Every Jew is called Yaakov. Every Jew has within him an aspect of Avraham, of Yitzchak, and of Yaakov—every Jew, every Jew! Reb Nosson says here in Hilchos Hoda’ah that, now, everyone merits to manifest an aspect of Avraham Avinu. All of us now merit manifesting an aspect of Avraham Avinu. During these holy days, we merit to manifest an aspect of Avraham, of Yitzchak, and of Yaakov. Within every single Jew, the aspect of Avraham, of Yitzchak, and of Yaakov become manifest. Reb Nosson says this in Hilchos Hoda’ah 6, p.164. Reb Nosson says that every single Jew merits now manifesting the aspect of Avraham. “This is the meaning of the verse: ‘And when you build a new house.’ This is an allusion to the third temple.” We are now about to build the third temple. Just as the Maharal of Prague says in the 26th chapter of Netzach Yisrael. He says that the destruction of the Temple is its construction. This is like the story of the cow. They said to him, “Where?” And he said, “The capital of Arabia.” Beit Lechem is the capital of the Arabs. At that time, Beit Lechem was the capital of the Arabs. Even today it is the capital of the Arabs. Every day, another Jew is killed. Yesterday, a Jew was wounded critically. People were evacuated, and one was wounded critically. People must recite Tehillim for him. Anyone who can say Tehillim for him could help keep him alive. They say that his condition is getting worse, the situation could be fatal. He received a bullet right in the chest, damaging his heart and lung. And it is forbidden to fire a shot—Jews are forbidden to shoot! They are honest people; they signed—that’s it! Hashem should have mercy on the place where we have come. Now all of the Jewish people’s eyes are being opened. Everyone is absorbing where they’ve fallen to, where they’ve come to with their secularism. The Maharal of Prague says in chapter 26 that the reason for the destruction is the construction. The cow bellowed twice at the same time. She let out the first one, and the Temple was destroyed. She let out the second, and it signaled the birth of Moshiach. Where was he born? “In the capital of Arabia.” He is among the Arabs! He to be found among the Arabs. That is where the point of Moshiach is to be found. If a person will only cry out, says the Maharal of Prague, then the point of Moshiach would be revealed immediately. This is what Reb Nosson explains on p.164b: “This is the meaning of the verse, ‘Why do you look askance, oh high peaked hills?’” All of the mountains were uprooted from their places at the giving of the Torah. Now is the time of the giving of the second tablets. The Torah was given over a period of one hundred and twenty days. The Gemara in Ta’anis says that it continues and continues and continues. The Gemara in Ta’anis, and in Moed Katan, says that the sounds of the giving of Torah just kept on going and going. The sounds continued—the fire and lightning continued—all of the fire just continued and continued. “The mountain which G–d has desired for His abode, truly Hashem will dwell there forever.” All those who want to uproot everything—they say they will bring about a secular revolution, now everyone’s mind is undergoing a revolution. You can’t even travel on the roads. They said that they would travel [on public transport on Shabbos,] now they’ll really travel… “Remember, Hashem, against the children of Edom the day of Yerushalayim, when they said: Raze it, raze it, to its very foundations.” Everyone wants Yerushalayim; everyone wants to destroy Yerushalayim. The Mufti said, “Not even a single stone here in Yerushalayim belongs to the Jews.” “Raze it, raze it, to its very foundations.” The entire world wants to destroy the Jewish people now. They make the Jews sign that it is forbidden for them to shoot, to protect themselves. They’re shooting at you? So evacuate! Travel to Auschwitz, to Siberia. The crematoria are ready for you there, no problem. “They take crafty counsel against Your people.” The whole world is against us; the whole world wants to destroy Israel. They are already is removing Jews from their homes, and who knows where this will end. “They take crafty counsel against Your people, and consult against Your hidden ones.” “They take crafty counsel against Your people, and consult against Your hidden ones. They have said: Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation.” That is referring to this moment. “Come, let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Yisrael may be no more in remembrance.” “So it is with every person, at all times.” All of this is because the negative desires have intensified. The Rebbe says of the gentile nations, “He established the borders of nations to correspond to the number of people [that went down to Egypt].” The negative desires are the gentile nations. Why do they rule over us? Because of our terrible blemishing of the covenant, because of the forbidden sights and thoughts. This empowers the gentile nations to rule over us, to destroy us. “So it is with every person, at all times. As the verse says, ‘The wicked man seeks out the Tzaddik and desires to kill him.’ As the Sages said, ‘Every day, the evil inclination of a person renews itself and seeks to destroy him completely.’” This is the evil inclination. The entire struggle that a person wages is against his evil inclinations. The moment that one person will be victorious against his evil inclination, that is the moment when there will be peace. At the moment when the Jewish people will repent, there will be such light. If a single person would be victorious over his evil inclination and would escape from blemishing the covenant, there would be such a light. “A new light will shine on Zion.” For all the work that needs to be done is to wage war on the evil inclination. This war goes on twenty–four hours a day, every second. There’s not a second’s rest. The evil inclination doesn’t leave a person for a second. As Rabbi Akiva Eiger wrote in his letter, his will, the evil inclination is enmeshed within a person’s every limb and sinew. There is no corner of a person’s flesh or blood vessels that is free of the evil inclination. All his blood is the blood of the evil inclination that tempts him to bad things. This is the “muddied–up blood”, “and their blood was sprinkled.” Only crying out to G–d can cleanse the blood. Only studying Torah in–depth can cleanse it. One can only cleanse it with prayer. One can only cleanse it by praying with all of one’s strength. If a person prays just any old way [i.e. whispering the words], then he cannot possibly escape from his evil inclination. “This is what the verse says, ‘The wicked man seeks out the Tzaddik and desires to kill him.’ As the Sages said, ‘Every day, a person’s evil inclination renews itself every day and wants to destroy him utterly.’” A person can, under no circumstances, enter the World to Come with his evil inclination! If the evil inclination burns inside of a person, then he cannot, under any circumstances, enter the World to Come—not under any circumstances. “But Hashem will not abandon him into his hands.” If he will cry out, really cry out, “Hashem, please save me!”—in truth—then he can raise up another billion people along with him. This is because every person contains within him the source of all other souls. Everyone contains within him the source of all the souls in the world. If he will get out of his own hell, then he can release the whole world too. There is someone here in the Yeshiva from Ashkelon. They brought him to the Yeshiva six months ago. He has been coming here often, and the whole time I’ve been speaking with him. In the end, I told him, “Listen. If you become observant, then another ten thousand people will also become Torah observant!” After a week, he came to me and said, “I’ve become Torah observant. If it were just a question of me, then it wouldn’t be worth my while. But if another ten thousand people will too, then it is certainly worthwhile!” A person has to believe that this is really the way it is. If he repents, then another ten thousand people, another hundred thousand people, another million people, will also escape from their negative desires. They’ll also abandon all their nonsense. “‘Every day, a person’s evil inclination renews itself and seeks to destroy him completely. But Hashem will not abandon him into his hand.’ For we already have a strong foundation, we are the children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.” Hashem will not abandon us. We will cry out strongly to Hashem, and Hashem will not abandon us. If Hashem sees that we are screaming and crying and want to escape from this, that this is our point of truth—that we want to escape from our negative desires, then He will not abandon us. Yaakov is the point of truth. “Give truth to Yaakov.” Yaakov’s image is engraved on the Throne of Glory. “And he called it G–d, the G–d of Yisrael.” The image of Yaakov is engraved on the Throne of Glory. Our truth is about escaping from our negative desires. Inside one person, a million fires are burning. Inside someone else, a trillion fires are burning. The more he cries out, the more he escapes from his own personal Gehinom. Why is he going through this? It is because he is also made up of other souls. One person incorporates within himself ten souls, so he has only a little fire inside of him. Another person is made up of one hundred souls, so he has a bigger fire burning inside of him. A third person is made up of a thousand souls, so he has an even bigger fire burning. A fourth person is made up of a million souls, so his fire is even greater. When a person sees that a fire is burning inside of him, it’s because he is made up of more souls and his task is simply to scream to Hashem. That is how he puts out the fire, and then he can release all of those souls that are a part of him. They, too, then repent. “For Hashem will not reject His people, nor will He abandon His portion.” Hashem will not abandon us; Hashem will not reject us. We will scream to Hashem; we will cry to Hashem and scream with all our strength, every second and every moment. Just as the Rebbe says in Shivchei HaRan, we must scream within our bronchioles until the lungs burst. No one sees, and no one hears. “The evil inclination wants to destroy a person completely, to drive a person out of this world and the next world. But Hashem will not abandon him into his hands. For we already have a strong foundation, that we are children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.” The three-ply strand is not easily snapped. As Moshe said, “A three–legged stool isn’t standing, and I, a one–legged stool, will stand?” [Hashem wanted to destroy the Jewish people after the incident of the Golden Calf, and rebuild the nation from Moshe. Moshe said to Him: If a people that descended from Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov couldn’t be successful, will a people that is descended only from me stand more of a chance?] “Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. And we already received the Torah.” We know that we will escape from all our negative desires, from all our hells, and become worthy of guarding our eyes, of guarding the covenant. “We are strong in our holy faith, and take pride in it. We say, How fortunate are we, how good is our portion and how pleasant is our lot—that we unify His blessed Name morning and evening, twice every day. Therefore, every single Jew must enliven himself with the foundation of faith that is within him, which is the main foundation that there is. Everything rests upon it, as the Sages said, Chabakuk came and founded the entire Torah on the single principle of holy faith. ‘And the Tzaddik will live by his faith.’ That is why we must remember the Exodus twice every day—it was then that we saw the revelation of Hashem’s G–dliness with out own eyes by seeing all of the signs and wonders.” We see incredible wonders every day. Right now they are shooting throughout the country. One person was critically injured, one was wounded in the hand and another woman is in shock, and others were wounded in Beit Lechem. They are shooting all over the country. As soon as they signed a peace agreement, shooting broke out all over the country. There is no corner of the country where they aren’t shooting. We are sitting here [in peace], but in Gilo, in Beit Lechem, in Gush Katif, in every place that is adjacent to the Arabs, they are shooting non–stop. “Peace.” The Jews have to prove that they aren’t shooting. On the contrary, let the Jews make peace. It’s just as the verse says—just as Reb Nosson says— “They take crafty counsel against Your people, and consult against Your hidden ones.” The Jewish people cannot be destroyed. They evacuated one hundred and sixty families. In the end they let them back. “For we already have a strong foundation, that we are children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. And we already received the Torah. We are strong in our holy faith, and take pride in it. We say: How fortunate are we, how good is our portion…That is why we must remember the Exodus twice every day.” We see signs and wonders every single day. They are shooting all over the place, and yet Jews are still alive. They are barely even being wounded. “All of the incredible signs and wonders that He did with us. As the verse says, ‘Remember His wonders that He did.’ So, too, in every generation great Tzaddikim come and lay down strong foundations that cannot be destroyed under any circumstances. For, ‘The Tzaddik is the foundation of the world.’” Where is the true advice to be found? Only with the Tzaddik who is the foundation of the world, who merited to truly guard the covenant. “This is the aspect of the foundation of the Temple.” The moment that we merit sanctifying the covenant, on that very day the Temple will be built. “For the Tzaddik is the foundation of the world, and this is the aspect of the foundation of the Temple.” Guarding the covenant is the foundation of everything; it is the foundation of the Temple. “This is the aspect of the foundation of the Temple which David worked so hard to find throughout his lifetime. As the verse says, ‘Hashem, remember to David’s favor all his afflictions. How he swore to Hashem and vowed to the mighty G–d of Yaakov…I will not give sleep to my eyes, slumber to my eyelids…’” We say this, we say the Songs of Ascents today, every day. Come. Let’s fulfill what it says. We say it, but we don’t know what we are saying! “I will not give sleep to my eyes, slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for Hashem, a habitation for the mighty One of Yaakov.” Come, let us fulfill the words of this verse! “I will not give sleep to my eyes, slumber to my eyelids.” We’ll stay awake at night. We’ll cry out to Hashem just like David HaMelech did. That was how he discovered the point of the foundation stone. Its location was lost; they forgot where it was. It was beneath the land of the Yevusi, and he had to discover it all over again. The moment that Uza died (Shmuel II, 6:6)—the Gemara in Sotah 35b says this—the place where Uza died was where the foundation stone was. This was a hint to him. “This is the aspect of the foundation of the Temple which David worked so hard to find throughout his lifetime. As the verse says, ‘Hashem, remember in David’s favor all his afflictions. How he swore to Hashem and vowed to the mighty G–d of Yaakov… I will not give sleep to my eyes, slumber to my eyelids…’” If a person wants to escape from his negative desires, then it is forbidden to sleep! It is forbidden to sleep! “‘Until I find a place for Hashem.’ For the main thing is the foundation of holiness which is the aspect of this ‘place’ and the foundation of the Temple.” David merited having the point of Moshiach revealed in him. Every Jew has this point of Moshiach within him, but with David, it was revealed in its perfection. “The Temple was built on this foundation twice. Even though, for our many sins, the other side and the Chamber of Exchanges has grown so powerful that the Temple was destroyed twice.” The truth is, though, that they didn’t destroy anything. The Temple still stands. There is a kind of kohl [cream]. Anyone who puts this kohl into his eyes can see the Temple. “I will put kohl upon your eyes.” (Zohar, Parshas P’Kudei, page 240b.) “Their efforts are for naught. For they cannot destroy the foundation under any circumstances. As the verse says, ‘This is my rest forevermore. Here will I sit, for I have desired it.’” Hashem doesn’t abandon the foundation stone; Hashem doesn’t abandon the Kotel. The Shechinah has never left the Western Wall. “Even though it is, of course, a terrible and bitter tragedy for us that they destroyed the Temple…” We’re seeing such troubles now. Jews are being killed; Jews are getting seriously injured every single day to our sorrow. “One must mourn and lament over this every single night at midnight.” One must lament over this every night at midnight! “Even so, it is impossible to lament all day long. We must, instead, comfort ourselves just as it has been established in Tikkun Chatzos.” One must say Tikkun Chatzos every day even if it is the Shemita year. One must say Tikkun Chatzos every day. Jews are being killed; there is no other solution. One must say Tikkun Chatzos every day, every single day. This is going to last for at least nine months, no one should pay attention to any different approaches. Yes Shemita, no Shemita, Jews are getting killed! What difference does it make if it is a Shemita year or not? Jews are getting killed every day, throughout the country—all over the country, all over the country. Even if it’s quiet for two days, it’s only because that evil man decided to honor the agreement for two days. After those two days, they’ll start shooting again. People will dance in the streets: “We achieved a two–day peace! Peace for two days!” They’ll be dancing, they’ll wave flags, and they’ll make a big to–do about it. Peace for two days! “To mourn and lament over this every night at midnight.” Now we need to know that this is going to last for at least nine months. We must simply sit on the ground and cry every night from the second day of Cheshvan until the twenty–ninth of Adar, exclusive of Rosh Chodesh, Chanukah, and Tu b’Shevat. To sit on the ground and literally cry, to cry for the suffering of the Jewish people. During the time of Rabin, buses were exploding practically every day. In Har Canaan, someone told me that he met a secular Jew who told him, “When I hear that a bus has been blown up, I sit on the ground and just cry for hours.” A secular Jew! This person met him at the grave of Benayahu ben Yehoyada and he said, “I just sit on the ground and cry.” Buses blow up. Why? It is for the sake of the peace, for the sake of the peace. The main thing is that there should be peace already. “Even so, it is impossible to lament all day long. We must, instead, comfort ourselves just as it is set down in Tikkun Chatzos.” Such terrible things are happening. Who knows what will be next. It could be that there will be two days of quiet. This is also questionable. They do it to “satisfy world opinion.” Then they will tell the whole world that the Arabs were quiet for two days. What an accomplishment the world attained! Just like Chamberlain who came home saying, “I achieved peace.” [“Peace in our time.”] It was the fast of Gedaliya that very day. Whoever remembers it, he came off the plane and they broadcast it on every radio station. “We bring peace unto you, we bring peace unto you.” [The Rav sang the first line of the chorus of the Hebrew song, “Haveinu Shalom Aleichem”.] And there will be peace in the world. Once upon a time, there was a Chamberlain, a real Charlie Chaplin. As soon as they invaded Belgium and Holland, though, he ran away. “We must comfort ourselves as it is set down in Tikkun Chatzos and in all of the lamentations, to finish with words of comfort. For one cannot live through sadness and lamenting alone.” It is impossible to cry all day long. A person would just cry and cry. Reb Nosson told about a certain woman whose children had been kidnapped [by the Cantonists]. This period was just like the time of the Holocaust, just like the Hitler era. Just as then they threw Jews into the fire, now they also came to drag children away from their homes. They would break down the doors of widows, divorced women, and even single men. Men, whom they knew would not be able to fight back, they would kidnap the children right in front of the parents’ faces—right in front of the parents’ faces. It’s impossible to describe. Once, there was a woman who cried until she died. Reb Nosson said about her that if she had come to him, he would have told her to cry only for an hour. She would have been able to save her own son, and would also have saved others along with him. All of this is brought in Siach Sarfei Kodesh. The Rebbe said to cry for an hour, for two hours. Afterward, however, you have to work through dancing. After that, one should dance the whole day long. People need to know, now, that they shouldn’t pay any attention to all the different explanations. Whether it’s Shemita or not, we go according to Rabbeinu and Rav Levi Yitzchak. No one should say that Rav Levi Yitzchak did know, or that he didn’t know. [We have a tradition from the Mekubalim not to say Tikkun Chatzos in a Shemita year. When Rav Levi Itzchak came to Eretz Yisrael from Uman he said that in Breslov we do say it. There were those that argued against him, saying that the reason it was not said in Uman is that there is no Shemita outside of Eretz Yisrael. The Rav is answering that point here.] Jews are being killed, what difference does it make to say whether he knew or didn’t knew? People are talking such nonsense. As long as Jews are getting killed—until Moshiach comes—you must keep on saying Tikkun Chatzos. One must sit on the ground and cry. Afterwards, you have to dance the whole day long and learn Torah. You have to cry out in prayer and go to the fields. All in accordance with the way that Rabbeinu showed us. If we cry all day long, we’ll die. And if we’ll dance all day long, then we’ll forget that Jews are dying. So you say Tikkun Chatzos for an hour, two hours, and afterwards you go to the field, you sing and dance and you sweeten the judgements. Reb Nosson says that the main thing is the lamentation. However, “It is impossible to live just with sadness and lamenting. The main element of life–force is joy, as was mentioned above. Therefore, whoever wants to work on his final rectification must cry out every day. To cry out every day, especially at midnight.” One must cry out every day. If you hear that a Jew was killed, you have to cry out immediately. Or if you hear that a Jew was seriously wounded—that he is in critical condition—then you have to say a few chapters of Tehillim. Maybe we can manage to revive him. Every Jew emanates from the Throne of Glory, is a soul from the Throne of Glory. “Every day, especially at midnight, over our sins that are impeding the building of the Temple.” The main thing is to know that it is my sins, the main thing is to know that I’m the Charlie Chaplin. I’m Chamberlain. I am the one who is making a joke out of everything—making a joke out of the Jewish people, a joke out of prayer, a joke out of Chatzos. The main thing is to know that I am the chief clown, I’m the ringmaster of the circus. Just as Reb Nosson says, “When I came close to the Rebbe, that was when it became clear to me that everything I did before was just play–acting.” Rav Levi Yitzchak would always repeat this. “I came close to the Rebbe, and it was then that I saw that what I had done before was just pretending. I came close to the Rebbe, and then the point of truth started to wake up inside of me.” A person is just play–acting. It isn’t prayer at all. They wander about, they walk, and they mumble something. True prayer is when you stand in the corner and scream from the depth of your heart, until the entire Yeshiva starts to cry out the way we used to. The way we did ten or twenty years ago. “The main element of screaming and crying is over the fact that joy is withheld and obstructed.” The main thing to cry out about is that we have no joy. We hear every day that Jews are killed, so it is impossible to be completely happy. The main thing is that joy is withheld. Through joy, we will also redeem the Jewish people. “The main element of screaming and crying is over the fact that joy is withheld and obstructed. As the verse says, ‘Shabbos is the joy of our hearts, our dancing has turned into mourning.’ Woe to us that we have sinned. We must cry out and pray until Hashem has mercy on us and comforts us from the sadness of our hearts and will gladden us with his salvation.” In truth, we should already rejoice—that this will really be the end. That this will truly end, because in the meantime there is a secular revolution. The secularists are having a mental revolution. In the meantime though, to our sorrow, Jews are being killed. We want there to be a secular revolution, that they will undergo a mental revolution so that Jews don’t have to get killed. But they should do it out of joy, with dancing, and repent out of love. “We must cry out and pray until Hashem has mercy on us.” Then He will truly gladden us so that we will serve him out of joy. The main element of crying is over joy. The main element of crying is over the fact that, “Shabbos is the joy of our hearts, our dances have turned into mourning. Woe to us for we have sinned.” This is the main element of crying, for Shabbos is the joy of our hearts. The main element of crying is “Our dances have turned into mourning.” We can’t sing or dance. “The main thing is that we must be joyful that we already merited to receive the Torah and come close to true Tzaddikim, and be joyful in all of the points of Torah and mitzvos that we already merited to accomplish in His kindness and great wonders. And the main thing in which to be joyful is the foundation of faith which is the foundation of the Temple that David / Moshiach found.” David, with his joy, with his harp, with his dancing, was worthy of finding the point of the Temple that can never be destroyed. It is impossible to ever destroy it! What did David find—he discovered the foundation stone. They say, “It’s all ours.” They can scream for a million years, for a trillion years, but it won’t help them at all. For the point of the foundation stone is there, the point of creation. The Shechinah is there; the hidden light is there. All of the sanctities and all of the spiritual lights are to be found there. And only a Jew is able to reveal it. Only a Jew can reveal this. When you go to the Kotel with a broken heart, with the point of truth, then it can be revealed. “…that we already merited to receive the Torah and come close to true Tzaddikim, and be joyful in all of the points of Torah and mitzvos that we already merited to accomplish in His kindness.” We must dance over every point. As the verse says, “Every soul will praise G–d, Halleluyah.” A person should dance over every single holy accomplishment. “…In His kindness and great wonders. And the main thing in which to be joyful is the foundation of faith which is the foundation of the Temple that David / Moshiach found. It can never be destroyed.” The Mufti said that all of this belongs to Al Aksa. Not a single stone in Yerushalayim belongs to the Jews. He can talk from today until tomorrow. Clinton will agree with him. Everyone will agree with him, but “G–d’s truth is forever.” G–d’s truth is forever. The truth can never be taken away. The Jewish people lives—the Jewish people can never be thrown out. The Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. Yerushalayim is the heart: “Speak on the heart of Yerushalayim.” The foundation stone transcends space, transcends time; it exists entirely in the world of Atzilut. When you go to the foundation stone, when you go to the Kotel, you are ascending to the world of Atzilut. “And the main thing in which to be joyful is the foundation of faith which is the foundation of the Temple that David / Moshiach found. It can never be destroyed.” That is why a person must see to it that he goes to the Kotel every single day. He should not miss even a single day of going to the Kotel. “For they only destroyed the building.” In fact, the Zohar says that they didn’t destroy anything at all. They didn’t destroy even a single stone of the stones of Yerushalayim. The houses are standing—everything is still standing. It is only because of the blemishes to the covenant that there is a veil over our eyes. All the houses are standing, the wall is standing, and everything is standing. It is only because of the terrible blemishes to the covenant, because of these awful blemishes, that we have this veil—this klippah [impure husk]—over our eyes. We cannot see the Temple, how it is built, and how the angel Michael brings up the sacrifices every day there. We can’t see how Aharon lights the menorah every day, and how Eliyahu the prophet brings up the two tamid sacrifices every day. “It can never be destroyed.” The moment that we escape from our blemishing the covenant, then we will see with out own eyes how the Temple stands in all its glory, and that it can never be destroyed. “For they only destroyed the building which is on the foundation, which is like a roof. The main part of a structure when contrasted with its foundation is like a roof. This is the aspect of, ‘What ails you now, that you are completely gone up to the rooftops?’” He says, you only went up to the rooftops. The foundation stone, the Kotel, the Temple, they stand in all their glory. You can see this with your own eyes. “For they will see eye to eye, Hashem returning to Zion.” If we will only close our eyes, we will be able to see everything with our own eyes. The Chozeh of Lublin kept his eyes closed for two years. Yet he saw from one end of the earth to the other. We will see the Temple standing. We will see how it stands in all its glory, the ark, and everything. “This is the aspect of, ‘What ails you now, that you are completely gone up to the rooftops?’” You boast that you destroyed the Temple. “The destruction is that you went up completely to the rooftops, to destroy the building which rests on the foundation, since it is like a roof. The foundation of the structure, however, which is the main element of the structure, can never be destroyed by you. That is the meaning of the verse, ‘Why do you look askance, oh high–peaked hills?’ ‘High–peaked’ bears a similar root to the word for roof or height. That is to say, that David said to the destroyers: Why do you look askance, oh high peaked hills?” The hills were uprooted from their place; they began to fly through the air. You are all “high–peaked hills.” You are an arrogant people, you are high–peaked hills with conceit. “Why do you look askance, why do you dance and mock you high–peaked hills? All your might is only like a roof, that you destroyed the peak / back and the roof which is the structure that sits upon the foundation.” All backache is—only with screaming out to G–d can a person escape from feeling back pain. Crying out to G–d will cause such advice, such Divine service, to be revealed to him. [This lesson was being given in the house of a student suffering from back pain, whom the Rav had come to visit.] “But the foundation of holiness itself which is the foundation of the Temple can never be destroyed by you under any circumstances, for ‘This mountain that G–d has desired for His abode, truly Hashem will dwell there forever.’ The foundation of the Temple that David / Moshiach found remains forever until the eternal Temple that will never be destroyed will be built, speedily and in our days.” “This is the meaning of, ‘When you build a new house.’” Now we need to believe that it’s still possible to build the Temple. During these twenty–two days, it’s still possible to build the Temple. “When you build a new house.” We’ll dance until the morning after Simchas Torah, and we will merit seeing the Temple. “‘When you build a new house’—this is an allusion to the third Temple. Then a new light will shine forth on Zion.” We are building up the light now; we are escaping from our blemishes of the covenant. This is the new light that will shine forth on Zion. “As the verse says, ‘Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it will spring forth.’ That is why the third future Temple is called a new house. Then, ‘You will make a parapet for your roof.’ From this point onward, we must all take care to involve ourselves in the construction of the third future Temple.” To make a parapet for the roof, to make a parapet—“I will make a parapet for your roof.” This means accepting insults. “I will be what I will be.” Whenever a person gets insulted, he has to say, “In His Temple, everyone speaks of His glory.” Insults are songs and praises of G–d. The only problem is that you can’t hear them. I ate Bamba, so I got an ear infection. I can’t hear. “I will make a parapet for your roof.” A person hears booming because of the Bamba. He hears booming instead of songs and praise. He hears booming instead, but it is all songs and praises to G–d. “A parapet for your roof. Every single person must be involved in the building of the Temple.” All of our Divine service that we do now is the building of the third Temple. All of us are occupied with the building of the third Temple. This is only achieved through prayer and song, through dancing and getting up for Chatzos. It is done by praying with all our strength, and by learning Gemara and Shulchan Aruch for sixteen hours a day. Rav Levi Yitzchak would always say, “Why aren’t you guarding your time? Eight hours are for eating and drinking [i.e., taking care of your physical needs], and during the other sixteen you should be praying, learning, reciting Tehillim.” A person has to hold a book in his hand for sixteen hours a day—hold his Tehillim, his siddur. Twelve and a half [hours] is equal to six hundred thousand [souls]. Every hour is like forty–eight thousand letters. Two hundred [words, one can say two hundred words a minute] times four [letters, the average word is four letters] is eight hundred letters (per minute). Eight hundred times sixty is forty–eight thousand [letters an hour]. Ten hours is four hundred and eighty thousand, plus another two and a half-hours [another one hundred and twenty thousand letters] comes to six hundred thousand letters. In twelve and a half-hours, a person sustains all of the six hundred thousand root souls of the Jewish people. You want to bring people closer to Judaism? Then learn, learn, and hold onto your Tehillim and all the six hundred thousand will repent. “‘And I will make a parapet for your roof.’ We must all be involved now in the building of the Temple.” Everyone must take care; everyone is obligated to build the Temple. So says Reb Nosson. People must take care, they must be very careful. Everyone must be very careful with these matters and know that the entire building of the Temple depends on this. When one Tzaddik repents, the entire world is forgiven. The verse says [Yirmiyahu 5:1], “Wander through the streets of Yerushalayim and see if a single person seeks faith.” There is a Midrash on Parshas VaYeira, in another three weeks it will already be Parshas VaYeira. The Midrash says that Avraham asked that Sodom be saved for the sake of ten Tzaddikim, but in Yerushalayim they wandered the streets looking for a single person of faith. If there would be one, if there is even one in Yerushalayim, then he protects all of Yerushalayim. In Yerushalayim, just one is enough. When the Temple was destroyed, there wasn’t even one, aside from Yirmiyahu and a handful of other Tzaddikim that Hashem wasn’t referring to. He meant that one of the masses should repent. We are one of the masses; we are of the simple people. We are here in the depths of hell, and if we will repent, then the Temple will be rebuilt today, now. This is what Reb Nosson is talking about. Therefore everyone is obligated to build the Temple; everyone must be one of the “Temple Mount Faithful.” Who are the Temple Mount Faithful? Those who pray and get up for Chatzos, who dance in the fields and scream in the fields, this is the only way that the Temple will be built. Every single person must take care to be involved in the building of the new future Temple, to begin to be involved in the building of the Temple, to lay the foundations, just like David HaMelech who revealed, who laid the foundations. The moment that you make the foundation, then the Temple already stands in its glory. It can’t be destroyed. “Everyone must now take care to be involved in the building of the new future Temple. And the main thing is to make a parapet for the roof, so that no one falls from it. They must make sure that the roof (which implies the building itself that sits upon the foundation) is built properly so that it will never again be destroyed. For all sins are like blood…” Everything is the blood, as we said before. All of this is because of the boiling and raging blood that is within every person. This blood reflects how many souls a person is made up of, if he is made up of more souls, and then he has more blood raging inside of him. One person is made up of a million souls, so he burns with a million fires. When a person sees how many fires are burning inside of him, he should know that it is because he is made up of more souls. He needs to start to pour water on his negative desires. “Pour your heart out like water before the face of G–d.” You have to pour your heart out like water, to pour out water, an ocean of water. The first letters of the first three words of the verse, “Pour your heart out like water” spell “intelligence” (“sechel”). This is the true intellect. “Pour your heart out like water before the face of G–d.” “For all sins are like blood.” A person’s blood can boil and rage inside of him, and he himself brings on all the bloodshed. It was I who brought on the bloodshed. I’m the Chamberlain; I’m the Charlie Chaplin. I’m the one who is bringing on all of this bloodshed. I am the fool that they are all manipulating, on whom the negative desires are working, on whom the evil inclination is working so that I will submit to him. He is working on me so that I will sign, that I should sign for him, to make peace with him. I am making peace with the evil inclination, so the evil inclination can rule the world. I am the one who signed. The one who signed was me; I was there. “For all sins are like blood.” When a person submits to his evil inclination, then we find ourselves under the rule of the gentile nations. “They are a product of the over-activity of the blood that is within the three hundred and sixty–five vessels.” Every minute during which a person ruminates over some bad thought causes a Jew to be killed. That is really the way it is! A person can see that he has some negative thought. If he looks at the clock he’ll know that a Jew has just been killed! Every little failing brings death to some Jew! Right now, everyone is surrounded by bullets. The entire Jewish people is now surrounded by bullets, by stones. “For all sins are like blood. They are a product of the over-activity of the blood that is within the three hundred and sixty–five vessels which parallel the three hundred and sixty–five prohibitions of the Torah.” There are three hundred and sixty five blood vessels, and all of them burn like fire. Instead of being a flaming torch of Moshiach ben David, they are the torches that destroy the Temple, that burn the Temple! I burned the Temple. I burned the Temple. “They parallel the three hundred and sixty–five prohibitions of the Torah. This is what caused the fall of all of those who fell, and this is the meaning of, ‘Make a parapet for your roof so that the falling one will not fall from it.’” Make a parapet—scream to Hashem because there is someone falling from it. Scream to Hashem, so that the falling one will not fall from it. Scream to Hashem, so that he won’t fall off the roof, so that he won’t fall off the roof. I am falling off of the roof every minute; I am falling off of the roof every minute! If I walk in the street, it’s called falling off of the roof. I opened my eyes, then I fell off of the roof. You’re driving a car? So drive with your eyes closed. If you need to stop at the light, then close your eyes. Don’t see all of the people that are passing in front of you. Someone will beep their horn at you, and you’ll know that people are already driving again and that you should also drive. You can even look at your watch. If you’re at a red light, it usually takes about two minutes waiting time until it turns green again. “This is what caused the fall of all of those who fell, G–d have mercy, which destroyed the Temple. This is why we must repair the building.” “This is what caused the fall of all of those who fell.” Who fell? I fell. I fell off of the roof. I fell from the Temple, and I fell from holiness. Make a parapet so that you don’t fall! The parapet is your cries to Hashem! “‘Make a parapet for your roof’—to build the Temple anew.” Everyone must build a new Temple. “When you build a new house...” Reb Nosson says that the verse “When you build a new house...” is a universal command to build the Temple. Everyone is commanded to build the Temple, to build the foundation of the Temple. “When you build a new house…” Everyone is obligated to build the Temple and make a parapet, not to fall. To make a parapet—when you go out into the street, you must go with your eyes closed. And you must cry out to G–d! The families have now gone back to their homes. They turn out the lights, they’re afraid to turn on the lights. All of them crawled on the ground to get into their homes. They’re shooting at you, crawl on the ground! Walk with your head down! With your head down! There are those who are afraid to return home. The majority returned, but there are those who are afraid, “What, should I go where there is shooting?” They went to stay in the community center; they went to stay in the street with sleeping bags. “What, all night long, they’ll shoot at me and I’ll have to hide under my bed? What kind of life is that?” Hashem should have mercy on us, on where we’ve come to. They signed on peace! Amazing peace! We see what the secular mind is capable of. If a person has no Torah, you see to where he reaches. It is possible now to bring all of the secularists back to Judaism, to bring the entire world to repentance. We need now to move to Eilat. You should organize a plane for the coming week to travel to Eilat. Even if it will be quiet for a few days, that will end. Afterward, it will get even worse. He’ll say, “See, I tried for two days. What do you want from me? I did my part. I tried. You see, I stopped for two days.” I don’t know what this morning’s news has been. You didn’t hear anything. No one else knows right now what is going on exactly. So even if there will be quiet for two days, he will say, “See, I made it quiet.” Then they’ll start with shelling. First they threw stones, and then they threw Molotov cocktails on the road to Beitar where the tunnels are. After that, they used light artillery, and today they are deployed there with heavy artillery. In a little while, they will be deployed with heavy artillery in the streets of Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak. We’ll go back to the times of 1948, to the period of the Ottoman Empire, until the Jewish people repent and figure out exactly what they have chosen. We are in the middle of a terrible situation. We are surviving on faith, but we have to feel the pain of the Jewish people. Jews were thrown out of their homes. One of them leveled blows at the one who was evacuating him. “Who are you to throw me out? Go and evacuate those pure and holy Tzaddikim that you love so much, your partners. Why are you throwing me out?” They just now put him in jail, in handcuffs. They put a Jew in handcuffs for spewing out “incitement”. This is called incitement nowadays; this is rebellion. Hashem should have mercy on us, to where we’ve come. We could never have envisioned this in our wildest imagination. In any case, we are talking now about the Rebbe who said that our task is to bring the entire world to repent. Everyone has caught on to what is going on here. The whole country has figured it out. We just need now to go from city to city, from town to town, to give classes. The Shadari”m, everyone, has to go throughout the country now, at this very moment. After Simchas Torah we have to go out every day for twelve hours. At the very least, during the first week after this we have to learn for eight hours and go out for eight hours. If we don’t learn, then we won’t have Divine assistance. We have to go out now. It’s possible now to bring the entire people back to Judaism. The nation is waiting for people to come to them with peyos and beards to encourage them. The whole country is absolutely broken in spirit. “And they pursued them until Shevarim (the pieces).” We read this here. “And they pursued them until Shevarim.” Everyone is absolutely broken now. We have to feel the pain of the Jewish people. Thank G–d, we are dancing, and we are singing. Things are good with us; we are going with Rabbeinu, with the Clouds of Glory. But the Jewish people don’t yet have the Clouds of Glory. They don’t even know what the Clouds of Glory are! They don’t even know what a Sukkah is! If he doesn’t need a Sukkah, then there is nothing. If he doesn’t need the Shabbos, then all of the roads can be closed to him, but he still doesn’t understand why. Even Bialik said, “More than the Jews guarded the Shabbos, the Shabbos guarded the Jews.” They still believed then—he learned in yeshiva once upon a time. This is a famous statement that everyone learned once upon a time, anyone who learned in school. They’ve already forgotten this statement of that heretic. He was such a heretic, but he still said, “The Shabbos protects us!” And Dizengoff said, “The Shabbos will be observed in Tel Aviv!” He was the first mayor of Tel Aviv. He said, “Shabbos will be observed here. There will be no desecration of Shabbos here.” He signed that there would be no Shabbos desecration under any circumstances. These people had learned once upon a time in yeshivos, they heard about yeshivos, they knew their grandfathers and they knew that without Shabbos there is nothing at all. All they had to do was say that there’s no Shabbos and, that’s it, the whole thing collapsed here. We are returning to our point here. Reb Nosson said: “When you build a new house...” Every person is obligated to be involved in building the house, in building the third Temple. Everyone must get up for Chatzos; no one can sleep now. The Jewish people is in trouble, no one should sleep at night. Soldiers are sitting, miserable. They aren’t on vacation. The poor men are getting shot at and they are forbidden to leave their posts. They are forbidden to leave their posts—it is terrible! Such a thing never existed during any war! During the Yom Kippur war, they began to stop the advance on Hashanah Rabbah. Within three or four days, they stopped them. Perhaps now we will also have a miracle on Hashanah Rabbah. Here, they can’t get out. They can’t move. They are getting shot at day and night without end. Perhaps they’ll stop for two days. We’ll see. We don’t know what is going on right now. If they’ll stop for two days, then it will get worse afterward. They’ll be cannon and heavy artillery and missiles. So we have to feel the pain of the Jewish people. Even if we are going with Rabbeinu and we aren’t suffering, we have to feel the pain of the entire Jewish people. Now is the time when it is forbidden to be silent, it is forbidden to sleep, to dream. We must go out to the fields and scream to G–d. We must come to pray at dawn. “‘For the falling one may fall from it…’ ‘When you build a new house...’ ‘Every single person is obligated to be involved in the building of the Temple…’ ‘Do not put blood in your home.’” Don’t put blood in your home, don’t let the blood run rampant, don’t let the evil inclination run rampant. Fight against the evil inclination. All of the blood that is being spilled is my fault. “This is the meaning of, ‘Do not put blood in your home.’ Cease to sin so that the falling one will not fall. Rather, everyone will be strong to remain firm.” “Do not put blood in your home.” This is a Torah prohibition. If a person allows his negative desires to run rampant, he allows his evil inclination to run rampant, then he is transgressing a Torah prohibition, “Do not put blood in your home.” All of this is a product of the muddied–up blood, the blood that came from the sin of Adam HaRishon and from all of a person’s previous incarnations. “Rather, everyone will be strong to remain firm, they will remain with their faith so that the Temple will stand forever.” “This is why the exile has lasted so long.” Because the blood is running rampant. “Do not put blood in your home.” And the gentile nations rule over us, make a joke out of us, and remove us from our homes. “Because Hashem wants to build a structure that will last forever.” We are standing now before the building of the structure that will last forever. This has been such a harsh exile, such a terrible Holocaust, and now we are standing before the third Temple. The most difficult things, the most awful things are happening now. We will have at least nine extremely difficult months. They will be difficult and horrifying. Who knows if we will be able to travel to Bnei Brak? Who knows? They will stand on the hills there in Sha’ar HaGai among the trees, in the forest, with their artillery and they will say, “We signed that it is forbidden to shoot back. We signed. What do you want? We are men of peace!” We have no way of knowing what they can stoop to. We have already gotten to the point where people have to leave their homes. It is no longer possible to know how far they will be willing to go. “Make a parapet for your roof. So that you do not continue to sin.” I am guilty of everything that is going on, all because of my muddied–up blood. This is how, every moment, we transgress the prohibition, “Do not put blood into your home.” “This is why the exile has lasted so long. Because Hashem wants to build a structure that will last forever.” We are heading for terrible days, nine terrible months. All of this is to hasten the redemption, to hasten the redemption. Hashem wants there to be a complete redemption, a structure that will last forever. Everything that is written in the holy books about 5760 applies to 5761, because they go according to when the molad (the exact moment of the new moon) is. And you have to start the calculation from the day when Adam HaRishon was created. “So that there will be a complete redemption that will not followed by another exile. This is mainly accomplished by the true Tzaddikim in every era who effect rectifications so that the Jewish people will not fall from their holiness ever again, or ever return to their foolish ways. As the verse says, ‘I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh.’” Now is the time to repent, and each and every person should repent. “‘And I will cause you to follow my statutes.’ It is therefore impossible to really know when the wondrous end of days will be.” We do not know how the construction of the Temple will occur. “For it is very difficult to help a person with free will. Even so, ‘Hashem’s advice stands forever.’ In His mercy, he comforts and gladdens us with the holy foundations that we have already merited to lay down by leaving Egypt and receiving the Torah. Through this, every single Jew manages to grab some mitzvos every day. David already found the place of the Temple, and it has already been built twice. They brought up sacrifices and incense offerings there, and clarified all of the laws of the Torah in its Chamber of Hewn Stone. Through all of this, the Tzaddikim have already laid down strong foundations that will last forever, that cannot be destroyed even when the Temple lays in ruins. So, too, afterward, after the destruction of the Temple, our G–d has not abandoned us. In every era, great and awesome Tzaddikim have arisen because there is no such thing as an orphaned generation.” There is no such thing as an orphaned generation! There is no orphaned generation! There are Tzaddikim even in this generation! The Tzaddikim are the Breslovers—they are the Tzaddikim. Those who get up for Chatzos, who pray with all their might, who close their eyes, who guard their thoughts—they are the Tzaddikim. There is no orphaned generation. They will bring about the redemption. “Even now, in our generation, there were awesome Tzaddikim who laid down foundations that are so strong, they can never be destroyed under any circumstances. This is the meaning of the verse, ‘I shall scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands, and I will be for them a miniature sanctuary.’ Through this, we hope and wait for the building of the new Temple that will never be destroyed.” This is what Reb Nosson says, we are on the verge now of the building of the third Temple. All that is happening is preparation for the building of the third Temple. “Therefore, every single person must gladden himself every day with this fact, with the miracles and salvation of the past, the present, and the future.” Everyone has seen countless miracles. “This is the aspect of the third Temple whose foundations were laid during the times of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov when they prayed there, as the Sages said. Moshe Rabbeinu also spoke about the site several times, as the verse says, ‘And it will be the place that Hashem will choose.’” We have merited being in the place that Hashem will choose. The Yeshiva is in the Holy of Holies, every day we are at the Kotel, “The place that Hashem will choose.” David / Moshiach was worthy of finding it only because he did not sleep. “I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids until I find a place for Hashem, a dwelling place for the mighty One of Yaakov. Behold, I heard of it in Efrata…in the fields of the forest.” A person goes out to the fields, to scream in the fields of the forest. “‘And it will be the place that Hashem will choose…’ David / Moshiach merited to find it through his incredible effort which is the aspect of joy.” We need to cry for two hours at Chatzos from the second day of Cheshvan until the twenty–ninth of Adar. “This is the aspect of taking joy in the miracles and salvation of the past, and also of the present. They are like the synagogues and study halls in which people are occupied with Torah and prayer every day. They are the miniature sanctuaries.” Every synagogue is a miniature sanctuary. “The main element of joy comes from the hope that we feel in the future building of the third Temple.” Right now, we are all preparing ourselves for the construction of the third Temple with singing, dancing, Chatzos and with the lulav and the esrog. “This future Temple will stand forever, and joy will be endlessly magnified. As the verse says, ‘Our mouths will then fill with laughter.’” Rabbi Yochanan said that it is forbidden for a person to fill his mouth with laughter in this world. “Our mouths will then fill with laughter.” [Then, and then only]. Rabbi Yochanan said this. That it is forbidden for a person to fill his mouth with laughter in this world. From that time onward, Reish Lakish never smiled; a laugh never escaped his lips. The Rebbe, however, revealed that our Divine service is, after so much tragedy, so much suffering, our Divine service is to refrain from joy for no more than an hour or, at most, two hours. Afterward, we have to dance and sing and give joy to everyone else until the Temple is built. Then our mouths will fill with laughter; there will be so much joy. “So too, every person must gladden his soul with every good point that he ever merited to attain during his lifetime. He should especially gladden himself with the fact that Hashem separated us from those who stray.” A person always has something to be happy about. “And that he still merits to grab more good points every single day, and also because of his hope in the future. For, in the end, every Jew will certainly be rectified for, ‘Hashem will not reject His people or abandon His portion.’ Hashem never said that He would erase the name of the Jewish people, for that verse refers even to those generations that served idols, as is clearly described in the book of Melachim II. All this is true by virtue of the power of the true Tzaddikim in whose shade we take refuge, and because of this everything will be rectified. They are the source of all of our joy, our vitality, and our eternal existence.” “This is the aspect of the three verses that speak of redemption, the three verses that mention change, and the three verses that speak of peace.” We must sweeten the judgements, to nullify depression. All judgements are a product of depression—if we weren’t depressed, then there wouldn’t be any judgement. There wouldn’t be any sin. All sins are a product of depression. Why is a person depressed? Because he isn’t happy that he is already married, that he already has a child, thank G–d. He doesn’t feel happy from this. He doesn’t understand what he wants. The soul is a prisoner, it is in prison, and it is trapped behind these screens of negative desires. He doesn’t even know what he’s missing, he isn’t happy and he doesn’t even sense that he isn’t happy. He’s walking around, he smiles, and he talks. He talks about politics; he talks derogatorily of others; he talks about nonsense. Grab onto a book of Tehillim! The Jewish people are in trouble! Recite Tehillim for an hour now! Now is the time to wake up and recite Tehillim. One should recite chapters 80 and 83. These are the main chapters. Is there a book of Tehillim here? 80 and 83. We’ll say them together now, because we see now how the entire world is trying to destroy us. We will now recite chapters 80 and 83, word by word. [Everyone then recited those chapters together word by word, enthusiastically. They also recited chapter 84.] “Hashem is a sun and a shield. Hashem will give grace and honor, He will not withhold good from those who walk in simplicity.” “A sun and a shield”—the Gemara in Sotah says that this phrase refers to Shimshon. With the jawbone of a donkey, he slew multitudes. He smote a thousand men, and there was quiet throughout Israel for the following forty years. “With the jaw of a donkey, I slew multitudes of men.” Even if a person is the basest donkey, even if he is on the lowest level, with a single honest cry to G–d, he can destroy all of the enemies. “This is the aspect of the three verses that mention redemption, the three verses that speak of change, and the three verses that mention peace. They are an aspect of redemption and the sweetening of judgements to nullify depression.” The main thing is to escape from depression, not to be depressed even for a second. “This is the harsh aspect of judgement.” There is no reason at all to be depressed. Thank G–d, everyone is married and everyone has children. There is no reason to be depressed. Everyone has a wonderful apartment; there is no reason to be depressed for even as much as a second. Even if a person doesn’t know what to be happy about, he should recite Tehillim, or learn Gemara. “Depression is the harsh aspect of judgement which is the source of all exile both physical and spiritual, may G–d save us. [But these three types of passages] serve to always draw joy and peace upon us.” Endless joy, to rejoice and dance. “This is redemption and freedom, and an end to all suffering.” By being truly joyful, this alone can put an end to all of the suffering. When Hashem sees that we are truly joyful, that we are happy with Him, “Yisrael will rejoice in his Maker.” To be happy that Hashem created us, that Hashem created us as Divine creatures—this is the greatest joy. “Hashem will rejoice in His works.” We must rejoice in Hashem, that Hashem created us, that we are His flock, that He created us for His own glory and so separated us from those who stray. Hashem created us for His glory, that we should pray and learn Torah, that the entire world—all of the gentile nations—should see that the only thing that the Jews are interested in is prayer and Torah. Then there is reason to rejoice. If we are joyful, then the judgements will cease to be—no Jew will die. “To draw joy and peace down upon ourselves, which is the aspect of the redemption, freedom, and the end of all suffering—that is why we recite these verses at the conclusion of Shabbos. So that the sadness and judgements that are aroused during the weekdays will not become overpowering.” We say three verses that mention redemption. We say three verses that speak of change, to change everyone’s mind. That is why we say three verses that speak of change. “You changed my sorrow to dancing, You opened my sackcloth and girded me with joy.” We do this to turn everything around. Right now, everyone is having a change of mind, the entire nation. All of the secularists are having their revolution. They’re all having a change of mind; their mind is turning over. “That is why we say them at the conclusion of Shabbos. So that the sadness and judgements that are aroused during the weekdays will not become overpowering. This is why we have the custom of saying the verses of, ‘And G–d will grant you…’ which are many verses of joy, blessing, and peace.” The longer a person pushes off making havdalah, the better off he is. These are the verses of their blessings: And G–d will grant you from the dews of heaven and the fat of the land, and an abundance of grain and wine. Nations will serve you and peoples will bow down before you. You will rule over your brother, and the sons of your mother will bow down before you. Those who curse you are cursed, and those who bless you are blessed. G–d will bless you and cause you to be fruitful and multiply, and you will become a congregation of nations. And He will give you the blessing of Avraham, to you and to you children with you, to inherit the land of your sojournings that G–d gave to Avraham.“That is why we say these three and three—three verses that mention redemption, to nullify the sadness. That is why there are three sets of three, to parallel these three aspects.” We have another six minutes, and afterward we will recite the Kaddish Di’Rabanan for the sake of the recovery of the man who was seriously wounded yesterday. May he experience a miracle so he will be able to live. Hashem should show everyone miracles and wonders, all of the sick among the Jewish people. “That is why there are three sets of three, to parallel these three aspects of the past, the present, and the future. We must gladden ourselves with the past, meaning, with the true good that Hashem already did for us by revealing Himself at the Exodus and the giving of the Torah. So too, with the present and the future, as was already mentioned. This idea is alluded to in all of the verses that are in these three sets of three. For the three verses that mention redemption begin with, ‘He redeemed my soul in peace.’” Right now we need the pidyon, the all–encompassing redemption. “He redeemed my soul in peace.” We need to redeem the Jewish people from the entire terrible decree. All of it refers to 5761. The holy books say that terrible things will be happening in 5761. “‘He redeemed my soul in peace.’ The word ‘redeemed’ is in the past tense, that He already redeemed my soul from the grave by having chosen us from among the nations, by giving us His Torah, and separating us from those who stray.” We are Your children, and You are our Father. We are Your loved one, and You are our Master. We are the children of Hashem; we are the loved ones of Hashem who will have mercy on us. “And the people said to Shaul, Will Yonasan die? The one who brought about this great salvation in Israel?” [Shmuel I:14]. Yonasan had said, “If they tell us to stand, we’ll stand. If they tell us to go up, we’ll go up. Two men went up and took care of some one hundred thousand of the enemy. At the same time, when Shaul saw that the people were all crying, he made them all swear that none of them would eat anything that day. Yonasan, however, had not been there when the oath was declared publicly, and so when they came upon honey in the field, Yonasan ate from it. Afterward, “The people said to Shaul: Will Yonasan die?” After he brought about such salvation—two people went and took care of one hundred thousand Pelishtim. With a single cry to G–d, two people say Tehillim and they take care of one hundred thousand Pelishtim. “This great salvation in Israel.” All of us are reincarnations of them. “‘And the people saved Yonasan, and he did not die.’ This is an allusion to every single person, to all of the danger and heavenly accusation that pits itself against every one of us, yet Hashem does miracles.” They said, “If they tell us to stand, we will stand. If they tell us to go up, we will go up.” [This was in the precipice between two huge boulders.] One was called Botzetz, and the other was called Seneh. To this day, you can see these two cliffs. At Ma’aleh Michmash you can see these two cliffs, these two terrible cliffs that are so tall. You can literally still see them today. “We are the children of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.” We are the children of Hashem. The father has mercy on his child even when the child has been rebellious and has done all sorts of bad things. The father still has mercy on his son. He cries out, “Father, have mercy on me.” And then the father has mercy on his child. “Father, I repent. I regret what I did.” If we will truly repent, the Temple will also be built. The Temple will be built; we won’t just be saved from our enemies. The Temple will be built! “This is the aspect of the kindness and goodness of the present, that Hashem does good even to the guilty.” We must know that Hashem does good even to the guilty, that we are still not Tzaddikim, we are still not holy. But we will start to be holy from now on. “He does good even to the guilty at all times by virtue of the great power of the Tzaddikim who sustain the world and cause everyone to be given the benefit of the doubt. ‘Hashem’s redeemed ones will return and come to Zion in song, with eternal joy on their heads.’ This is the aspect of the intensity of the hope and joy of our future return to Zion. At that time, we will be worthy of eternal and everlasting joy. This is the meaning of the verse, ‘They will attain joy and happiness, and sorrow and sighing will flee.’ This is the main thing, to overturn all of the sorrow and sighing into joy.” We dance now, we sing now, now we are in Chessed within Hod. Tomorrow will be five Chassadim within Yesod, and Friday it will be within Malchus. After that, it will be Simchas Torah, and there will be thirty–six hours of dancing. Through this, it will be possible to sweeten all of the judgements. “So too with the three verses that speak of change. ‘You changed my mourning into dancing, You opened my sackcloth and girded me with joy.’ All of this is in the past tense. The kindness and the goodness of the past that Hashem already did for us, the countless wonders and miracles. He changed my mourning into dancing, because He changed around my trouble into ease countless times.” “The second verse is: ‘Hashem, your G–d, did not want to listen to Bil’am, and Hashem changed the curse into a blessing.’ This is the aspect of the miracles, the wonders, and the salvation that a person experiences in the present whenever terrible accusations arise against him through the agency of the other side. These accusations are from the same source as the wicked Bil’am who wants to uproot the Jewish people, G–d forbid, as is brought in the holy books.” “Hashem changed the curse into a blessing.” “Because Hashem, your G–d, loves you.” Even though everyone curses us and signs peace agreements just to destroy us—even so, Hashem can change everything around in one instant, because all of this is only a product of our own muddied–up blood. “Hashem, in His great mercy, doesn’t want to listen to them. He overturns the curse into a blessing through the great power of Moshe Rabbeinu who is the paradigm of the true Tzaddikim in every era.” Everything is done through the power of Moshe Rabbeinu. He was the one who changed the curse into a blessing so completely that they didn’t know what was happening. They didn’t even know what harsh decrees had been decreed upon them. “The third verse: ‘Then will the maiden rejoice with dancing, young men and old men together…and I will change their mourning into rejoicing.’ This is the aspect of the joy of the future, as was mentioned above.” “So too with the three verses that mention peace. ‘I will create a new expression of the lips: Peace, peace, both for far and near, says Hashem. And I will heal him.’” All healing can be drawn down now. “For Hashem already prepared the remedy, which is ‘Peace both for far and near’ through the true Tzaddikim who prepared such life–giving and holy remedies with their holy books and words that restore the soul. This is self–evident to all those who have truly tasted of their words, as the verse says, ‘Taste and see that Hashem is good.’” “The second verse: ‘Then the spirit came upon Amasai…We are yours, David, and on your side, you son of Yishai. Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers…’ This is an allusion to the war against the true Tzaddikim that exists in every generation.” They are fighting against the true Tzaddikim! “It is well known what has gone on in this respect in our generation as well as in earlier ones. Hashem in His mercy, however, plants within the hearts of some Jewish souls to search for the truth. They do come to the true Tzaddik.” Those few who come to Tzaddikim so that they can follow their advice—Chatzos, hisbodedus—they are the ones who save the Jewish people. They want the real truth. “They come to the true Tzaddikim and those who are close to them, and truly draw close to them. They say to them, ‘Peace to you, and peace to your helpers.’” “The third verse: ‘And thus will you say to him: A hearty greeting! Peace to both of you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have.’ This alludes to the eternal life of the future.” If we seek true peace, the advice of the Tzaddik, then it is now possible to sweeten all of the judgements and draw down true peace—not a peace that will destroy the Jewish people. True peace depends on those who are close to the Tzaddik, who have faith in the Tzaddik. They are the ones who can draw down true peace. “This is what David said, ‘And thus will you say to him: A hearty greeting! Peace to both of you, and peace to your house, and peace to all that you have.’ This alludes to the eternal life of the future, for then there will be the wondrous peace that is described in many verses.” “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard with the kid will lie down together. The cow and the bear will graze…” There will be such peace throughout the entire world, true peace. All of the wolves, all of the leopards, all of them will live in peace with the lambs, with the kids, and the sheep. “This is the meaning of the verse, ‘Hashem will give strength to His people, Hashem will bless His people with peace.’ For the main perfection of joy and blessing is peace, which is a vessel that holds blessing. Through peace, when many Jewish souls come together, the light of joy is increased.” We have to always be at peace; we must never speak badly of anyone else. We must never arouse heavenly accusation against the Jewish people. It is forbidden to speak badly of anyone. We must accept all insult with love. People insult, they come up with all kinds of justifications for putting down other people. All of this is because I ate Bamba, because I…[dedicated myself to serving my body,] so instead I got booming in my ears. The Rebbe says in Likutei Moharan I:55 that if only I were worthy, I would hear only melodies and songs, only songs! “For through the fact that many Jewish souls come together as one, the light of joy is increased. Through this, we can receive the light of the nine heavenly chambers to attain the endless Light in an aspect of ‘touching and not touching.’” To see the endless Light, to see that everything is good. “For within the light to the eyes…” “Taste and see that Hashem is good.” To see the endless Light, to see Hashem face to face, to only see Hashem. “I place Hashem before me always.” The entire Shulchan Aruch is meant to bring us to fulfill its opening line. “‘I place Hashem before me always.’ This is a great general principle of the levels of the Tzaddikim.” Every second, every moment, they see Hashem. “I place Hashem before me always.” “Because this light is so great, it can only be received when there are many vessels of Jewish souls that come together in love and peace to the true Tzaddikim. They are worthy of lights that are the ‘brilliant lights’ that heal and gladden all those who are ill.” Healing is coming down right now for all of those who are ill. Now is the time to recite Tehillim for all of those who are ill, to draw down healing for them. To your [the host’s] wife’s mother, and to everyone, complete recoveries for everyone. Everyone will get rid of his or her cancer; we will have now such prayers, everyone will resolve to say the entire book of Tehillim every day—every day. Now, during the intercession, at least: to say Tehillim! The Jewish people are in such trouble, Jews are being killed every day, and Jews are being wounded every day! Everyone should resolve now, as we stand here, to recite all of Tehillim every day. The entire book of Tehillim every day! At least until the new session starts. After it begins, we will make a new system. Everyone should say all of Tehillim. They should say it together. You can finish the entire book in two hours. Someone should put up a notice about everyone coming, and you will complete the book of Tehillim in two hours—everyone together. Maybe even I will merit to join you one time and recite the entire book of Tehillim together with you. The entire book of Tehillim! The Jewish people are in such trouble! I remember when I was a boy…I remember chapters 80 and 83 from the time I was ten years old. When I was ten years old, they gathered together all of the children from Haifa. They gathered up all the children from Haifa and we went to Tiferes Yisrael on Geula Street. It was the one and only yeshiva in Haifa. They gathered up all the children from the religious schools and the chederim we all came, and we screamed those chapters. The entire Jewish people screamed and cried. I remember it to this day. I was ten years old at the time. To feel that the Jewish people is in trouble! Jews are being killed. You must feel the anguish that a Jew has been killed! The family is bereaved; the wife is a widow, and the children are orphans. There are those who have ten children—fourteen children—it is impossible to describe the misery. And this woman…although she is going straight to Gan Eden now, even so, “One hour…in this world is better than all of the life of the world to come.” We must now really feel the pain of the Jewish people. We must make a rule to say the entire book of Tehillim every day until the new sessions starts. Now is the time for repentance. Now is the time to make a true peace. If there will be a true peace, then everyone will repent. If there will be a true peace, then the entire Jewish people will repent. Let there be a secular revolution—let all of the secularists have a mental revolution now. “The more sick they are, the more expensive is the medication that they need.” The Jewish people are literally ill right now. There are people who haven’t known about Shabbos for three generations! The first ones who became heretics knew their grandfathers and they had fear, the fear of a religious Jew. They were afraid to desecrate the Shabbos in public. Today, people are so ill—they’re just ill. They’re like children who were taken captive and raised among gentiles. They are coming back to Judaism, and they even surpass us. By reciting Tehillim and praying every letter of the prayers with proper focus, it is possible to bring all of the ailing ones back to Judaism. No one is guilty; they are all like children who were taken captive and raised by gentiles! They don’t know anything, they don’t know that there is a Jewish people. They don’t understand. On the Fast of Gedaliya, they wanted to remove the Jewish nationality mark from identity cards. On the Fast of Gedaliya, they determined that they would erase the Jewish mark. They went to go and do it. I don’t know who said this but someone said, “You are going to erase the Jewish name now, and now everyone wants to destroy you.” They thought, “That’s it. We can already intermarry with the Arabs.” What a wondrous peace we had going here… Since the buses blew up, things have relaxed a bit. That’s it. They wanted to erase the Jewish name! Now they are pushing off all of their plans until this war is over. Now we see that they really are Jews. Everyone is screaming, “You are Jews, you are murderers, you are murdering the Arabs!” The whole world is screaming, “You are murderers!” So everyone feels, “Good, good.” Now he’s a Jew. He sees that you can’t erase the Jewish name. It can’t be erased. It’s something Divine. You can’t erase something Divine—the Divine spark awakens inside every person. Reciting Tehillim with proper focus awakens the Divine spark that is inside each and every person. It draws the “brilliant lights” down to all of them. We will bring the people back to Judaism with the lights, not with war, but with the “brilliant lights”! If we were to pray with proper focus, we would draw down the brilliant lights. All of them would see the light. “The light is sweet, and it is good for the eyes.” We must draw down the brilliant lights, so that we can bring people to repentance with the lights—through joy, through enthusiasm, through dancing. “The brilliant lights that heal and gladden all those who are ill of spirit.” All of the secularists are ill of spirit; they are simply ill of spirit. “Chiloni” (secular) means “Choli” (ill). What does the word “Chiloni” mean? It is the same letters as the word for illness! Sick, plain and simple! We now have to make a revolution so that this ill being will become well, that they should begin to become well now. All of them need to become well now. The main thing is that all of them should become well through the brilliant lights, with joy and dancing. The brilliant lights. All of them will go out…Even the ones who are extremely ill. They, themselves, want to self–destruct. They are Jews who want to destroy the Jewish people. We have come to such a point, that Jews declare that they are canceling out the Jewish people. There is no such thing as a Jew—that’s it. There is no such thing as a Jew! They’ll call him an Arab. They’ll call him a citizen of the New Middle East; they’ll call him an Oriental. I don’t know what they’ll call him! They’ll call him a Mediterranean. I don’t know what they’ll call him. When I was thirteen years old, they wanted to revive the name “Canaanite”. They wanted everyone to be called a Canaanite. Canaan. Everyone then said, “Leave me alone. I want to be a Jew, not a Canaanite.” I remember—I was thirteen years old at the time. This story went on for four years. Everyone must travel to Uman. Everyone must go to the Rebbe. Everything else is just superficial; it’s just some kind of klippah, some kind of illusory honor. Everyone believes in the truth, everyone believes in Hashem. Everyone wants to be Jewish, and it is forbidden to level any accusation against any Jew, G–d forbid. The Rebbe says that we will bring all of them back to Judaism with the brilliant lights. “No one but the greatest Tzaddik knows how to draw them down and heal with them.” We who follow his advice in all innocence and simplicity, who get up for Chatzos, who do hisbodedus and guard our eyes—“Bring me sand and stones, and I will construct building upon building with them.” “Then there will be peace and joy.” [The Rav, together with everyone, began to sing the song that is customarily sung at the conclusion of Shabbos: “For you will go out in joy and be led forth in peace. The mountains and hills will break forth before you in song, and all of the trees of the field will clap their hands”]. We will now continue with Hilchos Rosh Hashanah 1:1, in the middle. “This is what Rabbeinu says, that Yaakov is the aspect of prayer, for the main rectification of prayer is through truth which is the aspect of Yaakov. That is why only the sound of teruah is mentioned in the Torah, and the rest of the sounds are deduced from that, as the Sages said. For the teruah is the aspect of Yaakov, the main sound of the shofar alludes to him. Therefore, the teruah is a sound of groaning and wailing. Meaning, that a person moans and wails and calls to Hashem that he return to Him. Therefore, every teruah has a plain sound before it and a plain sound after it. This also alludes to repentance. At first everything is fine and dandy—that is before the problem. After the problem and the breakage, it is the aspect of ‘Insult has broken my heart.’ It is the aspect of ‘They chased them…as far as Shevarim.’” When a person sees that he is completely broken, “They chase them…as far as Shevarim.” He is completely broken, as shattered as can be. Everyone pursues us; they have already shattered us to smithereens. “Through teruah which is the aspect of truth, as was already mentioned above, things go back to being straight once again. This is the aspect of the tekiyah sound which follows the teruah, which is a simple sound. That is why we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, for it is then that the judgements (that are like darkness) become overpowering. That is why a person must draw himself towards the truth.” What is the truth? What is our truth? That I am the worst person, that I have trillions and trillions of fires burning inside of me and that I scream out to G–d, “Hashem, please save me and help me escape from these fires!” That is my truth! That I cry out, “Please save me Hashem! Save me from the evil inclination, from damaging my eyes! Hashem, save me already! Save me! Enough, already! I don’t want it!” My soul, “You have drunk to the dregs the deep bitter cup.” I don’t want these flaws! I don’t want these sins! I have no pleasure from them. I don’t want this! It is the deep bitter cup! It’s poison. I don’t want it! My soul, “You have drunk to the dregs the deep bitter cup.” This is our truth! To truly scream to G–d, “Please save me, Hashem!” We will scream, “Hashem, please save us!” for another three days—tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and on Simchas Torah. “Hashem, save us. The King will answer us on the day we call.” We say this every day, almost ten times a day, during every prayer service. We should scream, “Please save us Hashem!” in truth. The world is built upon the person who screams this out honestly. He saves the entire world from destruction. “Thus said Hashem, your creator Yaakov.” Yaakov creates the world. Our truth is about screaming to G–d to escape from all that is happening with us—from speaking badly of other Jews, from tale-bearing, from sleeping, from the lust for food. This is the meaning of, “Hashem, please save me!” Help me escape from my lust for food. How much do I need to eat already? I’ve been eating for sixty–three years already. It’s enough eating. That’s it! How much can I eat? “Truth causes Hashem’s light to shine. As in ‘Hashem is my light and my salvation.’” “Hashem is my light.” This is the truth, to truly escape from one’s negative desires. To honestly cry out, “Please save me Hashem!” We have another three days left to scream—tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and Simchas Torah—to scream, “Please save me Hashem!” in truth. “Please help me be successful, Hashem!” Help me to succeed and escape from my negative desires already. Escape from your lusts, and then there will be peace, and everyone will repent! Escape from your blood. “Do not put blood in your house.” Do not transgress this prohibition! “Through this, creation comes into being. Truth, then, sustains the world.” “Do not put blood in your house.” The home is just negative desires. What will she bring me now? A cake, a nice torte. What do I have to do at home? She’ll bring me now a torte, Coca-Cola. What is there at home? Aside from cola and cake, nothing! Thank G–d, here we have the brilliant lights. The verse says, “And they did not know My ways.” “Heim / they” in Yiddish means “home”. So you could read the verse, “At home, they didn’t know My ways.” If you go home, you’re lost. Your wife grabs you and says, “Sit down, eat something. Drink something, go to sleep.” If you’re so bold as to say a word, then watch out. “You want to be sick? Do you want this [sickness]? Do you want that [illness]? You’ve already been sick enough! I have to run with you to the doctor.” “At home, they didn’t know My ways.” Let us return to where we are, to Yaakov. Our truth, then, is to cry to Hashem, “Please save me! Hashem, please help me to succeed!” I want to escape from my lusts and my flaws. Then we will re-create the world and the war will stop. All war is a product of muddied–up blood. The muddied–up blood is bursting out! It is bursting out! This is the bloodshed; this is the blood that is being spilled—because my blood is being spilled. “Do not put blood in your home.” Reb Nosson says on the verse “Do not put blood in your home”—do not allow the evil inclination to run rampant in your house. The women don’t want this at all. It’s only the crazy men who do. “Creation mainly comes to be through the truth. Truth, then, sustains the world. For Creation mainly comes to be through the truth. This is what the Sages said about the verse ‘Your creator Yaakov’—‘My world, My world, who created you? Yaakov created you.’” Who created the world? Yaakov! “For Creation mainly comes to be through the aspect of Yaakov which is the truth. This is what the Sages said, that repentance preceded the creation of the world. For the main element of repentance is truth. Through the truth, one banishes the darkness and creates an opening through which one can escape. This aspect preceded the creation of the world. This is how the creation of the world came to be. As in ‘The darkness covered the face of the abyss, and the spirit of G–d hovered…And there was light.’ “Therefore, Rosh Hashanah is a remembrance of the first day of creation, and it is then that the days of repentance begin. That is why we blow the shofar then, for it is the voice of truth that makes an opening and widens it to allow escape. That is why the shofar is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. One must blow from the narrow end.” One must blow from the narrow end. The days are beginning to get shorter. A person gets up all confused, and he runs to the mikveh. There are those who go straight from bed to pray, but then they don’t know what they are saying at all. The one who first goes to the mikveh, however, has five minutes until he gets there. Then another five minutes to immerse. He goes back, and until he gets to synagogue, it takes another five minutes. So he has about a quarter of an hour to get himself together. A bit of time to get his mental faculties back in order. The day begins at the narrow end. The Rebbe also said about himself, that the day begins at the narrow end. It is impossible to say the words; it is impossible to pray. It is impossible to pray enunciating every letter clearly. “‘Put the opening of the ark in its side.’ I heard Rabbeinu explain this, that one needs to make a new opening in particular.” A new opening, a new opening every day. “Put the opening of the ark in its side.” Next Shabbos, at Minchah time, we’ll already be reading Parshas Noach. That is where we find the verse, “Put the opening of the ark in its side / trap.” You are in the trap; you are in the deepest hell. Esav wants to hunt; he wants to trap you. The kelipot trapped you. Scream to Hashem: “Please save me Hashem!” Scream, “Hashem saves. The King will answer us on the day we call!” “Hashem saves!” The minute that you cry out, the world will be created. The wars will end—there will be true peace. “The letter ‘heh’ symbolizes this world [Menachos 29b]…anyone who wants to leave [can simply fall out at the bottom]…yet it is open from the side to allow in anyone who wants to enter. The Sages asked a question about this, ‘Why can’t he go back up the way he fell out?’ They answered, ‘It wouldn’t work.’ This is the aspect of ‘Put the opening of the ark in its side.’ In its side, for one must enter only through the narrow opening at the side, meaning at the side of the letter ‘heh’. Then Hashem widens the opening for a person and helps him. Then, ‘G–d answered me from a wide–open place.’ This is the aspect of the shofar. It is narrow at the top, and one must blow out the sound of the shofar, the sound of the truth, from the narrow place in particular. Then Hashem widens it for a person. “That is why a person who reverses the position of the shofar and manages to make a sound has still not fulfilled the mitzvah.” Even if a person can actually blow from the wide end, he still has not fulfilled the mitzvah! We don’t start from the wide end. Life isn’t like that. We don’t start out with the kind of mind that allows us to learn straight away. Those who started with strong minds began struggling with their evil inclinations from the age of three. If, on the other hand, a person comes now at the age of twenty to begin to learn, it’s a billion times harder. The reward, however, is also a billion times greater. The more difficult it is for a person, the more reward he receives. “The reward is contingent on the effort.” So too, it is impossible to blow from the wide end. If there is a person whose mouth is big enough to blow from the wide end, he still hasn’t fulfilled his obligation. The wide end is nothing! Whatever comes easy for a person is as if he did nothing at all and hasn’t fulfilled his obligation. That isn’t called doing anything! It’s easy for him to learn. It’s easy for him to pray—he has no lusts. He was born without lusts. This is nothing at all! A person has to deal with all his negative desires, says the Kedushas Yom Tov on Parshas Chayei Sarah. “One hundred, and twenty, and seven years.” She was always like a twenty-year-old. Her whole life long, she was like a twenty-year-old, with the evil inclination of a twenty-year-old. She tried to overcome it, and she succeeded, says the Kedushas Yom Tov in Parshas Chayei Sarah. This is the meaning of what is said: “And the lifetime of Sarah was one hundred years, and twenty years, and seven years.” This never ends; it never ends. There are always battles, always battles. Even a six year old girl has an [evil] inclination, it’s just that her intellect is undeveloped. She doesn’t know what it is at all; she doesn’t understand what is going on at all. A person, then, is stuck with an infinite evil inclination, an infinite evil inclination. He has to fight against it all day long, to do battle with it every day. The Kedushas Yom Tov says that this was, in fact, Sarah’s greatness; that she had an evil inclination and fought against it. This is the meaning of the verse, “And Avraham came to memorialize Sarah and cry over her.” The letter “chaf” of the word “liv’kosa” (to cry over her) is written smaller than normal in a Torah scroll. Moshe Asher Anshin, your father [the Rav turned to someone], said this to me when he heard the interpretation of the Kedushas Yom Tov: “This is what Avraham cried over, he cried over the small “chaf” [its gematria is twenty]. He thought that she no longer had any evil inclination at all, and now it was revealed to him that she indeed had an evil inclination, but overcame it. That was why he cried! Over the small “chaf”! He thought that he had a righteous wife with no evil inclination; he thought that she had no desires at all.” It isn’t like that. The evil inclination burns inside of every single person; it’s just that we know…we don’t want it. It’s insanity! It’s a spirit of foolishness! It’s only a product of the sin of theTree of Knowledge. If there had been no sin, then it wouldn’t exist at all. Moshe Asher Anshin said that this is the meaning of the word “liv’kosa”—he cried over the small “chaf”. He thought that she had always been like an elderly woman who is one hundred years old, but it was the very opposite. She had always been like a young woman of twenty, and she fought against it and overcame it. She escaped from it. And every day is a new war. That is why, if a person blows shofar from the wide end, he has not fulfilled his obligation. Blowing from the wide end is no trick; it’s like a person who has it easy. He has a comfortable life, so he hasn’t fulfilled his obligation. He has to have a small apartment, and if he’s worthy, then he’ll also have a bad wife. He should be happy—he won’t see Gehinom. On the contrary, if you have a good wife, you will definitely see the “face of Gehinom.” With a bad wife, you’ve won’t ever see Gehinom. A bad wife will take you out of Gehinom. A good wife says, “Eat some cake. Eat some toast now. Would you like a cup of coffee or tea? Would you like cola or juice? There are ten bottles here, which should I pour for you?” Straight to Gehinom: ten levels of Gehinom, the seven fires of Gehinom. If a man is worthy of serving G–d even with a good wife, then it is the very highest thing! It is indescribable… From the wide end, a person doesn’t fulfill his obligation. A person who has a comfortable life—everything is good, everything is pleasant—doesn’t fulfill his obligation. He hasn’t done anything in the world, says the Kedushas Yom Tov. This is similar to what the Rambam says in the sixth chapter. He says that the main thing is that a person has an evil inclination and overcomes it. He breaks his evil inclination. That is the main task, and that is the main reward. If a person blows the shofar from the wide end, he hasn’t fulfilled his obligation! If you see that it is easy for a person, know that he is not rewarded for what he does. Reward is for those for whom the task is difficult. “For proper repentance is when a person repents while he is still in the same body.” One must repent with the body, with the sins that one did, with all the blemishes that one made. One must repent with everything. “He must also repent in the same matter that he sinned. He has to go back and pass through the same narrow places to return to Hashem.” He has to repent over everything—all his sins, all of his blemishing of the covenant, all of his past incarnations, the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. He must repent over every single detail, over every single sin. “If, however, his body should ‘turn over’ and change, in an aspect of, ‘It is changed like clay under the seal, and they stand as a garment.’ G–d forbid that his body should change, that he should die and return reincarnated, and only afterward repent and cry out to Hashem. This is not a proper repentance.” He says that it is not good to be reincarnated. This is awesome and frightening! Sitting here these two hours was worthwhile if only to reach this paragraph. This is the most important paragraph right now! He says, if you come back reincarnated and you receive a new body, you haven’t done the repair that was necessary for your present incarnation. It is not a true rectification to have to come back in a new incarnation! You have to do your repairs during your present incarnation! Your present incarnation! All flaws, all thoughts, all forbidden sights—one must repent and cry over all of these blemishes during your present incarnation! We see such a war, Jews are being killed every day, and dozens of people were just wounded. Ten thousand were supposed to have been wounded. They wanted to give everything away, even our homes. They were to have been on the other side of Highway #1, and we were to have been on this side. They were supposed to have stood there with their guns all set up to shoot into our homes, and they would have been willing to evacuate us too—straight to Gan Eden. That was how they managed to evacuate them there, in Gilo. We, however, would have gone straight to Gan Eden. Within a month, there would have been cannon positioned opposite the houses. It was a miracle that it started today and not in another two months. They would have already had tanks in position opposite our homes. All of this is a product of our spiritual flaws. We have to repent now over all of our flaws. Now is the time to say, “I am guilty and responsible for everything!” A ship sailed. Everyone reads the Maftir. A ship sailed filled with hundreds of people from all seventy nations. Everyone held fast to his own idol, kissed it, and hugged it. The ship begins to founder; there is a stormwind. All of them are idolaters, heretics. There is one Tzaddik among them, with a beard, with peyos practically down to the floor. And everything is the splendor of the brilliant lights. He sees Divine visions—he is in heaven. He doesn’t dwell in this world at all. He only sees Divine visions. And they are screaming with their idols, and it isn’t helping. They don’t know what is going on. Everyone is kissing and hugging his idol, raising up the idol and screaming to high heaven. They see one person doing hisbodedus, attached to G–d; he sees the brilliant lights. All of them are screaming, “Start to scream!” He says to them, “This stormwind is because of me.” I am responsible for all of this turbulence. Maybe we, with our beards and peyos, are really at fault? Maybe we need to repent. “Stop screaming, Hashem has a problem with me. I know how to solve this problem. Throw me into the sea, maybe things will calm down. If you toss me into the sea, things will quiet down.” If you’ll shoot me, things will calm down. “This stormwind is because of me.” Everyone must say, “This stormwind is because of me.” It isn’t because of the secularists; it isn’t because of the idolaters. “This stormwind is because of me!” Everyone must think, “This stormwind is because of me!” This is what all of the holy books say. It could be that if we will honestly repent then there will truly be peace. In truth, everyone will repent. Peace without repentance has no real value. Everyone really must repent now. There will be such a secular revolution; everyone’s mind will be revolutionized. Everyone will become religious. This is the secular revolution. Everyone will now have peyos and beards down to the floor. There will be such a secular revolution; everyone will go with beards and peyos. This will be a true revolution, now is the time to make a real revolution. I have to change. “It is changed like clay under the seal.” I have to change now, and if I change, then everyone will change. This is the most important paragraph. It’s all been worthwhile since we reached this paragraph. He says that it doesn’t help to repent in your next incarnation! No! Reb Nosson says, repent during your present incarnation—with this body, with this filthy body, with this muddied–up blood. With blood that churns, and with the trillion fires that burn inside of you because of your trillion flaws, repent with all your trillion flaws. Reb Nosson says that this is more important than anything. Everyone ought to read this paragraph every single day. We have to make a new rule now, that until this war is over we will print up this paragraph and everyone will say it every day. To repent with this body, to change with this body. Hilchos Rosh Hashanah 1:1-2. Everyone should have a copy in his pocket. They should copy it and laminate it nicely, and everyone will say it. For all repentance depends on this, and so does the peace. If one of us would change, then the entire world would change. Now everyone would also change. This is just what I said to the fellow from Ashkelon. “If you repent, then another ten thousand people will repent too.” It was then that he came to me and said, “I’ve become observant!” It pays to repent if another ten thousand people will too. Thank G–d, he is already among us. He already has children. A person must believe that if he will repent now, then the entire Jewish people will too. There will be such a revolution—if I change, then there will be such a revolution. Everyone will go with beards and peyos. Everyone will believe in the Rebbe, in the Tzaddik. Everyone will travel to Uman. Reb Nosson says in Hilchos Rosh Hashanah 1:2: “He must repent in that very body.” I must repent in this very body. No one should say, “So I’ll be reincarnated? So what?” No! Now is the time to fight and deal with things and cry out. In this very body, in the very matter of the sin! I must repent over the damage that I caused, and the sins that I continue to do. “In the very matter of the sin.” “He has to go back and pass through the same narrow places to return to Hashem. If, however, his body should be exchanged…” If he thinks that he will repent the next time around, he is mistaken! That will not be a complete rectification for what happened during this lifetime. One must repent during one’s present incarnation. One must recite Tehillim now. We must spend two hours reciting Tehillim every day until the new session starts. We must pray that the entire Jewish people will really repent, and that the entire Jewish people will change now. “It is changed like clay under the seal, and they stand as a garment.” G–d forbid that anyone should have to be reincarnated. It doesn’t truly rectify the present incarnation at all. It just means that I will come back with more sins. I will sin more; it will be more difficult. We should, at the very least, stop sinning during our present lifetimes. We should stop looking. G–d forbid anyone should have to come back with a new body. “G–d forbid that his body should change, that he should die and return reincarnated, and only afterward repent and cry out to Hashem.” This is not repentance. Repentance means now, at this moment, with this body and these impure thoughts, with this burning evil inclination. “This is not a proper repentance. For one must repent in one’s present body.” To repent here, with this body, not to wait a single day! “The way he is, right now. Then he goes back through the narrow way and from there will call out and truly return to Hashem.” To truly return to Hashem! To truly return to Hashem! “Then Hashem widens it for him.” If we will start to cry out now, and we will escape from our negative desires… If we would just begin to sanctify and purify ourselves… “Then Hashem widens it for him. This is blowing the shofar the way that it should be blown.” This is called blowing the shofar. The body is a shofar. We speak from our body; we pray from our body. The body is the shofar, but it is a filthy one. It is full of vomit and all the filth in the world. With this very shofar, we have to blow to Hashem. We want to change this shofar, to turn it into holiness. A person’s body is the shofar. All of a person’s praying and learning is his blowing of the shofar. Reb Nosson says: “One must repent specifically with his present body…he calls out from the narrow place and truly repents.” This is the rectification. Everyone must truly think now that another Jew is killed, another Jew is seriously wounded—even minor wounds can last a lifetime. Even light wounds can handicap for life and make a person unable to walk ever again. All that has to happen is for the spine to be jostled to make a person unable to walk. Some vertebra of mine shifted, and I wasn’t able to walk for two months. “He will truly repent.” Let a person truly repent, and then he sees how Hashem widens the way for him. “This is the aspect of blowing the shofar the way that it should be blown, the aspect of proper repentance. But if it is punctured…” If there is a hole in the shofar…If a person sinned and his lung was punctured, his body was punctured, the plug has to be made of the identical material. It has to be sealed with its own material, and not some other type of material. If a shofar is punctured, a person cannot just take some wax or plastic and seal the hole. He has to seal it with the piece of another shofar, a piece of horn. A sin has to be repaired by dealing with the original matter. A person has to withstand the same challenge. He went walking in the streets with his eyes open, so now he has to walk with his eyes closed. He has to not fantasize or think of anything, but know that they are all Lilliths—just demons and evil spirits that are the product of Adam’s sin. He doesn’t see people at all. He just sees demons. “Therefore, an individual can fulfill the obligation of the congregation when blowing the shofar.” This is the main thing, that a person should truly repent. For the person who truly repents can arouse the entire world to repentance. Return to top of page. Copyright
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