YOUR SURVIVAL KIT FOR THESE TOPSY-TURVY TIMES

Dear Reader sh’yichyeh,

This Shabbos we read Parshas VaYechi. It is the first Shabbos Chazak of the year and in this parsha the B’nei Yisroel received the Brachos from Yaakov Avinu. There is a famous story brought in HaYom Yom (18 Teves) in connection to Parshas VaYechi:

“When the Tzemach Tzedek was a child and learned the verse, ‘And Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt for seventeen years,’ his teacher translated it for him according to the commentary of Baal HaTurim: Yaakov Avinu lived his seventeen best years in Egypt.

“When [the Tzemach Tzedek] came home from cheider he asked his grandfather, the Alter Rebbe: ‘How could it be that the best years in the life of Yaakov Avinu, the most eminent of the Patriarchs, were the seventeen years that he lived in Egypt, “the obscenity of the earth?”’

“The Alter Rebbe answered him: ‘It is written that “[Yaakov] sent Yehudah before him to Yosef, to show him (lehoros lefanav) the way to Goshen.” The Midrash, as cited by Rashi, relates that R. Nechemia said, “[Yehudah’s task was] to prepare a House of Study for him, so that the Torah would be [studied] there, and [his sons] would meditate upon its teachings.”’

“[The Alter Rebbe added: ‘This is implied by the above-quoted phrase,] lehoros lefanav Goshnah — “To show him the way to Goshen.” Through Torah study, one draws closer to G‑d. In such circumstances, even in Egypt, there was life and vitality.”

There is much discussion about this HaYom Yom in the sichos of the Rebbe and between Chassidim. I would like to focus on one of the points of discussion: Why is it that Yaakov had to send Yehuda to set up the Yeshiva in Mitzrayim if Yosef and his sons already lived there?

In Likkutei Sichos (Vol. 3 p. 827), the Rebbe explains that Jewish education has to be completely pure. Purity does not just mean the opposite of non-Jewish, rather it implies a foundation comprised of the complete absence of any shackles of anything related to dealing with the world. Yosef and his children were great Tzaddikim, but they were too involved in the dealings of the world and running the Egyptian empire. Yaakov had to send someone pure, someone who was a Batlan and a shepherd, to found the Yeshiva (for example, we might think of Reb Michoel Teitelbaum, founder of Oholei Torah, Al Taharas HaKodesh).

Recently, I heard a very interesting thought from a Chassid on this point. The reason that Yaakov sent Yehuda and did not rely on Yosef was because Yehuda had something that Yosef did not: the latest Sichos of Yaakov Avinu. While it was true that Yosef was a dedicated Chassid and Shliach and continued to review for 22 years the latest Sichos that he had heard from his father (such as Egla Arufa), he did not spend time at the latest farbrengens of Yaakov. In those special Farbrengens, Yaakov, as a true Nasi, was preparing the Yidden for the new era of concealment in Mitzrayim and providing the tools for dealing with the new concealment of Mitzrayim. He taught them about “גשנה”, which has the Gematria of משיח, and he taught them the concept of ויחי יעקב , the power of the Emuna of “Yechi” and that הוא בחיים ממש! These were the founding principles of the new Yeshiva that Yaakov wanted to open in Mitzrayim.

Dear Chassidim!

In order for us to not just survive our current and temporary era of concealment, but turn these years into the “best years” that we live with the Rebbe in our times, we must learn and live with the amazing Sichos of 5751-5752. These Sichos have the special power to infuse life and to teach us to live as Chassidim and how to educate our children to live as Chassidim. They teach us what our Avoda is, in this era right before the complete Hisgalus of the Rebbe.

These Sichos need to be the foundation of our Yeshivos, the places we educate ourselves and our families. While it is true that there are many like Yosef who were sent on Shlichus to the toughest places years earlier and succeeded on their Shlichus with Mesiras Nefesh, who managed to raise their children as Chassidim through the hardest of circumstances, that in itself is not enough to found these “new Yeshivos.” The founders must be Chassidim who are infused with these Sichos and the message of “גשנה”, which has the Gematria of משיח, and the concept of ויחי יעקב , the power of the Emuna of “Yechi” and that הוא בחיים ממש.

The following are two letters of the Rebbe that tell us explicitly to learn the lessons of the “latest sichos and Maamarim” of the Rebbe. The first is from Igros Kodesh Vol. 4 page 23.

“With regard to your statements that you feel alone and forlorn… and that great weakness overcomes you in all your work:

“Behold, the conclusion of your words shows the nature of the first ones; i.e., that [these feelings of despondency] are the counsel of the yetzer [ha’ra] that endeavors to weaken every person in the fulfillment of his mission with whatever words appropriate to the nature of the shliach. There is a well-known adage of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, hk”m: ‘Chassidus brought about [a situation in which] one is not alone. Wherever one is found, the Rebbeim are there.’ This applies, in particular, to my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, hk”m, who himself writes with regard to his father, the Rebbe [Rashab], nishmaso Eden, that ‘the shepherds of Israel will not abandon their flock.’

“As explained in [Tanya,] Igeres HaKodesh, Epistle 27 and its explanation, [after a tzaddik’s] passing, the boundaries of a physical body are removed, and [the Rebbeim] are found together with all those connected to them and bonded with them wherever they are. In particular, this applies in the places where they were sent to fulfill a mission [from the Rebbeim], and more particularly, when the mission involves spreading the wellsprings of [the teachings of] the Baal Shem Tov outward.

“This serves as preparation and the preface for the coming of Moshiach and the Resurrection of the Dead when “those who lie in the dust will arise and sing praises, with him among them. See the sicha of 13 Tammuz, 5709, that was published in the kuntres for Yud-Beis Tammuz, 5710, from which you should be able to draw vitality, motivation, and strength for your work in your present place. From there you will see clearly that even from the perspective of mortal intellect, there is no place for the thought that you are alone and forlorn, Heaven forbid. And obviously, there is no basis for weakness in your work. Would it be that the members of the chassidic brotherhood, and particularly, the T’mimim carefully study the works of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, הכ”מ, even his talks, and in particular those of the year 5710 and the preceding year.”

The second letter, dated 5 Adar 5710, is printed in Igros Kodesh Vol. 3 page 282.

This letter was addressed to R. Nissan Nemanov, the spiritual mentor of the Lubavitch yeshiva in Brunoy, France.

“In response to your personal question (R. Nissan had asked about the wedding of his daughter, scheduled to be celebrated on 11 Adar at a time when the chassidic brotherhood was still struggling with how to come to terms with the passing of the Rebbe Rayatz):

“In my humble opinion, you should bring happiness to the groom and bride through Chabad melodies and the like. ‘Whoever brings happiness [to a groom…] merits…’ May we merit ‘the voice of a groom and the voice of a bride’ and ‘the rejoicing of the groom together with the bride.’

“It is a well-known [practice of] the Rebbeim — in particular, I heard this with regard to the Rebbe Maharash — that when they would deliver a maamer, they would say specific words that were relevant to individual listeners and these words would be heard only by the person to whom they were relevant. The Rebbe [Rashab], however, requested of his father — and his request was granted — that he hear all of these words. I heard this from my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, hk”m.

“In the maamer released for the day of [the Rebbe’s] passing, there are several Baal-Shemske statements. In my humble opinion, the resolution of your question is found in the beginning of sec. 5. Certainly, you will internalize what is stated at the beginning of sec. 5 and communicate it to the groom and bride and the guests. I conclude with blessings of mazel tov, mazel tov for the groom and bride. May their marriage be auspicious and may they build a faithful house in Israel, [raise] blessed offspring, revealing [that their marriage] is an eternal structure.”

In the merit of learning and living with these Sichos, may we merit the complete Hisgalus of the Rebbe MH”M now!

Rabbi Avtzon is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Lubavitch Cincinnati and a well sought after speaker and lecturer. Recordings of his in-depth shiurim on Inyanei Geula u’Moshiach can be accessed at http://www.ylcrecording.com