Siyum HaRambam 5747

00:06 Speaker 1 That he should deliver the hadran on, uh, the Rambam, on the Mishneh Torah. In addition, as we said, “the body follows the head.” I don’t know—only together with the rabbis—and so, together with them, he brings the blessing of Bnei Brak.

00:36 Speaker 2 Please, Rabbi Landau.

01:16 Speaker 1 The Rambam, in his Mishneh Torah, is a remarkable organizer. Just as the wording of the Mishneh Torah is precise down to the letter, so too the order of its laws is extremely precise. Yet the order in the Rambam’s final chapter of the Mishneh Torah seems puzzling. The Rambam begins chapter 12 of Hilchos Melachim: “Do not imagine that in the days of Moshiach anything in the natural order of the world will cease; rather, the world will go on as usual. And what is written in Yeshayahu, ‘The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid,’ is a parable and a riddle. Its meaning is that the Jewish people will dwell securely alongside the wicked among the nations, who are compared to wolves and leopards.” In the second halachah, the Rambam says: “The Sages said: The only difference between this world and the days of Moshiach is subjugation by foreign kingdoms.” Now, the first halachah appears to be the Rambam’s own statement, with no explicit source in the Gemara. The second halachah, however—“The Sages said”—is Shmuel’s statement, cited several times throughout the Talmud: “The only difference between this world and the days of Moshiach is subjugation by foreign kingdoms.” So this is puzzling. The Rambam opens the chapter with his own words, then, in the second halachah, brings support for them from Shmuel’s words. But the entire Mishneh Torah is founded on the words of the Sages in the Mishnah and Gemara. Seemingly, then, the Rambam should first have begun, “The Sages said: The only difference between this world and the days of Moshiach is subjugation by foreign kingdoms”—Shmuel’s statement in the Gemara—and only afterward continued with what he says in the first halachah: “Do not imagine that in the days of Moshiach anything in the natural order of the world will cease.” Rather, through the precise order of this chapter, the Rambam sought to answer a question raised by the Kesef Mishneh in Hilchos Teshuvah. The Kesef Mishneh asks the following about the Rambam: In several places in the Gemara—twice in Shabbos, twice in Sanhedrin, and elsewhere—the Gemara cites a statement by Rabbi Chiya bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: “All the prophets prophesied only concerning the days of Moshiach. As for the World to Come, ‘No eye has seen, O G-d, besides You.’” All the prophecies of the prophets that speak

06:11 Speaker 1 of the future refer to the days of Moshiach, not to the World to Come. For as to the World to Come, “No eye has seen, O G-d, besides You.” The Gemara says: “And this disagrees with Shmuel.” Rabbi Chiya bar Abba’s statement in the name of Rabbi Yochanan disagrees with Shmuel’s statement that the only difference between this world and the days of Moshiach is subjugation by foreign kingdoms. For if all the prophecies refer to the days of Moshiach—including the prophecy, “The wolf will dwell with the lamb”—how can Shmuel say that the only difference between this world and the days of Moshiach is subjugation by foreign kingdoms? That is what the Gemara says. The Kesef Mishneh asks: In chapter 8 of Hilchos Teshuvah, the Rambam cites Rabbi Chiya bar Abba’s statement in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: “All the prophets prophesied only concerning the days of Moshiach, but as for the World to Come, ‘No eye has seen, O G-d, besides You.’” Yet in chapter 9 of Hilchos Teshuvah, and here in the final chapter of Hilchos Melachim, the Rambam cites Shmuel’s statement that the only difference between this world and the days of Moshiach is subjugation by foreign kingdoms. How can he rule in accordance with both statements when the Gemara says they disagree—that Rabbi Chiya bar Abba’s statement in the name of Rabbi Yochanan disagrees with Shmuel? This is what the Rambam comes to resolve here. Certainly, if we interpret the prophecies “The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid” literally, then Rabbi Chiya bar Abba’s statement certainly disagrees with Shmuel’s: “And this disagrees with Shmuel.” So the Rambam could not begin the chapter with Shmuel’s statement, “The only difference between this world and the days of Moshiach is subjugation by foreign kingdoms.” That would contradict the Rambam’s ruling in Hilchos Teshuvah, where he rules in accordance with Rabbi Chiya bar Abba’s statement in the name of Rabbi Yochanan. The Rambam therefore had to state first that the prophets’ prophecies are parables and riddles. “The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid” means that

09:26 Speaker 1 the Jewish people will dwell securely alongside the wicked among the nations. If so, Rabbi Chiya bar Abba’s statement in the name of Rabbi Yochanan does not disagree with Shmuel’s. I can rule in accordance with both Rabbi Chiya bar Abba and Shmuel. “The only difference between this world and the days of Moshiach is subjugation by foreign kingdoms,” and nevertheless, “All the prophets prophesied only concerning the days of Moshiach”—because the Rambam rules that their prophecies concerning the days of Moshiach are parables and riddles. This is not the time or place to explain how the Rambam understands the Gemara’s words, “And this disagrees with Shmuel.” But within the Rambam’s own words, we can say that this is why he places his explanation before Shmuel’s statement: to answer the Kesef Mishneh’s question. There is no disagreement here, no contradiction between the two rulings. On the one hand, the prophets prophesied only concerning the days of Moshiach; as for the World to Come, “No eye has seen, O G-d, besides You.” On the other hand, Shmuel’s statement remains: “The only difference between this world and the days of Moshiach is subjugation by foreign kingdoms.” And if that is the only difference, the question arises: Why such a great longing for the days of Moshiach? Do those who live under a benevolent government and do not suffer subjugation by foreign kingdoms not long for the days of Moshiach? The Rambam addresses this and continues: The Sages and prophets did not yearn for the days of Moshiach in order to rule over the entire world, or to dominate the nations, or to be exalted by them, or to eat, drink, and rejoice. That is not why we await the days of Moshiach. Rather, it is so that they will be free to engage in Torah and its wisdom, with no one to oppress them or prevent them, so that they may merit life in the World to Come, as we explained in Hilchos Teshuvah. That is why the Sages and prophets yearned for the days of Moshiach: so that they would be free to engage in Torah and its wisdom. The Rambam explains this at greater length in his commentary on the Mishnah, at the beginning of Perek Chelek in Sanhedrin. There the Rambam explains the Torah’s words: “And it will be, if you diligently heed My commandments,”

13:07 Speaker 1 “you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil.” This does not mean that the reward for heeding My commandments is gathering in your grain, wine, and oil. That, says the Rambam, is like a teacher who teaches a young child and promises him a candy for learning. At the child’s level, that is a reward for learning. When the child grows older and becomes more discerning, you can no longer offer him a candy as a reward, so you promise him a dinar instead. And so on and so forth, as the Rambam discusses there at length. Likewise, “you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil” is not the reward for the mitzvah of “if you diligently heed My commandments.” Rather, the point is that when grain, wine, and oil are gathered in, a livelihood is available. You have the opportunity—you will have the opportunity—to go on learning and observing mitzvos. This is what our Sages meant when they said, “The reward for a mitzvah is a mitzvah.” The true reward for mitzvos is the observance of Torah and mitzvos. That is what the Torah promises: “And it will be, if you diligently heed My commandments,” then “you will gather in your grain, your wine, and your oil,” and you will consequently be able to continue learning and observing the Torah in peace. Yet even when a livelihood is available, people still have various desires and bad character traits—jealousy, hatred, and rivalry—which also interfere with learning and observing mitzvos, and even more so. The Rambam therefore continues: “At that time, in the days of Moshiach, there will be neither hunger nor war, neither jealousy nor rivalry, for goodness will flow in abundance and all delicacies will be as plentiful as dust. The occupation of the entire world will be solely to know Hashem.” In the days of Moshiach, everyone will be free of bad character traits, of jealousy, hatred, and rivalry. Therefore, the occupation of the entire world will be solely to know Hashem. Here the Rambam adds something further. Earlier, the Rambam said that they would be free to engage in Torah and its wisdom. Here he adds more: the occupation of the entire world will be solely to know Hashem. Beyond Torah wisdom itself, beyond learning

17:11 Speaker 1 of “Know the G-d of your father”—to know Hashem alone, which is a foretaste of the World to Come. For although we have no conception of the delights of the World to Come, as the Rambam explains, just as one cannot explain the pleasure of music to a deaf person, one cannot explain the pleasure of the World to Come to someone living in a body. But we do know that the delight of the World to Come is to enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah, the knowledge of their Creator. A foretaste of the World to Come is this knowledge: to know Hashem alone. “Know the G-d of your father.” Therefore the Jewish people will be great sages, knowing hidden things, and will attain knowledge of their Creator to the extent humanly possible, as it says, “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.” And that delight, the foretaste of the World to Come that will be present in the days of Moshiach, is to know Hashem alone. When the light of Moshiach first began to shine, when “a watcher and a holy one descended from heaven”—the holy Baal Shem Tov—the inner dimension of the Torah and the wellsprings of Chassidus began to be revealed. They are in the category of “those who taste it”: a taste of this knowledge, of knowing Hashem alone. It is well known that the Baal Shem Tov approached Moshiach in his chamber and asked, “When will the Master come?” Moshiach answered him, “When your wellsprings spread outward.” His Holiness, our master and Rebbe, whose soul is in Eden and whose yahrzeit is today, Yud Shvat, asked in one of his sichos: What was the Baal Shem Tov asking Moshiach here? After all, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi had already asked Moshiach this very question, as explained in Tractate Shabbos, and Moshiach answered him, “Today.” Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked, “When will the Master come?” Moshiach answered, “Today,” and Eliyahu Hanavi explained Moshiach’s words to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: he meant, “Today, if you heed His voice.” If so, why did the Baal Shem Tov repeat Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi’s question when

21:02 Speaker 1 the answer was already well known and explained in the Gemara? The Frierdiker Rebbe, whose soul is in Eden, explained: The leaders of the Jewish people who came into the world to reveal and spread the Torah of Hakadosh Boruch Hu had to be exceptional in their Ahavas Yisroel. So the Midrash says about the verse “And Moshe was a shepherd,” citing the verse “Hashem tests the righteous”: Hakadosh Boruch Hu tested Moshe in the well-known story of the lamb from Yisro’s flock. Likewise, the Baal Shem Tov, who came to reveal the inner dimension of the Torah and the wellsprings of Chassidus—of which Moshiach told him, “Your wellsprings will spread outward”—was also known for his extraordinary Ahavas Yisroel. Out of that Ahavas Yisroel, when the Baal Shem Tov considered the self-sacrifice of Jews in observing the mitzvos, and their fervor in reciting chapters of Tehillim, he concluded that the condition “Today, if you heed His voice” had already been fulfilled. So he turned to Moshiach and asked, “When will the Master come? The answer you gave Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi—‘Today, if you heed His voice’—has already been fulfilled.” Moshiach answered him, “When your wellsprings spread outward.” A new condition, a new meaning of “Today, if you heed His voice”: “When your wellsprings spread outward.” His Holiness the Rebbe shlita, with his extraordinary Ahavas Yisroel, looked again and saw that this condition, too, had already been fulfilled. The wellsprings had spread outward to every corner of the globe, from one end of the world to the other, beyond the Iron Curtain and through it. Neither in this hemisphere nor in the hemisphere on the other side of the world was there a corner that the wellsprings of Chassidus had not reached. If so, the condition “When your wellsprings spread outward” had also been fulfilled. What was lacking? The study of the entire Torah. There are whole tractates that are not studied, and parts of tractates that are not studied. From this came the wonderful enactment to study the Rambam’s work. The Rambam’s work encompasses the entire Oral Torah—the Mishnah and Gemara, Sifrei, Sifra and Mechilta—as the Rambam himself attests in the introduction to

25:28 Speaker 1 his work. The Mishneh Torah, the Yad Hachazakah, gathers within it the entire Oral Torah. This is the origin of the enactment to study the Rambam’s work and, through it, the entire Oral Torah. In his intense longing for Moshiach’s coming, the Rebbe shlita wanted to hasten the completion and established a study schedule of three chapters of Rambam a day. But not every mind can manage that; not everyone is able to study three chapters of Rambam every day in addition to all their other studies and responsibilities. Therefore the second Rambam study schedule was also established: one chapter a day. And today, baruch Hashem, we are completing both schedules: the third completion of the three-chapters-a-day schedule and the first completion of the one-chapter-a-day schedule. So now this condition, too, has been fulfilled. All the conditions for Moshiach’s coming have been fulfilled. “Today, if you heed His voice” was already fulfilled in the days of the Baal Shem Tov. “When your wellsprings spread outward” has also been fulfilled. The study of the entire Oral Torah—today we are all completing its study, including those who studied only one chapter a day. So all the conditions have been fulfilled. What is still lacking? Hakadosh Boruch Hu longs for the prayers of the righteous, and “Your people are all righteous.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu longs for us to pray that the time of our redemption has already arrived. Therefore, at this holy and exalted gathering, in the holy city and the city of the Beis Hamikdash, with a great multitude honoring the King, for “the mighty G-d will not reject,” we offer our prayers and supplications before Hakadosh Boruch Hu: How much longer will You wait for our prayers? How much longer before You say to the people, “The time of My redemption has come”? How much longer until the end of wonders? Build the Beis Hamikdash, expand the city, and send a herald to the Jewish people. Amen, may it be His will. And as a complement to the words of the rabbi of Bnei Brak, the distinguished Rabbi Moshe Landau shlita, about how the spreading of the wellsprings has been brought

29:37 Speaker 1 to full expression, we have faithful testimony here. With us is a man of self-sacrifice who recently came from beyond the Iron Curtain, from Leningrad: Rabbi Yitzchak Kogan, who risked his life to uphold Torah and mitzvos and bring many people closer to Torah and mitzvos. First, we will ask him to come up onto the stage, and later we will give him the opportunity to speak as well. Rabbi Yitzchak, please. We will hear the rest from him. We welcome among us the Chief Rabbi of Israel, the Rishon LeZion, the distinguished Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, and the rabbi of Jerusalem, the distinguished Rabbi Mashash, who have come to take part in our siyum celebration. We ask the Rishon LeZion to address us and give his blessing. Please.

31:24 Speaker 3 Honored Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and head of the rabbinical courts; esteemed rabbis, the rabbis of Bnei Brak, the rabbi of Bnei Brak, and the other rabbis—rabbis of cities and leaders of the Jewish people. I cannot name everyone. Rabbis and their students, holy and distinguished congregation. Today is Shabbos Shirah. On this Shabbos we read the Song: “Then Moshe and the children of Israel will sing.” One of the explanations Rashi gives for “will sing,” rather than “sang,” is that Moshe and the children of Israel will sing that same song at the time of the Geulah as well. That song says, “Hashem is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.” Rashi explains this verse at length, as do the other commentators. The Chida writes, “I heard in the name of the Pri Chadash”—and it is remarkable to find the Pri Chadash discussing homiletic interpretations as well. The Pri Chadash says this: In Tractate Sotah, the Gemara records a dispute about the day Moshe Rabbeinu was cast into the Nile, the day he was saved. One opinion says he was cast in on the twenty-first of Nissan. The ministering angels said, “Master of the Universe, will Moshe, who is destined to sing the Song on the twenty-first of Nissan, drown in the river on that day?” Another opinion says he was cast in on the sixth of Sivan. The ministering angels said, “Master of the Universe, will he, who is destined to receive the Torah on this day, drown in the river?” So the dispute in the Gemara is whether Moshe Rabbeinu was saved in the merit of the Torah or in the merit of the Song he would sing. The Pri Chadash, of blessed memory, says that this is the meaning of the verse: “My strength and song are from Hashem.” According to the opinion that says “strength” refers to Torah, or according to the opinion that says it was the song—either way, “He has become my salvation.” The Chida says the meaning goes deeper. Everyone agrees that Moshe Rabbeinu was saved in the merit of both of these mitzvos. One opinion holds that the Torah was the main merit and the Song accompanied it, while the other holds that the Song was the main merit and the Torah accompanied it. This is remarkable. The Chida goes on to say

34:24 Speaker 3 This is the meaning. The holy Zohar says: “And the waters were a wall for them on their right and on their left.” In what merit were the Jewish people saved at the splitting of the sea? After all, the angels said, “These worship idols, and these worship idols.” There was a great accusation against the Jewish people. Rather, “the waters were a wall for them” because they were destined to receive the Torah. Water means Torah. That stood as a wall for them. Rabbi Chida says that this is the meaning of the verse, “My strength and the song of Hashem,” for the Torah, too, is called a song, as it says, “Now write down this song for yourselves and teach it to the children of Israel.” In the merit of these two things, Moshe Rabbeinu was saved. In His abundant mercy, says Rabbi Chida—and this is how the holy Zohar explains it—they were destined to receive the Torah, destined to study Torah, destined to sing of the time when the Geulah would come, and they were saved—saved from Egypt. And this is remarkable. We do not find the word “song,” or rather, we do not find it emphasized, when speaking of teaching the children of Israel: “Now write down this song for yourselves and teach it to the children of Israel.” When we teach Torah to others, that is true song. That is joy in their mouths. But when the Torah remains mine alone, when I study Torah and gladden only my own soul without teaching others, then it is not song. It is Torah without song. There is no joy. It is very simple. We see it plainly today. If people studied Torah, they would not complain about a rabbi who rules according to halachah. Sadly, we have reached a point where, if a rabbi in Migdal HaEmek rules according to Torah law, according to the ruling of the Rambam and the ruling of the Shulchan Aruch, people speak against him and complain about him because they have not studied Torah. If they had studied Torah, they would not speak that way. All those who opened their mouths without restraint have not studied. If they had studied Torah, the Torah would have opened up honestly and joyfully in their mouths. “And teach it to the children of Israel”—that is the true song. If we teach the children of

36:55 Speaker 3 Israel Torah, Torah as it was given to us at Sinai. My teachers and friends, someone who is among the yeshivos today has no reason to worry. I see rabbis, I see scholars, I see dayanim. But when a person walks the streets today and sees how low things have fallen, what kind of education are we giving our children? They are our children; it makes no difference if a child belongs to someone else. They are descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, and we are all responsible for them. Is it education when a child pulls out a knife to stab his friend? Is that what we hoped for? Is that called education? Is this how we teach the children of Israel? Where is Torah? Where is the observance of mitzvos? How can we call Torah a song, speak of the joy of Torah in their mouths, if young people do not study Torah? If all kinds of decrees and laws are issued to prevent Torah study, if all kinds of decrees and laws are issued to prevent talk of teshuvah in school, is that called education? What we need to be concerned with is not only studying Torah but teaching Torah: to study and to teach, to observe and to do. When the Gemara recounts the deeds of Rabbi Chiya, it says: Rabbi Chiya said, “I act so that Torah will not be forgotten among the Jewish people.” Of this Rabbeinu Hakadosh said, “How great are the deeds of Chiya!” When a great rabbi in Israel goes out and gives of himself and teaches others, and teaches children to study Torah in holiness and purity, and he sows and works the flax, and he slaughters and writes and teaches—how great are the deeds of Chiya! How great are the deeds of Chiya! My teachers and friends, our task today is to fight the darkness, to fight ignorance, to fight the lack of Torah knowledge that exists today in the Land of Israel and throughout the world. How great are the deeds of Chiya! I can say of the Lubavitcher Rebbe shlita what Rabbeinu Hakadosh said: “How great are the deeds of Chiya!” The Gemara says that Rabbi Chiya and his sons are compared to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, whose prayers do not return unanswered. My teachers and friends, the Rebbe

39:34 Speaker 3 shlita, through his tremendous deeds and the instructions he gives—what a joy it is to walk down Jaffa Street on Sukkos and see a Jew standing there, saying to everyone who passes, “Come, fulfill the mitzvah of the four species.” What a great joy it is to see Jews standing at the Western Wall. Every person who comes there, who perhaps has never put on tefillin, puts on tefillin there. What a great joy it is to see children giving those coins to tzedakah. What a great joy it is to see, throughout the whole world, a point of light in every corner, a point of Torah in every corner, a point of reverence for Heaven, Torah and mitzvos. How great are the deeds of Chiya! Not only in Torah study, but also in the observance of mitzvos. Education in Torah study, education in observing mitzvos. And if the Gemara says of someone who completes one tractate, “I would make a festive day for the rabbis”—if that is for one person completing it, then when many complete it, how many festive days should we make? And when a person completes the entire Rambam, which encompasses everything—as I have already said, it may be, and I think it is certainly close to the truth, that the soul of the Rebbe shlita is a spark of Moshe Rabbeinu, a spark of Moshe the Rambam, who encompasses everything, the entire Jewish people. He does not concern himself with only one particular Jew. He struggles and fights for every Jew, and today we see that he was right about each and every thing, that he foresaw all these things.

41:26 Speaker 3 Every single thing he said—everyone can see that he saw far ahead, as though with ruach hakodesh. Anyone who met him, spoke with him, or came close to him saw him as the face of an angel of G-d, entirely filled with holiness and reverence for Heaven, filled with Torah in every area, in all four parts of Torah, and still continuing to add and to grow. Rabbi Yosef Chaim, a"h, writes: The Gemara says that Moshe Rabbeinu received a command from Hakadosh Boruch Hu: “Sanctify them today and tomorrow.” Moshe Rabbeinu came and added one day on his own initiative. Rabbi Yosef Chaim, a"h, the leader of all the people of the Diaspora, asks: What does it mean that he added one day “of his own knowledge”? Why does it not say “of his own intellect,” “of his own reasoning,” or “of his own understanding”? What does “of his own knowledge” mean? Rabbi Yosef Chaim, a"h, explains it this way: A person who wants to study Torah must prepare himself with chochmah, binah and daas—wisdom, understanding and knowledge. In two days one can acquire chochmah and binah. Moshe Rabbeinu said to add one day for daas, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu agreed with him. That is Chabad: chochmah, binah, daas. My teachers and friends, that is not our way in this matter. My teachers and friends, to add one day for daas—that is the path Moshe Rabbeinu showed us. Not to stand in one place, but to keep growing, to keep adding. True, Hakadosh Boruch Hu told him two days. But he added one day for daas, in holiness and reverence for Heaven. That is the path Hakadosh Boruch Hu wanted for the Jewish people: not to stop at what is written in the Torah, but to fulfill it, to add Torah, to add mitzvos, to add good deeds. This is the path in which the Rebbe shlita guides and educates us. And may it be His will that, in the merit of the mitzvos, in the merit of Torah study, and in the merit of tzedakah—there is a debate over whether Moshiach will come through supporting the poor with tzedakah or through Torah study—in the merit of all the mitzvos together, we should merit the coming of the righteous redeemer speedily in our days, amen.

44:10 Speaker 4 We thank the Rishon LeZion, the eminent Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, for his heartfelt words. We are accustomed to hearing words from him that come from the heart and enter the heart. We have just received, uh, a letter from a representative of the Sadigura Rebbe. He asked to apologize that, for health reasons, he cannot come to Jerusalem, but he promises to take part tomorrow in the celebration of the completion of the Rambam in Tel Aviv. And now we will ask, uh, the orchestra and the singer Avi Antebi: “If I do not place Jerusalem above my greatest joy.” We are in Jerusalem, and we place Jerusalem above our greatest joy. Please.

45:43 Speaker 5 My G-d, my G-d, my G-d, my G-d, my G-d. Praise Hashem, O Jerusalem; praise your G-d, O Zion. Praise Hashem, O Jerusalem; praise your G-d, O Zion. For He has strengthened the bars of your gates, for He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you, He has blessed your children within you, He has blessed your children within you. Praise, praise your G-d, O Zion. Praise, praise your G-d, O Zion. Praise Hashem, O Jerusalem; praise your G-d, O Zion. Praise Hashem, O Jerusalem; praise your G-d, O Zion. For He has strengthened the bars of your gates, for He has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed your children within you, He has blessed your children within you, He has blessed your children within you. Praise, praise your G-d, O Zion. Praise, praise your G-d, O Zion. Praise, praise your G-d, O Zion. Praise, praise your G-d, O Zion.

03:58 Speaker 1 Master of all worlds, [unclear], King of all worlds. King of all worlds. [unclear] Your blessing. This day brings light and joy to Israel, a Shabbos of rest. This day brings light and joy to Israel. This day brings light and joy to Israel. Light and joy, light and joy, a Shabbos of rest, light and joy, light and joy, a Shabbos of rest. You commanded the precepts at Mount Sinai: to observe Shabbos and the festivals each year, to set a prepared table before me. A Shabbos of rest, to set a prepared table before me, a Shabbos of rest. This day brings light and joy to Israel. This day brings light and joy to Israel, light and joy, light and joy, a Shabbos of rest, light and joy, light and joy, a Shabbos of rest. Beloved of hearts for a broken nation, an additional soul for weary souls; for a soul in distress, it dispels sighing, a Shabbos of rest; for a soul in distress, it dispels sighing, a Shabbos of rest. This day brings light and joy to Israel. This day brings light and joy to Israel, light and joy, light and joy. A Shabbos of rest, light and joy, light and joy, a Shabbos of rest. Everyone. This day brings light and joy to Israel. This day brings light and joy to Israel, light and joy, light and joy. A Shabbos of rest, light and joy, light and joy. A Shabbos of rest. And now we will ask the gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Flaxer shlita, head of the rabbinical court of Agudas Yisroel, to open the study of the Yad and offer words of blessing on behalf of the rabbinical court of Agudas Yisroel. Rabbi Flaxer.

10:21 Speaker 2 What do you say? What kind of opening is that? What kind of blessing is that?

10:37 Speaker 1 Our esteemed rabbis and scholars are here, heads of yeshivos, great Torah scholars, chief rabbis of Jerusalem and Bnei Brak. A holy congregation. We have gathered tonight for a threefold siyum: a siyum for those who have completed all the books of the Yad Hachazakah, the entire Rambam, for the third time; for those who have completed the Rambam after three years; and for those who have completed Sefer Hamitzvos. A threefold siyum. A threefold celebration. Threefold joy. How great the joy when a holy congregation like this gathers! How great the joy and the participation of thousands of Jews devoted to Hashem and His Torah. How great the joy in Heaven, that thousands of Jews are rejoicing at the completion of the Rambam! But my friends, my brothers, this is not just the joy of a celebration, not just the joy of a siyum. In my humble opinion, this is an occasion of sanctifying the Name of Heaven. This is an occasion for sanctifying His blessed Name. We have three forms of holiness. We are accustomed to speaking of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the holiness of His Name, our holy Torah, and the holy Jewish people. Holy, holy, holy. This gathering comes to bring out the holiness of the Jewish people, to bind the holy Jewish people—a kingdom of priests and a holy nation—in one strong bond with Hakadosh Boruch Hu and with our holy Torah. The Rambam begins, at the very start of his holy words: “The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of all wisdom is to know that there is a Primary Being.” “The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of all wisdom.” When the Rambam began composing his great work, the Yad Hachazakah—a work whose wisdom is so vast and great that we cannot begin to grasp how a human being could have attained it—how did he begin? He began with the name of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. “The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of all wisdom”—the initials, as they say, spell Hashem’s Name, blessed be He and blessed be His Name. “The foundation of all foundations,” the first two letters; “and the pillar of all wisdom,” the last two. The Rambam taught us that all the wisdom in the world, all the foundations in the world, are meant to lead us to know that there is a Being, that this world has a Master, that there is a Creator who created the world. My esteemed friends, my brothers! We stand before a difficult

17:40 Speaker 1 and terrible time. Every effort is being made, G-d forbid, to keep people from remembering Hashem’s Name. What disgrace and shame! To erase Hashem’s Name. To erase Hashem’s Name from the army. What disgrace and shame! To disparage our Torah, the Torah of life. The aim of those who have abandoned the Torah is to sever the Jewish people from their holiness. Those sickly secularists—what won’t they do to strip everything holy of its sanctity? They are the ones who have descended to the depths of the abyss. They have desecrated everything we hold holy. They have sunk to the dust. What do they want to uproot? The holiness of the Jewish people. The three forms of holiness: Hakadosh Boruch Hu, our holy Torah, and the holy Jewish people. Guardian of Israel, guard the remnant of a holy people, who proclaim threefold holiness to the Holy One. When the Rambam began his monumental work, whose depth, greatness, and holiness we cannot begin to fathom, with what words did he begin? “The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of all wisdom is to know that there is a Primary Being.” And he continues: “He brings every being into existence, and everything that exists in the world.” He brings them into existence; He is the cause of all causes, the source of all sources, the Primary Being. “And all that exists in the heavens and the earth and between them exists only through the truth of His existence.” So who comes and lectures us about how to behave? Those who have descended to the abyss? Those who have defiled the children of the Jewish people? Those who have enticed the young with all kinds of abominations? Those who can already see that they are facing a broken trough? My esteemed friends, my brothers, we must not stand diminished, not bent over, not on our knees. We must stand tall and tell them: You have nothing. What you have is a remnant of the generation of the Flood—“the earth was filled with violence.” They have a leaflet out there that should make us weep. Every time something connected to religion or Torah comes up, they leap like people bitten by a snake. Are we supposed to bow before them? Are we supposed to justify ourselves to them? We, who have a holy Torah, pure and clear. This gathering is not

23:57 Speaker 1 only a gathering for a siyum. It is a gathering to sanctify the Name of Heaven. A gathering about binding the three together: “Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the Torah, and the Jewish people are all one.” Look, my esteemed friends: sitting here, without the evil eye, are thousands of Jews—elderly people, young adults, teenagers, children. You will not find a single knife-wielding attacker in this crowd. You will not find a single drunk here. Nor will you find anyone committing all those abominations that one must not even speak of. This is how we sanctify the Name of Heaven. This is what His Holiness the Rebbe of Lubavitch conceived and established; may he be granted many long years. His entire life is dedicated to the Jewish people, to the Torah of Israel, to the holiness of His blessed Name. On the verse in Parshas Bechukosai, “And I will lead you upright,” Rashi cites the teaching of our Sages in the Sifra: “Upright”—with your heads held high. The Sfas Emes says about this verse in Parshas Vayikra—may the memory of this righteous and holy man be a blessing—and I quote his holy words: “And I will lead you upright.” Listen, my esteemed friends, to these holy words of the Sfas Emes, whose yahrzeit also fell this month, on 5 Shvat, in this very month of Shvat. He says—and I quote his holy words without leaving out a single word—“Upright: two statures.” What does “two statures” mean? “For the visible form of a person,” what we see when we look at someone, “is only a garment for the light of the living soul within him.” It is only a garment for the living soul inside a person. That is what is meant by two statures. “After perfecting his entire stature, from head to foot, he merits the higher stature.” Then he merits it. And the essence of the matter—listen, my esteemed friends—is that it says, “Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the Torah, and the Jewish people are all one.” They are bound together as one. Just as the Torah has a hidden and a revealed dimension, and just as Hashem’s Name has a hidden and a revealed dimension, so too the soul of a Jew has a hidden and a revealed dimension. By perfecting the revealed dimension, he merits the inner dimension, which is

29:16 Speaker 1 The hidden life within a person. His Holiness the Rebbe shlita of Lubavitch—may Hashem strengthen him and heal him—added that this teaches us: “And I led” refers to Hakadosh Boruch Hu; “you” refers to the Jewish people as a whole; “upright” refers to our holy Torah. My friends! The Rambam, the study of the Rambam. We do not know all the intentions of His Holiness the Rebbe shlita of Lubavitch. But as was mentioned, we can be sure that this great leader of Israel, who devoted his entire life to the community, to the Jewish people, instituted the study of the Rambam to reveal the inner light of the Jewish people within the human soul. To reveal the light of Torah. To reveal what is hidden, the traces of Hashem, blessed be His name. My friends, I will finish with the Rambam’s closing words and just one little story—a Chabad chassidic story. When the Mitteler Rebbe, may his merit protect us, passed away, some of the chassidim traveled that Shabbos to the holy Rebbe of Ruzhin. At his table, the holy Rebbe of Ruzhin shared a Torah teaching. What did he say? It was about the verse “I will be what I will be.” “I will be” has a numerical value of twenty-one, and the second “I will be” is again twenty-one. Twenty-one times twenty-one is the numerical value of emes, “truth”: four hundred and forty-one. The Tzemach Tzedek, may his merit protect us, the holy Rabbi Menachem Mendel, also shared that same teaching at his table, according to the Chabad account. The Ruzhiner added one more word: Emes, he said, is an acronym for “the Torah of Menachem is truth.” That is what he told them. “The Torah of Menachem” refers to the Tzemach Tzedek, whose name was Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn. That is the chassidic story. My friends! The Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu is truth. Those are the initials of emes. The Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu, the Rambam, is truth; the Torah of Menachem Mendel is truth. “Truth endures”: nothing can shake the truth. Truth cannot be moved. “Hashem, G-d, is truth”; truth endures forever. The Rambam concludes, and every time we look for a hint, a glimmer of light,

34:09 Speaker 1 in everything. The Rambam concludes his work: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.” “As the waters”—this is Moshe Rabbeinu: two mems, Moshe ben Amram. “As the waters”—from the waters they will drink living waters, for we merited to receive Hashem’s Torah through Moshe Rabbeinu. “The sea”—again, two mems. The Hebrew word for “the sea” is spelled lamed, yud, mem: two mems. This is the Torah of the Rambam, Rabbi Moshe Maimon, who brought the entire sea of the Talmud into the Rambam. “Cover”—again, two mems. This alludes to the great leader of our generation, the Rebbe of Lubavitch: two mems, who reveals mighty things, hidden things of the throne of the Ancient of Days. Waters: the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu is truth; the Torah of Moshe, the Rambam, is truth; the Torah of Menachem is truth. Truth. May Hashem, blessed be He, help us merit, very soon, the verse “And I led you upright,” and may we greet our righteous Moshiach standing tall, speedily in our days. Amen.

36:13 Speaker 3 Thank you to the distinguished Rabbi Yitzchak Plexer for his heartfelt words. We all join in the blessings and good wishes, and perhaps we may add just one more wish. The Rebbe shlita explained the name of the one whose yahrzeit is today, the Frierdiker Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, whose soul is in Eden. The Rebbe said: Yosef is named for the verse “May Hashem add to me another son”—turning the “other” into a son. May all those whom Rabbi Plexer mentioned, who are not yet as they should be, soon go from being “other” to being sons. “May Hashem add to me another son.” Yitzchak means laughter, in the sense of delight. “G-d has made laughter for me.” When an “other” becomes a son, that will be the true delight for Hashem, blessed be He. With us is the distinguished Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager—with all the interpretations of that name—the rabbi of Kiryat Vizhnitz in Netanya and son of His Holiness the Rebbe of Vizhnitz, who came especially at his father’s request, may he live and be well. We welcome him among us. He asked me to convey his words, and there will yet be an opportunity for him to deliver his blessing himself. At the end of the week we are also holding a large siyum in Bnei Brak, a celebration of the completion of the Rambam. There will certainly be an opportunity for a blessing there. And now we ask the chief rabbi of the holy city of Jerusalem, Rabbi Moshe shlita, to give his blessing. Please, Rabbi.

38:51 Speaker 4 The esteemed Chief Rabbi of Israel, the Rishon LeZion, the distinguished Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu shlita; esteemed rabbis, chief rabbis of cities, heads of yeshivos, scholars and sages, and the entire holy congregation. We have gathered on this holy night to strengthen and encourage those who study the Rambam, may his merit protect us, amen. Over the course of the year, quite apart from the great virtue of setting aside time for Torah study every day, during those hours of study one also refrains from committing transgressions. Our Sages said: “If a person refrains from committing a transgression, he is rewarded as though he performed a mitzvah”; “They also do no wrong; they walk in His ways.” What is more, we merit to study all the Torah’s mitzvos, as though we had fulfilled them all. As our Sages said of the verse “This is the law of the burnt offering and the meal offering”: Whoever studies the law of a burnt offering is regarded as though he offered one, and whoever studies the law of a meal offering is regarded as though he offered one. The same applies throughout. Whoever studies the laws of circumcision, redeeming a firstborn son, or building a parapet, but cannot perform those mitzvos, is regarded as though he performed the mitzvos themselves. This is why our holy Rebbe, the Rebbe of Lubavitch shlita, who initiated and established this undertaking, chose the Rambam for study rather than the other halachic authorities—the Rif, the Rosh and the Shulchan Aruch. When he was asked about this, the answer was that they did not all address laws that apply in the era of Moshiach, and many, many of the Torah’s mitzvos are therefore absent from their works, as is well known. Only the Rambam, in his exalted book, included everything written in the Torah and the Talmud, including the laws of offerings, ritual impurity and purity, impurity imparted by the dead, and much more. Moreover, his holy book is beautifully organized and divided into sections of law, each subject in its place, in clear and elegant Hebrew, every word aptly expressed. It is called Mishneh Torah because it contains the entire Torah—something his predecessors did not do. Our great master began his holy book with the Book of Knowledge, whose subject is knowing Hashem, as he wrote at the outset: “The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of all wisdom is to know that there is a First Being, and He brings every existing thing into being.” He also concluded his book with this subject: knowing Hashem. As he said, in the time of Moshiach,

42:43 Speaker 4 all the Jewish people will be great sages and will attain knowledge of their Creator, as it is written: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.” In my humble opinion, his intention was to teach us that the entire purpose of his work, from beginning to end, encompassing the whole Torah, rests on one thing and has one goal: to know that there is a Creator, a First Being. As our Sages said: “The mitzvos were given to Israel only to refine people through them,” as it says, “The word of Hashem is refined.” What difference does it make to Hashem, blessed be He, whether one slaughters an animal at the throat or from the back of the neck? That is what our Sages said. Rather, “I spoke, and My will was done.” In other words, by performing mitzvos, we come to know and recognize the One who commanded us to do them, and we observe all His commands, statutes and laws as He wills us to, for He is Master of all the earth. That is the whole Torah. This was the main purpose of our enslavement in Egypt and our departure from there amid signs and wonders: that we should know and recognize Hashem. As it is written: “So that you may tell your son of what I did in Egypt ... and you shall know that I am Hashem.” It is also written: “Say to the Children of Israel: I am Hashem, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt ... and I will take you to be My people, and you shall know that I am Hashem your G-d.” That is to say, by accepting His commands, as in the verse “When you bring the people out of Egypt, you will serve G-d on this mountain”—the receiving of the Torah—whose essential purpose, too, is to implant recognition and knowledge of the Creator in our hearts. Without the Torah, a person might come to forget the signs and wonders. This also explains what we say in the Haggadah: “Had He brought us before Mount Sinai but not given us the Torah, it would have sufficed us.” The obvious question is: What would Mount Sinai be without the Torah? Was not the whole purpose of Mount Sinai the Torah that was given upon it, [unclear]? In light of what we have said, the answer is clear: since the whole purpose of the Torah is to recognize Hashem as the Creator, what we saw at Mount Sinai would itself have been more than enough.

45:51 Speaker 4 All the lightning, and the mountain was smoking, and all the people trembled. They said to Moshe, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but let G-d not speak to us, lest we die.” And it is also written, “For who among all flesh has heard the voice of the living G-d as we have, and lived?” If so, we did not need to receive the Torah in order to know that there is a First Being; we saw that with our own eyes. Now, regarding knowledge of Hashem, it is written, “Know the G-d of your father and serve Him.” This is what our Rabbis meant when they said that one may investigate as far as one’s understanding can reach, in order to establish conclusively that there is a Creator of all. As they said, “Investigate His works, but do not reach out your hand toward Him.” The Rambam, peace be upon him, understood that it is clear that everything that turns has something that turns it. The sphere turns without stopping, and it cannot turn without something turning it; He, blessed be He, turns it without a hand and without a body. Those are the Rambam’s words. That is how they explain “Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One”: it means, understand, O Israel, as in “Grant Your servant an understanding heart.” But if a person cannot understand it fully and is left with questions and difficulties, he should attribute that to the limits of his own understanding and return to complete, simple faith. It is like the statutes in the Torah: their reasons cannot be understood. As our Rabbis said, “I have established a statute; I have issued a decree. You have no permission to question it.” In this light, we can explain why the Rambam began the introduction to his book with the verse, “Then I shall not be ashamed when I look to all Your commandments.” His meaning is: If, after investigating, I have not managed to grasp the truth and understand the existence of Hashem, I shall not be ashamed of that. “When I look to all Your commandments”—both the commandments and the statutes. I recognize that the statutes cannot be understood, and there is no shame in that; the same applies to the existence of Hashem. If I have not managed to understand, I will return to simple faith, as it is written, “Fortunate are those whose way is wholehearted, who walk in the Torah of Hashem,” and “Follow after Him, walking in His ways and keeping His statutes,” which have no discernible reason. “Then I shall not be ashamed when I look to all Your commandments”—all of them, whether they have a reason

48:59 Speaker 4 or do not. I will not investigate everything. Investigating the truth of Hashem’s existence is included in this. This is how they explained the verse, “To declare Your kindness in the morning and Your faithfulness at night.” What does night have to do with morning? They tell it this way. Once, a great rabbi came to give a sermon in a certain city. He truly was a great rabbi in Israel. There were thousands upon thousands of people, as there are here: rabbis, scholars, discerning people, and ordinary people. He began with simple ideas. Everyone understood. Then he went a little deeper. A quarter of the people did not understand, but three quarters did. He went deeper still. Half understood, and half did not. Deeper still: three quarters did not understand, and one quarter did. He went deeper again. No one understood. And still he went on and on. When he finished, they began praising the scholar: “He really is a great scholar. None of us could grasp what he said.” Someone said to them, “Why are you praising something you did not understand? Perhaps he was making fun of you, saying all sorts of things, and you call him a great scholar.” They answered him, “If he had spoken that way from the beginning, without saying anything we could understand, you would be right. But we saw that at first he said good things that everyone understood. Then half understood, then a quarter. So certainly, what he said at the end was true as well.” That is the meaning of “To declare Your kindness in the morning”: things that are as clear and bright as morning. From there, we can come to believe in “Your faithfulness at night”—to believe in things that are as obscure as night, like the statutes and other matters. And so I want to touch a little on what Rabbi Landau shlita said about the World to Come. He spoke about it at length. I say that even today, thank Hashem, we have righteous people who live in the World to Come. Such people exist. It says, “The reward for a mitzvah is a mitzvah.” What does that mean? We know what it says in Pirkei Avos: “The reward for a mitzvah is a mitzvah,” because one mitzvah leads to another, and one transgression leads to another. But they

52:03 Speaker 4 explain it this way: the reward for a mitzvah—someone who performs a mitzvah properly asks for no reward at all, neither in this world nor even in the World to Come. Only the pleasure he takes in the mitzvah itself: he has fulfilled his Creator’s commandments and merited to do so. He says, “What else do I need? What other reward do I need? I have merited to fulfill the Creator’s commandments. Do I need something more?” In truth, these are the people who, while living in this world, live in the World to Come. This is how they explain the account of King David and Goliath. When Goliath came, King Shaul was greatly distressed and said, “Who can stand against Goliath?” A herald proclaimed, “Whoever brings Goliath’s head, the king will make him very wealthy and give him his daughter Michal as a wife.” The call went out again and again. King David, the prophet tells us, went up to a man and asked him, “What will be done for the man who brings Goliath’s head—the man who has taunted the ranks of G-d?” What does that mean? Had he not heard the proclamation? Did he not hear the herald, so that he had to go and ask a man? The call could be heard. David was not deaf; he could hear. Rather, they say he did not go to ask. He...

00:01 Speaker 1 The first principle is entirely like the sun and the moon. And that is why I—we are all here for this, with the arrival of our master, the great gaon who sits in America, while his reach extends across the whole world. The whole world, every corner of the world. There is not a single corner—anyone who picks up the Kfar Chabad newspaper will see every week how, even in places with no trace of Jewish life, where people know neither Torah nor Judaism, the shluchim go out as the Rebbe’s emissaries and succeed in spreading his teachings. It is truly remarkable. And if they have merited this, it is through the sanctity of the Rebbe, who gives them strength. So we can only bless him: may Hashem lengthen his days and years in a good and abundant old age, until the coming of the righteous redeemer, amen.

01:33 Speaker 2 Thank you to the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem and the Rishon LeZion for coming to join us at the siyum celebration. May Hashem grant us the great joy of all the Jewish people, the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, when we will rejoice together again, together with all the Jewish people. Before we hand things over to the orchestra, we cannot continue without pausing for a moment. One does not mix joy with sorrow, but we cannot refrain from saying a few words about the holy Rebbe of Lelov, may the memory of this righteous and holy man be a blessing, who passed away not long ago. He was one of the great tzaddikim of the generation. This entire holy gathering offers its blessing to his sons and successors, the holy Rebbe Reb Avraham shlita and the holy Rebbe Reb Shimon shlita: may the merit of their holy father stand by them as they lead their communities and bring them the light of the seven days of Creation—the light of Chassidus that our holy teacher the Baal Shem Tov bequeathed to us. May his merit protect us and all Israel until the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. Please, the orchestra.

04:20 Speaker 3 I come [unclear]. I come [unclear]. I pray at the Western Wall [unclear]. I come to pour out [unclear] and tears. Until [unclear]. And [unclear]. [unclear]. [unclear]. I sing my song. Because, because you are clear and plain. I have been praying for—

08:25 Speaker 4 “In the mouths of the upright.” “In the mouths of the upright You will be exalted, on the lips of the righteous You will be blessed, on the tongues of the pious You will be sanctified, and among the holy You will be praised.” “In the mouths of the upright You will be praised.” And on the lips of the righteous You will be blessed, on the tongues of the pious You will be sanctified, and among the holy You will be praised. In the mouths of the upright You will be exalted, on the lips of the righteous You will be blessed, on the tongues of the pious You will be sanctified, and among the holy You will be praised, praised. And among the holy You will be praised. And among the holy You will be praised.

12:46 Speaker 5 And now, since today is the yahrzeit of the Frierdiker Rebbe, whose soul is in Gan Eden, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Goldberg, rosh yeshivah of Tomchei Temimim in Migdal HaEmek, will recite the maamar of the histalkus, as is customary. Before the maamar, the niggun from Rostov. Rabbi Goldberg.

17:56 Speaker 6 “I have come into My garden, My sister, My bride.” The Midrash Rabbah says: “He came to His place.” It does not say “to a garden,” but “to My garden”—meaning My bridal chamber, the place where My presence was primarily found at first. For the Shechinah was originally present in the lower realms. Through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, the Shechinah withdrew from the earth to the first heaven. Then, through the sins of Cain and Enosh, the Shechinah withdrew from the first heaven to the second and third. After that, in the generation of the Flood, the Shechinah withdrew from the fourth heaven to the fifth. As the Midrash says about the verse, “They heard the voice of Hashem Elokim moving about in the garden,” Rabbi Abba said: It does not say “walking,” but “moving about,” indicating the withdrawal of the Shechinah: leaping and ascending, leaping and ascending. After that, through the other sins, the Shechinah withdrew as far as the seventh heaven. But then seven tzaddikim arose and brought the Shechinah back down. Avraham merited to bring the Shechinah down from the seventh heaven to the sixth, and Yitzchak from the sixth to the fifth, until Moshe Rabbeinu, who was the seventh. And all seventh ones are cherished, so he merited to bring the Shechinah down to earth. The principal revelation of G-dliness brought about by Moshe was in the Beis Hamikdash. As the verse says, “They shall make Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them.” But our Sages said: It does not say “within it,” but “among them.” This teaches us that the Shechinah’s dwelling is within each and every member of the Jewish people. This is the meaning of “I have come into My bridal chamber”—to the place where My presence was primarily found at first, for the Shechinah was originally present in the lower realms. The point is that the ultimate purpose of the creation and coming into being of the worlds is that Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired a dwelling for Himself in the lower realms. So the ultimate purpose is for G-dliness to be revealed below through human service, through the work of iskafya and ishapcha: the soul descends below and becomes clothed in a body and an animal soul, which are able to conceal and obscure the soul’s light. Yet despite all this, the soul prevails and brings about refinement and purification within the body, the animal soul, and its portion of the world. This is what is meant by “They shall make Me

21:36 Speaker 6 a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them”—within each and every person. This is achieved through the work of refinement, of iskafya and ishapcha. As the Zohar says: When the sitra achra is subdued below, this brings about “the glory of Hakadosh Boruch Hu rises,” so that the light of the Shechinah is revealed in all the worlds. From its use of the phrase “in all the worlds,” we understand that it is referring to a most elevated level of Divine light: the light of sovev kol almin, which surrounds and encompasses all the worlds equally. For there are differences of degree among the worlds. The Divine light does not shine in the higher worlds in the same way it shines in the lower worlds; there are differences of degree. As the verse says, “My hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens.” The Midrash says of this: He extended His right hand and created the heavens; He extended His left hand and created the earth. The heavens—He extended His right hand and created the heavens; He extended His left hand and created the earth. The right hand signifies closeness and the revelation of light. That is why it says He extended His right hand and created the heavens, meaning the higher worlds, where the Divine light shines openly. The earth means the lower worlds, where the light does not shine so openly. Even the little Divine light found there is concealed and hidden, and revealing it requires great effort and work. All this, however, concerns the Divine light that enters the worlds by becoming clothed within them—the Divine light that gives the worlds life, the light of memale kol almin. Because it is clothed within the worlds, it is measured and limited according to their capacity. But when we speak of Divine light that is beyond any connection to the worlds, called the light of sovev kol almin, which surrounds and encompasses all the worlds equally, it is present in all the worlds equally. That is what the Zohar means by “in all the worlds.” To draw down and reveal this light here below, however, so that a Jew recognizes

24:41 Speaker 6 and feels this lofty Divine light, requires a Jew’s work of refinement: iskafya and transforming darkness into light through ishapcha. For the superiority of light comes specifically from darkness. In other words, when the darkness itself is transformed into light, the light gains a special quality: it is revealed and shines right here below. This is the meaning of the verse, “They shall make Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them.” Through every Jew’s work of iskafya and ishapcha, what the Zohar says comes to pass: this lofty light, called the light of sovev kol almin, shines and is revealed. This, too, was the work in the Mishkan and the Beis Hamikdash: the work of refinement, of iskafya, which subsequently leads to ishapcha. That is why one of the principal forms of service in the Beis Hamikdash was the service of the offerings. The service of the offerings is a spiritual service within the soul, as we see from the participation of the kohanim and the Levi’im through their service, song, and music—all of which point to spiritual service. It follows that just as, in the Beis Hamikdash, “I will dwell among them” was brought about through the service of the offerings, so too, for “I will dwell” to be fulfilled within each and every Jew, the service of the offerings is needed—the service of the offerings within a person’s soul. To understand the offerings as a form of service within the soul, we can look at what the Torah says: “When a person offers from among you an offering to Hashem, from the animals, from the cattle and from the flock.” At first glance, this is difficult. If the verse intended only to explain the laws of an offering, it should have said, “When one of you offers an offering,” followed by the rules for bringing it. Why does it say, “When a person offers,” and only afterward, “from among you an offering to Hashem”? Rather, as is known, the verse also intends to explain to us the service of the offerings within the soul

27:59 Speaker 6 The person—and this is what the verse says: “When a person brings an offering.” When a person is stirred to come closer to G-dliness, he must know that it depends on him and comes from within him. It is up to you to become an offering to Hashem. After all, an offering to Hashem means coming close to Hashem. So the verse tells us that, to come closer to G-dliness, a person must first and foremost know that the whole matter depends on him alone. A person should not say, “How can I come closer to G-dliness?”—especially if he knows his own nature, that he is lowly and utterly distant, and sullied by various things that are not good. He feels utterly distant from G-dliness, and asks himself, “How can I come closer to G-dliness?” The verse answers him: “From you.” It depends on you. Every person can ask himself, “When will my deeds reach the deeds of my forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov?” There are no limits to this, because nothing can, G-d forbid, prevent a person from coming closer to G-dliness. As the Zohar says, Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not make unreasonable demands of His creatures. Rather, He reveals Himself and shines upon each person according to that person’s strength and ability. And as the Midrash says: “When I ask, I do not ask according to My strength, but according to the strength of each and every member of the Jewish people.” We understand from this that every person can rise and reach the loftiest levels. This is what the verse means by “When a person brings from you an offering to Hashem”: the offering he must bring must also be “from you”—literally from within you. The verse continues, “from the animals, from the cattle and from the flock.” “The animals” means the animal within a person’s heart, his animal soul. That is what must become the offering. It then says “from the cattle and from the flock,” referring to the particular levels found within the animal soul, for one person’s animal is not like another’s. Each person has his own animal. There are those whose

31:04 Speaker 6 animal is like a goring ox, with coarse traits, and there are those whose animal is like a sheep, a smaller, gentler animal. As the verse concludes, “You shall bring your offering”—each person, his own animal. With a physical offering, the procedure was to take the animal and bring it onto the altar. On the altar was the fire from Above. As the Gemara in Yoma says, an ember descended from heaven in the days of Shlomo and rested on the altar in the form of a lion. The Zohar calls it “the lion that consumes the offerings.” The offering was brought upon that fire. Likewise, in a person’s inner service there is a fire from Above: the... fiery flames of love and longing within the G-dly soul. As the verse says, “Its flames are flames of fire, a flame of Hashem.” The Midrash says that this fire resembles the fire from Above: fire does not extinguish water, and water does not extinguish fire. In other words, this fire—the flames of love and longing within the G-dly soul—is like the fire from Above, which water cannot extinguish. “Water” means the great waters of worry over earning a livelihood, and the many worries and... various distractions that draw a Jew away from Torah and avodah. Yet despite all this, “nor can rivers wash it away.” Why? Because this innate fire within the G-dly soul resembles the fire from Above, which water cannot extinguish. But the animal soul, too, must be offered up, so that it, too, becomes filled with love for Hashem. As it is written, “You shall love Hashem your G-d.” On the words “with all your heart,” our Sages say: “With both your inclinations.” The animal soul, too, must have love for G-dliness. How is this accomplished? Through the G-dly soul entering into the animal soul, because the animal soul on its own has no knowledge or feeling at all for matters of G-dliness.

33:54 Speaker 6 It is animalistic. But when the G-dly soul enters into the animal soul—that is, when the G-dly soul contemplates G-dliness in a way that the intellect of the animal soul can also understand and grasp—this brings about a general closeness of the animal soul to G-dliness. As explained elsewhere, it makes a general impression upon the animal soul, so that G-dliness, too, becomes something it can understand and grasp. After that comes “An abundance of produce comes through the strength of an ox”: the entire animal, the entire animal soul, is transformed from its animalistic nature and becomes absorbed and consumed in the fiery longing of the G-dly soul. This is the meaning of “They shall make Me a sanctuary, and I shall dwell within them”—within each and every person. When every Jew does this work of iskafya and is’hapcha, he comes to sense and recognize the light of “the glory of Hakadosh Boruch Hu is elevated,” that lofty Divine light called the light that encompasses all worlds. Then “I shall dwell” is fulfilled within each and every Jew.

35:34 Speaker 7 Telegrams have been received. A blessing from the Rebbe of Rachmastrivka, shlita: “To the honored participants in the Rambam celebration, may Hashem grant them life. I, too, join the blessings of the Torah leaders of the Jewish people for the celebration of the completion of the third cycle of Rambam study. May the favor of Hashem be upon you, and may you merit to increase the honor of Heaven and to magnify and glorify the Torah. May your hands be strengthened, and may we merit the complete Geulah speedily in our days, amen.” Signed by the Rebbe of Rachmastrivka. We welcome the honored Chief Rabbi, the esteemed Rabbi Avraham Kahan Shapira. As he says, he is feeling it in his throat. We are in the parsha of the Exodus from Egypt—leaving the constriction of the throat, as explained in Chassidus. Quite a few people are feeling it in their throats this evening. May it be Hashem’s will that they soon leave the constriction of the throat for a place of expansiveness. We thank everyone for taking part, and we also welcome among us the sons-in-law of the Rebbe of Slonim: the esteemed Rabbi Yisroel Luria, shlita, and the esteemed Rabbi Shlomo Weinberg, shlita. Here I would like to read the blessing that the Rebbe of Lelov, shlita, wrote to those gathered here: “To those celebrating the joy of Torah at the completion of the Rambam: Since I am within the thirty days following the passing of the holy Rebbe, the crown of my head and a holy man of Israel, my father, teacher and Rebbe—may I be an atonement for his resting place; may the memory of the righteous and holy one be a blessing and may he have life in the World to Come; may his merit protect us—it is difficult for me to take part in this sacred celebration, and I regret that. I know how greatly the Rebbe, may the memory of the righteous and holy one be a blessing, admired and cherished the holy initiative of the Rebbe of Lubavitch, shlita, to give all of Israel the merit of knowing the entire Oral Torah. I join the prayers of all the Jewish people for the health of the Rebbe of Lubavitch, shlita. May we all merit to rejoice together in the celebration of its completion, together with Moshiach, speedily in our days, amen.” Signed by the Rebbe of Lelov. We also received a blessing from the Rebbe of Karlin, who likewise

38:38 Speaker 7 apologizes that, because he is within the thirty days of mourning, he cannot take part in the celebration. And now we will ask our friend Reb Yitzchak Kogan, a man of self-sacrifice, to tell us how, behind the Iron Curtain, in the darkness, they too fulfilled the request of the Rebbe, shlita, to study Rambam—either three chapters or one chapter a day—and how they held celebrations of completion there under those difficult conditions. Reb Yitzchak Kogan.

39:48 Speaker 8 Distinguished and honored guests. I think that after two months here in the Holy Land, at this siyum of Rambam, I cannot put what I feel today into simple Hebrew words. For today’s celebration, I want to say a few words about studying Rambam in Russia. As soon as we learned that the Rebbe shlita had instructed us to study Rambam, we began looking for a set of Rambam in Leningrad, where we were living. We found a few volumes in the synagogue, but not all the volumes of the Yad Hachazakah. There were not even enough to share among the people who wanted to study. Around that time, friends of ours were celebrating a wedding, and the gabbai of the synagogue in Kovno, in Lithuania, then part of the USSR, came for the chuppah. He joined in our celebration, and I suddenly asked him whether he knew where we could get a Rambam. He said that there were many volumes of Rambam in the basement of the great synagogue in Kovno. But, he said, we could not take them all at once; it had to be done unofficially, because his position required him to account for everything to the government. I do not want to go into all the details, but we found hundreds of volumes of Rambam there, very old ones, three or four hundred years old. We distributed them to Moscow, Leningrad and many other places in Russia where people were studying. That was real mesirus nefesh. This man did it in Russia, even though, as the synagogue’s gabbai, he had been entrusted with its books. Nevertheless, he put these holy books into our hands. It was a tremendous thing. I want to tell you today that he is now in Eretz Yisroel; he arrived a month ago. I asked a friend to bring him here today. He may even be here. His name is Uri Zavin, and whoever

43:48 Speaker 8 meets him in Ashkelon should, I think, show great respect to a man who did so much for us and to help us carry out the Rebbe’s instruction. To conclude, I wanted to add a few words about why we were so careful to follow the Rebbe’s instructions in Russia. It was because we saw how the Rebbe’s compassion and instructions helped us there. I was in Siberia for twelve years

44:33 Speaker 9 and here [unclear]

44:36 Speaker 8 afterward

44:37 Speaker 9 [unclear]

44:37 Speaker 8 [unclear]. How was it that so many people who were fighting the Russians for Judaism and Jewish culture were arrested and imprisoned, while I was still free? I truly did not know what to answer him. Only with time did I come to understand that the struggle of Jews who want to observe Torah and mitzvos in Russia is truly a war—not only a spiritual war, but a physical one too. And in every war there is a commander, there are officers and there are soldiers. I was a simple soldier. My officer was a Lubavitcher chossid who had also been arrested and spent many years in prison. And our commander is our master, teacher and Rebbe, the Rebbe shlita. By following his instructions, I managed to come to Eretz Yisroel, to be with you today, and to see in this a clear sign—a proof—that we left Russia in Parshas Lech Lecha. I think that was the greatest sign for me, and also for my friends who are now

46:19 Speaker 9 I don’t know, it’s

46:22 Speaker 8 There is a Jew here now, and... Jews like Reb Uri, as well as the Chabad chassidim who are now helping baalei teshuvah in Russia—we managed to organize a large group. I think that soon you will see many people coming here, people who truly observe mitzvos, and there will be many more people from Russia here in the world. Well, all the best! Thank you very much.

47:21 Speaker 9 Since we are discussing the parsha of “When Pharaoh sent out,” we hope that very soon Pharaoh—whose letters can be rearranged to spell oref, “the back of the neck”—and the Iron Curtain will open, and the Jewish people will come out from behind the Iron Curtain “with an uplifted hand,” very soon indeed. And since one of the Rebbe’s instructions for studying Rambam, in addition to three chapters or one chapter a day, is to study Rambam’s Sefer Hamitzvos, we will invite the student Levi Yitzchak Monshine of Yeshivas Toras Emes in Jerusalem to complete Sefer Hamitzvos. Please.

48:27 Speaker 10 All right.

48:37 Speaker 9 Come, come. Say it here. Come here. Come here. We’re giving you this. Stand here by this table. Don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous. Loudly.

49:05 Speaker 10 Honored rabbis, shlita, and esteemed congregation. I am pleased to represent my friends, the holy and pure children of Israel, the schoolchildren, in completing the third cycle of studying Rambam’s Sefer Hamitzvos and beginning the fourth cycle, may it come upon us for good. Mitzvah 191: We are commanded to appoint a kohen who will address the people before battle and send home anyone unfit to fight, whether because of weakness or because his thoughts are occupied with something that leaves him unable to face battle. These are the three matters explained in the Torah; only afterward does the battle begin. This kohen is called the Kohen Anointed for War. In his address he recites the words stated in the Torah and adds words on this subject that inspire the people...

00:06 Speaker 1 [unclear] and the kohen approaches. And we link the end to the beginning. The first mitzvah is the commandment to believe in G-dliness: to believe that there is a First Cause that brought all things into being. This is what He said: “I am Hashem your G-d.” And at the end of the Gemara in Makkos they said: “Six hundred and thirteen mitzvos were given to Moshe at Sinai.” What is the verse? “Moshe commanded us the Torah”—that is, the numerical value of “Torah.” They asked: “What is the numerical value of ‘Torah’? It is six hundred and eleven.” And the answer was: “‘I am Hashem your G-d’ and ‘You shall have no other gods’—we heard them directly from the Almighty.” So it has been made clear to you that “I am Hashem” is among the 613 mitzvos, and it is a commandment to believe, as we have explained. And as we begin studying Sefer Hamitzvos in the fourth cycle, I call on all Jewish children in Israel and throughout the world: Join those studying the daily lesson in the Rambam’s Sefer Hamitzvos, so that through this study we can unite all the Jewish people, from young to old, children and women. And on behalf of my friends, all Jewish children, we offer a prayer and blessing for the leader of our generation, His Holiness the Rebbe shlita, who conceived and initiated the idea of daily Rambam study. May Hashem grant him long years of goodness and sweetness, strengthen his health, and grant him much nachas from all of us. And very soon, may all the Jewish people, shlita, go upright to our Holy Land. Amen and amen.

02:13 Speaker 2 Yasher koach to the student Yosef Yitzchak. And so, ladies and gentlemen, dear congregation, we have reached the conclusion of the celebration of the third Rambam cycle. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu grant us the merit to begin and complete the Rambam for the fourth time together with all the Jewish people. And just as we have merited to complete the Rambam, so may we merit to celebrate the end of exile and the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, very soon indeed. Amen, may it be His will. Maariv! Please don’t forget Maariv. Hey, hey, all the boys. And a hora.