Siyum HaRambam 5749

02:18 Speaker 1 Rabbis and esteemed rabbis, we will open the celebration of the siyum of Rambam, the completion of the fifth cycle of Rambam study, with the recitation of Psalm 87 by the prayer leader, the chossid, a man of self-sacrifice, Reb Beracha Chai [unclear]. Please.

02:46 Speaker 2 A song, a psalm of the sons of Korach. Its foundation is in the holy mountains. Hashem loves the gates of Tziyon more than all the dwellings of Yaakov. Glorious things are spoken of you, city of G-d, Selah. I will mention Rahav and Bavel among those who know Me; behold, Peleshet and Tzor, together with Kush: this one was born there. And of Tziyon it will be said, “This man and that man were born in her,” and the Most High will establish her. Hashem will count, when He records the peoples: “This one was born there,” Selah. And singers and dancers alike will say, “All my springs are in you.”

04:42 Speaker 3 Esteemed rabbis, the Rebbes, members of the Council of Torah Sages, heads of yeshivos and Torah scholars, chassidim and men of good deeds, holy and distinguished congregation from the holy city of Jerusalem, the center of the Land of Israel and the light of the world: we welcome everyone who has come with a heartfelt chassidic greeting. Welcome to this great gathering celebrating the completion of the fifth cycle of daily Rambam study and the beginning of the sixth cycle, which should come upon us for good. To our joy, the celebration of completing the Mishneh Torah, the Yad Hachazakah, has special force and meaning in Jerusalem, the holy city which, according to the Rambam, is itself called a sanctuary—a king’s sanctuary, a royal city. Jerusalem, the complete city, a city joined together. Together we celebrate today, for the fifth time, the joy of Torah, Written Torah and Oral Torah together, as the Rambam puts it in his holy introduction to his work. We celebrate daily Rambam study, instituted by the leader of our generation, the Rebbe shlita. Together we celebrate today in a spirit of Ahavas Yisroel and Jewish unity, which we witnessed with even greater strength and vigor this year. In the face of barren divisiveness, men of understanding, spirit and wisdom, whose treasure is the fear of Hashem, rose and took their stand. At the direction and instruction of all the great Torah leaders and teachers of our generation, shlita, they brought about a mighty, genuine turning point: a closing of ranks within our camp, the camp of Israel. My brothers and friends, at the end of his commentary on tractate Rosh Hashanah, the Rambam describes his journey to the Land of Isr— to the Land of Israel and Jerusalem. He writes there as follows: “These two days, the sixth and ninth of Cheshvan,” the days on which he visited Jerusalem and Chevron, “I vowed would be for me days of Yom Tov, prayer and rejoicing in Hashem, with food and drink. May G-d help me,” the Rambam writes, “in all things and enable me to fulfill my vows to Hashem. Amen.” My teachers and rabbis, great Torah scholars, champions of our people, distinguished congregation: at this splendid celebration we can say, “Welcome, Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon, in spirit, to the holy city of Jerusalem.” It is a Yom Tov

08:24 Speaker 3 for us too, who have merited to complete your books. It is a Yom Tov many times over for us, who have merited to complete it for the fifth time since the leader of our generation, the Rebbe shlita, issued his heartfelt call for all the Jewish people—men, women and children—to come together and unite around our holy Torah through daily study of the Rambam’s work. We say to the Rambam, to Rabbeinu Moshe: Your spirit, Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon, hovers over every beis midrash and yeshiva throughout the world, in every home and every place where a Jew is found. Welcome, Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon, in spirit, into our midst, into our hearts and into our thoughts. Since the Rebbe shlita’s enactment of daily Rambam study, in all its study tracks, spread, hundreds of thousands of Jews in Israel and throughout the world have joined its students—from your heads, your tribes and your elders, down to your woodcutters and water drawers. The testimony to this, my teachers and rabbis, is this exalted gathering for the fifth time, and the unreserved support of all the great Torah leaders and teachers, shlita, and their wholehearted encouragement of daily Rambam study. Dear brothers, today is Tuesday, the third day of the Shabbos week that has passed, from which all the days are blessed. Today is 22 Shvat, the yahrzeit of the righteous Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, a”h, wife of—may he live long and good years—the one who initiated and brought about the idea of daily Rambam study, the Rebbe shlita. The past year became—and this too is among the Rebbetzin’s great merits—a year of spiritual ascent and special strengthening in the service of Hashem, of increasing Torah and Yiddishkeit. During the year, thousands of yeshivos were built, thousands of Torah and charitable initiatives, and thousands of endeavors devoted to education, purity and spreading Yiddishkeit. May her memory be blessed. There is no more fitting elevation and remembrance for her soul than this wonderful chain of spiritual growth established in her honor in every city. My teachers and rabbis, in Chassidus we speak of world, year and soul. These are the elements of our existence. All three have come together here: the place, the holy city of Jerusalem; the time, the month of Shvat,

11:58 Speaker 3 on the first of which Moshe began to explain the Torah—and as is known, the beginning of the month encompasses the entire month; and the soul, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. All have joined together this evening to celebrate the completion of the fifth cycle of daily Rambam study. From this great and exalted gathering, we turn to every Jew, wherever he may be, and call on him to join the hundreds of thousands studying the daily Rambam. Along with this heartfelt call, we send the blessings of the people in Israel and throughout the world to the Rebbe shlita, who initiated and brought about the enactment of daily Rambam study. May Hashem grant him long years of goodness, health and nachas from his students, his chassidim and all the Jewish people. And very soon, may all the Jewish people, shlita, walk upright to our Holy Land, and may we all merit to complete the sixth cycle in the Third Beis Hamikdash. Amen and amen! And in keeping with the chassidic custom of opening every farbrengen with a word from the Rebbe, I am honored to invite the distinguished chossid and Torah scholar Rabbi Dovid Chanzin shlita, one of the esteemed elder Chabad rabbis, to open with the Rebbe shlita’s blessing for this special celebration. Rabbi Chanzin, please.

13:54 Speaker 4 The wording of the Rebbe shlita’s blessing for this siyum: “I will mention it again at the Ohel, for great success, etc.”

14:10 Speaker 3 And to the Rebbe shlita’s special blessing for this celebration, we all join in responding: Amen and amen. My teachers and rabbis, at this great and holy gathering, this moving and magnificent occasion, we all thirst and yearn for the blessings of the great and righteous leaders of our generation. They are the source from which our spiritual vitality is blessed; from their wellsprings, flocks of holy children draw nourishment and receive their education. Later this evening we will hear the holy blessing of the eminent Gerrer Rebbe shlita, the elder among the righteous leaders of our generation in the Holy Land, from his brother, the distinguished Torah scholar Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter shlita. And now, as is customary at a celebration of Torah, let us rejoice and be glad with this Torah. Let the chassidic singer who has come especially to bring us joy at the Rambam celebration come forward: Rabbi Avraham Fried. Please.

16:30 Speaker 5 Peace be upon you, angels of peace, angels of the Most High, from the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Hey, peace be upon you, angels of peace. Oy, angels of the Most High, from the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Ai, ai, ai, peace be upon you, angels of peace, oy, angels of the Most High, oy, oy, oy, oy, from the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Oy, come in peace, angels of peace, angels of the Most High, from the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Oy, come in peace, angels of peace, angels of the Most High, from the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Oy, come in peace, angels of peace, of peace, hey, angels, etc., hey, Most High, oy, yoyoy, from the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Bless me with peace, angels of peace, angels of the Most High, from the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Bless me with peace, angels of peace, angels of the Most High, from the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Bless me with peace, angels of peace, hey, angels, etc., hey, Most High, oy, oy, oy, oy, from the King of kings, hey, the Holy One, blessed be He. Oy, depart in peace, angels of peace, angels of the Most High, from the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Oy, depart in peace, angels of peace, hey, angels, etc., of the Most High, from the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Oy, oy, oy, oy, depart in peace, angels of peace. Oy, angels of the Most High. Oy, Most High, Most High, Most High. King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai. Oy, oy, oy, oy. Oy, oy, oy. Lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai. Oy, oy, oy, oy. Oy, oy, oy. Lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai. Oy, oy, oy, oy. Oy, oy, oy. Depart in peace,

20:58 Speaker 5 angels of peace. Oy, oy, the Holy One. Oy, the Holy One, blessed be He. Thank you very much. Lai, lai, lai, lai, la, la, lai, lai, lai, lai. Lai, lai, lai, lai, la, la, lai, lai, lai, lai. Lai, lai, lai, lai, la, la, lai, lai, lai, lai. Lai, lai, lai, lai.

24:15 Speaker 6 Ri-lo-ri-dai-dai-dai-dai-ri-dai-dai-dai-ri-ri-oh. Oy la la lai la la lai la. [unclear]. Love, peace and friendship. Oy [unclear]. Love, peace and friendship. Ri-ri-li la la la la [unclear]. Ri-ri-li la la lai la. La la lai ri-li loi la. Ri-ri-li la la lai la. Oy ro ro ro ro ro, oy oy oy la la la. Oy ro ro, oy ro, oy oy la la la. Oy la la lai ri-li loi ram. Ri-ri-li la la la ri-ram. Ri-ri-li la la lai loi la. Ri-ri-li la la lai la. In Jerusalem, in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, in Jerusalem. Hoy! There are love and peace. Oy, in Jerusalem, in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, in Jerusalem. Oy la la lai ri-li loi la. Ri-ri-li la la la ri-ram. La la lai ri-li loi la. Ri-ri-li la la lai la. In Jerusalem. Thank you very much. Yes, and of this, ladies and gentlemen, we say in the prayers, “Splendor and honor they give to His name.” “Splendor,” pe’er, is an acronym for Reb Avraham Fried. Here is a man who has come not only to rejoice with us, but who is himself celebrating today the completion of the daily Rambam study cycle together with all of us. And at this opportunity, we extend a warm welcome to all the rabbis and Rebbes who arrived at the beginning of the program and during it: His Holiness the Tolna Rebbe shlita, His Holiness the Strikov Rebbe shlita, the Kloiz Rebbe shlita, the Lelov Rebbe shlita and the Komarna Rebbe shlita, and, as I said, all the rabbis who have joined us during the program. And from one blessing to another, let us now quench our thirst with the holy blessing of His Holiness the Vizhnitz Rebbe shlita, conveyed by his son, the distinguished Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager shlita, the rabbi of the Vizhnitz chassidim in Bnei Brak. Please.

27:41 Speaker 7 Your Holinesses, the Rebbes shlita, distinguished heads of yeshivos, distinguished rabbis, and this entire distinguished gathering of Torah scholars. The Gemara brings, in chapter eight of Shabbos, concerning the verse in the weekly parsha we read, “We will do and we will hear.” The Gemara says there: “When the Jewish people put ‘we will do’ before ‘we will hear,’ a Heavenly voice went forth and said to them: Who revealed to My children this secret used by the ministering angels?” Who revealed to My children the secret used by the ministering angels? [unclear] How do we know about “we will do and we will hear”? It says, “Bless Hashem, His angels, mighty in strength, who do His bidding, to hear the voice of His word.” First it says “who do,” and only afterward “to hear.” The Jewish people did the same thing: they put “we will do” before “we will hear.” The Gemara tells us that [unclear] called them hasty: “You put your mouths before your ears.” How could they say “we will do” before “we will hear”? Rashi explains there, on “you put your mouths before your ears”: Before you had even heard whether the holy Torah would be too difficult to keep, whether you would be able to abide by it, you had already accepted it, saying that you could fulfill it. You accepted it before [unclear]. Earlier, the Gemara says: Rav Dimi bar Chama bar Chasa said that it is written, “They stood beneath the mountain.” This teaches that He held the mountain over them like a barrel: “If you accept the Torah, well and good; if not, there will be your burial place.” Tosafos asks: Why was that necessary? After all, the Jewish people had already said “we will do” before “we will hear.” Tosafos answers: Perhaps they would turn back when they saw the great fire. If they turned back when they saw

29:48 Speaker 7 the great fire, [unclear], He held the mountain over them like a barrel. That is how Tosafos explains it. [unclear] The holy Berditchever Rebbe [unclear] asks about Tosafos’s answer. [unclear] When Moshe Rabbeinu came to the Jewish people and told them that Hashem wanted to give them the holy Torah, to give them the 613 mitzvos, they immediately said, “We will do and we will hear.” [unclear] Could they keep the holy Torah? [unclear] They accepted the holy Torah. [unclear] Could they continue to keep it afterward, day after day? [unclear] “We will do and we will hear” [unclear] the glory of Hashem like a consuming fire. [unclear] For the honor of Heaven [unclear]. Amen. [unclear] the glory of Hashem like a consuming fire [unclear].

31:46 Speaker 7 [unclear] Even [unclear] the holy Torah [unclear]. “We will do and we will hear” [unclear] the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. Why, then, did He hold the mountain over them like a barrel? That was preparation for accepting the Oral Torah. The holy seforim say: “Indeed, He loves the peoples; all His holy ones are in Your hand. They gathered at Your feet; each receives Your words. The Torah that Moshe commanded us is the heritage of the congregation of Yaakov.” The holy seforim explain it this way: “Indeed, He loves the peoples; all His holy ones are in Your hand”—the Jewish people said “we will do and we will hear.” Why, then, was it necessary to hold the mountain over them like a barrel? The answer is, “Each receives Your words”: the Oral Torah. Through [unclear] they received the strength to hold fast to the Oral Torah. “The Torah that Moshe commanded us is the heritage”—by receiving the Torah through Moshe Rabbeinu, they gained the strength to hold fast to the holy Torah. “The congregation of Yaakov”—when the Jewish people are gathered together [unclear] the Oral Torah. Through Moshe Rabbeinu they gained the strength to accept the Oral Torah. The holy seforim also explain “we will do and we will hear” in connection with “His voice shall be heard when he enters the holy place,” and “He heard the king’s decree.” The Jewish people said “we will do and we will hear,” yet He held the mountain over them like a barrel. The answer is, “His voice shall be heard”: [unclear] when he enters the holy place. That gave them the strength to hold fast to “we will hear,” even to the Oral Torah,

33:49 Speaker 7 to hold fast to it. And that is “he heard the king’s decree.” “Who are the kings? The rabbis.” Through the decree of the king—the rabbis—the Jewish people have the strength to hold fast to it, to hold fast to the Torah. May everyone be healthy and strong and have blessings [unclear]. And may Hashem help [unclear].

35:40 Speaker 8 Yasher koach, and thank you very much for the wonderful teaching brought to us by the son of His Holiness the Vizhnitz Rebbe. “Who are the kings? The rabbis”—the distinguished chossid Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager shlita, the rabbi of the Vizhnitz chassidim. Thank you, and yasher koach. Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed and holy assembly. Our Sages said: “Let it be counted to my credit that when I see a Torah scholar complete a tractate, I make a Yom Tov for the rabbis.” We have all gathered here this evening for a Yom Tov for the rabbis. For this great, beautiful and moving Yom Tov, I have the honor of inviting the eminent Torah scholar, the distinguished chossid and rabbinic authority, the rabbi and head of the rabbinical court of Bnei Brak, Rabbi Moshe Yehuda Leib Landau shlita, to complete the fifth cycle, may it be for good.

36:58 Speaker 9 With the permission of our esteemed rabbis, and of this distinguished, holy gathering. The great privilege of completing the Rambam again in this cycle fell to me in the merit of my honored father, of blessed memory, who completed the Rambam in the first cycle. And by Divine providence, this celebration of the completion of the Rambam was set for my honored father’s third yahrzeit, 26 Shvat. So I would like to apologize to this holy gathering and to the speakers who follow me: since a celebration like this naturally includes an orchestra and music, I will have to leave the hall, as today is the yahrzeit. Please forgive me. In the final chapter of his Mishneh Torah, chapter 12 of Hilchos Melachim, halachah 2, the Rambam says: “It appears from the plain meaning of the prophets’ words.” From the words of the prophets—it appears from their plain meaning that at the beginning of the days of Moshiach there will be the war of Gog and Magog, and that before the war of Gog and Magog, a prophet will arise to set the Jewish people on the right path and prepare their hearts, as it says, “Behold, I am sending you Eliyahu the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Hashem.” At first glance, this is puzzling. “The great and awesome day of Hashem” means the coming of Moshiach. If so, how can the Rambam say that the plain meaning of the prophets’ words indicates that Eliyahu the prophet will come before the war of Gog and Magog? He cites the verse, “Behold, I am sending you Eliyahu the prophet before the coming of the day of Hashem.” The verse only shows that Eliyahu the prophet will come before Moshiach’s arrival. But where is the proof that Eliyahu the prophet will come before the war of Gog and Magog? If we look closely at the Rambam’s wording, though, he says that the war of Gog and Magog will take place at the beginning of the days of Moshiach. He does not say it will take place before the days of Moshiach, before Moshiach comes. Rather, the war of Gog and Magog will take place at the beginning of the days of Moshiach. In other words, the Rambam already counts the war of Gog and Magog as part of the days of Moshiach, and already concerning

41:43 Speaker 9 the war of Gog and Magog it says, “the great and awesome day of Hashem.” But the question is: What is the Rambam’s source for saying this? Where did the Rambam learn that the war of Gog and Magog is already the beginning of the days of Moshiach? Let us first look, perhaps, at what the Rambam says next. The Rambam continues: “The prophet comes. He does not come to declare the pure impure or the impure pure, nor to disqualify people or establish their status, but to bring peace to the world, as it says, ‘He will turn the hearts of fathers toward their children.’” And the Rambam continues: “Some of the sages say that Eliyahu will come before Moshiach’s arrival.” Eliyahu will come not before the war of Gog and Magog, but before Moshiach’s arrival. In other words, the Rambam presents a dispute here about the arrival of Eliyahu the prophet: Will he come before the war of Gog and Magog, or only before Moshiach’s arrival? A second Gemara is in Tractate Shabbos. The Gemara says: “A person is obligated to eat three meals on Shabbos.” We learn this from the verse in the passage about the manna, where it says: “Moshe said, ‘Eat it today, for today is Shabbos to Hashem; today you will not find it in the field.’” The word “today” appears three times in the verse. From this we learn that a person must eat three meals on Shabbos. And the Gemara says, Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: “Whoever observes the three Shabbos meals is saved from three calamities: the birth pangs of Moshiach, the judgment of Gehinnom, and the war of Gog and Magog.” The Gemara learns this through a gezeirah shavah, a comparison of matching words. The word “today” is said three times in connection with the Shabbos meals, and thus there are three meals. We compare “day” with “day.” Regarding the birth pangs of Moshiach, it says: “Before the coming of the great and awesome day of Hashem.” “The day of Hashem” is compared with “today” as said of Shabbos. A person is saved from what comes “before the day of Hashem”—the birth pangs of Moshiach. He is saved from Gehinnom, as it says, “That day is a day of wrath.” He is saved from the war of Gog and Magog, as it says, “On the day Gog comes.” So here we have a Gemara that teaches

45:36 Speaker 9 that the three meals save a person from three calamities. If the war of Gog and Magog takes place before Moshiach’s arrival, before the days of Moshiach, how do we derive three calamities? We have the comparison of “day” with “day” from “before the coming of the day of Hashem.” If the war of Gog and Magog takes place before the day of Hashem comes, then we can only learn that a person is saved from the war of Gog and Magog. How do we know he is saved from three calamities—from both the birth pangs of Moshiach and the war of Gog and Magog? The Gemara must hold that the war of Gog and Magog is considered the day of Hashem’s coming; it is included in the days of Moshiach. What comes before the day of Hashem is the birth pangs of Moshiach. So the Rambam has an explicit source. This is the view in the Gemara that Eliyahu comes before the coming of the day of Hashem. And what is the day of Hashem? It includes the war of Gog and Magog at the beginning of the days of Moshiach. Thus Eliyahu the prophet comes before the day of Hashem, before the war of Gog and Magog. If we were to say that the war of Gog and Magog takes place before the day of Hashem, we would have no source for the birth pangs of Moshiach: “Before the coming of the day of Hashem” would refer to the war of Gog and Magog. If the Gemara derives two separate things—the birth pangs of Moshiach and the war of Gog and Magog—then the birth pangs of Moshiach are before the coming of the day of Hashem, while the war of Gog and Magog is already included in the day of Hashem, at the beginning of the days of Moshiach. And Eliyahu the prophet comes before the coming of the day of Hashem, before the war of Gog and Magog. So the Rambam has an explicit Gemara: a dispute between two Gemaras, one in Eruvin and one in Shabbos. The Gemara in Eruvin holds that Eliyahu the prophet will come immediately before Moshiach’s arrival. The Gemara in Shabbos holds that Eliyahu the prophet will come before the war of Gog and Magog. And for what purpose does Eliyahu the prophet come? The Rambam says: to bring peace to the world. Here the Rambam rules in accordance with the sages in the last Mishnah of Tractate Eduyos. The Mishnah says: “Rabbi Yehoshua said: I have a tradition from Rabbi Yochanan

48:40 Speaker 9 ben Zakkai, who heard from his teacher, and his teacher from his teacher, a law given to Moshe at Sinai, that Eliyahu does not come to declare people impure or pure, but to distance those who were brought near by force and bring near those who were distanced by force.” That is what Rabbi Yehoshua said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. Rabbi Shimon says—I am not quoting the entire Mishnah, for brevity’s sake—Rabbi Shimon says he comes to resolve disputes. And the sages say he comes neither to distance nor to bring near, but to make peace between them. In his commentary on the Mishnah there, the Rambam explains: Rabbi Yehoshua apparently says in the name of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, who heard from his teacher, and his teacher from his teacher, that this is a law given to Moshe at Sinai. How, then, can there be a dispute? Rabbi Shimon disagrees, and the sages disagree, yet the Rambam has already stated in his introduction that there can be no dispute about a law given to Moshe at Sinai. The Rambam explains that the tradition from Sinai was only that Eliyahu would remove injustices. The Tannaim in the Mishnah disagree about what “injustices” means. The Rambam continues: “The sages say that the injustices are the baseless hatreds between people, through which a person wrongs another by hating him. This is what they mean when they say that he comes to bring peace to the world.” And here the Rambam rules like the sages: Eliyahu the prophet comes to bring peace to the world. This answers those who ask how we can understand that His Holiness the Rebbe shlita of Lubavitch often emphasizes that we are truly in the very last moments of galus, while at the same time we see such a wave of baseless hatred. How can these be the last moments of galus? But here we see an explicit Mishnah and a ruling in the Rambam: Eliyahu the prophet will remove baseless hatred before the coming of the great and awesome day of Hashem. Certainly, the sin of baseless hatred is very grave. Our Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of this sin. And our sages said: “Hakadosh Boruch Hu found no vessel that holds blessing for the Jewish people other than peace.” At the end of Hilchos Chanukah, the Rambam puts it very decisively. The Rambam’s words are that the entire Torah was given to bring peace to the world. The entire giving of the Torah, what Hakadosh Boruch

52:37 Speaker 9 The entire giving of the Torah to the Jewish people was for the sake of making peace in the world. At first glance, this is puzzling. Was the entire Torah given only to make peace? We fulfill mitzvos and study Torah because “they are our life and the length of our days.” Yet the Rambam says that the entire Torah was given only to make peace. Certainly, this applies to Torah study in particular. In general, the Rambam explains that the Torah was given to make peace in the world. The giving of the Torah brought about two kinds of peace. The first came at the time of Matan Torah: peace was made between the higher and lower realms. There had been a decree that the higher realms would not descend below and the lower realms would not ascend above. That decree was annulled at Matan Torah, and peace came between the higher and lower realms. This peace, brought about when “Hashem descended upon Mount Sinai,” led to peace between one person and another. “Israel encamped there opposite the mountain, as one person with one heart.” As Rashi explains, this was the only encampment in the wilderness at which they were as one person with one heart. Where did that come from? From Matan Torah, from making peace between the lower and higher realms. Once people know that the purpose of their lives is to reach the level of the higher realms, to bring all their material concerns into the realm of spirituality, there is no room for baseless hatred, for quarrels with one another, or for jealousy and hatred. Each person’s aim is only spirituality. That is also why we find that, in disputes between Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel, the halachah follows Beis Hillel. Although Beis Shammai were more incisive than Beis Hillel, Beis Hillel were gracious and humble. Those who are gracious and humble stand in a state of bittul because of the peace between the higher and lower realms. Their entire intention is to reach the higher--the spiritual level of the higher realms. They are gracious and humble, and they are closer to the truth of Torah. It is precisely those who are gracious and humble, who hear themselves insulted and do not answer back, whom the halachah follows. And the Rambam concludes with his final halachah: “At that time there will be neither famine nor war, neither jealousy nor rivalry, for goodness will flow in abundance, and all delicacies

56:08 Speaker 9 will be as plentiful as dust, and the occupation of the entire world will be solely to know Hashem.” I want to pause here, though I was asked to keep it short, so I’ll be very brief. The occupation of the entire world will be to know Hashem. Everyone knows that Chabad is an acronym for Chochmah, Binah and Daas. These are three levels of intellect--three kinds of intellectual capacity: Chochmah, Binah and Daas. This is not the place to go into it at length, but there is one thing I want to say. This definition of Chochmah, Binah and Daas is not only philosophical. It is biological. There are distinct areas of the brain for Chochmah, Binah and Daas, and other kinds of mental activity. Just as the faculties of the soul, hearing and sight, have separate organs, so too Chochmah, Binah and Daas have separate organs. The brain of Chochmah is cool and moist. The brain of Binah is warm and dry. But as I said, this is not the place to elaborate on that. To know Hashem--what does “to know” mean? Knowing means awareness and feeling. A person knows he has a soul, though he has never touched it. He knows it only through his intellect, but he knows, feels and recognizes that he has a soul. This is what it means for the entire world to be occupied with knowing Hashem: awareness and a sense of the Creator of the world. Throughout the years, in preparation for the coming of Moshiach, we have been commanded, “Know this day and take it to heart that Hashem is G-d.” The level of knowing Hashem completely will be reached in the days of Moshiach, when the occupation of the entire world will be to know, recognize and feel Hashem. Thus the Jewish people will be great sages, knowing hidden matters, and will attain knowledge of their Creator to the extent of human capacity, as it is said, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.”

00:02 Speaker 1 Ladies and gentlemen, from the joy of Torah we return once again to Torah study and blessings connected with the Torah. With us is the senior Chabad rabbi, one of the leading halachic authorities of the generation, author of Shaarei Tzion, the distinguished gaon and chossid Rabbi Dov Ber Eliezrov shlita, who will offer words of blessing. Please.

00:49 Speaker 2 With the permission of the distinguished rabbis and the honored audience: Before I deliver the blessing I have been asked to give, in my own name, in the name of the Chabad rabbis, and in the name of our fellow chassidim, I feel obliged to share a very brief thought connected with the weekly parsha. In the weekly parsha we find Yisro working hard to persuade Moshe Rabbeinu to appoint leaders—leaders over tens, over fifties, and over thousands. At first glance, in such a generation, Moshe Rabbeinu’s generation, a generation about to receive the Torah, a generation of whom it says, “And Israel encamped there opposite the mountain,” who were then on such a lofty level—why was Yisro so intent on dividing Moshe Rabbeinu’s work among leaders over tens and so on? After all, this was a generation of knowledge: they saw the Shechinah. The Jewish people merited to see what even a maidservant saw at the sea, which Yechezkel ben Buzi the kohen did not see. So why go to all this trouble? We must understand that Yisro saw that this was the situation before the giving of the Torah. But after the giving of the Torah, times would change. We see this in the generation of the wilderness: while Moshe Rabbeinu went up the mountain, they made the calf. The generation had already begun to decline. It was no longer the same generation as before the giving of the Torah. And the same would be true in later generations, in the generations of exile. It would be difficult then to remain on the level they had reached at that time. That is why Yisro said to Moshe Rabbeinu, “You will surely wear yourself out.” True, in that generation you are indeed worthy, and the generation is worthy. But we must also look after the generations to come, so that this Torah will be spread throughout every generation. As it says in the Zohar, the influence of Moshe Rabbeinu extends into every

04:33 Speaker 2 generation. The qualities of Moshe Rabbeinu are present in every generation as well. That is why Yisro said we must look after the generations to come, not only this generation, so that the Torah will reach every single corner. It is a great merit of our Rebbe, the Rebbe shlita, that he truly gives of himself, devoting himself to bringing the Torah to every corner through the shluchim. Leaders over tens, over fifties, over thousands, everywhere—even in remote places where there are very few Jews. He wants to spread Torah in every place. This is the meaning of Yisro’s advice: he saw that in later generations, too, there would be leaders of the Jewish people who would guide its affairs in this way. So I, too, offer a blessing in my name and in the name of my colleagues, the rabbis of our community, and all our fellow chassidim. We offer a blessing to the Rebbe shlita: may he be granted long life and years, may he continue to lead Hashem’s congregation according to his precious approach, and may we all merit the coming of Moshiach. As the Rambam writes at the end of his work—he quotes a saying there; regrettably, I do not remember it well by heart. The Rambam writes that in the future the Jewish people will be great sages, knowing hidden things, and will comprehend the 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.” The Rambam says that in the future all Jews will be great sages, know hidden things, and comprehend the knowledge of their Creator to the extent humanly possible. I say that Hakadosh Boruch Hu has sent us an example of someone who fits the Rambam’s words about great sages who know hidden things and attain knowledge: our Rebbe, the Rebbe shlita. In him, too, we see what is written about being a great sage, knowing hidden things, and comprehending the knowledge of his Creator to the extent humanly possible.

07:36 Speaker 2 And what do we ask to merit as well? We are so far from that level, and we ask that Hakadosh Boruch Hu grant that we, too, merit the fulfillment of “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea,” and that we all merit the complete Geulah speedily in our days. Amen.

08:33 Speaker 5 Thank you, and yasher koach to the great gaon Rabbi Dov Ber Eliezrov shlita for his words of blessing. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a Jewish custom to join the conclusion to the beginning. The joy of Torah is complete when we finish the Torah and immediately begin it again from the start. I have the honor of inviting the eminent gaon Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter shlita, head of the Sfas Emes yeshiva, member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, and brother of the esteemed Rebbe of Ger shlita. At the start of his remarks, he will convey the holy blessing of the Rebbe of Ger shlita and open the sixth cycle, which may come upon us for good. Please.

09:46 Speaker 6 With the permission of our revered rabbis, ladies and gentlemen, honored audience: Please forgive me; a few things first. I have a sacred mission. [unclear] He was with us then, and now he has asked me to convey, in his name, a blessing for success. With your permission, I will translate that for those who do not understand Yiddish. The Rebbe of Ger shlita was unable to come this time, as he did four years ago, and he asked me to bless this gathering with blessing and success. And please forgive me—may the elders forgive me—that I will say most of my remarks in a language understood by everyone, even if some do not understand it, out of respect for the public. There is a Jewish tradition of joining the end of the Torah to its beginning. That is what we do when we finish the Written Torah: when we finish Parshas Vezos Haberachah, we begin Bereishis. We find this in the words of Chazal, in the Midrashim, the Mishnah and the Gemara, and so it is now as well. I want to speak about the connection between the end of the Rambam’s work and its beginning. The Chiddushei HaRim, of blessed memory, the first Rebbe of the Ger dynasty, said: “The beginning of Your word is truth.” The Ten Commandments begin with “Anochi,” and if one reads through them and then back again, one reaches “Anochi” once more. The Mishnah begins with “Me’eimasai” and ends with “He will bless His people with peace.” The Babylonian Talmud begins with “Where is the tanna standing?” and ends with “Do not read halichos, ‘ways,’ but halachos,” with a tav. The Torah, the Ten Commandments, begin with an alef and end with an alef. The Mishnah begins with a mem and ends with a mem. The Talmud begins with a tav and ends with a tav. “The beginning of Your word is truth”—alef, mem, tav, spelling emes, “truth.” The Rambam ends with “as the waters cover the sea”—this is my addition—with a mem, and begins with “How I love Your commandments”? “How I love Your Torah”? After the introduction and the count of the mitzvos: mem and mem. For the Rambam principally sought to use the language of the Mishnah, and he also called his work Mishneh Torah. Let me begin. “The sum of the matter, when all has been heard: fear G-d.” The main thing is fear of Heaven and knowledge of Hashem. That is how the Rambam ends, and that is how he begins. He ends with “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of

13:31 Speaker 6 Hashem as the waters cover the sea,” and he begins with the first mitzvah: to know that the Creator exists—or, in his words, that there is a Creator. But let us first consider the preceding verse. In Yeshayahu, what leads into the verse “And the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea”? The coming of Moshiach, one of the principles of faith, for which we wait every day—even now—for the coming of the righteous redeemer. It is a principle of faith, and all Jews say this every day. The prophet says, “The nursing child shall play over the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand over the viper’s den. And the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.” The “and” connects it to what came before. What is the snake doing there? What is the snake’s craft? The tongue. The highest level of the human being is that he speaks and possesses the gift of speech. “You have declared Hashem today, and Hashem has declared you today.” The Sfas Emes says: The commentators explain that “declared” means “exalted” or “made king.” But why use a word related to speech? Because all the virtues of the Jewish people lie in the power of speech, the wondrous power of the mouth: Torah, prayer, the light of Torah and faith that a person expresses. But by the same token, one can also cause harm through quarrels and baseless hatred. We are the generation of teshuvah. “Bring us back, Hashem, and we shall return”—before the Geulah. Teshuvah must take place in that very place, with that very limb. That is what Chazal say about how a person becomes a baal teshuvah. In this world, in matters affecting the nation, there are all kinds of gatherings. How many forms of heresy have there been here? How many forms of idolatry—communism, all sorts of yoga, and all sorts of things in this world? It is here that Hashem’s name must be sanctified through the light of Torah, through the light of the Rambam, by an even larger public. The bull in the story of Eliyahu Hanavi did not want to go—there was the bull for Baal and the other bull. The bull for Baal did not want to go, Chazal say, until Eliyahu assured it that through it, too, Hashem’s name would be sanctified. Specifically in that very place. That is true teshuvah, with that very limb. The craft

16:54 Speaker 6 Speech—here, all kinds of idol worship took place, and all kinds of denial of Hashem were voiced in this world. Precisely here, there will be an abundance of the light of Torah. Let us leave behind all the disputes, all the divisions between us, all the baseless hatred—among secular Jews themselves and between secular and religious Jews. Is there not enough hatred of Jews in the world? People hate the Jewish people terribly. Our Sages say that when the Torah was given, hatred descended; destruction descended. They envy us. And our brothers who have gone astray need to return in teshuvah—and there is a movement of baalei teshuvah. Here they reviled the Jewish faith and the Torah of Israel. We hope that all of us, including religious Jewry, will leave behind all disputes and devote ourselves solely to studying the light of Torah. You do not drive away darkness with sticks, only with light. You do not drive away hatred with hatred in return, only with love. Let us not want to quarrel. We will love all Jews, and through the light of Torah we will all act as one, as in “to serve Him with one shoulder.” What does “one shoulder” mean? These are the words of the prophet Tzefaniah. A shoulder bears a load. Sometimes people carry something together, but each one says, “Me first, me first.” With one shoulder, when there is a load, everyone says, “Help me, help me! It’s falling, it’s falling! Hold it this way, hold it this way!” We will all lift up the sovereignty of Heaven at once. All of us—Sephardim, Ashkenazim, Jews from Eastern communities, chassidim, Litvaks, Misnagdim and chassidim. We will all leave behind hatred, accept Hashem as King, and go to greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu now. But that is not the end of it. What is meant by “with that same tongue”? Our Sages relate that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said—this is in the Yerushalmi, and it also appears elsewhere in the Zohar. The Yerushalmi says, “If I had been—” Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said, the great Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who could have saved the entire world: “If I had been present at the creation of the world, I would have chosen two tongues: one tongue for Torah and prayer, and one tongue for eating, drinking, idle talk, and ordinary matters.” How so? Afterward,

19:54 Speaker 6 Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai retracted and said: “If, with one mouth, the world cannot endure its slander, what would have happened if there were two mouths?” The question is: Is that why Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai retracted? We know that if you block the nose, you cannot open the mouth. You have to open it; you cannot keep the mouth closed. Heaven could have chosen, ah, some kind of mechanism—and Hashem does not need my advice; there are plenty of possibilities in Heaven, anything is possible—so that when one mouth opened, the other would close. Then there would be no problem with two mouths: one mouth for Torah, one for holy matters, and one for ordinary matters, eating, and things that are not so good. That is the slander. I learned a different explanation. I did not understand it. I think the explanation is this: Clearly, it would have been possible. But if there were two mouths, think how much power the sitra achra would have. Even the same mouth that can pray and make blessings every day can speak lashon hara, can tell lies, can utter idle words, and the world cannot endure its slander. How much worse would it have been if there were a mouth set aside that had no opening for holiness at all? All the more so, things would have been dreadful there. Gentlemen, with that same tongue—our Sages say “with that same”—here, through the art of speech, secular parties spoke so much denial of Hashem and His Torah. Precisely through those same loudspeakers, the light of Torah will be spoken here. But, gentlemen, there is also the matter of lashon hara. The Gemara in Arachin says: If someone speaks lashon hara—once he has spoken, he no longer has... What remedy is there for those who speak lashon hara? Let them go to a sage. Once he has spoken, he has no remedy. But what is the advice beforehand? Our Sages say: If he is a Torah scholar, let him engage in Torah; if he is an

22:13 Speaker 6 unlearned person, let him humble his spirit, his mind. What does it mean, “If he is a Torah scholar, let him engage in Torah”? Have you ever seen a Torah scholar who does not engage in Torah? I have not. “If I toiled and did not find, do not believe it; if I did not toil and found, do not believe it,” the Gemara says in Taanis. So that cannot be the meaning. Sometimes even a Torah scholar—and our Sages say that in the generation when Moshiach comes, there will be accusations among Torah scholars. Let us leave behind all disputes, all of us together, and devote ourselves solely to the study of Torah and for the sake of Torah. How does the third book of Tehillim end, in chapter 89? “With which Your enemies have taunted, Hashem, with which they have taunted the footsteps of Your Moshiach. Blessed is Hashem forever, amen and amen.” The Kabbalists say,

24:49 Speaker 7 “With which Your enemies have taunted Hashem, with which they have taunted the footsteps of Your Moshiach.” Precisely in the footsteps of Moshiach, when the revelation of Moshiach comes unexpectedly, there was even opposition. “Blessed is Hashem forever.” In this world, in the year 5749, there were heretical conferences against the Torah. But in this very place there was a gathering of Torah students. And it may be—I was not there—that things were said there to which these words might apply: “With which Your enemies have taunted Hashem”—the secular Jews taunted the footsteps of Your Moshiach. But “Blessed is Hashem forever, amen and amen”: in this very place, “May His great name be magnified and sanctified.” In—in, yes, before a larger gathering, with those same tongues the name of Heaven is sanctified. But let us leave it all behind, leave it all behind, and only unite, all of us together—all the communities, chassidim and Misnagdim. Let us all accept Hashem as King with the coming of the righteous Redeemer this very moment. And may Hashem lengthen the days and years of His Holiness the Lubavitcher Rebbe shlita, who gave us the jewel of studying Rambam through the power of the many. For the Babylonian Talmud there was Rabbi Meir—the Gaon Rabbi Meir Shapiro. For the Jerusalem Talmud, His Holiness the Gerrer Rebbe shlita, my brother, teacher, leader, and Rebbe. For Rambam, His Holiness the Lubavitcher Rebbe shlita. And now we are moving forward. There is a one-year cycle and a three-year cycle. And there are remarkable things that Rambam brings that I did not find in the Shulchan Aruch. The Gemara says in Arachin: Whoever speaks lashon hara is as though he denies a fundamental principle of faith. Rambam brings this in Hilchos Deos. It must surely be written in the Shulchan Aruch, but I did not find it, and I see that Ein Mishpat did not find it either. Because, to our sorrow—and I do not mean specifically between chassidim and Misnagdim—within every group, too, there is much gossip and lashon hara. Let each of us put our own house in order. Let us strengthen our care in guarding our speech, as one of those who actually opposed the path of Chassidus did: the righteous and holy Chofetz Chaim, who founded Agudas Yisroel together with my father, teacher, and Rebbe, the Gerrer Rebbe z"l. He, the Chofetz Chaim, spread the practice of

29:08 Speaker 7 guarding one’s speech. Let us strengthen ourselves in avoiding lashon hara and in Ahavas Yisroel instead of quarrels. And together, together, let us spread the light of Torah, including the light of Rambam’s Torah, which has shone and flashed forth. “To serve Him with one shoulder,” “Know Hashem”—the opposite of denying a fundamental principle of faith. And in that same hall, I restrained myself from speaking publicly about the whole painful dispute between chassidim and Misnagdim. This is the first time it has cried out from my heart, and I say: Do not respond with hatred. Rather, let us act together, uphold the honor of Heaven, and kindle the great light of Torah. And let us conclude with the blessing we always say when we speak of levels. At the end of “Uva Letziyon Goel,” we say—the beginning and the end—“Blessed is our G-d, Who created us for His glory and separated us from those who err, separated us from the nations, separated us from those who stray from the path of Hashem,” who do not keep the Torah or the mitzvos. “He separated us from those who err and gave us the Torah of truth, and planted eternal life within us.” Within each and every one of us is the tree of life, of Torah, of light. And we conclude with levels: “May He open our hearts to His Torah and place in our hearts love and awe of Him, to do His will and serve Him with a whole heart.” Since I mentioned His Holiness the Lubavitcher Rebbe shlita—may Hashem lengthen his days—I want to take this opportunity... I know not everyone prays according to this nusach, and I think it does not appear in the siddurim of those who pray according to the accepted Chabad nusach, but other communities say it: “May it be the will of our Father in Heaven to preserve for us the sages of Israel, to preserve the sages of Israel, for life—to lengthen the days, the days and years, of the elders of the generation, who protect us through their righteousness: His Holiness the Gerrer Rebbe shlita, His Holiness the Lubavitcher Rebbe shlita, His Holiness the Klausenberger Rebbe shlita, and the rest of the sages of Israel. May He preserve them for us, so that together we can go to greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu.” And let us also remember the elders of other communities and other periods. His Honor, the Gaon Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach, will also come to greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu. May Hashem lengthen

33:06 Speaker 7 May the days and years of all of them be prolonged, and may we merit to serve Him together, “and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.” The first mitzvah is to know that there is a G-d, and there is faith in our sages: “They will believe in you forever.” One of the things they want to uproot from us is faith in tzaddikim. We have seen what faith in tzaddikim means: “Whenever Moshe raised his hand, Yisroel prevailed”—Moshe’s hands. If the tongue has a hand—the Sages say that the tongue has a hand—“the recompense of his hand...” There is a hand of the tzaddikim that turns the Jewish people toward their Father in Heaven. Let us strengthen our faith in our sages and tzaddikim, and together, together with the Torah, go to greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days, amen. After the words of the rosh yeshivah of Sfas Emes and member of the Council of Torah Sages, the great gaon Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter shlita, we say: Blessed is our G-d, Who has given us the privilege of hearing such wonderful words—words of encouragement, words that give life and hearten us. For all this, special thanks and blessings to the great gaon Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter shlita, and thank you for bringing the holy blessing of the Gerrer Rebbe shlita. And from here, ladies and gentlemen, at this great, holy and moving gathering, the blessings and prayers of the entire holy congregation assembled here go out to the holy Gerrer Rebbe shlita: May Hashem extend His hand and heal him, grant him long years of goodness and pleasantness, and enable him to continue seeing his holy community in health and abundance until the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, very soon, amen. And we accompany with wishes for a safe departure the rosh yeshivah of Sfas Emes, member of the Council of Torah Sages and brother of the Gerrer Rebbe shlita, the gaon Rabbi Pinchas Menachem Alter, and the son of the Gerrer Rebbe shlita, may he live a good, long life, Rabbi Yaakov Alter. Go in peace.

36:11 Speaker 8 Child, child, who’s coming outside? Come to bed.

36:20 Speaker 7 Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed holy congregation, we are honored by the presence of the righteous gaon, the rosh yeshivah of Porat Yosef, Rabbi Yehuda Tzadkah. With your permission, I have the honor of inviting him to share words of Torah and blessing with us. Please.

36:50 Speaker 8 Rabbi Alter, Rabbi.

36:51 Speaker 9 Yes, the air here is difficult for him; he has asthma.

37:00 Speaker 8 With the permission of our esteemed rabbis, the great gaon Rabbi Landau, chief rabbi of Bnei Brak.

37:10 Speaker 9 He’s with the nose.

37:19 Speaker 8 And the other distinguished gaonim. My friend from my youth, the gaon Rabbi Baruch Naeh—as his name suggests, he is fine, and his deeds are fine. Honored roshei yeshivah, esteemed holy congregation: This evening, when we gather in honor of the great occasion of completing the Rambam, is a time of joy and gladness for the Jews. Not only those who completed it merit this. It is a mitzvah that tips the scales in favor of the Jewish people. May the merit of the Rambam stand by those who completed the study and by all the Jewish people, so that we may be freed from exile soon, amen. Of you who completed it, it is said, “The wise will shine like the radiance of the firmament, and those who bring merit to the many like the stars forever and ever.” Who are the wise? The prophet Amos comes and says, “Therefore the wise will be silent at that time.” Allow me, ladies and gentlemen, to continue a little, because soon we will call on the great gaon, the rosh yeshivah of Sfas Emes, to speak. “The wise will be silent at that time”—that is who is called wise. Of him it is said, “The wise will shine like the radiance of the firmament.” At this holy gathering, ladies and gentlemen, we must make an effort to guard our tongues, to guard our mouths. The verse says, “Behold, He forms the mountains and creates the wind, and tells a person what his speech is.” Fortunate is the person who knows how to guard his mouth at every opportunity, without excuses and without calculations. That is a true Jew, and that is the wise person of whom it is said, “The wise will shine like the radiance of the firmament.” The prophet says... Concerning the Geulah that we await every moment, as the rabbi mentioned, the prophet says, “For the mountains may depart and the hills may be shaken, but My kindness will not depart from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken, says Hashem, Who has compassion on you.” The Ben Ish Chai asks: What do the mountains have to do with it? Why must they depart? The Geulah will come to the Jewish people—what does that have to do with the mountains? Why will the mountains depart? He says something wonderful, ladies and gentlemen. Why were mountains created? Why is there any need for mountains at all? Wouldn’t it have been better if everything were level? He says: The mountains block harmful winds. When there are great storms, the mountains block them. And why were the winds created? He says, “He forms the mountains and creates the wind, and tells a person what his speech is.” When there is a great deal of unnecessary talk,

41:28 Speaker 8 I’m not saying lashon hara—other things, unnecessary talk, ladies and gentlemen—He tells a person what his speech is. Have we ever thought about that? Have we ever reflected on it? So he says: That is true in the present time, when there is much idle talk and many harmful winds; the mountains must protect us. But in the future, as was mentioned, “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem,” and so the mountains will depart. There will be no harmful winds, no problems. There will be no need for mountains. “For the mountains may depart and the hills may be shaken, but My kindness will not depart from you.” I say that this great gathering stands in the merit of the Rebbe, the tzaddik, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who initiated the study of the Rambam. May the merit of the Rambam stand by him and by all the Jewish people, so that we merit the complete Geulah speedily in our days, amen.

42:52 Speaker 10 Thank you. A special blessing to the rosh yeshivah of Porat Yosef, the righteous gaon Rabbi Yehuda Tzadkah shlita, for the beautiful and pleasant words we have heard. On behalf of the entire holy congregation, we thank him for joining us here and wish him complete health and many good, long years. Levi Hamami—the child Levi Hamami is behind the stage looking for his parents. Ladies and gentlemen, with us here are the chossid and gaon Rabbi Dovid Weiss shlita, son-in-law of the Klausenburger Rebbe shlita, and the great gaon Rabbi Eliyahu Shmuel Schmerler shlita, rosh yeshivah of Sanz, who will bring us the blessing of the Rebbe shlita. Rabbi Schmerler, please.

44:23 Speaker 11 Esteemed rabbis, holy congregation. The Gemara in Sanhedrin, page 8, expounds the verse, “Though they study among the nations, now I will gather them.” The words “if they all study” have two meanings. “All of them” means all the Jewish people. All the Jewish people... And “all of it” means the entire Torah. That is the reason for the institution of studying the Rambam, introduced by the Lubavitcher Rebbe shlita—may Hashem strengthen him for many good years. In his introduction, the Rambam writes of studying his work that it brings together the whole Oral Torah. Through this, the Lubavitcher Rebbe shlita instituted study of the entire Oral Torah for all the Jewish people. Looking at this, I see that one of the main aspects of the work of the Baal Shem Tov’s students, may his merit protect us, was to draw close to the Jewish people. That is apparently why there is a light in this last generation that makes this possible: instituting it for all the Jewish people, not merely for a few individuals—the entire Torah. The Babylonian Talmud was [unclear]. There was also the Frierdiker Rebbe, z"l. The Jerusalem Talmud—the Rebbe shlita instituted daily study of the Jerusalem Talmud. [unclear]. And the Rambam was also instituted [unclear] the Baal Shem Tov. There is the Mifal HaShas, established by the Klausenburger Rebbe shlita. All these things together have been brought together [unclear] in Torah for the entire Jewish people, not just for individuals. All these things were done for true Torah. Thus it will be, “Now I will gather them.” Here Rabbi Stern can help in this merit. Whoever spreads the Oral Torah to the entire Jewish people—the Rebbe shlita certainly instituted it. Then “now I will gather them” will follow immediately. If you

47:33 Speaker 11 work to uphold the sages of the Jewish people, then we will immediately greet Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days, amen.

47:54 Speaker 12 The blessings. Just the ballot box.

48:01 Speaker 11 He will offer a blessing for a complete recovery for the Klausenburger Rebbe.

48:06 Speaker 12 Has the case been found? I repeat the request we were asked to make about the case containing a dental plate, in case someone has found it. Thank you, and yasher koach to the eminent scholar Rabbi Eliyahu Shmuel Schmerler shlita, head of the Sanz yeshivah, for his words and for conveying the blessing of the Klausenburger Rebbe shlita. And, my friends, this entire holy gathering is praying for a complete and speedy recovery, that the Klausenburger Rebbe shlita may continue to see his holy community in good health and ease, together with all our Jewish brethren, until the coming of our righteous Moshiach very soon, amen. A blessing from... the elder and foremost of the world's Kabbalists, the tzaddik Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri shlita: With Hashem's help, I hereby bless all those taking part in the study and completion of the Rambam—may his merit protect us, amen—headed by the Lubavitcher Rebbe shlita. May Hashem grant him long, good years, and may he increase Torah and glorify it, amen, may it be His will. I could not come because I have a cold. May blessings of goodness come upon you, spiritually and materially, amen, may it be His will. Signed, the tzaddik Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri, in the month of Shvat, on the 25th. And we, too, add our blessings for Rabbi Kaduri and wish him health, long life and good years, and may he, together with all of us, merit the coming of our righteous Moshiach speedily in our days, amen. With us here is an emissary of the Sadigura Rebbe, a leading member of the Council of Torah Sages. His health prevented him from being here to rejoice with us, so he sent his blessing with him. We will hear it from his trusted representative, Rabbi Chaim Yitzchak Cohen, director of the Sadigura institutions, who will convey the Sadigura Rebbe's blessing. Rabbi Cohen, please.

51:05 Speaker 3 One second, let me see. All right, thank you. The Sadigura Rebbe has been laid up with bronchitis for over a week, so he sent me especially with this letter. To the organizers of the celebration marking the completion of the Rambam, [unclear]. Ever since my father, the Rebbe z"l, together with the eminent Rabbi [unclear] z"l and other great rabbis, gave their approval to the first steps toward publishing Rambam La'am, so that the Rambam's teachings would spread and become familiar to the people. And my blessing is that Hashem grant that we soon see fulfilled what the Rambam wrote at the conclusion of the Mishneh Torah: “At the end of that time there will be neither famine nor war, neither envy nor competition, for goodness will be abundant, etc., and the occupation of the entire world will be solely to know Hashem, etc.” And we look forward to the fulfillment of the beginning of the Rambam's Mishneh Torah: to know that there is a G-d, “the foundation of foundations and the pillar of wisdom.” May it be His will that you merit long life and accomplishments for Torah, for the sake of knowledge, etc. “For the name of Hashem is called upon you.” Awaiting Hashem's salvation, Rabbi Avraham Yaakov son of Mordechai Sholom Yosef of Sadigura.

52:32 Speaker 4 Also, my friends, blessings have arrived from the Alexander Rebbe shlita: To the organizers of the celebration marking the completion of the Rambam at Binyanei HaUma, Jerusalem. Studying the Rambam strengthens faith, as it is written, “And all Your commandments are faithfulness.” The Rambam contains all the Torah's commandments, and may Hashem help us merit blessings both materially and spiritually. A blessing has also been received, a blessing from the Nadvorna Rebbe. Baruch Hashem, 25 Shvat 5749. To the eminent rabbis shlita, organizers of the central celebration marking the completion of the fifth cycle of daily Rambam study, in the holy city of Jerusalem, may it be rebuilt and established. Blessing and mercy, life and peace. May you merit to increase Torah and glorify it, with satisfaction and peace of mind, and to increase the honor of Heaven. May we see the stature of Torah and Chassidus raised, as is the prayer of the Rebbe shlita. I write and sign this at his instruction. Later we will hear more letters of blessing that have arrived from Rebbes and rabbis. And now, my brothers and friends, esteemed and holy gathering, I have the honor of inviting the head of the Agudas Yisroel Beis Din and member of the Council of Torah Sages, author of... author of Shaarei Yitzchak, the eminent scholar and great chossid Rabbi Yitzchak Flakser shlita. Please.

00:00 Speaker 1 And now, my brothers and friends, esteemed and holy congregation, I have the honor of inviting the head of the rabbinical court of the Agudas Yisroel Beis Din, a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah and author of Shaarei Yitzchak, the great and distinguished gaon and chossid Rabbi Yitzchak Flekser shlita. Please.

00:30 Speaker 2 Honored rabbis, holy congregation. “How good and how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together.” How good and how pleasant. Last Tuesday, too, thousands of Jews gathered in Bnei Brak for a day of prayer, at the call of the Torah leaders. They came to pray, to pour out their hearts before Hakadosh Boruch Hu, with broken hearts and deep anguish. Thousands of Jews gathered to ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu to remove baseless hatred from among us, to stop the discord that has broken out in our community. They prayed with broken hearts before the Master of the Universe: What have we come to? Discord within families. Discord between brothers. They poured out their hearts like water before our Father in Heaven. How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together and take part in this celebration of a mitzvah—to take part in the completion of the Rambam, which tens of thousands of Jews have studied: great scholars, Torah scholars, Jews from across our people, Torah students and yeshivah students. How good and how pleasant it is to be at this gathering, at this celebration of a mitzvah. How great is the merit of His Holiness the Rebbe shlita of Lubavitch, who has merited—not to inflame discord among Jews, not to inflame baseless hatred, but to increase Torah study among Jews. Completing the Rambam once, a second time, a third time, a fifth time—and, G-d willing, together with Moshiach Tzidkeinu, we will complete the Rambam a sixth time as well. How good and how pleasant. It is a pleasure to see this sight: Jews sitting together. No one here is speaking lashon hara; no one is speaking of baseless hatred. They are speaking about beginning to learn again and again, and completing their study. The Rambam’s Torah, the Torah—our holy Torah. Gentlemen, my brothers. My teacher and rebbe, the great gaon and towering spirit Rabbi Meir Shapiro, z"l, was the first. Nearly sixty years ago, in 5683, at the Knessiah Gedolah in the month of Elul, he announced the study of Daf Yomi before an assembly of the great Torah scholars of Poland and other countries, the leading figures of Agudas Yisroel. Daf Yomi study—and since then

06:19 Speaker 2 the entire Jewish people have begun and completed the Shas, studying the daily daf. Who was the first to embrace it with love? My teacher and rebbe was still young then, not yet even forty. But when a great man who loves his fellow Jews comes and proposes that all Jews study one page together, for the sake of Jewish unity, the Torah leaders all received it with joy—not with hatred, but with joy! With blessing. The first, as is well known, was His Holiness the Imrei Emes, z"l. On Rosh Hashanah 5684, the holy elder, the Chofetz Chaim, z"l, said to Rabbi Meir Shapiro: “Rabbi Meir, I envy you. You have brought merit to tractates that had been orphaned—tractates of Kodshim, difficult tractates that ordinary Jews had never studied. Certainly, great Torah scholars and accomplished learners studied them, but ordinary Jews did not study those tractates. They stood orphaned on the bookshelves of ordinary Jews.” What else did he tell him then? “In Gan Eden there are chairs, each one for a tractate: a chair for Berachos, a chair for Shabbos. Each chair bears the name of its tractate. Know that those chairs for Kodshim are still empty. Certainly there are scholars and tzaddikim who study and sit in Gan Eden. But Gan Eden is for everyone. We do not divide people into Torah scholars and non-scholars. Every Jew has a share in the Torah.

09:24 Speaker 2 Every Jew is entitled to sit on those chairs in Gan Eden. Rashi says at the end of Parshas Ki Savo: ‘I heard that on the day Moshe Rabbeinu gave the Torah to the tribe of Levi, the Israelites came and protested to Moshe Rabbeinu: “And what about us? Only the tribe of Levi? We want the Torah too. We too are part of the Jewish people.” Moshe Rabbeinu told them: “That is right. Today you have become a people.”’ Every Jew has a share in the whole Torah—in the Written Torah, the Oral Torah, the Bavli and the Yerushalmi, and the Rambam too. Then the Gerrer Rebbe, His Holiness the Gerrer Rebbe shlita—may Hakadosh Boruch Hu grant him a complete recovery—came and instituted the study of the Talmud Yerushalmi as well. Gentlemen, even before that enactment, as you all know, there were great scholars who studied the Yerushalmi, the Talmud Yerushalmi. But for the Jewish people as a whole, the Yerushalmi stood orphaned on the bookshelf, its tractates orphaned. The Gerrer Rebbe came and declared at the Knessiah Gedolah, instituting: ‘All Jews will study the Talmud Yerushalmi too.’ And now those chairs in Gan Eden for the study of Yerushalmi will no longer stand empty. There is a chair for Yerushalmi for every Jew. His Holiness the Rebbe shlita of Lubavitch came and instituted the study of the Rambam as well. Listen, gentlemen: the Rambam. Every accomplished learner knows that people study the Rambam. Every yeshivah knows that one must resolve the difficulties in the Rambam and the Raavad’s objections. Every Torah scholar knows that one must wrestle with the Rambam’s words. But, gentlemen, among the Jewish people there were thousands upon thousands of Jews for whom the Rambam was merely an ornament on the bookshelf. His Holiness the Rebbe shlita of Lubavitch came and said: The Rambam is the inheritance of every Jew too. Each person according to his level, each person according to his understanding, studies the Rambam. They began, they completed it, and we will begin and complete it again. The chairs in Gan Eden for the Rambam are not only for heads of yeshivahs. Those chairs are for all Jews, everyone together with the Rambam. This is what Dovid Hamelech, the sweet singer

13:41 Speaker 2 of Israel, asked for. The Gemara says in Yevamos 96, and also in Sanhedrin and in the Yerushalmi, Shekalim, that Dovid Hamelech made a request of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The Gemara in Yevamos says: Rav Yehudah said in Rav’s name, what does the verse in Tehillim mean, ‘May I dwell in Your tent forever’? May I dwell in Your tent, in the tent of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, forever. The Gemara asks: Can a person dwell in two worlds? In this world and in the World to Come? Is that possible? Rather, listen to the Gemara’s wording, gentlemen: Dovid said before Hakadosh Boruch Hu, ‘May a teaching be repeated in my name in this world.’ That was Dovid Hamelech’s request. In Shekalim, the wording is ‘a halachah in this world’: whenever a Torah scholar’s halachah or teaching is repeated in this world, his lips move in the grave—in the grave. Tosafos say that the soul is above, and when people study and repeat a teaching in its author’s name, his lips move in the grave. That was the request of Dovid, King of Israel: that his teachings be repeated in his name in the shul and the beis midrash. As it says in Shekalim, in the shul they would say Tehillim, Dovid’s prayers, and in the beis midrash they would repeat halachos in his name. Then, ‘May I dwell in Your tent forever.’ How much Torah on the Rambam has been produced since His Holiness the Rebbe shlita of Lubavitch instituted this study! Entire books on the Rambam, entire books—great, profound works on the Rambam. All Jews have studied the Rambam’s halachos, all the halachos: the laws of Kodshim, the laws of Zeraim, the laws of impurity and purity. How much purity this enactment has brought into the Jewish people! Who merited to make the Rambam’s lips move in the grave, in the World to Come? Was it not the Rebbe of Lubavitch? Through this enactment, he has merited ‘May I dwell in Your tent forever’—in this world and in the World to Come. Not just among a small handful, not just in one place: all Jews study. How great its power is. [unclear] the Rebbe of Lubavitch from the Rambam’s own mouth. After all, he is present

18:14 Speaker 2 Here and there, and says: There is power, Jews, there is power in your Rebbe. Through him, in his merit, my lips were made to move in the grave, as thousands upon thousands of Jews study Rambam. Dear Jews, I have been thinking. I wondered whether I was obliged to say this, but I think I must. A few months ago, from this very platform, one of the great Torah leaders of the generation was insulted! A holy man of Hashem, whose days and nights are entirely devoted to bringing Jews closer to our Father in Heaven. There is no remote place that the hand of Lubavitch does not reach to bring Jews closer—and he was insulted! People who were here, who were present, including Torah scholars, did not protest. We have a duty to protest. They did not fulfill that duty when they heard a great Torah leader, who knows the entire Torah, its revealed and hidden teachings, being insulted. We must protest when an entire holy community is slandered, when their Rebbe is slandered without shame. They call them idol worshippers. Ah! I do not want to say the word. A week or two ago, I received a letter from one of Jerusalem’s dear Jews, a Torah scholar whose home is a home of kindness. Rabbi Moshe B--, may Hashem protect him, grant him life and sustain him, writes to me: “This happened to me. I was at a bris. Some yeshiva students were sitting there, and they asked me, ‘Did you touch the wine on the table?’” That is what he writes to me. Do you all know him? He is a Jew wholly devoted to Torah, wholly devoted to serving Hashem, wholly devoted to kindness. And I myself witnessed this: I saw a group pass by a Chabad shul and shout loudly, “Idol worshippers!” Is that permitted? Must we not protest? Who brought in this hatred? Woe to us. And now there is hatred between brother and brother, between one group of observant Jews and another. And that vile media, which hates a religious Jew more bitterly than a non-Jew who hates Jews—what does it say? “A war among the observant, one group against another.” They are overjoyed. They laugh at [unclear]. Woe to us—what have we come to?

23:28 Speaker 2 The Gemara in Yoma 69b, and also in Sanhedrin 64, says that when they returned from exile, it says in Nechemiah, “They cried out to Hashem their G-d in a loud voice.” In a loud voice. What did they say? The Gemara says, Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: They said, “Baya, baya!” That is the Gemara’s expression. It is a cry, like “Woe, woe!” Who was this about? The inclination toward idol worship. The first Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because they worshipped idols. This is what destroyed the Beis Hamikdash. This is what burned the Sanctuary of the Beis Hamikdash. This is what killed the righteous—all the righteous people killed then, as it says. This is what caused us to be exiled from our land. What could they do? They wanted to abolish the evil inclination toward idol worship. They cried out loudly, “Baya, baya!” A note fell from Heaven: “Truth.” The Gemara in Sanhedrin says that truth is the seal of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Truth. You are right; something must be done about the evil inclination toward idol worship. And the Gemara tells the whole story there of how they abolished the inclination toward idol worship. Gentlemen, the Gemara in Yoma 9b says that the first Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of three sins: idol worship, forbidden relations and bloodshed. In the time of the second Beis Hamikdash, they engaged in Torah, mitzvos and acts of kindness. Listen: They studied a great deal of Torah, performed many mitzvos and did very, very many acts of kindness. Why was it destroyed? The Gemara says: because of baseless hatred. This teaches you that baseless hatred is equal to those three grave sins. The second Beis Hamikdash was destroyed. We have been in exile for nearly two thousand years, praying again and again for Moshiach to come. We have endured persecutions and decrees. We endured that terrible Holocaust, in which righteous people, holy people, children, fathers and mothers were killed. Has that not been enough? Do we need more baseless hatred? Baya, baya, baya, baya—look what we have come to. We must protest! We must drive out baseless hatred.

27:35 Speaker 2 We must drive out the sword raised by one man against his brother. Protest! Not with violence, and not by giving in to baseless hatred. Not by saying, “If he hates me, I will hate him.” We are all Jews, all children of one Father. But we have not yet fulfilled our duty to protest. I have a request of this entire holy audience: Stand up, rise to your feet. All of you, rise to your feet. As a protest, say three times: “We protest! We protest! We protest!”

28:25 Speaker 3 We protest!

28:36 Speaker 2 My brothers, gentlemen, believe me: I said these things with a heavy heart. A heavy heart. We are now approaching new elections, municipal elections. Gentlemen, let us guard against baseless hatred, guard against informing on one another, guard against slandering a holy community, guard against slandering the great and holy leaders of the Jewish people. Let us add to the ranks of Torah study. Let us study more Daf Yomi, Yerushalmi and Rambam. As the verse in Yeshayahu says, “Each will help his fellow, and say to his brother, ‘Be strong.’” Let us strengthen one another. My brothers, when we finish a book of the Chumash, we say aloud, “Be strong, be strong, and let us strengthen ourselves.” Now that we have finished and are taking part today in the completion of Rambam, let us say: Be strong, be strong; let us strengthen ourselves in the study of the Oral Torah and Daf Yomi. Be strong; let us study Yerushalmi as instituted by the Gerrer Rebbe shlita, His Holiness the Rebbe shlita. Let us strengthen ourselves in the study of Rambam, instituted by His Holiness the Rebbe shlita of Lubavitch. Be strong; let us strengthen our faith in Hakadosh Boruch Hu, our faith in Hashem. Be strong; let us believe in the righteous leaders of the generation, “in Hashem and in Moshe His servant.” Let us strengthen ourselves and believe with complete faith in the coming of Moshiach, speedily in our days, truly. Let us all say it, and let the whole world say it, all of us together: Be strong, be strong, and let us strengthen ourselves. My esteemed rabbis and gentlemen, yes, these are the unceasing cheers, these are the reactions that go on and on to those fiery words we have heard from the great Torah scholar, the head of the Agudas Yisroel Beis Din and a member of the Council of Torah Sages, Rabbi Yitzchak Plekser shlita. In his words, gentlemen, in his words he spoke for hundreds of thousands of faithful Jews and for all the great Torah leaders and teachers of the generation, shlita. And in response to his words, allow me, in my humble capacity, to say what our Sages say: At the beginning, one says, “Hashem, open my lips,” and at the end, one says, “May the words of my mouth be acceptable.” The word “pi,” “my mouth,” forms the initials of Rabbi Yitzchak Plekser. May the words of my mouth be acceptable before Hashem, and may we merit the complete and true Geulah speedily in our days, amen. That, gentlemen, is as much as can be put into words, and what

33:09 Speaker 2 cannot be put into words, we do not say.

00:00 Speaker 1 We’re in the fifth cycle. The letters of “fifth” can be rearranged to spell “will rejoice,” and we’re moving on to the sixth cycle. The letters of “sixth” can be rearranged to spell “will exult.” Exult and rejoice. Rabbi Avraham Fried, please.

01:36 Speaker 2 Moshe is true, Moshe is true, and his Torah is true. Moshe is true, Moshe is true, and his Torah is true. Oy, oy, lai, lai, lai, lai, lai, laidimo. Oy, oy, oy, oy, trira laila. Ai, ai, ai, Moshe is true and his Torah is true. Moshe is true and his Torah is true. Oy dirai la laila, lailai la rrrri, oy oy dirai la lailailaraidila. Oh! Whoa! Ai, ai, Moshe is true and his Torah is true. Moshe is true and his Torah is true. Oy, oy! La raina rai lilidimo. Oy, oy, oy, oy, didirladila. Didili lai dai lai dai lai lailali loy rai dam oy dai da ai ai dirai da. Wow, oy! Moshe is true and his Torah is true. Moshe is true and his Torah is true.

03:36 Speaker 2 Oy, oy! Lai raina rai lilirimi, oy, oy, oy, diri rara laila. Moshe is true and his Torah is true. Moshe is true and his Torah is true. Ai dai di rai rai la rai lai lai lai lo rai di ram oy di ram ai lai la di ra ra. Hoppa! Rai di rai di ra ra. Hoppa!

04:06 Speaker 3 Another donkey? All right. Boom.

04:59 Speaker 2 Why? All right. Boom!