Yerachi Kallah 5774, Kfar Chabad

00:08 First of all, I want to thank those who worked to put together this day of study ahead of the hillula of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak. It is a great thing. As they noted in the booklet they published for the occasion, this was something very great and important to the Rebbe. I was asked to speak about prozbul, but since we need to connect it with Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s teachings, I wanted to discuss two Chabad customs, if we have time, because I’m a little pressed for time. One is connected to a teaching of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, and the other to prozbul in general. Let’s begin with the one connected to Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s teaching. The Gemara says in Menachos, regarding the mitzvah of mezuzah, that with a human being, the guard stands outside and watches over what happens in the house. With a mezuzah it is just the opposite. Hakadosh Boruch Hu says: You stay inside the house, and I will guard you from outside. That is the mezuzah. The Zohar, in volume two, says: “A person builds a house, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu says to him: Write My name and place it on your doorway. You dwell inside the house, and I will sit outside to guard you.” That is essentially the same idea as in the Gemara. But here the Zohar says, “Write My name.” There is a kind of debate here between the Rebbe and his father, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak: What does “Write My name” mean? Which name does it refer to? Rabbi Levi Yitzchak says that “Write My name” refers to the name

02:35 Yud-Kaf-Vav, to the name Shaddai written on the mezuzah, which appears on the outside. He writes that Nitzotzei Ari, one of the commentaries on the Zohar, says that “Write My name” means the mezuzah itself, which is called the name of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Why is the mezuzah called His name? Because the numerical value of “mezuzah” is the same as Adnai. So “Write My name” means the mezuzah itself. And the Rebbe—there is a long note by the Rebbe here, excuse me, from Likkutei Sichos, though that note does not appear in Likkutei Sichos; it was printed in Chiddushim U’viurim B’Shas—the Rebbe discusses this and says that Rabbi Levi Yitzchak himself seems uncertain. It is not clear to him what “Write My name” means: Is the name of Hakadosh Boruch Hu the mezuzah itself, or the Shaddai written on the mezuzah? And the Rebbe asks: What does it mean to say that the mezuzah is the name Adnai? The name Adnai does not actually appear in the mezuzah. The name Havayah appears there, which we read as Adnai, but the name Adnai is not written in the mezuzah. He only says that perhaps Shaddai, together with the name Havayah on the other side, opposite it, forms this together; the Rebbe leaves it as a question. In any case, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak says that the name Shaddai is on the outside of the mezuzah, and it is the guardian. Shaddai is an acronym for Shomer Dalsos Yisroel, “Guardian of the doors of Israel.” I think we have spoken about this before in [unclear], but we will return to it because of this teaching of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak. The Chabad custom is very puzzling. Prozbul and mezuzah are among a number of customs in which Chabad does things differently from everyone else. We write the prozbul at the beginning of the Shemitah year, rather than at the end

04:41 of the Shemitah year, as everyone else does. And we place the mezuzah according to the direction in which the door swings. What does that mean? When you come to a room, if you push the door inward, the mezuzah goes on the right. If you pull the door outward, out of the room, you put the mezuzah on the left. In other words, it is placed on the side that is to your right as you leave the room. And everyone asks about this—we won’t go into it at length—what is the source? After all, the rule concerns the way one enters. This is called entering the house, especially in an enclosed room. There is a lot of discussion about this point. In an enclosed room, you must first enter before you can leave. So how can the mezuzah be placed according to the way out? Entering comes first, so it should be on the right as you enter, not on the side determined by going out. A great deal has been written about this: according to the Rambam, the door itself is the main thing in determining mezuzah placement. Besides, the custom states that the main entrance is an exception. At the main entrance, the mezuzah is placed on the right as you enter the house. Even if the door opens outward, the mezuzah is placed according to the way into the house. What is the difference between the main entrance and the other doors? Some have written that this follows the Rambam’s view that the door is the determining factor: according to the Rambam, an opening without a door is exempt from a mezuzah, whereas according to the Rosh it requires one. But that still does not explain what difference the door makes between the main entrance and the other doors. And further, the Rambam and the Rosh disagree on so many matters. Why, all of a sudden, would Chabad side with the Rambam in this dispute and go against everyone else? What is the reasoning? There must be some aspect of this custom connected to Kabbalah, which led to a practice opposite to everyone else’s. There is, apparently, a dispute concerning sacred articles

06:44 and how they should be positioned: upright or lying down. What does that mean? The Gemara says that a mezuzah should be positioned “like a bolt.” There are two kinds of bolts: one goes down into the ground, and another secures the door against the wall. There is a dispute between Rashi and Rabbeinu Tam about what “like a bolt” means. Does it mean a bolt that goes down toward the floor, or one that goes across toward the door? According to one opinion the mezuzah should lie horizontally; according to the other it should stand upright. The same dispute applies to tefillin; the Rebbe also brings it in Shulchan Aruch. How should the passages inside the tefillin be positioned—upright or lying down? In practice, we position the passages in tefillin upright. With a mezuzah, Sephardim position it upright, not horizontally. We place the mezuzah diagonally. Why diagonally? The Rema says in the laws of mezuzah that those who are meticulous seek to satisfy both opinions. Since one opinion says it should lie horizontally and the other says it should stand upright, they place it diagonally. That way it is considered both horizontal and upright. Some ask about the Rema: It is neither horizontal nor upright! But we rely on the Rema, who says it counts as both. Sephardim, though, do not actually follow that practice. They follow the Beis Yosef: Just as the passages in tefillin stand upright, so does the mezuzah. What? Sephardim do that too? Perhaps. In any case, in several homes I visited, I saw the mezuzah standing upright, so I understood that they did it that way too. You’ve become so Ashkenazi that you’ve forgotten how— In any case, even the reading table in the synagogue is set at an angle. Why is it at an angle? One rabbi says it is because of the—the dispute

08:53 The same applies to a Torah scroll. How do Sephardim read from a Torah scroll—with the scroll standing or lying down? The Torah scroll stands upright. And how is it with us? Neither lying down nor standing up. The bimah is slanted, like a mezuzah. Why? To satisfy both opinions: both lying down and standing up. In other words, according to this, the mezuzah is placed at an angle. The name Shaddai is at the top of the mezuzah, right? Opposite the vav. When you say that Shaddai is at the beginning of the mezuzah and you put up the mezuzah—Rabbi Natan also says this—if we say the mezuzah is considered to be lying down, then its head, the vav, should point toward the doorway, toward the door. Not its feet toward the door; its head should point toward the doorway. So it comes out like this: if the mezuzah is at an angle, and Shaddai is at an angle at the top of the mezuzah—and Rabbi Yitzchak’s source for this is the Siddur HaAri z”l. There is a disagreement here between the Siddur HaAri z”l and the Darchei Moshe, citing the Kol Bo. The Darchei Moshe, citing the Kol Bo, says: What does Shaddai mean? Shomer Diras Yisroel, “Guardian of the Jewish home.” Why choose this particular name, Shaddai? Because it guards the Jewish home. The Ari z”l writes that it means Shomer Deles Yisroel, “Guardian of the Jewish door.” Now let’s think about it. If the mezuzah is at an angle and Shaddai guards the Jewish door, then by that reasoning, Shaddai on the mezuzah should always face the door. What difference does it make which way the door opens, this way or that way? After all, it guards the door. It doesn’t guard the room; it guards the door. If it guards the door, then what follows? Shaddai must always face the door. On the contrary, why don’t we do that specifically at the first door? Because this is the Chabad custom. We make a compromise between the opinions, and in many, many matters it’s like that: we don’t rule entirely one way. We say

11:10 this: the first mezuzah is Shomer Diras Yisroel; it guards the entire home. But that’s the first mezuzah—it guards the entire home. It’s enough for the first mezuzah to guard the whole home. After that, the mezuzahs inside the house, where the home is already protected, are Shomer Deles Yisroel. If it is Shomer Deles Yisroel, then, seemingly, based on what he writes here—that the protection of the mezuzah comes from the name Shaddai, as he explains, and that Shaddai means Shomer Deles Yisroel—it necessarily follows that Shomer Deles Yisroel must always face the door. You can’t turn it the other way. So then its feet point toward the door and its head toward the room. How, then, is it guarding the door? You need to show that Shaddai guards the door. So seemingly, according to this, it should—what about doorways where the hinge position determines the side? But no, we won’t go into that right now. Thank you very much. Yes. That’s it, exactly. I don’t want to get into it right now, but that is one Chabad custom. I may stop, because it’s simply hard for me to speak. I can’t. All right, we need to talk about the matter of Rosh Hashanah. Okay? Fine, we’ll at least cover it. I wanted to speak at length about the pruzbul, about our custom of writing the pruzbul at the end of the sixth year. I won’t go into it right now—that the Rebbe would also write—no, thank you very much—that the Rebbe would also write a pruzbul at the end of the seventh year. No, no, no, that’s not good. That the Rebbe would also write a pruzbul at the end of the seventh year. [unclear] and [unclear], not right now. In any event, the Rebbe writes explicitly that our custom is to write the pruzbul at the end of the sixth year. That is, [unclear], when you study the sections in the Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, a question arises. And again, when it comes to Chabad customs,

13:29 there are no books, nowhere you can look it up. You have various later authorities and halachic decisors who have discussed this subject, but there are hardly any. Why? Because the opinion that the Alter Rebbe takes into account barely appears in the Shulchan Aruch. So what did the Alter Rebbe write? Let’s read it inside: “The time to make a pruzbul, ideally, is at the end of the sixth year, before Rosh Hashanah of the seventh year. For although the seventh year cancels debts only at its end, as it says, ‘At the end of seven years you shall make a shemittah for Hashem,’ some say that from the arrival of Rosh Hashanah of the seventh year, it is forbidden to demand repayment of a debt, as it says, ‘He shall not press his fellow or his brother for payment, for a shemittah has been proclaimed for Hashem.’ As soon as a shemittah has been proclaimed for Hashem, he may not press for payment. But when the borrower repays him of his own accord, he does not need to say, ‘I cancel the debt.’” And that is at the end—only at the end of the seventh year is the debt canceled completely. “And if he did not make a pruzbul at the end of the sixth year, he should make one during the seventh year, up until the eve of Rosh Hashanah following the seventh year.” In other words, the Alter Rebbe rules that ideally—he takes this opinion into account. There is a disagreement between the Rosh and the Ramban. The Ramban says that shemittah cancels debts at the end of the seventh year. Until the end of the seventh year, shemittah does not apply at all. You may demand repayment. If someone borrowed from you, he has to pay you back. It all happens at the end of the seventh year, and that is how people generally practice. That is why they make the pruzbul at the end of the seventh year. The Alter Rebbe rules that ideally one must make the pruzbul at the beginning of the seventh year. Why? Because that is the opinion of the Rosh. The Rosh distinguishes between the prohibition against demanding repayment and the cancellation of the debt by shemittah. You are forbidden to demand repayment from the beginning of the seventh year, but shemittah cancels the debt at the end of the seventh year. So, accordingly, a person who needs to make—ideally, he must make the pruzbul at the end of the sixth year. And here there is another question, which—the Alter Rebbe says no more about it. Throughout the seventh year, does a person not lend money? What is he

15:33 supposed to do? He made the pruzbul at the end of the sixth year. Fine, that covers all the loans he had already made before the seventh year. But what about the whole seventh year? Might he not lend people money? Rabbi Lanken[?] is sitting here. That doesn’t apply to gemilus chesed, because gemilus chesed doesn’t need a pruzbul. Huh? During shemittah, people don’t work. So they live on gemilus chesed. And precisely when they’re living on gemilus chesed, they need loans all the time. So what happens throughout the whole shemittah year? We always thought that the meaning of the Alter Rebbe’s words was—the Bach’s opinion. The Bach says that, according to his understanding of the Rosh, this all concerns loans made before the seventh year. With loans from before the seventh year, when the eve of Rosh Hashanah of the seventh year arrives, the prohibition against demanding repayment takes effect. But loans made during the seventh year are not subject to that prohibition. Even according to the Rosh, you may demand repayment. When does the prohibition apply to them? Only at the end of the seventh year. In other words, according to the Rosh—as the Radbaz also writes—only the end of the seventh year is decisive for loans already made. But for loans made during the seventh year, there is no prohibition. So we understand why we aren’t concerned about writing a pruzbul for all those loans. What about all the loans made during the seventh year? That follows the Bach’s opinion, which says that if you lend during the seventh year, that prohibition does not apply. But the thing is, it isn’t simple. Because even according to the Bach, later, at the end of shemittah, if you lent during shemittah, on Rosh Chodesh of the seventh year—

00:00 And you haven’t repaid it, so afterward there’s Shemittah, when the seventh year cancels the debt. If so, once again, you need to make a pruzbul. But the Rebbe does not agree with every aspect of the pruzbul—not with every aspect of the pruzbul for the seventh year. So what is going on here? At the very least, we have a solution for a loan made during the seventh year itself. There’s a note from the Rebbe; he writes as follows. But first, I just wanted to preface this: the Bach says that the prohibition of demanding repayment does not apply to loans made during the seventh year. That is only the Bach’s opinion. [unclear] disagrees with the Bach and says that such a distinction is untenable: how could the end of the seventh year be decisive, while during the seventh year itself there would be no prohibition? He disagrees with the Bach and says there is no difference. There is no difference between loans due at the end of the seventh year and loans made throughout the seventh year; the prohibition against demanding repayment applies. So again, if we follow the view of [unclear], what about loans made during the seventh year itself? The Rebbe writes as follows—and here, in the notes, they wrote: “Now, regarding the question, regarding the question: when one makes a pruzbul at the beginning of the seventh year, in accordance with this view, yes? What about a loan made during the seventh year? What happens to that loan?” The Rebbe answers: “Those who set a repayment date—the seventh year does not cancel the debt. When the date is during the year, it is an explicit stipulation that the debt not be canceled. ... And ... thirty days before the day of Shemittah, he should make a pruzbul.” The Rebbe introduces a remarkable insight here and says: “We have a halachah—” You see, further on the Rebbe cites those who have the custom not to make a pruzbul. Why not make a pruzbul? Because if you lent money knowing it was Shemittah, you lent it on the understanding that the seventh year would not cancel the debt.

01:57 Consequently, he becomes obligated to repay what he otherwise would not have been obligated to repay. The Rebbe says this: “When someone borrows during the seventh year and sets a repayment date—he says, ‘Lend me a hundred shekels for a month,’ and this is in the middle of the seventh year—then by setting a month, it is as though ... Both of them know it is the seventh year and that the seventh year cancels debts. Nevertheless, he said, ‘Lend it to me for a month.’ It is as though they stipulated that the seventh year would not cancel the debt.” According to what the Rebbe writes, there is no problem at all with lending during the seventh year itself in this way. Why? If you lend with a repayment date, then there is no concern about the debt being canceled by Shemittah. But what if someone borrows without setting a repayment date, and simply takes out a loan? Thirty days pass, and he made no stipulation about repayment. It follows that the seventh year should cancel the debt. First of all, we see from the Rebbe that he does not rely on the Bach. He was speaking about a loan made during the seventh year; he does not rely on the Bach’s position that the prohibition does not apply during the seventh year. Apparently he holds—he does not mention it at all, but he follows the view of [unclear]—that according to the Rosh there is no difference between such loans. Throughout the seventh year, the seventh year cancels debts. So if that is the case, what is the practical advice for us during the seventh year? Lend with a repayment date. Once you lend with a repayment date, it is as though you stipulated that the seventh year would not cancel the debt. So according to the Rebbe, we really do need to be careful. True, we follow the Alter Rebbe’s view and make the pruzbul at the end of the seventh year. But then, during the seventh year, a Jew comes and asks you for an act of kindness. Are you going to tell him, “I won’t lend you

04:03 the money”? Why? [unclear] That’s no excuse. Set a time limit. You give him a check for a certain amount—even if the check won’t clear, even if there are insufficient funds. But there is a condition here, there is a date, so it is as though they stipulated between themselves that the seventh year would not cancel the debt. Fine; that takes care of loans made during the seventh year itself. But what then? The Rebbe says: “[unclear].” In other words, if he borrowed without setting a date, he should make a pruzbul. This needs examination: according to the Rosh, [unclear], because a pruzbul cannot be drawn up during the seventh year. The Or Sameach rules explicitly—apparently the Rebbe’s question is according to the Rosh, but the Or Sameach rules explicitly that if someone made a pruzbul before the seventh year, he can also make the pruzbul during the seventh year. So, apparently, we should add to the Rebbe’s words that this refers to the Rosh’s opinion, but according to the Alter Rebbe’s ruling, one can also make a pruzbul later, during the seventh year itself. It follows that if someone mistakenly made an interest-free loan without a repayment date, and now he needs to demand the money back, how can he demand it? After all, the seventh year cancels the debt. He should make a pruzbul. But we have not seen people customarily making pruzbuls in the middle of the seventh year. So he has a simple solution: after Hallel, he should make a pruzbul. Yes. There was once an observant Jew here, a Jew from the [unclear] Chassidic group, who would come here to sell his chametz. He would also write a [unclear]. Instead of looking for the kesubah, he wrote a kesubah—but in any case, well, what can he do? He has a solution: not to pay on time, to stretch it out until the end of the seventh year, and to follow the Rebbe’s practice of making a pruzbul at the end of the seventh year too. But we are not talking about such people.

06:09 Well, there is much more to say about this, but I simply can’t keep talking.