Nitzavim - Vayeilech: 5783 - Rabbi Shimon Zonnenfeld: Why is this Shabbos called 'Shabbos Selichos,' even though Selichos is not said at all on Shabbos? At the conclusion of Rabbi Betzalel Mizrachi's Daf Yomi class in Nachlah…

00:00 Speaker 1 To teach him.

00:02 Speaker 2 First of all, I want to add something to what we said last week. Someone came up to me and said, “You spoke about gratitude, about recognizing the good others do for you. Why didn’t you give an example from the Rebbe? Whenever anyone did anything for him, the Rebbe would say thank you. If someone held the door as the Rebbe entered or left, the Rebbe would turn around and thank him. When the driver opened the car door, the Rebbe would thank him. When the rosh yeshivah poured wine for the Rebbe, the Rebbe would pour for him. For everything. Why didn’t you mention that?” I told him, “You’re right, and I thank you. I’m grateful that you pointed it out.” It’s a good point. The best example is how the Rebbe taught us to thank every Jew who does something for us. This week, in the weekly parsha, we read the verse: “For this thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.” The entire Tanya is founded on this verse. How is it close to you? To do it, right? There was a Jew named Reb Yosef Nimotin.

01:21 Speaker 1 Who?

01:23 Speaker 2 A chossid named Reb Yosef—his name was Reb Yosef Nimotin. He lived in the city where the Rebbe’s father, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak, lived. After Rabbi Levi Yitzchak returned from imprisonment—he didn’t return to prison—Reb Yosef helped him a great deal. He assisted him in every way. And after Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s passing, he didn’t leave; he stayed there. But after the chassidim left, no chassidim remained there. He had nothing and no choice, so he left and came to the United States. The Rebbe showed him great warmth—as we said earlier, it was a matter of gratitude—because he had devoted himself so much to the Rebbe’s father. The Rebbe showed him great warmth, [unclear][?]. He related that he came from a family of chassidim. His grandfather had been one of the Tzemach Tzedek’s chassidim. When he was a child, he said, his grandfather suggested, “Come, I’ll study Tanya with you.” Well, his grandfather wanted to study Tanya with him, so he agreed. They sat down and studied Tanya. How did they study it? His grandfather read the words aloud and translated each word into Yiddish, without any explanation. “We learned in Tanya, at the end of chapter 14”—he would translate every word, just like that, without explanations. Now, the Tanya also has periods. Whenever there was a period, he would say “pintele”—“a dot.” The grandson, Reb Yosef, asked his grandfather, “Why do you have to say ‘dot’? We can see there’s a dot here. Why say it?” His grandfather answered, “That’s how I was taught Tanya, and that’s how I’m teaching you.” Reb Yosef related that of everything he studied with

03:33 Speaker 2 his grandfather, he couldn’t remember a single word. But he remembered the dot. That dot, that pintele, stayed in his mind. This Shabbos, G-d willing, is Shabbos Selichos. Incidentally, we don’t actually say Selichos on Shabbos. On Shabbos we don’t say “Forgive us”; we don’t say any Selichos. We’ll say Selichos after Shabbos.

03:56 Speaker 3 Right.

03:56 Speaker 2 So why do we call it Shabbos Selichos? Because the letters of Shabbos can be rearranged to spell “tashev,” “you will return.” There is an aspect of this return that Hakadosh Boruch Hu brings about. On our part, we don’t do that work on Shabbos, but forgiveness begins already on Shabbos. Hakadosh Boruch Hu grants the forgiveness, and He gives each and every Jew a good, sweet year, G-d willing, with everything they need materially and spiritually. May we all merit it. Amen. Good Shabbos! Good Shabbos!