Shabbos Mevorchim Iyar - Ani Hashem Rofecha - Rabbi Asher Parkesh

00:01 There was once also an exchange of letters [unclear] between the Rebbe of Lubavitch and his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe. It concerned a very interesting subject: the miracles and wonders performed by tzaddikim. The Rebbe wrote to his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe, that according to the Chabad approach, miracles have their place, but we do not make a big issue of them. On the contrary, it was accepted among Chabad chassidim that this is not what Chassidus is about. Signs and wonders, miracles—the Gemara even speaks of signs and wonders in Egypt, in the land of Cham. In other words, signs and wonders are for the Egyptians, for the descendants of Cham. But a Jew does not need miracles; a chossid needs Chassidus. That is the approach of Chabad Chassidus. The Rebbe wrote to his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe, about this, and observed that perhaps in earlier generations it was possible to have an effect by engaging people in Chassidus, through contemplation of Hashem’s greatness. But in our generation, in these later generations, when we are in a darkness that is doubled and redoubled, in the footsteps of Moshiach, Jews are preoccupied, unsettled, busy with earning a living, with material concerns and everyday matters, to the point that they do not get around to doing what they need to do, and

01:56 it is impossible to awaken in Jews a sufficiently strong appreciation for Torah and mitzvos, to give them a taste for, an understanding of, and a feeling for G-dliness through the study of a profound concept alone. Rather, souls need to be awakened through a miracle. You tell a story—a story about tzaddikim, about faith in tzaddikim, a story of a miracle performed by a tzaddik. It has a powerful effect. It can pull a person out of his mud, out of his materialism and physical preoccupations, and lift him very high. Afterward, you can speak with him about studying Chassidus and so on. That was the letter, and the Frierdiker Rebbe replied with a long letter. The Frierdiker Rebbe’s letter was printed in the journal Hatamim, which was published only in Poland before the war. In Warsaw, Hatamim came out every few months in the years before the war. It was full of writings, historical material, the words of chassidim, and so on. That is where the reply appears—the letter the Frierdiker Rebbe wrote to the Rebbe, in which he explains the approach of Chabad Chassidus at length. The letter the Rebbe had written was not known at all until a few years ago. Only a few years ago did they begin publishing the reshimos—the journals, notes, and things the Rebbe had written for himself in the years before his leadership, which had been kept out of sight—and this

03:34 came to light only in recent years. There we see the letter in which the Rebbe writes to his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe, about this whole subject. The Frierdiker Rebbe’s letter is [unclear], and it is a rich letter in which he explains the Alter Rebbe’s approach—not only the Alter Rebbe’s approach, but also that of the Maggid of Mezritch. He explains how Chassidus worked, both general Chassidus and Chabad Chassidus, the Alter Rebbe’s relationship with his colleagues, and so on. Among other things, he tells a wonderful story that is, seemingly, the answer to the question. What does he write? He tells the following story. In those years, while the Alter Rebbe was still alive, there was a young married man who had previously been a chossid of one of the Maggid of Mezritch’s students, another tzaddik. He had been there for several years. Then, through one of the Chabad chassidim, he became close to the Alter Rebbe and began studying Chabad Chassidus and working on himself through that study. He devoted himself to Chassidus and to lengthy prayer. He carried on this way for some time. Once, his friends from earlier days said to him, “Well, maybe you have a lot of knowledge here, a lot of Chassidus, a lot of prayer and contemplation. But miracles—that is something your Rebbe does not perform. We can find those only with our Rebbes.”

05:18 That is what they told him. The chossid felt very bad about it and was deeply troubled. But he spoke to no one about it; he kept it in his heart. He did not talk about it or dwell on it, and he continued studying Chassidus and serving Hashem. And so he went on. One day, a letter arrived from the Alter Rebbe for the mashpia of that town. In it, the Alter Rebbe wrote to the town’s mashpia about several matters concerning the town. At the end of the letter, the Alter Rebbe wrote to him: “[unclear] the young man,” giving that young man’s name, “must be brought close, and his distress must be eased.” That is what the Alter Rebbe wrote. He must be brought close; his distress must be eased. “And this will be a sign for him and a wonder for others.” It would be a sign for him and a wonder for others. That is what the Alter Rebbe wrote in the letter. Naturally, the mashpia did not understand a word of this. He called the young man in and asked him, “Tell me, what is going on with you? What is weighing on you and troubling you? Could it be something connected with the Rebbe?” He guided the conversation this way until the young man told him what was happening with him, what his question was: that he had indeed

06:58 begun studying Chassidus, was studying Chabad Chassidus with contemplation, praying with contemplation, and serving Hashem according to the path of Chassidus. The Alter Rebbe was guiding him. But what remained with him was what his friends kept telling him: that they did not see their Rebbe, the Alter Rebbe, performing miracles so much. By contrast, with other tzaddikim they had seen [unclear]. And when they spoke about what had happened—in those days there was Reb Mendel of Horodok, whose yahrzeit falls this week, on 1 Iyar. The Tzemach Tzedek writes that he performed miracles entirely beyond the bounds of nature. Yes, he truly turned worlds upside down. The same was true of other tzaddikim at the time. The mashpia then understood what the Alter Rebbe had written to him. Everything fell into place; everything became clear. What had the Alter Rebbe done here? The Alter Rebbe had performed a true miracle. The chossid had carried this distress in his heart but had spoken to no one about it. The mashpia did not know; no one else knew; and he had never written to the Alter Rebbe about it. It was something he carried not merely in his thoughts, but deep in his soul. The Alter Rebbe sensed it and saw that the young man needed help. He needed to be brought close and have his distress eased. So the Alter Rebbe wrote these words, and with those very words he

08:26 gave him to understand: If you need a miracle, here is a true miracle. You can know that your Rebbe has ruach hakodesh, and here is genuine ruach hakodesh. “And this will be a sign for him and a wonder for others.” For the young man himself, it would be a sign: he would know that the Rebbe knew everything that was happening—genuine ruach hakodesh. Others would see and hear the story, and see and hear about the miracle. So when the Rebbe wrote this story as an example, he meant to convey that, generally speaking, the path of the Alter Rebbe’s Chassidus, the path of Chabad, was not to seek miracles. Serving Hashem must come through inner work. A Jew must work and serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu with his own abilities, his own mind, and his own emotions. He must study Chassidus and contemplate it, awaken love and awe of Hashem, work on his prayer, and refine his character traits. That is the path of serving Hashem. And of course, when a chossid needs help and needs a miracle, there is a true miracle for him. In other words, a miracle is not an end in itself. It comes when it is needed to lift the chossid and bring him light, so that something will shift within him and he will make some progress in Hashem’s path. But afterward, the young man must enter into inner work, work accomplished through his own efforts. And the Rebbe goes on to relate how [unclear] the years.

09:52 During visits to the Rebbe, he recounted the story without giving the details—who wrote and who replied. He spoke about the subject. It was not clear who knew, but he knew that this exchange of letters had taken place. Years later, though, at a farbrengen, the Rebbe spoke about this and said that someone had raised the subject of miracles with the Frierdiker Rebbe. The Rebbe drew out a point: from that time onward, there was a great change in this regard, with remarkable new developments and miracles in matters that were entirely beyond the bounds of nature. For the purpose of a miracle, and the light it brings, is to draw a Jew out of his situation and lift him up, so that afterward he will indeed come to inner work and serve Hashem through his own efforts. That is the path of Chassidus. How is this reflected at the end of Nissan, as we enter the month of Iyar on Shabbos Mevorchim? It is precisely the same idea. Nissan and Iyar are two months that, in many respects, are complete opposites. The month of Nissan is, as its name suggests, connected with nissim, miracles. It is the month of Nissan—Nissan with two nuns—signifying miracles upon miracles. In other words, it is a time of miracles, a time of Geulah, a time of freedom. “When Hakadosh Boruch Hu chose Yaakov and his children, He chose

11:30 “He established for them a month of redemption.” He established for them a month of redemption, and that is the month of Nissan, a month of Geulah. We see this in practice: throughout Nissan, Tachanun is not said, as stated in the Shulchan Aruch. In other words, from beginning to end, this is a time when a Jew stands above all these matters. It is a month of Yom Tov, a month of freedom, a month of Geulah. That is the character of Nissan—miracles upon miracles. Then we enter the month of Iyar. Iyar is just the opposite. At least as far as the Torah is concerned, it has no festivals. Of course, there is Pesach Sheini, there is Lag BaOmer, and there is the entire matter of Sefiras HaOmer. But in terms of festivals ordained by the Torah, Iyar is not like Nissan. It is a month without a special festival, without a special revelation. In particular, the sefarim discuss: Why do we begin studying Pirkei Avos? After Pesach, on the Shabbos after Pesach, we begin studying Pirkei Avos. The Midrash Shmuel says that the custom was to study it from Pesach until Shavuos, while others study it from Shavuos until Rosh Hashanah. But in general, during Sefiras HaOmer, during the summer, we study Pirkei Avos. The Midrash Shmuel writes that when Pesach arrives, in the spring, and after Pesach nature grows stronger—the heat, the sun—then

13:04 as nature grows stronger, so does the heat. Not only physical heat, but also the heat of the yetzer hara, of desires and of things that are not holy. That is the character of the time after Pesach, and especially of Iyar. This is one of the reasons commentators give for why Iyar is called “the month of Ziv” in the Book of Kings. The Gemara in Rosh Hashanah, in both the Bavli and the Yerushalmi, discusses why Iyar is called “the month of Ziv” in Tanach: because the trees blossom then, the trees have a radiance, and nature grows stronger. As nature grows stronger, so do the yetzer hara and the animal soul—the heat of this world and the heat of kelipah. The study of Pirkei Avos comes to counter this. It is a remedy: we study Pirkei Avos and work on our character traits and conduct to remedy the effects of nature’s growing strength. So Nissan and Iyar are two months at opposite extremes. There is an interesting point the Rebbe spoke about at a Shabbos Mevarchim Iyar farbrengen, a point the Rebbe addressed several times: We are standing in Nissan and blessing the month of Iyar. After all, this is Shabbos Mevarchim, the Shabbos before the coming month. This makes [unclear].

14:39 We bless it. And this is what we see in the way Nissan works: standing in a state above this world, above nature, amid miracles upon miracles, in a month of Geulah, a month of freedom—we stand in Nissan and bless the next month, Iyar. And that month is the very opposite of Nissan. It is connected with nature, with the world and with nature growing stronger, and in it we must work on our character traits. They are two opposites, at opposite extremes. And this is precisely the explanation of the challenge that comes in Iyar. This is precisely the great novelty of Nissan’s influence on Iyar: When we stand in Nissan, in a state of miracles above nature, we must know that the ultimate intent, what we are aiming for, what is wanted, the goal, is not to remain in Nissan forever and ever. Nissan is specifically the time Hashem gave us, when He placed us in a state of Geulah, a state of freedom, a state of a night of divine protection. A person stands above the world, and the light of Geulah shines for him with ease. In particular, as the Baal Shem Tov revealed, it is not only the light of the redemption from Egypt that shines. During Pesach, and especially on its final days and the days that follow, the light

16:05 of the Geulah through Moshiach also shines in the world. Yes, we stand in a state of Geulah. Then Shabbos Mevarchim arrives, while we are still in Nissan, and tells us: We stand in Nissan, but we must remember that Rosh Chodesh Iyar is now approaching, that from Nissan we enter Iyar. There we enter a world that is not a state of freedom and Geulah, but a world connected with nature, with this world and with exile. We are in a world of exile, and we must serve Hashem in everyday life. But within it, we must bring the light of Geulah—the feeling, the inner experience, the approach, the sense and the light that shone for a person during Pesach, the freedom and the Geulah. We must then bring all this into everyday life in Iyar, into the realm of nature. In this connection, the Rebbe said something remarkable about Iyar. It is brought in the holy sefarim, in Bnei Yissaschar, and in many other [unclear]. Yes, [unclear] also brings it in his writings. It appears in a number of Chassidus sefarim: Iyar is an acronym for “Ani Hashem Rofecha”—“I am Hashem, your healer.” What is the acronym for the month of Iyar? “Ani Hashem Rofecha.” What, seemingly, is the significance of the acronym “Ani Hashem Rofecha”? Here the—

17:38 [unclear]. It is also written in [unclear], and brought in the Rema, in the Shulchan Aruch, in Even HaEzer, in the laws of divorce and marriage—in the laws of divorce—that “Iyar” is written with two yuds: alef, yud, yud, reish. There are two acronyms for Iyar. Yes, there is an acronym for Iyar when it is spelled alef, yud, yud, reish, and the Kabbalah sefarim state in several places that Iyar stands for Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Rachel. This is the concept of the chariot. There is also a source for this, similar to what the Gemara says about “Ziv,” that Iyar is also called “the month of Ziv”: “For in it the radiant ones of the world were born,” as the Gemara says in Rosh Hashanah. [unclear] were born in Nissan. The discussion concerns the verse in which Iyar is also called “the month of Ziv.” This is the allusion that Iyar points to the ancestors of the world: Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Rachel. That is one acronym, when it is written with two yuds. Yes, and this is the concept of the chariot: the Patriarchs are a chariot for G-dliness. But the other acronym brought in the sefarim is that Iyar stands for “Ani Hashem Rofecha.” Although it is written with two yuds, there is also a spelling of Iyar with one yud, so this acronym can be used as well. And here we see something remarkable: “Ani Hashem Rofecha” is connected specifically with nature.

19:00 What did I say earlier? As [unclear] says: Why do we study Pirkei Avos? Because this is when the coarseness of the material world, the coarseness of physicality, becomes an issue. The coarseness of the material world, the coarseness of physicality. And this can cause, rachmana litzlan, spiritual illness. Yes, just as there can be, rachmana litzlan, physical illness, there is also an illness about which the Gemara says: “Illness is the yetzer hara; illness is the eye; illness is the heart.” There is the well-known Gemara that lists a number of things there. “Illness” points to aspects of the yetzer hara that bring about sicknesses of the soul. For this we have Pirkei Avos and “Ani Hashem Rofecha”—He will heal it. Similarly, the sefarim also say regarding physical healing that Iyar is a month especially suited to healing. But if we say that healing is needed, it follows that there is illness and therefore a need for healing. In other words, because the state of Iyar is one in which we descend into the world and into exile, there can consequently be, rachmana litzlan, illness of the body or soul, and so we need healing. In Nissan, a Jew stands above all matters of exile, darkness and illness; to begin with, these things were not there. But when Iyar arrives, healing is needed. And at the same time,

20:24 what is the acronym? “Ani Hashem Rofecha.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu is our true healer. What is the meaning of “Ani Hashem Rofecha”? As explained in Chassidus, as we said, we find several forms of healing. There is healing through a human being, as in the verse, “He shall surely heal,” from which we learn that a doctor has been given permission to heal. That is healing through a human being. Similarly, there are several verses that speak of healing through an intermediary, through a human being. By contrast, the verse here says: “None of the illnesses that I placed upon Egypt will I place upon you, for I am Hashem, your healer.” And it is explained—though, seemingly, this is already discussed in the revealed teachings of Torah—that there is healing by Hakadosh Boruch Hu and healing by a human being. With healing by a human being, even after a person recovers, some connection to the illness always remains, rachmana litzlan; a sign remains, an impression remains. He was ill and recovered. A person, rachmana litzlan, went through a difficult period, and although afterward, boruch Hashem, he recovered through a particular treatment and a particular medicine, some sign of the illness, some impression, still remains. But when the healing comes from Hakadosh Boruch Hu, it is a healing in which the illness is as though it had never been, as though there had never been any illness at all. This is “Ani Hashem Rofecha,” and this is the precise meaning of the words: “I

22:00 “Hashem, your healer.” We read this on the seventh day of Pesach, following the Song at the Sea. It says: “None of the illnesses that I placed upon Egypt will I place upon you, for I am Hashem, your healer.” The meaning of “I am Hashem, your healer” is that when healing comes from “I am Hashem”—Yud-Kei-Vav-Kei, the name of mercy; Yud-Kei-Vav-Kei, the name that is above nature, above the world—then the healing is such that, from the outset, there is no illness. It is as though it never existed, as though the person had never been sick. That is true healing. So what do we hear from this? We are now dealing with the month of Iyar, a time of nature, and within nature there is, G-d forbid, illness, both physically and spiritually. Nevertheless, we emphasize: What do the initials stand for? They stand for “I am Hashem, your healer.” In other words, this is the blessing that Nissan brings into Iyar: When a person comes from the month of Nissan and connects with the level of miracles, with the level of Yud-Kei-Vav-Kei, the name of Hashem that is above nature, he stands in a state of Geulah. And so, in the month of Nissan, we are blessed. We bring that blessing into the month of Iyar: that the healing which comes in Iyar—both spiritually, through Pirkei Avos and the work a person does on himself to refine his character traits, so that he will not have, G-d forbid, illnesses of the soul, and

23:21 in matters concerning the body, health, and healing—should not be a healing that leaves some mark or trace, as healing by a human being does. On the contrary, it should be a healing in which it is as though there had never been an illness; it should transform the situation until the illness is as if it never existed, as though the person had never been sick at all. This is also connected with what Chassidus says about the difference between the work of Nissan and the work of Iyar, between the first month and the second month: In Nissan, the work is in the manner of iskafya, “for the people fled,” like fleeing from Egypt. They fled. What happened with Egypt? They fled from Egypt. But that is not yet the work of transformation, of ishapcha. Here we are told that this is the purpose of Sefiras HaOmer, the second month, Iyar: Now there is not only flight from Egypt, but ishapcha—transformation. Transforming the evil, transforming one’s character traits. That is the whole point of Sefiras HaOmer: a person works on his character traits and refines them. Then it happens in such a way that [unclear], and he had been sick. This is also connected with the second set of initials, which are

24:41 Iyar—Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Rachel. These are the initials of Iyar. “The patriarchs are the chariot.” In general, when we speak of a chariot, we are reaching a higher level. “The patriarchs are the chariot,” as it says. The patriarchs were a chariot for G-dliness, because the Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya that for the patriarchs, this was true “all their days, without exception.” Their connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu never ceased, and all their limbs were always holy and set apart, devoted to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. When the month of Iyar arrives, whose initials are Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Rachel, every Jew can rise through the preparation he had in Nissan. Then the month becomes the month of radiance, the radiance of the trees; he connects with the holy patriarchs, and a radiance from the level of the patriarchs shines within every Jew. This enables every Jew to become a chariot, each according to his level. He can be a chariot for G-dliness, a chariot for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. What does it mean to be a chariot for G-dliness, in simple terms, for ordinary people like us? The Rebbe once told a story found in the letters of the Rebbe Rashab: Once, people saw the Rebbe Rashab washing his hands for a meal. The Rebbe Rashab had a particular way of washing his hands: He washed each hand three times, and after washing, he took a towel. There is something distinctive about the way the Rebbe Rashab

26:11 washed his hands. But when chassidim saw this, it surprised them, because the Shulchan Aruch does not seem to say that one must wash one’s hands that way. It was something new to them. Later, one of the chassidim asked the Rebbe Rashab for the source of this practice. The Rebbe Rashab told him that he could not then recall the precise source in all its details, but before his bar mitzvah, when he was twelve, his father, the Rebbe Maharash, had told him that before one’s bar mitzvah, one must train the body to be a chariot for the Shulchan Aruch. Those were his words: One must train the body to be a chariot for the Shulchan Aruch. From then on, he began working on himself, training his body, every limb, to observe the Shulchan Aruch as it should be observed. He therefore knew there must be a source for the way he practiced, since he had trained his body to do it. A short time later, he returned and stated the source for washing each hand three times: There is Hagahos Ashri, and there is [unclear] in Tractate Tamid. But that is a detail of the story—where the source comes from. The Rebbe told this story at a farbrengen on Shabbos Mevarchim Iyar and emphasized

27:29 the point relevant to that time. When we stand on Shabbos Mevarchim Iyar and say that the initials stand for Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Rachel—the supernal chariot of the holy patriarchs and matriarchs—this is the time when something is asked of Jews: A Jew who has gone through Pesach, who prepared for Pesach and has passed through Nissan, a month of Geulah, can be asked to become a chariot for the Shulchan Aruch. In every aspect of his conduct and every detail, in every thought, word, and deed, he should make a practice of training his body to obey and act as the Shulchan Aruch says. This is the time of Iyar. The Rebbe concludes that this will indeed help bring about the Geulah immediately, as we stand in these lofty days of Nissan, close to Shabbos Mevarchim Iyar, when we bless the month of Iyar. The radiance of the Geulah of Nissan should shine in everyday life. The days should immediately become illuminated days, days of Geulah. As we say in the Pesach Haggadah: “All the days of your life—to bring the days of Moshiach.” And as the Rebbe would explain: “All the days of your life”—a Jew’s entire life is devoted to “bringing the days of Moshiach.” This should shine in every detail of life, and life should be permeated with “bringing the days of Moshiach,” and may we merit

28:56 to live with the Geulah in everyday life. And may we immediately merit the complete Geulah, speedily in our days, amen.