Rabbi Asher Parkesh - Parshas Pinchas-Matos - The War against Midian: Sinas Chinam and Ahavas Chinam

00:00 In the year 5603, a large conference was held in Petersburg. The Tzemach Tzedek attended, along with Rabbi Itzele of Volozhin. They were among the leading rabbis in Russia at the time, and the government wanted to impose various decrees concerning education and Jewish life. The Tzemach Tzedek stood firm with tremendous self-sacrifice to prevent the government from carrying out its decrees. In those days, the maskilim had great influence over the Russian government, and they wanted to implement harsh decrees: to change education, matters relating to the rabbinate, and the education of Jewish children. The Tzemach Tzedek spent several months in Petersburg, waging a determined struggle against the government. During that time, he was arrested and imprisoned several times, as the story relates. Through tremendous self-sacrifice, he succeeded in having the decrees annulled. It is told that the Frierdiker Rebbe related at a farbrengen that Rabbi Itzele of Volozhin asked the Tzemach Tzedek: How could he put himself in such danger? In the natural course of things, the government could have, G-d forbid, carried out a sentence for rebellion against the crown, meaning a death sentence. He asked the Tzemach Tzedek: Granted, you are not thinking of yourself, but you have students, you have chassidim. How can you leave the chassidim behind?

01:57 The Tzemach Tzedek replied: I have two answers to that, an explanation and an assurance. The first explanation is that there are the children—the Tzemach Tzedek had several children—and if, G-d forbid, they do what they do, the children will be here. And the assurance is that the chassidim, through their unity, will lead and carry on until Moshiach comes. In other words, the power of unity among chassidim will give them the strength to withstand this and continue their work until the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. At that farbrengen, the Tzemach Tzedek—or the Frierdiker Rebbe, the previous Rebbe—also told another story about the Tzemach Tzedek: It was on Simchas Torah [unclear], and such a large crowd came that they had to stand in the street. They even brought the bimah out into the street so they could hold hakafos. The Tzemach Tzedek said l’chaim and climbed onto the table. There was great joy at the Simchas Torah farbrengen. At one point, he climbed onto the table and said: “Alef, beis, gimel, daled: ahavah, love; brachah, blessing; gaavah, pride; dalus, poverty—in material and spiritual matters.” In other words, when chassidim have love, there will be blessing; and G-d forbid, the reverse is also true. That is the point: the power of love, the power of unity.

03:43 When we are together in love and unity, that is the source of all blessings. We are now in the days of Bein Hametzarim, the Three Weeks, and we know what the Gemara says: the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash was caused by baseless hatred. It follows that the remedy, too—the Geulah that will come through Moshiach Tzidkeinu—is through unconditional love. When Jews in general, and chassidim in particular, have love, unity, and a sense of family, we will thereby merit the complete Geulah. Especially now, during Bein Hametzarim, this is a time when we must strengthen unconditional love in every respect, with even greater vigor and strength—the opposite of baseless hatred. We find in the Gemara in Yoma that baseless hatred was the cause of the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, and likewise in the well-known story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, brought in the Gemara in Gittin. There we see that because of baseless hatred, G-d forbid, the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash occurred; conversely, through unconditional love we will build the Beis Hamikdash. And so we find, by Divine providence, as the holy Shelah writes, that the weekly parsha we read is always connected to the time when we read it. [unclear] to work with…

05:21 In the parsha, we learn about the war against Midian. In both Parshas Pinchas and Parshas Matos, the Torah speaks at length about the war against Midian. “Harass the Midianites,” as it says in Parshas Pinchas, and then in Parshas Matos the Torah tells the details of the war. We see just how important this war is in the Torah: Moshe Rabbeinu put his whole soul into it. Hakadosh Boruch Hu says to Moshe Rabbeinu: “Avenge the children of Israel upon the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.” That is, following the war against Midian, “you will be gathered to your people” would come to pass. In other words, through the war against Midian, Moshe Rabbeinu reached the completion of his soul in this physical world, during his lifetime in this world. With that, he completed his entire mission. We can understand from this that the war against Midian was a lofty and fundamental matter. It was connected to Moshe Rabbeinu and to the completion of his soul in this world. That is why Moshe Rabbeinu said, “Arm men from among you for the army”—he asked that men go out from every tribe. Indeed, this was the only war for which men went out from all the tribes, including the tribe of Levi. “A thousand from each tribe” went out to war. The meaning of the war against Midian is explained in—

06:59 the teachings of Chassidus as being connected to the correction of baseless hatred and to unconditional love, as discussed there. The Arizal also elaborates on this: “Midian” is related to the words for strife and quarrel, and this is kelipas Midian. As is known, when the Torah speaks about the nations of the world, each nation is associated with a negative character trait within a person, as brought in the teachings of our Sages and in Chassidus. Everything that exists in the world also exists in a person’s heart. Just as there are seven nations, so there are seven nations within every Jew. The seven nations are the seven negative character traits. These traits, as explained at length in Tanya, exist within everyone, and each person must correct and transform them. That is the conquest of the seven nations. When it comes to Midian, it is explained that Midian is not one of the seven nations. On the contrary, the war against Midian took place even before the entry into the Land of Israel, yet that war was necessary. We see that Moshe Rabbeinu devoted himself to it with his whole soul. Why? Because Midian is the plague underlying all the negative character traits, and that is baseless hatred. Midian is related to strife and quarrel, and strife and quarrel are a form—

08:30 of baseless hatred. That is the plague underlying all the negative character traits. It is well known among chassidim that one of the Alter Rebbe’s maamarim printed in Likkutei Torah for this parsha, Parshas Matos, is the maamar “Heichaltzu Me’itchem.” And this is [unclear] of kelipas Midian, of the whole matter of Midian in serving Hashem. It is known among chassidim, and brought in Hayom Yom, that our Rebbeim, the Chabad leaders, had a practice of taking a maamar and repeating it every few years. Each Rebbe had a maamar of his own that he would repeat every few years. The Frierdiker Rebbe’s maamar, which he repeated every few years, was “Heichaltzu.” And this is [unclear] unconditional love, in opposition to baseless hatred. This maamar is foundational to the whole subject, which is one of the Baal Shem Tov’s fundamental principles. As is known, this was one of the Baal Shem Tov’s foundations, one of the main things he taught, expounded, and worked to foster: genuine Ahavas Yisroel, genuine unconditional love, genuine affection, genuine love. [unclear] the Rebbe spoke about this in the maamar “Heichaltzu.” And it is related in the sichos—the Frierdiker Rebbe relates in the sichos—that even in the early years, during the lifetime of the Maggid of Mezritch, the Alter Rebbe traveled to various towns. He went to those towns to spread Chassidus, introduce people to the ways of Chassidus, and teach Chassidus. And he relates that this was in one of the early years, while still

10:36 During the lifetime of the Maggid of Meziditch, the Alter Rebbe traveled to a certain town. There were disputes there between the householders and the rabbi, along with all sorts of other issues in the community. It was a community of Torah scholars, including great scholars, but there were serious disagreements among them over how the community should be run. The Alter Rebbe then shared a Torah teaching, as was his holy custom. As is known, in his early years the Alter Rebbe would give brief teachings—short, incisive teachings that contained a great deal in a few words. As people used to say, they set the world on fire: his words touched hearts and changed people. The Alter Rebbe spoke about the statement of our Sages in the Gemara, Yoma: “The earlier generations, whose sin was revealed, had their end revealed; the later generations, whose sin was not revealed, did not have their end revealed.” In other words, with the First Beis Hamikdash, people knew what had caused its destruction. The Gemara says it was the three sins of idolatry, forbidden relations, and bloodshed. But the Gemara also says that Hakadosh Boruch Hu overlooked idolatry, forbidden relations, and bloodshed, but did not overlook the rejection of Torah. There were specific things that brought about the destruction of the First Beis Hamikdash. Their sin was revealed, so their end was revealed as well, and they knew what needed to be corrected. But for the later generations, whose sin was not revealed—they do not know what caused it—their end was not revealed either. How can we know how much time must pass before the end, before the Geulah from this last exile, the exile following the destruction of the Second Beis Hamikdash? The Alter Rebbe asked: What does that mean? We know that the Second Beis Hamikdash was destroyed because of baseless hatred. If so, their sin was revealed after all. The Alter Rebbe answered

12:34 that the meaning is that baseless hatred is a kind of sin whose “sin was not revealed.” We know that the destruction of the Second Beis Hamikdash was connected to baseless hatred, but baseless hatred is the sort of thing that does not become apparent. A person does not recognize it as a sin in himself. With idolatry, forbidden relations, bloodshed, or neglect of Torah study, a person knows, sees, and feels that he is acting wrongly, doing something bad, something forbidden. So he knows he must correct it; he knows what to correct and that he must do teshuvah. But when it comes to baseless hatred, a person finds ways to justify himself. He claims that it is not really bad, that he is not doing anything. Well, nothing—what does baseless hatred mean? He cannot stand another person. Yes. That is the whole point. What is wrong with that? He is not doing anything bad. He simply does not love the other person, cannot stand him, and cannot get along with him [unclear]—he is not doing anything bad. So “their sin was not revealed.” This is one aspect of what Chassidus calls “the subtlety of evil.” And because it is a subtle form of evil, something for which a person justifies himself, and he thinks that

13:49 he is not doing anything bad and claims that he has committed no sin at all, and so on—it does not become apparent to him [unclear]. Thus, “their sin was not revealed.” And since “their sin was not revealed,” “their end was not revealed” either. That is why the exile is so long. Because this long exile is connected to forms of evil in the soul that are so difficult to uncover and recognize, they are also harder to refine and correct. That was the central point of the maamar the Alter Rebbe delivered then. Through it, he brought about a great change in the town and restored peace there. Later, in that region, the Alter Rebbe delivered the maamar “Heichaltzu,” which was printed in Likkutei Torah. It is a longer maamar, and the subject is explained there in much greater detail. We find our Rebbeim returning to the theme of that maamar, discussing it at length and urging chassidim to practice unconditional love in place of baseless hatred. As for the Rebbe Rashab, 5659 is known to have been an especially significant year for him. Tishrei 5659, and even the preceding year, was the period when the Tomchei Temimim yeshivah in Lubavitch began operating. The founding of the Tomchei Temimim yeshivah in Lubavitch had taken place

15:11 a year earlier. The year 5658 was the first year of Tomchei Temimim, but at that point the yeshivah was in a town outside Lubavitch. Toward Tishrei, in late Elul 5658 and in Tishrei 5659, the Temimim arrived, and the yeshivah was established in Lubavitch. On Simchas Torah, the Rebbe Rashab gave the yeshivah its name. Until then it had not yet had a name, and he said it would be called Tomchei Temimim. In connection with the hakafos, he spoke then about “Tomchei Temimim, hoshiah na”: the hakafos were connected with Tomchei Temimim. He said that the yeshivah would be called Tomchei Temimim, and that the students who studied there and conducted themselves as they should, thank Hashem, would be called Temimim. On Simchas Torah, the Rebbe Rashab delivered the maamar “Heichaltzu.” As the Frierdiker Rebbe recounted about that Simchas Torah, this is what happened: There was a farbrengen, and during it the Rebbe Rashab noticed a cup on the table, a cup for saying l’chaim. He saw one of the chassidim pick it up and wash it before l’chaim was poured into it for him. The Rebbe Rashab felt that this could be an opening to a lack of love, a lack of unity, and a lack of the unconditional love that should exist among chassidim.

16:41 That was what prompted it; there were other matters as well. During those days, on Simchas Torah, he delivered the maamar “Heichaltzu” once. Later, on Shabbos Parshas Noach, there was a farbrengen, a gathering with the family, and he repeated the maamar with additional details. That, too, was connected to something happening at the time that called for action to strengthen unconditional love. “Heichaltzu” is a longer maamar, which the Rebbe Rashab wrote out at great length. In it, he explains the kelipah of Midian in detail. He explains the whole subject of the kelipah of Midian and the matters discussed in the parsha. He brings up what we spoke about earlier: First, we find that through the war against Midian, Moshe Rabbeinu’s spiritual level reached its completion. Through it, his soul attained its completeness. This is the meaning of what he was told, “Afterward you will be gathered to your people”: with this, he completed the purpose for which his soul had descended below. So we see that the war against Midian has a particularly lofty dimension, one connected specifically to Moshe Rabbeinu. We also find that the command in the war against Midian was “Heichaltzu”—“Arm yourselves.” “Heichaltzu” implies all of you, even though in practice only a thousand from each tribe were selected for the war. Nevertheless,

18:06 the wording is “Heichaltzu,” all together. In other words, the command itself was addressed to all the Jews, even though in practice a thousand from each tribe were chosen to go to war. And there are many other details: the Torah goes into great detail, including the precise accounting of everything that happened in the war. We also find that Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu to “avenge the vengeance of the Children of Israel,” while Moshe Rabbeinu, speaking to the Children of Israel, said to exact “Hashem’s vengeance” upon Midian. In the maamar he asks: Is it “the vengeance of the Children of Israel” or “Hashem’s vengeance”? On the face of it, the story describes vengeance on behalf of the Children of Israel. The Midianites wanted to cause them suffering; that was what Midian did—they wanted to harm the Jews. Yet Hashem said “the vengeance of the Children of Israel,” and Moshe said “Hashem’s vengeance.” He cites the verse in this connection: “Whoever touches them touches the apple of His eye.” When someone harms a Jew, G-d forbid, he harms Hakadosh Boruch Hu too, so to speak. “Whoever touches them”—so when we say “the vengeance of the Children of Israel,” it is really “Hashem’s vengeance”; they are the same thing. But here we see something remarkable: Hashem stood up for the Children of Israel.

19:27 “The vengeance of the Children of Israel”—this reflects Hashem’s essential love for the Jews. We are now continuing into the parshiyos dealing with Midian. The whole story of Midian begins with Bilaam, who had a deep-seated hatred of the Jews. That was why he went [unclear] toward what he wanted to do, may Hashem protect us. And it was specifically through Bilaam that Hashem revealed His essential love, through the blessings—the loftiest blessings: “Hashem your G-d did not wish to listen to Bilaam, and Hashem your G-d turned the curse into a blessing for you, because Hashem your G-d loved you.” Hashem turned the curses into blessings. And we see [unclear] Bilaam, who came from Midian and wanted to bring about division, something that is, G-d forbid, the very opposite.

20:15 Yes, he wanted to cast an evil eye and so on. That was the whole purpose of Midian and of Bilaam: he wanted to bring accusations and stir up strife between Hakadosh Boruch Hu and the Jews, between the Jews and Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and among the Jews themselves, G-d forbid. Not only did he fail, but on the contrary, it brought their true, essential closeness and love into even sharper focus, as expressed in all the wonderful blessings in the account of Bilaam: “How goodly are your tents, Yaakov, your dwellings, Yisroel.” He wanted to bring about the opposite, yet precisely through that he brought “How goodly are your tents, Yaakov” into the open among the Jews, and “He has seen no iniquity in Yaakov, nor has He seen wrongdoing in Yisroel,” and so on. This, then, explains Hashem’s words to Moshe: “Avenge the children of Israel.” Moshe Rabbeinu, by contrast, stood up for Hashem’s honor and said, “Take Hashem’s vengeance against Midian.” As quoted here from the holy [unclear], who says something remarkable: Balak and Bilaam, the true enemies of Israel, were the opposing counterparts of Moshe and Aharon. A note [unclear] from the Tzemach Tzedek is cited, and the [unclear] explains that Bilaam was Moshe Rabbeinu’s opposing counterpart. As is well known from the Midrash, and also from the Gemara in Avodah Zarah, Moshe Rabbeinu was the prophet—“No prophet arose in Israel”—but among the nations there was Bilaam. In other words, Bilaam was the opposing counterpart, the opposite

21:49 of Moshe. Moshe’s entire purpose was daas, holy understanding; he was the faithful shepherd who brought daas to the Jewish people. Bilaam was “one who knows the knowledge of the Most High,” but he took that knowledge to the other side. As the Frierdiker Rebbe explains in one of his maamarim, Moshe Rabbeinu had a good eye, which saw only good in every Jew. His understanding led him to see only good in Hakadosh Boruch Hu and good in every Jew. He forged a bond between the Jews and Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That was Moshe Rabbeinu’s purpose: with a good eye, he saw only the good in the Jews. Bilaam was the opposite: an accuser with an evil eye, as the Mishnah says in Pirkei Avos. Bilaam, then, was Moshe Rabbeinu’s opposing counterpart, his opposite. And Balak was Aharon the Kohen’s opposing counterpart. [unclear] Aharon is [unclear]. Balak was Aharon the Kohen’s opposing counterpart. In any case, the holy [unclear] writes: What does this mean? Moshe and Aharon are described as Moshe being the king’s attendant and Aharon the queen’s attendant. In other words, Moshe Rabbeinu is the [unclear] on the groom’s side; the groom is Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Aharon the Kohen is the [unclear] on the bride’s side. The queen’s attendant—he goes because he is [unclear] on the bride’s side, the side of Knesses Yisroel. The point is that Moshe Rabbeinu constantly stood up for Hashem’s honor, while Aharon the Kohen stood up for the honor of

23:16 the Jews. Yes, Aharon the Kohen “loves people and brings them close to the Torah”; he is the one who constantly seeks out the merits of the Jewish people. Moshe Rabbeinu stood up for Hashem’s honor, and that is what we see here in the account of Bilaam: Hashem said, “Avenge the children of Israel,” and Moshe Rabbeinu came and said, “Take Hashem’s vengeance,” because he stood up for Hashem’s honor. At the same time, Hashem loves the Jews—“Whoever touches them touches the apple of His eye”—and that was seen here in the war against Midian. Why did Moshe Rabbeinu step forward here? This was his purpose, so much so that through it his soul attained its completeness; this matter was that important to him. He explains that Moshe Rabbeinu’s purpose is “oneness.” Moshe Rabbeinu’s purpose is to reveal Hashem’s oneness. That was his central mission: through the Torah, he brought down the concept of “oneness.” “The entire Torah was given to bring peace to the world,” as the Gemara says, “among the heavenly host and among the earthly host.” The entire purpose of the Torah is to bring peace to the world. And as the Rambam states [unclear]. Yes, [unclear], the whole Torah is concerned not only with bringing peace to the world—with peace and with unity. Moshe Rabbeinu’s entire purpose in bringing the Torah into the world was to bring peace to the world, to bring unity between Israel and Hakadosh Boruch Hu, between

24:44 Hakadosh Boruch Hu and His world. That, then, was his entire purpose. For this is the meaning of “Hashem is One”: to bring Hashem’s oneness into the world, the oneness taught by the Baal Shem Tov. Midian stands against Hashem’s name, because Midian is the opposing counterpart, the opposite of Hashem’s oneness. That is why they seek to stir up strife and discord, contrary to the entire idea of Ahavas Yisroel. And the parsha comes and tells us just how much this matters: Moshe Rabbeinu, the teacher of the Jewish people, knew that this would lead to his passing. Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to live; he did everything he could. As is well known, Moshe Rabbeinu was not [unclear]. For this is one of the reasons that his [unclear]. The sefarim discuss why his [unclear], yes, in several [unclear]. Moshe Rabbeinu was distressed; he did not want to leave this world, but wanted to remain. For Moshe Rabbeinu, there was the matter of fulfilling mitzvos in the physical world, as a soul in a body, and so on. What, then, do we learn from this? Moshe Rabbeinu knew that the war against Midian would be followed by his passing, and nevertheless [unclear]. Yes, as the Midrash says, this was Moshe Rabbeinu’s self-sacrifice, to instill in the Jews the concept of unconditional love. To instill in the Jews that a Jew must be the opposite of Midian, the opposite of strife; there must be unconditional love. One Jew must love

26:11 another Jew, and also be connected to that Jew and feel what he feels. This should be true Ahavas Yisroel and unity among the Jewish people. Moshe Rabbeinu gave his life for this, and for this purpose he said, “Arm yourselves”—that everyone should enter the battle—and “a thousand from each tribe,” which was [unclear]. In this way we have the strength of Moshe Rabbeinu to reveal and draw down unity, and to bring unity into the Jewish people. And when there is true unity among the Jewish people, we can be ready to enter the Land of Israel. For the war against Midian, which we read about in these parshiyos, was the last war before the entry into the Land of Israel. As we find in Parshas Pinchas, Parshas Mattos and Parshas Masei, in the parshiyos [unclear], the Jewish people prepare fully, so that through true Ahavas Yisroel and unity they will be fit vessels to enter the Land of Israel. Similarly, when we are in the days of the Three Weeks, it is brought in the sefarim of the Baal Shem Tov’s disciples that these are [unclear] days when a Jew can connect, come together, yes, and rise above the exile. Yes, by joining together in Ahavas Yisroel and unity. This is what the weekly parsha teaches us: through “Arm yourselves from among you,” through each person

27:32 strengthening Ahavas Yisroel within himself. As the Alter Rebbe said in his well-known teaching, “Love your fellow as yourself” is the vessel for “Love Hashem your G-d.” Through Ahavas Yisroel we reach true love of Hashem—love, and the three loves, as the Baal Shem Tov revealed: there are three loves—Ahavas Yisroel, love of Hashem, and love of the Torah—and they are all one. Yes, [unclear]. Through all three of these loves, may we become a vessel that holds blessing, soon in our days, amen. May we merit that in these days “these days will be transformed into joy and gladness and festive occasions.” May we indeed merit the complete Geulah and the building of the third Beis Hamikdash. Then all the Jews will be together: “And you who cleave to Hashem your G-d are all alive today.” All the Jews will be together, so that we can enter the Land of Israel and build the third Beis Hamikdash, and then it will be, “Bless us, our Father, all of us as one.” May the Rebbe bless all the Jews together, all of us as one, with true blessings, the greatest blessings, blessing upon blessing, the greatest blessings in every respect—with children, life, and abundant sustenance. May “these days be transformed into joy and gladness and festive occasions,” and may the complete Geulah come speedily in our days, amen.