The Influence of Shabbos Bereishis on the Entire Year - Rabbi Asher Perkesh

00:05 At a Simchas Beis Hashoeivah farbrengen in 5713, the Rebbe told an interesting story. In the year [unclear], on Simchas Torah, the Rebbe Rashab held a farbrengen in Lubavitch. There was a large crowd, and people were packed tightly together. The Rebbe Rashab was speaking. In the middle of the maamar, or sicha, he spoke with his eyes closed. The table was also broken. Because of the crush, people wanted to remove it, but they did not want to disturb the Rebbe Rashab while he was speaking. So they quietly removed one piece after another, then a leg, until they had taken the table out of the room where the farbrengen was being held. When the Rebbe Rashab finished the maamar or sicha and opened his eyes, he saw that the table was gone. He asked, “Where is the table?” He had not noticed at all that it needed to be removed. The Rebbe Rashab said that it reminded him of a story about Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, the holy Berditchever, whose yahrzeit falls around this time. He related that the Berditchever had studied the laws of shechitah, received authorization to perform shechitah, and done everything required. When he came to slaughter his first chicken, he held the bird in his left hand and the knife in his right, and began to say the blessing over shechitah. When the holy Berditchever said a blessing, he said it with tremendous fervor, passion and warmth. He closed his eyes in deep concentration and recited the blessing at length, with great concentration. By the time he finished the blessing, the chicken had flown out of his hand and disappeared. He was left without the chicken. He opened his eyes and asked, “Where is the chicken?” He said, “Where is the chicken?” In other words, where was the chicken? It had disappeared. Yes. And as others tell it, afterward he no longer wanted to engage in shechitah because of [unclear]. That is the story the Rebbe told. And what is the lesson in serving Hashem from this story? The Rebbe explains that the chicken alludes to each person’s animal soul. The animal soul can take various forms: it can be like an animal, or it can be like a bird. It alludes to the animal soul, or the intellectual soul, the natural soul, that each of us has. Serving Hashem means that we must serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu with the G-dly soul, and the G-dly soul must influence

02:05 the animal soul, yes, and bring the animal soul too into the service of Hashem, into the work of prayer and teshuvah. He explains that when we engage in serving Hashem, this is [unclear] how to serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Yes. Sometimes a person can be deeply absorbed in his G-dly soul. He is deeply absorbed in serving Hashem and in holy matters, but what about the [unclear] soul? It merely watched from the sidelines, while the living creature—the chicken, the animal soul, the animal—ran away. In other words, the body and the animal soul were neither refined nor elevated. The animal soul disappeared, and nothing was accomplished with it. Nothing at all was accomplished with it.

03:51 As for serving Hashem and the theme of the month of Tishrei: Tishrei is a time of holy days—Rosh Hashanah, the Ten Days of Teshuvah, Yom Kippur, Sukkos, Hoshana Rabbah, Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah. All these are awe-inspiring days, holy days, days of holiness, closeness to Hashem and serving Him. But sometimes, throughout the entire month of Tishrei, a person may have been occupied with holy matters while the animal soul, the living creature, escaped. In other words, it was neither elevated nor refined; it was not brought into the service of Hashem. We must remember that the whole purpose of the work of Tishrei is that we must [unclear] the body and animal soul too; [unclear] slaughter the chicken, [unclear] bring it [unclear] into the domain of holiness. And that is the theme of Shabbos Bereishis. There is the well-known saying of our Rebbeim, [unclear]

05:55 There is another saying of the Baal Shem Tov that the Rebbe cited in his name when speaking about this subject. The Rebbe brings it in the sicha of [unclear], citing a story handed down from Rebbe to Rebbe: the holy Baal Shem Tov said that “Bereishis,” Shabbos Bereishis, is “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem.” In other words, Shabbos Bereishis contains the theme of “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Hashem.” And from Shabbos Bereishis we receive strength for the life of the entire year, in every respect—both material matters and spiritual matters, as well as the joy of the entire year. In the sicha, the Rebbe also cites the Tzemach Tzedek: “The way one positions oneself on Shabbos Bereishis is the way the entire year goes.” What is the theme of Shabbos Bereishis? Seemingly, Shabbos Bereishis comes after everything we have been through: Rosh Hashanah, the Ten Days of Teshuvah, Yom Kippur, the days between Yom Kippur and Sukkos, and then the days of Sukkos, Hoshana Rabbah, Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah. All of that has already passed. So what is the theme of Shabbos Bereishis, and how can we say that the way one positions oneself on Shabbos Bereishis is the way the entire year goes? The Rebbe asks this in the sicha and explains it. One of the points the Rebbe sometimes explains at a Shabbos Bereishis farbrengen is that two things meet on Shabbos Bereishis: Shabbos, and the time after Simchas Torah, the time of “And Yaakov went on his way.”

07:56 “Went on his way,” as people were accustomed to say. That was the practice in Lubavitch, with the Rebbe Rashab, and also with the Rebbeim before him: after Simchas Torah begins the theme of “And Yaakov went on his way.” In other words, a Jew sets out on his path, his own path in serving Hashem in everyday life. Each person’s mission and work in the world is to make the world a dwelling place for Him. Shabbos Bereishis is the first Shabbos. And because Shabbos Bereishis is the first Shabbos, it is when a Jew positions himself in this new situation. The way he positions himself on Shabbos Bereishis gives him strength and sets his course, because that is how he will conduct himself throughout the entire year. What is it about Shabbos Bereishis that gives a Jew the strength to position himself in a way that will affect the entire year? The Rebbe says: it is, in fact, the first verse of the parsha. Parshas Bereishis opens with the verse, “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth.” “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth” speaks of the creation of the world, and of creation in the sense of “created.” As the Ramban explains in his commentary on the verse, this means creation of something from nothing. That is, as the Ramban explains, the word “creation” indicates something from nothing. This means that all of creation—“the heavens”

09:37 and all their hosts, “and the earth” and all its hosts—as Rashi says, every aspect of creation down to its smallest details—is “In the beginning, G-d created”: it is created from nothing, something from not-something, an entirely new existence. And it is created at every single moment. This is explained in the well-known teaching of the Baal Shem Tov that the Alter Rebbe cites in Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah, and also in the well-known Igeres Hakodesh, section 20, where he cites that teaching of the Baal Shem Tov. The Baal Shem Tov revealed the meaning of “Forever, Hashem, Your word stands firm in the heavens.” When Hakadosh Boruch Hu creates the world from nothing, it does not mean, as people think, that Hakadosh Boruch Hu created something from nothing only once, during the Six Days of Creation, and that afterward the world remains in existence. Rather, it comes into being at every single moment. At every single moment. And the Alter Rebbe explains at length in Shaar Hayichud Vehaemunah why: since this is creation from nothing, something new, the new thing must be brought into being at every single moment. If it had existed before and only needed to be changed—to be given a different shape or appearance—it would not need to be continually made at every moment. Once it had been made, the craftsman could leave; he would not need to remain there. But because this is something new, something that inherently has no [unclear], what has been done until now...

11:08 is not enough. Its coming into being must be renewed at every single moment. So it follows that since this is the central point of Shabbos Bereishis—that is what the Shabbos is called, Shabbos Bereishis, after the first verse and its first word, “In the beginning, G-d created”—it gives a Jew the strength to position himself for the entire year. When a Jew reflects on the verse “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth,” and tells himself, based on the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching, that creation takes place at every single moment, he understands that the entire existence of the world is nothing but G-dliness. It follows that everything in the world is there to help a Jew accomplish the [unclear] of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Therefore, nothing can possibly interfere with a Jew’s service. When a Jew goes out into the world after Shabbos and after Simchas Torah, after all the Yom Tov days when he was occupied solely with holy matters, he encounters a vast world of nature—“Elokim” has the same numerical value as “hateva,” nature—stretching across [unclear]. It is a world of nature, whose natural order outwardly conceals G-dliness. It appears to be a world that conceals G-dliness. But a Jew knows that “In the beginning”

12:42 “G-d created”: “Elokim” has the same numerical value as “nature,” and the reality of nature is brought into being by Hakadosh Boruch Hu at every moment, something from nothing, from absolute nothingness. So the entire reality of the world is G-dliness. That is why nothing in the world can conceal, confuse, or prevent a Jew from fulfilling his mission in the world and carrying out the ultimate purpose of the soul, the purpose of Hakadosh Boruch Hu: to make a dwelling for Him in the lower realms. When a Jew has this point in mind—that we study Parshas Bereishis on Shabbos Bereishis, but as the author of Tanya, the Alter Rebbe, said, it is not enough to study the parsha; we must also live with the times, live with the weekly parsha—then, when he studies “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth,” it gives him the strength to go out into the world, fulfill mitzvos, and study Torah [unclear] with the greatest determination. And to understand that the world cannot place obstacles or delays in the way of G-dliness. This is one central point of Shabbos Bereishis: as we set ourselves up on Shabbos Bereishis, so the entire year goes. All of creation is brought into being openly at every moment, every single day, something from nothing [unclear] every single day. And as the Rebbe added, this concerns not only material matters but spiritual matters as well; and not only spiritual matters, but material matters too. To serve Hashem in spiritual work and in material matters, a Jew must

14:12 always go forward with strong trust. And more than that: his service of Hashem must be with joy and gladness of heart in every situation and circumstance. As explained in the well-known Igeres Hakodesh, section 11, the Alter Rebbe explains there that when a Jew reflects, remembers, and keeps before his eyes the nature of the soul—that it is brought into being from nothing at every moment—it helps him maintain complete trust and complete joy and gladness of heart at every moment. He knows that since the entire reality of creation is the word of Hashem, brought into being by Divine power, there is nothing besides Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And therefore, “Strength and joy are in His place.” So his service of Hashem is always with joy and gladness of heart, with complete trust. He knows that since everything is connected with G-dliness, with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, “No evil descends from Above,” and everything from Above is good. Everything is good, and everything is an act of kindness. After all, “The kindness of G-d endures all day,” and “Strength and joy are in His place.” So even things that outwardly seem not to be going as we would have [unclear] are tests meant to truly awaken the faith and trust of “Bereishis.” And when a Jew remembers and keeps before his eyes “In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth,” he is always joyful and glad of heart, in every situation and circumstance. And—

15:50 This itself, as the Alter Rebbe says here in Tanya, when a Jew strengthens his faith, brings him true joy: that he should see it not only in a hidden way, but openly. That the hidden good should be revealed as good that is visible and apparent; that he should see with his own eyes [unclear] the Divine flow of blessing. May it be a blessed year and a successful year, with light, blessing, and success throughout the entire year. And this is the point of Shabbos Bereishis: we must take all the [unclear], and all the vitality and strength we received during the days of Tishrei. Shabbos Bereishis comes and tells us to take all of it and bring it into worldly life, into nature, into daily life, into mundane matters [unclear]. To take with us [unclear], to take with us the body and the animal soul. And in worldly life, in worldly matters and in nature, to see the Divine power, the Divine light, to see that “You have been shown to know that Havayah is Elokim; there is nothing else besides Him.” To see this in every detail, from every angle, and at every stage. And may this bring the true and complete Geulah speedily in our days, amen. May we see “the spirit of G-d hovering over the face of the waters”—this is the spirit of Moshiach. For then, “The glory of Hashem will be revealed, and all flesh together will see that the mouth of Hashem has spoken.” We will openly see the word of Havayah that brings everything into being, gives it life, and sustains it at every

17:18 moment. “For eye to eye they will see when Hashem returns to Zion,” and “May our eyes behold Your return to Zion in mercy.” May we indeed merit the complete Geulah, and may it indeed be so, amen, may it be His will, speedily in our days, amen.