Chayei Sarah - And Avraham Was Old, Advanced in Years - Every Day Should Be a Day

00:04 In a diary the Rebbe wrote in the early years after his wedding, he relates that in 5692 he was with his father-in-law, the Frierdiker Rebbe, in the city of Ludmir. Great tzaddikim are buried there in the cemetery. Reb Shlomo of Karlin is buried there, along with other great Torah sages buried in that same cemetery. The Frierdiker Rebbe went to the cemetery and shared a Torah thought there. He said that when we look back, we see that our past was very beautiful: great tzaddikim, true Torah giants. The future, too, will be very beautiful. After all, we are waiting for Moshiach to come, when “all flesh shall see together”—it will be very beautiful. And what has been given to us is the present. We must see to it that the present is beautiful. That is what has been given to us—this present moment. The Frierdiker Rebbe also said that this is not only a general idea; it applies to every Jew as well. A Jew’s past is certainly good. Why? Because he has certainly done teshuvah. Even if a person once stumbled because of a desire, G-d forbid, he surely regretted it afterward.

01:49 So there was an element of teshuvah, and the past has surely been erased and is clean. Regarding the future, too, we must certainly have hope, because “no one banished from Him shall remain banished,” and he will surely do teshuvah. The whole matter, then, is the present. Sometimes, while a person is doing a mitzvah, he is not pleased about it, but afterward he is always pleased. Once a Jew finishes the mitzvah, he becomes pleased and feels great joy over what he has done. It follows that all the work lies in the present. Where does the work take place? In making sure that the present, this moment, is as it should be. In the weekly parsha, Parshas Chayei Sarah, it says: “And Avraham was old, advanced in days, and Hashem blessed Avraham with everything.” This verse expresses the greatness of Avraham Avinu. The Torah tells us this as an introduction to the wedding, the great wedding recounted in the Torah, the wedding in this week’s parsha—the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivkah. This is the all-encompassing wedding, as explained in Chassidus, in the teachings of our Rebbeim, concerning the great significance of Yitzchak and Rivkah’s marriage. As an introduction, the Torah opens by saying, “And Avraham was old, advanced in days, and Hashem blessed Avraham with everything.” In general, the Torah is telling us about Avraham Avinu’s greatness. Clearly, when the Torah says, “And Avraham was old,” it is not simply telling us that Avraham was elderly. Rashi does say that because “Avraham was old,” he began to think

03:25 that he had to find a match for his son Yitzchak. This was after Sarah’s passing and after the Akeidah, and so on. Then it says, “And Avraham was old, advanced in days, and Hashem blessed Avraham with everything.” And “with everything,” as Rashi cites, has the same numerical value as “son”; since he had Yitzchak, he went to find him a match. But on a spiritual level, the verse expresses wondrous aspects of Avraham Avinu’s greatness. Chassidus explains that “And Avraham was old” is based on the saying of our Sages: “An elder is one who has acquired wisdom.” In other words, “And Avraham was old” is not only about physical old age. What defines an elder is wisdom. Avraham Avinu attained the ultimate level of wisdom—“one who has acquired wisdom.” Through his avodah, through his avodah, Avraham Avinu reached the highest levels of wisdom. This is also expressed in the name Avram. As explained in Torah Or, the Alter Rebbe explains that the name Avram alludes to wisdom. Av-ram: av, “father,” refers to wisdom. The Alter Rebbe says in Tanya that wisdom is the father; a father and mother give birth to children. Chochmah and binah—wisdom and understanding—correspond to father and mother. The father is chochmah. And av-ram is lofty and profound wisdom, the wisdom of hidden mysteries. As the wording of the liturgical poem puts it, “an intellect hidden from every eye.” In other words, Avraham Avinu reached the highest levels of wisdom. That is “And Avraham was old.”

05:09 The verse then continues with further points. Chassidus explains deeper meanings in “Avraham was old,” beyond wisdom and old age. Chassidus explains that old age alludes to Atik Yomin. Yes, these are levels of G-dliness referred to in terms of old age. But that is only one level Avraham Avinu attained in his grasp of G-dliness, in knowledge and wisdom. The verse then says, “advanced in days.” What does “advanced in days” mean? On this phrase, the Zohar says that it refers to “supernal days.” In what sense was Avraham Avinu “advanced in days”? He entered into the days, into the supernal days. What are supernal days? Avraham Avinu made use of every single day. “Each and every day, he performed its work.” Every day, Avraham Avinu acted; he fulfilled mitzvos. By fulfilling mitzvos each and every day, he prepared the garments the soul needs in order to [unclear] the World to Come, so that it can enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah in Gan Eden. What is the explanation of this? The Alter Rebbe explains it in Torah Or, in the first maamar. The Alter Rebbe offers an analogy concerning the soul from the physical world. In the physical world, we see that when we want to look at a very strong light—yes, like when

06:49 we want to look at the light of the sun—how can we do it? Sunlight is so strong that if we look at it directly, we could, G-d forbid, be dazzled and unable to see for a short time, [unclear] our eyesight. When a person wants to look and see, he needs to use darkened glass, a “mirror,” as he puts it. Through darkened glass, one can see the light, look at the sunlight, and enjoy the light. The same applies to the soul. When the soul descends below, through that descent it becomes a created being. The soul becomes enclothed, as we say each day in prayer: “The soul You have given me is pure”—that is the soul’s source. But when it descends here below: “You created it, You formed it, You breathed it into me.” The soul became enclothed here below, in this physical world, until it entered a body. And when the soul is a created being, how can it grasp G-dliness and delight in G-dliness? G-dliness is boundless and infinite. All the more so: if one cannot look directly at the sun’s radiance, then certainly, when it comes to the radiance of the Shechinah, which is boundless and infinite—how can the soul enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah and grasp G-dliness, even in Gan Eden? In Gan Eden, the soul [unclear]. How can it grasp the Creator, G-dliness? For that it needs that mirror, which is

08:24 the garments. And the garments come from doing mitzvos. That is what is meant by “advanced in days”: Avraham was old and advanced in days. As explained in Chassidus, these are two distinct things. “Old” refers to Avraham’s Torah, Avraham’s wisdom. In the words of the Midrash, “Avraham was old and sat in a yeshivah”—this refers to intellect and wisdom, Avraham’s Torah. And “advanced in days” refers to Avraham Avinu’s mitzvos. It means that these things extended into the supernal days: “Each and every day, he performed its work.” He used every day to serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu, to prepare garments and fulfill mitzvos. Through the mitzvos, he makes a garment that enables him to enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah, giving him the capacity to grasp G-dliness. This is the soul’s ascent through the Torah and mitzvos we fulfill here below. On this subject, a teaching of the Baal Shem Tov is cited in [unclear]. He writes there: “Let no day pass without doing a mitzvah.” A person should do a mitzvah every day. What does that mean? Rather than doing two or three mitzvos on one day, he must do a mitzvah each day. This relates to “Avraham was old, advanced in days”: with him, there were mitzvos every day. But here a question arises: What is the special significance of the days? After all, according to what we have said,

09:56 the garments are connected to mitzvos. Every mitzvah is a garment. By doing mitzvos, the soul acquires a garment, and that garment—the mitzvah—gives the soul the ability to enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah. So what does the passage of each day accomplish? One could do three mitzvos in a single day. What matters is having the required number of mitzvos; one needs to acquire a certain number of garments to be able to enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah. What difference does it make whether one does a hundred mitzvos in one day or over a hundred days? Why does the Baal Shem Tov specifically say—and this is also implied by the verse “advanced in days”—that the days themselves matter, that one should “let no day pass without doing a mitzvah”? Why do the days, specifically, matter? On this subject, there is a wonderful maamar by the Rebbe, delivered in 5738. The year 5738 was a difficult year; this was the period when the Rebbe was [unclear], the period following the health crisis that people may remember from 5738. The heart attack occurred then, on the 29th, and the Rebbe went through a life-threatening period at that time, from which he emerged through great miracles. And on Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sarah, Shabbos Mevarchim Kislev, which was the last Shabbos on which the Rebbe was still in that condition, [unclear],

11:26 In a condition in which he was able to [unclear], and so on. Only afterward, on Rosh Chodesh Kislev, came the great joy, when the Rebbe was able to go home and then return and continue with even greater strength and vigor in all matters of spreading Torah and Chassidus. That Shabbos, on Motzaei Shabbos, the Rebbe delivered a maamar of Chassidus. There he discussed this and asked: What does the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching mean, “He should not let a day pass without doing a mitzvah”? The central point was the great value of time. What the Torah wants to tell us about Avraham Avinu is not merely that he studied Torah and fulfilled mitzvos, but that his Torah and mitzvos were in a manner of “advanced in days”: within time. He brought them down into time. “He should not let a day pass without doing a mitzvah”—they must be connected specifically to time. Every day should be a day, filled with Torah and mitzvos. Why is time so important? There he explains it in terms of “Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired to have a dwelling place in the lower realms.” For the purpose of a mitzvah is not only the mitzvah itself; it must refine and elevate the world, making the world a dwelling place for Him. And since that is so, what is the world from which we are to make a dwelling place for Him?

12:50 The world is a matter of space and a matter of time. As is well known, the Maggid of Mezritch teaches that not only was space created from nothing, but time, too, was created from nothing—“Bereishis.” In other words, the lower reality, physical reality, the reality of the world, consists of space and time. And when we say that one must perform a mitzvah because through it we make the world a dwelling place for Him, time matters here: “He should not let a day pass without doing a mitzvah,” so that the mitzvah will have an effect within the lower reality, within the reality of the world and of time. From this we understand why time matters. Indeed, we see in Chassidus that although it speaks of infinity, of the boundless and of what is beyond measure and limitation, it nevertheless demands that these matters be expressed precisely within the bounds of time and space. And when the Rebbe says “daily, day by day,” he points out that although Chassidus speaks of “their beginning is bound up with their end, and their end with their beginning,” the concept of circles—that is, Chassidus is boundless—order still matters, time matters, and the preciousness of time matters. He notes that the Baal Shem Tov was orderly, the Maggid of Mezritch was particular about order, and the Alter Rebbe educated and guided chassidim

14:19 to be orderly, so that these matters would be brought down into time. We find this in the well-known letter that Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, the holy Berditchever, sent to the Alter Rebbe after 19 Kislev, the day of the Geulah, the Festival of the Geulah of 19 Kislev. Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev sent the Alter Rebbe a letter sharing in his joy. He writes the Alter Rebbe’s name as “Shnei Or,” “two lights,” and emphasizes that these are two words, because this is what he represents: he revealed the light of the revealed Torah and the light of Chassidus. And he writes “Zalman” in a way that reads “lazman,” “into time,” as we say here; it is noted in several places that the name Zalman is connected with time. This is indeed the Alter Rebbe’s innovation. On the one hand, he revealed the profound teachings of the light of the revealed Torah and the light of Chassidus—Shnei Or, the inner dimension of the Torah, which is boundless. At the same time, he embodied Zalman, “into time”—bringing it down into the measured and limited realms of time and space. That is the emphasis in the words here: “And Avraham was old, advanced in days.” It was expressed within days, within time, through making use of time, so that each day accomplished its work. Once I was with the Rebbe

15:46 at a farbrengen on Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sarah. It was in 5748, 5748, I think. The Rebbe delivered a very rich sicha on this verse. At the farbrengens, at every Shabbos farbrengen, the Rebbe would, among other things, deliver a sicha on Rashi. He would present a comment of Rashi’s, raise several questions about it, then explain and resolve it according to the plain meaning of the verse, and go on to explain its lesson in serving Hashem. All this took place at a Shabbos farbrengen. That Shabbos, the Rebbe focused on this verse and asked what the words “And Avraham was old, advanced in days” mean. Seemingly, “advanced in days” is superfluous. Most commentators explain that it means he was already old, but that is also what “old” means. What do the words “advanced in days” add to “And Avraham was old”? “And Avraham was old”—plainly, “old” means he was elderly. What do “advanced in days” add? The early commentators offer answers to this, and so on. But Rashi says nothing and does not explain it at all. If Rashi does not explain it, that implies one of two things: either the meaning is obvious, or there is something else in Rashi’s words. It is so obvious to a five-year-old learning Chumash that he understands it on his own. If so, why does Rashi say nothing? When a child learns Chumash, the plain meaning of the verse, does this not trouble him? The question is: What is Rashi teaching us here? What does “advanced in days” mean? The commentators ask and offer answers, while Rashi says nothing. But the Rebbe said

17:26 that “advanced in days” has a meaning Rashi does not need to explain, because a five-year-old learning Chumash understands the words on his own. After all, the plain meaning of a verse is the plain meaning of its words. What is the plain meaning of “advanced in days”? That he entered into the days. The Rebbe explains: What does it mean to enter into the days? We can see this in everyday life. A person may live a certain number of years. He has lived a full life. We say someone is seventy or eighty; that tells us how many days he has lived. He was there and lived those days. He experienced those days inwardly. Or it may be that he merely passed the days. “Advanced in days” means that he entered into them. The fact that he is old tells us simply that he has gone through the days. Often, a person merely passes the days. Ask him what he did—nothing. What does he remember? Nothing. Why? Because the days passed, and he passed through them; the days went by, he went along with them, and they flew away. But what did he do? Nothing. Why? Because he was not truly within them. By contrast, there are days he lived inwardly: he was alive, he was there, fully present; he experienced them and remembers them. Even a child understands this. Ask a young child: What happened on this day? What did he do, what did he learn, what did he feel? If it was a day he truly lived, he remembers it. Yes, it is a day remembered for a long time. This is the great praise the Torah gives Avraham Avinu: “And Avraham was old,

19:12 advanced in days.” Avraham Avinu reached old age, but not merely in the sense that he had lived many days. “Advanced in days” means that he entered into the days. He made use of them, with their inner meaning and inner vitality. The Torah does not tell stories for no reason. When it tells us this about Avraham Avinu, it comes to teach every Jew. The lesson is that, like Avraham Avinu, we must be “advanced in days”—every day must truly be a day. We must make full use of the day, to its fullest purpose and perfection. It must not merely pass by, but be a day lived inwardly, a living day. And remember that a few days later, there was great joy among the chassidim. It was the celebration of 5 Teves 5747, when the books over which the entire din Torah and

20:44 court case, and so on and so forth, had taken place returned. The books returned to the Rebbe’s library at 770. There was great joy. A large farbrengen was held, and the Rebbe’s secretary, Rabbi Chadakov, told this story among others. He related that in 5703, Hayom Yom was published. It is a book the Frierdiker Rebbe asked the Rebbe to prepare, with sayings, customs, instructions and guidance from the teachings of Chassidus for every day. The Rebbe worked on it for several months, and then the well-known booklet called Hayom Yom, a calendar for Chabad chassidim, was published, with Torah teachings and sayings connected to each day. Rabbi Chadakov, who was then the Rebbe’s secretary, from the early years after his arrival, related that when the book was ready, he went in together with the Rebbe, who was then called the Ramash, to the Frierdiker Rebbe, and they brought him the first copy of the booklet, the first book. When they placed it on the table, the Frierdiker Rebbe was overjoyed. He picked up the book and looked through it. His face shone. He spent several hours looking through the book; but you know, in those years the Frierdiker Rebbe had great difficulty speaking.

22:20 He spoke very briefly, a word or a few words. The Frierdiker Rebbe continued looking through the book, went through it all, and said with great joy, in these words and to this tune: “Hayom Yom—today is a day.” Studying Hayom Yom makes each day a day for a Jew: every day has meaning, every day has content, and each day we make proper use of the inner content connected with that day. That is the lesson of the order of the day. The verse says, “And Avraham was old, advanced in days.” A Jew needs to know that the purpose and intent of the soul’s descent below, and of a Jew’s service, is to be “old, advanced in days”—through Torah study and the observance of mitzvos. But in what way? So that every day is a day. “Advanced in days” means entering into the days, living them, making use of time, and thereby making time holy. And we make a dwelling for Him in the lower realms. May we soon merit the momentous time we are all waiting for, the time of the Geulah—especially as we enter Kislev, the month of Geulah, the month of joy, in which Rosh Hashanah of Chassidus falls. May we merit, immediately, in our days, the fulfillment of “Your wellsprings shall spread

23:45 outward,” “When your wellsprings spread outward, I will come”—Moshiach the King. Then “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.” May it happen speedily; may it be Hashem’s will. [unclear]