'Im BeChukosai Teileichu' - How Does One Become a Mehalech?

00:00 The Rebbe’s secretary, Rabbi Reb Leibel Groner, a”h, related that this was around the year 5734. The well-known chossid and mashpia Reb Nissan Nemenov, one of the great chassidim and a mashpia at the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva in Brunoy, France, was with the Rebbe for a Yom Tov. During his stay, he held a farbrengen with the Temimim, the yeshiva students. Apparently, the Rebbe instructed his secretary, Reb Leibel, to attend the farbrengen. Afterward, the Rebbe asked Reb Leibel what they had discussed, what Reb Nissan had spoken about at the farbrengen. Reb Leibel repeated two points. One was that Reb Nissan had spoken about how a chossid should prepare for a trip to the Rebbe. Reb Nissan said, as explained in several sichos of the Frierdiker Rebbe, that in earlier times chassidim who traveled to the Rebbe made extensive preparations, and those preparations took a long time. They prepared for years, for months. There is the well-known saying that chassidim quoted in the name of the early chassidim, who had heard it from the Alter Rebbe, on the verse, “Six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices”: To enter yechidus requires preparation—“six months with oil of myrrh,” the work of teshuvah and bitterness; “myrrh” evokes bitterness. “Six months with spices” is the work of studying Chassidus, the inner dimension of Torah, the fragrance of spices. Only afterward does “the maiden come to the king.” That is how one can

01:53 be ready and merit to enter yechidus and receive guidance in serving Hashem. And as is well known, some chassidim prepared for as long as three years, and so on. Reb Nissan said that certainly today, too, one must prepare. A chossid traveling to the Rebbe needs preparation; obviously, one cannot come to the Rebbe without it. But the length of time is not as important today. In the past, a great deal of time was needed; today it can be done more quickly. He said that the physical also serves as an analogy for the spiritual. In earlier times, physically, the trip to the Rebbe took eight weeks. People walked or traveled by horse and wagon, and the whole journey took a long time. Today we travel by plane: we board a plane and arrive within a few hours, in a short time. But how do we get there? How does a plane travel? It rises above the ground. The plane takes off, climbs high, and reaches its destination in a short time. This also teaches us something about serving Hashem: In the past, much work and effort were needed, because people traveled on the ground, and that is why the journey took so long. Today there is a new way. One needs

03:32 to toil less and rise higher, because when you rise, you arrive much faster. That is the preparation: today it is indeed shorter in duration, but in its quality it is done in a new way. That was one point from the farbrengen. Then he spoke about a second point, concerning what a young man understands when he looks at the Rebbe: In the past, it was natural for young chassidim to hide. In the words of the verse, “Young men saw me and hid.” The young people, especially the yeshiva students, would hide so they would not stand face to face with the Rebbe, so the Rebbe would not look at them or see their faces, and so on. Hiding was a whole matter in itself. Today, the young men stand and look, as though there is no problem with it. And I want to know: When standing before the Rebbe, shouldn’t one be ashamed to show one’s face? Those were the two points he discussed at the farbrengen. Reb Leibel related that when he repeated them to the Rebbe, the Rebbe listened closely to both matters and finally said that it was [unclear] correct. In other words, both points are true, and the Rebbe agreed with what had been said. In the weekly parsha, “If you walk in My statutes,” what is all the abundance described in the parsha? Many blessings follow; the parsha lists many matters and blessings, exceedingly lofty blessings:

05:00 “I will give your rains in their proper time,” “the land will yield its produce,” “you will eat your bread to satisfaction,” and in addition, “I will remove wild beasts from the land,” “I will grant peace in the land”—matters and blessings even in the physical sense, here below in this world. And of course, when we reach a parsha like this, we ask Hakadosh Boruch Hu that these things be fulfilled in actual practice and that we see them with our own eyes: “I will grant peace in the land,” “you will eat your bread to satisfaction,” and “I will remove wild beasts from the land,” with all their interpretations, until they are fulfilled in their most literal sense as well. Then the Torah continues with further blessings: “I will walk among you” and “I will lead you upright.” What we see here is that the idea of walking comes up several times. When the Torah says here, “If you walk in My statutes,” it does not merely say that Jews observe the mitzvos; it uses a particular expression. It says, “If you walk in My statutes”—an idea of walking—and the reward, too, involves walking: “I will walk among you” and “I will lead you upright.” Everything here speaks of walking. We need to understand: What is the special point that the Torah emphasizes so strongly in the weekly parsha? Not merely observing the mitzvos, but that there must be walking; and the reward, too, is “I will walk among you” and “I will lead you upright.” As the Ramban also writes there, when we go through the blessings in the weekly parsha, we see that most of them have still not been fulfilled.

06:44 They have not been fulfilled to this day. The Ramban wrote this in his time, and of course things did not improve in the period after the Ramban. In other words, most of the verses and blessings have still not been fulfilled physically, before our eyes. Some of them have indeed been fulfilled: the Gemara says that there were times, such as in the days of Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach, and generations that experienced an exceptionally great physical blessing. Nevertheless, most of the blessings have still not been fulfilled. The same applies to the blessing stated here, “I will walk among you” and “I will lead you upright.” The Ramban says that the blessings will be fulfilled chiefly in their ultimate completeness with the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days. Here we need to understand: Why the emphasis on walking? Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not simply say, “Keep My statutes,” “Do My statutes,” or “Fulfill My statutes,” but uses the expression “walk in My statutes.” What does walking mean here? And in the reward stated here, what is it that the Torah emphasizes: “I will walk among you”—specifically walking—and “I will lead you upright”? In both, the idea of walking recurs. Chassidus explains that walking is a central element in a person’s service of Hashem and, accordingly, in the reward that comes from Above, in keeping with what the Torah says: “If

08:13 you walk in My statutes.” On the plain meaning of the verse, Rashi explains the words “walk in My statutes” to mean “that you should toil in Torah.” The question immediately arises: Why did Rashi choose that particular interpretation? Rashi is explaining “If you walk in My statutes” according to the plain meaning of the verse, and seemingly that is not the plain meaning. It could be said as a Midrash, but according to the plain meaning, “My statutes” are statutes, and statutes are mitzvos—even particular mitzvos called statutes, about which it is said, “I have decreed a decree, I have established a statute, and you have no permission to question it.” How do we get from there to something entirely different, to Torah study in general, “toiling in Torah”? Rashi answers: Since the verse says, “If you walk in My statutes and keep My mitzvos,” observance of the mitzvos is stated afterward. We must therefore say that “If you walk in My statutes” means something else. That is why Rashi explains it as “that you should toil in Torah.” Very good, quite right. But the question is: Where in the words “walk in My statutes” do we find the idea of “toiling in Torah”? It is understandable why, according to the plain meaning of the verse, Rashi must depart from the straightforward interpretation here. Since the verse goes on to say, “keep My mitzvos,” there is a repetition that requires us to say that the first part of the verse speaks about something else. But where is that found in the words themselves? Surely we cannot say that

09:50 it is not found in them at all, and that when we have no choice, we interpret things that are not written. We must say that the words “walk in My statutes” also contain the idea of “that you should toil in Torah.” Chassidus explains, based on a teaching of the Alter Rebbe on the verse “walk in My statutes,” that the idea of toiling in Torah is found in the words “walk in My statutes”—both in “My statutes” and in “walk.” Regarding “My statutes,” the Alter Rebbe explains that statutes mean decrees, but the Hebrew word for “statutes” is also related to engraving. When a single word in Lashon Hakodesh has two meanings, that tells us there is a connection between them. Lashon Hakodesh is not a language based on convention; it is a holy language, a true language. It is a language in which every word gives life to, sustains, and brings into being the thing it names. Since the word for “My statutes” has two meanings, there must be a connection between them. What is engraving? You take a stone and carve into it, so that the engraved letters become part of the stone. In writing, by contrast, the letters are something separate. Written letters are

11:17 Something separate, and they can be erased. It is not an intrinsic, essential bond; the writing and the surface on which it is written are not one thing. This is not so with engraved letters, which become one with the stone. They are engraved in it; a stone with black and white, that is [unclear]. The stone and the letters become one, and they cannot be separated at all. And we can see plainly that engraving something requires tremendous effort. Writing, too, is a whole undertaking, but engraving requires incomparably greater effort: to carve letters into stone, one has to exert [unclear] tremendous effort. So this is the allusion in the word “bechukosai” to “toil in Torah.” Not just studying Torah, but toil—like engraving. When a person toils in Torah, he does not merely study it; he labors and strives to study and understand it, until he becomes one with the Torah, one entity. As the Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya, chapter 5, when he studies Torah and exerts tremendous effort to understand its depth, [unclear] and the mind becomes [unclear]. This creates a wondrous union unlike any union in the physical world, [unclear]. When he studies Torah, the mind [unclear] to the Torah, because that is

12:46 That is how engraving works. It comes from the fact that engraving makes the two into one; this is Torah, this is unity. And it also comes from the effort involved—that is “toil.” As explained here too, true ascent comes when there is toil in Torah. And this is where “teileichu,” “you shall walk,” comes in. As is well known, the maamarim explain that there are two levels in serving Hashem: an avodah called standing and an avodah called walking. “Standing” does not mean, G-d forbid, that a person does [unclear] and remains standing still. That is not the intention. A person rises from level to level, from strength to strength, but this mode of serving Hashem is called standing. He advances in an orderly way, rising one level after another; it is a measured, orderly avodah. This is also explained, as is well known, in the verse, “I will grant you passage among those who stand here.” This is the verse the Rebbe cites [unclear]: “I will grant you passage among those who stand here.” Angels are called “those who stand,” while souls are called “those who walk.” How so? The soul itself, as it is in Gan Eden, is in the category of “those who stand.” [unclear] When the soul descends below, into this world, it becomes “one who walks.” What is the difference between standing and walking? After all, the angels—they [unclear]; they too rise from level to level. Nevertheless, the verse calls them “those who stand.” And the souls in Gan Eden “sit and enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah”; nevertheless, it is explained that they are called “those who stand” or “those who sit,” but not “those who walk.” Because this is [unclear].

14:52 The Rebbe explains the difference: true walking means moving completely from one point to another, beyond measure and limitation. When a person walks in the usual way, going on and on, that kind of walking is called standing. Because as a person walks, one foot always remains connected to the ground. It is always a continuation of the previous step: a person walks, lifts one foot and moves the other, while the first foot remains connected to his previous step. So in truth, he never fully leaves the previous step, its measure and limitation. And although he is indeed walking, overall it is called standing, because he remains within the same measure and limitation. The same applies to angels. An angel rises from level to level in his service of Hashem, but overall he always remains within the same sphere. An angel cannot leap from one point to another. The angel remains the same angel. Michael is characterized by love, and remains so forever. The angel Michael, with all his [unclear], serves only through love. Gabriel is characterized by awe. One whose service is love always remains in love; he cannot change at all, because something else is not possible for him. And one whose service is awe always remains in awe. That is the level at which they serve. This is why it is called standing. The same is true of a soul Above. A soul is Above; Above, Gan Eden is a clearly ordered world, and one cannot leap there from one extreme to the other.

16:40 Whoever is on a certain level remains on that level. There too, there is “they shall go from strength to strength,” but it is all of the same kind and in the same manner, in an orderly progression. There are no leaps there. Where can there be a leap from one extreme to the other? Only in this physical world. This is an ascent to a higher level: an ascent by way of a leap, in which a person can jump, change, and be transformed from one extreme to the other. This kind of ascent is possible only when a soul descends below, into this physical world. We see this in the fact that a Jew can—and this is the whole idea of the service of teshuvah—be at the lowest depth one moment, and in the next, “There is one who acquires his world in a single hour” is fulfilled in him. The Gemara tells the well-known story of Rabbi Elazar ben Dordaya, a Jew who lived in the time of Rabbeinu Hakadosh, in the era of the Mishnah, and committed every kind of transgression. For eighty years he had fallen into the lowest things. Then the moment came when a thought of teshuvah stirred within him, and, as the Gemara says there, “He placed his head between his knees and burst into tears.” Rabbeinu Hakadosh, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, said: “There is one who acquires his world in a single hour.” That a Jew, a Jew,

18:11 A Jew has the power, specifically in this physical world, to go from one extreme to the other, to change from one end to the other. Where is this revealed? In the service of teshuvah. But really, not only in teshuvah. As the Rebbe explains, every mitzvah involves this kind of ascent, which transcends all bounds. Why? Because every mitzvah is a bond and a connection. The word mitzvah is related to tzavsa, meaning companionship and connection. What does companionship and connection mean? A Jew performs a mitzvah: he puts on tefillin, wraps himself in tzitzis, gives tzedakah—he performs a mitzvah. Torah and mitzvos in the plain sense: mitzvos with defined limits, embodied in a limited object, at a limited time and in a limited place. And the mitzvah binds and connects him with the infinite Essence of Hashem, without any limits. Thus, through the mitzvah, in this physical world, as a soul in a body, he leaps from one extreme to the other; in a single moment, he becomes one with the Infinite. This is found in mitzvos. But a mitzvah is connected with limited things, as we said: mitzvos are embodied in physical objects and physical matters. Torah has something far loftier, because Torah is “longer than the earth in measure and broader than the sea.” Torah transcends the limitations of time and place, as we also find in halachah: “Whoever studies the laws of a burnt offering is considered as though he had offered a burnt offering.” A person can study the laws of all the offerings while outside the Land of Israel, even if

19:44 he is not a kohen but an ordinary Jew. None of the limitations that apply to mitzvos exist in Torah. Therefore, the infinite—the boundlessness of the soul of Torah—shines more strongly in Torah than even in mitzvos in this respect. And within Torah itself, this is even more pronounced in the inner dimension of Torah. In the inner dimension of Torah, matters of G-dliness are openly present, matters of infinity and boundlessness, of the crown that is Above. Therefore, the boundlessness in Torah is far greater and deeper. And here the Torah adds the matter of toil in Torah: “If you walk in My statutes”—the matter of effort, of exertion in Torah. That is what the Torah adds. Yes, the word “teileichu,” “you shall walk,” tells us that true walking exists in Torah study, and within Torah study itself it comes from toiling in Torah, from exertion in Torah. Exertion in Torah means that a person goes beyond his own sense of self and his own existence, because that is what true exertion is. Exertion means engraving. The Alter Rebbe explains that engraving means engraving upon the animal soul. That is, “Water wears away stones”: one takes a stone and engraves letters in it. Through Torah study with effort and toil, one engraves in the stone of the stony heart, through the stone and the water, in the soul

21:09 the animal soul. In this way, a person’s entire being becomes united with the Torah, until his entire being is Torah. This is true even of the revealed dimension of Torah, and all the more so of the inner dimension of Torah. Generally, Parshas Bechukosai always falls close to Lag BaOmer—on the eve of Lag BaOmer, immediately after Lag BaOmer, or during the week of Lag BaOmer. And in this regard, of course, we find it especially with Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, through whom the inner dimension of Torah was revealed. We find something interesting: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s Lag BaOmer is also called the “hilula of Rashbi,” the hilula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. We see this in the Zohar, in the Idra Zuta in Parshas Haazinu, where the whole account of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s passing is told. There Rabbi Shimon calls that day [unclear], since it was the day of his passing, and it was discovered later that it was Lag BaOmer. In the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon calls that occasion a “hilula”: “Come in and gather for the hilula of Rabbi Shimon,” in the words of the Zohar. In other words, he calls that day a day of hilula. And as explained, this is the reason for the joy. How do we know that the great joy of Lag BaOmer among chassidim and kabbalists is specifically because Lag BaOmer is the day that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai

22:30 himself called a “hilula”? After all, hilula means a wedding. The Alter Rebbe asks: How can Lag BaOmer, a day of passing, be called a “hilula”? Granted, Rashbi called it that, but that itself is the question: Why does he call Lag BaOmer a wedding? Where is there a wedding on the day a soul departs? This is explained in the Siddur, in the series of maamarim on Lag BaOmer, in the discussion of hilula. The Gemara in Eruvin, page 54, says: “This world is like a wedding feast.” Yes, the world is like a place where a wedding is being held. Rashi says: “Grab what you can to eat; grab what you can to drink.” The Gemara’s wording there is: “This world, which we leave, is like a wedding feast.” This world is the world we leave—“which we leave”; a person does not live forever, but leaves it—and it should be like a wedding. In other words, a wedding lasts a certain time, and while it is taking place, all the good things are there for the taking: you can grab something to eat and drink. But “we leave”—we go, it ends, as Rashi explains. Yes, Shmuel says there to Rav Yehudah, “Sharp one”—you need to know this and seize the opportunity. Rashi interprets it even in material terms: one must make use of material things, because this world, a person’s life, is like a passing shadow. “Which we leave.”

24:07 So while this wedding is taking place—fleeting and temporary, with nothing remaining afterward—grab something to eat and drink. But why is that the point? Other early commentators on Eruvin explain that this whole teaching refers to something spiritual. And that is what the Alter Rebbe explains in the maamar: This is about the avodah of becoming “one who walks.” This follows from the precise wording of the Gemara. I see it cited here in [unclear] of our Sages. For the Gemara’s exact wording is: “This world, which we leave.” The key word is “from it”: from this world one becomes “one who walks.” This is what he says: We must understand that the soul Above is in the state of “standing.” For it to become “one who walks,” that must come “from it.” Once the soul enters this physical world and is clothed in a physical body, in this world it must [unclear]; at any rate, it must make that leap, that movement without limit. Through teshuvah, observing the mitzvos and studying Torah—through the inner dimension of Torah—it happens “from it”: from this world, specifically within and out of this world, “from it,” from this physical world, we arrive at “which we leave,” at becoming “one who walks.” And this is “like a wedding feast.” What does “like a wedding feast” mean? Chassidim—among chassidim, this is [unclear].

25:31 When “a man and woman merit, the Shechinah dwells between them,” the power of the Infinite is drawn down among chassidim, [unclear] children and grandchildren engaged in Torah and mitzvos. This comes about through the chassidim. Chassidim are a drawing down of the power of the Infinite, and [unclear] an everlasting home. But what is a chossid’s joy, the great joy, and what does “like a wedding feast” really signify—the great joy among chassidim? It is along the lines of the union, of “a man and woman merit,” which brings about the drawing down of the power of the Infinite, [unclear]; it is a blessing from the Infinite. And that blessing then enters an everlasting home, with children and grandchildren engaged in Torah and mitzvos. Similarly, this is spiritual avodah; that is why he says “it is like a wedding feast”—spiritual avodah. The soul’s descent into a body is like a man and woman, as it is written in the sefarim that the union of soul and body is like the union of a man and woman. The soul enters the body, and here the concept of an everlasting home is drawn down; this is the concept of Torah and mitzvos. What do Torah and mitzvos mean? As the Gemara in Shabbos says, when a Jew studies Torah as a soul in a body—studying Torah and observing mitzvos—then through this, “which we leave,” he becomes one who walks, whose movement continues without limit. And this is the meaning of “Grab what you can to eat; grab what you can to drink”: it refers to Torah and mitzvos. Torah and mitzvos are compared—Torah is compared to food,

27:00 nourishment for the soul and life within it. Torah is compared to bread and oil, and these are all aspects of “Grab what you can to eat; grab what you can to drink,” through which we become those who walk without limit. And Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai revealed this powerfully from Above [unclear], which is why it is called a hilula. For Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was [unclear] without limit in [unclear]. [Unclear], that in the inner dimension of Torah, the boundlessness of greatness enters there in [unclear]. In observing mitzvos, it is clothed in physical things. In studying Torah—the Torah, the revealed dimension of Torah—[unclear] physical things. But the way in which this is a revelation of the Infinite—the boundlessness, the lofty quality of Torah—that is what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai revealed. This is the Torah he revealed, the lofty secrets and teachings written in the Zohar, which were [unclear] of the inner dimension of Torah; through this, the inner dimension of Torah was drawn down into the world. It was revealed later in the teachings of Chassidus, and that is where we stand today when we study Chassidus: it begins with Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, [unclear], and here we reach “you shall walk” without limit. With this, we return to the weekly parsha, to the Torah’s words: “If you walk in My statutes.” [Unclear]: “If you walk in My statutes”—engraving, laboring in Torah; “you shall walk”—this is movement in Torah, [unclear] without limit. [Unclear]

28:24 “In My statutes” refers to studying Torah with effort. And when a person invests his whole soul in it, until he becomes one with the G-dliness in the Torah, like an engraving in a heart of stone, then his Torah study is without limit. “If you walk in My statutes”—and therefore the verse continues, “I will give your rains in their proper time”: a boundless flow is drawn down from Above. What follows from this for a person’s avodah? In maamarim of Chassidus and in many sichos, the Rebbe explains the difference between two modes of avodah: that of Choni HaMe’agel and that of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Both drew blessings into the world, but in different ways. Choni HaMe’agel—the Gemara in Taanis relates that when the world needed rain, people came to Choni HaMe’agel. He drew a circle, stood inside it and prayed. He asked, and gradually the rain began to fall until it reached the proper measure. But with Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai it was entirely different. When his students asked him for rain because the world needed it, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai spoke words of Torah—“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together”—and rain fell immediately. Not through prayers, not through requests, not through tears; he spoke Torah, and that drew down the rain. As explained in maamarim of Chassidus, specifically through Torah, the flow is drawn from Above downward.

30:19 Prayer is service from below upward; it proceeds in an orderly, step-by-step way. When rain is needed, one must pray. Prayer is an orderly service from below upward: even when it has an effect, things come about gradually, in their proper order. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, by contrast, opened the channel. With Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, this did not happen through the usual service of prayer. Chassidus explains that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai opened the channel through which G-dliness flows into the world. Through Torah study, and particularly through the study of the inner dimension of Torah, the infinite light is drawn all the way down, without limit. This changes the nature of the world, so that the world receives rain and all its physical needs. This is the meaning of “I will give your rains in their season”—blessings in material matters too, in children, life, and sustenance. And this is the meaning of the verse: “If you walk in My statutes”—toiling in Torah; “walk” means going forward without limit. Through diligent Torah study, particularly the study of the inner dimension of Torah in a way that advances without limit, the power revealed by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is drawn down. He opened the channel for all blessings and flows of abundance. Through the teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and through the study of Chabad Chassidus, the inner dimension of Torah, this is drawn into the world. From this comes “I will give your rains in their season”: rain and blessings in material matters.

32:03 This is the blessing of rain, the blessing of the field, and the blessing of livelihood. And from rain come all material blessings—abundance in children, life, and sustenance—and even the matters mentioned later in the parsha: “I will grant peace in the land,” “I will remove wild beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land,” and “You will pursue your enemies.” This is an unlimited flow of blessing, a revelation of G-dliness all the way down. And this is the revelation of Moshiach. This is the lesson we take from this entire sequence, which the Rebbe discussed at Lag BaOmer farbrengens many times in order to strengthen these matters. On one occasion, there was a war around Lag BaOmer, and the Rebbe spoke about this verse so that there would be comfort afterward. Over the course of many years, on Lag BaOmer, the Rebbe emphasized this point: that the new path opened by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai applies, in a certain way, in our generation as well, to each and every person; everyone has a connection to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. The Rebbe said that when we devote ourselves diligently to studying Torah, both its revealed and hidden dimensions, this itself follows the path of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Then, as a matter of course, everything in the world and in nature will work out in the best possible way for the Jewish people. The wars will cease, suffering and anguish will cease, and there will be “I will grant peace in the land” in every respect, and “You will lie down with none to frighten you” in every respect. May we indeed merit to see all this, culminating in “I will lead you forth upright,” with heads held high, in the true

33:28 and complete Geulah through our righteous Moshiach, immediately, right now. Amen, so may it be.