Parshas Shelach (5785) "Aloh Na'aleh Venirashnu Osah" - The Power to Unite the World with G-dliness

00:00 It was on 15 Sivan 5687. That was the night they entered the Frierdiker Rebbe’s home and arrested him. It was the well-known arrest, the very difficult imprisonment during which the Frierdiker Rebbe was held for eighteen days, until Gimmel Tammuz, when the miraculous liberation came, entirely beyond the natural order, as is well known. That night, 15 Sivan, when they arrested the Frierdiker Rebbe, there was fear that, G-d forbid, they might... For they actually wanted to take his life. That was the fear of the authorities there. And by a great miracle, as is well known and as the Frierdiker Rebbe recounts at length in his diary, in his account of the imprisonment, where he describes every detail: when he entered the fortress, the place of imprisonment, that dreadful place where the atrocities took place, they might have [unclear] and immediately sent him off, G-d forbid, and carried out what they intended, G-d forbid. Yet, by a great miracle, they mistakenly let him walk on his own, and he went through a door along a different route. He did not reach the place they had sent him to, but sat down somewhere else and remained there for a while. Meanwhile, the night passed. In fact, every detail was so precisely arranged that when

01:40 the night passed, the decree passed too, and that saved his life. As the Frierdiker Rebbe recounts in his account, when he was sitting there, in the place he had entered, in a corridor, in a small room, he sat for fifteen minutes and began to think about his situation. He began to think about the bitter circumstances he faced: what would happen to him, to his wife, to his mother, who was still alive then, and to the children; what would happen to his chassidim. He felt deeply brokenhearted over what was happening, to the point that he very much wanted to cry. Then suddenly, in his words, a thought flashed through his mind: And what about Hakadosh Boruch Hu? [unclear]. He then began to reflect on the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching about Divine providence. After all, the Baal Shem Tov said that even a leaf falling from a tree, and the wind that carries that leaf, are all under Hashem’s individual providence. That thought gave him tremendous strength, and, as the Frierdiker Rebbe said then, he made a decision: Here, in this imprisonment, in this dangerous and bitter place, both physically and spiritually, the truth of “there is nothing besides Him” will shine for me.

03:08 That only Hakadosh Boruch Hu exists, and there is nothing apart from Him. He maintained that outlook, and throughout the eighteen days he was imprisoned, he was keenly aware that nothing exists apart from Hakadosh Boruch Hu alone. Even as he sat there amid the impurity of the prison, it was exactly as though he were sitting in his study, in his office, in his own room. The Frierdiker Rebbe demanded of himself that he feel “there is nothing besides Him”: there is nothing here, in this darkness, apart from Hakadosh Boruch Hu, just as there is nothing apart from Hakadosh Boruch Hu when he sits in his holy room. This changed everything for him, and it shaped his entire conduct. As is well known, [unclear], while the Frierdiker Rebbe was in prison, he conducted himself with the greatest firmness, the greatest strength, and the greatest faith. That was how he answered them and how he acted, until he succeeded in transforming all the darkness. They themselves—as the Rebbe put it, “the mouth that forbade is the mouth that permitted”—the very people who arrested him with the intention of taking his life, as is well known, took him out of there and led him from exile to redemption, to the liberation of 12–13 Tammuz.

04:28 And afterward, on 12 Tammuz, he was freed, and later he left the country and traveled around the world. That was when “your wellsprings will spread outward” began with the greatest momentum in the dissemination of Chassidus. As is well known, and as explained in the sichos, the phrase is “the advantage of light that comes from darkness”: precisely out of all the bitterness of this event, out of the darkness, came the greatest light—the light of bringing Chassidus and the inner dimension of Torah to the entire world. Not only to the upper hemisphere, but to the lower hemisphere as well. A short time after this event, in 5690, the Frierdiker Rebbe traveled to America. He went there again ten years later to settle there, and then all the activity of “your wellsprings will spread outward” developed from the lower hemisphere, so that the light of Chassidus would reach every place and prepare the world for the Geulah through Moshiach. The Rebbe spoke several times in his sichos about how worthwhile it is to study the account the Frierdiker Rebbe wrote in his diary, with all its details, because it guides us in how to conduct ourselves when we are in exile, in darkness, and especially when difficult, bitter times come. If the Frierdiker Rebbe was then in a state of redoubled darkness, and of

05:57 And nevertheless, when he saw the matter in its entirety, he said, in keeping with the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching about Divine providence, that not even one single thing happens on its own, by chance, G-d forbid. Even a leaf falling from a tree, every single plant—everything is under individual Divine providence. How much more so the holy people of Israel: everything that happens to them is directed from Above. When we see it this way, we emerge from the darkness; and even while we are here, within this darkness, the Geulah will come immediately. This itself prepares us for the true Geulah that we are all awaiting. We also find this theme in the story that, by Divine providence, we study in Parshas Shelach. Usually, on Shabbos Mevarchim for the month of Sivan—so it turns out that we study Parshas Shelach on Shabbos Mevarchim for the month of Tammuz, sorry. We study Parshas Shelach, and Tammuz is the month of liberation. The seventh of Tammuz—these days; the twelfth of Sivan was the day they arrested the Frierdiker Rebbe and put him in prison, and these were difficult days, bitter days. The Rebbe spoke several times about how what happened then seemed like darkness, but after its inner meaning was revealed, specifically

07:22 the liberation of Gimmel Tammuz, followed by 12 Tammuz, brought about the advantage of light that comes from darkness. Precisely those days, the days that led to this greater light, [unclear], proved to be part of the liberation, something that brought added light to “your wellsprings will spread outward,” joining the upper hemisphere and the lower hemisphere, so that the entire world would be permeated with the inner dimension of Torah, with the longing for Moshiach, and be prepared for the complete Geulah. And we do indeed find this whole theme in our course of study. For this is the story of the conquest of Eretz Yisroel told in Parshas Shelach. There we find the dispute between the spies and Calev: the spies did not want to enter Eretz Yisroel, and argued, “For they are stronger than us.” And in the discussion in Tractate Sotah, what was the spies’ argument? “As it were, even the owner cannot remove his belongings from there.” The spies’ claim was that perhaps Hakadosh Boruch Hu could not contend with them, with the nations. The spies went to see Eretz Yisroel. When they arrived, they saw the seven nations—the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and all seven nations—and they also saw Amalekites there, and all the darkness that was there. They saw that “the people are strong,” a harsh and bitter people, “for they are stronger than us.” So they argued, “We cannot go up.” We cannot. Then Calev ben Yefuneh rose: “And Calev quieted the people before Moshe.” Calev

09:06 the physicality... And they said: “It is a land flowing with milk and honey.” “We will surely go up and possess it, for we can surely do it.” “But the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; we also saw the descendants of the giants there.” And later, when they returned, they said again: “And the land is very, very good. If Hashem desires us...” We need to understand: What was the exchange? What was the dispute over the spies’ claims, and what did Calev answer them? On the plain level of the text, it is hard to understand. It is hard to understand what the spies’ argument was, especially since we know that the spies were leaders. What was their argument? And in general, the words of our Sages, “Even the owner cannot remove his belongings from there”—what is the point of that? What does it mean? “Even the owner cannot remove his belongings from there”—what does it mean? To this Calev replied: “We will surely go up and possess it, for we can surely do it.” What was Calev’s answer? And why did he say it with repeated words, “we will surely go up,” “we can surely do it”? What is the significance of Calev’s repetition? What answer did he give them? The students of the Baal Shem Tov discuss this, and the Meor Einayim, Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl, explains it. The Meor Einayim goes into the spies’ argument at length. He explains it through several verses in the parsha, the wording of the verses, and teachings of our Sages, until he explains the Gemara’s words about what happened with the spies after this parable. What does the Gemara say happened?

10:56 The negative report they gave about Eretz Yisroel was not only about its natural conditions. What was the deeper issue? The Meor Einayim explains—and brings this so that we can understand—that the sin of the spies lay in their claim that there are two separate realms, the physical and the spiritual. Their argument was: “The heavens are Hashem’s heavens, but the earth He gave to mankind.” They maintained that the sparks of holiness from the shattering of the vessels—as is known, there was a shattering of the vessels—fell from the world of Tohu. Holy, lofty sparks fell into the realm of kelipos and the sitra achra, and from them came this entire physical world, with all its aspects of kelipah and sitra achra. In general, these are the seven nations. As explained in Chassidus, the seven nations are rooted in the seven middos of Tohu, the seven sefiros of Tohu. And the world of Tohu is a world in which things exist with tremendous force. There, the sparks fell into a very deep pit, with a powerful force over them. That is what they meant when they said, “For it is stronger than we are.” In other words, the seven nations are in Eretz Yisroel. This is an immense force that cannot be purified. The sparks fell low, beneath that force. How could they be raised? That is what they meant by “men of great stature”—the middos of Tohu. “A land flowing with milk and honey” is the physical land, where the sparks fell so low.

12:51 So if we engage with Eretz Yisroel, perhaps we will be able to elevate it. But, G-d forbid, perhaps the opposite will happen: the material land, the impurity in Eretz Yisroel, will pull us down. What does that mean? This is what the Gemara says. The Gemara cites the claim of a heretic that, rachmana litzlan, Hakadosh Boruch Hu rules only from the waist up, not from the waist down. In other words, above, on the higher levels, there is abundant revelation; there are lofty matters and higher levels. But below are the nations. The Gemara brings up this idea. Down below, the claim goes, other forces are at work—the forces of impurity. These are two separate realms, and nothing can be accomplished below. That was the sin in their claim: “Even the owner cannot take his vessels out of there.” In other words, the sparks of holiness fell so low after the shattering of the vessels that even their Owner cannot take His vessels out of there. The sparks of holiness are indeed His vessels, His sparks, but because of how far they fell, they descended so low. This was part of the spies’ argument: it is not possible; it cannot be done; we cannot withstand it. To this, Kalev replied, “We will surely go up; we can indeed take it.” Kalev’s argument was entirely different. What does this mean? The spies did not say that, had we been worthy, we would not have wanted to go to Eretz Yisroel with Moshe Rabbeinu. Moshe Rabbeinu would have succeeded, and the sin of the spies would not have prevented the refinement of all the sparks of holiness in the world and their connection to G-dliness. He wanted to enter Eretz Yisroel, and the Midrash says that Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to enter Eretz Yisroel so that the complete Geulah would come, through which all the sparks would truly be elevated and transformed into light. All the sparks...

15:06 Everything enters a closed state [unclear]. We too can elevate the world, purify all the sparks of holiness, and make the world a dwelling place for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. But the spies spoiled things with their arguments. They confused the entire matter of our avodah. And this is the meaning of the claim, “We will surely go up”: it is not just one ascent. First came the ascent through Yehoshua bin Nun, and afterward another ascent. The maamar goes through the entire sequence of ascent and descent, exile and Geulah. Once again there was difficult work, and once again the Jewish people ascended, through Ezra. And then, “We can indeed”—this refers to the complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu. “We can indeed take it”: then the true refinement will be complete. The doubled expression indicates the completeness of the refinement and its ultimate perfection: “We can indeed,” the complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu. Then the refinement will reach its ultimate purpose, and all the sparks will be elevated in complete unity through the complete Geulah. We find a similar example [unclear]. The Rebbe explains it differently. Kalev said, “We will surely go up.” Kalev doubled the expression: “We will surely go up.” This was an answer to the spies’ claim. The spies said, “We cannot go up,” because in their view nothing could be done there. He explains this in his own words, in connection with [unclear]. There are lights and there are vessels. The lights

17:03 are above. These are the matters of “The heavens are Hashem’s heavens.” The vessels are here below. There are souls and there are bodies. There are lights and there are vessels. There are higher realms and lower realms. There is heaven and there is earth. Regarding this, the spies said, “We cannot go up.” It is impossible to elevate the things that are down here. To this Kalev said, “We will surely go up.” The vessels, the physical, the material, the things down here—“we can indeed take it.” They can be elevated; they can be raised up. He cites and explains the Mishnah about “the house and the upper story.” The Mishnah in Bava Metzia discusses a house and an upper story that collapsed. The owner of the house does not want to repair it, so the owner of the upper story comes down and lives in the house-owner’s home. In other words, the house is like the soul that comes down here, while the upper story is what remains above. The soul enters down here into a broken body, into vessels that are not doing what they are meant to do. And when it sees that the owner does not want to repair it, Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself enters, gives the strength, and helps. Then the house and the upper story can be rebuilt together. This, in general, is the idea of the soul’s descent below. And this is what Kalev explained to the spies: where their mistake lay. The spies said, “We cannot go up”—the body is physical, the sparks that fell descended too low, and they cannot be elevated. Kalev said,

18:38 “We will surely go up.” The Rebbe explains that these two words, “We will surely go up,” refer to an ascent below and an ascent above. The power of Jews is that they can elevate both the higher and the lower realms. He cites there the matter of the ministering angels of the nations. The Gemara and Midrash say that every minister above—when below [unclear]—when the minister above falls, the minister below falls as well. This is what he meant by “We will surely go up”: both the minister above and the minister below, both the lights and the vessels. A Jew has the power to elevate the entire world, the higher realms and the lower realms. And here comes the Alter Rebbe’s explanation. The Alter Rebbe explains Kalev’s words, “We will surely go up,” as two ascents. The Alter Rebbe explains that in the verse “I Myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I Myself will surely bring you up again,” “I Myself” is said twice, along with “will surely bring you up”: the ascent of the first Geulah and the ascent of the second Geulah. The Alter Rebbe explains that all this was for the sake of Torah. The exile in Egypt—“We have surely come down”—the descent into the Egyptian exile was in order to reach the revelation at Matan Torah, the revealed dimension of Torah. Similarly, “We will surely go up,” the second ascent, follows the second descent: the descent of the final exile, a terrible and dreadful exile, a longer, more complex exile. We do not

20:23 Ultimately, this is the preparation for the revelation of the inner dimension of Torah, the light of Moshiach. Yes, that is why the exile is so long and bitter: because the revelation to come is the light of Moshiach; it is Torah, it is infinite, it is the inner meanings of Torah. That is why the exile, too, is so long and difficult. In the same way, the hard labor was the preparation: through the Jewish people’s hard labor in the Egyptian exile, they became vessels for the revelation of Torah. And similarly with the hard work amid the darkness of exile. As the Alter Rebbe explains there, hard labor need not mean physical troubles and suffering, rachmana litzlan. Hard labor can also mean, as it says, “with mortar”—this refers to kal vachomer reasoning—and “with bricks”—this refers to clarifying halachah: studying Torah with effort, depth, and persistence. That is hard work in Torah, and it makes us vessels for the revelation of the inner dimension of Torah, the Torah of the future. And this is what we see in the story of the spies: the spies specifically argued, “We cannot,” “The owner cannot take his vessels out of there”—that it would be impossible to refine the sparks of holiness in the world because they had fallen too low. Similarly, they argued that it was “a land that devours its inhabitants,” and therefore, specifically

21:44 The punishment of the spies was measure for measure. This is how the [unclear] explains it: “Their tongues stretched down to their navels” because they had separated the higher levels from the lower level. This was reflected in their punishment, too—“down to their navels.” As is known, the navel divides the body into two parts, an upper half and a lower half. That was their punishment for creating a division between above and below. But the way to rectify the sin of the spies is exactly the opposite: to connect them. This is what Calev meant when he said, “The land is very, very good.” On the contrary, we can make the world, this physical world, into a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He. We must bring the light of Torah into every part of the world and show that there is no place in the world where G-dliness cannot be revealed. And the Baal Shem Tov revealed the meaning of “Your wellsprings shall spread outward”: even “outward,” even in places utterly distant from G-dliness, it is possible to bring G-dliness. Yes, on the contrary: “We shall surely go up, for we can surely take it”; “The land is very, very good, if Hashem desires us.” Is there really anything to fear? “Do not fear the people of the land, for they are our bread”—we can refine all the sparks of holiness found in this physical world. “Their protection has departed from them”—the entire world will become a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He. And therefore, immediately

23:12 after the sin of the spies came the mitzvos of the libations and of challah. These mitzvos show precisely how we can take physical things—a physical animal, physical offerings, libations of wine, oil, and fine flour, and ordinary bread that a person eats to nourish his body—and make them into “challah for Hashem,” gifts to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is how we connect the world with G-dliness, the physical with the spiritual, and make the world a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He. We will see this openly in the complete Geulah through our righteous Moshiach: it will be revealed here, in this physical world. As I say in today’s [unclear], it will be precisely “Do not fear,” as we see with our own physical eyes [unclear]: “Do not fear the people of the land,” but “Do not rebel against Hashem.” We can indeed conquer the world and make it a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He, and bring the complete Geulah through our righteous Moshiach. May it be His will that this happen speedily in our days, amen.