Parshas Matos-Masei (5785) "Zos Ha'aretz Asher Tipol Lachem Lenachalah" - The Borders of Eretz Yisroel and the Days of Bein Hametzarim

00:00 They tell a story about the chossid Reb Shmuel Munkes, one of the Alter Rebbe’s most prominent chassidim. Once, Reb Shmuel Munkes arrived at the Alter Rebbe’s home in the little town of Liozna, where the Alter Rebbe lived, in the middle of the night. The whole town was dark, everyone was asleep, and he was looking for a place to stay. He saw a small house with a light on. It was, of course, the house where the Alter Rebbe was staying. He went up to the lit house and knocked on the door. The Alter Rebbe opened it and asked, “What is it?” He said, “I’m looking for a place to stay, somewhere to sleep tonight.” The Alter Rebbe told him, “Well, there’s an inn here in town.” Reb Shmuel said, “[unclear] But this is a Jewish home.” The Alter Rebbe answered sharply, “I’ll call my gentile to throw you out of here.” Reb Shmuel Munkes said, “Rebbe, my gentile is stronger

01:39 than yours.” When the Alter Rebbe heard this, he opened the door and let him in, and received him for yechidus, as the story goes on to relate. In time, Reb Shmuel became one of the Alter Rebbe’s most prominent chassidim. The Rebbe once told this story at a farbrengen, paused over it, and asked: What was the meaning of that exchange between them? We cannot take what happened there simply at face value. Reb Shmuel knocks on the door, and what does the Alter Rebbe tell him? Find another house. And then, what does he mean by saying, “I’ll send the gentile to throw you out”? What was going on? What was the exchange between the Alter Rebbe and Reb Shmuel Munkes about? The explanation is that Reb Shmuel Munkes came as a Jew, a Jewish soul seeking G-dliness. He was seeking Chassidus. He had come to a place that was dark. Of course, the story happened in the physical world, but its whole meaning is spiritual. We are not speaking only of physical darkness, but of spiritual darkness. He felt that it was dark, that the world was dark—that is galus, that is darkness, a darkness doubled and redoubled—and he looked for light, for somewhere there was light, somewhere illuminated. And there was light in the Alter Rebbe’s home. In other words, the Alter Rebbe,

03:03 Chassidus—the Alter Rebbe revealed the inner dimension of the Torah, and that illuminates galus. Reb Shmuel noticed the light in the house, and so, the Rebbe says, he knocked on the door to ask to receive some of that light. He wanted to receive the light that the Alter Rebbe gives, that Chassidus gives. That was what he meant: the town was dark for him, and he searched until he found a lit house. The Alter Rebbe wanted to test whether the chossid truly meant this deep down, whether Reb Shmuel was genuinely seeking truth and light, or merely looking for a more comfortable life, for something on the surface. What was he really looking for? The Alter Rebbe wanted to see whether he was truly seeking truth, seeking light. So he hinted that there was a gentile who could push him away. In other words, the animal soul—the “gentile”—would come and drive him off. To this Reb Shmuel Munkes replied: I know about that gentile, and mine is stronger than yours. He meant that he knew about the animal soul, and knew he had a powerful animal soul; that was precisely why he had come. He knew the truth,

04:17 that within him was “the gentile in your midst.” This was not about other nations coming one after another. No, it was his own gentile, his own animal soul, and he knew that gentile was strong. That was why he had come to the Alter Rebbe: he wanted the power of the Alter Rebbe’s Chassidus to help him overcome that gentile. The Alter Rebbe understood. When he realized that Reb Shmuel truly meant it, he opened the door and received him, and the story continued from there. That is how the great chossid Reb Shmuel Munkes came to be. Among the stories told about Reb Shmuel Munkes is one connected to this time of year. These days, a story recounted in the sichos about Tisha B’Av is particularly well known. They relate that once, on Tisha B’Av, the great and renowned tzaddik Reb Shlomo of Karlin came to the Alter Rebbe. Reb Shlomo of Karlin was a colleague of the Alter Rebbe; they had been together in Mezritch. Reb Shlomo had come to the Alter Rebbe about a particular matter, and happened to be there in Liozna on Tisha B’Av. They tell us that Reb Shmuel, Reb Shmuel Munkes, was a mischievous chossid,

05:31 mischievous, and did things that looked insolent, sometimes even a little wild. But in truth, all of that was only a cover, a kind of disguise for his genuine inner service of Hashem, for his life as a chossid. They relate that on the night of Tisha B’Av, as they recited Eichah and the kinos, Reb Shmuel saw Reb Shlomo of Karlin reciting the kinos with many tears, weeping over the destruction. He wanted to lighten the atmosphere a little, so he threw a “berele” at him—a kind of plant that catches in the hair. He threw one of these “bereles” onto Reb Shlomo of Karlin’s beard. They say that Reb Shlomo of Karlin was somewhat upset and said, “Because of young men like these, the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed.” In other words, doing such things on Tisha B’Av is what brings about the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. The Alter Rebbe heard this and said nothing. The next day, after prayers in the shul, they went out into the street. They were walking—perhaps for a stroll, perhaps on their way home, wherever they were going—and there he heard, from

06:52 the woods beside the town, the sound of weeping. Someone was sitting in the woods, reciting Eichah through tears. Reb Shlomo of Karlin said to the Alter Rebbe, “In the merit of young men like these, the Beis Hamikdash will be rebuilt.” The Alter Rebbe said to him, “Do you want to know who that young man is? He is the same young man who threw the berele yesterday. He is the one now reciting the kinos with [unclear].” He helped him understand that all of it was part of Reb Shmuel’s service of Hashem. Reb Shmuel Munkes was a person whose way of serving Hashem was [unclear]. He made it look like a prank, but it was actually a very deep, inward form of service in the way of Chassidus. This story is told in connection with something we find in our parsha, Parshas Matos-Masei. This is the parsha in which the Torah tells us about the division of the Land of Israel. In Parshas Masei in particular, the Torah says that Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu to tell the Jewish people, “This is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance,” and the Torah sets out all the boundaries of the Land of Israel. Now, we find that Rashi comments on the words “This is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance,” where the Torah explains the boundaries of the Land of Israel. We find

08:23 something interesting: instead of using the word “boundaries,” Rashi uses a word meaning “narrow confines.” Several times he says “a narrow boundary” or “its narrow boundaries.” Rashi uses this language when speaking about the borders. Why does Rashi choose it? He wants to say where the borders of the Land of Israel lie—that is, where the entire territory begins and ends. Rashi explains that its boundaries mark the limit to which the territory extends. The question is why Rashi chooses specifically a word associated with narrow confines instead of using the verse’s word, “boundaries.” After all, we know that everything happens through individual Divine Providence. And as for Rashi’s choice of this particular word—the holy Shelah writes that the parshiyos read during these weeks, which deal with the Land of Israel, are also connected to the time we are in: the Three Weeks of Bein Hametzarim. That is why, at this time, we read about the Land of Israel, its conquest, its division, and a number of other details in these parshiyos. They are connected to the period of Bein Hametzarim. The Rebbe explains that Rashi deliberately used language associated with narrow confines to allude to Bein Hametzarim. The idea of being hemmed in alludes to Bein Hametzarim, because the period of the Three Weeks is called “Bein Hametzarim,” “between the narrow straits.” This is based on the verse in Eichah: “All her pursuers overtook her between the narrow straits.” It speaks of the enemies of the Jewish people who pursued them, and the verse says, “All her pursuers overtook her between the narrow straits.” These are days of being hemmed in. What does that mean? Rashi says: between the rocks and in narrow places; they had nowhere to go, and their pursuers caught them there. This is the condition of the Three Weeks, which begin on 17 Tammuz,

10:40 When all the difficult events began, on the one hand, and ended with Tisha B’Av and the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, on the other, the three weeks between them are called “Bein Hametzarim”—“between the straits”—in the language of our Sages. So what is the allusion here in Bein Hametzarim? In this connection, we find Rashi using the word “metzareha,” its boundaries, with regard to the borders of Eretz Yisroel. What is the connection? Not only do the two seem unrelated; they are even opposites. When we say “Bein Hametzarim,” we are speaking of a difficult situation: “All her pursuers overtook her between the straits”—matters of destruction and exile, the opposite of Geulah. By contrast, when we speak of the borders of Eretz Yisroel, we are speaking of something good: Eretz Yisroel, its conquest, the holy land given to the Jewish people. Why does Rashi use the word metzar, the same word used in connection with Bein Hametzarim? The Rebbe explains two interpretations: one in a negative sense and the other in a positive sense. The first is that, as explained in Chassidus, all straits and boundaries—and “straits” implies constraint and limitation—seemingly represent something undesirable: restriction, constriction, a strait for a Jew, things that are not good for him. But straits and boundaries began in holiness. In other words, Chassidus explains that limitation and restriction begin with the fact that even within holiness there are straits and limits. From there, they can descend to become the straits and limits of this world. As explained at length in the maamarim about Egypt and the Exodus, the concept of straits begins even within holiness. For

12:43 in a Jew’s service of Hashem, yes, even within holiness there is a mode of measure and limitation—the straits and boundaries of holiness, of the G-dly soul. From there, it can descend to straits and limits in matters of the animal soul, and even to straits and limits involving forbidden things. Along these lines, Rashi tells us here that the borders of Eretz Yisroel do indeed impose a limit on Eretz Yisroel. It has borders, and those borders are a strait—a holy strait, a strait of Eretz Yisroel. But the very fact that Eretz Yisroel has a measure and a limit, that its holiness exists only within a certain area, is already a strait within holiness. That is why, from there, it can descend further, and there can be still lower straits and boundaries, down to the strait and boundary of destruction, exile, and the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash. This is why our Sages say that in the future, when Moshiach comes, “Eretz Yisroel will spread throughout all the lands.” For then holiness will be unlimited, going beyond all straits and boundaries, all measures and limitations. There will be a revelation of Hashem’s boundless infinity. As a result, it will break through every measure and limitation: “You shall spread out westward, eastward, northward, and southward.” The holiness of Eretz Yisroel will spread throughout all the lands, and all the straits and boundaries of this world will consequently cease to exist, and “I will remove the spirit of impurity from the land.” That is the allusion on the negative side: since there are straits, the straits within Eretz Yisroel,

14:16 the straits of Bein Hametzarim are not excluded either. But in everything, one can also see the positive side. And the Rebbe says that here a wonderful allusion is revealed in the service of Hashem, on the side of holiness. As explained in the maamarim of the Tzemach Tzedek, or in the notes the Tzemach Tzedek wrote on Eichah: in those notes, the Tzemach Tzedek explains a number of verses in Eichah specifically in terms of the service of Hashem, on the side of holiness. He takes verses in Eichah that speak of exile, sorrow, and mourning, and turns their meaning around. This is like what the Gemara relates in Moed Katan about Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son: his son received words that seemed to be the opposite of a blessing, and Rabbi Shimon told him that they were all blessings. All those words, clothed in what seemed like curses, G-d forbid, were actually concealed blessings—lofty, hidden blessings clothed in that form. Precisely because they are such lofty matters, they descend in a different guise. This is a principle in Chassidus concerning the whole idea of “This too is for the good”: sometimes the loftiest blessings descend in another guise, and the task is to transform them—to turn darkness into light and bitterness into sweetness—and reveal the blessing within them. Along these lines, the Tzemach Tzedek says that when we hear the verses in Eichah, they allude to lofty matters, lofty blessings, matters of Geulah, and praises of the Jewish people.

15:44 He interprets a number of verses as praises of the Jewish people. Among them is the verse “All her pursuers overtook her between the straits.” The Tzemach Tzedek explains that Bein Hametzarim, the period between the straits, is an auspicious time when a Jew can pursue and seek—“Seek peace and pursue it”—and attain the greatest understanding of the loftiest levels of G-dliness. And the Rebbe said that the Tzemach Tzedek’s words imply that Bein Hametzarim in particular is an auspicious time to study the inner dimension of the Torah, the deepest secrets and matters of G-dliness, and that it is then that one reaches the greatest understanding. The Tzemach Tzedek explains: What is the essence of Bein Hametzarim? Bein Hametzarim is like the verse, “From the straits I called to Hashem; Hashem answered me with expansiveness.” A Jew calls to Hashem from the straits, and it is specifically “From the straits I called; He answered me with expansiveness.” The Tzemach Tzedek explains that when a Jew finds himself in a strait, he senses that the entire world, all created beings and all worlds, are nothing but a strait, a restriction and a limit, in relation to Hashem, Who is infinite and unlimited. The strait arouses in him a thirst and a sense of distance. When he realizes that all the worlds are, so to speak, a strait in relation to Hashem, it awakens a powerful thirst and longing within him: he wants to leave the measures and limitations of the world’s strait and unite with the

17:25 infinite and the boundless. So the strait produces just the opposite: from the strait, one reaches the greatest expansiveness. When he senses the darkness and searches for light, he wants to enter a Jewish home and connect with true light. This aroused [unclear] an even stronger longing. It awakened in him a greater thirst and longing for G-dliness, and brought him to a new revelation. This is “From the straits I called to Hashem”: the strait itself arouses the greatest expansiveness, “Hashem answered me with expansiveness”—new revelations, the greatest revelations of G-dliness. And this is what is said of the time of exile: “All her pursuers overtook her between the straits.” When a Jew feels the strait, it arouses the greatest understanding, and he reaches expansiveness, the greatest revelation of G-dliness. On this basis, the Rebbe also explains the words in our parsha: “This is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance.” Rashi asks: What is the point of “This is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance”? The entire reason the Torah gives Moshe Rabbeinu all the borders of Eretz Yisroel, so that he can tell them to the Jewish people, is so they will know where the mitzvos dependent on the land apply. That is what Rashi says. Since there are mitzvos dependent on the land,

18:51 we need to know the borders of Eretz Yisroel. That is why Moshe Rabbeinu needed to know the borders: the mitzvos are transmitted through Moshe Rabbeinu. For otherwise, it is seemingly difficult to understand: the entry into the land was to be led by Yehoshua bin Nun. Why tell Moshe Rabbeinu the borders of Eretz Yisroel? This belongs in the Book of Yehoshua; Yehoshua bin Nun is the one who brings the Jewish people into Eretz Yisroel. But since Rashi says it is connected to the mitzvos dependent on the land, the Torah says, “This is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance.” And here we come to the allusion in Rashi’s words. [unclear] This is what Rashi means to say. A Jew might think about the soul that was in Gan Eden, the soul that was [unclear], in the greatest expansiveness of G-dliness, in the World to Come, enjoying the radiance of the Shechinah. “Shall fall”—it fell below; “shall fall to you as an inheritance”—it undergoes a fall. And the fall brings it here, below, into this physical world, a descent from a lofty roof to a deep pit, into such a physical world. What is the purpose of all this? The answer is: the mitzvos dependent on the land. By descending below, into the straits, into a world of constraint and limitation, the soul gains the ability to fulfill mitzvos. For mitzvos, on the contrary, are clothed in measures and limits. Every mitzvah has boundaries according to halachah, according to the Shulchan Aruch—in time, place, and every detail. But it is precisely through

20:15 Through the mitzvos, one reaches togetherness and connection, and a Jew becomes one with the Divine Essence. From the narrow straits, one reaches the greatest expanse. And this is the allusion in our parsha itself. In other words, although in exile we find ourselves in narrow straits—in a state of exile, darkness, restriction, limitation, and constriction—on the contrary, it is precisely through those narrow straits, through our service during exile and in the place of exile, by fulfilling mitzvos in this physical world and through the service of [unclear], that a person’s thirst is awakened. From the narrow straits, [unclear] to the true expanse. And this is what is said about Bein Hametzarim: the greatest [unclear] is specifically during the Three Weeks. The Rebbe explains [unclear] that the Three Weeks allude to the three intellectual faculties. And the three intellectual faculties are the final inheritance—the lands of the three nations, the Keini, Kenizi, and Kadmoni. This explains “When Hashem your G-d expands your borders.” And this is [unclear] alluded to in the parsha. May we merit the complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days, amen.