Parshas Re'eh-Elul "Re'eh Anochi Nosein Lifneichem Hayom Berachah..." - The Great Opportunity of the Month of Elul

00:00 I wanted to describe something: Once, a man got lost in a forest. Wild animals were all around him, and he was afraid. There were vast stretches of forest, with dangerous animals. But none of that mattered to him; he just wanted to get out. He wandered through the fields all day and kept encountering wild animals. He heard them running and began to run himself, running and running. He no longer knew where he was; he was lost deep in the forest. At last he met a simple man. The man brought him into his home, gave him a place to sleep, a little food and drink, and helped him find his way out of the forest. Later, they found the Jew deep in the forest, and he knocked on the little door. At last they let him in. When that man saw who had come, he recognized the hungry man to whom he had given some of his own food. And when he came before the king, he said: [unclear].

02:16 He gave him a little cheese and said, “You can take some straw for yourself.” Though he had none to spare, he gave him a little straw. [unclear] Afterward they let him in. He showed him the way: “Go back along this path.” [unclear] Suddenly he comes before the king. [unclear] Some time later, a letter arrives saying that he must come to the royal palace. Who knows what he has done? He enters the king’s palace, goes into the king’s courtyard, and there he finds himself face to face with the king himself. The king stands in his royal garments and says, “Do you remember? I was at your home. You gave me that little bit of cheese and that little bit of milk.” The man began to cry out and beg forgiveness. “But I only gave you a little cheese!” The king, however, told him the opposite: “You should know that your little bit of cheese, your little bit of [unclear], and the little straw you gave me—

04:10 that was the greatest, finest, most beautiful thing I received. There is nothing like it in the world. It was the greatest kindness you could have done for me, because you gave what you could. You gave me your whole home, and in my eyes that mattered most. All those other things are there, in the rooms around us. Well, other people have them too. But what you gave me when I was wandering, lost in the forests—when you brought me into your home and gave me what you had—was worth more to me than everything else.” This also connects with the words of the holy Baal Shem Tov on the verse, “Seek Hashem when He is to be found; call upon Him when He is near.” The Baal Shem Tov says: The verse says, “Seek Hashem when He is to be found; call upon Him when He is near.” He explains that when the emperor is in his royal palace, no matter how much people say, they cannot tell enough about him. “There is no comparison” [unclear]. We have no way to reach the king in all his greatness. But when the king walks through the streets, when he is in the fields and forests, in a place where he is actually wandering—then whoever…

05:30 opens the door for him, the emperor comes inside. The holy Baal Shem Tov gives this as an analogy for the difference between the time of the Beis Hamikdash and the time of exile. He says that in the time of the Beis Hamikdash there were great tzaddikim, great souls, lofty souls, prophets, and so on—great people. In the time of exile, by contrast, we see many ordinary people, souls that are not lofty souls. If so, how can we attain closeness to G-dliness and levels entirely beyond our reach? It is astonishing. Yet we find that in our time, in exile, in the footsteps of Moshiach, a simple person can attain a closeness to Hakadosh Boruch Hu that could not be attained even in the time of the Beis Hamikdash. The holy Baal Shem Tov says—and this is the analogy—that as long as the king is in his royal palace, [unclear]. No matter how much one does, it is not enough. But when the king walks through the fields and forests, and people look for him, and he knocks at the door—“The voice of my beloved knocks: Open for me”—then “Seek Hashem when He is to be found; call upon Him when He is near” is fulfilled. When the emperor is near, that is the time when anyone can draw close to him. And the little strength, the little toil and effort, and the action, speech, and thought that…

06:50 he gives during exile are precious in the eyes of Hakadosh Boruch Hu—very precious, more than anything else. That is what is precious, more precious than anything. This also connects with a teaching brought in Chassidus on the verse, “Precious in the eyes of Hashem is the death of His pious ones”: “the death of His pious ones” is very precious in the eyes of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The wording brought in the maamarim is that when a chossid practices a little iskafya—“death,” as it were—that is called “the death of His pious ones.” That is the expression: the struggle of iskafya. One pushes away the yetzer hara. And that small measure of iskafya, that breakthrough, is “the death of His pious ones.” It is very precious in the eyes of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, more than all that was accomplished in better times, in loftier times. This brings us to where we are now, in this special week: Shabbos Parshas Re’eh, Shabbos Mevarchim for the month of Elul. It is well known that the Frierdiker Rebbe said that on Shabbos Mevarchim Elul there was a light. The spirit of Elul could be felt. The air changed. A spirit of teshuvah blew through Lubavitch. We saw this among the Rebbeim and the chassidim: When Shabbos Mevarchim Elul arrived, there was an awakening to teshuvah, an awakening to draw closer to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And when we approach the subject of the month of Elul,

08:19 we all know that the Alter Rebbe dwells on this in Likkutei Torah, in the maamar “Ani Ledodi,” and asks: Why are the days of Elul weekdays? He cites the words of the Arizal. What the Arizal revealed about Elul is well known: It is a time of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, a time of a special revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu—the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. That is why there is a custom to say Selichos throughout Elul. Even for us, who do not say Selichos throughout the month, we nevertheless know that it is a time when the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are revealed, the month of mercy and Selichos. And it is said that the letters of Elul stand for “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine”: It is a time when a Jew draws close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu with affection, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu draws close to him with affection. So the Alter Rebbe asks in Likkutei Torah: How can Elul consist of ordinary days, simple weekdays? Seemingly, it should be a Yom Tov. The deeper point of the question, as the Alter Rebbe explains, is this: It is written in the sefarim and explained in Kabbalah—what, in essence, makes Shabbos and Yom Tov what they are? Why are they holy days? Why are they days on which we do not need to work, days of holiness and purity, of joy and [unclear]? Because on those days there is a special revelation of G-dliness in the world. Shabb...

09:43 We understand why Shabbos is so holy: On Shabbos there is a special revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. When Hakadosh Boruch Hu is revealed, Shabbos is a time of being face to face with Him. That is why we do not need to work on Shabbos, and why Shabbos is [unclear], and all these days [unclear] Shabbos. The same is true of the joy of Yom Tov, “the time of our rejoicing,” which is “a holy convocation”: On Yom Tov there is a revelation of G-dliness, and it awakens a special joy—“You shall rejoice on your festival,” as it says in our parsha, Parshas Re’eh. “And you shall be only joyful.” This raises the question the Alter Rebbe asks: If the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are revealed, that is more like Yom Kippur. On that day the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are revealed, and that is why Yom Kippur is a Shabbos of complete rest, the holiest day of the year. If the same thing happens in Elul, how can it not be a Yom Tov? That is the question the Alter Rebbe asks in Likkutei Torah. The question itself already stirs us and gives us a hint. There is such richness in the very question: The Alter Rebbe presents Elul to us as a month that really ought to be a Yom Tov. In the maamar about Elul, he explains that the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are revealed throughout all thirty days—the twenty-nine days of Elul—and that in itself already stirs us.

11:04 Great joy and salvation. And the Alter Rebbe asks: Why is it not a Yom Tov, when it ought to be a Yom Tov? Nevertheless, the Alter Rebbe explains that it is not. Why? To answer this, he gives a parable that is very, as they say, [unclear], very [unclear] to the parable we brought in the name of the Baal Shem Tov: the king is in the field. There are two times: a time when the king is in his palace, and a time when the king is in the field. The Alter Rebbe says: “It is like a king who, before he comes to the city, is greeted by the people of the city, who go out to meet him and receive him in the field.” “He receives them all graciously and shows a smiling face.” As the Rebbe points out in these expressions, one can approach the king and go out to greet him. And the king receives them: every Jew who approaches the king is received graciously, and he shows a smiling face to everyone. Afterward, “when he goes toward the city,” they follow him; but when he enters his royal palace, only the select few and the special ones [unclear]. This is the point of the king, the Rebbe says. This is the difference between Elul and Tishrei: in Elul, people go out to greet him because he is in the field. [unclear] What is the difference between the revelation of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy [unclear]? This is [unclear] mercy, like a father’s compassion for his children. [unclear] the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy

12:41 are abundant. And because of this, the king receives everyone graciously and shows a smiling face. This is where forgiveness, pardon, and atonement come in. The main difference lies with the king: in Elul, the king stands there—the king himself. He is in the field, [unclear] of the field. This is the treasure. And the Rebbe brings the parable of the king in the field. When the king comes and walks through the field, through this [unclear] field clothing. He wears simple clothes. And that is [unclear]. It is no more [unclear]. It is [unclear] Yom Tov. It is [unclear]. That is how it is in the physical world: when the king wears simple clothes and is among ordinary people, standing there simply, with all the [unclear], without all the [unclear], without his ministers, without the [unclear], without the [unclear], without the [unclear] of royalty—any ordinary person can see the king, can simply look at him [unclear]. It is a special [unclear] to see the king. Come to him [unclear]. And here the king is. Come—the king is in the field. It is not [unclear]. Come to the field. Why? Because everyone has this opportunity to see [unclear] face to face: “As water reflects a face back to a face, so one person’s heart reflects another’s.” The Rebbe says in Tanya: the supreme King [unclear] clothes Himself in simple garments, and He wants [unclear] to give everyone the opportunity, so that everyone can [unclear]. And [unclear] from the king, and this is [unclear], face to face. This is the meaning of the month of Elul. The month of Elul is the king

14:28 who is in the field. And King David goes out into the field, where he receives everyone graciously. This expresses the great love: the king wants to be with every person. And it reveals in a person that he, too, needs to go out to the king. A Jew wants to be connected to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is the avodah of the month of Elul: to meet face to face, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.” This is the avodah of the month of Elul: for a Jew to connect face to face and reveal his innermost will. He wants to give himself over completely. And the point of the parable is that he leaves his place; he wants to step outside himself, to leave the state he is in. The king is in the field, where every person is, and a person can stand before him face to face.

This is interesting. Usually, the Shabbos on which we bless the month of Elul is an ordinary Shabbos, like most Shabbosos of the year. But this is the Shabbos on which we bless the month of Elul. And the first verse of the parsha contains the whole point we are about to discuss: “See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse.” Those are the explicit words here. We need to understand: What is meant? What is “I”? What is “set”? What is “before you”? What is “today”? Moshe Rabbeinu stood before the Jewish people and spoke to them. “Today” was, seemingly, just another day; it was not Matan Torah. The Jewish people were soon to enter the Land of Israel. But the blessings

16:27 and curses were given later, on Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival; that was not happening now. Why does the verse say, “See, I set before you today”? And not only that: first a blessing, and then Moshe gives a curse. What are these two things? The commentators ask: For a blessing, it makes sense to say, “See, I set before you”—those are joyful words. But a curse—how can one say “give” in connection with a curse, as though it were a gift? What sort of gift is a curse, G-d forbid?

The verse then continues: “The blessing, that you will listen to the commandments of Hashem your G-d,” and so on. The commentators ask: What does “the blessing, that you will listen” mean? It should have said “if you listen.” Later, it does say, “And the curse, if you do not listen.” But why does it say “that” rather than “if” regarding the blessing? In other verses, the Torah says “if”—for example, “If you walk in My statutes.” “Today, if you listen to His voice”—there, too, it says “if.” Here it says “that” instead of “if.” What does this “that” mean? There is a choice: either one chooses the path of good, or, G-d forbid, one does not. But the word “that” does not suggest a choice. What is the condition here?

Chassidus offers a wonderful teaching on this, connected specifically to the avodah of the month of Elul, as explained in the maamarim on this verse. And we know what the Rebbe said: on the Shabbos when we bless Elul—even before the month begins—we should already be hearing about the avodah of the month of Elul, about teshuvah. There is a maamar on “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine,” and there is a maamar on “See, I.” In the Tzemach Tzedek’s maamar “See, I,” and in the Sefer Hamaamarim of

18:36 the Rebbe Rashab, and in Sefer Hamaamarim 5666, in Torah Or and in the Rebbe’s maamarim, a wonderful explanation of the verse is given. It explains that the verse presents the two paths in serving Hashem: the avodah of observing the mitzvos—a blessing. In Chassidus, this is called the avodah of tzaddikim: the regular avodah of serving Hashem through observing mitzvos and studying Torah. This is the path of blessing. “Curse” refers to the path of teshuvah. It does not mean, G-d forbid, a literal curse, but rather, “Hashem your G-d transformed the curse into a blessing for you.” This is the idea of teshuvah, which transforms deliberate sins into merits, which transforms a curse into a blessing. This is the avodah of doing teshuvah, and the verse calls it “curse.”

The Torah says that there are two ways to serve Hashem. “See, I set before you today”: Moshe Rabbeinu says to the Jewish people—and the holy Or Hachaim explains—who is saying “See, I” here? Moshe Rabbeinu is saying it. The plain meaning is that Moshe Rabbeinu says to the Jewish people, “See, I”—I, Moshe Rabbeinu. And Moshe is present in every generation; there is a spark of Moshe in every Jew, as we explained earlier. As the Gemara says, “Moshe, Moshe”; and as the Rebbe explains in Tanya. The holy Or Hachaim explains in the parsha that Moshe Rabbeinu tells them, “I.” Moshe Rabbeinu, who received at Matan Torah, passes on to the Jewish people: “I set before you”—gifts—“today,” today being the time to fulfill them. In each person’s avodah today, too, until the Geulah comes through Moshiach, there are two possibilities: either blessing, the avodah of tzaddikim, Torah and mitzvos, or curse.

20:42 The avodah of a baal teshuvah, who transforms a curse into a blessing. And this is what the verse goes on to say: “The blessing, that you will listen.” That is why it uses the word “that”—“that” indicates something certain. Not “if,” but “that,” because one of the two paths will certainly be taken. It is clear that the Jewish people have two ways to serve Hashem: either the avodah of Torah and mitzvos, through which they receive blessing, or the avodah of teshuvah, through which they transform a curse into a blessing. That is why it says “that.” This is the difference between this verse and other verses. The verse “If you walk in My statutes” speaks about the avodah of Torah and mitzvos: “walk in My statutes,” “keep My commandments,” “and fulfill them”—that is the avodah of tzaddikim. So it says “if,” because there is a choice. The Jewish people may indeed “walk in My statutes,” or they may not be in that state; instead of the avodah of tzaddikim, theirs will be the avodah of teshuvah. The other verse, “Today, if you listen to His voice,” does speak about the avodah of teshuvah. And the Gemara, in Tractate Sanhedrin, relates that Moshiach said this to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi when he asked him, “When will you come, Master?” He answered, “Today—if you listen to His voice.” The Gemara there discusses the teaching that “Israel will be redeemed only through teshuvah,” and that is the meaning of “Today, if you listen to His voice.” So it says “if”: “if you listen to His voice,” if they do teshuvah. The Jewish people may observe Torah and mitzvos, and that will be their avodah, but they will still need to come to teshuvah. So the verse “If you walk in My statutes” says “if”; the verse “If you listen to His voice” says “if.” But in our parsha, there is the

22:22 Both paths together. The Torah comes and says, “See, I set before you today.” Hashem says to the Jews: “See”—look, and look at this “I.” “I” means “I am Who I am,” the same “I” that was revealed at the Giving of the Torah and that spoke to Moshe Rabbeinu. “Set”—“Whoever gives, gives generously.” “Before you”—face to face, within your innermost selves. As we said, at the Giving of the Torah, this “face to face” was revealed: the innermost being of a Jew is one with the innermost being of Hashem. And this awakens in Jews [unclear]. And what does He give? [unclear] of curse and blessing, the two paths in serving Hashem: serving Hashem through Torah and mitzvos, or transforming deliberate sins into merits through the service of teshuvah. This is the work for which we receive the strength, specifically in the month of Elul. Because the King is in the field, He gives us all the strength we need during this beautiful month of Elul, through the King being in the field, so that Jews can discover the “before you” within themselves—their innermost being; discover their innermost being, their soul; discover their innermost being, their will; discover their true “I.” That is the true meaning of the service of teshuvah. Through this, we also receive all the blessings mentioned later in the parsha, including the building of the Beis Hamikdash, which the parsha discusses, and all the matters with which the parsha concludes, from “You shall rejoice on your festival” to “You shall be only joyful.”

23:57 This is also the lesson we learn from this time. We are in the month of Elul, and in particular, on Shabbos Parshas Re’eh. As the Rebbe said at the farbrengen of Shabbos Parshas Re’eh 5751, Hashem says to the Jews: “See, I set before you today a blessing.” [unclear] Particularly in our days, [unclear] in the complete Geulah. [unclear] Hashem, “I am Who I am” Himself, “sets before you today a blessing.” And what blessing? The true blessing [unclear], the blessing of the true and complete Geulah. True—that is how it must be, and today, in these very days, the true and complete Geulah must come. [unclear] When the King is in the field, especially during the time of exile, in its final moments, [unclear] every action, every word, every thought is [unclear]. This is [unclear] with Hashem at this time, particularly in the month of Elul. This is what happens when a Jew comes and draws near to the King. [unclear] And this will certainly bring about [unclear] for everyone, an Elul filled with life and vitality. And may [unclear] the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu be fulfilled. May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year, a good and sweet year, materially and spiritually.