Parshas Ki Teitzei (5785) "Ki Yikra Kein Tzipor Lefanecha" - The Virtue of Serving Through One's Own Strength

00:00 The rabbi told this story, which took place with the Mitteler Rebbe. There was a young married man from the town of Yanovitch. [unclear] It was on Shabbos in Yanovitch. He was a chossid who had been immersed in studying Chassidus, in avodah, and in davening since the time of the Alter Rebbe. The Mitteler Rebbe [unclear] him greatly. As is known, the Mitteler Rebbe was very firm and demanded inner avodah from the chassidim. [unclear] He called him to a farbrengen, and the young man said: “Rebbe, how can you compare me to yourself? Who are you, and who am I? You are the son of the Alter Rebbe. When your father was to bring your soul into the world, he chose the loftiest soul of all for you and brought a great soul into the world. And you grew up in the Alter Rebbe’s home. That is why your davening, your learning, and your avodah are as they are. But as for me,” the chossid said, “who knows what my father was thinking about when he brought my soul into the world? [unclear] And then we come down here below. Who am I as a Jew, and what have I done all my life?”

01:45 “Today, when I have to earn my living—and this was how he earned his living—I would travel between the towns. [unclear] I would bring grains and the like so people could grow them in their fields. I would bring all kinds of seeds, plants, and grains to be grown. Then, a few months later, I would have to travel through the villages again and collect the money from all the uncircumcised people, the non-Jews, the sheigetzes who lived in the surrounding towns and villages. Imagine it: I have to get up in the middle of the night, travel there, and go to that village. There I have to meet some sheigetz, get to know him, have a little drink with him, so I can talk to him and persuade him to pay up. And when I return to my town toward dawn, exhausted—can I then sit down with a clear head to study Chassidus, engage in avodah, and daven? Can you imagine what that takes?” The Frierdiker Rebbe, z”l, tells the story and also mentions his father’s name. And when the chossid, the great Rebbe, heard these words, he said [unclear]. At any rate, the chossid says to the Mitteler Rebbe: “How can you compare me to yourself? Can you imagine what my davening will look like after all that toil, after all the [unclear], after I’ve been dragged into doing business with all these people? While you, with such a lofty soul, are with your father, the Alter Rebbe,

03:17 “at home—your avodah is entirely different.” When the Mitteler Rebbe heard the chossid’s words, he accepted them. He was shaken deep inside and became even more [unclear]. He took the words to heart. So much so that afterward, when he returned to his father, the Alter Rebbe, he poured out his heart. He told the Rebbe—his father, the Alter Rebbe—that he felt none of his avodah was genuine, that none of it was as it should be. He asked his father, the Alter Rebbe, to give him a path in inner avodah so that he could follow a true path. And indeed, the Mitteler Rebbe began to engage in this avodah inwardly. So much so that afterward, when the chossid, the young man from Yanovitch, came to the Alter Rebbe, the Alter Rebbe said: “I want to thank him. What has he done with my Berel? He has made him into a chossid.” That is how the story appears in the Frierdiker Rebbe’s writings. In our weekly parsha, among all the matters in Parshas Ki Seitzei, is the mitzvah the parsha speaks about—sending away the mother bird: “If you happen upon a bird’s nest before you on the way, in any tree or on the ground.” And the parsha says, the verse says, what one must do. The verse says: “Do not take the mother with the young.” “And the mother is sitting on the fledglings”—and it says: “Do not take the mother with the young. You shall surely send away the mother, and the young you may take for yourself, so that it will be good for you and you will live long.”

05:00 This is the mitzvah of sending away the mother bird. Every mitzvah in the Torah also has a spiritual, inner meaning in a person’s avodah. What is the meaning of the bird’s nest and sending away the mother bird? We see here, in [unclear], lengthy discussions of great and profound matters concerning the bird’s nest, its connection to Knesses Yisroel, to the souls of the Jewish people, in the time of the Beis Hamikdash and in exile, and to what will be in the days of Moshiach. The matters discussed in Kabbalah and Chassidus concerning the bird’s nest are very great matters. We will briefly say something from the holy [unclear], and then, with Hashem’s help, an explanation from the Tzemach Tzedek—how these things are expressed and understood in the avodah of every Jew, and in connection with the month of Elul, Rosh Hashanah, and so on. The holy [unclear] says: As is known, in serving Hashem there are two ways—an awakening from Above and an awakening from below. In other words, there is a situation in which a Jew works on himself and acts through his own efforts, through toil and avodah from below; he rouses his own powers and draws close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu through his own strength and effort. That is an awakening from below. But sometimes a person is in a very low state and cannot lift himself up and draw close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu on his own. Then Hakadosh Boruch Hu draws close to him from Above. That is an awakening from Above, in which Hakadosh Boruch Hu turns to him. For example, just as a mother would remain there within

06:40 A parable: When a mother nurses a child, there is the baby, whom we want to nurse, eat, and grow. Once the child understands enough, he seeks out food himself, and that is best. But sometimes, as we see with very young children, the child does not want to eat, or does not yet know how to eat. Then the mother has to bend down to the child to awaken his desire and thirst, so that he will want to nurse, want to eat. So too in the avodah of Jewish souls: True avodah, as it should be, is for a Jew not to wait for an awakening from Above, not to wait for an influence from Above to come and awaken him to teshuvah. Teshuvah should come through his own efforts, through an awakening from below. A Jew must approach Hakadosh Boruch Hu himself, and that is the greatest and best way of serving Hashem. And sometimes it happens, as an exception, that he needs to be awakened from Above. About this the parsha says, “If you happen upon.” It speaks of something that happens by chance, as the Gemara says: excluding a nest already at hand. In other words, this is not the usual order of avodah. The path of avodah should be work through one’s own efforts, work from below. But “if you happen upon”—sometimes a soul needs to be awakened from Above to teshuvah. A soul may descend, stray from the path, become thoroughly coarse and materialistic, and fail to awaken on its own. Then, as an exception, there is

08:11 a “bird’s nest”: from Above, the soul is awakened to teshuvah. This is “the mother is sitting on the fledglings.” In other words, the mother draws close to the child. The Shechinah, Hakadosh Boruch Hu, as it were, the supernal mother—meaning the mother Above, the Shechinah, the supernal Shechinah, Hakadosh Boruch Hu, as it were—is “sitting”: bending down, drawing close, and so on, to awaken the soul to teshuvah from Above downward. But the parsha says: We must know that living this way is not avodah; it is not the way things should be. The way should be “You shall surely send away the mother.” Our avodah should be not to wait to be awakened from Above. That is “and the young you may take for yourself”—to draw on what is within ourselves, to seek out our own strengths and talents, our own resources, our own avodah, and through our avodah to reach out and draw close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu ourselves. We should strive for our avodah to come specifically through our own efforts, through our own toil, rather than relying on gifts that come from Above. Instead, we should work ourselves, with our own strengths, to come to serve Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And this, specifically, arouses true nachas ruach Above. “So that it will be good for you”—the Berditchever explains here that “so that it will be good” is “for you”: when it comes from the person himself, when the avodah comes from him, that is what causes true nachas ruach Above. Hakadosh Boruch Hu receives nachas ruach—“It is a pleasure before Me that I spoke and My will was done”—when a Jew works through his own efforts. The greatest nachas ruach

09:42 Above, it is when a Jew lifts himself up on his own, draws close and comes to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, that he arouses true pleasure Above. And not only that: “and you will prolong your days.” The Berdichever explains: What does “and you will prolong your days” mean? When something comes from Above, it comes to an end; a time arrives when it is over. It lasts only a short while and disappears. We see this in practice: a person receives an awakening to teshuvah, an awakening that comes from Above. But if he does not take it and do something with it—work with it and invest himself in it so that it becomes his own effort—the awakening comes and goes and disappears. But when one works through one’s own effort, by way of an awakening from below, then “you will prolong your days”: the work endures. As explained at length in Likkutei Torah, Parshas Vayikra, in the first maamar, “Adam Ki Yakriv,” the Alter Rebbe explains, along those same lines, this very point: There is an awakening from Above that stirs a person to serve Hashem, to fear Him, and to do teshuvah. And then we see—and see it in practice—that it comes and disappears. The Alter Rebbe says that some people become disheartened and despair over this. They see that they had an awakening, worked on themselves for several days and made some progress, and suddenly it all vanished. The Alter Rebbe says: Do not despair, because it was only an awakening from Above, and therefore it has no…

11:07 …lasting power. But afterward, when one takes that awakening, does something with it, and works with it through one’s own effort—“but the young you shall take for yourself”—one merits the fulfillment of “and you will prolong your days.” In Likkutei Torah on Vayikra, the Alter Rebbe explains that this is the meaning of “When a person among you brings an offering to Hashem”: from within himself, from his own strengths. Then it truly endures. And in general, this is the work of the month of Elul. For in Elul, as is well known and as the Alter Rebbe explains in Likkutei Torah, the initial letters of “Ani ledodi vedodi li”—“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine”—spell Elul. It is explained at length in all the maamarim and sichos about Elul that the main work of the month is work through one’s own effort. As the Alter Rebbe explains, although in Elul there is a revelation of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy—which, in a certain sense, is a kind of awakening from Above—this awakening from Above is not really one that descends as a gift. It only gives a person the strength to awaken on his own, through an awakening from below. The Rebbe goes on to explain the meaning of “I am my beloved’s” through the parable of the king in the field. When the king is in the field, he is dressed in the clothes of the field. When the king is present in this way, the king is [unclear]. Because the king is in the field, dressed in the clothes of the field, the revelation is clothed and concealed; it is not an awakening from Above. It only gives strength.

12:41 It gives strength—the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy shine; the thirteen [unclear] shine—but the revelation serves to give strength, so that the person doing the work will awaken and have the desire and the outlook to turn toward the king and greet him. This is the main work of Elul. This is “I am my beloved’s”: what comes through one’s own effort. One should engage in the work of teshuvah, take stock of oneself, and work on davening, drawing close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu and becoming closer to G-dliness. This is the main work of the month. The Tzemach Tzedek has several maamarim on the subject of a bird’s nest, on this verse. They contain rich and wonderful explanations, but I want to bring out one point. He says: “If you happen upon a bird’s nest”—the bird’s nest alludes to the Beis Hamikdash, as explained in the Midrash. The bird is the Jewish people, and the nest, the place where the bird dwells, is the Beis Hamikdash. Why are the Jewish people called a bird? One of the answers given there is based on the words of the Maggid of Mezritch. The Maggid of Mezritch says: “The heart of kings is beyond searching.” There is a well-known parable quoted in his name: When a king is in a state of great majesty and exaltation, and one wants to approach him and accomplish something with him, the usual approach is to come before the king and make a request. But when the king is so distant that one cannot accomplish anything with him—he is so exalted, so mighty, so lofty and remote—one cannot reach him. How does one awaken pleasure in the king, so that it becomes possible to approach him and accomplish something with him?

14:34 One wants to come before him and make one’s requests. For this he gives the parable of the “talking bird,” as it is called in the maamarim. The talking bird is what is called a parrot. Yes, it is an animal that talks, that can say a few words. They bring in the talking bird. Although it can barely speak, saying only a few words and not very much, it gives pleasure. Human nature is such that even a lofty, exalted king takes pleasure when he sees the talking bird. Through that pleasure, one can approach him and accomplish what one wants. So too, says the Maggid of Mezritch, with the souls of the Jewish people. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is a King, an exalted and lofty G-d, infinitely beyond all things. Nothing can awaken desire and pleasure in Him. All the angels, the seraphim and ofanim, the lofty souls and the world of Atzilus cannot accomplish this with Him. It is specifically the talking bird—and in the analogy, the Jewish people down here, souls in bodies. They are like a talking bird: small-minded, trying to daven, to say a word—this, this, this is worth more than all the riches. Every small thing, every drop, every movement they awaken within themselves—an awakening to teshuvah, an awakening to draw close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, or an awakening of love for G-dliness—Hakadosh Boruch Hu receives with the greatest pleasure and delight. This is the bird, the Jewish people, the talking bird; and this is the bird’s nest. When the Beis Hamikdash stood, there was a bird’s nest: the Divine Presence rested there permanently. Jews were in a state of love, desire and self-nullification toward G-dliness, as it says, “to bow and to be seen,” and “just as one came to see, so one came to be seen.” The Jews saw Him,

16:22 Hakadosh Boruch Hu, in the Beis Hamikdash; they saw the ten miracles of the Beis Hamikdash. There was love for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, a great love beyond understanding, permanently planted in the heart of every Jew when the Beis Hamikdash stood. But then comes the time of exile, and the situation is only “if you happen upon”—excluding a nest already at hand. From time to time, “a spirit descends from Above.” This revelation does not remain permanently in a person’s soul. On the contrary, all the mitzvos [unclear]. Nevertheless, the verse says, “If you happen upon a bird’s nest”: from time to time, there are certain periods. Here the Tzemach Tzedek means the month of Elul, when the gates of mercy open and the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are revealed. This is the idea of the king going out into the field, with everything that entails. This is “if you happen upon a bird’s nest”: at least occasionally, a time comes when the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are revealed. One might think this is an awakening from Above, coming as a gift. But the verse says “nest,” indicating that work is required on the person’s own part. Here the Tzemach Tzedek gives a wonderful explanation of the three things mentioned in the verse: “on the way, in any tree or on the ground.” These are three forms of work a person does to prepare the vessels, so that the awakening will remain permanently and penetrate inwardly. The first is “on the way”—the work of davening. The work of davening is “on the way, as they left Egypt.” As is well known, and as explained in Chassidus, the exodus from Egypt takes place during davening.

17:59 That is why, in the mitzvah of reciting Shema, we say, “I am Hashem your G-d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya and at length in the maamarim in Likkutei Torah that during davening, when a Jew awakens and contemplates the greatness of Hashem, he awakens within himself love for Hashem and leaves behind his own constraints and limitations. And “on the way, as they left Egypt,” the battle with Amalek takes place, as explained at length in Likkutei Torah on Parshas Ki Seitzei. “Who happened upon you on the way”—the work of davening means that a Jew stands ready for battle, “Hashem’s war against Amalek.” “When you go out to war against your enemies”—this is the battle in the work of davening. And this battle takes place specifically “on the way.” That is why the parsha says, “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way, as you left Egypt.” A Jew leaves Egypt during davening, and then Amalek comes after him and tries to cool him off. Here the Jew’s work is to awaken love during davening, and through this, the awakening of the bird’s nest will take place in the work of davening. This is “on the way,” in the work of davening. Then comes “in any tree.” The trees allude to the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. As explained in several Chassidus texts, this refers to Torah, to the revealed dimension of Torah and the inner dimension of Torah. As is well known, the revealed dimension of Torah comes from the Tree of Knowledge. The Torah—not, G-d forbid, because it is Torah, but because it is clothed in—

19:27 Torah, as explained in Tanya: the Alter Rebbe explains that the revealed dimension of Torah is clothed in laws and rulings to clarify what is forbidden and permitted, impure and pure, kosher and invalid—all the matters connected with Torah. Torah is clothed in these matters to refine the sparks found in everything and separate good from evil in every detail. This is the Tree of Knowledge, the revealed dimension of Torah. The Tree of Life is the inner dimension of Torah, where the Divine will is brought into the open. It is far removed from the work of refinement: there are no questions, no disputes, and no “but this contradicts that,” as explained at length in Igeres Hakodesh. This is the meaning of “in any tree.” When a Jew learns Torah, both its revealed and inner dimensions, then, as the Gemara says, since the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, “Hakadosh Boruch Hu has nothing in His world but the four cubits of halachah.” That is where Hakadosh Boruch Hu is found. This is the idea of the Tree of Life, and this is “in any tree.” Through Torah we come to prepare the vessels for the bird’s nest, for the revelation of the Shechinah from above. Then comes the third element, “or on the ground.” “On the ground” refers to practical mitzvos. “In his affairs and possessions”—a Jew who cannot sit and learn Torah all day connects through mitzvos, “on the ground.” The mitzvos are clothed in earthly, material, physical things, but through the mitzvos, [unclear], the Jew connects with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And

20:51 Here the verse says that even during exile, when the Shechinah is in exile and the bird’s nest is in the realm of action, without a fixed place—this is the main thing. From here come the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy in the month of Elul, when the gates of mercy are open. A Jew can then reach the highest levels of love and awe of Hashem, and this is every Jew’s daily avodah. The way to do it is through three things: “on the way”—the avodah of prayer; “in any tree”—Torah; and “on the ground”—the performance of mitzvos. This is the general idea contained in the five allusions to Elul’s initials, which the Rebbe discussed extensively during the month of Elul. There are five such allusions: the one connected with Torah is “He caused it to come into his hand, and I will appoint for you”—for words of Torah provide refuge. With regard to prayer, “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine”—drawing close to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. With regard to tzedakah, “each to his fellow, and gifts to the poor.” With regard to teshuvah, “your heart and the heart of”—the matter of circumcision, which is teshuvah: “Hashem your G-d will circumcise your heart.” And regarding Geulah, “to Hashem, and they said, saying, I will sing”—this is what Elul is about, a time of Geulah: bringing the sparks out of exile through the avodah of teshuvah. May we merit the Geulah very soon. May we merit the bird’s nest, which points to

22:18 Moshiach, and may we receive the revelation of the Third Beis Hamikdash and the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu. May it be a good and blessed year, and may we be inscribed and sealed for a good year—a good and sweet year, materially and spiritually.