Parshas Toldos 5786 "And G-d shall give you" - The virtue of toil, laboring in Torah

00:00 One of the great chassidim of the Tzemach Tzedek was Reb Schneur Zalman of Lublin. The Rabbi of Lublin was among the great chassidim and great rabbis, a tremendous genius. Many remarkable things are told about him: his greatness in Torah, his greatness in serving Hashem, his deep connection to our Rebbeim, and much more. One story about him illustrates just how immersed he was in Torah. He was among the most diligent scholars, both in the amount he learned and in the depth of his learning, and he simply [unclear]. He was a great genius, a great scholar, and had a strong connection with the Tzemach Tzedek in every area, particularly in Torah study. Here is one of the stories told about him. The Frierdiker Rebbe relates the following story at length in his sichos: The man known as the “Toras Chessed,” after his famous book of responsa, Toras Chessed—the Rabbi of Lublin’s book—was once with the Tzemach Tzedek. They were discussing a matter in their studies, and he raised a question about it. In the course of the discussion, the Tzemach Tzedek said that it was an explicit Mishnah. The Toras Chessed thought and thought and thought, but could not remember which Mishnah it was.

01:43 Eventually, the Tzemach Tzedek deliberately began reciting the Mishnah from memory. Only [unclear] the Mishnah, and from the way the Tzemach Tzedek learned and explained it, did the Toras Chessed realize that this was indeed the Mishnah—and that he had not remembered it himself. He was deeply shaken by this and said that this was what it meant to study Torah for its own sake. He then spoke about the greatness the Tzemach Tzedek had attained through his toil in Torah: he had reached higher levels in Torah study, and the Rabbi of Lublin felt that, at his own level, he could not compare to him at all. Another story the Rebbe tells several times: Once, the Rabbi of Lublin complained to the Tzemach Tzedek that he had no vitality and no geshmak in his learning. Of course, this was relative to his own level and the subjects he was studying. The Tzemach Tzedek told him, “I envy you. What can I do? I do have geshmak in learning!” In other words, he wanted to emphasize that this was an advantage: precisely when a person has to work hard and push through with effort, he reaches a deeper and higher level in Torah study. Along these lines, there is the well-known account of what the Tzemach Tzedek said to the Rebbe Maharash. The Rebbe

03:08 also tells this story several times. The Rebbe Maharash had extraordinary abilities and talent, and an exceptionally quick grasp. Even as a young child, he understood everything immediately. The Tzemach Tzedek saw that he was not learning with the required diligence and gently reproved him for not learning as he should. The Rebbe Maharash said that he had studied the sugya that day and knew it. The Tzemach Tzedek tested him, and he showed that he knew it well. The Tzemach Tzedek told him that he had to toil. Even with all his ability and talent, there had to be toil in Torah. The Rebbe Maharash began working hard and toiled so intensely that blood appeared on his forehead—that is, on the [unclear]. There were marks of blood from the intensity of his effort, until the Tzemach Tzedek had to calm him and tell him not to toil quite so much. What is so important about toil in Torah? What makes it so essential? We find this in today’s portion of Parshas Toldos. The Torah says, “May G-d give you of the dew of heaven and of the richness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and wine.” In today’s portion, we learn how our forefather Yitzchak came to give the blessing he wished to bestow. At first he wanted to bless Esav, and then to give—

04:28 the whole story with our forefather Yaakov—and here come the blessings. What were those blessings? They are among the greatest blessings in the Torah. When Yitzchak gives Yaakov the blessings, we find the greatest abundance described in the verses. Yitzchak says to Yaakov, “May G-d give you of the dew of heaven and of the richness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and wine,” and the verses continue. The Midrash asks: What is the blessing of “May He give you”? It is not only a blessing of material things in their plain sense. Of course, it is that too, but the Midrash says: “Of the dew of heaven”—this is Scripture; “of the richness of the earth”—this is Mishnah; “an abundance of grain”—this is Talmud, the laws. The entire blessing is connected with Torah. And this raises a number of questions. We will not go into all of them now, but I have a question about this Midrash. The first, simple question is: What does it mean that he blessed him with Torah? The Torah was going to be given in any case. [unclear] After all, as is well known, the Midrash says—and Rashi cites it—that the entire world was created for the sake of the Torah and for the sake of the Jewish people. And the Midrash says of “the sixth day” that it is the day associated with the giving of the Torah. Regarding the letter hei in “the sixth,” Hakadosh Boruch Hu said:

05:45 “If the Jewish people accept My Torah, well and good.” The entire world depends on the Torah. So what is new here when we speak of a blessing for Torah? What is the blessing for Torah? The Torah was going to be given in any case. Second, there is the question: Where does Esav fit into this? We say that Yitzchak wanted to bless Esav. Did he want to bless Esav with Torah? What connection does Esav have to Torah? Torah belongs to the Jewish people. What does this mean? Third, there is something interesting about the wording, “May G-d give you.” We are speaking of the greatest and deepest blessings, yet which Divine name does the Torah use? Specifically the name Elokim. What does the name Elokim signify? The attribute of judgment, the attribute of severity, the attribute of contraction, as is known. Seemingly, the name Havayah, the attribute of mercy, would be more fitting for blessings. Why does it say specifically Elokim, the attribute of judgment? This reveals a new insight, a point the Rebbe Rashab explains at length in the well-known series of maamarim from 5666 and in the maamarim of the Shabbosim. The matter is also explained later in another maamar of Chassidus. There are maamarim connected with Rosh Chodesh Kislev. Beyond the significance of Kislev and Rosh Chodesh Kislev—a time of Geulah, Yom Tov and joy, connected with the revelation of Chabad Chassidus—these maamarim explain very rich concepts. And the matter is based, in fact, on the words of

07:24 the Zohar. Speaking about the revelations of Moshiach, the Zohar cites the verse in Yeshayahu: “No eye has seen, O G-d, besides You, what He will do for one who waits for Him.” It speaks of the revelations of Moshiach and says that a time will come, in the future, with revelations so great, things that “no eye has seen, O G-d, besides You”—no eye has seen them. As the Gemara says in Tractate Shabbos: “All the prophets prophesied only about the days of Moshiach, but as for the World to Come—‘No eye has seen, O G-d, besides You.’” The revelations we are discussing are even beyond the days of Moshiach. After the days of Moshiach, in the World to Come, there will be things that “no eye has seen, O G-d, besides You”—wondrous revelations of the inner dimension of Torah. [unclear] in the second period of the days of Moshiach. The Midrash says: “What He will do for one who waits for Him.” What does “one who waits for Him” mean? In the plain sense, it refers to anticipating the Geulah. The Rambam rules in Hilchos Melachim that it is not enough to believe in Moshiach’s coming; one must also await him. “One who waits for Him”—a person waits with thirst and longing; he actively awaits him. This is a matter of halachah. The Zohar says that “waits” also denotes toil in wisdom. Accordingly, the revelation of the inner dimension of Torah—“A new Torah will go forth from Me,” the secrets of Torah that will be revealed in Moshiach’s teachings, and the wondrous revelations of the inner dimension of Torah—all depend on [unclear].

09:03 “Awaits him,” the paths of wisdom—this means learning in depth, through toil. The ways of the spirit of the Torah mean the revelation of the Torah’s secrets to him. This is the order of toil. We find another remarkable thing in the history of the Jewish people. There is an interesting Midrash about the difference between the first tablets and the second tablets: the first tablets were given before the sin, and the second tablets were given after the sin of the Golden Calf. The Midrash says: “He will reveal to you the secrets of wisdom, for wisdom is twofold.” Had the Jewish people not broken the tablets, and had there been only the first tablets, we would have had only the Five Books of the Torah and the Book of Yehoshua. But following the sin and the breaking of the tablets, after the Jewish people did teshuvah, a new depth in the Torah opened up. Through this, the Written Torah, the Oral Torah, halachos, aggados, and the entire breadth of the Torah were revealed. All this came about because the tablets were broken. In other words, it was precisely from concealment that a greater depth in the Torah was revealed, one that would not otherwise have been revealed; all this abundance would not have existed. Similarly, we find another difference between the two possibilities that faced Moshe Rabbeinu at the rock. The Zohar says: Had Moshe Rabbeinu spoken to the rock—Hashem wanted Moshe Rabbeinu to speak to the rock—the Midrash says he would have taught them one chapter, and that would have been enough. That speech, words of Torah, would have caused the rock to bring forth its water. But Moshe Rabbeinu did not speak; he struck the rock. The Zohar says that had Moshe Rabbeinu spoken, there would have been [unclear], but

10:48 there would not have been the entire revelation of the Oral Torah. The fact that Moshe Rabbeinu struck the rock is what brought about the entire Babylonian Talmud. The many questions, the concealments, the debates, and all the deep study of Torah revealed by the Tannaim and Amoraim in the Babylonian Talmud, and continuing to this day—all of these came about because Moshe struck the rock. Had he not struck it, none of this abundance would have existed. In other words, striking the rock brought the richness of the Oral Torah to light. This brings us to another point: among human beings, among Jewish souls, there are two kinds of intellect. There is understanding that comes naturally: a person grasps a particular subject, understands its plain meaning. One person has a good mind and understands it well; another has a deeper mind and understands it more deeply. But for Jews, the secret of learning comes through difficulties, concealments, and toil. In the language of Kabbalah, this is called “returning light.” “Direct light” is light that shines directly; it comes immediately, in the natural way. This is an ability a person develops through ordinary effort. But when there are difficulties and concealments, something deep within the soul breaks through and reveals a further depth in wisdom, the “secrets of wisdom.” That depth would never have been revealed were it not for the questions—that is, the concealments. As we see, it is precisely when there is concealment that what was hidden is revealed, and a person overcomes the challenges. So too in Torah: through toil

12:26 in Torah, we reveal a further depth. And so the question is asked: Why does halachah follow the Babylonian Talmud rather than the Jerusalem Talmud? After all, the Jerusalem Talmud would seem to shed more light. Chassidus explains that it is precisely the Babylonian Talmud, because there was the darkness of Babylon there, the Babylonian exile. Yes, the darkness of exile—there were more concealments, but the students toiled more, the Amoraim toiled more, and they grappled with more questions, until they were able to clarify the halachah and reach its depth from every angle. Similarly, this is the advantage of our work and toil at the end of the exile. When we say that through the paths of wisdom, through toil, we reach the depths of Torah—without that toil, we would not reach them. This is the revelation of Moshiach’s Torah, the Torah of the revelations of the time to come. It is precisely through toil during the exile, when a person breaks through the concealments, labors and sweats, and invests all his strength in a passage of Torah, that he reaches the depths of Torah, even the depths of its inner dimension. Those profound revelations come to light. And the question is asked: Why was it precisely in a time of redoubled darkness that all the secrets of the Torah’s inner dimension, the teachings of Chassidus, were revealed through the Baal Shem Tov, his disciples, and their disciples, in these later generations? Similarly, this is what is said in today’s parsha: this was the blessing Yitzchak gave Yaakov. Yes, Yitzchak—as is known, the name Yitzchak comes from the word for

13:53 laughter. Yitzchak comes from the word for laughter, as in “Then our mouths will be filled with laughter.” Yitzchak represents all the revelations of the time to come, the laughter and delight that arise from breaking through the concealments. Yitzchak embodies the attribute of gevurah. This is the strength of the concealment that must be broken through, and it is precisely through this that we reach the deepest revelations. In particular, it is Yitzchak who blesses Yaakov with the blessing, “May G-d give you of the dew of heaven and of the richness of the earth.” The Torah as it was given, when we speak of the giving of the Torah, [unclear], Hakadosh Boruch Hu made a condition with the world concerning the Torah—this is the Torah, and it comes as a gift. This is the external dimension of the Torah. These are aspects of Torah that come as a gift from Above, of their own accord. This is Torah that flows smoothly. But the blessing Yitzchak gave Yaakov concerned toil in Torah: that through toil one reaches the depths of the Torah’s inner dimension. This is the special blessing of “May G-d give you.” And why is the name Elokim used specifically there? Elokim signifies contraction and concealment, and it is precisely through Elokim—by breaking through the concealments, the questions, the deceptions, and all these things—that we discover a new depth with new vitality, the new light, the depths of the Torah’s inner dimension. This is “of the dew of heaven and of the richness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and wine”—all the wonderful aspects of Torah, the new insights into Torah, which

15:16 come precisely through toil. As for the statement that Yitzchak wanted to give this to Esav—on the plain level, he really did want to give it to Esav—it means that these matters are connected with Esav. This is connected with the sparks of holiness found in this world, within kelipah and the sitra achra. Yitzchak preferred to give it to Esav. He thought the refinement would be accomplished directly through Esav, whereas it needed to pass through Yaakov so that he could refine the sparks of holiness. In other words, he would have given it to Esav immediately, and that would not have worked. Therefore, events were arranged so that Yaakov would come and take the blessings, enabling him to refine Esav and release the sparks of holiness found amid the things needing refinement, amid the concealments. By revealing those sparks of holiness, we reveal a new light, the light of the future Geulah. This is also alluded to and explained in the blessings Yitzchak gave Yaakov, in “May G-d give you” in today’s parsha. May Hashem help us merit the Geulah already, after all the concealments and all the toil we have gone through. May we see all these blessings fulfilled openly in the Geulah: “May G-d give you of the dew of heaven and of the richness of the earth, and an abundance of grain and wine,” both materially and spiritually, in the true and complete Geulah through our righteous Moshiach.