Shabbos Parshas Beha'aloscha (Shelach in Eretz Hakodesh) 5786 - The Days of Segulah from 15 Sivan until 12-13 Tammuz

00:01 It was the night of 15 Sivan 5687. That night, the Frierdiker Rebbe received people for yechidus, and the appointments ended very late, around midnight or afterward. They had finished eating supper when, suddenly, there was a knock at the door. That was when the well-known arrest took place. The Frierdiker Rebbe was arrested and taken to the notorious prison, in a situation of real danger to his life. And the sentence, too—as is known, may Hashem have mercy, G-d forbid, the very opposite of life—was handed down that same night. Then, through open miracles, the great miracle occurred that led to the great day of Geulah: first, on Gimmel Tammuz, when he left the prison and traveled to the place of exile to which he had been sent, with the intention of exiling him for three years. Then, through open miracles, just a week later came the great day of 12 Tammuz, the Frierdiker Rebbe’s birthday. In fact, that day, when he turned forty-seven, was one of the days of Geulah: that was when they gave him the paper, the document stating that he was permitted to go completely free. That was the great day of the Festival of Geulah, 12 Tammuz. And the Rebbe once spoke about what happened that night, beyond the details of the story.

01:52 As is known, the Frierdiker Rebbe wrote a diary in which these events are recounted at length, and that is enough for us here. But the fact that an actual, open miracle occurred there is not emphasized so much in that diary. The Rebbe once related what happened and how we can see the magnitude of the miracle of that night, the night of 15 Sivan. This is what happened: There was an order from the government. That night, after midnight, the Russian government sought revenge because one of their important people had been killed. They said that, in retaliation, they would literally kill [unclear] of the important people in the country. It was meant as revenge for what had happened in Russia at that time. They gave orders to carry it out before midnight. But the whole matter dragged on, and by the time they arrested the Frierdiker Rebbe, midnight had already passed. When they arrived at the prison, there was a great commotion. After bringing the Frierdiker Rebbe to the prison, they wanted to go and seize Reb Chaim Lieberman as well,

03:35 who was the Frierdiker Rebbe’s secretary, and put him in prison too. Meanwhile, he managed to escape, because they had realized what was happening. In any case, amid all the commotion, when the Frierdiker Rebbe entered that impure place, the building called Shpalernaya—a building where hundreds of thousands of people, including many Jews, were killed—everything was done in haste when they brought him into the prison, [unclear], and naturally there was a great deal of confusion. The Frierdiker Rebbe had to pass through a corridor, and they told him to walk through it alone. He was supposed to continue straight ahead until he reached the office, where [unclear], and from there they would send him immediately to a cell, without any deliberation. What is more, their orders were to finish the entire matter before daybreak. In fact, only a few minutes remained before daybreak. The Frierdiker Rebbe arrived there and had to walk on, but since they had let him walk alone, he decided not to obey. They had told him to go to a particular door that he was supposed to pass through. Off to the side, on his right,

05:08 he saw another door, and it occurred to him to go somewhere else. He entered another room, where there was a bench. He sat down and began to think, as the Frierdiker Rebbe describes in his diary [unclear]. Sitting there, he began to think about hashgachah pratis, Divine providence. He recalled the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov that everything that happens to people—and not only to people, but even to inanimate things, plants, and animals, which is the Baal Shem Tov’s great innovation regarding hashgachah pratis—even a leaf falling from a tree and the wind that carries the leaf away: every detail is governed by hashgachah pratis and matters to the overall purpose, the purpose of creation as a whole. And if this applies to inanimate things, plants, and animals, how much more so to a person, and still more so to a Jew: every detail that happens in life is governed by hashgachah pratis. So it occurred to him that the very fact that he had gone this way rather than that way was a matter of hashgachah pratis. And so it was: meanwhile, the Frierdiker Rebbe stayed there alone for some time. Someone came in and spoke with him about some interesting things, as the Frierdiker Rebbe describes

06:27 the details of what happened: someone else who had come from that same [unclear], a non-Jew who had known that [unclear] from before, and so on. After all this, by the time he reached the place where they were supposed to ask him all their questions, the night had passed. In the natural course of events—we say “in the natural course of events,” but it was through hashgachah pratis—that meant the night was over, and they no longer did what they had wanted to do. That changed everything. The next three weeks passed, and afterward he was released from imprisonment on Gimmel Tammuz, as the story continues. Here we see hashgachah pratis quite literally: the fact that he changed course and took a different route saved his life, in the most physical sense. As is also known, the Frierdiker Rebbe related years later, at a 12 Tammuz farbrengen, that when Rosh Hashanah arrived that year, 5687, he happened to speak in the Rosh Hashanah maamar about the Baal Shem Tov’s teaching on hashgachah pratis. It was not built into the content of the maamar, but in the course of the maamar he came to

07:51 speak on Rosh Hashanah about that teaching. As is known among chassidim, the teaching delivered on Rosh Hashanah is a central matter that affects the entire year. And he happened to speak about the Baal Shem Tov’s innovative teaching on hashgachah pratis. The Frierdiker Rebbe said that it was through the strength of this that he was able to get through what happened, through the entire imprisonment. Had he not spoken about hashgachah pratis, he did not know how he could have overcome the trials he faced during that imprisonment. At first glance, this is surprising. The Rebbe once asked: What, seemingly, is the significance of this? Surely it is obvious that everything that happens to Jews comes from Heaven. Every Jew who believes—and Jews are believers, the children of believers—knows that everything that happens in a person’s life comes from Heaven, whether it is something good or something adverse. “Just as one recites a blessing over the good, so one recites a blessing over the bad,” as the Gemara says and as is ruled in halachah. That is nothing unusual. Yet here, he specifically needed to reflect on the Baal Shem Tov’s innovation regarding hashgachah pratis, and that helped save him from what happened.

09:10 Why, seemingly, was such particular reflection needed? Why was it specifically through the miracle of hashgachah pratis that he could withstand the trial and the concealment of those events, when without it he could not? The Rebbe asked this question at a 12 Tammuz farbrengen, back in the first year, 12 Tammuz 5711. The Rebbe then explained the whole point in a wonderful way: Indeed, everyone believes that everything comes from Hakadosh Boruch Hu, that everything is watched over from Above, that everything comes from Heaven, and so on. But here there was something distinct and special. At that time, the Frierdiker Rebbe was the one sustaining all of Jewish life in Russia. The Frierdiker Rebbe was not a person who thought about himself. Not at all. Had he been thinking about himself, he would have been at ease: everything was fine, he had done what he had to do, Hakadosh Boruch Hu would do as He wished, and all would be well. But this was a time when the Frierdiker Rebbe was wholly devoted, dedicating his entire life to spreading Yiddishkeit and spreading the wellsprings of Chassidus. In Russia at that time, there were harsh decrees aimed at utterly destroying the foundations of Yiddishkeit. And the Frierdiker Rebbe stood, alone, against

10:40 the entire country and against a regime then at the height of its power, and waged a great struggle against them: to spread Yiddishkeit, to establish cheders, mikvaos, and yeshivos. This was at a time when they were shutting and locking everything down, and doing so involved real danger to life. The Frierdiker Rebbe was wholly devoted to that goal and purpose, and did not think of himself at all. The Rebbe explained that, as is known, Chassidus describes two kinds of mesirus nefesh, self-sacrifice: the mesirus nefesh of Avraham Avinu and the mesirus nefesh of Rabbi Akiva. What is the difference between them? Chassidus explains that Rabbi Akiva’s mesirus nefesh was indeed immense. Rabbi Akiva gave his life for Torah study and for spreading Torah in the most difficult times, in the face of opposition. And what happened to him? The harsh decrees of the Romans came. What did that lead to? Later they imprisoned him, and he was one of the Ten Martyrs. As the Gemara says, they killed him in a terrible way. When that happened and they were killing him, with all the details involved, Rabbi Akiva said, as the Gemara relates in Tractate Berachos: “All my life I longed for the chance to fulfill it”—when would I be able to fulfill “with all your soul,” even if He takes your soul, to go with mesirus

12:03 one’s life to sanctify Hashem’s name, to give one’s life for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, fulfilling “You shall love” with all your heart and all your soul. And now it was actually happening. So it was with his teacher, and so on, when—as the Gemara relates in detail. Chassidus explains that Rabbi Akiva’s greatness lay in his seeking the perfection and the level of mesirus nefesh. He sought mesirus nefesh. Not so with Avraham Avinu: we do not find that he sought mesirus nefesh. Avraham Avinu showed mesirus nefesh in the ten tests, particularly at the Akeidah, but his purpose was not to go looking for mesirus nefesh. Avraham Avinu was not seeking perfection. He was not seeking mesirus nefesh. He was completely devoted to the higher purpose: making Hashem’s name known publicly. That was his goal. As the verse says, “He planted an eshel in Be’er Sheva and called there in the name of Hashem, G-d of the world.” For Avraham Avinu, the entire purpose was to make the Creator’s name known. And it is explained that the verse says “G-d, world,” not “G-d of the world,” because Hakadosh Boruch Hu and the world are not two separate things. “G-d, world”—the world and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are one. [unclear] And that was Avraham Avinu’s mission: to go and make G-dliness known and reveal it in the world. [unclear] But the mesirus nefesh he showed followed as a matter of course. It was not the aim. The aim was to make G-d’s name known. And about this, about this, they speak of the acts of kindness—

13:58 of Avraham Avinu. In contrast to Rabbi Akiva, this was mesirus nefesh through and through. He did not think about material matters, and he did not even think about spiritual matters. He did not even think about the perfection and the virtue of mesirus nefesh. It was absolute devotion to the higher purpose. Of this it is said [unclear]. This was the nature of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s mesirus nefesh. He was prepared to put [unclear] at risk in order to spread Yiddishkeit, to lead Jewish life, to the point that he could actually bear all of this. And when they took him, he could no longer do what he had intended to do; all the work for Yiddishkeit was in danger. That is the story. But had he been thinking about himself, his spiritual level, his own perfection—what would that be? That would no longer be mesirus nefesh. He did everything to reach [unclear]. And the fact that Rabbi Shimon was [unclear] was not about himself, but [unclear]. When he was not thinking about himself, he was thinking: What will become of the continued observance of Torah and mitzvos, and of Yiddishkeit, in Russia and the surrounding countries? What will happen? What will happen? What will become of the entire edifice of Yiddishkeit, Torah and mitzvos into which the Frierdiker Rebbe had poured his whole soul and life? This left him stunned. For this he gave his life. When he saw [unclear]. From the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings: the Baal Shem Tov revealed that every matter, [unclear], every detail of creation—the wind blowing against a leaf, each and every detail—is all governed by hashgachah pratis. How much more so with regard to Jews and what happens to them. So we understand the point: not only would this not weaken Yiddishkeit, it would arouse renewed strength

15:57 in the entire endeavor. They would become even stronger in spreading Torah and even stronger in spreading the wellsprings. It would bring about further great developments and success for Yiddishkeit, even though there was no way to know how it would happen. But the very fact that he lived with an awareness of hashgachah pratis gave him the ability to withstand all the [unclear] in a matter that hurt him so deeply—not because of himself, but because of the Jewish people. He was certain that this was connected to the overall higher purpose of making a dwelling place for Hashem in the lower worlds, and that it would bring only an ascent, only greater completeness, only greater strength in matters of Yiddishkeit, even though at that moment things appeared to be weakening. The Rebbe spoke about this several times, [unclear], saying that the auspicious days begin already on 15 Sivan. There is no need to wait until Gimmel Tammuz, when the Frierdiker Rebbe’s Geulah took place. More than that, there is no need to wait until 12 Tammuz. The Rebbe and the Frierdiker Rebbe said that 12 and 13 Tammuz are the days of Geulah, festive days—the festival of liberation in all its details. But the Rebbe spoke several times about how now, in our generation, after what unfolded here on an inner level, already from 15 Sivan there is

17:24 an auspicious day. All three weeks, from 15 Sivan until Gimmel Tammuz, or until 12 Tammuz—this whole period is a time of auspicious days, days of Geulah, days when we must engage in spreading the wellsprings. The Rebbe once spoke about this in a sicha: We find it explained in Chassidus, concerning exile in general, that the entire exile is called Zerubavel. This is in Likkutei Torah on Parshas Behaaloscha, in one of its well-known maamarim, where the Alter Rebbe explains the haftarah of Behaaloscha: “This is the word of Hashem to Zerubavel.” When the prophet Zechariah saw “a menorah entirely of gold,” he saw a golden menorah, and he was told that this was the meaning of “This is the word of Hashem to Zerubavel.” Why? Because it refers to the Jewish people as a whole. The Alter Rebbe explains that the golden menorah is the Jewish people. Although all Jews are in exile, with all that exile entails—“I sleep in exile”—it is nonetheless “a menorah entirely of gold”: every Jew and all Jews are a golden menorah, a pure and precious golden menorah. This is the quality of a Jew that is revealed in exile. What was the leader of that exile called? Zerubavel. The Alter Rebbe explains: What does Zerubavel mean? Zerubavel refers to sowing in Bavel. What exile was there then? It was the Babylonian exile. And—

18:59 the whole idea of sowing in Bavel means this: everything we have explained about exile is like taking a seed and sowing it in the ground. When it is put into the ground, it decays completely, disintegrates and disappears, until no trace of it remains. That is decay, the very opposite of growth. But from that decay a whole tree later grows and bears fruit. The fruit is incomparably greater than the seed: the seed was small and dry, and from it grow the most beautiful, finest and tastiest fruits. That is the nature of exile: all of exile is a form of sowing. At the time it looks like decay, as though everything is being lost and rotting away. But quite the opposite: from it comes the greatest growth afterward. And so we see that 15 Sivan, and all the weeks until Gimmel Tammuz and 12 Tammuz, which outwardly appeared to be a time of darkness, concealment and hiddenness, ultimately proved to be [unclear], and from it all came the greatest revelation. Those days were transformed into joy and gladness and festive occasions. From this came, afterward, for the Frierdiker Rebbe,

20:26 the festival of liberation. How many sichos and maamarim of Chassidus were delivered afterward [unclear]. Following this, he left Russia and was able to continue the work of spreading Yiddishkeit. Eventually he reached America, and that too was a continuation of what had begun on that day, 15 Sivan, which had seemingly been a bitter day. Its inner meaning was revealed afterward. Through that concealment and hiddenness, darkness was transformed into light and bitterness into sweetness, and from it came the greatest revelations and achievements: bringing Chassidus, “Your wellsprings shall spread outward,” to the lower half of the globe. The same is true of 27 Sivan, the day the Rebbe arrived in America. This brought about the transformation of the lower half of the globe: America became a place of G-dliness, a place of Chassidus, a place of Torah, a center for spreading the wellsprings throughout the entire world, as the Rebbe discussed at length on later occasions [unclear]. It all began thanks to this day. And this is the lesson we must learn: always remember to see hashgachah pratis in everything, as the holy Baal Shem Tov teaches us. Then we discover that even things that seem to us, G-d forbid, to be bitter and dark will themselves ultimately be transformed, and from them comes the greatest ascent,

21:52 the greatest growth and the greatest achievements. We must make use of these days, days of Divine favor and auspicious days, to leave our personal exile, as the Rebbe discussed in the sicha of 15 Sivan in Toras Menachem. When a person is in this physical world, a soul in a body, and does not engage in spreading Yiddishkeit and spreading the wellsprings, and does not study Chassidus, that is his own exile. He must leave that personal exile, sit down to study Chassidus [unclear], and engage in spreading the wellsprings, so that Chassidus reaches every place in the world. In this way we prepare the world for the greatest day, the day of the true and complete Geulah, when [unclear], when there will no longer be exile [unclear]. May the complete Geulah come already, with the conquest of Eretz Yisroel, as explained in the coming parshiyos—“The land is very, very good”—and the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days, amen.