Parshas Shelach (Korach in Eretz Hakodesh), 28 Sivan 5786 - Mesirus Nefesh from Russia and America

00:00 On 28 Sivan 5701, when the Rebbe arrived in America. The Rebbe, together with the Rebbetzin, was saved through open miracles from the valley of tears, from the difficult years of the war. This was a physical rescue, but it was also a spiritual rescue for the Jewish people as a whole: the Rebbe’s arrival in America made it possible to continue bringing about, as the Rebbe said, a revolution in every aspect of spreading Judaism and spreading the wellsprings of Chassidus—to bring Judaism, Torah, and mitzvos to every place, particularly America and the entire world. The Shabbos after 28 Sivan was Gimmel Tammuz. Gimmel Tammuz is the day of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s liberation: on Gimmel Tammuz he left prison. Generally, we do not find that the Frierdiker Rebbe held a farbrengen on Gimmel Tammuz, because the main Yom Tov was 12 Tammuz, when he left exile and returned home in a complete liberation. Gimmel Tammuz was not yet a complete liberation, since he was sent into exile then. But that year, because the Rebbe had just arrived and there was great joy, the Frierdiker Rebbe held a large farbrengen that Shabbos, Shabbos Parshas Korach, Gimmel Tammuz. At that farbrengen he told several stories of mesirus nefesh, including from his own life. He told several stories about what he had endured during those bitter, difficult trials, when he was in [unclear] and when he was imprisoned. He spoke about a number of things, and in general—

01:58 He spoke about the mesirus nefesh of chassidim. At that farbrengen he spoke, vividly and at length, about the mesirus nefesh of chassidim in Russia. He said there was no measure to the mesirus nefesh that the young married men and the bochurim in Russia were going through in those days. And among other things, he told several stories. In one of them, he spoke about the young men who gave themselves over with complete mesirus nefesh, without thinking of themselves at all, and devoted themselves to setting up and opening chadarim, teaching children, and working in education. In those days, this was a real danger to life. [unclear] various things then, and when a teacher was caught, they could kill him, expel him from Russia, or send him to Siberia. These were truly matters of life and death. They did not think of themselves at all. If they thought about anything, it was how to spare their families from suffering because of it. The Frierdiker Rebbe related that a meeting was held. The situation was very bitter: young men were sent away, and women were left with their children, without their husbands. It was a difficult situation. A meeting of bochurim was held, and they considered what to do. After all, the situation was grave. The young married men who had taken this upon themselves had taken it upon themselves; but could one ask, demand, or require a young man with a wife and children—

03:29 to leave everything and go into a situation requiring mesirus nefesh? [unclear] There was a whole discussion about it. The Frierdiker Rebbe related that there were seventy bochurim. Seventy bochurim committed themselves to going and doing this work. Since they were unmarried, they would go and work in education. They did not spare themselves. It cost them their health; they suffered greatly from the hardships of that time and were severely persecuted. Nevertheless, they never gave in and never betrayed anyone. When they were questioned, even under the harshest torture, they never revealed who guided them, who their leader was, or who worked with them—they did not betray one another. This was part of what they went through day after day, because the young people, youngsters like many children, stood with the [unclear], when they were with [unclear]. And afterward the Rebbe [unclear], that one of them was there in [unclear]. Here in America, he said, we do not have all the [unclear]. But what do we have? Here in America, it is a matter of simple, everyday things. Instead of drinking juice, which they had in America, or perhaps having something with juice—orange juice. Yes, that was the whole issue there in America. Then he prepares the coffee [unclear]; instead of—

05:13 drinking the juice, he drinks milk. That is how the [unclear] is expressed. The Rebbe was certain that the [unclear] they now had here in America, in America itself [unclear], would find expression in other matters. And the [unclear], that [unclear], that there needs to be, and that we must not be immersed in [unclear], must not be immersed in [unclear], and that we should shine, be Jews who shine, be a light, and not become so accustomed to [unclear] that we think it is light. He told a story there, in [unclear], about someone sitting with [unclear]. They thought [unclear] to finish the drink with him. They thought of taking it down to a cellar, a basement, a dark place. That way we could go on saying “l’chaim” and [unclear]. And then, what we had thought was darkness—no. After a few minutes you would get used to it; it would already seem light to you, and you would be able to see what was happening there. When he heard this, he said: That is exactly the whole problem. We have grown accustomed to [unclear], and we think it is light. And that was the [unclear], and that is what he said to [unclear] in America. And he says: What is the [unclear] here in America? That we should not become [unclear], that we should not—

06:53 darken things, not be caught up in [unclear], in a place where we no longer encounter the [unclear]. We must not think that it is light. And that is what he means by [unclear], with the [unclear], and by being engaged in matters of yiras Shamayim, which brings light. And that was the first [unclear] when the Rebbe arrived in America. On this subject the Rebbe said: Here in America we can speak about matters that we could not speak about in Russia. We need to [unclear] and converse, to speak about matters that were very difficult to discuss. But we must not forget our mesirus nefesh. We must not retreat from our mesirus nefesh. And he said that we must look at [unclear], at our [unclear]. The intention was [unclear], but to stand firm in our mesirus nefesh. And he said this in a maamar. As is known, in those days it was difficult for the Rebbe to speak. There was no [unclear]; there was [unclear]. The maamar was “Ki Imcha Mekor Chayim, Be’orcha Nireh Or” (“For with You is the source of life; in Your light we shall see light”). The maamar was published in Sefer Hamaamarim 5701. It opens with a Midrash on “Ki Imcha Mekor Chayim, Be’orcha Nireh Or.” The Midrash says that the Jews say to Hakadosh Boruch Hu: When we were in Egypt, it was dark; there was darkness. Then Hakadosh Boruch Hu brought us Moshe Rabbeinu and took us out of Egypt, and there was a redemption. There was light. But afterward we once again returned—

08:43 and fell into darkness. Again there was destruction and exile. Then Ezra the Scribe came, and there was a second redemption. Then came Mordechai and Haman; there was destruction. Then Mordechai came and brought light, but afterward there was darkness again. Then came the story with Greece, Antiochus, and all those events. Mattisyahu ben Yochanan brought light, but afterward came the exile of Edom again. Eventually came the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash and the exile of Edom—our exile. The Jews say to Hakadosh Boruch Hu: All the lights we kindled went out. Therefore, “in Your light”—we do not want the light of flesh and blood; we want only “in Your light we shall see light,” Your light, which will bring true light. That is the light we await, the light of the true and complete Geulah. The Frierdiker Rebbe asks: What does “in Your light we shall see light” mean, and what does “for with You is the source of life” mean? If the request “in Your light we shall see light” is a request for the future Geulah, when there will be “Your light,” the true light, and “we shall see light,” the eternal light of the Geulah, it follows that the words “for with You is the source of life” refer to the present time, the time of exile. What does “for with You is the source of life” mean during exile? The maamar explains that this is the avodah of ikvesa d’Meshicha, the time immediately before Moshiach. The avodah at the end of exile, amid the doubled and redoubled darkness of its final period, is the avodah of “for with You—

10:16 is the source of life.” Precisely at this time, when we are surrounded by the concealment of a doubled and redoubled darkness, Jews are called upon to have the strength of mesirus nefesh. That is the avodah. Precisely in our generations, in a time like this, the avodah of mesirus nefesh is required. And through the mesirus nefesh of Jews at the end of exile, we see that “with You is the source of life.” Through mesirus nefesh, a Jew reaches the source of life, essential life, the true vitality that comes from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This prepares us for “in Your light we shall see light,” for the essential light that will be revealed. That is “we shall see light”—the light of the true and complete Geulah. This was, as mentioned, the first maamar of Chassidus the Frierdiker Rebbe delivered when he arrived in America. Looking back, one can see clearly in its words the foundation for the avodah that the Rebbe established when the new era began. As the Rebbe discussed many times, as mentioned, a new era began then. It was the era of bringing the light of Chassidus, the true light, the wellsprings of Chassidus, to the lower hemisphere. This is the whole idea of [unclear] that the Rebbe mentioned at a later farbrengen: that then, through the Rebbeim—the Frierdiker Rebbe, who arrived in 5700, and afterward the Rebbe, the leader of our generation,

11:48 When the Rebbe arrived in America in 5701, the whole drive to spread the wellsprings of Chassidus outward began in earnest and never stopped: expanding the work, printing in seventy languages, as the Rebbe would say, translating Chassidus into every language in every country to which shluchim are sent. That was the goal: through educational work throughout the world, to connect Jews with shlichus and Yiddishkeit and prepare the world for Moshiach. Then came [unclear], the whole undertaking of the Rebbe, the leader of our generation, which he printed at the time and continued to develop, growing ever more. Yes, the lavish dissemination of the treasures of Chassidus in every language—all of this prepares the world for the revelation of Moshiach. But what did he say at this farbrengen? What is the inner point of this new work? It must be done with mesirus nefesh, self-sacrifice. There was, indeed, the mesirus nefesh in Russia: self-sacrifice in the face of danger, literally risking one’s life amid the decrees against Yiddishkeit in those turbulent times. In the past, too, there was Haman’s decree “to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews.” Then the Jews’ power of mesirus nefesh was revealed in “Go, gather all the Jews”: they held fast to their Yiddishkeit and did not, G-d forbid, [unclear]. But the Rebbe says in the teaching, “[unclear],”

13:21 Everything that took place in the days of Mordechai and Esther also took place in Russia during the time of the Frierdiker Rebbe. In response to the decrees against Yiddishkeit, Jews revealed their power of mesirus nefesh. They devoted themselves to education with complete mesirus nefesh, on the basis of “Out of the mouths of babes and infants You have established strength,” [unclear], literally risking their lives. That was how it was in those days. But in our time, when this kind of mesirus nefesh is not required of us, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu has brought us to a situation in which we have ample means, materially and spiritually—a new approach is required, a different kind of mesirus nefesh: self-sacrifice amid prosperity, standing firm against the test of wealth. We must not let ourselves become darkened, coarse, and absorbed in material things, in the [unclear] of wealth and abundance. This is “Yeshurun grew fat and kicked.” We must not get caught up in all these things, but stand firm with mesirus nefesh. Today, mesirus nefesh does not mean, G-d forbid, giving up one’s life. Here it means surrendering one’s will. We must set aside the desires of the soul, for “nafshi,” “my soul,” can also mean “my will.” That is mesirus nefesh: surrendering one’s will so that it is devoted to

14:58 the purpose at hand; so that one’s will is devoted to illuminating the world, taking action, opening doors, bringing light, drawing more Jews close to Yiddishkeit, Torah, and mitzvos, and illuminating the world with the light of Torah—especially the light of the inner dimension of Torah. And all of it with this sense of strength, of mesirus nefesh, of [unclear]. This is what mesirus nefesh means: firmly committing to this approach and saying, “I am not going to take another path.” There is something interesting here: today is 28 Sivan, and the Hebrew number 28, koach, means “strength.” As the Rebbe said at the farbrengen of 28 Sivan 5748, 28 Sivan represents the strength of the Giving of the Torah. There is a letter from the Frierdiker Rebbe, written before he came to America, while he was still in Russia, while he was in Warsaw, in the [unclear] that once existed. In that letter, the Frierdiker Rebbe writes to one of the chassidim that the Alter Rebbe’s statement that the Giving of the Torah did not take place in America should be understood as follows: the Giving of the Torah was a revelation from above downward. That revelation reached only the upper hemisphere—the countries near Eretz Yisroel. But in the lower hemisphere,

16:33 including America and the other countries there, the Giving of the Torah had not reached. As a revelation from above downward, it had not yet reached those countries. For Torah to reach them, the Frierdiker Rebbe wrote in that letter, even before traveling to America, a different kind of work was needed: “work with added strength.” That is the phrase he uses. And what kind of added strength? Specifically, work done with mesirus nefesh. Through it, even America can become a place of Torah. Here again we find the word “strength”: 28 Sivan, added strength. In other words, Torah is light. “Torah is light”: the Torah given at the Giving of the Torah shines and illuminates. Its light spread through the place where the Giving of the Torah occurred and the surrounding area. That is how light works: it radiates. But when you reach a place so distant, so materialistic and so coarse that the light no longer shines there, light alone is not enough to bring Hashem there. You need strength. Strength means power and firmness, and that is mesirus nefesh,

18:02 through which, with added strength, we break through every concealment and bring about a change: the lower hemisphere becomes not merely a place that Torah reaches, but, on the contrary, the source and center from which Torah and the inner dimension of Torah spread throughout the entire world. This is the great significance of the days we are in now, Shabbos Mevarchim for the month of Tammuz. We are entering a period when, by its nature, Tammuz is a time of darkness and concealment. The work of Jews is to transform the darkness of Tammuz into a greater light born of darkness, to bring the light of Geulah into exile and make the world shine—so that the Geulah, the complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, will finally come. May the days of Tammuz be days of joy and gladness, and may the complete Geulah finally come, with Torah and the inner dimension of Torah spreading everywhere in the light of the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu.