Who is Zion and Who are Her Captives? - Parshas Devarim, Shabbos Chazon 5786 "Zion Bemishpat Tipadeh Veshaveha Bitzedakah"

00:00 The Frierdiker Rebbe relates that in 5665, a gathering of rabbis was held in Russia. At that time, the government wanted to impose a decree on the rabbis: as a condition for serving as a rabbi, every rabbi would have to have a certain knowledge of secular subjects as well. They called this “tsenz.” In other words, it was to be a requirement for receiving rabbinic ordination and being recognized as the official rabbi of a town in Russia. A rabbi would also need some sort of diploma, a certificate attesting that he had knowledge of Jewish wisdom and secular subjects. Naturally, the true rabbis fought against this. A large gathering was held at the time; the matter began in 5665. Perhaps another gathering was held later, in 5671, or in 5679. The 5665 gathering took place in Vilna. Some of the greatest rabbis were present. The Rebbe Rashab, Rabbi Sholom DovBer, of course led the gathering. Rabbi Chaim of Brisk was also among its leading speakers, along with other great Torah figures of the time. It was a period when the great Torah leaders of every circle worked together. At that gathering, the government was very determined to impose its decree. They wanted to require that, to become a rabbi, one would have to acquire knowledge of...

01:39 secular subjects. Of course, the Rebbe Rashab stood absolutely firm against this, as did the G-d-fearing rabbis who were with him. The government was very determined to push it through. They said that if the rabbis opposed the government’s demand, they would carry out pogroms in 101 communities. May Hashem protect us, they would slaughter Jews in 101 places where Jews lived. The rabbis were deeply alarmed. A great fear fell upon them, and the various rabbis consulted with one another. Some felt they had to give in out of weakness. Others said that perhaps they should yield; after all, lives were at stake, and so on. But the Rebbe Rashab stood absolutely firm and said that under no circumstances could they yield on such a matter. The Rebbe Rashab understood that this would bring ruin upon the Jewish people. He saw the great destruction that would result from it. The rabbis, however, wanted each person to state his view on the whole matter. They spoke, but as the Frierdiker Rebbe put it, they spoke calmly. They spoke without force. The Rebbe Rashab asked to speak last. The gathering continued through the day and night, and at its close the Rebbe Rashab asked to say a few words. He rose and...

03:10 spoke with the utmost force. His words were resolute, very resolute. He delivered the well-known sicha: “We did not go into exile of our own will, and we will not leave exile of our own will. Our Father, our King, is the One who led us into exile, and He will certainly bring us out of exile when the time comes, speedily in our days. But we must all know this, and we must make it known to all the nations; all the non-Jews must know: only our bodies went into exile. The body is in exile, but the soul never went into exile. The soul is always bound to Hakadosh Boruch Hu and is not in exile. Therefore, when it comes to matters of the soul, matters of Torah and mitzvos, the nations and no government can rule over us. In these matters we are completely free, and we can do what we want and what we understand Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants.” The Rebbe Rashab concluded with very forceful words; he could no longer continue speaking, and he fainted. A great commotion and uproar broke out. There were all kinds of informers and other people there, and [unclear], and all kinds of leaders and so on. It caused a great uproar, and the Rebbe Rashab was immediately placed under arrest—ah, house arrest, that is. And so it...

04:50 was; perhaps this happened after the gathering. The Rebbe Rashab remained at home for several days afterward, or however long it was. The rabbi of Brisk came to visit him later, a few hours afterward. He saw the Rebbe Rashab sitting and crying. He asked him, “Lubavitcher Rebbe, why are you crying? We did everything in our power, everything we could do. Now we must rely on Hakadosh Boruch Hu.” The Rebbe Rashab answered that there is a difference between an employee and the person in charge. In a business, there is a worker, an employee, the person who does the work; and there is the person who runs the business, its owner. If you are only an employee, a worker, you do your job, arrive at a certain time, leave at another time, and the results are not your responsibility. What happens to the business is not your concern. You come, receive the money you are owed, and that is all. But everything that happens matters to the owner. He must therefore approach his work, this matter, knowing that he is not merely an employee. The results must matter to him. He must be immersed

06:15 in his work with his whole soul, devoted to it. The matter had to be close to his heart; he did not wash his hands of it, because what would happen mattered to him personally. That is the story in its particulars, and the Frierdiker Rebbe describes many more details in his sichos. But the sicha, or the statement, that only our bodies are in exile while our souls are not—the Frierdiker Rebbe repeated that entire opening later, in 5687, when he was released from prison on Gimmel Tammuz and sent into exile in Kostroma. Standing on the train, he repeated it literally letter for letter, word for word. He said, “This is what that Jew said with mesirus nefesh”—meaning his father—and repeated the words before the whole assembled crowd, while standing there in a situation of actual danger to his life. There were police officers there, spies there, and people of every kind. Nevertheless, the Frierdiker Rebbe was undaunted and repeated the words. He then delivered the sicha on “May Hashem our G-d be with us as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us”: that we must stand firm in every matter and not be intimidated by government decisions concerning the study of Torah with children and their education,

07:41 or any matter connected with Torah and mitzvos. In these matters no one has authority over us, and it is permitted even under the government’s own laws, and so on—the things he said then. In the weekly parsha, on Shabbos Parshas Devarim, Shabbos Chazon, we also read the well-known haftarah, “Chazon Yeshayahu.” “Chazon Yeshayahu” is the third of the three haftaros of the Three Weeks of Calamity. It is a difficult haftarah, containing stern words of rebuke spoken by the prophet Yeshayahu. But its conclusion, like that of each of the three haftaros—even though all three contain sharp, piercing words of rebuke from the prophets—speaks of blessing and praises the Jewish people. The first, the second, and the third: in all three haftaros, the final verse or verses speak specifically in praise of the Jewish people. Similarly, this haftarah, “Chazon Yeshayahu,” is a sharp one, describing every aspect of the situation at that time, yet it concludes: “I will restore your judges as at first and your counselors as at the beginning,” and then, “Tziyon shall be redeemed through justice, and those who return to her through tzedakah.” It ends in praise of the Jewish people and with the theme of Geulah. Indeed, as has been discussed many times, “Everything follows the conclusion”: the last line is the key to its meaning, for...

09:20 since the final verse of the haftarah speaks in praise of the Jewish people and about Geulah, everything follows the conclusion. Even during the Three Weeks, the days of Bein Hametzarim, the Three Weeks of Calamity, there is praise of the Jewish people and Geulah. That is the main point here: everything follows the conclusion, and the main theme is specifically Geulah. This is especially true when we are speaking of the prophet Yeshayahu. The first two haftaros are from the words of the prophet Yirmiyahu, the prophet of the destruction and of exile. Yeshayahu, by contrast, is called the prophet of salvation—as his name suggests, the prophet of Geulah. Most, if not all, of Yeshayahu’s words are words of comfort, words of praise, and words about the Geulah of the Jewish people. So even the first chapter, the Chazon haftarah, though it contains stern rebuke, nevertheless contains the theme of Geulah. As is known, the holy [unclear] interpreted every verse of the haftarah and explained it as entirely in praise of the Jewish people. From the very first verse, all the verses of the haftarah speak in praise of the Jewish people. But let us discuss the final verse: “Tziyon shall be redeemed through justice, and those who return to her through tzedakah.” There are many maamarim on this verse. Look what this shows us: in Likkutei Torah, in Parshas Devarim, the only maamar we have from the Alter Rebbe for Parshas Devarim is the maamar “Tziyon Shall Be Redeemed Through Justice, and Those Who Return to Her Through Tzedakah.”

10:52 “And her returnees through tzedakah.” This is truly remarkable: Of the many maamarim the Alter Rebbe delivered on Parshas Devarim, when the Tzemach Tzedek chose from the thirty-two thousand maamarim of the Alter Rebbe that he had, he chose for Parshas Devarim the verse from the haftarah, “Tziyon will be redeemed through justice, and her returnees through tzedakah.” This shows that it is a central theme of this Shabbos and this parsha. The verse speaks of two things: “Tziyon will be redeemed through justice”—that is the first part—and then, “her returnees through tzedakah.” There is Tziyon, and there are those who return to her. The Hebrew word “shaveha” can also be understood in two ways: those who live there; or those who return—ah, more precisely, those who come back to that place. They went into exile, and now they are returning. Or, as the commentators explain, it comes from the word for captivity: those who were taken captive and are destined to be released. So what are these two things? There is “Tziyon will be redeemed through justice,” and separately, “her returnees through tzedakah”: the redemption of Tziyon and the redemption of her returnees. If Tziyon is redeemed through justice, then when the verse speaks of her returnees, it says “through tzedakah”—that through

12:28 tzedakah they are redeemed. We need to understand these two things: What is Tziyon, and who are her returnees? On the straightforward level, Tziyon can be understood as the city, as the commentators indeed explain, and her returnees as the city’s inhabitants. In other words, there is the city and there are the people. But as the Tzemach Tzedek writes, that is only the most straightforward interpretation, because throughout, the verse is really speaking about the Jewish people. Here the Alter Rebbe and the Tzemach Tzedek explain—and as we will see in all the maamarim—that it is speaking about Jews throughout. Tziyon here is not the city of Tziyon, but the people who dwell in Tziyon. He cites the Yerushalmi in Tractate Taanis: “We searched through all of Scripture and did not find.” They searched all the verses and did not find one in which Tziyon refers to the Jewish people, until they found the verse cited by the Yerushalmi: “I have placed My words in your mouth.” This is a verse in Yeshayahu, chapter 51: “I have placed My words in your mouth, and covered you with the shadow of My hand, to plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and to say to Tziyon: You are My people.” The verse says explicitly, “To say to Tziyon: You are My people.” When it speaks of Tziyon, it says, “You are My people.” So the people, too, are called Tziyon. When are the people called Tziyon? When there is “I have placed My words in your mouth, and covered you with the shadow of My hand.”

14:10 “To plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth.” The maamarim explain—the Tzemach Tzedek explains this, and the Rebbe cites it in his maamarim—that these words refer to the three pillars on which the world stands. “My words in your mouth” is Torah. “I have covered you with the shadow of My hand” is kindness, acts of kindness. And “to plant the heavens” is serving Hashem. Through serving Hashem and through Torah and mitzvos, we bring about “to say to Tziyon: You are My people.” So both Tziyon and her returnees refer to the Jewish people. The question is: What are these two levels? What is the level of Tziyon, and what is the level of her returnees? And why does the verse say of Tziyon, “She will be redeemed through justice,” while of her returnees it says, “through tzedakah”? What are these two things, and what are the two ways out of exile? All of this is a lesson for our daily service of Hashem, as we all want to leave our personal exile and the general exile for the complete Geulah. In this verse, Yeshayahu gives the guidance: through justice and through tzedakah, we leave exile. Chassidus explains that these are two aspects of serving Hashem, two levels of the soul. There is a level of the soul called Tziyon, and a level of the soul called “her returnees.” In general, this can be understood as the difference between

15:39 the soul and the body. As mentioned earlier, the body is literally in captivity. The body is indeed a Jewish body, a holy body. It is the body of a Jew, the body for which the Torah and mitzvos were given. As is known, the verse of Reb Moshe—nothing could be more precious [unclear]. This is the body for whose sake so much Torah and so many mitzvos were given. But the Alter Rebbe says in Tanya, “Our firstborn son, from among every people and tongue”: the physical body of a Jew is not, in its physical substance, superior to the body of [unclear], and nevertheless Hakadosh Boruch Hu chose the Jewish body. But the Jewish body is literally in captivity. It is held captive by the kelipos and the sitra achra, in the darkness of exile. Captivity means that it is imprisoned and others do with it as they please. It cannot do what it wants; it is taken and directed toward other things. It is in captivity. The soul, by contrast—as mentioned earlier, the soul did not go into exile. But we need to understand: In practice, since the body is in exile and captivity and the soul is clothed in the body, the body makes it seem to the soul that it cannot do what it wants. It, too, is in a seeming state of exile, though not one of captivity. That is already a less severe state. As mentioned, the soul itself did not go into exile. But it needs

17:03 [unclear] connected to the body while it is in captivity. On a higher, deeper level, Chassidus explains that the two parts of “Tziyon will be redeemed through justice, and her returnees through tzedakah” are two levels within the soul. Within the soul itself, within the G-dly soul, there are also two levels: its revealed faculties and its hidden faculties. As is known, Chassidus speaks of the levels of nefesh, ruach, neshamah, chayah and yechidah. Broadly speaking, they divide into two general levels. There are the faculties clothed in the body—the inner, revealed faculties, as they are called. Broadly, these are nefesh, ruach and neshamah: the part of the soul clothed in the intellect, the part clothed in the emotions of the heart, and the part clothed in thought, speech and action—in the body’s expression. This is the revealed part, the part of the soul clothed in the body and in the animal soul. But there is also the essence of the soul. Broadly, these are the encompassing levels, chayah and yechidah, and particularly the soul’s yechidah, which is “the one to unite with You.” This is the essence of the soul, always bound to the Essence of G-d, always connected, so that a Jew neither wants nor is able to be separated from G-dliness. This is the soul’s bond Above through an essential love [unclear]. Of these two levels, one is Tziyon and the other is “her returnees.” The essence of the soul, its yechidah, is called Tziyon. Why is it called Tziyon? The Alter Rebbe explains in Chassidus, and the Rebbe explains, that Tziyon also comes from the word for

18:39 a sign. “Make a marker for it,” “build a marker for it”—a tziyon is a sign. The soul is a sign of G-dliness. The Zohar says, “I am merely a sign.” Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says of himself: I am nothing more than a sign of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The entire existence of Jews here below is “You are My witnesses”—a Jew is a witness and a sign, proof that G-d exists in the world. That, then, is the meaning of Tziyon, from the word for a sign: a Jew is a sign of G-dliness. By his very existence, by the very fact that he is here below, he reveals and points to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. This is the soul’s yechidah, which is in a state of complete self-nullification, complete connection and complete attachment—“merely a sign,” a sign of G-dliness. By contrast, the part of the soul clothed in the body, its revealed faculties—as mentioned, nefesh, ruach and neshamah, intellect and emotions—is called “her captives,” because it is held captive. It is clothed in the body and the animal soul, and involved in practical matters, in material and physical things, in things that obscure and conceal. So it is in captivity. The essence of the soul, as mentioned, did not go into exile at all and is not in captivity. It remains in that state. But on a deeper level, ultimately, the soul’s revealed expression and revealed faculties are connected to it. The essence of the soul is connected to the revealed faculties. And since it is one single soul, when the revealed faculties are in captivity, the essence of the soul, too, becomes

20:14 somewhat broken by it. It brings about a descent within it. We see this with Moshe Rabbeinu: When the Jewish people sinned with the Golden Calf, Hakadosh Boruch Hu told Moshe Rabbeinu, “Go down.” “Did I give you greatness for any reason other than for the sake of the Jewish people?” Moshe is connected to the Jewish people, and when they experienced a descent, it brought about a descent for Moshe as well. We see the same thing with the essence of the soul. Though the essence of the soul, the yechidah, is connected Above, it is the essence of the entire soul and is connected to the entire soul, including its revealed faculties. Therefore, when the soul’s revealed faculties are in captivity, the essence of the soul experiences a descent as well. It weakens it. It cannot detach itself completely and say that this will not affect it at all. It does bring about a descent. That is why we say, “Tziyon will be redeemed through justice.” Tziyon—the essence of the soul, the soul’s yechidah—ultimately has something of exile within it, too, and it needs to leave that exile; it needs to “be redeemed.” Although it is not in a state of captivity, it needs redemption. And that redemption comes through justice. By contrast, the part of the soul clothed in the body, and especially the body itself, is actually in captivity. It needs not only justice but also tzedakah. What is the difference between justice and tzedakah? The Alter Rebbe explains,

21:37 When he gives tzedakah—as he explains later in the maamar, [unclear]—these are the two matters of Torah and mitzvos, Torah and tzedakah. They are the two paths: the path of Torah and the path of tzedakah, study and action. “Judgment” refers to Torah. Judgment, in the sense of “according to the halachah concerning Moshiach,” and the translation is “translates.” Judgment refers to Torah. And what are the judgments of the Torah? The halachos of the Torah in particular, the sugya, the teaching: “And Hashem was with him”—meaning that the halachah follows his view; and “the word of Hashem from Jerusalem”—“the word of Hashem” means halachah. So judgment means the judgments of the Torah, the halachos of the Torah, Torah study. Through Torah, the aspect of Zion is redeemed. But for the aspect of captivity—the revealed dimensions of the soul, its revealed faculties, and the body—Torah is not enough; it also needs tzedakah. Why? We can understand this simply from the difference between Torah and tzedakah: Torah is the wisdom and will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. From the outset, Torah never truly became part of the world at all. It is the wisdom and will of Hakadosh Boruch Hu, and wherever it is, it remains His wisdom and will. As our Sages said: “‘Are not My words like fire?’ Just as fire cannot become impure, so words of Torah cannot become impure.” Torah has always remained above the world, and therefore cannot become impure. It is something lofty,

23:09 something G-dly. “From heaven I spoke with you.” It is the wisdom of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Therefore, through Torah study, a Jew rises to a level entirely above exile. Thus, the aspect of Zion within the soul—“Zion shall be redeemed through judgment”—is redeemed from exile altogether through Torah. Yet exile can affect the yechidah of the soul, the encompassing and essential faculties that are in captivity, because it is actually captive, under the rule of kelipah and the sitra achra, Heaven protect us. For that, something else is needed, something invested in the world: tzedakah. Tzedakah must be given with physical things, with the things of this world. Through tzedakah, through action, that hold can be broken. This is the special quality of tzedakah: by giving tzedakah, one can cut off the external forces’ hold on matters connected with action, change the state of captivity, and bring out the part of the soul that is truly captive. In this way, one brings it out of captivity. Through tzedakah, one can escape exile altogether. This is what our Sages say in the Gemara, in Bava Basra: “The Jewish people will be redeemed only through tzedakah, as it says, ‘And her captives through tzedakah.’” Yes, it says explicitly here, “And her captives through tzedakah”: the verse teaches that through tzedakah we emerge from exile into the revelations of

24:34 Moshiach, through tzedakah. As the Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya, the mitzvah of tzedakah is the principal mitzvah through which we emerge from exile, because there is no mitzvah in which the body and the animal soul are as deeply involved as the mitzvah of tzedakah. For in giving tzedakah there is [unclear] of the body and the animal soul: a person must give from the money that sustains his life. He earned that money to buy what his household needs, yet he parts with it and gives it to another Jew. This is iskafya—the greatest iskafya—of the body and the animal soul. Through this, we bring the animal soul and the body, together with the soul invested in the body, out of captivity and bring about the Geulah. Therefore, in a certain sense, the main joy of the Geulah lies in “and her captives through tzedakah” more than in “Zion shall be redeemed through judgment.” Although “Zion” is a higher level, because it never truly descends into exile, its redemption is not as powerful. But “her captives,” who are truly in captivity, experience a greater, more intense joy. As the Alter Rebbe gives the analogy in Tanya of a king’s son who is not only in exile but also in captivity, and emerges from captivity to the home of his father the king. That is a tremendous joy; there is no greater joy

25:54 than that. This is especially relevant in these days, during the Three Weeks, before Shabbos Chazon. The holy Rabbi of Berditchev says that on this Shabbos every Jew is shown the Beis Hamikdash, and he gives an extended analogy there: when a Jew works on himself and corrects his conduct until it becomes second nature, he brings the soul out of exile, and the body and animal soul as well, bringing about the complete Geulah. Now each person must be stirred to say: I must make every effort to add to Hashem’s house through “Zion shall be redeemed through judgment”—Torah study, particularly studying the halachos concerning the Beis Habechirah and the Beis Hamikdash, including the study of Geulah and Moshiach. These subjects are found both in the inner dimension of Torah and in its revealed dimension, alongside the giving of tzedakah. After all, “The Jewish people will be redeemed only through tzedakah.” Especially in these days, we must increase our Torah study and our giving of tzedakah. Through this, may we merit the fulfillment of “Zion shall be redeemed through judgment, and her captives through tzedakah,” and merit the complete Geulah. May this very month of Menachem Av bring the true comfort of the Father, when “this one shall comfort us”—when Hakadosh Boruch Hu will comfort each and every Jew. May we receive the comfort of our Father in Heaven and the complete Geulah, with the building of the Third Beis Hamikdash, speedily in our days. Amen,

27:17 so may it be His will.