22 Shvat • The Tremendous and Unique Power of the Woman

00:00 When Hakadosh Boruch Hu told Moshe Rabbeinu to prepare the Jewish people for the giving of the Torah, the verse says, “Thus shall you say to the house of Yaakov and tell the children of Israel.” Our Sages say, as it says in the Midrashim, “Thus shall you say to the house of Yaakov”—these are the women; “and tell the children of Israel”—these are the men. Rashi also brings this: when Hakadosh Boruch Hu tells Moshe Rabbeinu to prepare the Jewish people to receive the Torah, He tells him to speak to the house of Yaakov and to the children of Israel—to speak to the women and to speak to the men. Rashi explains that with the women, the verse uses “say,” which implies gentle speech, while with the men it uses “tell,” which implies forceful speech—words as tough as sinews. In other words, because of a woman’s nature—which most commentators describe as softer and more sensitive—the words of Torah should be spoken to women more gently. To the children of Israel, the men, they should be spoken to more forcefully, and told about the punishments and all the details and finer points in a more forceful way. But the Torah puts the women first and the men afterward: “Thus shall you say to the house of Yaakov and tell the children of Israel.” And here there is a well-known question: Why did the Torah put them first? What is the reason? Why did the Torah place the woman before the man? This creates a whole puzzle, because seemingly, when we look at the Torah, we see that men have more day-to-day involvement with Torah and mitzvos, including Torah study. A man has an obligation, a mitzvah, to “meditate on it day and night.” A woman is exempt from the obligation of Torah study, as stated in halachah. And when it comes to observing mitzvos, there are many mitzvos—generally speaking, time-bound mitzvos—from which a woman is exempt. So why is it that right here, at the historic moment of preparing the Jewish people to receive the Torah, the Torah

02:46 puts them first and says, before anything else, “Say to the house of Yaakov,” and only afterward, “Tell the children of Israel”? This is a well-known question, and there are many beautiful and interesting explanations. Today we will focus on an explanation that one could call revolutionary, which the Rebbe of Lubavitch gave on this point. More broadly, one could say that Chassidus gives us a very revolutionary perspective on women in general and on a woman’s role, especially in relation to Judaism, Torah, and mitzvos—not what it might seem at first glance, when we look at it superficially. So today we will divide our class into three parts. First, we will explain this point: Why, at the beginning of the giving of the Torah, did the Torah put women before men? First, “Say to the house of Yaakov”—the women—and only afterward, “Tell the children of Israel”—the men. We will also explain a special and illuminating point the Rebbe made about the distinctive way women observe mitzvos, something that stands out more clearly in women than in men, and the deeper meaning of that point. And the third point, also special and revolutionary, concerns women’s Torah study. So let us begin with the first point, concerning the Torah’s words, “Thus shall you say to the house of Yaakov.” Here there is something quite remarkable. One of the Midrashim on this verse in the weekly parsha, the Mechilta, says: “Thus shall you say to the house of Yaakov”—these are the women; “and tell the children of Israel”—these are the men. Then the Midrash adds: “To the women, tell the main points.” The women were placed before the men, so it says: Tell the women the main points, and then tell the men the details of the laws and all their finer points. Now, when we look at this Midrash on the surface, it seems that “main points” means brief statements: to tell them only a few very general things, briefly. And that is indeed how some commentators understand it. In other words, when speaking to a woman, tell her only the main points. Briefly explain a few points to the women, and speak to the men about all the details and finer points. But this raises a question: If that is what the Midrash means, it still does not answer why the women were placed before the men. If that is the explanation, it has nothing to do with who comes first. You could tell the men all the details and finer points, and then call in the women and briefly tell them the main points. So what is the explanation? The question is why the women of Israel were addressed first, and only afterward the men. How do we explain that? Here the Rebbe says something remarkable. If we look at various places in the Talmud, we find another way to understand “main points.” It does not just mean saying things briefly or simply. On the contrary, when we say “main points,” we often mean the fundamentals. The main points are the most foundational ideas. In anything we study, on any subject, there are the fundamentals—the most important, foundational points, the bases on which all the details rest. On those, you then build a structure. The structure consists of the details and finer points, the particular outcomes. It is like the roots of a tree, which support the trunk, branches, leaves, and fruit. Or you have a building’s foundation, on which you then erect a multistory building with many details and finer points. So the main points are not simple, shallow, brief things. On the contrary, they are the core, the foundation, the basis, the deeper substance on which all the details subsequently rest. Now, when we look

05:22 at Judaism, at Torah and mitzvos, we see this as well. The Torah and mitzvos comprise a great many details. We have the 613 mitzvos—613 mitzvos were given to Moshe at Sinai. They include 248 positive mitzvos and 365 prohibitions, and within them are countless branches, leaves, details, and finer points: all the halachos and their fine points in the six orders of the Mishnah, in the Talmud, the Babylonian Talmud, the Jerusalem Talmud, and all the various works of halachah. There are truly a great many details. But there is also what we call the foundations of Judaism, the foundations of the entire Torah and all the mitzvos. We know, for example, that the Rambam, one of the great Jewish sages who compiled a list of the 613 mitzvos and wrote his great and wonderful work, Mishneh Torah, also known as the Rambam’s Yad Hachazakah, also formulated the Thirteen Principles of Faith. Yes, there are 613 mitzvos, but there is also a basis, a foundation, on which all of Torah and mitzvos stand. What holds it all up? The foundations are six—there are, excuse me, the Thirteen Principles of Faith. Everyone knows them: belief in Hakadosh Boruch Hu, in Hashem’s existence, in the Torah’s Divine origin, in prophecy, in reward and punishment, in the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu, in the coming of Moshiach, and in the resurrection of the dead. The Thirteen Principles of Faith are the foundations. So when we say there are main points and there are all the finer details, there is a deeper point here: teaching the main points means teaching the foundations on which the entire Torah and all the mitzvos stand. And here we see something remarkable. Of course, when you build a building, you first have to lay the foundations. You cannot build a building from the top down; you do not start with the top floor. A building

07:41 In Judaism, in Torah and mitzvos, we see this as well. The Torah and mitzvos are made up of a great many details. We have the 613 mitzvos—613 mitzvos were given to Moshe at Sinai. Of those 613 mitzvos, 248 are positive commandments and 365 are prohibitions. And within them are countless branches, offshoots, details, and finer details: all the halachos and their particulars in the six orders of the Mishnah, the Talmud Bavli, the Talmud Yerushalmi, and all the many works of halachah. It’s an enormous number of details. But there is also what we call the foundations of Judaism, the foundations of the entire Torah and its mitzvos. We know, for example, that the Rambam was one of the great Jewish sages who compiled a list of the 613 mitzvos. He also wrote his great, wonderful work, Mishneh Torah, the Rambam’s Yad HaChazakah, and he set out the Thirteen Principles of Faith. True, there are 613 mitzvos, but there is also a basis, a foundation, on which all of Torah and mitzvos stand. What is it that upholds them? There are six—there are, sorry, Thirteen Principles of Faith. Everyone knows them: belief in Hakadosh Boruch Hu, in the existence of Hashem; belief that the Torah is from Heaven; belief in prophecy, in reward and punishment, in the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu; belief in the coming of Moshiach and in the resurrection of the dead. The Thirteen Principles of Faith are the foundations. So when we say that there are, uh, what we might call the main points and then all the finer details, there is a deeper point here: we need to teach the main points, the foundations on which all of Torah and mitzvos stand. And here we see something remarkable. Of course, when you build a building, you first have to lay the foundations. You can’t build a building from the top down; you don’t start with the top floor. A building

09:57 We start with the foundations. We build strong foundations. Then you know that whatever you build above them will stand for many good years. The foundations come first, and on them we build the structure, layer upon layer, floor upon floor. That is the whole building we are putting up, and that is essentially what is happening here. One of the striking differences we see between men and women is that, when it comes to the world of feelings and the inner life, the emotional side is much more developed in women. The foundations of Yiddishkeit are, for the most part, essential matters of the inner life, more closely connected with feeling and the soul. Take emunah: emunah is a feeling in the heart. It is planted very, very deeply in every Jew. Every Jew has simple, wholehearted emunah. We, the Jewish people, are called “believers, the children of believers.” But emunah is something deep within the soul. It is a profound emotional bond that a Jew feels with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Alongside that emunah are the feelings of love of Hashem and awe of Hashem—everything connected with the emotional side. That is the foundation on which the essence, and everything else, stands. On it we build the structure of all 613 mitzvos, with all their branches. And that is what we are saying here. That is what the Midrash is coming to tell us. When Hakadosh Boruch Hu came to Moshe Rabbeinu and told him to prepare the Jewish people to receive the Torah, and how to convey the Torah to them, He told him: First we need to build the foundations. On those foundations we will build a structure. Of course, this applies to men and women alike. The entire Jewish people—men, women, and children—must receive both the foundations of Yiddishkeit and the full structure of Yiddishkeit, with all its details. But because a woman, by her nature, is more

12:12 prepared, because she has more of the capacity—or, as it is called in Chassidus, the vessels—to receive the foundations, that is why it says, “Thus shall you say to the house of Yaakov”: the foundations of Yiddishkeit, the main points, the foundation. A woman has this in a much deeper, more inward way, more deeply in her soul. So we give these foundations to the woman, and that comes first. Once you have foundations, you can build the structure. “And tell the children of Israel”: on those foundations we will build a structure. As we said, of course women also have the details and the finer details that they must observe, and men also have emunah—without it, you cannot build anything; the foundations, emunah, must be there. But when we come to teach them, “Say to the house of Yaakov the main points,” the foundations of Yiddishkeit, we begin with the woman. Then come the details, which are primarily associated with the man. This gives us a very deep, wonderful perspective on the special connection, the special strength, that women have in relation to Matan Torah. We see something remarkable. One striking thing in Yiddishkeit is that whether someone is a kohen, a Levi, or a Yisrael follows the father. It follows the man. If the father is a kohen, the children are kohanim; if the father is a Levi, the children are Levi’im; if the father is a Yisrael, the children are considered Yisraelim. But when it comes to being Jewish, Jewish identity comes from the mother. There are many, many explanations of why Jewish identity follows the mother. Someone born to a Jewish mother is Jewish naturally, immediately. The moment he is born to a Jewish mother, he is Jewish. Why is Jewish identity connected to the mother, while being a kohen, Levi, or Yisrael—matters of great importance in Yiddishkeit—follows the father? Based on what we have explained, this is the foundation of it. When we speak about

14:35 being Jewish, we are speaking about the soul, a Jewish neshamah, “literally a part of G-d above.” The bond with Hakadosh Boruch Hu, emunah in Hakadosh Boruch Hu, love of Hashem, awe of Hashem—the deep emotional life of the soul, the deep connection between a Jew and Hakadosh Boruch Hu—comes through the mother. When a baby is in its mother’s womb for nine months, living with its mother for those nine months causes its entire being—its genes, everything, its very existence—to become permeated with that life: the life of a Jew, a life of emunah, awe, and love of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That gives the child its Jewish identity. Being a kohen, Levi, or Yisrael is a matter of role, of doing, of activity. The kohanim serve in the Beis Hamikdash; the kohanim give the priestly blessing. The actions a kohen must perform are a role. A Levi has a special role, singing in the Beis Hamikdash, along with other laws that apply to the Levi’im. The same is true of a Yisrael: each has a particular role. Roles follow the father. Identity, one’s essential being, is received through the mother. That is why the Torah says, “Thus shall you say to the house of Yaakov, and tell the children of Israel.” From here we move to another wonderful point, a second point concerning women and Torah study. As we discussed earlier, when we look at halachah, we see that a man is obligated to study Torah day and night: “You shall meditate on it day and night.” There are entire sections of laws in the Shulchan Aruch devoted to Torah study. A woman, as is well known, is exempt from the obligation of Torah study. She is, however, obligated to study the laws she needs to observe. A woman must study the laws relating to all the prohibitions, because she is obligated in all the prohibitions. She must study the laws of all the positive mitzvos that are not time-bound, and the laws connected with the Jewish kitchen, with the kashrus that Hakadosh Boruch Hu entrusted to women, with Shabbos and family purity. Everything relating to the

16:51 halachic matters she must observe, she is obligated to study. But studying Torah for the sake of Torah study is, as we know, fundamentally a mitzvah incumbent on men, not women. And here we see something remarkable that not many people notice, but which the Rebbe discusses as a very important, fundamental point. Suddenly we realize that there is something very deep here: the foundations of Yiddishkeit. The foundations of Yiddishkeit, as we discussed—emunah in Hashem, love of Hashem, awe of Hashem, and all the other foundations of Yiddishkeit—are obligations for women just as they are for men. Not only that: as we said, women have them in a much deeper way. Consequently, when it comes to studying the laws—the books that discuss and explain these subjects—a woman is obligated to study them as much as a man, if not more; at the very least, exactly as much as a man. And here is the remarkable thing I want to tell you. It is a personal story. My mother, may she be well, had the privilege of being with the Rebbe during Tishrei 5739, 1979. It was her first time visiting the Rebbe. She came with my father, shlita, and several of my brothers and sisters. I did not have the privilege of being there that year, but they were with the Rebbe throughout Tishrei, for all the Yom Tov days. After Yom Tov, as was customary, the Rebbe would receive people for yechidus: individuals or families would enter the Rebbe’s room. This was called yechidus, and there a chossid would receive guidance, instructions, and blessings for the year ahead. It was a very, very special, deeply moving moment in a chossid’s life. So my parents went in for yechidus with the Rebbe, together with the siblings who were there, and the Rebbe turned to my mother and said to her, among other things: “It is known what is written in Sefer HaChinuch.” Sefer HaChinuch is a very special book that presents

19:19 The 613 mitzvos. He explains them very concisely—how do you say it?—briefly: each mitzvah, its underlying principle, its reason, and some details of its laws. In his introduction, the Sefer HaChinuch writes that, in addition to the 613 mitzvos, there are six mitzvos that he calls “the six constant mitzvos.” In other words, there are six mitzvos a Jew must observe at all times, twenty-four hours a day. They aren’t tied to a particular time or anything else. They are constant mitzvos, and they are really the most fundamental mitzvos, the principles on which Judaism stands. What are these six mitzvos? He lists them: belief in Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The first mitzvah is belief in Hashem: “I am Hashem your G-d.” Not to worship idols: “You shall have no other gods.” Hashem’s oneness: “Hear, O Israel, Hashem is our G-d, Hashem is One.” The Hakadosh Boruch Hu in Whom we believe is the one and only; He alone governs everything, He alone is true reality, and there is nothing besides Him. Love of Hashem: “You shall love Hashem your G-d.” Fear of Hashem: “You shall fear Hashem your G-d.” And the sixth mitzvah: “Do not stray after your hearts and after your eyes.” A Jew must guard both his eyes and his heart, not looking at things or places that disconnect him and distance him from his connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The Sefer HaChinuch says these six mitzvos are constant. He calls them “six cities of refuge.” In other words, these mitzvos are, in effect, cities of refuge. “Cities of refuge” is an expression. As we know from the Torah, there were cities of refuge: if someone was pursuing another person and wanted to kill him, fleeing to such a city would protect him. There, the avenger of blood could not enter to take revenge on him. We won’t go into

21:34 the details of the halachah now, but the Sefer HaChinuch says that these six mitzvos are six cities of refuge. They are what shelter, guard, and protect a Jew from all harm—from the yetzer hara and from the impure and harmful things in our world that seek to make us stumble. When a Jew has these six mitzvos deeply and firmly within him, he is guarded and protected. The Rebbe turned to my mother, may she live, and told her: Women are obligated in these six mitzvos. And not only that—on the contrary, they must observe them in a much deeper, much stronger way than men. A woman needs to uphold them much more firmly. So we must make an effort to ensure that women know about them, and wherever possible, to tell women, explain to them, and make clear to them how important it is to study these subjects: to study the places in Torah that explain belief in Hashem, Hashem’s oneness, fear of Hashem, and love of Hashem. We find these subjects in the teachings of Chassidus, and therefore we should make a special effort to establish regular Chassidus classes for women. So here we are talking about women’s Torah study, specifically the study of the inner dimension of Torah. After all, the inner dimension of Torah deals primarily with these subjects. There is the revealed dimension of Torah, the laws; that is one matter, which we discussed earlier—what a woman is obligated in and what she is exempt from. But the inner dimension of Torah, especially Chassidus, which explains that inner dimension, speaks about the Jew’s soul, about G-dliness, and about our connection with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. It explains faith in a deep and wonderful way, and explains the oneness of Hakadosh Boruch Hu: how a Jew comes to love Him, how we awaken love for Hakadosh Boruch Hu and fear of Hashem. How do we awaken fear of Heaven, and belief in the coming of Moshiach and the resurrection of the dead? All these subjects are the main headings, the foundations. So

23:53 a woman needs to invest in studying and understanding them so she can fulfill these mitzvos in the strongest and most deeply felt way. And now we come to the third point, which is also an interesting, revolutionary point about a woman’s observance of mitzvos. As we said earlier, when it comes to the halachah of observing mitzvos, there are mitzvos in which a woman is obligated—and that is most mitzvos, in fact: prohibitions and positive mitzvos that are not time-bound. But there are also some mitzvos that a woman is not obligated to observe. That concerns the observance of mitzvos. There is another question, though: how the mitzvos are observed. And here we come to something wonderful that the Rebbe spoke about on 22 Shvat, the yahrzeit, the day of the passing, of his wife, the righteous Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, a"h. On her fifth yahrzeit, in 5753, the Rebbe delivered a wonderful, illuminating sicha and explained a very fundamental, important point about this whole subject. The point was this: We know that Tanya says, based on the Midrashim, that the purpose of creation is that Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired a dwelling place for Himself in this lower world. Hakadosh Boruch Hu’s desire and delight is that this physical, lower world become His dwelling place. That is the entire purpose of creation. Now, when we speak of the purpose of creation—building up this world and turning it into a dwelling place for Hakadosh Boruch Hu—how do we do that? For that, Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave us the Torah. The Torah was given to us, as the Midrash says on Shir HaShirim—“His legs are pillars of marble,” uh, “she has hewn out her seven pillars”—there the Midrash says that Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave us the Torah so that through Torah and mitzvos we would make this world a dwelling place for Him. Now, when you build a home, there are—generally speaking, there are many details, but broadly speaking, there are

26:05 two things. There is the construction of the building: the structure, the walls, the windows, the doors, and all the details and fine points involved in building the home. That is one thing. Then there is its beauty and elegance, making it a beautiful home. You can walk into a house, an apartment, and it’s built, everything is there, but it’s bare. There is the task of making it beautiful, giving it its special charm: the particular colors, the furniture, everything in its proper place and in the right measure, the pictures on the wall, the table and the chair—all the things that give it beauty and elegance. Here we see the difference. The man is more involved in building the home; that is primarily his role. But beautifying the home is something for which a woman has a special talent and feel, and she is the one who gives the home its beauty. “A beautiful home broadens a person’s mind,” the Gemara says. A beautiful home. So if we take this in the spiritual sense, building a dwelling place for Hakadosh Boruch Hu, there too we have these two aspects. When a Jew fulfills a mitzvah, he puts a brick in the wall; he builds the dwelling place for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. With every mitzvah we do, every good deed we do, every verse of Torah we read, we are building, making the world into a dwelling place for Hakadosh Boruch Hu. A Jew does this by engaging day and night in the 613 mitzvos and all their details, doing “all your deeds for the sake of Heaven,” and so on. But then there is the beauty in observing the mitzvos. Every mitzvah can be fulfilled in different ways. What we see especially in women is the added care, the beauty, the elegance. A Shabbos table set by men is not the same as a Shabbos table set by a woman. We see the difference. It isn’t the same when we—anything: a meal, a mitzvah celebration, a gathering, anything we do in Torah and mitzvos—when it’s done, when a man

28:21 She does this. When a woman—a woman whom Hakadosh Boruch Hu has given this special quality, this particular delicacy—does things in a beautiful, refined and gentle way. The Rebbe also connected this with the Rebbetzin’s name. The Rebbetzin’s name was Chaya Mushka. Chaya comes from the word for life. Mushka is a kind of perfume, myrrh. Myrrh was among the fragrances used in the Beis Hamikdash, in the incense; in translation, myrrh is called mushka. So these are the two things: Chaya, that special vitality, and Mushka, the fragrance that gives a special atmosphere, a fresh scent, to everything connected with Yiddishkeit. This is a special quality Hashem gave to a woman. And when we want to build a dwelling for Hakadosh Boruch Hu—Hakadosh Boruch Hu, the “Heavenly Man,” so to speak—a beautiful dwelling broadens His mind, as it were. In other words, when we bring Torah and mitzvos into this world, and do so in the form of a beautiful dwelling, with the beauty and particular grace that Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave specifically to a woman, this gives Him special delight and special satisfaction. And it brings us closer to the time when, with the coming of Moshiach, we will merit to see Hakadosh Boruch Hu revealed here in this physical world, and this world will become a dwelling for Him. The beauty of that dwelling comes specifically from a special ability given to a woman. That is why, when the time came for Matan Torah, Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave the women the first word, the introduction. That is where it begins: “Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob,” and only then, “tell the children of Israel.” Speaking gently, with delicacy, bringing beauty and grace, giving people a taste for Yiddishkeit and its foundations—this is the special ability Hashem gave to a woman. Our Sages say, or it is written in the Midrash Yalkut Shimoni on Rus, that just as at the Exodus from Egypt

30:35 we know that our ancestors were redeemed from Egypt in the merit of the righteous women—because of the women’s self-sacrifice, faith and wholeheartedness, as is well known; that is what brought about the Exodus for the entire Jewish people—so it is in every generation until the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. In the merit of women, through their devotion and faith, through their warmth and strength as they stand firm to bring this light, this warmth, this beauty, this care in observing mitzvos, the particular grace of Yiddishkeit and its foundations into the home, the family and the surrounding community—in the merit of righteous women, we will be redeemed speedily in our days with the complete Geulah. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu help us, with Hashem’s help, to see with our own eyes, “May our eyes behold Your return to Zion in mercy,” the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu. Amen, may it be His will.