An Introduction to Learning Chassidus - Part 3

00:01 So we were discussing the Rebbe Rashab. We’re up to the maamarim and hemshechim from 5666 onward. As is known, in 5666 he began a special hemshech, and that hemshech is connected with the Geulah. As the Frierdiker Rebbe said about the Rebbe Rashab, the year 5666 was associated with a time set for the end of exile, a time of Geulah. There was a calculation, as is known, according to which 5666 was such a time. And then the Rebbe Rashab delivered Hemshech 5666, a hemshech of Geulah. Hemshech 5666 is exceptionally foundational. It extended over three years. It began on Rosh Hashanah, continued through part of 5667, and then through 5668, until Shabbos Parshas Va’eira, 5668. The Rebbe Rashab himself was very fond of Hemshech 5666, and he said that Hemshech 5666 contains everything. There is a saying, a quote, a vort of the Rebbe Rashab: “In 5666, everything is there.” In other words, all of Chassidus is there. It’s a long hemshech. In yeshivos, it’s generally studied by older students—bochurim toward the end of yeshiva gedolah, or during their year of shlichus or semicha. That’s generally the age when bochurim study it. That doesn’t mean it can’t be studied earlier, but usually, after studying shorter hemshechim and gaining a little more knowledge of Chassidus, one can study 5666. Hemshech 5666 really is very, very comprehensive. It’s a very orderly discussion: the Rebbe Rashab proceeds systematically, and it has a beginning and an end. We spoke about how many of the Rebbe Rashab’s hemshechim have no ending. That is, the Rebbe Rashab did not finish them; he did not complete

02:36 the discussion, and they stop in the middle. But Hemshech 5666 is a complete hemshech, which the Rebbe Rashab finished in full, down to all the details. There is also a concluding discourse that brings the discussion to a close. He concludes all the subjects, returns to the questions he asked at the beginning of the hemshech, and answers them. The content of Hemshech 5666 is based on the well-known saying, “Hakadosh Boruch Hu desired to have a dwelling place in the lower realms,” and the entire hemshech is built around that. A dwelling place in the lower realms is the whole purpose of creation. So he also explains there the purpose of creation and what the revelations of the future will be like. There are many maamarim and whole discussions about the revelations of Moshiach, the revelations of the era of Moshiach, the Resurrection of the Dead, the inner dimension of Torah and a new Torah. He explains at length and in detail all the revelations that will come in the future, and also what avodah is needed to prepare for them. He explains at length what kind of service of Hashem is needed for us to become vessels for that revelation. So what is that avodah? [unclear] avodah, avodah through a diversion of attention, the avodah of a servant—the servant himself, a simple servant, a faithful servant—and of a son. And throughout the hemshech, the Rebbe Rashab covers entire subjects in Chassidus: the general principles of seder hishtalshelus, the descent of the soul, the progression of the worlds, the progression of the sefiros, and even the sun and angels. He also comes to matters of avodas Hashem. He explains a great deal about the avodah of davening, Torah study, the difference between Torah and mitzvos, the difference between Torah and davening, the difference between positive and negative mitzvos, the difference between the avodah of a servant and that of a son, and the difference between a simple servant and a faithful servant. He simply takes it all, and everything is connected to everything else. In other words, these aren’t just separate topics—each subject has a connection. Hemshech 5666 itself is like this: on one hand, it’s a single hemshech; on the other, every five maamarim, every five

04:42 maamarim or so, form a discussion of their own. You can study four or five maamarim, then another four or five. Each group of maamarim deals with a subject, and in the end they are all connected. So it’s a hemshech of its own kind. I think the Rebbe once described Hemshech 5666 as one of the deepest hemshechim in Chassidus, and also one of the broadest. In short, the Rebbe had a special connection to Hemshech 5666; you could see it clearly. The Rebbe drew on it extensively in maamarim and sichos. The Rebbe was deeply immersed in Hemshech 5666, and also invested effort in publishing it. The Rebbe made a great push to get 5666 printed, until it was published, and then again and again. And the Rebbe had a special connection to 5666. At any rate, that was 5666, and as we said, it lasted several years. Between 5666 and 5672 there were other hemshechim. These are the hemshechim that came after 5666: there is the well-known hemshech of 5668, from Shavuos 5668. There is one from Tishrei 5669, a long hemshech, one of the longer ones. There is also a short hemshech from Shavuos 5669, and there is 5670. Hemshech 5670 is long and famous, also one of the well-known hemshechim. After that comes 5671. In 5671 there are also two hemshechim, one from Tishrei and one from Shavuos. Those are the hemshechim between 5666 and 5672. You can see in them that the Rebbe Rashab is already writing after 5666. In other words, when you look at them, you can see a difference: in certain respects, the hemshechim after 5666 are more concise than those before it. It’s as though he is relying on what he has already explained. He refers often to 5666, and also to earlier hemshechim, but mainly to 5666, for things he has already explained. So you can see

07:00 in the hemshechim between 5666 and 5672 that he treats many, many things briefly because he relies on what he has already explained. On the other hand, the hemshechim between 5666 and 5672 are very expansive, covering whole subjects. For example, just to give an idea of what subjects the Rebbe Rashab discusses in those hemshechim: in 5668, you can find the entire discussion of the ten hidden sefiros, which he barely addresses in 5666—only very briefly. In 5668, there is an extensive treatment of the ten hidden sefiros. In 5669, he explains at length the subject of daas elyon and daas tachton, and how it applies throughout seder hishtalshelus. That too is a subject he treats more briefly in 5666. Then there is Hemshech 5670, where he explains another long, broad and deep subject. The hemshech of 5670 is also one of those that have both a beginning and a conclusion. There he discusses separation, nesirah, and the separation between light and darkness—and how that separation makes a later union possible: union back to back and face to face. These are also broad themes in Chassidus: in avodah, in intellectual understanding, in G-dliness above, in a person’s soul and service of Hashem, and in the revelations of Moshiach. Hemshech 5670 is one of the foundational hemshechim in Chassidus studied in yeshivos. What is distinctive about Hemshech 5670, if one can put it that way, is that it also speaks a great deal about the soul. Most of the Rebbe Rashab’s hemshechim focus more on G-dliness, on the sefiros and hishtalshelus. Hemshech 5670 is distinctive in that the Rebbe Rashab goes into the human soul. He speaks a great deal about avodah and the human soul: nesirah within the soul, daas, the structure of the soul, [unclear] the animal soul, and the struggle involving the animal soul.

09:14 There is a great, great deal of depth there concerning the soul. It is one of the most subtle and deepest hemshechim, penetrating the human soul with tremendous force, in the Rebbe Rashab’s distinctive style. At any rate, after that we come to Hemshech 5672. On Shavuos 5672, the Rebbe Rashab began the hemshech, Hemshech Beshaah Shehikdimu 5672. Hemshech 5672 is the longest hemshech in Chassidus—longer than 5666, several times longer. Hemshech 5666 has sixty-one maamarim; the whole hemshech consists of sixty-one maamarim. Hemshech 5672, by contrast, has 144 maamarim, far more. And there is also another section, Part Three, which the Rebbe Rashab did not deliver; he only wrote it. What is the story of Hemshech 5672? On the one hand, its subject matter is treated much more expansively. The impression Hemshech 5672 gives is that the Rebbe Rashab is, so to speak, drawing everything together, building up all of Chassidus, taking all the subjects in Chassidus and presenting them in a different light. The style of 5672 is completely unusual; it isn’t the Rebbe Rashab’s usual style. He wrote it in a different style, in a different way. It has a distinctive breadth that even 5666 does not have. He writes in a very expansive style, with many words, expressions and analogies that are not his usual ones. It’s as though his style is more... And every subject is treated there at great length. If we wanted to, how should I put it, distill Hemshech 5672 to its central point, we could say that Hemshech 5672 discusses the relationship between Yisroel, the Torah and Hakadosh Boruch Hu. In other words, Hemshech 5666 discusses the subject

11:34 of making a dwelling in the lower realms. Hemshech 5672 discusses the whole subject of the Jewish people, the Torah, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu—each one. That is really what it is about. A large part of the Hemshech discusses Hakadosh Boruch Hu, a large part discusses the Jewish people, and a large part discusses the Torah. In each case, it goes on at length, with all the details of how the Rebbe Rashab explains each subject. Of course, Hemshech 5672 is based on the maamar beginning “Beshaa Shehikdimu,” a Shavuos maamar, about the three crowns mentioned in the Shavuos maamarim. There is the crown of naaseh, the crown of nishma, and the crown for placing naaseh before nishma. These are connected with the three areas of Torah, avodah, and acts of kindness. That is how the Hemshech begins, and from there it enters into the whole subject: What are Torah and mitzvos? What is the difference between Torah and mitzvos? What Divine revelation is brought down through Torah and through mitzvos—memalei kol almin and sovev kol almin? A large part of the Hemshech develops that. Afterward, it goes into how the souls of the Jewish people draw this down. It is very interesting: Hemshech 5672 is an especially expansive Hemshech. For example, when you see how broadly it treats a subject, you will understand. The first twelve maamarim of Hemshech 5672 are all about the ten sefiros: the unfolding of the ten sefiros from the concealed sefiros. It discusses the limited light throughout the entire order of hishtalshelus—from before the tzimtzum to after the tzimtzum, through the concealed sefiros, until it unfolds into Atzilus. That is the first twelve maamarim. Then there are about seven or eight maamarim explaining the concept of keser and sovev kol almin, beginning on Rosh Hashanah 5673. Then, in 5673, for example, throughout the winter—from Tishrei until Teves—there are some two or three months of maamarim, all

13:38 explaining the meaning of the word sefiros. He brings four interpretations of the word sefiros: sefiros in the sense of radiance, sefiros in the sense of telling, sefiros in the sense of number, and a fourth interpretation. He explains each one at length—why that name relates to the sefiros of Atzilus. That is how every subject there expands in breadth. There is a lengthy discussion there. One of the wonderful things you see in Hemshech 5672, for example, is that the Rebbe Rashab cites a teaching connected with the weekly parsha, Parshas Behaaloscha—a teaching of the Maggid. In the Maggid’s book, that teaching on Parshas Behaaloscha takes up half a page: “Make yourself two silver trumpets.” The Maggid explains that the word for trumpets, chatzotzros, means “two half-forms”: Hakadosh Boruch Hu is one half, and the soul of a Jew is the other. Together, Hakadosh Boruch Hu and the Jewish people form a complete stature. The Maggid uses this to explain the verse, “And upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man.” Adam, “man,” is alef and dam, “blood.” There must be a connection between the alef and the blood, between Hakadosh Boruch Hu and the human being. In the Maggid’s teachings, this may be twenty lines long, yet half of Hemshech 5672 is based on it. The Rebbe Rashab quotes a line, and then comes a parenthesis—a parenthesis of two hundred pages, three hundred pages. It keeps going and going, all to explain every detail broadly in the way of Chassidus. Every word, every detail. There you can really see what is always said about Chabad Chassidus—that it develops things at length; it is like a Gemara in relation to Chassidus in general. There you see it tangibly: a short teaching of the Maggid, and half of Hemshech 5672 is devoted to explaining it in the broadest possible way. Now, what happened with Hemshech 5672 is that the Rebbe Rashab delivered the maamarim in only its first two volumes. The third part

15:45 was written but never delivered. The story is like this: the Rebbe Rashab began the Hemshech in 5672 and finished delivering it in 5676. The last maamar of Hemshech 5672 was on Shabbos Parshas Vayeira. Two days later, the Rebbe Rashab left Lubavitch. World War I was underway, and it had become dangerous to live in Lubavitch, so the Rebbe Rashab had to leave and move to Rostov. On the day he left Lubavitch, he stopped delivering the Hemshech. It was as though the Rebbe Rashab delivered this Hemshech specifically in Lubavitch. It was something special for Lubavitch and Tomchei Temimim. Some say it was connected with Lubavitch; others say it was connected with Tomchei Temimim. In practice, as soon as the Rebbe Rashab left Lubavitch, he stopped delivering the Hemshech. So there was a large part of it that the Rebbe Rashab wrote, but because he had left Lubavitch, it remained in writing and he never delivered it. And that is how it remained. The first two volumes contain the maamarim as they were delivered. The third volume of Hemshech 5672 remained only in writing. It has no opening words for individual maamarim. It is not divided into chapters or maamarim. It is like one continuous discussion, carrying the subject further. It speaks very powerfully there about the revelations of Moshiach. It discusses remarkable subjects in avodah and in the intellectual study of Chassidus. That is Hemshech 5672. Now, Hemshech 5672 was not completed. It has three volumes, lengthy as they are, but in practice the Rebbe Rashab did not finish it. It stops in the middle of the subject; he does not bring the discussion to a close. The Rebbe Rashab wanted to continue, but in practice

17:34 it was not completed. Hemshech 5672 is an unfinished Hemshech: its subject matter is not developed all the way to the end. The Rebbe once described Hemshech 5672 as one of the richest Hemshechim in Chassidus. That was apparently an expression of the Rebbe Rashab, n"e. The Rebbe said of Hemshech 5672 that it is one of the richest Hemshechim in Chassidus. Everyone knows the story: the Rebbe was apprehensive about printing the Hemshech until 5737. It was in manuscript, and then, in Tishrei 5737, the Rebbe said he was afraid to print it, lest there be spiritual accusations, and so on. The Rebbe then said that everyone should contribute a dollar, their names should not be recorded, and it should be printed. So they printed it without names. That is how it happened: Hemshech 5672 was printed in a special way, unlike all the other Hemshechim. Okay, those are a few words about Hemshech 5672. After that, as we said, the Rebbe Rashab was in Rostov. So we have Sefer Hamaamarim 5676, 5677, 5678, 5679, and 5680. These are the final years—the last four years—of the Rebbe Rashab, nishmaso eden. In those years there were almost no Hemshechim. Suddenly you see a tremendous change in the Rebbe Rashab’s approach. After a period when he delivered Hemshechim and spoke about obligation and taught Chassidus in the form of a Hemshech, suddenly everything changes and he seems to return to his earlier period. There are almost no Hemshechim. There are short series of two maamarim or so, but generally, from 5676 onward—from Tishrei 5676; no, Tishrei 5676 was still part of Hemshech 5672. From Shavuos 5676 there is a short Shavuos series of two maamarim. After that, in 5677, there are also short series of two or three maamarim. But most of the maamarim of 5677, 5678, 5679, and 5680 are stand-alone maamarim. But what there is

19:35 What is special about these maamarim is that each one takes up a subject. In every maamar, the Rebbe Rashab, whose soul is in Eden, works through a subject. Sometimes it is a subject in Chassidic thought, sometimes in avodah, and sometimes a mixture of the two. Each maamar is a subject unto itself. The Rebbe showed a special fondness for these volumes. The teachings of 5678 and 5679—those two years are simply full. There is a maamar for every Shabbos, sometimes even two maamarim for one Shabbos. And you can see the Rebbe’s special fondness for them in the maamarim he delivered over the years: he returned to a great many maamarim from 5678 and 5679, with explanations and additions. The volumes of 5678 and 5679 had a particularly strong place with the Rebbe. What is distinctive about them is that the maamarim follow the weekly parsha, which was not previously the pattern with the Rebbe Rashab; before that, there were more series of connected maamarim. Here they are more often maamarim on the parsha, and within that, each maamar takes up a subject—a subject in avodas Hashem, in Chassidus, in G-dliness, or in the unfolding of the worlds. Each maamar is a subject. That is how it was with the Rebbe Rashab in 5678, 5679, and 5680. You see him, as it were, bringing subjects to a close: he completes one subject, then another, and another. In 5680, the Tishrei series is specifically a series of several maamarim, from Rosh Hashanah through Shabbos Bereishis. There too is a very deep subject, in which the Rebbe Rashab develops the subject of daas elyon and daas tachton on a higher plane. After that come the maamarim from the winter of 5680 through Purim 5680, when the Rebbe Rashab delivered his final maamarim, and after that

21:30 came his histalkus on 2 Nissan of that year. So that is regarding the Rebbe Rashab’s maamarim. As we discussed, the Rebbe Rashab is called the Rambam of Chassidus. He put Chassidus into a systematic order, and with him, too, he explains each point and answers the questions it raises. He does not leave things unfinished. That is why these are among the series most commonly studied in yeshivah. Now there are the maamarim of the Frierdiker Rebbe, and with Hashem’s help, in the next class we will discuss his teachings as well. But first, one more thing I forgot to mention before we get to the Rebbe, the Nasi of our generation. Besides the series of maamarim, there are two other things. There are the kuntreisim the Rebbe Rashab wrote—Kuntres Eitz HaChayim, Kuntres HaTefillah, Kuntres HaAvodah, and Kuntres U’Maayan. These are booklets he wrote specifically on certain subjects, mainly for the Temimim, to provide guidance in avodas hatefillah, avodas Hashem, and so on. Those are the kuntreisim. And there is Toras Shalom. Toras Shalom contains the sichos. This was something distinctive that began with the Rebbe Rashab: he delivered not only maamarim but also sichos. You hardly see this with the earlier Rebbes. With the Rebbe Rashab it became a regular practice, though only three times a year: Simchas Torah, Purim, and 19 Kislev. The Rebbe Rashab would hold a farbrengen, deliver sichos, and explain subjects in Chassidus at length, in the style of a sicha. That became the book Toras Shalom. Of course, Toras Shalom contains only a tiny fraction. Most of the sichos—we do not have them; they were not all lost, but much is missing. In any case, we have Toras Shalom from the Rebbe Rashab, whose soul is in Eden, and its sichos are wonderful. Each sicha explores a subject at length and gives you a perspective on avodas Hashem—on avodas hatefillah, on iskafya, and on fundamental matters in avodas

23:28 Hashem found in Toras Shalom: the ways of Chassidus, stories, and so on and so forth. Okay, we will continue, with Hashem’s help. Someone is asking here about the letter hei; we have already discussed that. Someone else is asking about a parenthesis that was never closed. I think that is indeed how it is, yes. In any case, much success. Next week we will talk about the teachings of the Frierdiker Rebbe and the Rebbe, the Nasi of our generation.