Tractate Bava Basra in the teachings of the Baal Hahilula Rabbi Levi Yitzchok zi"e

00:01 Speaker 1 I want to talk about a teaching of the Rebbe’s father, whom chassidim affectionately called Reb Levik, as the Rebbe mentioned several times. Since we’re learning Bava Basra, we’ll discuss one of Reb Levik’s teachings connected with Bava Basra. Many of you may have heard about it at the beginning of the year. He has an interesting note about a passage in the Zohar concerning Bava Basra. On a straightforward reading, the Zohar is difficult to understand, and many ask about it. The Rebbe’s father explains it in a very interesting way. The Rebbe spoke about this passage in the Zohar and Reb Levik’s explanation in 5752, in Parshas Mishpatim. It was one of the last sichos we merited to hear from the Rebbe, a few weeks before 7 Adar. In 5752, the yeshivos were learning Bava Basra; that was the masechta being studied in Tomchei Temimim that year. There’s a story connected with this, too: some report or something of the sort was submitted to the Rebbe that week. In any case, we can see that the Rebbe addresses the subject in the sicha of Mishpatim 5752. I’ll go over a few points. Of course, this teaching of Reb Levik’s is packed with meaning, like every line of his commentary. We’ll try to focus on the main points, the ones we can explain and understand, and then we’ll see its greatness, brilliance, depth, and so on. The Zohar is in Parshas Balak, page 198. It says: “Rabbi Chizkiyah opened: ‘Thus says Hashem: Keep justice and do righteousness, for My salvation is near to come.’” This verse is among the verses read in the haftarah on fast days: “Keep justice and do righteousness, for My salvation is near to come.” The Zohar then cites Rabbi Hamnuna, who spoke

02:48 Speaker 1 about the three Bavas: Bava Kamma, Bava Metzia, and Bava Basra. He explained that “Keep justice and do righteousness” is connected with the three Bavas. Among other things, he cited a verse in Parshas Mishpatim. The Rebbe spoke about this in Parshas Mishpatim 5752, so it was connected with the parsha. The verse says: “For every matter of trespass, concerning an ox, concerning a donkey, concerning a sheep, concerning a garment, concerning any lost item of which one says, ‘This is it.’” The Zohar says: “Concerning a sheep” refers to Bava Kamma; “concerning a garment” to Bava Metzia; and “concerning any lost item” to Bava Basra. What does this mean in general? According to the Zohar, this verse, “For every matter of trespass,” speaks about damages. Trespass involves matters of damages, and all three Bavas discuss damages. So the verse alludes to the three Bavas, which discuss three kinds of damages. Where are they alluded to in the verse?

04:15 Speaker 1 It says that “concerning a sheep” is Bava Kamma, because Bava Kamma discusses many things connected with animals: the ox, the pit, the one who causes damage by grazing, and fire. These are matters of damages associated with animals. Bava Metzia is “concerning a garment”: it begins, “Two people are holding a tallis,” and a tallis is a garment. Bava Basra, it says, is “concerning any lost item.” But what does returning a lost item have to do with Bava Basra? That subject is in Bava Metzia, in the chapter “Eilu Metzios” and the chapters that discuss returning lost items. That’s the question, and the commentators ask it too. Commentators cited in Nitzotzei Zohar ask it, to the point that, as the Rebbe brings in the sicha of 5752, the Vilna Gaon argued that the wording should be changed. He amended the text of the Zohar, arguing that “concerning any lost item” still belongs to Bava Metzia, while Bava Basra appears later in the verse: “The matter of both of them shall come before the judges.” That refers to partners, a subject connected with Bava Basra. Of course, the Rebbe does not accept changing the Zohar because we cannot understand its straightforward meaning. So Reb Levik comes and illuminates this passage of the Zohar, giving us a wonderful explanation that lets us understand its words. How can “concerning any lost item” refer to Bava Basra? Reb Levik says: We’re talking about the Zohar. Don’t forget, the Zohar is the Zohar; it deals with the inner dimension, with secrets. So when the Zohar looks at Bava Basra, it sees its inner dimension and secrets too. What is it discussing? Who are the partners? Bava Basra begins, “The partners who wished to make a partition.” Who are these partners? They are partners Above; they are a man and a woman. There are three partners in the creation of a person: his father, his mother, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So the partners here are man and woman, who Above correspond to Yesod and Malchus. As is known, the sefirah of Malchus is called a woman, a recipient, while the sefirah of Yesod is the giver. This is the meaning of “any lost item”—literally, “all, lost item.” The sefirah of Yesod is called “all.” We say it every day in davening: “For all that is in heaven and on earth is Yours; Yours, Hashem, is the kingdom.” “All” refers to the sefirah of Yesod. The maamarim explain that Yesod is called “all” because it encompasses everything. It is the channel connecting giver and recipient. Yesod is the bond that joins and connects them; that is its whole role. So “all” is Yesod. “Lost item” is Malchus. The Gemara in Kiddushin says that a man should seek a woman as someone seeks a lost item. In other words, the woman is called a “lost item”; the man seeks her, as it is a man’s way to pursue a woman like someone searching for a lost item. So “lost item” is the woman. “All, lost item” refers to the partners, Yesod and Malchus. That, then, is why the Zohar says that “any lost item” is Bava Basra. Similarly, the Zohar uses the expression “Bava Basra, the secret of the lost item.” There too it says “the secret of the lost item.” The lost item is Malchus, as we said, and the secret is Yesod. In Kabbalah, Yesod is called a secret. Yesod is the secret of Malchus: the influence of the giver that enters the recipient. In any case, “any lost item” refers to the partners. If so, what does it mean that the partners want to make a partition? What is the meaning of this Mishnah in light of what we’re discussing? Broadly speaking, damages refer

06:29 Speaker 1 to the time of galus. The Rebbe explains this in the sicha as well. The whole subject of damages refers to the time of galus. Galus is a state of damage: the damage is the concealment and obscurity of galus. And who is in galus? Knesses Yisroel, the Shechinah. “When they were exiled to Babylonia, the Shechinah went with them.” The whole idea of galus is that Knesses Yisroel is in exile, in a state of servitude. As it says at the end of Makkos, the Jewish people became like a slave. It refers to Knesses Yisroel, who are, G-d forbid, like slaves in galus. But only like slaves—they are not truly slaves; Hakadosh Boruch Hu protects them. The whole period of galus, though, is a matter of damages, and Bava Kamma, Bava Metzia, and Bava Basra address how our avodah must be during galus. The Rebbe says in this sicha that the three Bavas correspond to the three exiles. Galus as a whole divides into three exiles; that is why there are three Bavas. In Reb Levi Yitzchak’s explanation of the three Bavas, he says they correspond to the three gevurot. Malchus is Knesses Yisroel, and the sefirah of Malchus is built through gevurot. Malchus needs gevurah, contraction, because for Malchus to be enclothed in Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, there must be gevurah. There are three kinds of gevurah; the maamarim discuss this. The gevurot of Malchus are three: Daas, Tiferes, and Yesod. In any case, these are three kinds of gevurah in Malchus. Here he uses the expressions “in his mind, in his compassion, in his body.” These are matters that need to be studied, but there are three kinds of gevurah corresponding to the three Bavas: Bava Kamma, Bava Metzia, and Bava Basra. And there are five gevurot. That is another subject, something different. The five gevurot are the five letters—the five final forms, mem, nun, tzadi, pei, and chaf. These letters are gevurot because they mark an ending. Every word is brought to an end by the final letters; that is

08:48 Speaker 1 About the time of exile. The Rebbe explains this in the sicha as well. The whole subject of damages relates to the time of exile. And the time of exile is a time of damages. The damage is the concealment and obscurity of exile. And who is in exile? Knesses Yisroel, the Shechinah. “When they were exiled to Babylonia, the Shechinah went with them.” The whole point of exile is that Knesses Yisroel is in a state of servitude, as at the end of Tractate Makkos, where the Jewish people became like a servant. This refers to Knesses Yisroel, who are servants in exile, may Hashem have mercy. But they are only like a servant; they are not really servants. Hakadosh Boruch Hu watches over them. Still, the whole period of exile is a matter of damages, and Bava Kamma, Bava Metzia, and Bava Basra are all about how our avodah should be during exile. The Rebbe says here in the sicha that the three Bavos correspond to the three exiles. Exile as a whole is divided into three, three exiles. That is why there are three Bavos. Reb Levi Yitzchak discusses the three Bavos, and he explains that they correspond to the three gevuros. So we are speaking about malchus—malchus is Knesses Yisroel, the sefirah of malchus—and the structure of malchus is built from gevuros. Malchus needs gevurah, contraction, because for malchus to be enclothed in Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, there must be gevurah. And there are three kinds of gevuros. The maamarim discuss this. Yes. The gevuros of malchus are three gevuros: daas, tiferes, and yesod. In any case, there are three kinds of gevuros in malchus. Here he uses the wording “in his daas, in his compassion, in his body.” Never mind; these are matters that need to be studied. But there are three kinds of gevuros, corresponding to the three Bavos: Bava Kamma, Bava Metzia, and Bava Basra. And there are five gevuros. That is another matter, two different things. The five gevuros are the five letters, the five final letters—mem, nun, tzadi, pei, and chaf. Those letters are gevuros because they mark an ending. Every word, bringing it to an end through the final letters, that is

11:11 Speaker 1 Letters of limitation, letters of gevurah. So sometimes we speak of five gevurot, and sometimes of three gevurot. Reb Levi Yitzchak says there are three Bavas: Bava Kama, Bava Metzia, and Bava Basra. These are the three kinds of gevurah we’re talking about here. What is the word—what is it called? Bava. What is the gematria of bava? Five. Yes: beis, beis, alef. So that’s five gevurot. What are those letters the initials of? Bava is the initials of “Bereishis bara Elokim”—“In the beginning, G-d created.” So that is certainly gevurot. “Bereishis bara Elokim”: it arose in thought to create the world with the attribute of judgment. Yes. So that’s the idea of gevurot. What is the first word of each tractate? How does Bava Kama begin? “Four primary categories of damages.” Alef. How does Bava Metzia begin? “Two people are holding.” Shin. How does Bava Basra begin? “The partners.” Hei. What do those initials spell? Alef, shin, hei. That’s ishah, woman—Malchus. It is Malchus, Knesses Yisroel, in exile. Yes, and that’s the whole point of studying the tractates of Nezikin—Bava Kama, Bava Metzia, Bava Basra. How do we bring Knesses Yisroel out of exile? How do we build Malchus? How do we bring the Shechinah out of exile? That’s the point of Bava Basra. What? What else does he say? Um, what are the initials of Kama, Metzia, Basra? Kama, Metzia, Basra: kuf, mem, beis. Yes? Kuf, mem, beis is the gematria of Bilaam. Bilaam’s gematria is kuf, mem, beis. Yes. Bilaam wanted to—to cause—Scripture says he wanted to harm the Jewish people. He wanted to bring the Jewish people into a state of exile and destruction. Essentially, all damages begin with Bilaam. He hated the Jewish people, he spoke against them, and he wanted to do them harm. He wanted to create concealment and obscurity. So the whole exile is essentially connected with Bilaam. That’s the gematria of kuf, mem, beis—the initials of Kama, Metzia,

13:51 Speaker 1 Basra. Bilaam was with his donkey, yes? With Bilaam’s donkey. What does it say? Bilaam struck the… How does it say it there? “He struck the donkey with a stick.” Yes, he struck it with the stick. Reb Levi Yitzchak says: What is “with a stick,” bamakel? It stands for Kama, Metzia, Basra. In bamakel there’s beis for Basra, mem for Metzia, kuf for Kama, and there’s also a lamed. What is the lamed? There are thirty chapters in these three tractates. Yes? As is well known, originally they were one tractate of thirty chapters. Later it was divided into three. So bamakel is Basra, Metzia, Kama, and the lamed is the thirty chapters. He says that the thirty chapters are also connected with Malchus. After all, Pirkei Avos says that kingship is acquired through thirty qualities. So the lamed, the thirty qualities, is connected with the sefirah of Malchus. That’s why there are thirty chapters in the three Bavas. Also Yehudah: Yehudah is Malchus. Malchus. The kings of the House of David come from the tribe of Yehudah. What is the gematria of Yehudah? Yehudah, too, has the gematria of thirty, which is lamed. The Gemara says that Rav Yehudah’s entire learning was in Nezikin. Yes, about Rav Yehudah. They said that Rav Yehudah devoted all his learning to Nezikin. Why did Rav Yehudah devote all his learning to Nezikin? Because Yehudah is Malchus. Yes, and Malchus is in exile, so he needed to study Nezikin in order to rectify it. That’s why all his learning was in Nezikin. And lamed, in gematria, is the thirty chapters of the three Bavas. Yehudah was the fourth son. Nezikin is the fourth of the six orders. Yes: Zera’im, Mo’ed, Nashim, Nezikin—Nezikin is fourth. So it is connected with the sefirah of Malchus. Malchus is also the fourth leg; in the name Havayah, the fourth letter—that’s the whole idea of the fourth. It is connected with Malchus,

16:48 Speaker 1 Nezikin. The Gemara says that the order of Nezikin corresponds to “salvations.” The Gemara discusses it and cites the well-known verse from which we learn about all six orders. So Nezikin is the order of salvations. Salvations are connected with Nezikin because the salvation is the salvation of the Geulah. And this is the verse on which it is based: “My salvation is near.” This whole passage of the Zohar is based on the verse: “Thus says Hashem: Keep justice and practice righteousness, for My salvation is near to come.” “The partners who wished to make a partition.” Reb Levik says: What does “the partners who wished to make a partition” mean? We said that the partners are Yesod and Malchus, giver and recipient. “The partners who wished to make a partition.” This is connected to what the students studied thoroughly here this year: the idea of the partition, where they have one wall shared by both of them. Nesirah, the separation. The students studied here about the state of back-to-back, where Yesod and Malchus, giver and recipient, are back-to-back and have one wall shared by both of them. So he says: that is exile. During exile, Ze’eir Anpin and Malchus are back-to-back, with a wall shared by both. “The partners who wished to make a partition” refers to the partition that exists during exile, as one wall shared by both, back-to-back. And of course, nesirah is needed so that there can be a face-to-face union, which will take place in the Geulah. Reb Levik says that the gematria of mechitzah, “partition,” is 153. Here there are four partitions. The Gemara—the Mishnah—lists four kinds of partitions: hewn stone, unhewn stone, half-bricks, and bricks. Four partitions. What is the significance of four partitions? The four partitions correspond to the four letters of the name Havayah and the four letters of the name Adnai, reflecting the distinction between Yesod and Malchus. So there are four letters and four partitions. The gematria of mechitzah is 153. What is the gematria of mechitzah three times? Who can work out 153 times four? Four times? Six, twelve. A hundred and fifty-three times four is 612. Six hundred and twelve is the gematria of bris, covenant. Bris is the connection. The whole concept of bris is Yesod. Yesod and Malchus—that is Yesod. So the four partitions. At first it is a matter of a partition, but in the end, on the contrary, the partition leads to a face-to-face union, as we learned in the maamarim. The nesirah that takes place between Yesod and Malchus is so that afterward there will be greater harmony.

19:29 Speaker 1 And in fact, in the sicha, the Rebbe also explains this more in terms of avodah. The Rebbe says in a sicha on Parshas Mishpatim: “The partners who wished to make a partition.” Wished to. There are partners who go to war, who have a dispute. Here, though, it says no: they wished to make a partition. They make the partition willingly. When the partition is made willingly, it is not a withdrawal that creates separation, G-d forbid, a withdrawal into kelipah. On the contrary, it is a withdrawal for the sake of a deeper connection. They are partners living in a courtyard, and they make the partition of their own free will. So the partition, on the contrary, brings about greater unity between them. That is really the whole point of the partition of exile: so that afterward they can, on the contrary, reach a deeper place, a deeper connection. That is why Bava Basra speaks about the Geulah. The Rebbe says in the sicha that Bava Basra speaks about the Geulah. In Bava Basra, on page 3, they discuss the Beis Hamikdash: “The glory of this latter House will be greater than that of the first.” Then there is the Gemara on pages 74 and 75: in the future, Hakadosh Boruch Hu will make a feast from the Leviathan, and the righteous will be called by the name of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Moshiach will be called by the name of Hakadosh Boruch Hu. And at the end of the tractate, it discusses the division of the Land, which is also a kind of partition. Dividing the Land among the tribes is a kind of partition, but through that partition it becomes the Land of Israel belonging to the entire Jewish people. It is a partition that brings about unity, not separation. The verse about tzedakah is in Bava Basra on page 10, page 9, page

21:36 Speaker 1 10. So the Rebbe also says—and this is interesting—that the same verse cited in the Zohar is also cited in the Gemara. Here we see the connection between the revealed dimension of Torah and the inner dimension of Torah. The whole Zohar is based on the verse: “Thus says Hashem: Observe justice and practice tzedakah, for My salvation is near to come.” And the Gemara on page 10 cites this verse in connection with tzedakah, because tzedakah brings the Geulah closer. The Gemara in Bava Basra says, “As it is stated: ‘Thus says Hashem: Observe justice and practice tzedakah.’” In other words, Bava Basra deals both with justice—the laws of damages—and with tzedakah—the laws of tzedakah. That is the verse “Observe justice and practice tzedakah,” through which we bring about the ultimate purpose, the completion and refinement of the exile. There is much more to say here, but in any case, one more point. The courtyard: “Partners who wish to make a partition”—that is a partition in a courtyard. What is hinted at by the courtyard? This too: what is in the word chatzer, “courtyard”? Reb Levi says it contains the letters ches, reish and tzadi. Tzadi points to the tzaddik—“the tzaddik is the foundation of the world”—which is the sefirah of Yesod. The sefirah of Yesod, as we said, is one of the partners: Yesod and Malchus. So the tzaddik, “the tzaddik is the foundation of the world,” is the sefirah of Yesod. Ches and reish have the numerical value of Yitzchak, 208. Ches and reish also have the numerical value of four times Ban—four times fifty-two. Four sons. Four times the Divine Name Ban, which corresponds to Malchus. The four sons we speak of in the Pesach Haggadah. The whole concept of the four sons—son. We know that the Divine Name Ban is also associated with the sefirah of Malchus. There are four aspects of “son” here, corresponding to the four letters of Hashem’s Name. So chatzer is ches, reish and tzadi. It also represents the union of Ze’eir Anpin and Malchus, as hinted at in the word chatzer. There is the verse we say at a bris. We said that the theme of the bris is here too. Four times “partition.”

24:52 Speaker 1 “Fortunate is the one You choose and bring near, that he may dwell in Your courtyards; we will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your Sanctuary.” So it says “Your courtyards,” in the plural. That is the division of the courtyards spoken of here, where the courtyard is divided in two. “Your courtyards” in the plural refers to the courtyards of Ze’eir Anpin and Malchus, or to a division within Malchus itself. [unclear] Jerusalem. In any case, all this tells us that when we study Tractate Bava Basra, we are actually preparing the ground for the Geulah. We think we are studying Bava Basra, studying the revealed dimension of Torah. According to Reb Levi, when you study Bava Basra, you are actually preparing the world for the Geulah through Moshiach. Especially since Bava Basra represents the end of the exile, and it concludes with the words: “One who wishes to become wise should engage in the laws of monetary matters.” The laws of monetary matters rectify the damages; they rectify the exile. So may Hashem help us merit to see the complete Geulah immediately, right now.

25:59 Speaker 2 Amen.