15 Shvat 5739 (1979)

00:11 Speaker 1 Among the great figures of Chassidus were some known for their parables. Others longed for Moshiach with every fiber of their being. And some were known for their fierce love of the Jewish people—so much so that they would argue with the Creator Himself in defense of a Jew. Here, in one sicha, all three come together.

00:49 Speaker 2 There is a well-known teaching of the Maggid, quoted among chassidim in his name, on the verse, “Even until old age and gray hairs, O G-d, do not forsake me.” He gives a parable: When a father hides from his son, it is not, G-d forbid, because he does not want to be with him. He wants the son to come closer, to search for his father and find him. [unclear] The father, when he hides, is precisely then even closer to his son, even when the son cannot see him. As chassidim relate, [unclear] of Yud Shvat, [unclear]. He knows that the order of things is always a reality, but within himself he begins to doubt it. The order is that Hashem is in control of his process of refinement, down to every detail. He knows that even if he will not have [unclear]. But what is this? It comes from taking pleasure in [unclear], in delving into Tanya. And this [unclear] more; he had a feeling about it. This [unclear]—he just keeps searching, all around, but something within him has become uncertain. And from that doubt he begins to protest. If right away there is something that “is not of G-d,” [unclear] to the point that he gives up and stops searching. And that is what the parable is getting at: when the father sees that the son is no longer searching, then...

03:05 Speaker 2 Better put, this is the true meaning of galus. As long as the son is searching, that itself is his vitality, that itself is the beginning, and that itself is a means to bring about the Geulah. For he searches because his desire lies in it; it is part of his nature. When he stops searching—whether because something is lacking in this, because of despair, or because, as the Baal Shem Tov says, the student experiences concealment within concealment—the concealment surrounding him is buried within another concealment, until it truly becomes concealment. In simple terms, he thinks about greatness. He thinks about the world, thinks about [unclear], thinks as it says in the Shulchan Aruch, studies Torah, learns how Torah should be studied—but thinks about the inner dimension of Torah while studying Torah. And he thinks about the practical mitzvos in the world, about how this is the inner dimension in potential. What is the difference? That is what he must think about. And precisely while performing a mitzvah, he looks for what is required of him; he has in mind his relationship with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The son’s true path depends on all of this. Certainly the son must search, and he must draw close until he succeeds, as he was promised beforehand, even when the father hides from him in a darkness that is doubled and redoubled. And yet he does not become “asleep like angels and human beings,” nor even like the donkey of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair. What is demanded of the son is that he have faith—easy to say, but it is a demand. So one searches for an answer—ah, that is [unclear]. One searches in a work of mussar, one searches in a work of Chassidus. And then one finds another ruling, explained in the Gemara: everything follows the conclusion. When the matter depends on teshuvah, then it becomes teshuvah.

06:27 Speaker 2 And there is also the ruling, as explained, concerning a thought of teshuvah, [unclear]. And there is no [unclear] on his part. On the contrary, this is [unclear], [unclear]. And with this book, at the time, I too had a thought of teshuvah. [unclear]. Everyone came to our Rebbe, though that too does not seem [unclear]. The advantage we also found among ourselves was that this matter is permitted among us. And as help, we heard it among ourselves. [unclear]. But they saw it and heard it, and they remember it, remember it. And certainly we come, all of Israel, [unclear]—what happened, perhaps, was that he had never had a thought of teshuvah. And for him that was [unclear]. And what argument can be made? This is about a human being. And that [unclear] is limited. And that [unclear] is limited by Hakadosh Boruch Hu Himself. [unclear]. And that [unclear] is limited, along with what he comes to grasp. And then they come, with their pain, [unclear]; he thinks about the Geulah, despite what he says. Or he knows that others say it, and he thinks about it—that he awaits Moshiach “every day, that he should come.” And then they also want him to withstand this, when the soul of every living being is entirely entrusted. It is not possible. And the Rebbe [unclear] with the request. [unclear].

08:29 Speaker 2 [unclear] upon us; this never gave [unclear]. And one of the [unclear] asked for “more,” not reasons. Simply by adding, he brings joy. And where there is joy, joy breaks through barriers. The example is that the breach itself becomes a barrier. The breach becomes a barrier for the world. And the breach becomes a barrier against the darkness that is doubled and redoubled.