Simcha

00:00 I think the Rebbe says: This is the right way. The right way is “do good.” Chassidus demands—there is an avodah in Chassidus—that one must put on a belt. Why? “So that one’s heart should not see one’s nakedness.” It’s written in Chassidus, but it isn’t so easy. What does it mean? They say that before davening, one must contemplate the greatness of G-d and the lowliness of man. There is an avodah in Chassidus here. What is the lowliness of man? What is the greatness of G-d? The greatness of G-d means that Hakadosh Boruch Hu brings all the worlds into being. The lowliness of man means that a person looks at himself, at how far he is from that, and thinks about himself. That is why we put on a belt: “So that one’s heart should not see one’s nakedness.” And if a person doesn’t think about himself, who knows? After all, one can become... This is advice, good advice. One has to set aside time for it from time to time; certainly one mustn’t forget—“Do not hide yourself from your own flesh”—but this is a way. Once, they said there: What do you come to the World Above with? [unclear]. They give an interpretation of “one who foresees what is to come,” because [unclear]. The greatness of G-d and the lowliness of man. And the Rambam says that before davening, one must contemplate.

01:47 The greatness of G-d. In Chassidus it’s different. The lowliness of man—who is man, [unclear]. The greatness of G-d is that Hakadosh Boruch Hu brings all the worlds into being. These are preparations for davening: contemplating the greatness of G-d and thinking about ourselves, and then davening begins. I also remember how the Rebbe spoke about this: At one point, he called for joy. Not just [unclear]. They used to sing niggunim at farbrengens from the early years—niggunim, yearning niggunim. Once the Rebbe said that wasn’t appropriate. In the later years, there were only joyful niggunim. What had they been used to before? You can hear the niggunim on recordings of the farbrengens. In the early years of the Rebbe’s leadership, they sang the niggunim of the older chassidim. The Rebbe didn’t want that. Joy, and more joy. Especially [unclear], certainly. Why? For the sake of joy. [unclear] of people on higher levels. And Reb Shmuel said there is a Midrash. The Midrash says there is a bird flying, and they want to catch it. What does the bird do? It lands where an image of the king stands in the middle. And the bird

03:30 lands on the nose of the image. The man wants to catch it with an arrow; if he shoots the arrow, he’ll hit the king’s image—and that is rebellion against the king. The Midrash says: “You fled to a place of beauty.” And Reb Shmuel said that this is Chassidus. But how is Chassidus “You fled to a place of beauty”? One must immerse oneself in higher matters and place a maamar of Chassidus before one’s eyes, because a little light dispels a great deal of darkness. And sometimes, when you learn a deeper concept in Chassidus, you become so immersed in it and so given over to it that the darkness disappears. This is another way in Chassidus, and that is one of the differences. The way of Chassidus is [unclear]. Whom can you rely on? On the Creator, boruch Hashem. A person learns for five minutes—he could learn for more than five minutes—but he learns for five minutes a day, and with that he can dance for a whole day, dance at night. Learn for five minutes a day, and afterward dance for two hours at night, with the joy of a mitzvah, boruch Hashem. But during those five minutes, you have to learn. You have to open a sefer and open up one thing...

05:10 With a portion—by a portion I mean [unclear], and [unclear] wants these things with a portion. It’s beautiful [unclear] to dance, to dance out of sheer joy. It isn’t necessarily that kind of dancing, because first you have to think. But as for the inner dimension revealed through joy, that is something you can feel, not the joy itself. Here we understand why, even though we say that dancing is another way, what is the advantage of joy? The advantage of joy is that the inner dimension of a Jew, even the inner dimension of a Jew, is [unclear]. The way of Chassidus is entirely different. And also, like this, [unclear], and he said, that’s a whole night of saying Tehillim. And [unclear] learn a passage of Chassidus, “Hear, O Israel.” That’s how it is; that’s a soul [unclear]. Chassidus through saying Tehillim, Chassidus through saying Tehillim, through saying Tehillim. Yes, Chassidus, “Hear, O Israel,” [unclear] of “Hear, O Israel.” He said two maamarim. We sat the whole night and talked, and afterward, during the day, we learned so well. The learning throughout that day was entirely different. A night, a night, a night [unclear] a whole night, and here you learn entirely differently. But [unclear], we learn a whole day, a night, a night. Then, strength, strength, strength, strength.