The Unwavering Strength of the Frierdiker Rebbe

Welcome to our weekly Mivtza Shabbos program. This program is dedicated l'ilui nishmas my father — the yahrzeit is this week — [name unclear], he should have an aliyah, and we should all be reunited very soon.

Today I want to learn with you. You remember a couple of weeks ago we learned about what the Rebbe wrote to the class in Manhattan, that they should study [a certain letter]. So, l'ilui nishmas my father, today's program I want to study — we're going to learn what the Rebbe wrote in another letter, that they should review it. I'll show you the Rebbe's [letter], you can look at it now, and we're going to learn it — l'ilui nishmas Lipman ben [unclear].

The question is: what is the meaning of what it says, when Hashem created the world, "and Hashem saw that it was good"? What's the lesson? We know that everything G-d does is good, so why does it say this after each one? This is the question again.

Remember, I told you that they were learning Chumash, the parsha of the creation of the world. That's why the Rebbe writes here about creation, and this was studied with the class.

Now the Rebbe answers, but before the answer he gives three introductions. Now we're going to go through the introductions, and then the answer to why it says this. Let me explain the first introduction: the entire creation is divided into four levels — the inanimate, like stones, water, metal; the growing, like trees, grass, plants; the living, animals, fish, birds, insects; and the fourth is the "speaker" — that is man, who has intellect.

But the Rebbe writes that there is a fundamental difference between the other three [levels] and man. The other three can only be affected — they can be acted upon, but they cannot affect [their surroundings] — and they were created with a [fixed] nature. We'll explain this soon. So there's a difference, he says, between one level and another.

Now the Rebbe says: you might think that not only the inanimate and the growing cannot affect [their surroundings] and have a certain nature so that they cannot even move to another place, but even the living, who do many things and change their surroundings — so it seems that they do have a power to affect, contrary to what was just stated. But it will be shown — he's going to write — that even the living do not have this power. He'll explain where we see this. How do we see that the living do something? He is asking: how can you say that the first three are different from the fourth, since the fourth seems different?

A stone cannot move. Grass stands [in place]. But where do we see, the Rebbe says, that [the living] do things contrary to what we just said? An ant gathers its food in the summer for the winter, because then it will naturally not have food. So the ant naturally gathers — so we see that it does move. How can you compare that to a stone? Another example: a silkworm weaves a covering for itself, which is very appropriate for its survival — so we see that it does something. How can you compare that to a stone? Or another example: the bee builds a honeycomb like an expert architect, and there are many examples like this.

So we see that they are different. But, [the Rebbe] says, even so, these actions are [governed] by the laws of nature instilled in them. An ant or a bee moves, but this is their nature — they can't do anything else. They're not really adding anything to creation; they have no choice. That's all they do, because that's their nature. So we see that these three [levels] are different [from man].

But man, however, in addition to the fact that his actions are not forced — because of his free choice, he's able to oppose his natural will. Moreover, it is in his power to create and build in the world. Meaning, if his actions are done properly, he is able to fix the world, to purify and improve and eliminate [from] the world. And as it says, he becomes a partner [with G-d in creation]. So, in other words — this is the first introduction — that one [the first three levels] is one thing, and man is another thing.

Now let's go to the second introduction, which the Rebbe writes about an engineer. What is this introduction? Let me explain what we just read: an expert engineer who makes a machine, or an airplane — just as there will be nothing missing in a professional machine from what is needed to do its job, so too there will be no part in it that does not bring any usefulness to the job, that could be removed without it being needed. And if this is not the case, then it is a lack in the one who made the machine, because every screw is important. When a person — an engineer — makes a machine, nothing can be missing.

How much more so, the Creator of the world did not create anything for nothing in the world in general, and especially in man. So every man has his tafkid [mission/task] in this world. And since man was given the power to purify the world and improve the world, this shows that this is his mission here on earth, and this is what's expected from him — this is not a choice, it's an obligation [unclear].

Now let's go to the third introduction. What is the true meaning of the word "good"? Only something which is completely perfect. "Good" means perfect. Because if you are able to improve something and make it more perfect, then the thing that's holding it back is not a perfection — that means it's bad. So it's as if there is bad in what we call "the perfect." So when you say "tov" [good], it means 100 percent. And you cannot say about a thing that has bad in it that it is "good." These are the three [introductions].

Now the Rebbe is going to answer the question of why. The answer to the question: since a person is able to create and build in the world, as we explained in the first introduction, and moreover he must take part in building the world and improving the world — and it was in this manner that the world was created, as explained in the second introduction — this could lead a person to make one of two mistakes.

One: a person might say, "It is my power, it is I who improved the world, and only through my work did the world become good from bad." Or a person might say, "Because Hashem was unable to create a perfect world, that's why He created it in this manner" — and that's why it says, by every creation — so this is why it says, at the end of every single creation, "and Hashem saw" — that when the Creator sees the thing that was created, He sees it truly. He sees not only what is revealed and can be seen by everyone — He also sees what the thing has hidden in it, the potential. So right in the six days of creation, as soon as it was created, He saw that it was good. And "good" means completely perfect.

So this is the clear answer to the two mistakes one could have: Hashem was certainly able to create a perfect world, and He actually saw this perfection right from the beginning. And man's job is only to reveal in actuality what is already there in potential. This is true for himself — he reveals the power that is hidden within him — and through this he reveals in creation the hidden, true good.

And this is what the Rebbe wrote to the class — and they were very young — they spent on this, in discussion, weeks and weeks and weeks. There's much more in the Rebbe's handwriting, but it's enough for today.

This is l'ilui nishmas my father. Instead of our regular learning, we learned the Rebbe's letter. Next week we'll continue our weekly program. Thank you.