להתגבר על דאגות

00:01 Speaker 1 Today's letter was exactly fifty years ago to the day. We finally did it. We're coinciding exactly with the day we're at right now. Exactly fifty years ago today, on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, the Rebbe wrote this letter that's in front of us. You'll note that it's in Russian, and you'll also note that I can't read Russian, but fortunately, they have a free translation on the bottom that seems fairly reliable. How would I know? Anyway, here is the letter, and here's the translation. There's not much going on on the page in front of you, which is page kuf ayin hey of volume kuf chaf, the letter yud tav shin mem vav. And down there in the bottom is the beginning of the translation, just says that he was responding to a letter that he received on that date that Hashem should give this woman everything that she wants. We're gonna go over to the next page for the body of the letter. There's the body of the letter at the top of kuf ayin vav. It's on the screen. Make it a little bigger. So the Rebbe writes to this girl, Devorah, specifically, We're only a few days before Pesach. Those aren't words you wanna hear on Rosh Chodesh Nisan, but that, that's the truth. We are standing only a few days before Pesach. And Pesach is called the time of our liberation, the time of our freedom. This is not just freedom from physical problems, this is also freedom and redemption from every kind of worry,

01:15 Speaker 1 every kind of dayegah. And therefore, it is necessary that every single Jew, a woman or a man, regardless of their age, they need to be able to live their lives, their daily lives, according to the teachings of Hashem. If you wanna know what those are, check Shulchan Aruch. That if we're not free from our concerns, we won't be able to fulfill w-- our task of living lives as Yidden according to the Shulchan Aruch. And this itself, when we do live that way, this increases the berakhah of Hashem in all things that we need. So this is a theme that shows up in a couple places. If you go over to the supplement, I'm gonna expand the screen a little so all of you who are following at home can see. So this theme from the Rebbe that, uh, Pesach is a time of cheirus that doesn't just apply to our physical cheirus or even our spiritual cheirus, but specifically to dayegah, does show up in a few other places. I have a couple examples here, and after talking about these couple of examples, we'll dive into some of the other bits of advice the Rebbe gives besides the existence of Pesach for getting rid of dayegah. I have up here a sicha from the year tav shin mem hei. It's in volume three, Acharonot Pesach, page eighteen forty-eight. The Rebbe's talking, and he says, He talked about a bunch of initiatives that he wants people to get involved in. These things should be taken on

02:39 Speaker 1 not in a frenzied way, but with relaxedly. And by doing this, we're going to get rid of all of the things that are preventing us from keeping Torah mitzvahs. And then we'll be able to increase significantly And then in the Rebbe says this is connected specifically to Mitzvat Pesach. Here it comes again. So once again, cheirus is associated-- The freedom that we have from Mitzrayim is associated with the freedom from all of our concerns about life, dayegahs. There's also a letter down here that goes into a slightly more detail, but also says more or less the same thing. You'll find this in Igrot Kodesh volume twenty-nine, page one thirty-two. The Rebbe says That part's pretty standard. Here we go. This should be a time of freedom from the concerns that come from gashmiyut. That's our parnasah and all sorts of other things. Probably right? Those three big concerns that everybody has is their children, their health, and their wealth. And also but also spiritual concerns. Those exist too. And Pesach is a time of freedom from both spiritual and physical concerns. Anything that might get in the way of serving Hashem with simcha and with a good heart. So here the Rebbe's filling in some blanks for us and telling us why it's so important to be freed from these dayegahs, these concerns that exist in spirituality and physicality, because those are things that are It's difficult to serve God when you're feeling worried, whether it's worried about spiritual things or physical things. And one

04:17 Speaker 1 of the ways to get rid of worries is simply to experience Pesach. Pesach itself has the property of getting rid of our spiritual and physical dayegahs. The Rebbe never says anywhere that I could find anyway, the Rebbe, Rebbe never says why. I have an answer, derekh hachshavah, that I made up completely, so you're free to absolutely discard it. Uh, but the derekh hachshavah, one of the reasons why Pesach might free us from dayegahs is mentioned in the Sefer HaChinukh and brought by the Tamach Tzedek in So the Sefer HaChinukh says the reason why we redo the entire Yetzias Mitzrayim, why we relive everything, eat the exact same matzah, and sit down and tell the story and kind of try to put ourselves back into that mode of the way we were by Yetzias Mitzrayim is that by putting oursel-- by putting ourselves back in that mode, After the heart follows-- After the-- Excuse me. I got it backwards. After the actions follows the heart. A person, when they do things, it inspires them to think back to the way things were with-- about what they're reenacting. So when we reenact the Seder, we put ourselves back in that mode of thinking. And what's the mode of thinking of Yidden leaving Mitzrayim? That God's in charge of everything, that hashgacha pratit is rampant, and that there's absolutely nothing to be worried about. He's gonna be guiding us through the desert. So it's possible, the derekh hachshavah, that one of the reasons why Pesach has the, has

05:22 Speaker 1 the effect of removing concerns, removing dayegahs and worries, is because it puts us back into a mode where God took care of us very directly and where hashgacha pratit was very obvious, and this puts us into a mode in our own lives right now where we see the hand of hashgacha pratit. This is my guess, but I didn't find that written anywhere. Okay, so that is one way to get rid of dayegah, is simply to experience Pesach. Once a year, we get a free pass, is that if we experience Pesach and experience it properly, the Rebbe says in that sicha through Mitzvah Pesach as well, we do it the way it's supposed to be done, this will help remove our worries. There are other places, though, many, many letters, where people write to the Rebbe that they're worried about things, that they're feeling nervous or anxious, and the Rebbe gives them different pieces of advice. A lot of these pieces of advice, as with all letters, we have to assume some of them were tailored to the individuals. They might not all be broadly applicable, but I brought some that felt broadly applicable. So we have a selection here in your supplemental material. It's also on the screen Of letters that seem to me to be at least somewhat broadly applicable to the problem of worry. I feel so rude drinking coffee in front of you, but I just-- I didn't have any yet today, and I need it. Okay. This first one up here

06:25 Speaker 1 is our classic Bitachon reading list, something that, uh, something Yossi Pelz should get very excited about. This is, uh, this is where anybody who has problems with their concerns, the Rebbe tells them to read the same couple books. We're gonna read this one together. This is from Taf Shin Yod Dalet. He's worried about his nervouskite. And, and yes, I did have to pause over that word for twenty-five minutes and figure out what nervouskite is. But I figured it out. It's nervouskite. Nervousness. The Rebbe says, first of all, to buy Yossi Pelz's book. He doesn't say that. He says that you should learn a couple chapters from Shaarei Bitachon from Cheves HaLevavot, which we actually learned earlier this week is one of the most approved from the Rebbe that we find in letters. He also says, says, find places in Chassidus that fully explain what the Alter Rebbe says in Igeres HaKodesh, Siman Chaf Hei, which is where the Alter Rebbe talks about digas. If he were to believe, if an individual were to believe that everything that's happening to them is directly from God, nervous, they'd understand there's nothing to be nervous about. The ways to bring down berachos from Hashem are well known. they're straight paths. There's nothing to worry about because it's all laid out in front of us. God's in charge of the world, and also God has laid out the paths through which a person needs to take if they want to-- the paths that a person needs to take if

07:51 Speaker 1 they want to have beracha. So you don't have to worry about not getting good things in your life. You just have to follow the paths, the guidelines, and to trust that God's in charge of everything. So that's a pretty big promise. What exactly are these paths and guidelines that bring beracha into the world and that should remove our concerns? Uh, I have two letters that sort of, that, that sort of touch on that. Another one's from Taf Shin Yod Dalet, also discussing worry, but driving home exactly what paths the Rebbe's talking about that lead us to success, that also removes our digas. So in Taf Shin Yod Dalet, the Rebbe writes, He's having-- he's worried about his family. the guy is also worried about his job, his money, and the guy writes to the Rebbe saying that because he's so concerned about everything, he's so worried, he has no state of relaxation that allows him to learn Hashem's Torah. So the Rebbe writes, You haven't mentioned-- the Rebbe says, "I'm surprised you're telling me you're very worried, but you haven't mentioned any of the kelim, any of the vessels and pipelines through which the beracha of Hashem enters the world, which is Torah and mitzvahs." And he goes on to say, you can read this letter on your own time. He goes on to say that, um-- actually, I wanna read a little bit more of it, but the, the whole letter we're not gonna read. Now, somebody had complained to the Alter Rebbe that

09:07 Speaker 1 they were concerned also, they also had digas, and the Alter Rebbe said back to him, you're worried about all the things you need, but you don't ask much about-- you're not worried much about what you're needed for. You're worried about the things you need, but you're not worried about the things you might be needed for. When a person does put effort into the things that they're needed for, namely Torah and mitzvahs, I was created only to serve God, then God will give him a beracha and all of those things that he needs. So we now have filled in some of the blanks from the previous letter. In the previous letter, the Rebbe had told us that a person just needs to trust in Hashem, that if they do what they're supposed to do, God's going to help them. And what is that exactly? That is stop worrying about the things that are worrying you and start worrying about what you're needed for, not the things you need. And what you're needed for is hishtadlus and Torah and mitzvahs, Torah and mitzvahs, throwing yourself completely into avodas Hashem. A similar letter that says it in slightly different words, I think it's almost the exact same thing as is this letter down here from Taf Shin Tes Zayin, where again, somebody writes to the Rebbe about their concerns and the Rebbe says to them, to this person who's worried, okay, over here in the middle, he wants him to increase in his Torah st- in his Torah

10:28 Speaker 1 study. God will fulfill his end of the bargain, and anybody who increases in their Torah study, God increases the things they get. but specifically someone who accepts upon themselves the yoke of Torah, which is that they say, "I'm gonna be completely dedicated to Torah study and not distracted." When somebody learns Torah in a way of Kabbalah, all the things that constitute the yoke of government is removed from him. The Rebbe is playing off of a line in Pirkei Avos here. It says in Pirkei Avos that anybody who accepts the yoke of Torah, God removes from them the the yoke of kingship, of government, and the yoke of having to take care of Derech Eretz. The Rebbe says all of that's in-- all of digas, all concerns we have in the physical world are included in . So another etza to get rid of the concerns that a person has and to make the things causing those concerns disappear is which again is fairly similar to what the Rebbe is saying up here, that a person needs to-- if they wanna-- the person needs to ask what they're needed for and then throw themselves entirely into Torah study. So that's sort of one approach is the classic Bitachon approach. To put the last three letters we all said in one big nutshell, that is classic Bitachon. There's a reading list, Shaarei Bitachon, there's the Alter Rebbe's work on Bitachon, the works in Chassidus explaining to us that everything's Hashgacha Protis and remembering that God controls everything,

11:54 Speaker 1 and then a little bit of advice on how to get out of the hole that you might be in. And that hole that you might be in is caused by the fact that you're worrying too much about what you need and not what you're needed for, namely Kabbalah and Kabbalah and Torah specifically. Specifically Kabbalah when it comes to learning Torah. Because anybody who accepts the yoke of Torah and acts in a way of God will then remove anything that's impeding their ability to do that, such as the things that they're concerned about. So that's pretty lofty. There's some more practical stuff coming up here. I have two other pieces of advice that show up in letters that I think are broadly applicable. This one is something that I think we all accomplish just by meeting up every, uh, every twelve thirty during our work days. Look at this one. So the Rebbe writes in Tuv Shin Tes Vav. When it comes to these sorts of concerns, in Bikkurei Inda, the person wrote to the Rebbe that they're very worried about things. One of the pieces of advice that is well known is to make some friends. Make a friend. It's for su-- It's certainly the case that you're speaking to older mashpiyim, you're speaking to older zig ne'eish . It helps, of course, that you talk to older people about your problems and you're seeking advice, . A person needs to also have a true friend. He can then reveal what's paining his heart to

13:09 Speaker 1 his true friend. And in addition to that, we know from Chazal, and this is actually in Gemara Mesachtes Sota, which we're gonna be starting soon, that the proper way to handle a worry in your heart is to tell it to a friend. That when one friend-- when two friends share their problems with each other, we have two godly souls fighting against only one animalistic soul, one selfish animal, and two godly souls that are helping each other out. And being able to immediately see the, uh, the outcome, the obvious outcomes of investing in a friendship as a way to, as a way to remove your diagus. So we have another piece of advice here, that if a person's constantly worried, in addition to consulting with older Hasidim and in addition to consulting with mashpiyim, there's also room for making a close friend, a true friend who you can confide in. And by confiding in that true friend and the two of you working together on whatever problem is concerning you, we have two hard plural there. Two godly souls fighting with each other against one animalistic soul. I'll figure it out at some point. I told you, I won't-- The coffee doesn't kick in until the end of the shiur, and then I'm just left, you know, buzzing. Okay. The last piece that I have here is something that I think is particularly the shaya for our group. I believe that most of the people listening and, and most of the people who are on the

14:25 Speaker 1 screen right now have the incredible zechus of, of attending Timchei Tmimim at some point. There's, uh, no greater honor, I think, than being a tamim. Um, it's the thing I'm most proud of. Uh, and here the Rebbe touches on that in a-- When it comes to diagus. Here, we'll read it. I don't have to give you my opinion, you can read. This person was a tamim, and he writes to the Rebbe. He was a tamim a long time ago. He was in Timchei Tmimim. But he writes to the Rebbe that he's wor-- that he has thoughts of concern, he has thoughts of worries, he has diagus. And the Rebbe writes to this person who was formerly in Timchei Tmimim, . The Rebbe says, "I'm very surprised you have worries. I'm very surprised you have diagus." Not from a tamim, doesn't make sense. Specifically, he had the great zechus to learn for su-- for a significant amount of time, that he learned in the holy yeshiva of Timchei Tmimim. And the Rebbe says, . There's a din that kedusha never leaves its place. Holiness never leaves its place. So a person who had the great merit of learning in Timchei Tmimim, they keep that kedusha with them forever, no matter what they do afterwards. And while he was at Timchei Tmimim, obviously, he learned . And in it explains there . is explained thoroughly. That God is fundamentally good, and the nature of good is to do good. It would be great that Rebbe says, if

15:45 Speaker 1 in addition to all the chasidus you know that should have already explained to you how works, you would take the twenty-third chapter of Tehillim, read it with all of its commentaries, and review it from time to time. That would be your, uh, your I believe, right? Is that ? Yeah, right? Huh. I should have really looked up which one that is. Anyway, . He also tells him to check his tefillin if it hasn't been checked already, and the Rebbe continues on with wishing him well and giving him-- and, and putting his signature at the bottom. So what we have here then is a couple of strategies to remove concern entirely. I wanna recap them, and then I wanna open the floor. So on our recap list for the day, we have the Pesach itself as . It was a time of freedom. That freedom that Pesach engenders also applies to whatever is causing us concern and our concerns themselves, anything that gets in the way of our avodas Hashem. I said maybe it's because we're reliving the experience of the ultimate Hashgacha Protis of God leading us out of Mitzrayim, and that inspires in us an understanding of the present Hashgacha Protis that we have now, that things aren't really any different than they were by Yetzias Mitzrayim nowadays. It's just that it's harder to see. So the Rebbe says the Pesach itself does have this effect. In addition to that, the Rebbe had told us to check out , a recurring theme in a

16:53 Speaker 1 lot of the Rebbe's letters about diagus. He also look-- told us to look at Yigras HaKodesh, chapter twenty-five, and any parts of the siddus that address that chapter. He told us to throw ourselves completely into Torah and mitzvahs in a way of Mekubbalah of El Torah, and we discussed that at some length. The Rebbe suggested that we learn Tehillim Perekh twenty-three with mefarshim and review it many times over. The Rebbe suggested we find a friend. And last but not least, the Rebbe told former Tmimim that they should recall their time in Timchei Tmimim, recognize that kedusha , that kedusha never leaves, and that those of us who are fortunate enough to learn in the Rebbe's own yeshivas, where chasidus is taught, should reinvest, reinvest our thoughts in what chasidus teaches, which is that Hashem runs the entire world and that we have nothing, in fact, to be concerned about in the first place. Okay, that's it. Floor is open.

17:36 Speaker 2 Q- uh, question. Do you, um... Is there anywhere that, uh, speaks about gaiva being associated with diagus? Like

17:49 Speaker 1 I didn't, I didn't find it. I didn't find it. That doesn't mean it's not there. I didn't look everywhere, but I'm gonna write it down as something to look into. 'Cause you're right, that could be another reason why Pesach's the time of not diagit, right?

18:00 Speaker 2 Not diagit-

18:01 Speaker 1 Is that what you mean?

18:01 Speaker 2 To get rid of our chametz, yeah, in order to go to Eretz.

18:09 Speaker 1 Yeah, it's a good idea.

18:10 Speaker 2 I believe I saw somewhere

18:11 Speaker 1 To look into and see if there's a connection. Oh, yeah. Mendel says, for those who didn't hear, 'cause I was talking over him, Mendel says that, uh, that he believes he saw somewhere maybe that diag and gaiva are connected and that, uh, the gaiva of chametz that we get rid of on Pesach might be one of the reasons why our diag is removed too. Definitely something to look into.

18:29 Speaker 2 This was good. A good letter.

18:31 Speaker 1 Thanks.

18:32 Speaker 3 Thank you.

18:34 Speaker 2 I, I heard a vort, I think it probably came from Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, that the word diag has the first five letters of the alefbeis, but it's missing thebeis. Thebeis is bitachon. The more bitachon you have, the less diagus you have.

18:48 Speaker 1 Beautiful. Beautiful. And reflected in most of the Rebbe's letters on diagus. I, I, I hope that the way that I pull things doesn't confuse anybody. I'm giving you-- I'm not giving a representative sample. So when I show you only one letter where the Rebbe says , that's not 'cause it happens once. It's 'cause it happened twenty-five times, and I only showed you one. The most recurring theme in the Rebbe's letters that I found about diag is to, uh, strengthen bitachon, strengthen the knowledge of Hashgacha Protis and to read Shaar HaBitachon. So that's, uh, that's a definitely dominant theme.

19:16 Speaker 2 Okay, perfect. All right. Thank you so much. Have a great day, everyone.

19:19 Speaker 1 You too.