האם המתנגדים הראשונים צדקו?

00:00 This is Igres. We are looking at letters today from exactly sixty years ago. The letter that is on your screen is Ches, Tov, Pe-- excuse me, Ches, Tov, Shen, Pe, Zion. The letter is from Yud, Zion, Other of Tov, Shen, Chaf, Dalet, so other of sixty years ago, and it is a letter to a Moisha, Isser, Koen. I don't know if we have his last name. Um, no, we don't. In the footno- no, we don't have his last name. But Mr. Moisha Isser Koen had some concerns about learning Hasidus with-- which the Rebbe discusses and addresses in this letter. The Rebbe says, "Shalom Ubraham, I was, uh, I was happy to receive your letter from, uh, from Wednesday, and you write there about your Matza Bruach. You write there your, your attitude, your mood, and your Ashkafa when it comes to Hasidus, when it comes specifically to the Torah of Hasidus and its Inyanim, Behulru." "Vetikvasi Chazakal," the Rebbe says, "It is my sincere and strong hope," uh, "Asher Yadea Kida Terrazu Penimi Yesus Veemek," that when the more that you come to understand, the more you come to learn about the Terrazah Hasidus and its Penimius, uh, in greater depth, "Yiskaru Lamaskana Shalah," you will come closer to Hasidus as a school of thought and also to its Maskanas and also to its conclusions. That is, the Rebbe hopes that the more he learns, the more he will be drawn in to what Hasidus says and what Hasidus means. "Veyichachosei Penimius Atereshniskala Terrazah Hasidus,

01:11 Hai Nishama Penimius Ashot Terrazan Terrazan Nigla." Says, "I hope you will ultimately come to understand that the-- that Hasidus, which is Penimius Atera, represents the Nishama and the Penimius of the Terra of the Nigla." "Ovesigna Zeir Kadish Nishmatza Daraisa" and the way in the language of the Zeir that Hasidus is the Nishmatza Daraisa, the soul of the Terra. This sentence here, where the Rebbe says that, "I hope you'll come to understand that Hasidus is the soul of the Terra, the Penimius of the Nigla," and the Nishama, Nishmatza Daraisa is essentially the thesis of Kundris Lahav Ninian Ashot Terrazah Hasidus, where the Rebbe explains exactly what Hasidus is. His conclusion, which he extends over many, many pages, is really just one sentence long, which is that Hasidus is the Nishama of the entire Terra, and then he spends pages and pages proving it. So the Rebbe is saying, "I hope you come to that conclusion the more you come to study Hasidus." But, uh, there is a barrier. "Vlaskir Mechave," based on what you mentioned in your letter, "Shubideresa Kabi Machaiwis Nagas Terrazuhi." This guy mentioned in his letter to the Rebbe that he was a little hesitant to start learning Hasidus seriously because in prior generations there had been a hisnagdos, there had been an opposition to studying the Terra of Hasidus. Of course, the Misnagdum in the times of the Baal Shem Tov, in the times of the Maguid, in the times of the Alter Rebbe, where it really reached a fever pitch, and

02:18 the Misnagdum pushed back and said that Hasidus was wrong and Terrazah Hasidus was wrong, uh, banned it, put it in Herem, forbade learning it, ultimately threw the Alter Rebbe in prison for it. Uh, there is a-- and, and some of these people were just rabble-rousers. Some of these people just liked seeing the world burn. But a good number, as I'm sure you know, a good number of the people of the Litvish world, of the Misnagdic world at the time who opposed the teachings of Hasidus were very legitimate Terra scholars and very holy people and very moral people who saw real problems. This person writes to the Rebbe saying, "Uh, I'm not a rabble-rouser, I'm not a troublemaker, but, uh, but there are, there are Gedali Am Yisroel who pushed back and said we shouldn't be learning this stuff. So, uh, so I don't know if I should be learning it." So the Rebbe's answer to that is, "Harivira Tamim Minikukamba Rikos." These people who wrote these things, the holy ones, not the rabble-rousers, the holy ones who decided that Hasidus should not be learned about two hundred years ago, they explained their reasons and their thinking at length. They didn't just say, "No Hasidus. Guess why I think that." They explained what their opposition was. "Shechashru Sheali Dealicha Beterozul, Yisrach Kulchas V'Shalom Mikiya Mitzvas Maisus Kietz Viza." Their concern was that if people follow Terrazah Hasidus, they will, God forbid, distance themselves from keeping practical mitzvahs and things like that. They were afraid that Hasidus

03:24 would cause a lack of Yiras Shamayim and a lack of observance, and therefore, they banned it. "Theimit Kukpa Hi, Hayu Chiluke Deyis." If in that time there were indeed differences of opinion, "Hayish Ezamakam Lechashash Kaze," there might have been a certain grounds for such a concern. The Rebbe says it's possible that back then that was a justified concern. "Haridachle Avrakema Saim Shana," but now two hundred years have passed since they had that concern. "Meis Nisgala Terrazah Hasidus," from the time that Hasidus was first revealed, "Hakol Medeve Enam Al Shaylen." Nowadays, everybody knows the answer to the question, will Hasidus cause a weakness in Torah observance? "Maos Simin Shel Chasad." Ask anybody, what does a Hasid look like? And what will they tell you? "Shemarachu Batfili, Yasim Mikola Esheina Chmeshes Mizesh Eina Chasad." They'll tell you that a Hasid is someone who davens longer, who prays longer than someone who's not a Hasid. "Yomaneach Schnezul Gest Filin Volei Zulgachad." They'll tell you that it's somebody who wears not only one pair of tefillin, but two pairs of tefillin. They'll tell you that it's someone with Zakan Baguda, with a long beard, "Vechulu. Zeis Ameris," what that mean to us? "Sheba Matzias Veichicha," that the Matzias showed up and proved, "Shledach She'en Kol Ised Lecha Sha Shaomer." It's not just that there's no basis for their initial concern that Hasidus would cause a lack of Yiras Shamayim or lack of Torah observance, "Ela Adaraba," to the contrary. "Kishapeigan Bishul Kish Zakan Baguda Mal Peus, Levush Haruch." When

04:32 you meet somebody in the market and he has a long beard and peyus and a long garment, "Eich Hashmor B'chag HaPesach," who's careful to eat only Shemura matzah on Chag HaPesach, and "Manich Tefillin de Rabbeinu Tam gam ken," who wears tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam. When you meet somebody like this who is mehader in everything, who's careful about mitzvahs to the, uh, to the, to the most extreme, to the most extreme degree, somebody who, uh, cares about Torah and mitzvahs at the very highest level, you meet somebody like that, "Kadov Levish Nisgala Berkata Terrazah Hasidus." At this point, anybody would tell you, "Ad sari comes from a Hasidisha family." So the Rebbe's point in this paragraph is that it might be-- it mi- it might very well be that two hundred years ago, there were holy people who were very justified in worrying that a new path in Avodas Hashem would lead to a weakness in observance of mitzvahs, a weakness in observance of Torah, and a distance from Yiddishkeit. However, we now, two hundred years later, there's really no room for the discussion. Two hundred years later, it's very clear that Hasidim are more frum than everybody else. "Ad kedekach." That when you see a very frum person, the first thing someone says is, "Ah, he's probably Hasidish." That's just where the idea of frumke, frumke comes from. So there is no more room for hisnagdus to Terrazah Hasidus now that we see its peirus. The outcome of Terrazah Hasidus is that Hasidim are, uh--

05:36 is that Hasidus makes people more frum. More Yiddish mayim. Pashat she ein be'amar kavanach chas v'shalom likayem mi shehu menuchai nefesh sh'chashu b'tkubah hi le'ana'o. The reason why I'm speaking so, uh, so gently when translating the Rebbe in this prior paragraph is 'cause of this paragraph. Look at his tone here. He says, "Pashat. She ein be'amar kavanach chas v'shalom likayem mi shehu menuchai nefesh sh'chashu b'tkubah hi le'ana'o." It is not my intent at all, says the Rebbe, to, uh, to, to confront those who are not alive anymore who were worried back then two hundred years ago. The Rebbe says, "I'm not stepping on their toes at all." Ki im she'az hayah be-smeichas zman lekitas ha'yehudim sheparatsu gedere v'chulu. Back then, that was very close to a period of time where people really had broken a lot of rules. He's almost certainly talking about Shabbatai Tzvi. So this was shortly after Shabbatai Tzvi. People were still worried about a pritzus geder. U've'eis chhirum harecheshem gam l'sechsekah u'rachum meid. In a time where you're worried about the possible upheaval of the Jewish people, you do need to worry about even very distant concerns. The Rebbe says, "I really do understand these people." The Rebbe's saying, "I understand the Misnagdim from two hundred years ago. It probably even made a little bit of sense to be worried about Chassidus two hundred years ago." Ma she'ein kein l'acharei tkubah nisayon g'dolah kol cach. But after we've been through, uh, through-- been through the, uh, the crucible, as it were,

06:38 v'ikre l'ach ein mitzi'ach sh'ra'eyim gam b'einei basar, we can now see with our physical eyes the outcomes of Chassidus, and it's all been positive. So this is a, uh, this is a very useful approach, I think, when people push back against Chassidus saying that it's not necessarily their family custom, or what about the gedolim of the past generation, of prior generations who were not into Chassidus? The answer the Rebbe's giving is not remotely that they were wrong. He's essentially saying, "Two hundred years ago, it really was a toss-up, and I hear them if they were concerned because it was a time when weird, uh, weird new ideas were surfacing and people were making mistakes right and left. There was no real reason for them to believe that Chassidus wasn't another one of those mistakes. But after two hundred years of watching what Chassidus does, it's very clear that Chassidus is a, is a total positive." So it's not even a-- it shouldn't even be a discussion anymore among the descendants of these very holy people who were cautious and would not be cautious nowadays. V'atzkir b'mechtavah id ez minhag avos. And you then mention in your letter, what about minhag avos? I mean, maybe intellectually we can explain that Chassidus makes sense nowadays, but I have my minhagim, my minhag is not to learn Chassidus, the Rebbe says. Ari kal chassidim rishonim hayu benei avos sh'lo hayu chassidim b'kalavav. And the Rebbe says you're just joining-- you're joining a great group of Chassidim in that

07:39 regard because all of the early Chassidim, all of the first Chassidim had fathers who were not Chassidim by definition. So if you're wondering about whether it is mutar for you to switch over to Chassidushe nusach, we actually saw a very similar lashon the Rebbe used when people wanted to switch to the nusach of the Alter Rebbe. But this applies to learning Chassidus or taking on Chassidic customs. Chassidic customs were always new to the people who were taking them on because there was no such thing, if you go back far enough, as somebody whose father was a Chassid. At some point, everybody had to start, so you may as well start here. And then the Rebbe says, "Yiratzen shematim le'hares mei'a Purim d'azlinu minayhu asher leyudim hayah se'udathem vesimcha v'sasrom v'ikar." Um, regarding m-may-- it should be God's will that, uh, matim le'hares mei'Purim, that, uh, fitting, befitting the lessons of Purim that we're just leaving right now, that are the-- for the Jews, there was, uh, life, there was light and joy and happiness and honor. U'mishlechim manot. And they sent gifts to each other. Ken tihiye lanu b'shnat ha'tzuah ha'eneh kirat v'ahavat avos. Then what I mean by that is that the end of the Purim story, there is kirat v'ahavat avos. Yidden got along. And may it be God's will that that also is what happens here. She'niklasa avos Yisrael m'chavanah sai d'avas hateirah v'avas Hashem. That, that there should be avos Yisrael, which of course comes from avas hateirah and avas Hashem,

08:43 love of Torah and love of God. Sh'kol zem yisede teras ha-Chassidus v'yomana. And all of that is among the foundations of teras ha-Chassidus, which is what the Rebbe defends at length in this letter, b'chavod u'brachah. Then we have the Rebbe's signature. So what we have from this letter that we're going to use for today is the Rebbe's approach to defending Chassidus from the perspective not of modern Misnagdim necessarily, and, uh, not of other-- I mean, we've seen in the past some letters where the Rebbe's pushed back against people who aren't into Chassidus or Chassidim. But here what we have is the Rebbe pushing back. The Rebbe's response to what about people of the generation of the Vi- of the Vilna Gaon? What about the Vilna Gaon himself? What about the great tzadikim of the pr- of many generations back, of two hundred years ago who opposed Chassidus? And the Rebbe's answer basically is they wouldn't if they were here now. They were worried about something that had not yet happened. They had valid concerns. We're not necessarily knocking their concerns, but we are saying that at this point, those concerns are invalid because Chassidim are so frum. Another yisod we're gonna pull out of this is that the fact that Chassidim are frum is what defends Chassidus to this day, which is, I think, a very powerful lesson for us, is that the more frum we are, the more strict we are in Halakha, the more we reflect that Chassidus was right all along. We

09:43 essentially justify the Alter Rebbe every time we take on a Halakhic hiddur. Let's look at at least three more letters from the Rebbe that say something similar, and then I'm gonna show you a surprise. This letter is Ches Tov Reish Nun Beis. It is from Chof Tav Tammuz of Tam Shin Chof Gimel. It's a tiny little letter, but it has a cool backstory that's below it. Not that cool. Kinda cool. Uh, let me see. Where are we down here? Yeah. Uh, mechtaveh. Somebody wrote that among the madrichot that were, uh, that were educating, uh, the, the shochenot, the shochanochay, excuse me. Among, among the madrichot that I think were in this camp. They were in a camp. They had some counselors, and, uh, some of them were really pushing a legitimate Misnagdiche atmosphere. And they would say that, uh, a Misnaged can't learn teras ha-Chassidus, and, uh, so that we can't be learning Chassidus 'cause we come from real Misnagdim. So there are people pushing back against learning Chassidus at a certain camp because they come from Misnagdim. And somebody wrote to the Rebbe saying, "Ez amtaim lakachas." What, what, uh, strategy should I use to try to explain to them that we should be able to learn Chassidus and that this isn't going against their, uh, Misnagdiche forebearers? And the Rebbe answers very briefly. He says, "L'tava b'sipurim mehayyei chassidim v'ha-Nasi'im." First of all, maybe spice in, uh, some stories of the, uh, of the early Chassidim or of the Nasi'im. Tell them stories.

10:51 Chassidishe ma'ysos are very powerful because they almost always involve Yiras Shamayim, especially when it comes to the Nasi'im. They very rarely are miracle stories and usually are stories of the incredible mesiras nefesh or the incredible care that Chassidic Jews have for other people, and that's a good way to get people into Chassidus in the first place. Then, "Lehiach she-Hisnagdus miderish hai sadag matayim shamon b'farash." Then I want you to stress and prove that the Hisnagdus, the, uh, the opposition that was-- that existed to Chassidus at one point initially, hai sadag matayim shamon b'farash. They only were about the reasons that were explicitly given. Chashashos v'chulu. That is, you can't put words in the mouths of people who lived two hundred years ago. They said exactly why they were opposed to Chassidus, and it was that they were worried about a lack of Yiras Shamayim. They were worried about a lack of Kima Mitzvos. They said what they were worried about. Therefore, if we satisfy what they were worried about, we can say Chassidus is fine. We can't then say, "Oh, they would have still opposed it." So recognize, explain to them that the Hisnagdus miderish, the initial Hisnagdus was only rak for the reasons that they wrote down. Omei az hakol meidim she'ein makom lahem. And nowadays we see there's no room for those concerns. So since the only reason they were opposed to Chassidus were the reasons they put in writing, and since those reasons that they put in writing clearly never happened 'cause

11:54 Chassidim are frum, there's no room to say that they would even have-- that they would have the opinion nowadays that you shouldn't learn Chassidus. The Rebbe's position that-- the, the Rebbe's position, although he's not saying it in any one letter, you definitely see this here, that the Vilna Gaon would have been pro-Chassidus, perhaps even a Chassid nowadays, that he'd seen that Chassidus didn't end up having the concerns that they were worried that it might have. Ve'od sheteras ha-Chassidus mesiv le'garas chas v'shalom kinbuchach u'mechush meile l'chabiyach b'chlam masai mana. That Chassidus adds and does not, God forbid, subtract, as we can see very clearly from anything in Judaism of meile b'chlam masai mana, and therefore among us we have two hundred mana. There's an expression the Rebbe uses often as-- when he's discussing the difference between Chassidus and other groups. It's an expression from the Gemara. What it effectively means is- That, uh, that you could, that, uh, that within 200 coins, you also have 100 coins. So what that means is that within Chassidus, you also have all of the values, all of the pluses of Hisnagdus, all of the values of Lithuanian Jewry, all the values of every approach in Yiddishkeit you have within Chassidus plus 100, plus whatever else. You don't lose anything. You only gain when you adopt Limud HaChassidus and Darkei Chassidus. This letter is a little bit longer. This letter is labeled, "Hey, Lamed, Daled." It is from Yud Daled Teves of Tuv Shin Yud Zion. I don't believe we're

12:58 starting at the beginning, although I really should mark these things so I can remember where we're going. Maybe we will start at the beginning. Where is the part that I want to show you? Just a moment. I think it's over here. Aha. Okay. "Beis Radzin." The Rebbe says, "Beis Radzin asker is kolei leShchas ve'et sam al atzion." The Rebbe says, "I'm gonna mention everything that you wrote to me by the tzion of the Firah," the Rebbe. Uh, and then he goes on to say, "Amashakas, that which you wrote about Shadyvin Pleni ben Pleni al derech Limud Tanya." You spoke with a certain pro- person, Pleni ben Pleni shall be his name. You spoke with a certain person about Limud HaTanya, about learning Tanya. "Ve'ana, az das is a altemachlekis." He answered that this is an old machlekis. It's an old dispute between his school of thought, the Misnagdim, and Chassidus. So he's not gonna get into Tanya because this is an old argument, and this isn't something he's ready to reopen. Just understand there are two legitimate shitas in Judaism, the pro-Chassidus one and the anti-Chassidus one. This is what this person told this shliach. "Ulefela, sheini sheyas ve'ela anal." The Rebbe says, "I'm shocked that nobody explained to him that that's not the case at all." "Ulefela, sheini sheyas ve'ela anal asher esem shichalkel nimasaim shana amrutam gali shichei shemem shalei is matu al yodei zebinyan yiras shamaim." Those who opposed this 200 years ago were very clear that the reasons for their opposition

14:05 were that they were worried that there would be a lack of yiras shamaim, fear of heaven, v'chulu, and things like that, observance of mitzvahs, hidder, if Chassidus took off. "Uvezman sheavar, meaz." And in the time that has passed since then, "viyachen b'dereinu zes," specifically in our generation, right, "b'mochach," we see very clearly, "asher adiraba," that to the contrary, "zeh meis et mechazek b'yiras shamaim," this is only increasing and strengthening yiras shamaim. The Chassidus has worked very well. "V'hidder v'kima mitzvos," when it comes to hidder, when it comes to fulfilling mitzvos, "v'chulu." "Va'arehem reb uvezem mochach b'din asam lifnim, v'reim zem mochach ga'er etz geishti b'nef esikinim v'kal av." And he says, "You're seeing this in all, in all countries, especially in Eretz Yisroel, and this is simple to understand." So somebody had said to this individual that he doesn't want to learn Tanya because it's just not his shita. It's an altemachlekis. It's an old argument between his school of thought and this school of thought. The Rebbe says somebody should really explain to this guy that he's 200 years behind the times. 200 years ago, there were two schools of thought, but at this point there's only one school of thought because Chassidus has proven itself as being a source of hidder, as a source of a yiras shamaim, a place where people go to become better at being a good Yid. Let's read this last bit because it's interesting. "V'yiratzet sheiv sev yeztliach v'chamakim lif'eira chamakim." He then gives a bracha that at

15:10 the end he should succeed, uh, in all places, "lif'eira chamakim." "Zeis ameris etzel Pleni ben Pleni," the Rebbe's bracha is that he will effect upon this person, first of all, "shalei isnagdu," first of all, that he'll stop opposing him. Second of all, that he will help him. Third of all, that he himself will begin learning Chassidus. The Rebbe gives a three-part bracha for this individual, that this individual will first stop opposing Chassidus, second of all, help with the teaching of Chassidus, and third of all, himself begin learning Chassidus. "Varkavai yeduim fursem psaktin shalmayla nefdi keseifa kitsun v'haris latanya amud kuf pei beis veseif." Apparently, this is printed there, although I haven't seen it. The Rebbe says-- I trust the Rebbe's sourcing, of course. The Rebbe says that, uh, it is already well known and famous that there's a psaktin shalmayla, that heaven decreed, "asher b'glalah mesiras nefesh al uzur shor abin ozak," and that in honor of the mesiras nefesh of the Alter Rebbe, Chassidim have an advantage from now on. And what is that advantage? "Alteres echassidus pascu besin shalmayla sheb'cholani interes v'yiras shamaim midas teves tiyan mikushar v'helech v'mehsava aliyah al halel yoni." You heard that one before? This one's very interesting. It says the psaktin shalmayla was when the Alter Rebbe was freed, that anybody who connects themselves to the Alter Rebbe will always have an advantage when it comes to Torah, yiras shamaim, and midas teves, that we get a boost over everybody else of subsumingly following the ways of the

16:14 Alter Rebbe. That was a special gift he was given in response for his mesiras nefesh. In any event, we again have the Rebbe explaining that any hisnagdus to Torah sechas Chassidus simply is not shayeach nowadays when the Chassidim have proved themselves 200 years later as being the bastions of yiras shamaim in this world. One more letter I want to show you, al derech zeh. This letter is labeled Gimel Tuv Shin Chaf Beis. It is from the year Tuv Shin Tes Vav Yud Tes Menachem Av of Tuv Shin Tes Vav to be exact. And here I know we're not reading the top of the letter. Let me get you down here. Okay. "V'kul cham mefal uf v'shaklav itaria b'negel limuda dach b'divrei lekim chaim." The Rebbe says, uh, "I'm-- i-it's a shame that you're spending so much time trying to figure out going back and forth whether you should learn Torah sechas Chassidus." This person had written to the Rebbe, they're hemming and hawing, saying, "Maybe we should learn Chassidus, maybe we shouldn't learn Chassidus. I don't know. I don't come from that sort of family." He's hemming and hawing, and, uh, and the Rebbe says, "I-- it, it's a real shame. You're losing a lot of time." "Ki kol rega heilech," every moment that passes that you're trying to think whether I should be learning Chassidus, "avdi hi, avedi hi, v'avdi avedi sheina chazeret." It's a loss, and it's a loss that will never come back. "Uva bashah," and meanwhile, "ki lashon rabina ozaka b'tani

17:17 kiddisha seifer chaf hei, hiniyacha l'amal b'yichud kaze lemayle hahuni tzfi lelim boin." You could have connected yourself to the eternal source of life, God Himself, through learning Torah sechas Chassidus at this time. And what are you doing? You're going back and forth, over and forth, over whether you should learn it in the first place. You're just-- you're wasting time, he says. "Heni mavala azmana p'pulin b'vatal tanish reitzin l'ne mechal k'b'tera." You are spending all of your time trying to come up with good answers to people who want to, uh, who want to prevent you from taking your place in the Torah. "Shu leirach pshat remez and derush b'Torah." By the way, says the Rebbe, your heilik in the Torah is not just the pshat, the remez, and the derush. "Heilik am panim yisa Torah." It's also the inner part of the Torah. "Sasan darais," the sod, the hidden parts of the Torah. "Hamakasha sasen dush nasa sasen d'kuncha b'richu," which connects the mystery of the soul to the mystery of God. "Kedisa beza'ir and heilik, heilik gimel, uh, on, uh, ayin gimel amad alif." You'll find that in Za'ir over there. "Rad kama gadal heis shechalem hester." Things have gotten so deep and dark around here, "shachare. Tamai is nagdis nana bal shem tov limat Torah sechas Chassidus aglum nid fasim." You should understand that the reasons that people once opposed the Torah of the Baal Shem Tov were made famous, and they're in print. You can read them. So read the reasons why people

18:18 opposed the Torah of the Baal Shem Tov. Why? And in some of Sefarim, Gamatu, you can read them in books that are found right now in before Ashazatainish, Shechash Yigrim, because there you'll find that their express concern was that Sheyigrim, the coolest, became a mitzvah, that this would cause leniencies in keeping mitzvahs. Vayde Yesim Mikulas Va'alma, not just regular coolest, maybe actual Averas. They were worried about coolest, they were worried about leniencies and worried about Averas. Ve'enet Senei Le'hadach Matanis Shechayu, Shegam Az Le'hayel Hem Kol Yusei. Now here the Rebbe says something a little different than what we saw in every other letter. Remember, in every other letter, the Rebbe was making a point that back then they were a little bit justified in their concerns. Now the Rebbe's not saying here they weren't justified in their concerns, but he is saying, I'm not going to go into detail about their claims because their claims were baseless back then. Now this is not actually a contradiction. In this letter what the Rebbe is saying is that what they were concerned about was definitely not true. And in what prior letters the Rebbe is saying is they didn't know that, therefore their concerns were valid. You understand it wasn't that Chassidim were doing the wrong thing, it was that there were rumors that Chassidim were doing the wrong thing and they were justified in worrying about those rumors. In any event, the Rebbe says, Meshech Hamasaim Shana Meaz. In the two hundred years since then, Shevim

19:17 V'reim Kol Tzadd V'shaal, Shezim V'shaal Chabeikves Tamidav V'tamidav Midav. We've now seen in the subsequent generations that anybody who follows in the footsteps of the Al-Tadeba, in the footsteps of his students and the students of his students, Hey Mahadrin Mitzvah, they are Mahadrin Mitzvah. They're more careful about mitzvahs. Afilu B'diptik Chalshiv Divdei Seifrim. Even when it comes to being very strict about little bits of Din Abundance, they are more careful than everybody else. Mishdagim L'Karvis Kol B'nei Yisrael Avit Azem B'tei Ach Simcha. They work very hard to bring all the rest of the Yidden in the world to this sort of divine service at a very, very high level. B'tei Ach Simcha, in a way of joy. And then the Rebbe has a little dig here. Mash'ein Kein V'chulu. Whereas, etc. Which means, whereas those who have not followed in the path of Chassidis have not done this. Implying, implying that the Rebbe is saying. He puts a V'chulu because he doesn't want to say anything negative about Yidden. But the implication at the end of this sentence is that Chassidim are, uh, Chassidim are frum. They are careful about every mitzvah. They work very hard to bring Yidden close to the Yiddishkeit and they are happy. And Misnagdim are not as frum, not as careful about individual mitzvahs, do not work as hard to bring Yidden close to the Yiddishkeit and aren't as happy. So what is the, uh, what's the bottom line here two hundred years later? It's not really a discussion. And

20:19 of course, what the Rebbe said at the beginning of this paragraph needs to be added to that conclusion. It's very clear that this Derech, that the Derech of the Misnagdim has been disproven time and again. So now we know that even they would admit that Chassidis is correct. But on top of that, while you're trying to make these claims and push people away and explain to everybody else why you're in, why you should be involved in Chassidis, you're missing out on learning Chassidis and you're being deprived of your place in the Torah. Because every Yidd's place in the Torah is not just the Pshat, the Remez and the Drush, but also the Seud, the secrets of the Torah, which are expressed through the learning of Chassidis. The Rebbe gives him a bracha that he should increase in his Libanach Chassidis. And then he adds that Yesev Alimuda Arata Bechol Ha'anal, Le'asim Leiv Lechol Ha'svegas. He gives him a bracha that he's not going to pay attention to any of these doubts. Yeshim Yishuretzel Haviv Dal Aramei Shalem Bechochut. People are trying to bring doubt about learning Chassidis into your Dal Aramei from outside. Ignore them. Kovur B'sfarim Asher Safek B'matri Amalek as it's brought in Sefarim that Safek has the same gematria as Amalek. And Amalek is Neil Chamal Kol B'nei Yisrael. And Amalek fights the entire Jewish people. He finds them on the path even once they've already left Mitzrayim. And he fights them from generation to generation, even Afilu Dara De'mashiach, even in

21:19 the generation of Mashiach. Kidisu B'har Ami Yenesen as we see in Targi Yenesen. The Rebbe says here, expect opposition. Amalek inside and Amalek from the outside is going to constantly try to give you reasons not to learn Chassidis. Ignore them and take your place in the Torah, understanding that any legitimate opposition that once existed has been gone for two hundred years. Which is another sort of subtext of all of these letters, is that if there was once a legitimate opposition to Chassidis, it's two hundred years old. Since then, in the modern era, the only opposition to Chassidis is one from Mitzah d'Klippah. The only opposition to Chassidis that exists nowadays is Amalek. There is no good opposition. Two hundred years ago, you could have Mitzah d'Kedusha, an opposition to Chassidis. Nowadays, impossible. If you find somebody who's opposed to learning Chassidis, they're under the influence of the other side, not of the side of good. It's just not possible nowadays. The last thing I want to show you is a little bit of a bonus. And, uh, I was, uh, I was fortunate to find this. I, I didn't find it today. This is something I've kept in my back pocket for a while that's in my, on my Fabrengen document that I keep for emergency Fabrengens. And, uh, I realized that the Rebbe's-- this entire approach of the Rebbe, he took explicitly from the Al-Tadeba. This is, this is the Al-Tadeba himself's approach to Misnagdim. Uh, when the Al-Tadeba was arrested, one of the

22:23 two arrests that he had, an individual named Avigdor turned him in and had a whole-- it was a nickname, probably not really his name. And, uh, this code named Avigdor had a long list of malshinas. He had a long list of claims about the Al-Tadeba and about Chassidis. I believe there were, there were something like seventeen of these claims. And, uh, initially they, they claimed in Russian and answered in Russian, and apparently there was some sort of a language confusion. So eventually the way that they set it up was they wrote them all, wrote every one of the problems down except for the first two questions in Lashon HaKadosh. And the Al-Tadeba was allowed to answer in writing in Lashon HaKadosh. This was at some point only, uh, only a past generation, only a couple of years ago. In the past generation at some point, these letters that were originally kept by the Russian government were released and we now have them. And they were printed in the Igris of the Al-Tadeba. And if you look here at answer number fourteen, let's look at question number fourteen first. A claim against the Al-Tadeba had been from Avigdor, the malshin who had turned him over to the government to get him killed. Um, so not, not a good person at all. One of the claims that were being made again about the Al-Tadeba is, uh, Karani Yesema Karlina Beshem Shabtai Tsvinikim. He says, "I'm calling these Karliners," which is what they called some of the early

23:25 Chassidim. "I call them the same as Shabtai Tsviniks. I call them the same as, as members of Shabtai Tsvi." Achsheima Asu Heter La'aseis La'adam Kol Mashli B'chafetz. That Shabtai Tsvi, one of his things was that he said Halakha doesn't matter anymore. Anybody can do whatever they want. And I think the Chassidim also are doing this. They're saying that anybody can do whatever they want. In response to this claim, look what the Al-Tadeba says and tell me it doesn't remind you so much of exactly what the Rebbe is answering all these people. The Al-Tadeba answers, Lifleisevei Nai Ketze Zeh Vaysh Ben Chaim Lema Divre Nevala Keilu. He says, uh, "It's shocking to me. It's shocking in my eyes that this individual is not embarrassed to say such clear lies." It's a, it's a, it's, it's shocking to me that he's not embarrassed by such a lie. Harei Anashu Shabtai Tsvi Amru Ki B'rabam. Hainu Izeh Shenikru Shabtai Tsvi Hai Meshiach Emes. First of all, these people, they were the, uh, the men, the men who belonged to Shabtai Tsvi. They said that their rabbi, who was called Shabtai Tsvi, was the real Meshiach. Hu Hit Lehem La'aver Averas and he allowed them to do Averas. Amal Nachnu. But what about Chassidim? Nishmarim Mikol Chet. We're careful about every sin. U'mekaim B'zichiris G'dei Las Mitzvas Hashem. We keep with incredible stringency all of the mitzvahs of God. Yesim Asher Ben Chaim V'deimili. More than any of those people who are Misnagdim against us. The Al-Tadeba says, "The

24:33 people who are claiming that we're not frum enough to be, to be Yidden anymore, they're less frum than we are." Where is this claim coming from? Nikam Yesim Istam Yehudim Acherim. Certainly more than the average Jew. The Chassid is much more frum than the average Jew. So the claim that somehow Chassidim should not be considered Yidden and therefore are a new religion in Russia and therefore might be a problem from the Russian government's perspective, the Al-Tadeba says, "I don't understand. We're more strict about this religion than any of you. How can you compare us to Shabtai Tsvi who gave up on the religion?" Be'achshur Shiminoroi Shilai Eshbach Es Atmi. It might be inappropriate for me to compliment myself. Kedivish Lemachach Hamishli. Ya'al Chazar V'leipicha Nachavi Ashvas Sechel. The Rebbe, the Al-Tadeba just adds on the end, "It's possible that I wasn't supposed to say such nice things about myself because Shlem Emmelech himself says that strangerscompliment you, and you shouldn't have compliments heard from your own mouth." But at the same time, I have to say, it's just the strangest claim. A claim brought against the Alter Rebbe when he was in prison was that Hasidim and Hasidis would lead to a lack of frumkeit. And the Alter Rebbe's answer was, "Don't you see how frum we are?" Now, when you go back and look at all of the let-- all of the Rebbe's letters on the same topic, people claiming two hundred years later, "I'm worried about Hasidis. What about the early opposition

25:35 to Hasidis?" The Rebbe relitigates the old argument. He says, "What was the initial concern? That the Hasidim wouldn't be frum." And as we see from the Alter Rebbe even back then, and certainly now, what frumkeit looks like is a Hasid. I don't think it was said anywhere better than it was in the first letter where the Rebbe says in this first letter that we looked at, when you walk in the marketplace and you see a person who looks frum, you see a long beard, you see payos, you see a long coat, you see somebody putting on two pairs of tefillin, you see somebody davening at length, what is the first thing you think of? The first thing you think of is that's a Hasid. And that already explains that there is no such thing as a valid m-- as, as a valid hisnagdus nowadays. Anybody who makes the claim nowadays that there is an approach, a derech, a valid derech that involves the rejection of Hasidis is two hundred years behind the times. Okay, thank you all very much.