כוחם של מאמרי הרבי – הרב לוי ג'ייקובסון

00:00 Speaker 1 But we need to see this. This is we need to hear the messaging. We need to hear the wording. We need to hear the vision, the picture of where been ich, vas been ich. What am I doing here? What's, w- w- what, what kind of value do, you know, does what I do or not do, uh, have? Does, does it really matter? Um, and the sichas, I find, are, are more detailed and more particular. They're, okay, so, so how does Shabbos fit into that greater picture?

00:25 Speaker 2 Right.

00:25 Speaker 1 How does tefillin fit into that greater picture? So fine, so Rashi, okay, and how do you explain that Rashi? That, you know, how does this fit into the bigger picture? Well, there's a bigger picture of what the Rebbe says in the beginning, starting from the Alter Rebbe, starting from Moshiach. Rebbe says in the beginning, they have a program, there's an agenda, there's, there's, there's a... And, and, and they're creating something. And zochenu, zochenu, now we're there to have so much Torah from the Rebbe.

00:48 Speaker 2 You know when you're at a good toich indike farbrengen and you wish it was being recorded? Welcome to Spreading the Springs: Conversations in Chassidus, a podcast farbrengen where we have real conversations about real Chassidus. Gut Voch.

01:05 Speaker 1 Gut Voch, gut Yohr.

01:07 Speaker 2 Shkoyach for making this happen.

01:10 Speaker 1 Sure.

01:10 Speaker 2 We are here in Chabad of-

01:13 Speaker 1 The JRCC West Thornhill in Ontario, Canada

01:16 Speaker 2 ... West Thornhill. Okay. Toronto.

01:19 Speaker 1 Toronto.

01:19 Speaker 2 As most people, as most people will be familiar with it, Toronto, yeah.

01:22 Speaker 1 Yes. Yes.

01:22 Speaker 2 Rabbi Levi Jacobson, shliach to, to the area. And, uh, a big, a big Chassid and a big, uh, a big maskil in Chassidus. An oibed. Chol-

01:35 Speaker 1 That's, that's not necessary

01:36 Speaker 2 ... Chol Hayerim.

01:37 Speaker 1 I didn't start off with you. Yeah.

01:42 Speaker 2 So yeah, I really, really appreciate, uh, making the time for this. Um, let's start with a basic, I guess, history of... First of all, I guess, uh, I'm assuming you grew up in Crown Heights?

01:53 Speaker 1 I grew up in Crown Heights, yes.

01:54 Speaker 2 Lefferts, you grew up on Lefferts? Is that-

01:56 Speaker 1 Grew up on Lefferts, yeah.

01:57 Speaker 2 So yeah, I, I, uh, I used to live, when I first got married, I lived on that block.

02:01 Speaker 1 Uh-huh. In your building?

02:01 Speaker 2 With your father, zetz. Uh, no, in a, in a basement-

02:04 Speaker 1 In a basement

02:04 Speaker 2 ... in someone's house. And, uh, and your father passed away Tu Bishvat or-

02:09 Speaker 1 Pei Alef

02:09 Speaker 2 ... Pei Alef. So I got married Ayen Zayin, so first few years. So I used to daven in-

02:14 Speaker 1 Mm-hmm

02:14 Speaker 2 ... over there Naturel-

02:14 Speaker 1 Naturel, yeah

02:14 Speaker 2 ... Bais Avrohom. And, uh, I actually asked him a few q- a few times, I asked him questions of Chassidus. It was very geschmack talking to him. And I was in, I was in the house once during shiva for a minute to help with a minyan too, so I remember, I remember your father.

02:28 Speaker 1 Th- thanks for the regards.

02:28 Speaker 2 Yeah. Um, so you grew up in Crown Heights. And, uh, I guess catch us up a little bit, uh, in general, however much as I get to Chassidus, to your learning, your journey in learning Chassidus, um, your years in yeshiva, your years growing up, um, by the Rebbe, what- whatever, how much is Nageah, and I guess how it led to coming to Toronto and Shlichus.

02:51 Speaker 1 Um, so I had the greatest schools growing up in Crown Heights. And growing up in seven 70, basically. Um, my parents and I have a lot of great, uh, debt of gratitude to my parents and my father, alav hashalom, u'memes l'chayim gezunt. Uh, that not just was I raised in Crown Heights, but I was in seven 70 very, very often. And they instilled in me that the Rebbe, beitzach yenu, is real stuff, and this is my life. So actually, thanks to Gem also that they have their website with the pictures, so there's a picture of me as a two-year-old at Chazara. Um, so it wasn't just that I came for Kashat Bracha, um, but I was at farbrengens from the earliest age. Shabbos, Yom Tov. Whenever there was something going on in seven 70, I was there. Um, and that be- ca- that, that ba- basically shaped my life very, very much.

03:44 Speaker 2 You're, you're two years old at the Beis Chazara. What, your father was a chazzan? Was the chazzan then or-

03:48 Speaker 1 No, my father wasn't the chazzan. My father came to chazzara.

03:51 Speaker 2 Came to chazzara.

03:52 Speaker 1 My father came to chazzara, yes.

03:52 Speaker 2 So your father was, um, um, mendela person?

03:55 Speaker 1 My fa- my father worked at Badertzva Sichas.

03:56 Speaker 2 Right.

03:57 Speaker 1 My father... But my father was involved with the sichas in general. It was his life.

04:00 Speaker 2 Uh-huh.

04:01 Speaker 1 Um, as a bachur, I mean, the Rebbe was his life, and by extension, that meant the Rebbe's Torah.

04:05 Speaker 2 Right.

04:06 Speaker 1 Um-

04:08 Speaker 2 Uh, but your father wasn't the chazzan.

04:10 Speaker 1 He wasn't a, so to speak, anointed chazzan, no.

04:12 Speaker 2 Uh-huh. Okay.

04:13 Speaker 1 Um, just give an example of something that, uh, there's a... I, I, I don't recall when this farbrengen was, but at a certain point, the Rebbe expressed in disappointment that he speaks many Rashi sichas, and nobody even knows which Rashis he spoke about. The Rebbe was calling, as he did often, that take his word seriously, that he's teaching and he's, he's saying Torah, that it should be taken for what it really is. So my father actually had a chart, and he, after every Shabbos, after every... Well, not every Shabbos. After every farbrengen, he would write down all the Rashis that the Rebbe spoke about.

04:47 Speaker 2 Wow.

04:48 Speaker 1 Um, so after Shabbos, my father wrote a note to the Rebbe that further to what the Rebbe spoke about, so he's notifying the Rebbe that, in fact, he does have a chart.

04:57 Speaker 2 The first time he started, he wrote to the Rebbe?

04:59 Speaker 1 I'm sorry?

04:59 Speaker 2 When did he write to the Rebbe? The first time he did this?

05:01 Speaker 1 Right after, when the, when the Rebbe said this-

05:02 Speaker 2 That, that... Oh, your father was doing this already before.

05:04 Speaker 1 He was doing it before.

05:05 Speaker 2 Oh, wow. Ah.

05:05 Speaker 1 He was doing it on his own.

05:06 Speaker 2 Ah.

05:06 Speaker 1 He was doing it on his own.

05:07 Speaker 2 Got it, yeah.

05:07 Speaker 1 So when the Rebbe said that-

05:08 Speaker 2 Right

05:08 Speaker 1 ... that nobody even knows which Rashis he spoke about, so my father wrote to the Rebbe, "I, in fact, have a, I have a chart."

05:14 Speaker 2 Mm-hmm.

05:15 Speaker 1 Uh, so I don't know how it happened exactly. I don't know the answer, whatever it was, but the fact is that, that, uh, my father gave it over to Moshiach.

05:22 Speaker 2 Wow.

05:22 Speaker 1 And, uh, and, and it happened a number of times that the Rebbe filled in that chart that the Rebbe spoke. I don't know if it was on a regular basis, but definitely happened more than, more, more than a, a few times that the Rebbe added some things to that chart.

05:35 Speaker 2 Wow.

05:35 Speaker 1 I'm saying this, uh, so this is a story that I heard from my father growing, growing. He was very, uh, I don't know, not proud, but yeah, he was proud. He was, he was very happy that something bothered the Rebbe and, um, and he was able to tell the Rebbe that there is... I mean, maybe there are other people also, but there is a bachur that is, that, that, that has a chart, and he explained it out. Actually, I, I, I, I saw some of this, the, the, the copies that he had, the, the charts that he has. Um- So, so this is the home that I grew up in. So it was just my parents were Hashem. My father's, uh, in my opinion, a very special Hasid. And my mother, as I said, it was a, it was a team effort of my s- my, my sending me to the Rebbe, and being by the Rebbe, and growing up by the Rebbe, and, and to appreciate what it means to be by the Rebbe. Um, but it's not just the-- it wasn't just, quote-unquote, "being by the Rebbe." It was also caring about anything that the Rebbe says and anything the Rebbe does. Uh, you know, as a child growing up, uh, if the Rebbe was in Seven Seventy, she's got Shul Chabad, that means that you're gonna be in Seven Seventy until the Rebbe leaves. And Yud Aleph Nissan, the Rebbe gave a L'tanya. So, so you're gonna be. As long as the

06:38 Speaker 1 Rebbe is there and you're allowed to be there, you're gonna be there because that's-- because when the Rebbe's there, the Rebbe's everything. Um, so by extension, it also meant so everything that is dear to the Rebbe, everything that is near to the Rebbe. Um, and obviously that's a very, a m- very large part, the Rebbe's Torah. My father being involved in Vaad Hapo'ei Sichas, um, one of the founding members of Vaad Hapo'ei Sichas. So the, so he-- growing up, the, the Rebbe Sichas and what the Rebbe wants, that's the most important thing. So, uh, I guess some way or another, it did, it did affect me, and, uh, in a positive way, so.

07:10 Speaker 2 Great.

07:11 Speaker 1 Yeah. So that's my, and my, so my-- so this is my, this is my upbringing. So Seven Seventy. Uh, I went to Nolet Torah, the Choshuva Yeshiva, uh, through elementary, Mesivta, and Zal, so purebred. No, uh, no kilayim there. Um, and, uh, after Chavous Zeh Nadar, I went on Shlichus as a Bachar to Kfar Chabad. I was there to, until Gimel Tammuz. Um, and, uh, then I, uh, continued learning afterwards until I came on Shlichus over here to Toronto.

07:50 Speaker 2 Over here.

07:50 Speaker 1 This is my life as a Mirishot. So I got married in Nun Zayin, in Adar, Nun Zayin. I came on Shlichus in the summer of Nun Ches.

08:00 Speaker 2 Wow.

08:01 Speaker 1 So a few years ago, Baruch Hashem.

08:03 Speaker 2 Wow. Yeah. They are.

08:05 Speaker 1 Yeah.

08:05 Speaker 2 It's, uh... And you were here in the same area the whole time? Like-

08:09 Speaker 1 Uh, basically. I was been, I was been, I, I've been working on the Jer- w- with the Jersey for, since, since then. Uh, my, my, my, so to speak, job description changed a little bit and adjusted a little bit, but Abuy from Klali.

08:20 Speaker 2 Mm-hmm.

08:20 Speaker 1 This is what it, uh, that is. I started originally giving Shiurim, but then that, that wasn't something that, uh... Things adjusted as, as was needed, and, uh-

08:32 Speaker 2 Mm-hmm

08:32 Speaker 1 ... yeah.

08:33 Speaker 2 The-- So, uh, th- um, like that's, uh, I'm asking in terms of, so Nun Ches, you have, you have Chevre that you're, you're in contact with for, for thirty years already?

08:42 Speaker 1 Absolutely.

08:43 Speaker 2 Wow. Yeah. That's-

08:44 Speaker 1 Absolutely.

08:45 Speaker 2 Okay. I, I wanna, I, I wanna touch on that Nekuda of, uh, of the, the fusion, so to speak, of Chassidis and Shlichus, but I'll-- I, I think I'll, I'll start with something else. So I, uh, Shaka Chapatas, I was mentioning to someone recently that I was-- that, uh, that you had agreed to, uh, to, to do a interview.

09:04 Speaker 1 I was honored when I agreed. Said, "Wow. Thank you."

09:08 Speaker 2 And-

09:08 Speaker 1 Sure

09:10 Speaker 2 ... they told me, "Oh, do you know that he made a Siyum by the Knesset HaShluchim by Motzei Shabbos, by the session?

09:16 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah.

09:17 Speaker 2 That on the, on all the Rebbe's own Marom.

09:19 Speaker 1 Yeah.

09:19 Speaker 2 Meaning, we'll look at, but also the, all the, all the Marom Bli Muga.

09:23 Speaker 1 Yeah.

09:24 Speaker 2 So I didn't know. And, uh, that's, that's what happens when Machan Chemer are invited to the Knesset HaShluchim, but, uh, Ain Kallah and welcome. M- my, my friends know that that's a, that's a pet peeve of mine.

09:34 Speaker 1 Pet peeve.

09:34 Speaker 2 Uh, not a pet peeve. It's a, it's a topic. It's a topic.

09:37 Speaker 1 It's, it's a raw topic.

09:39 Speaker 2 But, anyways. But, uh, so I didn't know, and I was actually very grateful that he told me that, that, uh, it-- definitely something that I would love to explore with you. So the first question is, I guess, if there was a catalyst. Like, was there a moment that, you know, obviously, as, as you mentioned, you were growing up a Chassidis, and the Rebbe's Torah specifically. So I guess number one, was there a moment where you made a conscious decision, "I wanna learn all the Rebbe's Torah?" Which I'm gonna guess not. That's usually not the way it works, but I'll let you answer. And if, and if not, or even if yeah, what was the, the, the des- w- was there a moment that, like, made you realize, "I wanna finish it"? And, um, and I, I guess part of the question would also be from a look at the Bli Muga, sort of different journey, you know? Uh, w- so what was the, what was the story behind that, if there was a story?

10:33 Speaker 1 Uh, uh, there's, there's no dramatic story, there's no great story, but I'll just tell you the Shtal Shlos Ad Vadim as, as they happened. So I came out on Shlichus and, and like many young people, and ambitious and excited and, and, uh, and, um, what's the word for it? Very excited about doing work, and, and it got very busy very quickly. And there's a Baruch Hashem, there was a lot of work, and it was a lot of different. And, but together with the work, at a certain point, there's a there's a lot of... I mean, it doesn't happen very quickly because at first you're still trying to, like, figure out your way. I can't say that I was dedicated, had a certain say that in Limud HaTorah, that I was Torah. Yeah, I learned like everybody. Uh, we're basically keeping the Shiurim, Chitas Rambam, basically learning, basically learning some Gemara, some Halacha, some, uh, Chassidus. Um, no, uh, dedicated, uh, system of learning. Um, but then as time goes along, and I can't say exactly the timeline, but as time go- went along, uh, suddenly I became much more busy, um, which meant also much more responsibility, which meant also much more stress and much more, uh, much more difficulty in dealing with a lot of difficult situations which comes along with any type of serious work and including Shlichus work, and maybe even more Shlichus work because there are a lot of different sensitivities, a lot of different issues that come up. It's not

11:48 Speaker 1 just a job that you walk in, you walk out, and if you don't like it, you move on. It's, this is your life. So it came with a lot of... And I, at a certain point, I found myself, um, it was, I mean, it w- it was weighing heavy on me. My-- the work was weighing heavy on me. Um, I think, "Well, what can I do to, uh- To lighten things. We're not gonna work less. We're not... So how could I make things right, and what could I do? I was having a discussion with a, uh, with a Chaver, and I realized that my Limud HaTorah, the Rebbe's Torah is not very serious. Uh, I, I, I'm not, uh, I don't not learn, but that, that's, the Limud doesn't happen properly. Um-

12:30 Speaker 2 The Rebbe's Torah meaning Maamar specifically or in general?

12:33 Speaker 1 Mm-hmm.

12:33 Speaker 2 Seven times.

12:33 Speaker 1 Maamar, Maamar Chassidus in particular.

12:35 Speaker 2 Yeah.

12:35 Speaker 1 Chassidus in particular. Um, and I decided at that point that I need to start learning the Rebbe. So if you look at the way the Rebbe describes his own Maamarim, and not, not just his own Maamarim, but Chassidus in general, it's like this is the greatest treasure that the world has. This is the greatest treasure of our generation, Befrat. It's like, how am I, how am I not learning the Rebbe's Maamarim? So there's a cer- uh, you know, so there was a certain part of me of like, "Oh, Maamar takes a long time, and you, you, you, if you want to learn it, you have to learn it properly. And I don't have time to learn it properly, so just to learn it as a, the, it's a Yates design. We're gonna learn it quickly, and we'll learn a half a Maamar, half an hour of Maamar. Learn a noise per week. That's no, I don't have the, the, the, the, the, the brain space for that." So like that. But at a certain point, I realized that like I, I, I need to live and now, you know, the Shlichus work and life, life responsibilities. I was a young, younger man, but it was, yeah, life responsibilities was weighing heavy. Uh, I need, I need to start living. And I decided that the only, the only real life is connecting to the Rebbe properly, which is to learn the Rebbe's Torah, the Rebbe's Chassidus. Um, and I started, and I, I found it uplifting.

13:53 Speaker 1 I found it really refreshing. It was like finally I'm breathing fresh air. So even if, even if it wasn't, even if it wasn't the heaviest Maamarim, so to speak, or even if it wasn't for many, many hours, but the time that I dedicated to it then became serious time I started dedicating to learning from the Rebbe's Torah, um, I started realizing the, the, the change that and the, the effect that it had on me. And I'm not, that, this is not, I'm not saying this as a, as a super Chassid and whatever, just as simply as a human being. Um, and it affected me, Pashut Bagash me. It's affecting me emotionally, very positively, uh, to the point where sometimes if I would slack off, I would get a reminder from my house, like, "What's going on with your learning?" Because your, your mood is not, you're, you're not really, uh... Because it, it, um, it, it was, it was a, a, a noticeable effect and a very positive one on me. Uh, so I'm gonna call it, I'm gonna call, call it, um, medication, call it therapy sessions, whatever it is, but it had, it did have a very positive effect on me, which is not shocking with the way the Rebbe describes Chassidus. It's not shocking that when you, especially when you go into the workforce, so to speak, especially when you have real responsibilities, it comes along with challenges, that you need to have something seriously standing on. You need to have solid

15:05 Speaker 1 ground. You need to have fresh air. You need to have fresh water. You need to have, your environment has to be a healthy one, a proper one. At a certain point, so you just, so once you start learning, it's like one second. So we have the greatest treasure. So what, at that time, I was learning, you know, just whatever, with- without a Seder.

15:20 Speaker 2 Mm-hmm.

15:20 Speaker 1 I'm like, "This is not okay." And so I'm, I wanna take my learning seriously, so I have to s- I have to make a, some type of Seder. So because then it became every week, okay, fine. Shabbos Parshas Noah. So should I start preparing for Yitzhak's Liv? Should I still finish off from, from the Maamar from, from Elul? Like what, what, what? So at a certain point, I decided, I don't even remember what, what sparked that, but I started, decided that I'm gonna learn the Rebbe's Mogeh D'Maamarim. You think about this. The Rebbe said these Maamarim, which means that he put time on, on a very basic level, look at it from a Balabatisha perspective. The Rebbe spent time developing these Maamarim, thinking about them, thinking about how he's gonna say, how he's gonna say them, and he said them. And if you've seen videos, Baruch Hashem, I had the zchus of, of, of being there when the Rebbe said a Maamar and feeling the, the, the, the, the, uh, the electricity in the air, the way the whole mood in seven seventy changed once the Maamar Nigun started being sung, and then the Rebbe closed his eyes and started saying the Maamar. There, there was a shift, a real shift in seven seventy before, after, and, and during the Maamar. Um, so you think about that, and then you have not just the time that the Rebbe said the Maamar, the way he prepared the Maamar and so on, but also afterwards, the fact

16:28 Speaker 1 that the Ma- Maamar was Mugeh, and often they were Mugeh twice or maybe even more. And sometimes the Rebbe requested for the Maamar that he wanted the Manechem to give, to s- to send the Maamar into him to, to, to have-

16:39 Speaker 2 A certain Maamar?

16:40 Speaker 1 Sure.

16:40 Speaker 2 Sometimes the Rebbe would ask for a certain Maamar?

16:41 Speaker 1 Sure.

16:42 Speaker 2 I never heard of that.

16:42 Speaker 1 Sure. Sure, there were certain Maamarim that the Rebbe asked for. They came in with the, uh... Sometimes Manechem would just send in a, a Nacha just because.

16:48 Speaker 2 Right.

16:48 Speaker 1 And then there was Megiah that. But sometimes Rebbe requested a certain Maamar that he wa- he wants to be Megiah the Maamar.

16:52 Speaker 2 I ne- you know an example?

16:53 Speaker 1 Um, what's it called? Yud Beis Tammuz. The Rebbe said the three Maamarim.

16:56 Speaker 2 Oh.

16:56 Speaker 1 I'm sorry.

16:57 Speaker 2 No, yeah.

16:58 Speaker 1 Uh, which, which one? The Rebbe, the Rebbe said three Maamarim, and the Rebbe asked that they should be combined into one. They should be, uh, they should be given to him to be, to be Mugeh. Uh, was it the one Das?

17:09 Speaker 2 No, I think that-

17:09 Speaker 1 Uh, uh, so the, the, the Rebbe Masel slips the Maamar, but the Rebbe asked to be-

17:13 Speaker 2 Sultan Yocheved?

17:14 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you. Yeah.

17:15 Speaker 2 Okay.

17:15 Speaker 1 The Sultan Yocheved.

17:16 Speaker 2 I'm sorry.

17:17 Speaker 1 Yeah. And so the Rebbe asked for that to be Mugeh. Whatever. So sometimes it can't happen this way, sometimes it happened the other way. Um, but the Rebbe spent time on this, and it was Megiah, maybe sometimes once, sometimes twice, and possibly even more. So this is, the Rebbe spent so much time, meaning that the Rebbe, uh, sees that this is something that our generation needs. It wasn't just for the Rebbiyel to have, to have something to get excited about or some other Maskilim that, uh, really touches them in one way or another. This i- this is something that our generation needs, that, that every person needs. Every single Yid needs to have these Maamarim, otherwise, who's the Rebbe saying it for? The Rebbe tore his heart out. There's so many, how many times the Rebbe speak about something that, that pained the Rebbe so much- That, um, you see this in so many Farbrengens that, that, that, that he, what he saying is just gonna be put on a bookshelf and the, and, you know, the famous Sichos approaching Chav kes Nissan, uh, so the ma- so the Manechim will know it or the Masmidim will know it.

18:13 Speaker 2 Right.

18:13 Speaker 1 No, this is t- the Rebbe speaking to the entire generation, the Moshiach, the Rebbe speaking to the entire generation, and he's-- and, and, and from all the Rebbe's Torah, the Chassidus takes a, a certain, uh, precedent or there's a certain, uh, um, uh, I don't know what I call it, advantage. There's a certain unique, uh, element and, uh, preciousness of the Maamarim. And the Rebbe's Magia Damaimer. And how many Maamarim are there? Just, they're just under 200 Maamarim of the Rebbe. It's like, how is a Shach Matzias that I, uh, that, that I, I, I'm not familiar with them? That I, I, I don't have a, a basic idea at least of what those Maamarim-- That I didn't even try to have a basic-- Yeah, when it came out at the time, when a bunch of them we learned, you know, Bachrim, uh, younger Bachrim, older Bachrim, whatever it is, so we learned the Maamarim. I learned the Maamarim. But okay, fine, and then went back into, into, into the breast pocket, and then a certain before Pesach, it came out of the breast pocket and, and, and, and next, and then the Maamar came out, and maybe you went back to it, and maybe Rabbi Chaitano gave a, gave a Shiur on it. But the- these, how's a Shach that a Chassid doesn't-- is not familiar at least with all the Rebbe's Mogia Demaamarim. So I decided at that point I have to start learning the Rebbe's Mogia Demaamarim, Al Haseder, and, you know,

19:22 Speaker 1 so I started doing that, and then I realized one second, you know, this is, you know, Baruch Hashem with the family and work and so on and so forth, so the amount of time I could spend was limited. But still to try to make that meaningful, to ma- try to make that focus, whether it's a half hour, whatever, twenty minutes or forty minutes, depending on the day, depending on the season. Um, so I started writing some notes as well, um, just to, for my mi- for my mi- to, to, to remember about it, 'cause sometimes you learn something and go back an hour later. What, did I learn something today? Well, yeah, I have a note. I did. Yeah. Okay. So it's not just proof, but it's also a refresher and help keep it fresh in my mind. Uh, so I learned the Rebbe's Mogia Demaamarim, um, uh, Al Haseder I learned it, I, I learned them twice.

20:04 Speaker 2 Oh. Al Haseder means you started-

20:06 Speaker 1 I started from beginning-

20:07 Speaker 2 Bes Medrash Aleph

20:08 Speaker 1 ... yeah, yeah, yeah.

20:08 Speaker 2 And you didn't try to stick with the year?

20:09 Speaker 1 No, nothing. Nothing, just starting from the beginning and, and moving.

20:13 Speaker 2 Mm-hmm.

20:14 Speaker 1 Um-

20:15 Speaker 2 I'm just curious. So what, when you get to and look at Aleph, there's a lot of them in like, Sufas or whatever, like Hanacha, like it's just a-

20:22 Speaker 1 Right. Yeah.

20:23 Speaker 2 So like you would learn the whole Maimar or like-

20:25 Speaker 1 So I, so I go, I, I, I, I read through the rest of the Maimar.

20:28 Speaker 2 Right. Right.

20:28 Speaker 1 And so I'm like-

20:29 Speaker 2 Yeah. It sounds-

20:30 Speaker 1 If, if this is, this is not a confession, uh, thing- ... a podcast, but, uh, I can't say that I learned those Maamarim the same way I learned the other Maamarim, but yeah. Uh-

20:37 Speaker 2 There's, there's something now called Project Mulukat. I don't know if you heard-

20:41 Speaker 1 I heard. No, I'm not family.

20:42 Speaker 2 Yeah. It's better for Akiva.

20:42 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah. For Aleinu Neshama Sa'akiva. Yeah, sure.

20:44 Speaker 2 So, uh, so where they started with-- they started with Vav right, right after he passed away, and then they did Beis Gamal Dal Heh. They're finishing Heh Mamish in two weeks.

20:52 Speaker 1 Mm.

20:52 Speaker 2 Baruch Hashem, I, I keep up. And then they have Aleph left.

20:55 Speaker 1 Mm-hmm.

20:55 Speaker 2 So the big question is what they're gonna do with Aleph. That's, that's part of why I'm asking.

20:58 Speaker 1 Mm-hmm.

20:58 Speaker 2 Like, I'm curious, like, yeah, there's a, it's a little tricky.

21:01 Speaker 1 Right.

21:01 Speaker 2 Um, um, sorry, so what you're saying, so you say you went through it twice.

21:06 Speaker 1 I went through it twice.

21:06 Speaker 2 So you mean you went Aleph to Vav, you finished, and then you did it again, Aleph to Vav?

21:10 Speaker 1 Yeah, and that was my-- and my Machshava was that I'll, um, that I'll focus on, you know, these two hundred or a bit less than two hundred Maamarim, Mogia Demaamarim from the Rebbe to make this my, to try to speak, so to try to make them more part of my, more part of my life. And this is where actually you're a Mechanech, so this is, uh, I mean, it's true, it's necessary for everybody, for all of us that have children. So I finished learning the Maamarim for the second time just before my birthday, and my father came in for my birthday that year. He came in a number of times. He came in that year, and we had Farbrengen every Shabbos afternoon. My birthday was on Shabbos. I don't remember what year it was. Um, I was sitting next to a friend of mine, a member of Anash, came to, to a Farbrengen, and I mentioned to my friend that, um, you know, quietly, we're just speaking, I just, like, it's also a Siyum on the Rebbe's Mogia Demaamarim for a second time. I finished a second time. My father was sitting somewhat of a distance, I mean, within earshot, but he was sitting somewhat of a distance. My father, he says, like, he's like, he jumped. He says, "What? You finished all the Rebbe's Maamarim?" So I was like, "No, no, no, no, no. No, no, don't get so excited. No, it was-- I, I just finished the Mamo, the Mogia Demaamarim for the

22:19 Speaker 1 second time." He says, "Oh, beautiful. Oh, mazel tov. Very nice. Very good." But then it got me thinking one second, like, yeah, obviously, the Mogia Demaamarim are very different than the Bilti Muga, but it's the same Rebbe. It's the same Rebbeinu. It's a Maimar. So they, they should not be learned because they weren't Muga. So obviously, the Mogia Demaamarim ha- take precedent, and they, they, they're much more valuable, if I can use that word. Uh, but how's-- if I don't learn them, who should learn them? If, if, if, if the Rebbe's-- I'm, call my, call myself an average Chassid. If an average Chassid doesn't learn, so fine. So we have the four, seventeen, twenty-four big Maskilim that, that learn all the Maamarim all the time. But if, if an average Chassid, an average Shliach doesn't learn the Maamarim, like who is-- so we want a guy in the street to start learning Tanya? Why? Do your basic, uh, your, do your due diligence. Do your stuff. Do, uh, do your responsibility. Your Rebbe said Torah. Take it seriously. If you're serious, Chassidus is so important, and your Rebbe is so important, and what he says is so significant, so take it seriously. And if you don't study his Torah seriously, so why are you telling me that it's so seriously? And I'm, I'm, I'm saying this in somewhat of a whatever. It's post Shabbos with the Farbrengen today, whatever, but, uh. But, but this is, is something that we have to take pause. If the,

23:35 Speaker 1 if the Rebbe is serious, if I take the Rebbe seriously, the Rebbe said a Maimar. Rebbe says any Torah the Rebbe says is super significant. Anyway, so, so after my father said that, I'm like, "Why am I not learning that?" Because I decided like a joke, okay, fine, I have to start doing the Maamarim, Mogia Demaamarim. So at that point, I started, I started just learning, and I didn't make it a-- It was like, it was, it was a goal to, to learn all the Rebbe's Maamarim simply as a Chassid of the Rebbe, at least once to go through a Maamarim. Then you choose which Maimarim you like more, which Maimarim you speak to you more, you know, then you could do, you learn Maamarim mood related, Parsha related, season related, theme related, whatever. You could-- But at least go through all of them once. And it was an amazing, amazing experience. Mamish, an amazing experience. I went through all the Maamarim, and I made notes on every Maimar.

24:22 Speaker 2 Oh, wow.

24:22 Speaker 1 Um-

24:22 Speaker 2 What, like a Kitzur or-

24:24 Speaker 1 So, so L'chach is making Kitzurim-

24:27 Speaker 2 Right

24:27 Speaker 1 ... and their Kitzurim are professional and whatever. So I, no, I didn't make Kitzurim. I made notes for myself that if I want to remind myself what that Maimar is.

24:35 Speaker 2 Right. Like Grached Dvarim, like the-

24:36 Speaker 1 Well, Grached, more than-- No, it's not really Grached Dvarim. So one of the things that I found in, in his Laking Kitzurim, which is, and it's understandable, they can't make that, that a lot of times there, there are very significant ideas that are discussed in a Maimar. Sometimes the Kitzur, sometimes it lands. And it doesn't make it into Kit- into the Kitzur because it's not really part of the flow of the question and the answer and where the Rebbe's going with this.

24:56 Speaker 2 Sure.

24:57 Speaker 1 So how do I know if, if I'm looking for a certain topic or a certain idea that I wanna, uh, I wanna see what the Rebbe said, w- how am I gonna find that?

25:05 Speaker 2 Right.

25:05 Speaker 1 How could you find that? So, uh, so that was, so that was-- So when in my notes I included these things, like what does the Maimar talk about?

25:13 Speaker 2 Uh-huh.

25:13 Speaker 1 It doesn't-- My notes don't go through the question and the answer necessarily, unless it's like very... Some, some Ma'amar and Ma'amos are, are like, I'm not gonna call it simple, but they're, uh, they're very Balabatish, and there's a question, there's an answer, there's a build-up. And so, okay, so sometimes I did that, but in general, my notes included like, what does the Ma'amar talk about? And sometimes like interesting Betuyim or the Sheines, like, of certain things that the Rebbe said, like a, like a, we call it Pizgamim.

25:37 Speaker 2 Right.

25:38 Speaker 1 Um, and things like that. I also included a very important element, how many pages the Ma'amar is. Um, uh, I'm saying it somewhat facetiously, but a little bit. Sometimes like, "I need a Ma'amar." "What kind of Ma'amar?" It's like, sometimes friends or people call, "I need a Ma'amar." I say, "What kind of Ma'amar you looking for?" "I don't know, three pages." Yeah, but sometimes it's because we're lacking time. Sometimes we-we-we lack brain space, so we're not ready for a Ma'amar of 15 pages. We're not ready to, to, to... What I-

26:00 Speaker 2 It's more like a Mafteach that you need.

26:02 Speaker 1 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Something like that. That gives you a picture.

26:05 Speaker 2 And this is all digital, meaning you-

26:06 Speaker 1 I typed it up.

26:07 Speaker 2 Right.

26:07 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

26:07 Speaker 2 So that you can reference it.

26:08 Speaker 1 Yeah, I, I do. I do.

26:09 Speaker 2 Great.

26:10 Speaker 1 I, uh, something that... So again, I did this for myself to be able to at, at least retain something of what I'm learning. Um, and I'd go back to it, so I find it very helpful. And it's also proof that I learned it.

26:22 Speaker 2 Yeah.

26:23 Speaker 1 Otherwise, I'm sure that it would not-

26:24 Speaker 2 So also in Bilti Mugah, you went-- You started Yud Aleph.

26:27 Speaker 1 Started Yud Aleph.

26:28 Speaker 2 And-

26:28 Speaker 1 No, no, no. So no, no, Bilti Mugah I did, I did differently. Yeah, what I tried to do is every Parsha, to learn as many Ma'amar as I could on that Parsha.

26:35 Speaker 2 Oh, wow.

26:35 Speaker 1 So Parshas Bereishis, I tried to learn as many Ma'amarim on Parshas Bereishis as I could. Parshas Bereishis is difficult.

26:40 Speaker 2 Right.

26:40 Speaker 1 But, uh, some Parshas there are a few less Ma'amarim, and that's how-- So I went through one cycle, and then went through another cycle. So-

26:46 Speaker 2 Oh, wow. So you had to mamash year to year-- go year to year?

26:50 Speaker 1 Yeah. Yeah.

26:50 Speaker 2 Like you needed a Parshiyus, but on all the Ma'amarim Bilti Mugah.

26:53 Speaker 1 Right.

26:54 Speaker 2 Right. Yeah.

26:54 Speaker 1 So I... Yeah.

26:55 Speaker 2 Right.

26:55 Speaker 1 So, so I first did the Parshas, and then I did the Ma'amadim.

26:58 Speaker 2 Right.

26:59 Speaker 1 So-

27:00 Speaker 2 Wow.

27:00 Speaker 1 Yeah.

27:01 Speaker 2 So then you also needed to mamash keep track. That's where the digital-

27:03 Speaker 1 Yeah. So that, that also-

27:04 Speaker 2 Right

27:04 Speaker 1 ... that also helped. That also helped.

27:05 Speaker 2 Yeah.

27:05 Speaker 1 Just keeping note. And it's also, uh, as a, as a Ish Gashmi with an Aveir Bahamas, this also gives you, you know, you could go back to something that I learned it, you know, uh, I also made a little Hasdichal note for myself, like if I found it more deeper, more difficult, more, more Aveiradic. Um, sometimes you, you're looking for an Aveiradic in Ma'amar, or sometimes you're looking for Ma'amar, I wanna have something deeper. I wanna have something that I could really dive into and, and then stay there for a while.

27:30 Speaker 2 Right.

27:30 Speaker 1 Um, so I made such notes as well, and, uh-

27:32 Speaker 2 So that, that sounds like a fascinating way to do it, two reasons. I mean, obvious, but number one is 'cause then you're seeing like, uh, kinda fuller scope on the Parsha-- on, on the Ma'amar, whatever, on the Parsha or on the Humtov. And then the second thing, which is, uh, Kal, you know, fascinating topic, is the... You get to see the, the seq-- kind of the sequence, but like the, the, the difference in the styles of the Ma'amarim. I, I, I mean, I know this has, this has been discussed, uh, properly already. Uh, there's a, there's a beautiful Dehar article, um, I don't know how many years ago. Um, they did a panel on the Rebbe's, the, the Rebbe's Ma'amarim. And there's a lot of-- Different Mashpiyim have different ways of like showing that, you know, the Yud's or whatever, different Mashpiyim have different ways of, of exactly splitting it up. But like you saw that the Rebbe, you know, there was the Koch and the, the, the, the Rebbe Shabu's Ma'amarim, and then the Alter Rebbe's Ma'amarim, right? There's, um, so like this, you, you mamash get to see that. If you go year to year instead of doing one full year, you see. Um, so I would love to actually hear your thoughts on that. Like what was-- what did you see in... Like what would you focus on if someone were to ask you like, "How would you describe the flow of the Rebbe's Ma'amarim throughout the years, the different Tekufos? What's,

28:40 Speaker 2 what struck you the most?" I mean, if people know, like let's say the Yud in the Chasam Sofer Ma'amar a lot are very deep, are relatively more deep. And then, you know, the Mem is of course is much more brief, a shorter Ma'amarim, usually just a you know, something like that. Well, how would you most... Without getting into whole, you know, every year, but what-- how, how would you describe it most?

29:01 Speaker 1 Right. So you s-- so you s-- What, what I found a lot is, first of all, the, the Ma'amarim are super rich. And, and I must say that before I started, or when I was younger, there was a certain, um, uh, um, uh, uh, I had a certain nervousness with the Rebbe's Ma'amarim. Like, uh, could I actually do this? Could I actually... So it's a Ma'amar, it's serious. Um, could I actually get the Ma'amar? And if I can't really get it, should I learn it? So why don't I just stick to Likutei Diburim or Likutei Sichos? You know, like-

29:35 Speaker 2 Sure

29:35 Speaker 1 ... um, so yes, it's a Ma'amar. Yeah, you have to learn Ma'amar because you have to learn Ma'amar because you're Chosid, and you did the Ma'amar for the Bar Mitzvah, you didn't understand anything. And then for the wedding, you're too nervous to understand the word. Okay, fine, you understood it before, a week before, and then by the time Chuppah came, and you for... Um, but like once you start learning the Ma'amarim, it's like it's really, really rich and really beautiful and really uplifting, like so special. And, and it, it was really... I found it, uh, um, sometimes I felt intoxicated after a Ma'amar. Not from the Chaim, not from any sort of Pashtut, like from learning a Ma'amar, it's Pashtut intoxicating in the most, in the most beautiful way, in the most uplifting way. Um, so tha-that, that was more of my, my, my approach was learning the Ma'amar as, as, as focused as I can for the time that I was doing it, as opposed to like starting to analyze-

30:21 Speaker 2 Right

30:21 Speaker 1 ... you know, you know how this compares and contrasts with other Ma'amar. So but, b-but then you start, start picking up. Oh, one second. Oh, this Ma'amar picks up on this Ma'amar and there... Um, but then it, it, it goes a different way, you know? So there, there-

30:35 Speaker 2 Sure

30:35 Speaker 1 ... w-was definitely an element to that. I, uh, to, to give a share on the, the Klalos, on the, you know, the build-up of the Rebbe's Ma'amarim. So you see in the earlier years, there's actually a flow. It seems that there's a flow going from one Ma'amar to the next, although it's not a Hemshich, but you see the Rebbe building up certain ideas. So it, it, it's, it's definitely fascinating to go back and... But this takes time, and this takes, um, um, uh-

30:57 Speaker 2 Yeah. It's a, it's a full-

30:59 Speaker 1 Yeah

30:59 Speaker 2 ... class for itself, you know?

31:00 Speaker 1 Yeah.

31:00 Speaker 2 Yeah.

31:00 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah.

31:00 Speaker 2 Like going through. But one, one Hakada, what's, uh, what struck you the most? Like-

31:05 Speaker 1 What struck me the most for-

31:07 Speaker 2 Or, or maybe we can ask a little bit differently. Which kufa do you, do you appreciate the most, you connect to the most?

31:12 Speaker 1 I, I don't know.

31:13 Speaker 2 You know, the kuf of mens, uh.

31:14 Speaker 1 I, I, I don't know that there is a certain kufa. Um, obv-- the, the earlier years are much more spelled out, much more-

31:21 Speaker 2 Right

31:21 Speaker 1 ... um, um, uh, be slapsho, so to speak. So there's a certain, um, there's a certain appreciation in that. But then the later Maamar, you know, my, my feeling, I, I was there.

31:33 Speaker 2 Mm.

31:33 Speaker 1 So, you know, there's a certain, uh, connection to that, so call it an emotional connection, whatever it is, that, that I don't have with the earlier Maamarim. So although I was a child and I didn't really get it, but the fact that knowing that I, I was at that farbrengen-

31:47 Speaker 2 Right

31:47 Speaker 1 ... so the Rebbe was literally speaking to me, and I'm sure that, uh, he was hoping that one day I would actually hear that Maamar and I would implement it in my life, and that, that it would affect me. That's what the Rebbe's intention was.

31:59 Speaker 2 Right.

31:59 Speaker 1 The Rebbe, so obv- obviously, obviously, nobody knows the Rebbe's full intention. But definitely when he's speaking and I'm in the room, he wanted me to know what he was saying.

32:06 Speaker 2 Right.

32:07 Speaker 1 As he wants all the entire Torah to know all his Torah. You know, that's why he said the Torah. He didn't just say the Torah because he wanted to share shines Rambam, which he did, but it was something that the generation has to hear. We all have to hear this. Uh, so there's-

32:20 Speaker 2 For context, how old were you, let's say, I mean, uh, when you were 10 years old, let's say, what year was that?

32:24 Speaker 1 Mem Gimmel.

32:25 Speaker 2 Mem Gimmel? Oh.

32:26 Speaker 1 Yeah.

32:26 Speaker 2 So you, so by Mem Zayin, when the Rebbe was-

32:29 Speaker 1 Mm, it was my-- My bar mitzvah was Mem Bet, summer Mem Bet.

32:32 Speaker 2 Right. So you definitely remember a lot of Maamar.

32:35 Speaker 1 Absolutely. I remember all the Maamar. And I can't say, I can't say that I remember-

32:39 Speaker 2 No, not the Tehillim. I'm saying, do you remember-

32:40 Speaker 1 Oh, absolutely.

32:40 Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

32:41 Speaker 1 Oh, absolutely. Absolutely, for sure.

32:43 Speaker 2 Right.

32:43 Speaker 1 For sure. I would love to say that I remember all the Maamar from when the Rebbe said it. I can't.

32:46 Speaker 2 Right.

32:46 Speaker 1 Sometimes when you look at it, you know, you look at it in Maamar, it's like, oh, you know, like, it, it, it jogs something. So is it your fantasy? Do you actually remember? It's nishmageh, whatever.

32:54 Speaker 2 Yeah.

32:54 Speaker 1 Let it be a fantasy. But the fact is, I do feel a, a, a connect... So, but it, so, I mean, and, and I think also we have different seasons in our life. And as I said earlier, sometimes, sometimes we're looking for some, for one thing, and sometimes we're looking for something else. And I think very much the Rebbe speaks about this. So my mother, the Rebbe speaks about this. You know, are you allowed to say, um, are you allowed to say that, um, that you appreciate a certain Maamar? Of course, this is Torah. The Torah, you can say, I can't say that you. But because Torah was meant to become part of who we are, and Torah is meant to shape us, the Admo, they have to say that. They have to be able to say that. So and I think that there are different seasons in our life, and I really believe in this. And like, and not always do you have to do the same thing. Sometimes what, what you lo- what you need is Hascalah deKew Maamarim, and sometimes what you need is a Hem Shechem, and sometimes what you need is, uh, Veyde de Kew Maamar. And sometimes, uh, uh, a two-page Maamar or a three-page Maamar in Tav Shim Mem Bet is, is exactly what you need, and try to take something from that. It's, you, you learned a Maamar, and w- and you're, and you're taking something from it, and you're carrying it through the day. And in

34:00 Speaker 1 some way or another, it comes up in conversation. In some way or another, it, it, it, it, it pushes you, it enlivens you, it affects you. Uh, so, uh, it's, it's not, uh, it's not something that, uh... Yeah. So, so the, this is my thought on that. But one of the things that really struck me are the, the Yuchvat Maamarim, how rich they are. You know, I, I, I mentioned this when I did the Siyum at the Kiddush. Um, but often, you know, so what happens Yuchvat, and even before this year, Yuchvat was really beautiful, like a huge Koch in the Maamarim Chabad Mem Bet, um, which was beautiful. But then that's it. There's no mention, there's no talk. Yuch-- The Basse Legani is off the table.

34:42 Speaker 2 Right.

34:42 Speaker 1 It's not the season anymore.

34:43 Speaker 2 It's a seasonal item.

34:43 Speaker 1 Yeah, it is. It's a seasonal item. So as you go to aisle 17 for the seasonals. Uh, like that's it. But after Yuchvat, by the Rebbe, you see that actually throughout the year, the Rebbe speaks about the Maamar, the Maamar of the Baal HaTanya.

34:53 Speaker 2 Right.

34:54 Speaker 1 So it could be summer, it could be Sivan, whatever, the Maamar of the Baal HaTanya. So I can't say that it's very often with, uh, but the Rebbe definitely does make reference to it often, and how rich the Yuchvat Maamar, the Basse Legani Maamarim are. Really, really unbelievable. And not just rich in, in, in, in, in, in the way the Rebbe said it and, and the way the Rebbe, um, developed it, but I think also crucial for us in our generation of, like, how to live and what to do and what our job is, what we're, what we're meant to do. Or when people are looking for direction, and, uh, definitely our Shluchim, we're always engaging with people, and they're looking. They wanna have, "What am I doing?" They wanna have a purpose, they wanna have meaning, they wanna have something. So what do you go on? So, so obviously, there, there's Sichos and there's Michtavim, there's a lot of Torah. But I think that a Maamar expresses that in a very, very powerful way, in a very deep way. And when you ha- when you're living with it, um, you speak to people differently, and they hear it differently, and they appreciate. Actually, today, this afternoon, a, a bunch of guys came over to my house, um, that don't go to Chabad Yeshivas. One guy there that goes to a Chabad Yeshiva. They, they, they want to speak about... And so they know whenever I see them, I speak to them about the importance

36:04 Speaker 1 of learning Sichos. Why? Why do they have to learn Sichos? And it was a, it was an, it was an amazing conversation. It was an amazing conversation because it was not the first time we had it, and, and, and you see the buy-in, and you see... And it wasn't a question of, like, "Why should we?" You know, "Prove us." But, um, "Show us. Show us, like, what's really." And, um, I think that when you're living with something, it's much, it's much easier to talk about it. It's much easier to, uh, share. It's much easier to, uh, encourage somebody else to do it. And we know how crucial learning Sichos is for our generation, for the Yuah, for everything that it's near, that's near and dear to us, to make people mo- uh, connect people to the Rebbe. So obviously, they could learn in the Igers Kodesh, and they could learn through, look at the Sichos, and Sichos, and Bilti Muga, and the Sichos Kodesh, and Tzedakah Manachem. There's, Baruch Hashem, amazing, amazing treasures. But I think that there's something to Maamarim that is very distilled and very pure. Again, not Chas veshalom to say that the Sichos are not, but there's a certain element to what the Maamarim are.

37:06 Speaker 2 Divrei Chaim.

37:07 Speaker 1 Yeah. Yeah. You know, there's an answer from the Rebbe. Somebody wrote to the Rebbe that he learned Gemara and Divrei Chaim. The Rebbe wrote to him that Gemara is also Divrei Chaim.

37:15 Speaker 2 Uh-huh.

37:15 Speaker 1 Yeah. But, but, but, but still-

37:17 Speaker 2 Yeah

37:17 Speaker 1 ... a Maamar, well, you saw, we saw the Rebbe. You see videos of the Rebbe, the way the Rebbe says a Maamar. It's, it's not all the same It's not the same. You see the, the Rebbe's seriousness, and I, I, you know, I, I, I, I'm not gonna try to, uh, um, um, guess what's going on in the Rebbe's mind and the Rebbe's heart and neshamah when he's saying a maimar, but you see a real change in the Rebbe's, in, in the Rebbe's demeanor, the Rebbe's... The way the Rebbe's sitting, the way the Rebbe's talking, the, the song, the way the Rebbe's speaking, the, the intensity with which the Rebbe's speaking. It's completely different. Now, I heard from different, different, sitting different times of, um, the way the Rebbe spoke to people at yechidas. So sometimes it happened that... I just heard about it. I, I heard this from different people, and I just heard this recently that... So there were-- there was a certain intensity during yechidas, and if you, and if you switched during yechidas, so somebody asked the Rebbe a question, and he said, "You have to ask at yechidas." He said, "I'm turning to the Rebbe as yechidas." And suddenly he said the Rebbe relaxed in yechidas.

38:22 Speaker 2 Right.

38:22 Speaker 1 And so it was like a com-- It was the same Rebbe, the same holy room, the same everything, but there, there was a shift.

38:29 Speaker 2 Right.

38:29 Speaker 1 I heard from a different Chassid, there was a shliach that once came in, and he was, he was told he was unwelcome because he came without a shul. It was the early years. He came without a shul. Uh, it was Rabbi Sudak. This is what I heard, that Rabbi Sudak came in once, uh, when there was, uh, well, there were charters that came in from England. They came in. Um, Rabbi Chadakov told him, "What are you doing here?" He said that he came with the groups. Like, "You have work to do. What are you doing? You're not-- You don't belong here." So he said, "Well," he said, "You know what? Uh, I, I've been working there for a long time. I need a break, so I, I came." So Rabbi Chadakov said, "Oh, you, you, you need a break? Very good. You could go to Manhattan." "You're not, you're not welcome here. So you need a break? Good. Very good. You need a break sometimes. Well, go to Manhattan. You're not-- Over here, you're not welcome." And obviously, he was, he was broken from that. To, like, to hear from Rabbi Chadakov that he's not welcome, and he was, he was a Chassid. He was doing everything for the Rebbe. Apparently, the ne- the... This is the way I heard it, that the next day he got a call from Rabbi Chadakov. The Rebbe said that, that he says that, "You're welcome to come, but you're not gonna have a yechidas." Okay, fine. At least

39:29 Speaker 1 he could come. At least he's welcome. He's a welcome guest. He's not, uh, he's not banished. Um, and then before they went back to England, they all had a yechidas. So I heard that Rabbi Sudak also went into yechidas, but it was a different yechidas. Rebbe was clasp his hand, the Rebbe was speaking to him, that he felt that... And, and from the Rebbe's perspective, okay, fine. He, the, the Rebbe's giving him berachahs. The Rebbe's The Rebbe's hagadah. The Rebbe's aggadah. But it wasn't-- He didn't feel like it was a yechidas.

39:53 Speaker 2 Mm-hmm.

39:53 Speaker 1 There was... And you see, you see sometimes, a little while ago, they published a video of Ra- the Rebbe speaking to Rabbi Gordetsky.

39:59 Speaker 2 I didn't see it.

40:00 Speaker 1 Oh, well, a couple years ago, whatever it is. He, they was having a conversation. Rabbi Gordetsky was doing work for the Rebbe, and you see the Rebbe, it, it looks like, you know, the Rebbe is sitting very different. The Rebbe is toying a little bit with his mustache. They're like, and there's like... The, the Rebbe's hand movement is very different. It's all Rebbe, it's all holy, it's all Kodesh Hakodashim, and it is. It really is. But there's a difference between a yechidas and the way, you know, what Rabbi Sudak... This, what I heard that Rabbi Sudak experienced then. It's the difference between us and an maimar.

40:28 Speaker 2 Right.

40:28 Speaker 1 Um, I, um, I, I... Somebody... I, I don't know if I should go there, but somebody sh- You'll decide if you'll, uh, wanna edit it or not. But, uh, that the Igres Kodesh, that's where the Rebbe really says his opinion about life. The Maamar HaSichos, yeah, okay, fine, it's good, but it's not really life. And, uh, to me, when I-- when that person shared that with me, it was like, "You completely missed the point."

40:53 Speaker 2 Right.

40:53 Speaker 1 Yeah, obviously, the Igres Kodesh are very holy and very important, and I, and I read them, and I, and they're... And it's mechaye, poshet, not, not just in the, in the, uh, phrase of mechaye. It's literally mechaye, and the direction and the specific instruction of life. But the maimar is, is so rich and so... It's so... It's really divrei elkheim. It's the Rebbe telling us what our generation needs. The Rebbe giving us direction and marching orders, your mission, your purpose, all this. The, the Igres Kodesh are not... The point is not to compare and, like, to say which one is greater, which one is not. But a maimar are very, very, um, very uplifting, and they're very, and they're very, uh, much tailored to our generation.

41:35 Speaker 2 Right. I mean, generally people would describe difference between a maimar and, uh, even a sicha, and for sure, I think for sure Igres has mamai lemaata, maata lemaila. Now it's, uh-

41:42 Speaker 1 Okay

41:43 Speaker 2 ... you-- Would you say so? Like, would you agree with that?

41:46 Speaker 1 Uh, uh, if, if, well, technically that's true. Technically, the Rebbe was responding to something. When you write a letter-

41:51 Speaker 2 Right

41:51 Speaker 1 ... the Rebbe's responding to something. So technically the... So I, I, I, I don't know, I, I, I don't know what to do with that definition. I, I, I don't know what that means. Um, I, I, I think that when the Rebbe says a maimar, he's... The Rebbe says it. I don't think that the... When the Rebbe says a maimar, he's giving the generation, he's giving what they need. Uh, the Rebbe is not responding to something. Okay, so what's a sicha? How do you define a sicha?

42:17 Speaker 2 Right.

42:17 Speaker 1 So the Rebbe actually says that the difference between a sicha and a maimar is that a sicha is Torah and explaining areas of Torah. This is the way the Rebbe defines it. And a maimar is what the gener- what, what, what the generation needs.

42:28 Speaker 2 Interesting.

42:29 Speaker 1 Yeah.

42:29 Speaker 2 Do, do you know where this is?

42:30 Speaker 1 Uh, Tov Shenov Daled. I think it's like Beshalach maybe.

42:34 Speaker 2 It's not, it's not in a maimar probably. It's probably in a farbrengen.

42:36 Speaker 1 Yeah, it's in a farbrengen.

42:37 Speaker 2 Yeah.

42:37 Speaker 1 No, this is not in a maimar.

42:38 Speaker 2 Again, that a, that a maimar is a g- is a giluy-- Is it, uh, are you saying giluy haKos?

42:42 Speaker 1 Is, is, is... No, no, no.

42:42 Speaker 2 No.

42:42 Speaker 1 The difference is, is what the generation needs.

42:44 Speaker 2 And the sicha is explaining some Torah.

42:46 Speaker 1 And a sicha is the... Yeah, explaining Torah.

42:47 Speaker 2 Wow. Interesting.

42:48 Speaker 1 So is, like, is it sad to say that the sichas are not practical?

42:51 Speaker 2 Right.

42:51 Speaker 1 Chas ve'Shalom, and especially the way that, the way the Rebbe teaches Torah-

42:53 Speaker 2 Right. Sure

42:53 Speaker 1 ... that everything has to be practical. But when the Rebbe's addressing a maimar, the Rebbe's addressing a maimar, or Rambam or, or, or Zohar or Gemara or whatever it is.

43:01 Speaker 2 Yeah.

43:02 Speaker 1 Um-

43:02 Speaker 2 It's a very different, uh... I, I, I mean, I, I never heard that before. I, I, I think in a w- in a way it's almost farkert of the way I've always heard it, which, you know, is about mamai lemaata, maata lemaila. That a maimar is mamai lemaata, giluy haKos, divrei elkheim, and a sicha is maata lemaila, explaining more, you know, sicha gashmi, so to... Sicha nushi, so to speak. Obviously it's Torah, Chas ve'Shalom-

43:23 Speaker 1 Right

43:24 Speaker 2 ... but it's, you know-

43:24 Speaker 1 Right

43:24 Speaker 2 ... the Um, in a way, this is the opposite, in a way, that a sicha is Torah, you know, like ma'alamata, and a maimer is the-- based on what the generation needs. In a way, that's matalamaila. It's, uh-

43:37 Speaker 1 Yeah, because and so, so it really depends what the source of that is. If, if there's value in trying to gribble to try to-

43:42 Speaker 2 Not to gribble-

43:43 Speaker 1 To define

43:43 Speaker 2 ... but, uh, no, no, uh, in a way of, like, bringing out the appreciation of maimer. No, I'm saying-

43:46 Speaker 1 Right

43:46 Speaker 2 ... like, yeah, like for sure.

43:47 Speaker 1 Right.

43:47 Speaker 2 Like, that don't think of maimer as abstract. Don't think-

43:50 Speaker 1 Right.

43:50 Speaker 2 Okay, there's the famous stories, of course, uh, you know, um, uh, Al Kin Karu, you know, the famous, um, how many people will say it like, "Oh, yeah, the Rebbe did something with the ma-" Fine, those are easy examples to use. But to be able to say-- to have that kind of appreciation for every maimer that, no, th-there's something was going on, whether we're ever gonna know the story or not, and the Rebbe was being megale elikus to... in a way that it should, that it should have an effect and it should have a teyeles for the world and for whatever specific situation. That's, that, I think that's, that's-

44:19 Speaker 1 Absolutely.

44:20 Speaker 2 Yeah.

44:20 Speaker 1 Absolutely. The Rebbe speaks about it, um, on Pesach. Um, you'll excuse me that I don't recall the, uh, the Ramaschal, but the, the Rebbe speaks about the, um, the maimer of-- That the maimer with which the Rabbeim made say that in the world. You know what I'm talking about with regards to Parek. Uh, th-there's something in, uh, the-

44:45 Speaker 2 It wasn't Rosh Hashanah? Was it Pesach?

44:47 Speaker 1 No, no, no, no, no. There was with regards to specifics, not generals, not him in the world. There's, um, the, the, the name Parek is in, in the Ramaschal. Um-

44:57 Speaker 2 Mm-hmm

44:59 Speaker 1 ... the Rebbe said that, "I heard from Moshe Leib Russia that after the Rebbe Rashab said this maimer that the tsar was assassinated."

45:04 Speaker 2 Oh, yeah, yeah. That was in, uh... Right. Yeah, yeah. There's the, uh, again, the

45:09 Speaker 1 I'm sorry that I'm not-

45:12 Speaker 2 Yeah. Recently, like one, two or three months ago, they had a whole section on di-different maimerim throughout all the Rabbeim that, that there was a known connection.

45:20 Speaker 1 Right.

45:21 Speaker 2 Like, uh, yeah.

45:22 Speaker 1 Um, and then, so then, then there was a maimer that the Rebbe said that, again, this is coming from Chassidim, but the fact was that , that the president-- I'm not, uh, I should have prepared more for this. That the president of the US was gonna give a critical talk in the UN-

45:42 Speaker 2 Tosh M'Nav. Pardon, Tosh M'Nav.

45:44 Speaker 1 No, no, no, no, no. I'm talking about something else. It was this year.

45:47 Speaker 2 Oh.

45:50 Speaker 1 He's gonna give a critical talk against Eretz Yisrael. The Rebbe was-- There was a surprise he'll bring in, and the Rebbe walks in and immediately starts with a maimer. Like, you hear-- There's a recording of it.

46:01 Speaker 2 Oh, wow.

46:02 Speaker 1 And you hear the Rebbe starting the maimer, you hear the benches flapping up.

46:05 Speaker 2 Uh-huh.

46:05 Speaker 1 'Cause like it was like, and the, and the Rebbe, they start the nigun, but like in middle of the nigun, the Rebbe just starts.

46:10 Speaker 2 Oh, wow.

46:11 Speaker 1 And again, this is coming from Chassidim, but that it, that it was timed to when the, the president was meant to give his talk.

46:18 Speaker 2 Wow.

46:19 Speaker 1 And, and his whole talk became summished. And look, what he originally had planned to speak did not happen. He was-- It was supposed to be a scathing attack against Eretz Yisrael, and it didn't happen.

46:30 Speaker 2 Oh, wow. I never heard this.

46:32 Speaker 1 Yeah. It was when I'm children that I don't have the precise details and whatever, but th-this is, this is, uh, but and you hear the recording. This is-

46:39 Speaker 2 Wow

46:39 Speaker 1 ... was very unusual that the Rebbe, the first thing should be a maimer, and the Rebbe start off the nigun, and you hear middle. Like, the Rebbe just starts off saying the maimer without, wi-without a... So what the Rebbe accomplished, who knows? So sometimes-

46:52 Speaker 2 Yeah

46:52 Speaker 1 ... we're given proof. Yeah, we all know. We all know Tosha Nidgimel. Okay, fine. But this is true not just with regards to those. Uh, the Rebbe speaks about the way that the Rabbeim would say things, say maimerim to, to, to make a, to, to shift the, to shift the atmosphere.

47:05 Speaker 2 Great.

47:06 Speaker 1 Um, yeah.

47:08 Speaker 2 Sounds a few, a few things I wanna go back to, but, uh, once we're on, on this exact topic of like maimer by the Rebbe, 'cause we're coming from Pesach, do you remember... Were you there by Matzo Zoo Mem Test?

47:19 Speaker 1 No.

47:19 Speaker 2 Oh, you weren't there .

47:20 Speaker 1 No.

47:20 Speaker 2 Uh-huh . It's a sore topic is what you answered.

47:24 Speaker 1 It's a sore topic. It's a sore topic.

47:25 Speaker 2 Yeah. 'Cause, uh, you, you hear from people that like-

47:28 Speaker 1 Yeah

47:28 Speaker 2 ... the, the, the-

47:29 Speaker 1 No.

47:30 Speaker 2 I was reading a Yuman.

47:31 Speaker 1 I was-

47:32 Speaker 2 Someone wrote, uh, Bacharot, "Nobody fainted," but like, you know-

47:36 Speaker 1 Yeah

47:36 Speaker 2 ... like, like that was that, uh, uh-huh.

47:38 Speaker 1 Yeah.

47:38 Speaker 2 And what about-

47:39 Speaker 1 And when I came, when I, I ran into seven-seventy-

47:41 Speaker 2 Right

47:41 Speaker 1 ... the Rebbe was wrapping up the maimer. It was very-

47:44 Speaker 2 Uh-huh

47:44 Speaker 1 ... it was very short.

47:44 Speaker 2 Yeah.

47:44 Speaker 1 It was thirteen minutes. But by the time I got to seven-seventy, it was, uh, no.

47:49 Speaker 2 And what about the Achashverosh Pesach Veachrim?

47:52 Speaker 1 Yeah.

47:52 Speaker 2 Was that, was that a maimer nigun? Was it a proper-

47:54 Speaker 1 No.

47:54 Speaker 2 No.

47:55 Speaker 1 No.

47:55 Speaker 2 Also the-

47:55 Speaker 1 No

47:55 Speaker 2 ... Rebbe just started the maimer.

47:56 Speaker 1 Yeah.

47:56 Speaker 2 But it was, it was Kein Sicha or was, uh-

47:58 Speaker 1 Kein Sicha

47:58 Speaker 2 ... oh, it was Kein Sicha.

47:59 Speaker 1 Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

48:00 Speaker 2 Wow.

48:00 Speaker 1 Shavuot was a maimer.

48:01 Speaker 2 And Matzo Zoo was also a maimer.

48:03 Speaker 1 Right.

48:03 Speaker 2 It wasn't, uh-

48:04 Speaker 1 Right. It's a-

48:04 Speaker 2 The, then the Rebbe asked for the nigun by Matzo Zoo.

48:06 Speaker 1 Yeah.

48:07 Speaker 2 Ah, and Shavuot?

48:08 Speaker 1 No, there was no nigun.

48:09 Speaker 2 No nigun.

48:09 Speaker 1 But the Rebbe wrapped his, uh, the Rebbe, the Rebbe-

48:11 Speaker 2 Uh-huh

48:11 Speaker 1 ... wrapped his hand with a tichel. That was like, uh, and the Rebbe said it was the tune of a maimer.

48:15 Speaker 2 Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

48:16 Speaker 1 So-

48:17 Speaker 2 So I guess Veachrim wasn't as much of a...

48:19 Speaker 1 Like it wasn't as dramatic.

48:20 Speaker 2 Right, it wasn't dramatic. Right. 'Cause it was-

48:21 Speaker 1 Yeah

48:21 Speaker 2 ... Kein Sicha. Uh. Uh-huh. Okay. Fine. So to go back, there was two main things that, uh, I'd wanna unpack from what you said. Going back all the way to the beginning, you were describing about when you started the maimerim already in Melukat, um, and you mentioned about how, like, it w- it, Pashut gave you a, a, um, you said whether you call it medication, call it therapy, you know, like, but it, it gave you like a, a boost. So I'm curious how you'd be Maggid there 'cause I mean, I, I, I, I could interpret that in, in two ways. Um, what about the maimer... Meaning not in a makhptic way, in a premistic way. What, what, what did the maimer in live in you? So I could understand it as the avoda of the maimer. Obviously, some of maimer are, are, um, clear, you know, or direct avoda. Also, when we're talking about Melukat, it's a lot more flesh, so to speak. You know, it's a lot more, you know, it's a whole, it's a whole, uh, it's a whole, um, sugia, so to speak. So there's definitely, um, avoda. Um, and even, and even if you wanna go into that scholar per se, like, you know, yeah, scholar's also just schmuck, obviously. So there's the content of what is being learnt, and obviously, that could be a tremendous source of energy in Chayas. And then there's the-- And, and this is a topic a lot on a lot of the, the episodes on

49:39 Speaker 2 the podcast, different, uh, conversations, that the general Chayas that Chassidus has. I mean, uh, some, uh, the, the, the... I was teaching this to my class, actually. There's a fascinating letter of the Rebbe. Someone writes to the Rebbe that he's fear- feeling, I forget the exact word in, in Yiddish and in Loshon Kodesh, but the way I said to my class, like lackadaisical, like very just lethargic and, and the Rebbe responds that Chassidus is called Ervachayas. So start learning Chassidus and you'll get a Chayas in life. Like Pashut, like Vegashmis, you know. So there's, there's a certain sense that, you know, it doesn't ma-- it's not about the content. It's, it's just the ch- it's a magic. It's a magic. There's no way, there's no ne-necessarily we have to scientifically explain it. It's, um, it's a ch-- it's a, it's a Ohr Eloki that Chassidus has that gives a Chayyim. So... And obviously it's both, and it's a mix of both, but w-- how would you describe it more of, if, if one over the other?

50:33 Speaker 3 So as you're saying, it, it's true. It's, it, it's, it, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's both and more. Sometimes there's an idea, there's a Rion in the Maimer that when you read it was like, and it's like, "Wow! Wow, let me, let me, let me see that again. Let me read that again. Let me learn that again." That's just, like, so refreshing to... But, but-- And, and sometimes the Avoda, the way the Rebbe's demanding.

50:57 Speaker 2 Right.

50:57 Speaker 3 And but I, I, I, I, I, I think at, at least my personal experience was more the, the Divrei Elokim Chayyim, the fact that it's, it's fresh air, it's, it's truth, it's real, it's personal. And the Rebbe in all the Maamarim emphasizes the point of how significant you are, how, how real the Aibishter is, how real your Neshamah is, and how real and necessary your Avoda is, whether the Rebbe's speaking about the Seforim or his Hapro or, uh... And, and describing what's going on in the world, the way the Aibishter fear developed and the different ways in which he does. So we're talking about the Nissim and the Nes and Teva and, and, and the different ways in which the Nes and Teva in, uh, are, are, the, the interplay between Nes and Teva, which is greater than what. And sometimes it could become, so to speak, complicated, askola. But if you take a step backwards, it was like, look what's going on. The Rebbe's trying to feed you, to, to describe to you what this world is-- what's going on in this world. And you have something, you have a loving father, a loving Rebbe that, that is, that is just giving you this information because he finds this important for you to know. So, and it's important for you to try to get it. And so the, just the fact in itself at a certain point in the Maamarim we're like, it, it's, it's my meeting with the Rebbe. It's my, my regular

52:10 Speaker 3 meeting with the Rebbe. So when I finished, there was a certain, I'll call it a sadness of like, "Okay, our meetings are over? Like, we're not gonna be talking tomorrow?" Like, "This was, this was nice. This was very good." It was, it was, um, a very big... So, so there's a closeness that's also developed and... But more than anything else, I would describe it as a fresh air. You talk about the Ohr VeChayyim, I think it's literal, it's real. It's not some type of poetic language. And then you see the way the Rebbe describes it. It's a voice from the fear of the Rebbe. The Rebbe ex-- uh, describes and explains that it's literally Ohr VeChayyim. It's not, it's not some type of just, you know, cute wording. This is really Ohr VeChayyim, Nafsheinu. Uh, Ohr VeChayyim. So if, if this is my vitality and I don't have vitality, what's my life gonna look like? So when I recognize that this is vitality and this is my light, and this is my... So one of the guys today asked, "Why can't I learn Chassidus just when I feel that it's necessary? You know, if I feel that it's necessary, then I'll learn Chassidus." Um, so I told him that, um, um, that we all know how important it is to drink water, to be hydrated. Especially when it's hot outside, it's very important to be hydrated, and if you're not hydrated, it, it could be very dangerous. So if a person will say, "I'll only

53:32 Speaker 3 drink water when I feel like I need it," what happens? It's a disaster. And I've, you know, experienced it. I once took a group of guys there to Israel and, uh, kept on reminding them that they're gonna need to drink. It was a group of young guys, whatever, young, whatever, the Birthright trip. Um, and one was like, "Oh, I'm, I'm fine. Oh, what? I know, I know." And what happened was that the... And, and I learned then that when, by the time when you feel like you need something-

53:58 Speaker 2 It's late

53:59 Speaker 3 ... actually it's too late.

53:59 Speaker 2 Right.

54:00 Speaker 3 It's too late. And that happens in our life. It's true, and I'm not gonna say Lehavdil, but it's, it's, it's a truth. It's true with regards to oxygen. It's true with regards to water. If by, by, when by the time you feel like you need water, yeah, drinking is not gonna be enough. You're gonna have to be hospitalized. It's gonna have, it's gonna be a process. It's gonna be time. It's gonna be whatever complication, Hashem shall me you with the, of Ken Yidden gedacht. Uh, it's true with regards to learning Chassidus. But by the time you realize, it's like, "Oh, now I really need to have the, the, the, the, the, the tube to save my life, the, the life-saving device." At that time, I don't know what's going on, what's, what's the storm, and you know, what, what's, uh, where the storm is up to, and you might become, uh... At a certain point, we become insensitive to our environment, and that's what gashmius does. It makes, it desensitizes us, and, but the definition tells us we're fine until you suddenly realize, what they call it, maybe rock bottom, or you certain realize you hit your head against the wall, and it's like, "Oy vey, what's going on in my life? Okay, I really need to make a change. I really need to make a shift. What's that gonna be? Uh, okay, fine. Let me call a Mashpia. Which Mashpia? Which Mashpia? From the Sifta?" Or whatever. Like, like, "Who am I gonna call

55:13 Speaker 3 exactly? What am I..." And at that time, it was like, uh, you're, you're really, uh, in, in triage. You're like, you, you, you really need, um, some emergency care right now. And so, "Oh, gonna now start learning. I can't learn right now." As opposed to making sure that you're hydrated, make sure you have air, make sure that you have the necessary nutrients that you need in order, in order to be a healthy person. And I, I have the, the, the zchus someti-sometimes to, uh, to work with shluchim that are going through some challenges, and it's like, uh, how do I, how do I help with this? Like, you know, obviously people need, I mean, people, everybody should have a Mashpia, and everybody should... And if need be, if there's challenges, sometimes you need the care of a therapist or whatever. Uh, I'm not going into that, but, but just sometimes it happens that shluchim will reach out, or a shliach will reach out, or a Hasid, whatever, a person, a Yid will reach out, like, "We're really in trouble." At a certain point, I realize, like, Chitas, Rambam, Chassidus every day-

56:06 Speaker 2 You know, basically, do you sleep? Do you eat? Like, if you don't sleep, you don't eat, it's not gonna work. Our, our, our machine is not made to just be running whichever way we want. The Aish Tamida say that, that we have to eat, we have to sleep, and we have to take care of ourselves, and

1:01:59 Speaker 3 He says, but be'emes there's a mitzvah of Vamanas Al Hakos and Yedidis Al Hakos. So be'emes you have to learn Chassidus mechilah all day. So in order to, to, to, to believe in the Aibishter, to know the Aibishter, you have to learn Chassidus. So in addition to that, there's also the, the, the idea of the, that before davening you have to be Mizrach. It's interesting the way the Rebbe differentiates between the two.

1:02:17 Speaker 2 Right.

1:02:17 Speaker 3 That not just to learn Chassidus because before davening you have to be Mizrach because I have a-- Mechilah, daf al midat sitzen learn Chassidus the entire day.

1:02:23 Speaker 2 Right.

1:02:24 Speaker 3 Because you, you need to believe in the Aibishter. You have to reject Avodah Zarah. So Daf Shlamit Hei, you have to reject Avodah Zarah. How could you reject Avodah Zarah if you don't learn Chassidus? Okay? Yeah. So we have to be'emes learn Chassidus on avos. We are from a Yid, we have to learn Gemara, we have to learn Halacha, we have other obligations and responsibilities as well. And kaposhut, the sichas, and then, uh, chas v'shalom, it's-- I'm not, um, I'm promoting the mamarim because I think that it's necessary. And I think for some reason, that's also a whole discussion, but chas v'shalom that it's, it's, it's in, in, in any which way to dismiss or discount or to downplay the significance and the value of the sichas and all the other Rebbe's tades, obviously kodesh kodashim. But I think that the mamarim somehow get a... It, it's something that you do at seven thirty in the morning or whatever. It's, it's a I, I think that they don't get the proper pr- maybe I'm speaking for myself. Um, but I think that it could get much more attention. I was very happy, uh, I was very happy, um, uh, ple- and, and pleasantly surprised. I was happy to hear, if I bring with one of the shuls in Crown Heights, especially to Kislev. Yeah. Uh, the guys were sitting there, Mizrach sitting there, Mizrach mamarim. I was, I was, I was, I, I'm not gonna say pleasantly surprised, but it was very geshmak. It was

1:03:41 Speaker 3 geshmak. So it's, it's happening. But I think that there's, there's definitely a, uh... It's a very important thing, very good thing, and, uh, greater emphasis could be, emphasis could be placed on that. And chas v'shalom for a person to say that it's, it's not for, it's not for a person like me. First of all, they're, you know, they're easier mamarim. And even the more difficult mamarim, when you actually apply yourself to it and you focus on them, you-- even if you don't get the full thing and you can't necessarily give shiur on it, but there's a lot that you could take from, there's a lot that you can, uh-

1:04:08 Speaker 2 Yeah

1:04:08 Speaker 3 ... you can, that you could benefit from.

1:04:10 Speaker 2 Uh, I wanna touch on the, the, what, the difference of sicha mamarim from a different angle. The-- And mentioned it before about shlichas, right? So, uh, we were talking about this off-camera, that, um, there's, uh, it's a letter of the Rebbe, w- or, or, or that the Rebbe said that really we're being sent out on a fatzat tzema'yanut. Elammai, you know, shliach of Chabad House, really it's a fatzat tzema'yanut, a fatzat of Chassidus. But elammai, sometimes you need to also do sh-- you know, talk about Shabbos and tefillin or whatever, you know, so a fatzat sayadut. But it's, uh, it's a stop on the way towards a fatzat tzema'yanut, and that's really the tech-- Which is-- What, what is it? It's a letter. It's a, it's a minor-

1:04:53 Speaker 3 I don't, I don't remember.

1:04:54 Speaker 2 Right.

1:04:54 Speaker 3 I don't remember.

1:04:55 Speaker 2 Um, but, uh, you know, if you frame-- if you think about shlichas like that, um, and, uh, the, you know, speaking from o-on the field, thirty years of experience, how do you see Chassidus, um, affect-- like, meaning affecting the, the, your, your day to day shlichas, your, you know, your, your basic description of, of what your shlichas is? Being mechabed Yidden, you know, giving shiurim, obviously, then that's more, that's more literal, you know, giving a shiur on Chassidus. Fine. So I'm not talking about that. But, like, you know, just being mechabed Yidden and bringing them closer, talking, having a conversation with a Yid about tefillin, about Shabbos, about tzitzit, whatever it is. How does that get enriched with Chassidus? But here, the question is specifically, like, this is where I would plug in specifically mamarim. Because when you talk about sichas, so obviously, I think, uh, a base, an easy answer, sechel, you know, like when you learn a, a, a, a sicha on the Parshah or even a sicha that discusses a, a fundamental concept of Devar B'tachonim or, or, um, or, or U'feratz or fatzat tzema'yanut, things, things that are, you know, directly Negiah. So yeah, of course, then, you know, my appreciation of the Parshah, my appreciation of, uh, Yom Tov, whatever it is, comes from the sichas. I think sichas, people could, uh, shlichim specifically, could relate to easier in how it gives them a chayas, or not even a chayas, but how it gives them a messaging and a packaging

1:06:21 Speaker 2 of how to deliver whatever it is that they're selling. Mamarim are a little bit more abstract. Mamarim are more philosophical. Mamarim are more, much more spiritual, right? You're not necessarily gonna start a shiur in a maimer with a, with a, with a guy in your Chabad House or even publicly in, in the Chabad House. Maybe yes, and hopefully yes, especially eventually, but obviously it's not the first step. So how do you, as a shliach, personally feel that the mamarim, davka the mamarim, give this, um, identity of what a shliach is and what the shlichas is?

1:06:55 Speaker 3 It's a very good question. So I'll say, first of all, um, you know, if I, if I could borrow a term from sales, if you don't believe in your product, if you don't know your product, you can't sell it.

1:07:07 Speaker 2 Right.

1:07:08 Speaker 3 Um, again, Mahadu El Ha'adolos. We're here to be Megaleh Halakos. That's what we're here to do. How to be Megaleh Halakos? So fine. So Yiddishkeit teaches you have to encourage people to put on tefillin and so on. But the objective is not just to get people to, to put on tefillin. The objective is Giliyel Halakos, to make a Devar B'tachonim. If you're not fully plugged into that program, to that messaging, personally, on a personal level-

1:07:31 Speaker 2 Right

1:07:31 Speaker 3 ... w-before you get to messaging and how you, and how you share it and how you package it and how you deliver it, before you get to that, if you're not fully plugged in, if you're not in the program, well, you, you-- there's nothing you can do. Yeah, you can speak to a marketing director and, and, and, and office of how to get people to do... But you're not really living it. So how could you-- With what conviction do you have? With what enthusiasm could you actually speak to that person of whatever it is that you wanna inspire them or in-influence them or encourage them to do? So first and foremost, Chassidism, particularly Mamarem, give that. Again, I'm not saying, um, Sichas don't do that. They can't do that. I know many people that learn Sichas and, and, and, and, and it does it for them.

1:08:08 Speaker 2 Right.

1:08:08 Speaker 3 Fine. I'm not, I'm not taking that away. But I found that with the Mamarem that's very unique, that y- you're really very plugged into your purpose, your mission, who you are, what you are, what you're meant to do, why you're here, what you're doing. Um, and so even the most, uh, what you might describe, hascaladi Kamamorem, but you'll have-- and it's a very, very clear, you know, the avoda v'yid and the avoda v-- the way it affects it, etzem, and, and what way does it affect? Well, to stop for a second and you realize that when you put on tefillin, or if you encourage somebody else to put on tefillin, or

1:08:48 Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah. I just, I heard a noise from the camera.

1:08:50 Speaker 3 Yeah.

1:08:50 Speaker 2 Yeah. Yeah.

1:08:51 Speaker 3 So, so that in itself, so, so you're in that. Uh, number two-- Uh, so that, and that, that enables you to, uh, to, to speak to people properly because I, I think that people, more than anything else, respond to something that's real. What, what do we have to sell? We're here to give Emes. And of course, Torah, that's what we're here to, to, to share with people. I mean, Emes is something that they want, but inside deye ze tamshil hayid, they don't yet have it, but they're waiting for it. They don't wanna have stories and songs and jokes. They wanna have truth. They wanna have a connection to the Aibishter. That's what a Yid is looking for. So we can either focus on the particular and the technical, yeah? And, and so... And, and s- and, and we need to, but there's a certain point of being able to give people the, the, the objective, the goal. And it's not just a goal, "Okay, fine, we're bringing Mashiach, so we'll finish my s-- whatever, what, my spiel with saying, 'Okay, yeah, and we're bringing Mashiach.'" But to actually living, to recognize what it means that when we speak about Mashiach, that I know what Mashiach is, that I, I could-- I, I have eysius to talk about Mashiach. What devar tachtonim means. What's my... Again, and this you'll find in, in, in the vast majority of the Mamarem, that when you take the Maimer, you'll-- First of all, we get it ourselves, and it gives

1:10:08 Speaker 3 the person the f- the, the picture, uh, of what you want. So what you want from them. What do you want from my life? Uh, that the person should feel, like when you're engaging with them, what's your agenda? They'll go, "Rabbi, what's your agenda?" I have an agend-- I have an agenda. I have an agenda. And the agenda is that your life should start shining, that you should start-- y- you should become intoxicated with, with, with holiness. "So that's crazy." Let's talk about it. Let's talk about it. Let, let's talk about what life with Chassidus looks like, what your family life looks like, what your, uh, your, your life with the people around you looks like, your, like life with your friends. Let's talk about what that looks like. "Oh, this, this is a different story. So how do we implement it?" Okay, fine. Let's learn a Sicha. Let's learn Igress Kodesh. Let's learn this. Let's learn that. Do a mitzvah. So everything fit, fits into this picture, but this creates not just a framework, but this creates the, the, the grand vision of what it is that you're looking for. Uh, what it is-- W- what's your agenda? What are you, what are you trying to do? I have an agenda. So the Aibishter have developed, and the Aibishter wants your avoda, whether it's this kaf or it's heichal, which one is greater, we could learn a Maimer about that. But that's what the Aibishter is looking for. So you have the big picture

1:11:17 Speaker 3 vision of where you're headed, what you're going, what you're all about. What's your story? What's your story? We wanna get people to want to tefillin. Why? Why? What's vilstu?

1:11:26 Speaker 2 Right.

1:11:26 Speaker 3 There's something much greater going on. It's not just about... Again, I'm not in, into compare. You're gonna say that this is not as good. Everything is holy. The Sichas are holy. The Mamaras obviously, they're, it's all holy. But the Maimer gives you a, a, a somewhat of a, a bigger picture and a greater picture, and much more inte-- I find much more intense, uh, a picture of what it is that we're trying to do.

1:11:47 Speaker 2 Deeper. I mean-

1:11:48 Speaker 3 Yeah

1:11:48 Speaker 2 ... Sichas Torah.

1:11:49 Speaker 3 Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that, and that's our job. And, and once people realize what it is, once you share that with people, they are on fire. They become on fire. And Baruch Hashem, I've seen this. I try to share Mamarem, uh, in-- w- with the people that I come in contact with for bris and so on and so on, and you see the effect that it has, that they become nedes lechud in a very real way. It's always because they realize that... A few months ago, we had this. This was a guy that, um, that came, uh-- A, a guy, a guy shared. He hardly started putting on tefillin, but it's crazy thing. He met a Yid that never put on tefillin before. So like, "Okay, fine. Here's a pair of tefillin." He gave, he gave him a pair of tefillin because he had one, a pair of tefillin for home or another pair, pair for, for business. He met him in a business environment. He's like, "Okay, fine. You never put on tefillin? Here's a pair of things." So he put on tefillin with him. He said, "I probably did it wrong. I, I'm hardly putting on tefillin myself. And I put on tefillin with him, and I was so nervous about it. It was the first time I did this. He pro-- I, I probably did it totally wrong. I don't even know if it was kosher, but we did it." And as he came, he was like, he was embarrassed to

1:12:48 Speaker 3 tell me, but he shared it because he shared it with somebody else, and he said, "You have to tell the rabbi." Okay, fine. So he shared with us. Like, he was mamash, he was blushing when he was telling us. And he says, "I gave him the pair of tefillin and he-- with a Shema, with a booklet in it. And that says Shema instructions. I told him that he could look it up on- online to see how to do it." How, how'd that happen? Because I'm a great salesman? Shlach HaMaasis. This guy recently started putting on tefillin not, not too long prior. But he was introduced to Mamarem. He was intro- he, he was introduced to Chassidus. He was introduced to the Rebbe, and, and something was ignited in his neshamah. And that caused the, the, the continuation. And so how does it affect shlichus? I think that affects shlichus in a very, very deep way, in a very real way. On a, on a very practical-- Aside from the fact that you're alive, but what you're, you're messaging is, is a much deeper messaging and a much... And therefore, it reaches much deeper.

1:13:35 Speaker 2 Right.

1:13:35 Speaker 3 And it affects people deeper.

1:13:37 Speaker 2 If I understand correctly, if it-- I would, I would repeat it in, in these words. Tell me if it's what, what you mean. That the Sicha or... Yeah, the Sicha that you share, you know, Shul on Shabbos, whatever, you know, the Yom Tov, is, is the, is the specific, you know, task or the specific gvert, the specific explanation. The Mamarem give you the... I mean, yes. Now I'm saying it's obvious. The, the Mamarem is the primis. The Mamarem is the neshamah. The Mamarem is the fuel for all these gvertlach, so to speak. In other words, for all this, uh-

1:14:13 Speaker 3 It's a framework within which-

1:14:14 Speaker 2 Right

1:14:14 Speaker 3 ... all these details come together.

1:14:17 Speaker 2 Right.

1:14:17 Speaker 3 So klal and prat, or, you know, big picture vision as opposed to particular, uh, uh, detailed vision.

1:14:22 Speaker 2 Right.

1:14:23 Speaker 3 Uh, so there's an-- It's necessary to have both.

1:14:25 Speaker 2 Right.

1:14:25 Speaker 3 But the Maimer gives the framework, gives the idea, gives the, the, the outlook of what it is that we're trying to accomplish. What is it we're trying to do? Who are you? Where be stu? What are you doing here? Um, and, and why your contribution is necessary. When I say contribution, your avoda, your, uh... This you have, the Mamarem.

1:14:43 Speaker 2 Right. I think also when, when you frame it like that, it becomes even more clear that it nee- that there needs to be a riboy of learning it. Because you, you probably won't get this from one Maimer. I mean, yeah, people have these, like, moments, like, you know, something ignites. But, like, I'm saying a, a, a Chassid, a Shliach learning a Maimer. But, uh, but generally, it, it sounds like this is something that you, you learn it again and again and again, suddenly it clicks, especially 'cause we're talking about something ruchni and aliki. So it's not, it's not, uh, it's not necessarily, uh... I, I mean, there is primis, but it's also the makif. It's also the, the, just the power of it, and sometimesthat's built up. Sometimes that's, uh, you, you, you-

1:15:17 Speaker 3 It's necessary.

1:15:18 Speaker 2 Like-

1:15:18 Speaker 3 It's necessary. Yeah, I'm sorry. I, I interrupted.

1:15:20 Speaker 2 I'm saying like to learn it a lot.

1:15:22 Speaker 3 Right.

1:15:22 Speaker 2 To learn it, you know, one Maamar, second Maamar, third Maamar, all of a sudden it's like, oh, th-this is-- you see it again and again, this is the, this is the theme. This is the... Yeah.

1:15:30 Speaker 3 I, I, I wanna, I wanna touch on something that you just said, something that again, I, I hear from people, and I know this again from my, from my life. Sometimes we have this, this, this idea of... We don't realize how necessary it is to repeat and to, and to learn Chassidus often. Again, just like breathing or becoming hydrated, you can't just do it once in a while. It can't just be, "Okay, I got... I did my..." The Rebbe speaks about having Mesirat Nefesh. This is actually in a Maamar. Having Mesirat Nefesh to learn a half hour Chassidus every day. That, that a Chassid has to have Mesirat Nefesh to learn half hour Chassidus every day.

1:16:01 Speaker 2 Mm-hmm.

1:16:02 Speaker 3 Uh, um, it, it's something that has to be constant. It's something that has to be the most, the most real thing in my life. I have to do this daily. Uh, a little while ago, I was speaking to a, a Chassid who's gone through a difficult, um, difficult patch, um, financially. Uh, you know, Baruch Hashem, things are okay, but he's gone through difficult. So I was like, "Look, look, look, forget about... Let's not play the therapy game. Let's, let's learn a Maamar for a few minutes." So for 20 minutes, let's learn a Maamar. It was actually just before Pesach, but it was-- Well, I, I felt that it was urgent. Um, so we learned for 20 minutes, whatever. Half hour. He's like, "Wow." He was, he was, "Wow, this is exactly what I needed." I was like, "What's your trouble? Like what?" "Just to hear these words from the Rebbe and to..." Like, "This was exactly like I, I, I was so..." He was so caught up in his head and in his mind. "This is exactly what I needed." And I, and I, and I, and I, and I, and I feel this myself sometimes when learning Maamars. Like, it's like, it, it's not just the, you know, the Hashgacha Protis or the way the Rebbe gives us exactly what we need, but we need Chassidus. This is we need to hear the messaging. We need to hear the wording. We need to hear the vision, the picture of where been ich, vas been

1:17:24 Speaker 3 ich. What am I doing here? What's, what, what kind of value do-- you know, does what I do or not do, uh, have? Does, does it really matter? Um, and the Sichas, I find, are, are more detailed and more particular. Okay, so, so how does Shabbos fit into that greater picture?

1:17:42 Speaker 2 Right.

1:17:42 Speaker 3 How does Tefillin fit into that greater picture? So fine, so Rashi, okay, and how do you explain that Rashi? That, you know, how does this fit into the bigger picture? But there's a bigger picture of what the Rebbe Shli"ta is starting from the Alter Rebbe, starting from Baal Shem Tov. Rebbe Shli"ta, they have a program. There's an agenda. There's a, there's, there's a... And, and, and they're creating something. And Zochenu, Zochenu, now we're there to have so much Torah from the Rebbe. We have 15, more than 1,500 or better, 1,500 Maamarim from the Rebbe. It's, it's, it's beautiful. And so it's a lot, but it, but it's, it's not like impossible. At 1,500, it's not, it's not like impossible to learn. It's very doable. It's very practical.

1:18:13 Speaker 2 Right.

1:18:14 Speaker 3 Just make a... Set aside. I remember actually, you, you asked me earlier, like if there's any, any Mashpia that was a Mashpia that, that inspired me. I, I, I remember sitting in farbrengen with actually Mendel Lipsker, someone that actually I respect very much as many other people do, and rightfully so.

1:18:29 Speaker 2 Shomer Emunim.

1:18:30 Speaker 3 Shomer Emunim, yeah. Um, and, and he was like making fun of, of, of the way Balabatim learn. It's like they learn like in, in an old age home. "Okay, fine. So what are we gonna do today? So like what game are we gonna play today?" Like, "Okay, should I learn this or should I learn that? I don't know. This or I'm gonna learn that. Oh, let me see. How many pages is this? Oh, what's the topic? I don't know." Like you have to learn seriously. So I don't know, but I, I, I'm sure he was responding to something. It was... So I was just happened to be sitting in the crowd. And that, and that nekudas, it resonated with me because it was true at that point. Like, yeah, I'm gonna learn this. What am I gonna learn? As opposed to realizing that if the Rebbe, not if, the Rebbe said Torah, the Rebbe said Torah for Darashvi, I'm-- I wanna be a proud Chassid of Darashvi. I want the Rebbe to be proud of me. I wanna like really live up to what it means to be a Chassid in Darashvi. How can I do without, without, without learning the Rebbe's words? It's just not... It, it doesn't make any sense. Like what's my, my havamina? That, yeah, I'm fine. I could do this without a Maamarim. I could tell guys that they have to learn Tanya because, because that's my job, but I don't have to learn Chassidus. And, and, yeah, because on

1:19:34 Speaker 3 Shabbos, before davening, while I'm sipping my coffee, I'll flip through a few pages, or I won't flip through it. I'll, I'll, I'll learn it seriously. So, so that's Chassidus. The Rebbe said better 1,500 Maamarim, around 200 of them are Muga. Um, they're super rich and super necessary. Um, aside for that they're, they're, they're juicy. They're, they're exciting. They're, they're really uplifting. It's... And, and, and it's doable for everybody. It's not, uh, I'm gonna consider myself a big maskil. I don't consider myself a big maven. I'm a guy trying to, trying to do the right thing. And, um, and learning the Maamarim was, was really and it still is one way somebody tell, "Okay, fine. So now you finish. You don't have to do this. Now you really have to start." Now you, you taste it. It's like you come into, to, to a, to a buffet and taste one of everything. "Okay, now what do you want? Now what do you want?" It's like, "Ah, I didn't even know." Okay, fine. Let's, let's, let's focus. I'm focusing on Shechem. I'm focused on Divrei HaMamariim. You know, this Pesach, you know, which, what, you know, what are we, what are we gonna eat? What are we gonna focus on? And it's, uh-

1:20:38 Speaker 2 So if I can ask, what's, what are you doing now?

1:20:42 Speaker 3 Um, that's not-

1:20:44 Speaker 2 Uh-huh. Okay, fine. Saying you're, the Rebbe's Maamarim or you've moved on to, uh-

1:20:49 Speaker 3 So I'm, you know, I... This is, um, aside for the idea, I, I, it, it, I-- there's, I don't wanna say these words, but I developed a, a love for the Maamarim. It's, it's, I, I love it. It's, it's Pushing begashmis. I'm not... I'm, I'm, I'm a gushim, and I enjoy good things, and the rebbe's mamarim, and the havdalah for those who call gashmis, whatever it is, I, I literally enjoy it. So this, this, um, I, I don't intend on stopping that, BeEzrat Hashem. Od eibish yahlfen. Um, and there are other things that, uh, to work on.

1:21:22 Speaker 2 Right.

1:21:22 Speaker 3 So theoretically, I would like to publish this, this chart that I made for myself. Some people says, "Oh, I won't publish." So theoretically, I, uh-

1:21:28 Speaker 2 Mm-hmm.

1:21:28 Speaker 3 But we'll see. We'll see. There are other things. There's the Baruch Hashem. It's a daas achtera, and there's a lot, uh... And there's, there isn't a lot of time, but we have to learn as much as we can, and, uh, yeah.

1:21:41 Speaker 2 Right. Um, to, to finish off with a ubichein kind of question, it's, uh... I think it, it, it could be very powerful. Um, how would you practically, if someone-- I'm saying that lo- lo- not even someone you know specifically, that you're approaching it from a, um, also, like, you know, a bit of a sub- a subjective place, but like, let's say a random Anash or a random Shliach called you up and said, "I wanna do such a thing," what... how would you recommend starting? What would you, what would you say?

1:22:13 Speaker 3 So again, I think that, I, I think that people are very individual, and they have to address things the way they work based on their, um, halacha nefesh. Um, my dear chav, Ben Shapape, uh, finished all the rebbe's mamarim a number of years ago, and he made somewhat of a meir shir for people that wanna-

1:22:31 Speaker 2 Okay.

1:22:32 Speaker 3 Yeah.

1:22:32 Speaker 2 An all, all the, all the mamarim, not just one of them.

1:22:35 Speaker 3 All, all the mamarim.

1:22:35 Speaker 2 Uh-huh.

1:22:35 Speaker 3 Yeah. Yeah. All the mamarim.

1:22:36 Speaker 2 Oh, wow. Interesting.

1:22:37 Speaker 3 Yeah. So for some people that works, you know, learn this one with this date, learn that with that one. For me, that, that, that wouldn't work.

1:22:42 Speaker 2 And what is it? Over a course of how long?

1:22:43 Speaker 3 I think eight years.

1:22:44 Speaker 2 Eight years. Wow.

1:22:45 Speaker 3 But it's, it's intense learning.

1:22:46 Speaker 2 Right.

1:22:47 Speaker 3 Uh, it has to be. You have fifteen hundred mamarim in the-- But, um, he did it. He, he did a good job. For me, such a thing wouldn't work. For some people, that works great. So if that works for you, it's good.

1:22:57 Speaker 2 Right.

1:22:57 Speaker 3 So the, the-- I found, again, my system, the way I did it when I started, when I started to learn all the mamarim, I started learning every parasha to learn as many mamarim as I could on that week.

1:23:05 Speaker 2 Right.

1:23:06 Speaker 3 And so, and I would dedicate time for it. So whether it's a half hour a day, or sometimes I went over time, sometimes unfortunately I went under time, but, uh, I, I tried to do it daily. And, um-

1:23:19 Speaker 2 Obviously, there's two parts to the question. There's a part-- there's a technical part of, like, how much time and what time of day. Obviously, those are technicalities that, you know, the person has to figure out by themselves. I'm speaking more of the, the seder.

1:23:29 Speaker 3 What system to, to use?

1:23:31 Speaker 2 Yeah. Like, yeah. Like should we start with Melukat? Should we start with Bilti, uh, Bilti Muga? Should we, uh, start, uh, with, uh, you know, like you said before? Should, should it be, uh, like that or-

1:23:40 Speaker 3 Uh-

1:23:40 Speaker 2 With Parsha?

1:23:41 Speaker 3 I, I, I get that. I, I think that this is very much Uh huh.

1:24:33 Speaker 2 Yeah.

1:24:33 Speaker 3 So it's like, you know, suddenly one, one guy shared one thing, and he suddenly realized that there's a, there's a flow to this. There's, there's, there's a build-up. There's a system. It's, it's, it's not just arbitrary mamarim. Uh, it's, uh... And it was very interesting. The, the, the, the feedback that I-- that just comments that people said to me in the street, uh, uh, was very, very interesting and uplifting. Clearly that people are, are looking to do it. I think that, um, I think it's a very positive thing.

1:25:29 Speaker 2 Sure.

1:25:30 Speaker 3 And it's-- think it's, uh, it's-- I think it's crucial. I think it's crucial. I think it's doable for-- especially today, you know, uh...

1:25:37 Speaker 2 I mean, I'll, I'll do a plug for Ben Shapape's project Melukat. It's, uh-- I'm not personally involved, but it's-- it was started for, uh, for my uncle, for Rabbi Wagner. Um-

1:25:46 Speaker 3 A special chassid, yeah.

1:25:48 Speaker 2 Yeah. So that's, uh, the projectmelukat.com, I think, or .org, whatever it is. But, um, so they, they taka did a very good job. You ever saw the website?

1:25:56 Speaker 3 Yeah.

1:25:56 Speaker 2 Yeah.

1:25:56 Speaker 3 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1:25:57 Speaker 2 Yeah. Every click on any mamarim, you get all the shirim, yeah.

1:26:00 Speaker 3 It's, it's very nice. Yeah. I, uh, I've-

1:26:04 Speaker 2 It, it would make sense that M- Melukat would be the place to start.

1:26:06 Speaker 3 Yeah. It does.

1:26:07 Speaker 2 Uh-

1:26:07 Speaker 3 It does

1:26:08 Speaker 2 ... besides that the-- like you mentioned before, the

1:27:08 Speaker 3 Um, but the main thing is to set up a system and, and to, and, and to, and to go. This is what I'm doing. As the Rebbe says, it's not about the amount-- The-- It's not just the amount of times. It's . This is-- I need to do this. I need this, so call it for my, for my, for my mental health, for my me time, call it whatever you wanna call it in order for you to do it, but it has to be something . I have to do this. I, I, I can't have a day pass without me spending a half hour with the Rebbe, hearing a ma'amar from the Rebbe. Hearing it or learning it. I, I don't mean hearing. Uh-

1:27:44 Speaker 2 Right

1:27:44 Speaker 3 ... but I, I, I need this. The j-n-not less than I need my food and not less than I need my, uh, my-- any, any other that I have, and this is a decision. It's a choice that you make, and we have the ability to make this choice. Like, oh, you're talking high-level stuff. Yeah, okay. It, it, it, it's, it's, it's easy to dismiss, but we choose what's really important to us. We decide that something is important to us, something is not important to us. It's true. At a certain point, just like when we get married and we have certain ideas, and then we realize, oh, I can't continue behaving like I did when I was in fourteen fourteen or whatever, wherever. It's like I have to start shifting. Why? Because we realize it's important, and when we become parents, and then we realize other things become important, and that becomes part of our lifestyle. At a certain point, we have to make the decision, there's just not a-- s- no other option. If I wanna have fresh air, if I wanna have-- If I wanna live properly, I have to have clean air. I, I wanna have a shtunkene air, I could do that, but it's not good for me. It's not good for anything or anybody. What kind of person could I be? What kind of husband, what kind of father, what kind of Yid, what kind of Hasid, what ki- what kind of person can I be if my-- the air that

1:28:49 Speaker 3 I, that I breathe is, is not, uh... And, and, and it's readily available. And Baruch Hashem, today there are more and more shiurim. I said that the, the-- What, what's the name of the website?

1:28:58 Speaker 2 Project Melukka.

1:28:59 Speaker 3 Yeah. So they have a lot of things over there. Rabbi Paltiel has a lot of ma'amarim-

1:29:02 Speaker 2 Yeah

1:29:02 Speaker 3 ... on Hasidut with shiurim. Rabbi Forkosh, there's so, there's so much available online, shiurim in Yiddish and English and Rabbi Yolo's shiurim, Ribslun's shiurim, Rabbi Vacter's shiurim. There's so much available in all different languages. But we're living with amazing wealth, but, uh, few, uh... But we have to dive in.

1:29:20 Speaker 2 That's right.

1:29:20 Speaker 3 So I commend you for doing this, for encouraging the learning of Hasidus. Thank you for the opportunity to talk about it. Um-

1:29:31 Speaker 2 Sh'yayach.

1:29:32 Speaker 3 Sure.

1:29:32 Speaker 2 It, it, it sure is. It should be taka.

1:29:38 Speaker 3 Yeah. That's the bottom line. That's the bottom-- That's what it's all about.

1:29:40 Speaker 2 Yeah. L'chaim. Sh'yayach.

1:29:42 Speaker 3 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1:29:43 Speaker 2 Thank you.

1:29:43 Speaker 3 Sure, sure, sure.