Landing on the Moon - Part 5

00:00 The continuation to the earlier installments on the topic of the moon landing, we now continue with installment number five, discussing an additional lesson in Avodah Hashem, which the Rebbe derived from the moon flight. As mentioned earlier, this Sicha, this talk of the Rebbe's, which he delivered on Shabbos Parshas VaYigash Tov Shin Chof Tes, late 1968, was later written up in English and edited by the Rebbe. The Rebbe in the Sicha continues, a factor in the technique of developing the rocket ship was the overcoming of a certain problem in the logistics of a space flight. It was realized that a large amount of matter, fuel, would be required to provide such large quantities of energy to thrust the capsule into space. And as the Rebbe comments, and therefore also the container needs to be larger, but the greater the quantity of the capsule, the more energy is needed to enable it to lift up. As the rocket burned the fuel, the problem arose what to do with the used material so that it would not be a drag on the future stage of the flight. If some solution were not found, the amount of matter that would have to be carried would be greater than the energy could lift. Finally, the solution was found of jettisoning the used matter, which means dropping it, thus lightening the weight load to manageable proportion. So likewise, the Rebbe continues in the spiritual struggle within the Yid between the forces of evil and good. In order that a Yid should

02:16 be able to rise in a spiritual odyssey, he must utilize the energy and power latently hidden in the evil within him, in his body and in the coarseness of the body. For there are aspects in everything that can and must be used for good. And the Rebbe writes in a separate comment, as we see it in regards to raising a child, educating a child as the years move on. As the child grows from a child to an adult, in the beginning we promise the child in age or understanding that if he will study Chochmah, he will study philosophy, Torah, he will receive an award, a toy, which is on the level of his understanding. So that's why we offer him a toy. Likewise, we warn him that if he will not study, he will get punished with something that he understands what it means punishment. And the Rebbe continues, what he appreciates, what he enjoys at that point and the level of Chochmah in its own right does not relate to him. He doesn't understand the benefit of Chochmah. He doesn't appreciate what Chochmah is, but he's being taught to learn it. And eventually he excels in his study and likewise his enjoyments and appreciations elevate to spiritual matters until he reaches the highest level of study, Lishma, for the sake of the Torah itself. And as the Rebbe continues in regards to raising a child, for instance, desire, physical pleasure, and ego, she'ehekel, aggrandizement can be sublimated and transformed into the desire to study

04:27 Torah and perform mitzvahs, the desire to help others. However, once the power of the animal soul has been used for good, the quote-unquote unusable aspects of the person, the bad-traded self-motivations, etc., must be jettisoned that the Yid as a whole can rise in the service of his Creator. We will, mitzvah Hashem, continue in the next installment.