If one seeks to derive pleasure from a physical thing unto itself, he separates it from G-dliness. Conversely, when he desires the G-dliness of the physical thing, he elevates it, allowing it to openly reveal how it is nullified to G-dliness.
Since the Alm-ghty is the very essence of goodness, and the nature of the good is to bestow benevolence upon others, G-d fulfills this person’s wish and shows him the exalted heights of the Rebbe – that the Rebbe transcends even the Seventh Heaven – and this person remains below [i.e., distant from the Rebbe]…
Since Moshiach still has not come, it is clear that in heaven they came up with a strategy as to how to have the tzaddik delay his appeal until later… * The correct approach here may well be to take an oath according to the knowledge and consent of the public, in which case the law is that “there is no disavowal of the oath without public consent.”
Thus, it is written, “Six hundred thousand people on foot are the people in whose midst I am,” for by means of the “people on foot” the Divine revelation of Anochi is drawn within the midst of Moshe.
“By being Chassidim and by being accomplished in the realm of the service of the heart [prayer] – they gave strength to the Rebbe [referring here to the Alter Rebbe].”
One who is [by name] a Chassid but is not a Chassid – this causes the Rebbe to not be a Rebbe. The Alter Rebbe was a Rebbe, so he made Chassidim. And the Chassidim, by being Chassidim and by being accomplished in the realm of the service of the heart [prayer] – they gave strength to the Rebbe.”
One of the important teachings of Chassidus is that the curses contained in the Torah, particularly the curses mentioned in this week’s parsha, known as the tochecha (as well as in the expanded version of the tochecha in the book ofmD’varim), are really blessings in disguise. Many a Torah commentator has demonstrated that the curses that sound most painful and harsh are actually positive and sublime blessings.
Why are you “casting away” my father-in-law, the Rebbe to “Siberia,” to “Solovki” – to Gan Eden?! We need him (and he may well need us) here! * From Chapter Eight of Rabbi Shloma Majeski’s Likkutei Mekoros
Each school would endeavor and seek to equate the name (of their Rebbi) with “Moshiach,” which is an acronym for “Menachem, Shilo, Yinon, Chanina” [spelling the word “Moshiach”], for even in the time of exile there is Moshiach.
We are now coming from Chodesh Nissan, the month we celebrate Yetzias Mitzrayim, the exodus from our first exile. The Torah tells us that when the Jewish people left Egypt, they ran out of food and thought that they would starve in the desert.
At the end of the farbrengen, the Rebbe shlita spoke, with great emotion and amidst tears, saying that with regard to the Rebbe Rayatz one shouldn’t use the expression “nishmaso b’ginzei m’romim – his soul is in the treasuries of heaven”
For those to whom Moshe is still alive and well, “below ten handbreadths,” they still have the mahn, the well, and the clouds of glory. So, even now they don’t require the concept of a wall.
Today, more than ever, we can say with certainty: the world is ready. All the delays, all the obstacles, the perspective that maybe we should change or hide things so people will be receptive, are only in our heads. They don’t really exist. When we acknowledge that the problem is only with us, we can find a solution. * An essay from a seasoned Israeli journalist published in the winter of 5772.
August 7, 2015