English translation — י"ט כסלו

19 Kislev<pg>170</pg>

A.

It is told<sup>1</sup>,

that when our master the Elder was in imprisonment,

there came once to visit him his teachers from the world of truth — his teacher the Maggid and the Baal Shem Tov, may their memory be for a blessing.

And our master the Elder asked them: why does he deserve that he should sit in imprisonment and what do they claim from him?

And they answered him,

that the accusation was strengthened against him because he says many words of Chassidus and in revelation<sup>2</sup>

etc.,

And he asked them: and when I go out from here — shall I stop saying words of Chassidus?

And they answered him: since you began, do not stop,

and on the contrary,

when you go out you shall say more.

Thus far the content of the story.

That is: the imprisonment of our Rebbe the Elder below

(in physicality),

descended and came from the accusation above³

about the abundance of Chassidic teachings he said and in revelation etc.; and therefore a doubt arose in him perhaps he must stop his conduct,

and about this his teachers instructed him that on the contrary,

"when you go out you shall say more."

And superficially this requires explanation: an accusation of this type already was in the time of the leadership of the Maggid,

and it is known⁴

the story about the accusation then and its cause,

that once "they found a writing of Chassidut that had rolled to an improper place etc. and an accusation was made above against the Maggid that he publicizes matters of the secrets of secrets in a manner that the⁵

holy stones be spilled at the head of every street — and our Rebbe the Elder nullified the accusation by bringing a parable of a king's son who became ill with a dangerous illness,

for which they found no remedy except one: to take the precious stone set in the king's royal crown,

upon which depends all the preciousness of the king's crown,

to grind it and mix it in water,

and to pour from this mixture between the lips of the king's son,

in the hope that perhaps one drop will enter his mouth etc. and save his life — so too is it in our case,

that the publication of the secrets of the Torah

(the precious stone in the king's crown)

is worthwhile to save the life of the king's son

(the people of Israel)

."

And based on this — if already in the days of the Maggid the Alter Rebbe nullified the accusation against the revelation of Chassidic teachings,

through the explanation that the publication and dissemination of Chassidut is a most necessary thing,

a matter of life-threatening danger,

pertaining to saving the life of the king's son — all the more so when another stage had passed in the "decline of the generations"⁶,

and presumably his condition declined

(spiritual)

of the king's son,

then certainly and certainly the dissemination of Chassidic teachings

(the grinding of the precious stone in the king's crown)

is most necessary for saving the life of the soul of the king's son.

And what changed at the time of the leadership of the Alter Rebbe,

that again an accusation was aroused against him because of the abundance of Chassidic teachings that he influenced in revelation — until a doubt was aroused in him

[even though it was he who nullified a similar accusation against the Maggid through the parable of the grinding of the precious stone in the king's crown]

that perhaps he should refrain from saying the words of<pg>171</pg>

Chassidus,

and was compelled to an explicit instruction from his teachers that "on the contrary,

when it goes forth you will say more"?

2.

And this will be understood by prefacing an explanation of the words of the AriZal⁷

that "specifically in these generations⁸

the latter ones it is permitted and a commandment⁹

to reveal this wisdom" — even though in the earlier generations the wisdom of Kabbalah was "hidden¹⁰..

and concealed from all Torah scholars except for unique individuals and even that in concealment and not in public as it is brought in the Gemara¹¹

"—

At first glance: since the Sages taught that "matters that are the secret of the world

("the mystery of the world")

should be under your garment"¹²,

and according to the law of the Gemara¹¹

there are several conditions and limitations regarding the manner of revealing this wisdom

(and so it is ruled in the Rambam¹³)

— how was it permitted in later generations "to reveal this wisdom"?

And the explanation of this — with an introduction:

It is understood,

that the conditions and restrictions in the study of the wisdom of truth are not because of a prohibition on the part of the object of the Torah

(that this part of the Torah — is essentially supposed to be in concealment),

but because of a deficiency in the subject,

for since most people cannot grasp these matters,

therefore this study is liable to cause harm

(like "If he did not merit, it becomes for him etc."¹⁴

).

But on the part of the object of the Torah,

this wisdom is a part of our holy Torah which belongs to every single Jew — "an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob"¹⁵,

and every single Jew is obligated to study it¹⁶

(just as he is obligated to study all the rest of the entire Torah).

And especially according to the words of the Rambam at the end of the book Yad¹⁷,

and this is his language: "And at that time..

the occupation of the entire world will be only to know God alone and therefore the Jews will be great sages and know hidden matters and will grasp knowledge of their Creator according to the capacity of man, as it is said¹⁸

for the earth will be filled with knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea".

It is explicit,

that in the days of Mashiach the occupation of the entire world will be to know God,

that is,

(the main)

occupation of Torah then¹⁹

will not be in the study of the revealed laws of the Torah to us and to our children,

but in knowledge of the Creator,

"hidden matters",

and this will be "the occupation of the entire world",

and in a manner of "as the waters cover the sea",

and it is understood that there will not be the restrictions of "One does not expound..

(even)

to an individual unless etc."²⁰.

And superficially, this is the opposite of the ruling of the Rambam himself regarding the conditions and restrictions in the study of these wisdoms

(And behold, even in the days of Moshiach no halacha etc. from the laws of the Torah will be nullified)?

And it must be said,

that the entire prohibition from the outset is only because in this time it is impossible for most people to grasp these wisdoms,

and therefore the Torah established&lt;pg&gt;172&lt;/pg&gt;

Torah specific conditions in this study; but for the days of Moshiach,

when then "there will be neither famine nor war nor envy nor competition"&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;,

and each one will be in a situation that he can delve properly into these matters,

behold then "the occupation of the entire world will be — to know God alone".

But,

in later generations it is a mitzvah to reveal this wisdom

(despite the conditions and restrictions etc.)

— and one can explain this with two explanations²²

:

A)

Regarding what the Rambam wrote in the introduction to his book Moreh Nevuchim²³,

that the reason he wrote this book,

which contains "hidden matters",

is "their saying²⁴

regarding a matter like this — it is time²⁵

to act for Hashem, they have violated Your Torah",

and that is,

that since Bnei Yisrael were in a state of "perplexed", it compelled him to reveal "hidden matters" in order to save "perplexed" in matters of faith etc.

And so too regarding the revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah in the latter generations — that this is in the category of "It is a time to act for the Lord, they have made void Your Torah": the greatness of the descent of the latter generations,

that hearts have diminished, etc.,

and also from the aspect of the state of the world in general,

that the evil in these generations is with increased intensity,

necessitates a great need to reveal this wisdom,

the inner dimension of the Torah,

which arouses the hidden inner powers in the soul of man,

which give him help and assistance to overcome the darkness of exile from without and the obstacles from within,

to be aroused with love of God and His fear, etc., and to serve Him with a whole heart²⁶.

2)

We find several matters that come as preparation for the days of Mashiach,

and in the language of the Rambam²⁷

"to straighten Israel and prepare their hearts" for the days of Mashiach,

and all the more so and certainly that this must be regarding their essential matter of the days of Mashiach — "The wise men and prophets did not yearn for the days of Mashiach...

except in order that they be free for Torah and its wisdom"²⁸,

that they may engage in attaining "knowledge of their Creator" — that they need "to straighten Israel and prepare their hearts" for this²⁹,

and this is specifically through the revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah in the latter generations.

3.

In accordance with the distinction between the two explanations regarding the reason for the revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah in the latter generations — there are two modes also in the manner of the revelation,

in the manner of the two modes in the revealed dimension of the Torah — Mishnah and Gemara:

a)

Revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah in a manner that the main thing is the knowledge of the point of the matter in brief,

in the manner of the language of the Mishnah which is "a thing³⁰

brief and encompassing many matters".

b)

the revelation in an explained and clarified manner with elaboration,

in the manner of the lengthy explanation and the give-and-take in the Gemara,

and in the language of the Zohar³¹

— "they will be sustained",

<pg>173</pg>

and as explained in the commentators of the Zohar³²,

namely that the matters of the wisdom of Divinity are explained and clarified in understanding and comprehension

(not like one who learns for the sake of rote recitation),

so that the study is in the category of "sustenance",

as explained in Tanya³³

that through studying Torah "well with the depth of his intellect until it is grasped in his intellect and unites with him and they become one — it becomes food for the soul".

[And one must say,

that in this one must mediate the words of the Alter Rebbe concerning the study of the wisdom of Kabbalah,

that appear contradictory at first glance to one another:

Our Sages said³⁴

— and so it is ruled as law³⁵

— that a person must divide his study time — a third in Scripture, a third in Mishnah, and a third in Talmud.

And the Alter Rebbe ruled in his Hilchos Talmud Torah³⁶,

that "the wisdom of Kabbalah is considered within the third of Talmud"

(And it is based on the ruling of the Rambam³⁷

that "the matters called Pardes are included in the Gemara")

; whereas in his book Likkutei Torah³⁸

the Alter Rebbe explains

(And in a give-and-take on the revealed [aspect])

"that the study of the Zohar and of the AriZal is within the third of Scripture"³⁹,

"for the Midrash of the Zohar is on the verses of the Torah⁴⁰

and furthermore, even in the study of the secrets of the Torah he attains only the existence etc."⁴¹,

"and this is³⁹

similar to the study of Scripture, which is reading the names of the Holy One, blessed be He, even though he does not at all grasp the essence hidden within them..

And similar to this is in the study of the Zohar and Etz Chaim".

And according to the above that there are two ways in the study of the inner dimensions of the Torah, one must mediate,

that if one studies⁴²

only the points of the matters

(in the manner of short things in the Mishnah)

this is included in "Mikra"⁴³,

but not so when one studies with understanding and reasoning and in detail,

and especially — when one grasps the matter and it is grasped in his intellect and they become one⁴⁴,

this is in the manner of "one third in Talmud"⁴⁵,

which is the study of the reasons of the laws<pg>174</pg>

etc.,

until the study in depth to understand one thing from another thing etc.^*45].

And it can be said that these two modes in the manner of study,

are dependent on the two reasons mentioned above for the revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah in the latter generations⁴⁶

:

According to the reason of "It is time to act for the Lord",

for the sake of saving a life

(in spirituality),

because of the intensification of the darkness and the decline of the generations — a revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah in a manner of points and in utmost brevity suffices,

for even a "point" of the inner dimension of the Torah,

"the light within it"⁴⁷,

has the power to enliven souls

(and since this suffices — therefore one does not reveal more)

;

But not so the revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah in order to "straighten Israel and prepare their hearts" for the revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah that will be "at that time" — for since then there will be complete comprehension in knowledge of God,

"according to the capacity of man"⁴⁸

and until "as waters cover the sea,"

it is understood,

that also the preparation for this in the latter generations must be specifically in this manner.

D.

Based on all the above, the aforementioned story about the accusation regarding our master the Alter Rebbe having said words of Chassidus in abundance etc. will be well explained:

The innovation in the manner of revelation of Chassidus by our master the Elder relative to the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid and their students — one must see simply when learning the Torah of Chassidus that was revealed to us,

that the matters of Chassidus that were revealed by the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid and their students are in a manner of "points" and in brief,

like the language of the Mishnah which is a short thing,

but not so the explanation of the matters in the Torah of Chassidus Chabad that was revealed by our master the Elder is in a manner of "elaboration" and give-and-take,

that in his maamarim and Torah of Chassidus

(beginning with the book of Tanya)

he explained the matters of the Torah of Chassidus in a manner of understanding and comprehension,

and as its name — "Chassidus Chabad".

And this change in the manner of revelation of the Torah of Chassidus,

it may be said that it caused the new accusation against our master the Elder,

even after the accusation against the Maggid was nullified by the explanation of the parable of grinding a precious stone from the king's crown for the sake of saving the life of the king's son.

And with more explanation:

In the parable of our master the Alter Rebbe regarding the saving of the life of the king's son by grinding the precious stone from the king's crown — the necessity is emphasized that at least "one drop" enter the mouth of the king's son,

which drop will save the life of the king's son.

And its analogy in the allegory — the revelation of Chassidus

(the inner dimension of Torah,

the most precious jewel in the king's crown)

in any case in the manner of a point

("a single drop"),

and as above,

that even a single point of the inner dimension of Torah has the power to revive the king's son.

And a proof for the matter — the revelation of Chassidus in the manner of a point,

by the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid and their students and the students of their students for their generations — benefited and effected to revive the king's son,

and established G-d-fearing and whole ones by the thousands and tens of thousands etc.

But when our Rebbe the Elder began to reveal the teachings of Chassidus

(not only in a manner of&lt;pg&gt;175&lt;/pg&gt;

a point,

"a single drop",

but)

in a manner of expansion,

through the teachings of Chabad — then the accusation above was renewed,

for the revelation of Chassidus in a manner of expansion,

in the understanding and comprehension of the teachings of Chabad is not

(seemingly)

a thing necessary for saving the life of the king's son.

And it may be said that this is the reason that a doubt was aroused by our master, the Alter Rebbe, that perhaps he must cease from revealing matters of Chassidus in such a manner,

And about this his teachers instructed him,

that through his self-sacrifice and his imprisonment he effected above⁴⁹

that he could continue to reveal matters of Chassidus in an expansive manner,

"And on the contrary,

when it goes forth you will say more" — in order "to straighten Israel and prepare their hearts" for the revelation of "the secret of its reasons and the hidden things of my hidden things"⁵⁰

of Torah that will be revealed at the coming of Moshiach, and until the waters cover the sea.

5.

And the deed is the main thing:

After the instruction of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid to our Rebbe the Elder,

that not only should he not cease, heaven forbid, from saying words of Chassidus,

but on the contrary,

that he should add even more — it is understood,

that this is an instruction to each and every one of Israel,

that he is obligated to prepare himself for "that time" when "the entire world's occupation will be only to know G-d" — specifically through the study of the inner dimension of the Torah in a manner of comprehension and attainment.

And from this it is understood,

that even one who, in his opinion, the study of the inner dimension of the Torah,

and especially in the manner of "Chabad"

(study with elaboration,

comprehension and attainment,

"they will be sustained"),

is not necessary to revive his soul — because in his opinion&lt;sup&gt;51&lt;/sup&gt;

his spiritual life is not in danger, heaven forbid,

and it is sufficient and enough for him to study the revealed aspect of the Torah and the study of ethical words and the study of words of Chassidus of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid and their students and the students of their students,

in order to overcome the twofold and manifold darkness of the footsteps of Moshiach — how will he exempt himself from this study,

when a clear halachic ruling for practical law in the revealed aspect of the Torah

(in the laws of Torah study of "the Rav",

the Alter Rebbe&lt;sup&gt;52&lt;/sup&gt;)

that every soul of Israel is obligated to study the entire Torah,

"whether in the plain meanings of the laws, whether in the hints, homilies, and secrets"

(and moreover from what is stated elsewhere&lt;sup&gt;53&lt;/sup&gt;

that every soul of Israel is obligated "to innovate a new intellect, whether in laws, whether in aggados, whether in the revealed, whether in the hidden"&lt;sup&gt;54&lt;/sup&gt;).

And through "your springs will spread forth outward" — publication and dissemination of the wellsprings of Chassidus,

in every place and place,

until they will also reach outward — we will merit soon

(as promised by the King Moshiach to the Baal Shem Tov⁵⁵)

to come to the Master, the King Moshiach,

then will be fulfilled the prophecy¹⁸

"for the earth will be filled with knowledge of the L-rd as the waters cover the sea",

and speedily in our days, literally.

(From talks of Motzaei Shabbos Parshas Mikeitz and Motzaei Zos Chanukah 5746)