English translation — ט"ו בשבט

Tu BiShvat<pg>82</pg>

A.

We learned in the beginning of Tractate Rosh Hashanah: "Four new years are,

On the first of Nisan is the new year for kings and for festivals etc. On the first of Shevat is the new year for the tree, the words of Beit Shammai,

Beit Hillel say on the fifteenth of it."

And behold, besides the general connection between all four New Years

[since they are all taught in one Mishnah and are called by the name "New Year",

it is understood,

that there is a connection between them also in the content of their essence<sup>1</sup>],

nevertheless, according to the known principle<sup>2</sup>

"the end is wedged in the beginning and the beginning in the end" it is understood,

that the content of the New Year that is taught at the beginning of the Mishnah — "the first of Nissan is the New Year for kings and for festivals" — is particularly connected to the New Year for the tree that is taught at the end of the Mishnah.

Moreover: since the New Year for kings and the New Year for festivals occur on the same day — on the first<sup>3</sup>

of Nissan — it stands to reason that there is a special connection between them.

2.

And this will be understood with the introduction of what is said by the Bachya⁴

(and other commentators⁵)

that the three pilgrimage festivals were established on the grain: Pesach in the time of spring; Shavuos,

the festival of the harvest — the wheat harvest,

and the festival of Sukkos at the time of the ingathering.

And the reason for the matter that the festivals of the year were established on the growth of the grain — according to Chassidus⁶

:

The children of Israel are called "the produce of G-d",

as it is said⁷

"Holy is Israel to G-d, the first of His produce",

and it is written⁸

"And I will sow her for Me in the land",

for the descent of the souls of Israel into this land is like sowing in the land.

And behold, our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said⁹

"Does a person sow a kor¹⁰

except to bring in several korim",

that the purpose of sowing is the abundance of growth,

that from one wheat grain grow many wheat grains,

and so it is with the children of Israel¹¹,

that the purpose of their "sowing" in the land,

which is a great descent,

from a high roof to a deep pit¹²,

is the "growth" and development of the soul that comes through this descent,

as the well-known saying: "This descent is for the sake of an ascent",

that through the descent of the soul below, it is elevated to a most high level,

higher than the level of the soul as it was before its descent below.

And furthermore: from the growth of produce one can also learn the manner of the service of the souls of Israel:<pg>83</pg>

a)

The growth of the grain is not from the wheat itself that is sown in the earth,

but through the decay¹³

of the sown wheat,

in that the seed rots and is nullified relative to the growing power in the earth,

this arouses the growing power in the earth to produce stalks of wheat.

And from this is understood another matter — that the addition made through growth is not an addition of quantity alone

(that from one wheat a great multiplicity is made),

but it can be said that it is like a new creation,

a different quality¹⁴.

And so too is it with the descent and ascent of the soul,

that the way to reach the "growth" of the soul through the sowing in the earth,

is through the person being in a movement of self-nullification

(in the manner of the matter of decay),

and "my soul shall be as dust to all,"

that is, the service in the way of acceptance of the yoke

(which is "the beginning of service and its essence and root",

and as it is stated in the holy Tanya¹⁵),

that through this the ascent of the soul and its "growth" is an ascent beyond all comparison,

that it becomes like a truly new existence.

b)

Just as in physical sowing it is said¹⁶

"They who sow in tears shall reap in joy,

He who goes weeping, bearing the bag of seed, shall come in joy, bearing his sheaves",

that by means of "sowing in tears..

and weeping" specifically,

in weeping and self-nullification,

behold "in joy they shall reap..

he shall come in joy bearing his sheaves" — so too is it in the service of the children of Israel,

that through the self-nullification and sowing in the earth, from this comes the joy at the time of growth and revelation.

And it can be said,

that in spiritual service,

the joy that is revealed at the time of the ascent is not merely a side matter

(since he sees the growth, therefore he rejoices)

but rather it belongs to the ascent itself,

that the ascent of the soul which is in the category of "growth",

which is an ascent beyond measure

(to the extent that it becomes like a new reality)

is specifically through joy.

And it is known¹⁷

regarding the matter of joy that breaks boundaries,

that through true joy all the boundaries and limitations of a person are nullified,

and this is that the wondrous ascent that is effected in the soul through its service in the land,

that it becomes like a new reality

(as above),

is effected through joy,

the breaking of boundaries etc.

3.

And based on this, one can explain the reason that the three pilgrimage festivals were established on the times of the year's produce:

The two matters mentioned above that cause the "growth" and ascent of the soul,

nullification

(decay)

and joy — exist in the "three pilgrimage festivals":

On the one hand,

"Regalim" is from the word "regel"

[Therefore "a minor etc. who cannot hold his father's hand and ascend from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount" is exempt from Re'iyah¹⁸,

because "shalosh regalim" is written,

and as Rashi explains¹⁸

"One who is fit to ascend by foot is obligated by the verse",

and so it is stated in the Gemara¹⁹

that "a lame person in one foot is exempt from Re'iyah, as it is said 'regalim'"]

— And it is known,

that "regel" indicates the service of accepting the yoke of the kingdom of heaven,

that he does not do the will of God because of his understanding and comprehension or the feeling of his heart

(love of God and fear of Him),

but rather does so because of acceptance of the yoke

(and this is the matter of decay and nullification in the sowing)

;

And on the other hand,

they are "mo'adim for joy",

and it is the joy that is revealed at the time of growth and ascent.

And this is also the common point between Rosh Hashanah and the Festivals and Rosh Hashanah and the kings:

The role of the king of Israel

[that the intention in Rosh Hashanah for kings is for the kings of Israel²⁰]

is<pg>84</pg>

To effect in all of Israel the matter of self-nullification to G-d

("They who sow in tears",

self-nullification and decay),

by which he elevates the Children of Israel to a very great elevation.

And as is known the explanation of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek²¹,

that the essence of a king of Israel is,

to draw down upon all the Children of Israel the self-nullification to the King of kings of kings the Holy One blessed be He.

For behold, regarding a king of Israel there must be the ultimate and complete self-nullification to G-d,

as our Sages of blessed memory said²²

"There is none above him except the L-rd his G-d"

[Therefore "the king, once he bows down, does not again straighten up"²³,

that this is not a matter of caution

(lest his heart become haughty from his exaltation as king),

but rather this itself is the essence of a king,

to bring himself to self-nullification to the ultimate degree,

until he is unable to straighten himself up when standing before G-d],

And by the people nullifying themselves to the king,

as it is written²⁴

"You shall surely set over yourself a king" and as the exposition of our Sages of blessed memory²⁵

"that his awe be upon you",

there is drawn down upon them the self-nullification of the king to the King of kings of kings the Holy One blessed be He.

And one can say,

that through this nullification of the people to the king,

behold he elevates and raises them to a higher level.

For since the king is in the utmost exaltation and loftiness&lt;sup&gt;*25&lt;/sup&gt;,

and as it is written&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;

"from his shoulder and upward he was taller than all the people",

therefore it is in his ability to elevate and raise the children of Israel to such a great ascent that is above that which is from their own side&lt;sup&gt;27&lt;/sup&gt;

— in the likeness of the matter of growth,

which is a new creation as above.

4.

And behold, regarding the matter of the joy of the festivals there are differences among the three pilgrimage festivals themselves,

and as is explained in the Yalkut&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;

: "You find three joys written regarding Sukkot..

But regarding Pesach you do not find that even one joy is written in it,

why,

you find that on Pesach the grain is judged and a person does not know if the year will produce grain or not therefore joy is not written there..

And likewise you find that regarding Shavuot only one joy is written..

And why is one joy written in it because the grain enters inside,

And what is the reason that two joys are not written there because the fruits of the tree are judged..

But regarding Sukkot because..

that the grain and the fruits of the tree are inside therefore three joys are written".

And it is found,

that the greatness of the joy of the festival of Sukkot is because then "the fruits of the tree are inside"

(and not only the grain that enters inside at the time of Atzeret).

And one can say the reason

(the inner one)

for this

(in continuation of the above)

:

The above-mentioned qualities that are in the matter of sowing, they are with greater intensity and greater strength in trees.

For the growth of grain is not in the category of a new existence from nothing in revelation,

because also the seed that is sown is wheat or barley and the like

(which has taste and is fit for eating),

but not so in the planting of trees, for the kernel that is sown has no taste,

and the fruits that grow from the tree are a completely different quality from the kernel that is sown.

And for this reason there is a difference between sowing and planting regarding the time of growth,

for in sowing "there is no need for so much time and delay from the time of sowing until the growth"²⁹,

but not so in planting, for "there is much time and delay in the time of its growth etc."²⁹,

and this is because of the distance of value between the kernel that is sown and the fruits that grow from it.

And on the other hand,

there is a great virtue in the growth of fruits of the tree compared to the growth of grain³⁰,

that <pg>85</pg>

The fruits of the tree are fit to eat immediately,

unlike grain, where the sprouted wheat is not fit for eating as it is³¹,

and requires several labors until it becomes fit to eat.

And this is the reason for the great joy of the festival of Sukkot specifically,

for since then it is not only the gathering of the grain,

but also of the fruit of the tree,

thus,

that then it is the time of the ultimate perfection in the matter of growth.

5.

And according to the above, the connection is understood between Rosh Hashanah for kings and for festivals

(that are at the beginning of the Mishnah)

to Rosh Hashanah for the tree

(that is at the end of the Mishnah)

— that their beginning is interwoven in their end,

that the elevation hinted at in the beginning of the Mishnah

(Rosh Hashanah for kings and festivals),

the growth and elevation

(beyond comparison),

is interwoven in its end,

Rosh Hashanah for the tree,

in which the perfection of the matter of growth is emphasized,

which is in trees specifically

(as above).

And in the service of man, it can be said based on what is stated³²

"For man is the tree of the field," and it is brought in the Gemara³³

that it refers to Torah scholars,

and based on this,

the quality of growth in the tree is due to the quality of the Torah,

and this is because in the Torah it is emphasized that success in it depends specifically on the matter of exertion,

"that you should toil in Torah"³⁴,

as the saying³⁵

"I toiled — and I found",

that through labor and exertion in Torah,

which are connected with self-nullification,

they merit growth and success beyond measure to the exertion,

which brings true joy,

"Those who sow in tears will reap in joy."

(From the sicha of Tu B'Shvat 5735)