English translation — משיחות ש״פ וישלח, ח״י כסלו ה׳תשמ״ז

On this holy Shabbos - the Shabbos preceding Yud-Tes Kislev,

And furthermore,

Erev Yud-Tes Kislev - the connection and relevance to Yud-Tes Kislev is emphasized:

The essence of the Shabbos day - "from it are blessed all the days",

That is,

that the day of Shabbat draws down blessing to all the days of the week that follow it.

And it is understood,

that the drawing down of blessing from the day of Shabbat is not only because of the deficiency of the weekdays,

therefore,

they need the drawing down of blessing from the day of Shabbat,

but also when the weekdays are complete,

and moreover,

Exalted days,

"Meritorious days"? Auspicious days - they receive an addition of blessing and continuation from the day of Shabbat.

And in our case: in addition to the greatness of the elevation of Yud-Tes Kislev,

an auspicious day,

the festival of the redemption of the Alter Rebbe,

"Rosh Hashanah of Chassidut" / "Festival of Festivals"⁵ - there is drawn into it an addition of blessing from the Shabbat preceding it.

And from this is understood the greatness of the virtue of this Shabbat - that it has the power to bless* also Yud-Tes Kislev,

that is,

To bring about an additional blessing and continuation in the matters of Yud-Tes Kislev.

And in addition to this,

There is a special elevation in the fixed nature of this year - that the day of Shabbat is the eve of Yud-Tes Kislev:

The connection and relevance between the two matters is more emphasized when they come adjacent to each other,

without any interruption between them.

And in our case,

that the influence of the day of Shabbat on the days of the week

("from it they are blessed")

More emphasized on the day adjacent to Shabbat,

Sunday,

Motzaei Shabbat - 19 Kislev,

which,

the Shabbat day is its "Erev".

And as we find in Halacha - regarding the recitation of "Tzidkatcha Tzedek" at Minchah of Shabbat,

that when Sunday is a special day on which Tachanun is not recited,

In most of them, virtually all, they do not say Tzutz during Shabbat Minchah,

since it is "eve" of a day on which Tachanun is not said⁷.

And from this is also understood the connection and relation between them from the aspect of the inner dimension of the matters - the inner dimension of the Torah,

the soul of the Torah*.

And on Shabbat itself - this matter is emphasized most during the time closest to Yud-Tes Kislev,

the time when the farbrengen takes place - Shabbat after midday,

the time of Minchah,

Ratzon d'Ratzin,

Near the conclusion and sealing of the Shabbos day

("Everything follows the sealing""׳)

Therefore,

As we stand on the Shabbos before Yud Tes Kislev,

Erev Yud Tes Kislev,

and particularly at the time

38 and

Sefer HaSichos - 5747

Minchah,

Ra'ava d'Ra'avin,

in which the extension of blessing from the day of Shabbos to Yud Tes Kislev is most emphasized - this is the appropriate time to reflect on the connection and relevance of the day of Shabbos to Yud Tes Kislev,

including - so that through this there will be added in all matters of the avodah of Yud Tes Kislev in actual deed,

"Deed is the main thing"".

And behold,

The connection and relevance of the Shabbos day to 19 Kislev - is to be found in the weekly Torah portion

In the teachings of the Alter Rebbe,

the master of joy and redemption,

that we must "live with the times,"

with the Torah portion that is read at that time,

and in our case,

Parshas Vayishlach.

And in introduction - that in the weekly Torah portion in general

(And likewise in the measure of the day of Shabbos)

There are many matters that relate to Yud-Tes Kislev,

However,

First and foremost, we must focus on a matter

that is general and relates to the entire portion — the name of the portion,

"Vayishlach",

as follows.

Explanation of the connection and relevance of "Vayishlach" to 19 Kislev:

It is known that in the liberation of the Alter Rebbe on 19 Kislev began the main concept of "spread your wellsprings outward",

namely,

that the wellsprings of the inner dimension of Torah

(not only the water of the wellsprings,

but the wellsprings themselves)

come in a manner of spreading to the place of "outside".

And accordingly, the connection to the name of the parshah is understood,

"And he sent,"

The matter of the sending - because,

The completeness of the matter of "May your springs spread outward" is through this that "Jacob sent messengers etc. to the land of Seir, the field of Edom" - :

Jacob - "his soul."

Including all the souls of Israel from eternity to eternity,\

"The soul of Israel the Elder including all the souls,"\,

which is the matter of the leader of the generation,

"Nasi" is an acronym for the spark of our father Yaakov—,

"the aspect of head and brain"—which includes the entire generation,

"the Nasi is everything"⁴.

Parshas Vayishlach,

18 Kislev

And it can be said that this is the inner meaning of "And Yaakov sent angels etc. to the land of Seir, the field of Edom" — that the Nasi of the generation sends emissaries

(angels)

to every place,

to the lowest place,

"to the land of Seir, the field of Edom,"

in order to spread Torah and Judaism,

"The word of Hashem, this is the halacha"¹⁵,

until the wellsprings of the inner dimension of the Torah,

also in the place of "outside,"

including the "outside" beyond which there is no outside,

"to the land of Seir, the field of Edom."

And when one fulfills the mission of spreading Torah, Judaism, and the wellsprings outward - then 'And Jacob came whole'²,

Whole in his body.

Whole in his wealth.

Whole in his Torah"²⁷,

Both the completeness regarding himself,

and the completeness regarding activity with others,

until "outside" that has no outside from it,

the completeness of the clarification of "to the land of Seir, the field of Edom",

that then the concept of "I will come to my master to Seir"²⁵ is fulfilled,

"in the days of"² Mashiach,

as it is said⁵ "and saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau",

and then,

"and Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings"'⁵

(as we begin to read in the Minchah of Shabbos, Parshas Vayishlach)

Since all the clarifications have already been completed,

then the request "to dwell in tranquility"⁵² is fulfilled,

"in repentance and rest you shall be saved"⁵⁵.

And also in this matter the connection with the dissemination of

the wellsprings outward — as is known⁵⁵ the response of the King Moshiach to the Baal Shem Tov to his question, 'When will the Master come?'

When your wellsprings will spread outward,

meaning,

that through the spreading of the wellsprings outward, we bring about the coming of Mashiach Tzidkeinu.

And this is the lesson of Parshas Vayishlach in connection and relation to Yud-Tes Kislev — that each and every one must be a "shliach" of the Nasi HaDor,

to engage in spreading Torah and Judaism and the spreading of the wellsprings outward,

which,

through this, completes all the clarifications (birurim),

and then,

"And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau,"

until the conclusion of the verse — "and the kingdom shall be Hashem's."

Explanation of the matters - in more detail:

In "Vayishlach" - there are two extremes: on the one hand - the concept of shlichus is in a manner that one sends another,

whereas he himself does not go to the place of the mission; but,

on the other hand,

indeed, "a person's emissary is like himself⁵⁵",

and moreover - like the sender himself literally⁵⁵,

that is,

Through the mission, the sender also comes to the place of the mission.

And as the simple meaning of the story of the weekly portion - that ultimately, Yaakov himself also came,

Rather,

that this matter needed to be after the preceding action of the messengers

(since Yaakov himself had to remain with his wives and children, etc.)

and,

through them, Yaakov's arrival was made possible, and in a more elevated manner,

And in the language of the verse⁵⁷ — "For he said, I will appease him with the gift that goes before me, and afterwards I will see his face, etc."

Sefer HaSichos — 5747

And likewise, this is understood regarding the mission of the leader of the generation:

The leader of the generation does not go himself to every place,

to the ends of the earth,

but sends emissaries to engage in spreading the Torah and Judaism and the wellsprings throughout the entire world,

to the farthest corner at the ends of the earth,

outside of which there is no further.

In the aspect of "to the land of Seir, the field of Edom".

However,

Since "a person's agent is like himself",

like the sender himself,

thus,

that through the agent,

the sender also comes to every place,

- and especially regarding our master, teacher, and Rebbe, the Rebbe of our generation,

That,

after his passing, "he is found in all the worlds

(also in this world)

more than during his lifetime"⁸,

since he is not limited "as a vessel and garment.

A physical place.

The aspect of soul that is connected to his body etc.” -

And similarly, the sender himself comes literally

(In addition to the fact that the agent is like the sender himself literally)

- as mentioned,

that the wellsprings themselves

(and consequently,

also the masters of the wellsprings⁴,

the leaders of the generation,

that they inserted their very selves into their Torah⁴)

come in place of the "outside",

up to the true sender,

the agent of the Supernal Man⁴² is like him⁴⁴

(for the essence of the leader of the generation is — “I stand between God and you”⁴⁴)

- that the entire world becomes a dwelling for His Essence and Being, may He be blessed,⁴⁵,

similar to a dwelling in which the dweller reveals himself in all his essence⁴⁶.

However,

The above is regarding the one who sends,

who performs the action of "and he sent,"

to send emissaries,

and in a manner that he comes with them, etc.,

as above at length; and in addition to this,

there is an instruction from the matter of "and he sent" also regarding the work of the emissary

(in addition to the general principle that there must be emissaries/ that his work must be

(also)

in the manner of “and he sent”.

And as an introduction:

Our father Jacob was

(not only a sender,

“and Jacob sent,”

but)

also an agent - as recounted in the previous Torah portions, “and Isaac sent Jacob and he went to Padan Aram”⁴⁷,

"And Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran"⁴⁸,

Jacob's mission to Haran,

"the burning anger of the Omnipresent"⁴⁸,

the lowest level, below which there is no lower,

and specifically in this place He established the House of Israel,

in a manner of "his bed was perfect""⁵.

And in addition to this,

there was also

G‑d of Israel",

"The Holy One, blessed be He, called Yaakov 'El'"

(Rashi on the verse - from Megillah 18,

or that they were sent to draw down His dwelling, may He be blessed, in the lower realms.

The emissary, when performing the mission, is called by the name of the sender,

And therefore properly he is called Yaakov El"

(Or HaTorah, our Parsha, 248,

Parshas Vayishlach,

18 Kislev

and 4 and

the humble one of 'Vayishlach Yaakov',

that is,

that besides him being a "shliach",

He was also a "sender,"

who sent emissaries etc.

And from this it is also understood in the service of every single Jew

(for Yaakov is the entirety of the souls of Israel from beginning to end,

as mentioned above p. 4)

that in addition to his service of "And Yaakov departed from Be'er Sheva and went to Charan",

starting from the descent of the soul into the body⁵¹,

Even to the mission to 'Charan' in its plain sense,

That he goes out to the 'outside' place to spread the wellsprings there - he must also have the concept of 'And Yaakov sent',

That is,

That he must also be in the category of 'sender',

As will be explained.

And the explanation of this:

First of all - one must send himself,

That is,

In addition to his giving himself over to be an emissary of the leader of the generation,

Indeed,

The work of the mission itself is in a manner that he sends himself,

That is,

that he goes out of himself

("he goes out of himself")

"Go for yourself from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house"⁵²,

to leave his nature and habit, etc.⁵³,

And simply,

that the actions of the emissary are in a manner that he forces himself to change his nature and habit, etc.,

in accordance with the will of the sender in all the details and minutiae.

And more particularly — the mission of the soul's faculties,

namely,

that the faculties above intellect,

The power of faith, etc.,

Will be sent, drawn, and penetrate inward by the power of intellect,

And from the power of intellect it will also be drawn into the emotional attributes of the heart,

And from the emotional attributes of the heart into actual deed,

Until engagement with others, etc.,

For this is the content of the concept of "May your fountains spread forth"

your fountains outward"⁵⁵ with regard to oneself,

in each level according to its nature.

And all this - in a manner of changing his nature and his habit,

That is,

That even when his nature is to be immersed in deep intellectual matters,

Without devoting attention that all intellect should also come into the emotions of the heart,

Until actual deed,

And all the more so regarding action upon others,

Which,

The nature of the wise who engage in intellectual matters that the other disturbs and confuses etc. - does not take into account at all his nature and his habit,

Know,

that one must fulfill the will of the sender.

And it follows,

that also regarding himself, there are the two extremes of the mission - that he sends someone else,

seemingly,

and he himself does not go,

and on the other hand,

the emissary is like the sender himself,

until the sender himself is there:

Since the work is in a manner of changing one's nature and habits,

contrary to his will and pleasure,

that is,

he goes out of himself - hence,

he himself

(his will and pleasure)

is not found here,

At first glance; but,

after he changes his nature and habit to fulfill the will of the sender,

he comes to a higher level,

that also the sender within him

(the will and pleasure)

is found here,

since,

the work of the mission in every single detail is

(Not only in the power of action alone,

but rather)

in a manner that penetrates all his soul powers,

intellect and emotions,

up to will and pleasure,

that is,

that his will and pleasure is - a will and pleasure that send⁵⁵,

as such,

Completeness of the matter

42 and

Sefer HaSichos - 5747

The shlichus⁵⁶ is - that all existence of the shliach is nothing but the existence of the sender⁵⁷.

And in addition to this,

It is also necessary to have the concept of "and he sent" in its simple sense - to also send others in the shlichus of the Nasi of the generation:

The work of the shliach in his place of shlichus must be with great multiplication.

(in quantity and in quality)

so much,

to the extent that he cannot by himself do all the actions that need to be done in this place,

and consequently,

he must send additional emissaries,

"an emissary appoints an emissary"⁵⁸,

that they too will engage in fulfilling the mission of disseminating Torah and Judaism and spreading the wellsprings outward,

both in this place and in other places,

in the entire surroundings.

And through this, he fulfills the mission work of disseminating Torah and Judaism and the wellsprings outward in its completeness - both the matter of "and Yaakov went out",

to go out on a mission,

and the matter of "and Yaakov sent",

that he also sends emissaries,

as mentioned,

both regarding himself,

and regarding others.

And based on this, it is also understood the sequence of the portions read in the month of Kislev

(the month of redemption)

-Vayeitzei,

Vayishlach,

Vayeishev - in accordance with the order of service of spreading the wellsprings outward

(the inner point of the month of Kislev)

: "Vayeitzei" - the going out to engage in spreading the wellsprings outward,

"Vayishlach" - the involvement in spreading the wellsprings outward in a manner that is not only a messenger,

but also sends

(see lengthy explanation/ which,

through this we come to "and he dwelt"

"and Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings"

dwelling in tranquility,

and until its completion and constant⁵

etc."

(Pesachim 50,

Rash"n.

Rambam ibid., Halachah 5: But,

that one must endeavor to arrive at the perfection of the service — Shomer Chinam,

service out of love,

"that he should abandon everything in the world except for Her,"

that he is not concerned with his own reality,

until his entire existence is none other than the existence of the One Who sent him,

Inside.

Shabbos Parshas Vayishlach,

8th of Kislev

43 and

- after the completion of all the clarifications,

in the true and complete redemption through our righteous Moshiach,

from the seed of Peretz

(whose birth - in Parshat Vayeishev*/ and "These are the generations of Peretz."

And Yishai begot David"⁶,

David the King Messiah.

And we can add another wonderful lesson regarding the matter of shlichus - which we learn from Parshas Vayishlach:

It is explained in the discourses of Chassidus" regarding "And Yaakov sent messengers before him to Esav his brother etc.",

That "Yaakov thought that Esav had already been refined and had returned to his exalted root in the aspect of the enveloping lights of Tohu that preceded the tikkun,

Therefore he sent messengers before him,

actually before Him,

That is, to the aspect that is higher than him in level.

The aspect of the early kings of Tohu.

To inform him that the entire order of rectification of Atzilut has already been completed and finished with ultimate perfection, etc.,

That is,

that Yaakov was already prepared for the complete redemption,

"And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's."

And here we see something wondrous,

at first glance:

Yaakov knew that the decree of 'Your seed shall be strangers... and they will enslave them and oppress them for four hundred years'* had not yet been fulfilled

[And Eisav knew this,

as it is written, 'And he went to a land because of Yaakov his brother,'

"because of the promissory note of the decree of 'for a stranger shall be'

your seed, which is imposed upon the seed of Yitzchak,

He said,

I will go away from here,

I have no share neither in the gift of the land given to him,

nor in the payment of the debt"

[And since that is so,

behold, even from Yaakov's perspective, it had not yet arrived

(apparently)

the time of the redemption.

And the point is that from the perspective of the state of the world - since most of the nations of the world

(except for those attached to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov⁶⁶)

worshipped idolatry

(even though it was forbidden to the descendants of Noach⁶⁷/ as Yaakov saw when he went from Charan to the land of his father's sojournings

(a journey of seventeen days⁶⁸)

the conduct of the nations of the world who dwelt in those places⁶⁹.

And since that is the case,

they are not yet worthy of the fulfillment of the prophecy⁷ "Then I will transform the nations [to have] a pure language, etc., to serve Him with one accord."

And despite this,

When Yaakov completed his mission in Lavan's house,

He immediately sent word to Eisav that "the entire order of the rectification of Atzilus has already been completed and finished with utmost perfection",

And consequently,

the future redemption can already come in this world!

And since the attribute of Yaakov is the attribute of truth⁷ - surely it is indeed so in truth,

That is,

that indeed the future redemption could have come immediately and at once,

And as explained in the verse: 'Jacob settled in the land of his father's sojournings,'

settling in tranquility

(except that afterwards⁷ other matters became involved, etc.)

Sefer HaSichos - 5747

And from here we learn a wonderful lesson regarding the work of shlichus:

A shliach who was sent to a specific place to deal with a specific matter - must be invested with his entire being in his personal mission⁷⁵,

without any regard for what is done in other places and in other matters, etc.

That is,

that there is nothing in his world except his mission,

to such an extent,

that when he finishes and completes his private mission,

then,

immediately and at once comes the Geulah - not only his private redemption,

but also the redemption of the entire Jewish people,

until the redemption of the entire world⁷⁴.

The directive from all the above - regarding actual practice:

General

(main)

The matter of the dissemination of the wellsprings outward began,

as stated,

with the redemption of the Alter Rebbe on Yud-Tes Kislev,

but,

In a manner of beginning,

And from generation to generation, more was added to this by our Rabbis, the Nesi'im,

Until the Rebbe, my father-in-law, the Rebbe, the Nasi of our generation,

Through whom the spreading of the wellsprings outward was accomplished literally to all corners of the globe,

By means of sending many emissaries,

And in a manner of adding and continuing in his mission until these days - in every place,

Until the furthest corner at the ends of the earth.

Therefore,

For the hour - according to the instruction of the leader of our generation,

which,

"He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets"⁷⁵ - that every single one,

man and woman,

of the men and women of the generation,

should give himself over

to be his "emissary" of the leader of the generation,

to engage in spreading Torah and Judaism and spreading the wellsprings outward!

And 'I do not request anything except according to their strength'⁷⁵,

That is,

That to each and every one of the people of the generation are given all the necessary powers for the work of the mission,

According to all the details of the instructions of the Nasi of our generation that were explained in his articles, discourses, and letters,

And were published in print,

An instruction for generations⁷⁷,

And the matter depends only on his will⁷ of each and every one to devote himself to the work of the mission,

And then,

He immediately set out to engage in the work of shlichus,

with joy and a good heart,

and with great and immense success.

And in practical terms:

We must add with greater vigor and strength in establishing

(and expanding)

Chabad Houses,

Houses of Torah, prayer, and acts of kindness,

In every single place - thus hints in our parshah⁷: 'And he built him a house,'

And it is explained in the Zohar"" that it refers to the Third Holy Temple,

'He will build the House,'

"This is the Supreme King who constantly builds this house, but,

eternal house,

"like Jacob who called it a house"⁷

And it is necessary to prepare for this similar to this - in the "Miniature Temple"

in the synagogue and in the study hall

that this is the purpose of Chabad houses

houses

Shabbat Parshat Vayishlach

18 Sivan

45 and

Torah,

prayer and gemilus chasadim

(as discussed at length multiple times)

And especially regarding matters that are time-bound —

organizing farbrengens of the Festival of Redemption, Yud Tes Kislev, in every place,

Preparation for the days of Chanukah, may it be in good time,

Regarding all the activities of the "Chanukah Campaign" in every place,

And with emphasis - that the beginning of the days of Chanukah this year is on Shabbos

(Continuing and in accordance with the fact that the entire year is "Shabbos for Hashem"⁴*,

And particularly that also its beginning and start,

Rosh Hashanah,

on Shabbos)

And their conclusion - on the day of Shabbat,

two Shabbatot⁵*,

and the haftarah is special⁶*.

And through our deeds and our service in all the aforementioned matters in a manner of increasing and adding light,

"They go from strength to strength"** - we merit the fulfillment

(continued)

the prophecy** "He will appear, God, in Zion",

And there we see the lighting of the Menorah of the Holy Temple - 'I show you the candles of Zion'**,

the seven lamps of the Menorah,

together with the eight lights of Chanukah"⁷

("And they kindled lights

in Your holy courts"")

that 'they are never nullified'²,

And even earlier - we celebrate the festival of redemption, 19 Kislev, together with Moshiach Tzidkeinu

(which is dependent,

as mentioned,

in the dissemination of the wellsprings outward)

that then the joy will be at the ultimate level of dominion - the "lyre" of the days of Mashiach with eight strings⁴,

and more than that - a lyre of ten strings",

"upon the ten-stringed lyre"⁵,

together with the tenth song⁶,

speedily, in our very own days,

immediately and at once, literally,

in a manner of breaking the boundaries of time

("He did not delay them even for the blink of an eye"⁷)

and the place

("with the clouds of heaven"*⁷)

through the increase in joy that breaks down barriers⁷,

Until the fulfillment of the prophecy: "the breaker went up before them",

From "Toldot Peretz" - the coming of David, King Moshiach, in actual reality,

below ten handbreadths,

speedily in our days.

Sefer HaSichos - 5747