English translation — משיחות ש״פ תשא, פ׳ פרה ה׳תשמ״ז

It is well known the teaching of the Alter Rebbe,

That one must "live with the time",

With the weekly portion that is read and studied at this time.

That is,

In addition to the fact that Torah in general is eternal²,

And 'eternal'³ is related to Torah being from the language of instruction⁴,

And 'Torah is light'⁵ and 'Torah of life'⁶

("They are our life"⁷)

A luminous guidance in the daily life of every Jew — says the Alter Rebbe,

So the life of a Jew must be especially bound up with the parshah in the Torah that is read at that specific time,

And in the present time — with Parshas Ki Sisa,

Which we began reading and studying last Shabbos at Minchah time,

And accordingly — in the days of the past week

(And every day — is in this certain

Hayom Yom* 2 Cheshvan.

Sefer HaSichos 5702 p. 29ff.

And more.

Came up for an aliyah bekodesh•)

Until this Shabbos, the entire parshah was read publicly,

and this shows that on this Shabbos the connection to the parshah is even more strongly emphasized,

and from this Shabbos it must be continued in the days after it״&<.

And since the Torah was given to every Jew and to all Jews,

"The Torah that Moses commanded us is a heritage of the congregation of Jacob,"

every Jew,

man, woman, and child,

must be able to easily obtain the instructions from the weekly portion with which he needs to live during that time.

A general and simple learning from today's parsha — one can deduce directly from the first words of the parshah — "Take a census of the heads of the children of Israel"

[because they are included in the word "tisa",

and especially since this is the name of the entire parshah¹²]

Shabbos Parshas Tisa,

Parshas Parah

verse 36

"Raise the head of the children of Israel" means simply,

So one must lift up the head¹³ of Jews¹⁴:

This means: Every Jew has a head and a brain in the head,

He is a part of the "wise⁵■ and perplexed nation",

And this influences his conduct,

That he conducts himself as befits a wise and understanding person.

In this, however, there are always changes and levels.

As for example, simply

(also for a child)

That when a child is very young, he has

(and he uses)

Less intellect,

Then he becomes a child who begins to speak

(Which is connected to his intellect)

What then is 'his father teaches him Torah tzivah lanu Moshe'?

But higher — when he becomes three years old",

And has an upsherin•¹.

And then — a five-year-old for Mikra,

At ten years old for Mishnah,

At thirteen years old for Mitzvos,

At fifteen years old

for Gemara, etc.,

At forty years old for understanding etc.²⁰.

And so,

In the corresponding age,

comes a daughter and wife,

But earlier — regarding a bat mitzvah a year earlier,

because extra understanding was given to women more than men²¹.

On this, every Jew²² has the directive.

"Lift up the head": In every situation in which he finds himself, he must elevate his head,

so that his head and intellect should be focused on higher matters,

thereby raising all his other faculties²⁴,

his heart and his feelings,

down to his thought, speech, and action.

As it is then drawn down into physicality — that when one lifts his head

(in physicality)

the other parts of his body are lifted up,

his heart,

his hands and feet etc.

It could be that he has not yet reached the state of "the brain rules over the heart"²⁵,

But fundamentally, everyone knows,

Even a small

Sefer HaSichos - 5747

child,

that when he understands with his intellect that something is good,

he conducts himself accordingly in practice.

What does it mean simply,

in the service of every Jew in practice

Not looking at all the high matters in which one has been engaged until now — whether in matters of intellect in general,

and even in matters of Torah and mitzvos,

One learns Torah and one is involved in mitzvos etc. — there is no limit to this — a Jew must raise his head even higher,

Learn more Torah,

In quantity and quality — to immerse oneself in it with more vitality etc.,

And Torah study is greater as it leads to action²⁴ — this elevates his fulfillment of the mitzvos,

so that this should be with more beauty and with more vitality,

until his actual conduct is in a higher manner.

All the more so regarding most people,

who in this time, most people are occupied most of the day with matters of business and livelihood

(weekday matters)

so that many are immersed and engrossed in this²,

As a person feels within himself — it affects him even more strongly to live with that.

"Lift up the head": He should raise his head so that his head lies in higher matters,

in spiritual matters.

Certainly his business dealings must be with faith²,

and he should invest in it with his intellect and character traits, etc. — but that must be.

Without heart and to...,

and as known, the precision ³¹ in the language.

"When you eat the labor of your hands"³² — toil with.

specifically "your hands,"

But not with his head,

his head needs

(primarily)

to lie in higher matters.

What does "higher matters" mean? It is understood simply: one elevates the head and intellect so that they should lie in Torah study.

And simply: even though he is a businessman and goes to work and does it with faith — he must have a fixed time for Torah study every day³³,

both a fixed time and a fixed commitment of the soul³⁴.

And even if he already has a fixed time for Torah study,

And certainly everyone has it — it must be.

"When you take a census"

He must add to this more in quantity or in quality.

And if one cannot fully understand this by himself,

because one is deeply immersed in worries

Shabbat Parshat Tisa,

Parshat Parah

Parnasah,

one can ask the child or grandchild themselves.

And in a vein of wit, one could say: Usually, the order is,

"Ask your father and he will tell you"³⁵,

"And you shall tell your son"³⁴; but in the time of exile,

because of the double and multiplied suspicion,

and especially because of the sunkness in business and livelihood — it sometimes helps that one should be,

Ask Him and He will tell you

And especially standing immediately before the Redemption³⁷,

And when it becomes,

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children — through the children³⁸,

Because the children do not become

(thus)

affected by the worries of the world³⁸:

The child knows that he was raised to say every early morning the Mishnah and Chazal⁰*

These are things that have no measure,

And there one calculates many great things,

The corner of the field, and the first fruits, and the pilgrimage offering, and acts of lovingkindness,

And then things that,

One eats their fruits in this world, and the principal remains for the world to come, etc.,

Honoring father and mother, and acts of lovingkindness, etc.,

And hospitality, etc.,

and study, prayer, and bringing peace between a person and his fellow and between a man and his wife".

But then one concludes:,

and Torah study is equivalent to all of them".

The child asks — with the entire innocence of a child — to his father and his grandfather,

his uncle or older brother: Did you open a book today and look inside and learn?

The child saw that his father worked and toiled that day,

and did many good things,

Gemilut Chasadim"

Iyun Tefillah" and Yom Tov; but he looks specifically — seeks strongly —.

Talmud Torah"

Knowing that this is,

K'neged Kulam".

And especially when they also tell him the study of,

Tisa et Rosh",

As above — strengthens in him the question and wonder whether those around him lift their heads,

by lying in the study of Torah.

And in a hen there are no tricks at all.

If he does not get any answer to his question — he asks again,

Mai hai,

Mai ta'ama; he knows that the entire week is [the portion of] 'Ki Tisa et Rosh',

He looks in and asks every day: Where is the,

'Tisa et Rosh' — Sunday,

Monday,

Tuesday,

Wednesday,

Thursday,

Friday,

and etc. Shabbat?!

It is understood,

that from a child one cannot extricate oneself with an answer that has no place.

Because a child feels when one tells him the truth,

And which father would then not tell his child the truth — so it is understandable that the child's question arouses and brings out

(

and he shall turn the heart of the fathers")

that his father should become.

lift up the head",

he

Sefer HaSichos - 5747

He should indeed sit down to learn Torah with enjoyment, etc.⁴.

And although sometimes it becomes difficult,

Because he is exhausted from a difficult day at work — there is the principle that “I do not ask of him except according to his strength”⁴²,

When the Almighty demands something,

one certainly has the strength for it.

And through that there is the “lift up the head” in Torah study — the other parts of a Jew's life are elevated,

His observance of the commandments,

until his thought, speech, and action,

his actual conduct,

that he holds himself with left-side sorrow

(with upright posture)

from all matters of Judaism,

Not only that he fulfills "לא יתבייש מפני בני אדם המלעיגים"⁴³,

For he stands with the strongest force and pride,

Until everyone around him recognizes this,

And they learn it from him.

In all this, there comes a further emphasis in Parshat Ki Tisa of this year:

The first day of Parshat Ki Tisa was Purim.

As a result, one sees openly the "Ki Tisa et rosh bnei Yisrael":

"U'Mordechai⁴⁴ lo yichra v'lo yishtachaveh"⁴,

He did not bow his head to Haman the wicked,

but stood erect.

And moreover: By him was "raise the head"

(lifted higher than usual)

because this very thing that "all the king's servants etc. bow and prostrate themselves to Haman, for so the king commanded him"⁴⁵ and "Mordechai would not bow nor prostrate himself" — requires a special strength to walk erect.

And furthermore: this caused that Haman the wicked should say "There is one nation scattered and divided among the nations etc., and their laws are different from every nation"⁴⁶.

So even a gentile,

a wicked person,

acknowledges that even when Jews are "scattered and dispersed among the nations" in exile,

this does not weaken them, G-d forbid,

but even there they are a "singular nation"⁴⁷,

and "their religion is different from all nations",

Jews stand with strength,

in the manner of "Tisa es rosh"⁴.

Until they also influence the non-Jews — "and many from the peoples of the land became Jews"⁴⁹.

From this comes an additional instruction in the aforementioned service of "Tisa es rosh Bnei Yisrael":

Shabbos Parshas Tisa,

Parshas Parah

The "Tisa es rosh"

(Addition in Torah study and fulfillment of the commandments,

and in pride in Judaism in general)

Must be so strong,

that this influences even those around them,

until even non-Jews,

regarding the observance of the seven commandments of Bnei Noach,

as the Rambam rules⁵,

"Moshe Rabbeinu was commanded by the Almighty to compel all inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments that were commanded to Bnei Noach."

And not "because of rational decision,"

But rather "because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and informed us through Moshe Rabbeinu"⁴² — that the non-Jews should be proud of fulfilling the Seven Mitzvos,

the will of the Almighty.

However, a Jew can ask a question about this:

How can one demand of him "lift up the head" — when he knows that he actually committed a transgression

(through which "a spirit of foolishness entered him"⁵² — the opposite of wise and understanding)

— is precisely the opposite direction of "lift up the head"?!

The portion continues — on the contrary: through this "lift up the head"

(by giving a half-shekel)

— it becomes "to atone for your souls"" from "all who pass over

the appointed""⁵,

on p'kudei d'oraisa⁵⁵,

until — regarding the sin of the calf*⁵ — the head and root of all sins⁵⁷,

which reversed the 'zuhama'*⁵

(and death)

In the world⁵⁹.

And then the "Take a census" becomes even higher — as our Sages say*,

That in the place where penitents stand, even the completely righteous cannot stand there.

[And in addition: With the half-shekel they made the sockets,

the foundation of the entire Mishkan*,

and afterwards — with it they purchased the communal offerings²*]

That is: before the sin of the calf, Jews were on the level of "head",

In the level of tzaddikim⁵*.

And through the machatzit hashekel and their teshuvah

(for the sin of the Calf)

— became "Tisa et Rosh",

an elevation higher in the level of tzaddikim

("Rosh")

— the elevation that comes through the service of teshuvah,

that in the place of the baalei

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Teshuva stands, completely righteous cannot stand there.

From the same root of "to return the righteous in repentance"⁶⁴.

And we can say further:

The entire existence of evil in the world, the Almighty placed into creation

(as explained⁶⁵ regarding "Awesome in deeds over the sons of man")

— so that through this one should have also the perfection and elevation⁶

("Tisa es rosh")

Of repentance,

Or so that Jews should withstand the test of evil,

And through this reveal their factions⁷.

And specifically through this matter — is fulfilled the "desire" of the Supreme One

(so to speak)

that "the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have a dwelling place in the lower realms"<sup>6>,

in the lowest of low, which no lower exists,

"until it is full of kelipot and sitra achra that are opposed to G-d truly"⁷.

From all this we have a clear instruction that every Jew must now live with it:

That every Jew must "lift the head" in all matters of Judaism,

starting with Torah study,

and this brings "lift the head" into the fulfillment of mitzvos and into his entire conduct,

until he influences also other Jews,

until even non-Jews.

And if he sees difficulties,

Or he falls, G-d forbid, into a certain humility — that should not weaken him,

But on the contrary: this should add even more pride in "tisa es rosh",

from the aspect of the advantage of the service of teshuvah.

And the point that Jews do teshuvah — becomes "immediately they will be redeemed"¹,

immediately and at once, literally,

"from the nail of redemption to redemption",

only in the month of Adar,

and consequently — will

(one in)

Month of Nissan are already after the redemption,

from redemption to the true and complete redemption,

a redemption after which there is no exile³,

through our righteous Mashiach,

and we will have the third Beis HaMikdash,

"Mikdash Ado-nai konenu yadeir,

G‑d will reign forever and ever"⁴,

Speedily, in our actual days.

Sefer HaSichos - 5747