English translation — ש״פ ראה, מבה׳״ח אלול

and similarly, the joy of Purim

(And it comes specifically from the mesirus nefesh in the concealment of the exile of Achashverosh,

We are still servants of Achashverosh)

— joy until one does not know" of Purim",

And at that time they did not send police officers

(Even though if one does not know between clarity of Mordechai)

Because at the time of every existence of man is connected with the Above in the manner of "Ein Od" — such that it cannot be that His will and providence should not be according to the will of Hashem — he need not come to a knowledge and understanding in the two ways — rather,

"He bowed of his own accord",

does not know etc.\"

standing higher before this matter of the pos,

I have set before you life ger\"

That demands a contemplation and knowledge that there are here two ways,

And he needs to choose life.

Until that this also becomes drawn so into the world,

As it stands in the Midrash that in the future also a fig tree will cry out that one should not tear it on the day of Shabbat,

And so forth.

And accordingly, we can connect this atmosphere with the Torah portion that will be read during Mincha —,

Judges and officers shall you appoint in all your gates":

Judges and officers in our times must protect against undesirable matters.

Like the officers that the beis din sent to limit the joy on Yom Tov,

As above.

The complete aspect of judges and officers will, however, be in the future — as it is written••,

ואשיבה שופטיך כבראשונה ויועציך כבתחלה״

(כ״ף הדמיון — דמיון למעל־ יותא)

But since then it will be,

ואת רוח הטומאה אעביר מן הארץ",

will the judges and officers

(not protecting undesirable matters,

only)

To be only in good matters

[For example: in order to go forward and make a way so that the witnesses of Kiddush Levanah can come easily and quickly to Beis Din]

The lesson from the above regarding practical application:

Standing on Shabbos Mevarchim Elul,

One must simply increase in all matters of Torah,

prayer and acts of kindness

(Tzedakah)

And in the introduction of the service of repentance,

And all this — there is no way of redemption,

Then not only does he overcome the concealments and constraints of the world,

But he becomes so engrossed in serving his Creator,

that with him,

from my soul, bowed"

He is entirely not connected to [anything] which is contrary to the will of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And in addition to the fact that he must conduct himself this way,

he needs to see that he also influences others,

until — also to clarify, purify, and refine the world,

as a preparation for the future state,

when,

"And the spirit of impurity I will remove from the earth",

"And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see"¹•,

and "the earth will be filled with knowledge of G‑d

Sefer HaSichos — 5749

as waters cover the sea"²,

"And G‑d will be King over all the earth; on that day G‑d will be One and His Name will be One" — "there is nothing besides Him",

and no more — "there is nothing else".

And it is emphasized also in today's chapter — "With ten utterances the world was created,

what does this teach us? Could it not have been created with one utterance?

Rather [it is] to give reward to the righteous who sustain the world that was created with ten utterances": Since a person must say "the world was created for my sake"³ — it is even more understandable the great responsibility of every Jew to sustain the world that was created with ten utterances.

And to add,

Then one does it by continuing the "one maamar"

(where "can be created" in it)

— in the aspect of Keter⁴,

which is above the chain of descent,

and the ten maamaros

(corresponding to the ten sefiros)

Until we reach the sum total and perfection of 'one article' in its interpretation of Malchus⁵

(Conclusion of the Sefiros)

— That in the entire world it is seen openly how 'Hashem will reign forever and ever'⁶

(As the conclusion of the sixth chapter of Pirkei Avos)

In simple letters and regarding action: in addition to the actions that each one does regarding himself

(Fulfillment of his 248 organs and 365 sinews)

And for the sustenance of his household and the people of his city — he must take upon himself at least one more action that will add to the sustenance of the world.

And one need not have any contemplation on this how each one can influence the sustenance of the world — because everyone can easily accomplish this.

For example: by engaging in the matter of education,

or supporting an educational institution — he contributes to the sustenance of the world,

for it was created to be settled⁷,

through that which the student is raised in the good and straight path,

which depends, in addition to his own conduct,

the conduct of all those with whom he will come into contact,

And particularly the family that he will establish,

And the sons and daughters and grandchildren until the end of all generations.

So too through charity—brings life to the soul of the pauper\,

Which has an effect on all subsequent actions of that pauper.

So through prayer,

Like the blessings in the Amidah prayer—which are, besides the one praying, also for the good of the world.

And so there are various ways that each can find according to his standing and situation and his unique senses,

Give to the wise and he will become wiser.

And from one matter to another:

Standing in close proximity to the beginning of a new school year,

when parents enroll and send their children to educational institutions for the coming year — it is worthy and most proper that everyone should do all that depends on him to influence parents,

in pleasant ways and in peaceful ways, but even a hundred times,

that they should send their children to a proper educational institution (kosher and on the purity of holiness),

in the path of Torah and mitzvot.

See there,

From 770, Elul

No atmosphere regarding the above? And those who are far, G‑d forbid, from it?

(And one cannot effect that they should jump from one extreme to the other.)

— one must endeavor to be together with them as much as possible,

from the light to the heavy,

in pleasant ways.

Together with them, explain with a suitable strength,

that there are 613 commandments,

And one of them is "And you shall teach them to your children,"

And they say it twice daily in the Shema; if they themselves cannot fulfill simply "And you shall teach them to your children,"

they must send the child to a kosher and holy educational institution.

Explain to them that the child's welfare depends on receiving a good education,

since parents certainly want all good for their children,

and as is seen in the custom of the world,

that regarding the physical welfare and health of a child — the parents consult with experts

[and not right after the birth of the child,

only also for that]

is all the more so,

that when the Almighty blesses parents with healthy children,

they must ensure that with the child everything should be good spiritually — by giving a Jewish education — by sending the child to experts in the field of education — a Torah education,

in holiness.

And especially that this pertains not only to the child himself,

but also to the family that he will establish when he grows up.

And the importance of this is even stronger in the last generations,

When we see that the main connection a child receives is in an educational institution,

And he is sent there from a very young age

(Not like in the past when a significant part of the education was at home)

And may it be His will,

That through the addition in all the aforementioned actions — this should bring even more of the blessings from the Almighty to every Jew,

Within all of Israel,

See, I am placing before you today a blessing"

And it becomes revealed that all the matters that are expressed in the other language — are the most elevated blessings*⁷,

Including and especially — the blessing for a good writing and sealing,

For a good and sweet year,

Until — the main blessing — the true and complete redemption,

Through our righteous Moshiach,

And in particular, the coming year — the year 5750

(acronym: it will be a year of miracles)

— begins with the holiday of Rosh Hashanah that falls on Shabbat,

It is a semblance of

(and is hastened)

the day that is entirely Shabbat and rest for eternal life¹*,

and together with this there will be 'they shall have rest' in the service,

as it is said* "They go from strength to strength, each appears before God in Zion¹" — the revelation and evidence that Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, are completely one,

In the entire world —,

Hashem will reign forever and ever.".

Sefer HaSichos - 5749

This Shabbos is the first Shabbos of the month of Elul,

And it comes after the work of the two days of Rosh Chodesh Elul,

On the third day of the work of the month of Elul',

Which,

In three times it is a chazakah"²,

That is,

That there is already,

a "chazakah" in the matters of the service of the month of Elul.

Therefore,

This is the appropriate time to awaken the world regarding the entirety of the service of the month of Elul — the month of accounting and repentance in which they rectify and complete

(also from the term completion³)

All the matters of divine service of the past year,

the year of "Let go of your hand"⁴,

and the month of preparation for all the matters of divine service of the coming year (b'li ayin hara),

"May it be a year of miracles."

And in this itself there is a special emphasis on the individual divine service of each and every day in itself,

and in the well-known expression⁵ "Each and every day performs its task" — meaning to say,

that on each and every day of the month, they affect that day of the month in all the months of the year*

(both regarding the past year and regarding the coming year (b'li ayin hara))

That is,

That on the first day of the month of Elul, the service is performed with regard to the first day

of every month of the year,

And so too with the rest of the days of the month of Elul,

until the twenty-ninth day of Elul,

on which the service is performed with regard to the twenty-ninth day

(and also with regard to the thirtieth day⁷)

which is in all months of the year.

And according to the well-known saying that "one must live with the times"⁸,

the weekly parsha and the day — we must explain the connection and relevance of the service of the month of Elul to Parshat Shoftim,

both regarding the overall weekly portion,

and regarding the portion of the day,

the lesson of the Shabbat day at the conclusion of the portion,

as follows.

Parshas Shoftim is named after its opening — "Judges and officers you shall appoint for yourself in all your gates,"

meaning that this applies also in the private service of every single Jew:

"Judges,"

"judges who decide the law"⁹ — refers to the study of Torah to know what action to take,

and "officers,"

"who compel the people to follow their commands, etc." — refers to the service of actual deed.

And as it is stated in the sefarim, that "judges" correspond to the three faculties of Chachma-Bina-Daas (intellect), which judge and govern the seven emotional attributes.

And with this,

Judges and officers you shall give for yourself — that each and every Jew must appoint over himself and give "judges