English translation — תוכן משיחת יום א׳ פ׳ ברבה, צום גדלי׳

for this fast]

- both at the beginning of the Haftarah: "Seek the Lord when He can be found, call upon Him when He is near,"

and at the end of the Haftarah²: "I will yet gather more to him, besides those already gathered."

It is stated in the Talmud that the verse "Seek the Lord when He can be found" refers to the Ten Days of Repentance,

during which the prayer of an individual is accepted as the communal prayer throughout the year - 'When is an individual like the entire community?'

These are the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur."

It can be said that the same idea is the content of the conclusion of the Haftarah - "Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: I will yet gather more to him, besides those already gathered": The explanation of this verse,

that after gathering the dispersed of Israel, "I will yet gather more to him - to Israel I will gather more" to be added to those already gathered in Israel,

that is, gathering after gathering.

And the intent in this can be said - that after the Holy One, blessed be He, gathers the children of Israel from places where there is a congregation

(a minyan or more)

of Israel,

the Holy One, blessed be He, will add

("I will yet gather more to him")

and will also gather every individual Jew wherever he is.

And the novelty in this - simply: regarding a congregation of Israel,

since there is the power of the community,

there is no novelty

(much)

in that God gathers them; but regarding a solitary individual Jew,

where there is room to say,

that there could be, G-d forbid, a weakness in his importance - God says: "I will yet gather more to him besides those already gathered,"

that the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself will engage in gathering this individual Jew!

And we can add,

that this matter applies even in places where there are ten

(or more)

Jews,

for in the ingathering of the exiles - two matters and modes: in addition to the gathering of the entirety of Israel,

also a gathering of each individual man and woman,

as it is written, "And you shall be gathered one by one,"

"as if each person himself must be taken by the hand, each one from his place"•².

Accordingly, the special virtue is understood

(and the special connection to the Haftarah)

of the Fast of Gedaliah over the other fasts - that the emphasis on the virtue of every individual Jew is

(in addition to the matter of the fast,

also)

the aspect of the Ten Days of Repentance,

when God is "found" and "near."

And it is understood,

that since during the Ten Days of Repentance the power and virtue of the individual is like the power and virtue of the community during the rest of the year - thus,

the power and virtue of the community during the Ten Days of Repentance,

is even more elevated•-².

And from this is understood the special elevation of this occasion - the gathering and assembly of a community of Israel on the Fast of Gedaliah.

And another essential point regarding the elevation of the Fast of Gedaliah - in which the strengthening and giving of special power to nullify the fast is emphasized,

And beyond this,

to transform the fast into good - in the true and complete redemption,

when these days will become "for joy and gladness and festive occasions";

Sefer HaSichos - 5751

Regarding the Fast of Gedaliah - which was instituted because of the incident of the killing of Gedaliah ben Achikam on this day²⁷ - there is an opinion among the early authorities²⁸,

that the killing of Gedaliah occurred on Rosh Hashanah itself,

however,

since Rosh Hashanah is a Yom Tov [festival]²,

and as the verse says³ 'eat the fat and drink the sweet, for the joy of the Lord is your strength,'

therefore they postponed the fast to the 3rd of Tishrei.

And behold, in the words of our Sages of blessed memory³ regarding 'Tisha B'Av that falls on Shabbat, they postpone it to after Shabbat, and Rabbi said: Since it was postponed, let it be postponed [entirely].'

And from this it is understood,

that although in actual practice 'the Sages did not agree

(with him)

the Sages,'

nevertheless,

since in a postponed fast there is a reasoning

(at any rate)

that 'since it was postponed, let it be postponed,'

this adds strengthening and giving of power to the Jewish people,

that through their service the postponement of the fast will be hastened entirely,

and moreover,

but it will be transformed into "joy and gladness and festive occasions."

And this matter is even more pronounced in the determination of this year - that the Fast of Gedaliah is postponed to the 4th of Tishrei

(since the 3rd of Tishrei falls on Shabbat)

,

that is,

that the fast is postponed two times

(according to the aforementioned opinion)

which adds even more to the aforementioned giving of power

(and room for discussion regarding rabbinic fasts - if Mashiach comes in the middle of the day,

whether one must complete the fast)

.

And it should be noted,

that any matter of duplication

(two times)

is connected with the matter of the redemption³²,

as explained in the discourses of the Admor Maharash - 'From the beginning, over'²⁴

(whose yahrzeit - on the 13th - in gematria equals Echad - Tishrei)

as discussed in the farbrengen of the previous year³⁵.

An additional point in this:

Gedaliah ben Achikam was connected to the dynasty of the House of David,

for his appointment of Gedaliah

(although it was done by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon³)

was to ensure the continuation of the Jewish people's lives in the continuation of their existence in the monarchy of David³⁷.

And based on the known³⁸ that the intent and purpose of every fast is - its transformation to good in the true and complete redemption, imminently,

and it is ready that the perfection of the matter of reversal is when it is in that same matter itself³,

it may be said,

that this matter applies to the Fast of Gedaliah,

that the reversal is in this matter itself: in place of the death and killing of Gedaliah,

who was connected to the House of David,

there will be the coming - life and revelation - of Mashiach our Righteous,

who is 'from the seed of David and Solomon'

(as Maimonides states)

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