English translation — שיחת יום ב' פ' האזינו, צום גדלי' יהפך לשמחה, ה'תשמ"ג

In the synagogue after the afternoon prayer—

It has been mentioned several times about the custom to speak "words of rebuke" on a fast day¹.

And although we are now immediately after Rosh Hashanah,

when there already was the writing and sealing for a good and sweet year,

they are written and sealed immediately in the book of the completely righteous

(as the Gemara says in tractate Rosh Hashanah²)—

Nevertheless, the matter of "words of rebuke" is still relevant—according to the interpretation of "rebuke,"

like "He will suppress our iniquities and cast all their sins into the depths of the sea"³

(as was said yesterday after Minchah in Tashlich),

words of rebuke that effect "He will suppress our iniquities,"

and this brings about all the other matters enumerated in Tashlich,

where all the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy that do not return empty are alluded to⁴.

And although every public fast is a time of "a time of favor"

(as the Alter Rebbe explains⁵)

—both below and above⁶,

and especially when there is additionally the matter of communal prayer,

which effects

(throughout the entire year)

the same matter as an individual during the Ten Days of Repentance⁷,

From this itself, however, one understands the greatness of the superiority of the time of favor that exists on a public fast and communal prayer during the Ten Days of Repentance,

when there is "Seek Hashem when He is found, call upon Him when He is near—these are the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur"⁸.

As has been discussed several times,

since this is a time of favor,

it is a time conducive to accepting good resolutions,

And since one accepts these good resolutions at a time of favor,

they will certainly come down into actual practice,

in all three lines upon which the world stands⁹—both the great world and the small world, this is man¹⁰—Torah, service

(prayer)

and acts of kindness.

And especially since we already have all these three lines:

the current gathering is after prayer

(and moreover after the Minchah prayer,

for even Elijah was only answered during the Minchah prayer¹¹);

after the Torah reading;

and certainly everyone has already given charity during the day

(and at least—one will give (or add) in the hours that remain)

—we thus have the "threefold cord"¹²,

"Jacob, the lot of His inheritance"¹³.

And the main thing is the deed¹⁴:

One should accept upon oneself good resolutions,

in addition to the good resolutions already accepted,

and in a manner that the resolutions will certainly come down into deed, which is the main thing,

And this will add to the writing and sealing for good in the book of the completely righteous;

and since the Supreme One is infinite,

even if one already received on Rosh Hashanah good without end,

there can be upon it an addition up to a manner of infinity,

And this comes down into the true good,

in the good that is seen and revealed below ten handbreadths—because since it is infinite,

no limitations apply to it,

neither above and certainly not below,

Up to the point

(and good)

the essential—the true and complete redemption through our righteous Mashiach,

the "He will revive us after two days; on the third day He will raise us up and we shall live before Him"¹⁵,

the third Holy Temple in the third redemption, speedily in our days, literally.

The matters discussed above in connection with the time of favor of this day—

The good resolutions in all three lines;

and the "I will raise Jerusalem upon the head of my joy"¹⁶—at every time of favor to mention first of all about Jerusalem in its completeness,

which will be actualized through the true and complete redemption by our righteous Mashiach

(as mentioned above),

when we will have the third Holy Temple,

—"The Sanctuary, Hashem, which Your hands established"¹⁷ are equally present at every public fast,

Since on this public fast of Gedaliah's Fast,

which occurs immediately after Rosh Hashanah and during the Ten Days of Repentance

(when it is "Seek Hashem when He is found, call upon Him when He is near")

there is an addition in the time of favor with greater strength and vigor

(as above, section 1)

—one must also highlight the unique aspect of this public fast.

Gedaliah's Fast is

(in the vast majority of cases)

on the 3rd of Tishrei,

Since we have the well-known directive of the Baal Shem Tov¹⁸,

that from every matter there is a lesson in the service of man to his Master and Creator,

it follows from this,

that the unique aspect of Gedaliah's Fast is connected with the lesson of the 3rd of Tishrei.

The daily portion of Tehillim for the 3rd of Tishrei begins with Chapter 18—"For the conductor, of the servant of Hashem, of David." And in this psalm is recounted the great miracle "on the day that Hashem delivered him from the hand of all his enemies"¹⁹—that all the ways in which one thought that perhaps they could

(or at least they want to)

accomplish something,

there is deliverance by the Holy One, blessed be He²⁰, which is the connection to Chapter 18²¹,

And this leads to the conclusion of the psalm:

"He magnifies the salvations of His king"—not merely "salvations of His king,"

but salvations in a manner of "He magnifies"—"and He performs kindness for His anointed, for David and for his seed forever,"

which refers to the true and complete redemption through our righteous Mashiach.

And then one continues immediately thereafter

(in Chapter 19)

"The heavens declare the glory of G-d." That all these matters come forth in revelation in the world,

up to a manner of "the heavens declare,"

declare and radiate;

And then—Chapter 20—"May Hashem answer you":

In a manner of "Hashem, save; may the King answer us on the day we call"²²:

On that very day when there is "we call,"

immediately there is "May Hashem answer you." And since with Jews it is "in the name of our G-d we will raise a banner"²³ and "in the name of Hashem our G-d we will call to mind"²⁴—Jews know that their strength and "the might of my hand"..

toward the entire world,

is that which in the name of Hashem we raise a banner and call to mind—it is certain,

that not only does "These with chariots and these with horses"²⁵ have absolutely no substance,

but on the contrary:

There is the matter of transformation,

so that while still in the time of exile,

"kings shall be your attendants and their queens your nursemaids"²⁶,

such that even in the time of exile "for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings"²⁷.

This matter stated in connection with the 3rd of Tishrei,

also has a connection to the unique lesson of the unique calendar arrangement in this year—that the 3rd of Tishrei falls on the second day of Parshat Haazinu,

Gedaliah's Fast can fall in Parshat Vayelech,

and in Parshat Haazinu itself—on different days;

And in this year it falls on the second day of Parshat Haazinu.

The general lesson of Parshat Haazinu is:

When Moshe Rabbeinu speaks—which is certainly by the mission of the Supreme One—the verse says²⁸ that "heavens" and "earth" listen.

And since the Torah is "an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob"²⁹, it then becomes so for every Jew:

When a Jew recites a verse that Moshe Rabbeinu said,

"the Holy One, blessed be He, recites opposite him"³⁰—the Supreme One Himself repeats the verse exactly as it was the first time;

it is therefore understood that it becomes "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth":

The Jew's speech is in a manner,

that the heavens obey his words,

and moreover:

Knowing that what a Jew says is "the Holy One, blessed be He, recites opposite him"—they wait and want to hear what a Jew says;

And certainly "and let the earth hear the words of my mouth":

The entire world,

with everything that is in the world,

listens to what a Jew says in his prayer, his Torah study, and his requests,

and waits that it should be able to fulfill this in a simple manner,

below ten handbreadths,

and with a pleasant countenance.

In this itself comes the unique lesson of the second day of Parshat Haazinu:

It begins³¹,

that one should know,

that—"Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders and they will say to you":

One tells the nations of the world that they should inquire of "your father" and "your elders" what happens when one meddles with Jews and with Judaism.

And then one states the lesson

(and reason)

for this—"When the Supreme One gave nations their inheritance, when He separated the children of man, He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel"³²:

The entire existence and entire coming into being from the outset of "peoples,"

is because of "the number of the children of Israel":

When it was to be "When the Supreme One gave nations their inheritance"—there was "He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel":

There already was from before "the number of the children of Israel,"

and the "borders of the peoples" were established according to "the number of the children of Israel"—in a manner that it should be luminous

(according to the explanation of the Zohar³³ on the verse "The heavens declare")

for the children of Israel;

and from this it comes down into "number" in its simple sense,

that because Jews are in number "seventy souls,"

therefore "He set the borders of the peoples, seventy languages"³⁴.

And not only is their existence because of Jews,

but their entire existence is for the sake of Jews—"For Hashem's portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance"³⁵:

The "When the Supreme One gave nations their inheritance" is so that from this should come forth for Jews the "Jacob is the lot of His inheritance"³⁶;

That Jews,

who are "Hashem's portion is His people,"

literally a portion of G-d from above³⁷,

and they are "His inheritance"—the inheritance of the Supreme One,

should receive "an eternal inheritance,"

their inheritance in the Holy Land.

One might think that all this is said when Jews are in the Holy Land;

When, however, Jews are in exile and it appears that they are in a desert,

then "who knows what"—

The verse continues³⁸—"He found him in a desert land, etc. He encompassed him, He gave him understanding, He guarded him as the apple of His eye":

Even in "a desert land" it is "He encompassed him, He gave him understanding,"

and even more—"He guarded him as the apple of His eye":

Not merely an eye—for an eye itself is among the most important organs—but within the eye itself it is the apple of His eye,

therefore "he who touches you touches the apple of His eye"³⁹,

And as the conclusion of the portion⁴⁰:

"Hashem alone will lead him"—the Supreme One and Jews are together in a manner of "alone."

This is the lesson of the daily portion of this day—the second day of Parshat Haazinu:

One learns in the Torah,

that the entire existence of all the nations is for the sake of Jews,

it is understood that "their mazal sees"⁴¹ that the nations know this through their mazal. And then it effects upon the nations below that "a great terror fell upon them,"

until a terror in a manner that effects in them a change regarding bodily movement.

And likewise upon their speech and deed,

that even while in exile they conduct themselves with Jews in a manner of "kings shall be your attendants and their queens your nursemaids"⁴²,

And knowing that all this is for their benefit,

that Jews thereby give merit to the nations of the world to conduct themselves in such a manner,

because through the fact that the nations of the world help Jews so that they should have Torah, service, and acts of kindness—"the world stands"—the

(entire)

world does not shake—

The nations are content to do everything in order to make life easier for Jews and more tranquil in every place they are,

And certainly in the Holy Land,

the palace of the King. "A land that Hashem your G-d always looks after"⁴³. And with greater strength and vigor "from the beginning of the year"—on the day of Rosh Hashanah,

and so it is drawn into the day that comes immediately after Rosh Hashanah.

And especially according to what is stated in the Siddur of the AriZal regarding the Ten Days of Repentance in general:

"The Rav Chaim wrote in the name of the Ramak, of blessed memory, that the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are like Chol Hamoed and are forbidden in work, only in the occupation of Torah, repentance, and seclusion,

and so too the Rabbeinu Yonah, of blessed memory." It follows,

that also the days of the Ten Days of Repentance are analogous to the festival of Rosh Hashanah.

—One cannot say,

that he only means to say that on these days one should not occupy oneself with "side" matters,

for then the introduction that "the days...

like Chol Hamoed" is superfluous. From the fact that he prefaces and emphasizes that these days are "like Chol Hamoed" it is understood,

that the emphasis in this is,

that Jews make from the distinct weekday—a festival.

—A matter of a festival].

And certainly in the Holy Land itself—in "the city of the great King"⁴⁴,

Jerusalem, the holy city,

And certainly there itself—on the Temple Mount,

which is the "gate of heaven" that is aligned opposite the heavenly Holy Temple⁴⁵,

and there also stands the earthly Holy Temple, built and established⁴⁶,

And one waits no more than a brief moment—it comes down immediately here below on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, our holy city, and in the Holy Land.

And then there will be "In the future, the Land of Israel will spread to all lands"⁴⁷,

and "In the future, Jerusalem will spread throughout all the Land of Israel"⁴⁸,

including "Jerusalem" according to the inner explanation⁴⁹:

"Fear, complete"⁵⁰—that among Jews there is fear of Hashem,

then—"And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of Hashem is called upon you, and they shall be afraid of you"⁵¹,

the fear of the Jews fell upon them⁵²,

And consequently, Jews add even more—out of joy and goodness of heart—in Torah, service

(prayer)

and acts of kindness

(charity),

And great is charity, for it brings the redemption closer⁵³—it brings the redemption even closer so that it should be in the good that is seen and revealed,

in a manner of "behold, one like a son of man came with the clouds of heaven"⁵⁴,

"and like doves to their cotes"⁵⁵—

Immediately to redemption.

And simply:

"With our young and with our elders, etc., with our sons and with our daughters"⁵⁶,

one goes,

and one has the help of the nations of the world who "brought" Jews as one brings a "gift in a pure vessel"⁵⁷ to Jerusalem and to the Holy Temple.

—One goes out from exile as the completeness of the people,

and one takes the completeness of the Torah and its commandments,

because one holds with strength,

and one stands with might,

knowing that this is not one's own might,

but this is the might of "Hashem alone will lead him,"

who is the One who "When the Supreme One gave nations their inheritance,"

and He also told them that he who touches you touches the apple of His eye,

and He also told them that they should help Jews out,

One only needs to have,

that Jews should hold with might to preserve the completeness of the land,

including also the security of the land,

to preserve the completeness of the Torah and its commandments,

to preserve the completeness of the people,

And then this hastens even more to the "a great congregation shall return here"⁵⁸,

and one will come in a manner of great joy,

as we just had the great joy at the coronation of the King⁵⁹,

Because,

as stated,

it is "He will choose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob whom He loved, Selah"⁶⁰,

Jacob stands with "pride" and with strength,

consequently one does not delay even a moment,

and one completes the matter that one began,

because one who begins a mitzvah is told to complete it⁶¹,

which is a statement from the Supreme One through His Torah,

and this statement is surely an empowerment,

and an empowerment in a manner,

like all matters—when one fulfills the will of the Supreme One—that one does so with joy and goodness of heart.

And simply,

that one concludes Gedaliah's Fast,

and one concludes the last moments of exile,

and these days will be turned⁶² "to joy and gladness and to good festivals"⁶³ while still in exile,

in a desert land,

because it is "He encompassed him, He gave him understanding,"

"He guarded him as the apple of His eye,"

And very soon, "Hashem alone will lead them,"

we go together with the Shechinah in exile,

with the Most High,

together with Moshiach Tzidkeinu — to our holy land,

to Yerushalayim, the holy city,

"the city of the great King,"

and there, on the Temple Mount,

and there we find the Beis HaMikdash built,

"the Sanctuary, Hashem, which Your hands established,"

And speedily, in our very own days,

with joy and a good heart.