• During the reading of the Ten Commandments, stand facing the Sefer Torah.

  Haftora: Bishnat...Matzavta.

• Bless Rosh Chodesh Adar I.

• Say the entire Tehillim in the early morning. Day of Farbrengen.

Shabbat Sh'vat 24 5703
Torah Lessons (5703)	Chumash: Yitro, Shevi'i with Rashi. Tehillim: 113-118. Tanya: Ch. 24. Antithetically (p. 99)...as is known. (p. 105).

"The people saw and moved." [1]

Simply perceiving G-dhood caused the people to move, a movement showing vitality, life.

If you only knew - The Tzemach Tzedek said - the power of verses of Tehillim and their effect in the highest Heavens, you would recite them constantly. Know that the chapters of Tehillim shatter all barriers, they ascend higher and still higher with no interference; they prostrate themselves in supplication before the Master of all worlds, and they effect and accomplish with kindness and compassion.

   

Notes:

1. (Back to text) Sh'mot 20:15.

Therefore one should not feel depressed or very troubled at heart - [he ought to be somewhat troubled by the occurence of these thoughts, otherwise he may become indifferent to them and will cease to wage war against them; but he ought not to be sorely troubled by them], even if he be engaged all his days in this conflict [with the thoughts which will always enter his mind.

Though he may never rise to the level which precludes their occurence, yet he should not be depressed].

For perhaps this is what he was created for, and this is the service demanded of him - to subdue the sitra achra constantly.

Concerning this Job said [to G-d: [4] "You have created wicked men," as though it were preordained that one man be wicked, and another righteous.

In the first chapter (of Tanya), the Alter Rebbe pointed out that this is contradicted by the statement in the Gemara that before a child is born, G-d decrees whether he shall be wise or foolish, strong or weak, and so on, but does not determine whether he will be righteous or wicked - this is left to one's own choice.

The meaning of Job's statement becomes clear, however, in light of the above discussion.

True, G-d does not ordain whether man will act wickedly, but He does "create wicked men," in the sense that their minds work like the mind of the rasha, with evil thoughts constantly occuring to them.

G-d created them in this way so that they will engage in battle with these thoughts, and thereby subjugate the sitra achra - as the Alter Rebbe now goes on to say.

The implication of Job's statement is] not [that they were created] to actually be wicked, G-d forbid, [i.e., sinful in thought, speech and action], but that there should occur to them, in their thoughts and musings alone, that which occurs to the wicked, [5] [i.e., that evil thoughts should enter their mind, as they do in the mind of the wicked, and they shall eternally wage war to avert their minds from them in order to subjugate the sitra achra, yet they will never be able to annihilate the sitra achra in their souls completely, for this is accomplished by tzaddikim.

[A tzaddik subjugates his animal soul to such a degree that it is unable to arouse temptation in his heart.

His mind is therefore untroubled by evil thoughts. Those, however, of whom Job said that they were "created wicked," cannot rise to this level. It is always possible for evil thoughts to enter their minds; their task is not to give them free rein].

For there are two kinds of Divine pleasure:

One, from the complete annihilation of the sitra achra, and the conversion of bitter to sweet and of darkness to light - [the former referring to the emotional faculties of the animal soul, and the latter to its mental faculties], which is accomplished by tzaddikim;

And the second: when the sitra achra is subdued while it is still at its strongest and most powerful, soaring like an eagle, and from this height G-d topples it in response to human initiative [i.e., as a result of one's efforts at subduing the sitra achra in his soul]. This is accomplished by Beinonim.

[Each of the two aforementioned categories - those who were "created righteous" and who were "created wicked" - brings about one of these two kinds of Divine gratification].

This is alluded to in the verse, [6] "And make me delicacies, such as I love," where the word matamim "[delicacies]" is written in the plural, indicating two kind of pleasure.

These words are the charge of the Shechinah to its children, the community of Israel, as explained in Tikkunei Zohar - [that with these words G-d asks of the Jewish people to please Him with their divine service].

Just as with material food, there are two kinds of delicacies - one of sweet and luscious foods, and the other of sharp or sour articles [which are unpleasant to eat in their natural state], but have been well spiced and prepared so that they become delicacies which revive the soul - [so too are there two kinds of spiritual delicacies.

One is provided by tzaddikim, who are occupied solely with matters that are "good" and "sweet" - holy matters.

Having conquered the evil of their animal soul, they no longer need grapple with the sitra achra. Their divine service consists of increasing the light of holiness.

The second kind of delicacy is provided by Beinonim, who are occupied with "bitter" matters, with battling against the sitra achra in their soul, and with the evil thoughts that it spawns].

This is indicated in the verse, [7] "The L-rd has made everything for His sake; even the wicked for the day of evil."

[How can it be said that the rasha was created for G-d's sake]?

This means, however, that he should repent of his evil, and turn his evil into "day" and light above, when the sitra achra is subdued, and the glory of G-d is uplifted on high.

[Thus, the meaning of the words "even the wicked for the day of evil" is that the purpose of the wicked is to transform the "evil" into "day".

   

Notes:

4. (Back to text) Bava Batra 16a.

5. (Back to text) Cf. Kohelet 8:14.

6. (Back to text) Bereishit 27:4.

7. (Back to text) Mishlei 16:4.

Positive Mitzvah 207: Loving a Convert
Deuteronomy 10:19 "Love the convert"

A person who has converted to Judaism is regarded highly by the Torah.

The convert's tremendous strength and determination is appreciated and respected. He is called a "righteous convert" for taking upon himself the Jewish lifestyle.

He merits special attention and the Torah gives us this specific commandment, instructing us to love him.

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Negative Mitzvah 302: It is forbidden to hate one another
Leviticus 19:17 "You shall not hate your brother in your heart"

HaShem considers each one of us His "Chosen Children."

He wants us to feel close to each other and care for one another, just like we would for our own brother or sister.

The Torah commands us not to hate any other Jew.

We could keep this Negative Mitzvah easily by considering all Jews as our brothers and sisters.

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Positive Mitzvah 205: Rebuking a Fellow Jew
Leviticus 19:17 "You shall certainly rebuke your neighbor"

Sarah and Rosie were waiting on line at the candy store.

Suddenly, Sarah saw Rosie's hand slip across the counter and take a bubble gum without paying for it. Sarah couldn't believe her eyes! She didn't know what to do.

"If I tell on her," she thought "I'll lose a friend. Even if I convince her to put it back, she'll still be embarrassed and will probably avoid me in the future."

Sarah shrugged her shoulders and thought to herself, "Why should I cause trouble between us? I'll just pretend I didn't see -it's between her and HaShem and the storekeeper anyway..."

Sarah was unaware that the Torah does not want her to overlook her friend's wrongdoing.

We are commanded to reprove our fellow Jew if we see him breaking Torah law. We must try to prevent him from doing wrong by reprimanding and explaining to him that such an act is forbidden. We must not keep silent! On the contrary, making him aware of his mistake can help him improve himself and become a better person.

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Negative Mitzvah 303: It is forbidden to embarrass others
Leviticus 19:17 "And not bear sin because of him"

It is forbidden to embarrass or shame another person.

Even if we mean well, or we are trying to teach him a lesson and correct a wrong deed, we must be careful to say the right thing in a proper way and never cause another person embarrassment.

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The ultimate goal of the creation of all worlds lies in the lowest, most mundane physical realm. To elevate a structure, you cannot pull from the top -- you must lift from the bottom.

From: Bringing Heaven Down to Earth by Tzvi Freeman - tzvif@aol.com