בעניין ההכנה לחג הפסח - שיעור מיוחד שמסר הגאון הינוקא לאברכים לפני פסח

2:56 And they brought him, they placed him next to the Baal Shem Tov. The holy Baal Shem Tov waited for the non-Jews to come, to see what would happen. And just then, suddenly, lots of non-Jews arrived; they came in to search for the murderers. So as soon as they came into the Baal Shem Tov's beis midrash, the Baal Shem Tov said to them, 'Are you looking for him?' As if you are dead — Then the Baal Shem Tov did like this to him on the back and said to him, 'Tell [unclear] out loud.'

3:20 He patted him on the back, he said to him, 'Tell [unclear] out loud.' And so there truly was a great Kiddush Hashem from this, and there was resurrection of the dead in the whole town, and everyone saw that the holy Baal Shem Tov had brought about resurrection of the dead. And a few times [unclear] they saw resurrection of the dead by the holy Baal Shem Tov. Because the holy Baal Shem Tov was such an immense tzaddik, he would bring about resurrection of the dead. See what a wonder the holy Baal Shem Tov performed. This is a moving story, this story.

3:47 How great the power of tzaddikim is, and the world knows nothing. There is another beautiful thing that was said by the Rebbe of Kotzk. He says that we say in the Shema, 'which I command you today, upon your heart.' What is meant by 'upon your heart'?

4:12 He says, even if a person's heart is closed, if we speak even onto his heart — even though the heart is closed, at some point the heart will open, and then the words will enter the heart. That is what it says, [unclear]. that even though a person's heart is closed, speak onto the heart — in the end it will go in. One needs to speak to the heart. Even when it is sealed, one needs to speak to the heart.

4:40 How great Hashem is, how great. How great Hashem is. until you go out to the sky, outside, and [unclear] the stars. It is frightening to speak before [unclear] — [unclear] before his people. One needs courage. Now everyone is doing the cleaning for Pesach. Everyone is cleaning.

5:08 Huge ones, huge ones. What is the segulah of this cleaning, of the huge ones, in honor of Pesach? There is a very, very great segulah in it to bring about before the Holy One, blessed be He, all the wishes of the heart, for success, for blessing, a good life, and so on. Because I fell too.

5:39 Once there was a priest who saw Rabbi Yonasan Eybeschutz. So he said to him, 'Look, this Jew fell because he is a Jew.' So Rabbi Yonasan Eybeschutz said to the priest, 'He gets up because he is a Jew.' So Rabbi Asher of Stolin said: It is written in the Torah: 'Molten idols you shall not make for yourself; the festival of matzos you shall keep.'

6:13 It is written in the book of Shemos, chapter 34, verse 17: 'Molten idols you shall not make for yourself; the festival of matzos you shall keep.' So Rabbi Asher of Stolin, may his merit protect us — so he says, what is the meaning of these words? It means that today many people think that the preparation for Pesach cleanses them, but on the way they come to transgress the prohibition of idol worship.

6:41 Why? They get angry during the cleaning, at the children, at the people. So he says, what is the connection between 'Molten idols you shall not make for yourself' and 'the festival of matzos you shall keep'? So he says that a person who carries the cleaning, on the way, gets angry at this one, at the children, at the people; he shouts and curses everyone, so he transgresses 'Molten idols you shall not make for yourself.' That is the connection between 'Molten idols you shall not make for yourself' and 'the festival of matzos you shall keep.'

7:07 Why — our master the Arizal: they say that there is basically no source for it in the Sha'ar HaKavanos, nor in the Pri Etz Chaim, for his promise about the prohibition of chametz, that whoever cleans himself — only the Be'er Heitev brings it, in siman 447 or 401. That is its source, and Rabbi Shalom Buzaglo, in Mikdash Melech, brings the source for it from the Zohar, Parshas Ki Seitzei, page 282b.

7:35 That is the source for it: that whoever guards against even a trace of chametz on Pesach is promised that he will not [unclear] the whole year. So these are the sources it comes from; from here it came out. There is no source in the writings of our master the Arizal himself for this carefulness; they only brought this source from there. From there comes the carefulness: whoever is careful on Pesach with chametz. Now, the Kol Yaakov, Rabbi Yaakov Koppel Chassid — he has a siddur, Kol Yaakov — he said that whoever is careful on Pesach, in the preparation, in the cleaning, will be careful that he should not have any trace of chametz at all, and he says he will merit great holiness and immense purity.

8:07 Great holiness and purity, only through the cleaning and the preparations for Pesach one merits immense, boundless holiness and purity, only through the cleaning. That is the level of the cleaning. Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz, may his merit protect us — the Imrei Pinchas says something even more, completely different from what all these say. Whoever cleans for Pesach is promised [unclear] salvations and great miracles, great things, Whoever wants salvation in great things should clean in honor of Pesach, and he will see salvations in great things, above nature, if you want.

8:38 So our master the Arizal says he is [unclear] that he will not sin. That is an immense thing, not to sin. Now many people say, 'Fine, but we want salvations — we want the salvations.' They do not know that the greatest salvation is not to sin; but they also want the salvations, they want the miracles. So for wanting the miracles and wanting the salvations — for that, Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz says, one needs to do much cleaning. The cleaning — that a person cleans his room, that he cleans his space, or cleans the place where he is — causes his place to be a place open for a miracle, for miracles, for wonders — but on condition that he also, Heaven forbid, does not bring himself to anger.

9:19 Several times in the holy Zohar, the Zohar says that whoever comes to anger is as if he worships idols. In Shabbos, page 181b — this is in the Gemara. And it is in the Zohar several times: Zohar Pinchas, page 234b, in the Zohar [unclear], page [unclear] b, and it is in one more place, in the Rambam. The Rambam brings it in Hilchos De'os, chapter 2, halachah 3, where the Rambam also says that any person who gets angry, Heaven forbid, is as if he worships idols.

9:49 And Rabbi Zusha writes in the book Menoras Zahav that until he immerses in a mikveh, the soul will not return to him. Now, he needs the soul on Erev Pesach. Now, all the cleaning he does — when Erev Pesach comes, he will not have a soul. So all the cleaning he did and all the preparation he did — he will not have a soul on Erev Pesach. The question is whether it was worth it for him to get angry and do the cleaning the way he did. So if one does the cleaning properly, without getting angry — that is the greatest cleaning: not to come to anger, because anger throws out the soul, and it does not return until the person immerses in a mikveh.

10:20 Once he goes back to immerse in a mikveh, the Holy One, blessed be He, will return the soul to him, and then it will remain in its holiness, in its purity, in its devekus, and he will have no stain or blemish, Heaven forbid, of anything forbidden or anything not good. There were many tzaddikim who had the custom — not only were they careful about anger, they would go and make it like Purim on Pesach. When it came, they would sit at the Seder night, and someone would dress up as Eliyahu HaNavi.

10:50 There were tzaddikim who merited to see — the Noda BeYehudah, every Pesach, would go down the stairs [unclear] Eliyahu HaNavi, remembered for good, as he went out of the house; he had a revelation of Eliyahu HaNavi, remembered for good. Today people merit a revelation of the grocer. That is also a great level. But because the grocer comes to them, they do not believe that Eliyahu HaNavi can come to someone and reveal himself to him. They do not understand — I have a grocer, the baker reveals himself.

11:17 A merit. Our master the Arizal, who was in Egypt, when he came back in Damascus, in Syria, Egypt, the Land of Israel — in all kinds of towns, all kinds of places our master the Arizal was. And he would sit in a cave; every time he would sit to learn, Eliyahu HaNavi, remembered for good, would reveal himself to him, sit with him and learn with him; that is how he would sit and learn with Eliyahu HaNavi, remembered for good.

11:42 This is something that was not long ago. Our master the Arizal is not from now — from three thousand years ago. And now, in — The holy Baal Shem Tov — they say that Rabbi Levi Yitzchak [unclear], may his merit protect us, he said that there are no four cubits in the town of Mezhibuzh where the holy Baal Shem Tov did not walk with Eliyahu HaNavi, remembered for good. Every four cubits, the Baal Shem Tov and Eliyahu HaNavi, remembered for good, were there — every place, every time he would reveal himself to him. There are several levels in the revelation of Eliyahu.

12:08 One, that he reveals himself — [unclear] writes in the book Da Es Elokei Avicha, in the introduction, about the revelation of Eliyahu HaNavi, remembered for good. He says that there is a level in the revelation of Eliyahu where he is revealed in thought; there is a revelation of Eliyahu where he is revealed to a person in the form of a poor man, or a farmer, or a merchant, or whatever it may be; and there is the highest form, where he is revealed to a person as he is, at his level, with the prophets. And this one merits on Pesach. Everyone, on Pesach — Pesach comes, on the Seder night he sits with Eliyahu HaNavi, remembered for good.

12:36 These are things that, of course, everyone sees; whoever sees, sees; whoever does not see, will see. These are things one merits, and whoever merits it, merits it. But these are things that exist, and whoever does not believe in them is a heretic and an apikores, because one must believe in this with complete emunah, for Eliyahu HaNavi is alive; and now on Pesach everyone, everyone is awakened and talks about Eliyahu HaNavi, remembered for good. Now really, where does this come from — making such joy in the home on the Seder night, and that this light should be seen by everyone, of of Pesach, that everyone sees this event that happened, and all the subjects?

13:20 We see 'Mah Nishtanah' in the Mishnah, in Pesachim, chapter 10, Mishnah 4. We sing, 'Why is this night different from all the nights?' 'Why is this night different from all the nights' — that a person sings before Hashem that this night is in fact a night that is different from the whole year. Now one needs to make some change on it. So maybe a little change in clothes, a change in [unclear], a change in the meal, that there should be a sign a little different, so that whoever comes to that place will see that this place of yours is a little different from everyone's.

13:56 Why? So it does not look as though you are now at home, now it is another day, another Yom Tov you are passing. Have some different sign [unclear] — you recline to be with the Holy One, blessed be He. In the Zohar, in Parshas Bo, page 40b, the holy Zohar says that the Holy One, blessed be He, says — to the Jewish people, the angels — that the mitzvah of telling the praise of the Exodus from Egypt — the Holy One, blessed be He, says that a person is obligated to speak of it forever, because this praise is the greatest there is, the praise of the Exodus from Egypt; and the Holy One, blessed be He, wants that in every generation they should tell of His praise, of the Exodus from Egypt.

14:32 And every time they tell of this praise, and especially on the Seder night when they sit and recline, the Holy One, blessed be He, gathers each time [unclear]. He says to them, 'Go down, listen to the stories of the Jewish people that My children tell, and I sit with them at the table.' The Holy One, blessed be He, sends the angels to hear the story of the Haggadah that we tell. What we tell on the Seder night — all the angels come down to hear this story of ours from our mouths. And then he says that it is an obligation, that a person must speak of it forever, and he is important [unclear].

15:03 He is important before the Holy One, blessed be He, if he tells [unclear] of the Exodus from Egypt. As we have already learned, there is also a difference in the wording; one must understand the wording of the Mishnah: the Mishnah in Tractate Pesachim, chapter 10, Mishnah 5 — it is written, 'In every generation a person is obligated to see himself as if he went out of Egypt.' That is also the wording in the Yerushalmi, chapter 10, halachah 4, in Pesachim, and that is also the wording in the Bavli, in Pesachim, page 116b.

15:30 The same wording. There is only one who did not copy — not the Bavli, not the Yerushalmi, not the Mishnah: the Rambam. The Rambam, in Hilchos Chametz U'Matzah, chapter seven, halachah 6, the Rambam says, 'And in every generation a person is obligated to show himself as if he went out of Egypt.' But 'to show himself' is publicizing the miracle, because if I show myself, it means that there must be a noticeable sign in everything I do, that it be in honor of the Holy One, blessed be He. Because if I now see myself, I can see in private; but if I say 'to show myself,' then it means that I need to do it in practice, through an action that everyone will see — whether through dress, whether through clothing, whether through a sign that I make at home, with joy, with song —

16:17 as the Imrei Kadosh, Rabbi Uri of Strelisk, may his merit protect us, used to do, son of Rabbi Pinchas. He was the holy Gaon, the author of Imrei Kadosh, who had the custom every day, as a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt, at the Song of the Sea, to lift up the cloak of his garment, and so they would really see everything — they would feel as if water was surrounding them in the beis midrash, from the waters of the Song of the Sea; that is how they would feel, from so much devekus, for he would bring his students to this level.

16:48 That is, if a person lives this — so the Rambam says one must show himself. That is, it should look before the children as if you just now went out. So how will you now do a thing like sleeping? Or you will fall asleep? Fine — you are forbidden to fall asleep now, you need to be alert. So that you have strength. That is why there is a great mitzvah, especially as the Minchas Elazar of Munkatch — The holy Gaon of Munkatch said in the name of the Maggid that if it were possible to make, in the Ten Commandments, a Torah obligation to sleep on Erev Shabbos, he would have done it.

17:19 That is how serious and how important sleep on Erev Shabbos is. Because 'and they shall prepare what they bring' — so he says, the preparation of the body for the holy Shabbos; and also 'and they shall prepare what they bring.' So he says one needs to sleep on Erev Shabbos, especially now, that Shabbos night falls together with Pesach, that everyone needs to go to sleep on Erev Shabbos, so that they have the strength to be alert on the Seder night, and to rejoice and sing the songs, and to reveal the talks and the stories and the Midrashim, and to learn about the whole Exodus from Egypt as much as possible, in order to awaken this in the whole Jewish people — that the whole Jewish people should see it; in all the homes there will be the greatest publicizing of the miracle, that we went out of Egypt.

17:59 That is what one needs to do on Pesach; in every generation one needs to do it now. Really, one needs to ask why — this is truly a question on the Ramban, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, our master the Ramban. He truly explains this question, that in Parshas Balak he writes: what is the meaning, in practice, that each time we need to mention this praise of the Exodus from Egypt in every generation?

18:32 So this praise goes on and is made in every generation; he says it is an engraving that is made. But what is the meaning of it being in every generation? So he says that the Holy One, blessed be He, will not perform miracles in every generation for fools, or for the wicked, or for empty people. So the miracle is made [unclear] a remembrance, and you will remember in every generation that if ignorant people, or fools and liars, come and say, 'Where are the miracles that once were?' then you will come and tell them, 'Remember — here, now we are reading this event in the Haggadah.'

19:00 This story in the Haggadah, what we are reading — it happened now. And if you show yourself as having gone out of Egypt, and you will engrave this light of Pesach even in the most distant people, so that they too will feel that they went out of Egypt — so perhaps [unclear] is not a copyist's mistake, as he thought, but it is only to strengthen that this is truly how the matter must be done on Pesach: to show everyone — because the Holy One, blessed be He, will not perform those same miracles again now, split the sea for the wicked, or come for people who are far away, and they will tell them, 'Maybe now you will do teshuvah, and see the heavens [unclear], and manna and matzos coming down and everything.' No.

19:38 You need to go about this [unclear]. That you show all of it like this, and then, by this, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring the whole world back in teshuvah. And this is the secret of Hashgachah. The secret of Hashgachah is something that is in fact above the human bounds of a person, for Hashgachah is in fact above nature. When a person knows that the Holy One, blessed be He, watches over the world with precise Hashgachah and with wondrous Hashgachah that is above nature, then his emunah too becomes refined, and it also rises above nature, because it is not within nature.

20:14 And then there are all kinds of levels in Hashgachah. One: it is as Rav Saadiah Gaon writes. Rabbeinu Saadiah Gaon writes on Shir HaShirim, in the commentary on Shir HaShirim, chapter 2, verse 9, he writes: 'He watches from the windows, He peers through the lattices.' What is 'He watches from the windows' and 'He peers through the lattices'? This is one thing and that is another thing. So Rabbi Saadiah Gaon explains that 'He watches from the windows' is a revelation of Hashgachah.

20:42 It is a level of revelation. The revelation happens in practice, so that everyone sees this revelation, that they feel the Holy One, blessed be He, as on Pesach, at the Exodus from Egypt. That is 'He watches from the windows.' But 'He peers through the lattices,' seemingly — 'peering through the lattices' is something that is not done in revelation, when everyone is perhaps in a small state, when one sees 'peering through the lattices,' which is only in covering, in concealment, when not everyone sees the revelation of the Holy One, blessed be He — then it becomes 'peering through the lattices,' when not everyone sees the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, they do not see His Hashgachah.

21:17 But on Pesach there is an awakening of 'He watches from the windows,' because then everyone saw the miracle and the wonder, that the Holy One, blessed be He, [unclear] the nature of all creation, and everyone saw the miracle and the wonder: 'He watches from the windows.' That is what we want: the revelation of Pesach, of 'He watches from the windows.' That is what the whole world wants: that their learning should be at such a level — 'He watches from the windows.'

21:41 When the Holy One, blessed be He, hears a Torah of truth, Torah that is for His honor, blessed be He, then at that moment in Heaven He looks — 'He watches from the windows' — to see. But when He hears a word of Torah that is not for the sake of Heaven, then He peers through the lattices. In any case, it is Torah; it needs to be heard, but it is not like learning Torah lishmah. Learning Torah lishmah is heard in Heaven much more before the Holy One, blessed be He. As is known, several times the Shas mentions it - in Tractate [unclear], on page 7, in Tosafos in Tractate Pesachim, page 50, in Tractate Yoma, page [unclear] - several times the Shas mentions the virtue of Torah learning that is for its own sake, and Torah learning that becomes 'a potion of death,'

22:21 a potion of death. This learning that becomes a potion of death is learning that has no ascent. And this learning stays below. So that is why it has no Hashgachah. And the learning of the Jewish people while they were in Egypt - that was [unclear] their Shabbos, that [unclear] goes up on high, and it breaks through all the boundaries until it reaches the Throne of Glory, and the Holy One, blessed be He, redeems Israel. For then there was an awakening of very great mercy. And the Jewish people were in a state where they could not serve the Holy One, blessed be He, with joy.

22:49 And this is the novel insight of the Imros Moshe [unclear], Rabbi Moshe [unclear], the author of the Imros Moshe. He writes in the book Imros Moshe, in Parshas Devarim, on the verse - verse... chapter 26 in Chumash Devarim. Chapter 26, verse 26, it is written: 'And the Egyptians made us bad.' What is 'the Egyptians made us bad'? He says that all the bad that came to us is because of the Egyptians. That we - the Jewish people have no bad in them.

23:15 All the bad that we have is from the non-Jews. Bad has nothing to do with us. If a Jew has bad, some bad traits, it is the bad of the non-Jews that stuck to us, got mixed in, and then became ours. That is 'the Egyptians made us bad.' So all this heaviness of the labor, and this suffering, is only because of the Egyptians. But before that, we did not have it. Now, truly it was a great wonder about the Jewish people in Egypt: where did they get the strength to survive all this? The great strength that Israel had in Egypt came from this: that they had hidden scrolls, on which was written the whole story of how their redemption would unfold.

23:48 This is written in Midrash Rabbah, Parshas Shemos, in section 5, on the verse written in the book of Shemos, chapter 5, verse 9, where it is written: 'Let the work be heavier upon the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not occupy themselves with false words.' What is 'let them not occupy themselves with false words'? What does it mean? That they should not occupy themselves with the words of these scrolls, because they would delight in these scrolls from Shabbos to Shabbos. Shabbos would come, everyone sits, resting, and they would spread them open and delight in words of the redemption, that they were destined to be redeemed, saying: 'The Holy One, blessed be He, will redeem us; the Holy One, blessed be He, will redeem us; we will be redeemed, we will be redeemed,' and each one would talk it over with the other, until the Holy One, blessed be He, brought it about from Heaven - and so it truly was.

24:28 And behold, they merited to go out of the land of Egypt, from the darkness and the gloom, and from this great depth of impurity, from which no one could get out; and the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them strength and hope. The strength of this hope, the strength of this hope, the strength of this vitality that they had - which is all from the tzaddikim - that in each and every generation, whoever truly merits to hear the way of Hashem, truly, all the true holiness of the tzaddikim - then the strength it gives him, it will give him strength to delight; that is the scrolls.

24:55 Once, they had these scrolls so they could delight in them from Shabbos to Shabbos, in order to merit being redeemed. But today we do not have these scrolls; these scrolls are what is left to us - those books, those prophecies, those prophets who prophesied to us; only to delight in the words of these prophecies and in the writings of the tzaddikim - only this is what can bring us, from this, so that we can reach such a level that we merit to be redeemed. Because this level - to merit mercy, and to merit that the Holy One, blessed be He, redeems us - needs complete mercy.

25:25 There are several levels: there is judgment, there is mercy, and there is kindness - the treasury of free gifts. Kindness, the treasury of free gifts, corresponds to the Name Ehyeh. There are three Names: the Name Havayah, blessed be He, the Name Adnus, and the Name Ehyeh. The Name Ehyeh is the highest, and it is the Name with which we went out of Egypt. This Name, in fact - Moshe Rabbeinu asked to know - to know the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He.

25:56 This is written in Shemos Rabbah, in section 3, in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Mamal. He asked; the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe: 'Moshe, you want to know My Name? How do you want to know My Name? I am called according to the actions and the deeds that I do in the world: when I judge the world - Elokim, Judge; I am from the side of the attribute of judgment; when I have mercy on the world, I am [unclear]; when I make war on the wicked, I am Tzevaos.'

26:27 And He says to him: that I was, and that I am now, and that I will be - this is the Name Ehyeh; this corresponds to the Name Ehyeh. That is to say: what I was, what I am now, and what I am going to be; that 'I will be' - that corresponds to the Name Ehyeh. That is to say, with the Name Ehyeh we went out of Egypt. This Name, in fact, is a Name of complete mercy that can come down all the way below, to give life, in fact, to all the creatures - all the sinners, all the lowly ones who distanced themselves very, very far and fell away from every side of the Torah - and to shine in them such a light that they too will be able to draw close to Hashem, blessed be He.

27:02 This is what is called this Name, the Name Ehyeh. Now, to merit to receive illumination from such a Name - that is and not everyone can merit such a Name. Why? Because for this, one needs a leader who will have the power to bring about such great mercy. For when the Jewish people were in Egypt, it was impossible to take them out of there. The one who could take them out was only Moshe Rabbeinu. So there is an interesting Yalkut Shimoni on this. It says a beautiful thing: when Moshe Rabbeinu was at the Bush, he asked of the Holy One, blessed be He - He said to him, 'Go redeem the Jewish people,' right?

27:35 So He said to him - the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him - He had the staff. So in Yalkut Shimoni, Parshas Shemos, remez [unclear], it says that the Holy One, blessed be He, came to Moshe Rabbeinu and said to him: 'See, Moshe, I have this staff. If you want to go to redeem My people, go - I will send you to Pharaoh. And if you do not want to, here, I take this staff, and it will go to do the mission before Me.' That is to say: 'I do not need you; the staff will go to do the mission.'

28:04 Do you know what this is? Moshe Rabbeinu is sitting, and He is revealed in the burning bush, and the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: 'If you want to do the mission, you may; if you do not want to - you see this staff? It will go before Pharaoh, it will speak, it will conquer, it will do everything. This is My staff. If you want - this staff will do the mission; if you do not want - this staff [unclear], it will do the mission.' Once Rabbeinu saw this - that there is a staff that speaks, a staff that does the mission - then of course it made no difference to him, and he would do this mission: 'Nu, then I will go and do the mission; if You have a staff, then I will do it.'

28:33 Now, the staff, in fact, the staff corresponds to the Name Adnus, because in a staff there is no vitality of the level of a person; in a person there is the aspect of thought - that is the Name Ehyeh, that is thought, corresponding to the Name, the Name Ehyeh, corresponding to the mind, corresponding to Keser. And the Name Havayah, in fact, and Adnus - [unclear], [unclear] the person. For the voice corresponds to the Name Havayah, speech corresponds to the Name Adnus. It is written in the name of Rabbi Levi in the Yerushalmi, in Tractate Pesachim, in chapter [unclear], halachah 5: the Talmud Yerushalmi says that when Moshe Rabbeinu would speak in Egypt, his voice would go and be heard to the far end of all Egypt.

29:07 And Pharaoh's voice, too, was opposite this - for Pharaoh corresponds to the back of the neck, because that is the kelipah, and Moshe Rabbeinu corresponds to the face, which is thought; this is the opposite of Pharaoh. Pharaoh is the back of the neck - as Rabbeinu the Arizal writes, that the nourishment there was because of all the sparks that fell into the kelipah - the whole sin, also the sin of Adam HaRishon - [unclear] - the rectification of this was, in fact, that the ones who can bring about this rectification are only great and awesome tzaddikim; that the Jewish people had to go down there, below, in order to sift out this aspect that was below, and bring about this rectification before the Holy One, blessed be He. The descent of Israel to Egypt - that the Jewish people went down to Egypt - was in order to bring about this rectification,

29:45 in order to bring about this whole situation, that we would merit to be redeemed from there. The teshuvah we did, and the descent there, was to rectify the whole sin of Adam HaRishon. This whole stay in Egypt was for the rectification of the sin of Adam HaRishon; that is the meaning of the descent below. The descent below is for the rectification of the sin of Adam HaRishon - what no one can do, what no one can bring about; only Moshe Rabbeinu can do it. Now, corresponding to this: Moshe Rabbeinu corresponds to Keser, to thought, to the Name Ehyeh; the staff is in the foundation of action - that is Adnus, that is the deed, because the staff is Adnus.

30:15 Thought corresponds to the Name [unclear], and the voice corresponds to the voice - his voice would go on and [unclear] until all of Egypt heard it. This is a voice that corresponds to the Name Havayah; so the voice corresponds to the Name Havayah; Adnus is the deed, corresponding to the Name Adnus; and thought corresponds to the Name Ehyeh. That is the mind. That Moshe corresponded to the Name Ehyeh, and Pharaoh, in the kelipah, corresponded to the Name - the opposite, corresponding to the back side of [unclear], which is the reverse, which is the attribute of judgment that [unclear], as Rabbeinu the Arizal explains there at the beginning, in the introduction.

30:44 That is to say, everything goes in reverse; the back side adds up to the number of 'dam' - blood - which in fact is where the plagues began. And this is also Pharaoh's pride - that he was struck in the Nile because he [unclear], which is his pride. His pride - then he began to go from this, until he had no merit at all, and he went backward, and he received all the plagues; and so began the downfall of Egypt. Everything began from that same sin of Adam HaRishon. So Israel goes down to Egypt and rectifies this, after Adam HaRishon, through Yaakov Avinu; and so it rises and rises until Moshe Rabbeinu arrives there and begins to set the actions in order.

31:16 The one who can bring this about is Moshe Rabbeinu. And now there is another tzaddik who works together with Moshe Rabbeinu: that is Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good. Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good - usually the whole Jewish people loves them all, all the tzaddikim, but Eliyahu HaNavi is always on the side; no one thinks about him. No one talks about him, no one believes in him; he should be added to the Thirteen Principles. People will say: 'I believe with complete faith that Eliyahu HaNavi went up in a whirlwind to heaven.' To believe this with complete faith - that is the meaning of complete faith.

31:44 Now, Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good, he will be the last leader. He is the one who [unclear] Israel - Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good. And the first one was Moshe Rabbeinu. The last is Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good. This is not some novelty that I am saying - it is a novelty now, what I am doing, a bridging of the matters; it is a novelty, but it has a basis. The one who explains this is in the Yalkut Shimoni on Melachim, remez 209. There it is written about Moshe and Eliyahu, may he be remembered for good: two leaders stood up for Israel, and what this one went through, that one went through. In the Yalkut Shimoni, many times, Rabbi Shimon HaDarshan brings, each time, things that are similar to one another, that happened,

32:19 making the comparisons between them; but here, what happened with them is a very interesting thing. Look at something interesting, for example, that happened. Let's think, for example. It says: Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good - this was Moshe. Moshe, it says, was a prophet, and Eliyahu, may he be remembered for good, is a prophet. Eliyahu is a prophet and Moshe is a prophet, right? Moshe is a prophet and Eliyahu is a prophet. Moshe too is a prophet, and Eliyahu too is a prophet, right? Moshe a prophet and Eliyahu a prophet. Moshe, 'the man of G-d,' and Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good - it is also said about him, 'a man of G-d.'

32:47 Both Moshe Rabbeinu and Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good. Moshe went up on high, and Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good, went up on high. Moshe Rabbeinu fled from Pharaoh, it says - but this, the Midrash says: Moshe fled from Pharaoh, and Eliyahu fled from Achav and Izevel. Moshe killed the Egyptian, and Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good, killed Chiel, of the prophets of Baal - 'and he became guilty through Baal and died,' as it says about Chiel; he killed Chiel.

33:19 [unclear] 'and died' - he killed him. So he too killed [unclear]. Moshe Rabbeinu was sustained by a woman, through 'call him, that he may eat bread' - that he came, when he fled from Pharaoh, through the daughters of Yisro. After that, Eliyahu HaNavi too was sustained by a woman, the woman of Tzarfas, who also sustained him. So she too gave to him. Moshe Rabbeinu gathered Israel to their Father in Heaven, and Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good, gathered Israel to their Father in Heaven.

33:45 Moshe Rabbeinu gathered everyone to Mount Sinai, right? and Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good, gathered everyone to Mount Carmel. Moshe Rabbeinu gave the Torah to Israel and brought about a sanctification of Hashem's Name. Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good - [unclear] after him: 'Hashem is G-d, Hashem is G-d.' See how many things - the connection between Moshe Rabbeinu and Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good. This one like this and that one like this, this one like this and that one like this.

34:11 And all of these in their levels; this is a level of the prophet, that Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good, goes on and is revealed for the redemption of Israel, in practice, in the final time. When does the [unclear] of Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good, shine forth? On Erev Pesach. On Erev Pesach everyone goes and sits, prays and reclines, and they mention Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good. They mention, in the Haggadah, in prayer, they mention Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good.

34:41 And then, in fact, the merit appears, and the remembrance of Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good, and everyone comes and thinks of Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good, and behold: 'Behold, I am sending you Eliyah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Hashem,' as is written in Malachi, chapter 3, verse 24: 'And he will return the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.' What is 'he will return the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers'?

35:09 What does it mean? 'He will return the heart of the fathers to the children' - of all that begins on Erev Pesach - for the Holy One, blessed be He, does complete mercy for the Jewish people, for what stands by Israel is the merit of the forefathers. When we begin the Amidah prayer, we mention the merit of Avraham Avinu, we mention the merit of Yitzchak Avinu, we mention the merit of Yaakov Avinu, we mention the merit of the holy forefathers, at the beginning of the prayer. After we mention the merit of the holy forefathers, the whole order of the prayer begins, and we conclude with 'Magen [unclear]' As is known.

35:40 Now, this merit - the one who awakens the merit of the forefathers is only Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good. For the one who, in fact, will redeem Israel - as we explained that Rabbi Shimon HaDarshan explains in the Yalkut Shimoni - will be Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good; that is, he is the last. Moshe, the first redeemer; Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good, the last redeemer. For what this one went through, that one went through. So if Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good, is the last redeemer, and we have a proof from Malachi, who says, 'And he will return the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,' then here, in fact, at this time when he brings them back and rectifies all the creatures - Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good -

36:14 and everyone goes up and gathers to Mount Carmel, and a sanctification of Hashem's Name takes place like none other, and Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good, comes, and everyone goes after him and [unclear] after him: 'Hashem is G-d, Hashem is G-d, Hashem is G-d.' He brought about the sanctification of Hashem's Name in this time of the exile; so he is the one who, in fact, will redeem Israel. And what is the meaning of 'he will return the heart of the fathers to the children'? For in the Name of Hashem, blessed be He, the Name Havayah, blessed be He, there is the letter Yud, the letter Heh, the letter Vav, and the last letter Heh - that is the Heh of 'the Shechinah in exile.'

36:47 The Heh of the Shechinah in exile. In fact, the letter Yud, the letter Heh and the letter Vav, the first ones that we mentioned - that is, in fact, for the holy forefathers. The one who unites the last letter Heh, in fact, with the Shechinah, which is in exile, and [unclear] the letters - that is Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good. For we see in 'Pasach Eliyahu,' about the Heh, the Shechinah in exile, that the one who will unite this Heh, and the one who will return it, is Eliyahu HaNavi, may he be remembered for good. Eliyahu HaNavi knows the secret of the Shechinah that is in exile, and he can raise up the Shechinah in exile, return the Heh to its place, and unite the Name Havayah, blessed be He, as a complete unification.

37:20 Uniting the Name, the letters Vav-Heh, and so on. Now, when does this happen? On Erev Pesach. The Holy One, blessed be He - when will His Name be whole? As Tosafos says on page 3 of Berachos, that He will erase the name of Amalek, and erase the memory of Amalek. And when was this? On Erev Pesach. On Erev Pesach the Holy One, blessed be He, swore that He would erase the memory of Amalek from the heavens - erase the memory of Amalek from the world. This is what the Zohar says in Parshas [unclear], on page [unclear], side b.

37:46 The holy Zohar says: the Holy One, blessed be He, swore that He would erase the seed of Amalek from the world, that there would be no memory of Amalek, no more Amalek. When will He bring the punishment upon Amalek? The Holy One, blessed be He, will do it on Erev Pesach. And when will the redemption come to the Jewish people? This is the Zohar in Parshas Mishpatim, on page [unclear], side a - the holy Zohar says: it will be between Pesach and Atzeres - between Pesach and Tishrei; between Pesach and Tishrei, not Atzeres, that is something else - between Pesach and Tishrei, in fact, will be the redemption; the Holy One, blessed be He, will redeem Israel at this time.

38:15 But there is only one, in fact, about whom, in fact - he cannot - he will not have that same blessing, he will not have that same guarding and that same protection: that is anyone who eats chametz on Pesach. So he cannot receive the light of Pesach; he cannot merit to be redeemed [unclear]. The holy Zohar says, in Zohar Pinchas, on page [unclear], side b. The holy Zohar says that the moment he eats from this chametz, then, in fact, his soul is cut off both from this world and from the World to Come; and then he receives a soul from the kelipos, and then he goes down lower and lower, and he has no ascent; and then he remains in the place where he remains - he cannot rise, he remains below.

38:47 He has no rectification and ascent. So because he remains there in this place below and has no rectification and ascent, he cannot taste the light that is revealed on Pesach. For on Pesach the Holy One, blessed be He, leads the world with the Name Shaddai, on Erev Pesach, as the Maggid of Kozhnitz explains in his discourses for Pesach, who explains: 'Hallel Gamur' adds up to 314 - which is said on the Seder night - and also the Name 'Shomer Dlasos Yisrael' adds up to 314 too, which is also the number of [unclear], and that Name also corresponds to the overturning of the order of nature.

39:16 And this the Holy One, blessed be He, brings about: that everyone must drink the wine on the Seder night specifically. That everyone drinks the wine on the Seder night - the whole Jewish people; this is one time when the whole Jewish people in the whole world reclines on one night, and everyone merits mochin de-gadlus, the expanded mind; for wine, drinking wine, is mochin de-gadlus. This is not mochin de-gadlus like we said about Purim. On the Seder night the whole Jewish people sits, everyone reclining together, and they merit the level of mochin de-gadlus.

39:44 What is mochin de-gadlus? That everyone drinks wine. Everyone drinks wine together. And it is forbidden to give a poor man less than four cups - Tractate Pesachim, page [unclear], side b. Now, you know that we do not [unclear] the poor man of the four cups; one must see to it that he has at least four cups, and that he has a meal for Pesach. And this too is the reason that we do not say the blessing 'Me'ein Sheva' if it falls on Shabbos. Now, if it falls on Shabbos, then we do not say the blessing Me'ein Sheva.

40:10 Why? The blessing Me'ein Sheva comes to exempt a person who did not have a siddur to pray from, for once, in their times, there were mazikin; so now [unclear] mazikin, because everyone would be delayed in the synagogue. And also because, in the same way, the Holy One, blessed be He, brings it about that we fulfill the obligation of Kiddush through the blessing Me'ein Sheva. When a person says the blessing Me'ein Sheva, he fulfills the obligation of Kiddush - this is [unclear]. That is to say, the blessing Me'ein Sheva exempts from Kiddush one who has no [unclear].

40:34 And the novelty is that because they will certainly take care of the poor with kimcha de-Pischa, and they will have wine, then certainly, all the more, there is no need to say the blessing Me'ein Sheva. This is not the view of the Kabbalists; but also the Ran - the Chida also certainly rejected this - and everyone, and so [unclear], that we do not say the blessing Me'ein Sheva. That is the novelty. The novelty, in fact, is that we do not say it. Now, if we do not say the blessing Me'ein Sheva, then because of the wine it means that all Israel - the whole Jewish people - in fact reclines and drinks wine, and merits mochin de-gadlus, to draw close to Hashem.

41:05 And the whole Jewish people together in joy; and this is one night in the whole year - you never ever find anyone of Israel who sat like this, reclining, with mochin de-gadlus and drinking wine. And the whole year long you see each one like this and another like that; but on the Seder night, when they all sit together, the Jewish people, at that same moment, [unclear] - sitting and reclining and drinking wine, from small to great, everyone sits and drinks wine, which is a way of redemption, which is a way of mochin de-gadlus; that at this time, when everyone, wherever they are, all sit together and drink the wine.

41:44 And this wine brings them to such a level of mochin de-gadlus that then they can, in fact, go everywhere and reveal the kingship of Hashem, publicize the miracle, reveal to everyone that our Master, blessed be He, is King, and everyone sees the miracle, that the Holy One, blessed be He, took us out of Egypt. So much so that the Rambam explains in Hilchos [unclear] and in Hilchos Chametz u-Matzah, chapter seven, halachah seven, that I must go and borrow and hire myself out in order to go and bring wine; [unclear], going around from door to door, even - for the four cups that must be drunk, he must bring wine, so that he will have it.

42:18 If he has no wine, then he cannot merit that level of mochin de-gadlus. And because now he has wine, and he has mochin de-gadlus - when he merits such mochin, then it is the whole Jewish people together; so he must sit together with the poor too. When the poor too, together, merit mochin de-gadlus, and the whole Jewish people, wherever they are, merit mochin de-gadlus, then they need to [unclear] the obligation of the four cups. That is why it is an obligation of four cups, as Tosafos in Pesachim, on page 108a, and on page 117b, which speak of the obligation of four cups; on page 99b, on the obligation of four cups, that one must drink wine; and the Rambam, Hilchos Chametz u-Matzah, [unclear] the seventh, as well, in siman 472 of the Tur Shulchan Aruch, se'if 8,

42:59 also the obligation of four cups - there is an obligation of four cups. So the meaning of drinking the wine, that it is an obligation, and also for a child, as the Rosh writes, in klal 14, letter 5, the Rosh brings that for children too one must make it the practice, that they drink wine, also for a child, also for a woman, for they were part of that same miracle, in Tractate Sotah, page 14b: 'In the merit of righteous women, Israel was redeemed from Egypt.'

43:24 So this is needed for a woman too. And also a person must push himself: even if he cannot drink, he must make the effort. On this we rely on the Rashba, Part 1, siman 238 - the Rashba plainly ruled that one must make the effort and drink the wine. And one for whom it is hard and [unclear] - for this there is the Mishnah Berurah, siman 72, se'if katan 35, where the Mishnah Berurah permits a person who says that now he cannot, and [unclear].

43:49 But in practice, the Maharam Schick, in Part 1, siman 160, says that even a person who is ill but not in danger - if he is ill but not in danger, he too must make the effort and drink wine. Why? It is written in Tractate Nedarim, page 49b, in the name of Rabbi Yehuda, at the end of the page, the [unclear] line from the bottom. In the name of Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Yehuda drank four cups, and his head - his mind ached from Pesach until Atzeres, his mind ached.

44:22 From the cups, from the four cups - these are mochin, that his mind ached from Pesach until Atzeres. The secret of the four cups, from Pesach until Atzeres, is this whole time until the receiving of the Torah. The meaning of the headache from the cups of the Seder - 'from Pesach until Atzeres' means this whole time in which we merit the lights of the receiving of the Torah. For from the time of the Seder night we receive the hidden light that comes down on the Seder night, until the receiving of the Torah.

44:47 Now, so when he felt the pain in his head - the headache means that same to awaken the [unclear], as we explained at the beginning, that he merited such a level of mochin that he felt it, and he had pain from it. From this comes the effort: that every person should buy himself good wine, fine wine, and check which wine, what quality of wine he has, for from the quality of the wine that he will have, it will be good for him, and so he too will merit mochin d'gadlus, that he can drink the wine, that he can drink the wine with joy and reclining; then he himself merits mochin d'gadlus.

45:19 And then all of Israel, all of them, who sit together and recline, everywhere in the world, together, from small to great, all receive the light that was on Pesach, in which the Holy One, blessed be He - what He did - with several things that were done on Erev Pesach. Several things. One: the Holy One, blessed be He, brought the angels - sent the angels to Avraham Avinu; that was on Erev Pesach. Sarah Imeinu kneaded three se'ahs - that was on Erev Pesach.

45:48 That too was on Erev Pesach. They learned from this also what a Kohen brings when he offers his meal-offering at the start of his priesthood: he brings [unclear], 'revuchah' - in the Sifra, on Parashas Tzav, in the Sifra on Parashas Tzav, section 3, it is written in the Sifra that he brings it 'revuchah', 'murbeches' - which teaches from here that it is made in boiling water. This is the Kohen's offering; this is his [unclear]. Now, what is 'in boiling water'? It is the act of a person who brings his whole body to a boil for the service of Hashem.

46:15 When he begins to draw close to the priesthood, it must be [unclear]; he must come entirely in a fire of fervor for Hashem. That is the meaning of 'boiling' - the meaning is, just as we drink wine, and this wine in fact gives warmth to the world. And all the Jewish people are at a level of warmth - 'my heart grew hot within me' - all are aflame for Hashem. This fervor for Hashem, blessed be He, at this time, on Erev Pesach, when everyone's hearts grow warm. For now the heart of all Israel grows warm for the service of Hashem.

46:41 So this is what warms everyone for the service of Hashem. This way, in which everyone grows warm and their heart burns for Hashem, blessed be He - for it is like the Kohen's offering, so this too was done on Erev Pesach. Now, on this Pesach the Holy One, blessed be He, sent the angels to strike Sodom; they overturned Sodom - that was on Erev Pesach. Yitzchak blessed Yaakov and Esav - that was on Erev Pesach. The Holy One, blessed be He, redeemed Israel from Egypt - that was on Erev Pesach.

47:06 [unclear] Jericho - the walls of Jericho fell; that was on Erev Pesach. Haman was hanged on the tree; all these things are things that were done on Erev Pesach. Sancheriv and his downfall; Belshatzar - [unclear] about the downfall of Babylon; that too was on Erev Pesach. All these things were done on Erev Pesach. And the Holy One, blessed be He, arranged from Heaven that on the Erev Pesach that comes, all [unclear] are found at this stand, at the most exalted stand, which is the overturning of the whole order of nature, and they sit and recline and drink wine at the level of mochin d'gadlus, which no one has - no one in any nation in the world merits it - that at this time of night the Holy One, blessed be He, [unclear] wine, and all merit a great and exalted level, without exception,

47:54 from small to great, all the Jewish people wherever they are, wherever they are found, drink wine, upon the altar, which is the table, and they tell words of Aggadah before Hashem, blessed be He, and they converse before the Holy One, blessed be He, on Erev Pesach, all together - this is the beginning of the redemption. The beginning of the redemption from Heaven, when the Holy One, blessed be He, reveals the redemption to the Jewish people; and then we eat the matzah.

48:21 The matzah, reclining, as the Zohar writes, in the Zohar on Parashas Bo, page 41a, from Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: that eating the matzah in fact draws down faith for all generations, that whoever eats the matzah is in fact strengthened in Hashem, blessed be He, in his trust, for he is in fact eating 'nahama de-asvasa', the bread of healing. This bread is in fact a bread of faith, it is a bread of cleaving to Hashem, blessed be He, it is a bread of a level of mochin. This is not the level of the whole year - you eat bread and you do not remain at that same earthly level, this is a level where the person is uplifted and raised, for now he is at a higher level, for the bread he eats - 'nahama' - this is 'nahama de-asvasa',

49:00 and the level of 'nahama de-asvasa' is not the bread he eats all week or the whole year. And now, at the time - at this time, when he is uplifted and rises higher and higher, and he reaches a level above which there is none, and he eats also [unclear], and also reclines and drinks the wine, and tells of the wonders of the Master of heaven and earth. For the Yerushalmi - in the Yerushalmi, chapter 10, halachah 1 - explains and lists, in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua, many reasons for the four cups on Pesach, that we drink four cups, and how many virtues and how many levels there are in the four cups. And in the Mishnah, chapter 10, Mishnah 7, they say that between the first cup and the second, between the second and the third, if he wants to drink, he drinks;

49:41 between the third and the fourth, he does not drink. Now, this is so that he can finish the Hallel, and also so that he does not fall asleep, so that he can tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The story of the Exodus from Egypt is the main thing on this night. And especially after a person reclines and becomes a free man, and everyone is in joy, and they tell it on that night, on the Seder night, in joy, as the Maharal explains, the Seder night is when the whole order of nature was overturned, and this is the night that is the conduct, it is the right order, He, blessed be He, takes hold of His beloved children and decides to redeem the Jewish people.

50:11 For then, in fact, those aspects come about that correspond to the parts of the world. The Jewish people is built of several parts, as we see: there are four letters of the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He - the yud, we said, the hei, and so on. And the Name 'Ehyeh', we said, is at the very top; it is greater than all the Names, it is higher than all the Names, at the level of the outflow of His mercy. And the Name - we said, 'the heavens and the earth', from the sefer Or HaGanuz, in the introduction, as Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaKohen of Anipoli writes in the introduction to the sefer, about the Name 'the heavens and the earth'. That is one level; this is another level. Right now we are not speaking about 'the heavens and the earth',

50:47 we are speaking about 'Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh'. The foundation of the Exodus from Egypt: the Name that is able to take Israel out of Egypt, to redeem all the Jewish people from exile. This is the soul of the King Mashiach - that same soul of Moshe Rabbeinu, who has the power to redeem all the Jewish people from captivity, to redeem all the Jewish people from the abyss. And only Moshe Rabbeinu could do this, what no one could, for the Jewish people were sunk in the forty-nine gates of impurity, and only Moshe Rabbeinu could redeem them with their situation, with their level and with their Torah, to redeem them from there, as it were from that place, that situation and that level which no one can understand, which one cannot imagine at all and cannot grasp at all,

51:28 such a level at all, for these are not things that human beings can understand. And from within all this, and this level, Moshe Rabbeinu takes hold of Israel, hugs them and kisses them and takes them out of Egypt. The Exodus from Egypt is done through wonders, and the Holy One, blessed be He, overturns the order of nature, and then four aspects are revealed, corresponding to the four letters of the Name of Hashem. These four aspects - we call them the wise son, the wicked son, the simple son, and the one who does not know how to ask.

51:58 The wise son corresponds to the letter yud in the Name of Hashem, blessed be He. The simple son corresponds to the letter [unclear]. And I will explain shortly. For the yud is wisdom, and the simple son is knowledge. And in Tractate Nedarim, page [unclear], side a: that whoever has no knowledge - then he has no knowledge; he is not destined to know. And whoever has knowledge lacks nothing. For certainly, if he has knowledge, he has everything. For he lacks nothing. He has knowledge and has merited everything.

52:23 So now, [unclear] of the Name of Hashem. The wicked son corresponds to the letter vav. For the wicked one blemishes the Yesod, the foundation. So he destroys the vav; blemishing the Yesod corresponds to the vav. And the one who does not know how to ask corresponds to the hei. And why does the one who does not know how to ask correspond to the hei? Because the hei is the Shechinah in exile. And the one who does not know how to ask - they do not know how to bring back the King's daughter. So this corresponds to the letter hei, which he does not know how to bring back. He does not know how to bring the King's daughter to her place. No one knows how to bring back this hei.

52:48 But only Eliyahu the Prophet, remembered for good, can bring back the letter yud, the letter hei and the letter vav. And therefore we say - in Malachi the Prophet - in Malachi they say, in chapter 10 - we said, in chapter 3, verse 24: 'And he shall turn back the heart of the fathers to the children.' 'Veheshiv' - that is vav, hei, yud: 'shav'. He brings back the vav, the hei and the yud, he brings them back - 'the heart of the fathers', the merit of the fathers - 'to the children', which is us. We are the children. He brings back the three letters that were at the head.

53:13 He brings them back onto the end, which is the children - us. He brings back - 'he shall turn back the heart of the fathers' - and awakens the merit of the fathers, by bringing back the hei, the Shechinah in its exile, through 'and he shall turn back the heart of the fathers to the children.' And so, therefore, the one who does not know how to ask is one who has fallen from every facet of the Torah. And because he has fallen from every facet of the Torah, he does not know how to ask. Why is the one who does not know how to ask one who has fallen from every facet of the Torah? Because one who is at the level of a wicked one - that is still some kind of level, in his case. Why? Because he is in dispute.

53:42 He is always asking and he does not know. He always has a difficulty. So he asks; he wants to know. But he does not do teshuvah. But the fact that he asks shows that he is at some certain level, that he wants to ask, but he has no answer; and this shows that he is wicked, because he wants to ask - he has some difficulty, something not good. But he, at the level of a wicked one - he does not know how to ask; he has fallen from every facet of the Torah, he does not know what one must ask in order to fulfill. The wicked son says, 'What is this service to you?' - and not to him; he excludes himself from everyone. So the one who does not know how to ask stands against the wicked son, for he has fallen from every facet of the Torah.

54:14 That one who does not know how to ask... but the wicked one still has hope, for in any case, when he returns, he will have some remedy, for someone will give him back his answer, for Eliyahu the Prophet can answer all created beings. Therefore it says 'veheshiv' - he is the one who will give the answer to all created beings. Only Eliyahu, remembered for good, can answer: this is 'and he shall turn back the heart of the fathers', that Eliyahu the Prophet will give the answer to all created beings, all of them. Only Eliyahu, remembered for good, can turn back the heart of the fathers; he can bring all the Jewish people to do complete teshuvah.

54:41 For the difficulty in fact comes from the Jewish people not having learned the Torah in depth as they should; for if they had learned the Torah in depth, there would be no difficulty at all. For when one learns the Torah in depth, one understands that, going to earlier generations, they had no difficulties. Now, the Shev Shmateta, Rabbi Aryeh Leib Heller, in the introduction - in the Shev Shmateta, in the introduction, [unclear]. He writes that in earlier generations they had a great power of in-depth study, and they did not need to resort to all kinds of things, the way today we come to difficulties and crooked reasonings and such.

55:12 They would sit and learn the Torah, and their minds were straight. He says that because we are [unclear], we do not know how to delve into the Torah properly, we do not know how to learn, so [unclear], and in-depth study of the Torah brings us back to the straight path. That is to say, the proof is in Tractate Temurah, page 16a, about Osniel ben Kenaz: laws were forgotten in the days of Moshe, and he restored them. And the Rambam, in the introduction to the Mishnah, in the passage beginning 'When Moshe died', the Rambam explains that then they [unclear] engaged in give-and-take in halachah. In Tractate Shabbos, page 31a, it says to a person: 'Did you engage in wisdom? Did you delve deeply in wisdom? Did you set times for Torah? Did you delve deeply in wisdom?'

55:45 Did you have something - give-and-take with the halachah? Did you have something so that you would understand the root of the Torah? For the root of all the questions is one answer. The root of all the questions is only one answer: 'and he shall turn back the heart of the fathers.' For if a person - therefore we leave a fifth cup for Eliyahu the Prophet, remembered for good. This fifth cup is for Eliyahu the Prophet, remembered for good, for he in fact - 'the Tishbi will resolve difficulties and questions.' This leaving of the fifth cup - drinking the cup at all rectifies the sin of Adam, the first man, with pride.

56:13 In siman [unclear], when a person drinks the wine, the Darkei Moshe explains [unclear] - that another should pour for him, in the manner of freedom. And the Kaf HaChaim explains that this corresponds to - when a person drinks, he drinks down all his pride. All year he behaved with pride, so he sets out pillows and cushions on Pesach, so he behaves with even more grandeur - now he is a king. So he says that precisely this, that he is a king now, will atone for him for the whole year that he was a king. Now you rectify all that you were proud the whole year - you set out pillows and cushions, now you rectify.

56:42 All year you were in pride; now on the Seder night you behave with pride - it is permitted to you - you rectify the whole year. It is amusing, what he explains. This reflection - that the Admorim of Chabad, [unclear], the Maharash, the Alter Rebbe, and the Rebbe Rayatz, and Rabbi Shalom DovBer - all these great ones did not follow the custom that others pour for them; they had the custom of pouring themselves. They had some reason: they did not want anyone to touch it for them - and this is also [unclear] of the wine; they had an intention in this, so they did not want anyone to touch it for them, in the words of the Alter Rebbe, who wrote the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe, siman 473.

57:14 This says that the meaning is of the - Where were we, anyway? That the cup of Eliyahu - that the fifth cup is because of the dispute of the Sages and Rabbi Tarfon. You know - Rabbi Tarfon, with the Rif, Rabbeinu Chananel and the Rambam: must one drink, need one not drink; Rashi and the Rashbam say that there is no proof for a fifth cup, and so on. And therefore, as [unclear] explains, in fact the fifth cup is left for the end.

57:41 For just as Eliyahu the Prophet, the Tishbi, will resolve difficulties and questions, so too Eliyahu the Prophet will resolve the fifth cup. When he comes, then 'he shall turn back the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers'. [unclear] will resolve all the difficulties, so he also corresponds to the fifth cup. So we [unclear] the fifth cup [unclear]. One who merits can see Eliyahu the Prophet on that night, also drinking the fifth cup. There are people I have heard of who saw such a thing - a true story. A story. Now, so it was - a story, yes: Eliyahu the Prophet drinks the fifth cup; he drinks it, it is really for him. This is a proof that it is forbidden to drink; we do not drink - not like the view of Rabbi Tarfon, that over the fifth cup one completes the Hallel.

58:15 So this means that in fact the revelation of Eliyahu the Prophet, remembered for good, takes place on the Seder night. And then all the Jewish people are equal before Hashem, and then in fact there are no more difficulties and answers, for there will be only one clear answer: that he turns back the hearts of everyone to their Father in Heaven. So for this, no more difficulties are needed and no more problems, and there is no longer anything broken that needs solving, for already everything has returned to its place in peace, and already everything has returned and been set right in its place, for nothing more is needed. For on this day of the Seder night, at the time the Holy One, blessed be He, [unclear] the whole order, then corresponding to this, as we explained, this is the hei, the Shechinah in exile. Now, corresponding to this yud - in fact it is written, as we said, that this yud corresponds to wisdom, and wisdom corresponds to Avraham Avinu.

59:03 And of Avraham Avinu it is written in the prophet Yeshayahu, chapter 11, verse 9: 'For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Hashem, as the waters cover the sea' - that the Holy One, blessed be He - the whole world will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem; everyone will know the Holy One, blessed be He, from small to great; they will no longer need to speak of Hashem, for the whole earth will be full of the knowledge of Hashem, as the waters cover the sea. [unclear] - this is the Name of twenty-six together; so this is 'knowledge of Hashem' - 'knowledge of Hashem' is exactly this number.

59:40 Now, this outflow of this Name, which becomes complete mercy upon all created beings, for then, we said, Keser, the Crown, is at the head; the Crown is made at the head, and then in fact the revelation of complete mercy is revealed upon all created beings. And then all are equal before the Holy One, blessed be He, only through the answer of Eliyahu the Prophet, remembered for good. And Yaakov Avinu corresponds to the simple son, as it is written of Yaakov in the book of Bereishis, chapter 25, verse 27: 'And Yaakov was a simple man, dwelling in tents.'

1:00:08 'And Yaakov was a simple man, dwelling in tents.' So this 'simple' corresponds to the simple son. The wise son corresponds to Avraham; the simple son corresponds to Yaakov Avinu. And the wicked son - whom does he correspond to? To Yitzchak. Yitzchak subdues the wicked one - Esav the red, from whom came Edom, all the wicked who came from him. He is the one who fought against Yishmael; and the brother who wanted to kill him - he is the one who fought against Esav.

1:00:33 And the one who does not know how to ask is the totality of the souls of Israel, for we have fallen from every facet of the Torah, to the point that we do not know how to ask in the Torah, and there is no substance in our questions; we, inside the Torah at all, do not know how to ask. For if they had learned the entire Torah, they would see that there is no question at all in the Torah, and whoever learns the entire Torah will see that he has no difficulty at all, and he has no question at all, and there is no [unclear].

1:00:57 For Rashi, many times in the Shas, did not see the Yerushalmi. The Yerushalmi was not before his eyes. Many times, when Rashi explains, the Yerushalmi was not before his eyes. So here we see that not every one saw the other. But if one learns the entire Torah, then one knows that there is no question at all, and no difficulty at all. And corresponding to this, that he is wise - so we said, the wise son, for this comes after the four cups. So the Holy One, blessed be He, says 'veheveisi' - 'and I will bring'. Right? 'Veheveisi' corresponds to the fifth cup, [unclear].

1:01:23 After this we have 'vehitzalti' - 'and I will rescue' - corresponding to the wicked son: the Holy One, blessed be He, rescues us from the wicked. 'Velakachti' - 'and I will take' - corresponding to corresponding to the - corresponding to - How many are there? I have a fourth: 'vehotzeisi'. Whom does 'vehotzeisi' correspond to? - Isn't it Yaakov Avinu? - 'Vehotzeisi' corresponds to Yaakov. Do you know why?

1:01:51 There is such a verse, 'vehotzeisi'. There is a verse, 'vehotzeisi': the book of Yeshayahu, chapter [unclear], verse 9: 'Vehotzeisi - and I will bring forth seed from Yaakov, and an inheritor from Yehudah' - exactly. 'And I will bring forth seed from Yaakov, and an inheritor from Yehudah.' So this is 'vehotzeisi': 'I will bring forth seed from Yaakov and an inheritor from Yehudah' corresponds to 'vehotzeisi'. And 'velakachti' corresponds to Avraham, for Shlomo says in Mishlei, chapter 11, verse 30, at the end: 'And he who takes in souls is wise.'

1:02:21 So 'he who takes in souls is wise' corresponds to - to Avraham Avinu. So 'vehitzalti' corresponds to the wicked son, that the Holy One, blessed be He, rescues us from the wicked. And the last is the Shechinah in exile - that is us, His children. So when Eliyahu the Prophet, remembered for good, comes and Eliyahu the Prophet, remembered for good, says, 'And he shall turn back the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers' - Eliyahu the Prophet, remembered for good, answers all the difficulties, and he returns all the letters to their order; for then the letter vav returns to the beginning, and the letter yud to the beginning, and the letter hei to the beginning, and the whole order of the alef-beis is completed.

1:02:53 For he restores all the difficulties to their place, and then he reveals that all the Jewish people who do not know how to ask - he tells them that they do know how to ask, for 'I have an answer to give.' So 'and he shall turn back' the hearts - for he causes the Jewish people to have something to ask, and then he comes to answer you. They say, 'the Tishbi will resolve difficulties and questions', for he is the proof to the Jewish people that there are answers to all the difficulties in the Shas. For all the difficulties there are - Eliyahu the Prophet will come and he will resolve all the difficulties. But as we said, when Eliyahu the Prophet, remembered for good, arrives, then he arranges the whole alef-beis, and arranges all the letters, all of them; and when all the letters, all of them, are completed, then we merit the complete redemption, and then the Holy One, blessed be He, redeems Israel.

1:03:32 May it be His will that the Holy One, blessed be He, redeem all His people Israel, and that we merit the complete redemption, and merit to be redeemed with an uplifted hand, and merit to greet our righteous Mashiach with joy and gladness of heart. We wish everyone a kosher and joyous Pesach, we wish everyone miracles and wonders. We will not see you next week; there is the preparation for Pesach. As we said, we want the salvations, so we want to clean. So may the Holy One, blessed be He, give everyone many [unclear], give everyone miracles and wonders, give all of you blessing and success, give all of you 'in all that you turn to, you will succeed; in all that you do, you will prosper'. 'Blessed are you to Hashem, Maker of heaven and earth.' May the Holy One, blessed be He, make you succeed, raise your horn, raise your mazal higher and higher, that you have blessing and success and miracles and wonders.

1:04:18 May He grant us the complete redemption; may He grant us to see the building of our Beis HaMikdash, the Holy Temple, and our glory. Amen. May He grant us to uplift and to [unclear] our souls. Amen. May He grant us to merit to greet our righteous Mashiach, right away, immediately, truly. And so may it be His will, and let us say amen. Amen. Just, tzaddikim, one important thing - just not to forget, with Hashem's help, the joy, of course, on Pesach. We love you, with a great love.

1:04:42 Just one small request to ask of everyone. Truly, yesterday I heard something very sad - yesterday. At night they told me about a certain person who [unclear], and we did not know him; and they told me this story - it was very hard for me to hear this story. And I only say - just one request: truly, this is not a simple generation; do everything in your power, save lives - every Jew you hear is in distress, every Jew you hear is in trouble, anyone you see who is in some pain or some brokenness - give yourselves over completely, redeem him from his sadness, talk with him, [unclear] his heart, talk with him, see what he is going through. Know that this is the mitzvah that is worth all the mitzvos; this one surpasses them all.

1:05:25 True, we want sanctification, [unclear] and everything - that is the way of the whole Torah and everything, but think - every Jewish man and woman - if you know of someone who is broken, someone who is [unclear], support him, speak to his heart; do not leave the world like this. One must turn the whole world over to bring things back to Hashem. Bringing someone back in teshuvah is not telling a person, 'Do this or that' - it is strengthening him, bringing joy to his heart - that is called bringing him back in teshuvah.

1:05:51 Give him vitality, give him hope. No one can bring anyone back in teshuvah. This is a generation in which no one knows the greatness of Hashem. Can anyone do teshuvah before the Creator? Does anyone know the greatness of the Creator? Who knows the greatness of the Creator? Put a person in the middle of the sea facing sharks, and [unclear] will tear his flesh - to whom will he call? Does he truly have fear of Hashem? A lion comes before him, it will devour him - will he think about [unclear], will he think about his sugya? It will devour him. Does he have fear of Hashem? He has no fear of Hashem; he is putting on a show.

1:06:18 So what is true fear of Heaven? It is to love the children of Hashem. If anyone knows of some friend, of someone who is broken or something - support people, encourage them, greet everyone with a shining face, support everyone. This is the greatest thing, and in its merit we will be redeemed; it is certain that this is what will bring the redemption. May it be His will that everyone take upon himself [unclear] greet everyone with a shining face, to guard the mouth from lashon hara, [unclear] not to shame a Jew, not to shame anyone, not to cause pain to anyone, to be in joy, to rejoice in the Torah of the Jewish people, to rejoice that there is nachas ruach before the Holy One, blessed be He - this is our joy. May it be His will that the Holy One, blessed be He, grant us merit and redeem us with an uplifted hand, and so may it be His will, and let us say amen.

1:06:56 It is very important to keep up the niggun; the niggun too is very, very special - it opens the heart and it awakens to teshuvah.