The Yanuka Rav Shlomo Yehuda-＂הדור מתפלל, לומד, שומר מצוות – אז למה לא נגאלים？＂ שו＂ת עם הגאון הינוקא במוצאי שבועות תשפ＂ה

3:37 There is the Kaftor VaFerach, who wrote about all kinds of places in the Land of Israel, about the grave of Dan, where it is, in the north - it is not where it is today - and all kinds of descriptions of where this one is, where - what our master the Arizal revealed, where every sage and every tzaddik is found. I always tell everyone: whoever believes, baruch Hashem, does not need to get into it - who is here, is not here, or is here.

4:02 That is not the point. The very fact that a person - there is a place that was set aside - take, now, a house or a room, mention the merit of a certain tzaddik in that room, light just a candle for him, no more than that. Just a candle - there will be a revelation, and the light of that tzaddik is in that space. Just mention him, light a candle for him. When one draws down and mentions that tzaddik, that Tanna, or Amora, or holy one, mentions him each time, his illumination is drawn to that place, and a revelation of the impression is made in this place, and truly one feels salvations. So it is not so important to start being exact about the opening from here or the opening from there.

4:42 Come with simplicity, with innocence, to pray, to feel the illumination, and never get into that. I tell you - I, baruch Hashem, when I come to all kinds of holy places, all of them, and I suddenly see - when I see, and recall some sefer that writes this way, and another sefer where it is written that way, and another sefer that says this - I clear it out of my head and pray like a baby. I do not get into it - it is written this way, he says that way.

5:08 I pray just so, with innocence, with simplicity, before Hashem. Hashem set it so, it was revealed - that is Hashem's will. There is no need to get into it - [unclear] here, is not here, is here, goes there - no. One prays calmly before Hashem. These are very important things. What is indeed very important is that point you mentioned before, that before - of course, the holiest place, which is very worthwhile, and where the soul is renewed, is the Kosel, whose greatness is beyond measure. When one comes there - the Shechinah does not move from there; one can receive wonderful tikkunim there for the soul, and truly gather wonderful lights - and also, of course, the grave of King David.

5:49 Baruch Hashem, that is a great and immense virtue, which renews and sanctifies the soul beyond measure. What is that? - He is asking, he is asking: are you willing to explain to us what the Mashiach said [unclear] - what he means? It is connected to what Rabbi [unclear] ben Levi also heard from the Mashiach, and also [unclear]. - If you found what? - What the Mashiach said to the Baal Shem Tov - would he be willing to explain it to us; and it is also connected to what Rabbi [unclear] ben Levi also heard from the Mashiach.

6:15 Things that are connected to the Rebbe. - Yes, I will answer. Asking forgiveness each time over a holy place. Many times people go to holy places, they go, and afterward one says: I was in Meron, I was at Rabbi Shimon, Rabbi Nachman, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, I traveled, I came back, I had no salvation, I had hardships, of all things, this or that, I do not know what. They tell stories. So I always recommend: at the time a person enters the Holy of Holies - when one goes to tzaddikim, or to holy places like the Kosel, King David, holy places - a high kedushah rests there.

6:51 And because an accusation can be aroused against a person, because of "Remove your shoes from your feet," for you are standing on holy ground - how do you have permission to tread here? So instead of an accusation being aroused against the person, the person does teshuvah, and that teshuvah can cause his sin to depart from him, and then no accusation will be aroused against the person. So one must always ask Hashem for forgiveness, do teshuvah over the holy places. What does that mean? To ask Hashem's pardon: "Perhaps I did not conduct myself properly and with honor in this and this holy place; perhaps I did not conduct myself properly and with honor during my stay at the Kosel. Perhaps I did not conduct myself properly and with honor in the place where I was, at the resting place of the tzaddik.

7:37 Rabbi Shimon - I did not conduct myself properly at his resting place. Forgive me, Hashem, pardon me." And then a person does teshuvah over the service in holiness - like, for example, when Yom Kippur has gone out: "Master of the world, we ask Your forgiveness for the holy Yom Kippur." One asks forgiveness for Shavuos: "Master of the world, we ask Your forgiveness for the holy festival, the giving of the Torah. Forgive us that we did not conduct ourselves properly on this night, that we did not use this night as we should have, that we did not immerse properly, that we did not manage to immerse, that we did not learn the whole night, that we dozed and slept and neglected Torah, and did not say Birkas HaMazon with intent." To do teshuvah over this holy day, to truly do teshuvah

8:13 just so, simply - to do teshuvah over the kedushah, over the service in holiness - that causes all the illumination a person brought about on this festival to be preserved. That is it - it cannot be touched. At once the person has built a wall around his kedushah; it can no longer be taken. First of all, there is a wall, and second, the light you receive from it will be a sweetened light. The illumination will roll on and have its effect in a way that the chitzonim, the outside forces, will not draw from it.

8:40 And where do we see a proof for this? In Pri Etz Chaim, from our master the Arizal: that with Nefilas Apayim - seemingly one ought to do Nefilas Apayim before the Amidah prayer. Before you even stand to pray before Hashem, do teshuvah. You - a person does teshuvah first of all; do teshuvah at all when you are about to turn to Hashem, and then pray. What is this - a person prays and then he does teshuvah?

9:05 And I once gave a very beautiful answer to this: that after all, as it is, our prayer too is - the prayer too is not in order, the prayer too is foreign thoughts, the prayer too cannot go up for me, that too - so let the teshuvah repair all of it for me as well, let the teshuvah repair the prayer for me as well. Therefore the teshuvah comes right after the prayer. And [unclear] also explains: so that the outside forces should have no nourishment and vitality - for we carried out great actions and rose through the worlds, and after we rose to such high levels, there could be, Heaven forbid, [unclear]; there could be something not good.

9:38 So Nefilas Apayim - the teshuvah brings guarding and protection. Therefore, always, when one does teshuvah, it brings guarding and protection over the service in holiness, over the mitzvos, over the holy things, over the things we did, and then the outside forces have no nourishment and vitality. Therefore always do teshuvah when Shabbos goes out: "Forgive us for not keeping Shabbos properly; forgive us for not keeping the festival of Shavuos properly; I was at the Kosel - forgive me for not conducting myself properly at the Kosel; forgive me for not conducting myself properly at the resting place of King David."

10:08 Whatever is needed - just say it simply like that, and then you receive all the illumination of that place for yourself, so that it is preserved, and you will have no harm from it either - because sometimes there are people who have harm. How is it that you sometimes see harm from holy places? There can sometimes be harm. Why? Because sometimes a great accusation can be aroused, Heaven forbid. And therefore one always needs care that there should not be "lest they break through to go up to Hashem," Heaven forbid, that there should not be...

10:33 should not be... - With a tzaddik too. [unclear] - Very true. Very true. True, very true. You are right, sir. - [unclear]... [unclear]... Rav Chaim Kanievsky [unclear], Rav Wosner, Rav Elyashiv, [unclear] - is it the same thing too? One asks forgiveness for not having acted with the proper honor? - Yes, that is always good. - True, that is about purity of the heart.

11:09 But I mean turning to Hashem with a request over the day itself. Just as the day itself atones on Yom Kippur - that is, we received a gift. We received a gift: that there is a day that atones. So perhaps we did not conduct ourselves properly on the day itself - to do teshuvah over the day itself. That is, on Yom Kippur you do teshuvah for the sins, for the iniquities, for the transgressions, but you do not do teshuvah for the day itself that went to waste. Perhaps the day itself - because of its greatness and its level - perhaps I did not conduct myself properly on the day itself, I did not use the day properly. It is a gift from Hashem that there is such a day.

11:42 So to do teshuvah over these times - that is teshuvah upon teshuvah, and it is a high level, and people do not pay attention to it, and truly they do not do it. And therefore I explained and gave people this reflection, so that there would be benefit for everyone in this matter, because truly the benefit is immense and endless. Think how much one can receive from such a reflection - because the illumination and the guarding and the protection are made in all the surrounding lights, so that there should be, Heaven forbid, no harm from anything a person does.

12:16 - One can do that. [unclear] says: "And He, the Merciful One, atones for iniquity," which is said at Maariv on Motza'ei Yom Kippur - which is what the Rav is saying now - is in order to atone for whatever one did not conduct on Yom Kippur as one should. - Right. - After all, a person after Yom Kippur has no sins. - Right. So this too is to repair everything; and it is also because of the wicked, who return to judgment. - With every mitzvah a person does, one should ask forgiveness?

12:45 - One has a thought of teshuvah: perhaps we did not act properly. That is how I am used to doing it. That is how I go about it, with every thing. I take off the tefillin - I have a thought of teshuvah over them. I take off the tallis, I finish a prayer - that is how I act all the time. I went to the Kosel just now - I ask every time, in order to... It also connects you more to the place. It connects you more and ties you to that holy place, and it draws the illumination even more, without a stop.

13:12 - In thought or in speech? - Both in speech and in thought, it makes no difference. - Is it also for the past? - How is that? - For example, now: a person hears this for the first time; he was at [unclear] of tzaddikim, he did not know this. Is it good to do it for the past as well? - Certainly. Certainly - it will also draw the illumination over all that was, and guard the person for the future. "Vihi Noam" too - it is the same thing.

13:41 "May the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us; establish for us the work of our hands, and the work of our hands - establish it." When one says it, that too is a guarding from all kinds of harmful forces and everything, so that there should be And also, for example, when one says: "And He said: If you will surely listen to the voice of Hashem your G-d, and do what is upright in His eyes, and give ear to His mitzvos - all the sickness of Egypt, and so on - I will not place upon you." One says this verse every time after the Shacharis prayer. After Minchah too one should say it. After Aleinu Leshabe'ach one should say it, regularly; every time one says Aleinu Leshabe'ach, one should say this verse, because this verse

14:10 is the same idea: it prevents the outside forces, the harmful forces, from having any control, from taking hold of the intent of my prayer, and the prayer goes up on high. So it is good to say it after Mussaf, after Shacharis, after Minchah of Shabbos, Minchah of Yom Kippur. Every time one says Aleinu Leshabe'ach, one should put it right underneath Aleinu Leshabe'ach, in every... - Rav, Rav: on Pesach we received the mochin d'gadlus; after Pesach we went out [unclear]; in Sefiras HaOmer, mochin d'gadlus.

14:40 Now how do we stay with it? [unclear] of Keser was at Mussaf; the tikkun of the complete seal was at Mussaf. Now that is it. - Now we have merited - each one, what he gathered, as much as he toiled, all that he labored for, he attained. And that is what he asked as well. That is repeating his question. - Rav, he wants to ask about the Maariv prayer of those from outside the Land: can he pray with us?

15:09 - Make yourselves a minyan; there is a minyan here. There is a minyan here for the second day of Yom Tov. You have a minyan for the second day of Yom Tov. Tzaddikim — regarding those from outside the Land of Israel who are here with us: make yourselves a minyan here, in this room. Make yourselves a minyan; we are finishing now. Make a minyan together; there are a few here who need to pray. Gather together over there, make a second minyan.

15:34 Orach Chaim, siman 496: the second day of Yom Tov of the Diaspora. May the Creator watch over you, Rav Stefansky — salvations, protection and safeguarding, all the blessings and all the good bounty. I was glad to see you, honored sir. May you succeed; a great yasher koach. - Rav, Rav, how can one hold on to all this light, all the things we had on this Shavuos, the Giving of the Torah? Because a person — the next day he sits down, and he has already let go of it all.

16:01 But in fact there is a remembrance, every day, of the stand at Mount Sinai. A person wants to merit Torah; a person wants to remember — remembrance, love, connection to the Holy One, blessed be He. How can one take this thing, this day, the light, everything we had here with the Rav as well, and bring it into the entire year, so that a person will be better, will keep all these things, and will always be connected with the Torah, with the mitzvos, with the stand at Mount Sinai, the thunder and the lightning?

16:32 - So I say it again: the most important thing is remembering, because if a person always remembers it, he will carry it onward. If a person forgets— You remember that on Yom Kippur I said that whoever takes a resolution upon himself — in the name of the Alter of Kelm — whoever takes a resolution upon himself during the Ne'ilah prayer does himself good, and he will keep it all year. All year, at the moment he keeps that resolution, he draws upon himself the kedushah of the Ne'ilah prayer of Yom Kippur, into that moment.

17:02 That is to say, I saw many who prayed with me at Ne'ilah on Yom Kippur; they told me this — that now they — one, for example, took upon himself to read every day the Tehillim for that day; one took upon himself to learn a certain mussar sefer, or something — and every day that he keeps that practice, he draws upon himself a light from the Ne'ilah prayer of Yom Kippur. And that was the practice of the Alter of Kelm.

17:27 And many holy people have already followed it. And you see from here — this is the answer to your question: if a person takes upon himself, at that holy gathering — takes upon himself just to remember it every day — then every time he remembers it, he will draw to himself that same kedushah. Amalek is forgetting. When a person forgets what he received from Hashem, what he received from the Torah, from kedushah, from the tzaddikim — that is Amalek. Remembering — when a person remembers, that nullifies Amalek.

17:58 That is why one has to remember what has to be forgotten. Amalek has to be wiped out; he has to be forgotten. But one has to remember him in order to forget him — that is what the Magen Avraham says. Meaning, one has to remember him in order to wipe him out. That is, the heart of the remembering of the wiping-out — that is, it is to wipe him out and to remember him. One has to remember what has to be wiped out. Yet it is not only in order to wipe out; it is in order to make him perish from the world. And not only that, but to remember what they wanted to do to us.

18:22 Now, about the tzaddik. It is written: "The land on which you lie, to you I will give it, and to your offspring" — right? Seemingly — it is not written "the ground on which you lie," but "the land." What, was he lying on the entire land? It teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, folded up the land for him — right? Yaakov Avinu — "The land on which you lie, to you I will give it." He folded it all up for him and brought it all to him. That is the plain meaning. The plain meaning.

18:47 True, the plain meaning here is very much a manner of exaggeration. It is not so easy to understand; it is a plain meaning that is an inner one. What's more — how did the Holy One, blessed be He, fold up the land for him? What, He folded up the land? So there is here — there is an explanation for this. The Me'or Einayim, in Parshas Matos, writes the answer to the question — what you asked. In every thing there are sparks of holiness — sparks of holiness that belong to each person, from his root.

19:16 And with the tzaddik, all the sparks gather to him. Right — with the stones: when he set down the stone, there were lots of stones, and then it became one stone. Right? They quarreled, and they became one stone. The sparks want to come and be included in the soul of the tzaddik. Now, the greater the levels, so a person has sparks. One has a spark in a place like this, or like this, or like this.

19:40 And when one goes to a sage, when one goes to a tzaddik, a person rectifies the sparks that belong to him. And generally — just as there is the returning of a lost object, returning the lost object to its owner — so with the tzaddikim: all the sparks come back to them, because they know how to raise them up, so the spark always comes back to them. Now, there is a spark that is lost in some particular place; the tzaddik gleans it, gathers it, raises it up.

20:13 Now, when a person comes to the tzaddik, the tzaddik gives him back his lost object. He — according to the root of his soul — he knows which lost object went missing from him and which spark went missing, and the spark comes back to him. - What does it mean to raise up the sparks? - Why does one need to raise up sparks? What are sparks? To raise them? What is this thing? So I will explain. Every thing that you enjoy and get vitality from — that comes from the inner part of the holy spark that gives it life.

20:44 When you see these spices — how pleasant they are. You see how beautiful the spices are? You see? How lovely. It is fine, it is good, it has a good smell — it has a holy spark that gives it life. When you make a blessing over it and enjoy it and have it in mind — now, let's say, in simple terms: it is hard to have in mind the kavanos of the spices. Not everyone knows them. So our master the Arizal says: "A pleasing aroma, a fire-offering to Hashem" — in this verse are all the kavanos of smell.

21:09 Every time you make a blessing over spices: "A pleasing aroma, a fire-offering to Hashem" — and you take in the scent. You have enjoyed it — that holy spark has been rectified; it has risen to its root. That's it. It is simple: sparks of holiness are what gives life. You see the lemon — right now it is fresh. When this lemon is rotten and spoiled and squashed and by the trash can, the holy spark that was giving it life has been rectified and has gone out of it.

21:33 And then it goes back. What happens when a person passes on? A person who passes from the world — he goes. Why? Because he has run out of sparks to sift. When his holy spark to sift has run out, he goes. "I considered my ways, and I turned my feet back to Your testimonies." What is "I considered my ways, and I turned my feet back to Your testimonies"? A person calculates his ways in the world, and suddenly he finds that he has gone the wrong way.

21:59 Suddenly he goes astray — he has to go to a different country. He planned to go to one place — suddenly it is another place. Why? "And I turned my feet back" — I return the sparks of holiness "to Your testimonies" — to their root. "I considered my ways" — I calculate my ways, but "I turned my feet back to Your testimonies" — I have to return the sparks of holiness that are held in my feet "to Your testimonies" — the holy spark. That is why with Yaakov it is written, "The land on which you lie, to you I will give it" — because all the sparks were included in him.

22:28 In Tractate Sukkah, page 53: "A man's feet are his guarantors" — they are his guarantors, to take him to his last day. Why does it hint that the feet are guarantors? Because when the day has come, the sparks are finished; everything has risen to its root. Everything has risen to its root, and everything has been rectified. - What does it mean there, too, "examine him, that he is not a cheat"? I would say: all the mitzvos are written down there, that is his reward, and that's it. - No, it is not as simple as you think; it really is not.

22:55 No — everything is exact and everything is precise, and each thing has a root and a connection, and all of us, baruch Hashem — all of us have — we are one. We are all one; we are all "sons of one man." Our purpose is to rectify the sin of Adam HaRishon. And with everything we do, we are rectifying the stature of Adam HaRishon. We are called Ikvesa D'Meshicha — called the heel, the end of Mashiach — the heel, the very last end.

23:24 This is what rectifies us; this is what can bring us, and make us succeed, to the rest and the inheritance, and to the loftiest and greatest place. - What does the Me'or Einayim mean by "examine him, that he is not a cheat"? - Did you all understand? Look, listen — I will explain something. It is the same as if you were to ask what the soul is.

23:50 A person goes — where is he going? It is the same thing. Each person has parts that he needs to rectify. It is a part — right, a part, right. The spark, too, belongs to the person. The parts that he has to rectify in this world — he has a certain number of sparks. Some in this kind of place, some in that kind of place, some in eating, some in drinking. And sometimes a person has to toil a great deal over his sparks.

24:15 There are those who have sparks in the depths of the sea. So what does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He gives them a desire to go diving in the sea; He gives them a desire to go swimming in the sea; He gives them a desire to go be on a ship in the heart of the sea — while another says, "I am afraid to be at sea." The one who has it for the heart of the sea has sparks that lie in the depths of the sea, and so he needs to go there. But with a tzaddik there are very, very many sparks, because he gathers everything to himself.

24:41 Because many people come to him, so there everything rises and is rectified, to its root. Do you understand? That is the returning of a lost object. - The person who dives into the water, that is... why does he need to rectify? What is this rectification? - The rectification is the ascent. The ascent of the spark to its root. That it is rectified. It goes back to its root, and it is as if you have fulfilled — you have rectified one thing of what you need to rectify. What is it? You have returned them.

25:06 - Is this also connected to the part the Rav explains, about the part of the greatness that each and every one has? - Yes. That belongs to before. But when one comes to the tzaddik it is as though rectified — that is a question you have. It is avodah; these are not exactly things that are so— Tzaddikim, these are not things to explain to you on one foot, just like that; I do not understand this either. - What is "examine him, that he is not a cheat"? Are there people who do not need to rectify the sparks?

25:31 - He means every place that has in it the— every place of that tzaddik, of that person, where he can go to that place and sift the spark out of there, through his desire — that the Holy One, blessed be He, casts him to a certain place, onto some certain path, and then he longs to go to that place, because there is his root and there is his desire.

26:01 But there are those who can sometimes go to places that are not good, and [unclear] sends them to a place that is not good, and then, Heaven forbid, it deceives them — as if they have there some rectification and ascent. So it is only if a person has lowliness and humility, and always seeks the way of Hashem — then Hashem, blessed be He, watches over him.

26:25 But one who thinks he is wise in his own eyes, that he knows what the way of Hashem is, and all by himself — then, to our sorrow, he goes to a cheat. - The Rav always says: specifically to the tzaddik, and so, to travel. But now — [unclear] about him, and learning his Torah: does that already help a person, or is it traveling to the tzaddik, or speaking with the tzaddik — something like that — in order to receive his rectification? - Rav, the answer is clear. The Rav always [unclear] — all the tzaddikim, - Yes, [unclear], - The answer is already clear. The Rav always— - The Jewish people have been going through many hard things lately. We have spoken of things that, in the whole world — we have spoken of war; we are still in the middle of a war. Many children learn every day. And every time there are rumors and things, and people say, "Here, this is bringing the geulah; here, maybe it is now, maybe now, maybe now."

27:23 Perhaps the Rav could really give us — make it clear to our ears — but really spelled out, "for Rachel, your younger daughter": how close are we, really, to the salvation of the Jewish people, and to the geulah? - Whoever did not hear his question — perhaps someone who heard it will say it. Did you hear?

27:56 [unclear] — did you hear our question? - He asked to know, spelled out, "for Rachel, your younger daughter": when are we close to salvation? He says — he asked to know, spelled out, "for Rachel, your younger daughter": when are we close to salvation? - That is a sign that he [unclear] — that is how it is, that is how it is. Look, I will tell you something.

28:27 I understand. I truly know that it is very hard, and the exile is very hard and long, and people are truly in pain. And, baruch Hashem, we too hear and see; I meet people with troubles, with hard stories — truly. It breaks you; it hurts very much. There are no words.

28:54 And people say, "Now Mashiach will come," and so on and so forth. And I understand. True — the Jewish people will be redeemed in the merit of [unclear]. But I want to explain for a moment, by way of a few important things. First of all: the greatest sin there is, and the greatest flaw there is today in our generation — which is the greatest accusation there is against the Jewish people, the greatest — I will tell you what it is.

29:29 I will tell you what it is. What is it? The greatest sin, and the greatest accusation there is against us, is that we forget that we are children of the King. If we understood our own strength — that the G-d of Israel, the G-d of Avraham, the G-d of Yitzchak and the G-d of Yaakov, the great, mighty and awesome G-d, is with us, and we are close to Him, and He has not left us, and will not leave us, and will not abandon us — then we could already have annulled half of all these ordeals that we are seeing.

30:13 This cutting-off that the Satan has made in this generation — that is how he fights the generation, not through all the sins that you see. He fights everyone, to make them forget that they are children of kings. He tries to fight Judaism, the very root of Judaism — to cut off from them the hope and the joy of having Someone they can turn to, Someone they can pray to, lifting their eyes to Heaven.

30:37 And then people forget this. And what more do they add to it? They pile sin upon transgression: they are also arrogant. And not only are they arrogant — they also say, "This one, this one, this one" — "O Baal, answer us! O Baal, answer us!" Each one feels that his way is the way, and each is arrogant toward the other, and they do not truly seek the crown and the honor for the King of kings, and they do not feel the truth today — that the world wants the Holy King.

31:08 And if we understood Who the Creator is, Who the Creator is — people go to the Kosel now and stand facing the heavens, the holy heavens; they lift their eyes to Heaven — a person ought to have dread and fear fall upon him at the greatness of He Who spoke and the world came into being. And people do not reflect on this and do not see it. And also, when they say that they are children of the King, then— this is the result, what we see today. If we understood our strength as the Jewish people — that we are called — and our very mention is by the name of our forefathers.

31:39 Our forefathers — look what they did in the world, look. Look what a lineage we have, the Jewish people. Look what a path. Look at even the holy converts. All the holy converts who drew close to us and merited to be part of Hashem's inheritance with us — "And you shall love the convert" — how precious and close they are to Hashem, blessed be He. "And you shall love the convert" — they too, whose soul's root is holy and pure. Everyone who merited to return to these holy four cubits of Hashem, Who dwells here in Zion, in this holy place, to be included in all those holy moments of our forefathers, who gave their lives.

32:16 The people that [unclear] for the holiness of His Name, blessed be He, through the generations — people died sanctifying Hashem's Name, they cut them up, they went through suffering and troubles, in order to unify His Name. And the whole trial through all the generations — everything we went through — was only in order to make us forget our Jewishness, "to make them forget Your Torah." What did the Greeks want to do to us? What did the wicked Haman want to do to us?

32:42 What did all the wicked want to do to us? What does the Satan want to do to us? The Satan does not want to bring a person [unclear] to a transgression. He has no interest in making a person sin with some blemish. That does not interest him at all. Only one thing interests him: that that Jew should despair of the root of his Jewishness, and go out and deny everything. And so you should know — if you know this thing, not only will you be saved from that Satan, from that evil inclination, and have far more benefit, but you will also cancel a great, great many judgments and troubles and sufferings from upon yourselves, from upon the whole world.

33:18 But everyone needs to recognize this and understand. Look how far we have drifted. Do we truly keep the mitzvos, truly seek Hashem — or have we reached a state where we — well, "he keeps them, he keeps them" — not "a commandment of men learned by rote": to feel the closeness to Hashem, to truly feel the true purpose — what is the purpose of this whole world, really? What does Hashem really want from us? We may put on clothes like these, and each one looks to say that he knows Hashem, but the people, among us — among us there are slanderers, lashon hara, people who speak evil of one another and hate one another, and rivalry between this one and that one — that one wants to be a minister, and this one wants to be a ruler,

34:04 and this one wants to be the head, and that one wants to be the head, and this one hates him for nothing, for no reason, and baseless hatred that [unclear], and divided opinions, and these things, plus the fact that we have forgotten the root of our Jewishness, and add to that that everyone wants to be the head and to be arrogant — how can we expect Him to do miracles for us? How can we expect Him to save us from everything you see? He does not want this at all.

34:30 And so this accuses, and so this gets in the way, and this holds it back. But if there were no lashon hara among us, and there were no baseless hatred among us, and we also truly did what we do for the honor of Hashem, and we were also truly genuine, remembering our forefathers — Who remembers our forefathers? Who remembers what was 200 years ago? Who remembers what was in the years of Tach and Tat, about the holy ones who died in terrible pogroms, and they cut off their hands and feet, and they died sanctifying Hashem's Name, giving up their lives, only in order to say Shema Yisrael, to remember the root of our Jewishness?

35:07 And today they teach the world that, yes, going to learn Torah, tefillah — it is a kind of legend, an "agadah." A kind of "agadah" — the Haggadah of Pesach. They say "agadah," with an alef. They do not understand that it is "Haggadah," with a heh. Whoever does not live the Haggadah, does not live Hashem's miracles, does not live that he is going out of Egypt today — he is a denier. He is a heretic and an apikores. The mitzvah of remembering the Exodus from Egypt — in Tractate Berachos, on page 12, where the Gemara says that they wanted to read, to mention, the portion of Balak.

35:40 We would have had to read the portion of Balak. It too has a message and mussar and everything, but the only mention that was ruled as halachah, the one we read, is the portion of tzitzis — the portion of "And Hashem said to Moshe, saying" — because of the mention. It also has mussar, "you shall not stray after your eyes," but this portion also has the remembering of the Exodus from Egypt. The uniqueness of the Exodus from Egypt is that we are called — when we were called, He was called "the G-d of the Hebrews."

36:11 And when the Jewish people were in Egypt — it comes from this: the whole world stands on one side and Avraham Avinu on one side of the river. Everyone denies, and Avraham Avinu stands on the path of the holy emunah. And we are called — "the G-d of the Hebrews" is called upon us, called to save us. We were in Egypt, in a place there is no getting out of. [unclear] open, [unclear] closed — no one who went in could get out of there. And He took us out of the land of Egypt and did all these miracles and wonders for us.

36:40 When a person understands what the plagues were that He brought in Egypt, and the miracle and the wonder that He gave us the Torah, which is entirely holy — it is entirely the word of Hashem, it is truly a G-dly revelation, it is fire, truly fire — and the revelation — when a person understands that these are not legends of what once was, this is a reality that exists and takes place every moment — then Hashem is close to him, and He can save a person today too.

37:07 We see Hashem's salvation. Today too we see Hashem's salvation. So this reflection is what will bring the world, and every person, to recognize the greatness of Hashem — so that they will love Hashem, blessed be He, and not only look for how to say "we pray, we learn" — to be genuine with Hashem, blessed be He. That is to love Hashem, blessed be He, more than everything.

37:34 I know there are people who are having a hard time. I know there is the hardship of making a living, the worry of making a living, the material hardship, the spiritual hardship, confusion, thoughts, health — hardship with health, fears, anxieties, hardship in raising children, finding a shidduch seems like something that just does not happen — and what will be? — and another day, and suddenly it seems to a person: another day, the same thing.

38:01 I say to you: There will be salvation. There will be salvation for all of you. Amen. Hashem will save, and will not forsake and will not abandon — but you, remember the main key, the main key, which is called the heart, for Hashem, blessed be He. "The Merciful One wants the heart" — He wants the heart of each one of us. He does not want the falsehood that is in the world. If you look at the world outside, it is a world full of illusions.

38:29 They will show you everything, but they will not show you Hashem, blessed be He. Look today at a painter who paints some painting, some small piece of art — he makes just some small painting, he paints something small, and at the bottom he puts his name, with a stamp and all, so everyone will know it is his. Look at the beautiful, wondrous heavens. Look at the stars. Look at the moon. Look at the sun.

38:54 Look up — see the creation, the trees, the butterflies, the birds. Look at Hashem's creation. See Who put these heavens there. "Lift up your eyes on high and see Who created these." The whole reason He made this is so that our heart would open to Him, blessed be He. Think: what is the purpose — another day will pass, and another day — if we were here in this world and did not come to know Hashem, blessed be He?

39:19 That is our greatest shame. Do you know what else is the greatest shame? That each one of us has a heart, and instead of this heart loving Hashem, blessed be He, people love foreign loves. [unclear] runs after it, in anguish — his shidduch ran away. That one is in anguish — her shidduch ran away. These are fallen loves, fallen fears.

39:43 People are afraid of a tiger, and afraid of a leopard, or afraid of anything at all. Look — to be afraid: "Hashem your G-d you shall fear." Our reflection on fear and love has fallen. Fear has fallen down low. Love has fallen down low. Instead of our loving Hashem more than the children, more than the wife, more than everything — love of Hashem needs to be the thing, the most exalted thing.

40:09 "And you shall love Hashem your G-d." Fear needs to be of Hashem, blessed be He, alone. These concepts have fallen down low, and then people got into all kinds of interpretations, and they forget that a day will come when any one of us may go from here. And this is the greatest shame: that a person lives as "a commandment of men learned by rote." He does not live the true purpose. He does not live the real truth as it truly is — for the honor of Hashem, blessed be He, to know what Hashem, blessed be He, wants from me.

40:38 And with Hashem's help, I hope that if we do this and fulfill this, there will be great benefit. And also, with Hashem's help, it is on the way — in this holy book of ours that came out in honor of the festival of Shavuos — this book will yet come out for everyone; they will also announce where to get it, and everything; it came out in hardcover. You will see, with Hashem's help, that here I wrote about — about the search and the way to drive out the darkness, about the wisdom of Greece — it was a shiur on Chanukah — about the wisdom of Greece: where, how we nullify them, the Greek wisdom, which is all the speculations and the heresy and the apikorsus that have entered us, that are inside us — and it is a hidden apikorsus.

41:30 I will give you an example, for instance, to sharpen this. If a person were now in the heart of the sea — let each one imagine to himself that he is in the heart of the sea. Imagine now — close your eyes. Think that you are in the heart of the sea. You have set out now, you set out from here, you took the car, you went sailing, and the wife, baruch Hashem, was saved, she made it back — and the man, by mistake, fell into the water — may it not happen to anyone of the Jewish people — he swims and swims, the wind carries him off, and he is in the heart of the sea.

42:07 And winter has come and is closing in, with high waves, and lightning and thunder, and I do not need to tell you, either, what creatures there are in the water, and the man sees them coming close to him; they are not doing anything to him yet. For now he is still alive. Who does he cry out to? Who does he cry out to when he is in the heart of the sea? And I will tell you more than that: what will happen when he sees a ship approaching?

42:37 Will he cry out with all his strength to the ship that is approaching, or will he cry out to Heaven? Who will he cry out to? Imagine now: you see a ship, very far away. You see the sky. Who will you cry out to? To Hashem, or will you cry out to the ship? Give yourselves a test. Think about it. The answer, of course — I do not need you to tell me, but each one will have the answer between himself and himself.

43:04 And I say to you: we need to know that we are close to the King of kings. And this G-d is far greater than we think. And this privilege, at all, of praying to Him — as the Ramban says and taught us — that the very privilege of tefillah, the privilege that one can turn at all to Heaven, the very privilege that you can lift up, mention Him, pray to Him. "They bow down to vanity and emptiness, and pray to a deity that does not save."

43:30 "But we bow down before the King of kings." See what the Kol Bo writes in siman 13 about Aleinu Leshabe'ach — how great its level is, what an enormous part of the tefillah it is. Just to pray only Aleinu Leshabe'ach — how much wisdom there is in it, how much of a task it is to value the tefillah at all, and our ability to pray to Heaven. So I, the small one, want, with Hashem's help, to bless you that you remember what we learned today all the days of your lives, and that the Holy One, blessed be He, save you with every salvation, in everything you need.

44:07 And I know that I still have not finished answering the question you asked, and I have not even begun to answer it, because the answer I gave you is still not enough, and it will not be enough, because the only answer — the One who needs to answer this question is Him. He needs to cancel this and redeem us. Only Hashem, blessed be He. We await the complete geulah every day — that He redeem us, and not forsake us and not abandon us, and not forget the covenant of our forefathers; that we merit to be redeemed with a high hand; that we merit that the Beis HaMikdash be built speedily in our days, with our Master, the Creator, blessed be He, our King, at our head. Amen. May the Beis HaMikdash be built.

44:53 May the Beis HaMikdash be built. I enjoyed this so much — to all of you: I want to tell you that I already miss you — truly a great longing.

45:27 I love you very much, I think of you, I will not forget you, I do not forget anyone. I wish everyone a great many blessings, good things, a good life — may you have salvations, may we choose to carry this Giving of the Torah on through the whole year, and, with Hashem's help — the festivals are over, that's it — we have the next festival, coming upon us for good, with Hashem's help — [unclear] will be turned [unclear] and gladness; may the Beis HaMikdash be built, may we have good tidings.

45:53 This is all that is in our power — to bring the geulah. May we have, with Hashem's help, good tidings, a good life. Carry on with the good, carry on spreading the light, revealing [unclear] in the whole world, giving Hashem, blessed be He, nachas ruach. Fortunate are you, fortunate are you, Israel. Salvations, and all the blessings and good tidings.