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The shiur in English
The Yanuka’s own words in this shiur, translated into English by Lehallel · 1,766 words · 8:21. Press a time to hear it said.
0:00 Fortunate are you, Israel! Be strong and courageous. May Hashem, blessed be He, save us and redeem us, and may complete and revealed mercy be aroused for us from Heaven. We are close, truly near, to Rosh Hashanah, which comes upon us for good, that Hashem, blessed be He, sweeten all the judgments from upon all of us, to think holy and pure thoughts.
0:24 We have help and assistance in that this Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos, that we begin from the holy Shabbos, for Shabbos is all song, and Shabbos is all joy; we sing on Shabbos and we rejoice on Shabbos. This is an awakening and a joining together of both Shabbos and Rosh Hashanah. And one can see a hint of this in the Yerushalmi, for the Yerushalmi says in Tractate Pesachim, chapter 4, halachah 1, the Yerushalmi says: "From where do we know that song is called atonement?
0:57 Chinena, the father of Rav, said in the name of Rabbi Benaya: 'And to atone for the children of Israel' - this is the song." "And to atone for the children of Israel" - this is the song; and song is atonement. For the Levites, who would bring the offering - the song of the Levites would bring about atonement. The song, the uplift that the song of the Levites brings about in the owner of the offering, his joy, his closeness to Hashem - this brings about atonement.
1:28 That is to say, we see that in the inner core of song, in the inner core of the voices with which we merit to sing before Hashem, to pray before Hashem, there is within it a pure inner core that brings us close to Hashem, blessed be He. And each time one must make use of this and think, for the honor of Hashem, how great mercy can be aroused, and think good thoughts, and sing before Hashem. In song there is a level of very great mercy, for when a person sings before Hashem, what atones for him is his awakening, his awakening in the mercy of Hashem, blessed be He.
2:06 When a person sings to Hashem, he feels His mercy, blessed be He, and because he feels His mercy, then one can understand the words of the Yerushalmi that song is called atonement. For it is not only that the song atones, that the very fact that we sing atones; rather, the song brings about an awakening. And what awakens when we sing? Mercy awakens, the mercy of Hashem, blessed be He: "And He will give you mercy and have mercy on you."
2:30 Hashem, blessed be He, gives a person mercy and has mercy on him - this is also that a person merits to have mercy; he merits in his heart to arouse mercy on all the Jewish people, on all created beings, on the creation. When a person arouses mercy, then he merits to come closer to Hashem, blessed be He, more and more. So one must think about this each time, and also cling to the mitzvos: to put on the tefillin in holiness, for tomorrow, with Hashem's help, the putting on is at the end of the year, for there is a great virtue in every mitzvah that is fulfilled in the last moments before the year goes out and before the start of the coming year, which comes upon us for good.
Read the whole shiur in English (10 more parts)
3:06 To be careful to immerse two immersions, whoever can, on the eve of the holy Shabbos, the eve of Rosh Hashanah; to intend in the first immersion 'Let the year and its curses end,' and in the second immersion 'Let the year and its blessings begin.' A third immersion, to be purified from all impurity, and a fourth immersion, to remove the filth of the primordial serpent. For by intending this, one removes the filth of the serpent from the world; this is a very, very important immersion, which has the power to break and remove all the sitra achra from upon a person.
3:32 Let each one rejoice wherever he is. And at the time we put on the tefillin - the tefillin, the mitzvah that tomorrow, with Hashem's help, we merit, it raises up all the prayers we have prayed; it ties everything together like one cord, like one prayer, like one thing that rises before Hashem, blessed be He. So the author of the 'Mishmeres Shalom', Rabbi Shalom of Koidanov, may his merit protect us, writes and says that at the time a person has the tefillin on him, there is a very great virtue in reading the saying that is written in Menachos, page 54a, in the name of Reish Lakish, that one who puts on tefillin - that whoever puts on tefillin lengthens his days, as it says: "Hashem, upon them they live, and in all of them is the life of my spirit; and You heal me and give me life."
4:10 He writes that this is a segulah for length of days and years. In Tractate Menachos, page 54a, this saying of Reish Lakish - everyone can write it for himself, copy it onto a sheet of paper, and put it next to his tefillin, and every time he puts on the tefillin he will have intention and read it, each time; at least, perhaps, tomorrow at the end of the year, to read it too, so that it will be a help that great mercy and long life be aroused - in the name of Reish Lakish, to remember it this way.
4:41 And to ask before Hashem, blessed be He, each one what he can, for more mercy and holy thoughts; mercy is very important, to arouse the mercy of Hashem, blessed be He, with holy thought, that a person think about Hashem's mercy. And now, at this time when there is the epidemic and this sorrow of everyone, then not to fear anything in the world; and one must judge favorably, and help at home with the wife and the children, to love everyone, not to be in sorrow, not to hold complaints against anyone; to arouse Hashem's mercy.
5:15 Hashem, blessed be He, now wants everyone to serve Him with a settled mind, calmly. Now He wants each one to serve Him within his own four cubits, privately, with more holy thought, with awakening; everything is from Him, blessed be He. Not to be in sorrow, and not to fear anything; to look to His mercy, blessed be He. And of course to be as careful as possible; and a doubt in a Torah law is ruled stringently, all the more so in matters of life and death - how much one must always be stringent, to show Hashem, blessed be He, that we are so concerned for all the Jewish people, for they will ask in Heaven: how stringent were you in matters of life and death? Were we stringent in this?
5:50 With a rabbinic muktzeh, in all things, everyone is stringent, everyone is pious, but here, in this matter too, let us all be holy and pure and stringent, to show Hashem, blessed be He, our compassion for the Jewish people, to have mercy on everyone, to love everyone. And of course to be careful with a hundred blessings, which is also important for ending the epidemic. There is also a beautiful thing in the name of the 'Da'as Zekeinim' of the Baalei HaTosafos, Parshas Eikev, where they say that whoever says 'Modim' with intention, that we say 'Modim' before Hashem, blessed be He, and have intention in 'Modim', that a person says 'Modim anachnu Lach - We give thanks to You' and has real intention in Modim, both in the chazzan's repetition and in Modim in the prayer, that a person truly, truly has intention in this
6:29 and truly thanks Hashem, blessed be He, for all that He has bestowed on him, for all the good He has done him, so that mercy is aroused - then they say that it counts for him as if he blessed a hundred blessings; this is a great new insight. Parshas Eikev, the 'Da'as Zekeinim' of the Baalei HaTosafos: they say that it is counted for a person as if he blessed a hundred blessings. Because of this they say there is a hint in it: that 'Modim' equals the number one hundred. So therefore it is very effective; so of course to have intention on Rosh Hashanah too, in Modim, and in all the prayers, and at all times, to intend to thank Hashem, blessed be He, to feel that the thanks comes out from within the heart, and this too, of course, counts for us as a hundred blessings.
7:02 And all the more so all the blessings that we bless, for everything adds up to a great account before Hashem, blessed be He, and His mercy is aroused upon us. And to love everyone and arouse mercy on everyone, and to have a settled mind - the most important thing is a settled mind, not to be in a panic. For the holy Baal Shem Tov says: "And you will be lost quickly" - what is "And you will be lost quickly"? Lose the trait of haste; not to be afraid, to serve Hashem, blessed be He, with a settled mind, and without pressure and without panic, and without confusion.
7:29 May it be His will that Hashem, blessed be He, save us, that all of us have good blessings flowing, and great mercy be aroused from Heaven, that there be help from Heaven, that there be miracles and wonders for everyone; to cling to Hashem, blessed be He, and think holy thoughts, as much as possible to cling to Hashem, blessed be He, to direct holy thoughts. And most important, through all of Rosh Hashanah and at all times, to think of the mercy of Hashem, blessed be He - not to think of judgment, not to think of sorrow, to think all the time of Hashem's mercy, how merciful He is, blessed be He, full of mercy, and He sustains the whole entire world in His goodness, with grace, with kindness and with great and awesome mercy.
8:03 May it be His will that Hashem, blessed be He, save us and redeem us, that great mercy be aroused, and that we merit the complete redemption. Fortunate are you, Israel! May everyone have good blessings flowing. Fortunate are you, Israel! Be strong and courageous: "Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all who hope to Hashem."
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