799 —כוח לימוד התורה וטהרה פנימית אצל כל יהודי

B"H, 15 MarCheshvan, 5711.

Brooklyn.

Shalom u'Vrachah!

With pleasure I have learned through Haraha"ch vavac"h iy"a etc. Moshe Chaim Sapochnitsky that the Mishnayos class he leads in your esteemed shul is proceeding successfully, and that this coming Sunday, G‑d willing, you will make a siyum on Seder Moed. I wish to send my blessing that you should continue with even greater success than until now, and as with every living thing, it should keep growing—both in quantity and quality. That is, the number of learners should increase, but even more so should the vitality during learning increase, as well as understanding and explanation.

Our holy Torah, which was given by the Almighty Who is infinite, is also infinite. It applies with the same strength in all places and at all times—just as it was strong when G‑d gave it to the Jews through Moshe Rabbeinu at Mount Sinai, so too it is strong in our times of dark exile and in every place on earth. The Torah is also infinite in that every matter within it has endless interpretations divided into four categories: pshat (simple meaning), remez (hint), drush (homiletics), sod (secret).

Mishnayos Seder Moed (Tractate Chagigah) ends with the law that the golden altar and copper altar (do not contract impurity) because they are like earth—these are the words of Rabbi Eliezer; but the sages say because they are coated. The simple meaning is: The golden altar in the Temple as well as the copper altar did not contract impurity. Rabbi Eliezer explains this is because Torah equates them to earth, which does not contract impurity; the sages say it's because their coating is nullified to their interior, which does not contract impurity.

The hint and moral lesson we can learn from this Mishnah at the end of Seder Moed for our daily lives: Every person in his city and according to his situation is a sanctuary where the Shechinah rests—'V'Shachanti B'Socham' ('And I will dwell among them'). In the Beis HaMikdash there were various vessels; similarly within each Jew there are various faculties: intellect, emotions, etc. Into these faculties can sometimes enter a foreign or mundane thought—not holy—or even something impure connected to sin G‑d forbid; this means contrary to G‑d's will and contrary to Torah and mitzvos. In other words: A person's vessel—his intellect or thought or another faculty—has become impure, so one must seek ways for it to become pure again and once more be a vessel for holiness. For G‑d's sanctuary—every Jew, man or woman—must be pure.

People are divided (physically or spiritually) into rich and poor. Of a rich person we say everything by him is gold; of a poor person—that his coins are copper. But by every Jew without exception—wherever he may be in his inner or outer matters or feelings—the point of Jewishness always remains whole—the 'pintele Yid'—which wants to do G‑d's will. As my revered father-in-law the Rebbe zatzal said: A Jew neither wants nor can be separated from G‑dliness. This is called 'mizbeach' (altar). Mizbeach means slaughtering (zivcheh) and bringing an offering to G‑d.

The Mishnah says that both Jews who are 'mizbeach hazahav'—the wealthy—and those who are 'mizbeach hanechoshes'—the poor—when one remembers he is an altar—that his innermost true desire is to slaughter his evil inclination and do G‑d's will—they do not contract impurity. And it gives this reason: 'because they are like earth.' Just as earth everyone treads upon—as we pray 'V'Nafshi KaAfar L'Kol Tiheyeh' ('Let my soul be like dust to all')—one has no personal will except what Hashem revealed in His holy Torah.

These are the words of Rabbi Eliezer (ben Hurkanos), called Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol ('the Great'), who was considered equal to all Israel's sages; yet despite his greatness he never gave himself importance—to such an extent that as Gemara says he never said anything he hadn't heard from his teachers. Therefore he saw immediately within every Jew their inner core—the point of Jewishness: Yisrael v'Oraysa v'Kudsha Brich Hu kulah chad ('Israel, Torah, and G‑d are all one')—that a Jew's entire life is fulfilling Torah and mitzvos. He taught his students this path: great intellect together with complete self-nullification—as expressed by never saying anything not heard from his teachers.

But the sages say—the other sages held—that this path is too strict for everyone; not many can follow it fully. They also considered externalities—the outer aspects of Jews: Sometimes one stumbles G‑d forbid—and especially 'mizbeach hazahav', who often gets caught up in gold matters until temporarily he doesn't do G‑d's will; also among poor people ('mizbeach hanechoshes'), since earning money comes hard for them they too sometimes transgress Hashem's will—but nevertheless say the sages—the point of Jewishness (the mizbeach) does not contract impurity because they are coated; whether gold for the wealthy or copper for the poor—it’s only an external covering but inside it's pure and cannot contract impurity; this inner core is so strong that ultimately even if there's an external layer it becomes nullified before one's essence.

He will certainly eventually do teshuvah and return to truth: That life for a Jew means nothing but G‑dliness—which one attains only through Torah study and mitzvah observance. These are also vessels for material blessings promised by Hashem in Torah: 'If you walk in My statutes... then I will give your rains...' etc.

With blessings for success and all good things to all participants in the class,
Menachem Schneerson

P.S.: The above matter more deeply but briefly: See Sefer HaMitzvos by tzt"z [Tzemach Tzedek], mitzvah of building a sanctuary chapter 2—that there were four main vessels in Mikdash: menorah, shulchan [table], inner altar [mizbeach hapnimi], outer altar [mizbeach hachitzon], corresponding to chagat"m [chesed-gevurah-tiferes-malchus]. Thus it's understood why menorah/shulchan can contract impurity while inner/outer altars—which are on middle line (see also Likkutei Torah Bamidbar 60a)—rise into inner keter; aron was hidden away since no control could apply over it. All this needs explanation since these attributes are on middle line—the reason being they're like earth—as nothingness/nullification of keter (see Hosafot l'Torah Ohr start Megillas Esther). In all this only outer altar has explicit verse likening it to earth ('Mizbach Adama Taaseh Li'), since end is wedged in beginning etc., until even at its lowest level it's nullified. Of two altars themselves—the inner altar (tiferes Zeir Anpin) is rich compared to outer altar (malchus which has nothing itself). The reason immersion isn't needed—letters spell bitul—is because they themselves embody nullification like earth or their coating becomes nullified before their essence.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that every Jew possesses an indestructible core of holiness which cannot become impure—even if externally covered by failings or challenges—and through Torah study and mitzvos we reveal our true selves and draw down both spiritual and material blessings.