Speaker: Rabbi Nasan Maimon. This halakha is based on Likutey Moharan 66.
00:00 – Dedications.
00:16 – PARAGRAPH 33b – (end, from the words וזה בחינת הטבלות של הכהן הגדול). The Kohen Gadol’s five immersions in a mikveh on Yom Kippur are an aspect of מכח אל הפעל – transforming potential to actual.
04:30 – PARAGRAPH 34. The three tefilos – prayers – of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur when he was in the kadosh kadoshim: 1) That no Jewish woman should miscarry, 2) That no Jew should be dependent on another, and 3) That the kingship should never leave the House of Yehudah. These three requests have one thing in common: the continuation of creation through the process of מכח אל הפעל.
09:23 – The second prayer of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur: that no Jew should be dependent on another. (See Likutey Moharan 66 for more on this.)
*10:36 – CLIP – The importance of being true to oneself. The face of a person is an aspect of truth, since it is a person’s true reflection, as chazal in the gemara state: when person becomes dependent on another, his face changes (Berakhot 6b).
11:07 – זֶה דּ֣וֹר דֹּֽרְשָׁ֑יו (כתיב דֹּֽרְשָׁ֑ו) מְבַקְשֵׁ֥י פָ֜נֶ֗יךָ יַֽעֲקֹ֣ב סֶֽלָה – “This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your presence-Jacob, forever” (Tehillim 24:6). The midah of Yaakov is emes – truth.
12:03 – Third prayer of the Kohen Gadol – that the kingdom should not leave the House of Yehudah. This refers to the ultimate sovereignty of Moshiach.
12:40 – PARAGRAPH 35. The two sons of Aharon HaKohen, Nadav and Avihu, were not able to achieve a full expressions of מכח אל הפעל since they had not brought children into the world. Their souls entered into Pinchas who stood up for tikkun habris.
16:59 – Q&R – If Nadav and Avihu had been married but not have had children, would they have died?
19:50 – Q&R about the three tefilos representing מכח אל הפעל.
18:40 – PARAGRAPH 36. When parnassah – livelihood – is withheld, a person’s ability to transform potential into actual is reduced. כָּל־עֲמַ֥ל הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְפִ֑יה וּ וְגַם־הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ לֹ֥א תִמָּלֵֽא – “All of a person’s toil is for his mouth, and is the appetite not yet sated? (Koheles 6:7).
21:51 – “A person cannot touch what is designated for his friend” (Yuma 38). What is appointed by Hashem to one person is not given to another.
22:43 – A person can only acquire Torah through overcoming obstacles. The Baal Shem Tov HaKadosh would empty his pockets every day.
*24:30 – CLIP FOR PARSHAS PINCHAS. PARAGRAPH 37. פִּֽינְחָ֨ס בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָ֜ר בֶּן־אַֽהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵ֗ן הֵשִׁ֤יב אֶת־חֲמָתִי֙ מֵעַ֣ל בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּקַנְא֥וֹ אֶת־קִנְאָתִ֖י בְּתוֹכָ֑ם וְלֹֽא־כִלִּ֥יתִי אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּקִנְאָתִֽי – “Pinchas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen has turned My anger away from the children of Israel by his zealously avenging Me among them, so that I did not destroy the children of Israel because of My zeal” (Bamidbar 25:11). Pinchas is the one who appeased Hashem’s “anger”, which allowed Am Yisrael to merit the ruach of Moshiach.
*25:33 – PARAGRAPH 38. CLIP FOR PARSHAS BEREISHIS– בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ – “In the beginning Hashem created the heavens and the earth” (Bereishis 1:1).
26:16 – On the first day of creation Hashem created everything in potential.
27:28 – At the beginning of creation, four levels of darkness covered the world – וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָֽיְתָ֥ה תֹ֨הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְח֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם – “Now the earth was profoundly empty and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the spirit of Hashem was hovering over the face of the water” (Bereishis 1:2). These four levels of darkness correspond to the four exiles endured by Am Yisrael.
28:02 – The Hebrew word for “darkness” also means “to withhold”. The present exile is the most difficult, and is alluded to as “the depths” in תְּהֽוֹם־אֶל־תְּה֣וֹם ק֖וֹרֵא לְק֣וֹל צִנּוֹרֶ֑יךָ כָּל־מִשְׁבָּרֶ֥יךָ וְ֜גַלֶּ֗יךָ עָלַ֥י עָבָֽרוּ – “Deep calls to deep to the sound of Your water channels; all Your breakers and waves passed over me” (Tehillim 42:8)
29:51 – The Ruach Elokim hovering over the waters of creation is the Ruach of Moshiach.
30:56 – וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִי־א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר – “Hashem said ‘Let there be light’ and there was light”.
00:00 – (Bereishis 16:)
32:35 – A person can only draw from the hidden light of creation through overcoming obstacles.
34:14 – The word מניעות – meniyos – obstacles – is composed from the same letters as – נעימות – “pleasantness”.
34:37 – Q&R about people being dependent on others. In Birkhas HaMazon – blessing after a meal eaten with bread – we ask Hashem to protect us from needing gifts.
35:07 – NOTE about Reb Michel Dorfman ז”ל – when a person is collecting funds on behalf of the community, the shaliach needs to keep in mind that he is actually receiving the charity from Hashem.
37:31 – PARAGRAPH 39. Why Hashem counted the days of creation. Sefiras HaOmer – counting the Omer – is an aspect of drawing light through the upper Yud and the lower Yud .
38:52 – טוֹבִ֥ים הַשְּׁנַ֖יִם מִן־הָֽאֶחָ֑ד אֲשֶׁ֧ר יֵֽשׁ־לָהֶ֛ם שָׂכָ֥ר ט֖וֹב בַּֽעֲמָלָֽם – “Two are better than one since they have good reward for their toil” – (Koheles 4:9).
39:52 – The main perfection of creation, is for man to complete creation by bringing potential to actual. Before creation is fully actually, there is nothing to count. Counting something can only be done when it exists. For this reason, Hashem counted each day after He created it.
40:39 – Why “Yom Echad” instead of “Yom Rishon”? To establish that all counting is actually referring to Echad – The One – Hashem. Hashem called the first day “Day One” to connect it, and all that followed, to His unity.
42:02 – Emunah – faith – allows a person to bring creation from potential to actual.
42:32 – וידע כל פעול כי אתה פעלתו
Podcast (shiurim): Download (Duration: 44:35 — 61.2MB)
To dedicate this shiur, click HERE.
