Likutey Halakhos, Yoreh Deah 1, Yayin Nesech 4, Para. 28. Speaker: Rabbi Nasan Maimon. Shabbos Nachamu; Shabbat Nachamu; Why the Shemoneh Esrei is Said Silently; Battlefield of the Heart; Lev Echad v’Derech Echad – One Heart and One Pathway; Parshas Balak; Sipurey Masiyos – “The Rabbi’s Son”.
00:00 – PARAGRAPH 28. Shabbos Nachamu Haftarah. נַֽחֲמ֥וּ נַֽחֲמ֖וּ עַמִּ֑י יֹאמַ֖ר אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶֽם – “Console, console My People,” says Elokim…” (Yeshayahu 40:1).
02:01 – Our main consolation throughout exile is the holy Torah, as in זֹ֣את נֶחָֽמָתִ֣י בְעָנְיִ֑י כִּ֖י אִמְרָֽתְךָ֣ חִיָּֽתְנִי – “This is my consolation in my affliction, for Your word has sustained me” (Tehillim 119:50).
03:04 – When compared to a rabbi with deep understanding, a rabbi with more comprehensive knowledge is called “master of the wheat” – alluding to the Tzaddik Emes who’s needed by everyone in his generation.
04:00 – הִנֵּ֥ה בָרֵ֖ךְ לָקָ֑חְתִּי וּבֵרֵ֖ךְ וְלֹ֥א אֲשִׁיבֶֽנָּה – “I have received [an instruction] to bless, and He has blessed, and I cannot retract it“ (Bamidbar 23:20, Balak).
05:09 – The tzaddik Noach brought consolation to his entire generation: וַיִּקְרָ֧א אֶת־שְׁמ֛וֹ נֹ֖חַ לֵאמֹ֑ר זֶ֞ה יְנַֽחֲמֵ֤נוּ מִמַּֽעֲשֵׂ֨נוּ֙ – “And he named him Noah, saying, ‘This one will give us consolation from our work’ “ (Bereishis 5:29, Bereishis).
05:26 – The word “zeh” indicates the Taddik Emes, as in ס֥וֹף דָּבָ֖ר הַכֹּ֣ל נִשְׁמָ֑ע אֶת־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֤ים יְרָא֙ וְאֶת־מִצְוֹתָ֣יו שְׁמ֔וֹר כִּי־זֶ֖ה כָּל־הָֽאָדָֽם – “The end of the matter, everything having been heard, fear Hashem and keep His commandments, for this is the entirety of man” (Koheles 12:13). The Tzaddik Emes parallels Klal Yisrael (Berakhos 6).
06:23 – NOTE: From Rabbi Zvi Aryeh Rosenfeld ז”ל – the name “Moshe” is comprised of the letters Mem (40) and Shin (300) and Hey (5). 40 x 300 x 5 is 60,000. Moshe Rabbeinu was 10 amos tall: 60,000 x 10 is 600,000 – the number of root souls in Am Yisrael.
*06:56 – Why the word “nachamu” is said twice in the Shabbos Nachamu haftarah. The Torah alone is not enough: we need the tzaddikim to guide us as to how the Torah applies to our lives. If the Torah is not applied in a way that heals the soul, it can become poisonous to the soul, Heaven forbid.
09:44 – Reference to Likutey Moharan 21. Speaking silently is an aspect of Hashem’s unformulated light that streams from the sefirah of Keser – the highest place in creation.
*10:41 – The order of Shacharis – the sequence of morning prayer – is arranged according to the order of the Four Worlds. Why the Shemoneh Esrei is said silently.
12:54 – The phrase Moshe Rabbeinu is b’gematria 613. There are 120 tzerufei – letter formations – of the Name Elokim. Corresponding to this number, Moshe Rabbeinu lived 120 Years. A number of other great tzaddikim, for example Hillel HaNasi, and Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkei, also lived 120 years.
15:56 – NOTE: וַתְּחַסְּרֵ֣הוּ מְ֖עַט מֵֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְכָב֖וֹד וְהָדָ֣ר תְּעַטְּרֵֽהוּ – “Yet You have made him slightly less than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and majesty” (Tehillim 8:6).
16:59 – Shabbos Nachamu Haftarah: “Speak to the heart of Yerushalayim…” The heart is associated with Binah and the nekuda tzeirey – which means “formatted”.
19:33 – In Aleinu we say: וְיָדַעְתָּ הַיּוֹם וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ אֶל לְבָבֶֽךָ – “Today you will know and bring it to the heart”. The heart is where the light of the Torah gets formatted in a positive way. Reference to Likutey Moharan 49 – the battlefield of the heart.
*21:17 – Shabbos Nachamu Haftarah: calling out to Hashem straightens and smooths the paths of the heart. “A voice cries out out in the wilderness.”
23:22 – Biographical note about Rabbi Rosenfeld ז”ל teaching Torah in a spiritually endangered community.
26:04 – וְנָֽתַתִּ֨י לָהֶ֜ם לֵ֚ב אֶחָד֙ וְדֶ֣רֶךְ אֶחָ֔ד לְיִרְאָ֥ה אוֹתִ֖י כָּל־הַיָּמִ֑ים לְט֣וֹב לָהֶ֔ם וְלִבְנֵיהֶ֖ם אַֽחֲרֵיהֶֽם – “And I will give them one heart and one pathway to fear Me always, for their good and for the good of their children after them” (Yirmiyahu 32:39).
26:32 – Q&R – How can the Name Elokim refer to formatting the light for the good, since “Elokim” implies judgments?
27:15 – The Name Elokim sometimes represents Gevurah and sometimes represents Malchus, as illustrated through the arrangement of the Pesach Seder plate.
29:04 – The word קערה – plate – is b’gematria 375. 300 alludes to the three upper sefiros, 70 alludes to the seven lower sefiros, and 5 (the letter Hey) alludes to Malkhus, which is the seder plate itself.
*30:20 – אַשְׁרֵ֣י אָ֖דָם ע֣וֹז לוֹ־בָ֑ךְ מְ֜סִלּ֗וֹת בִּלְבָבָֽם – “Fortunate is the man who has strength in You, in whose heart are the highways” (Tehillim 84:6). Parshas Balak: Roshei Teivos (initial letters) in this possuk are “Bilaam” because a person needs constant strength and encouragement to counteract spiritual contamination.
47:00 – NOTE: In a shiur heard in America recently a rabbi stated that “nowadays we can’t experience feelings when learning Torah.” However, Rebbe Nachman teaches differently, for example in Sipurey Masiyos: “Story of The Rabbi’s Son”. The tzaddikim know how the Torah needs to be applied to address the unique challenges of every generation.
*41:29 – Q&R about how we can know the application of the Torah according to our generation.
42:40 – Closing blessings.
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