2019-12-15 – LM1 – Torah 240 – Torah 242 – Ways to Attach Oneself to the Tzaddik

Podcast (shiurim): Download (Duration: 1:01:55 — 85.1MB)

Speaker: Rabbi Nasan Maimon.
00:00 – Torah 240 from beginning. All blessing comes through the tzaddik.
03:58 – Chana the wife of Elkanah is assured by Eli HaKohen that her tefilos (prayers) will be answered.
04:39 – If someone is ill, they should ask a chocham to pray for them.
05:01 – One who prays for his friend is answered first – an explanation given by Rabbi Rosenfeld z”l.
06:06 – What is mazal?
09:19 – Moshol (parable) of a person trying to lift a heavy object and the exertion causes them harm or even kills him.
*12:35 – What does “attaching oneself to the tzaddik” mean? Reference to Likutey Moharan 4. First way: traveling to see him and breathe the same air, “Your eyes should see your teacher.” The Torah is not only conveyed through hearing, it is conveyed through all one’s senses.
13:37 – Second way of being close to the tzaddik: supporting him through tzedakah (charity).
13:48 – Third way: opening one’s heart to the tzaddik, speaking about one’s difficulties.
14:28 – Fourth way: studying his Torah and following his advice.
20:21 – It’s impossible for a person to have both wealth and chochmah (Torah knowledge), unless they have true humility.
22:02 – Maggid of Mezeritch.
26:39 – TORAH 241. When judgement comes directly through Hashem He does not destroy a person completely, as in “I will use up my arrows on them” (Devarim/Deuteronomy 32:23). However, Hashem does allow a human opponent to destroy another person completely.
30:22 – Counting Jews brings judgement. Dovid HaMelech was mistaken to count the people of Am Yisrael and the result was a deadly plague. When a person judges himself, he is protected from Divine punishment.
34:41 – Reuven saved Yosef HaTzaddik from his brothers by suggesting they throw him into a pit with snakes and scorpions. The Ohr HaChaim explains why this was considered a rescue.
36:40 – Bilaam and Pinchas.
44:32 – Question and response: can the tzaddik fool the midas hadin (heavenly judgement)?
45:56 – Story from the Zohar HaKodesh about one of the students of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai z”l.
47:13 – Question and response about Pinchas.
47:46 – TORAH 242. Orech Anpin of the klipos – holiness is paralleled by unholiness. The negative forces oppose to Hashem’s light but sometimes it’s difficult to tell that they’re forces of darkness.
50:47 – Rabbi Masya ben Chorosh prevented being distracted by the sight of a woman by blinding himself. Giving Tzedakah can save a person from sinful thoughts. It’s best for a man to avoid excessive conversation with a woman.
60:00 – Question and response: why are thoughts of niuf (illicit relationship) compared to death?