From Exile to Redemption: The Power of Teshuvah קדש ישראל להוי׳ Kabbalah by Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowicz

Welcome to our class onus. We're going to be learning a beautiful discourse in the Reb. The name of the discourse is called the Reb said this discourse that year it was the tamuz the 16th day of the month of Tamuz in the year exactly 45 years ago. So theic discourse is based on what it says in the prophets that the Jewish people are holy unto God to the first of its harvest of those that want to devour it will will will pay retribution. I've asked the question what is the idea why the Jewish people are called holy and also the first of their harvest and also why does it mean that it says that all that want hurt the Jewish people will pay which is referring to the people that cause pain um to the Jewish people in exile and like the kazal tell us that all the nations of the world are rooted into mitsim Egypt why Egypt because mitsion comes the word mitsum they cause pain to the Jewish people and on them it says they will go ahead and God will um um make sure that they get punished for causing any pain to the Jewish people goes on to explain he says like this we know everything that happens happens based on I'll say it in Hebrew I'll translate it based on our work that's what creates all reality in other words like tell us based on the verse where it says dal You want to know what's going on high? It's from you. We create the reality on high. And we know the famous teaching of the mag of mezri and of the alterba and the and like it's explained many different places, different um uh languages in specific how how they define this. But basically what they're saying is that everything on high happens from us through us. And like the author writes in Tanya that all the revelations in the future of Msiah coming is dependent on our action and our work now. So what do we see from here that when we say that those that are going to go ahead and cause pain to the Jewish people, they're going to receive retribution shu it also applies on a spiritual level. And what does that mean? The explains as follows. Reb says we know based on what is explained in from the alter of the para that the revolutionary idea of somebody that's moyel someone that goes ahead and and and you takes advantage of holiness compared to regular stealing. So there's regular stealing in Hebrew it's called zah and then there's something which is called moyim someone that takes advantage of something that's holier at the base of mikdash. What's the difference? Like the verse says that when it comes to the bet, you have to add a fifth. In other words, besides the principle that you took advantage of us advantage of, you have to pay back another another fifth on top of it. What does that mean on a spiritual level? So, we know that in in serving Hashem, there's four levels. What are the four levels? There's action, there's speech, there's thought, and there's intellect. And like the verse says, so he includes there four levels again. Action, speech, thought, and intellect. But then there's a fifth level which is also hinted in the verse. What is that? That's called serving God without any limits. And on on that it says covered means it's very very near to you. Which means when you do things off the chart. So you serve God with action. You can serve God with speech. You can serve God with thought. And you can serve God with intellect. That's the four levels. And then you're ready to do off the charts. And that's what it's explained previously in a difficult discourse that there's four levels in serving Hashem. One of the four levels. First level is serious. Don't do anything wrong. Next one is do good things to go ahead and create peace and to pursue it. And higher than those four levels of is the idea of what of chuva returning to hashem because what's the idea of chuva when you do chuva it's basically off the charts there's no limits there calculations you just want to connect to hashem so that's in serving hashem and the same thing applies also in the world like kazal tell us at the end of the sixth chapter in pyote that whenever said they were learning that chapter that week and over there it says as follows whatever hashem created he created in in his honor and like it says clearly in the verse. So you see he has berea a ysira and a which is the three the three world the three worlds of of we call it in abbreviation by and af as also the fourth world which is basically the world of so that's the four corresponding to action speech thought and intellect but there's a higher than that what is that called the name the name of hashem just plain know when you just call the name of hashem itself what you're connecting to is the essence which is above of and this how do you draw down the highest level that comes through truva when you return to hashem because when a person doing chuva why you doing chuva you're going from your essence and from your essence that's you that's how you connect to hashem's essence like the raham writes in the in the in the second chapter of the laws of gouch and divorce and he says there as follows that every single Jewish person wants in his essence to do the will of hashem so why don't do it. So there's things that conceal it, but really we want to do what Hashem wants. But when a person does chuva, that means you're returning to Hashem. What happens then is things that you did not do right. So things that were done against Hashem and how much more so things that you did um by accident they actually get to they become actually a mitzvah. Why? Because what happens is when you do chuva, what gets revealed that the true will of the Jew is which that's our essence is to do the will of Hashem. We all want to do and what is that referring to in the levels of the soul because we know there's different levels in the soul. It's referring to the highest level which is the level of because means to become one with Hashem and like the Rambam writes that the whole the whole will is to become one with Hashem to do the the ruts in Hashem and the level of the soul is the fifth level of the soul because we know you have and the highest level is and that's why the idea of chuva is has to be also byic a righteous person also has to do chu Chuva and like it says clearly Msiach the Messiah comes he's going to cause the the the righteous people to return to Hashem. Why? Because truva is something which is higher than even the the spiritual work of a sadic because a sadic works serves hashem in the four levels he's complete but truva takes you to a whole different level and that's why the verse says the Jewish people are holy that they're going to exact retribution because we have to what what what is what we what is asham asham is basically the fifth level which is basically serving hashem from a level of chuva and like we explained before it refers to the different discourse we of the 13 of Nissan and he writes for there's four levels what's the four levels something which is regular neutral product then there's miser which is already holier which is tithing then there's truma which is even higher a level of you you separate and then you have kaidesh so kulin miser truma and kesh that what so so so the so the so so explains over there that someone is pure for um for for simple hoolin regular items. So if you want to now go ahead and eat the next level tithing, you have to go ahead and purify yourself. And let's say somebody's on a spiritual level, you can eat the tithing and you want to eat now the the true next level, you need again pur purify yourself. And if you someone's on the level of truma, that means he's purified himself. He has to go he has to purify himself for the next level of kesh. But even above that, there's a fifth level because even if somebody's in the highest level of kadesh and he's purified, he has to purify himself in the water of the of the of the offering. Why is that? Because what is the katas? When do you bring a carbon katas? That's when you person returns to hashem chuva and and that creates the atonement. And the same thing also the water of the katas which is basically from the red heer it's Torah calls it a carbon katus. You have to have a whole whole different level of purity. And that's why the verse says that a person has to constantly go from one level up to the next level in holiness and you have to reach the highest level of a katas which is basically the fifth level. And that's why he says which means that we have to go ahead and purify ourselves to reach the the fifth level. But nevertheless, not only do you have to do the idea of tru returning to hashem, which we said is the service of God with the fifth level of the soul, the level, but it also has to affect on the four levels below it on the level of and just like for example the fifth level. So you don't just give the fifth know you give the the principle and you give the fifth and that's how you that's how you have five you know so the fifth becomes part of the principle that you're returning and that's why in the zy the the the two highest levels of the soul is actually one name it's called the soul of the soul why because the goal of is that it has to affect all the levels below it the and fact in the verse says is says like the days of going out of Egypt in the future I'll show you wonders. So what do we see from here? This that says which means you're revealing the fifth level which is off the charts that also existed when we left Egypt because as the verse says just like days going out of Jesus I'm going to show you in the future and then therefore you can say this is what it says when we went out of Egypt that the the they they c they caused they caused us pain and suffering for 400 years and then afterwards they went out with a tremendous wealth. In other words, besides the fact of the reward of of of this servitude in Egypt and which is not the it's not it's not the abundant of of wealth of wealth because the fact is because now we can demand we want payment for our work like the famous story in the Talmud which giso and they said to them hey um give us back the money that you took when we left Egypt. He said no problem pay us for all the work that we work with in Egypt. So besides the the the payment for the work but we also going to receive tremendous wealth which is basically as we know the concept in Kabala is called the greatest light comes from the darkness which basically means revealing the fifth level and that's why it says when Msiah comes he's going to inspire also to return to Hashem because what's Msiach means is the just like we said in every soul has he's the global of the Jewish people like explained at length in Kabal And it's also self understood since when the in the days of Msiah which is the ultimate of the Jewish people. So obviously we're going to have the revelation of the and every single person's is going to shine and we're going to have the global of the Jewish people and therefore because everyone's is going to shine and Msiah who's going to shine the global then he will affect that even are going to do chuva which means he's going to bring out the in them and just like when we serve Hashem so the goal is that the the fifth level has to affect in in the actual principle the Same thing also when Msiah comes we're going to have a brand new light in the worlds but it's going to affect all the levels of the world like it says you're going to have a new light but it's going to affect Zion and like it says clearly when you build a house which is referring to all the levels and like it's explained the in the goal is to bring the light into into the physical world now we know that the main thing is action and from so what do we see from here impractically in other words even though sadly we are in exile And like the um the the balagula the previous reb who was celebrating his his redemption and he writes in his notes of the third of Thomas of the what's in exile the body is in exile but nevertheless we have to work off the charts and the contrary from the darkness of exile we come to the level of that there's greater light in the darkness and when we do our spiritual work of which means we do our work we bring out We serve we we go go ahead and do chuga. We serve God off the charts. We're going to go out from Egypt because even though we went out from Egypt, but all the exiles is connected to Egypt and we're going to go out to receive the righteous msiach who was going to come to inspire even sadikim to return to Hashem. And just like every Shabbat, you have to eat and taste from every single dish that's made for Shabbat. The same thing also as we're right now right before the redemption. We have to taste what it's going to be like in the future and what's going to be in the future for all the Jewish people. It's going to be light in their homes just like just like in Egypt. But then we come to the literal redemption and like the like the teaching of the Reb Marash that we need to have the literal redemption and Reb finishes off powerfully and beautifully. It should happen very very soon very quickly in our days in our generation. We should have the coming of Messiah. So here we have a beautiful discourse, a practical discourse that can take us to the highest levels by returning to Hashem, bringing and we'll have the coming of Mashiach. Let's hope and pray we have the coming of Msiah and next class will be have a great and blessed week. Shabu to