Parsha Pinchas Chasidic Torah thought from Lubavitcher Rebbe by: Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowicz

Welcome to this week's Torah lesson. This week's Torah portion is Parshas Pinchas. The question of the week is, how can we go out from Galut, exile? So, in this week's Torah portion, Parshas Pinchas, we read in the Haftorah where the prophet says, "Kodesh Yisrael l'Hashem, the Jewish people are holy unto Hashem, reishis to'aso, kol ochlav ye'asham, those that devour it will be liable." So, the Rebbe explains that what does it mean on a spiritual level? So, asham is referring to when someone God forbid steals, and you have to pay back the the the the principal, and then you have to add a fifth. What does that mean? That there's five levels in serving God. There's sur me ra, going away from evil, there's assei tov, doing good, there's bakkesh shalom, searching for peace, u'rdfeihu, and pursuing it, and then there's the highest level, where you're returning to Hashem, which is called teshuvah. What is the power of teshuvah? Teshuvah is when you don't make any calculations, you're connecting to God off the charts, no limits. You do whatever needs to be done. Now, what happens is, there's a rule in mysticism that says, "Da ma la ma'ala mimcha, know what's above you." That's the literal translation. What does it mean spiritually? Know that everything above comes from you. When we act in a certain way, Hashem takes care of us that way as well. So, in other words, when a person goes ahead and serves God with teshuvah, with off the charts, without asking any calculations, and as tough as exile is, God will give you the greatest blessing of taking us out of exile. So, to answer the question, how do you get out of exile? Return to Hashem. Even though it's tough, do what you're supposed to when it's tough, and God will do what He's supposed to, take us out of exile, and we'll have the complete redemption. Thanks so much for joining us for our weekly Torah lesson. This week's Torah lesson is dedicated to the memory of Baruch ben Aryeh Leib, ben Yosef, Rochel bas Leib, bas Tziporah bas Sarah, my father, Reb Leib ben Reb Avraham ben Reb Tzvi Hirsch. May their souls be elevated by the to by the Torah we're studying For more information, please see our website chabads w.f.org. Have a great and blessed week. Tov.