A vort from the Rebbe on this week's parsha. In this week's parsha, Parashat Nitzavim, the Torah talks about a person who might chas veshalom go off the derech of following Torah and mitzvot. And the pasuk says that what he could do is והתברך בלבבו לאמר, he will bless himself in his heart, which really means he will be proud, saying שלום יהיה לי, peace will be unto me, כי בשרירות לבי אלך, because I will go on the desire of my own heart. The Targum Yonatan ben Uziel translates this pasuk a little bit different. Instead of translating והתברך בלבבו that he will bless himself in his heart, which means he will be proud saying this, the Targum Yonatan says the word ויתיאש בלביה, he will be מתיאש in his heart. Now, the word yeiush means giving up hope, and it's saying he will give up hope and he will say שלום יהיה לי, peace will be unto me if I go in the way of my yetzer hara, doing what my heart wants. And the question the Rebbe asks, what does it mean he will be מתיאש in his heart? Why would he be מתיאש in his heart? He will be proud in his heart, he will be proud. By mistake, he will be proud thinking that it's good, and he will be מתברך בלבבו, proud saying peace will be unto me because I go in the way of my heart's desire. What does the Targum Yonatan mean that he will be מתיאש and he'll say שלום יהיה לי?

So the Rebbe explains it according to what it's explained in Chassidut and Kabbalah. Chassidut and Kabbalah it says, why is it we find sometimes that a Yid who follows Torah and mitzvot is not so successful in gashmiyut? Person who doesn't follow Torah and mitzvot sometimes is more successful. Should be the opposite, a person who follows Torah and mitzvot should be more successful than a person who doesn't. So it says in Chassidut and Kabbalah like this: that a Yid could get his chayut, his life, his sustenance in two ways. If he goes in the straight way, in the proper way, he gets his hashpa'ah, his sustenance from the sources of the holy forces that he gets from the sources of kedushah, he gets his chiyut. Because since he's following the right path, he deserves to get the chiyut, so he gets it from kedushah. But since he gets it from kedushah because he deserves it, so it depends how much he deserves. So, if you're 100%, you get more success. If you're not 100%, you get less. So sometimes you follow Torah and mitzvot, but you're not 100%, so you don't get the success 100%. But then there's another way. If a person leaves the derech of Torah and mitzvot, he loses his zechut of getting his chiyut from kedushah, from the holy sources. It's possible to get chiyut from the sources of kelipah, of the evil forces of the world. Now, if a person gets his chiyut from the sources of kelipah, it doesn't depend on how much he deserves, because he is not following Torah and mitzvot. So the sources of kelipah sometimes give you more than if you would get it through the sources of kedushah. Sources of kedushah is limited to how much you deserve, but if it's not because you deserve, but just because kelipah wants to get you involved, so they give you even more. And that's the pshat in the pasuk here, that a person will say שלום יהיה לי, it'll be fine for me, that means I'll succeed, כי בשרירות לבי אלך, because I will follow the desire of my heart. As a person will know that if he follows the desires of his hearts rather than Torah and mitzvot, he will be more successful. That's what it means: כי, because, והתברך בלבבו לאמר, he'll pride himself saying שלום יהיה לי, peace for me, I'll be successful because I followed the desire of my heart, so I get my chiyut from kelipah. And when you get your chiyut from kelipah, you could get a lot more, because it doesn't depend on what you deserve and you could be matzliach and successful a lot more in gashmiyut. But the Targum Yonatan is trying to tell you that as much as a person might feel that way, might feel proud that he's following his heart's desires, and therefore he would be more might be more successful in gashmiyut, deep down he knows that this is no good. And deep down, when he says he prides himself, he's happy about it, deep down it's not because he's happy. Deep down he knows that this is because he lost his connection to kedushah, and he was mitya'esh himself, he gave up hope of kedushah, and mimeila he turned to the level of kelipah. And that's what the Targum Yonatan does. The Targum Yonatan doesn't only translate the words in the literal translation, but the Targum Yonatan also gives the deeper pshat. So here the Targum Yonasan says that when that Torah says והתברך בלבבו he'll pride himself that things will be good to him, he'll be successful because he follows the desire of his heart, the Targum Yonasan says, what's deep down? ויתיאש בלביה, he's מתיאש from קדושה, he gives up. He knows that this is no good. But sometimes a person, chas veshalom, gives up, he feels he's too low and he's not going to help anyway, so he might as well do this and get חיות from קליפה, but it's only because of his יאוש. So here we see that the Targum Yonasan describes the deeper meaning of what happens when this person feels good about what this is, really he doesn't feel, deep down he doesn't feel good. And that's why when a person thinks about it, he could come to do teshuvah, realize this is the wrong way, and he will do teshuvah and start getting his חיות again from קדושה.