learning Torah we find generally two דינים, two ציווים, two commandments: ללמוד, a חיוב כשיקיץ to לערנען תורה, obligation that when you're able to you have to learn Torah yourself, that's the mitzvah of learning Torah. Yourself, meaning what? Versus teaching. And the second thing is ללמד, to teach it to somebody else, to לערנען די תורה מיט אן אנדערע, to teach it to somebody else. ובפרט, a father to לערנען מיט זיינע זין, there's an obligation on a father to teach his sons Torah. געפינט מען אין דעם א דבר פלא. So in this mitzvah, which has two parts to it, we find a strange thing: סיי דער Rambam, סיי דער Alter Rebbe הייבן אן הלכות תלמוד תורה, Alter Rebbe, Rambam and Alter Rebbe, both, when they start the הלכות of learning Torah, נישט מיט'ן din a mentch is mechuyav to לערנען תורה, it doesn't start with the din that every person is obligated to learn תורה, נאר מיט'ן דין אז ס'איז א חיוב, א מצוה מן התורה, מען דארף לערנען תורה מיט בני הקטנים, starts off like this, that a father must teach his child Torah. And that's not a mitzvah like chinuch, which is an obligation only miderabbanan that you have to see that your child child does the mitzvot, but it's a mitzvah mid'oraita. But the Alter Rebbe starts הלכות תלמוד תורה with these words. So the Alter Rebbe starts the הלכות תלמוד... the Alter Rebbe and the Rambam starts הלכות תלמוד תורה with the words that every father is מחויב מדאורייתא to teach his son Torah. וואס לכאורה ס'איז נישט פארשטאנדיק, which is not understood. צו אלע ערשט וואלט געדארפט שטיין דער חיוב פון לימוד התורה בכלל, היינו לעצמו. First it should have said there is a mitzvah to study Torah, which means yourself, there's a mitzvah to study Torah. און ערשט דערנאך, and after that it should have said, אז נישט גענוג דער ללמוד, it's not enough to learn yourself, נאר ס'איז דא אויך א דין ללמד לאחרים, to teach others, mainly in this case to בני הקטנים, to your son who's a child, you have to teach him Torah. But before you even know that there's an obligation בכלל of learning Torah, how could you come and say there's an obligation to teach it? First tell him that he has to learn himself. און בפשטות אז מען טוט, you look at it very simply, דער חיוב ללמד בני הקטנים איז דא weil עס איז דא דער חיוב פון לימוד התורה.

Why is there an obligation to teach your child Torah? Because there's a mitzvah to study Torah. So you might think it's only for you, it's an extension, not only you, but you have to teach it to your son. But it got to it should start off by saying you have to learn Torah. Huh? First yourself. It's a given. It's a given, okay. און דאס איז א ציווי נוסף במצות תלמוד תורה לגבי שאר מצות התורה. And this idea that you have to teach your children, that's an additional thing we only find only by Torah, not by other mitzvot. וואס סתם חינוך הקטנים נאר מדרבנן. The fact that a father has to see that his child should bentsh and daven and and and eat matzah on Pesach when he comes of age, that the רבנן made. No, that's not a mitzvah, that's just a thing that he should, for his protection. Yeah, yeah. We're talking about a mitzvah that the רבנן made. There's only one mitzvah that the father is מחויב מדאורייתא to do to his son, and that is לימוד התורה. But that comes only after the father, after we know that he has to learn Torah. Yeah, yeah. Who says that a father is a mitzvah of the child? A mitzvah of the child? Mitzvah of the father. What? No, has to make sure his child does. Like this chinuch, other, to make sure the child bentsh's etrog is a חיוב דרבנן on the father to make sure, but that the father, that the child should learn, that is מחויב. He mentioned it, but that's not a mitzvah. Chinuch is not big teaching the mitzvot, is making him do the mitzvot. There's teaching about the mitzvot and there's making him do the mitzvot. פדיון הבן, מילה... Oh, there, אי הכי נמי. It's an obligation, it's a חיוב, but that doesn't mean that it's all together a mitzvah. בפרט, ס'קען נישט זיין ללמד אן א פריערדיקע ללמוד.

Besides that, he says, you can't teach anybody if you didn't learn yourself. Which practically speaking, it comes, first you got to learn. און ביז אז די דברי תורה זיינען מחודדין בפיך, not only you have to learn it, it says ושננתם לבניך, the word which is the the pasuk which teaches us the mitzvah of teaching, it says ושננתם, doesn't only mean learning, it means לשון שינון, it's clarity, sharp, it should be sharp, you have to learn Torah that it's clear in your mind. So you got to learn first. Something new? But if you don't know what you how are you going to teach it? ובפרט, ובפ... No, so that's the question. בפשטות קען מען עס מסביר זיין אז דאס איז פאר צוויי טעמים. בפשטות, there is a simple answer you could give, for two reasons: Number one, באלד אז ס'איז דא א חיוב מן התורה to לערנען תורה מיט א קטן, since min haTorah you have to teach Torah to a קטן, נישט ווי ביי אלע מצוות וואס בזה סתם מן התורה נישט מחויב מחנך זיין קטנים, not like other mitzvot where min haTorah we do not have to do it to the children, In brief, so it comes out like this. אז דער לימוד התורה ביי יעדן איינעם מוז זיך אנהויבן און הייבט זיך אן מן התורה ווען ער איז נאך א קטן. So when you look at every Yid, when does his learning Torah start? He was a child. So that's why we start with the child. דעריבער הייבט זיך אן הלכות תלמוד תורה מיט די דינים וועגן לימוד התורה פון א אידן וואס איז פאר אידן וואס הייבט זיך אן ביי יעדן איד בקטנותו. So when the Torah tells a person you got to learn, where is the beginning of his obligations? Every Yid, when he was a child. But, what comes, what comes first, the child or the, is the Right, okay. The father has to, but as far as the mitzvah in, in time, in time of every person, you can stop a person in the street: when was the beginning, when did you start learning Torah? When I was a kid. A father had to teach me. But the first father, the first father. is the one. Yeah, but every father like And the second reason could be, the ציווי of Talmud Torah is נכפל פעמים רבות. This mitzvah to learn Torah is written many times in the Torah. צי דער ציווי ללמוד, צי דער ציווי ללמדו, the mitzvah of learning, the mitzvah of teaching. It's written in the Torah many times. אבער דער ציווי עיקרי, that what's being counted in מנין המצוות, the

main mitzvah which is counted in the מנין המצוות of the Rambam is ושננתם לבניך. It's teach the children. וואס איז כולל, ווי דער רמב\"ם זאגט דארטן, ללמוד תורה וללמדה. Which includes the Torah, in other words, the pasuk does not say learn Torah. The pasuk says, teach Torah to your children. From that, we understand that in order to teach, you got to learn yourself. So the bottom line is that the source in Chumash for the mitzvah of learning Torah is written in which context? The context of, of teaching the children. און וויבאלד אז דער מקור עיקרי אפילו פון חיוב פון לימוד התורה, אויך פון ללמוד, איז פון ושננתם לבניך, וואס דאס מיינט בפשטות בניך הקטנים, since the source of where we learn out that you got to learn Torah is from the פסוק that talks about you teaching your child, דעריבער הייבט זיך אן הלכות תלמוד תורה מיט חיוב עליו צו לערנען תורה מיט בניו הקטנים. That's why the הלכה starts with the הלכה of teaching a child, a קטן. Which is two good reasons. One reason is because the obligation, when does a Yid start with his mitzvah, he starts with the time of, of a child. And also because the source is, The first reason is על דרך like it says, why is the first Mishnah in Shas start with the mitzvah of when you say קריאת שמע in מעריב? At night. So the reason given So what, so? Because when a person becomes bar mitzvah, a child, which is the first mitzvah that comes upon him? The second the night comes and he becomes bar mitzvah, he's מחוייב, the right, the first mitzvah is קריאת שמע at night. So that's why Shas start that way. So it starts with the time of the human being, and the person. So the same thing here, the Torah starts with that, and therefore the Torah starts הלכות תלמוד תורה starts. How is that specified to a קטן? Yeah, a קטן means when he's able to understand. Able to understand. But there are stages, even when he's able to talk, says בשעה שהתינוק מתחיל לדבר, when the child starts to talk, מלמדו, you have to teach him תורה צוה לנו משה, that פסוק. Then when he gets a little older, you teach him אלף בית. So not necessarily when he's three, even before. Huh? Even before Right, this is before. תורה צוה is before. You might give me a while. Yeah, I hear you, that's what, oh. No, the cake doesn't have מזונות ברוך אתה ה' אלקינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו. אמן. Okay, so now we have an answer to the kashya, the way it was put. The kashya, the way the רבי put it, is why does the Rambam start with the mitzvah of teaching the child rather than learning itself? So he answers, because every Yid, first, it starts that way, and the Torah starts that way. דאס גופא באדארף א ביאור, but this itself needs an explanation. פארוואס טאקע איז מצות תלמוד תורה אויסגעטיילט פון אלע מצוות, why is טאקע מצות תלמוד תורה different than all the מצוות, דערמיט, with this first of all, אז לימוד התורה האט א שייכות מן התורה צו א קטן? Why is it so, that the mitzvah of learning has a connection to a child? און נאך מער, second, דער חיוב צו לערנען תורה איז נכלל אינעם ציווי ושננתם לבניך. So much so is it connected to a child, that the Torah, when it wanted to tell you that an adult must learn, it didn't say that. It said it within the mitzvah of teaching a child. It says, teach it, teach your children, which tells you you've got to learn yourself. So, obviously, when it comes to this מצות תלמוד תורה, other than different than all other mitzvot, has some special connection to children. Why is it that, that, by מצות תלמוד תורה, a child is more לכאורה וואלט מען געקענט זאגן בדוחק, על כל פנים, we could have answered, not such a simple answer, but בדוחק אז כדי צו, ווי די אר\"י ז\"ל ברענגט, צו מאכן א חילוק פון לימוד התורה בעולם הזה לגבי לימוד לעתיד לבוא, to express what the Torah is nowadays compared to the Torah of the future, Mashiach will come and he'll teach us deeper ענינים, what is it? מובן בפשטות, we understand, obvious, it's self-understood, אז ווען אידן וועלן זיין פנוים בתורה ובחכמתה, משיח will come and Yidden will be free, they will have no problems, and they won't be busy, and they'll be able to spend their time constantly learning Torah, ויהיו ישראל חכמים גדולים. It's all the loshon of the Rambam at the end of the Rambam. וממילא the Yidden will be great scholars. ומלאה הארץ דעה, the world will be full only of knowledge. שאר בדעה דעת החכמה והאמת, it's the world will be full of daas, only of knowledge of Torah. So when you, that time since you'll be learning Torah that way, the זיין דע לימוד הבנת התורה במעלה שלא בערך פי כמה. So the learning then, will be much greater than now, much deeper. It will be much higher level now. So self-understood this, even if you don't bring any sources for this, it's just a שכל׳דיקע זאך. Besides it the לשון חז״ל, which the Chazal tell us a very strange thing, אז די תורה וואס מ׳לערנט פיקסטר די תורה that we learn now, is הבל! לגבי די תורה וואס מ׳וועט לערנען לעתיד לבוא במשיח׳ן. It's like stupidity. That's it's not chas veshalom stupidity, but compared to that Torah, it's so much greater, that it's like stupidity. Then higher now than the way it was in Matan Torah? Only from the Baal Shem Tov out. I'm saying chassidus which is a little bit the beginning of the future Torah, a little bit higher because פנימיות התורה is the deepest secrets. So, but really they had it then also, it just wasn't revealed. When it was given. No, exactly, it's like saying it wasn't given. Sure it was given. But what Mashiach will teach is also taken from given Matan Torah, but there it was not given at all, it was just included in the Torah that was given and Mashiach will take it out. Chassidus was actually given. But it wasn't learned by most people, it was only learned by select few and handed down to it came time to being hisgalus. But it was given מתן תורה, actually. As a matter of fact, the Rebbe explains that by מתן תורה, נגלה was נגלה was בהעלם, ונסתר, חסידות נסתר, was בגילוי. Why? The אייבערשטער said עשרת הדברות, Rav Saadia Gaon shows how all תרי״ג מצוות are found in עשרת הדברות. It's very בהעלם, very פנימיות, you don't see it. On the other hand, the אייבערשטער came down to הר סיני with the מעשה מרכבה, with all the מלאכים, so everything we learn about in חסידות about אצילות, they saw it! So אצילות was בגילוי, and נגלה was בהעלם. Opposite what people think. Anyway, so since the Torah then will be much greater than now, the Torah now is like stupidity compared to תורת משיח, ממילא די כל לימוד התורה בזמן הזה, אפילו פון גדולים, איז כמו די לימוד פון א קטן. So mimeila when we learn now, in truth, the Torah that we learn, the greatest person learns, it's really like a child learning. Compared to the way the Torah will be, it's child, child's play. Isn't it isn't it the way the Torah or is it the way we'll be able to understand the depths of the Torah? The way it will be revealed us. That's, okay, so the way we understand it now, like when you teach a child Torah. Compare that to an adult, not only adult, to a great תלמיד חכם. It sounds pretty stupid to his learning, to the learning תלמיד חכם. It's exactly the same way, our Torah of the greatest תלמיד חכם is compared to then. Aic? Huh? It's all there. So when you teach a little child Aודאי in it is included. The same thing, like in the Torah we learn now, we learn is included the תורה משיח, because it's not not going to be a new מתן תורה. So, really, our Torah now, the way we learn, is compared to a קטן. And ikh, also, על דרך פון די לימוד התורה פון א קטן איז א ענין פון חינוך, just like when a קטן learns is basically only חינוך. What's great, the עיקר חיוב, is when you learn as a גדול, as much as the father is supposed to learn with him, but still, it's not the main. The main time you learn when you're a גדול. This is a preparation, so too is it when we talk about learning bichlal in this world, אז די איצטיקע לערנען איז א חינוך והכנה צו לימוד התורה דלעתיד לבוא. What we learn now is only a hachana, only a preparation to the Torah that will be learned then. צאפט קנאך דעם, he sees די תלמודו בידו, after a person learns down here, comes later on the לימוד התורה פאר לעולם הבא, and he comes with the Torah in him, that me can and nehm in dem לימוד התורה בשלימות פֿאַר משיח, will be able to take the Torah the way it will be Mashiach. So now we

understand, that have a reason, why did the Torah stress davka by learning Torah the mitzvah the concept of a קטן, the answer is, to teach us that really we're all קטנים. The whole learning Torah nowadays is like a קטן. So we have an explanation, fine. האבער, Also not No. Still, compared to Mashiach So even משה רבינו יחיד. So everybody לפי ערכו. האבער, yes, but still. האבער דער ביאור איז נישט מספיק, this this explanation is not enough, because this concept we find by other mitzvot also. Where do we find this? Ich seh דער ערוך הלשון, it says a lashon in ספרים, מדרש, אז די מצוות די מצוות וואס מיר זענען מקיים בעולם הזה, the mitzvot that we do now, זיינען ציונים, they're only like סימנים, signs to the מצוות וואס מען וועט מקיים זיין לעתיד לבוא the mitzvot we will do then, ווייל דעמאלט וועט זיין זייער קיום, then we will do the מצוות כמצוות רצונך, what we say in Mussaf davenen, ושם נקריב לפניך קרבנות חובותינו כמצות רצונך. We will bring the korbanot then like You commanded and You really want. What does that mean? חסידות טייטשט the mitzvot we will do then, the korbanot, other mitzvot we will bring then, that is the tachlit what the אייבערשטער wants. And now, it's only a preparation. Then it'll be בתכלית השלימות. There's no סתירה to the fact it says מצוות בטלות לעתיד לבוא, it will be batel. That's a whole she'eilah. What does that mean, mitzvot will be batel? Mitzvot is. So derfar there's a whole biur, I explained it last year, Acharon shel Pesach I explained it there. So what is the kavanah? I mean, we'll do the same mitzvah, we Yeah, but it'll be in now we don't understand, we'll do it, the way it'll be done is going to be b'shleimut. The accomplishment will be b'shleimut. And now, it's only a hachana to then. Rashi, actually Rashi in Chumash we have to do because the Eibershter said, but the reason Rashi actually in this parsha takeh. Doesn't bring in the bottom here? No, it wasn't like that. Because of what, the lower madregah? The higher madregah. No, Rashi. הציבי לך ציונים. Rashi says it. I think Rashi in Chumash brings it. Look at Rashi's words. You see Rashi's peirush? Rashi says that you should keep the mitzvot now to be able to know how to do it later as a preparation. Oh, here. It's not Rashi in the first parsha, it's Rashi in והיה אם שמוע, in the second parsha. It's not this week, it's next week. Sounds Sounds like it's not dependent on how we do it, it's just the way Hashem That's what Hashem wants, exactly. Yeah, so it must be next week's פרשה, והיה אם שמוע. Here, let me just see. Oh, here. So it's in Kriat Shema, but it's not in the first parsha of Kriat Shema, it's in the second parsha of Kriat Shema. And it says in Chumash, in קריאת שמע, ושמתם את דברי אלה על לבבכם, you should put these things on my on your heart and then you will live long in the land. So Rashi says that even when you go to galut, היו מצויינים במצות, you should be would have the mitzvot, put on tefillin, make מזוזות, כדי שלא יהיו לכם חדשים, in order it shouldn't be new when you come back. וכן הוא אומר, calls a פסוק, הציבי לך ציונים, make this as a simanim. So really, the reason why the Eibershter wants us to do mitzvot now so we should be able to do the mitzvot better when we go back, because otherwise we forgot how to do it. So we see that the tachlit is later on. Thank you. איז אז אייך קיום המצוות בעולם הזה, the mitzvot that we do now is נאך בבחינת קטנות, is also like a katan on a low level, which is called ציונים, only סימנים, לגבי קיום המצוות דלעתיד לבוא, compared to the mitzvot of לעתיד לבוא. און אז דאס איז מהאי טעמא גופא, א חינוך און א הכנה צו שלימות קיום המצוות, and therefore, it's only a preparation to the real way to do the mitzvot. So we can give a reason why by Torah the Torah expresses the קטנים because the Torah we learn now is like קטנים compared to then. But every mitzvah is like that. Every mitzvah we're like קטנים like then. אבער פון דעסטוועגן, the mitzvah of תלמוד תורה דוקא האט א שייכות אייך צו א קטן. The fact that by mitzvah of learning Torah we express the קטן. און נאך מער, אייך דער ציווי כללי of תלמוד תורה ווערט נכלל, it's long as it's ודברת בם ושננתם לבניך, בכלל the mitzvah of learning Torah is included in the mitzvah of teaching a child, it's not written by itself, איז מוכח, from that we understand, אז אין תלמוד תורה איז דא ענין מיוחד וואס איז שייך דוקא צו מצות תלמוד תורה. There must be something special in the mitzvah of learning Torah which we don't find by other mitzvot, which makes it that it's connected to a קטן. Something there in תלמוד תורה. Now, what is it? וועט מען דאס פארשטיין בהקדם, דער ביאור החילוק בין תורה ומצוות. Let's explain first what is the difference between Torah and mitzvot. מצוות ווערן געטאן בדברים גשמיים. Mitzvot are done with physical things. די עיקר ענינם, איז צו טאן in the דברים, in the world. So the main purpose of mitzvot is to accomplish, to do something for the gashmiyut of the world. בדומה צו די ענין פון די לשון, like as in the expression, גברא טוט אין דעם חפצא. The The person is doing something to the object. You have an object, and the main purpose is that this object, put on tefillin, to bring kedushah into the tefillin, to bring kedushah into the world. צו מברר מעזאכט די דבר גשמי. To be mevarer, to purify the גשמיותדיקע object, און קיין נפש הבהמית שלי and my gashmiyut, my yetzer hara, my נפש הבהמית. The חלק is מקיים the mitzvah, the part that we're using for the mitzvah. And we eat cake with a berachah, and we do it in order to be able to learn, we bring kedushah in, we bring kedushah into our guf. So it's to take the lower part of creation and be mevarer it.

Derivatively, דערפֿאַר like this, af al pi as the מצוה דארף זיין מקוים מיט ביטול, you know that every mitzvah you do, you must have bitul to do it, bitul to the אייבערשטער. נישט weil azoy is mein שכל, you don't do it because שכל tells you, נאר weil azoy is der רצון העליון, because that's what the אייבערשטער wants. Like we say in the ברכה, אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו, we do it because He commanded us. פֿונדעסטוועגן, is the עיקר, עיקר זאַך אין קיום המצוה איז די עשיה. Nevertheless, the main thing is the act, the actual act. Der bitul, but you see you have to do bitul. וכללות, the kavanah, what does this מצות זענען מצרף זיין די בריות, the bitul that it causes in the person, and the fact that Chazal say that it purifies the person. But the mitzvah, the אויפֿטואונג אין דעם גברא, in the מענטש, that has to cause in the person, is נישט מעכב בדיעבד. B'dieved, if you did a mitzvah and it didn't have any effect, and you weren't batel, you still did it. דאס איז אַזוי ווי נאָך אַ זאַך צום עצם קיום המצוה. In other words, what's it saying is that the mitzvah itself is one thing, in addition to the mitzvah, on top of the mitzvah, you have to have bitul. But it's not that this is an essence essential part in the mitzvah. The best proof is that if you didn't have the bitul, the mitzvah is still there. Limud haTorah,

ooh, is a inyan... Limud haTorah is not a... der מענטש זאָל מיט זיין שכל פֿאַרשטיין און פֿאַראייניקן זיך מיט דעם מושכל. When you learn something, your mind becomes one with the idea that you're learning. The idea is that you become part of the Torah. So bitul is not an an an additional thing on top of the of it. This is part of the Torah. נישט וועלן אויספֿירן ווי ער וויל, so the whole idea of understanding Torah is not to come to what you want, ווי ער וויל צו זיין, נאָר זוכן דעם אמת אין דער השכלה, we're looking for the truth. ומבטל זיין דעם רצון, and take away your ratzon. That's the whole idea bichlal of understanding. Understanding means, huh? That's not with the... that's not with the אייבערשטער... First of all, he's asking a different she'eilah. By other things it's also, when you understand something you become one with it. But you become one with the sevara. If you want to sit and you learn and you understand how to make a car, you become, your brain becomes one with that idea. You don't become one with the car! But by Torah, since the Torah and the אייבערשטער are one, you become one with the אייבערשטער. And

one with the אייבערשטער is bitul! And this is the whole idea of sechel. Sechel means if I want to understand something, what is the peshat understanding? If you're going to do what, if you're going to go the way you want, you're not understanding anything! Understanding means, whether I like it or not, this is the truth! A sevara is the truth. 1 + 1 = 2. You want to know how much is 1 + 1, and you're going to mix in, well in this case, since he's giving me something, I'd like that 1 + 1 should be 3, so when I tell him, you're going to be giving me 1 + 1, I'll get 3. It's going to help you, that does not... So you didn't get the sechel, the sevara is truth! That means you got to give up yourself, whatever you like, makes no difference what you like, you just got to do what the truth is. Isn't there understanding Torah without the alef, so to speak, you know... That's what he's saying here. But isn't it possible to understand, we say it's poisonous, one who learns Torah... You understand a sevara of Torah, but that's not the truth, that's not... That's your metzius is involved, that's not the real thing. That's the problem. Right, exactly! So he's saying you have to with Torah have must have bitul. It's not automatic. Not automatic, but you have to have it. וואָס ביי תורה דאס משיג זיין חכמתו יתברך, in order to understand the Torah as the חכמה of Hashem, you have to be mevatel yourself. Because if you're not mevatel yourself, you understand maybe the seichel of it, but you don't get, you don't connect to the Aibershter. And דערפֿאַר is der ענין הבטול an ענין עיקרי בפרט in לימוד התורה. That's why when it comes to learn, bitul is very important as an essential part in study. Weil חכמתו יתברך איז אין גאַנצן אַן הוגעהויבענע... and he explains it. Since the חכמה of Hashem, not the logic part of it, but the חכמה of Hashem is completely beyond the גדר, the whole concept of creature of the creation, קען דאָס נישט נקלט ווערן ביי אַ נברא, it cannot be absorbed, the truth of Torah, which means the Aibershter that's in the Torah, cannot be absorbed in a human being, נאָר ווען ער לערנט תורה מיט ביטול, when you learn with bitul. Because he points out when you learn with bitul, what you're doing is undressing yourself from your metzius. Then you're a כלי to take בלי גבול. As long as you're limited to your metzius, your metzius is limited. The Aibershter's חכמה is בלי גבול. How did it come into you? But when you get rid of your גבול, so you're away from it, so then you could get the Aibershter's חכמה. That's katan, katan is bitul. That's, that's exactly what he's going to answer. So why is Torah a katan? Because a katan learns with bitul. A katan doesn't have a metzius, and that's how we have to learn. So he says, ווען ער לערנט נאָר מיט'ן כח השכל, when you learn only with שכל, קען עס אים פֿירן צו זיין אַ מגלה פנים בתורה שלא כהלכה. כהלכה. If you use only your seichel without bitul, you know what it could lead you to? To use the Torah for your own ta'avos. You turn around the Torah for your own thing. That's what they they all do. Conservative movement found heterim for everything because you wanted that way. You want what you want. ער האט טאקע חכמה, ער האט טאקע יש חכמה, and he quotes the מדרש, מאמר חז\"ל, יש חכמה בגוים תאמין. There's a Midrash that says if someone will tell you that the goyim have chochmah, believe it. If they'll tell you that the goyim have Torah, don't believe it. Now Chassidus asks: goyim don't have Torah? You have goyim who study Torah, even Gemara, you have goyim. The answer is, they study Torah, the Torah that they study is chochmah. It's not Torah. When we say Torah, we mean the Elokus in the Torah, and that they they don't have. ער זאגט גוטע סברות, good ideas, אבער ס'איז נישט הלכה פון תורה, it's not Torah which is חכמתו יתברך, which is not the chochmah of the Hashem. That's why, just as an aside, there's a Chumash with English translation called, oh, if you studied it, the Rebbe said the Rebbe told you to study it, Hertz. I was always against it. Look in his hakdamah, he writes that he, and it happens to be quite good commentary on Chumash in English, but he writes that he קבל את האמת ממי שאמרו, you should take the truth from whoever says it, so whoever I saw said a good pshat, I took. I don't care who said it, even if a goy, a גלח said it. Ah? Yes. The Hertz. So, yeah. Well, that's the Hertz Chumash. But if a goy said it, he can't, he says גוטע סברות, it's not Torah. It's not Torah, it doesn't come because of his bitul. A איד, a פרומער איד says it, he already knows what Torah is. Anyway,

ודערפאר זאגן Chazal, that's why Chazal say אז עס מוז זיין ברכה בתורה תחילה, that before you learn, you must make the beracha. The beracha here, what is the beracha? The beracha is אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו. Als הקדמה והיסוד צו לימוד התורה, must earlier be Birkat HaTorah, as a יסוד, a foundation and an introduction to learning, you must have the berachot, וואו ס'איז מודגש דער ענין פון ונתן לנו את תורתו, where you stress the point that He gave us the Torah, און דאס רופט ארויס ביטול, that makes that when one learns, it brings out within him, אז ער האט ביטול to the Hashem who gave the תורה, ובזה ער ווערט א כלי ראויה צו תורת השם, that's he becomes a keli. If he has the bitul before he studies, mimeila he is able to be a keli. The beracha helps bring the bitul? Brings the bitul, yes. What did they mean over here by יש חכמה בגוים תאמין? תאמין. כולו יש תורה בגוים, אל, אל תאמין. I just explained it. Is that what you, okay, I didn't see. Exactly what I, yeah, I just explained it. Cuz אל תאמין, or just תאמין? Believe and don't believe. So, I explained what that means. כשם אז עס מוז זיין די תנועה פון ביטול als יסוד הקדמה צו לימוד התורה, just like we said that there is a foundation and an introduction to learning is the ביטול, וואס דורך דעם ווערט ער א כלי צו תורת השם, you become a vessel to the Torah of Hashem, to the Godliness that's in the תורה, אזוי דארף זיך אויך באווארענען נישט פארבינדן... בשעת לימוד גופא. Not only before you start learning you have to have the proper approach, while you're learning, you have to have the bitul. מער ווי בקיום המצוות, more than by doing מצוות. Why? בקיום המצוות, when a מענטש אז ער איז מקיים כדבעי, if a person does the מצוות properly, ווייל אזוי האט דער אייבערשטער אנגעזאגט, cuz that's what the Eibershter said, and you do it, איז אין זיין טוהן די מצוה נישט אריינגעמישט קיין אייגענע מציאות. Automatically, just by doing the mitzvah because Hashem says, the mitzvah is done with, there's a bitul there. In other words, if you're doing it because Hashem says, so yourself is not mixed in. If you ask somebody, why are you putting on tefillin? You're nuts. Wake up in the morning, take a box over here, a box over there, and you strap. They say, are you meshuga, are you crazy? What are you doing? Only because Hashem said. There's no effort that you have to put in to become batel. This itself that you're doing it is bitul. עס שטייט פון לכתחילה in a תנועה פון פאלגן וואס דער אייבערשטער זאגט. You are lechatchilah in a matzav, in a situation that you're listening to השם, ממילא איז דערביי נישט אזוי נויטיג צו באווארענען אז עס מוז זיין די עבודה פון ביטול. So, that's why you don't really have to stress and tell, you know, remember, be batel. The doing itself is a form of bitul. בתורה אבער, וויבאלד דער ענין איז דער יחוד פון שכל האדם מיט, כביכול, חכמתו יתברך, since by Torah, it's your seichel that has to become united with the אייבערשטנ'ס שכל, so what's the ask of the person? Use your seichel. As if saying to the person, don't have bitul. Using your seichel is not bitul. I always tell this joke, it's not a joke. I want to heard a bachur once, I said, do you understand pshat in Tosafos? It's kashya, Tosafos's teirutz. Do you understand Tosafos's teirutz? Tosafos, I have the proper, the perfect emunah, that Baalei Tosafos were tzadikim, great chachamim, if they answered it, can guarantee you, if it's an answer, and and I believe it, and I believe it 100%. So why why should I learn it? I believe it. And he's right, because he had bitul. The Eibershter said, don't have bitul, forget about bitul. Learn it, try to understand with your brain. Your brain should understand this. So therefore, it's pas- since the Eibershter wants your brain to understand it, so it's very possible that you takeh won't have bitul. So maybe before you start, you think about the Eibershter, then when you get involved, and your seichel is involved, you're you're home. I have a good kashya, I have a good terutz, לפסוק... דאס הייסט אז ווען ער איז מכוון לאמיתה של תורה, he says when you when you really learn, and you really learn properly, and you mechaven exactly what the Torah says, he says באופן אז די סברא וואס ער האט, דער תירוץ מיט זיין שכל איז כביכול חכמתו יתברך. If you really understand pshat with your seichel, and let's say you come with a good pshat, and it's the right pshat, you know what it means? That my seichel figured out the אייבערשטער'ס חכמה! No, you know who I am? I figured out the אייבערשטער'ס חכמה. So I'm so smart. I am so smart. So the I becomes a little bit, you know, blown, a little bit swollen. דאס ווארנט ער in the, אז אין דעם זאל ער נישט אריינמישן פניות שייכות אן אייגענעם שכל. So you have to remember constantly, as much as it's your seichel, but the reason you have to understand, why do you understand, because it's the Eibershter, and you had the zechut that you reached the אייבערשטער'ס חכמה, but forget about yourself. דער לומד התורה קען אמאל טועה זיין, a guy who learns Torah can make a mistake sometime and think, אז ער איז שוין אין דער דרגא אז אים איז נוגע נאר דער ענין פון אמיתה של תורה. Sometimes you could start thinking, \"I'm such a high madreigah, that I only care about the truth of Torah.\" בפועל, so what's wrong? If it would be that way it's fine, but not everyone is that way. Sometimes they say, \"I only care about the Torah, and therefore, you're saying the opposite of me? Oh you're an apikores! Because what I'm saying is Torah, so you're saying... ah, you're an apikores, you're against me.\" So ווען יענער זאגט אנדערש ווי זיין שכל, if someone says different than my seichel, because my seichel is the Eibershter's. So if you say the opposite, נעמט ער אן אז יענער זאגט היפך התורה, that the other guy is saying against it, you're a kofer, you're an apikores! א דרך ווי לשון חז\"ל, אורייתא היא דקא מרתחא ליה, the Gemara says a lashon that sometimes a person can get angry, which is wrong, anger is wrong, it's the Torah that's cooking in him. But that's not good. Torah shouldn't cook, you cooking anger is an expression of your gaavah. And you're saying, \"I'm getting angry because of the Torah.\" So a guy has gaavah and then he's blaming it on the Torah. תכלית הידיעה שלא נדע. So you have to learn to come to a תכלית to know that you don't understand. But I know some people say, \"So why should I learn so much and come to realize that I don't understand, I'll go start that I don't understand!\" But there are many different, the two, there's a big difference with how the two not understandings... Exactly! סיי אז אין דעם אמת'ן איז דער בעל דרגא אז על כל פנים איך, דאס וואס מ'זאגט היפך פון שכל. Meantime this guy really, why does he care about the other guy who's not saying the way he says? Because you're not saying the way I said. And my gaavah, I think I'm, because my gaavah. You can hide it, and you can convince yourself that it's all because it's the Eibershter. That's why Chassidim always were against the concept of, used to be people who used to expect כבוד התורה. \"You didn't stand up for me?\" Demand it. And these could demand it, why do you demand it? Because look in Gemara, it says how important it is כבוד התורה, to stand up for a תלמיד חכם and everything. But they demanded it. So what's the pshat? You think, \"I, myself, stand up for me? Nah, I mean the Torah, that's not me, that's the Torah.\" I'm not so sure. So since Chassidim had a ספק, ספיקא לחומרא, so they said, they never demanded כבוד התורה. Because really it's you. I mean there were great tzaddikim like the רשב\"י, who said that he's the greatest person in the world, and for him it wasn't gaavah, because he was completely batel. But most of us... and that's why even these people, great anavim, a anav, they felt that they are great people, and their מציאות is nothing, and they're big anavim. That's why the story in ספר הזכרונות, where this chassid got up once in the shul, in a מתנגדישע שול, by הקפות get a פלאטש, \"איך בין מכבד to the next הקפה all the anavim!\" And a line started forming. And there was even a whole dispute between them, who's first: \"I'm a bigger anav than you.\" Who's first? So... Like they say... They say in the mikveh once, there was a guy who used to, such an anav, that he used to go around to every other people: \"Do you want me to scratch your back, do you want me to do this?\" To show anavah. One guy didn't know, he thought he's a worker in the mikveh, he thinks... So he turns around to him, \"Could you scratch my back?\" \"What kind of a chutzpah is it?!\" Did you hear, they say this... Reb' Chaim, Reb' Chaim Carlebach, Shlomo Carlebach's brother, he was a rav in somewhere, he used to learn in Lakewood and then he even learned in 770. So he read over, he said over when he was in Lakewood there was, when he came in the first day he didn't know, he was sitting by breakfast and there was the bachur would go around and ask, \"Do you want an egg, you want I should bring you something?\" So he thought this guy was the waiter. No, but he did in anivut, so he did it. So he didn't know, so he called him over. He said, \"Waiter! Could you...\" \"Waiter?! What do you mean waiter?!\" Anyway... Yeah, but their שמינית שבשמינית is big! Their שמינית שבשמינית, no, a little bit, but it's a big, a little that's big. און דער עיקר... So because of that, that it's possible while you learn you should in your mind get gaavah instead of bitul, דעריבער, therefore, דארף זיין דער לימוד התורה גופא זיין דורכגעדרונגען מיט א ביטול. So not only before you start you have to realize bitul, when you start, that you're using your brain, and you understand, you have to make sure that you have ביטול, צו באהיטן פאר די אייגענע מציאות און ישות, אז די אייגענע מציאות און ישות זאל זיך נישט אריינמישן, that your own מציאות, your own ישות shouldn't get involved, און משחד זיין, and it should be a שוחד, should be like like a bribery, ומטה זיין זיינע כוחות השכל. That turns, you see, if you take bribery, your שכל doesn't think right, און ער פארשטייט ניט בכלל זיין חכמתו יתברך, to to to understand the אייבערשטער'ס חכמה. So here we see that by Torah, first you must have bitul. Two things: you must have bitul before you start, cuz otherwise you're not even a keli to do anything. And then we must make sure that you have the bitul while you're learning the Torah. You see, by other mitzvot, two things: the bitul before is not so important. I mean, it's important, but if you don't have it, you still did it. On the other hand, while you're doing it, there's no need to stress remember to have bitul, cuz the fact that you're doing the mitzvah and you're not doing it for your own reasons, so obviously you have bitul. But by

Torah, the Torah, the learning itself could cause you to have ישות, so you have to have, so there's a stress of bitul here. Yesh lomar, so now we'll come to the תירץ, אז דאס איז אויך דער ביאור אין די צוויי ענינים הנ״ל. So this is the explanation, the two things we said in the beginning. Number one, וואס דער ענין פון לימוד התורה איז דא מן התורה אויך ביי א קטן, the fact that the mitzvah of Torah is different than other mitzvot, mitzvah of learning Torah, that even a katan has it. And the second thing, וואס דער ציווי אויף לימוד התורה פון א גדול איז נכלל אין דעם ציווי פון ושננתם לבניך, and the other point that even the mitzvah of a child of an adult learning is all part of the mitzvah of a child learning, which is the reason all because that's why the Alter Rebbe and the Rambam started off with this mitzvah. But the question was: why is it takeh like that? The answer is: ווייל אין זיי זעהן זיך ארויס די צוויי ענינים ביטול וואס פאדערט זיך ביים תלמוד תורה. The two types of bitul we said before, before and during, expresses itself in relation with a katan. And by the mitzvah connected to a katan teaches us: be like a katan. And if you're like a katan, you'll have these two things. How? And he explains it. דאס וואס לימוד התורה הויבט זיך אן ווען מ'איז נאך א קטן, the fact that Torah starts when you're a child, ומעין זה, על כל פנים, מדרבנן אפילו נאך פארן גיל פון קטנות, and מדרבנן it's even a little bit earlier, ווען עס איז ניט קיין שייכות צו הבנה והשגה, even before you start understanding, like we said before, וגלייך משיודע לדבר, as soon as you start the child starts talking, you got to start teaching him already pesukim of תורה, תורה צוה לנו. That fact is a madgish, stresses, אז די התחלה, this is all in the beginning, you start off, די התחלה און יסוד פון לימוד התורה איז ניט דער שכל שבתורה. The

foundation of Torah, the beginning, the introduction is not the sechel. You have to remember that this is bitul, like a child. A child why, he understands doesn't understand what he's talking about doesn't know anything, but he nevertheless takes it. So that's like the beginning of Torah. נאר ער ממעט ומקטין עצמו, no, you have to make yourself low, you have make yourself small like a katan, which means a ביטול צום נותן התורה שלמעלה מטעם ודעת, the bitul that you have to the Eibershter, which is higher than sechel. So where do we see in the mitzvah of learning Torah that you must have it before? From the fact that you start with a child, you start that way. וואס דער ענין פון ביטול איז ניט אפהענגיק פון גדלות השכל, this bitul has nothing to do with your greatness and your sechel. ער איז פאראן ביי יעדן, אפילו ביי א תינוק משיודע לדבר, מחמת נשמתו. Everyone has it, even a child. Child learning he has no sechel, so why does he have a connection to Torah? Cuz in the neshamah. That bitul that comes from the neshamah is seen more by a child than by an adult, and that's why the mitzvah is to start from a child. And the צווייטע פרט, a second idea ענין, דאס וואס אויך דער ציווי פון לימוד התורה פון א גדול ווערט נכלל אין דעם ציווי פון ושננתם לבניך, the fact that the mitzvah of learning Torah is included as part of the mitzvah of teaching your child, לערנט, that teaches us, אז אויך בעת דער לימוד גופא, that while you're teaching, I mean while you're learning, ווען מ'איז אריינגעטאן מיט כח השכל פון דעם לימוד פון א גדול, when you are learning with your sechel, and that only is a גדול, in other words, when you are a גדול in the learning, מיט הבנה והשגה, while you understand, דארף זיין דער ביטול פון א קטן. When you're learning, the mitzvah of you to learn is part of the mitzvah of teaching the katan, to teach you that while you're learning, be a katan. Your mitzvah is an extension of the katan's learning. Katan's learning is bitul, you should also have that way. It's a very געשמאקע ווארט, this whole approach here. Also, in order to teach, you have to come down to their level, in a sense, you know? I mean, you have to be able to under- understand how to give it over to a to a person. And that is also מבטל No, teaching אלף בית, you should put it in it it מבטל the גדלות of what you think, you know, how much you know, in order to bring it down Especially when you're not teaching your own child. Teaching your own child nobody Teaching your another cuz your own child you have You you play with your child games also and you crawl on the floor, and that's and has nothing to do with Torah. But to teach another person, you're not going to crawl on the floor with someone else's child. Okay, but if you teach him, then you have that מעלה, yeah. You have to give over you have to give over a sevara, a sevara of Torah, you have to be able to Not to a child, not to a baby. To תינוקות של בית רבן. תינוקות של בית רבן is more children, not a baby. ווי גערעדט שוין מערערע מאל, he says, like I said many times, אז וויבאלד יעדע ענין בפרט אין תורה איז בהשגחה פרטית ובדיוק, since everything certainly in Torah is בהשגחה פרטית and it's exact, איז פארשטענדיק אז עס איז דא א תוכן'דיקע שייכות צווישן די פרשה פון די וואך, that

there must be a connection between the פרשה of the week, און דער פרק אין אבות וואס מען זאגט און מען לערנט אין באטרעפענעם שבת, and the פרקי אבות that we learn that שבת, פון די שבתות צווישן פסח און שבועות, the Shabbos between Pesach and שבועות, נאך מערער זה די זומערדיקע שבתות בכלל, so too in the Shabbos of the summer, לויט'ן מנהג אז מען זאגט פרקי אבות אלע שבתות פונ'ם קיץ, according to the מנהג that you say it every Shabbos including the summer, so there must be a connection between פרשת ואתחנן and the פרק of this week. ובנוגע לעניננו, concerning this week, וויבאלד אז עס זענען דא דעות הפוסקים אז מען זאגט פרקי אבות אין א שבת תשעה באב, the year that this sicha came out Shabbos was תשעה באב like this year, and there are different opinions whether you say פרקי אבות or not, so אלו ואלו דברי אלקים חיים and they're both true. But מ'ווייזט אן דא לויט יענע דעה, לויט די דעה אז מען זאגט יא פרקי אבות, so the Rebbe I'll explain it because that year when the Rebbe said the sicha he said I'll according to the opinion that we do say Pirkei Avos that Shabbos. חצי היום. Right, right, right. Oh, it's not not two opinions in Chabad. That's one opinion. We don't, right? We didn't. Lepoal, the bottom line was that the Rebbe didn't. It all comes from this שיחה, this אות. Right. But now I'm talking about how we did, who did? No, didn't. Didn't, right. So, why would we Here, he brings Who does? Lepoal, Rema says not, but the Rebbe, you know, what he brings? The ט״ז, the Yaavetz, they all say that they don't understand why not. And the Birkat Yosef says you should. And then the Rebbe brings your vort, especially when we shouldn't have אבלות בפרהסיא, and is that's why there's a reason you should. So, it's all reason why you should. And he tries to medayek in the Alter Rebbe's לשון that Alter Rebbe says we say it all כל, all the weeks of through the summer. And nevertheless, the Rebbe himself later on did not say. And and why Pirkei Avos as opposed to any all the rest of Torah? We talked about that. No, I understand, but so what, the דעה is that you if you can learn Pirkei Avos, you can also learn everything else too? No, it's especially. Those that say you could learn everything else you could learn, but there are some who say that you can't learn everything else, but Pirkei Avos you could, because it's a it's a normal seder. בפרט אז מ'האפט מיט א תשוקה גדולה בכל יום, especially when we hope with a תשוקה גדולה, with a great desire בכל יום שיבוא משיח, we hope that Mashiach will come any day. ויהפכו ימים אלו ליום טוב, and these days will become a Yom Tov. איז די סמיכות ממש צו שבת תשעה באב, also till Tisha B'Av at night, מוצאי שבת, איז א כלי להחזיק מיט א תשוקה גדולה, so when on שבת תשעה באב we hope that Mashiach will come, so it was possible that we won't even have to fast. Mimeila, so this is really not going to be Tisha B'Av. So, לכל הדעות מען דארף האבן געלערנט פרקי אבות, if Mashiach will come close to the end of the day, so we'll say, so we're not sure, we're not going to say it even according to the opinion that you don't say it, that's for sure. So therefore, I can explain it according to the sevara that we could. נוסף אויף דער כלליות'דיקער שייכות צווישן פרשת ואתחנן און דעם פרק רביעי אין אבות, besides the fact that Vaeschanan is connected to the fourth perek of אבות, וואס מ'האט געזאגט על פי הנ״ל אויך אין די יארן שבת פרשת ואתחנן, which we said in פרשת ואתחנן, וואס אין זיי ביידע געפינט זיך מערעריבע ענינים וועגן תלמוד תורה, we look at פרשת ואתחנן and פרק ד׳ of Avos, both have a lot of things about learning Torah. א סך פון די מצות פון תלמוד תורה שטייען אין פרשת ואתחנן, many of the commandments for learning Torah is in פרשת ואתחנן. און אויך כמה וכמה משניות אין דעם פרק אנהאלטן א הוראה ושייכות ללימוד התורה, and many Mishnayot in פרק ד׳ talk about learning Torah. So, Mimela, there's a general connection. געפינט זיך אויך אין צוויי משניות אין דעם פרק א הוראה והדגשה מיוחדת בנוגע די צוויי ענינים ווי פריער אנגעוויזן. Besides the general connection of Torah, the two things that we said is hinted in the fact of a קטן, the two פרטים, that you have to have the יסוד of ביטול, and also while you learn you have the ביטול, we find that in in what for the תלמוד תורה, we find it in the two Mishnayot of this פרק. משנה כ׳: משנה כ׳ is like this,

הלומד תורה ילד למה הוא דומה, if you learn Torah when you're a child, what is it like? לדיו כתובה על נייר חדש, like you write with ink on new paper. הלומד תורה זקן למה הוא דומה, if you learn only if you start learning when you're older is compared to לדיו כתובה על נייר מחוק, when you write on piece of paper that had something written already and you had to erase it, and on top of that it doesn't come out so clear. Lichorah, this is the Mishnah. Lichorah, it's not it's not understood. פארשטענדיק די הוראה פון דער ערשטן, הלומד תורה ילד, we understand why the Mishnah tells us if you learn Torah when you're young, it's very good. Then it's as if you're writing it on new paper. What is the Torah trying to teach us? What is the Mishnah trying to teach us by saying that? Make sure to start learning young. Fine. מען ווארנט א אידן, it tells the איד די וויכטיקייט, the importance of לערנען תורה אין די קינדהייט, the youth, to learn when you're a child. און נישט אפלייגן דאס ביז וועט א זקן, don't say, \"Well, I'll get older, I'll learn.\" So the First part of the Mishnah understood. וואס דארף אבער די משנה מזכיר זיין? Why does the Mishnah tell the second part? די ווארענונג פונעם צווייטן פאל, the second part, that if you הלומד תורה, זקן הלומד, you learn Torah when you're old, it's not so good. What are they telling us? That if you didn't learn before, don't learn? No, it's telling you, \"Well, you'd better learn, because look what will happen if you don't.\" Oh, so you start saying when you learn, that that's the most important part, but when you say when you learn older it's not so good, it's it's it's extra, and it teaches you, it gives you a a similar a a seemingly a wrong lesson. איז דען די משנה אויסן צו זאגן The Mishnah wants to tell us אז דער וואס האט נישט געלערנט תורה, if someone didn't learn מעשה שהיה whatever the case may be, they didn't learn for whatever reason, ביז ער איז געווארן א זקן, till he became old, דארף ער זיך מיאש זיין, חס ושלום, ער וועט נישט מצליח זיין אין דער תורה? He should give up hope that he'll מצליח, or tell him you're not going to learn later? Don't stress them. Vadai we understand what he means, but why say it? Just say it's very Learn when you're young, then it's going to be the best. It's very advantageous. Yeah, but what I am saying, but why tell you, but if you're old, then? דער ענין איז, the answer is, על פי הנ''ל, the פירוש in הלומד תורה ילד, it says we thought the pshat is when you learn Torah young means when you're פשוט פשט, you're a child. No, no, no. When it says you learn like a child, also means אז ער לערנט תורה מיט ביטול. We kept on saying before, a child represents bitul. ער איז זיך מקטין ומבטל ווי א ילד. You make yourself בטל like a ילד. אז דווקא אויף דעם אופן וועט תורה נקלט זיין, דווקא then the Torah will be absorbed, ויהיה ככתובה על נייר חדש, like when you write on new paper, it gets absorbed in the paper. אבער ווען דער לימוד התורה איז נאר מיט זיין חכמה מיט זיין שכל, and the Torah is only with your שכל, און ער זאגט אז ער איז שוין א בר חכמה, you're learning it as a That doesn't mean you're learning at an older age, you're learning like a like a smart like a smart aleck, אן ביטול, then תורה תורה'ס ענינים איז נישט נקלט באצלם. Torah can't be... So we're telling you that the same time, so you remember, you learn with bitul fine, you learn without bitul, it won't be good. So we're telling you, and therefore, what do we want to tell you? Learn with bitul! So it's not telling you a negative thing. See, if you learn פשוט פשט, well, you can't turn the clock back to say to learn when you're old, no good. So what happened, he's old? Oh, no good, I won't learn. Not telling you Telling you, you should learn not like an old man, not like an old man who is a גאנצער מענטש, learn like a child. That's the first Mishnah. The the the first figure. That Mishnah י''ט, says the previous Mishnah, it says like this: שמואל הקטן אומר, שמואל הקטן

says, בנפול אויבך אל תשמח, when your if your enemy falls, don't be happy. ובכשלו אל יגל לבך, if he stumbles, your heart shouldn't be happy. Why? פן יראה ה' ורע בעיניו, ה' might look at it and ה' won't like it. והשיב מעליו אפו, and he will take away from him the anger. In other words, if you are happy enemy is falls, then it's the אייבערשטער is not like doesn't like it, and he might take it away from him and give it to you. Be careful. This is what Shmuel Hakatan says, and a מעכטיקע קשיא, all the meforshim ask is, וואס איז די שאלה? וואס איז דער חידוש פון שמואל הקטן? What's his חידוש? בנפול אויבך וכולי is a pasuk in Mishlei! He quoted a pasuk! Shmuel Shmuel Hakatan says this? The pasuk says, Mishlei says it. איז מסביר דער מחזור ויטרי, so the Machzor Vitri writes, who's the Machzor Vitri? One of Rashi's תלמידים. Usually when he brings something it's usually in the name of Rashi. Says like this: אז דער פסוק רעדט וועגן א מלחמה בעסק עולם Huh? It's a machzor like. He came from Vitri. He lived in Vitri, or his name was Vitri. Yeah, Simcha ben Avraham. And he wrote this like a machzor, oh it's written on times of the year, it's like a machzor. Like you have a Machzor Vitri for Shabbos and you have some people have a machzor for Shavuos, for Pesach, machzor. Machzor means a cycle, so it's written in the form of a cycle of the year. Both sides, yeah. So he says like this: אז דער פסוק רעדט וועגן א מלחמה בעסק עולם, when the pasuk says about your enemy falling, that means your enemy means you're fighting with him and he fell, don't be happy. We're talking about physical things. You have a guy you don't like and you had a fight with him, and then you heard that he he became poor, don't be happy. שמואל הקטן איז מחדש אז אפילו א מלחמה של תורה, even when it's a מלחמה of תורה, צווישן צוויי תלמידי חכמים שנצרכו זה לזה בהלכה, two חכמים are arguing, and when we say your enemy falls, enemy doesn't mean your actual enemy, somebody who's arguing with you with תורה, און איינער האט דעם צווייטן מנצח געווען, he won you, דארף דער מנצח וויסן, the one that won has to know, בנפול אויבך אל תשמח, don't be afraid that he lost the argument. מיט'ן נצחון אויפ'ן צווייטן, he won. Don't be afraid Don't be happy, I meant to say. Don't be happy, I meant, don't be happy that you won the argument. על דרך תפילת רבי נחוניא בן הקנה, like we find in Gemara, Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah used to daven, one of the things he used to say before he learned, ולא יכשלו חברי בדבר הלכה ואשמח בהם, shouldn't be a situation where I'll see one of my friends stumble in halacha, say something wrong, and I should be happy. You ask the Aibershter, because naturally, that's how it is. If you argue with somebody and you prove him wrong, I want You're happy. And it's hard not to be, you have to work on it. You say that there was once a big chassid famous אסיפה where ר' Chaim Brisker was there, and the Rebbe Rashab, and they held an אסיפה that the government called. The Rebbe Rashab had with him Reb' Mendel Chen. Reb' Mendel Chen was a גאון עולם, very young man, he got killed. But young, and he was a גאון, he was there. So they were talking about a Rambam, and there was an argument between Reb' Chaim Brisker and Reb' Mendel Chen what the Rambam says. Reb' Chaim Brisker said one way, and Reb' Mendel Chen said another way. And they were

arguing, so they said, \"Let's go find a Rambam.\" This was not home, this was not in, so they had to go someplace to find. So they went, sent somebody to find, and as they sent to find, Reb' Mendel Chen left. And they brought the Rambam, Reb' Mendel Chen wasn't there, they looked it up, and Reb' Mendel Chen was right. They asked him later, \"Why'd you leave?\" He says, \"I knew I was right, and I didn't want to be there to see that that that I embarrass that he'd be embarrassed. Because I didn't want to, and this was, he didn't want to be happy the fact that I won. So I left, I ran away, and...\" Anyway, so, \"What's the problem with that?\" What's the problem with that? \"It's a big nisayon...\" Sure he's the writer. That's not a problem. The this, if I can have chosen his גדלות, ר' Mendel Chen was an אמת'ער חסיד. The Rebbe Rashab said, \"I have three chasidim of all: one is the biggest in נגלה, one the biggest in קבלה, and one is the biggest in both.\" In נגלה, who was in נגלה, I have to remind myself, in קבלה was the Rebbe's father, and in both was Reb' Mendel Chen. And he was younger than than than them all. So that means a big גאון, I mean, he knew the Rambam, he knew the Rambam. So Reb' Chaim, like I said later, when he saw him, Reb' Chaim asked somebody, I don't know, he had an hava amina maybe earlier to take ר' Mendel Chen as a as his son-in-law. He had this. Anyway, they sent to test, and anyway, he asked the guy, \"Is he smart? Does he know?\" So he said, \"Yes.\" So he asked ר' Chaim, \"Like my son?\" 'Cause ר' Chaim's son, ר' Velvele Brisker, was a big gaon, and in the Brisker velt he's even accepted more than his father, more than ר' Chaim. So the guy answered him, \"גרעסער ווי דיין זון.\" Anyway. \"Was that how they make words, the mother of Chen?\" Yes, yeah, that's from that same family. Same... So the Rebbe Okay, so the answer is that he's not he's like a quoting the pasuk, but he's referring to Torah. That you

shouldn't be happy if you see somebody else stumble. וואס איז אנדערש מחמת של תורה וואס דארט מען געהאט וואס מען קען מיינען אז ס'איז נישט שמחה בנפול אויבך, אויבך. Why would we think that when it comes to Torah, you it's no problem if you are happy if someone falls? און דערפאר דארף שמואל הקטן ווארענען קעגן דעם, that's why he has to say it. You know, Shmuel HaKatan came and say it, and says, \"You know the pasuk,\" he says, \"but the pasuk is talking about other things. By Torah, you might you might not know that you shouldn't be happy. So I'm telling you this goes...\" Why would we think that by Torah you could? Why would I think that if you see somebody stumble over Torah, you're allowed to be happy if you won and and he lost? Well the inyan is the word like we said before, ווייל ווען מען האט מנצח געווען אין הלכה, when you win over somebody else in הלכה, וואס קען זיך טאקע זיין אזוי א זיסע זאך, and I could convince myself, it's not that I won, you think I won? ניין, ס'איז א זאך פון תורה, תורה won! Since עס איז נתברר געווארן an inyan of Torah, we clarified an ענין תורה. און דאס דארף מען ארויסגעבן א שמחה גדולה, you have to be happy that the right thing came out, that here this guy who didn't know what Hashem wants, finally realized what Hashem wants, it's קידוש השם. \"The one who lost should be happy too.\" Well he should. \"Because they figured it out.\" Talking about the one who won shouldn't be happy, why? Huh? \"They could both be happy.\" Yeah. Yeah. No, but no, the one that the one shouldn't be happy. \"Why? But he figured it out.\" He says, because if you'd be happy, you'll think why are you happy, usually? Well, if we're talking about a madreigah, so he's telling him, \"Don't think you're in such a high madreigah that you're happy because of the Torah.\" זאגט אבער שמואל הקטן, בנפול אויבך אל תשמח, don't be afraid. ווען אים וואלט געגאנגען באמת מיט די אמיתות של תורה, he says, and I'll prove it to you, he says. Had you cared really about the Torah, that's what bothers you, the emet of תורה, וואס דארף זיין זיין שמחה נישט אנגעהאנגען אז דאס איז געווען פאלנדיג ביי... It wouldn't be felt that this is a a victory over your enemy, a victory over the guy who was arguing with you. אזוי ווי עס פילט מען, you wouldn't hear the fact that \"I won over you!\" נאר בלויז אן ענין חיובי, you will hear, \"Oh, finally we came to the proper conclusion! אז ס'איז נתברר געווארן an inyan of Torah, the truth came out, inyan of Torah.\" The fact that you feel, \"Aha, you see? You see I'm right?\" See, really you shouldn't say, \"You see I'm right.\" Oh, Baruch Hashem, now now we know the truth. But in most cases you think You say it, or even if you don't say it, you think it, \"Now you see that I'm right.\" The the moment you say that, it's not the Torah you care about, it's you. נאך אן ענין, another thing, ווען ער וואלט געהאלטן מיט דער אמת'ע צוגעבונדנקייט מגלה זיין חכמתו יתברך, you really hold at a level you want to be megaleh the chochmah of the אויבערשטער, וואלט ער אים בכלל נישט געווען קיין שונא, און ער וואלט נישט געהאלטן אז ער איז געפאלן בנפול אויבך. You wouldn't even realize that that's an enemy fell, that means that you won over him, that wouldn't even be felt. תורה איז דאך אלו ואלו... דברי אלוקים חיים. If we're talking about another guy who is a true person, his opinion is also something. Maybe it's not halacha. די הלכה למעשה קען נישט זיין ווי ביידע דעות. You can't have a halacha like both. ווארום אין פועל קען מען עקזיסטירן א זאך נאר ווי איין דעה, you could only do like one opinion. אבער ביידע דעות איז געהאלטן געווארן אז דברי אלוקים חיים. Both דעות, אז דער אייבערשטער, if the guy who said the other opinion also had the klalim and did everything right, he's also right. Lehalacha, maybe not. וויבאלד אז אפילו נאכ'ן פסק הלכה בלייבט דער צווייטער

דעה אן ענין פון תורה, so now, since the other one is also Torah, and even after the halacha he's also godly, איז אז דער דעה נישט שייך צו זאגן בנפול, so you can't say he fell. און אויך נישט אויבך, you can't say it's an enemy, because an enemy is against the Torah, this the guy is the Torah. און היות אז אין שמחה, וועט ער האבן אז דאס איז א בנפול אויבך, but since in your simcha you feel a little bit that it's the fall of my enemy, the fact that I won over him, איז א siman, that shows אז אין דעם איז אריינגעמישט א הרגש פון די תאוה פון דאס זאך, then you feel that I won, ער האט מנצח געווען דעם צווייטן, I won over him. און דערפאר זאגט Shmuel Hakatan, that's why Shmuel Hakatan says it, and the Rebbe stresses who says this? Shmuel Hakatan. Only a guy like him could come to this understanding, cause he himself was the greatest anav. The Gemara says why was he called Shmuel Hakatan, because he was the greatest anav. וואס ווערט אזוי גערופן, ווייל ער מאכט דעמאלטס אז, why was he called it, because he made himself small, אז לימוד התורה מוז זיין מיט א ביטול. Not just because he was small? No. The Torah, learning Torah is to be with bitul. אזוי אז בנפול אויבך אל תשמח, so that

even if you win over him, don't be happy. Even if he's not, don't be happy as as you won over your enemy. There's no enemy, and you didn't win. The Torah came out true, that's all. Garlic, right? He was one... The garlic... Garlic... There's a story somewhere where garlic, somebody smelled... Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Somebody ate garlic... Yeah, yeah, in order not to embarrass him in public, yes, yes. עס קען אבער דאך זיין א טענה, someone could say like this: אמת, אז די דעה פון דעם אויבך, קען זיין געהאלטן ווי א דבר אלוקים חיים, true, his, the other guy's opinion could also be part of תורה, און עס איז א פאר, אן ענין אין תורה, part of תורה, אבער יענער האט דאך געוואלט ארויסברענגען זיין דעה אין א פסק הלכה למעשה, but that guy was screaming that this is the Halacha! און אין דעם האט ער געמאכט א טעות, and that was a mistake, 'cause בפועל it's not so, the truth is, he proved that it's not so. ממילא איז עס דאך יא אן ענין פון בנפול אויבך, באמת so what he tried to do is a fall. How did the Rebbe say before that you never look at it as he fell because his opinion remains, even after you're right, he's still also right, because it's אלו ואלו דברי אלוקים חיים, but it's not true, he wanted to say it למעשה. און בפרט אז ער האט געפאלן, so how can you expect that he should cause by himself the מניעה of not of not to be happy? און נאך מער, עס איז א פאל פאר דעם צווייטן, you feel like I fell, ער האט דאך פארט מבטל געווען אן ענין בלתי אמיתי, I did help to get rid of something that was wrong! און דאס דארף צו זיין א שמחה, after all, he claimed that's the הלכה למעשה, I proved him wrong, so I should be happy that I proved him wrong! I, he's also right, okay, he's right בעצם in Torah, but not למעשה. אין דעם זאגט Shmuel Hakatan, המשך, so

Shmuel Hakatan continues in the second half of the פסוק, פן יראה ה' ורע בעיניו והשיב מעליו אפו, take away the anger from, meaning עס קען דאך זיין אז דאס וואס זיין חבר איז נישט מכוון געווען להלכה, maybe the reason he didn't come to the real הלכה, איז עס נישט אז ער האט א חסרון אין זיין שכל, not because his שכל didn't figure it out properly, נאר עס איז אן עונש, maybe he was punished. מיט אן אף של מעלה, because the אייבערשטער had some anger at him, איז ער נישט זוכה צו מכוון זיין להלכה, he didn't have the זכות to be מכוון להלכה. So his opinion is fine, but להלכה it's not, because, but it's not that he did something wrong, I mean his שכל didn't go right. ממילא טאר מען נישט זיין בשמחה בנפול אויבך, you can't be happy when he falls, פון דעם וואס עס איז דורכגעפירט געווארן און דורך אים אן עונש פון אייבערשטן אויף יענעם, actually the bottom line turned out, he says, that he was punished because of you. We learned it in the ענין before. You shouldn't be the one. Hashem had to punish him, when he wants, whatever, he shouldn't be מכוון להלכה, but it shouldn't be through you. So די שמחה דארף זיין נאר פון דעם וואס עס איז נתברר געווארן דעם הלכה למעשה, to be happy that Halacha came, but not the fact that he lost and he was punished by the אייבערשטער, טאקע he's טאקע right also in a different level, but להלכה he's wrong. And why is he wrong? Because of אף, Hashem was angry. So I brought out the אייבערשטער's anger! Shouldn't be happy about that. ואדרבה, he could be unhappy just because he didn't cross it correctly, it has nothing to do with Hashem's anger. Not talking about him being unhappy, talking about him being happy. Him being... the one that was wrong... We're not saying anything, he didn't even mention about him, talking only about the guy who is right. ואדרבה, אויב אז עס איז דא א שמחה בנפול אויבך, if you will be happy because he fell, איז רע, that's what he continues in the pasuk, maybe the אייבערשטער will take away the anger from him, דער מידה כנגד מידה זיין והשיב מעליו אפו, Hashem will take away the anger from him, דער אייבערשטער וועט כביכול אפקערן דעם אף פון זיין חבר, if Hashem will take the fact that he had no zechut to be mechaven to the emet, the אייבערשטער will turn it around and make you do next time you won't be mechaven to the emet. אז ווען מען אריינטראכט ביי זיך in that, when you think about it, וועט ער פועל'ן ביי זיך, you could poel'n by yourself, אז ניט נאר וועט ביי אים ניט זיין קיין שמחה בנפלו, not only would not be happy when he falls, אדרבה, ביי אים וועט מקוים ווערן דער היפך davon, it'll be the opposite, אז אינם זזים משם. It says if two people, two talmidei chachamim argue and they seem like they're enemies, they scream at each other, מ'איז משוגע, you don't know what you're... That's our talk, that's a beit midrash! A real, I mean nowadays for some reason you don't hear that. אמאל די ישיבות, you would walk in, two guys argued peshat: \"You're nuts! You have no idea what you're talking about! It's ridiculous, you're dreaming it!\" This guy comes in and he screams, \"I thought you're an am ha'aretz!\" \"Yeah, you too!\" And they sound like enemies, but it says אינם זזים משם. If

they're real talmidei chachamim, they don't leave עד שנעשו אוהבים זה לזה. They become best friends. און נאך מער, מאמר חז\"ל, ביי די שילוח מנות חז\"ל say חיבה וריעות נוהגים זה בזה, they're very friendly, לקיים מה שנאמר, they fulfilled the פסוק האמת והשלום אהבו. They love the truth and the shalom. So these two mishnayot are the same as the two things that we did first. The first Mishnah is, what was the first כ? The first, that's the difference, the first Mishnah was that you should learn when you're young and not when you're old, and he said what that means is learn like a child, which that with bitul, and not like just with seichel, that's the first part, that's the approach, and then the second thing is that while you're learning, you have to have bitul. And if you have bitul, you won't be happy when the guy fails because it's not going to be, not going to mean anything. What connection between this and the הוא אומר מקודם... Yeah. Yeah, gives to an am ha'aretz, yeah. ברוך אתה ה' אלקינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו. Two lights. Or... You need my shine. I got that bell, so...