פרשת. ז' מרחשון is always פרשת לך לך, also that even shows a stronger connection between ז' מרחשון and לך לך. What's ז' חשון? וועגן ז' מרחשון זאגט די Mishnah, the Mishnah writes concerning the seventh day of חשון, אז דאס איז דער טאג ווען שואלין את הגשמים. That's the day they start asking for rain in Eretz Yisrael. What we do on Shmini Atzeret, when we say geshem, we're mentioning rain. We start saying משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם, that's starting to mention the rain. But to ask for rain, that's ותן טל ומטר. That in Eretz Yisrael they would start on ז' מרחשון, which is, why ז' חשון? If we start mentioning rain on Shmini Atzeret, obviously Shmini Atzeret is already the beginning of the rainy season, so why don't we ask for rain then? So it says they waited ט\"ו יום אחר החג, they waited 15 days after סוכות, כדי שיגיע אחרון שבישראל לנהר פרת, that the last איד, the one that lived the furthest, since the אידן used to come to Yerushalayim for Sukkos, called עלייה לרגל, after Sukkos they would leave. So, it would take them each one wherever he lived. The one that lived the furthest away took him 15 days to get there. And therefore, they would wait with asking for rain, because we don't want that person who is going home to get stuck in the rain. So we don't ask for rain till the last person reaches his destination.

און אזוי איז געפסקנט די הלכה in Rambam and Shulchan Aruch, like the Rambam פסקנט in שולחן ערוך, אז אין ארץ ישראל הייבט מען אן שואל זיין גשמים בז' מרחשון, that in Eretz Yisrael you start asking for rain on the seventh day of חשון. Why do we why do we wait till December 4th or something? So he's gonna mention it later in the הערות, that the Gemara says that that's only in Eretz Yisrael, cause the seasons in other places are different. Eretz Yisrael from after Sukkos is ימות הגשמים, days of rain. Other places, in Bavel it was different. In Bavel it started 60 days after תקופת תשרי, which comes out, and that's what we do like in Bavel, which comes out, goes according to the to the goyishe... secular calendar, because it has to do with the seasons, and the seasons is the sun, not the moon. So it comes out now, once one sometimes it's December 5th, sometimes December 6th. That's when we start we start. But in Eretz Yisrael, which there the time of season of rain, they would start right after Sukkos. But they didn't start the day after Sukkos, at Shemini Atzeres, when they started mentioning rain, geshem, but they waited 15 days, till 7th of Cheshvan, to give enough time for the last person to reach to Yerushalayim, to reach home. Why on how come on Pesach they don't they don't start saying the משיב הרוח they don't do it like two weeks before, when people are also doing עלייה on Pesach, right? And on Pesach we start We not we stop saying for rain. We stop saying, but before people go, they're going up to Eretz Yisrael, right? So why didn't they do it two weeks before or a month before? Could be raining. Why don't they start asking for stop, like we start saying מוריד הטל instead of משיב הרוח? No, but we're continuing what Something that we're saying already, we're not stopping till the season. But when you want to start, that we don't do. When do we do it this year, the 5th or 6th? I don't know, look on the calendar, I didn't look at it tonight. In Kitzur Shulchan Aruch it says 4th or 5th. That changed. Every 100 years, that changes. Farshteyt men How about December 6th? Now it's December 5th or 6th, depending whether February has 28 or 29 days. But used to be 4th or 5th. Then it changes, every 100 years it changes because of that. Yeah, the reason is, I'm not going to get it's going to take too long to explain. Sun calendar, the difference in the cycle. Have to learn a little astronomy. Farshteyt men, we understand, אז דאס איז נישט בלויז א סיבה שלילית. So we it makes sense that it's not only like a negative thing, אז דער גשם זאל נישט גיין וואס מ'קען ס'זאל נישט שאדן פאר א ייד ביז ער וועט אנקומען לביתו שבגולה. It's not only to a sevara that the reason we don't ask for rain till then is because we don't want the person who's on the way to get stuck. נאר אז ביז ז' שבעה במרחשון איז דאס נאך אלץ א המשך פון די עלייה לרגל פון חג הסוכות. What that really means is, because the

last guy didn't get home yet, so the fact that the Yidden used to come up to Yerushalayim for Sukkos didn't finish yet. Normally you ask somebody, \"You go up to Yerushalayim for Sukkos, to Yerushalayim, when is that over?\" \"Well, the day after Sukkos.\" Yeah, but some let's say, a person who leaves right away, to him it's over, but since there is still at least one person who did not finish his trip to Eretz Yisrael, Yerushalayim till ז' Cheshvan, that means till ז' Cheshvan it's still עלייה לרגל, we're still involved in what Sukkos is. ווי עס שטייט בפירוש אין ש\"ך, the Shach writes, דכל פעם שהיו ישראל עולים לרגל, that every time the Yidden went up for Yom Tov to ירושלים, לא היו יכולין להגיע לבתיהם אחר הרגל אלא בט\"ו יום, it took 15 days for the last one. And therefore he adds, והיה דומה להם כאילו הם עדיין in Eretz Yisrael. So, till the 15th day later, till the 7th of Cheshvan, they would feel as if they're still in ארץ ישראל, עסוקים בענין הרגל, involved in the ideas of the יום טוב, כל זמן שלא היו עברים את הנהר הגדול נהר פרת. As long as the last guy would come to Perat, that's where it said he would cross the river Perat, till then the people still felt that they're in Yerushalayim. That means really, that till ז' Cheshvan, it's still a המשך, a continuation of Yom Tov, of Sukkos. ז' Cheshvan, that's when it stops. דאס הייסט, means like this, as ז' Cheshvan is a טאג ווען מען איז מדגיש דאס גמר ההילוך פון עליה לרגל. ז' Cheshvan, the day that stresses the end of us going up to Yerushalayim. er er באדייט די ירידה מן העליה. It means, it stresses the fact that we're leaving Yerushalayim. Going to Yerushalayim meant going up, leaving Yerushalayim means you're leaving, you're going down. So, the point of when you start going down is ז' Cheshvan. אידן קומען אראפ פון די שלימות הקדושה בית המקדש ירושלים. The Yidden come down from the great level of holiness that they had in the Beis Hamikdash in ירושלים, יעדער איינער קומט צו זיין ארט. Everyone comes now home to his place, which was away from ירושלים, תחת גפנו ותחת. In other words, it's an expression in pasuk, people under their fig tree, under their their their, you know, vines. That means they come to their garden, they come to their own houses. אין ארץ ישראל, און אין חוץ לארץ. Whether Eretz Yisrael, or outside of ארץ ישראל, ביז צו דעם אחרון שבישראל, to the last person in חוץ לארץ, דערגרייכנדיג אין נהר פרת, reaching the Nehar Perat. So, the bottom line thing, so now we know what ז' Cheshvan is. ז' Cheshvan is represents the descent. Going for Yom Tov to Yerushalayim to the Beis Hamikdash was an עליה, going up. And then ז' Cheshvan, that's finished. That means that's when you start your descent, going down. לפי זה דארף מען פארשטיין די שייכות פון פרשת לך לך. Now we

have to understand the connection between ז' חשון and Parshas Lech Lecha. Where the Rebbe is going to ask the question, not only don't we see the connection, it seemed like two opposites. Why? In פרשת לך לך, וואס רעדט זיך, וואס איז מדגיש דער היפך. In Parshas Lech Lecha, it stresses the opposite. What did Hashem say to Avraham? לך לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך אל הארץ אשר אראך. Leave your birthplace, leave your house, leave your father's home, go to the place I will show you. Go to Where Where was it? Where did he show him? Eretz Yisrael. די הליכה און עליה פון אברהם אין קומענדיק אין ארץ. See, the going and the elevating, going up of Avraham from his place, his land, ארויסגיין פון חוץ לארץ, leaving outside of חוץ לארץ, חרן, און גיין קיין ארץ ישראל, and go to Eretz Yisrael. So, Lech Lecha represents going to Eretz Yisrael. ז' חשון represents leaving Eretz Yisrael. So, how do they fit together? We're saying in the beginning of the Sichah that since ז' חשון and Lech Lecha, there must be a connection, and here not only is there no connection, they're an opposite. און אף על פי אז גלייך אין תחילת הסדרה ווערט אויך דערציילט אז עס איז א ירידה פון אברהם אין מצרים. And the truth is, right in the beginning of the sederah, after Hashem said to him, \"Go to Eretz Yisrael,\" and he went to Eretz Yisrael, but right away it says he went He left Eretz Yisrael. Was a hunger, and he went to Mitzrayim. He went to Egypt. So, here we see that there was a descent even in Parshas Lech Lecha. אדאך, אבער באוואוסט אז דער תוכן עיקר פון יעדער סדרה זאגט זיך ארויס אין די נאָמען. But we know the main part of a sederah is depending on the name. און אין פרשתנו, and when you look at our פרשה, דער נאָמען איז לך לך. So, the main meaning of the parshah is the words, \"Lech Lecha.\" What does Lech Lecha mean? וואס ווייזט אויף דער הליכה פון חוץ לארץ, און עליה אין ארץ ישראל. It shows on going up from חוץ לארץ, outside of Eretz Yisrael, going up to Eretz Yisrael. פארט עיקר רוב הסדרה ככולה רעדט וועגן אברהם זיין אין ארץ ישראל. And, by the way, most of the sederah talks about Avraham being in Eretz Yisrael. Only a small part where it talks about him going down and coming to Mitzrayim. So, most of the פרשה talks about going to Eretz Yisrael and staying in Eretz Yisrael. וויבאלד אז יעדער ענין אין תורה איז א הוראה, and since everything in the Torah is a lesson, דארף מען א הוראה, סיי אין די פרשה השבוע. So, we have a lesson, must take a lesson from what it says in the parsha. כידוע תורת אדמו״ר הזקן, דארף מען לעבן מיט די צייט. The

Alter Rebbe said you have to live with the times, meaning in the פרשה פון השבוע, have to live with the parsha. That means you have to take a lesson from the parsha. So, what lesson do we have to take? That we have to go up. And, at the same time, סיי אין די מנין פון ז' במרחשון. Since it's ז' Cheshvan, we have to take a lesson from that. And what's the lesson from there? Go down! פאדערט זיך עיון, so we have to understand ווי קומען זיך צוזאמען די צוויי ענינים, how did these two things come together, going up and coming down, וואס זיי זענען בתכנם הפכיים איינער פון צווייטן? they're opposite one from another. ובפרט אז דער ענין פון ז' מרחשון איז ניט אן ענין וואס איז געווען שייך נאר בזמן הבית המקדש קיים. Especially this idea that ז' Cheshvan represents going down, see we would think only applied at the time of the Beit HaMikdash, when they used to go עולה לרגל. Nowadays, it's only a sym symbol. So, he says no, it's not only then. דען מען פלוצים די צייט ווען מען בית המקדש און מען עולה געווען לרגל, when they used to go up to Yerushalayim. דאס איז אויך שייך צו אידן בכל הזמנים. It's all generations, all times it applies. וואו דער פראגע, שאלה, נסתר גשמים ב-ז' מרחשון בארץ ישראל אליו בזמן הזה. The best proof is that even nowadays, when we have no Beit HaMikdash, they still don't start asking for rain till ז' Cheshvan. So the same logic that we had before we still do now. כי דער אלטער רבי ברענגט דערויף דער שולחן ערוך, אלטער רבי brings the Shulchan Aruch, and the reason is אף לאחר החורבן, cuz even after the Churban, after the destruction of the בית המקדש, היו מתאספין גם כן מכל הסביבות לירושלים לרגל. People still used to come to Yerushalayim, no Beit HaMikdash, but they used to come to the area for a יום טוב, כמו שעושין גם היום, like they do even nowadays, לפיכך לא בטלו תקנת חכמים, so therefore what the Chachamim made שתיקנו השאלה בארץ ישראל בז' Cheshvan, that you should start asking for rain on ז' Cheshvan did not stop, and it applies now too. So whatever ז' Marcheshvan meant in those days, it meant the beginning not the the descent from Yerushalayim, applies now too. Why don't we ask for it in America? Huh? Why don't we ask for it everywhere on 7th of Cheshvan? Because of the moon and the Because people didn't come from America to go to aliyah laregel. So back then also, chutz la'aretz was later? Oh. Sure. No, no. Bavel was later, yeah. Bavel was later. That also started as a minhag and then became a din? What do you mean they started as a minhag? Meaning they didn't daven for the rain No, it was a din. Oh, it was a din. When the chachamim made the din Right in the beginning? they said right in the beginning that don't ask for rain till the last one comes till ז' Cheshvan. How come back then the Yidden would ask for rain before in Eretz Yisrael and before Bavel and then Bavel later? Cuz the seasons were different. In Bavel Bavel didn't have it because they didn't need rain. Ah. There wasn't That's why they didn't uh till they needed it. ודאס איז נוגע אין אלע מקומות. This is noge'a not only to Eretz Yisrael, even in chutz la'aretz. You could could say to us ז' Cheshvan means nothing. We don't stop. So he says, no, it's noge'a also because the Shach זאגט, the Shach says like this, אז אז מען שרייבט א שטר אין א שטר אחר הרגל, if you have a document and the date doesn't say exactly which date of the month, it just says אחר הרגל, so what does it mean? מיינט עס ט״ו יום אחר הרגל, means 15 days after the Yom Tov, which is ז' Cheshvan, כדמשנה, based on the Mishnah. ואף על גב דהשתא נמי בגלות, and the Shach says even though now we're in galut, so we don't have that idea, מכל מקום לשון אחר הרגל נמשך מהם. The word אחר יום טוב comes from there, and it means up by ז' Cheshvan. Be'emet it's נוגע להלכה to us also, I don't know if the Rebbe brings it here, הערה 19, he does. The din is if instead of uh you were supposed to say משיב הרוח like now, and you said ותן טל ומטר, you have to pray shemoneh esrei over. From ז' חשון on, you don't have to. Even Even though really we start asking for rain the 5th of December, or the 6th, I don't know which this year it is, but from tomorrow night on if by mistake someone didn't say the same bracha, and he says ותן טל ומטר, because in Eretz Yisrael they start saying, so we don't have to say shemoneh esrei over. So we see that this is all noge'a to us. So basically the bottom line is It's just for davening for them? Huh? It's just for davening Yeah, because then we daven for them. So it comes out like this, that ז' חשון represents the descent from Eretz Yisrael, and that's something that's noge'a not only then, but nowadays and even for us. So we have to take a lesson from ז' חשון. Since everything is a is a lesson, that means we have to somehow go down. But then we're telling it's Parshas Lech Lecha. Lech Lecha means go up, go to. So which one is it? How do the two fit? So the Rebbe says like this: באמת מיינט אז אין יעדער אין דער עבודה פון יידן אוועקגייענדיק פון בית המקדש איז נהיה עליה. The the the idea that even though the Yidden left the Beis Hamikdash, which means they had a descent in their spiritual level Beis Hamikdash was so holy and they left The fact that they left, in truth, there is something there that's a kind of elevation. You look like you're going down, but to a certain degree you're going up. Why? וואס מצד דעם יש לומר אז דאס הייסט אנגערופן לך לך וואס ווייזט אויף עליה. Is moving that you could say going down really is part of לך לך, going up. Why? He explains it. דוקא ווען יידן קומען אן כל אחד לביתו ולמקומו Only when the Jews come each one home, each one comes to his house back home, און און האדם חורש ואדם זורע, and they start working, plowing, planting, whatever he's supposed to do, מאכט יעדער ייד פון זיינע דברים גשמיים א דירה לו יתברך בתחתונים. By doing that a Yid takes his physical things and makes it a dwelling place for Hashem. With Torah u'mitzvot, you come home and you start living a normal life, not like seen the Beis Hamikdash, they lived a spiritual life. It's very great. Spiritual life is great, but Hashem doesn't want you all your life and the whole year to live a spiritual life. What he wants is that live for a certain amount of time a spiritual life. So now you have the baggage, and now you could utilize all that spirituality and bring it down into your normal mundane mundane life. That's when you come to the goal. So leaving Eretz Yisrael, leaving Yerushalayim and coming home, that's the goal. That's the that's what Hashem really wanted. וכל מעשיך do תורה ומצוות, וכל מעשיך יהיו לשם שמים, whatever you do is for השם, ובכל דרכיך דעהו, you know Hashem in everything that you do. וואס דאס It's like leaving Miami Beach and going back to Mexico. Yeah. For spiritual You're going back to Mexico soon? Yeah, next week, you know, but I go to the shul there, too. Yeah. But here's different, it's not a Chabad. Ah, so you take from Chabad here and bring it there. I'll bring it to the shul there. Yeah, yeah. וואס דאס איז נישט שייך אזוי פיל בשעת מען געפינט זיך אין ירושלים אין בית המקדש בעת עליה לרגל. This idea of making the physical world into a place for Hashem is not so possible when you're in the בית המקדש, פאר דעמאלט האט מען נישט צו טאן מיט עבודת האדמה, because in the Beis Hamikdash you didn't work. You didn't get involved in physical things. חלק פאר מקבל? That's the Kohanim did. But the idea of going for business, he says, וואס האבן נישט קיין ענין פון getting involved in all kinds of materialistic things, you didn't get involved. בתחתונים, you didn't have תחתונים, you didn't have the low things. אבער פון ז׳ מרחשון אן ווען יידן הייבן אן צוריק אן חרישה, but ז׳ מרחשון, that represents the time when we leave the Beis Hamikdash and we start again getting involved in physical things, plowing, etc. מאכן פון די דברים תחתונים א דירה לו יתברך, now you're using the low things because you are involved in these low things, and you make that as a dwelling place for Hashem, you have a יתרון אור מן החושך. Now you have a greater light, because the greater light is when it comes from darkness. ממילא ווערט אן עליה 'Lech Lecha' ביי יידן, so you go higher, like. In other words, we know that when light is great, but light that comes from darkness after darkness is even greater. So being in the Beis Hamikdash is a great light. Coming afterwards, and you have the fact that you're in the dark place here in a materialistic place, and you bring light there, that light is even stronger. So then someone will ask, going down from the Beis Hamikdash to your place, is it a descent or a ascent? Ascent. An ascent. It's an ascent. So now we answer the question. The question was contradiction. Here we're saying 'Lech Lecha' means go up, go higher, and here we're saying go down. But say yeah, going down is going up. Going from a light place into a to light up a dark place. A dark place, that's it. ודוגמת המבואר בכמה מקומות בגעגועי צדיקים על ירידת הנשמה למטה בעולם הזה, just like it says in other places concerning the neshama coming down into this world, אז דורך די עבודה למטה אין דברים גשמיים, by the neshama coming down and getting involved in physical things, צו מאכן די וועלט א דירה לו יתברך, to make the world into a place for השם, ווערט זי נעלה העכער ווי זי איז געווען פריער איידער זי איז אראפגעקומען למטה, the neshama is higher than it was before. Because on one hand, the neshama, before it came down, had nothing to do with these physical things, it was only close to God on such a spiritual level. Came down to this world into this physical body? Pshh, it's such a descent, you can't imagine! But what does it say? That descent is really an ascent. Why? Because really, when do you when does a neshama come to a higher level, when it's in this physical world it brings holiness. And that's what we learned this this Shabbos, that that you're able to bring down עצמות ומהות. Is that right? Yeah. So l'chorah this answers the question, that's the question is no contradiction. וואס איז אבער נישט מסביר, אבער וואס איז די שייכות פון פרשת לך לך, this does not answer is not enough to explain the connection of פרשת לך לך, ווי דאס איז בפשוטו של מקרא, the way it's in the simple פשט, אז עס רעדט זיך וועגן הליכת אברהם מחוץ לארץ לארץ ישראל, פשוט פשט 'לך לך' means Avraham was going from חוץ לארץ to ארץ ישראל, און וואו עס איז מודגש דאס 'לך לך' דורך דעם הילוך מחוץ לארץ קיין ארץ ישראל, and where it's tell you walk and you actually went. So before we were saying that how is it really 'לך לך', because going to your own home is really an elevation, a spiritual elevation. But the simple peshat in pasuk is not that. The simple peshat in pasuk, he went to Eretz Yisrael. And the

simple peshat of ז׳ מרחשון is that you left Eretz Yisrael. So it's a contradiction. כדי דאס צו פארשטיין, בענין מחילוק, so let's understand that this will be understood by first explaining the difference צווישן די מעמד ומצב פון יידן בעליה לרגל, the way the Yidden the level of the Yidden when they were in Jerusalem, וואו זיי האבן זיך געפונען לפני ה׳, where they found themselves in front of Hashem, לגבי זייער מעמד ומצב ווען מען געפינט זיך יעדער אין זיין מקום תחת גפנו ותחת תאנתו, נישט לפני ה׳, compare that to when they were home, not in front of Hashem, וואס לכאורה איז דאס א ירידה לגבי זייער מעמד ומצב וואס זיי זענען געווען פארדעם לפני ה׳, which seemingly is a yeridah, it's a descent, איז אבער דא אן עליה, דער עיקר דוקא דורך דעם וואס זיי זענען ווייט מביהמ״ק, מבית המקדש השם. The fact that they're far, so before we were explaining the fact that you're involved in gashmiyus, now he's saying something else: the fact that you're far from Jerusalem is not a descent, that is an aliyah. And he gives an example. ויש לומר דוגמא לדבר בנגלה Question: so is the difference that the ones who were in Jerusalem, but yet when they were in their house, not-? Yeah, no, no, no. No, okay. The example he gives,

א חילוק צווישן א שכיר און א שליח, you have two types of people: you have a messenger and you have a worker. א שכיר איז עבודתו בדרך כלל אין ארט פון בעל הבית, when you hire a worker, he works usually for you in your place, you're hiring him in your shop to work for you. אפילו במקום אז נישט בעל הבית, even if it's not in your place, but you're working for you, so you're working with your possessions. You hire a guy, here, here's wood, here's is this make something for me. So, I'm giving you something, you're working my place. דאַקעגן אַ שליח איז בדרך כלל נישט אַ מקום הבעלים. אַ shaliach, a shaliach is opposite. When you send a messenger, you're sending him away. If you'd be close, you don't need a messenger, you do it yourself. A messenger means you're sending someplace else. דאָס ווערט אָנגעדײַט אין וואָרט שליח גופא. The word shaliach really means אַז ער ווערט אַוועקגעשיקט פֿון דעם משלח. It means the word shaliach means sent away. און נאָך מער, די עשׂייה איז לאַו דווקא געבונדן מיט חפצי הבעלים, and it doesn't mean that you're working with objects that belong to the to the owner. שליח מיינט אַז ער טוט אַ מעשׂה, איזה שתהיה, פֿאַר דעם משלח. Shaliach means you're doing something for him. Now you could be far away, but you're doing it for him. דאָס איז אייך אַ חילוק בתוכן צווישן אַ שׂכיר צו מיט אַ שליח. Now, let's think besides this part that he, a shaliach, goes away and שׂכיר is by you, but there's a difference between in what they're doing. אַ שׂכיר איז כּל עשׂיותיו צוליב זיך. When a worker works, when a hired worker works, who does he work for? Why does he work? For himself, he wants to make a salary, כּדי צו באַקומען שׂכרו, to get his reward. ואליו הוא נושׂא את נפשו, and it says in the pasuk that he is looking out then to get what he needs. לאידך, דער מושׂג פֿון שליח איז, but the concept of a שליח, אַז די פּעולה און מעשׂה וואָס ער טוט איז בעיקר נישט פֿאַר זיך, נאָר פֿאַר דעם משלח. A shaliach means, \"I'm doing you a favor. You ask me to do something for you, I left.\" So, on one hand like this comes out. So ah, shaliach, no, shaliach also could pay. So, it comes out like this: who is closer to the original guy? On one hand, the shaliach is further. The שׂכיר is next to me, he's working with me, the shaliach is further. But really, the shaliach is closer, because the shaliach is doing it for me, and a שׂכיר is doing for himself. דער עיקר איז אַ שׂכיר מילא אַ גאַנצע ענין איז צוליב זיך, so the worker, since he does it for himself, איז אַ ספֿק, אַ שאלה, צי זײַן מעשׂה קען זײַן ווי מײַן מעשׂה? There's a whole discussion in the Gemara if a worker does something, is it considered when he does it for you as if you did it? גערעכנט ווי דער בעל הבית געטאָן די מעשׂה. It's not so pashut. There's many opinions that say that if a worker does something for you, it's not as if you did it. דאַקעגן אַ שליח, if a shaliach does something for you, הגם ער איז נישט אין דעם אָרט וואו עס איז דער משלח, he's not next to you, כּיוון אָבער ער טוט עס בעיקר נאָר פֿאַר דעם משלח, since he works for you, a שׂכיר works for himself, he works for you, איז די עשׂייה פֿון דעם שליח כאילו ווי דער משלח האָט געטאָן. So, when a shaliach does something, it's as if the one that sent him did it. אָדער נאָך מער, אַז די מעשׂה גופא איז מעשׂה פֿון משלח. Or what's more, not only if he did it, we consider it that the guy himself did it. What does that mean? דאָס הייסט אַז דער משלח טוט דורך דעם שליח. It's not the shaliach working, it's the guy who sent him actually doing it through you. You become like an extension of his hand, ווי סתם האָט געקנעלט שׁלוּחוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם כְּמוֹתוֹ, כּמותו ממש, because there's an opinion that mamash the shaliach is the meshaleach, he becomes like him. נישט נאָר די מעשׂה פֿון שליח איז גלײַך אַ מעשׂה ווי דער משלח, not only what he does is like as if the original person would do it, but the שליח גופא בעצם מציאותו ווערט דער משלח. This guy becomes this guy. If Reuven sends Shimon to be a shaliach, Shimon becomes Reuven. דערפֿאַר העלפֿט עס אויך אַזעלכע ענינים וואָס דער משלח בעצם דאַרף טאָן אַליין. So, that's why even things which a person himself has to do, if you send a shaliach and he does it, it's as if he did it. So here we see this concept that you could be far, and really you're close. Depends what your feeling is. The שׂכיר, because he thinks of himself, he's far away from you. He could be physically close, he's far. The other guy who is far away, but he's thinking doing it just for you, he's closer. Me'ein zeh, yesh lomar, דער חילוק ברוחניות צווישן די עבֿודת ישׂראל בעליותם לרגל. Same difference is in ruchniyut, in a spiritual way, when we talk about the Yidden when they were by the בית המקדש, לפֿני ה׳, while they were in front of ה׳, במקום הבעלים, in front of Hashem is like the worker who is in the place of the owner. Here, the place of Hashem. ונסעו בעבודתם, כשחזרו וכשנסעו, versus when they left him. בעליותם לרגל, when they used to go up to ירושׁלים, וואָס איז געווען יֵרָאֶה כָל זְכוּרְךָ אֶת פְּנֵי ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ, they came and they saw Hashem, so to speak, ראיית אלקות. Yeah, they saw, they had this vision of godliness. וכדרך שׁבא לראות כך בא ליראות, like you came to see, Hashem saw you. ייִדן זײַנען געקומען זען און אײַנזאַפּן דעם גילוי אלקות של בית המקדש. Yidden came there to see and to absorb the holiness of the Beit Hamikdash, the godliness of the בית המקדש, צו זען די עשׂרה נסים שׁנעשׂו בבית המקדש. They

would see the ten miracles that happened in the בית המקדש, און מקום השׁכינה. They would see the place of שׁכינה, כּהנים בעבֿודתם וּלווִיִם בּדוּכָנָם וְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמַעֲמָדָם, the Kohanim, the Leviyim. They saw everything in such a holy way. דאָס פֿאַלט כּבֿיכול אַן ענין צוליב זיך. So, who was it for? For himself. They came to grow, \"I will gain.\" Gain good things, not chas veshalom bad things, gain godliness. זיי דערהערן און שעפּן זיך אָן מיט גילוי שׁכינה. They started getting absorbed with the greatness of the Shechinah. בדוגמת נשמות בגן עדן דנהנין מזיו השכינה, like the נשמות in גן עדן that they enjoyed the rays of the Shechinah, fine. So here also they enjoyed, they got גילוי אלוקות. So great, they're very close, they could see godliness, but they cared for themselves. דער אוועקגיין און קומענדיק צוריק, getting home, came it was ז' Cheshvan, but leaving, ז' Cheshvan represents leaving the בית המקדש, coming back home, די תכלית כדי ער זאל דאס ניט, you didn't come home to see godliness, כדי ער זאל דערהערן און פילן ג-טלעכקייט, in order that you should come home and feel godliness. אדרבה, דאס האט ער געהאט אין גאר העכערע ניווא ווען ער איז געווען במקום השראת השכינה, ושכינה מדברת מתוך גרונם. If you wanted to see godliness, you wouldn't leave. You'd stay where you are, you'd stay in the בית המקדש. Leaving the בית המקדש is not going to see godliness, because that you would have more by לפני ה' in front of Hashem, Yerushalayim, בית המקדש. So

why did you leave? You left צו אויספירן די כוונה פון שליחות פון דעם אייבערשטן. You left because there is a mission you have from Hashem, צו מקים זיין תורה ומצוות, to do תורה ומצוות, און כללות לעשות לו יתברך דירה בתחתונים. You have a mission to make this physical world into a godly place. So when you came home, who did you work for? Who did you do, why, what did you think about? About Him. When you're in Yerushalayim, you were on a higher level, but you cared for yourself. When you left, you're doing it for Hashem. און דווקא דעמאלט וועט דער שליח, שלוחו של אדם כמותו, then you're like a shaliach. Shaliach is far away, but that shaliach who's far away is really closer, because he cares for the משלח, כמותו ממש. You become like, just like it says that you become like the guy, you become כביכול דער אייבערשטער, you become like one with the אייבערשטער. Even while in Yerushalayim, there's still an avodah of bitul. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You lose yourself. You lose yourself, so you're such a high level that I lost myself! So, you know, I reached such a high level, I became batel, so I'm so great, I became batel! No. Afterwards, you look at it, you look back and say, while you were there... Maybe, maybe not. על פי זה איז מובן, וואס די עבודה פון ז' מרחשוון אומקערנדיק זיך פון עלייה לרגל, וואס דאס ווערט אנגערופן לך לך. Now we understand why ז' Cheshvan, which represents the leaving, is called לך לך. You're getting closer, 'cause you have the קשיא, לך לך means go to Eretz Yisrael! Yes! Go to, go to Hashem! Yes, leaving, you're going to Hashem, he says. אמיתית ענין הליכה איז דווקא ווען מען גייט אריבער אין א נייע דרגה לגמרי. Going, traveling means when you reach a level which is very, very high, beyond, not in a normal step. דאס איז באין ערוך העכער פון די דרגה וואו מען איז געווען פריער. Kitzur, you know that that's means, because if you go and you go steps, you never left the first place, because you're always connected. You leap, jump, then you're higher. וויבאלד אז סיי וואס אין ירושלים איז זייער עבודה געווען יראת ה' כל הימים, זו מציאות, since while they were in Yerushalayim, what was there? Great level of godliness, but it was them! What was felt was their being, their ego, their מציאות, זיי אלס ברואים זאלן זיין און דערהערן ג-טלעכקייט, these people as human beings should be able to feel godliness, komt oys, it comes out, אז די עבודה בתחתונים, comes out that when you came home and you worked there, וואס יענע איז אויספירן די כוונה ורצון פון דעם אייבערשטן, there it's because you want to do the will of God, is a הליכה באין ערוך. That's called much higher than the one before. And it's so great, different, בין נברא לבורא איז אין ערוך. When you did in Yerushalayim, you were very great. You were great. Who are you? You're part of the creation. When you left there, you did for Hashem's sake. Hashem is the creator. So the difference between being in Yerushalayim and leaving home is a difference between creation and creator. The greatest ascent is when you would reach from the level of creation to creator. That's the real לך לך, that's the real going, and that's what happened. און דער עיקרדיקע עבודה פון תורה ומצוות, לעשות לו יתברך דירה בתחתונים, און דאס איז אין ז' מרחשוון פארבונדן מיט לך לך. That's why that the avodah of Torah, doing Torah u'mitzvot, making the world into, your own hometown into a godly place, which is represented by ז' חשוון, that's the real לך לך, that's the really when you go to Hashem. על פי כל הנ\"ל,

we'll now understand, we'll understand the שייכות של שבת פרשת לך לך, וואס רעדט זיך וועגן הליכת אברהם מחוץ לארץ לארץ ישראל. Now we'll see how this connects to the fact that Avraham who left חוץ לארץ, outside of Eretz Yisrael to Eretz Yisrael. So he explains like this: Avraham Avinu, נאך זייענדיק אין חוץ לארץ, האט פארשפרייט אלוקות, Avraham Avinu while he was outside of Eretz Yisrael already worked on spreading the recognition of Hashem, און געבראכט מענטשן צו דינען דעם אייבערשטן, he brought people to serve God. It says in pasuk in this week's פרשה, את הנפש אשר עשו בחרן, that he had people that he made in Charan. What's that he made? Made means he brought them closer to Hashem, ווי עס איז מוסבר בארוכה במדרשי חז\"ל, it says in מדרש, חז\"ל. און ווי דער Rambam איז מאריך בפרטות, the Rambam actually goes into the details, and the Rambam describes it: התחיל להודיע לעם שאין ראוי לעבוד אלא לאלוה העולם, he started telling people that you have to serve the one God, who's the God of the world, ולו ראוי להשתחוות, only to Him you should bow down, ולהקריב ולנסך, only to Him bring sacrifices, כדי שיכירוהו כל הברואים הבאים, and Avraham did it so all the people should recognize God, והתחיל לעמוד ולקרוא בקול גדול. כל העולם, he started making announcements to the whole world, ולהודיע, and to notify them שיש אלוקה אחד לכל העולם, there's one God of the world, ולו ראוי לעבוד, and you should serve Him. So Avraham did that even before he came to Eretz, so before לך לך. וויבאלד אבער דאס אלץ איז געווען מצד דעם וואס ער האט זיך הכרה געטון, why did Avraham do that? The Rambam says Avraham recognized the truth of Hashem, so he felt, \"I I see the truth, I have to spread the truth.\" So he spread the truth for what reason? For himself? No. Because he recognized. שהשיג, the Rambam says, שהשיג דרך האמת, he recognized the true way, והבין קו הצדק מבינתו הרחבה, he understood the right line from his understanding. קומט אויס, it comes out, אז דאס וואס ער האט מפרסם געווען אלוקות איז געווען מצד זיין הכרה. Why did he spread Godliness? Because he recognized, on account of he recognized אלוקות. Like with a person sometimes has an ideal, and he want, and he feels how true it is, and he wants to make people recognize it. And he really means it. Why? Because I know this is true, and I can't stand if someone doesn't believe it. So I tried to convince you, why? Because it bothers me that you don't see the truth. And I know this is, so it's me. וכיוון שהכיר וידע התחיל להשיב תשובות, it says in the Rambam that he knew, so he started arguing with the people. איז ער געגאנגען, so he went, והודיעם שאין זו דרך האמת, he told people you're going in the wrong way. So this was one thing, but still when he was in chutz la'aretz it was his his greatness. He reached a high level. You never hear about him arguing with people. איש חסד. Arguing means giving them answers. I use the word arguing, it means giving them answers. Then then came the commandment, the ציווי פון דער אויבערשטער פון לך לך, when the אויבערשטער said לך לך. So now פון דעמאלטס האט זיך אנגעהויבן ביי אברהם א נייע זאך. Now something else happened, a new thing happened. ער האט מגלה געווען אלוקות מצד ציווי השם, על פי פקודת הקדוש ברוך הוא. Now, whatever he started doing was because of what? Hashem told him. So now it's all because of Hashem, and now it's not him. און דער עיקר דוקא ער איז אנגעקומען אין ארץ ישראל, that's why only when he got to Eretz Yisrael, we're told ויקרא בשם השם. It says when he got to Eretz Yisrael, he announced Hashem's name. Why? Because that happened before also. כאיש פריער האט ער מפרסם געווען אלוקות אין דער וועלט, you know. Before he came to Eretz Yisrael, he also spread Godliness. Why does the Torah mention it only after he came to Eretz Yisrael? The Torah is telling us now אז נישט נאר אויך אין ארץ ישראל האט ער מגלה געווען אלוקות, we're not saying that even when he came to Eretz Yisrael, over there he also continued doing what he did, to spread God's name, נאר נאכן ציווי השם לך לך איז דאס געווען באופן אחר לגמרי. Now is a different type of doing. Whatever he did is different than before. א דרך פון Rashi, like Rashi says, עכשיו הוא אלוקי השמים ואלוקי הארץ. He

says when I came to Eretz Yisrael, God became the God of the heaven and earth. שהרגלתיו בפי הבריות, because I made the people I put Hashem's name in the nature of the people. אבל כשלקחני מבית אבי, when I left my father's house, היה אלוקי השמים, He was the God of the heaven, ולא אלוקי הארץ, not the God of the earth. שלא היו באי עולם מכירין בו, ושמו לא היה רגיל בארץ, people didn't recognize Him. What does that What does Rashi mean with that? That before, people didn't really recognize Him? It's not true. Lichorah it's not true. הגם אז ער חוץ לארץ האט אברהם מפרסם געווען אלוקות, even in חוץ לארץ, before, he also spread Hashem's name. So what does Rashi mean people didn't recognize Him? You know why? Because when he spread Hashem's name, it wasn't really Hashem. It was his understanding in Hashem, because he recognized. איז אבער לא היו באי עולם מכירין, they didn't recognize Him. They said Hashem, ושמו לא היה רגיל בארץ, דאקעגן דא ויקרא שם בשם השם איז איידער אין ארץ ישראל, only when he came to Eretz Yisrael. נאכן ציווי, after he was commanded לך לך, הרגלתיו בפי הבריות. Now, he brought Him down, because now it's really, really from Hashem. So the same בשמים, the way you express yourself to that effects the way affected the people differently, so they didn't really Right, because what he did was transferred to them. He might have said the same thing, but the second later, what he did was an expression of Hashem within him. Hashem was talking to him, and people felt it. So that's why it's different. In other, in different words, דער פרסום פון אלוקות זייענדיג אין חוץ לארץ, when he spread Godliness while he was, before he went to Eretz Yisrael, וויבאלד דאס איז געווען פארבונדן מיט זיין הכרה, since it came because of his recognition, איז געווען אן אופן אז וועלט איז א באזונדערע זאך, נאר איז בטל צו אלוקות. So the recognition was, yes, there is Hashem, but you know what? There's a world also. There's a world, and Hashem is the boss of the world. שאינו כן דער פרסום נאכן ציווי לך לך, and after he was commanded, וואס איז געקומען מצד ציווי, and now it came because of the command of Hashem, of the Creator, איז געווען אן אופן פון ויקרא שם בשם השם קל עולם. Then it says he called out and he said Hashem, God world, it didn't say God of the world, נישט קל העולם. Why? וועלט מיט אלוקות איז כביכול איין זאך, there's nothing except, there's no world, the whole world is nothing but Godliness. But that before didn't wasn't felt, because before, the way he spread it was still that he felt as being a something. That means there is a something besides Hashem, and later on there was no a something because he was commanded, his whole doing was an expression of Hashem's will. Close as at that the pasuk, that's what the pasuk continues and says these words: לך לך מארצך וממולדתך ומבית אביך אל הארץ אשר אראך. Leave your land, your birthplace, your father's house to the land I'll show you. די הדגשה איז דא נישט אז אברהם זאל גיין אין ארץ ישראל. See, it's a strange thing, why doesn't the pasuk say Hashem should tell him, \"Avraham, go to Eretz Yisrael\"? He says, \"No, leave the land, leave your father's place, leave all this.\" But דער עיקר איז אז ער זאל ארויסגיין פון זיין מציאות. When he said, \"Leave\", he didn't only mean leave the place. Leave yourself! That's the main thing. Now

leave, forget about, till now it was your ego. A good ego, an ego of spreading Godliness, but it's still you. Go away from three things, he says: מארצך, from your land, וממולדתך, your birthplace, ומבית אביך, your father's house. Chassidus טייטשט, Chassidus says each word has a meaning. מארצך means פון דיינע רצונות. ארץ means land, but ארץ also means will. So Hashem said leave your will. That was your spreading Godliness, very good, but you're doing it because you want. Don't do it because you want, do it because I want! And then he said וממולדתך, from which means your birthplace, which also means פון דיינע געוואוינהייטן און מדות. Your your your nature, your habits. מבית אביך, from your father's home. The word אב, father, in Chassidus, in Tanya says also means chochmah. פון דיין חכמה, leave your understand-, don't do it because you understand so. אף על פי אז באברהם איז עס אלץ געווען קדושה ואלקות. His middos, his nature, his his everything was his his brains, everything was Godliness. So what was wrong with it? Why did Hashem say leave it? אבער דאך מארצך, it's still yours. ממולדתך, מבית אביך, זיין רצונות און מדות ומציאות. טאקע kedushah, it's holy, אבער א מציאות פון קדושה. You're still something. And so go away from there, and where should you go? He didn't even say ארץ ישראל, אלא אל הארץ אשר אראך, where I will show you. עד כדי כך גיין אין דער ארץ, go to the land which means do וואס און ווי דער אויבערשטער ווייזט אן, as I will show you. ודאס האט ארויפגעטאן אן עילוי שלא בערך באברהם. This made Avraham in such a higher level אז ער איז געווארן, now he wasn't a worker for Hashem, he was a shaliach for Hashem. וואס דורך דעם איז געווארן טאקע דער חיבור פון נברא מיט בורא, he became as a human being, as a part of creation, became one with the Creator. ודאס איז געווען די הכנה צו חיבור עליונים ותחתונים במתן תורה. This was the

preparation that later on, years later, when Hashem gave בהר סיני the Torah, He made that we should be able to connect the higher and the lower, that means to bring Godliness into the lower worlds. This is the bechirah that was said before. Hashem gave him the נפש אלקית which is the part of... which made him being part of אלקות. And to also have the bechirah to give all the Yidden, the Jews, the... when He made him, He made all the Yidden. He's the first Yid and this means all the Yidden. But they didn't, all the all the descendants after that didn't have the same madreigah. Happened at מתן תורה, that's when it was revealed, by Matan Torah. Right here. Because of Avraham? Yeah, started with Avraham, he was the first Jew. דאס איז די הוראה וואס מען נעמט ארויס פון ז' מרחשון, עס פאלט אויס כמעט אלעמאל אין דער וואך פרשת לך לך. This is the lesson that we take from ז' מרחשון, being in Parshat Lech Lecha. וואס איינע פון די הנהגות איז דאס אז מען גייט ארויס פון עסוק בעניני הרגל, because even nowadays, it's the time when we leave the Yom Tov, מען גייט אריין אין וואכעדיגע טעג, going into mundane days. So what is it? יעדער איינער דארף וויסן, everyone has to know, אז מען דארף ניט גיין מען זאל האבן א געפיל פון עצבות, חס ושלום. When you leave the Yom Tov, you start getting a little sad. Yom Tov is so happy and now we're going, you feel a little bad. Not, Aderaba, on the contrary, מען דארף עס טון בשמחה גדולה, you have to be very happy. וויסנדיק, now you know, אז דאקא אין דער עבודה ווערט ער א שליח פון דעם אויבערשטן. Not then, when you're not in the holy place, you're leaving the holiness and you're bringing the holiness there, so when you're in the holy place you gain, when you're coming and bringing it there, that Hashem gains, you're doing it for Hashem. ושלוחו של אדם כמותו, to become one with Hashem, so דורכפירן די כוונה פון ענין פון ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם, now you

do Hashem's will of making the world into a place for God. ודאס וועט זיין די גילוי ממש בכל העולם כולו, this will be revealed in the whole world, דורך די גאולה האמיתית והשלימה, when משיח צדקנו, when Mashiach will come, ונגלה כבוד ה' וראו כל בשר יחדו כי פי ה' דבר, when the whole world will see the Godliness of Hashem. Well, maybe what will be revealed? This idea. I mean it's revealed right now, no? Revealed? Oh, I wish. Oh, what, דירה בתחתונים? Yeah. And when when Avraham went to Mitzrayim he also was spreading his ideas? Yes, yes, I know... constantly. So at three years old, what did what did he have? He has his own little revelation that he What revelation? He understood. He realized, he was a smart man, and he realized the stupidity of the people. So you would say the the goyishe soul that he had at that point, you might say, just like I gotta go. Good. It's great that you're here. Great that you're here. Thank you. You're welcome. Very good. Be'ezrat Hashem, very good. Who else? You too. Thank you. Bye.