The שיעור today will be concerning the month of טבת, because concerning טבת, the גמרא says in מגילה דף י\"ג עמוד א', concerning the פסוק where it says in the מגילה, ותלקח אסתר אל המלך אחשורוש, that אסתר המלכה was taken to the king אחשורוש, and it says when was she taken to אחשורוש, בחודש העשירי, the tenth month, הוא חודש טבת, that was the month of טבת. So the חז\"ל in the גמרא מגילה say, and רש\"י brings it down directly on the פסוק in the מגילה, that the specialty of the month of טבת is that this is a ירח שהגוף נהנה מן הגוף, a month that the body has pleasure from the body, which means that being that in the month of טבת it is very cold, as רש\"י explains, so therefore it is a time when the person could have the most pleasure from another person. Because when it's cold and you're all alone, so you feel the cold even more, but if there's another person there, then your body has pleasure and it doesn't feel the cold so much. And therefore, this is a month when a husband has pleasure and appreciates the most his wife. And that's why השם made it that אסתר should be taken to אחשורוש in the month of טבת, so then would אחשורוש appreciate it the most, and that would be another reason for him to choose her as his queen. Now we know that many times when we find ענינים in the תורה that deal with a husband and a wife, it is also a משל to הקדוש ברוך הוא and כנסת ישראל, it is also a משל concerning השם and כלל ישראל and the בני ישראל, because השם is compared to the husband, and the בני ישראל are like the wife of השם. As we find many times in the נביאים that he compares השם to the husband and the בני ישראל to the wife. And as a matter of fact, the whole of שיר השירים is based on this concept, because the whole of שיר השירים is a discussion between a husband and a wife, and really all this is only a משל on השם and the בני ישראל, as it is explained in מדרשי חז\"ל. Especially in this case, when we're talking about אחשורוש and אסתר, we know in ספרים that אחשורוש represents השם, and אסתר represents כנסת ישראל, כלל ישראל. And therefore, when the חז\"ל say that in the month of טבת, it's a time when the husband has the most הנאה and appreciates his wife the most, and in the case of the מגילה, it was a time when אחשורוש appreciated אסתר the most, so certainly this is also a משל to tell us that during the month of טבת, it's a time when השם appreciates the most the כלל ישראל, בני ישראל.

Now the question is, what is so special about the month of טבת that השם appreciates the בני ישראל the most? Now we know it says in ספרים concerning the פסוק where it says כי שמש ומגן השם אלקים, which is a פסוק in תהלים, קפיטל פ\"ד, פסוק י\"ב, which seems to be saying that just like we have the שמש ומגן, the sun and the cover on the sun, the shield of the sun, so too is השם, and he uses the name הוי'ה there, the שם of השם which is י-ק-ו-ק, and אלקים, that the שם of השם, the name of השם י-ק-ו-ק, is compared to the sun, and the name of השם which is אלקים is compared to the מגן, to the shield over the sun, as it is explained in ספרים. At a time of the year when it is hot, it says in ספרים that's the time when in רוחניות, in the spiritual sense, the שמש השם is מאיר. Since everything that we have down here in this world, בגשמיות, comes as a result of the way the same things are in higher worlds, in רוחניות, so if בגשמיות down here it is hotter and the sun shines stronger, it is because in רוחניות, the שמש השם, the sun which represents השם, is stronger. And we טאקע see that during the summer, when it is hotter and the nature is stronger, it is easier to serve השם. Because one of the ways to serve השם is, as the פסוק says, שאו מרום עיניכם וראו, pick up your eyes to heaven and see, and you could see מי ברא אלה, you could see who created everything. And the פסוק also says השמים מספרים כבוד קל, the heavens tell the כבוד, the glory, the honor of השם. Because when you look at the world and you see all the beautiful things the world has, and you start understanding that all this came from השם, so this gives a person an understanding in the greatness of השם. He realizes that מה רבו מעשיך השם, look how many your actions are, מה גדלו מעשיך השם, how great your actions are, and this brings a person to understand השם even more and to appreciate השם even more. So it comes out that during the summer, when the nature is at its best, so then a person is able to see השם more. But when it's cold, in the wintertime, and you don't see much of the nature in its highest מדרגה, so then it is harder to see the greatness of השם, because we don't see the greatness of the world, ממילא we cannot see the greatness of השם who created the world. This is also the reason why, on the other hand, during the summer, when it's hot, the יצר הרע is stronger, and the תאוות, the physical desires of the person are more, because we know that זה לעומת זה עשה השם, that השם made both sides, so to speak, one versus the other, and השם made a balance of power in the world, because otherwise there wouldn't be בחירה חפשית, a person wouldn't have free choice. So therefore, whenever we have קדושה stronger, at the same time the other side, the סטרא אחרא, as we call it, the other side which fights קדושה, is also stronger. And that's why during the summer the תאוות are stronger and the יצר הרע is stronger, because the קדושה at that time is stronger. And that is one of the reasons why during summertime we learn פרקי אבות. One reason is because being that the תאוות are stronger, so that's when we have to strengthen ourselves in good מידות and in the ענינים that are explained in פרקי אבות. And then there is another reason that why we learn פרקי אבות during the summer, because that is a time when we're able easier to fulfill what it says in פרקי אבות, being that it's hot and therefore the שמש השם, the שמש, the sun, which represents השם, is stronger. From that we understand that during the winter, when the שמש is not so strong, so the שמש השם is also not so strong, and then it's a time when it is harder to reach the understanding in the truth of השם and in serving השם. But because of that, השם has more pleasure when we serve him at that time than when we serve him at a time when it is easier, because we know לפום צערא אגרא, based on the צער, based on the pain, based on the effort we put in, that's how much reward we get. And the more effort we put in, the more pleasure השם has from our עבודה, from our serving him, and therefore השם has more pleasure from our עבודה, from the service that the אידן do to him at a time when it is not so easy, over the time when it is easier.

And that would be the רמז in the גמרא that during the month of טבת it is הגוף נהנה מן הגוף, it's a time when the גוף, meaning the husband which is השם, has pleasure from בני ישראל, because then it is harder to serve השם, and therefore when a איד nevertheless serves השם, השם has more pleasure. And we see another דיוק here. The expression in the גמרא is ירח שהגוף נהנה מן הגוף. It's a month that the גוף, the body, has pleasure from the body. It doesn't say the לשון that it's a month when the husband has pleasure from his wife, etc. It uses the לשון body. And this also fits with the idea that we were trying to bring out, because when we said before that there are times when it is easier for a person to serve השם, and there are times when it is harder for him to serve השם, all this is connected to the גוף, to the body of the person. מצד the נשמה of the person, מצד the holy soul that a איד has, which is actually a part of השם, as the פסוק says, כי חלק השם עמו, that his nation, the אידן, are part of השם, which means the fact that a איד is a איד, which comes because he has a נשמה קדושה, a holy נשמה, that is part of השם. And as the expression used in איוב, קפיטל ל״א, פסוק ב׳, that it's a חלק אלוק ממעל, it's part of השם from above. So being a איד has a נשמה which is part from השם above, מצד the נשמה he is always close to השם. מצד the נשמה he is always able to serve השם. It is never hard to serve השם. When we say that sometimes it is harder for a איד to serve השם, it is only because he has a גוף, he has a body, the נשמה was put into his body, and מצד the body it is not so easy to serve השם. So therefore, when we make differences that certain times of the year it is easier to serve השם, and certain times is harder, it is not because of the נשמה, but it is because of the גוף, it is because of the body. So when we say that during the month of טבת השם has pleasure from the עבודה of the אידן, because then it's harder to serve השם, so the main pleasure he has from the גוף. It is not so much he has pleasure from the נשמה, because as far as the נשמה is concerned, it is not harder. It is only harder מצד the גוף. Since the body does not feel the truth of Godliness, the body needs other things to make it understand the truth of השם and be able to serve השם, so when the body does not have that ability so much, and nevertheless overcomes the difficulties and serves השם, that's when השם's pleasure. So השם has pleasure from the גוף, from the body. And therefore, this is during the wintertime, because during the summer, when the שמש השם is It, so it is easier for the body to recognize the greatness of השם. So the עבודת השם doesn't need so much effort, so the pleasure is not that great. During the winter time, when it's harder to recognize the greatness of השם, which means that it's harder for the body to recognize the greatness of השם, and nevertheless the איד does it, so that's when השם has pleasure from the body. And within the winter months itself, there is a difference between the month of טבת and other months. In the other months, since it is not that cold, that means that then it is nevertheless not as hard to serve השם, the body does not feel the lack in its connection to השם as much as it does in the time when it's very, very cold. In the month of טבת, as רש״י says in פרשת נח, קפיטל ח׳ פסוק כ״ב, that is the coldest time of the year. So since the גשמיות, physically that is the coldest time of the year, the sun shines the least of the whole year, that means that in רוחניות it's a time when the שמש השם is not מאיר, doesn't shine that much, it's a time of the year when it's the hardest for the person to see the greatness of השם. Being that's the time when the nature is at its lowest, ממילא to recognize the מה רבו מעשיך השם, מה גדלו מעשיך השם is the hardest at that time. And that's why it says that when does השם have the most pleasure from the גוף of the איד, which means from the איד serving השם and overcoming the hardships of his body, of his גוף, is דווקא in the month of טבת. And that's why that's the time when הגוף נהנה מן הגוף, that's when השם, who is like the husband, has the most pleasure from the גוף of the אידן, from the fact that the אידן don't care that it's hard for them to serve השם, nevertheless they serve השם, and that's when השם has the most pleasure. But this only explains why concerning the בני ישראל the לשון is גוף.

But we also see that when it refers to the husband, which in the נמשל would mean השם, there also it refers to the לשון גוף. The לשון is when the גוף נהנה מן הגוף, when the body has הנאה from the body. So we explained why when it refers to בני ישראל in the נמשל, it uses the לשון גוף, but why does he also use the לשון גוף concerning השם? Now we know that the word גוף means body, but the word גוף also means the essence, the thing itself. As we find a לשון a lot of times, גופי הלכות. גופי הלכות means the essence, the depth of the הלכות. Or we find a לשון גופא דמלכא, the גוף of the king, which means not the body, but it means the essence of it. Or we find a לשון sometimes in גמרא, גופא דעובדא, which means the thing the way it actually happened, essentially the way it happened. So when we refer to השם here with the expression גוף, we mean to say that the גוף of השם, השם Himself, the way He is מצד Himself, He has pleasure from the עבודה that the אידן do during the winter that they overcome their גוף. Because we know that השם reveals Himself to the world and connects Himself to the world in many different ways. And that is why השם has different names, as it says in the מדרש that השם is לפי מעשי אני נקרא. השם said that according to My actions, that's how I am called. When השם expresses His מידה of רחמים, He is called הוי׳, יו״ד ק״א וא״ו ק״א. When He expresses the מידת הדין, then He is called אלקים, as we know. When He expresses חסד, as it says in ספרים, He is called with the name קל. So every name expresses a different way השם reveals Himself and the way השם acts. And that is why השם has many names, because השם connects Himself to the world and does different things, and each name represents a different way השם does things, and therefore He has many names. And that is what it says in the שולחן ערוך, that when we make a ברכה, we say ברוך אתה השם אלקינו, the כוונה we have to have is השם is היה הוה ויהיה כאחד. This refers to השם the way He is beyond nature, and therefore in this one word of יו״ד ק״א וא״ו ק״א, we have a combination of past, present, and future, which is beyond nature if you have them all together, because naturally you can't have past, present, and future together. So this refers to השם beyond nature. אלקינו, when we say, refers to השם the way He is our power, the way He gives the life to the world, as it says in שולחן ערוך. So all these different names represent השם the way He connects Himself to us. But then we have the way השם is beyond all that, and that is the first word of the ברכה, ברוך אתה השם אלקינו. When we say אתה, You, that is even beyond the way השם is within the name הוי׳. As השם said by the עשרת הדברות, אנכי השם אלקיך. First He said אנכי, I, and then He said הוי׳, He said השם with the name הוי׳, and then He said אלקיך. And it says in the זוהר that the word אנכי represents sents השם the way he is even higher than the way he comes down to the world as רחמים or as דין. And that's why he is only referred to as אנכי, he calls himself I, because that level has no name. Because, as we said before, a name expresses a certain action. So it's only the way השם acts. But if we talk about השם the way he is essentially, then we have no name. And that's what the זוהר says, that אנכי represents השם in such a way that לא ישתרמיז, לא בשום אות, ולא בשום קוץ, ולא בשום שם. As the way השם cannot be hinted not with any hint, not with any sign, and not with any name. And that is אנכי. When השם spoke to us he used the term אנכי. When we speak to him and we make a ברכה, we say ברוך אתה. So we use the word אתה, which is even higher than the שם הויה of השם. And this is what the גמרא is trying to tell us according to this פשט, that when השם has pleasure from the איד's עבודה, especially when it's hard for a איד to do עבודה, and the body, so to speak, doesn't allow it so much, and nevertheless he overcomes the hardship and serves השם, so השם himself, essentially, not only the way he is when he connects himself to the world, but השם the way he is on the highest level the way he is in himself, has pleasure from the עבודת השם that the איד does. And that's why the גמרא uses the לשון that in the month of טבת, it's a month, a ירח שהגוף נהנה מן הגוף. It's a time when the גוף, which means the essence of השם, as we said before that the word גוף means the essence. The essence of השם the way he is beyond any connection to the world, has pleasure from the גוף of the איד, which means has pleasure from the fact that the איד is able to overcome his גוף and serve השם properly. Even though it's a time of the year when it is the hardest for him to serve השם.

And as we טאקע see that during the month of טבת we read in the תורה concerning the ירידה to גלות מצרים and concerning גלות מצרים, because that's the time of the year when the קדושה is the least, and that's what גלות is, גלות represents a time when the שכינה is also in גלות. And that is also why we see that עשרה בטבת, which was the beginning of the חורבן בית המקדש when נבוכדנצר surrounded ירושלים, is also in the month of טבת, because the month of טבת is a time when it's the hardest to get close to השם, the שכינה is the least revealed. So when a איד at that time nevertheless serves השם properly, השם has the greatest pleasure. And that's what the גמרא means when it says that the month of טבת is a ירח שהגוף נהנה מן הגוף.