from the Rebbe on this week's parsha, parshat Haazinu. In the beginning of the parsha it says האזינו השמים and then ותשמע הארץ. And both of the words האזינו and תשמע basically mean the same thing, to hear. He's saying to שמים to hear, and to the ארץ to hear, but he uses by שמים the word האזינו, and by ארץ the word תשמע. And Chazal tell us that whenever it speaks about hearing and it uses the word from האזינו like האזינו, it means that you are close to it, to the one you're talking to. And whenever it says תשמע, it means you're further away. And that makes sense, that's why Moshe Rabbeinu used the word האזינו to שמים and תשמע to ארץ, because Moshe Rabbeinu was closer to the spiritual things. We imagine, we understand that שמים represents spiritual things, heavenly things, ארץ represents physical things, earth. So Moshe Rabbeinu was closest to the closer to the spiritual things, that's why he used the word האזינו by שמים, and he was further away from the physical things, that's why he used the word ותשמע, which means further away. And

everything is a lesson in avodat Hashem for every single Yid, so it's telling us that when it comes to spiritual things a Yid is supposed to be closer, when it comes to physical things he's supposed to be further. But that's only if we taytsh that שמים is רוחניותדיקע things, spiritual things, and ארץ means physical things. רוחניותדיקע things means Torah, mitzvot, etc., physical things means our physical life and needs that we have. But the Alter Rebbe in Likkutei Torah says that שמים and ארץ both go on spiritual things. The difference is שמים goes on Torah, and ארץ goes on mitzvot. שמים goes on Torah because the Torah was given from שמים, as the lashon in the pasuk in Yisro is: מן השמים דברתי עמכם. I spoke to you from שמים. So the Torah comes from שמים, so when it uses the word שמים it means Torah. Mitzvot are mostly with physical things, therefore the mitzvot are hinted in the word ארץ. So what does it mean that you should be close to שמים, to Torah, and be further away from mitzvot? Chas veshalom, what do you mean should be far away from mitzvot? So the

Rebbe explains it like this: What it means is to say, he's describing how a Yid does these עבודות. When a Yid learns Torah, he learns it with a closeness and kiruv. You learn and you try to understand what the Torah is, and then when you understand it, it comes into your brain, and your brain becomes one with the things you understand, you become very close to Hashem when you learn Torah. And also when you learn Torah, it should be done out of Ahavat Hashem, you love Hashem, and therefore you want to learn Torah. Mitzvot, the main way to do mitzvot is through Kabalat ol malchut shamayim, through accepting the yoke of Hashem. Hashem said to do it, you have to do it. You don't really feel close to it. When you have Kabalat ol, it's not that that you feel some kind of close feeling, it's a feeling of awe, a feeling of being far away, which basically means a feeling of yirah. Mitzvot have to be done more with yirah, with fear, but doesn't mean fear from punishment or so or anything like it, but it means fear further away. You're looking up at Hashem, and you know, you feel great feeling of awe, and you do what Hashem wants. And that's the lesson that we take from here according to the Alter Rebbe's pshat, that when it comes to שמים, Torah, the way to learn Torah is with closeness. You learn Torah, you're getting closer to the Eibershter, you're absorbing the Torah inside yourself, and you become one with it, and the Torah is one with Hashem, so mimela you become one with Hashem, it's close. But when you do mitzvot, the main part of the mitzvot is to do it as we make in the berachah: אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו. You made us holy with His mitzvot and commanded us, so we do it because He commanded us, that's a feeling of being further away. And that's the way you're supposed to perform mitzvot mainly. Obviously, you're supposed to have yirah by Torah also, you're supposed to have ahavah by mitzvot also, but mainly by mitzvot it is yirah, and by Torah it is ahavah. And that's the lesson that we get from here, that concerning shamayim, which is Torah, has to be האזינו, close, and concerning aretz, which is mitzvot, is ותשמע, which is further.