A vort from the Rebbe on this week's parshah, Parshas Shemot. One of the things we learn about Moshe in Parshas Shemot is that Moshe Rabbeinu was the ro'eh, the shepherd of the sheep of Yitro, and he took them to Har Chorev, which is Har Sinai. And that's where Hashem revealed Himself to Moshe Rabbeinu in the burning bush, by the סנה. And the first thing Hashem said to Moshe was של נעליך מעל רגליך, take your shoes off your feet, כי המקום אשר אתה עומד עליו אדמת קודש הוא, because the place you're standing on is a holy place. And it actually says in Midrash, also b'nego'a Yehoshua, and the same thing we see in the Beit HaMikdash, that since it was a holy place, they had to take their shoes off. When the kohanim did the avodah in the Beit HaMikdash, they had to do it barefoot. And we have to understand, what is the reason why you have to take off your shoes when you come to such a holy place? On the other hand, we find the ma'alah of shoes. It says in Gemara that a person should sell even his house in order to buy shoes. Shoes is an important garment that a person has to have. So why is it that if it's an אדמת קודש, it's a holy place, you have to take off your shoes?

And the Rebbe explains that the reason really you have to have shoes on b'ruchniyusdike inyonim is, because it separates between the feet and the floor. The floor, the ground represents gashmiyus, that's the ground, the bottom, the bottom of everything. That's the low madregah that represents gashmiyus, chomeriyus, coarseness, that's the low madregah. A person has to make a separation between him, between himself and the floor, the ground. You shouldn't be, so to speak, influenced by the ground. So you have to separate yourself, you have to do something to make a hefsek, a separation between yourself and the ground. And actually, this separation is by your feet. B'nego'a the top part of the person, you don't really have to make a separation because there you have the higher kochot. You have the brains, you have the middot, you have the higher kochot, which it's not so influenced by the ground, but when it comes to your feet, your feet represents a low madregah. That really is shayach to be influenced by the ground. Actually, in Avot DeRabbi Natan it says that the feet are called מלאך המות שבאדם, especially the bottom of the foot is called the מלאך המות, the angel of death that's within the person. In every person you have all kinds of things, and the foot, the bottom of the foot is referred to as the מלאך המות שבאדם. The simple peshat is because it has no really life, that's why it doesn't really hurt as much. But b'ruchniyusdike inyan it means, because it's the bottom of the foot, it's connected, close to gashmiyus, to kelipah, to grobkeit. So therefore, it's the bottom of the foot, the feet that you have to separate them from the ground so you shouldn't be mushpa, you shouldn't be influenced by the ground.

But obviously, that is only if the ground represents gashmiyut and chomeriyut and it's very low, so you have to remove yourself from it. On the other hand, if it is a holy ground, a holy place, then adarbah, on the contrary, then you should not separate yourself from that ground, that if the ground is holy, certainly you should try to get the hashpaah from the ground and not be separated from it. And that's why in the Beit Hamikdash, they did not wear shoes, because the hashpaah of the ground, which is, even though it's ground, it's holy, it's good hashpaah. Same thing when Moshe Rabbeinu was standing here on Har Sinai. Since it's Har Sinai, the hashpaah of kedushah is so good that you shouldn't take off your - you should take off your shoes, you shouldn't make a separation. And when the Gemara says that you should always buy shoes, it's more important even than a house, that is because in a regular case, it's very important to make that hefsek between yourself and the ground. Therefore, it's very important to have shoes. But when it comes to a holy place, there it's important to take off your shoes and get the hashpaah and connect to the holy place, that if the ground is holy, so even if the - the lower madregah is holy, certainly that's a good hashpaah that a person should want to get.