A vort from the Rebbe on this week's parshah, Parshas Yisro. In Parshas Yisro, we learned about Matan Torah. One of the things Hashem gave over through Moshe Rabbeinu to tell the Yidden before Matan Torah, in other words telling them what's going to happen through Matan Torah, so one of the things was when he said to them, והייתם לי סגולה, \"You shall be to Me a segulah.\" What does the word segulah mean? So Rashi explains that: segulah, Rashi says, is אוצר חביב, a beloved treasure. And then Rashi explains what it means: כלי יקר ואבנים טובות, precious kli, vessel, and precious jewels שהמלכים גונזים אותם, that the kings hide them. כך אתם תהיו לי סגולה, so too, you will be to Me a segulah, you will be a treasure. And Rashi used an example, a treasure that is hidden, that the king hides. So the Rebbe asks the kashya: Why does Hashem compare the Yidden to gems or jewelry which are hidden in the treasure of the kings, and they don't bring any benefit, no one gains from it, they're just laying there? Why doesn't He compare it to stones, good stones, אבנים טובות, jewels which are in the crown of the king, for instance? Everyone could see it, and that brings glory and beauty to the king. So why does Rashi say that the Torah compares, the Eibishter compares the Yidden to a segulah, which means to the treasure of a king that's hidden and no one basically seemingly has any benefit from it, it's not for any benefit, just hidden there?

And this is what the Rebbe explains: That this is exactly what the pasuk and the Torah is trying to tell us. The jewels that are there in the crown of the king or any other type of thing which is for other people to see is the king uses it for an outside purpose, for a certain benefit outside of himself. In order his kavod should be greater, his beauty should be greater, people should have more respect for him, so it's all to bring a certain to'elet, a certain benefit. On the other hand, the jewels that are hidden in the treasure of the king, they're not used for any benefit outside of the king. The purpose is they themselves, the mere fact that they exist. The king has pleasure and has hana'ah from the fact that they are there, because it's not to benefit anything. It's just part of the etzem of the king. The king enjoys it be'etzem, not for any superficial, so to speak, outside benefit that something else that this will gain. It's just the mere fact that it's there, that gives the king pleasure. And this is what the Eibishter meant to say: That we compare the Yidden to jewels that are hidden, and they are part of the etzem of the Eibishter. The jewels, the Yidden who are compared to the jewels, are not only there because of a certain benefit. In other words, Hashem loves the Yidden not only because they bring a certain benefit which the Eibershter wants, which is also true obviously, but it's deeper than that. The mere fact that they are there, the mere fact that a Yid is a Yid, that is the etzem of the Eibershter. Just like the אבנים טובות, the jewels that are there in the treasure, they're hidden, they're part of the king himself, so too are the Yidden.

And that's how when it came to Matan Torah and the Eibershter wanted to describe and explain what is going to happen through Matan Torah, that this brings about the fact that the Yidden are part, megaleh the fact that the Yidden are part of the Eibershter, not only because they bring a great benefit, which is true, the Yidden have a job to do and they bring a great benefit for the Eibershter, but besides that, a Yid, if even if chas veshalom this Yid does not do the right thing, which means he doesn't actually bring the benefit, he is still beloved by the Eibershter like the אבנים טובות, like the jewels that the kings have in their treasure hidden because that's part of the king himself. So too is benoge'a the Yidden, they are part of the Eibershter Himself, no matter what.