I'd like to touch the ענין of mitzvot derabbanan. We know that in the Torah we have 613. 613 mitzvot are divided into two parts. We have 248 positive mitzvot and 365 are negative. These are all 613 mitzvot of the Torah itself. Now in addition to what the Torah told us to do or what not to do, we also have mitzvot derabbanan that חכמים added. The mitzvot that חכמים added include positive things and negative things. They added many things that we are not allowed to do, many, many things. Matter of fact, many of the things that we don't do nowadays, we are not allowed to do, are mitzvot derabbanan that instituted, the Rabbis, the חכמים, instituted. Then there are also positive mitzvot derabbanan also added, mitzvot that they said we should do that the Torah never told us to do, but they told us to do it. There is a list, actually, of seven mitzvot derabbanan, seven positive mitzvot that the חכמים said that we have to do. I'll list them off in a moment. But negative things, things that the חכמים said we are not allowed to do, there are hundreds of them. Many things on Shabbos, many things on Yom Tov, many things that we don't do is because the רבנן said not to do them. They fall into the category of seyagim. Seyag means fences. The חכמים said don't do this because this should be a fence that you shouldn't come to to transgress into something with Torah. As it says in פרקי אבות, ועשו סייג לתורה, we have to make fences for the Torah. Then there are fences that every individual does, but that's a separate story. Everyone knows that if a person is weak, he tries to make himself a fence that not only he should not do what he is not allowed to do, but he should also not do things that you're allowed that might bring him to doing things that he is not allowed. But here we're not talking about things that a person, every individual should take upon himself. We're talking about those things that the רבנן said, the חכמים said that there are certain, many things that we don't allow you to do. The reason is because you shouldn't come to do something that's also forbidden מדאורייתא, the Torah. But nevertheless they told us to do it. Then there are תקנות, certain things that חכמים established as a din that they want us to do. And there is a list of seven specific mitzvot that are known as the seven מצות מדברי רבנן, the seven mitzvot derabbanan, right? These are seven positive. The way to remember it, there is a siman that's given in sefarim. The siman is נע בשמחה. נע means נ ע, ב, ש, מ, ח, ה. These are seven letters. The word really has no meaning. It means move. נע means to move, move with joy. But it's a siman of how to remember the seven mitzvot. נ ע ב ש מ ח ה. These are seven mitzvot. I'll list them off. ב is berachot. The fact that we have to make a berachah before we eat, or before we do a mitzvah, that's a mitzvah that the Rabbanan established. Now we started with the ב, let's start from the beginning. That's it, let's start נע, נ ע. Na, the נ is נטילת ידים, to wash our hands before we eat. ע is eruvin, to make an eruv, whether it's a to make an eruv to carry, or to make an עירוב תבשילין before Yom Tov that is connected to Shabbos. The ב, as I said, is berachot. The ש is Shabbos, but really it means נרות שבת, to light the Shabbos candles. מ is Megillah, Purim. ח is Chanukah, and ה is Hallel. These are seven mitzvot that the Rabbanan established. But in truth there are many, many more than these seven. Most of them are negative mitzvot, but there are also different תקנות that the chachamim established, all the תקנות that they said that we have to do. For instance, the fact that we take the lulav and etrog for seven days of Sukkot, that's מדרבנן. From the Torah, we only would have to take it one day, for the פסוק says, ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון, you should take it the first day of Yom Tov. Only in the בית המקדש did they take seven days. The chachamim instituted that we should take seven days in the גבולין as an example. But this is not part of seven, but it is a mitzvah derabbanan. Basically, these seven are such mitzvot that actually have no connection to a mitzvah of the Torah. All other things, many of the other things, have connection to a mitzvah of the Torah, like this etrog. Taking the etrog and the lulav is connected to the mitzvah of taking the etrog on the Torah, but they extended it to other days. But anyway, there are many, many mitzvot. This list is a list of seven, but there are many more. We know that together 613 plus the seven derabbanan add up to 620. We know that 620 is the gematria כתר. כף תו ריש are the same gematria, the letters of כתר, the crown. This is the crown of Hashem. There are 620 words in the עשרת הדברות, the Ten Commandments, and that's because there are 613 mitzvot plus seven mitzvot derabbanan. Some say there's 613 plus seven מצוות בני נח, the mitzvot of the גוים. But there is also a pshat of the 613 plus seven derabbanan. So basically, we have mitzvot derabbanan. Where do these mitzvot derabbanan come from? Well, the rabbanan felt that they have to institute these mitzvot, or otherwise they were afraid people would transgress the mitzvot of the Torah. Now, where do we get this obligation that we have to do the mitzvot derabbanan? Well, the rabbanan said. So big deal, they are rabbis. So who says that we have to listen to what they said? Well, Hashem says we have to listen. Well, who says we have to listen? Obviously, Hashem said. Hashem said that we have to listen to what the rabbanan said. The Gemara says, it's the beginning of הלכות חנוכה, the same applies to other mitzvot, the Gemara says only before we light Chanukah we have to say the brachah. What is the brachah? ברוך אתה השם אלקינו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו להדליק נר חנוכה. In translation, that means, \"Blessed are You, Hashem, our God, King of the universe, who made us holy with His mitzvot and commanded us to light the Chanukah candles.\" And the Gemara asks, והיכא צונו? Where did He command us? Hashem commanded us to keep the mitzvot of the Torah. Where does the Torah command us to light Chanukah candles? And the Gemara answers, the Torah says, לא תסור, do not turn away, מכל אשר יגידו לך ימין ושמאל, do not turn away from what the chachamim will tell you, right or left. So the Torah clearly says there's a negative commandment not to not listen to the chachamim. Then there's another pasuk that says, שאל אביך ויגדך זקניך ויאמרו לך, ask your fathers and they will tell you, ask your elders and they will teach you. So here we see that elders have to teach us, so we have to listen to them. But in the psak, the Gemara brought that the main source figures out that we have to listen to what the chachamim say is from this פסוק לא תסור, this pasuk not turn away. There's actually an argument between the Rambam and the Ramban. The Rambam says that every time a person does not keep a mitzvah derabbanan, he transgresses a negative commandment of the Torah. He transgresses the פסוק לא תסור. Comes the Ramban and says, no, this just tells us we have to listen, but you can't say every time that we don't keep a mitzvah derabbanan we are not keeping a mitzvah of the Torah. It's only a mitzvah derabbanan. But the Rambam says transgress a mitzvah of the Torah, it's all based on this פסוק לא תסור, do not turn away from what the chachamim tell you. So basically the source of the fact that we have mitzvot derabbanan is this pasuk where Hashem says do not turn away from what the chachamim tell you. And therefore all the dinim derabbanan told, all these hundreds and hundreds of dinim, not just the seven mitzvot derabbanan, but all other takanot, we have to listen based on this pasuk of the Torah.

Now, there is the approach that people have to what it means a mitzvah derabbanan, and what I'm trying to, want to try to explain is, what is the approach of Chassidus based on Kabbalah of what it means to fulfill a mitzvah derabbanan? The way it's assumed is that when you keep a mitzvah mideoraita, the mitzvah that the Torah says, that the mitzvot of the Torah are the wisdom and the will of Hashem, but the mitzvot that the Rabbanan told us are only mitzvot that the Rabbanan said. Now, we were commanded to keep the mitzvot that the Rabbanan said, but still the details, the details are something that the Rabbanan said. I'll give an example. There is a pasuk that says ונשמרתם מאד לנפשותיכם, you have to watch your health. So if a person goes to a doctor, and the doctor tells him that first, great, you have to take this and this medicine, and you have to do this type of thing, that type of thing, by going to the doctor he actually fulfills the Torah. The Torah says ונשמרתם מאד לנפשותיכם. Would one say that when he takes the Tylenol that the doctor told him to take, taking that Tylenol is a mitzvah, it's the will of Hashem, it's the wisdom of Hashem? It's not. Generally speaking, the idea of listening to the doctor is a mitzvah mideoraita, but this will not turn that every detail that the Torah said that the doctor tells you becomes a mitzvah. The guy is not going to come and say, \"I'm doing a specific mitzvah.\" It's specific, but not in it. There is a very general thing, but it's not a specific specific thing that you're doing. There is a general mitzvah that we have to listen to the Torah. Whether it is according to the opinion of the Ramban or the Rambam. Whether it's according to the opinion of the Ramban who said that if a person does not listen to the Rabbanan, he doesn't actually transgress a mitzvah. But even according to the Rambam who said that if a person does not listen to a mitzvah midrabbanan, a person, let's say, does not bentsch Chanukah licht, he transgresses a mitzvah mideoraita, he transgresses the negative commandment of לא תסור, do not turn away from what the Chachamim say. But they, people claim, people think, and not accepting Kabbalah and Chassidus, they would think that in truth there is a general commandment that you cannot turn away from what the Chachamim said. So therefore if you don't bentsch Chanukah licht, you have not done you have turned away from what Hashem tells you to listen to the chachamim. But the actual mitzvah of חנוכה ליכט is not different than taking the Tylenol that the doctor tells you. Because Hashem never said to בענטש חנוכה ליכט. Generally speaking, listen to the listen to the rabbanan, like you say listen to the doctor. That's what it is. A proof to it, I wouldn't call it a proof, but it's not really connected, but we know the halachah is that ספיקא דאורייתא לחומרא, ספיקא דרבנן לקולא. If there is a doubt, so when it comes to a mitzvah of the Torah, you always have to be on the stricter side. If it's ספיקא דרבנן, there is a doubt of something מדרבנן, the chachamim, it's לקולא, you're able to go lenient. And they claim, you know why? The Ramban says clearly, because there's no you don't transgress a mitzvah of the Torah at all, and therefore, since it's only the words of the chachamim, we go לקולא, leniently. But when it comes to a mitzvah of the Torah, you have to be stricter. But even according to the Rambam who says that every מצוה מדרבנן is really if you don't do it, you transgress a mitzvah of the Torah, still they say, you see here that the Torah the דין is that you can be lenient. Why? Because even though generally speaking you have to listen to the chachamim, but the individual mitzvah is not something that's the will of Hashem. It's the will of these chachamim. You have to listen to them because Hashem said to listen to them, so generally you have to listen to them, but it's their will. That's what people think. And that's the reason, like I said, that's why you don't be so careful, because after all, it's only the chachamim who said it. But when we learn Chassidus, we know that this is not from Kabbalah and from Chassidus. The mitzvot that the chachamim that gave us are the will of Hashem, the חכמה, the wisdom of Hashem, and the will of Hashem completely. It is just that Hashem wanted that the מצוות מדאורייתא should go from Him directly, and the מצוות מדרבנן should go through the chachamim. But when we do a מצוה מדרבנן, we actually are fulfilling the will of Hashem. This is the wisdom and the will of Hashem. In other words, if a person does not listen to a מצוה מדרבנן, it doesn't mean that he just tears himself away from his connection to the חכמים, which is terrible in its own right, both, but it's still not the same as tearing yourself away from Hashem. If you don't do a mitzvah from the Torah, then you're tearing yourself away from Hashem. Actually, that's the word עבירה. עבירה means to miss, but עבירה also to pass away, to go away from the connection you have to Hashem. So they think a מצוה מדרבנן, you just connect you don't do it, you're tearing yourself away from the חכמים. It's not true. If you don't do a מצוה מדרבנן, you tear yourself away from Hashem, because Hashem wants you to do it, Hashem wants this specific thing. And the same in the positive way. You know that the word mitzvah comes from the word צוותא, which is a commandment, and it also has a translation of connection. Every time you do a mitzvah you get connected to Hashem. Every time you do a מצוה מדרבנן you get connected to Hashem the very same way as it's Hashem's will that this should go through the חכמים, and this went through. Now the question would be asked that, okay, why is it that if there is a doubt in a מצוה מדרבנן you are able to go lekula, go lenient, but if there's a doubt in a מצוה דאורייתא then you have to be machmir? Does that show that מצות מדרבנן is not so much connected to Hashem and therefore don't be so careful? No. This itself is part of what Hashem wants. Hashem gave us certain conditions, certain structure, certain rules, everything as Hashem decides of how it's supposed to be. One of the rules that Hashem created is that when there's a doubt of a mitzvah that I told you directly, you go machmir, and if it's a mitzvah that I gave you through the רבנן, then you could be more lenient. That's the condition Hashem put to this. So therefore, a person can't say, \"Well, it's only דרבנן, I don't have to be so strict, because you see if there's a doubt.\" If there's a doubt, Hashem says, \"This is the rule,\" like He gave any rules in any מצות of what to do in certain circumstances. So He gave the rule that if it's a mitzvah that I said, it goes certain steps. If the רבנן make it, but it doesn't mean that there is less connection to Hashem when you do a מצוה מדרבנן. It is the same. It's the will of Hashem, and it goes through them.

Now the question is: what is the actual difference? If this is also that it's the will of Hashem, what is the real difference between de'oraita and derabbanan? And basic is the difference. People think, as I said, that mitzvot derabbanan is not as important. If we look in different midrashim, we see the exact opposite. In different midrashim, it says that Hashem says חביבים עלי דברי סופרים יותר מדברי תורה. Hashem says, \"I love the mitzvot that the Rabbanan made more than I love the mitzvot of the Torah that I wrote to you.\" And in a different place it says חמורים עלי דברי סופרים יותר מדברי תורה. Hashem says they're stricter to Me, they're more important to Me. To do a mitzvah miderabbanan is more important. Obviously, it definitely is not lesser than a mitzvah de'oraita, but it's even more than de'oraita. But what would be the peshat? Why would this be more than de'oraita? We have to really, what we're trying to do is understand what is the meaning behind the mitzvot miderabbanan. What does it mean a mitzvah miderabbanan? So the question is to understand exactly the deeper meaning of miderabbanan, and why is the derabbanan even greater than mitzvot de'oraita? Now, one of the simple things that's said in the specialty of mitzvot miderabbanan is the following: is that a mitzvah derabbanan are also de'oraita. Could be very practical about it. When Hashem gave us לא תסור, right? Don't turn away from what the chachamim tell you. Hashem knows, didn't Hashem know which mitzvot the Rabbanan were going to make? So when He said, \"לא תסור,\" He knew exactly what it means, what this mitzvah means. So basically, even though He didn't say in a word, when He said, \"לא תסור,\" it included all these particular mitzvot. So this is also de'oraita. But what is the maalah? There is one maalah here, one I want to say, one specialty of mitzvot miderabbanan is that after all, the way the mitzvot came about is that the chachamim who are part of Klal Yisrael were the ones that came up with this. When they came up with this, this was basically a revelation that this is the will of Hashem, because since Hashem said to listen to the Chachamim and they came up with this, obviously this is a revelation that this is the will of Hashem. But who revealed this will of Hashem? The Chachamim who are part of Bnei Yisrael, which means these are mitzvot that come from within us rather than it came from Hashem. They are the will of Hashem, but they came from within us. And there is a big difference when it comes to connection to Hashem. If you do it because Hashem told you, then it's good, you're doing what Hashem told you, very important, very good. But when you go beyond that and you, on your own, a person on his own would come and do things because he feels this is the will of Hashem, then this shows a greater connection to Hashem than doing it when you're told. For instance, if you see two servants of a certain master, one servant does everything he's asked, and that's it. Yet there's another servant that's constantly thinking, \"What else can I do to make my master happy?\" Which of the two is greater? Certainly the one that is on his own. And when we see in this something on his own, that action shows that this guy is really connected, right? Or let's take an example a child and a parent. A child will do whatever his parents tell him he's got to do, but others try to bring nachas to their parents on their own. So which of the two things indicates the specialty of the second child? Not when he does what he's asked to do, because then you don't see the difference, they're both doing the same thing. It's only when he does those things which he was not asked, and he on his own decided to do it, realizing, thinking this is the will of his father. And later on his father tells him, \"Right. You got it. You figured out my mind, you really figured out what I want.\" This really shows that he is connected. This is similar, it's not a קרבן פסח, but I'm saying, similar to the maalah of the lifnim mishurat hadin. We know that a person have to do everything according to the din, but then we know that person should also try to do more than the requirement of the din. It's called lifnim mishurat hadin, more than the requirement of the din. And it says that doing lifnim mishurat hadin shows that a Yid is caring for Hashem more than what he does with the din. And if you only do according to the din, and a person will not do anything more than what is required, it shows that this person, yeah, you know that he's a עבד, but on the other hand, it's just a regular עבד. Nebech, he'll do it, you have to do it, you're compelled, you're forced, you have to do it, you have to do it. The moment he doesn't have to, he won't do it. But if you're doing lifnim mishurat hadin, that shows that you care, you really care about Hashem, and therefore you're doing it even though you can get away with it, but you know Hashem will like it, so you're doing even more. That's the maalah of lifnim mishurat hadin. The Gemara says על מה אבדה הארץ, one of the teirutzim, why was the Beit Hamikdash destroyed? And the Gemara says because the Yidden did everything according to the din. The Gemara says what's wrong with that? They did everything according to the din! Why was there destruction for that? The Gemara says, yeah, but they didn't do lifnim mishurat hadin, they didn't want to do any more. The commentaries ask, what's so terrible that they didn't do more, that for that came such a terrible punishment? It's not that what is missing. By not doing anything more than the din required shows that he is a... The Yid who has no proper ahavah, they do what they're supposed to do, but it's, and it's a load and it's a burden, a burden on them. Because if it's a burden, you have to do more? It's a burden, it's a burden, and that's it. But if you want to, you're ready to do, you feel happy about it, then you'll do more. Like there's a mashal to this of a person who was once walking on the mountain, sweating. It was a hot day in the summer, sweating, and he's carrying a heavy load. He met a friend of his. \"Oh, can I help you carry the load?\" Said, \"Oh, for sure! I can't wait to get rid of this load.\" So, he gave the load, and he helped him out a little bit. The next day, he's carrying the same load, and he knows when he walked, walking on the mountain, and said, \"Can I help you carry the load?\" \"No, no, no, no, no, I'm not... Why? Because the first load was a load of stones, the second load is a load of diamonds. A load of diamonds, I'm ready to carry the load. Why? Because it's diamonds. Heavy? I want to carry it as much as I can.\" If you do more than what's required, then it shows that you want to have more. But if you do only what the din says and that's it, it's shown as a load, you have to carry it, you have to carry it and that's it. That's the difference there. Similar to that, but more than that, comes the idea with the chachamim. The chachamim made a mitzvah, that's a mitzvah that came from within us. It came from within the id. The chachamim who are our head, it's not others, they're us. They're the head of Klal Yisrael, they're the eyes of Klal Yisrael. So Klal Yisrael felt that there is more that we can do. That is stronger than the Torah, and therefore Hashem says, \"I love these things and I want them more, because it's my will as much as what I said, but how did that come about? By you realizing my will, and you realize it came from you, and that's why you're bringing it up. That shows your involvement more than what I...\" So when you have a mitzvah that I say, it's called milemaalah lematah, it's from above down. Hashem gave us the mitzvah, and we keep it. This is mimatah lemaalah, this is going... from down up. This is from us going up, and, like I said before, it's still the will of Hashem, but it's the will of Hashem that was revealed through the Bnei Yisrael. That's a simple approach to the מצוה דרבנן, דרבנן.

But then there is a deeper approach, if we look into a more deep, kabbalah reason. It says in the Zohar, on the פסוק, זה שמי לעולם וזה זכרי לדור דור. Say it again: זה שמי לעולם, this is my name forever, וזה זכרי לדור דור, and this is my remembrance for all generations. So the Zohar, the Zohar says this pasuk is referring to, what's the name of Hashem, and what's the remembrance of Hashem? And the Zohar says like this: The word shmo, my name, with י-ה, you add Hashem's first two letters of his name, you have י-ה and ו-ה, Hashem's name is י-ה-ו-ה, you take the first two letters, add it to shmo, the gematria will be 365, 365 negative מצוות, מצוות לא תעשה. Then the word zichri, if you add ו-ה to zichri, the second half of Hashem's name, will come out to 248, which again is 248 positive מצוות, מצוות עשה. Now, according to the Zohar, it comes out that the mitzvot, mitzvot lo ta'aseh, the negative mitzvot, are on a higher level than the positive mitzvot. Because we know that י-ה, the first two letters of Hashem's name, are on a higher level than ו-ה, the second two letters of Hashem's name. So since י-ה connects to the negative mitzvot, mitzvot lo ta'aseh, and ו-ה to the positive mitzvot, obviously mitzvot lo ta'aseh is on a higher level. Besides, שמי is my name, זכרי is my remembrance. Obviously, my name is greater. And the question is why. Why would the negative mitzvot be on a higher level than the positive mitzvot? Positive mitzvah is to do something, something positive you do. To keep a negative mitzvah is very, not easy, but all it is is to stay away. You just don't do, you don't eat חזיר, you don't eat חמץ on Pesach, you don't, chalilah, you're not מחלל שבת, but it's just not doing. And we always know that an act is always stronger, to do something, you know, there's some kind of positive effect. Staying away is just that I'm not bad. By not hurting somebody is not as great as doing a positive act of kindness. So why is it that the negative mitzvot are greater than the positive? And the answer is given in terms of Kabbalah. Every positive mitzvah, Hashem's direct positive light comes down, and since there are 248 positive mitzvot, one is different than the other, there are 248 ways, different, and in a different way, each mitzvah affects in a different way, one, it has a different effect. Actually, this is why they say that the, why it says that the 248 positive mitzvot, 248 limbs, the רמ״ח אברים, it's just like every אבר, every limb of a person, is invested with a different כח of the of the person's life. The eyes are invested with sight, the ears, hearing, the heart, and every other part. In the same way, the mitzvot, every mitzvah that a human being does has an individual act and affects, it affects the person in a different way on the person. 248, it's just 248 effects on what it will do to the person, what kind of great impact it will have on the person in different directions. That's connecting to a person. Same thing applies to what it accomplishes as far as bringing down Godliness into the world. We know every mitzvah we do brings down more of Hashem into the world. Using the terms of Kabbalah, brings down the אור אין סוף, the infinite light of Hashem into the world. But every mitzvah brings down a different aspect of Hashem. That's why again it says in the Zohar, that רמ״ח אברים, רמ״ח מצוות are the, רמ״ח, רמ״ח פיקודין are the רמ״ח אברים of Hashem. The רמ״ח פיקודין, the 248 mitzvot are the 248 limbs of Hashem. Just like every limb breathes a different aspect of the person's life, as I said before, the eye, the limb of the eye brings the person's sight connected, the hands bring the person's ability to touch, every part of the body breathes out of the person's life into the part, every mitzvah brings down from Hashem a different aspect of Hashem. To take an example, tefillin brings down the level of faith from Hashem. And our, the four בתים and you have shin in the one on the head, that brings down the moach. There is the level of חכמה בינה דעת of Hashem, and when you put on tefillin, it draws through the light of Hashem in the form of moach. Other mitzvot bring down the light of Hashem in a different form. Which basically means every mitzvah brings down a specific part of Hashem, a specific light of the אין סוף of the light of Hashem into this world. Because when we do it, we have an impact, that's good. But by keeping the non, the negative, how do you fulfill or how do you keep the mitzvah? By not doing. Not doing, all the mitzvot are the same. When you do something, every act is, but this is not. How do we fulfill the mitzvah of not eating chametz on Pesach? It's by not eating chametz on Pesach. How do you fulfill the mitzvah of not eating חזיר? It's by not eating חזיר. Every mitzvah, don't do work on Shabbos, it's all one. There's no different types of each mitzvah saying brings down a different light. It's all one thing, by not doing. Which basically means that what happens when we fulfill a negative mitzvah, the main aspect and meaning of a negative mitzvah is the fact that I am bending myself and not doing what I would like to do. Every other mitzvah is to bring something into me. This is opposite. This is in order I shouldn't do what I want to do. I'm not going to do this. The difference is positive mitzvot are all for the person's own, what do you call, perfection. Gain more and get more. So, as much, as good as it is, it's all involved with me. Negative mitzvot, and all it's involved with not me. I won't do. And that's why it's not when it's about me there are different parts, so I have to have every part of me full of Hashem or every mitzvah fulfills a different part of Hashem into me. But by not doing, all it is is I am bending myself, I'm breaking myself, I am not doing this, not doing that, it's all one act. And that has a different effect. That shows more the bitul of a Yid, the self-nullification of a Yid. The other one is the perfection of a person. Here it's the nisht, the nisht zayn, in Yiddish it says in the seforim, the לשון in חסידות, נישט זיין, nothing. As long as I do things for me, it's me not Hashem. It's good, it's a good type of me. I connect with Hashem, but it's still me. Negative mitzvah is the way of myself staying away, not doing, nothing. And that's why it says in Kabbalah, brought down in Chassidus, that the light that we bring down through negative mitzvot is much greater than the Godly light that we bring down through positive. And that is why the only way we could bring down such a special light is by not doing. Because when we do something, whatever as great as it is, it's limited. And it's limited to us human beings. So all it could affect is in a limited way למעלה in the higher worlds, in Godliness. To reach a certain limited level in Godliness, to bring it down. But to reach such a high level, we can't by doing. Whatever we'll do, we'll never reach there. So how do we reach that great, great level of light that's beyond our reach? Not by doing, not by me getting involved. By me not doing anything. If I don't do anything, I'm not involved, but I'm doing it because Hashem wants. So basically, the difference between a positive mitzvah and a negative mitzvah is that a positive mitzvah is great, but it has to do with me and every part of me. And a negative mitzvah is me trying to be mevatel myself, nullifying myself so once before Hashem. Now it doesn't mean that we don't fight, and obviously negative breaks, you fight sometimes, for a positive mitzvah it's very hard to do and you have to break yourself, for instance, to give tzedakah, someone it's hard to break himself, some people it's hard to do other things and they break themselves, so there is, like, breaking yourself. Then on the other hand, in a negative mitzvah, there's also levels, some mitzvot it's easier to stay away from, some not. There are levels dependent on the person. But generally speaking, the difference the difference between the categories is that the mitzvot aseh, the positive mitzvot are me with my limitations and what I can do for myself. Hashem wants this to be for me, but it's something that will help me. And this is something that will take me away, in other words, I will not do. This is the meaning of the Zohar where it says the י\"ד. To get a little bit into Kabbalah. We know that the four letters of the שם הוי'ה, י represents חכמה, ה בינה, ו represents the middot. I'm not going to explain it now, explain it some other time, but this has to be done. Chochmah. When we think of the difference between emotions are all a relationship there is no such thing as having an emotion about somebody else. I love you, I hate you, I'm afraid of this, it's for something. I'm afraid of him, I'm afraid All emotions are, all it is is a relationship between the person somebody else. Sechel, intellect, is something for yourself. That's why the best way to understand something is to sit in a place where no one is there and you can figure out solid your ideas. You can't sit in a place and have a feeling of love because there's nobody to love. That's why Avraham Avinu, when he had this feeling, he wanted somebody to come. That's why he sat by the door, he wanted guests, he had this feeling because it's a feeling for somebody. When we use the same idea of intellect and emotion, apply Hashem The emotions of Hashem is that level of godliness the way it already relates to other to the creation. The intellect of Hashem represents Hashem the way he is still beyond creation. Just like the intellect is something for yourself, the way Hashem is in himself, while Hashem's middot are the way Hashem already is in relationship with the creation. Now, since the creation is limited and there are different parts, different things to the creation, so that part of Hashem, the אין סוף, godliness of Hashem the way it relates to creation, is already basically a limited light because it's already the way it relates to something that is limited, and it opening is how is it going to come down to a limited thing, and therefore, different places, different levels, different things. The level of Hashem the way it is in intellect is beyond creation. That's something that the way it is in itself. That's beyond. That's a higher level. Now, which of the two sets of mitzvot will fit these two parts, the negative and the positive? The positive mitzvot, the seeing and the whole concept of positive is affected by a person. And each mitzvah has a different effect, limited according to the different parts of the person. That fits to the ו' to the י' to the ו\"ה, which represents the middot of Hashem. Because that's what we do. Every time we do a mitzvah, we bring down the light of Hashem, but which kind of light? The light that's already in relationship to the world, that's the ו\"ה, the light of the emotions, so to speak, the middot of Hashem. But the light that we bring down doing the negative mitzvot, which is just undressing ourselves of our own being, staying away from it, saying to Hashem, \"Because of you, I'm not going to do what I want to.\" The negative part, that reaches into a level which is not limited. The not, basically, is not limited. When you do something, the not is not limited, that's why it's infinite. To do a positive mitzvah, this way, a way that the tzaddik does it, a better way, you can do it in this way, you can do it in that way, in not doing an aveirah, we all eat, we all don't eat חזיר the same way. Moshe Rabbeinu and us don't eat חזיר the same way. Why? Because it's something not limited, because it's limited, and it depends on exactly how you do it, but if it's an unlimited thing, it the not doing is not limited. And the negative mitzvot are the ones that have to do with the י\"ה, they bring down the higher level of godliness. One of the negative mitzvot is לא תסור, not to turn away from the rabbis. That is the source of the mitzvot derabbanan. Interestingly, even the positive mitzvot derabbanan are basically part of one of the negative mitzvot of the Torah. Why? And this will be the point. Whatever we explained the difference between the positive and negative will apply to all mitzvot derabbanan. We said that in the negative To reach a higher level, to bring down the special level of Hashem which is not limited, because we basically, 24/7, in other words, it's the connection of Hashem to us, in a much higher level of connection than the positive mitzvot. When we do a mitzvah derabbanan, this itself expresses the greater connection of Hashem to us. Beside the fact that I said before that it shows, between us, a deep connection, that how much we love Hashem, but even from Hashem's side. The Alter Rebbe says in Likkutei Torah, Devarim, he says, why do we have so many mitzvot derabbanan which are basically intended to guard not to do a mitzvah de'oraita? So he says, when a person has only child, he will guard him, protect him more than he will protect others. All children are important, are precious, but the feeling is more. Something that's more precious to you, you will watch it more, you will put more fences to protect it. When you have a jewel, you will put more shmirah, more protection to that jewel more than you will put to something not so precious. The fact that Hashem wanted all these restrictions, all these fences, which came about through דרבנן, so this represents the concept of Hashem's connection to us in such a way, it shows His special way of connection to us. This is a connection that we get from Hashem, and also from our side, which is beyond limits. This shows us the connection. Similar to a negative mitzvah that we said before. So the negative mitzvah is that higher level. Every single mitzvah miderabbanan is that higher level. Every single mitzvah derabbanan has the idea of Hashem bringing down the special light to this world, the higher level of light which cannot come through a normal positive mitzvah. Now imagine if you have a mitzvah derabbanan which is positive, you have both מעלות, you have both! It's positive, so we're doing something, and at the same time, it brings out the special connection that Hashem has to us beyond limits. And that's the specialness of derabbanan. Interestingly, where does the Gemara tell us, which mitzvah does the Gemara tell us that we have to teach that a mitzvah derabbanan is based on this pasuk of לא תסור? I mentioned before about Chanukah, because the mitzvah of Chanukah is actually representing that. The mitzvah of Chanukah came about through the mesirut nefesh of the Chashmonaim, the self-sacrifice of the Jews, which is like a negative mitzvah, it's the fact that they gave up of themselves. And basically, when you do a mitzvah miderabbanan, we can look at it that way, too. You give up of yourself, knowing that originally you didn't really have to do it, and now I'm going further beyond what I really have to do, and I'm doing more. So you are really going out of your own limits. That's similar to that. That's why it's made to come from the פסוק לא תסור. And we see by Chanukah, lights, like we say, like in the שיר של יום, מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית, of Chanukah. The light, the godliness of light that comes down to the world on Chanukah is beyond any other mitzvah. That's why it says, וה' יגיה חשכי. It says, and Hashem will light up my darkness. Wherever it says and, it means extra. It's not only whatever Hashem lights up, extra light that comes down. And all kabbalistic ספרים, חסידישע ספרים say the light of Chanukah is similar to the light of לעתיד לבא and the בית המקדש. That's why Chanukah has eight days, beyond the seven, number eight, because the light of Chanukah is so special, so great. But why did it come down? From this reason. So when a Jew goes away from himself, rather than perfecting himself, but is mevatel himself, that has a מעלה and that brings on a great light, and every derabbanan... The basic thing is to see that you cannot be resolved to believe that something derabbanan is not like something de'oraita. The fact is we have to be lenient by a safek, a doubt, so that's where Hashem says that we have to be lenient. But otherwise, it's more, it's in a way higher than de'oraita, and it's more as Chazal says, חביבין דברי סופרים. חביבין דברי סופרים, it's sweeter, or like Hashem says it's a geshmak to me, and it's beloved to me, for the very fact that all the... We're going to hold on here. Later, soon, we'll continue. It's good. Take care. Rabbi, can I ask, how do you spell Rav Kook's name? Huh? How do you spell Rav Kook's name? K-O-O-K. So here you did something, and it's also like that's what you want, that's the practice. But if you did something wrong towards a person, you're right, but where you have a court and the neglect is on their hands, how do you prevent regret afterwards? Where you have a court based on that as רבנן, not the court. Waste of time. A waste of time, why isn't a waste of time considered as an actual damage, causing a financial loss? And by not doing, you are causing a financial loss. That's a great question. Right, so, as though, right, by being at fault because they want to fix it. But the actual hiring, now the קבלן, the קבלן wanted to stop it, but now if you stop it, now you are entirely that party's fault, stopped first. But here it's not so, that party's fault, that party's fault, one's fault, that one's fault, walking in and out every day, wanted more money, wanted this, so you have this thing. But here, party fault, and the actual hiring. Ah, yeah. Yeah.