Same way that עבודה would have done, right, the same time back then. It was not quite the same, but not quite, but it's... Okay, thank you very much. The class tonight is going to be on the subject of the דלת פרשיות, the ארבע פרשיות, if we're going to use the modern Hebrew, the four parshiyos that we're starting to read from this Shabbos on. We know that before Pesach, there are four parshiyos, four portions of the Torah that we have to read as the maftir in the four Shabbosos. And the four parshiyos are Parshas Shekalim, Parshas Zachor, Parshas Parah, and Parshas Hachodesh. We did have a class once on Parshas Shekalim separately, one on Parshas Zachor separately, on Parshas Parah separately, I don't remember if we had one on Parshas Hachodesh separately, but today the class is going to be more or less general ideas of the four parshiyos, dwelling more as we will see on the last two parshiyos, but generally on all four. But let me first explain what the four parshiyos are about. I'm sure everyone in this audience knows what the four parshiyos are about, but it's always good to review. It never hurts. Chazarah never hurts, and always is good to remember again and again what we're talking about. Anyway, Parshas Shekalim is when we read the parsha in the Torah that talks about מחצית השקל, where Hashem commanded the Jews that they have to give half of the שקל. And this is Parshas Ki Sisa. The beginning of Parshas Ki Sisa, the first part of Parshas Ki Sisa deals with the mitzvah of מחצית השקל. Parshas Zachor is a parsha in Ki Seitzei, and that's the parsha that deals with Amalek, the parsha that tells us that we have to remember Amalek. Parshas Parah is, are some pesukim from the parsha in Chukas, where it talks about the mitzvah of making a פרה אדומה, the red heifer, the red cow. And parsha, and the purpose of the red, okay we'll get through all those four in a moment, and Parshas Hachodesh is some pesukim from Parshas Bo, when Hashem spoke to Moshe while the Jews were still in Egypt, still in Mitzrayim, and He said, החודש הזה לכם, this month will be the first month of the year, and in that פרשה, Hashem commanded them to bring the Korban Pesach on Erev Pesach. Parshas Shekalim we read the Shabbos of Rosh Chodesh Adar, or if Rosh Chodesh is not on Shabbos, then we read it on the Shabbos before Rosh Chodesh Adar. When we have one Adar, obviously if Rosh Chodesh Adar is Shabbos, then we read it then, if not, the שבת מברכים אדר. When you have two Adars like this year, then if ראש חודש אדר שני of the second Adar comes out on Shabbos, we read Parshas Shekalim on that Shabbos. If it's not Shabbos, then we read it the Shabbos before. This year actually happens to be that Shabbos is Rosh Chodesh, that's why the coming Shabbos is going to be Parshas Shekalim. The reason this is the Shabbos that we read Parshas Shekalim is because באחד באדר משמיעין על השקלים. It says in the Mishnah that on the first day of Adar, they would announce, the Beis Din would announce that people should be ready to contribute the machatzis hashekel. Every year, every Jew had to give a machatzis hashekel, half a shekel. It's a very small amount, but every person, but every Yid would have to give a half a shekel. The purpose of this half a shekel was that this money was used to buy the קרבנות ציבור, the public korbanos, the public sacrifices. Since they were public sacrifices, they had to be bought with the public money. For instance, everyday they would bring two קרבנות תמיד, one in the morning, one in the evening. Shabbos, Yom Tov, Rosh Chodesh, they would bring קרבנות מוסף, and other things which fall into the category of קרבנות ציבור. So every year they would make a collection, and they would use the money to buy the קרבנות ציבור for that coming year. The din was that from Rosh Chodesh Nisan on, from the first day of the month of Nisan, they had to start buying the korbanot with the new money, with the money that was collected specifically for this year. In order To have the money in, in the lishkah, in the office, in the Beit Hamikdash, by Rosh Chodesh Nisan, they had to make the collection earlier. So they would start collecting from the 15th day of Adar. And in all the cities in Eretz Yisrael, they would have tables set up where people would be able to come and give. But Rosh Chodesh Adar, the first day of the month of Adar, that's when they would start announcing it. And that is why Rosh Chodesh Adar, or if it's not Shabbos so we do it the Shabbos before, we read the parsha of Shekalim, the parsha that talks about מחצית השקל. Because the parsha of מחצית השקל that we read in the Torah was also there were three donations the Yidden had to give at that time, but one of them was that they gave a מחצית השקל for the korbanot.

The second parsha is Parshat Zachor, where the Torah tells us to remember what Amalek did to us when we went out of Mitzrayim. We know when the Jews left Mitzrayim, he started up with them. Amalek came and started up with the Yidden. No other nation was able to do it. Everyone heard all the miracles that Hashem did to the Yidden in Mitzrayim and then later on even more by the Yam Suf, everyone was afraid to start up with the Yidden. They were all afraid of the Yidden. They would have liked to start up with them, but they were afraid. The only one that wasn't afraid was Amalek. And the Midrash, and Rashi brings, a mashal, a mashal of a hot bath that everyone was afraid to jump in because it was too hot. Came one person and he said, \"I'll do it.\" He jumped in. He got burned, but he cooled it off in the eyes of others, and others saw, \"Well, you know, you could do it after all.\" That's what he did. He cooled off the greatness of the Yidden in the eyes of all the nations in the world. So Hashem said, \"I want you always to remember what Amalek did to us.\" So we have to read a parsha in the Torah that deals with remembering Amalek. Now the truth is from the Torah, the way the mitzvah of remembering Amalek is from the Torah, this could be done any Shabbos of the year. Any time of the year when you will read this parsha for the purpose of remembering Amalek, we would have fulfilled this mitzvah. But the Chachamim said, \"We will establish a special Shabbos.\" And they chose this Shabbos, the Shabbos before Purim. The reason is because Purim is a time when we also celebrate the destruction of Amalek, because Haman came from Amalek. Haman HaAgagi came from Agag, so he came from Amalek. So therefore, the Chachamim said, \"Let's make the Shabbos before Purim the Shabbos when we will remember Amalek and read this parsha of זכור, זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק.\" And the reason it's the Shabbos before Purim because the pasuk says, \"הימים האלה נזכרים ונעשים,\" that these days are remembered and done. נזכרים ונעשים, they are remembered and done. So first you remember, and then you do. So Purim was the time when we did. Purim was the time when we actually killed many, many people from Amalek. We learn about what they actually did to Haman. Besides that, on the day of Purim, the year when the decree was nullified, and it says that instead of the goyim doing any harm to the Jews, the Yidden, instead of that, killed many of the goyim, and it says that throughout the country 75,000 goyim were killed. Chazal tell us all 75,000 were all from Amalek. They killed Amalek. So Purim was a time when Amalek was done, they actually destroyed Amalek, some of Amalek. So the Shabbos before is the time when נזכרים, when we remembered. So first comes the remembrance, then comes the actual doing. So the Shabbos before Purim is Shabbos Zachor. Then when we get closer to Pesach, we have to read the parsha of the קרבן פסח. Just like when the Yidden went out of Mitzrayim, on ראש חודש ניסן, on the first day of ניסן Hashem spoke to Moshe, told him, \"Go tell the Yidden that they have to bring a קרבן פסח.\" So now, too, when it comes to ראש חודש ניסן, we have to read the parsha that talks about the קרבן פסח. And therefore פרשת החודש, you notice I skipped one, I'm going to get back to it, that's why פרשת החודש is read on שבת ראש חודש ניסן. If ראש חודש is not on Shabbos, then we read פרשת החודש the Shabbos before. But the Shabbos before that, we read פרשת פרה. And the reason is, I'm going to get into the many of the details a little later, but the general reason is because in order to bring the קרבן פסח, you have to be tahor, you have to be clean. clean, you have to be pure. And if anybody was not clean, had to cleanse himself. Now, one of the ways you would cleanse yourself, so number one is going to the mikveh, that's obvious. But there is a certain tumah, a certain type of impurity that going to the mikveh alone does not help. The way to get rid of it is by sprinkling the ashes mixed with water, the ashes of the פרה אדומה. That's a טמא מת. A person who is tamei, impure by touching a dead body, so he has to be sprinkled with the ashes and the water of the פרה אדומה, of the red heifer, on the third day and on the seventh day, and then he goes to the mikveh and then he's tahor. So therefore, before we even read about the קרבן פסח, which is connected to ראש חודש, we read about the פרה אדומה to tell people that before the קרבן פסח, you have to bring the פרה אדומה. And actually, it says in Yerushalmi, it says that really, the order should have been different. We should have had first פרשת החודש, which deals with ראש חודש ניסן, and then פרשת פרה. Why? Because originally, the first, first time that the פרה אדומה was brought, was made, the order was like this: ראש חודש ניסן, that's when the משכן in the desert was put up. This was the first day of ניסן. The second day of ניסן, they made the פרה אדומה, that's when Hashem commanded them to do the פרה אדומה. They couldn't do it earlier, because you need a משכן to make the פרה אדומה. So if we're going to follow that order, to now too, it should be the same. We should first have חודש, which talks about Rosh Chodesh, and then have the פרה אדומה, which then was made the day after Rosh Chodesh. But the Yerushalmi says the reason we don't do that is because we need the פרה אדומה, which is the cleansing of the Yidden, before the קרבן פסח, and that's why that comes first. And I will discuss this Yerushalmi soon in detail, but this is the general idea of the Yerushalmi. Now, as we said before, we start with פרשת שקלים, then we go to פרשת זכור, then we go to פרשת פרה, then we go to פרשת החודש. Now, the first two, why is פרשת שקלים before פרשת זכור? Well, the simple reason is because פרשת שקלים is connected to ראש חודש אדר, that's when they announce the שקלים. פרשת זכור is connected to Purim, which is later in the month, which is the fourteenth day of Adar. So the order of the things are first שקלים, then זכור, that's why we read it that way. The truth is, there is a little deeper reason than that, and that is that the Gemara tells us that the fact that the Yidden gave the מחצית השקל was a reason why later on, the Jews were saved when the decree of Haman came. This is what the Gemara tells us: Haman came to Achashverosh, as we all know the story from the Megillah, and he said to him, \"You know, I'm ready to give you עשרת אלפים ככר כסף. I'm ready to give you ten thousand ככר כסף, which was great amount of money, for you to allow me to kill the Jews.\" And Achashverosh answered, \"You know what? Keep the money and kill them,\" because he hated them even worse than Haman. But the Chazal tell us that when Haman said that \"I am going to give you so much money to allow me to kill the Jews,\" a voice came out from heaven and said, \"You think your Shekalim are going to give you the ability to destroy the Jews? They already gave Shekalim before you! The מחצית השקל that the Yidden have been giving all these years preceded what you're doing, and that protects them, and therefore your decree won't come!\" So it comes out from this Gemara that one of the reasons that helped the Yidden in the time of Purim was the mitzvah of מחצית השקל. So מחצית השקל is not only because it's connected to Rosh Chodesh Adar, which comes before Purim, which is connected to Parashat Zachor, but the Shekalim came before Purim. The mitzvah of Shekalim preceded Purim, and therefore the Yidden were able to overcome the decree of Haman. That's concerning the Shekalim, מחצית, that's why Shekalim comes first, then comes Parashat Zachor. Then we said we have Parashat Parah, Parashat HaChodesh, and because the Yerushalmi says because we have to have the פרה אדומה to cleanse us before we talk about the קרבן פסח. But the question is that really in Parashat HaChodesh, we don't only talk about the קרבן פסח. Parashat HaChodesh, we talk about Rosh Chodesh, Rosh Chodesh Nisan. The parashah starts with the words החודש הזה לכם ראש חדשים. This month is the first month, and this day is the first day. So the order should have been first Rosh Chodesh. If the parashah would be talking only about the קרבן פסח, we understand that that פרה has to come before החודש, because פרה is the cleansing before the קרבן פסח. But Parashat HaChodesh is not only about the קרבן פסח. As a matter of fact, we don't call it Parashat HaPesach. We don't say there is Parashat Shekalim, Parashat זכור, פרשת פרה, פרשת הפסח. We call it Parashat HaChodesh. In other words, we're talking about the חודש, which starts off with Rosh Chodesh. So, if the main part, it seems, from פרשת החודש is the חודש, then why is פרשת פרה before, when really we said פרשת פרה should come after פרשת החודש? And the only reason is because we need it before the קרבן פסח, but פרשת החודש is not mainly about the קרבן פסח. And the answer that the Rebbe gives is that even if we talk about פרשת החודש from the point of view of Rosh Chodesh, we also need the קרבן, the פרה אדומה before that. What is the idea of Rosh Chodesh Nissan? We know that Rosh Chodesh Nissan was the beginning of the גאולה. In מצרים, Rosh Chodesh Nissan already was when the Yidden knew that they're going out of מצרים soon. They knew for a while, but when it came b'poal it was before, that's already after the מכה of חושך, of darkness, and Hashem already told Moshe Rabbeinu on Rosh Chodesh, tell the Jews about the קרבן פסח, tell them that they're leaving, they knew that they're leaving. So, it says Rosh Chodesh is called the אתחלתא דגאולה, the תחילת הגאולה. It was the beginning of the גאולה, or the beginning of the redemption. So, Rosh Chodesh Nissan, even not from the point of view of קרבן פסח, just from looking at it as far as Rosh Chodesh is concerned, it already represents the גאולה. And there's another thing that we see the connection between Rosh Chodesh Nissan and the גאולה. The Gemara says by Rosh Chodesh Nissan it says החודש הזה לכם. It uses the word הזה. By מתן תורה, when Hashem gave us the Torah, the pasuk says ביום הזה באו מדבר סיני, this day they came to מדבר סיני, it says הזה. And the Gemara connects the two הזה's. In other words, the Gemara connects the Jews on Rosh Chodesh Nisan to Matan Torah. Matan Torah we know, on one hand, we know it's Matan Torah, the Torah was given, but in truth, Matan Torah is really the end of the completion of the geulah. When the Jews left Mitzrayim, it didn't become complete till Matan Torah. Matan Torah was the real real redemption. And if the Jews would not have sinned after the Torah was given, it would have been such a redemption that we wouldn't have any problems ever and ever and ever again. When it says Hashem gave them the Luchos, and it says by the לוחות חרות על הלוחות, which means carved out on the Luchos, the Chazal tell us the word חרות could be read differently. חרות could be read חירות. חירות means חירות, which means freedom. They would have been free from any type of slavery forever and ever. They would have been free from their yetzer hara, it says. They would have been free from the מלאך המות. That's how much redemption they would have had, not just free from Mitzrayim. So, Matan Torah is the real redemption, and since the Gemara compares Matan Torah to ראש חודש ניסן, זה, הזה הזה, so Rosh Chodesh Nisan is also the concept of geulah. So, if we read פרשת החודש as a פרשה where we read about the geulah, because Rosh Chodesh Nisan represents the geulah, before the geulah you have to have taharah. Before the geulah you have to have the cleansing. There's a pasuk that says concerning Mashiach that when the day will come Hashem says וזרקתי עליכם מים טהורים וטהרתם, I will sprinkle upon you pure water and you will become pure. And this is the introduction to the geulah. Mimela, before the geulah you have to have פרה אדומה. You have to have the taharah. The Gemara says that there are certain things that one brings to another. If you do this, it will bring to this, and finally it says taharah, if you are tahor, it brings you to Eliyahu Hanavi, who will be מבשר the geulah, who will tell us about the geulah, he will give us the good news of the geulah. So, in order to have the geulah, we have to have taharah. And that's another reason why פרה אדומה, which is taharah, comes before החודש, פרשת החודש, which is geulah. So, this is the order. We have the geulah of Purim, and that's connected to פרשת שקלים, and then פרשת זכור, and then we have the geulah of Pesach, and that represents also the גאולה העתידה, the geulah that will come in the future. So, we have פרה, and then החודש, because first we have the taharah, and then we have the geulah.

I would like to go a little bit into the details of that Yerushalmi that I mentioned before. And I'll tell you what the Yerushalmi says, and we'll get a little bit deeper, a little bit more in the lamdut part of it, and then a little bit in the chassidut of it. In the Yerushalmi it says like this: You all know what the Yerushalmi is. Yerushalmi is Gemara, but not the regular Gemara that we learn, which is Talmud Bavli. The Yerushalmi was written before Bavli, but it's also the Gemara, learned less. The yeshivot it's usually not learned. We learn Talmud Bavli, but it's Gemara written by the great chachamim just like the Gemara Bavli, and it's even greater. So it says in Yerushalmi that this person, Rav Levi, said in the name of Rav Chama bar Chanina, he said that between פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש, אין מפסיקין. You're not allowed to separate. In other words, there is never possible it's never possible there should be a Shabbos in between. Other times, certain times you could have a Shabbos in between. Between פרשת זכור and פרשת פרה, you have a Shabbos in between. It's not always it's not four consecutive Shabbatot, but between פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש, you should never separate. And he says, \"I'll give you a siman which leads me,\" he says, \"to come to this conclusion because it's an argument, not everyone agrees.\" And he paskent like that and he says, \"I'll give you a\" First he said in the name of I'll say it again. In the name of Rav Chama bar Chanina, Rav Levi said that you can't be מפסיק. Then Rav Levi says that on his own, not in the name of Rav Chama bar Chanina, he says, \"I want to tell you a siman that I accept this opinion.\" He compares the four parashiyot to the four cups of wine by the seder. And the din is that between the first cup and the second cup, and between the second and the third, you're allowed to drink wine in between. But between the third and the fourth, אין מפסיקין. You're not allowed to drink wine in between. So he says the same thing here also: that between the first and second, the second and the third, you could be מפסיק, but between the third and the fourth פרשה, which is between פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש, אין מפסיקין. Then the same Rav Levi comes and says in the name of Rav Chama bar Chanina another reason, he says, why you shouldn't be able to interrupt with a Shabbos between פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש. And he says what we said before, that he says really פרשת פרה should have come after פרשת החודש, because originally when they made the משכן, the משכן was put up on Rosh Chodesh, the first day of Nisan, and the פרה אדומה was made the second. So really חודש should come before. But because we need the פרה אדומה before the קרבן פסח, because people have to become טהור before the קרבן פסח, that's why they switched it. But because they originally it's really it was supposed to be the other way, so therefore we try not to make we make it as close as possible. Cause really פרשת פרה should come even later, so we put it before, but make sure not to make any interruption, it should be as close as possible. This is what he says. Now here we see two reasons in the Yerushalmi why we shouldn't separate with a Shabbos between פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש. Now the fact that we're giving two reasons and two different people, one reason was said by Rav Levi, one was said by Rav Chama bar Chanina, it is not just two separate reasons. Probably it has some each reason has some bearing on the halacha aspect or the understanding of the depth of what פרשת פרה, פרשת החודש is. And therefore we have two different reasons, obviously two different approaches. So what difference does it make whether we give the reason because we compare it to the four cups of wine and we can't interrupt between the third and the fourth cup, or we give the reason because פרשת פרה really should have been before after פרשת החודש, and that's why we shouldn't interrupt? So the difference is like this: We said that the reason why we have פרשת פרה before פרשת החודש because we have to become clean before we bring the קרבן פסח. This leads us to two possible ways of understanding the connection between פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש. And this is what I mean: It's possible to say that פרשת פרה, פרשת החודש really is one takanah, one halacha. The halacha is that you have to read about the קרבן פסח. As a detail within the halacha of the קרבן פסח, because you have to be tahor before you bring the קרבן פסח, so they also said in order to have the proper קרבן פסח, you have to have the פרה. So the so the reading of פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש according to this is really not two separate takanot, not two separate things. It's one. The Chachamim made a takanah, made a din that you have to read the פרשה of the קרבן פסח. In order for the פרשה of the קרבן פסח should be complete, so you have to have the פרשת פרה before it so you'll be able to be clean before you bring the קרבן פסח. But then there's another way to look at it, that פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש are two separate takanot. They have no connection. The reason we read פרשת פרה, to tell the people that you have to be tahor. The reason, and I'll explain why in a moment, the reason we read פרשת החודש, to tell the people about the קרבן פסח. Why did they choose to put פרשת פרה before פרשת החודש? Because since you have to be tahor for the קרבן פסח anyway, so they put the dinim of the being tahor before the korban Pesach. But the reason we read about the being tahor is a takana in itself, similar to the first two. No one is going to say that פרשת שקלים and פרשת זכור is one din. There's a din that you have to read one and the other one is like an offspring. פרשת שקלים is for the reason of the shekalim, it's one din. פרשת זכור is for another reason. We put them one after another, we made an order there, but it's two separate dinim. The same thing here also, there's a din of פרשת פרה and there's a din of פרשת החודש. Or you could say no, that פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש are really one din. That one din has two details. The din is the korban Pesach, the korban Pesach requires that you should be tahor, so פרשת החודש requires that before that you read פרשת פרה. And basically, this is the argument between these two chachamim. The one that says that the reason we can't be mafsik, we can't interrupt between פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש, is because really פרשת פרה should come later, and the reason we put פרשת פרה before is because it's for the sake of the korban Pesach, obviously he holds, and therefore we should try to keep it together, he's trying to tell us that it's all one mitzvah, it's all one din. פרשת פרה is there for the purpose of the korban Pesach, so really פרשת החודש is the one, and פרשת פרה is there so it should come before פרשת החודש. The other one who says that the reason we can't interrupt because we compare it to the four cups of wine, he's trying to tell us that it's not because of that reason. Just like the four cups of wine, each cup is a separate mitzvah. The reason we can't interrupt between the third and the fourth cup of wine is not because they're really one. The Gemara tells us, it says in Shulchan Aruch, that each one of the four cups of wine is a separate mitzvah, and there are separate things that we do in connection to that cup. The first cup we say the hagaddah, separate mitzvah. The second cup, the first cup we make kiddush, I mean, is a separate mitzvah. The second cup we may say the Haggadah, it's a separate mitzvah. The third cup we say bentsching, which is a third mitzvah. The fourth one we say Hallel and we thank Hashem, a fourth mitzvah. The best proof that each cup is considered a separate entity is from the fact that each cup we make a separate hagafen. Normally, if in one meal you eat, you drink two cups of wine or more, you don't make every time you drink a cup of wine you make hagafen. And the Gemara asks, why do we make a separate hagafen for each cup? And the answer the Gemara gives, because each cup is a separate mitzvah. Each cup represents something separate. The reason we can't interrupt and drink between the third and the fourth cup is for side reasons. One reason is so we shouldn't take away the taste of the afikoman. Another reason is so you shouldn't get drunk before you get to the fourth cup, and then you won't say Hallel. But they're all different reasons, not because the third and the fourth cup are one. So Rav Levi, who says in the Yerushalmi that the reason we can't separate, interrupt between פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש is because we can't interrupt between the third and the fourth cup, what he's trying to tell us that the third and the fourth, פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש, are two separate mitzvot, two separate takanot, similar to the third and the fourth. The reason we can't interrupt is because other reasons, that we want to keep them as close as possible, פרשת פרה should be as close to Pesach as possible, other reasons. While the other opinion, who says the reason we can't interrupt because really פרשת פרה, because פרשת פרה comes as an introduction to the קרבן פסח, he holds that פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש are really one mitzvah. So this is the nigleh part of it, the halacha, the lamdus part of it. But let's get a little bit to the chasidus part of it and explain the reason, the difference between these two opinions, whether the two are one פרשת פרה, פרשת החודש is really one, two parts to one mitzvah, or פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש are two separate parts. And I'll explain it what it says in chasidus.

It says in chasidus the difference between פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש is the difference between the service of Hashem that a tzadik does and the service of Hashem that a baal teshuvah does. פרשת החודש, which talks about the קרבן פסח, is similar to the avodah of a tzadik. Why? Because at the time when the Yidden brought the קרבן פסח, the first time when they went out of Mitzrayim, they were all tzadikim. Not because they were at such a high level, they actually weren't such a great level at that time. So why do we refer to them as tzadikim? Because that time they all the Yidden went through conversion. And we know the rule, גר שנתגייר כקטן שנולד דמי. A person who converts is like a child that's born. Not like a baal teshuvah. A baal teshuvah is not a newborn person. A baal teshuvah is the same person as before, he just did teshuvah. A ger, the previous part of his life does not count. In halachah it does not count as if he didn't exist. Could have done the worst things in the world, it doesn't this is a newborn person. A baby that's born. A baby that's born is not a is not a baal teshuvah. Yidden when they went out of Mitzrayim, they were all in the level of tzadikim. Because they were just born, they just converted, and that's it. The פרה אדומה represents the avodah of a baal teshuvah. What is the פרה אדומה? The פרה אדומה is to cleanse the person from tumah. Tumah represents aveirot. So when you get cleansed from your aveirot, that's a baal teshuvah. And not only סתם עבירות, it's cleansing a person from which tumah? טומאת מת. Tumah that comes through a dead body, through touching a dead body, that comes from death. We know death always reminds us of the חטא עץ הדעת that brought death on this to this world. So death represents the aveirot, and the tumah that comes in connection to death represents a person who is not behaving as he's supposed to, and the cleansing of the tumah is the teshuvah that a person does. So the קרבן פסח represents tzadikim, the פרה אדומה represents baalei teshuvah. And this is why the Chazal say that we have a question. We have two things: we have the mitzvah of קרבן פסח and the mitzvah of פרה אדומה. We don't know which one is greater. And then the conclusion is פרה אדומה is greater. Why? Because even the people who do the קרבן פסח must come onto the פרה אדומה. So the פרה אדומה is greater. What is the the depth of this question? When the Gemara has this question, what's greater, whether the פרה אדומה or the קרבן פסח, basically this is the question: who's greater, the tzadik or the baal teshuva? We said the קרבן פסח represents the tzadik, the פרה אדומה represents the baalei teshuva, and when the Gemara has this question, which one is greater, קרבן פסח or פרה אדומה, the question is: what's greater? And the truth is, in the Gemara we have an argument whether צדיקים גמורים צדיקים are greater or baalei teshuva are greater. And what's the the decision? The conclusion is baalei teshuva are greater. And that's the decision of this Gemara also, that the פרה אדומה is greater than the קרבן פסח. And what does it say? Why is the פרה אדומה greater than the קרבן פסח? Because the פרה אדומה the פרה אדומה, even the people who bring the קרבן פסח need the פרה אדומה, which means that even tzadikim must do teshuva. Even tzadikim have to have the avodah of teshuva. Tzadikim also must come because they're only in the level of tzadikim, they must come onto the avodah of teshuva. That's what it means that even the people who bring the קרבן פסח must also come onto the פרה אדומה, because tzadikim also have to do teshuva. This is the reason why we cannot make an interruption between פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש, which deals with the קרבן פסח, and we have to have them as close together as possible, to show that we can't separate between the two. Even a tzadik must have the avodah of a baal teshuva. You can't separate and say baal teshuvah is for baalei teshuvah, and tzadikim, they don't have to come onto the avodah of teshuvah, to teshuvah. So we say no, you can't interrupt between the two. You have to have a tzadik must have the avodah of teshuvah. And therefore, be together. But as we said before, here in the Yerushalmi, we have an argument: why is it that we can't interrupt between פרשת פרה אדומה and קרבן פסח? And we said the argument is really based on the point whether the two are really one, that's why you can't separate, because they're really one, or they're two separate things, and there are other reasons you can't separate. I'll have to explain that according to the way I'm explaining now that this is baalei teshuvah, this is tzadikim. There are two things that are we can explain when it comes to saying that a tzadik also has to have teshuvah.

There are two periods in this concept that even a tzadik, even tzadikim have to do teshuvah: the way it's now, and the way it is when Mashiach will come. We know that even now, throughout all the years, tzadikim also have to do teshuvah. And I'll explain what that means in a moment, but I'm just telling you the facts. Then there's another thing that it says, that משיח אתא לאתבא צדיקיא בתיובתא, this is Aramaic. Mashiach is going to, in the future, make tzadikim do teshuvah. So, this idea that even tzadikim have to do teshuvah is something of the future. So, we have two things. It's something of now, and something of the future, but they're two different things. The way we say tzadikim nowadays have to do teshuvah is from a different point of view than when we say tzadikim when Mashiach will come will do teshuvah. It's a different point of view, and I'll explain what I mean. When we say nowadays tzadikim have to do teshuvah, what does that mean? If he's a tzadik, he has nothing to do teshuvah about. Teshuvah means you did an aveirah, you have to do teshuvah. What is the pshat a tzadik has to do teshuvah? What is this teshuvah? So, it says in Chassidut it doesn't mean he has to do teshuvah for aveirot. What it means is that a that there's a pasuk that says, \"והרוח תשוב אל האלקים אשר נתנה.\" A person's spirit, which means his neshamah, has to go back to Hashem, that the word teshuvah means to return, to Hashem, from where it came. Now, it doesn't mean, chas v'shalom, a person has to die. Well, Hashem comes the time, Hashem takes his neshamah away, it doesn't mean that. What it means is like this. When Hashem sends a neshamah down to this world, and as great as this neshamah will be, which means as great as this tzaddik will be, this neshamah will never, ever be close to Hashem as it was before the neshamah came down to this world. Impossible! Because the neshamah is put into a body, and the body limits the neshamah, the neshamah is in this physical world, the neshamah could never be. And a tzaddik strives to always get his neshamah closer and closer, trying to bring it back as much as possible to the same level as it was before it came down. The tzaddik feels the ריחוק, the ריחוק means he feels how far he is. If he really is a tzaddik, he feels how far his neshamah is from Hashem from the way it was before. Before, the neshamah was completely nullified to Hashem, and now, the greatest tzaddik, it says in Tanya, is a יש מי שאוהב, that means a tzaddik who serves השם באהבה ויראה, with love of Hashem and fear of Hashem, the greatest things, he's still a yesh! He's still a something. We say he loves Hashem, so we're saying he, there is a he, there is a being, a separate being. And as much as he's going to try to undress himself from his own ego and his own מציאות, his own being, he might get better and better and better, never, ever be able to completely get undressed, we call it, from this entity that he is an entity of his own, separate from Hashem. While the neshamah was up there, it wasn't that way. Now, the reason Hashem did it is for the benefit of the tzaddik, so he should have free choice, and he should have what to work on, and therefore he will get more reward. It's all fine, but nevertheless, the bottom line is a tzaddik feels that his neshamah is not in the same high level as it was before, so he does teshuvah. He feels how far he is and he tries to work to get closer and closer, and this is similar to teshuvah. What is a baal teshuvah? A baal teshuvah is a person who realizes that he is far away from Hashem, it's time to return, time to get closer. The difference is by a real baal teshuvah, a regular, simple-sense baal teshuvah, he actually got far away because he did things which were wrong. The tzadik didn't get far away because he did anything wrong, but he's still far away because that's the way Hashem made it, that because he is a נשמה בגוף, a neshamah in a physical body in this world, he's far from Hashem. So the avodah of teshuvah that we say, that a tzadik has to do teshuvah nowadays, not in the time of Mashiach, now, that a tzadik has to do teshuvah, is because in this way he's similar, he feels far from Hashem and he does a inyan of teshuvah. So the fact that he's a tzadik, he does everything right, that's one thing. This tzadik, in order to do the 100% does teshuvah also. When Mashiach will come and it says Mashiach is going to bring the tzadikim to do teshuvah, doesn't mean that. Doesn't mean that. What it means is, because then no one will be far. It won't be a feeling of being far from Hashem. When Mashiach will come, that רוח הטומאה אעביר מן הארץ will take away the spirit of tumah, of impurity, everyone will be close to Hashem, and we will be close to Hashem as close as before. The The The concept of when we say that when Mashiach will come even tzadikim will have to do teshuvah is something else. Baalei teshuvah, because they were far away, they serve Hashem with a greater love than a person who never was far away. A person who is a tzadik could never reach that level. A person who is missing water for a long time and finally gets water, his thirst is so strong that a person who always had water cannot experience it. It says in the Zohar that a baal teshuvah serves השם בחילא יתיר, with a stronger power. Why? Because he was far away. A tzadik can never reach that because he never he was far away לגבי די נשמה the way it was before it came down, but not far away in the way a baal teshuvah is. So, a baal teshuvah serves Hashem, has the love to Hashem, it says, בלי גבול, without a limit, because he didn't have it before. A tzaddik nowadays could never reach that level. When Mashiach will come, Hashem will make that a tzaddik will have that, too, that even the tzaddikim will have that level of אהבת השם as a baal teshuva has. And so, we're talking about two different types of combining the teshuva with the tzaddik. The way it's nowadays is the fact that a tzaddik, when he does his avodah, feels that he still is not close enough, and because he feels far, he gets himself closer, so he works like a baal teshuva. When Mashiach will come, it'll be a different thing. It means that he will positively have, in a positive way, the closeness to the love to Hashem like a baal teshuva. The difference between these two is, in the first level, the way it's now, the fact that a tzaddik does teshuva is not a separate avodah. It's part of his service of Hashem as a tzaddik. That means that within his service of Hashem as a tzaddik is included the fact that he feels that he has to get closer to Hashem. So, it's we would call it, using the terms of Chassidus, the עבודת התשובה within the tzaddik. A tzaddik serves Hashem, gets closer and closer, so he has also a feeling like עבודת התשובה within his avodah that he feels far and he gets closer. When Mashiach will come, the fact that a tzaddik will do teshuva will be a separate avodah. He will have the avodah of a tzaddik and the avodah of a baal teshuva separately. And that's the difference. When we say that פרשת פרה is the avodah of teshuva, and פרשת החודש is of tzaddikim, and the reason we can't separate between the two is because the tzaddikim also have to do teshuva. But we said there are two reasons, two different opinions. One opinion is because פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש is one, and the other one is they're not one, they're separate. They're two separate things, and, nevertheless, we have to keep them as close as possible together. What it means is, the one that says the reason is because they're one, is talking about the way we combine the tzadik with the baal teshuva nowadays, when we say that the tzadik also has to do teshuva, but the teshuva he does is part of his service as a tzadik. So, really, there is only one thing here: there is a tzadik, and the tzadik includes the service of teshuva. And that's the idea that the main thing is the קרבן פסח. In order for the קרבן פסח to be complete, you have to have פרשת פרה. So, the reason given why you can't separate between the two, because, really, they're both one. But the other opinion, the one that says that we compare it to the four cups and we can't interrupt between the third and the fourth, so we said before that means he holds that they're two separate entities, he's talking about the combination, the connection of teshuva and a tzadik the way it will be when Mashiach will come. Then we still can't separate between the two because the tzadikim also have to do teshuva, but they'll still remain as two separate entities. The tzadik will do his service as a tzadik, he will also do his service as a baal teshuva, but not that the baal teshuva part will be part of his service of a tzadik. And it's interesting, when we say that this is connected to the Mashiach's time, it fits to the example he gives. When he gives the example of the last two cups of wine by the seder, the last two cups of wine have a connection to the time of Mashiach. We know that when we talk about the four כוסות, so we say all four are connected to the יציאת מצרים, we know that, because of the four expressions when Hashem took out of מצרים. But it says in sefarim that in detail, the first two are connected to יציאת מצרים, the last two are connected to the coming of Mashiach. And we see that before we drink, no, right after we drink the third cup, before we start the fourth, we say שפוך חמתך אל הגוים, we say Hashem should pour out his anger on all the nations, that's talking about the coming of Mashiach. And even the third cup, which is done after bentshen, we say bentshen on the cup, it's done right after the afikoman. And the afikoman, it says in the Haggadah, it's called צפון. The siman of the Haggadah, צפון. קדש ורחץ כרפס... צפון. צפון means we eat the afikoman. The word צפון also means hidden, and that's why it's connected to the afikoman, because we hide the afikoman, and then we bring it out from its hiding place. It says צפון represents the coming of Mashiach, the hidden things will be revealed. So it says that the third and the fourth cups have to do with the coming of Mashiach. So the one that says that the reason we can't interrupt between פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש is similar to the fact we can't interrupt between the third and the fourth cup of wine by the seder, he is talking about פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש the way they represent tzaddikim and baalei teshuvah in the time of Mashiach. And when Mashiach will come, we say that tzaddikim will do teshuvah, but they will remain two separate entities, but the tzaddikim will have to have it, so that's how we combine it. But the other opinion is talking about the way that tzaddikim and baalei teshuvah are nowadays, where we also say tzaddikim have to do teshuvah, but it's not like the tzaddikim have another avodah of teshuvah, but within what they do, they have to strive to get closer and closer, which is the teshuvah within the tzaddik. Now, all this is talking about real tzaddikim. For us, unfortunately, we could do both: we have to do teshuvah, because no matter what, we have what to do teshuvah about, in the simple sense. We can also be tzaddikim, meaning we can do the right thing. So we also combine the two. So for us what it means is, when we say we can't interrupt between פרה and פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש, which means we can't interrupt between the avodah of teshuvah and the avodah of tzaddikim, to us that means in a very simple sense. As much as we think of ourselves as tzaddikim, some of us say, \"Well, I'm not a baal teshuvah.\" That's a problem if you say you're not a baal teshuvah. And I mentioned a vort, I mentioned I think last week or two weeks ago, one of the weeks I mentioned that somebody passed by the Rebbe, say, and he said, told him the Rebbe his name, introduced himself, and he said, \"Rebbe, I learn in Or Sameach, but I'm not a baal teshuvah.\" And the Rebbe said to him, \"Why not? What do you mean not a baal teshuvah? You have to be a baal teshuvah. We have to be baalei teshuvah.\" But even tzaddikim have to be baalei teshuvah, real tzaddikim, but we're not even tzaddikim, so to us we have to be baalei teshuvah in the simple sense, because we have what to do teshuvah about. And we also have to follow the avodah of tzaddikim, which means to do everything as you're supposed to do. So to us, פרשת פרה and פרשת החודש means that we have to follow both: we have to do teshuvah, we have to do the right thing, and we shouldn't interrupt between the two. We shouldn't say, \"Well, one time I'll do teshuvah, one time I'll do a good thing.\" No, they have to go together. Our whole life has to be the combination of teshuvah and tzaddikim. And each one of us has to be both. And I'll just finish off with a very simple thing. We always talk about the difference, you know, nowadays, you know, there are some people who are baalei teshuvah and some people who are tzaddikim, we won't call them tzaddikim, because we're not people are not tzaddikim, but frum from birth. Yeah, frum from birth, and you have baalei teshuvah, the BTs and the FFBs, and all kinds of maasiyos. And we always look at the two sides of it: what's the maalah, what's the chisaron? So I'll tell you, each one has a maalah and each one has a chisaron. The maalah of the ones that are frum from birth, they're raised in a frum family, so they're used to all the things that you're supposed to do from birth, and that's part of their life. While a person who just comes into the fold, just becomes a baal teshuvah, doesn't know much, makes mistakes because he doesn't really know, didn't learn enough, didn't get used, is not used to it yet, and it's still, he's still new to it. On the other hand, because this person is new to it, the enthusiasm that a baal teshuvah has is much more than a person who is always frum. When you see a baal teshuvah starting to put on tefillin, the first weeks, months, maybe even years, every time he puts on tefillin, tefillin means something, he's putting on tefillin. \"You know what I'm doing? I'm putting on tefillin!\" Every time in Pesach, we eat matzah, and the, come to the other people, \"Okay, put on tefillin, brought in matzah, you wake up, you...\" It's a gornisht mit gornisht, you don't feel it. So So you have a maalah here, the maalah of the baal teshuvah is the hitlahavut and the chayut and the connection to Hashem that you show in your mitzvot, and the baal teshuvah, the frum from birth doesn't have it. On the other hand, he has it, there's more knowledge, he knows, he's used to it, he doesn't make mistakes, because he's trained that way. What we have to do is combine the two. People who are always frum have to have this maalah of this being part of their life, which is a maalah, but they shouldn't lose the enthusiasm. The people who have the enthusiasm shouldn't lose the fact that this should become part of their life, that it shouldn't be something new to them, that something that's on the outside, something that we're bringing in, it has to be part of their life. And this is what Parah and Hachodesh is, baalei teshuvah and tzadikim, and the din is that we can't interrupt between the two, we can't make any divisions between teshuvah and baalei teshuvah and tzadikim. They go together: the tzadikim have to do teshuvah, and the baalei teshuvah have to become tzadikim. But we have to stick to them both, we have to have both, and when we have them both, this is the best hachana to Mashiach, when it says, like I said before, Mashiach is going to make tzadikim do teshuvah, and we're certainly going to have both inyanim.