So one, the class tonight, the shiur tonight is on the topic that has a connection to this time of the year. We are now between Pesach and Shavuos, so the class will be to explain the spiritual meaning, or the קבליסטיק meaning, or difference between the קרבן עומר that was brought on Pesach, and the korban called שתי הלחם that was brought on Shavuos. I'll first explain what it means in the pshute, simple pshat, simple meaning, and some of the details concerning these two in the simple meaning, and then we'll go get a little bit deeper, try to understand what the deeper meaning, the more inner, spiritual, פנימיות'דיקע meaning of these korbanot are. Now, the simple meaning of the קרבן עומר, that this was a special sacrifice that they brought on the second day of Pesach. It was made of flour. We know that in the korbanot, among the sacrifices, you had some of them were made of animals, some were made of grain, different types and different ways. So the קרבן עומר was a special korban brought specifically on the second day of Pesach, and the reason it was called עומר is because the word עומר means it's a certain measurement. עומר was a name of a measurement, and the amount of flour that they needed for this korban was the amount of an עומר, so it was called the קרבן עומר. It was brought on the second day of Pesach. On Shavuos there was a special korban called the שתי הלחם. The literal translation of the word שתי הלחם means \"two breads.\" There were two special breads, which again is also grain, made of flour, made into breads, and those was two special korbanot brought on Shavuos. Now, this is in addition to the other korbanot brought on Pesach or brought on Shavuos. We know that every day they used to bring in the Beis Hamikdash a קרבן תמיד, a special korban that was brought every day of the year. Then, Shabbos, Yom Tov, Rosh Chodesh, Chol Hamoed, they had extra korbanot which were called מוספים, קרבן מוסף. Which is the reason why we have on Shabbos, Yom Tov, Rosh Chodesh, we have the tefillah that we daven't, the extra one, which is called Musaf. Every day we daven Shacharit, Mincha, Maariv, on Shabbos, and Yom Tov, Rosh Chodesh, we daven an extra tefillah called Mussaf. What is the reason? Because the three tefillot, Shacharit, Mincha, Maariv, are כנגד the קרבן תמיד. The קרבן תמיד was one קרבן was brought in the morning, that's where Shacharit comes from, cuz the tefillot, the prayers, are parallel to the קרבנות. The Mincha that we daven is parallel to the קרבן תמיד, the קרבן that they brought every day in the Beit Hamikdash in the afternoon, and then, because at night they were able to finish off the קרבנות, so they have another tefillah called Maariv. Yom Tov and Shabbos, ראש חודש, they used to bring in the Beit Hamikdash extra קרבנות called קרבן מוסף, מוספים, so we also daven on these days special קרבן. In addition to the קרבן מוסף that they would bring on Shabbos, Yom Tov, ראש חודש, חול המועד, they brought on Pesach the קרבן עומר, and on Shavuos they brought the special קרבן שתי הלחם. And I'll explain just tell tell you the details, some of the differences between the two. Number one, the קרבן עומר was made of flour of barley. Barley, which was an exception to the rule. We know that generally speaking, all the קרבנות מנחה, that means all the sacrifices that were made of flour in the Beit Hamikdash, were made of wheat, not of barley. כל המנחות באות חיטין, they're all wheat, except two: one is the קרבן סוטה, a woman who was a סוטה, the husband warned her not to go into hiding with a certain man, and she didn't listen, she went into hiding, and we don't know if she's guilty of any wrongdoing or not, so they would take her to the Beit Hamikdash and give her the special water to drink, and that would be the test. She had to bring a קרבן, a קרבן מנחה made of flour, that was made of barley, and so too the קרבן עומר was made of barley. While the שתי הלחם on Shavuos, the two breads were made of wheat, not of barley. That's one difference. Another difference, the קרבן עומר was matzah, wasn't chametz. It was made of barley, with water, but it didn't rise, didn't let it rise, it was made of matzah. The שתי הלחם was chametz. which the שתי הלחם was an exception to all korbanot all year round in the בית המקדש. The din is that in the בית המקדש never, ever, ever were they allowed to bring a korban of chametz. Not only on Pesach, throughout the whole year they wouldn't bring a korban of chametz. And the Omer, the קרבן עומר also was not chametz. The שתי הלחם were specifically chametz. But the truth is, I have to say, the שתי הלחם were not put on the מזבח, they were not brought as a korban on the מזבח. They are considered a korban of the מזבח, but they actually, physically were not burnt on the מזבח, they were given to the kohanim to eat. But it's considered a korban of the מזבח. Why? Because together with the שתי הלחם, I'm just telling you the details of the korban, together with the שתי הלחם, with these two breads, they had to bring שני כבשים, special two sheep as korbanot for Shavuos, which again is besides the Musaf, besides the other korbanot, they had the שתי כבשים, שני כבשים, and the two לחם, the שתי הלחם came along with the שתי כבשים. And the שתי כבשים, they were burnt on the מזבח. And because the שתי הלחם came along with them, they were really considered like one korban, it's as if the שתי הלחם were burnt on the מזבח. Actually, in the Zohar he says something very strange. In the Zohar he says that on Shavuos they would bring chametz on the מזבח. And all the mefarshim of the Zohar don't understand, we know if you look in the Gemara it's not true, the שתי הלחם were not brought on the מזבח. So the Rebbe explains, as he says what the Zohar means, because the שתי הלחם were really part and parcel with the שני כבשים, really it's one קרבן, and the שני כבשים were brought on the מזבח, so we consider the שתי הלחם also as if it was on the מזבח. And it was chametz. So here we have an exception, that this was chametz. So here's another difference between the קרבן עומר and the שתי הלחם. The קרבן עומר brought on Pesach was, number one, barley, the שתי הלחם was wheat. The קרבן עומר brought on Pesach was matzah, and the עומר on Pesach was matzah, the שתי הלחם on Shavuos was chametz. Also the שתי הלחם came along with two כבשים, with two sheep. Now, besides the fact that there was a mitzvah to bring the קרבן עומר, and there was a mitzvah to bring in the בית המקדש on Shavuos the שתי הלחם, they had a purpose. The קרבן עומר that they brought on Pesach was מתיר, allowed the people to eat חדש, which means that על פי דין you are not allowed to eat any grain that grew, new grain that grew before the קרבן עומר was brought. Not only that, they weren't allowed to cut any of the wheat, any of the grain that grew, and certainly you couldn't eat it till after the עומר. After the עומר, you were allowed to cut and eat. Anything that grew new later, you couldn't eat it till next year the קרבן עומר. So the קרבן עומר was a matir. Matir means it allowed. It made something that was forbidden till then, allowed. It allowed you to eat chadash. Nowadays that we don't have the קרבן עומר, so chadash is forbidden till after that second day of Pesach. In ארץ ישראל. See, concerning outside of ארץ ישראל, there's a big controversy whether you're allowed to eat chadash, the new grain before the day of the עומר or not. There are people who are careful, most people are not careful, but that's חוץ לארץ, outside of ארץ ישראל. In ארץ ישראל, you're not allowed, and that time it was the עומר that was matir. So again, we have to remember the עומר was matir, allowed people to eat chadash. The שתי הלחם allowed chadash to be brought in the בית המקדש. That means that even after the קרבן עומר was brought on Pesach, I don't know, maybe I sound confusing, but I'm not trying to, after the קרבן עומר was brought on Pesach, and people were allowed to start eating chadash, the new grain, but as a קרבן in the בית המקדש, you still couldn't bring any קרבן made of the new grain. For that, you had to wait for the שתי הלחם. So the שתי הלחם was matir, allowed chadash on the מזבח. Till then, you were not allowed to bring any קרבן from the new תבואה. The פסוק says that the שתי הלחם has to be מנחה חדשה. The שתי הלחם has to be the first קרבן מנחה from the new grain. And therefore, before that you were not allowed to bring anything from the new grain. So again, the קרבן עומר allowed chadash to be eaten for regular, for הדיוט, for all people, just to eat regularly, and the שתי הלחם allowed chadash for קדשים, for the קרבנות that you were allowed to bring it. Now there's an interesting din. The din is that if a person brought a korban of חדש on the מזבח before the קרבן עומר, not only before the שתי הלחם, before the קרבן עומר, that korban is pasul. The korban is invalid. Obviously, had to bring another one, that one was pasul. If you brought a korban from the new grain after the עומר, before the שתי הלחם, the korban was kasher. Bediavad, if you did it, it was kasher. You were not allowed to do it. You were not allowed to bring from the new grain before the שתי הלחם, but if you did bring before the שתי הלחם, בדיעבד, it is kasher. But if you brought it before the עומר yet, even in the בית המקדש, it is pasul. Yeah, any קרבן מנחה, all of them. We have so many קרבנות מנחה. מנחת מחבת, מנחת מרחשת, and all kinds of מנחות we have, מאפה תנור, all kinds of קרבנות מנחה that we have. In the Torah we find a whole bunch of קרבנות that you could bring that are animals, different kinds, an עולה, a שלמים, then you have a חטאת, an אשם, all kinds. And then you have a whole list of קרבנות מנחה made of flour, different types, that you're able to bring. So you were not allowed to bring them from the new grain till after Shavuot, when they brought the שתי הלחם. But if you brought them between Pesach and Shavuot, it was kasher bediavad. But if you brought it before Pesach, then it's pasul. All grains. All five kinds of grain. This so far I just was repeating the general ideas of what they are and what the few of the הלכות or the main הלכות are concerning the עומר and שתי הלחם.

What I'm going to go on now is to explain על פי חסידות: What is the difference? Why is the עומר made of barley, the שתי הלחם made of wheat? Why is the עומר מצה, the שתי הלחם is chametz? Why did the שתי הלחם have to have the two sheep with it? Why is it that if you brought b'diavad before the עומר, you brought a קרבן from חדש, it's pasul, but if you brought it before the שתי הלחם, it's kasher? So we have to understand על פי חסידות what is the difference between the קרבן עומר, what was the purpose of the קרבן עומר, because there was a special כוונה, not like all קרבנות, because as I said it's out of the ordinary, it's not a regular קרבן תמיד, it's not a regular קרבן מוסף, it's a special קרבן on the second day of Pesach. And here on Shavuos again, we have a special קרבן of the שתי הלחם with the two sheep. So let me just explain it the way chassidus explains it. The קרבן עומר is brought the second day of Pesach, which is right after יציאת מצרים. When the Yidden went out of מצרים, at that time they were pretty pretty low. They were still in the מ״ט שערי טומאה, they were sunk. We know it says that the Yidden in מצרים they became deep deep down into the 49 gates of טומאה, very very low. So that if Hashem had not take them out taken them out right then and there, they would have sunk into the 50th gate and that would be too late. But they were pretty low. It's like it says in the Haggadah, a pasuk, but it's taytsh't in the Haggadah: ״וירעו אותנו המצרים״, which פשט פשט means that the מצרים were bad to us. But then it should have said ״וירעו לנו המצרים״, that the Mitzrayim did bad to us. What does ״וירעו אותנו המצרים״? So the Shelah says the Mitzrayim made us bad. They schlepped us down. They made us bad, and the Yidden in Mitzrayim were very very low spiritually. Their yetzer hara had the best of them. Or, using the expression of Chassidus, their נפש הבהמית took control of them. Now, we do find certain things that they were very careful with. It says they didn't change their names, they didn't change their garments, there were certain things that they were very strong with and they didn't assimilate. But as far as their spiritual level, they were very very low. When they went out of Mitzrayim, it isn't the peshat that they elevated themselves to a higher level and therefore they were able to leave Mitzrayim and everything that Mitzrayim represents. It wasn't so. It says ״נגלה עליהם מלך מלכי המלכים הקדוש ברוך הוא וגאלם״, Hashem came, revealed himself to them, and schlepped them out. But they weren't ready for it. It's not that they they elevated themselves and they purified themselves, refined themselves, and they got rid of their yetzer hara and they were able to go out. That's not what happened. Hashem schlepped them out. That's why it says ״כי ברח העם״, that they ran away from Mitzrayim, and in Tanya he asks the question: Why did they run? No one was chasing them. Why did they have to escape? The pasuk says ״ברח״, means they escaped from Mitzrayim. Why did they escape? As a matter of fact, Pharaoh told them to go. And he answered they didn't escape from the Egyptians, they escaped from themselves. They escaped from the concept of Egypt. They knew that they are so vulnerable They knew that they are so low, that any small move, they'll be schlepped back. They were just starting their avodah. They were just starting to overcome their נפש הבהמית, their animalistic soul, because it was still strong in them. So when they came out of Mitzrayim, and every year Pesach we start over again the cycle, so we're again starting off, we call it תחילת העבודה, the beginning of our service of Hashem, when we are still in a very low level and we still have our נפש הבהמית. So the first thing we have to do is we have to bring a korban of the נפש הבהמית. We have to shachat—in this case, is not shachat, but bring a korban of the נפש הבהמית, because the נפש הבהמית is still there. And we have to fight with the נפש הבהמית. We have to fight the yetzer hara, the נפש הבהמית, to make sure that it doesn't bother us, because it's still there. And that's why the korban of Pesach, the second day of Pesach right after יציאת מצרים, is a korban of barley. Barley, the Gemara says, is מאכל בהמה. Barley is food for an animal. The difference between barley and wheat: שעורים and חטים, barley is food for an animal, wheat is food for a human being. Since at that time our animal is still very strong within us, and therefore the קרבן is a קרבן—we have to be מקריב, we have to sacrifice our בהמה. So what is the קרבן? The קרבן is מאכל בהמה, the קרבן is made of food which is food of an animal, because this is we're working with the animal that's within us, with the נפש הבהמית. Which is exactly what it says by the קרבן סוטה. By the קרבן of a סוטה, the Gemara gives the reason why is the קרבן of a סוטה made of barley? And the Gemara says, because היא עשתה מעשה בהמה, she behaved like an animal, so her קרבן is food of an animal. The exact same thing is, it is food of an animal that we're working with, because we have to be מקריב the animal that's within us. And that's what the קרבן עומר is. And from then on, we start ספירת העומר. We start counting the עומר. Counting the עומר means we start working with what the עומר started. The עומר is like the injection. Sometimes, you know, when you have to take antibiotics, so you have to take it for a certain amount of days till it works. But the first one, they tell you take two doses, that's the injection. So here, when we're out of Mitzrayim and we still have the יצר הרע, we have to fight with our יצר הרע, fight our נפש הבהמית, we have the ספירת העומר. All these days are days that we work to overcome our קליפה, our יצר הרע. But the injection, the first one is the קרבן עומר, and that קרבן is מאכל בהמה, it's a קרבן we're מקריב the בהמה, and from then on, we start working. And then we go on with the days. That's why all these days are called ספירת העומר, because one might think, we know that these days are count we count the days between Pesach and Shavuos, from יציאת מצרים to מתן תורה. Why connect it to the עומר? It should be called ספירת יציאת מצרים, the counting from יציאת, ספירת מתן תורה, counting the days to מתן תורה. Why ספירת העומר? Why counting the days from the עומר? The עומר was a קרבן they brought on the second day of Pesach, fine. But why counting from the עומר? The reason is because this is the continuation of what the עומר started. The עומר starts with the יצר הרע, with working with the נפש הבהמית and trying working to overcome it, and that's where the time of refinement and elevation of the נפש הבהמית goes on. And that's why we see that in the יהי רצון that we say after ספירת העומר, what do we say? לטהרנו מקליפותינו ומטומאותינו, that the ספירה is to cleanse us from the קליפות, the טומאה, and then take away זוהמתם, to take away the זוהמא means the טומאה, because we're still in the level that we still have the טומאה within us. And that is the reason why it was a מאכל בהמה. That's what the קרבן עומר is. And that's how it goes on till we get to Shavuos. When we get to Shavuos, by that time, hopefully, we have refined ourselves and have already changed our נפש הבהמית. We, our בהמה within us is not strong anymore. Now what we became is, now we're people. You know, we have two parts within us. The truth is, we all every Yid has two parts: we have a נפש אלוקית and נפש הבהמית, the godly soul and animalistic soul. In the beginning, when we start off, we're still very low, and the animalistic soul is in control, and that's stronger, and we've got to work and work. Then finally, finally, when we get to the top, we're finished with the animal within us, now we work with the human being within us. The pasuk, there's a pasuk that says, רוח הבהמה היורדת היא למטה, רוח האדם העולה היא למעלה. The spirit of a בהמה is always going down, and the spirit of a human being is always going up. Begashmiyus we see a בהמה always looks down. The Frierdiker Rebbe once said, א בהמה קיין מאל דעם הימל נישט געזען. An animal never saw the sky, always looks down. And an אדם is always looking up. So it says the נפש הבהמית is the בהמה. So the נפש הבהמית is the בהמה that we have within us, and the נפש האלוקית is the אדם that we have within us, the person. And it fits to the אדם, because where does the word אדם come from? So in Chumash it says the word adam comes כי מהאדמה לוקח הזה, because he came from the adamah, from the ground. But in Chassidut, based on the Shlah it says that the word adam has another meaning. The word adam comes from the word אדמה לעליון. Actually Nevuchadnetzar said it, but what it means is, I am compared to above. That means that's the neshamah, which is a chelek of above. So by the time we finish with Sefirah and we get to Shavuos, we have already finished with our יצר הרע, with our נפש הבהמית. Now what we have is שתי הלחם. See, halechem now is not made from barley, that's made from wheat, which is a מאכל אדם, food for a person. Because by that time, we're already working with the person. We are not anymore fighting with our יצר הרע. This is the reason why the the Omer, the korban haOmer was bar was a matzah, and the שתי הלחם was chametz. We all know that matzah and chametz, matzah represents bitul, anivut, humility. Doesn't represent ego, ga'avah. But chametz, which rises, that's ga'avah, yeshut, person holds himself of a metziut. Now the truth is, in essence, ga'avah is not a bad thing. Depends how it's used. Ga'avah could be self-esteem that could be used for good. Ga'avah could be used for good, ga'avah could be used for bad. They always repeat a story that there was this chasid who said, when he big chasid, but he used to travel a lot to Peterburg, and there it was a place where the the the the gashmiut and the ta'avot were all in front of your eyes, and they asked him, how do you remain such a strong chasid after being so often there? So he says, with ga'avah. Said ga'avah, what does that mean? Says, yeah, I serve Hashem with ga'avah. When I pass by a movie theater and the יצר הרע tells me, no one sees, cuz Peterburg no Yidden were allowed except those few that had a special רשות, go in there, no one will see, there's nothing wrong. So I tell my yetzer hara, me? You know who I am? I'm such a great person. I'm the chassid of the Rebbe, I'm a tzaddik, I'm a I'm a בקי בש״ס, I know this, I know that. I should go in? Never. So I served Hashem with gaavah. You could serve Hashem with gaavah. Gaavah is not necessarily bad, it could be self-esteem, strength in order to serve Hashem. But it's very, very dangerous. So when we're still holding in the beginning, Pesach, by the קרבן העומר, when the yetzer hara is still strong, and we're still working with the נפש הבהמית, then we say chametz, no, no, stay away from chametz, because chametz is terrible. Chametz you don't know what it'll what will happen to you. Chametz, if you have chametz, it will lower you. But by the time we come to שתי הלחם, to to Shavuos, when we'll already overcome the yetzer hara, and now we're the אדם, now we are safe. Now we could safely have chametz. Now we could safely serve Hashem, have this gaavah which is not gaavah of our own ego, it's gaavah of serving Hashem. And there's another reason why the קרבן העומר is matzah and the שתי הלחם is chametz. The Gemara says in Pesachim that chametz has a taste. When it rises, it has a taste. Matzah is tasteless. When a person is still in the beginning of serving Hashem, the beginning fighting the yetzer hara, he doesn't have a geshmak. He doesn't have a taste in what he's doing, pashut a geshmak, a feeling. You're fighting the yetzer hara, you have to the only way you could work is you're still not at a level where you really are close to Hashem and you really feel it. You're still in the low level, fighting the yetzer hara. It's a time when mainly you work with קבלת עול מלכות שמים, you have no big levels, you're not a big בעל מדרגה, so you just accept the yoke. There's not too much of a geshmak there, not too much of a taste of a feeling. Later on, when you get to the level when you overcome יצר הרע and now you are basically growing in kedushah and growing in your connection to Hashem, that a person in his עבודת השם has a geshmak. So therefore Pesach, when you bring the Omer, because it's the beginning and you're still with the יצר הרע, then it's matzah. Comes to שתי הלחם, then already you're not able, then it's chametz and you have to have chametz, because that represents the fact that you already have a geshmak.

The only question is, we understand why you need a קרבן העומר, cuz the קרבן העומר is when you're מקריב your יצר הרע. When you're finished with that, why do we need a korban of the שתי הלחם? What will the שתי הלחם do? What does If you're already after you finish with יצר הרע, and now you're working with in kedushah itself, you're not fighting the יצר הרע, why do you need a korban of שתי הלחם? What is it to do? What does it to accomplish? Now obviously it is to accomplish. And we see the the קרבן העומר is מתיר, allows you to eat the things that you want to eat, which are new. The שתי הלחם is not Not for הדיוט, it's for kodashim. In other words, what I'm trying to say is, I'll explain it soon, that the שתי הלחם also accomplishes something in connection to holy matters. Because by the time you come to the שתי הלחם, you're already on a level that you don't have to fight יצר הרע, you're working within kedushah. But within kedushah, there is something that you have to have, for some reason you have to have the שתי הלחם. Which means like this, the Omer is when you're not working within kedushah yet, you're still on a level where you're fighting with the evil, you're fighting with your נפש הבהמית. So there you bring the שתי הלחם, and what's the purpose, you bring the Omer, what's the purpose of the Omer? The Omer, by bringing the קרבן העומר, you are making sure that all the things that you're daily involved with for your guf, for your body, and your, all your materialistic things, will be done in a proper way, because we're still dealing when a person is still involved in his materialistic things. You know what it is? It's like, how come every day we have to Daven in the morning before we go out to do our work? The Gemara says you have to start off with the בית הכנסת, first you have to go to Daven, then you go to the בית המדרש to learn a shiur, and then הנהג בהם מנהג דרך ארץ, then you go to work in your daily work. Why does it have to go in that order? Because in order to make sure that your daily work, when you're involved in the גשמיות which have to do with your נפש הבהמית should be in a proper way, כל מעשיך לשם שמים, whatever you do should be לשם שמים, we have to have that first beginning, that foundation, so later on it'll be fine. The same here, we need the קרבן העומר in the beginning, and that's for our secular things, for our regular things that we work with it should be in a proper way, like davening is a beginning of הנהג בהם מנהג דרך ארץ of your full day. Another example, before we eat, we have to make a brachah. Why do we make a brachah? Well, one reason we make a brachah is because otherwise you're stealing from Hashem. להשם הארץ ומלואה, everything belongs to Hashem, so you have to get permission, and if you don't make a brachah, you're stealing. But there's another reason. The purpose of the brachah is that when you're going to eat now, you should make sure that you're eating in the right way, I don't mean that kosher, that you're eating not for the ta'avah, because of your physical desire, you're eating לשם שמים. How do you do that? If you first make a brachah and you say ברוך אתה השם אלקינו מלך העולם שהכל נהיה בדברו, you praise Hashem that everything comes from Him, and then you're going to go and eat and take a drink or eat something, or you say בורא מיני, you created the מזונות, you, you, and then you're going to take a piece of cake to eat, you're going to eat it differently. So this is a form of making sure that you eat it, because normally when you eat, you're fighting with the yetzer hara. When you're eating, the Zohar says נהמא בפום חרבא למיכל. When you eat, you're holding a sword in your hand. The yetzer hara is there, and you're going to war, because when you eat, you could have a ta'avah. That's why the Rebbe said once that when you eat, you should use a knife. He brought it from the Munkatcher. Why? Because when you use a knife, it will always remind you that you're fighting with the yetzer hara, you're holding a sword in your hand. But to make sure that you're fighting properly and you have the כח to overcome the yetzer hara when you are eating, make a brachah first. So, there are certain things we have to do first when it comes to our ordinary, daily things, daily needs, nothing to do with kedushah. We have to have, and the yetzer hara is involved, so we have to have the proper introduction, preparation. That's what the קרבן העומר is. The קרבן העומר, as we said before, is you're still, you have your נפש הבהמית and you're still involved in your daily things, in materialistic things, the קרבן העומר will limit that נפש הבהמית, it's the מאכל בהמה. So we understand why, with the קרבן העומר, with the דין we said before, that the קרבן העומר is מתיר חדש להדיוט, that it allows an ordinary person with his ordinary food to start eating the food that you're supposed to eat, the new food, because we're talking about an ordinary level, not a high level, an ordinary level where נפש הבהמית is still involved, and the עומר is still working with the נפש הבהמית. The שתי הלחם is not working with the נפש הבהמית, because שתי הלחם, as we said before, is at the point when you are already finished with the נפש הבהמית. You are now at a level that you're working within kedushah itself, you're not fighting the evil. So what is the purpose of the שתי הלחם, that you need the שתי הלחם when you are getting involved in קדשים, and we see you need it, that for korbanot, you need the שתי הלחם, and without the שתי הלחם you can't bring the new קרבן. Obviously, there is a need even for קדשים, for holy matters, korbanot are קדשים, you need a שתי הלחם. What does the שתי הלחם represent that we need a שתי הלחם? So the pshat is like this. When you go to do holy things, and let's pick an example of a holy thing, learning Torah, the greatest thing. Before you learn Torah, you also have to make a brachah. Not only before you eat in order to make sure that when you eat, your נפש הבהמית doesn't get the better of you. Before you learn, you have to make a birkat haTorah. What does the birkat haTorah represent? That before you learn Torah, you have to remember that the Torah came from Hashem. And before you learn Torah, you have to have the proper yirat shamayim, the proper bitul to Hashem, that when you're learning Torah, you don't learn it as a chochmah, as just as another subject, as deep as it is, but to learn it because of the kedushah of Torah. So a person could reach a level where now he's going to learn Torah, but if he doesn't have that bitul before that, then his learning Torah won't be in the proper way, even though he's involved in kedushah. And the same is with mitzvot. Like we find by Chanukah, what did the Yevanim want? It says, they didn't want the people should stop learning Torah. They wanted להשכיחם תורתך, they had to make them forget that it's your תורה, ולהעבירם מחוקי רצונך, that you shouldn't do the mitzvot because it's the רצון השם. So even when it comes to kedushah matters, you have to have the proper bitul, like we say in davenen every day, three times a day, שמונה עשרה, ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה פתח לבי בתורתך. I am like dust to everyone, which is, I'm batel, I'm nothing. Then it says, open my heart to Torah. So Chassidus says, they go together. If you want your heart to be open to Torah, you have to first have the bitul. If you don't have the bitul, you won't. Now, it doesn't say open my mind to Torah, cuz to have your mind open to Torah, you don't have to have bitul. Any person who has a brain sits down and learns and understands. But that's not what really Torah is. Open the heart to Torah, which means not the sechel of the Torah, but the kedushah of the Torah that comes to the heart, for that you have to have bitul. So this is what what the שתי הלחם represents. The Omer represents that in order to get to your ordinary things, to allow you to have the ordinary proper way, you have to have the Omer, and in order to have the kedushadike things, you have to have the שתי הלחם, which represents the bitul. How does the שתי הלחם represent the bitul? The שתי הלחם came along with the two sheep. We all know, it says in Chassidus with this fact that sheep represent bitul, since sheep are quiet and low and they represent bitul. And what we're saying here is that you have to, before you start using the new grain for קדשים, you're getting involved in holy matters, you have to put together the שתי הלחם with the sheep. What is lechem? We all know אין לחם אלא תורה. Bread represents Torah, that when you're going to have the Torah, the Torah has to be one with the sheep. You have to have the bitul when you learn Torah. And this is hinted also in the fact that it's שתי הלחם, two breads. What inyan of two breads? So it says in the Zohar that the two breads, since bread is Torah, it represents תורה שבכתב and תורה שבעל פה, the written Torah and the oral Torah. Now, we know that the written Torah is more bitul than the oral Torah. The oral Torah is something that we have to understand with our sechel, we have to use our brain. If a person learns the oral Torah, Gemara, or anything else, and doesn't understand what he's talking about, it's not learning, you can't make a brachah. But תורה שבכתב, the written Torah, even if you don't understand the words themselves, that's holy. That's why even an am ha'aretz who doesn't know what he's talking about gets up to a aliyah, he makes a brachah, because the words of Torah are there whether you understand or not. So when we're dealing with understanding, that's your own metziut, you use your brain and I understand. תורה שבכתב, which is not the point of the understanding of it, that's more accepting the Torah because it's Hashem's Torah, that's more bitul. So what we have to do before we do any kodashim, before we get into anything new in kodashim, we have to have שתי הלחם, which represents the combination of תורה שבכתב and תורה שבעל פה, that whatever תורה שבכתב represents, which is the bitul, has to be together with the תורה שבעל פה, you have to have the bitul. As we said that that's why it's together with the sheep, to show that the Torah has to be with the sheep. And then it says something else: why is the שתי הלחם two breads? For another reason, another way we divide the Torah into two parts: nigleh and nistar. In Torah we have the hidden, the revealed part of the Torah and the hidden part of the Torah. We know that in the hidden part of the Torah we don't feel the in the revealed part of the Torah we don't feel the bitul so much, because the revealed part of the Torah deals with logical things, sichldike things, so we learn about it and we use our seichel, and we understand and we ask questions and answers, then the the bittul is not felt. But when we learn the inner part, the secret of the Torah, what does it deal with? It constantly deals with Hashem. All it talks about, Hashem and the עולמות עליונים, the higher worlds, and the ספירות, and higher, and the the and how you have אהבת השם and יראת, it deals with Hashem. So the bittul is felt more in נסתר, in the hidden part, than in the revealed part. And that's the רמז of שתי הלחם: you have to have the two rests together. That when you are going now to deal with קדשים, you're finished with the נפש הבהמית, you're not fighting it anymore, but now you're involved in kedushadike matters, being involved in kedushadike matters, you have to have the bittul before you get involved. And that's why you have to have the שתי הלחם, the two. So we have three רמזים in שתי הלחם which represent the same thing. The fact that the bread with the sheep, it's the bittul with the Torah. The two parts of Torah, the תורה שבכתב and תורה שבעל פה, the תורה שבכתב is the bittul that we have and we have to put them together. And the נסתר and the נגלה, the hidden and the revealed, and the hidden, which is the bittul, has to come to the revealed. And that's what the שתי הלחם is. And now we understand why if a person will bring a קרבן from the new fruit, grain, before the קרבן העומר, the קרבן is פסול. But if you bring before the שתי הלחם, it's כשר, why? Because if you bring it before the עומר, you know how terrible that is. That means before you did anything to fight your נפש הבהמית, then it's very scary even when you get involved in holy matters. You're going to bring a קרבן before you did the עומר? The עומר is when you're מקריב the נפש הבהמית. Before you're מקריב the נפש הבהמית, you know what the problem is? You'll learn Torah and the Torah could be against you. It says in Gemara that if you don't learn Torah properly, נעשה לו סם המוות, it'll become poison. So before the Omer, before you did anything to your נפש הבהמית, you're bringing a קרבן? That's terrible, it's pasul. If you worked with your נפש הבהמית, it's after the Omer, but you didn't get to the level of the שתי הלחם yet, it's not right. In order to learn Torah properly, you have to have what the שתי הלחם represents. But b'diavad, if you didn't have it, it's not so geferlech, b'diavad it's kasher. Because after all, you already overcame your נפש הבהמית, ela mai you don't have that higher level, so it's only missing a shleimus. So this is the general idea, the difference between the קרבן העומר and the שתי הלחם.

But then, I want to go a little bit further in the שתי הלחם itself, more על פי קבלה, not kabbalistic, but more what it says in קבלה ספרים concerning what the שתי הלחם, specifically שתי הלחם, represent on Shavuos. It says in a sefer called Tehilot Yaakov, קבלה ספר. So he says like this: on Shavuos we have the שתי הלחם, which, as we said before, is chametz. We also have other korbanot which are mincha on Shavuos, too. We have other korbanot made of flour, but the other ones are matzah. So basically, he says that on Shavuos we are makriv chametz and matzah. The שתי הלחם is chametz, and this is matzah. He says like this, based on the Zohar: chametz represents the guf, and matzah represents the neshamah. It's self-understood: chametz, which rises, which is always used as a word for negativity, for ישות, your own מציאות, not being battel to Hashem, that's the body, the physical body. Physicality always is olam is the world, is a העלם והסתר, a concealment of Hashem. Matzah, which represents more kedushah, represents the neshamah. So he says Shavuot represents the ultimate. Shavuot, the day of matan Torah, represents the ultimate, which is a time of techiyat hametim. This is the reason, he says, that on Shavuot we are מקריב חמץ and matzah, which represents the neshamah and the guf, because when techiyat hametim will come, we will have the neshamah and the guf. When we go to Gan Eden, see down here we're down here, that's not the reward yet, but when we get reward and we go to Gan Eden, there we only have the neshamah, the body is not there. But techiyat hametim is a time when we will have the guf and the neshamah, the body and the neshamah. And that's why Shavuot, which represents לעתיד לבוא, represents techiyat hametim, we're מקריב חמץ and matzah. All year round we're only מקריב מצה, never ever chametz, as I said. Shavuot we're מקריב מצה, חמץ too, even though, as I said before, we're not מקריב it actually, but as I said, the Rebbe explains that the pshat is that since it's part of the other korban, it's as if you're מקריב the chametz. But we are מקריב them both. But then the question is, if it's supposed to represent techiyat hametim, when the guf and the neshama will be there and they both will be נהנה מזיו השכינה, they will both have the pleasure of the זיו, the rays, the glory of Hashem, why takeh are we not makriv the chametz actually on the מזבח? If it's supposed to represent that both the guf and the neshama have pleasure from Hashem the same way, so we should be makriv the chametz and the matzah equally, because the guf and neshama will be equal. And the Rebbe asked that question. And this is what the Rebbe explains. He explains like this: A little bit long, it's not so long. So the Rebbe explains like this, that we know that the tachlit why a neshama came down to this world is to keep Torah u'mitzvot. That's why Hashem created the world, that's why Hashem brought the neshama down to this world. In order to keep Torah u'mitzvot, you have to have a combination of the guf and the neshama, body and the neshama. And he says why? The neshama, which is part of Hashem, wants to do the mitzvot. It wants to do what Hashem wants. The body, unfortunately, which is gashmi, doesn't want, doesn't want. The only way the body does want to do it, because the neshama is in it. And the neshama wants, automatically the body, because of the neshama, wants, but it's the neshama's inyan of wanting to do mitzvot. So, we need the neshama in order to have that will to do mitzvot. We need the body, because without the body, you can't do it. The neshama itself can't do it. So, it's a combination of the two. It's only when we have the neshama who wants it, the body who could do it, together we are able to be mekayem mitzvot. The neshama without the body could want from today till tomorrow, can't do it. The body itself could do it, but doesn't want. So, you need them both. And the Rebbe says interesting thing, it's hinted in the famous mashal that the Gemara gives in the negative side, but it's the same idea for aveirot. It says that when, at תחיית המתים השם will put the guf and the neshamah together, and for any sins, he'll punish them both. And the Gemara says, why will he punish them both? So the Gemara says, because the neshamah is going to say, \"I didn't do the aveirah, the body did it.\" And the body is going to say, \"If not for the neshamah, I'd never be able to do it.\" So Hashem says, \"You know what? I'll put you together, and I'll punish you together.\" And the Gemara gives a mashal. A mashal of there was a king had a beautiful orchard, and he was afraid to put guards there, because the guards themselves could go and eat up the fruit, such tasty fruit. So he had a good sevara: he hired two guards, one was blind, and one couldn't walk. So he knew the one was blind, couldn't see it, so he's just there to hear the noises. The one that couldn't walk won't be able to get there to cut it. So what happened? So the one that couldn't walk, was able to see, saw the beautiful fruit, but couldn't get there. So he turns around to the blind guy and he says, \"You know, there's a lot of fruit there, I can't get there, cuz I don't have, my feet don't walk. You have feet, you could walk, you can't see, but you know what? You ride on my... I'll I'll ride on your shoulder, I'll guide you where to go, you'll walk, and then we'll go and take the fruit.\" And that's exactly what they did, they took all the fruit, and they ate up all the fruit. The king came and he checked it, and he saw the fruit are missing, so he turns around to them, \"What did you guys do?\" \"We didn't do it.\" The blind guy, \"I did it? I have no... I can't even see it.\" The other guy says, \"I did it? How could I get there?\" But the king was smart, he knew what they did. So he realized that what happened is that he rode on him. So each one said, \"You can't punish me.\" So what the king did, he took the blind guy, put him on top of the other guy, and he punished them together. He says, \"Now you together did it.\" The same thing Hashem is going to do with the guf and the neshamah. So the Rebbe says, here we see from this mashal, the guy who could see, sees it and wants it, but he can't do it. The guy who can't walk, that's the guy who sees it, want, can't do it. The guy who the other guy could do it, but he doesn't want it, he doesn't see it, he doesn't want it. So this is a mashal for the guf and the neshamah: one wants, and one could do it, and between the two together, the mitzvot are done. When Mashiach will come and there will be תחיית המתים, השם is going to give reward to the guf and the neshamah together. Now, normally we say they'll be given together equally, because they both take part. But, nevertheless, it says that even though the reward will be given to them equally, and there will be אלוקות, זיו השכינה, godly rays that will come down and they will enjoy it, the guf and the neshamah, both of them will enjoy it, but the guf will take it through the neshamah. Even though the rays will be so strong that even the guf will be able to take it, now the body cannot take the זיו השכינה, the neshamah could, the body can't, then it will be able to. But how will Hashem give that זיו השכינה to the body? Through the neshamah. Because the neshamah is now spiritual, so the neshamah is more a vessel to take it, so when there'll be תחיית המתים, it'll come down to the neshamah and through the neshamah it'll come to the body, because the neshamah had the spiritual part of it, the body had the physical part, so even though the body will be able to take it and have it, but it'll go through the neshamah. So the Rebbe says, therefore, since it's going to go through the נשמה, the נשמה is the one that goes on the מזבח. What did those The question: If the חמץ and the מצה, they represent the גוף and the נשמה, and it represents, Shavuot represents תחיית המתים, so why don't we put them both on the מזבח? Because they're both equal when it comes to תחיית המתים. Why is it that the מצה is actually put on the מזבח, the חמץ is not actually put on the מזבח, it's only considered like through the כבשים, but really not? So the Rebbe says the reason is, because the גוף, as much as it's going to take the זיו השכינה when תחיית המתים, will take it not direct, but indirect. It'll get a lot, all of it, and it'll get it so strong that it's going to be able to give חיות to the נשמה too, but it's going to get it through the נשמה. So since it's indirect, so on Shavuot we do the same. The מצה, which represents the נשמה, is directly brought on the מזבח, which represents pleasure from the זיו השכינה, but the חמץ doesn't go direct on the מזבח, but it's considered as if because it will get the rays of the שכינה like the נשמה, but indirect. And that's why it's not actually put on the מזבח. But whichever way, the שתי הלחם represent תחיית המתים. So here we see that Shavuot, besides being the day of מתן תורה, is also a day that represents תחיית המתים, and the שתי הלחם is the form of showing that תחיית המתים will be for the גוף and the נשמה,