So, as we just heard, the topic tonight is the kabbalistic insights or kabbalistic approach to the summer months. The reason I chose this subject, this topic, is obvious, because we are now basically middle of the summer, or starting from Pesach, we call it summer even though technically it's not summer, but we are in middle of the warm season, even in places that are far away from Miami, not only in Miami. So, since we're in the summer and this is the last class before the continuation of the summer, so it's important to get a little bit a deeper insight into what the summer means. The simple meaning of the summer everyone knows, but we need a little bit deeper, and that's the whole purpose of this class is not to get into any halachot, because there are many halachot which are important for the summer, especially halachot of tzniut and things like that, then you have certain times in the summer that have special halachot, like שבעה עשר בתמוז and the three weeks and the nine days and Tisha B'Av, these are all summer things, but this class is not a halachah class, so we don't get into the halachot of it, but more into the deeper aspect of the subjects that we discuss, in this case, the deeper aspect, the chasidic and kabbalistic interpretation of what the summer means. And I'll start with what it says in Midrash Shmuel. There is a sefer called Midrash Shmuel, it's a commentary on the on Pirkei Avot. And Midrash Shmuel writes, I believe in his introduction, that the reason the custom is that we say, we learn Pirkei Avot during the Shabbatot, during the weeks between Pesach and Shavuot, and also most customs are that we also continue learning Pirkei Avot throughout the whole summer. Now, the reason we learn Pirkei Avot before Shavuot is because we know דרך ארץ קדמה לתורה. Proper behavior comes even before learning Torah, and therefore Pirkei Avot teaches us proper behavior, and we have to know that before we get to Shavuot, which is the time of מתן תורה when we receive the Torah. Why do we learn Pirkei Avot throughout the summer? So the Midrash Shmuel explains because summertime is a time when nature is at its best. The sun shines, it's very nice outside, light, it's warm, the tree the everything blossoms, gashmiyut is at its best, the physicality of the world is at its best, and therefore there is a possibility for a person to indulge too much in his physical pleasures throughout the summer. And in order to fight that, to counteract that, we study Pirkei Avot throughout the summer, which teaches us proper behavior, the importance of learning Torah, the importance of doing mitzvot, the reward forget we get for learning Torah and doing mitzvot. Basically, it teaches us the importance of behaving spiritually rather than indulging in your gashmiyusdike behavior or in gashmiyusdike pleasures that a person might have throughout the summer. But what we see from here is that the whole the inyan of the summer, as we see it from the simpler perspective, is it's a time when gashmiyut, the physicality of the world, is at its best. It's a time when the person is more able and it's more of able available to him that he should have pleasure of the gashmiyut of the world. But we know there is a pasuk that says זה לעומת זה עשה אלוקים, that Hashem created the world in a way that there is a balance of power. זה לעומת זה means this against this. Wherever there is a strengthening of gashmiyut, there is a strengthening of ruchniyut. Wherever there is a strengthening of ruchniyut, there is a strengthening of gashmiyut. Whenever we find that is a time when we have more ruchniyut, more spirituality, so we are always warned, be careful, at the same time the physicality might get strong because the yetzer hara will get stronger too. Actually, we find in the Gemara the expression, כל הגדול מחבירו יצרו גדול הימנו, anybody who is greater than another person, than his friend, his yetzer hara is also greater. If you have a greater yetzer tov, you have a greater yetzer yetzer hara. You have a greater neshama, you have a greater yetzer hara, evil inclination, because there is always a balance of power. And therefore, if we say that in the summer there is the strengthening of the gashmiyut, the strengthening of the physicality, obviously we also must say that there is the strengthening of the spiritual part too. That means that as much as we say that during the summer gashmiyut is more available, the physicality is more available, we must say that At the same time, spirituality is more available during the summer, too. And as much as we say that it's very easy, summer, to fall into the trap of following the pleasures of the body, we must say summer, it's easier to follow the ruchniyut of the neshama. Obviously, it's in the hands of the person. Hashem doesn't take away free choice, so a person has free choice which of the two to take. Should he follow the gashmiyut? Should he follow the ruchniyut? But there is a strengthening of ruchniyut throughout the summer. And chassidut and Kabbalah always dwell on the good part of everything rather than the negative. They always dwell on the positive than the negative. In other type of sefarim and in other circles, when you come to the summer, you might dwell on the gashmiyut, and to tell us how to stay away from gashmiyut, but to dwell on the fact that the summer is a time when gashmiyut is at its strength. But chassidut and Kabbalah does different. Instead of fighting the gashmiyut, chassidut and Kabbalah explains how throughout the summer, ruchniyut is more available, ruchniyut is stronger.

And I'll explain what it says in Kabbalah and chassidut concerning the summer months. And it's all based on this pasuk. There's a pasuk that says כי שמש ומגן השם אלוקים. And it doesn't say Hashem, it says Havayah, י-ק-ו-ק, Hashem's real name, which we are not allowed to pronounce, obviously. So the pasuk says כי שמש ומגן הוי׳ אלוקים. What that means is, shemesh is the sun. Magen is the shield, which is the cover on top of the sun. So the pasuk says, it's a pasuk in Tehillim, the pasuk says כי שמש ומגן, the sun and its shield and its cover is Havayah and Elokim. And Kabbalah explains it as follows. We know that we have two names of Hashem, two main names. There are many names Hashem has, many, many names. Among the many names, there are seven which are specific special names called שבעה שמות שאינם נמחקים, seven names which are not allowed to be erased. The other names are allowed to be erased. But then out of the seven names, we have two main names of Hashem, and that is הוי׳, י-ק-ו-ק, and Elohim, the name Elohim. And we always use both names. Every bracha we make, we say ברוך אתה השם אלוקינו. Hashem is really Havayah, we just don't pronounce it because we're not allowed to pronounce it, but it's the name Havayah. So, we always use these two names. And Kabbalah explains, what is the difference between the name Havayah of Hashem and the name Elohim? And there are many aspects to the explanation, but one of the points, it says in Kabbalah that the difference between these two names is, that the name Havayah represents the way Hashem allows the אור אין סוף, the infinite Godly light to come out of Him and shine lower down into the lower levels further away from Hashem. Elohim, it says, is basically the way Hashem blocks out some of the light that the light should not come into the world. And we need both. We know that everything comes from Hashem. That's obvious, Hashem is the Creator, everything comes from Hashem. There is a pasuk that says כי ממך הכל, everything is from You. So everything that's there in this world, this low world, the world above this, the higher worlds, as we know in Kabbalah and Chassidus there are four worlds, and in between there are many worlds, and it all comes from Hashem. And now the way Hashem created the world is that the light of Hashem, the אור אין סוף, continues coming from Hashem, and it's through the light of Hashem that these worlds are created till finally to this low physical world. Now, if Hashem would allow His light to continue and be in its full strength, we would never be able to get to such a world as this. The only way this world could exist as a world as we see it, is because He blocks out some of the light. He blocks out some of the strength of the spiritual, Godly light of the אור אין סוף, of the infinite light, and because it's blocked out and it's not so strong, therefore there is a possibility for a finite, limited world as we have, to be created. If not for that, the infinite light of Hashem is infinite, so the world would have to be an infinite world that comes directly from the light, and that's not what Hashem wanted. He wanted a limited, physical, finite world as we have it. So He blocks out—He Himself does it—blocks out some of the light, and therefore it turns into a physical world. So in order to have the creation of this world, we have to have הוי׳ and אלוקים. Havayah is the part that there is the light of Hashem, because without the light of Hashem there would be no creation, because everything comes through the light of Hashem. But without Elohim, which is the way Hashem blocks out the light in order to make it limited, we also would not have a world as it is. So it's through Havayah that we have it and through Elokim. That's why we find two pesukim. One pasuk says בראשית ברא אלקים את השמים ואת הארץ, that in the beginning Elokim created heaven and earth. So here we see that which name is used for the creation of the world? Elokim. But then there's another pasuk that says that you should יהללו שם הויה כי הוא צוה ונבראו. You should praise שם הויה, because He commanded and created. So Havayah created? The answer is they're both true. Like there's a third pasuk that says ביום ברוא הויה אלקים ארץ ושמים, the day Havayah and Elokim created heaven and earth. Because in order to create heaven and earth, you have to have Havayah and Elokim. Because if you have only one, it wouldn't work. So if you say who what with which name did Hashem create the world? If you'll answer Elokim, you'll be right, cuz if not for Elokim, there would be no creation. So it's בראשית ברא אלקים. But then we say, but Elokim itself wouldn't do it either. So if you answer, well it's through Havayah, it's also true because Havayah is the light. So we need both of these, and both of them through together with both we have the creation of the world. So basically what we're getting to is that the name Havayah and the name Elokim, Havayah is the fact that Hashem allows His light to come from Him, and Elokim is that light is blocked out in order for a world to be able to receive it, which is exactly as the sun and its shield. Now I don't know technically bagashmiyut what that shield means. Maybe scientists have some idea, I don't know. But I just know what it says in in in Gemara, what it says in pasuk, what it says in Chassidut, and that's what we care. And it says that there is the sun and there is a shield around the sun. Actually it says when Mashiach will come, Hashem will take the sun out of its shield, it'll be much brighter. But now we have the sun, the shemesh, and we have the magen, and that's exactly the same. We need the sun in order for the world to exist. We need the light, we need the heat. If not for the light and heat of the sun, what the sun gives off, the world would not exist. But if the sun would give off its light and heat without a shield on it, then the world would not be able to take, would explode, it would be too hot, too much light, it's impossible. So it's through the shield that blocks out some of the light of the sun, we are able to have a world. So the sun and the magen, and the shield, is a mashal to Havayah and Elokim. That's what the pasuk means. When the pasuk says כי שמש ומגן הויה אלקים, this is what it means: the sun and the shield is the mashal, the parable to Havayah and Elokim. Just like the sun gives the light, and that's the only way we exist, but we need the magen, cuz that's the only way we exist, if the sun has the magen, this the shield, the cover, so too Havayah and Elokim. The only reason there's a world because there's a spiritual light coming from הויה in the in the form of הויה, and then we have Elokim which blocks out the light. So here we're saying that the sun and its shield is a mashal, a parable to Havayah and Elokim. Chassidus and Kabbalah goes a step further. It's not only a mashal. A mashal would mean that you have something that's a parable used as an example to something else. So we have Havayah and Elokim, then in our terms, when we want to use some kind of an example, we say the sun and the shield. Chassidus says it goes deeper: actually the sun and its shield is a hishtalshelus of Havayah and Elokim. The sun and the shield down here in this world is really an evolvement of Havayah and Elokim. Havayah and Elokim, the way they are in the spiritual sense, go through the different levels of hishtalshelus, and finally, finally it comes down that Havayah and Elokim is symbolized as a hishtalshelus, evolvement of Havayah Elokim in the sun and the shield. Everything that we have in this world is a hishtalshelus of the way the same thing is is its counterpart up there in higher worlds. It says that actually in the beginning of Tanya, when it talks about a human being, and it says that every person has 10 attributes, three parts of his intellect, seven of his emotions, so the Alter Rebbe in Tanya says clearly, it's not similar to the fact that we have 10 sefirot in the higher worlds, which is true. In Atzilus, in the higher worlds, as we learn in Kabbalah and Chassidus, there is chochmah, binah, daas, the three parts of the intellect in Atzilus, and then we have the seven emotions. So we would expect him in Tanya to say that similar to the seven to the 10 sefirot in Atzilus we have the ten attributes in the person. He doesn't say that. Doesn't say similar. He said that these ten in the human being נשתלשלו מהם, come actually as a hishtalshelus, as an evolvement from the way it's in Atzilus. And the same thing is with the sun and the moon, the sun and the shield. The sun and the shield down here is not just a mashal, a parable to the Havayah and Elokim, but it is a hishtalshelus, it down here, an evolvement from Havayah and Elokim. And there are more ways Chassidus and Kabbalah explain the connection between the sun and Shem Havayah. And just in short, two more points that it says why the sun is connected to Shem Havayah. The sun, it says, which again, scientists might not agree to this, but like I said, we don't care, it says in the Yerushalmi that חזקים כיום הבראם, that the sun is as strong today as it was the day it was created. They disagree. They say it gets less and less, it's to a certain degree, and therefore I saw once a prediction of some scientists that beware in about 450 billion years it's going to stop, there won't be a sun. So I was very worried then, takeh, that who knows what's going to happen in 450 billion years. But they say this, but Chassidus brings, and it's taken from Yerushalmi, that חזקים כיום הבראם. It didn't change. Which is a mashal, the pasuk says, אני הויה לא שניתי. Hashem says, \"I, Havayah, did not change.\" That means that whatever happens, Havayah doesn't change, Hashem doesn't change, using the name Havayah. The name Elokim is up to change. Being that Elokim represents the way the light already is already limited and comes down to the world, so it's changed according to the level of the world, changed according to the different worlds where it comes. But Shem Havayah represents the way the light comes directly from Hashem, not being limited and changed according to the world. So that's why it says אני הויה לא שניתי. Hashem says Havayah didn't change. So as a mashal to the fact that Havayah doesn't change is the sun. The sun does not change, חזקים כיום הבראם. Then there's another point here to be made that Kabbalah makes, and I'm just going through in short, the connection between the sun and Shem and Havayah, for the same reason, אני הויה לא שניתי, Hashem didn't change, and it says what does that mean when Hashem says, when we say Hashem didn't change, Havayah doesn't change? It means like this: Usually, when a person is involved in some action, there is a change in the person while he's doing that act. You're not the same as when you before you did it, while you're doing it, and after. Now, I'm not doing it, then if you walk there and you do it, now you are doing it, so it's different. Then you stop doing it, you're not, you've changed again. There are changes. But that's only if the thing that you do you're involved in. But if it happens as if it's by itself, then there is no change. And it says by Hashem, אני הויה לא שניתי, when He created the world, as far as Havayah is concerned, the world as if it's nothing in comparison to Hashem, so as if He didn't do anything. We say that actually every morning in davenen, אתה הוא עד שלא נברא העולם ואתה הוא משנברא העולם, you are the same before the world was created and after the world was created. It's the same. What do you mean the same? When a person makes something, it's different. Before, you were not involved, now you are. But by Hashem, it's so far removed from Him, and He's so much beyond, that when He makes it, it the fact that the world came out of Him didn't form a change in Him. But that's only by Havayah, not by Elokim, because since Elokim represents the way Hashem already manifests Himself going into the limitations of the world, there there is a change because you are already limiting yourself to the way the world is. And that's a mashal of the sun. When the sun gives out light, whether the light comes out or doesn't come out doesn't change the sun. The sun is not affected. Whether it comes to you or doesn't come to you, the sun doesn't change. If you close your shades and you don't allow the sunshine to come in, makes no difference to the sun. The sun is the same. It gives off light, whether it's picked up, whether the light bring light someplace, whether it brings heat, or you block it out, whether there is something, plants that need the sunshine to grow or not, as far as the sun is concerned, makes no difference. There is no change. So the sun is a mashal as far as this is concerned, again, to Havayah. But whichever way we look at it, the sun is a mashal to שם הויה, but as I said, not only a mashal, a parable, but it's a השתלשלות. It represents Hashem down here. So Hashem down here is represented through the sun. Maybe that's where the mistake of the idol worshippers came, that they worshipped the sun, because they made a mistake thinking this is Hashem, but it's not. It's just something down here that is a השתלשלות from Hashem. And therefore, and this is where we get to the point, and therefore, when there is a change in the sun down here, that shows that obviously there is a change in the source of the sun, which is הוי׳ה. So therefore, summertime, when the sun shines stronger, and there is more heat and more light from the sun, that means that summertime there is more heat and light from שם הוי׳ה. That means that from Hashem there is a much greater manifestation of His light to this world, that we have more of Hashem in this world, more אור אין סוף. And therefore, a person who wants is during the summertime able to serve Hashem much easier than during the wintertime. The wintertime, when the sun is not so strong, then you cannot, it's harder to serve Hashem, because the שמש הוי׳ה doesn't shine so strong. And summertime it shines stronger, so it's easier for a Yid to serve Hashem during the summer. If a person, a Yid, wants to get close to Hashem and feel ruchniyut, feel Godliness, during the summer it's easier. So we have both: during the summer it's easier to forget about Hashem, during the summer it's easier to indulge in your gashmiyusdike pleasures, which is away from Hashem, but at the same time, Kabbalah tells us, during the summer it's easier to serve Hashem if you want. Hashem doesn't take away free choice, and therefore it's up to the person what he chooses. But if a person chooses that he wants to get close to Hashem, during the summertime it's easier.

I'll give an example to this idea, just an example. We know that there's a pasuk that says concerning Eretz Yisrael, that Eretz Yisrael is a land, ארץ אשר עיני השם אלקיך בה מראשית השנה ועד אחרית שנה. It's a land that the eyes of Hashem are on it from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. Now, what does that mean? Well, simple peshat it would mean that Hashem looks after it, takes care of it, which, in other words, is hashgacha pratit, divine providence. But that's not only in Eretz Yisrael. We know, not only believe, but we know that everything in the world is behashgacha pratit, everything in the world is through divine providence. So what is that in Eretz Yisrael? The difference is, the answer is that the difference is, in Eretz Yisrael it's more בגילוי, it's more revealed, which means if a Yid wants, he's able in Eretz Yisrael to feel Hashem more than outside of Eretz Yisrael, chutz la'aretz. That's what it means. He's able to. Does that mean that he is forced into it? No. If a person wants to, that's the whole idea. If a person goes to Eretz Yisrael and he chose to try to feel Godliness, he will feel Godliness in Eretz Yisrael much more than in חוץ לארץ, outside of ארץ ישראל. If a person doesn't want, unfortunately, I must tell you, since, as we said, זה לעומת זה, you'll feel further away from ארץ ישראל there. And we actually see it, where you see that those people who don't want to feel Godliness are worse off in ארץ ישראל than חוץ לארץ, outside of ארץ ישראל. You look and you see it physically. In ארץ ישראל, you have very frume people, and you have people who are, as they call them, anti dati, against Yiddishkeit with a passion. They hate the frume Yid. I don't think you find that in America. You find people who are frum, people not frum. They respect you, they don't respect you, but no one hates you. Why is it? Because ארץ ישראל is a place where Godliness is stronger, so there is a balance of power, so you could be the opposite. So what does it depend on? It depends on yourself, whatever you choose. If a Yid wants to feel Godliness, you come to ארץ ישראל, you could feel it. You could feel Godliness there. Why? Because Hashem is closer to ארץ ישראל. And the same here, too. Summertime you have two opposite powers. You have the power of the gashmiyut, and you have the power of Hashem, that Hashem shines stronger throughout the summer than through the winter. And it's up to the choice of the Yid. Should he choose to follow the path of getting more indulged in gashmiyut, then he's able to. All the gashmiyut that's there, with all the pleasures that's there, with all, I don't even want to mention what's there, because better not to mention it, because most of us don't even know all about this gashmiyut. But some people do. So there is. But if a person wants, he's able, if he chooses, he's able to get closer to Hashem. We see an interesting thing. If you look at the holidays, there are more yamim tovim in the summertime than in the wintertime. In the wintertime, from Sukkot to the next holiday, the Torah holiday—I'm not talking about Chanukah, Purim—the Torah holiday, is close to six months. If it's a leap year, like this year, you have seven months. Summertime, it's from Pesach to Shavuot, which is about 40 days, and then there's about four months from Shavuot to Rosh Hashanah. You have more holidays. What does that mean? It means like this: what's the concept of a holiday? of a יום טוב, על פי חסידות, על פי קבלה. A Yom Tov is a day when there is a certain level of godly revelation that comes into the world. And that's why it's a special day, because there is a great godly revelation. Great tzadikim actually feel that special revelation. In one holiday In one holiday, actually, it says clearly, not only in Kabbalah and Chassidut, that there is a godly revelation. In the Haggadah, it says, what happened on Pesach? נגלה עליהם מלך מלכי המלכים הקדוש ברוך הוא, that Hashem, King of Kings, revealed himself to them, and every year this happens. So what does it mean, what does Pesach mean? That Hashem revealed himself to the Jews, so every year Pesach, Hashem reveals himself. We don't see it, but it's there. So there is a godly revelation on Pesach. Shavuos, Hashem came down to Har Sinai, godly revelation. Every Yom Tov is a godly revelation. Different types, different forms. That's why they're different holidays with different mitzvot. But that's the concept of a Yom Tov. Being that summer there is more godly revelation, therefore there are more holidays. So we find that from Pesach they have Pesach, starting spring, which is the time of the beginning of the summer more or less, then you have Shavuos, and then until you get to Rosh Hashanah, while winter there's much less. Because this is the all based on this point that summer is more godly revelation. Then there's another interesting thing that we see, the difference between summer and winter. Summertime, in Shemoneh Esrei, we ask Hashem for dew, tal. Wintertime, we ask Hashem for rain. משיב הרוח ומוריד הגשם, we say in the Shemoneh Esrei, you bring rain, then we say the same טל ומטר לברכה, we mention rain. So wintertime, we ask for rain, and summertime, we ask for tal, for dew. What is the difference, again spiritually, we're not here a halacha class or anything, but what's spiritually the difference between rain, מטר or גשם, rain and tal? Very simple. Rain comes from below. That's a fact. It says in Chumash also, ואד יעלה מן הארץ. Vapor comes from down here, goes up, and that turns into rain in the clouds, and that comes down. So it depends on what goes on down here. Tal, it says, dew has nothing to do with down here. It comes you can't see it rain, but it comes from above and it comes down. So using the terms of Kabbalah, rain is מלמטה למעלה. Rain is from down up. Dew is from up down. And that's why it says, rain many times depends on how we behave. There are times that rain doesn't come, and it says it's a punishment from Hashem, and we have to daven for rain. Tal, it says טל לא מיעצר, טל never stops. Actually, we had the story with Eliyahu HaNavi, where he said there won't be rain for a long time, but he couldn't stop the dew, because tal comes from above, that's not up to us. Rain, it depends on us because it comes מלמטה למעלה. What does that basically mean? Tal represents the fact that there is a גילוי מלמעלה, that there is a revelation from above. Rain represents the fact that it's not a revelation from above, it's something that we have to put a lot of effort in, because the revelation from above is not there so clearly. We work and cause that revelation, and therefore we have to bring it bring about it should rain. So summertime, where there is a greater revelation from above, it's a time of tal, so we ask for tal. Wintertime, when it's not a revelation, the godliness is not that strong, therefore there we ask for rain. This is the deeper meaning of an interesting Gemara. The Gemara says, חמרא בתקופת תמוז קרירא ליה. The literal translation is that a donkey in the season of Tammuz, which is the summer season, he's cold. It tries to say that a donkey is cold-blooded, and even in the middle of the summer, he is cold. Which, just to make it a little bit lighter, just to make a joke, this reminds me of a joke, it's a story, but the story is a joke, that Rabbi' Yonatan Eibeshitz, he was one of the great, great gedolim, once walked out in the middle of Tammuz. It was a cold day, happened to be a cool day. He put on a coat, cuz it's cool, and he walked out. So this guy meets him in the street, apikores, and he says, \"Rabbi, huh, you see, today is Tamuz and you're cold. חמרא בתקופת תמוז קרירא ליה. A donkey is cold in Tamuz.\" So he said to him, so he said, \"You don't understand. You know why he's cold? Cuz he doesn't put on a coat. That's why he's cold.\" But anyway, the Gemara says that a donkey in the summertime is cold, but Chassidus has a different peshat. The word חמרא, which means חמור, donkey, has another meaning. חמור means חומר. חומר means material. Something that's tangible is called חומר, that's material, which basically is gashmiyus. When we use the term gashmiyus, we have sometimes another expression, gashmiyus and chumriyus. Chumriyus is an expression even lower than gashmiyus is physicality, and chumriyus, when you want to say something more coarse, more even than gashmiyus, you use the word chumriyus. חמור בתקופת תמוז קרירא ליה. In Tamuz, in the time of summer, the chumriyus is cold. A Yid has the ability of being cold towards the חמור, towards gashmiyus. People think the opposite. Summertime, it's a time when you're definitely stronger, warmer to gashmiyus, because that's what it is, gashmiyus is at its best. Chassidus says the opposite. Gemara says חמרא בתקופת תמוז קרירא ליה, it's cold. Why? Because summertime, על פי קבלה, the שמש ומגן הויה אלקים, the great, the sun, the שמש הויה shines much stronger. Summer is a time when you're able to draw more light of Hashem down. And actually, we see this from another angle. It says, we know that the Yidden went out of Mitzrayim, went out of Egypt, it was חודש האביב, it was spring. Nisan is spring, which is the beginning of the warm season, and that's why every year we celebrate Pesach, which is a celebration of יציאת מצרים, in the spring. And it's not just a coincidence, but we see that because of that reason to have Pesach in the spring, we have a leap year from time to time. What's the reason we have a leap year? Because if we wouldn't have a leap year, since the sun the the year, I mean, of the moon, our year, is less with 11 days than the year of the sun, after a short while, a few years, summer, I mean Pesach will get earlier and earlier, it'll be in middle of the winter. Pesach has to be בחודש האביב, has to be in spring. So we see how important it is. It's all because Hashem took the Jews out of in middle in springtime. What's the reason? So the simple reason is, it says, because Hashem took the Yidden out of Mitzrayim at the most convenient time. At that time is the best. Imagine if He took them out in the middle of the snow or in middle of the rain, very hard. Took them out in springtime, which is even better than middle of the summer, be too hot. Mechaya, very good, that's the simple reason. But Chassidus says there's a deeper pshat why Hashem took them out חודש האביב, a time when it's warm, because the philosophy of Mitzrayim, the philosophy of Egypt was they worshipped the nature. That's what it they did not believe in beyond nature. To them, they worshipped nature. That's why we see, sometimes you learn Chumash and the Mefarshim, you come it's something strange. What was the idol of Mitzrayim? So one place we find the idol of Mitzrayim was the sheep. Says they worshipped the sheep, that's why when they took the קרבן פסח, they were very upset, you're taking our gods. Another place we find that they worshipped the Nilus. They worshipped the Nile, that was their avodah zarah. Then we find another place it says that they worshipped Pharaoh. It says Pharaoh would make himself like a god, that's why he would go to the river every morning, make himself like a god, and they worshipped Pharaoh. So what was their avodah zarah? Well, some people say, well, they had some like this, some like this, it's not like that. The point behind it all is the same: they worshipped nature. Now, the טלה, the sheep, is the mazal, the constellation of the month of Nisan. Since the month of Nisan is the beginning of the summertime, the beginning of the blossoming of the nature, so they worshipped the sheep. For that same reason, they worshipped the Nile. The Nile was the natural source of their livelihood. In Mitzrayim, it does not rain, it says, even up today. What happens is, once a year the Nile overflows naturally, and they would make canals, and it would irrigate all the fields throughout the whole country. I believe they do it the same way now, too. So the natural livelihood of the Mitzrayim was the Nilus. They worshipped nature, so they worshipped the Nile, too. And Pharaoh, who was probably the epitome of the human possibility of human greatness and the human capability, because he was very smart and he was the greatest human being of them, so he represented the powers of nature vested within a human being, so they worshipped Pharaoh, too. They their avodah zarah was the nature. So Hashem said, \"I'm going to show them. I'm going to show them that they think that God, nature, that's their God, I'm going to show them that, and therefore springtime is the best time, summertime is the best time, nature is at its best. I'm going to take them out of Mitzrayim during that time.\" And Hashem taking the Yidden out of Mitzrayim was גילוי אלוקות, was the revelation of Godliness. \"I'm going to show them that in truth, what is the spring and the summer? It's a revelation of Godliness, rather than a revelation or strengthening of the nature, of the gashmiyus.\" So Hashem took them out of Mitzrayim during the month of Nisan, in the אביב, the season of אביב, of spring. And every year, Pesach, when the same thing repeats itself, and whatever Yetzias Mitzrayim was, we have to relive it, again has to be at that time to teach us, the summer is coming. The beginning of spring, the summer is coming. Remember, it's not the nature that you have to worship. You have to worship and feel the Godliness that's there. You have to worship not the Some people who are We call them the sun-worshipers, who always make sure to take a suntan and get a sunburn, and that's all because the sun The natural light and heat of the sun is good, which, by the way, now they say it's no good anyway, but that's what you worship? You have to worship Hashem, who is represented by the sun, as it says שמש הוי'. That's really what the summer is. That's why we celebrate Pesach.

The truth is, it is not so easy to get to this point. You know, it's not easy. So we see by Yetzias Mitzrayim there were two stages. When Hashem, before he took them out of Mitzrayim, which was the the way Hashem broke the philosophy of believing in the nature and rather believing in Hashem, what happened before he took them out of Mitzrayim? He said to the Yidden, \"You have to bring a korban Pesach.\" And what did he say? He said, \"משכו וקחו לכם שה לבית אבות.\" משכו means pull and take a sheep to yourself, and let that be a korban. So Rashi brings from the Chazal, what did he mean pull and take? You pull and take? משכו וקחו, pull and take. So Rashi says it means pull yourself away from avodah zarah, and take a sheep to serve Hashem. Basically this includes two sides, סור מרע ועשה טוב. Stay away from the evil, and do good. Stay away from bad, and do good. So the first thing is משכו, pull yourself away from avodah zarah, and the avodah zarah of the Mitzrayim was the sheep, which is because of nature, this represented the constellation, this the mazal of the summer, of the spring, of Nisan. Pull yourself away from that. And then the next step is now you could take it and make it into a korban, and you serve Hashem. And that's to teach us also that when we come to the summertime, you say, \"Well, you got to worship Hashem more. It's much stronger, much easier.\" But at the same time, it's impossible to have them both. You see, some people like to have the best of both worlds. It just doesn't work, can't be. In order to have the שמש הוי', to worship the sun which the real sun which is Hashem, chas veshalom, the sun the real sun, well, Hashem which is represented by the sun, you have to pull yourself away from worshiping the natural sun. It can't be both. Like it says in Sifrei that אהבת העולם ואהבת השם לא ישכנו יחד. The love of the world and the love of Hashem can't dwell together, they can't live together, you can't have them both. And the same here also. There are some people might think, \"Okay, summer is a good place time when we have a good time, we'll have physically a good time, we'll enjoy ourselves because of all the gashmiyus that's available in the summer, and we'll also utilize the ruchniyus, and we'll try to do more.\" It just doesn't work together. So what we have to have is סור מרע ועשה טוב. Stay away from one. משכו וקחו לכם, he told them, in order for you to appreciate and get what Yetzias Mitzrayim did, bringing גילוי אלוקות into the world, you have to pull yourself away from the avodah zarah. Pull yourself away from the sheep being the the idol. Pull yourself away from worshiping the physicality, and utilizing the summer for that, and do what? And then וקחו לכם שה לבית אבות, and take this as a korban. And this is the Jewish approach that we're supposed to have, the Jewish approach, the Torah approach, the approach על פי חסידות to what the summer months represent.

I'll finish up with a Midrash. The Midrash says on the pasuk, \"מה יפית ומה נעמת\", it says like this: why is it that the second days of Sukkos are right after Sukkos? Shemini Atzeret is really a separate Yom Tov. But Pesach, the first days and the last days are really one Yom Tov. Shemini Atzeret, it's a new Yom Tov. The best proof is Shemini Atzeret, we say שהחיינו. It's a new Yom Tov. Pesach, the last days we don't say. So it's like a second Yom Tov. So the Midrash says like this, really this Shemini Atzeret should have come 50 days after after Sukkos, exactly like Shavuos comes 50 days after Pesach. Because just like Shavuos is another Yom Tov comes after Pesach, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah is another Yom Tov that comes after Sukkos. So there should be 50 days here like there. But why not? So it says the reason is because from Sukkos we're going to the winter, and the winter, it's hard to come back. See, they used to have to go to Yerushalayim for Yom Tov, to go and come back, it's very hard. So Hashem said, \"Let's make the Yom Tov right away.\" Summertime, it's easier to come back, so Hashem said, \"Well, go and come back.\" And he gives a mashal, a mashal of a king who had many daughters. Some were married and lived far away, and some were married and lived closer. One day, that's what it says, one day they all came to the king. Ooh, what a The king was so happy that all his daughters are there. And they celebrated. Then they were about to leave. And the king turns around and says like this, \"Those that live close could go and come, but those that live far, they can't go and come. So you know what? Let's make another celebration now. Let everyone celebrate now, and we'll make another Yom Tov now. So you won't have to go and come because of those that live far.\" And that's a mashal, the same thing here, that on on Sukkos and Shemini Atzeret, because some it's far for them to go because it's winter, so it becomes far, it becomes hard to go, let's celebrate now. So here again, we have Chassidut that explains this Midrash. Far and close represents Yidden who are far and Yidden who are close. Yidden who are close are Yidden who are close to Hashem. The daughters who are far represents those Yidden who are far. The king is Hashem. The daughters are Klal Yisrael, and you have far ones and close ones. And what does the Midrash say? That summertime, even the far ones could go and come. It's only wintertime that they can't Who can? The far ones. The close ones could always come, the far ones. What does that mean? That means that winter the far ones remain far, but summertime even those that are far are able to come. Why? As I explained, because summertime there is a גילוי אלוקות in the world, there's a godly revelation, that people who are far are able to come to Hashem, are able to get closer. And the Kabbalah explains when it says there they're able to go and come, what is this expression \"go and come\"? So just in short, for a minute, we know that when you serve Hashem, according to Chassidus and Kabbalah, it all falls under the service of ratzo v'shov. Ratzo v'shov means going and coming. That's the way a Yid a Yid tries to get close to Hashem, but remember that Hashem wants me to work with this world, so we have both feelings. To On one hand, we don't want to stay in this world, this low physical world, who needs all this garbage? So we feel, let's get away from the world. Then we remember, well, Hashem says that's דירה בתחתונים, wants this world, so we come back. And it's ratzo v'shov, it's all back and forth, back and forth. That's the idea of going and coming. So he says that the far ones winter wintertime cannot go and come. That means cannot really have the ratzo v'shov, the service of Hashem, because they're far. Summertime, even they could also have it. Why could summertime those that are far have this ratzo v'shov, this avodah? The reason is because there is more גילוי אלוקות during the summer, more godly revelation summer than there is during the winter. And you know what kind of level of godly revelation there is? He says here really it should have been 50 days. Why 50 days? Like we find between Pesach and Shavuos. But Chassidus explains 50 days represents a very, very, very high godly level. שער החמישים, it says there are 50 gates of wisdom created in the world, and even Moshe Rabbeinu only reached 49. The 50th is such a high level. Shavuos, we get some מעין, a little bit of that level. So it says that to get that 50th level, summertime, even the one that's far is able to reach such a high level. Why? It's all based on this point that summer there is more גילוי אלוקות. Now we know that every intellectual thought is really complete if it comes down into the person's emotions and into realistic, real behavior. To leave it in your mind is not enough, and in this case too. And here we don't have to go too much, explain too much what the outcome of what we're speaking about has to be. Has to be that when we are coming now to the summer months, when on one hand there's the gashmiyus that's so strong, There is vacation. Vacation, some people think, is vacation from Hashem. It's not. Contrary, we have to remember that summer months is a time when we could get closer to Hashem. The Rebbe wrote once, remember when I used to work on the sichos we gave in the sichos, so the Rebbe wrote once, he wrote something about the summertime, the sichah was speaking so he writes that we have to remember the summertime we have to be very careful, more careful than other times of the year. And he says some people say אחטא ואשוב. אחטא ואשוב, I'll sin, simple peshat, and I'll do teshuvah. So the Rebbe writes some people think that you go away to the country and you say אחטא, I'll sin, ואשוב, when I come back to the city that's when I'll that's when I'll be okay. אחטא ואשוב העירה, I'll come back to the city. Says no, that's not what it is. Really what it is is that the summertime it has to be more גילוי אלקות, you have to be more careful. And Hashem says if you want and you're more careful, you will accomplish spiritually more because it's easier to get close to Hashem. And that's why the summertime is the preparation to the month of Elul. I don't want to get, you know, so we're jumping to Elul already, but the month of Elul and Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur. Why? Because if you have a whole summer where there is גילוי אלקות, so when you come to Elul, so it's אני לדודי ודודי לי, we know Elul is a time when we are close to Hashem and then from our side, and then Hashem is close to us because we worked the whole summer the way we're supposed to. And then we come to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and then we go through the whole the whole cycle again. But the Eibershter should help that we should all follow and do the right thing, and if we do the right thing, we won't have to wait long. It will be such a great גילוי אלקות summer that the greatest גילוי אלקות, the coming of Mashiach, it should happen taka very soon this summer במהרה בימינו ממש. אמן. Yes. So why are you going away for the summer too? That's a good question. So why don't you have shiurim in the summer? Yes. What's the answer? The people are not around, they have other, better shiurim. That obviously. Yes, what? If so much of what you said is that the sun is representing godliness, how come it also winds up representing the goyim as opposed to the Jews? You mean they count according to the sun? Oh well, when there's an eclipse of the sun, for example. No no, that's it's a result, because they count according to the sun, cuz they're the נמשל, which have different reasons. It says the because the sun doesn't change like the moon. And therefore, the Yidden are it's more that the Yidden are compared to the moon because the Yidden go the ups and downs, have changes. But when Mashiach will come it says והיה אור השמש, אור הלבנה כאור השמש, שמש כשבעת, so obviously it's only during זמן הגלות we don't see it. So the goyim are compared to the sun for certain reasons. But be'etzem the sun represents Hashem, and when Mashiach will come that will be revealed. But this is part of galut. This is all part of the galut time, yeah. What about those who live closer to the equator or those who live Miami, for instance! Or those We have I always say this that according to Chassidut there is more גילוי אלקות in Miami throughout the year than other places, because more godliness in this in Miami, because we have the sun more even during wintertime. So I guess we are able to, and it's true, we see both sides, I must say. We see the other side, too, that in Miami you can have wintertime too, you could be in the gashmiyut, but because of that, זה לעומת זה, so we have the other side, too. If a person wants, he could feel more godliness here in Miami, yeah, it's true. So we have all those all the Yidden come down here That's why they come, yeah. Why do you think all the, call them snowbirds, come here? They think they're coming here to have the physical sun. In truth, it's their neshama that's coming here to have more the spiritual sun. It's like the Baal Shem Tov said, there's a pasuk that says רעבים גם צמאים נפשם בהם תתעטף. Which means, the simple translation is, those that are hungry, those that are thirsty, their nefesh is involved, you know, they're very involved in their hunger and thirst. The Baal Shem Tov says a different peshat, an interesting peshat. רעבים גם צמאים, you have hungry people and thirsty people. Now why are they hungry and thirsty? So they think because their body wants food. So the pasuk says you're wrong, נפשם בהם תתעטף, it's their nefesh and neshama wants the food, because we know every time you eat food, you get a ניצוץ קדושה, you get a holy spark. The neshama is hungry to that holy spark, so he thinks that the body is hungry to the food, he doesn't really realize that it's neshama hungry for the spark. Same thing here, they come down here thinking that they want the physical sun, the light, the heat, whatever it is. They don't know that their neshama wants really the godly sun. Some of them taka take it, they come and learn here. Yes. I think Poland and Lithuania had no sun. Right. And they were people on a very high level. Yeah, yeah. It doesn't mean you can't be a high level. I'm just saying that this time, there is more Godliness, but a person is able to take. Yeah, but you could have like the tzadikim all over and all times, no question about it. Yes. So does that mean we can never get to living in a place like Alaska where there's light 24 hours a day? 24 hours some time of the year. Then there is And then six months darkness. So, there's she'elot in halacha how when you say how you keep Shabbos and all these different things. But in I guess when the sun shines there, the שמש הוי' shines, but when it doesn't shine, then they have less, less ruchniyut, less Godliness, I would imagine. Yes. In the beginning, you were talking about the shield of the sun? Yeah. I was thinking about maybe that's the ozone layer that everybody says it's it's disappearing. That means that there is going to be more giluy? Very possible. Yeah, yeah. That's a very good point. That the shield might be the ozone layer that they're saying is disappearing. What does that mean? That there's going to be more sunlight, which is the coming of Mashiach, when it says that the sun will shine much stronger. We just hope it's true. Yes, one more question. Tisha B'Av? Yes. will be will be the most the strongest giluy? Yes, when Mashiach will come, yes, it says the greatest Yom Tov of the year will be Tisha B'Av when Mashiach will come. And the reason, there are many reasons as I explained once before, but it's connected to this also, because the summer is more giluy, so if Mashiach will come, it'll be even a greater giluy. So why is Tisha B'Av a bigger shield? Yeah, it's only a cover-up now. Because it's so great, so there's more cover-up. But if a person wants, could see in Tisha B'Av the giluy of Mashiach. Like the Berditchever, Reb' Levi Yitzchak Berditchever said, Shabbos Chazon, the Shabbos before Tisha B'Av, why is it called חזון? So simple pshat is, because the haftarah that you say on that day starts with the word חזון. But Reb' Levi Yitzchak Berditchever says the word חזון means to see. The Shabbos before Tisha B'Av, Hashem shows every Yid the third Beit Hamikdash. He doesn't show it to them on Sukkos, but he shows them on Tisha B'Av, on Shabbos before Tisha B'Av. Why? Because that's a greater giluy. And we hope this year we'll actually see it with our own eyes. Amen. Thank you, everybody, for coming.