much this is Okay, this is connected to the פסוק וימררו את חייהם. It says that when the Yidden were in Mitzrayim the Mitzrayim made their life bitter. So the Rebbe is going to explain, what does it mean that they made their life their lives bitter? Now, peshat it means that they made them work hard. You work hard and your life is hard. Your life is bitter. But the Rebbe says, דער אמתער חיות פון א יידן איז נישט דאס גשמיותדיקע לעבן. The real life of a Yid is not the physical life, not the physical things. נאר דאס רוחניותדיקע. It's the spiritual life is what really counts by a Yid. לדעם איז פארשטענדיק So, according to that, it's understood אז ווען די תורה דערציילט וימררו את חייהם the Torah says that the Mitzrayim made the lives of the Yidden bitter, אז די מצריים האבן פארביטערט זייער לעבן, they made them bitter, מיינט עס צוזאמען מיט דעם פשוטן פירוש פירוש המקרא יוצא מידי פשוטו, so together with the simple peshat, they פשוט physically made their lives bitter, it also must have a spiritual meaning. אז די מצריים האבן פארביטערט דאס רוחניותדיקע לעבן פון די יידן. That the Mitzrayim made the spiritual life of the Yidden bitter. דורך די שווערע ארבעט, by making them work hard, בחומר ובלבנים. It says they made their lives bitter by making them work with cement and with with and with bricks. Normally, that's a physical thing, and if it's a physical thing, it can make your physical life bitter, hard. You have to work hard, hard labor. But it seems like this physical work made their spiritual lives bitter. דארף מען פארשטיין, so the Rebbe says we have to understand דורך עבודת פרך קען מען פארביטערן דאס לעבן בגשמיות. When you work hard, your physical life could become bitter. אבער ווי קען די עבודה קשה בחומר ובלבנים, how could physical work with bricks and with cement, פארביטערן דאס יידישע לעבן ברוחניות, how could it make your spiritual life bitter? So, what does it mean here that it made And definitely it means also that they made the spiritual lives bitter. ס'איז טאקע געוויס it is true אז די שווערע א שווערע ארבעט קען שטערן צום רוחניותדיקע לעבן. If you work hard, it could hurt, it could שטערן, how do you say שטערן? Disturb. Disturb, that's the word. Hinder, all all these words. It compete, but it's not even compete. It's hinder your physical life. It makes it harder. So, לימוד התורה, קיום המצוות. If a person has to work hard, he's tired, he can't learn Torah. He doesn't have time to do mitzvot. It does hinder your spiritual life. The lashon is, doch, in the, in the, the pasuk, doch, oy, aber וימררו את חייהם. It doesn't say it hindered the life. It made the lives bitter. נישט בלויז אז די עבודת פרך האט געשטערט צום חיות רוחני, not only did it disturb their spiritual life, נאר אייך אז דאס רוחניותדיקע לעבן אליין איז געווארן פארביטערט. Their fis- spiritual life became bitter. איז ווי ווערט א לעבן רוחני פארביטערט דורך עבודת פרך גשמיות? How does the spiritual life get bitter from physical hard work? Now the

Rebbe said that it could be disturbance to your fis- spiritual life, and that's why is the famous vort that the Maggid of Mezeritch wrote to his son, his son the Malach. His son was such a holy person, they used to call him the Malach. He's like an angel, mamash like a Malach. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, he didn't he he neglected completely neglected his physical beings physical life. So his father sent him a letter saying, \"Don't do that. It's no good.\" And the expression he used there is, \"א קליינע לעכעלע אין גוף איז א גרויסע לאך אין נשמה.\" If you have a small hole in your body, it makes a big hole in your neshamah. Cuz you can't learn, you can't davenen. That's what the Rambam says in Hilchos Deos, that to be healthy is Avodat Hashem. It's part of serving Hashem, because if not, it disturbs. Person can't learn well. So it's true that physical hard labor could disturb your spiritual work, your spiritual life. But it can't make it bitter. Bitter means that it completely destroys it, but it doesn't. So the Rebbe is going to explain, what does it mean? Interesting pshat. In דער הלכה אז אן עבד עברי טאר מען טאר מען נישט מען, א, מאכן ארבעטן מיט עבודת פרך, there's a pasuk in Chumash that says that if you have a Jewish slave, you can't make him work עבודת פרך. עבודת פרך means work that breaks you, hard labor. But the expression עבודת פרך is also written in Mitzrayim. It Now that's what the Rambam is going to taytsh. Pashut pshat עבודת פרך is hard labor, very hard work. And the word פרך is מפרכסת את הגוף, it breaks your body. And that's an expression that says in Mitzrayim that the Yidden worked עבודת פרך. The same expression the Rambam used by an עבד עברי. When you have a Jewish, if you have a goyishe slave, it's one thing. When you have a Jewish slave, he's basically like a hired worker, that's all he is. You can't make him work hard, you can't do any of these things to him. But the לשון in pasuk is you can't make him work עבודת פרך, the same לשון that it says in Mitzrayim. טייטשט דער Rambam, so the Rambam explains, what is עבודת פרך mean? What kind of work can't you make your Jewish slave work? אַז דאָס מיינט, this means, מ'טאָר אים נישט מאַכן טאָן אַן עבודה שאין לה קצבה ואין לה תועלת, אַן אַרבעט וואָס איז נישט באַגרענעצט און ברענגט נישט קיין נוצן. You cannot make him work, work to do something that has no limit, and you can't make him work something that has, you know, for no purpose. Now, what does that mean? Simple. The Rambam explains what it means. You can't tell, it's abuse, you can't tell your slave, \"Go and stand, work, fill up jars of water,\" without telling him how, \"Just do it. When I'll come back, and I'll tell you now, without an end.\" Or go tell him some to do something that you don't want, that you don't really need. Go tell him, \"Paint this wall,\" when you don't need it to be painted. So you're not allowed, that's what עבודת פרך means. The Hagahot Maimoniyot דאָרט מבאיר, one of the commentators called Hagahot Maimoniyot explains, אַז מ'לערנט דאָס אָפּ פון דער עבודת פרך וואָס יידן האָבן געטאָן אין מצרים, that how does the Rambam know this? Interesting, the Gemara doesn't say it. The Rambam doesn't make up his own dinim. He takes from the Gemara, or he learns it out from someplace. So where does the Rambam know that the word עבודת פרך that it says by an עבד עברי means this? So the Hagahot Maimoniyot says he learns it out from Mitzrayim, because by Mitzrayim it says עבודת פרך. So that's what they did in Mitzrayim. לויט דעם, so it comes out, אַז די עבודת פרך אין מצרים האָט געמיינט, according to the Hagahot Maimoniyot, so it says in Mitzrayim that the Yidden worked עבודת פרך means אַזאַ עבודה שאין לה קצבה ואין לה תועלת, work that has no limit, no end, and work that has no gain, no purpose. קען מען פאַרשטיין ווי אַזוי דאָס האָט פאַרביטערט אין עיקר מרוחניות'דיקע חיות פון יידן אין מצרים. Now that we know that this is what happened in Mitzrayim, now we'll see how this could make bitter the spiritual life of a Yid. This type of work could make the life bitter, the spiritual life. And the Rebbe explains it very simple, mamash down to earth. בשעת אַ ייד איז זיך עוסק אין ענינים גשמיים ווי מען דאַרף על פי תורה,

when a Yid is involved in physical things the way you should according to the תורה, איז דאָס אַן עבודה וואָס האָט אַ קצבה און אַ תועלת. Then it turns out to be something that has a limit, whatever you do has a limit, and it has a purpose. ווייל די תורה האָט דאָך געגעבן אַ קצבה, אַ שיעור וויפיל אַ ייד מעג זיין מעג זיין פאַרטאָן אין אַן עסק. The the Torah gave a limit how much a person can be involved in his work, which means ער דאַרף זיין פאַרנומען אין עסק הפרנסה, you have to be involved in making a living, נאָר וויפיל אַזוי פיל וויפיל עס פאדערט זיך צו מאַכן אַ כלי צו ברכת הוי״ה, as much as you need to make a vessel to bring Hashem's blessing. Because it's not really your work that brings Hashem's blessing, it's not your work that makes the person get get money, it's Hashem's blessing. But Hashem wants us to work, and so based on the pasuk where the pasuk says, the pasuk says וברכך ה' אלקיך בכל אשר תעשה, Hashem will bless you in whatever you do, וואו זאָל חל זיין די ברכה פון השם, so you have to do The Sifri actually breaks up the pasuk into two parts. He starts, quotes the first half of the pasuk: וברכך ה' אלקיך, Hashem should bless you. So the Sifri asks, יכול יהא יושב בטל? So then you don't have to work. If Hashem blesses you, you don't have to work. תלמוד לומר בכל אשר תעשה, the second half of the pasuk says what you do. So the Eibershter wants you But really he's only wants you to work so you should make a keli, or as other Chassidus calls it the word keli, in other ספרים, מוסר ספרים, they call it a different word: hishtadlus. You make a hishtadlus, you have to try to see what you do. So you're only allowed to work with a limit, as much as you need to make a keli. ממילא איז פאַראַן אַ גרענעץ וועלכע כחות ער זאָל דאָרט צו באַנוצן. So there is a limit what kind of kochos you put into it. It says in pasuk: יגיע כפיך כי תאכל, די האָראָוואַניע פון די הענט, that you should work, it says you should eat from the toil of your hands. What does it mean the toil of your hands? That פון די אויסערלעכע און נידעריקע כחות. You only should get involved with your outside kochos of yourself, the superficial parts of you. אָבער נישט די האָראָוואַניע פון קאָפּ און העכערע כחות, but not that your mind and your heart should be involved in it completely. And there's a story that the Rebbe tells and I always tell this over, with a guy, a חסידישע ייד who was involved in Chassidus and this, and then he became a businessman. So he started a shoe business, but he got so involved in the shoe business that he was really needed. So once he came to the Rebbe Rashab for yechidus, and his main yechidus was involved what about his business, how should he do this, should he do that, should So the Rebbe Rashab stopped, looked at him, and he said, \"You know, I heard of shoes,\" it was not shoes, it was it was קאַלאָשן. It

said, \"I heard of a person having his feet in קאַלאָשן, אָבער די קאָפּ אין קאַלאָשן האָב איך קיינמאל נישט געהערט. To have your head in קאַלאָשן, that I never heard. Your head should be involved?\" And that changed him over completely. He realized what what happened. But the vort is you cannot be involved in it with your whole heart and with your whole soul. The lashon that it says in a different place, it should be בלא לב ולב, without your heart. Now, that doesn't mean you should do Once a bachur was chazering, not this sicha, a similar sicha, and he said in shul to the Yidden, \"Therefore, יידן, טוט אויס פונעם שכל!\" To make the tafel the ikar and the ikar the tafel. That's, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's number one, so there is a limit in in ichut, in quality, how much of yourself you put into it. אויך האָט דער עסק פרנסה, מען קען זאָגן, אַ קצבה ומסת הזמן. Al pi Torah, it also has a limit in time. עס זאָל זיין באַשעפטיקט אין עניני פרנסה נאָר אַ באַשטימטע צייט, you should only be involved in your parnasah a certain amount of time. וודאי אַז אַפֿילו אַ בעל עסק זאָל יעדער טאָג האָבן גענוג צייט פֿאַר תפילה בציבור, and even if you're a businessman, you have to work enough that you should with a limit that you should have time to davenen with a minyan, kvius itim laTorah, time to learn, און אַזוי ווייטער, and other things. So there is a limit על פי תורה how much you should work. So if you work על פי תורה, there's a limit. Then the second thing, און ברענגט דער און אויך ברענגט דער עסק דאַן אַ תועלת. Then also your work brings has a purpose and you have a gain. ווייל וויבאַלד ער טוט דעם עסק אויפֿן אופן ווי די תורה געהייסן, since you're working according to the way the Torah said, וועט זיין וועט זיין מעשה אַ כלי צו ברכת השם אלוקיך. So what you did is a proper vessel to receive the blessings of Hashem, because you're doing it properly. But that's only if you do it the way the Torah wants. Then your ruchniyusdike life is fine, because the Torah says you're allowed to work, the Torah actually says you should work. So it doesn't interfere with your ruchniyusdike life, so you'll have your ruchniyusdike life and your ruchniyus life is fine with work. And it's not an avodat perech, and it's not called hard labor because it has a limit and it has a gain. אָבער ווען איינער טוט דעם עסק מיט יגיע ראש, but if somebody is involved with in his head is completely involved in it, אַז ער האָרעוועט מיט דער קאָפּ צו זוכן פֿאַרשידענע עצות און תחבולות צו מאַכן וואָס מער רווח, what's the pshat you're involved with your head? You're looking all kinds of of of ways and תחבולות, what's תחבולות called? Machinations. What is that? Machinations. Machinations. Okay, I guess that means תחבולות, I never heard of that. Tricks. Tricks, ideas. You look for all kinds of chachmot. Creative ways. Yeah, to make more money which you shouldn't. איז עס דאַן אַן עבודה שאין לה קצבה ואין לה תועלת. So then it has no limit and then there's no purpose, no gain. Why? קיין תועלת איז אין דעם ניטאָ. There's no gain in all these chachmot and the things that you're looking for. כמו שנאמר, like it says, לא לחכמים לחם. The pasuk says smart people don't have bread. It's not because you're smart you make money. People think they make money because they're smart. You find a lot of people who are not smart and they make more money, a lot of people who are smart and they don't make any money. Work hard. Yeah. But if if you work hard stam that you have to, there's no problem, but if you're Huh? Working and studying? The ratio? Yeah. Well, you have to work enough to make a good living, a normal living, and then the rest time you should study. 80 80/20, 70/30? Depends for who. Some people it's more, some people it's less. Eight hours a day. So a person is so if you work this way, you will not have any תועלת. You will not gain. It will not bring you more parnasah, that's these chachmot will not bring you more פרנסה, ווייל דער אויבערשטער גיט אייך פרנסה, because the Oybershter gives you the פרנסה, און תחבולות פֿון אַ מענטשן קענען דאָ ניט אויפֿטאָן. So whatever a person will start thinking, all the tricks he will make will not help. אדרבה, זיי קענען נאָך קאַליע מאַכן. They can make it even worse because the Oybershter doesn't want you to get involved with that. So number one, it will not bring you any gain. אויך איז עס דאַן אָן אַ קצבה, but also has no limit, עס איז גאָר קיין שיעור ניט צו דער זאַך פֿון האָרעוואַניע. There's no limit to how much work you put in. If you're not going על פי תורה, there is no limit. And the Rebbe says a very simple example: עס איז שוין פֿאַרנאַכט, let's say you own a business, and it's already towards the evening, די אַרבעטער און אָנגעשטעלטע גייען זיך אַהיים, the workers already, the employees, going home already, מען דאַרף שוין שליסן דעם געשעפֿט, time to close your business, אָבער ער, דער בעל עסק, the guy who has the business, האַלט נאָך אַלץ אין טראַכטן וועגן געשעפֿט, he's not ready to close. His mind is still working on more business. און אַפֿילו אַז ער ווערט פֿאַרטיק מיטן עסק און קומט שוין אַהיים, and even when you're finished already and you come home, אַנשטאָט צו האָבן אַ קביעות פֿאַר לערנען תורה, so instead of having a time to study תורה, נגלה און חסידות, האַלט ער נאָך אַלץ אין איין אַרומלויפֿן, so you're still running around, whether b'foal, actually running around from person to person trying to get more business, אָדער ווייניקסטנס מיט זיינע געדאַנקען, or at least in your mind you're running around, וועגן דעם עסק, about your business. און אַפֿילו בשעת ער גייט שוין שלאָפֿן, and even when you're going to sleep already, וואָס עס ענדיקט זיך שוין די אַלע ענינים, now when you're sleeping already your mind should calm down, you're like going to sleep, ער זוכט נאָך אַלץ פֿאַרשידענע געשעפֿטן, because while you're in bed you're thinking in your mind, what kind of ideas can I get to make more money. און מובן אַז אַפֿילו בשעת שלאָפֿן, from that we understand while they're sleeping, זענען זיינע חלומות אויך אָנגעפֿילט מיט די עניני עסק, your your dreams are full of all this business, וואָס ער האָט וועגן זיי געטראַכט אַ גאַנצן טאָג, what you thought about during the day, because we know what you think about during the day, that's what you dream about at night. So at

night and he's nervous at night also. So he's never there's no end to this. So there's no gain, there's no end. I don't know why it doesn't mention Not only that, like this when you daven, so your mind, if you're doing al pi Torah, you daven, you think what you're saying in davening, you concentrate in davening, but if you're a guy like this, even while you're davening, your mind is really running around in business. Like the Baal Shem Tov once came over after Shemoneh Esrei to a person who davened in his shul. After Shemoneh Esrei, he walks over and gives him Shalom Aleichem. So he looks at the Baal Shem Tov, Shalom Aleichem, why give me Shalom Aleichem? I I I I'm here, I didn't leave anywhere. So, I know, but in your mind you were in Leipzig, you were in Moscow, you were there already, you made business, you were far away, so now you can And since it's the Baal Shem Tov said במקום שמחשבתו של אדם שם הוא נמצא, where a person's mind is, that's where you are, so if your mind you were in Leipzig, you were in Leipzig. So now Shalom Aleichem, you came back. So a person like this, his mind is never ending his business, there's no end to this. Then he goes further. אויך ביי יענעם איז אויך דא אן ענליכע מציאות. This is example of a businessman. But the Rebbe says you could have a person who sits and learns, a kollel yungerman, a person who learns all day, could also have, in a different level, but a similar thing of is always being involved in things which are not the way it should be according to the Torah. אין עסק ליגט ער כאטש, a guy like that is not involved in business, ער קען אבער ליגן אין כבוד המדומה. You could care about honor, false honor, און אויסגעדאכטע כבוד וכיוצא בזה. And he always thinks, טאמער האט יענער אים פארשעמט, his mind is always busy, maybe somebody insulted me. The guy wasn't so careful the way he spoke to me, you know. And there are people like that. און ער איז דאך א תלמיד חכם, he thinks himself, after all, I'm a talmid chacham, a scholar, דארף ער זיך אָננעמען פאר כבוד התורה, how could I allow it to pass? Because when he insulted me, really he insulted the Torah, because I know Torah, so m'meila he insulted the Torah. The problem is that how come if he insulted somebody else, the guy doesn't care so much? Other person is also a talmid chacham. It's only if he insulted my Torah. Oh, maybe because he's not as big, so my Torah is greater. But anyway, so this is Someone told me there's a

guy, I I don't want to mention his name, a rav in in New York, he came to a chasunah and they told him they're going to give him a brachah under the chuppah. So he said, but make sure you call me by the right title. So they called him up, the Rav, they called him Harav Hagaon, this and this person, they called him by his name and he's a member of this rabbinical organization, this rabbinical organization, and they called him up. When he heard that, he got up and walked out. You didn't mention that I'm also a Dayan. And he walked out. This happened just a few weeks ago. No, the person who announced. The person who announced, he announced him with all the titles, but he didn't mention that he's a Dayan. So he got up and left. Well sure, we said kavod haTorah. Because he's the That's nuts. און אזוי ווי צדיקים דומים לבוראם, and just and since it says tzadikim are similar to their Creator, דארף ער דאך גיין בדרכי הקדוש ברוך הוא, so he thinks like there's a guy, he insulted me, really he insulted the Torah, and I have to follow the ways of השם, און פונקט ווי דער אויבערשטער כביכול טוט מדה כנגד מדה, so Hashem pays measure for measure, דארף ער זיך אויך אזוי פירן, so he has to do the same way, און מוז זיך מיט יענעם אפרעכענען, so that guy insulted me, I got to do it back to him. און אויב דער כבוד התורה איז ביי אים גאר טייער, if the kavod of the

Torah, the Rebbe puts it in quotations, he's making fun, and if the kavod of the Torah is so precious to him, דארף ער דאך יענעם אפצאלן כפל, ד׳ וה׳, he got to pay the guy double or four or five times, פינף מאל אזויפיל ווי יענעם קומט, five times as much as the guy deserves. און וועגן דעם האלט ער אין איין טראכטן, so this is a guy that this is on his mind the whole time. It bothers him and on his mind the whole time, why did the guy speak to me like that? Why did the guy say this to me like that? נאר בשעת ער גייט צו שלאָף, when he goes to sleep, דא שטייט אין דעם אויך זיין חשבון הנפש פארן שלאָף, right before you go to sleep, you have to make a cheshbon, take an accounting of what happened during the day. So what accounting does he take? Of this thing! Look what happened, this guy insulted me! און מובן אז דאס ווירקט אויך אויף זיינע חלומות, so his dreams are like that, so he dreams about his kavod and this, so it's the same idea of thinking of the wrong things, and this is something that brings no to'elet, it doesn't bring any it's no gain, no purpose here, and there's no limit, because you could constantly bother you and constantly think about it. ווען איינער טראכט וועגן אפּהיטן דעם געזונט פון זיין גוף, when a person thinks about watching over his health, טוט ער דאס מסתמא מיט א חשבון, then you make a cheshbon, that makes sense. What's the sense? The Rambam says היות הגוף בריא ושלם מדרכי השם הוא, for the body to be healthy is part of the ways of Hashem. צו עבודת השם דארף מען האבן א געזונטן גוף, to serve Hashem, you have to have a a healthy body.

ובפרט נאך אויב ער האט געלערנט חסידות, if you learn Chassidut, certainly you know, און ווייסט דעם מאמר הבעל שם טוב, you know what the Baal Shem Tov said על פסוק עזב תעזב עמו, מיט'ן גוף. There's a pasuk the Baal Shem Tov says it's a it's a pasuk in Parashat Mishpatim, it's not to get the whole perush and the peshat, but the end of the pasuk is עזב תעזב עמו, the Baal Shem Tov said you have to work with your body, and the Baal Shem Tov made a big fuss over it because before Before the Baal Shem Tov, the people before, gedolim, not stam people, great people, their way of serving Hashem was through fasting, through doing סיגופים. סיגופים means self-affliction, I don't know, they used to roll in snow and they used to go amongst mosquitoes to be bitten, to fight the coarseness of your body. Came the Baal Shem Tov and said that's not what you have to do. You have to work with your body. It's not fasting. The expression goes, chassidim they used to say, it's harder to eat l'shem Shamayim than to fast l'shem Shamayim. To fast l'shem Shamayim is easy: not to eat. But when you do eat and you should eat it with the proper intention, that's much harder, that's a harder avodah. But that's what you're supposed to do. So if a guy knows this much, און ווייסט ער אויך וואס עס שטייט אין תניא, knows in Tanya, it says in תניא אז א אידישע גוף דער אויבערשטער אליין אויסדערוויילט, that a Jewish body Hashem chose. When it says Hashem chose the Yidden, it doesn't go on the neshamah, it goes on the guf. The neshamah, it can't be. Choice means that you're choosing two similar things, and the neshamah of a Yid is not similar to a goy, so it doesn't choose it, it's obvious Hashem takes it. The body is the same, and Hashem chose the body of a Yid. וויבאלד אז א אידישע גוף איז אזוי טייער, דארף מען דאך אים אפהיטן, עס זאל עס זאל טויגן, you have to you have to take care of it. So there is a gain by taking care of it. He

chose the body of a Yid to put the נפש האלוקית into. He had created the other, but it was just neshamah, right? So he had to choose a body to put it into. If you want to put it in those words, yeah. No, not a body without a neshamah. There is no such thing as a There is no such thing as a Yiddishe body without a neshamah. Has to be with a neshamah. אבער די תחבולות אין עסק, but if somebody is involved in business, און דער טראכטן און ליגן אין כבוד המדומה, or involved in this kavod that's not real, אין דעם איז שוין לגמרי קיין חשבון נישטא. Here you have no There's no cheshbon for it. דאס איז אן עבודה שאין לה קצה ואין לה תכלית. This is something that has no end, it'll never finish, you'll never get rid of it. It'll go on and on, and there's no purpose, you don't gain anything by it. און דאס מיינט אז מיט עבודת פרך האט מען פארביטערט דאס אידישע לעבן, וימררו את חייהם, די חיות הרוחנית. Now we'll understand what it means that by hard labor, hard work, it made the spiritual life of a Yid bitter. אלץ וואס דער אויבערשטער באשאפן די וועלט איז מיט א גרענעץ, מיט א חשבון. Whatever Hashem created in the world is with a limit, and there's a cheshbon, there's how much. Cheshbon means there's a purpose in it. You make a cheshbon that I do this and this, so I'll make money, I'll do this, this, I'll do this. So there's a cheshbon is a purpose. פונוואנען קען קומען אן ענין אן א גבולה, אין לה קצה, און אן א חשבון, אין לה תכלית? The mere fact that there's a possibility to have something without a limit, have something without a cheshbon, without a Where does that come from? פונעם נפש האלוקית דאפקע. The

whole concept in essence comes from the neshamah. וואס די נפש האלוקית איז פארבונדן מיט'ן אויבערשטן, the neshamah of a Yid is connected to השם, און ער איז דאך אומבאגרענעצט, השם has no limit, has no end, דעריבער זענען דאך אין נשמה פאראן אומבאגרענעצטע כחות, so every איד'ס נשמה has unlimited amount of כחות, וואס זענען העכער פון חשבון און גבול, and they're beyond any limit. A purpose means for a reason. This is beyond a cheshbon, beyond a limit. ווי די כח פון מסירת נפש ביי יעדער איד, א כח וואס איז העכער פון טעם ודעת. Where do we see it by every Yid? Where do we see by a Yid that he has unlimited amount of koach? The fact that a Yid will go on mesirat nefesh, and a mesirat nefesh is something beyond limits. Cause if you go with the limits of a cheshbon, a person, it makes no sense to go on mesirat nefesh. Because whatever a person wants is for himself. Good things for yourself. But to give up yourself for nothing, just because Hashem said so and you gain nothing, that according to sechel makes no sense. That comes from the neshamah, which comes from Hashem. You could know you're gaining your connection to Hashem. Then it's not real mesirat nefesh. That's not That's not real mesirat nefesh. If you

do it because you want to gain spiritual gain, it's not mesirat nefesh. A real mesirat nefesh is you're doing it just because Hashem wants. Not because you gain, cause if you do it for a gain, some people do it for one gain, להבדיל, ימח שמם, the Arabs, they suit their suicide bombers, they go on mesirat nefesh, because they tell them משוגעת'ן, gain, because they're going to get this, they go to Gan Eden, this, and some people, a great person will do it because he'll have spiritual gain, good gain, but that's not the real, real thing of mesirat nefesh. Very high hurdle. Huh? Very high hurdle. For a person, it's almost impossible to reach this level. No, but Yidden did reach such levels. The best ראיה is that there are people who are not frum, and they really did not care much about spirituality, because in their personal life they weren't frum, and they went on mesirat nefesh. Because there's something in the neshamah that pushed them to go on mesirat nefesh. Humanity, they believe they're saving the world, and No, no, no, no. Some like that. There are some like that, I know. But not every- No, but there were many Yidden not like that. Many Yidden didn't care about saving the world, it's just they couldn't, they forced them to bow down to the, or to a cross, or to to avodah zarah, and they just went on mesirat nefesh. Not because they made cheshbonot. There were some, maybe, yeah, but there are definitely many Yidden who did not, and that's something comes only from the neshamah, that can't be, there's no Naturally, that cannot be. There's no such thing. כל דבר רוצה בקיומו, everything wants its own existence. To give up your existence for whatever for a better existence, that yeah. That yeah. Some people, chas ve-shalom, commit suicide because their life is they can't live like that anymore, because they feel if they're going to give up their life, it'll be better for them. So, it's all looking the betterment for themselves. But not for yourself, that's mesirut nefesh. איך קען מען אין דעם דערגיין ביז אין עבודה שאין בה תועלת, עבודה שלא לשמה בתכלית? You could also come to serve Hashem without any purpose, in a good way. So why do you serve Him? Just because He wants to, no no reason. So this idea of not having a limit and not having a purpose really be-etzem is in the good side. The neshamah has that feeling, because it comes from Hashem who has no limit, and there is no cheshbonot there, there's no purpose. Why is there Hashem? If it's a purpose, that's it, for no reason. בשעת ס'איז אבער מען נעמט די כחות פון נפש האלוקית, but when a person will take these kochos from the neshamah, which have these abilities of being without a limit and being without a purpose, really essentially connected to Hashem, and you take these כחות, און מען נוצט זיי אויס אין עולם הזה, and you use it in the opposite, for קליפה, שמים חושך לאור ואור לחושך, that's like taking darkness and saying it's light, saying light is dark, שמים מר למתוק ומתוק למר, you say bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter, in an עבודת פרך שאין לה קצבה ואין לה תועלת, and you do it in a way of like he said before, a person who works and is involved day and night without an end, so he's taking the ability of a neshamah of being without a limit and using it to be without a limit involved in in in in stupidities, or doing something without a purpose because it's not going to gain anything, so he's using the koach that he has from the Eibershter to do things without a purpose, he's also doing that, but in the bad side. פארביטערט מען דערמיט דעם חיות פון נפש האלוקית, וימררו את חייהם, so the neshamah gets bitter, because you're taking the neshamah's special powers and you're using it for the opposite. No, but that doesn't mean that the middah is only in kedushah? No, yeah, so middah of ahavah is not a The middah of ahavah is not only a middah of nefesh ha-elokit. Who said? But here it is! No, here the middah of bli gvul is a middah of the nefesh ha-elokit. There's no bli gvul in kelipah. There's no אין לה תועלת באמת in kelipah. But you're taking that middah and you're using it. I know, so you're taking the Yeah, but the נפש הבהמית takes it from נפש האלוקית. By other middot he doesn't take from נפש, he has his own, because there are two sets. There's a set of, yeah. דער ענין פון וימררו את חייהם קען אויך זיין אין א דקות'דיקן אופן. This idea of your life, your spiritual life being bitter, could be in a much finer level also. ער נוצט דאך אבער זיין חיות אין רוחניות, אין עניני קדושה. This is a guy, higher level, uses it for קדושה, און נישט אין עניני עולם הזה, doesn't use these powers in this worldly things, ער נוצט עס אבער נישט אויף דער עבודה וואס ער דארף טאן, but you don't use it for what you have to do. ביז אדרבה, ער שטערט זיין עבודה. He might do good things, but sometimes a person could do good things, but that's not what you should do. So not only does it not help you, it ruins it for you. You should be doing something else. And he gives an example: יעדער איד האט זיך זיין שליחות וואס צוליב דעם איז זיין נשמה אראפגעקומען אויף דער וועלט. Everyone has his mission why the neshamah came down here. I mean, generally we all have the same, learn Torah, do mitzvot, that's all the same, but then there are specific shlichut, missions that every neshamah has.

בשעת דער יצר הרע וויל אים שטערן פון זיין עבודה, so when the yetzer hara, what does yetzer hara want to do? Want to interrupt you, disturb you from what you're supposed to do. What does he do? ובידעו, אז אויב ער וועט אנהויבן מיט איינרעדן אים ער זאל אין גאנצן ניט טאן אין עבודת השם, the yetzer hara knows like this: if I'll come to the person, tell him, \"Stop serving Hashem,\" וועט ער אין דעם ניט פאלגן, no one's going to listen to him. How could a Yid listen not to serve Hashem? איז דער יצר הרע מסכים אז ער זאל יא טאן אין עבודת השם. So yetzer hara feels like this: I'm going to not disturb him from serving Hashem. I'm going to tell him: serve Hashem. נאר וואס דען, but ער רעדט אים איין ער זאל טאן נישט זיין עבודה, he tells him, \"Do something that's not for you to do, נאר די עבודה וואס איז שייך צו א צווייטן, do what's what it's important for somebody else.\" I don't know if the Rebbe טייטשט here, I didn't look at the sichah now, but the famous taytsh in the Gemara says the yetzer hara doesn't come to a person and say, \"Do avodah zarah.\" היום אומר לו עשה כך, today he says this, למחר אומר לו עשה כך, next day he says this, till the end is he tells him עבודה זרה. So, simple peshat is today he tells him, \"Do a small aveirah.\" Small aveirah he thinks he'll get you to do. Tomorrow, do a bigger and bigger, and finally. The alter, the Frierdiker Rebbe טייטשט different: היום comes today and tells him, \"Do a מצוה.\" Yetzer hara wants you to do a mitzvah? So, it's not exactly like it says here, but it's connected here. So the רבי טייטשט: what's the problem when yetzer hara tells him do a mitzvah? The moment the yetzer hara gets you used that you have to have his haskama, then, ah, so then he also has a say. So, if he'll come and tell you tomorrow, \"Do something else,\" well, if he knows what he's talking about, because yesterday he told me to do a mitzvah. The same thing here, he tells you to do a mitzvah, but he knows that this is not really what you should be doing. And the רבי explains what it is.

אין אלגעמיין זיינען אידן איינגעטיילט אין צוויי סוגים. Generally the אידן are divided in two categories: יושבי אוהל, people that sit and learn, ובפרט תלמידי הישיבות, and certainly students in ישיבה, וואס זייער עיקר ענין איז לערנען תורה, their main thing is learning Torah. זיי דארפן טאקע טאן און מקיים זיין גמילות חסדים, they also have to do chesed, kindness. נתינת צדקה בגשמיות וברוחניות, they have to give tzedakah physically or and also ברוחניות. They have to teach other people, they have to מבצעים, they have to do that. בפרט הפצת המעיינות, especially spreading Chassidus. But כל האומר אין לי אלא תורה אפילו תורה אין לי, cause the Gemara says if anybody says, \"All I have is Torah, and I don't want to do anything else helping other אידן, אפילו תורה אין לי. You're going to lose your Torah.\" So every even the person who's involved constantly in learning must do some. אדער וואס וויל זיך באגענוגענען נאר מיט לערנען תורה, if someone wants to be satisfied just with learning תורה, און גארנישט טאן אין גמילות חסדים, not to do anything with chesed and helping, האט ער נישט קיין תורה, and you don't have the Torah. נאר ער מוז זיך פארנעמען מיט גמילות חסדים. So everyone has to do גמילות חסדים. אבער זיין הויפט זאך איז תורה, but know everyone knows that a ישיבה בחור, and the others, some people who learn in כולל, their main thing is to sit and learn Torah most of the time. That's one category. The second category,

בעלי עסק, business people, so their הויפט זאך איז קיום המצוות. What's their main עבודת השם? They don't learn Torah all day, doing more mitzvot, giving tzedakah a lot, doing mitzvot. What's the עיקר פון מצוות מעשיות? It's mitzvot tzedakah, געבן צדקה אין גשמיות. The main mitzvah is tzedakah, to physically give a lot of צדקה, און פארשפרייטן די מעיינות פון אידישקייט, and give צדקה ברוחניות, spreading אידישקייט, Torah, און חסידות. דאס איז צדקה אין רוחניות. This is צדקה רוחניות. אזוי ווי אבער אלע ענינים אין קדושה זענען פארבונדן צווישן זיך אין אן אופן פון התכללות, in קדושה everything is connected, מוז ביי די בעלי עסק אויך זיין א קביעות עתים לתורה. So even business people must have time to learn Torah. צו גאב צו זייער עיקר עבודה אין קיום המצוות אין צדקה, in in in addition to their giving tzedakah. But still, the main thing by them is tzedakah, all mitzvot, but tzedakah is something that you see by a business person, what do you expect if he's giving tzedakah. פאראן אבער אזעלכע נשמות התועות. You have lost souls, בלאנדזשענדע נשמות, souls that are lost, וואס ווילן נישט טאן די שליחות וואס איז אויף זיי ארויפגעלייגט געווארן, that don't want to do the job that was put upon them, און זיי זוכן זיך אויס ענינים וואס געהערן צו אנדערע, and they find things that belong to others. It's an It gives an example. אזעלכע בעלי בתים, you have certain בעלי בתים, וואס מ'מאנט פון זיי נתינת צדקה און הפצת המעיינות, you tell them, \"You know, your job is to give tzedakah. Your job is to go help other people to teach to to spread אידישקייט.\" ענטפערט ער, they answer, \"אז גראדע יעצט קען ער זיך נישט אפגעבן די צייט פאר א צווייטן, ווייל ער דארף האבן די צייט פאר זיך אליין. Now, I can't do that. I'm busy learning. I have to spend my time. No, how can I give up? I have to learn.\" פלוצלונג ווערט ער א מאריך בתפלה. All of a sudden, he says, \"I have to דאווען באריכות, I have to דאווען long.\" א מתמיד אין לערנען, and he becomes a מתמיד in learning. און גלייך, but after you finish learning, so he says, און גלייך נאך דער התמדה, after he finishes his learning, מוז ער שוין לויפן אין געשעפט. It's late! Late! I have to run my my business. ממילא האט ער נישט קיין צייט צו געבן צדקה און טאן לטובת א צווייטן אידן, so he doesn't have time to give tzedakah, to help another איד. So he's doing the wrong thing. His main thing is tzedakah. The yetzer hara tells him, \"Learn Torah.\" אזוי זענען פאראן יושבי אוהל, תלמידי ישיבות, you have תלמידים, בחורים in ישיבה, וואס פארנעמען זיך מיט צדקה, they spend their time going helping others, אין דער צייט וואס איז קבוע אויף לימוד התורה, when they have to learn Torah. So these people are called נשמות התועות. און אפט איז דער סדר ביי די נשמות התועות, and many time by these lost souls, the seder is, אז דווקא אין דעם צווייטן קו, that in the other thing, וואס באלאנגט עיקר נישט צו זיי, which doesn't belong to them, איז זייער התעסקות מיט ענערגיע, that's what they have they do it with energy, מיט א chayus. But then the Rebbe adds, but you should know only on נאר בתחלה, in the beginning. Later on, they give up anyway. But in the beginning, why is it so so exciting? Because it's not what they have to do, and the yetzer hara helps. See, the yetzer hara, when you do something that the yetzer hara wants, you're excited to do it. So this it's a good thing. They do a lot of tzedakah and they go out helping. Why? Because the yetzer hara is pushing him to do it. All right, it's a good thing, so sometimes the yetzer hara pushes you to a good thing. עס כאטש עס זענען טאקע ענינים אין קדושה, these are holy things, די באלד אבער דאס איז נישט די תפקיד פון דער נשמה, this is not the job, the mission of this נשמה, איז דאס אן ענין פון וימררו חייהם, then his life He's doing a spiritual thing, but his spiritual life is bitter. ווייל מען נוצט אויס די חיות פון די נפש האלוקית פאר ענינים וואס נישט איר תפקיד, you're using the chayus of your neshamah, something which is not your job, ביז אין אן אופן וואס שטעכט צום תפקיד, and it could even disturb your job. There's a famous story. The Rebbe doesn't bring the story here. And I have to tell you, I seldom tell this story, because I don't understand it. But I'll tell you what it says, I can I'll tell The בעל עגלה and the rich man. I don't understand the story, but I'll tell you. And this is a story is brought always, and the Rebbe brought it, to this נשמות התועות.

There was and once the story, there was two uh a rich man had to go for business someplace, and he hired a wagon driver. Wagon driver's a simple person, hey, poor man, er a person, and they took him to a certain place. Anyway, they came and they had to stop in the middle of the way because it was Shabbos, so they stopped in a certain town. And uh the the בעל עגלה they both rented rooms in a hotel to sit to sleep to be over there. And the the the בעל עגלה, the guy put his his wagon away and put his away, and the rich man also. What did what did rich man do? The rich man was early, had nothing to do in house, so he got dressed for Shabbos, and he went early to shul. He sat down, started saying Shir Hashirim or whatever you do, was sitting there. In middle, comes running in somebody that he was going with his horse and his horse got stuck in mud. And he needs help. Nu, he needs help, so he ran out, tried to help him. He couldn't get him out, and he got he didn't know how he didn't know what to do, he's a man who never did such a job. He's a rich man, he never got involved, so he had tried to help him and he got full of mud and he got dirty and finally he came late to shul. The

בעל עגלה came early to shul also, and he was on time there when the shul was dividing no the this the the poor people, the guests. They always Friday night would divide who should take, and he had bought food, so they said, \"Yeah, I have in my room. I have some food.\" So they had got a few guests to come to eat by him. So it turned out that the בעל עגלה, what was what good did he do? Fed some people, a מכניס אורח. And the rich people, the person what did he do? He helped somebody take the horse out. Really, the jobs should be reversed. The בעל עגלה, that's his the the wagon driver, that's his job, and he knows and this would be something that he should have done. And to help other people and to give tzedakah, hachnasat orchim, that should be the other guy. So, when the neshamot came above, so the story goes, they told him, \"You did a good thing, you did a good thing, but you did you switched your jobs. And therefore,\" they made the neshamah, I think the end of the story is the neshamah come down again and go through something like that. That that's the story. So, they were called נשמות התועות, lost souls. What what did the Alter Rebbe decide about the story? What should they have done? I don't know, I never understood. It's a complaint. What should the guy, the rich man should not have gone to help? And this other guy should not have invited the guest? I don't know. So, I don't know if this story means To tell the בעל עגלה to come out to help. No, why? He ran himself to help, what do you need more? He did such a great thing. Could be the story doesn't mean to say that he would did something wrong. It just, yeah, it just worked out that it didn't, so he has to be מתקן, I don't know. But the way the story is told told, that it seems like it's a חסרון. Anyway. He should He

should tell the guy alone to go and But yeah, but what what He tried to help himself. Is there anything wrong in he did when he tried in his Shabbos clothes tries to pull him out of the mud? I mean, some mesirat nefesh, I think it did a gevaldike job. I don't know, let's just finish the sicha. דאס איז אייך וואס מ'געפינען, this is why we find, אז די יציאה פון גלות מצרים איז געקומען דורך משכו וקחו לכם. To go out of Mitzrayim, what was the zechut that took them out? When they take the korban took the Korban Pesach. For the Korban Pesach, it says the Eibershter said to Moshe: משכו, schlep, pull, and take to yourself. דורך דעם וואס מ'האט גענומען די עבודה זרה פון מצרים, a sheep, by taking this sheep to bring as a korban, which was the idol of the Egyptians, און מ'האט געשאכטן פאר די אויגן פון די מצרים, and they slaughtered it in the eyes of the Mitzrayim, of the Egyptians. וואס דאס איז דאך געווען פון א כח שאין לו קץ, מסירת נפש למעלה מטעם ודעת, that took mesirat nefesh to do in front of them, cuz they definitely could have killed them on spot for doing that. And they did it. מיט דעם האט מען גענומען דעם תוקף פון נפש האלוקית און מ'האט אויסגענוצט ריכטיק דעם כח, what they did was they took this power of being unlimited, and they used it for the good. Instead of using it throughout all the years in Mitzrayim when they use it for the bad, now use it for the good. אזוי ווי דער אייבערשטער האט געהייסן, like Hashem said. און דאס האט געבראכט חירות, this brought the freedom.

ביז בלשון פון Tikkunei Zohar, the Zohar says freedom of what? חירות מטפשותא. א באפרייונג פון טיפשות, they got free from stupidity. האט באקומען דעם ריכטיקן פארשטאנד, what's not stupid? Stupid means don't really understand, so till then they didn't really understand right. How it's forced? Uh? Yeah, but they were they got involved. Like it says in Haggadah quote a pasuk: וירעו אותנו המצרים. The simple peshat in the Haggadah, it's a pasuk, but that וירעו אותנו, the המצרים, the Egyptians did bad to us. They were bad to us. But the the Rebbe says it in the name of the Frierdiker Rebbe, really the Shelah says this: וירעו אותנו המצרים, the Mitzrayim made us bad. But the Mitzrayim forced them, eventually got to them and they became that way, so they became stupid. Huh? So they so they got the real seichel. צו וויסן וואס עס קומט פון נפש האלוקית און וואס עס קומט פון נפש הבהמית, און פון גאר נאך נידעריקער, they realized what's good, what comes from the neshamah, what comes from the yetzer hara, נפש הבהמית. דאס איז דער ענין פון יציאת מצרים ברוחניות, this is what it means to go out of Mitzrayim spiritually. אז די כוחות פון נפש האלוקית זענען ארויס פון גלות מצרים, that the powers of the נפש האלוקית came out of גלות מצרים, ממילא האט דאס געבראכט אויך די גאולה בגשמיות, this also brought the geulah physically. Der hashgachah pratit is that we have to learn this sichah. Like I

said, it wasn't my plan, I What's but like after I made it and I left, I looked at it, I said, heck, this is not the sichah I wanted to make. What's It's back today? Yes. All right, so