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Chabad Research Unit — research — Matos-Massei 5783

Выпуск: Chabad Research Unit — research — Matos-Massei 5783. Темы: не определены автоматически. CHABAD ‫ב"ה‬ RESEARCH UNIT Summaries of points from the Rebbe’s Chassidic Discourses ‫בלי אחריות כלל וכלל‬ ‫מסעי תשכ''ו ד''ה וידבר משה אל ראשי מטות נבלתי מוגה‬-‫פרשת מטות‬ Published for Shabbat Sedra Matot-Masei 26 Tammuz 5783, 15 July 20231 BEYOND VOWS? Rashi states that the mention of the heads of the Tribes hints at the idea that a Sage is empowered to annul vows in certain circumstances, but this still needs further explanation 2) how does the passage about vows relate to the section on Festivals at the concluding part of the previous Sedra? These teachings on the importance of positive involvement with the physical pleasures of life also suggest, as was said by the Jerusalem Talmud, that one should not make vows, which would lead to increased abstinence and disengagement from the physical. The two modes – that of being beyond temptation and beyond vows, and that of being challenged by temptation, and therefore needing the added security provided by a vow – are expressed in certain other spiritual polarities. One is the distinction between Atzilut and the lower worlds: Atzilut is beyond vows, there is no hint of evil there, whereas the lower worlds include the possibility and actuality of evil, which one has to try to avoid. In specific Sefirot, Wisdom, Chochmah, is the essence of selflessness beyond evil, while Understanding, Binah, is the source of the down chaining of the Sefirot and therefore also can be tainted with Evil. This is also expressed in a teaching of the Baal Shem Tov4, commenting on the verse ‘if you see the donkey of someone you do not like struggling under its load, you must help him’ (Exodus 23:5). If someone has strayed from the path and has succumbed to temptations, he or she should be extra careful and in this case vows of abstention, or their equivalent, might well be appropriate. In terms of the polarity between the one who is beyond vows and the one who needs to be restrained by them, surely the heads of the Tribes are in the former group? Chabad Research Unit – www.chabadresearch.net – cru@lubavitchuk.com Baal Shem Tov taught that you do not avoid this completely, following an ascetic mode of life.

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Chabad Research Unit

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14 июля 2023 г.

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