By the Grace of G-d Third Day of the Week, Twice designated “good”;1On the eve of the Fourth day, when the two great luminaries were set in the sky;2 Week’s Sedra: Tzav;3 On the eve of the 5th day of Nissan, 5751 Brooklyn, N.Y.

Peace⁴ and Blessing in Abundance!⁵

Coming from Rosh Chodesh Nissan, which occurred this year on Shabbos⁶ Parshas haChodesh,⁷ when we read:⁸ This month (Nissan) shall be unto you.. the first of the year's months⁹ thereby emphasizing the miraculous, supranatural way of Divine Providence¹⁰ throughout the year,

And pursuing the discussion in the previous letter¹¹ on the subject of Nissan being a month of “multiple miracles” (nissei-nissim),¹² particularly in the current year (5751) the acronym of its number translating into “It shall surely be a year of revealed miracles,” הי‘ תהא שנת נפלאות אראנו,

There is a need to elaborate on the significance of these nissei-nissim that come in the form of “revealed wonders.”

It is written: “As in the days of your liberation from the land of Egypt I will show you wonders,”¹³ This means that the nissei-nissim of the final Geulo (Redemption) will be similar to the miracles attending the liberation from Egypt, which were “miracles and wonders”¹⁴ completely above the natural order. Moreover, as the text of this verse implies,¹⁵ they will be “wonders” even in comparison with the miracles of Yetzias Mitzraim;

Furthermore, there is the additional emphasis that the latter miraculous wonders will unfold in the form of I will show you, namely, that HaShem Himself will reveal them, as only HaShem can truly reveal—everything: both to the eye as well as to the mind, so that a human being can see and perceive the truth and innermost depth of Divine Providence in the natural order¹⁶ as well as in the supranatural way,¹⁷ and even beyond, in the realm of the indescribably “wondrous.”

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While as mentioned, the entire month of Nissan is a time of miracles, the present week is particularly meaningful in terms of “nissei-nissim” and “revealed wonders.” This is indicated in the name of this coming Shabbos—Shabbos HaGodol, “the Great Shabbos,” for it is well known that the Hebrew name in Torah conveys the content or inner quality of a thing or person.¹⁸ The name of the Shabbos before Pesach derives from the fact, our Sages explain, that a Nes Godol, a Great Miracle,¹⁹ occurred that Shabbos prior to the Exodus—not just a nes,²⁰ but a great nes, one that was open and visible to all.

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Everything pertaining to Jews and Jewishness is related to Torah, particularly to that part of it which has a current timely relevance, such as the weekly Sedra (from the word seder, order).²¹ Thus, the current Sedra²² provides a forceful lesson in the beginning of its second verse (and in its name)—Tzav,²³ Command Aharon—which has a bearing on the subject matter of our discussion, to wit:

The great virtue that distinguished Aharon Kohen Godol (High Priest) was brought out in the dictum of the Mishnah: Be of the disciples of Aharon.. who loved the creatures and brought them close to Torah.²⁴ Aharon’s love for every Jew was boundless, including also those who were quite undistinguished and were called “creatures,”²⁵ because their only distinction was having been created by the Creator of the Universe. Aharon bent every effort to bring these Jews, too, close to Torah, raising them to the level of Torah, rather than bring the Torah down to their level,²⁶ G-d forbid, by way of compromise, or teaching them limited selections of Torah²⁷ so that they would have to commit themselves only to minimal Torah study and obligatory Mitzvos. Not so Aharon; he transports them from their place to the real place and real light of Torah, so that they become bound up with the complete and unlimited wholeness of Torah.

All this shows the true sincerity of Aharon HaKohen’s love for each and every Jew. True love knows no measure nor limit; hence it embraces also “creature—Jews,” and it touches a Jew just as deeply, so that he feels uplifted from the limitations of his “reality” and drawn to the true reality of Torah.

— Herein we find an inner perception why the said instruction (to be a disciple of Aharon) has been formulated in a Mishnaic dictum, because the Mishnah has the power to elevate those who study it, over and above all their limitations (as indicated in the saying of our Sages, “All the exiles shall be gathered in, only in the Z'chus (merit) of the Mishnayos.”²⁸)

Therefore, when a Jew studies the said Mishnaic instruction, the Torah study becomes a vehicle for achieving a “wonderful oneness”²⁹ of student, his intellect, and the words of the Torah he is studying, which, in turn, creates a “wonderful oneness” with the Giver of the Torah, who has “inscribed” and “given” Himself in the Torah³⁰ (the acronym of the first word of the Decalogue, Onokhi, “I”). In this way one obtains the infinite capacity to translate into actual deed the instruction to “love the creatures and bring them close to Torah.”

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The instruction to Aharon in this week’s Sedra is outstanding in that it is expressed by the imperative: Tzav, Command! Our Sages interpret the verb Tzav as a term implying “encouragement, immediately and for generations to come”³¹ (mi’yad ul’doros).

This urgent encouragement implicit in Tzav, mi’yad ul’doros, points to the unlimited delegation of power from HaShem, both for now and for ever after.

Mi’yad—implies that there is no delay or obstacle in the way of carrying out the Divine command immediately, inasmuch as he is so totally immersed in it that it permeates his whole life, through and through;

Ul’doros—it is continued, and in the same form of urgency, in subsequent generations (pl. doros), generation after generation. And when there is the chazakah (strength) of three consecutive generations (his own with two more after him), it assumes the added dimension of eternity. Thus, our Sages teach us: The Torah likes to come around to its favorite inn³²— where the Torah is studied by three consecutive generations, it becomes the Torah’s “favorite inn” for ever after.

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What has been said above should also serve as a guideline in Avodas HaShem (serving G-d) in actual deed.³³

It is not enough for a Jew to maintain his daily conduct in terms of Torah and Mitzvos on a high level, which by comparison to his former practice in matters of Torah study and keeping Mitzvos with Hiddur, may be described in terms of a nes (lit. high pole), for he should rise ever higher and higher.

When the higher level of conduct becomes habitual (“habit becomes second nature”³⁴), one must rise to a higher rung, a higher kind of nes, as also in the aspect of nes within nes,³⁵ until one attains the true nes godol connected with the Great One, of whom it is written, Great is HaShem and exceedingly praiseworthy³⁶

May Hashem grant that everyone act in the above-mentioned direction in a manner of zrizus (enthusiasm), miyad uldoros, for this is the way to bring about the actual manifestation of G-d’s greatness, clearly revealed to all, so that He is indeed exceedingly praised—

Boruch HaShem I'olom omein v’omein—Blessed is HaShem for ever, amen and amen;³⁷ also G-d’s blessing descends to the world to all eternity,

And everyone, man and woman, is blessed with the Prayer of Moshe: May the pleasantness of HaShem our G-d be upon us..³⁸ And may it be His will that His Shechina abide in the work of your hands³⁹—everyone experiencing the Divine Presence pervading one’s being, in all one’s affairs, down to the work of one’s hands, down to the “last act” (sof ma’aseh)—in one’s “share in the world”;

And this becomes the happy and heart-gladdening prelude to the rebuilding of the third Beis Hamikdosh, the eternal edifice that is the creation of HaShem’s handiwork,⁴⁰ of which it is written, the Mikdosh which Your Hands, O L-rd, have established⁴¹—

In actual reality, with the true and complete Geulo.

With esteem and blessing of Hatzlocho and with blessing for a kosher and joyous Pesach,⁴² and with gladness of heart,⁴³

/Signed: Menachem Schneerson/