Jasidut sobre Deuteronómio 28:10

But now, due to our great sins, we are without all this. Not only should the rebbe and hasidim bemoans this lack, but all of Israel should cry with eyes flowing with tears. For in place of the avodah of the hasidim of yore, crown ofֿ Israel’s glory, which was to reveal and praise His holy name through lofty avodah, to sanctify every lowly thing in the Holy One of Israel and to hasten the coming of the Messiah speedily in our days, “and all those who dwell on earth shall recognize and know that to You all knees should bow...before You they shall prostrate,”⁵¹⁵Reference to the liturgical Alenu prayer. and they shall fear Israel as well, for “they shall see that the Lord’s name is proclaimed over you and they shall stand in fear of you”⁵¹⁶Deuteronomy 28:10.—[instead of all this,] now hasidim need to do avodah merely to remain faithful, simple Jews. And how much avodah is required of them at home so that their sons, wives, daughters merely fulfill the commandments and avoid transgression, God forbid! Can we hope from such hasidim that the whole city be nullified before them as was with the hasidim before them, who destroyed the evil of the wicked with their very breath? Why should we be so astounded by the abandonment occurring in the camp of Israel—of the lawlessness and gall of the new generation. We are like one without any strategies—knees weak, hands fallen, as the body of Israel falls into pieces. The fortress of the Holy One of Israel might fall, God forbid, if they have no spirit, and if the spirit of hasidism, the soul of Israel, of messianic vitality, is not breathed into their masses, into their very innards and bones.

This holiday is called the Festival of Shavuot (Weeks) based on the oath (shavuah that they swore and remains, from [the experience] at Mount Sinai. And this is by way of a true sacrifice of the self - as they said, the soul of the Israelites departed. It is like they said (Weekday Siddur, Aleinu), "To You every knee will bend, every tongue will swear" - before a man is created, he is made to take an oath. And likewise when he departs from the world, he sees the Divine Presence, as it were, and is negated to Him, may He be blessed - and that is the oath. And so too was the revelation of, "I am the Lord, your God," at Mount Sinai; and that is why their souls departed. And that is why they are also able to properly accept the yoke of His Kingdom, may He be blessed, today on this festival. And we have already written in another place that the Festival of Pesach and of Shavuot [correspond to] the aspect of the hand tefillin and the head tefillin. The acceptance of the Kingdom of Heaven on Pesach to subjugate the body and the animal spirit is the aspect of the hand tefillin - to subjugate [physical] strength; but on Shavuot, it is the head tefillin. It is as they said (Berakhot 6a:19), "'And all the nations of the earth shall see, etc. the name of the Lord is called upon you' (Deuteronomy 28:10) - this is [a reference to] the head tefillin." It is to subjugate the mind and the intellect to Him, may He be blessed. So too is the order: First one must abnegate himself without complete knowledge; afterwards we merit to know that this is the Torah and the purpose of the three holidays. This is according to the order that our Sages, may their memory be blessed, said (Berakhot 15a:1): One should relieve himself, wash his hands, don tefillin, recite Shema, and pray - this is the complete [acceptance of] the Kingdom of Heaven. So too is the matter more generally of the three holidays and Shemini Atzeret, which is [associated with] the aspect of prayer. That is why the two breads are on Shavuot, as it is stated (Psalms 9:5), "[Wisdom says,] Come, eat my bread." The hand tefillin and the head tefillin [correspond to] the aspect of, "man and beast You deliver, O Lord" (Psalms 36:7). For the hand tefillin [corresponds] to the aspect of the Oral Torah, the arousal of man; and afterwards he merits the flow of knowledge from the Heavens, [corresponding to] the aspect of the Written Torah.

Rav Mordechai Yosef was the first one to open the gate, and establish the fundamentals of the true tradition of the Torah’s mysteries. He taught how all teachings of the Torah’s mysteries, even those which seem beyond the reach of man’s understanding, are all relevant and apply to every soul. His teachings are like plantings whose roots are below, and bear fruit in the realms above. This fruit is known, revealed, and seen in our own exposition of his words, expressed in the verse (Devarim, 28:10), “and all the peoples of the world shall see that the name of God is called upon – “ us, the lovers of God and his Torah, constantly involved with the Torah, honoring the Torah, guarding its commandments, surrounding them with protective fences. He was a recipient of the true tradition of the Torah’s mysteries, founded on the belief in God, may He be blessed, established on the faith of the holy shepherds of Hasidism. This will all be explained in the second section, the introduction to the Beit Yaakov. There we will present and explain the received tradition of the Torah’s secrets, and that which cannot be overtly exposed will be alluded to in subtle hints. Furthermore, I will give over words that have only been transmitted from mouth to the ear of the mekubalim of our fellowship, each one according to his level.