Weekly Dvar Torah: A Mouthpiece for Moshe
When Moshe was sent by Hashem to speak to Pharaoh, he complained that he was speech impaired. G-d responded; “I will be with you, and I will appoint your brother Aharon as your mouthpiece.”
What was Moshe complaining about? G-d is sending you on a mission, just go ahead and do it, G-d knows that you’re a stutterer and He’s not concerned.
Moshe had a problem communicating lofty G-dly messages to a lowly material world. He was on such a high level, that he couldn’t see lowering himself down to a Pharaoh in Egypt. Moshe could not see it happen in the land of Egypt, the filthiness of the earth.
G-d said, don’t worry, your brother will be your mouthpiece. Perhaps you Moshe are on too high of a level to lower yourself low enough. Aharon your brother will be able to do so, because, I, the infinite G-d, who is not bound by high or low, is able to empower him to communicate the highest high to the lowest low.
The Hayom Yom of 3 Shvat, tells of the history of the publication of the Torah Ohr, and the Likkutei Torah from the Alter Rebbe. The two classics that lay the foundation for all Chabad teachings.
The Rebbe once wrote, the Likkutei Torah has everything [lofty and G-dly that has to be communicated] in it. The entire Chassidus can be found in the Likkutei Torah. This is a book that contains everything G-dly that we need to know.
I once heard a Jewish proverb (sorry for plagiarizing I don’t know the source, or if I’m quoting it correctly) that says; “if you must save gold or books, save the books.” We Jews are the people of the book.
Books are the method that G-d communicates with us, He put Himself in the books, and we can find Him in the books, and He communicates what He wants from us through the books.
This concept was reinforced by the Rebbe on the third of Shvat 5752, the last time he spoke to us on this date. The Rebbe said the most empowering words that should carry us forever.
The Rebbe related that one of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s doctors, a professor, told the Rebbe that it was very disturbing to him, that someone of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s caliber, whose power was in his ability to communicate and teach G-d’s word, was stricken with an illness that deprived him of the ability to speak. Which became an impediment to his ability to lead. He asked how is this possible?
The Rebbe explains that just like by Moshe, whose mouthpiece was his brother Aharon, so too by the Moshe of our generation, we, his Chassidim are his mouthpiece to teach his Torah and Maamarim to the rest of the world. And we have this power because the infinite G-d is the one who gives us this power, like He did to Aharon.
G-d did not cure Moshe of his speech impediment, as he did not restore the Rebbe’s ability to speak, but He put in place a method for them to communicate G-d’s word.
In addition, the Rebbe says that the Frierdiker Rebbe went out of his way to publish Chassidus in every possible language, so that G-d’s word reaches everyone in all languages. The Rebbe removed all possible obstacles from spreading the word of Hashem.
Books are what empower us. Books are what we are all about. We are the people of the book, because this is the tool that empowers us, and with which we can teach ourselves and the world, the word of G-d, and the teachings of our Rebbes.
We have the ability, which becomes our responsibility, to be the mouthpiece for G-d and His message to the world. We are the ones who have been empowered to reveal G-dliness even in the low of lows, the Egypt of the world, because we have been given such power by the infinite, which is never restricted by limitations, and which can handle extreme contradictions.
I would be remiss to not mention, that by divine providence, on the third of Shvat, is the Yartzait of a dear friend, Rabbi Yona Avtzon, A”H, the founder of Sichos in English, a giant, who in his too short life managed to translate hundreds of volumes of the Rebbe’s teachings into English and other languages, personifying the mouthpiece that a Chossid is to his Rebbe.
Only six weeks after the Rebbe spoke these empowering words, the Rebbe suffered his debilitating stroke that took from us the ability to hear him speak and teach us new Torah.
Next week, Yud Shvat, we celebrate the anniversary of the Rebbe’s ascending to the throne of leadership of Lubavitch. By preparing for this day by studying the hundreds of books of the Rebbe’s teachings (in whatever language you can), may we merit to hear new Torah from our holy Rebbe, with the revelation of Moshiach. Amen.
Have a speech-full of a Shabbos,
Gut Shabbos
Rabbi Yosef Katzman
