Pidyon Bechor 5 – Redemption of Firstborn – Sale of Yosef HaTzaddik – Spiritual Aspects of Conception and Birth – Tefillin – Letter Hey in Avraham Avinu – Meal Served to a Mourner – Speaker: Rabbi Nasan Maimon.
Hilkhos Pidyon Bechor 5 is based on 2Likutey Moharan 7. Ben veTalmid.
00:00 – Dedications.
01:20 – PARAGRAPH 8. Every birth of a Jewish child brings the potential for daas into the world.
15:30 – Reference to Shabbos 33 – “For a person who has daas, it’s as if the Beis HaMikdash were built in his lifetime.”
16:40 – The four parshios in the tefillin, and the tefillin themselves, are made from the skin of a kosher animal.
19:00 – Avraham Avinu was the Kohen of his time (Nedarim 32). The Kehuna represents the daas of both Ben veTalmid – son and student. Why the letter Hey was added to the name Avram.
21:45 – Hey HaYediya – the letter Hey represents daas. Avraham Avinu merited the letter Hey because he brought awareness of HaShem into the world.
22:45 – Reference to Likutey Moharan 53 – five levels of daas.
* 25:30 – Five silver coins of Pidyon Bechor represent the letter Hey that was added to Avraham Avinu’s name.
26:30 – HeAras HaRatzon is a level of yearning for HaShem that’s inexpressible and therefore above the level of Daas – which is understanding that can be expressed and communicated. Reference to Likutey Moharan 4. The task of Am Yisrael is to bring the letter Aleph into the MaH of inexpressible yearning for HaShem. This transforms MaH – the inexpressible – MeAH/Daas – which is the source of wealth. “Yitzchak founded 100 gates.”
33:40 – PARAGRAPH 9. Yaakov Avinu acquired the birthright from Esav by means of a mealtime.
36:00 – What remains in the world after a person passes away is the daas they brought into the world.
*38:00 – HeAras HaRatzon is increased by means of eating a meal. This is why, after a burial, the mourners are served a meal. Mourning the passing of a loved one is mourning the daas that left the world. So the mourner is consoled by a special meal. This is why a yahrzeit is commemorated with a meal or by providing food for others.
The tradition of serving eggs and/or lentils at the meal for a mourner (Bava Basra 16b).
45:00 – When a tzaddik passes away, he hasn’t left the world, because his students and his Torah remain.
46:30 – תּ֘וֹרַ֚ת יְהֹוָ֣ה תְּ֖מִימָה מְשִׁ֣יבַת נָ֑פֶשׁ – “The Torah of HaShem is perfect, restoring [returning] the soul…” (Tehillim 19:8). The Arizal explains that this also refers to the return of a soul to this world as a gilgul – reincarnation – to complete an unfinished task.
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