Part 1 · Cover Page

Introducing the Second Part of Ner Mitzvah 0:02

Let's begin with the very first page, the שער בלאט, of the second part of נר מצוה ותורה אור. חלק שני מספר נר מצוה ותורה אור. This is the second section of the book נר מצוה ותורה אור, הנקרא שער היחוד, which is called the gate of unity.

The first part of the book is שער האמונה, and the second part is this book, which is שער היחוד. They were originally printed separately, and then they were put together as the book נר מצוה ותורה אור.

So, he explains, what is this book? שיהיה כל איש אשר חננו השם דעת להשכיל ולהבין ביחוד אלקות, so that every person that was graced by God, that God gave him a דעת, meaning like an interest and a sensitivity, להשכיל means to understand in a way of חכמה, to have like a perception or a general concept, ולהבין and to understand in detail the unity of God, יחוד אלקות, ביחודא עילאה ויחודא תתאה, both the upper unity and the lower unity, בפסוק ראשון שמע ישראל וברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, which the upper unity and the lower unity are represented by the two verses, the two פסוקים: שמע ישראל השם אלקינו השם אחד, that's the upper unity, that there's nothing else except for God, וברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד, blessed is the name of the glory of God's kingship forever, that is represents the lower unity, that there is something, that the world is seen as being separate from השם, but it's seen as being like His glory, that it just reveals Him.

Upper and Lower Unity Verses Explained 1:36

איש איש לפי הבנת לבו ודעתו שיעזרנו השם, each person according to the understanding of his heart and his mind that that God helps him to attain.

So even though it's it's both according to a person's ability, depending on how sensitive their heart and their mind is, and the שורש of their soul, and also it it's according to how much השם helps you, that really the תורה comes in a way of in a way of like a gift, that you work to understand it, but then השם has to help you and give it to you.

David’s Advice to Solomon on the Heart 3:06

כמו שאמר דוד לשלמה, like דוד told his son שלמה, right before he passed away, he instructed him how he should conduct himself, and he told him, כי כל לבבות דורש השם וכולי, that God searches all hearts.

In other words, that the main thing that God wants to know is if you're sincerely trying to know Him. So, it doesn't really matter how smart you are, or how high of a soul you have, or anything. The main thing is רחמנא ליבא בעי, that God wants the heart. If you are sincere, and you really want to know Him, then He'll help you. אם תדרשנו ימצא לך, if you will search for Him, He will make Himself found to you, that if you really want God and you search for Him, then God will show Himself to you.

ואם וכולי, but if you will not, then He's He's going to keep hiding from you. So, it it's a it's kind of like a hide-and-go-seek game, except that God hides Himself so well that we're never going to find Him unless He sees that we really want Him, and then He'll He'll make Himself found. And this is part of the theme from the introduction to the entire ספר, the introduction to שער האמונה.

Father’s Test: The Hide‑and‑Seek Metaphor 4:29

He gives a משל of a father that, for whatever reason, he decides like test his children, and so he goes and hides. And so then the kids have to go looking for him. And so he says, if he's a stupid kid, then he'll just sit and cry and you know, that he because he wants his father. But if he's a smart, then he'll go looking in the following the footsteps of the father, tracing where was he last past and going around asking people if they've seen him and trying to to to follow in his ways until they catch up and find where he is.

So this is this is like a part of this idea is that that like trying to learn about these things and to see God's way is like to to know God's ways and to live in that way, to try to like emulate God and and you know act properly and understand look at the world and and that's like following God's footsteps. And if השם sees that we're really trying to do that, then he'll he'll come out of his hiding place.

God Examines the Content of Our Hearts 5:45

וכתיב ותוכן לבות השם כו and it's written that God checks the content of the hearts, that he wants to see also if again he wants to see if you're sincere. ואמר דוד and דוד says in תהלים, בכל לבי דרשתיך כו, with all of my heart I search for you.

So again we see that the that the main thing is a sincere searching for השם and again we see that it's like a thing of the heart. What does that mean?

That דרישה זו, this searching for God, this seeking God, היינו בעין השכל שבלב מקרב ולב עמוק כו. This is with the mind's eye which is in the heart.

In other words, that it starts off as understanding, but it says בינה לבא, that understanding is in the heart. That the real understanding is when is not so much like the intellectual understanding, but the more like the the intuitive perception that comes from like the עצם הנשמה that a person reveals through the explanations of חסידות. And this is one of the differences between שכל אנושי and שכל אלקי, human intellect and godly intellect.

Human Intellect vs. Divine Intellect 6:59

חסידות is godly intellect, and that means that really your עצם הנשמה already knows God, it already knows everything. And the explanations are just to make yourself conscious and and and be able to allow your mind to recognize and understand that perception of the soul.

And this is מקרב ולב עמוק כו, that this is deep inside. מקרב means like inside, it's an internal thing. ולב עמוק and it's a very deep it's very deep in the heart, עמוק עמוק, deep deep. And these words that he says, מקרב ולב עמוק, this is the exact words that are used in תורה אור by the אלטר רבי to describe the state of spiritual גאולה versus spiritual גלות.

The idea of the גלות פנימי is when a the internal exile is when a person their understanding in godliness is not a real understanding, and their excitement in godliness is not a real excitement, and their עבודה is not a real עבודה. And the opposite of this, which he says is the idea of יציאת מצרים, going out of Egypt and redemption and you know גאולה and everything, is when a person's understanding and feeling for godliness is מקרב איש ולב עמוק.

Chassidus Aims to Bring the Messiah 8:42

That's what he describe says. So this is again the main point of חסידות is to bring משיח, both on a personal level, maybe beginning with a personal level to have a personal גאולה and reveal the יחידה, and through that it brings the גאולה שלימה תכף ומיד.