Daily Teaching #15 for 3 Tammuz 5785 (June 29, 2025)
Emulating the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Character
Today is Gimmel Tammuz [the 3rd day of the month of Tammuz], the day that 31 years ago, the Lubavitcher Rebbe was taken from our eyes. Today, for everyone who feels connected to him, is a day of self-introspection and self-pondering to try and feel his energy and the strength of his character and to try and incorporate these into our own lives, to learn from his character how to lead our own lives and devote them to bringing the ultimate redemption to the entire world; to bring Mashiach to the world.
Let’s try to pinpoint and outline the four basic attributes or characteristics of the Rebbe with respect to one’s mission in life. Everyone has a mission in life, and to the best of our ability to accomplish our mission, we need to rectify our character attributes by trying to emulate those of the Rebbe.
These four are: faith, dedication, care, and responsibility.
Faith
Everything begins with faith. Our faculty of faith is known in Kabbalah as the unknowable head that is above and beyond the other powers of the soul. Faith at its simplest is belief in God, that God is here with us, that He has providence over us, all that happens is from Him and is always good, even though we cannot always see the revealed good, but we definitely believe that it is all absolute good and we will very soon see the good, known as “the revealed and visible good” (טוֹב הַנִּרְאֶה וְהַנִּגְלֶה) of God. That is the simplest meaning. But, according to the Ba’al Shem Tov, faith is not just belief in God. It includes faith in the Jewish people, in Israel. Every Jewish soul is an actual part of God above, and the Ba’al Shem Tov teaches that if you grasp a part of an absolute being, you are actually grasping the whole, even though it appears as if you are grasping just a part of it.
Now, we believe that the core essence of all humanity is good. We have to believe in this, because we see many negative manifestations and behaviors of mankind around us. The Jewish people have many sworn enemies. Nonetheless, we believe according to the Ba’al Shem Tov, that the core of the human soul—not just the Divine soul of Israel—the essential core of all humanity is good, because God is good. God created the world in His goodness, and even though He created it in a way that through the many levels of descent of His light [revelation], there are some manifestations of the non-good that are revealed, which we need to rectify. Still everything is deriving from God’s good, which means that its core essence is good. This is all included in faith. To begin to bring God’s light, i.e., God’s revelation to the world, we need to have this faith—faith in He Himself, faith in His chosen people, Israel, and we must have faith in all of humanity, including all the creations created by God. We believe that God created all from His goodness, as the verse reads, “The world was created with loving-kindness”[1] (עוֹלַם חֶסֶד יִבָּנֶה) of the Creator. So essentially, everything is good, and since it is good, we can establish a relationship known in philosophy as an I-thou relationship with everything. Thereby, we can positively influence everything and also receive positive feedback from everything. This is all included in faith, the first attribute the Rebbe possessed and which he taught us to emulate. It all begins with faith.
Abraham was the first Jewish soul and the Torah says about him that “he believed in God” (וְהֶאֱמִן בי-הוה). He is the first person in the Bible who believes in God. He is thus known as the “head,” or “first of all true believers in God” (רֹאשׁ הַמַּאֲמִינִים). Abraham devoted his life, as we will explain, to mankind, to bring good to mankind. He did this by revealing God to mankind, this is the ultimate good. Even though in the beginning Abraham is described as “standing on one side of society and everyone else is on the other side,” he nonetheless believed that all those on the other side are ready vessels—because their essence is good—for receiving the light that he had been given to teach and reveal to the world. This is the faith we saw demonstrated so intensely in the Rebbe’s character.
Dedication
The second attribute is dedication. It refers to what in Hebrew is either mesirut, being “given over” to my mission, or “dedicated” to my mission. The second is devekut (דְּבֵקוּת בַּמַּטָּרָה), which means that I cling to my purpose; I am always focusing on the purpose of my mission in life. So it all begins with being given over (מָסוּר וְנָתוּן) totally to my mission. While I am giving myself over to it, I also cling to the end, or goal of my mission. This is the meaning of dedication. The Rebbe was most dedicated and given over to his mission. By giving himself over to his mission, his own personal life became meaningless in a sense. It was only meaningful to the extent that it helped him fulfill his mission. Unlike faith, which is a super-conscious, or all-encompassing property (אוֹר מַקִּיף), dedication and devotion are an inner property of the soul. They are a feeling in myself: I give myself over and cling to the end of my mission, seeing the end from the very first moment of my journey towards that goal.
Care
The next attribute is “care.” What we mean by that is both care as a synonym for “concern”; I have deep concern for someone else, because I deeply care about others. A person can have faith in humanity and can also be dedicated to the mission of bringing enlightenment to humanity, but that is not the same as care. Instinctively, care is for every individual in the world. This is inner care. It is more than just concern because care implies love and compassion and that you are very important for me. That is the way the Rebbe related to every individual: he cared for every individual. In Hebrew “care” might be translated as אִכְפַּתִּיּוּת, but that is closer to “concern.” To understand the distinction between concern and care in a deeper way, we may note that care also means “to take care of someone.” Like a nurse in a hospital. She needs to care to take care. To care is not just an emotion in the heart, it is also the translation of dedication to practical actions that exhibit care. In Chassidic thought we can explain the difference between the two meanings of care in the following manner. The first meaning of care is in the heart: I really care for you. The second meaning is in the three lower sefirot, the three lower faculties of the soul, which are also tied to the heart—victory, thanksgiving, and foundation—and are known as the “active emotions.” These are the emotions as they express themselves in deed. There is care in the heart and there is active care in deed—taking care of someone whom you care about. The second meaning is not contained in the Hebrew word אִכְפַּתִּיּוּת. By the Rebbe, we certainly saw both meanings come together. To capture both meanings in a single Hebrew word, we turn to the word דְּאָגָה. This may be somewhat surprising, because this word is usually translated as “worry,” in English. There is a connection of course between care and worry: if I care about you, I worry about you. But in Hebrew, דְּאָגָה, means more than “worry,” it also means “to care” for someone and “to take care” of someone.
The numerical value of this Hebrew word, which we are now proposing as one that captures both meanings of “care” (דְּאָגָה) is 13, which is also the value of “love” (אַהֲבָה). To worry for someone is to love them and to take care of them. This is the third characteristic that we want to learn from the Rebbe.
Responsibility
The fourth and last is responsibility, which in Hebrew is the word אחריות. What is the difference between being responsible for someone and being dedicated to someone. We might think they are the same, but they are in fact different. As we said before, to dedicate my life to my mission is an inner motivation of the “I.” I give myself over and dedicate my self to my mission. Responsibility comes from a different place. To be responsible for you means that I feel that I have a duty in life to help someone else. The word mission can either be a motivation for me, or it can be an acceptance of the yoke of duty that God has placed on me. These are two different directions: one is coming from my self and the other is coming from Above, like an order given to a soldier who is responsible for fulfilling the order. This is most definitely a characteristic of the Rebbe that we need to emulate, because the concept of “taking upon oneself the yoke” (קַבָּלַת עֹל) is one of his most basic teachings. Just as faith begins at the highest level of the soul, so responsibility that comes from accepting a burden or a yoke fuels the lowest of the sefirot, the sefirah of kingdom (מַלְכוּת), which is the lowest and most down-to-earth faculty of the soul. Responsibility is always accompanied by a demand for a just reckoning at the end: did I or did I not fulfill my responsibility.
Let us now go back and analyze these four characteristics we want to learn from the personality and conduct of the Rebbe as they correspond to the well-known four-part model based on God’s essential Name, Havayah, the Tetragrammaton.
As we said, responsibility corresponds to kingdom—taking upon oneself the yoke of the kingdom of heaven (עֹל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם)—and thus also corresponds to the final letter of Havayah, the hei.
Regarding care, we saw care in the heart, and care in deed; love and compassion in the heart and the power to actualize these in actions. These together correspond to the third letter of Havayah, the vav.
Devotion and dedication to a purpose is representative of the sefirah of knowledge (da’at), which is what forms connections. Knowledge is what facilitates my mind connecting to the essence of who I am, which is my mission in life. As such knowledge creates devotion and dedication to what the mind understands—the sefirah of understanding corresponds to the second letter of Havayah, the hei—to be my mission in life. Thus, I am able to give myself over completely, I dedicate myself entirely, out of free choice, to my mission.
Faith and especially the belief in the ultimate good of everything that God has created for His glory, reveals itself in the wisdom of the soul, which corresponds to the first letter of Havayah, the yud.
| letter of Havayah | sefirah | character trait |
| yud | wisdom | Faith in the ultimate goodness of all of Creation |
| hei | understanding and knowledge | Dedication to one’s mission in life |
| vav | loving-kindness through foundation | Care about and care for others |
| hei | kingdom | Taking responsibility |
One of the things that this correspondence clarifies is why we might be confused by the similarity between dedication and responsibility, since both correspond to the letter hei—the first hei and the second hei in the Tetragrammaton. The higher, first hei is the dedication, and the lower, second hei is responsibility.
Let us now ask God to give us the inspiration and insight to be able to first of all perceive how the Lubavitcher Rebbe—a human being in our world—was able to come to such a complete fulfillment of these four characteristics. By contemplating this and asking God that we too merit emulating the Rebbe, we will certainly receive from the Rebbe his light and his inspiration to follow this path that he lived so that we may merit to bring the redemption and Mashiach to the world.
Q&A with HaRav Ginsburgh
Can Music be Tainted?
Question:
As a musician, I am intimately familiar with many styles of music. I'm confused about modern chasidic music, particularly disco and dance/trance rhythms, which are also applied to Chabad melodies. I feel these rhythms awaken the animal side, ego, and self-centeredness. When I participate in family weddings where such rhythms are played (of course with kosher lyrics), it's really difficult for me to connect to the joy during the dancing. What is the Rabbi's opinion on this matter? Are there rhythms considered Jewish as opposed to those that are not? Some also claim that the chasidic rhythm is also borrowed from non-Jews (polkas, waltzes, etc.) and it's all a matter of habit.
Answer:
Your natural feeling is very correct. Stick to the original Chabad melodies, and similar melodies (from other tzaddikim and chasidim), in the exact way that true servants of God sang them in the past. The modern rhythms you mentioned, which awaken the evil inclination (pride and lust), are not good at all. Distance yourself from them. However, at weddings and such, one must accept the discord with love for the sake of rejoicing with the bride and groom.
In more detail: The words of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov are well-known, that one should not listen to music played by a wicked musician but only by a kosher musician. There is positive music—a kosher melody—and there is negative music created by people who are not good, and consequently, the melody itself is cheap and full of lust. It is customary to say that "a melody does not receive impurity," and yet there is a melody created initially out of lust and heresy, with the intention of arousing lust in the listener and it is a very cheap melody.
Indeed, many chasidic melodies came from completely foreign sources, but they were brought into the fold by tzaddikim with great and refined souls who knew how to "convert" the specific melody, sometimes with just a slight change, and transform it into a holy melody (like the Alter Rebbe who took a melody known as "Napoleon's March" and turned it into a holy melody, thereby extracting the spark of holy vitality that was captive within it).
A significant portion of contemporary music is cheap music created out of lust, and instead of rectifying, it corrupts. Unfortunately, much of what is called "chasidic music" is very cheap music with a negative influence, it would be better if it had never been composed at all. Even if the singers are God-fearing, the music they sing is nothing but an imitation of jazz or pop and the like. While we don’t want to make sweeping generalizations, this is how things appear.
Additionally, we must distinguish between melody and rhythm. The main problem with improper music is specifically in the rhythm. This point has a source in Kabbalah and Chasidut: It is written that there is a kelipah (husk of impurity) called Lilith, whose gematria, 480, alludes to the negative drum (תֹּף), as opposed to the positive drum of Miriam the Prophetess. The drum is responsible for the rhythm, and hence the main attraction to lusts and temptations is through rhythm. In this context, it is explained that by reciting Psalms with an outpouring of the soul, one can repel this kelipah (as hinted in the word “Psalms” (תְּהִלִּים) whose gematria is 485; still, it is customary to call Psalms, Tilim (תִּלִּים), which equals 480 too), since David, King of Israel, "the sweet singer of Israel" and "skillful in playing music," put himself into the book of Psalms.
In our days, most of the negative melodies are more rhythm than melody, to the extent that sometimes there is no melody at all but only a drum, only rhythm, which awakens the lower layers of the soul and corrupts it. Moreover, sometimes it's not music but simply noise. In the laws of Shabbat, there is discussion about the prohibition of playing musical instruments on Shabbat (lest one repair the instrument), and it is written there that there are things that seem like song but are not called song since they are not sung in a way of "pleasantness and tranquility." "Pleasantness" refers to the melody itself, whether it is beautiful or not, and "tranquility" refers to the rhythm. If so, that contemporary music which is not in the category of "pleasantness and tranquility" is not song and melody but simply noise.
May there be good tidings, and may we merit to hear and compose kosher melodies that elevate the soul, until the redemption "with abundant song and melody" (in the words of the Lubavitcher Rebbe).
The Rebbe Rayatz: Demanding Self-Sacrifice from Others
The Rebbe Rayatz, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, was born to his father, Rebbe Shalom Dov Ber, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe on the 12th of Tammuz, 5640 (1880). At the age of eight, he began hearing Chasidic discourses and matters pertaining to being a rebbe from his father. At eleven, he began donning tefillin, and at fifteen, his father appointed him as his secretary for public affairs. At seventeen, he married his wife Nechamah Dinah and was appointed director of the Tomchei Temimim Yeshivah, which his father had just founded. In 1913, he participated in the Rabbinical Committee that assisted the defense in the Beilis trial. In 1920, his father, the Rebbe Rashab passed away, shortly after the Communist revolution began. The Rebbe Rayatz was appointed as his successor and began vigorous activities for Judaism in Russia. As a result of his activities, the Rebbe was arrested on the 15th of Sivan 5687 (1927) by the GPU and sentenced to death without trial. After international pressure, the death sentence was commuted, and he was sent into exile in Kostroma on the 3rd of Tammuz. The international pressure continued, and on the 12th of Tammuz, the Rebbe was released to his home. The actual release took place the next day, on the 13th of Tammuz, and since then, the 12th and 13th days of Tammuz are marked as the Festival of Redemption of the Rebbe Rayatz. The Rebbe Rayatz passed away on the 10th day of Shevat, 5710.
On the 12th and 13th of Tammuz, we commemorate the Festival of Redemption of the Previous Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (the Rebbe Rayatz), and his release from Soviet imprisonment. The Rebbe was arrested due to his vigorous activities in spreading Judaism throughout Russia, at a time when the Communist regime prohibited such activities, and he faced a death sentence by firing squad. The Rebbe Rayatz documented his days of imprisonment in a diary. From his account we learn of the strength he displayed and the self-sacrifice he maintained throughout his incarceration. Eventually, the sentence was commuted to exile and later completely annulled. The Rebbe was released from prison and subsequently left the borders of the Soviet Union.
Head Held High
The story of the imprisonment began about a month before the miraculous release. On the 15th of Sivan, the Rebbe was arrested, and an important and courageous decision accompanied the first hours of his confinement. In his diary, the Rebbe relates that when he was brought into the fortress prison, he faced a fundamental dilemma: One option was to try to cooperate and 'go with the flow' with the interrogators and police officers, avoiding confrontation with them, aiming to reduce suffering as much as possible. The second option was to proceed with his head held high and with pride, knowing that the reason for his imprisonment—spreading Judaism—was itself the fulfillment of the true law, the law of Torah, and to disregard the interrogators entirely. The Rebbe describes the magnitude of the dilemma and the difficulty of the decision, but when he decided to adopt the second option and go proudly into imprisonment, all the suffering he encountered in prison became bearable. The Rebbe stood before the interrogators with great strength, confident in the righteousness of his path, and did not hesitate to assertively demand what was due to him. For example,
At a certain stage of the interrogation, when the investigator tried to break the Rebbe's spirit and make him ‘confess’ and express remorse, he opened the drawer and took out a loaded gun, which he pointed at the Rebbe's face. "This toy," laughed the investigator, "has already caused many people to open their mouths…." The Rebbe was not frightened for a moment and answered him sharply and confidently: "This toy frightens someone who has one world and many gods, but for someone who has one God and two worlds, there is no fear at all!"
Demanding Self-Sacrifice of Others
With the Rayatz, we encounter a unique self-sacrifice, the likes of which we have not seen since the kings of the House of David. The Rebbe not only acted with fearless self-sacrifice and risked his own life but also demanded the same from others. He sent emissaries throughout Russia to continue teaching Torah, perform circumcisions, and build ritual baths. The Rebbe literally demanded this from his chasidim.
Let us not be mistaken. The Rebbe knew well the dangers facing those emissaries. Some of them were indeed caught and arrested. In the best case, those emissaries were sent to exile in distant Siberia for ten or twenty years. In the less favorable case, they were sent to their deaths. Nevertheless, the Rebbe did not hesitate. What the Rebbe demanded of himself, he dared to demand from others.
Who is a Leader?
At that time there was a chasidic Jew who became close to the Rebbe Rayatz. He saw in him a holy Jew, a man of self-sacrifice, and became his ardent follower. Nevertheless, there were several practices of the Rebbe, related to his approach in leading the community, that this chasid found difficult to accept. He presented this difficulty to his former rebbe, whom he had followed before becoming close to the Rebbe Rayatz. "Rebbe," the chasid addressed his former teacher, "how can I reconcile my mind and accept the ways of my teacher and Rebbe?" The chasid’s previous rebbe furrowed his brow and answered: "My fellow rebbes and I belong to the category of tzaddikim of the generation. One can learn from us ways of holiness and purity, love of God, love of Israel, and more. But he—the Rebbe Rayatz—belongs to a different category of tzaddikim; he is one of the leaders of the generation."
What is the difference between an ordinary tzaddik and a tzaddik who is also a leader? A tzaddik is an individual who, in his conduct, serves as a symbol and exemplar for our emulation. But a leader is an individual who is not satisfied with just that. He shoulders responsibility for the entire people and is concerned with leading them to their destiny. By the power of his command, he instructs each person in his role and life’s-mission.
When it comes to leadership of self-sacrifice, this difference is magnified sevenfold. An ordinary tzaddik would sacrifice his life for the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvot. "And all your people are righteous," and indeed in every Jew there exists the power to sacrifice his soul if needed. But a leader of self-sacrifice is one who is capable of explicitly demanding this from others as well.
Partzuf: The 11 Events of Parashat Chukat
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crown-keter כֶּתֶר The law of the Torah: Red Heifer זֹאת חֻקַּת הַתּוֹרָה
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understanding-binah בִּינָה Waters of discontent מֵי מְרִיבָה
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wisdom-chochmah חָכְמָה
Miriam’s death מִיתַת נְשִׁיקָה מִרְיָם |
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knowledge-da’at דָּעַת Sending of messengers to Edom שְׁלִיחַת מַלְאָכִים אֶל מֶלֶךְ אֱדוֹם
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might–gevurah גְּבוּרָה War against Amalek מִלְחֶמֶת עֲמָלֵק
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loving–kindness–chessed חֶסֶד Aharon’s death מִיתַת נְשִׁיקָה אַהֲרֹן |
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beauty–tiferet תִּפְאֶרֶת The copper snake נְחַשׁ הַנְּחֹשֶׁת
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splendor–hod הוֹד Song of the well שִׁירַת הַבְּאֵר
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victory–netzach נֶצַח Miracles at the Arnon Gorge נִסִּי נַחַל אַרְנוֹן |
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foundation–yesod יְסוֹד War with Sichon מִלְחֶמֶת סִיחוֹן
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kingdom-malchut מַלְכוּת War with Og מִלְחֶמֶת עוֹג |
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Parashat Chukat begins with the laws of the Red Heifer, whose ashes are used as the main component in purifying an individual who has come in contact with the highest degree of ritual impurity. The Torah then skips 38 years to recount the events of the final few months the Israelites spent in the wilderness prior to their entering the Land of Canaan. Apart from the Red Heifer, the parashah describes 10 more events that occurred.
There are a number of different ways to correspond the 11 topics in parashat Chukat to the sefirot, each following a different logic.[2] The simplest approach is that to begin with the crown and then work our way down to kingdom. The principle for following the order of events in the parashah is that the Torah’s order of presentation already follows an inner essential logic.
Crown (keter): In particular, the power to purify a person who has come in contact with death, the worst of form of ritual defilement, stems from the crown, the root of all paradox. As is well-known, the Red Heifer itself contains inherent paradox—most notably in its effect of purifying one who is defiled, while at the same time, defiling the ritually pure individual who prepares it. The crown is thus a source of Divine energy that is above and beyond reason, just as a paradox cannot be fully grasped by the rational mind.
Wisdom (chochmah): The next topic is the death of Miriam, Moses’ sister. Miriam dies on the 10th of Nissan, 2487—the 40th year since the Exodus from Egypt. As Rashi writes, she dies a serene death known as “by God’s kiss.” The connection between Moses’ sister and wisdom is captured in the verse, “Say to wisdom, you are my sister.”[3] During the shattering of the vessels of the sefirot in the World of Chaos, Olam HaTohu, only sefirot from knowledge (da’at) and down were shattered. Chasidic thought identifies the feeling of exaggerated egocentrism as the reason for the lower sefirot shattering, whereas, the shattering barely affected the intellectual faculties, wisdom and understanding. Specifically, regarding wisdom, Kabbalah quotes the words, “they shall die, but not with wisdom”[4] (יָמוּתוּ וְלֹא בְחׇכְמָה) to support the notion that self-nullification, the inner experience of wisdom, is an antidote to death, just as the self-nullification Miriam practiced her whole life and elevated her to the level of a prophetess was a catalyst for the tranquil death she experienced in her transition from this world to the next.
Understanding (binah): The rational mind is the source of judgment, as the Zohar says, “from it [understanding], harsh judgments are awakened” (מִינָה דִּינִין מִתְעָרִין). Some of these judgments are the result of active, logical deliberation regarding the punishment deserved for improper behavior, but some of it expresses relatively external resentment (קְפֵידָא) against someone whose mind and thought are weaker and misdirected relative to our own. The event that corresponds to understanding is the incident of the Waters of discontent,[5] when Moses anger at the people caused him to err in his judgment. As the sages say, “Because Moses came to be angered, he came to err”[6] (בָּא מֹשֶׁה לִכְלַל כַּעַס בָּא לִכְלַל טָעוּת).
Knowledge (da’at): In the next episode, Moses sends emissaries to the king of Edom. The relationship between Israel and Edom is described as that between the two dimensions of good and evil in the Book of Formation (עֹמֶק טוֹב עֹמֶק רַע), which correspond to the two halves of the sefirah of da’at: the coronet of loving-kindness (the good) and the coronet of judgment (the evil).
Loving–kindness (chesed): Next, the Torah relates the passing of Aharon, Moses’ brother and his replacement by his son Elazar. The priest is known as the “man of loving-kindness” (אִישׁ חֶסֶד), which is why God entrusted them to bestow His blessing on us, with love.
Might (gevurah): When they heard of Aharon’s passing, the Amalekites were emboldened to attack the Israelites a second time and were even able to capture a captive. The Israelites mighty response was to vow to dedicate the spoils of their battle with Amalek to God. The battle was quick and decisive, “God heard Israel’s voice and delivered the [Amalekites, who disguised themselves as] Canaanites,” into the hands of the Israelites.
Beauty (tiferet): However, the joy of the victory over Amalek was shortlived for the people complained about the setbacks encountered in their journey. God plagued them with venomous snakes, which Moses then healed, at God’s instruction, with a copper snake. The snake on a pole has become the universal symbol of healing (רְפוּאָה), which is cognate with the Hebrew word for the sefirah of beauty (תִּפְאֶרֶת).[7]
Victory (netzach): In their next journey, the Israelites were miraculously saved from a malicious attack by the Amorites who hid in crevices along the gorge of the Arnon river. The miracle was discovered only indirectly demonstrating the protection of God, “the eternal of Israel,” who is undaunted and unchanging.
Acknowledgment (hod): It was through the Song of the well that the Israelites then acknowledged this miracle and gave thanks for it, including also their gratitude for the 40 years in which Miriam’s well provided them with water in their journey through the wilderness.
Foundation (yesod): At the end of the parashah, the Torah recounts two wars, one with Sichon of Cheshbon, the other with the infamous Og, the giant who ruled the Bashan. Unlike the war with the Amalekites, these two wars conclude with the Israelites possessing the land of the vanquished. Conquest (כִּיבּוּשׁ) is associated in the Torah with the power of procreation, as God addressed Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, and conquer it.”[8] Pro-creation is associated with the sefirah of foundation. Of the two kings of the eastern side of the Jordan, Sichon’s power of procreation is mentioned explicitly, as the Israelites “vanquished him and his son(s).”[9] The reading of the word “sons” (בָּנָו) is in the plural, but it is written in the singular form “son” (בְּנוֹ) to imply that all of his power of procreation went into his son, who took of all of his father’s might.
Kingdom (malchut): Finally, Moses’ victory over Og and the fact that he himself killed Og (as described in Rashi on the last verse of the parashah) are what crowned him as the king of Israel.
[1]. Psalms 89:3.
[2]. For these other methods, see Malchut Yisra’el issue 6 (5749), pp. 36ff.
[3]. Proverbs 7:4.
[4]. Job 4:31.
[5]. Numbers 20:2-13.
[6]. Sifrei Bamidbar.
[7]. See more in our volume The Torah Academy where medicine is placed in correspondence with the sefirah of beauty.
[8]. Genesis 1:28.
[9]. Deuteronomy 2:32.
