The festival of Shavuot is not merely a historical memory of the Sinai Revelation – it is a living and ongoing event. Every year, the giving of the Torah is renewed in the neshamot (souls) of Israel, and each person is required to prepare themselves to receive the Torah as if they are currently standing under the mountain. This preparation requires purity, humility, and detachment from the noise of the world – so that the ear can once again hear those voices and thunderings, that divine statement that awakens the entire soul.

The Ear That Heard – and Will Hear Again

The giving of the Torah arrives, the festival of Shavuot arrives, we go to hear the Ten Commandments, we go to hear all the voices! There were tzaddikim who heard the Ten Commandments every minute, especially during the giving of the Torah, especially on Shavuot. The Rebbe heard all the voices of the giving of the Torah! On Shavuot, the Rebbe went to the mikvah in the morning and he heard all the Ten Commandments! He heard all the voices! He was sure that everyone also heard! He was sure that everyone heard the Ten Commandments, all the voices, thunderings, and lightnings of the giving of the Torah, he asked his companion each time, do you hear? Do you hear the voices? Do you hear voices? What, you don't hear!? How is it possible not to hear? What do you mean you don't hear? Here! The Ten Commandments! Voices! Lightnings! The worlds are exploding! Listen to the explosions, lightnings, thunderings in all the worlds! You don't hear? The Rebbe was in such humility, in such lowliness that he was less than any Jew in the world! And then if he hears the voices of the giving of the Torah, then surely everyone hears!

We are now before the giving of the Torah, and we need to prepare vessels for the giving of the Torah, a person needs to prepare themselves to attain higher wisdom, lower wisdom, higher Eden, lower Eden, a person needs to prepare themselves to begin to understand the holy Gemara, to merit knowing that apart from the Gemara, apart from the Torah and the holy books, they know nothing in the world. Not to know politics, not to know how much weaponry Egypt has, to know nothing! An ear that heard the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, an ear that is going to hear on Shavuot the Ten Commandments, an ear that hears "I am Hashem your God... who brought you out of the house of bondage", from the house of bondage! Going to be a slave of slaves?! Going to listen to the radio! Going to hear what is happening in the newspapers! All the great tzaddikim never took their heads out of the Gemara! They never straightened up! This is "we will do and we will hear!!" This is the giving of the Torah!!

"Who Really Runs the World?"

Learning Torah is greater than the service of the Holy Temple as it is written "She is more precious than pearls (Proverbs 3:15) greater than the High Priest who enters the innermost sanctum". A mamzer who is a Torah scholar is greater than a High Priest who is an ignoramus, even if he is a mamzer! Even if he was born in prohibitions! In terrible blemishes! If he learns Torah day and night, he is greater than a High Priest! Because one cannot escape the evil inclination except through diligent Torah study, and this is specifically when a person toils themselves! To the point of death! To the point where they want to die! "A person who dies in the tent" needs to toil in the Torah! To give their life for it! Not to learn Torah out of laziness, out of comfort, learning Torah is not comfort! A person has all kinds of desires, and they also have a desire for comfort, all desires are hinted at from the chiefs of Esau and one of them is "Chief of Comfort". A person loves to be comfortable, to learn comfortably, but the true comfort, the true rest, is only the Torah! "And he saw rest that it was good... and he bowed his shoulder to bear" – the yoke of Torah (Rashi). The true rest is the rest of the soul – through learning Torah, the soul is polished, it is cleansed, all the filth is scraped away, all the filth is thrown out, and one merits the rest of the soul.

A person needs to know that they are responsible for the acts of creation, every day they need to recreate the world, the world is managed according to those who learn Torah, through Torah study the world is created, "for all the renewals of the acts of creation that Hashem renews every day continuously, all through the Torah... that on this day there is much rain and on this day there is dryness, and at this time it is cold and damp, etc., and other changes" (Likutei Halachot, Yibum 3) explains Reb Noson that you create the world! You slept, a disaster happened! You dreamed, you spoke with someone during study, a disaster happened! A person needs to know there is no need to read newspapers and no need to know what is happening in the world, you just take an interest for one second in the world, a disaster happens. A person needs to believe that the moment they are idle from the Torah, a disaster happens! You need to know that all the changes in the world go according to your Torah study, when a Jew learns then the whole world begins to love us, because all the nations sometimes love us, and sometimes they hate us and want to annihilate all the Jews, because everything depends on our Torah study, not on politicians and not on anything else.

Every Letter – a Neshamah. Every Word – Rectification of Worlds

The Gemara in Nedarim 81a says "Why are the children of Torah scholars not Torah scholars?... because they did not bless the Torah first," a person goes to learn Torah and says – what is there... why not learn Torah?! After all, it's fun! What am I losing, they give me 500 dollars, what could happen? What did I lose? I also earned 500 dollars, I also learned a little, I also passed the time, what's wrong with that? What? I will now go to work in some carpentry, in some printing? From such thoughts, from such intentions, nothing will come out! Because a person needs to learn Torah with intention in awe and love for the sake of Heaven, to believe that with every letter they say they shake tens of thousands of neshamot!! Through every letter they say, people awaken and return in teshuvah.

The Rebbe says in Torah 14 why are the children of Torah scholars not Torah scholars? "Because they did not bless the Torah first. Every person, and especially a Torah scholar, needs to bless and illuminate in their Torah study in the root of the neshamot because there is our root found... but when they do not illuminate and bless at the beginning through their study... because of this, their child will not be a Torah scholar". A person needs to know that all the letters they say are against neshamot! And in their study, they need to illuminate in the root of the neshamot, and this they must intend in Torah study! Before they open the Gemara, the Shulchan Aruch, the Yoreh De'ah, they must say - "I intend that through every letter and letter I now utter from my mouth, those letters! That letter I say! Will go to that neshamah connected to that letter, and awaken it in teshuvah! That neshamah connected to that letter will receive a spark" – and this is called blessing the Torah first, that they intend in their study to bless and illuminate in all the neshamot.

If a person merits to listen to the voice of the tzaddikim and to believe in the wise who say that through every letter and letter people return in teshuvah, and they will learn Torah not because it's fun, not because there's nothing to do, not because it's instead of working, not because it's to pass the time, not because they are charedi and must learn Torah, not because they have payot and a beard and it's a respectable thing, today a religious person is more respected than a free person, that's the situation today in materiality. But truly they will learn Torah for the sake of Heaven to awaken the roots of the neshamot, then through every letter they utter from their mouth they will intend to illuminate in the roots of the neshamot they will shake the roots of the neshamot! They will shake all the neshamot that have not yet become heretical and return them in teshuvah.

Through every letter, they will awaken lost and wandering neshamot, through every letter they will truly continue a new neshamah to those lost neshamot and return them in teshuvah.

Where Did Your Son Get His Neshamah? From the Letters You Learned!

Why don't the secular keep Shabbat? Why don't the Meretzniks return in teshuvah? Why doesn't a person keep Shabbat? It's all because they have no neshamah! They now live like a gentile! They live like an animal! Like a sheep! Tell them to keep Shabbat, they don't understand what you're talking about! They don't understand what you want from them! They lost the neshamah! From so many breaches of the covenant, they lost the neshamah! And now we need to continue a new neshamah for them, we need to continue new neshamot for all the wicked! And this is done by intending in Torah study that every letter and letter we say will go and illuminate in that lost neshamah connected to that letter and awaken it in teshuvah, and this is what our Rebbe says why are the children of Torah scholars not Torah scholars, because they did not bless the Torah first! Because they do not intend!! They do not intend to illuminate in the roots of the neshamot!! They do not learn with awe and love! They do not believe that through every letter they shake neshamot!! They do not believe that through every letter they say people now awaken and return in teshuvah!

Therefore, the punishment is very great "their children are not Torah scholars" they receive children who do not want to learn, do not want to pray, do not want to go to cheder, do not want to go to yeshiva, they run away from yeshiva! They pass the time. The Rebbe says in Torah 14 these children receive old neshamot from the aspect of "I am asleep" the son wants to sleep a lot, eat a lot, he is heavy in movement, he cannot get up early in the morning, he does a favor by keeping Shabbat, the father needs to suffer until he brings him to the chuppah, a thousand sufferings! A thousand experts! Endless sufferings! And all this happens to the father who did not bless the Torah first, who did not intend with every letter and letter he learned to illuminate in the roots of the neshamot, especially Torah scholars who need to be more careful to illuminate in the roots of the neshamot. And the opposite is true for one who intends in the letters of the Torah.

One who intends to illuminate in the roots of the neshamot, he will certainly merit to continue a pure and bright neshamah for his son, this is measure for measure! Just as he intended in the letters of the Torah to continue a neshamah for all the wicked, for all the lost neshamot, so Hashem gives him a gift of a pure and bright neshamah for his son who only wants to learn, who only wants to get up early in the morning, and will even get up before the father! The father will get up at five in the morning - this neshamah will get up at three in the morning! His son will receive a pure and bright neshamah that is drawn only to kedushah (holiness).

When You Toil in Torah – It Toils for You

The Rebbe says in Torah 101 if a person does not learn Torah in depth, does not learn Gemara then it is called the poison of death, it is dark faces "He has set me in dark places, like those long dead" – he goes with dark faces, his smile is just a smile, just a smile like a gentile, it is not a smile of a Jew – a smile of a Jew is that he is full of Torah and prayer as it is written "A man's wisdom makes his face shine" a person comes home and immediately opens a book! Takes the Gemara, takes the Rambam, takes the Shulchan Aruch, the Tur, then the wife sees that he toils, she sees that he learns! She will stand aside in awe, she will not approach him and will not demand anything from him, but when she sees that he talks nonsense, eats pizzas, eats cakes, drinks cola, and even tells her to make another cake and another cake, then she fattens him and he sinks into desires more and more. But if she sees that he is holy of holies, that he learns Torah, that he is a flame of fire, that he learns Gemara, that he toils, that he is all shining faces and the Shechinah rests upon him, then she will stand aside! She will only be satisfied from looking at him! She will see the holy Shechinah resting upon him.

The Rebbe says that the hardest work in spirituality, which is the toil of Torah, is easier than the easiest work in materiality! People do not understand, they are mistaken, they do not know that learning Torah and toiling in Torah is easier than the easiest work in materiality, it is so hard for them to learn until they go to carry loads and deliveries and boxes, running from one end of the country to the other, from Metula to Eilat, traveling for hours just not to learn! If a person sits and learns, all the abundance will come to him! Because every letter is a mine of gold! Every letter is oil springs of millions of barrels! Sit, learn, see what abundance you will have! You will not even need to work! But the evil inclination is so great that it makes the person truly crazy, he becomes simply crazy, it's like banging his head against the wall! Why are you banging your head against the wall? Carrying loads, boxes, why are you tormenting yourself? Why are you carrying? Sit in the kollel, learn Torah, enjoy life, sit by some spring, by some field, see the beautiful flowers, why are you carrying loads on yourself? When a person learns Torah in depth, learns Gemara, and he puts his mind into the Torah, then he creates new worlds! He creates a new reality! Suddenly he has new laws! He has money to travel to Uman! Suddenly he has abundance in spirituality, abundance in materiality! And all this why? Because through the study he created a new world! Before that, he was in a world where he had no abundance, no money, and now he is in a new world where he already has money! Because it has already become a completely new world! Because every moment a person creates new worlds, if a person learns Torah then he creates new worlds every second.

A person needs to know that Breslov and Gemara are one thing! The point in Breslov is that they go according to what is written! And not according to feelings and opinions and not according to what is convenient "Go forth in the footsteps of the flock and graze your young goats by the dwellings of the shepherds" you need to listen to the voice of the shepherds! You need to listen to the voice of the tzaddikim! You need to listen to the voice of Likutei Moharan! In the first Torah in Likutei Moharan it is written that a person needs to have intelligence! A person needs to learn Gemara! And only this is called simplicity. You need to know that Breslov Chassidut did not come to cancel God forbid any jot or tittle! No custom of the people of Israel! Nothing accepted among the people of Israel! It only came to add! To add more fear of Heaven, more prayer with intention, more guarding of the eyes.

The Rebbe said "I wanted my matter to spread in the hearts of people (who are persistent in their work) like the Jews of Lithuania" (Sichot Haran 2:257) the Rebbe says be Lithuanians! Start learning! With the Rebbe there is no news! The Rebbe said "I go on an old path that is entirely new" in Torah 101 the Rebbe says "Anyone who accepts upon themselves the yoke of Torah... that is Torah in depth. The yoke of Torah is Gemara and poskim!! We have nothing besides our Rebbe! If a person wants new things, a new Likutei Moharan then fine..let them write a new Likutei Moharan! Let them make a new Breslov! We are going with the old Breslov, with what is written! The old Breslov is to learn Torah in depth, to learn Gemara and poskim, the Rebbe says the yoke of Torah is learning in depth! If there is someone who has a new Likutei Moharan or another method then all the more so, maybe they discovered new things! But the Rebbe says he has no new things! The Rebbe is entirely old and yet completely new! People come! Here they distribute coins for a segulah, here they distribute blessed matzot, all kinds of innovations! May the innovations increase! But it has no connection to Breslov! The Rebbe said there are no news with me! I go on a path that is entirely old! We need to go in the footsteps of the flock! See how the Chazon Ish learned! See how the Steipler learned! Be Breslov - there is nothing new here.

A person has heresy in their heart, they do not believe that Hashem stands before them every moment, what a person does not intend in prayer, what a person does not feel that Hashem stands before them is because they have heresy in their heart, they do not believe that Hashem is present. When a person speaks with a friend, they are careful to think about every word they utter, especially if it is a king, they are more careful! Not to be caught in some mistake God forbid, in some illogical thing they will say, when they speak with a friend they do not speak just like that, they can speak for 10 hours because they see before them "a person" with a face, hands, feet. And Hashem is alive and exists! Present before us! And we do not feel Him, it shows that we have no intelligence! We have no mind! When a person does not feel Hashem, and does not intend in prayer it is only because they lack intelligence! Just as there are diseases where people lose their mind and do not recognize their parents, so too if a person has no intelligence, no Torah, they do not recognize their Father and Mother which is the Holy One, blessed be He, if a person could they would implant intelligence in themselves, but they have not yet found how to implant a brain.

And to receive intelligence, to receive a mind, says our holy Rebbe, it is only through learning the Talmud, it is only through learning the Torah.