5920 —מלוה מלכה "סעודתא דדוד מלכא משיחא" במוצאי שבת ויגש: גישת יהודה ליוסף ומלכות בית דוד

B"H, 13th of Kislev, 5718

Brooklyn.

To the Rav, the Gaon, the veteran and Chassid, a G‑d-fearing man, distinguished and honored, who works for the community^[1], our teacher Rabbi Yoel, may he live^[2]

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your honor's^[3] letter informing me of the arranging of a Melaveh Malkah, "the meal of David, the King Mashiach"^[4], on the night after Shabbos of "Then Yehudah approached him"^[5] (as it is written, "One shall approach the other", and this will be in the time to come, etc.; then "My servant David will be king over all Israel" — Torah Or of the Alter Rebbe, beginning of Parshas Vayigash, 44b)^[6].

May it be G‑d's will that at a gathering of a great many Jews, where in every company of ten the Divine Presence rests^[7], and at the meal of "David the King, who lives and endures" (see Zohar, Vayigash 207a, top; and from its commentators there it is understood that this is the matter of Yehudah's approaching Yosef)^[8], they will be inspired to add in the matters of our Torah and of the light within the Torah, the inner dimension of the Torah, which in our generation has been revealed in the teachings of Chassidus^[9]; and may the inspiration be carried over into all the days coming toward us for peace.

With respect and blessing.

[Publisher's notes: Our teacher Rabbi Yoel: Halperin, Brooklyn.]

Notes

1. The Rav, the Gaon, the veteran and Chassid, a G‑d-fearing man, distinguished and honored, who works for the community (הרה"ג וו"ח אי"א נו"נ עוסק בצ"צ): הרב הגאון, ותיק וחסיד, איש ירא אלקים, נעלה ונכבד, עוסק בצרכי ציבור.

2. Our teacher Rabbi Yoel (מו"ה יואל שי'): R. Yoel Halperin of Brooklyn, who each year arranged a Melaveh Malkah close to Yud-Tes Kislev. Further letters to him on this: above, 3082 (6 Kislev 5715) and 8075 (9 Kislev 5715).

3. Your honor (כת"ר): כבוד תורתו.

4. "The meal of David, the King Mashiach" (סעודתא דדוד מלכא משיחא): The meal after Shabbos, the Melaveh Malkah, is called in the language of the Kabbalists "the meal of King David, Mashiach".

5. The night after Shabbos of "Then Yehudah approached him" (במוצש"ק ויגש אליו יהודא): מוצש"ק — מוצאי שבת קודש. That is: the night after Shabbos Parshas Vayigash, which opens "Then Yehudah approached him" (Bereishis 44:18).

6. Torah Or … beginning of Parshas Vayigash, 44b (תורה אור לרבנו הזקן ר"פ ויגש מד, ב): "One shall approach the other" — Iyov 41:8. "My servant David will be king" — after Yechezkel 37:24: "My servant David will be king over them." In Torah Or there: "But in the time to come, when the two of them, Yosef and Yehudah, will be joined together in the ultimate true union — as it says, 'Then Yehudah approached him', and as it is written, 'One shall approach the other' — this will be in the time to come; then Yehudah will be elevated above Yosef... and therefore then, 'My servant David will be king over all Israel'." That is: Yehudah's approach to Yosef alludes to the future redemption, when the kingship of the house of David, who descends from Yehudah, will be revealed; so it is especially fitting that the meal of David, the King Mashiach, be held on the night after Shabbos Parshas Vayigash.

7. In every company of ten the Divine Presence rests (דאכל בי' עשרה שכינתא שריא): Aramaic. After the saying of Chazal, Sanhedrin 39a: "In every company of ten the Divine Presence rests." כו"כ — כמה וכמה, "a great many".

8. "David the King, who lives and endures" (דוד מלכא חי וקיים): After the words of Chazal, "David, king of Israel, lives and endures" (Rosh Hashanah 25a), said at Kiddush Levanah. רע"א — ריש עמוד א, the top of side a. "From its commentators it is understood that this is the matter of Yehudah's approaching Yosef": the "meal of King David" (the kingship of the house of David, of the tribe of Yehudah) is bound up with Yehudah's approach to Yosef, as in the Torah Or above.

9. The light within the Torah, the inner dimension of the Torah (מאור שבתורה פנימיות התורה): "The light within it" (after Eichah Rabbah, Pesichta 2: "the light within it would have brought them back to the good") is the inner dimension of the Torah, which in recent generations has been revealed in the teachings of Chassidus.

Summary

Answering the organizer of a Melaveh Malkah, "the meal of David, the King Mashiach", held on the night after Shabbos Parshas Vayigash, the Rebbe connects the two through the Torah Or: Yehudah's approach to Yosef points to the future kingship of David. He blesses the gathering, where the Divine Presence rests, to bring an increase in Torah and in its inner dimension revealed in Chassidus, and that the inspiration last into all the coming days.