Story of The Baal Shemtov "Be Patient In Judgement."

The Torah portion we just read, Parshas Kisavo, is very connected to the Baal Shem Tov and the Alter Rebbe.

Kisavo means to arrive, to come, to enter into Israel.

Rashi says that the meaning of the Torah's words, coming to Israel, is not just to physically arrive in Israel, But it also refers to settling in Israel, being there fully.

14 years after Jewish people arrived in Israel, only 14 years later was everyone situated in their home with their children.

farm and all their possessions.

It took seven years to divide the land of Israel and seven years to conquer the land of Israel.

So when the Torah says, when you will arrive in Israel, arriving in Israel actually means not just arriving physically, but being fully settled.

So too, in regards to our Judaism and our connection to Hashem, There are different ways of arriving in Judaism.

You could just do mitzvot that Hashem has commanded us to do, or you could arrive there.

One of the challenges in Los Angeles is that we're so busy.

We're always looking to do the next thing.

But to be fully present in a mitzvah and to feel fully at home in a mitzvah is something which is a bit of a challenge.

So one of the unique characteristics of the teachings of Hasidus is that the teachings of Hasidus are about the inner dimension, the soul of the Torah.

Just like there is a body of the Torah, which tells us physically what to do, the Torah also has a soul.

The Torah has an inner inside.

The Torah has a depth.

And so too in ourselves.

We have a superficial part of ourselves.

We have also a depth, an inner connection.

There is a way we relate to the world around us.

Then there is our inner... identity of who we are.

It's possible to do a mitzvah, to learn Torah, superficially.

We're saying the words of Torah, we're giving charity, but the meaning of tovah is, kisavah, the title of the sixth Torah portion, is not just you're performing a mitzvah, but you're completely immersed in it.

Your whole curiosity, your passion, your excitement, your wonder, all of your inner thoughts, in the language of David HaMelech in Psalm 87, singers and dancers will declare, all my inner thoughts are with you.

So in order for a mitzvah to be that way, that we are really fully invested in a mitzvah, it comes through the inner dimension of Torah.