019 - Embodied Chassidus: Ki Seitzei & Ki Savo

Delayed post from Parshas Ki Seitzei, which includes deep insights from Ki Savo and life in general.

This week’s parsha brings us two seemingly opposite movements of the soul. In the morning we read Ki Seitzei — “when you go out to war on your enemy.” In the afternoon, we shift to Ki Savo — “when you will enter the land to inherit it and settle it.”

So on one Shabbos, we’re handed both: the fight, and the flow. The contraction of tension, and the nervous system’s exhale into safety and settlement. The labor of exile and the ease of Geulah.

And the Rebbe reveals these aren’t actually separate states. You can be in the “battlefield” moments of life — dealing with resistance, inner critic, survival mode — and still feel settled, resourced, and whole.

How? By remembering who you truly are.

At your core, you’re not someone at war. You're a chelek Elokah, a literal piece of the Divine embedded here in a physical form... and Hashem “consulted” with your soul before the world was even created.

Meaning: your essence is one with Him, higher than opposition. Your nervous system can unclench because even when you step into challenge, your truest reality is safety, belonging, abundance.

And why did we agree to enter a world with “enemies”? Because deep down, your soul chose growth. You said yes to a world where you could earn light, not just receive it. The fight isn’t against you. It’s the container that makes your greatness visible.

And so — when you meet opposition from this awareness, it transforms. The “war” becomes as fluid as living in a land that “desired to do the will of her Creator.” You still move, but with ease. The nervous system re-patterns from bracing and forcing into expanding and receiving.

The Rebbe said it like this:

“the main thing –that the avodah is amidst ease and comfort in the simple sense, ease of the soul and ease of the body, which is achieved through the Holy One, blessed be He, giving to every single Jew all that he needs materially and spiritually, and with abundance.”

This isn’t spiritual bypassing. It’s not “pretend you’re okay.” It’s the radical knowing that Hashem wants you to be held both spiritually and materially. That abundance isn’t a far-off promise, but something you’re safe to receive now, in your body, in your bank account, in your home.

And the Rebbe goes even further — that the laughter of the Messianic future is already accessible. “Then their mouths will be filled with laughter” doesn’t mean “someday.” It means now. The future is now. The treasures of Geulah may look “locked in a box,” but the key is in your hand. Every mitzvah, every act of alignment, is you opening the box and letting that joy pour into today.

This is embodiment: letting your body feel what your soul already knows. That redemption isn’t waiting. It’s breathing here, pulsing here, available in every moment you choose to see with Geulah-vision.

And because this sicha was said in the year 5751 — a gematria acronym for “you will be exalted” — the Rebbe connected it directly with Moshiach, with the marriage of Hashem and His people, with the light breaking through the nervous system of the whole world.

So when Moshiach says “the time of your redemption has arrived,” and our nervous system doubts — the Midrash promises: “see via my light.” Even when we have a hard time believing, we can believe in those who believe in us... whether that's a coach, a friend, a mashpia, the Rebbe, or just Hashem. The Torah wisdom of Geulah is a nervous system resource. It helps us rewire from fear into trust, from freeze into flow, from “not yet” into “yes, now.”

In other words: you don’t have to wait to feel safe, abundant, and whole. You can live in the paradox of doing your work and being settled. You can be in the battle and in the land. Because in truth, your soul never left the land.