Likkutei Torah · Parshas Shemini Atzeres · Maamar 6
טוב לחסות בה׳ מבטוח באדם
It is better to take refuge in G‑d than to trust in man
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The big idea
“Man” is G‑dliness that enters and settles in the heart; “refuge in Havayah” is G‑dliness beyond grasp that surrounds the soul like shade. The surrounding light is better for protection against the body and animal soul, while the inner light is needed so that G‑dliness becomes one’s own.
The maamar in brief
The maamar asks why Psalms 118 says taking refuge in G‑d is “better” than trusting in man, when trusting in man is forbidden elsewhere, and why it uses two different verbs. “The man” is the Supernal Man of Ezekiel’s vision, which the Zohar identifies with the holy Name; “trust” (from tach, plaster) is a G‑dliness that clings inside, while “refuge” is shelter in an encompassing shade. In prayer this is the difference between contemplation the heart can hold (“man”, associated with memalei) and contemplation beyond the soul’s capacity, grasped only in bittul (“Havayah”, associated with sovev). Love held in the heart fades after prayer, because the body and animal soul, the “nations” that surround the soul, cover it and inject stray thoughts. The encompassing level surrounds the soul constantly, like an all-absorbing thought, and so “cuts down” both the forbidden and the excessive. Yet “man” is also needed, for the aim is that G‑dliness be absorbed within. The sukkah’s shade and “the native-born in Israel” express both sides: each level is better in its own respect.
Outline
- The verse and its questionsWhy “better,” and why “refuge” versus “trust”? “The man” is the Supernal Man; trust is inner cleaving, refuge is encompassing shade. The Zohar and its commentaries (Arich Anpin versus Z’eir Anpin); contemplation that enters the heart.¶1
- Three depths of contemplation, and the surrounding “nations”Contemplation held by the heart (“man”), grasped by the mind only, and beyond the mind (bittul, “Havayah”). The body and animal soul surround the G‑dly soul and bring stray thoughts in prayer.¶2
- “I will cut them down,” and the need for “man”Inner love fades after prayer; the encompassing level, permanent like an all-absorbing thought, cuts away both forbidden evil and excess. Still, absorption (kelitah) of “man” is required.¶3
- The shade of the sukkah“The native-born in Israel” is the inner level; the sukkah’s shade is the encompassing level that protects from the external forces. Each is better in its own respect.¶4
Key concepts
- The Supernal Man (Adam HaElyon)אדם העליון
- The divine attributes arranged, as it were, in the form of a man (Ezekiel’s vision); in a person, G‑dliness that enters and is held in the heart through intellect and emotion.
- Encompassing light (makif)מקיף
- G‑dliness too great to enter a person’s grasp; it stays above and around him like shade, and precisely because it surrounds him it is constant and protective.
- Contemplation (hisbonenus)התבוננות
- Meditation on G‑dliness in prayer; the maamar distinguishes kinds that the heart can hold, that only the mind can hold, and that transcend even the mind.
- Absorption (kelitah)קליטה
- The inner taking-in of G‑dly light so that it becomes one’s own, likened to the receptive feminine power included in the name “Adam.”
- Kelipas nogahקליפת נוגה
- The realm from which the body, the animal soul and permitted-but-unrefined things draw; the “nations” that surround the soul.
For children · ages 9–13
Shelter in G‑d’s shade
The big idea
Some G‑dliness we understand and hold inside our hearts, and some is too great to grasp and surrounds us like shade; we need both.
A verse in Tehillim says, “It is better to take refuge in G‑d than to trust in man.” Why “better,” and why two different words? The maamar explains that “trust” comes from a word for plaster, which clings to a wall; “refuge” means shelter in a shade that covers us from outside. “Man” stands for G‑dliness we can understand, so that it settles inside the heart. “Refuge in G‑d” is G‑dliness too great to understand, which we can only stand before with bittul, setting ourselves aside. In prayer we can think about G‑d until the heart feels love. But after prayer that love can fade, because the body and its wants crowd around it. The greater light surrounds a person all the time, like a thought someone never stops thinking, even while busy with other things. It keeps a person away from what is wrong, and even from too much of what is allowed. Still, we also need the love that comes inside, so that G‑dliness becomes our own. The shade of the sukkah shows both: each is better in its own way.
The mashal
When someone is very taken up with one important thought, it stays with them all day. Even while they go here and there and do other things, the thought never leaves them. The surrounding light of G‑d is like that: it stays with a person all the time and guards them.
Questions for the Shabbos table
- What is the difference between G‑dliness we understand and G‑dliness that surrounds us like shade?
- How is the shade of the sukkah a picture of “taking refuge in G‑d”?
- What is one thought about G‑d you could keep with you all day this week, even while doing other things?
Explanation © likuteitorah.com, CC BY-NC 4.0: retold for children from our translation and explanation, with AI assistance; not yet reviewed by a human editor.
The verse and its questions ¶1
1טוב לחסות1 בה׳ מבטוח באדם.2 להבין מהו טוב דמשמע שגם באדם רשאי לבטוח אלא שיותר יטוב לבטוח בה׳ והלא כתיב אל תבטחו בנדיבים3 בבן אדם כו׳.
“It is better to take refuge in G‑d than to trust in man.” We need to understand what “better” means, for it implies that one is also permitted to trust in man, only that it is better to trust in G‑d. But is it not written, “Do not trust in nobles, in a son of man,” etc.?
The maamar opens with a verse from Hallel (Psalms 118) and asks why it says “better,” as if trusting in people were acceptable, only less good. Another verse (Psalms 146) flatly forbids trusting in human beings, so the comparison seems out of place.
וגם להבין דגבי הקב״ה כתיב לחסות וגבי אדם מבטוח. אך הענין דבאדם כתיב בקמץ תחת הבית במקום ה״א הידוע כלומר באדם הידוע4 הוא בחי׳ אדם העליון כמ״ש
And [we] also [need] to understand why regarding the Holy One, blessed be He, it is written “to take refuge” (lachasos), while regarding man [it is written] “than to trust” (mibe’toach). But the matter is that ba’adam (“in man”) is written with a kamatz under the beis, in place of the heh [that marks] the known, meaning “in the known man,” which is the level of the Supernal Man, as it is written,
A second question: the verse uses two different verbs, “take refuge” for G‑d and “trust” for man. The answer begins with a grammatical point: the vowel under the prefix (ba’adam rather than be’adam) signals the definite article, “the man,” so the verse speaks of a specific, known “Man”: the Supernal Man, the divine attributes arranged, as it were, in the form of a human being.
ועל דמות הכסא5 כו׳ ומבטוח הוא מלשון וטח6 את הבית7 שהוא לשון טיחה ודיבוק שדבקה בחינה זו בפנימיותו ותוך תוכו. ולחסות הוא שחוסה בצל ומקיף שמלמעלה.
“And upon the likeness of the throne,” etc. And mibe’toach (“than to trust”) is from the expression “and he shall plaster (ve’tach) the house,” which denotes plastering and cleaving: that this level cleaves in his inner dimension (pnimiyus) and his innermost core. And lachasos (“to take refuge”) is that one shelters in the shade and the encompassing [light] (makif) that is from above.
Ezekiel saw “the likeness of a man” upon the throne; that figure is the Supernal Man. The word mibe’toach (“to trust”) is read as related to tach, plastering, which sticks to a wall: this level of G‑dliness clings to a person from within. “Taking refuge,” by contrast, is sheltering in a shade that stays above and around a person: an encompassing (makif) light that does not enter inside.
וזהו טוב לחסות בבחינת מקיף שמבחי׳ הוי׳ יותר מבחי׳ השראת פנימיות של בחי׳ אדם העליון כו׳
And this is [the meaning of] “It is better to take refuge”: in the encompassing level that is from the level of Havayah, more than in the level of the indwelling of the inner dimension of the level of the Supernal Man, etc.
So the verse means that sheltering under the encompassing light of Havayah, which stays beyond a person, is better than having the Supernal Man’s light dwell inside him.
(א׳ באדרא דנשא) (דקל״ט ב׳) דבכל אתר דאדכר אדם הכא לא אדכר אלא בשמא קדישא8 כו׳
(It is stated in the Idra of Nasso) (page 139b) that “wherever ‘man’ (adam) is mentioned here, it is mentioned only as the Holy Name,” etc.
The Zohar’s Idra (in the portion of Nasso) supports this: when it speaks of “man” it refers to a revelation of the holy divine Name. “Man” is thus itself a divine level, not a mere human being.
ואיתא שם בהפירושי׳ [בהפירושים] דטוב לחסות בהוי׳ היינו הארת א״א מבטוח באדם שהוא בחי׳ ז״א ע״ש בספר רוח דוד.
And it is stated there in the commentaries that “It is better to take refuge in Havayah” means the illumination of Arich Anpin, [while] “than to trust in man” is the level of Z’eir Anpin; see there, in the book Ruach David.
Kabbalistic commentaries on that Zohar passage read the verse as contrasting two configurations of the Sefiros: Arich Anpin (the “Long Countenance,” the inner level of Keser, beyond intellect and emotion) and Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes, which form the “man”). Ruach David is named as the commentary where this appears.
ולהבין ביאור זה בעבודת ה׳ מהו בחי׳ אדם העליון כו׳ הוא כי הנה יש כמה מיני התבוננות9 יש שתכנס בקרב איש ולב10 עמוק שיהא הלב מתפעל ומתלהט ואעפ״כ [ואף על פי כן] מפני זה לא נהפך ממהותו
And to understand the explanation of this in the service of G‑d, what the level of the Supernal Man is, etc.: it is that there are several kinds of contemplation. There is [contemplation] that enters “into the inward part of a man and a deep heart,” so that the heart is stirred and set aflame, and nevertheless it is not thereby transformed from its essential nature;
Now the Alter Rebbe turns to how this plays out in a person’s prayer. The first kind of contemplation (hisbonenus) penetrates “the inward part of a man and a deep heart” (Psalms 64): the heart is moved and becomes fired with love, yet the person’s basic nature stays what it was.
רק שנתקעה האהבה בלבו במקום אשר הוא שם כי הלב הוא כלי קיבול לאהבה זו כאשר יוכל שאת.
rather, the love is lodged in his heart in the place where he is, for the heart is a vessel that receives this love, as much as it can bear.
In this first kind, the love settles into the heart as it is, in its own place and measure; the heart functions as a container that holds as much love as its capacity allows.
The paragraph poses the questions (why “better,” and why two different verbs) and answers that “man” means the Supernal Man, a G‑dliness that enters and clings inside, while “refuge in Havayah” is an encompassing light that stays above. It then begins to translate this into prayer, describing contemplation that the heart can contain.
The Zohar’s commentaries equate “refuge in Havayah” with Arich Anpin and “man” with Z’eir Anpin: the inner, emotive configuration of the Sefiros has the form of “man,” as in Ezekiel’s vision, while Arich Anpin is the encompassing level above it. The pun on tach (plaster) makes “trust” a matter of inner attachment, which is why the text can later say both levels are needed.
Marei mekomos
- 1טוב לחסות · הנחת כ״ק אדמו״ר האמצעי נדפס בסה״מ תקס״ד ע׳ רלז באריכות יותר.
- 2טוב לחסות בה׳ מבטוח באדם · Psalms 118:8
- 3אל תבטחו בנדיבים · Psalms 146:3
- 4כלומר באדם הידוע · מובא בשרש מצות התפלה פרק מ (קלח, א). וראה יהל אור עה״פ ע׳ תנ.
- 5ועל דמות הכסא · Ezekiel 1:26
- 6ומבטוח הוא מלשון וטח · ראה ביאוה״ז להצ״צ ע׳ קצה.
- 7וטח את הבית · Leviticus 14:42
- 8דבכל אתר דאדכר אדם הכא לא אדכר אלא בשמא קדישא · Zohar, Idra Rabba 33:257–268
- 9יש כמה מיני התבוננות · ראה לעיל פ׳ מטות פה, ג.
- 10
Three depths of contemplation, and the surrounding “nations” ¶2
2ויש התבוננות שהיא למעלה בהשגת מוחו1 ובינתו והלב קטן מהכיל התבוננות זו שאלו היה מגיע עד הלב היה כלה שארו ולבבו2 בכלות הנפש כו׳.
And there is contemplation that is higher, in the grasp of his mind and his understanding, and the heart is too small to contain this contemplation, for were it to reach the heart, his flesh and his heart would be consumed in the expiry of the soul (kelos hanefesh), etc.
A second, higher kind of contemplation is grasped by the mind but is too great for the heart to hold. If it reached the heart it would overwhelm it; the person would expire in longing for G‑d, the state called kelos hanefesh, the soul’s pining away (Psalms 73:26).
ויש אשר גם מוחו לא סביל כו׳ והוא ענין תפלה בלחש ובחשאי כו׳ שהוא ביטול
And there is [contemplation] that even his mind cannot bear, etc., and this is the matter of prayer in a whisper and in silence, etc., which is self-nullification (bittul) of
A third kind is beyond even the mind’s grasp. It corresponds to the silent, whispered prayer (the Amidah), where a person stands in self-nullification (bittul) rather than comprehension.
השגת הנפש למעלה מכאשר תוכל נפשו שאת כו׳ (עמ״ש סד״ה יהודה אתה וסד״ה השמים כסאי ועמ״ש בד״ה אלה פקודי ובד״ה שימני כחותם)
the soul’s grasp, beyond what his soul can bear, etc. (See what is written at the end of the maamar beginning “Yehudah atah” and at the end of the maamar beginning “Hashamayim kis’i,” and see what is written in the maamar beginning “Eileh pekudei” and in the maamar beginning “Simeni chachosam.”)
This bittul goes beyond what the soul can take in. The parenthesis refers the reader to four other maamarim of the Alter Rebbe that develop this theme.
והנה ההתבוננות שתכנס בלב איש להיות הלב כלי מכון לשבתה הוא נקרא בחי׳ אדם בעל שכל ומדות כו׳ משא״כ בחי׳ הוי׳ הוא מה שהוא למעלה מכאשר תכול הנפש שאת כו׳
Now, the contemplation that enters a man’s heart, so that the heart becomes a vessel prepared as a dwelling for it, is called the level of “man” (adam), possessor of intellect and emotive attributes, etc.; whereas the level of Havayah is that which is beyond what the soul can bear, etc.
Here the terms are defined: contemplation that the heart can hold, so that it becomes a home for it, is called “man,” since a human being is a being of intellect and emotion. “Havayah” is the level that exceeds what the soul can hold.
(ואפשר דההתבוננות בבחי׳ ממכ״ע [ממלא כל עלמין] נקרא אדם משא״כ בחי׳ סוכ״ע הוא בחי׳ הוי׳. ועמ״ש בד״ה וידעת היום בענין דעת ואמונה כו׳. ואפשר לומר שזהו ענין מוחין דתש״י [דתפילין של יד] ומוחין דתש״ר [דתפילין של ראש])
(And it may be that contemplation on the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin) is called “man,” whereas the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) is the level of Havayah. And see what is written in the maamar beginning “Veyadata hayom” on the matter of Daas (knowledge) and faith, etc. And it is possible to say that this is the matter of the intellect (mochin) of the hand-tefillin and the intellect of the head-tefillin.)
The Alter Rebbe suggests a further mapping: contemplation of G‑d as the light that fills each world according to its measure is “man,” while G‑d as the light that transcends all worlds is “Havayah.” He points to a maamar on knowledge and faith (grasp versus belief beyond grasp), and to the two tefillin: the hand-tefillin, placed opposite the heart, and the head-tefillin, on the head.
וזהו טוב לחסות בהוי׳ הגם שיהיה בבחי׳ מקיף מבחי׳ הוי׳ ולא יוכל ליכנס בגילוי הלב אעפ״כ [אף על פי כן] טוב יותר מלהיות בטוח בבחי׳ אדם לפי שכל גוים סבבוני3 כו׳
And this is [the meaning of] “It is better to take refuge in Havayah”: even though it will be in the manner of an encompassing [light] from the level of Havayah, and cannot enter into the heart in a revealed way, nevertheless it is better than to be trusting in the level of “man,” because “All nations surround me,” etc.
Now the verse is applied: the encompassing light of Havayah cannot be felt openly in the heart, yet it is better than relying on the “man” level alone. The reason is given by the next verse in the Psalm, “All nations surround me.”
שיש בחי׳ גוים הם הגוף ונפש הבהמית שמקליפת נוגה והם הם הסובבים ומלבישים את הנפש והם הם הטורדים ומפילים מחשבות זרות אפילו באמצע התפלה
For there is the aspect of “nations”: these are the body and the animal soul, which are from kelipas nogah, and it is they that surround and clothe the soul, and it is they that disturb [a person] and cast in alien thoughts even in the middle of prayer.
The “nations” are read inwardly: the body and the animal soul, which come from kelipas nogah (the realm of the permitted but not yet holy). They surround the G‑dly soul like a garment and send it stray thoughts even in the middle of prayer.
כי יניקתם מצירופי אותיות הדבור בין צירוף לצירוף שהוא בחי׳ מקום חלל כו׳ שם יוכלו לינק ולאחוז באדם להפיל בו מחשבות חוץ
For they draw their nurture from the combinations of the letters of speech: between one combination and the next, which is the aspect of an empty space, etc., there they are able to draw nurture and take hold of a person, to cast extraneous thoughts into him.
These distractions exploit the gaps between the combinations of letters in the words of prayer: the pause between one word-combination and the next is like an empty space where no holiness is expressed, and there stray thoughts can take hold.
וכן המדות שבגוף ונפש הבהמית מלבישים מדות הנפש אלקות שהאהבה שבנפש אלקית היא מסותרת ומלובשת בגוף ונפש הבהמית.
And likewise the emotive attributes (middos) of the body and the animal soul clothe the emotive attributes of the G‑dly soul, for the love that is in the G‑dly soul is hidden and clothed in the body and the animal soul.
Likewise the G‑dly soul’s emotions, including its love of G‑d, are hidden inside the emotions of the body and animal soul. So the love the heart can hold is always wrapped in, and vulnerable to, the animal soul.
The paragraph maps three depths of contemplation and names the one the heart can hold “man” and the one beyond the soul “Havayah.” It then begins to explain why the higher level is “better”: the inner love is surrounded and clothed by the body and animal soul, the “nations” that surround a person.
The pairing of “man” with memalei and “Havayah” with sovev follows the maamar’s own suggestion, as does the pairing of knowledge with faith. The hand-tefillin sits opposite the heart and the head-tefillin on the head, so the two kinds of mochin fit the contrast between contemplation that enters the heart and contemplation that stays above it.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויש התבוננות שהיא למעלה בהשגת מוחו · ראה תו״א צז, א.
- 2כלה שארו ולבבו · Psalms 73:26
- 3כל גוים סבבוני · Psalms 118:10
“I will cut them down,” and the need for “man” ¶3
3ולכן הגם שמעורר את האהבה לה׳ בתפלתו בקרב איש ולב עמוק כאשר תוכל נפשו שאת אעפ״כ [אף על פי כן] אחר התפלה לא נשאר רק הרשימו וכו׳.
Therefore, even though he arouses the love for G‑d in his prayer “in the inward part of a man and a deep heart,” as much as his soul can bear, nevertheless after the prayer there remains only the reshimu (impression), etc.
This is the weakness of the “man” level: the love one arouses in prayer, however sincere and deep, is held by the heart, and after prayer, once the animal soul reasserts itself, only a trace of it remains.
אבל ההתבונונת שלמעלה מעלה מכדי שתוכל הנפש שאת והוא ביטול השגת הנפש אע״פ [אף על פי] שהוא בבחינת מקיף מלמעלה הנה על זה כתיב בשם הוי׳ כי אמילם.1
But the contemplation that is higher and higher, above what the soul can bear, which is the self-nullification (bittul) of the soul’s grasp, even though it is in the manner of an encompassing [light] from above, concerning this it is written, “In the Name of Havayah, I will surely cut them down (amilam).”
The higher contemplation, the bittul beyond comprehension, stays above the person as an encompassing light, yet it is exactly this that “cuts down” the surrounding “nations,” as the verse says, “In the Name of Havayah I will cut them down.”
The explanation: amilam has two meanings. [One is] a term for cutting off, that is, “turning away from evil” in the literal sense, [evil] which is from the three wholly impure kelipos. And [the other is] a term for circumcision (milah),
Amilam carries two senses. The first is “cutting off”: removing outright evil, “turning away from evil,” meaning what comes from the three wholly impure kelipos (what is forbidden). The second is from milah, circumcision.
דהיינו כריתת הערלה החופפת כו׳ דהיינו בחי׳ המותרות שמק״נ [שמקליפת נוגה] ולהיות קדש עצמך במותר לך4 והטעם
that is, the cutting away of the covering foreskin, etc., namely the level of superfluous things (mosaros), which are from kelipas nogah, and to “sanctify yourself in what is permitted to you.” And the reason [is this]:
Circumcision removes a foreskin that covers: this is the refinement of permitted but excessive indulgences, which come from kelipas nogah, following the Talmud’s rule “sanctify yourself in what is permitted to you.” The next part explains why the encompassing level can do this.
כי בחי׳ המקיף הוא שמקיף וסובב את הנפש מכל צד וכמשל מי שטרוד מאד במחשבה
for the encompassing level is such that it encompasses and surrounds the soul from every side, like the example of someone who is very preoccupied with a thought,
The encompassing level surrounds the soul from every side. It is like a person gripped by one thought.
אחת שמקיפתו ומלבישתו במאד מאד עד שלא יסיח דעתו ממנה כלל אף בעשותו דברים אחרים והולך אנה ואנה אעפ״כ [אף על פי כן] מחשבה זו לא תזוז ממנו.
a single one, that surrounds him and envelops him very, very greatly, so that he does not take his mind off it at all; even while he does other things and goes here and there, nevertheless this thought does not budge from him.
Such a thought surrounds him completely, so that even while he is busy with other things and moving about, it never leaves him.
וכך הוא בחי׳ המקיף שמלמעלה הוא נצחי בל ימוט עולם ועד. ולכן הוא אף שכל גוים סבבוני כו׳ (ועמ״ש בפ׳ אמור בביאור ע״פ וספרתם לכם)
And so it is with the encompassing level from above: it is eternal, never to be moved, forever and ever. Therefore it [stands firm] even though “All nations surround me,” etc. (And see what is written in Parshas Emor, in the explanation on the verse “And you shall count for yourselves.”)
So the encompassing light is permanent and unshakable. That is why it holds even when “all nations surround me”: it surrounds the person more closely than the distractions do. A further discussion is found in the maamar on “And you shall count for yourselves” (the counting of the Omer) in Parshas Emor.
משא״כ בבחינת אדם כתיב עת אשר שלט האדם באדם שיש שליטה וממשלה ח״ו [חס ושלום] לאדם אחר שמקליפה הגם שהוא לרע לו5 לאחר זמן כו׳.
Whereas regarding the level of “man” it is written, “A time when man rules over man,” that there is dominion and rule, G‑d forbid, to another “man” who is from kelipah, even though it is “to his own harm” after a time, etc.
The “man” level, by contrast, is exposed: Koheles speaks of “a time when man rules over man,” read here as the “man” of kelipah (the animal soul) at times overpowering the “man” of holiness. The verse adds that such rule is ultimately “to his harm”: it does not last.
אך מ״מ ת״ל בחי׳ אדם ג״כ כי העיקר שיהיה הוי׳ לי כו׳ והיינו בחי׳ קליטה כנ״ל שהוא בחינת אדם כי זכר ונקבה בראם ויקרא שמם אדם.6
But nevertheless, the level of “man” is also needed, for the main thing is that “Havayah be mine,” etc., which is the level of absorption (kelitah) mentioned above, which is the level of “man,” for “Male and female He created them, and He called their name Adam (man).”
Still, the “man” level is necessary, for the goal is that Havayah become “mine,” truly absorbed within the person (kelitah). Absorption belongs to “man,” who includes both male and female: the receptive, feminine power that takes in and conceives.
The paragraph explains why the encompassing level is “better”: it permanently surrounds the soul, so it can “cut away” both the forbidden and the excessive, whereas the love held in the heart fades after prayer and can be overpowered. It ends by insisting that the inner level of “man” is still needed, since the goal is for G‑dliness to be absorbed within.
The two meanings of amilam match the two realms of kelipah in Chassidus: the three wholly impure kelipos, source of what is forbidden, and kelipas nogah, source of what is permitted but not yet elevated. The “absorption” (kelitah) mentioned “above” is developed in the Likkutei Torah Matos passage the Kehot note on paragraph 1 points to, where the heart receiving the light is likened to the feminine conceiving.
Marei mekomos
- 1בשם הוי׳ כי אמילם · Psalms 118:10
- 2בשם הוי׳ כי אמילם . . ב׳ פירושים · ראה גם סה״מ תקס״ד ע׳ רמ.
- 3בסור מרע · Psalms 34:15
- 4קדש עצמך במותר לך · Yevamot 20a:15
- 5עת אשר שלט האדם באדם . . לרע לו · Ecclesiastes 8:9
- 6זכר ונקבה בראם ויקרא שמם אדם · Genesis 5:2
The shade of the sukkah ¶4
4וכל האזרח בישראל.1 פי׳ בתוך ישראל ובפנימיותם כו׳ כנ״ל. כי מי שהואבבחי׳ מקיף מלמעלה נקרא בחינת צל ולא אורה נגלית וכדכתיב ה׳ צלך על יד ימינך יומם השמש לא יככה2 כו׳.
“And every native-born (ezrach) in Israel”: the explanation is, within Israel and in their inner dimension, etc., as mentioned above. For that which is in the level of the encompassing [light] from above is called the level of “shade,” and not revealed light, as it is written, “G‑d is your shade at your right hand; by day the sun will not smite you,” etc.
The maamar closes with the Sukkos verse “every native-born in Israel shall dwell in sukkos”: “in Israel” means within, in the inner dimension, the level of “man” absorbed inside. The sukkah itself is shade, an encompassing light rather than open revelation, like “G‑d is your shade” (Psalms 121).
שהצל שהוא בחי׳ מקיף הוא שמירה מהחיצונים כו׳ אלא לפי שכל גוים סבבוני3 כו׳ לפיכך טוב יותר לחסות בה׳4 כו׳ שבבחינה זו יותר טוב המקיף כו׳ ובבחינה אחרת יותר טוב בחינת אדם כנ״ל:
For the shade, which is the level of the encompassing [light], is a protection from the external forces, etc. Only, because “All nations surround me,” etc., therefore “it is better to take refuge in G‑d,” etc.; for in this respect the encompassing [light] is better, etc., and in another respect the level of “man” is better, as mentioned above.
Shade protects from the external forces (the kelipos), so because “all nations surround me” the encompassing refuge is better in that respect. In another respect, inner absorption (“man”) is better, so each has its own advantage.
The conclusion ties the teaching to the sukkah: its shade is the encompassing light that shields from the surrounding “nations,” while “in Israel” points to inner absorption. “Better” is thus relative: the encompassing level is better for protection, and the inner level is better for making G‑dliness one’s own.
Marei mekomos
- 1וכל האזרח בישראל · Leviticus 23:42
- 2ה׳ צלך על יד ימינך יומם השמש לא יככה · Psalms 121:5–6
- 3כל גוים סבבוני · Psalms 118:10
- 4טוב לחסות בה׳ · Psalms 118:8
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
In prayer, a person should contemplate G‑dliness until it enters his heart and becomes his own (the level of “man”), but should not rely on that alone, since the heart’s love fades after prayer and is surrounded by the body and animal soul. He should also reach toward a bittul beyond his grasp, the encompassing “refuge in Havayah,” which stays with him constantly and cuts away both the forbidden and the excessive, sanctifying himself even in what is permitted.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the verse use “take refuge” for G‑d and “trust” for man, and how does the wordplay on tach (plaster) explain the difference?
- What distinguishes the three kinds of contemplation, and why is the one the heart can hold called “man”?
- How can a light that does not enter a person protect him better than a light that does?
- What are the two meanings of amilam, and which kind of evil does each address?
- If refuge in Havayah is “better,” why does the maamar insist that the level of “man” is still needed?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×1
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration.
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×2
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×3
- The intellect (mochin)מוחין
- Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×2
- The light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin)ממלא כל עלמין
- Divine light that enters each world and gives it life according to its measure.
- The light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin)סובב כל עלמין
- Divine light too great to enter the worlds; it 'surrounds' them and affects them from beyond.
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×1
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×3
- The G‑dly soulנפש האלקית
- The soul that is 'a part of G‑d above'.
- The reshimu (impression)רשימו
- The trace left after the tzimtzum. ×1
- Kelipah (the husk)קליפה
- The forces of concealment that oppose holiness. ×1