ביום השמיני עצרת תהיה לכם

1“On the eighth day, there shall be an atzeres (assembly) for you.” Now, regarding all the festivals it is written, “You shall make the Pesach to Havayah your G‑d,” [and] “You shall make the festival of Shavuos to Havayah your G‑d.” But regarding Sukkos it is written, in Parshas Emor, “And you shall celebrate it as a festival to G‑d.”

This means that [we] bring joy to the Holy One, blessed be He, as in the saying, “And Israel, who sanctify Your Name, will rejoice in You”: that Israel, who sanctify Your Name, bring the joy into You. And there is no joy except with wine, as it is written regarding wine, “which gladdens G‑d and men,” etc.

And [we need] to understand this: how is there joy above, in Him, may He be blessed, who has no bodily form, etc.? (See also what is written on the verse “I will greatly rejoice in Havayah,” and, regarding Purim, in the explanation of “Sing joyfully, you righteous, in Havayah.”) Now, it is written, “A wise son makes a father rejoice.”

Meaning, by way of analogy: a father who wishes to understand his son’s wisdom hides himself from him, in order to know and recognize the son’s wisdom: [whether] he will understand that this hiding and concealment is not

[for any purpose] except that the son should seek him and find him. And then the father’s joy grows great because of his son’s wisdom and his recognition of this, for he will search for him with a thorough search, to pursue him.

So too, it is written, “In the concealment (bakeseh), for the day of our festival”: that He hides and conceals Himself on Rosh Hashanah so that the joy will grow great at the festival of Sukkos.

2And the explanation of this matter: Rosh Hashanah is the day of judgment, “a judgment for the G‑d of Yaakov,” when He shows Himself as though His indwelling departs, and He wishes only that there be judgment and justice concerning His G‑dliness, may He be blessed, [as to] how [it is] to dwell in Yaakov. And all of a person’s deeds are scrutinized,

to bring into judgment all the drawings-down of His G‑dliness that each and every one drew down upon his soul, according to the level of his standing, in the past year, and all that he will yet draw down upon himself in the future, in this year, and whether he is worthy of it. And so it is as though He hides Himself from him, etc.

However, [regarding] “And I will surely hide My face on that day,” written in Parshas Vayeilech: the hiding and concealment in this is not a true hiding and concealment, for the sake of the concealment itself, as if to say that it is the ultimate aim of what is intended, G‑d forbid, like true anger, G‑d forbid.

Rather, it is so that one will seek His face, and so that a revelation of G‑dliness, may He be blessed, will be revealed on the festival of Sukkos, that He did so: so that it be [the time of] our joy, that the joy grow great through the revealing from concealment to revelation.

3And this is “And I will surely hide My face on that day”: that is, the level of “And the Levite, he (hu), shall perform [the service],” which is the level of “wine that gladdens G‑d and men,” as is explained elsewhere.

Therefore we seek His face in all the prayers and supplications from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur, with Malchiyos, Zichronos and Shofaros, and we cry out, “King, King,” to draw His kingship upon us, from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur;

that is, the revelation of His will (ratzon), as it is written, “May G‑d make His face shine upon you.” By way of analogy, it is like when a man sins against another man: [the other] is angry with him, and when he seeks his face, he forgives him

and removes from him his face of wrath and shows him a face of love and favor (ratzon), to reveal his love to him. So too G‑d, may He be blessed, forgives the sins of His people and removes from them the face of anger and concealment,

openly revealing to them the light of His face, as it is written, “May G‑d make His face shine upon you,” until on the festival of Sukkos the glory of G‑d is revealed from concealment to revelation; and therefore it is “the time of our joy.” And this is what is written, “May G‑d lift up His face to you.”

“Lift up” (yisa) is from the term for withdrawal and lifting His face upward; that is to say, He withdraws Himself, as it were, from him, and appears with His face of anger and judgment. And why all this? For the sake of “to you”:

that is, so that the revelation of His G‑dliness, may He be blessed, be drawn down from concealment to revelation; and then the joy will be all the greater. [See also what is written

in the discourse beginning “You shall draw water,” on the matter of “A wise son makes a father rejoice,” etc., and in the Zohar, Part I, folio 22a and folio 60b; Part III, folio 74b, and folio 279, end of side b.]

42. Now, the cause that brings about the concealment and hiding is what is written, “Your iniquities separate between you, etc.” And [we need] to understand this, for it is written, “Even darkness is not dark for You, and night shines like day; darkness is as light.” So how can sin, which is darkness, be a separation over against the light of G‑d?

But there are two levels: the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) and the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus). The outer dimension is what brings all the created beings into being from nothing to something and gives life to all of them, which comes from the level of the outer dimension of His kingship (Malchus), may He be blessed, as is explained elsewhere.

5And on this level there is no separation or concealment that hides and conceals His light, may He be blessed, as it is written, “The whole earth is full of His glory,” and it is written, “And His kingship rules over all.”

But the inner level is the matter of the drawings-down of His G‑dliness and holiness upon us from the level of the inner dimension of His will, may He be blessed; and it is specifically on this level that “your iniquities separate between you,” so that it is not revealed and does not shine among you, within the innermost point of the heart.

(See Iggeres HaTeshuvah, chapters 4–5; and see also what is written in Parshas Tetzaveh on the verse “And you shall make a tzitz,” in the explanation, and the matter of the iron partition that separates between Israel, etc.; and see also what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “For the conductor, on the Sheminis.”) For it is written, “Face to face, etc.”

[This means] that in a person, too, there are levels of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) and the outer dimension (chitzoniyus). The outer dimension is what is written, “For they have turned their back to Me, etc.,” as is explained elsewhere; and the inner dimension is the name for what

is the essence of his will, his aim and his desire. And these two levels exist both in “turning from evil” and in “doing good.” For regarding turning from evil it is written, “Your iniquities separate, etc.”; and regarding doing good,

we say, “Every knee shall bend to You, and every stature shall bow down before You”: that there are two levels, the level of bending the knee (kri’ah) and the level of bowing down (hishtachavayah). For all of them accept upon themselves the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven and declare His oneness in the Shema.

But not all faces are alike: there is one who is not so gripped in his heart, “in the inward part of a man and a deep heart,” to the point of

the soul’s expiring (klos hanefesh), to nullify his will completely, until he has no other will at all apart from His service, may He be blessed, and the Torah of G‑d, [so] that his desire be only [in it]; rather, he stays where he stood, and in his [former] state he remains,

as before the Shema; and it is only the level of acknowledgment (hodaah), in which he acknowledges and agrees in his heart that there is nothing else besides Him and nothing apart from Him, and that “everything before Him is considered as nothing.”

But the sitra achra (the other side) is not subdued, such that all the will of the body and its powers would be subjugated to do the will of his G‑dly soul in absolute truth. And this level is called bending the knee (kri’ah). (And this is what is said in the Zohar) (Bereishis, folio 42b), “Here is bending,”

that is, in the Chamber of Hod, which is the level of acknowledgment (hodaah): he bends on his knees, which are “outside the body,” for the body stays standing in its place. By contrast, the complete nullification of his will and the soul’s expiring toward Him, may He be blessed,

to cleave to Him in the innermost point of his heart: this is the level of bowing down (hishtachavayah), in which he bends his stature and his head, where the source of Daas is. For the desire of the heart (re’usa deliba) is drawn forth because he binds his mind (daas) firmly to the greatness of G‑d,

and then it enters into the depth of the heart and touches the soul, the level of the very innermost point of his heart, until the sitra achra is subdued and he has no other will at all. And this is “And every stature shall bow down before You”: for an upright stature depends on the lifting of the head, which is the matter of Daas.

(And see on the virtue of bowing down in [Bereishis] Rabbah, [Parshas] Vayeira, chapter 56; and see also what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “And it shall be on that day, [a great shofar] shall be blown,” on the matter of “and they shall bow down to G‑d,” and at the end of the discourse beginning “And it shall be, from one new moon [to the next],” on the matter of “to bow down before Me.” And [we need] to explain what is said in the Zohar) (Bereishis, folio 43b), “Here is bowing down,”

that is, in the Chamber of Netzach. And it can be explained that Netzach is a branch of Chochmah, which is the level of sight, from which bowing down and self-nullification (bittul) are drawn, for hearing is not comparable to seeing.

And this is because Hod is a branch of Binah, which is the level of hearing, etc. And this is what is written in Pri Etz Chaim, on the kavanah of the evening prayer of Shabbos: that on weekdays she is in Hod, and in the evening prayer of Shabbos she is also in Netzach.

And this is because regarding Shabbos it is written, “And G‑d blessed the seventh day,” and, as is known, blessing is higher than the level of acknowledgment (hodaah); as is written on the verse “Zion shall be redeemed with justice”; see there.

6And it seems more [correct to explain this] according to what is written in the discourse beginning “A psalm, a song of the dedication of the House”: that there are two levels in bowing down. That is, an outer bowing down, which subdues the body so that it will not rebel against the King in actual deed,

but the essence of the will and the inner dimension of the soul are not nullified, etc.; whereas bowing down on the level of the inner dimension is the level of “Nullify your will before His will,” so that he has no other will or desire at all.

73. And this is the matter of the whole order of service from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur, with Malchiyos, Zichronos and Shofaros, and the prayers and supplications from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur: to rise from the level of bending the knee to the level of bowing down.

And then, on Yom Kippur, the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of His will and His love, may He be blessed, is revealed, and He makes His face shine toward us, into the innermost point of the heart; as it is written, “On Your behalf my heart said, ‘Seek My face’; Your face, G‑d, I will seek”: “Your face” specifically,

which is the level of the inner dimension of His love, may He be blessed, and of His will, may He be blessed. And this is through teshuvah (return), for the essence of teshuvah is regret in the heart,

that is, to uproot the will, so that he will no longer want at all to return to his folly. And through this the sitra achra (the other side) is subdued, and “the glory of G‑d is revealed”: “May G‑d make His face shine,”

for “G‑d desires His people”; as in the parable of a person who forgives his fellow after [the other] regrets and shows him that he no longer has any will or desire for the thing in which he wronged him; and through this he will win his favor, and he will again have compassion on him.

And this is “Every native (ezrach) in Israel shall dwell in sukkos.” Meaning: “the native” is that which shines (zore’ach) and gives light in Israel, within the innermost point of the heart.

(See also what is written on the verse “See, I [set before you],” in the explanation of “Of Eisan the Ezrachite,” and in Iggeres HaKodesh, at its end, on the verse “And charity like a mighty (eisan) stream.”) “Shall dwell in sukkos,” “the time of our joy,” through the illumination and revelation that was revealed on Yom Kippur, as mentioned above.

And this is the matter of the order of taking the lulav and the esrog. For our Sages, of blessed memory, said (in Midrash Rabbah, Parshas Emor, chapter thirty):

“‘The fruit of a beautiful tree (pri etz hadar)’: this is the Holy One, blessed be He, etc.” And they also said, “‘The fruit of a beautiful tree’: [a fruit] that dwells (hadar) in its tree, etc.”; for “man is a tree of the field.”

Meaning: “man” — this is the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, “And upon the likeness of the throne, a likeness like the appearance of a man”; He is likened to a tree of the field, and this is the matter of the Tree of Life, as is explained elsewhere. (And see on this in the Zohar, Emor, folio 96b and folio 97a.)

And “dwells in its tree”: this is the level of the inner dimension of the tree, which is the matter of the inner dimension of the love that Havayah has for us, as it is written, “You have captured my heart, my sister, [my] bride, etc.” For the love is, by way of analogy, on the level of the innermost point of the heart: “Israel dwell in the chamber of the heart,” and His love for them is wondrous.

(And this is what is written in Mishnas Chassidim, Tractate Oros Z’eir Anpin, chapter 3, mishnah 7: “And in its inner dimension, etc.” This was explained above in Song of Songs, on the verse “There are sixty, etc.; one is my dove, my perfect one”; see there the explanation of the words of the Mishnas Chassidim cited above. And “my perfect one” (tamasi) [is read] “my twin” (teomasi): to this the twin leaf (tiyomes) of the lulav also alludes.)

And the esrog is joined with the lulav, which is the tallest of its kind; that is, the root that is rooted above, which makes fruit below in Israel: the level of lo lev (“a heart for Him”), to be one heart

for Him alone, may He be blessed, and to cleave to Him, that is, to the level of His very Essence and Being, may He be blessed, with cleaving and passionate desire from the depth of the heart, to call Him “my heart,” as it is written, “the Rock of my heart”:

for He is, as it were, the innermost point of his heart, and he has no other heart but “the Rock of my heart.” And we wave the lulav to the six directions, for the waving is the matter of arousal

(as is written in the book Emek HaMelech, Sha’ar Sha’ashuei HaMelech; and see also what is written in Parshas Shelach on the verse “I [am Havayah your G‑d], etc.,” of the section of tzitzis, in the explanation of the matter of the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, “When Israel say, ‘Amen, yehei shmei rabba mevarach,’ the Holy One, blessed be He, nods His head, etc.”)

And [the waving] is to arouse, in the extending outward, the level of the inner dimension of Daas, which is the root and sustenance of the emotive attributes (middos) that are revealed in the heart, for they are drawn from it; and in the bringing back to a person’s chest, [to arouse] the innermost point of the heart of the person himself, so that it have “the native in Israel,” that it shine and give light in the revelation of his heart.

And this is the matter of “festivals for joy”: that there be joy before Him, may He be blessed, in the revelation of His love from concealment to revelation; and as it is written, “And you shall celebrate it as a festival to G‑d,” as mentioned above.

84. But “On the eighth day, there shall be an atzeres for you”: for the eighth day is Simchas Torah. And the Torah is called a crown (keser), as in the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, “the crown of Torah.” And likewise, the 613 mitzvos of the Torah and the seven mitzvos of the Rabbis add up to 620 [the numerical value of keser].

And so too our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “One who makes use of the crown (taga) passes away”: this refers to one who makes use of someone who studies halachos, which is called “the crown of the King.” And this is, by way of analogy, like a king who loves someone very much, and because of his love he takes his crown off his head and gives it to the one he loves. So too,

in G‑d’s love, and in His joy with which He rejoices, He takes His crown, as it were, off His head and gave it to them (and see also what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “Let them bring royal garments”). And this is the crown of Torah: the Torah comes forth from Chochmah, but its root is far, far higher than the level of the supernal Chochmah.

And this is “And He has raised up a horn, etc.”: that He gives a great exaltation, without end, far, far above the level of the revelation of the light of His countenance, etc.

(For the level of the shining of the countenance is a mere glimmer, drawn from this level of the crown of Torah. See what is written elsewhere in the explanation on the verse “These are the journeys, etc.,” [on] “And Moshe wrote”: that the level of the light of His countenance is called the tikkun “and truth,” which is called “the seal of the Holy One, blessed be He”; and the seal is the level of Asiyah (action) relative to the essence of His great Name.

And in this way, Shemini Atzeres is above the level of the seal of Hoshana Rabbah; as is written elsewhere on the verse “The righteous acts of His open cities, etc.” And see also what is written in Parshas Vayeishev, in the discourse beginning “On the twenty-fifth of Kislev,” [on] the level of “a helmet of salvation,” to draw down the level of “the splendor of the countenance.”

That is, the level of “a helmet of salvation” is the source of the splendor of the countenance, and it is called “A crown of glory is old age, etc.”; a crown (ateres) is the level of keser and atarah.) And this is because Israel are “the people near to Him.”

And this is “there shall be an atzeres for you.” Meaning: atzeres, as its Targum [renders it], kenishu (gathering): that the acceptance of His kingship, may He be blessed, through the crown of Torah, is gathered and collected to be for you a keeping for the whole year.

And this is as it is written, “You shall surely set a king over yourself”: which is through the Torah and the mitzvos, for it is the King’s command.

(And see the Zohar, Emor, folio 96, end of side b; and see below, on the verse “On the eighth day he sent away, etc.”) And the joy for G‑d will be great, greater than the joy of the soul in its cleaving to the living G‑d, until the joy is called

only by the name gilah (see the Zohar, end of Parshas Pinchas, folio 259b). Meaning: simchah is from the term for the revealing of gladness, while gilah is the matter of the joy that is within him.

As it is written, “The children of Zion will exult (yagilu) in their King”: for out of the awe of the king the joy is gathered within him, and the gladness is not seen. (And see also what is written on the verse “I will greatly rejoice, etc.; my soul will exult, etc.”; and see also what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “And it was, when Pharaoh sent.”)

9And this is “And all hearts shall fear You, and all innards and kidneys shall sing to Your Name”: because the hearts fear You and accept Your kingship upon themselves, there is joy and song only in the innards and kidneys. (See also what is written on this in Parshas Va’eschanan, on the verse “And you shall know this day.”)

And this is atzeres: that the joy and gilah are absorbed and hidden within the level of the awe of the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven, which one accepts upon oneself for the whole year, to fulfill the 620 commandments of the King with love and good will.

(And the drawing down of awe from the level of the crown of Torah will be understood further from what is written in Parshas Mikeitz, in the explanation of the verse “For You are my lamp,” and regarding Shavuos, in the discourse beginning “And G‑d spoke, etc.,” and from what is written in the discourse beginning “Blow the shofar on the new moon,” in the explanation of “For with You is forgiveness, so that You may be feared.”

Now, it must be explained: above, on the verse “I will greatly rejoice,” it was explained that the level of gilah, “my soul will exult,” is the level of Rosh Hashanah. But one who studies the Zohar) (Parshas Pinchas, folio 214b) will understand the matter:

for since the Ten Days of Teshuvah are the level of “His left hand is under my head,” from this there is drawn trembling and awe, so that it is “exult with trembling”; and Sukkos, since it is the level of “and His right hand embraces me,” is therefore the level of “I will greatly rejoice” and simchah.

But Shemini Atzeres, since then is the union of the body (zivuga degufa), is the level of Tiferes, which includes Chesed and Gevurah, which are the two arms, as is written in the Zohar, Terumah (175b),

that it “holds on to this one and holds on to that one.” And therefore, because it includes the two levels together, the joy is the level of gilah, etc., like “And all hearts shall fear You, and all innards and kidneys shall sing to Your Name,” as mentioned above.

(And see the Zohar, Part I, 64b, on the matter of “On the day of Shemini Atzeres,” and folio 208b; and at the end of Part I, sections 24 and 25; Part II, 135a; Part III, 96b, 104b, 259b, and folio 214b.)

10An abridgment on [the verse] “On the eighth day, an atzeres, etc.,” [beginning] “And regarding all the festivals.”

11(1) The explanation of “A wise son makes a father rejoice”: when the son understands that the hiding in which his father hides himself from him is only so that he will search for him.

And this is “in the concealment”: Rosh Hashanah, the day of judgment. And this is the matter of the nesirah (sawing apart) on Rosh Hashanah, which is the withdrawal of the inner dimension of the intellect (mochin) from the emotive attributes (middos). But the purpose of the covering, “for the day of our festival,” is the revelation on the festival of Sukkos,

that is, through searching for and seeking His face during the Ten Days of Teshuvah. And this is “makes a father rejoice”: that [we] bring joy to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, “a festival to G‑d.”

And in this way it is said, “And I will wait for G‑d, who hides His face from the house of Yaakov.” (2) And what causes the hiding is the level of “your iniquities separate”: relative to the level of revelation from the inner dimension, this is a separating screen. It is something like what our Sages, of blessed memory, said regarding the light that was created on the first day: since He looked at the deeds, etc.,

He arose and hid it away from them. And something similar will be understood regarding the revelation of the inner dimension. For it must be in the manner of “Face to face He spoke”: that in a person, too, there are an outer dimension and an inner dimension.

12That is, even in “doing good.” And this is the difference between the level of “And every knee shall bend to You,” which is only the level of acknowledgment (hodaah),

and he bends on his knees, which are “outside the body”; and “And every stature shall bow down before You,” in which he bends his stature and his head, where the source of Daas is.

And in this way our Sages, of blessed memory, said that the Shechinah (Divine Presence) rests only on people of stature: the intent is that all ten Sefiros of the soul be revealed in him, on the level of “And every stature shall bow down before You.” (3) And this is the order of service from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur: to rise from the level of bending the knee to the level of bowing down.

And this is the matter of the prostrations in the order of the [Temple] service in the Musaf of Yom Kippur; and through this there is drawn down “May G‑d make His face shine upon you.” “Before Havayah you shall be purified”: the inner dimension of the Name Havayah.

13And this is “And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of a beautiful tree”: this is the Holy One, blessed be He, etc.; and also “a beautiful tree” is the level of “man is a tree of the field.”

And the fruit of the tree is the source of the souls of the tzaddikim, which is the level of “dwelling in its tree.” And the lulav: lo lev (“a heart for Him”), the level of “the Rock of my heart and my portion is G‑d forever.” And also “This, your stature, is like a palm tree” is the level of “And every stature shall bow down before You.”

“And you shall rejoice before G‑d”: the joy through the revelation of the intellect (mochin), Chochmah, Binah and Daas, etc., for “A wise son makes a father rejoice”: that the mochin of Abba also come into revelation, etc. And this is “And you shall rejoice,” as when one grasps a new idea he is filled with delight and joy.

14(4) But “On the eighth day, an atzeres,” which is Simchas Torah: that is, the level of the crown of Torah, which is above the intellect (mochin), shines,

like the skull (gulgalta) that covers the brain, since it is from a level that is above graspable intellect. See what is written in the explanation on the verse “I am Havayah your G‑d,” of the section of tzitzis.

15And this is “And He has raised up a horn.” And then, “there shall be an atzeres for you”: the entering and gathering of the mochin under the skull (gulgalta) and the crown that hovers over them, on the level of “Nullify your will” completely.

And see also what is written in the discourse beginning “You shall keep My Shabbosos,” on the matter of keser as in the term “Wait (kaser) for me a little”; and what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “And [G‑d] spoke, etc., in the wilderness of Sinai,”

on the matter of “Lift up the head, etc.,” “by their skulls, from twenty years old, etc.”; see there. And the meaning of atzeres is that the joy is absorbed and hidden within the level of the awe of the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven, until the joy is called

only by the name gilah, in the manner of “And all hearts shall fear You, and all innards and kidneys shall sing”; and see also what is written on this in the discourse beginning “And you shall know this day and take to [your heart].”

16And it can be explained that from Rosh Hashanah until Shemini Atzeres there are three crowns. That is: on Rosh Hashanah, “Say before Me [verses of] kingship (Malchiyos)”: this is the drawing down of the crown of kingship.

And on Yom Kippur, the crown of priesthood, for the High Priest enters the innermost sanctum and draws down [the level of] “And every stature shall bow down before You.” And the ascents of the souls, in the manner of “When you raise up the lamps, toward the face of [the menorah], etc.”;

and afterward the crown of Torah, on Shemini Atzeres, is the drawing down from above to below. And “Study is great, for it leads to action”: the level of the crown of a good name.

And one may note, regarding the matter of “There are three crowns, etc.,” and the crown of a good name, something similar to what was explained in the discourse beginning “Who can count, etc.,” regarding the explanation of “the fourth part of Israel.”