Glossary · Torah Ohr · Likkutei Torah
Four elements
ד׳ יסודות
The four elements: fire, air (ruach), water, earth
Fire, ruach (air), water and earth, which compose every physical thing. Man, a small world, has all four in body and soul; they match Havayah’s four letters, the four worlds, and inanimate-growing-living-speaking.
The word יסוד also names the sefirah Yesod and means “foundation” in general. It means an element when it is followed by אש, רוח, מים or עפר (יסוד האש, יסוד המים) or appears as ד׳ יסודות or ארמ״ע.
Where it’s explained
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 6, ¶1Man is a small world: as the world has four elements, so does the human soul. A bracketed note cites Etz Chaim that the four are the four letters of Havayah, and מא״א that they are also the four worlds Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah; when a person rectifies his own four elements he rectifies the whole world.
וכמו שיש בעולם ד׳ יסודות אש רוח מים עפר כך יש בנפש האדם ד׳ יסודות
- Likkutei Torah, Emor 1, ¶36There are three sets of four: the body is made of four physical elements, the animal soul of four spiritual elements of Nogah, and the G‑dly soul of four spiritual elements of holiness. The seat of water is the brain and of fire the heart, and the mixture differs from person to person: in some water prevails, in others fire.
כי כמו שהגוף האדם מורכב מד׳ יסודות גשמיים. וכן הנה״ב מורכבת מד׳ יסודות רוחניים דנוגה
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 3, ¶8Every thing is compounded of the four, and earth is the main element of the physical, with the other three combined in it. Burning separates the compounded elements and leaves only the essential one, ash; so the burning of the red heifer leaves only the source of speech, still in a state of bittul.
שכל דבר מורכב מד׳ יסודות אש רוח מים עפר ועיקר התהוות הגשמי הוא מיסוד העפר
- Likkutei Torah, Pinchas 1, ¶14The four kinds of creation correspond to the four elements: earth is the inanimate, water the growing (water makes things grow), fire the living (from the lion and ox faces of the Chariot, which look like burning coals), and ruach is man, the speaking. So the animal offering is of the element of fire.
כי ד׳ בחי׳ דצח״ם הם כנגד ד׳ יסודות
- Torah Ohr, Vayishlach 6, ¶14Earth is the lowest of the four, yet only earth makes things grow, because earth is from Malchus, whose “beginning is wedged in its end”: like Keser it can bring something from nothing. Ash, by contrast, what remains after fire has drawn out the fire, air and water, does not grow by itself.
העפר היא תחתונה שבכולם ואש רוח מים הם הגבוהים יותר
Stated differently
Which element is at the top: fire, or ruach (matched with man, the speaking)
ויסוד האש הוא למעלה מרוח מים עפר כי הוא תחת גלגל הירחOf the four, fire is above ruach, water and earth, being just beneath the sphere of the moon.
שהם נגד ד׳ עולמות אבי״ע והאש הוא בחי׳ אצילותThe four elements correspond to the four worlds, and fire is Atzilus: as fire’s nature is to rise away, so Atzilus is exalted above Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.
ואש הוא בחי׳ החי כי משרתיו אש לוהט הם פני אריה פני שורMatched with the four kinds of creation, fire is the living (the animal), and ruach is man, the speaking (“a speaking spirit”).
ובחי׳ אש הוא בחי׳ נפש החי ובחי׳ רוח הוא בחי׳ מדברThe same matching: fire is the living soul (the life of an animal’s soul comes from the element of fire), and ruach is the speaking.
לרוות הצמאון שמיסוד האש שיסוד הרוח גבהה מעלתו ממעלת ובחי׳ האש שמלמטהNow the element of ruach, drawn from above, is higher than the fire from below (and the water of the mitzvos higher than earth); in the time to come fire will be above ruach, and earth above water.
Whether water in the soul belongs with the lower letters of Havayah or is Chochmah, above the fire of the heart
והנה ענין מלא מים זהו יחוד ו״ה בחי׳ מים ועפר וענין רוח ואש זהו יחוד י״הThe four elements of the soul are the four letters of Havayah: water and earth are the union of vav and hei, ruach and fire the union of yud and hei. Here too the drawing down called ruach is higher than that called water.
והוא בחי׳ יסוד המים שבמוח חכמה כח מ״ה שלמעלה מבחי׳ בינה ליבאThe “run” of love is the element of fire in the heart; the “return” of awe and bittul, above love, is the element of water in the brain, Chochmah, above Binah of the heart.
ובחינת שוב הזה הוא מבחינת יסוד המים שבמוח בחי׳ חכמה כח מ״הAfter the chayos’ “run,” burning like torches, comes their “return,” which is from the element of water in the brain, Chochmah.
Main sources
Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 6, ¶1Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 6, ¶6Likkutei Torah, Emor 1, ¶36Likkutei Torah, Shelach 5, ¶1Likkutei Torah, Pinchas 1, ¶14Likkutei Torah, Chukas 3, ¶8Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 1, ¶2Torah Ohr, Vayishlach 6, ¶14
Where it appears
In 24 paragraphs of 21 maamarim.
- Likkutei Torah, Emor 1 ¶36
- Likkutei Torah, Pinchas 1 ¶14
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 1 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, V’Zos HaBerachah 6 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 6 ¶1 ¶6 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 3 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 5 ¶4
- Torah Ohr, Bereishis 5 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 7 ¶17
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 5 ¶1
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 10 ¶6
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 11 ¶3
- Torah Ohr, Vayishlach 6 ¶14
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 10 ¶6
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 2 ¶6 ¶16
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 7 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 5 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 1 ¶2
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 1 ¶2
- Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 1 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, V’Zos HaBerachah 3 ¶13
Written with AI from the paragraphs of Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah, each entry checked by a second AI reader and every Hebrew quote checked by code; not yet reviewed by a person. Our English: CC BY-NC 4.0.