Glossary · Torah Ohr · Likkutei Torah
Lamed-beis nesivos
ל״ב נתיבות החכמה
The thirty-two paths of Chochmah (lamed-beis nesivos)
The thirty-two channels into which Chochmah of Atzilus opens (Sefer Yetzirah’s ten Sefiros and twenty-two letters; the thirty-two Elokim of creation): narrow paths that reach far, carrying the wisdom of Torah below.
Where it’s explained
- Likkutei Torah, Reeh 6, ¶36Why Binah’s channels are called gates and Chochmah’s paths: gates serve many people coming and going but do not lead far, as Binah’s flow into the middos is broad and revealed yet “extends only as far as Hod”; a path is narrow and leads far off, to fields and deserts.
אבל הנתיב מצער הוא והולך למרחוק לשדות ומדבריות
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 6, ¶5The thirty-two times Elokim is named in the account of creation are the thirty-two paths into which Chochmah divides; they are contraction and concealment, without which the expansion of memalei and sovev could not be revealed.
ל״ב אלקים דעובדא דבראשית הם בחי׳ ל״ב נתיבות חכמה שהחכמה מתחלקת לל״ב נתיבות
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 17, ¶1Mocha Stima’ah, the hidden intellect in Keser, never comes to revelation; Chochmah of Atzilus (Abba) does open into thirty-two paths, “a river goes out of Eden”, and it is drawn from Mocha Stima’ah only through the hairs.
מה שאין כן חכמה דאצילות דאתפתחא לל״ב שבילין
- Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 7, ¶10Sefer Yetzirah explains the thirty-two paths as the ten Sefiros and twenty-two letters. The 310 worlds are drawn from thirty-one of them; the first path, the highest of Chochmah’s ten Sefiros, is above them, and “it may be said” that it is the inner dimension of Abba.
ל״ב נתיבות פי׳ בס״י ע״ס וכ״ב אותיות א״כ הנתיב הראשון הוא הבחי׳ היותר עליונה שבע״ס דחכמה
- Torah Ohr, Beshalach 5, ¶3כבוד equals 32: “the whole earth is full of His glory” through the wisdom of Torah, and through this “I fill heaven and earth” in His very essence, enclothed in the letters of the Torah in the lowly physical world.
ואין כבוד אלא תורה כבוד בגימ׳ ל״ב והם ל״ב נתיבות החכמה והיא חכמת התורה
Stated differently
Whether the paths descend through the order of hishtalshelus or skip it
הם הילוכים והשתלשלות חכמה עילאה בהשתלשלות העולמות למטה מטה עד שנתלבשה בתורה שבעל פהThe thirty-two paths are the goings of Chochmah Ila’ah down through the chain of the worlds until it is enclothed in the Oral Torah in this world, with many paths in Seder Zeraim, many in Seder Moed, and so on.
שהרי המשכה זו הוא ג״כ בבחי׳ דילוג שלא כסדר השתלשלות העולמותThe paths (the tzitzis threads) shine as inner light, memalei, yet the drawing is by a leap, not in the order of the descending worlds: a revelation of Chochmah Ila’ah itself.
Where the paths lead
שהם ל״ב נתיבות ושבילין הנמשכים מחכמה לבינהThe paths run from Chochmah to Binah and are the thirty-two Names Elokim of creation: “saying” is in Chochmah and “doing” in Binah.
אבל הנתיב מצער הוא והולך למרחוק לשדות ומדבריותBinah’s gates extend only as far as Hod, while Chochmah’s paths reach far, to fields and deserts.
Whether the paths are contraction and judgment or carry chasadim
והנה גילוי בחי׳ חכמה זו הוא בחי׳ צמצום ודין ל״ב אלקיםThe revelation of Chochmah in thirty-two paths is contraction and judgment, the thirty-two Elokim.
והוא המשכת החסדים שערות לבנים הנמשכים מלמעלה למטה בל״ב נתיבות החכמהWhat is drawn down through the thirty-two paths, as the tzitzis, is chasadim, the white hairs from Arich Anpin, unlike the hairs of Z’eir Anpin, which are judgments.
Main sources
Likkutei Torah, Reeh 6, ¶36Likkutei Torah, Korach 1, ¶20Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 6, ¶5Likkutei Torah, Shelach 17, ¶1Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 7, ¶10Likkutei Torah, Acharei 1, ¶7Torah Ohr, Beshalach 5, ¶3
Where it appears
In 38 paragraphs of 25 maamarim.
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 6 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Korach 1 ¶5 ¶6 ¶12 ¶14 ¶19 ¶20
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 11 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 23 ¶4 ¶27
- Torah Ohr, Beshalach 5 ¶3
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 6 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Masei 5 ¶7 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 1 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 16 ¶20
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 17 ¶1 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 25 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 7 ¶10 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 3 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 39 ¶1 ¶9
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 1 ¶38
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 19 ¶16
- Likkutei Torah, Emor 2 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Masei 7 ¶11 ¶12
- Likkutei Torah, Sukkos 3 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Acharei 1 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 6 ¶36 ¶39 ¶45
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 14 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Vayikra 1 ¶22
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 2 ¶2
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 11 ¶17
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.