Glossary · Torah Ohr · Likkutei Torah
Machshavah, dibbur, maaseh
מחשבה דבור ומעשה
Thought, speech and action (machshavah, dibbur, maaseh)
The soul’s three garments, over its intellect and middos; above, G‑d’s “thought, speech and action” are the worlds Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah (“I created, formed, made him”). Mitzvos too fall into these three.
Where it’s explained
- Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 3, ¶4The Torah speaks of G‑d’s thought, speech and action in human terms: “I created him, I formed him, I also made him.” Thought is Beriah, hidden worlds, like the letters of thought that are not separate; speech is Yetzirah, revealing what was hidden in thought and one with it; action is Asiyah, a separate thing, hence “also.” All this is only the spreading of the life-force, not the soul or Ein Sof itself.
בראתיו בחי׳ מחשבה כי בריאה היא מאין ליש כך המחשבה היא מאין
- Torah Ohr, Beshalach 3, ¶6The soul has intellect and middos, and over them three garments, thought, speech and action, each divided into many details; together these five are set against nefesh, ruach, neshamah, chayah and yechidah.
שיש בנשמה שכל ומדות והשכל נחלק לג׳ והמדות לז׳ ויש עליהם ג׳ לבושים מחדו״מ
- Likkutei Torah, Balak 3, ¶27Above the three stands will, the yud. To draw the supernal will down into the practical mitzvos, prayer, the desire of the heart, must come first; prayer, Torah and charity correspond to thought, speech and action, “I created, formed, made him,” and the drawing down goes in that order.
כי יש ד׳ מדרגות רצון ומחשבה דבור ומעשה
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 3, ¶5Some mitzvos depend on thought alone, some on speech, some on action. Through them makifim are made around the three, thought, speech and action and nefesh, ruach and neshamah, corresponding to “I created, formed, made him”; these are the garments of the soul in the World to Come.
כי הנה המצות הם גם כן בג׳ בחי׳ מחשבה דבור מעשה כי יש מצות התלויות במחשבה לבד
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 8, ¶15The hei of the Name is drawn with three lines: two joined lines are thought and speech, and the third line is action (“I also made him”). The six middos, the vav, must be drawn into the hei, so that thought, speech and action are filled with the middos of holiness.
תמונת וצורת הה׳ הוא ג׳ קוין שני קוין מחוברים שהם בחי׳ מחשבה דבור. וקו הג׳ הוא בחי׳ מעשה
Stated differently
Which levels of the soul thought, speech and action are
כי יש בנפש ג׳ בחי׳ נפש רוח ונשמה שהם מחשבה דבור ומעשהThe soul’s three levels, nefesh, ruach and neshamah, are thought, speech and action; action is the last level, the level of the servant and of Asiyah.
כי יש באדם נפש רוח נשמה חיה. נפש הוא בחי׳ אותיות מחשבה ודבורOf nefesh, ruach, neshamah and chayah in man, the nefesh is the letters of thought and speech.
Whether prayer belongs to thought or to speech
בראתיו היא בחי׳ מחשבה שהיא בחינת בריאה יש מאין והיא נגד התפלה שהיא עבודה שבלבThought corresponds to prayer, the service of the heart, the kavanah; the speech of prayer is only so that the voice arouses the kavanah.
ויש מצות תלוים בדבור כמו תלמוד תורה ק״ש ותפלה ובהמ״זThe mitzvos fall into thought, speech and action, against Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah; prayer is listed with Torah study, the Shema and grace after meals among the mitzvos that depend on speech.
Main sources
Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 3, ¶4Likkutei Torah, Acharei 1, ¶9Likkutei Torah, Shelach 3, ¶5Likkutei Torah, Shelach 18, ¶4Likkutei Torah, Shelach 18, ¶7Likkutei Torah, Balak 3, ¶27Torah Ohr, Beshalach 3, ¶6
Where it appears
In 113 paragraphs of 78 maamarim.
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 9 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 5 ¶2 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 10 ¶25
- Likkutei Torah, Eikev 2 ¶23
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 3 ¶27
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 1 ¶3 ¶6 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 3 ¶4 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 16 ¶6
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 22 ¶24
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 35 ¶2 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 4 ¶12
- Torah Ohr, Vayakhel 2 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Balak 5 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, Nasso 3 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 33 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Bechukosai 2 ¶6 ¶9 ¶14
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 2 ¶11
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 6 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 36 ¶2
- Torah Ohr, Beshalach 5 ¶14
- Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 1 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 5 ¶4 ¶6 ¶14
- Likkutei Torah, Balak 1 ¶2 ¶3 ¶5 ¶14 ¶27
- Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 6 ¶33
- Likkutei Torah, Matos 6 ¶11 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Pinchas 1 ¶1 ¶2 ¶3 ¶22
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 2 ¶17
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 10 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 10 ¶9 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 18 ¶4 ¶7 ¶8 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 4 ¶5
- Torah Ohr, Beshalach 1 ¶18
- Torah Ohr, Ki Sisa 2 ¶4 ¶5
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 8 ¶15 ¶17
- Torah Ohr, Terumah 1 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 3 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 3 ¶3 ¶4 ¶9
- Torah Ohr, Bereishis 2 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Pekudei 1 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Vayikra 2 ¶17
- Torah Ohr, Mishpatim 7 ¶13
- Torah Ohr, Parshas Zachor 1 ¶5 ¶11
- Torah Ohr, Va’eira 2 ¶27
- Torah Ohr, Vayeishev 4 ¶7 ¶9 ¶22
- Likkutei Torah, Balak 3 ¶27
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 2 ¶11 ¶39
- Likkutei Torah, Emor 6 ¶17
- Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 2 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 31 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Sukkos 2 ¶2
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 15 ¶18 ¶23
- Torah Ohr, Shemos 1 ¶23
- Likkutei Torah, Acharei 2 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Balak 2 ¶34
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 9 ¶17
- Likkutei Torah, Metzora 1 ¶17
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 2 ¶29
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 16 ¶27
- Torah Ohr, Terumah 2 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Sukkos 1 ¶7
- Torah Ohr, Parshas Zachor 2 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 2 ¶8 ¶11 ¶16
- Torah Ohr, Vayeira 1 ¶2 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 32 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 1 ¶5
- Torah Ohr, Mishpatim 1 ¶5 ¶6
- Likkutei Torah, Pinchas 4 ¶25
- Torah Ohr, Vayakhel 1 ¶34
- Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 4 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Acharei 1 ¶9 ¶20
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 1 ¶12
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 18 ¶8
- Torah Ohr, Beshalach 3 ¶6
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 9 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 10 ¶7
- Torah Ohr, Mishpatim 4 ¶10
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 7 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Bechukosai 5 ¶2
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.