Glossary · Torah Ohr · Likkutei Torah
Or chadash
אור חדש
A new light (or chadash)
Light drawn from the essence of Or Ein Sof, above the kav and the order of worlds, not yet in them; drawn by self-sacrifice. Elsewhere: the light renewed in Beriah through the parsa.
Where it’s explained
- Torah Ohr, Bereishis 10, ¶16All the worlds of Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah are rooted in the kav, drawn after the tzimtzum, so whatever comes from the kav is not truly new light. Light drawn from the essence of Or Ein Sof, above the vacated space and the kav, is new light: so each prince’s offering, the same in its letters, carried new light.
אך אור הנמשך מעצמות אא״ס שלמעלה מהחלל והקו נק׳ אור חדש
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 16, ¶7The daily renewal of creation keeps the worlds in being only as they already are. “Her conjugal time” (onasah) is the drawing of truly new light, never before in the chain of worlds, and of new souls; the Zohar calls this zivug.
היינו המשכת אור חדש ממש מה שלא היה כלל בהשתלשלות העולמות
- Likkutei Torah, Emor 2, ¶4The union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva draws light already in the vessels of Atzilus, and Torah and mitzvos suffice for it. The union of Abba and Imma is new light, not yet in those vessels, from Ein Sof alone, who alone can always renew; it needs self-sacrifice in the Shema. It bears their name because Chochmah is its first revelation.
שהוא המשכת אור חדש מה שלא נמשך עדיין בהכלים דאצילות כלל
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 9, ¶25The angels, who draw the constant renewal of creation from the level of yud-hei, are called “standing.” Souls, who draw new light from the very essence of Or Ein Sof, above the Name Havayah, are called “walking”; this comes through “with all your might,” without limit.
אבל הנשמות שע״י חפרוה כרוה ממשיכים אור חדש נק׳ מהלכים
Stated differently
What “new light” refers to: light from the essence above the kav and the chain of worlds, or the light that comes to be in Beriah through the parsa
כל מה שנמשך מבחי׳ הארת הקו לא נק׳ אור חדש ממשLight from the kav, root of all the worlds, is not truly new; only light from the essence above the vacated space and the kav is called new light.
וכך אור זה דבריאה הוא אור חדש שמתחדש ע״י הפרסאThe light of Beriah is new light, renewed through the parsa, as an idea is new to a student who grasps it through an analogy from another subject; so Beriah is called something from nothing.
Whether “He renews in His goodness” (the daily renewal of creation) is the drawing of new light
ועכ״ז התחדשות זו היינו לחדשם על דרך ואופן שהםThe daily renewal only renews the worlds as they are; truly new light is a separate drawing-down, not in the chain of worlds at all.
וזהו המחדש בטובו. פי׳ שממשיך האור חדש ממקור בחינת א״ס ב״ה“He renews in His goodness” is the drawing of the new light from Ein Sof through Keser, His abundant kindness; through it, “a new light on Zion.”
וזהו ענין המחדש בטובו שהתהוות מאין ליש הוא ע״י חדוש“He renews in His goodness” is creation from nothing: through a screen and parsa a new light, an offspring light, comes to be, not of the essence of the first light.
Sefer HaErchim Chabad
ב״אור חדש” ב׳ מושגים שונים: א. הפירוש ד״אור חדש” הוא לגריעותא, וקאי על האור שנתחדש בעולמות בי״ע, כדלקמן ס״ב. ב. הפירוש ד״אור חדש” הוא למעליותא, וקאי על האור שלמעלה מהשתלשלות — שהוא חידוש לגבי ההשתלשלות“New light” has two different senses. One is for the worse: the light that came to be anew in the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. The other is for the better: the light above the chain of worlds, which is new relative to it. (our translation)
Sefer HaErchim Chabad, vol. ג, entry אור חדש, col. שפו · © Kehot Publication Society, quoted
Main sources
Torah Ohr, Bereishis 10, ¶16Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 16, ¶7Likkutei Torah, Emor 2, ¶4Likkutei Torah, Chukas 9, ¶25Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 8, ¶22Torah Ohr, Lech Lecha 3, ¶2Torah Ohr, Vayeira 1, ¶20
Where it appears
In 50 paragraphs of 28 maamarim.
- Likkutei Torah, Acharei 1 ¶28
- Likkutei Torah, Emor 1 ¶40
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 4 ¶20
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 11 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 4 ¶2 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 20 ¶32
- Likkutei Torah, Shemini 1 ¶1
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 7 ¶6 ¶16
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 16 ¶7 ¶8 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 9 ¶24 ¶25
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 41 ¶17 ¶27
- Likkutei Torah, Tzav 8 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Emor 2 ¶4 ¶5 ¶6 ¶20
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 14 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 17 ¶11 ¶15 ¶19
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 12 ¶6
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 22 ¶2 ¶3
- Torah Ohr, Bereishis 3 ¶13 ¶24 ¶28
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 8 ¶22
- Likkutei Torah, Pekudei 2 ¶33
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 8 ¶22 ¶36
- Torah Ohr, Lech Lecha 3 ¶2
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 4 ¶19
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 27 ¶8
- Torah Ohr, Bereishis 10 ¶12 ¶13 ¶14 ¶15 ¶16 ¶17 ¶18
- Torah Ohr, Vayakhel 1 ¶38
- Torah Ohr, Vayeira 1 ¶20 ¶22
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 4 ¶4
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.