Glossary · Torah Ohr · Likkutei Torah
Torah and mitzvos
תורה ומצות
Torah and mitzvos
The Torah, G‑d’s wisdom, and the mitzvos, His will above wisdom: the Torah explains how a mitzvah is done and draws its root into the deed; through both, Or Ein Sof dwells below.
Where it’s explained
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 19, ¶4Below, the Torah explains how and what to do in each mitzvah, so it is the inner level and the mitzvos the outer; yet the mitzvah itself is His very will, so the deed is the main thing, while from its inner side the Torah is praised above the mitzvos, and “both are true.” So above: the Torah issues from Chochmah Ila’ah, its inner reasons rooted in the hidden Chochmah of Arich Anpin, while the mitzvos are rooted in Keser (613 and 7 make 620, the number of כתר).
ההפרש שבין תורה למצות למטה הוא כי התורה הוא הביאור והשכל לפרש כל פרטי עניני המצות איך ומה לעשותם
- Likkutei Torah, Vaeschanan 8, ¶10The Torah is food for the soul and the mitzvos are garments: as food gives life, the Torah, which explains the reasons of the mitzvos, draws their root, the Supernal Will, to rest and be revealed in the deed (“wisdom gives life to its owners”). It is the intermediary, as speech, taken from intellect, brings a person’s will into action.
כך ע״י תורה טעמי המצות נמשך שרש המצות אשר קדשנו במצותיו רצה״ע להיות שורה ומתגלה במעשה המצות
- Likkutei Torah, Emor 2, ¶22Though the Torah is only the explanation of how a mitzvah is done, it draws the inner level, the revelation of Chochmah Ila’ah, and through study Keser is drawn to Z”A; the deeds of mitzvos draw Keser to Nukva, the source of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, an outer drawing. But because their root is higher than Chochmah, the mitzvos descend further, into physical things under kelipas nogah, whose root is in Tohu.
נמצא ההמשכה שע״י התורה היא פנימית שהוא המשכת הכתר והרצון בבחי׳ אצילות
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 16, ¶7The purpose of creation and of Torah and mitzvos is a dwelling for G‑d below: that Or Ein Sof be revealed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah as it is in Atzilus. By a physical mitzvah (tefillin, tzedakah) the light revealed in the 248 limbs of the King is drawn into Asiyah; Israel can join Atzilus with Asiyah because they rose in the primordial thought.
תכלית הבריאה והתורה והמצות הוא להיות לו ית׳ דירה בתחתונים
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 2, ¶19The mitzvos are garments and encompassing lights, and the Torah is food and the inner level: through them Or Ein Sof rests on the soul as a makif, and the soul’s inside is filled with love, as an inner light.
והנה המצות הן לבושין ומקיפין והתורה היא מזון ופנימיות
Stated differently
Whether the mitzvos come from the outer level of Keser (Gulgalta) or are the inner Supernal Will
התורה שהיא בחי׳ חכמה היא נעלה מהמצות שממשכת מבחי׳ הפנימית שהוא התגלות חכמה עילאה ממש. ומעשה המצות ממשיכים רק מחיצוניות הכתרThe Torah, Chochmah, draws from the inner level, the revelation of Chochmah Ila’ah itself; the deeds of mitzvos draw only from the outer level of Keser.
והמצות הן מבחינת גלגלתא שהוא חיצוניות הכתר וסובב ומקיף על המוחיןThe Torah’s root is the Chochmah within Keser, the inner level; the mitzvos are from Gulgalta, the outer level of Keser, which encompasses the mochin (and which is higher than the inner Chochmah within Keser).
כך עד״מ המצות הם פנימיות רצון העליון שהוא למעלה מבחינת חכמהThe mitzvos are the inner Supernal Will, above Chochmah: Keser, the 620 pillars of light, drawn from the supernal delight and descending level by level until it is clothed in the physical deeds.
שבמצות הוא גילוי פנימיות רצונו ית׳ וכך יהיה גילוי פנימית רצון נפשו לה׳In the mitzvos is the revelation of the inner level of His will; so the intent in a mitzvah should reveal the inner will of the person’s soul toward G‑d.
Which of the two is called a garment: the mitzvos, with the Torah as food, or the Torah, as a garment for the mitzvah
כי הנה התורה הוא מזון לנפש והמצות הם לבושיםThe Torah is food for the soul and the mitzvos are garments: as food gives life, the Torah, which explains the reasons of the mitzvos, draws their root, the Supernal Will, to be revealed in the deed.
נקראת התורה לבושיה. שנק׳ לבוש לגבי המצוה ורצון העליון עצמוThe Torah is called a garment, because it is a garment relative to the mitzvah and the Supernal Will itself, as Abba is the inner garment of Arich Anpin.
Main sources
Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 19, ¶4Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 19, ¶11Likkutei Torah, Emor 2, ¶22Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 6, ¶24Likkutei Torah, Vaeschanan 8, ¶10Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 19, ¶7Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 16, ¶7Likkutei Torah, Reeh 2, ¶15
Where it appears
In 1,537 paragraphs of 315 maamarim: part of the language of nearly every page.
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.