Likkutei Torah · Parshas Bamidbar · Maamar 15
ביאור על בשעה שהקדימו
An explanation of “At the time when they put ‘we will do’ first”
Biur · an explanation of maamar 14Kept on this device only. Sign in to save it on every device
The big idea
The Torah, rooted in the inner dimension of Keser and the Primordial Thought, stands above the mitzvos and gives them life, which is why it was given on Shavuos and why its commandments guard the flow of holiness. By putting “we will do” first, Israel revealed the hidden love from the depth of the heart and drew down a revelation from “Who,” the level above all the attributes, which alone can give the fear of Heaven.
The maamar in brief
This explanation fills in the background of the preceding maamar. Chochmah is G‑d’s “end of the deed” because the descent of the Unknowable Head, which is an utterance, ends in it. The mitzvos, “water that waters a tree,” come from the five Chasadim and the outer dimension of Keser; the Torah comes from Mocha Stima’ah, its inner dimension, and rules over the mitzvos as a householder rules over his vessels, measuring them through the Botzina d’Kardinusa. The Torah is adam, life-giving blood, rooted in Yitzchak’s Gevurah of Atik, so it was given on Shavuos, and its commandments against murder, adultery and theft forbid diverting holy life and new light to the external forces. “Doing His word,” building Malchus through Torah and mitzvos, depends on the will of the heart: by putting “we will do” first, Israel revealed the hidden love as baalei teshuvah do, and drew down more than the Avos had. “Who will give” is the level above “Heaven,” the attributes, for the fear of Heaven is not in Heaven’s hands; that same “Who” knows which souls rise, and it will be revealed in the Time to Come.
Outline
- “The end of the deed is in thought first”Chochmah is G‑d’s “end of the deed”: the descent of the Unknowable Head, an utterance, ends in Chochmah, which is called Thought, and only from Chochmah is the Infinite Light revealed to the levels below.¶1–2
- The Torah above the mitzvosThe mitzvos come from the five Chasadim and the outer dimension of Keser; the Torah comes from Mocha Stima’ah, its inner dimension, and measures the mitzvos like the Botzina d’Kardinusa. The Torah is adam, life-giving blood, and was given on Shavuos, Yitzchak’s festival.¶3–5
- Commandments that guard the flow of holiness“You shall not murder” forbids pouring holy life into kelipah; “You shall not commit adultery” guards the new light of “conjugal time,” like the gift of Shabbos; “You shall not steal” warns against the self-deception that lets the external forces steal from holiness.¶6–10
- “Those who do His word”Building Malchus through Torah and mitzvos depends on the will of the heart. Israel’s “we will do” revealed the hidden love, as baalei teshuvah do, and drew down a revelation that reached below and was engraved on the tablets; “Who” is Binah revealing the hidden love rooted in Chochmah.¶11–12
- The fear of Heaven and free choiceThe fear of Heaven is not in the hands of “Heaven,” the attributes of Chesed and Gevurah, but depends on the level above them. G‑d’s foreknowledge does not compel choice because it only encompasses a person and does not enter him.¶13–16
- “Who will give” and “Who knows”“Who will give” is the Most Concealed level, which alone can draw awe into the heart, like G‑d’s own prayer for compassion from above the attributes. “Who knows” is the level that knows which souls are rooted in heaven and which in earth; in the Time to Come this “Who,” the fiftieth gate of Binah, will be revealed and both wishes of the Midrash fulfilled.¶17–19
Key concepts
- The Unknowable Head (Reisha d’Lo Isyada)רישא דלא אתידע
- The highest level of Keser, beyond all knowing. It is drawn from the Malchus of Adam Kadmon and so is called an utterance, and its descent ends in Chochmah.
- Mocha Stima’ah (the hidden brain)מוחא סתימאה
- The Chochmah within Keser, its inner dimension. The Torah is rooted here, above the mitzvos, which come from the outer dimension of Keser.
- Botzina d’Kardinusa (the measuring line)בוצינא דקרדוניתא
- The Zohar’s “lamp of darkness,” the measuring line that sets the measure of everything; it is in Mocha Stima’ah, where the Gevurah of Atik is enclothed, and from it the Torah defines how each mitzvah is done.
- The hidden loveאהבה המסותרת
- The love of G‑d hidden in every Jewish soul, rooted in supernal Chochmah and revealed through Binah. Israel revealed it at Sinai by putting “we will do” first.
- “Those who do His word”עושי דברו
- Those who build and perfect the word of Havayah, Malchus of Atzilus, through Torah and mitzvos, so that G‑d is King over a people; only afterwards comes “hearkening to the voice of His word.”
- The fear of Heavenיראת שמים
- Awe of G‑d, which is not “in the hands of Heaven,” the attributes of Chesed and Gevurah, but depends on the level above them, “Who,” from which it can be given.
- “Who” (mi)מי
- The level above all the attributes: the Infinite One who encompasses all worlds, the Most Concealed, and Binah’s fiftieth gate, which will be revealed in the Time to Come.
“The end of the deed is in thought first” ¶1–2
An explanation of [the maamar] “At the time when they put [‘we will do’] first.”
This heading marks what follows as a biur, an explanation, of the preceding maamar, which opens with the Sages’ words that at Sinai Israel put “we will do” before “we will hear.” The explanation fills in the Kabbalistic background of points that the maamar made briefly.
The heading presents this section as a commentary on the maamar “At the time when they put ‘we will do’ first.”
Marei mekomos
- 1ביאור על בשעה שהקדימו · הנחת כ״ק אדה״א בסה״מ תקס״ב-א ע׳ רי. והנחה אחרת שם ח״ב ע׳ תמח. הגהות באוה״ת במדבר ע׳ קסו.
- 2בשעה שהקדימו · Shabbat 88a:7–8
2הנה שרש ענין הנזכר לעיל בפי׳ סוף מעשה במחשבה תחלה שבחי׳ חכמה עילאה הוא סוף מעשה של הקב״ה.
Now, the root of the matter mentioned above in the explanation of “the end of the deed is in thought first”: that the level of supernal Chochmah (wisdom) is the “end of the deed” of the Holy One, blessed be He.
The maamar above used the line “the end of the deed is in thought first,” from the Friday-night hymn Lecha Dodi, and applied it to supernal Chochmah. Here the explanation asks how Chochmah, the first of the Sefiros, can be called G‑d’s “end of the deed.”
פי׳ כי סוף התלבשות רדל״א הוא בחכמה דאצילות1 כמ״ש בע״ח שער מ״ז פ״ג ושער ב׳ במה״ב פ״א פ״ג והובא בסש״ב פרק ל״ה בהג״ה
That is: the end of the enclothement of the Unknowable Head (Reisha d’Lo Isyada) is in the Chochmah of Atzilus (Emanation), as is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 47, chapter 3, and Sha’ar 2, in the Mahadura Basra, chapters 1 [and] 3; and it is cited in Sefer Shel Beinonim (Tanya), chapter 35, in the gloss.
The Unknowable Head (Reisha d’Lo Isyada) is the highest level of Keser, so lofty that it cannot be known. Etz Chaim teaches that its enclothement, its descent from level to level, ends in the Chochmah of Atzilus, and Tanya cites this in a gloss to chapter 35; so Chochmah is where that descent concludes.
והנה רדל״א שנמשך ממל׳ דא״ק זהו בחי׳ מאמר וכמ״ש בפע״ח בכוונת ברוך שאמר והיה העולם רדל״א.
Now, the Unknowable Head, which is drawn from the Malchus of Adam Kadmon, is the level of an utterance (maamar), as is written in Pri Etz Chaim on the kavanah of “Blessed is He who spoke, and the world came into being”: [it is] the Unknowable Head.
The Unknowable Head is drawn from the Malchus of Adam Kadmon, and Malchus is the level of speech, so this level is called an “utterance.” Pri Etz Chaim says the same in its kavanah for the morning prayer “Blessed is He who spoke, and the world came into being,” which it connects with the Unknowable Head.
ומבואר לעיל דמאמר ועשייה הכל אחד וזהו סוף מעשה. פי׳ שסוף התלבשות בחינת רדל״א הוא בחכמה הנק׳ מחשבה וזהו במחשבה תחלה.
And it is explained above that utterance and deed are all one, and this is “the end of the deed.” That is: the end of the enclothement of the level of the Unknowable Head is in Chochmah, which is called “Thought,” and this is “in thought first.”
Since utterance and deed are one, as the maamar above explained, an utterance whose descent ends in Chochmah is a deed that ends there. And because Chochmah is called “Thought,” the line can be read: the end of this deed is in Thought, which is first.
וע׳ במק״מ בפי׳ הזהר (בראשית ט״ו א׳) בתר ההיא נקודה לא אתיידע כלל2 כי אור א״ס אינו מתגלה רק בחכמה והחכמה מתפשט בתוך אימא וזו״נ כו׳ ע״ש:
And see the Mikdash Melech in [its] explanation of the Zohar (Bereishis, folio 15a), [on] “Beyond that point nothing is known at all”: for the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) is revealed only in Chochmah, and Chochmah spreads into Imma and Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) and Nukva (the feminine / Malchus), etc. See there.
The Zohar says that beyond the first hidden point, Chochmah, nothing is known at all. The Mikdash Melech explains that the Infinite Light is revealed only in Chochmah, and from Chochmah it spreads into Imma (Binah) and into the lower configurations, Z’eir Anpin and Nukva.
The paragraph explains why Chochmah is called G‑d’s “end of the deed”: the descent of the highest level, the Unknowable Head, which is an utterance, concludes in Chochmah, which is called Thought; and only from Chochmah is the Infinite Light revealed to the levels below it.
The Zohar’s hidden “point,” beyond which nothing is known (Zohar 1:15a), is Chochmah as the beginning of all revelation; what is above it is revealed only by enclothing itself within it. Tanya’s gloss to chapter 35 gives the reason: Ein Sof is the true One, alone with nothing besides Him, and this is the level of Chochmah.
Marei mekomos
- 1התלבשות רדל״א הוא בחכמה דאצילות · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 35:7
- 2בתר ההיא נקודה לא אתיידע כלל · Zohar, Bereshit 1:1–2:7
The Torah above the mitzvos ¶3–5
3וענין התורה והמצות. הנה כמיא דאשקי לאילנא12 היינו ה״ח דז״א המגדילים את הכלים ומהם שרש הרמ״ח מ״ע ושורש הה״ח הוא מחיוורתא דגלגלתא3 ושרש שרשן הוא מחסד דעתיק ושס״ה ל״ת הן מה״ג דז״א ושרש שרשן מגבורה דעתיק.
And the matter of the Torah and the mitzvos: Now, “like water that waters a tree” is the five Chasadim of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes), which make the vessels grow, and from them is the root of the 248 positive commandments. And the root of the five Chasadim is from the Whiteness of the Skull (Chivarta d’Gulgalta), and the root of their root is from the Chesed (kindness) of Atik; and the 365 prohibitions are from the five Gevuros of Z’eir Anpin, and the root of their root is from the Gevurah (restraint) of Atik.
The Tikkunei Zohar describes divine flow as “like water that waters a tree,” making it grow. The text identifies this water with the five Chasadim (kindnesses) of Z’eir Anpin, which make its vessels grow and are the root of the 248 positive commandments; their root is in the Whiteness of the Skull and, higher, in the Chesed of Atik, while the 365 prohibitions come from the five Gevuros and, higher, from the Gevurah of Atik.
ושרש התורה הוא ממו״ס שמשם שרש השערות דגולגלתא4 שהם הלכות התורה (ועיין בע״ח שער א״א פ״ה)
And the root of the Torah is from Mocha Stima’ah (the hidden brain), from which is the root of the hairs of the Skull (Gulgalta), which are the laws of the Torah (and see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Arich Anpin, chapter 5).
The Torah is rooted higher, in Mocha Stima’ah, the hidden brain, which is also the source of the “hairs” of the Skull. In Kabbalah these hairs are fine channels of flow, and the text says that they are the laws of the Torah.
והנה גולגלתא הוא חיצוניות הכתר ומשם נמשכים המצות מהלבנונית שבין השערות וכשנמשכי׳ בכתר דז״א נעשי׳ תרי״ג ארחין כו׳ כמ״ש באדרא (דנשא דקכ״ט א׳) לתרי״ג ארחין דפליג בז״א.5
Now, the Skull is the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of Keser (the Crown), and from there the mitzvos are drawn, from the whiteness between the hairs; and when they are drawn into the Keser of Z’eir Anpin they become 613 paths, etc., as is written in the Idra (of Nasso, folio 129a): “into 613 paths, which divide in Z’eir Anpin.”
The Skull (Gulgalta) is the outer dimension of Keser, and the mitzvos come from it, through the white path between the hairs. The Idra Rabba says that this path divides into 613 paths in Z’eir Anpin, the 613 commandments.
אבל התורה נמשכה ממו״ס שהוא בחי׳ פנימי׳ היינו חכמה שבכתר אשר החכמה היא בחי׳ פנימי׳ ובחכמה אתברירו6 לברר מהו מותר ומהו אסור והוא למעלה מן המצות שהם הכלים.
But the Torah is drawn from Mocha Stima’ah, which is the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus), that is, the Chochmah (wisdom) within Keser; for Chochmah is the level of the inner dimension, and “in Chochmah they are clarified,” to clarify what is permitted and what is forbidden. And it is above the mitzvos, which are the vessels.
The Torah stands higher than the mitzvos, for it comes from Mocha Stima’ah, the Chochmah within Keser, its inner dimension. Through Chochmah things are “clarified,” so the Torah decides what is permitted and what is forbidden and rules over the mitzvos, which are like vessels.
כמשל בעל הבית שמצוה באיזה מקום יעמידו הכלי. הרי הוא מושל על הכלי ומעמידה במקום שהוא חפץ כמ״כ עד״מ מצות סוכה הוא ענין המשכת מקיפים דאימא.
As in the analogy of a householder who commands in which place they should set the vessel: he rules over the vessel and sets it in the place that he desires. So too, by way of analogy, the mitzvah of sukkah is the drawing down of the encompassing [lights] (makifim) of Imma.
A householder decides where each vessel stands; he rules over his vessels. So the Torah rules over the mitzvos, and the text takes the sukkah as its example: the mitzvah itself draws down the encompassing lights (makifim) of Imma, that is, of Binah.
The paragraph distinguishes the roots of the mitzvos and of the Torah: the mitzvos come from the outer dimension of Keser, the Skull, through the Chesed and Gevurah of Atik, while the Torah comes from its inner dimension, Mocha Stima’ah, and therefore rules over the mitzvos as a householder rules over his vessels.
Kehot’s note on “in Chochmah they are clarified” points to the Zohar (2:254b), where the Botzina d’Kardinusa strikes within thought and sifts the dross out of it, and so it is clarified. The same power of Chochmah to sort and define underlies the Torah’s authority to rule what is permitted and what is forbidden, and the next paragraph names that power: the Botzina d’Kardinusa, the measuring line.
Marei mekomos
- 1כמיא דאשקי לאילנא · ת״ז בהק׳ (פתח אלי׳).
- 2כמיא דאשקי לאילנא · Tikkunei Zohar 17a:19–22
- 3ושרש הה״ח הוא מחיוורתא דגלגלתא · ”מן עצם הגלגולת שהוא בחי׳ חיצוניות הכתר”, — סה״מ תקס״ב-ב ע׳ תמח.
- 4השערות דגולגלתא · Sefer Etz Chaim 13:5
- 5לתרי״ג ארחין דפליג בז״א · Zohar, Idra Rabba 6:25–7:37
- 6ובחכמה אתברירו · Zohar II, 254b
4ולימוד התורה איך ומה שתהיה הסוכה לא פחות מז״ט על ז״ט ולא למעלה מכ׳ ושאם לאו אינו מצוה כלל זהו הממשלה והציווי על המצוה והוא
And the study of the Torah — how and what the sukkah shall be: not less than seven handbreadths by seven handbreadths, and not higher than twenty [cubits], and that if not, it is not a mitzvah at all — this is the rule and the command over the mitzvah; and it is
The Torah’s laws define the sukkah: at least seven handbreadths by seven, no higher than twenty cubits, and otherwise it is no mitzvah at all. Such measures are the Torah’s rule and command over the mitzvah.
כמו בעה״ב שמצוה איך תעמיד הכלי כו׳ וזהו בוצינא דקרדוניתא קו המדה1 שמודד איך יהיה הבנין
like the householder who commands how the vessel is to be set, etc. And this is the Botzina d’Kardinusa (the lamp of darkness), the measuring line that measures how the building shall be;
Like a householder deciding how a vessel is to be set, this measuring power is what the Zohar calls the Botzina d’Kardinusa, the “lamp of darkness,” the measuring line that sets the dimensions of the building. It is the force that gives every flow of light its limit and measure.
והוא מבחי׳ מו״ס שבו מלובש גבורה דעתיק והוא מאמר קו המדה וזהו ענין בראשיתנמי מאמר הוא2 והיינו מאמר קו המדה.
and it is from the level of Mocha Stima’ah (the hidden brain), in which the Gevurah (restraint) of Atik is enclothed, and it is the utterance of the measuring line. And this is the matter of “‘In the beginning’ is also an utterance,” that is, the utterance of the measuring line.
The measuring line comes from Mocha Stima’ah, in which the Gevurah of Atik, the power of limitation, is enclothed. The Sages count “In the beginning” as one of the ten utterances of creation even though it has no “and He said,” and the text identifies that hidden utterance with the measuring line.
The laws of the Torah, which set the measures of each mitzvah, come from the measuring line, the Botzina d’Kardinusa in Mocha Stima’ah, where the Gevurah of Atik is enclothed; this is the hidden utterance “In the beginning.”
In the Zohar (1:15a) the Botzina d’Kardinusa engraves at the head of the King’s authority, and when it measures a measure it makes the colors shine. Likkutei Torah on Nasso explains it as the hidden Chochmah in which the Gevurah of Atik is enclothed, giving limit and measure to every flow of lights and vessels, and says that from there come the fine details of the laws.
Marei mekomos
- 1בוצינא דקרדוניתא קו המדה · Zohar I, 15a
- 2נמי מאמר הוא · Rosh Hashanah 32a:19–20
5ומשם הוא מקור התורה שמודד איך יהיו עשיית המצות. ועמ״ש מענין זה בביאור ע״פ כה תברכו1 כו׳ וזהו זאת התורה אדם2
And from there is the source of the Torah, which measures how the performance of the mitzvos shall be. And see what is written on this matter in the explanation on [the verse] “So shall you bless,” etc. And this is [the meaning of] “This is the Torah: a man (adam)”:
From that same measuring source comes the Torah, which defines how each mitzvah is to be done. The text now reads the verse “This is the Torah: a man (adam)” as calling the Torah itself adam, “man.”
כי הדם הוא הנפש3 משא״כ כמיא דאשקי לאילנא שמגדלם לבד4 כו׳ ואדם אדמה לעליון56 שהתורה ממשיך מבחי׳ רעוא דכל רעוין7 מחשבה הקדומה כו׳
for “the blood (dam) is the soul,” whereas “like water that waters a tree” only makes them grow, etc. And “adam” [is as in] “I will be like (adameh) the Most High”: for the Torah draws down from the level of the Will of all wills (Raava d’chol Raavin), the Primordial Thought, etc.
The word adam contains dam, blood, and “the blood is the soul”: blood gives life, whereas water, the five Chasadim, only makes things grow. And adam also recalls adameh, “I will be like the Most High,” for the Torah draws from the very highest level, the Will of all wills, the Primordial Thought.
And therefore the Giving of the Torah is on Shavuos. For of the three pilgrimage festivals, Pesach corresponds to Avraham, as it is written, “Knead and make cakes,” and Shavuos corresponds to Yitzchak,
This is why the Torah was given on Shavuos. Each of the three pilgrimage festivals corresponds to one of the Avos: Pesach to Avraham, alluded to in the cakes he had prepared for his guests, “Knead and make cakes,” and Shavuos to Yitzchak.
כי מ״ת בקול שופר נגד אילו של יצחק. ואברהם הוא חסד שמשם שרש המצות אברהם גימטריא רמ״ח.
for the Giving of the Torah was with the sound of the shofar, corresponding to the ram of Yitzchak. And Avraham is Chesed (kindness), from which is the root of the mitzvos: Avraham is in gematria 248,
Shavuos belongs to Yitzchak because the Torah was given with the sound of the shofar, and the shofar recalls the ram offered in Yitzchak’s place. Avraham is Chesed, the root of the mitzvos, and the numerical value of his name, Avraham, is 248, the number of the positive commandments.
היינו רמ״ח פקודין רמ״ח אברים1011 ועיין מזה בגמרא ספ״ג דנדרים (דל״ב ע״ב) וזהו שמתחלה נק׳ אברם ואח״כ ע״י המילה נוסף בו ה׳ היינו ה״ח
that is, the 248 commandments, the 248 limbs. And see on this in the Gemara, end of chapter 3 of Nedarim (folio 32b). And this is why at first he was called Avram, and afterwards, through the circumcision, a hei was added to him: that is, the five Chasadim,
The 248 commandments correspond to the 248 limbs of the body, and the Talmud in Nedarim discusses the change of his name from Avram to Avraham. Avram has the value 243; through the circumcision the letter hei, whose value is five, was added, and these are the five Chasadim.
שהם שרש המצות כמיא דאשקי לאילנא כנ״ל והם מתגלים ע״י המילה ועמ״ש בביאור ע״פ12 והיה מספר בנ״י13 ושם נתבאר ג״כ איך המצות הם בחי׳ מים.14
which are the root of the mitzvos, “like water that waters a tree,” as mentioned above; and they are revealed through the circumcision. And see what is written in the explanation on [the verse] “And the number of the children of Israel shall be,” and there it is also explained how the mitzvos are the level of water.
These five Chasadim are the “water that waters a tree,” the root of the mitzvos, and the circumcision revealed them. The maamar on “And the number of the children of Israel shall be” explains at length why the mitzvos are called water.
The paragraph traces the Torah to the measuring source above the mitzvos: it is called adam because it gives life like blood and reaches as high as the Primordial Thought, and so it was given on Shavuos, Yitzchak’s festival, while the mitzvos, the five Chasadim, belong to Avraham.
Kehot’s note quotes the other transcript of this teaching: blood gives life to the vessels, while water only makes them grow; blood has moisture too and makes the vessels grow like water, but the Gevuros in the blood bring them life drawn from the essence of the soul, whereas water is cool and has no Gevuros to draw the life-force into the vessel. So the Torah, rooted in the Gevurah of Atik, gives life, while the mitzvos, from the Chasadim, give growth.
Marei mekomos
- 1כה תברכו · Numbers 6:23
- 2זאת התורה אדם · Numbers 19:14
- 3כי הדם הוא הנפש · Deuteronomy 12:23
- 4משא״כ כמיא . . שמגדלם לבד · ”כי דם מחיי׳ את הכלי׳, משא״כ המים שהם רק מגבילים ובדם יש ג״כ לחלוחי׳ שמגדיל הכלי כמו מים, אך הגבורות שבדם מחיי׳ את הכלים שממשיך מעצמיות הנפש, מה שאין זה במים שהוא בחי׳ קרירות והוא רק מגדיל ואין בו בחי׳ גבורות להמשיך החיות אל הכלי”, — סה״מ תקס״ב-ב ע׳ תמט.
- 5ואדם אדמה לעליון · עש״מ מאמר אכ״ח ח״ב סל״ג. של״ה תושב״כ דרוש צאן יוסף דף שא, ב.
- 6אדמה לעליון · Isaiah 14:14
- 7רעוא דכל רעוין · Zohar III, 129a
- 8ג׳ רגלים · ראה לקו״ת פינחס עו, ב. דרושים לר״ה נח, א.
- 9לושי ועשי עוגות · Genesis 18:6
- 10רמ״ח פיקודין רמ״ח אברים · ראה ת״ז ת״ל.
- 11רמ״ח פקודין רמ״ח אברים · Tikkunei Zohar 74a:8
- 12בביאור ע״פ והי׳ מספר בנ״י · Numbers 6:4
- 13והיה מספר בנ״י · Hosea 2:1
- 14
Commandments that guard the flow of holiness ¶6–10
6ויצחק הוא בחי׳ גבורה עילאה וגם יצחק לשון צחוק ותענוג כי שרשו מגבורה דעתיק ולכן בשבועות שהוא מבחי׳ יצחק הוא זמן מתן תורה שהיא ג״כ מבחינה זו אדם כו׳ כנ״ל.
And Yitzchak is the level of supernal Gevurah (restraint); and also, “Yitzchak” is a term of laughter and delight, for his root is from the Gevurah of Atik. And therefore on Shavuos, which is from the level of Yitzchak, is the time of the Giving of the Torah, which is also from this level, “a man (adam),” etc., as mentioned above.
Yitzchak embodies supernal Gevurah, and his name means laughter, an expression of delight, because his root is in the Gevurah of Atik. So Shavuos, Yitzchak’s festival, is the time of the Giving of the Torah, which comes from that same level, the adam described above.
ולכן בא בעשרת הדברות הדבור לא תרצח שלא להיות ח״ו שופך דם האדם באדם1 כו׳ כמבואר למעלה.
And therefore in the Ten Commandments came the utterance “You shall not murder”: that there should not be, G‑d forbid, “one who sheds the blood of man into man,” etc., as explained above.
Because the Torah is adam, the life-giving blood, the Ten Commandments include “You shall not murder.” In the terms of the maamar above, it means that no one should “shed the blood of man into man,” pouring the life of the holy adam into the adam of kelipah, G‑d forbid.
וזהו ג״כ ענין ונהר יחרב ויבש2 יחרב בבית ראשון3 ויבש בבית שני כו׳ כנ״ל. וזהו ענין שהראו לטיטוס שהי ה דם מבצבץ ויוצא4
And this is also the matter of “And the river shall be wasted and dried up”: “wasted” in the First Temple and “dried up” in the Second Temple, etc., as mentioned above. And this is the matter that they showed Titus that blood was spurting and coming out
The Zohar reads “the river shall be wasted and dried up” as the two destructions: “wasted” in the First Temple and “dried up” in the Second, as the maamar above explained. The Talmud relates that when Titus slashed the curtain of the Holy of Holies, blood spurted out.
(כדאיתא בגיטין5 פרק הניזקין), דהיינו שמפני העונות והפשעים של ישראל גרמו שפיכת דם וחיות אדם דקדושה באדם דקליפה. לא תנאף.
(as is found in Gittin, chapter HaNizakin): that is, because of the sins and transgressions of Israel, they caused the shedding of the blood and life-force of the Adam of holiness into the Adam of kelipah (the husk). “You shall not commit adultery”:
The blood shown to Titus was a sign of what Israel’s sins had caused: the life-force of the adam of holiness had been poured into the adam of kelipah. The text then turns to the next commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.”
כי הנה מבואר בע״ח שער מ״ז6 ענין שארה כסותה7 ועונתה8 שארה הוא בחינת החיות הנמשך בתוך העולמות בבחי׳ פנימי׳ ע״ד אור פנימי.
for it is explained in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 47, the matter of “her food, her clothing and her conjugal time”: “her food” is the level of the life-force drawn within the worlds in an inner manner, in the way of inner light (or pnimi).
Etz Chaim reads the three things a husband owes his wife, “her food, her clothing and her conjugal time,” as three kinds of divine flow. “Her food” is the life-force that enters the worlds as an inner light, sustaining them from within.
Yitzchak’s Gevurah, rooted in Atik, makes Shavuos the time of the Torah, and this explains why “You shall not murder” is among the Ten Commandments: sin pours the life of holiness into kelipah, as the destructions of the Temples showed. The text then begins to explain “You shall not commit adultery” through the three obligations of marriage.
Etz Chaim (47:5) explains that the life-force and bounty drawn down is the secret of the food (she’erah), which Yetzirah and Asiyah share, while Yetzirah also has clothing (kesusah), since every lower world is a covering for the one above it and Asiyah covers Yetzirah.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2
- 3ונהר יחרב ויבש יחרב בבית ראשון · Isaiah 19:5
- 4
- 5כדאיתא בגטין פ׳ הנזקין · נו, ב. ראה באוה״ת פ׳ ואתחנן ע׳ רמו, וע׳ שג. ובסה״ת תרכ״ט (הוצאת תש״נ) ע׳ רצ ואילך.
- 6מבואר בע״ח שער מ״ז · פ״ה ואילך. ראה בסה״מ תקס״ה ע׳ תקמה. אוה״ת משפטים ע׳ א׳רצו ואילך.
- 7
- 8שארה כסותה ועונתה · Sefer Etz Chaim 47:5
7וכסותה הוא בחי׳ אור מקיף. וכ״ז היינו מה שנמשך בסדר ההשתלשלות כמ״ש ובטובו מחדש1 בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית
And “her clothing” is the level of encompassing light (or makif). And all this is what is drawn down in the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), as it is said, “And in His goodness He renews every day, continually, the work of creation”:
“Her clothing” is the encompassing light, which surrounds the worlds from beyond. Both the inner and the encompassing light belong to the ordinary order of the chain of worlds, which the morning blessing describes: “in His goodness He renews every day, continually, the work of creation.”
דהיינו שמחדשם ומחיה ומהוה אותם שאל״כ יתבטלו כל העולמות, ועכ״ז התחדשות זו היינו לחדשם על דרך ואופן שהם.
that is, that He renews them and gives them life and brings them into being, for otherwise all the worlds would cease to be; yet even so, this renewal is to renew them in the way and manner that they are.
G‑d constantly renews the worlds, giving them life and existence, for without this they would cease to be. Yet this renewal only re-creates them as they already are; it brings nothing new into being.
אך בחי׳ עונתה היינו המשכת אור חדש ממש מה שלא היה כלל בהשתלשלות העולמות כי אם נמשך אור חדש ונשמות חדשות ממש,
But the level of “her conjugal time” is the drawing down of a truly new light, which was not at all in the chain of the worlds’ descent; rather, a new light and truly new souls are drawn down,
“Her conjugal time,” by contrast, is the drawing down of an entirely new light that was never part of the chain of worlds at all. Through it new light and truly new souls come into being.
ועל דרך מ״ש בהקדמת מהרנ״ש לפע״ח אז יוסיפו אור כו׳2 ותהיה התוספת הזה מרובה על העיקר כו׳ והיינו המיוחס בספר הזהר בשם הזיווג כו׳
along the lines of what is written in the introduction of the Maharnash to Pri Etz Chaim: “Then they will add light, etc., and this addition will be greater than the principal, etc.” And this is what is referred to in the Zohar by the name “union” (zivug), etc.
The Maharnash’s introduction to Pri Etz Chaim speaks of light that is added, an addition greater than the principal itself. The Zohar calls such a drawing down zivug, “union.”
ע״ש, ועמש״ל בביאור ע״פ שחורה אני3 ונאוה4 הטעם למה כינו ענין המשכת האור חדש הזה במשל זיווג ויחוד שהוא משל גשמי מאד ע״ש הטעם.
See there. And see what is written above in the explanation on [the verse] “I am black, yet comely” [for] the reason why they designated this drawing down of new light by the analogy of union and unification, which is a very physical analogy. See there for the reason.
Why would the Zohar describe something so lofty with so physical an image as marital union? The text refers the reader to its explanation on “I am black, yet comely,” where the reason is given.
The paragraph distinguishes the renewal of the worlds as they are, through inner and encompassing light (“food” and “clothing”), from “conjugal time,” the drawing down of truly new light and new souls, which the Zohar calls union.
Kehot’s note cites the other transcript of this teaching, which brings the analogy of a child who is taught and given new ideas; even so, this is not called a complete innovation, only a bringing out of what was hidden into revelation.
Marei mekomos
- 1ובטובו מחדש בכי״ת · ברכת יוצר. ראה המשך מים רבים-תרל״ו פל״ג.
- 2אז יוסיפו אור כו׳ ותהי׳ התוספת הזה מרובה על העיקר · בסה״מ תקס״ב-ב ע׳ תנ מביא על זה משל מתינוק שמלמדים אותו ומשפיעים לו שכלים חדשים אעפ״כ אינו נק׳ זאת התחדשות גמורה רק שהוציאו מההעלם לגילוי ע״ש.
- 3ועמש״ל בביאור ע״פ שחורה אני · לקמן שה״ש ט, א.
- 4שחורה אני ונאוה · Song of Songs 1:5
8ועד״ז בשבת נמשך תוספת אורות שנותנים במתנה אור חדש שלא היה עדיין בהתהוות אבי״ע ולכן נק׳ שבת מתנה טובה יש לי1 בבית גנזי ושבת שמה. ולכן מתפללין תפלת מוספין על שם תוספת הקדושה.
And in the same way, on Shabbos an addition of lights is drawn down, which are given as a gift: a new light that had not yet been in the bringing into being of Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah (the four worlds). And therefore Shabbos is called “a good gift I have in My treasure house, and Shabbos is its name.” And therefore we pray the Musaf prayer, named for the addition of holiness.
Shabbos is like “conjugal time”: on it additional lights are given as a gift, a new light that was not part of the creation of the four worlds. That is why the Talmud calls Shabbos “a good gift” from G‑d’s treasure house, and why on Shabbos we add the Musaf prayer, for the added holiness.
Shabbos brings down new light as a gift, beyond the ordinary renewal of the worlds, which is why it is called a gift from G‑d’s treasure house and why it has a Musaf prayer.
Kehot’s note quotes the other transcript: a gift is something that was not in the chain of worlds at all, not even in concealment, but something entirely new from the Emanator, blessed be He.
Marei mekomos
- 1מתנה טובה יש לי · Shabbat 10b:4–5
9ועיין בפע״ח שער הק״ש פ״ה ומשם יובן דבחי׳ שארה כסותה נמשך מחיצוניות דאו״א. ועונתה נמשך מבחינת פנימית
And see Pri Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Krias Shema, chapter 5; and from there it will be understood that the levels of “her food” and “her clothing” are drawn from the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah), and “her conjugal time” is drawn from the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus),
Pri Etz Chaim explains that the outer union of Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah) goes on constantly by itself, while a second, inner union brings forth souls. From this the text derives that “food” and “clothing,” the ongoing sustenance of the worlds, come from the outer dimension of Abba and Imma, and “conjugal time” from their inner dimension.
וגם שהמשכה זו באה מלמעלה מעלה אור חדש12 כמש״ש ספי״א. וזהו האזהרה לא תנאף שלא ימשיך ח״ו בחי׳ המשכה זו לחיצונים.
and also that this drawing down comes from far above, a new light, as is written there at the end of chapter 11. And this is the warning “You shall not commit adultery”: that one should not draw this level of flow, G‑d forbid, to the external forces.
Pri Etz Chaim adds that the union which brings forth new souls needs a new light received from above, whereas the union of the worlds draws on what Abba and Imma already hold. The commandment “You shall not commit adultery” warns against drawing this highest flow, G‑d forbid, to the external forces, the forces outside holiness.
The paragraph roots the three obligations in Abba and Imma: food and clothing in their outer dimension, conjugal time in their inner dimension and in new light from above; and it reads “You shall not commit adultery” as a warning not to divert that new light to the forces outside holiness.
Kehot’s note quotes the other transcript of this teaching: conjugal time is birth, a complete child, an entirely new thing. That is why its light must come from far above, beyond what the worlds already contain.
Marei mekomos
- 1שהמשכה זו באה מלמעלה מעלה אור חדש · כי עונ׳ היא הולד׳ ולד גמור דבר חדש לגמרי”, — סה״מ תקס״ב-ב ע׳ תנא.
- 2שהמשכה זו באה מלמעלה מעלה אור חדש · Pri Etz Chaim, Gate of the Recitation of the Shema 11:6
And so too “You shall not steal”: this is through guarding [oneself] from false imaginings, that one should not imagine of himself that he has broken the evil desires, when in truth it is a lie, etc.;
“You shall not steal” is explained in terms of a person’s inner life: he must guard against self-deception, imagining that he has already broken his evil desires when in truth he has not. It is this false self-assurance that the text connects with stealing.
ומזה נמשך ג״כ הגניבה למעלה שהחיצונים גונבים מהקדושה כמ״ש בע״ח סוף שער האונאה כו׳ וגם כמ״ש במ״א בשם לקוטי הש״ס מהאריז״ל גבי ירדן שנוטל מזה2 ונותן לזה כו׳
and from this there is drawn also the stealing above, in which the external forces steal from holiness, as is written in Etz Chaim at the end of Sha’ar HaOna’ah, etc.; and also as is written elsewhere in the name of Likkutei HaShas of the Arizal concerning the Jordan, that it “takes from this one and gives to that one,” etc.
From such self-deception comes a “stealing” above, in which the external forces steal vitality from holiness, as Etz Chaim describes. The text also cites Likkutei HaShas of the Arizal on the Jordan, which “takes from this one and gives to that one.”
ע״ש כנזכר בפ׳ שלח בד״ה ענין התכלת ועיין בפרש״י באיוב סי׳ ד׳ ע״פ ואלי דבר3 יגונב4 ובסנהדרין דפ״ט ע״ב, כי אם יראה לשבר התאוות באמת לאמיתו ועי״ז יומשך שלא יהיה הגניבה למעלה כו׳
See there, as mentioned in Parshas Shelach, in the discourse beginning “The matter of the techeles.” And see Rashi’s commentary on Iyov, chapter 4, on [the verse] “And a word was stolen to me,” and in Sanhedrin, folio 89b. Rather, one should take care to break the desires in very truth, and through this it will be drawn [down] that there will be no stealing above, etc.
The text sends the reader to the discourse on techeles in Parshas Shelach, and to Rashi on Iyov and the Talmud in Sanhedrin on the words “a word was stolen to me.” The remedy is to break one’s desires in complete truth; then no stealing will be drawn above.
[ועיין בזהר ס״פ יתרו ובמה דפסקא טעמא שרי למגנב דעתיה דרביה באורייתא ועיין בע״ח שער האונאה פרק שני רק גניבה ממש כו׳
[And see the Zohar at the end of Parshas Yisro, and [its words] “by the fact that the accent makes a break, it is permitted to ‘steal the mind’ of one’s teacher in Torah”; and see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar HaOna’ah, chapter 2: only actual stealing, etc.
The Zohar notes that in “You shall not steal” the cantillation makes a break, teaching that some “stealing” is permitted: one may “steal the mind” of one’s teacher in Torah. The text also points to Etz Chaim’s gate on deception, which speaks of “only actual stealing.”
וזהו ע״ד המבואר במ״א בענין גביע הכסף5 שהטמין יוסף באמתחת בנימין6 צדיק תחתון שבחי׳ גביע הכסף האהבה רבה ושמחת הנפש אינו של בנימין עצמו כי אם מבחינת יוסף]:7
And this is along the lines of what is explained elsewhere concerning the silver goblet that Yosef hid in the sack of Binyamin, the lower tzaddik: that the level of the silver goblet, the great love and the joy of the soul, is not Binyamin’s own, but rather from the level of Yosef.]
Yosef had his silver goblet hidden in the sack of Binyamin, the lower tzaddik. Elsewhere this is explained to mean that the “silver goblet,” great love and joy of the soul, was not Binyamin’s own but came from the level of Yosef, so that it reached him as if by stealth.
“You shall not steal” warns against the self-deception of thinking one’s desires are broken, for it lets the external forces steal from holiness above; a person must break his desires in truth. A bracketed note adds that there is also a holy kind of “stealing,” as with Yosef’s goblet hidden in Binyamin’s sack.
Kehot’s note quotes the other transcript: the “stealing” was that Binyamin did not know of the goblet, and through this Yosef wished to raise him up to himself. This is stealing in G‑dliness, and the commandment warns that it must not be drawn, G‑d forbid, to the external forces.
Marei mekomos
- 1לא תגנוב · Exodus 20:13
- 2גבי ירדן שנוטל מזה · ועל״ק בפ׳ מסעי (צד, א). וש״נ. [כ].
- 3
- 4ואלי דבר יגונב · Job 4:12
- 5המבואר במ״א בענין גביע הכסף · ראה סה״מ תקס״ב-ב ע׳ שלו. אוה״ת בראשית-ו דף תתשג, ב ואילך. ובכרך-ב דף שמא, א ואילך. ובארוכה במאמרי אדה״א בראשית ע׳ רעט ואילך. וראה שם ע׳ רצז ואילך. בסה״מ תקס״ב-ב ע׳ תנא מבאר שענין הגניבה שלא ידע בנימין מזה, ועי״ז רצה להעלותו אליו כו׳. וזהו ענין הגניבה באלקות, וזהו האזהרה שלא ימשיכו לחיצוני׳ ח״ו ע״ש.
- 6גביע הכסף שהטמין יוסף באמתחת בנימין · Genesis 44:2
- 7
“Those who do His word” ¶11–12
11ב והנה ע״י קיום המצות ועסק התורה עי״ז הוא עושי דברו1 שבונים ומתקנים דבר ה׳ שהוא בחי׳ מלכות דאצילות להיות המאציל א״ס ב״ה מלך על עם כו׳ ועי״ז אח״כ לשמוע בקול דברו.
2. Now, through fulfilling the mitzvos and occupying oneself with the Torah, through this one is [among] “those who do His word”: who build and perfect the word of Havayah, which is the level of Malchus (sovereignty) of Atzilus (Emanation), so that the Emanator, the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, will be King over a people, etc.; and through this, afterwards, “to hearken to the voice of His word.”
Psalms speaks of “those who do His word, to hearken to the voice of His word.” Through Torah and mitzvos a Jew “does,” that is, builds and perfects, the word of Havayah, Malchus of Atzilus, so that the Infinite One becomes King over a people; and afterwards comes “hearkening to the voice of His word.”
אך הכח הזה להיות עושי דברו בעובדא וברעותא דליבא תליא והיינו ע״י מי גילה לבני2
But this power, to be “those who do His word,” depends on the deed and on the will of the heart; and this is through “Who revealed to My children
The power to be “those who do His word” depends both on deed and on the will of the heart. That inner will is the “secret” of which the Sages speak.
רז זה שהקדימו נעשה שע״י גילוי האהבה המסותרת לצאת מההסתר וההעלם אל הגילוי עי״ז ממשיכים מלמעלה ג״כ הגילוי מבחינת טמירא דכל טמירין.
this secret,” that they put “we will do” first: for through the revelation of the hidden love, [bringing it] out of hiding and concealment into revelation, through this they also draw down from above the revelation from the level of the Most Hidden of all hidden (Temira d’chol Temirin).
Putting “we will do” before “we will hear” revealed the love for G‑d that is hidden in every Jew, bringing it out of concealment. In response, a revelation was drawn down from the most hidden level of all, Temira d’chol Temirin.
וזהו ההפרש בין ישראל שקבלו התורה בסיני ובין מה שהאבות קיימו את התורה והוא ע״ד משארז״ל במקום שבעלי תשובה עומדין3 צדיקים גמורים אינם יכולים לעמוד, ופי׳ הטעם בזהר
And this is the difference between Israel, who received the Torah at Sinai, and the Avos’ fulfilling of the Torah. It is along the lines of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “In the place where baalei teshuvah stand, complete tzaddikim cannot stand.” And the reason is explained in the Zohar
This is the difference between Israel at Sinai and the Avos, who kept the Torah before it was given. It parallels the Sages’ saying that baalei teshuvah stand where complete tzaddikim cannot, and the Zohar gives the reason.
(פ׳ חיי שרה דקכ״ט ע״ב) דאינון משכי עלייהו ברעותא דליבא יתיר ובחילא סגי4 כו׳ דהיינו שמוציאים נקודת הלב מההעלם יותר אל הגילוי מהצדיקים.
(Parshas Chayei Sarah, folio 129b): “for they draw [it] upon themselves with more will of the heart, and with great strength,” etc.; that is, they bring the point of the heart out of concealment into revelation more than the tzaddikim [do].
The Zohar says that baalei teshuvah draw themselves near to the King with more will of the heart and with great strength. The text explains: they bring the point of the heart out of concealment into revelation more than tzaddikim do.
והוא ענין בחילא סגי דהיינו בכח גדול וחזק מפנימית ועומק נקודת הלב שמתגלה בהם.
And this is the meaning of “with great strength”: that is, with a great and mighty power, from the inwardness and depth of the point of the heart, which is revealed in them.
“With great strength” means with a mighty force that rises from the inwardness and depth of the point of the heart, which is revealed in them.
The power to “do His word,” to build Malchus through Torah and mitzvos, depends on the will of the heart; by putting “we will do” first, Israel revealed the hidden love, as baalei teshuvah do, and so drew down revelation from the most hidden level of all.
The Zohar on Balak (3:191a), cited in the next paragraph, reads “those who do His word” as those who repair this davar, the word, and restore her to her original form; this is the “building and perfecting” of the word of Havayah described here.
Marei mekomos
- 1עושי דברו · Psalms 103:20
- 2מי גילה לבני · Shabbat 88a:8
- 3במקום שבעלי תשובה עומדין · Berakhot 34b:22–23
- 4דאינון משכי עלייהו ברעותא דליבא יתיר ובחילא סגי · Zohar, Chayei Sara 16:121–17:127
12ולכן מעוררים ג״כ למעלה שיומשך ויתגלה מן טמירא דכל טמירין1 יותר. כי לפי האתערותא דלתתא כך אתערותא דלעילא.
And therefore they also arouse [a response] above, that there be drawn down and revealed more from the Most Hidden of all hidden. For according to the arousal from below, so is the arousal from above.
Because their arousal from below came from such depth, they also aroused above a greater revelation from the Most Hidden of all hidden. The arousal above always matches the arousal below.
וז״ש גבי מתן תורה קול ה׳ בכח דהיינו לפי שהקדימו נעשה בבחי׳ גילוי הרז בחילא יתיר
And this is [the meaning of] what is written concerning the Giving of the Torah, “The voice of Havayah is in power”: that is, because they put “we will do” first, in the manner of revealing the secret, “with more strength,”
This is why the Torah was given with “the voice of Havayah in power”: the power from above answered the “greater strength” with which Israel revealed the secret by putting “we will do” first.
דהיינו בכח גדול וחזק מנקודת הלב והוא בחי׳ תשובה והיינו ע״י יציאת מצרים כו׳ לכן המשיכו ג״כ מלמעלה בעת מ״ת מההעלם יותר אל הגילוי יותר
that is, with a great and mighty power from the point of the heart, which is the level of teshuvah (return), and this was through the Exodus from Egypt, etc.; therefore they also drew down from above, at the time of the Giving of the Torah, out of concealment into revelation to a greater degree,
That strength came from the point of the heart, the level of teshuvah, awakened through the Exodus from Egypt. So at the Giving of the Torah more was drawn out of concealment into revelation.
והיינו יותר ג״כ ממה שהמשיכו האבות שהיו בחינת צדיקים גמורים שההמשכות שהמשיכו הוא למעלה באצילות ולא ירד למטה כו׳
that is, to a greater degree also than what the Avos drew down, who were at the level of complete tzaddikim; for the flows that they drew down are above, in Atzilus, and did not descend below, etc.;
The Avos, complete tzaddikim, drew down revelations too, but theirs remained above, in Atzilus, and did not descend into the lower worlds.
משא״כ ישראל המשיכו לשמוע בקול דברו שיומשך הגילוי למטה ושיהיה חרות על הלוחות2 כו׳ חירות מיניקת החיצונים כו׳
whereas Israel drew down “to hearken to the voice of His word,” that the revelation be drawn down below, and that it be “engraved (charus) on the tablets,” etc.: freedom (cheirus) from the suckling of the external forces, etc.,
Israel drew down “hearkening to the voice of His word,” a revelation that reached below and was “engraved on the tablets.” The Sages read charus, “engraved,” as cheirus, “freedom,” and the text explains it as freedom from the nourishment the external forces draw.
for the utterance decrees and promises “You shall not murder,” meaning that this level shall no longer be, etc., as was explained above. And the meaning of “Who revealed to My children this secret”: “Who”
The utterance “You shall not murder” was then a decree and a promise that the pouring of holy life into kelipah described above would no longer happen. The text now turns to the words “Who revealed to My children this secret.”
היינו בינה גילה לבני רז זה הוא יסוד אבא שאהבה המסותרת היא מבחי׳ ח״ע5 כמ״ש בבינונים פי״ח והתגלותה ע״י בינה התבוננות וזהו ענין נקודה בהיכלא.6
is Binah (understanding); “revealed to My children this secret”: it is Yesod (foundation) of Abba; for the hidden love is from the level of supernal Chochmah (wisdom), as is written in [Sefer Shel] Beinonim, chapter 18, and its revelation is through Binah, contemplation. And this is the matter of “a point in a palace.”
“Who” (mi) is Binah, and “revealed to My children this secret” is Yesod of Abba, the channel of Chochmah. The hidden love comes from supernal Chochmah, as Tanya explains in chapter 18, and is revealed through Binah, contemplation; this is the “point in a palace,” Chochmah within Binah.
כמ״ש ע״פ ראה אנכי נותן7 כו׳ כי חו״ב תרין ריעין8 כו׳ [וע׳ בהרמ״ז פ׳ וירא (דצ״ח ע״א) גבי רזא סתימא איהו ור״פ חקת בפי׳ וברזא עילאה כו׳
As is written on [the verse] “See, I set [before you],” etc.: for Chochmah and Binah are “two companions,” etc. [And see the Ramaz on Parshas Vayera (folio 98a) concerning “it is a hidden secret,” and at the beginning of Parshas Chukas, on the explanation of “and in a supernal secret,” etc.
Chochmah and Binah are “two companions” that never part, as explained in the discourse on “See, I set [before you].” The text also points to the Ramaz’s comments on the Zohar about a “hidden secret” and a “supernal secret.”
וגם אפשר לומר דרז זה היינו החסדים המכוסים ביסוד אימא עמ״ש בביאור ע״פ והיה מספר בנ״י כחול הים אשר לא ימד ולא יספר.9
And it is also possible to say that “this secret” is the Chasadim that are covered in Yesod of Imma; see what is written in the explanation on [the verse] “And the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which can be neither measured nor counted.”
Another reading: “this secret” is the Chasadim (kindnesses) covered within Yesod of Imma, as explained in the maamar on “And the number of the children of Israel shall be.”
וז״ש במדרש רבה (וירא פ׳ מ״ט) סוד ה׳ ליראיו זו מילה10 והיינו משום שע״י המילה הוא התגלות החסדים המכוסים ביסוד אימא שהיא נק׳ סוד דהיינו האהבה המסותרת כו׳].
And this is [the meaning of] what is said in Midrash Rabbah (Vayera, section 49): “‘The secret of Havayah is for those who fear Him’: this is circumcision”; that is, because through circumcision is the revelation of the Chasadim that are covered in Yesod of Imma, which is called “secret,” that is, the hidden love, etc.]
The Midrash reads “the secret of Havayah is for those who fear Him” as circumcision, for circumcision reveals the Chasadim covered in Yesod of Imma. That covered level, called “secret,” is the hidden love.
והנה עי״ז ניתן הכח להמשיך ג״כ מלמעלה גילוי רצון העליון להיות עושי דברו וע״ד שנת׳ בזהר (בלק דקצ״א ע״א) ועי״ז אח״כ לשמוע בקול דברו.
Now, through this the power is given to draw down also from above the revelation of the supernal will, to be “those who do His word,” along the lines of what is explained in the Zohar (Balak, folio 191a); and through this, afterwards, “to hearken to the voice of His word.”
Through revealing the hidden love, Israel was given the power to draw down from above a revelation of the supernal will, to be “those who do His word,” as the Zohar explains. Only after this comes “hearkening to the voice of His word.”
ופי׳ בקול י״ל ע״ד מ״ש ע״פ כי תשמע בקול דהיינו מה שבתוך הקול כו׳ וגילוי זה נמשך למטה ע״י דברו ע״ד מ״ש בזהר (ואתחנן דרס״א א׳) מלולא דדא מגו דא כו׳ ע״ש בפי׳ המק״מ ובפי׳ הרמ״ז.
And the meaning of “bekol” [literally, “in the voice”] can be explained along the lines of what is written on [the verse] “For you shall hearken to the voice”: that is, what is within the voice, etc. And this revelation is drawn down below through “His word,” along the lines of what is written in the Zohar (Va’eschanan, folio 261a), “the speech of this from within this,” etc.; see there in the commentary of the Mikdash Melech and in the commentary of the Ramaz.
Bekol literally means “in the voice”: to hear what is within the voice, its inner content. This inner voice is drawn down below through “His word,” as the Zohar says of Sinai that the speech of each level came forth from within the one above it.
וזהו לשמוע בקול דברו ולכן צ״ל תחלה עושי דברו וכמ״ש כי קרוב אליך הדבר11 כו׳
And this is “to hearken to the voice of His word.” And therefore there must first be “those who do His word,” as it is written, “For the word is near to you,” etc.,
So one must first be “those who do His word,” as the verse says, “For the word is near to you… to do it.” Only then can one hearken to the voice of His word.
לעשותו דהיינו לעשות ולתקן12 בחי׳ הדבר להמשיך בו גילוי בחי׳ קול וע׳ בזהר ח״ב (ד״ג ע״ב וד׳ כ״ה ע״ב) מענין התחברות קול ודבור
“to do it”: that is, to make and perfect the level of the word, to draw into it the revelation of the level of voice. And see the Zohar, Part II (folio 3b and folio 25b), on the joining of voice and speech;
“To do it” means to make and perfect the level of the word, Malchus, so that the revelation of voice can be drawn into it. The Zohar discusses how voice and speech are joined.
וגם להמשיך בו בחי׳ בקול כנ״ל וכענין מ״ש ע״פ ועתה יגדל נא כח אד׳13 כו׳
and also to draw into it the level of “in the voice,” as mentioned above; and as in the matter of what is written on [the verse] “And now, let the power of Ado-nai be great,” etc.;
One must also draw into the word the inner level “in the voice,” as explained above. This is like the discourse on “And now, let the power of Ado-nai be great,” where the power of Ado-nai, the Name associated with Malchus, is to be made great.
and this is through Torah and mitzvos, the Will of all wills, etc. And this is [the teaching] “Do not read ‘your children’ (banayich) but ‘your builders’ (bonayich)”; and through this, afterwards, “to hearken to the voice of His word,” etc.
This is done through Torah and mitzvos, which draw from the Will of all wills. So the Sages say, “Do not read banayich, ‘your children,’ but bonayich, ‘your builders’”: Israel builds the word of G‑d, and through this afterwards hearkens to the voice of His word.
Israel’s deeper arousal at Sinai drew down a greater revelation than the Avos had, one that reached below, was engraved on the tablets and brought freedom from the external forces. The paragraph then explains “Who revealed this secret” as Binah revealing the hidden love rooted in Chochmah, and shows that “doing His word,” building Malchus through Torah and mitzvos, comes first and makes it possible to “hearken to the voice of His word.”
In the Zohar on Va’eschanan (3:261a), when the Torah was given all the voices were present; each was seen from within the one before it, and the speech of each came forth from within the higher one above it. This is how the inner voice is drawn down into speech, the “bekol” within “His word.”
Marei mekomos
- 1טמירא דכל טמירין · Zohar II, 89a
- 2חרות על הלוחות · Exodus 32:16
- 3מי גילה לבני · Shabbat 85a
- 4מי גילה לבני רז זה · Shabbat 88a:8
- 5שאהבה המסותרת היא מבחי׳ ח״ע · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 18:2–3
- 6נקודה בהיכלא · ש״נ [לקמן ראה יח, ב. — כ].
- 7ראה אנכי נותן · Deuteronomy 11:26
- 8חו״ב תרין ריעין · Zohar III, 4a
- 9והיה מספר בנ״י כחול הים אשר לא ימד ולא יספר · Hosea 2:1
- 10סוד ה׳ ליראיו זו מילה · Bereshit Rabbah 49:2
- 11כי קרוב אליך הדבר · Deuteronomy 30:14
- 12לעשות ולתקן · Bereshit Rabbah 11:6
- 13ועתה יגדל נא כח אד׳ · Numbers 14:17
- 14בניך אלא בוניך · Berakhot 64a:14
- 15קול ה׳ בכח · Psalms 29:4
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19סוד ה׳ ליראיו · Psalms 25:14
The fear of Heaven and free choice ¶13–16
3. And the meaning of “Who revealed to My children” may be explained according to what is written, “Who will give that they should have this heart, to fear Me” (in Parshas Va’eschanan, 5:26).
The text now explains the word “Who” (mi) in the heavenly voice’s question. It compares the verse in which G‑d says of Israel at Sinai, “Who will give that they should have this heart, to fear Me.”
ועיין מזה ברבות ס״פ כי תבוא היה להם לומר אתה תן. וכ״ה בגמרא4 (דע״ז דף ד׳ ע״ב ודף ה׳ סע״א).
And see on this in the Midrash Rabbah at the end of Parshas Ki Savo: “They should have said, ‘You give.’” And so it is in the Gemara (Avodah Zarah, folio 4b and the end of folio 5a).
The Midrash and the Talmud say that Israel were at fault for not answering, “You give!”: they should have asked G‑d Himself to give them such a heart.
And Rabbi Moshe Alshich asked: but our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven”; so how could they say, “You give”?
The Alshich asks: the Sages teach that “everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven,” meaning that awe of G‑d is left to a person’s own choice. How, then, could Israel have asked G‑d to give it?
ומהרש״א בח״א שם כתב וז״ל גם שהכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים מ״מ פשיטא דביד
And the Maharsha, in [his] Chiddushei Aggados there, wrote, and these are his words: “Although everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven, nevertheless it is obvious that it is in the power of
The Maharsha answers in his Chiddushei Aggados that even so, G‑d certainly has the power to incline people’s hearts toward good.
הקב״ה להטות לב בני אדם לטובה דכמה כתובים מורים על זה עכ״ל ועם כי דבריו מוכרחים שהרי אנו אומרים ויחד לבבינו לאהבה8 וליראה את שמך.
the Holy One, blessed be He, to incline the heart of people toward good, for a number of verses indicate this.” End of quote. And although his words are compelling, for indeed we say, “And unite our hearts to love and to fear Your Name,”
Many verses show this, the Maharsha says, and the text agrees that his words are compelling: in our daily prayer we ask, “Unite our hearts to love and to fear Your Name.”
וכמ״ש בתלים (סי׳ פ״ו י״א) יחד לבבי ליראה שמך9 ועיין בגמרא (פרק בתרא דסוכה דף נ״ב ע״ב) אלמלא שלש10ה מקראות כו׳ ע״ש.
and as it is written in Tehillim (chapter 86:11), “Unite my heart to fear Your Name”; and see in the Gemara (the last chapter of Sukkah, folio 52b), “Were it not for three verses,” etc. See there.
So too King David prays, “Unite my heart to fear Your Name,” and the Talmud cites three verses showing that G‑d Himself turns hearts, among them “I will give you a heart of flesh.”
אך א״כ איך יתפרש מאמרם ז״ל הכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים. ולכן צ״ל כמ״ש הבחיי כאן11 דפי׳ הכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים.
But if so, how is their saying, of blessed memory, “Everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven,” to be explained? Therefore it must be said as Rabbeinu Bachya writes here, that the meaning of “Everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven”
But then what do the Sages mean by “everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven”? The text adopts Rabbeinu Bachya’s explanation on this verse.
היינו כי שמים נקראו המדות עליונות שבהן ועל ידן התנהגות העולמות שהן חסד וגבורה הנק׳ אש ומים וזהו ענין שמים.
is this: that “Heaven” (shamayim) is the name for the supernal attributes (middos), in which and through which the worlds are conducted, which are Chesed (kindness) and Gevurah (restraint), called fire and water (esh and mayim); and this is the meaning of shamayim.
In Rabbeinu Bachya’s reading, “Heaven” (shamayim) means the supernal attributes through which G‑d conducts the worlds, Chesed and Gevurah, fire (esh) and water (mayim), whose names combine in the word shamayim. Everything is “in the hands” of these attributes.
אבל יראת שמים אינו תולה בבחינות אלו. כ״א בבחי׳ שלמעלה מהמדות עליונות דלאו מכל אילין מדות12 איהו כלל.13
But the fear of Heaven does not depend on these levels, but rather on the level that is above the supernal attributes, “for He is not of any of these attributes at all.”
The fear of Heaven, however, does not depend on these attributes but on a level above them, of which the Tikkunei Zohar says, “He is not of any of these attributes at all.” Only G‑d as He transcends the attributes can “give” awe.
The paragraph sets up the question: Israel should have asked G‑d, “You give” us a heart that fears You, yet the fear of Heaven is not in Heaven’s hands. Following Rabbeinu Bachya, it answers that “Heaven” means the attributes of Chesed and Gevurah; awe is not in their hands but depends on a level above all the attributes.
Rabbeinu Bachya, on this verse, writes in the way of Kabbalah that the Name says “Who will give,” teaching that awe is not in its hand: “in the hands of Heaven” means in the hands of the attribute called Heaven, while the fear of Heaven is above it; and “they should have said, You give” means that they should have prayed to what is above that attribute. Kehot’s note suggests that this passage appeared first, in brief, in Or HaTorah on Va’eschanan and was later expanded here.
Marei mekomos
- 1ופי׳ מי גילה לבני · ראה סה״מ תרל״ה-א ע׳ רכו.
- 2
- 3מי יתן והיה לבבם זה להם ליראה אותי · Deuteronomy 5:26
- 4ברבות ס״פ תבוא . . וכ״ה בגמרא · נעתק באוה״ת ואתחנן ע׳ קצו, ושם כל הענין בקיצור, וכנראה שנעתק משם. וראה לקמן ”הבחיי כאן”.
- 5הכל בידי שמים חוץ מי״ש · Berakhot 33b:23–24
- 6הכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים · Rabbeinu Bahya, Devarim 5:26–27
- 7תן אתה · Avodah Zarah 5a:13–14
- 8ויחד לבבנו לאהבה · ברכת ק״ש דשחרית.
- 9יחד לבבי ליראה שמך · Psalms 86:11
- 10
- 11הבחיי כאן · מכאן נראה שהמקור לקטע זה הוא באוה״ת ואתחנן הנ״ל ואח״כ הרחיב והוסיף, שהרי הבחיי הוא בפ׳ ואתחנן, וכן ביהל אור ע׳ לה מביא מהבחיי פ׳ ואתחנן, ומובא גם באוה״ת בראשית-ד דף תשעד, ב ובאוה״ת ש״ש ע׳ א׳תצב.
- 12דלאו מכל אלין מדות · ת״ז בהקדמה (פתח אלי׳).
- 13דלאו מכל אילין מדות איהו כלל · Tikkunei Zohar 17b:4–6
And of this it is said, “Who will give that they should have this heart,” etc., in the manner of “Who will give a pure thing out of an impure,” etc.: the level of “Who” is the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), who is not grasped at all.
G‑d’s words “Who will give that they should have this heart” come from the level called “Who” (mi), as in “Who will give a pure thing out of an impure?” This “Who” is the Infinite One, the light that encompasses all worlds, beyond all grasp.
והיינו כי למטה בבחי׳ שמים יש זה לעומת זה מדות הרעות דקליפה נגד מדות דקדושה.
That is: below, at the level of “Heaven,” there is “this opposite that”: the evil attributes of kelipah (the husk) against the attributes of holiness.
Below, at the level of “Heaven,” the attributes have opposites: for every holy attribute there is an evil attribute of kelipah, “this opposite that.” There good and evil stand against each other.
Whereas in relation to the Infinite One, blessed be He, Himself: “Even darkness does not darken for You,” etc.; “Mountains melted like wax,” etc.
In relation to the Infinite One Himself there is no opposite: “even darkness does not darken for You,” and before Him “mountains melted like wax.”
(ועיין בסש״ב ס״פ י״ט)5 וכעין זה פירשו מארז״ל בני חיי ומזוני לאו בזכותא6 תליא שהן המדות חו״ג כ״א במזלא תליא
(And see Sefer Shel Beinonim (Tanya), end of chapter 19.) And similarly they explained the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, “Children, life and sustenance do not depend on merit,” which are the attributes of Chesed (kindness) and Gevurah (restraint), “but rather depend on mazal,”
Tanya, at the end of chapter 19, cites “mountains melted like wax” for the power of the Infinite Light to drive away the kelipos. In the same way the Sages’ saying that “children, life and sustenance” depend not on merit but on mazal is explained: merit works through the attributes of Chesed and Gevurah, while mazal is a higher source.
שהוא כתר7 כו׳. ואפשר לבאר הענין כי הנה בענין ידיעה ובחירה שהקב״ה יודע כל מה שיהיה.
which is Keser (the Crown), etc. And it is possible to explain the matter: for in the matter of [G‑d’s] knowledge and [man’s] choice, the Holy One, blessed be He, knows all that will be.
That higher source, mazal, is Keser, above the attributes. The text now explains the matter through the classic question of G‑d’s foreknowledge and human free choice.
Awe comes from “Who,” the Infinite One who encompasses all worlds, before whom nothing opposes holiness; this is like the Sages’ teaching that some things depend not on merit, the attributes, but on mazal, which is Keser. The text then introduces the question of foreknowledge and free choice.
Kehot’s notes point to the Tzemach Tzedek’s Biurei HaZohar, which lists several books on the saying about children, life and sustenance and discusses mazal as Keser.
Marei mekomos
- 1מי יתן טהור מטמא · Job 14:4
- 2גם חושך לא יחשיך ממך · Psalms 139:12
- 3הרים כדונג נמסו · שם צז, ה.
- 4הרים כדונג נמסו · Psalms 97:5
- 5הרים כדונג נמסו כו׳. (ועיין בסש״ב ס״פ י״ט) · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 19:12
- 6בני חיי ומזונא לאו בזכותא · Moed Katan 28a:13
- 7כ״א במזלא תליא שהוא כתר · ראה ביאה״ז להצ״צ-א ע׳ מד.
15וקודם שיהיה ידע שזה יהיה צדיק1 או רשע. ואעפ״כ אין ידיעה זו מכרחת הבחירה כמבואר בהרמב״ם פ״ה מהלכות תשובה2 והראב״ד שם פי׳ שאין ידיעתו גזירה כו׳.
And before it comes to be, He knows that this one will be a tzaddik or a rasha. And even so, this knowledge does not compel the choice, as is explained in the Rambam, chapter 5 of Hilchos Teshuvah; and the Raavad there explains that His knowledge is not a decree, etc.
G‑d knows beforehand whether a person will be righteous or wicked, yet, as the Rambam explains in Hilchos Teshuvah, this knowledge does not compel his choice. The Raavad there adds that His knowledge is not a decree.
והענין כי הידיעה היא בדעת עליון שהוא בחי׳ הכתר מחשבה הקדומה שהוא מאיר רק בבחי׳ מקיף
And the explanation is that the knowledge is in the supernal Daas (knowledge), which is the level of Keser (the Crown), the Primordial Thought, which shines only as an encompassing [light];
The explanation is that this knowledge is in the supernal Daas, the level of Keser, the Primordial Thought, which shines only as an encompassing light, surrounding a person rather than entering him.
ועל כן אין האדם מתפעל ממנה להיות מכרחת מעשיו כמ״ש בביאור ע״פ את שבתותי תשמרו.
and therefore a person is not affected by it so that it would compel his deeds, as is written in the explanation on [the verse] “You shall keep My Shabbosos.”
Because it does not enter a person inwardly, he is not affected by it, and it does not force his deeds. The text refers to its explanation on “You shall keep My Shabbosos.”
משא״כ מבחי׳ המדות שמהם נמשך ההשפעה בפנימיות להאדם ועל בחי׳ זו אמרו שהמלאך שואל טפה זו מה תהא עליה3 חכם או טפש כו׳
Which is not so with the level of the attributes (middos), from which the flow is drawn into a person inwardly; and of this level they said that the angel asks, “This drop, what will become of it? Wise or foolish?” etc.,
The attributes, by contrast, flow into a person inwardly and do shape him. Of this level the Talmud says that the angel appointed over conception asks of each drop whether it will be wise or foolish, strong or weak.
ואילו רשע או צדיק לא קאמר משום דהכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים (פ״ב דנדה דט״ז ע״ב)
but “wicked or righteous” he does not say, because “everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven” (chapter 2 of Niddah, folio 16b);
The angel does not ask whether the child will be wicked or righteous, because “everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven.”
דהיינו בידי שמים דוקא אין תלוי יראת שמים. וכש״כ המלאך שהוא מבחינת צבא השמים אין לו שליטה ע״ז.
that is, the fear of Heaven does not depend on the hands of “Heaven” specifically. And all the more so the angel, who is of the level of the host of heaven, has no dominion over this.
This means that the fear of Heaven does not depend specifically on “Heaven,” the attributes. All the more so the angel, part of the host of heaven, has no power over it.
כי הידיעה מה שהקב״ה יודע שזה יהיה צדיק או רשע היא בבחי׳ גבוה מאד שלמעלה מהשתלשלות ונק׳ אור כללי שכולל כל השתלשלות העולמות במחשבה אחת
For the knowledge, what the Holy One, blessed be He, knows, that this one will be a tzaddik or a rasha, is at a very high level that is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), and is called a general light (or kelali), which includes the whole chain of the worlds’ descent in one thought,
G‑d’s knowledge of who will be righteous or wicked belongs to a level far above the chain of worlds, a general light that holds the whole chain in a single thought.
כמאמר צופה ומביט עד סוף כל הדורות בסקירא אחת ולא נמשך כלל משם ההמשכה בפנימיות אפילו במדות העליונות דאצילות הנק׳ שמים שבהם ועל ידם הקב״ה מנהיג עולמו.
as the saying goes, “He looks and sees to the end of all generations in a single glance”; and no inner flow at all is drawn from there, even into the supernal attributes of Atzilus (Emanation), which are called “Heaven,” in which and through which the Holy One, blessed be He, conducts His world.
As the Rosh Hashanah prayer says, He “looks and sees to the end of all generations” at a glance. Nothing of this knowledge flows inwardly, even into the supernal attributes of Atzilus, called “Heaven,” through which G‑d conducts His world.
Foreknowledge does not compel choice because it is in the supernal Daas, Keser, which only encompasses a person and does not enter him; the attributes that do flow inwardly, “Heaven,” shape traits such as wisdom, but not whether one will fear Heaven.
The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 5:5) asks the question in these very words, “before it comes to be, He knows whether this one will be righteous or wicked,” and answers that G‑d’s knowledge is not like ours. The text explains the same point through the difference between encompassing light and inner light.
Marei mekomos
- 1וקודם שיהיה ידע שזה יהיה צדיק או רשע · Mishneh Torah, Repentance 5:5
- 2כמבואר בהרמב״ם פ״ה מהלכות תשובה · ראה גם לעיל פ׳ אמור לח, ב. (מובא גם באוה״ת נשא ע׳ רפז).
- 3
16ועמ״ש ע״פ האזינו השמים ואדברה1 כו׳ ולכן אין ידיעה זו מכרחת הבחירה כלל. כי אם הרשות נתונה23 לכל אדם.
And see what is written on [the verse] “Listen, O heavens, and I will speak,” etc. And therefore this knowledge does not compel the choice at all; rather, the freedom [of choice] is given to every person.
This is also explained in the discourse on “Listen, O heavens, and I will speak.” So the knowledge does not compel choice at all; as the Mishnah says, freedom “is given” to every person.
אכן זהו שכן יסד הקב״ה עולמו להיות דעת עליון בלתי מאיר כלל בבחי׳ פנימיות אפילו בבחי׳ המדות עליונות כדי שלא יכריח הבחירה.
Indeed, this is because so did the Holy One, blessed be He, establish His world: that the supernal Daas (knowledge) should not shine at all in an inner way, even in the supernal attributes (middos), so that it would not compel the choice.
G‑d deliberately established His world so that the supernal Daas would not shine inwardly, even into the supernal attributes, in order not to compel man’s choice.
אבל אם היה רצון לפניו ב״ה להאיר ממנו איזו הארה בבחי׳ פנימיות. עי״ז ודאי יומשך היראה בבחי׳ פנימיות וע״ד אבל חרדה גדולה נפלה4 עליהם כו׳ משום דמזלייהו חזי.5
But if it were His will, blessed be He, to shine some illumination from it in an inner way, then through this awe would certainly be drawn down in an inner way; along the lines of “but a great trembling fell upon them,” etc., “because their mazal saw.”
But if G‑d willed to let some of it shine inwardly, awe would certainly be drawn into a person. So Daniel’s companions were seized with trembling though they did not see the vision, because “their mazal saw.”
Freedom of choice exists because G‑d chose not to let the supernal Daas shine inwardly; were He to do so, awe would follow of itself, as with Daniel’s companions, whose mazal saw what they did not.
Marei mekomos
- 1האזינו השמים ואדברה · Deuteronomy 32:1
- 2והרשות נתונה · אבות ג, טו.
- 3הרשות נתונה · Pirkei Avot 3:15
- 4אבל חרדה גדולה נפלה · Daniel 10:7
- 5משום דמזלייהו חזי · Megillah 3a:13–14
“Who will give” and “Who knows” ¶17–19
17וע״ז נאמר מי יתן והיה לבבם זה להם ליראה אותי.1 מי יתן דוקא הוא בחי׳ סתימו דכל סתימין ששם יש כח זה להמשיך בהם היראה.
And of this it is said, “Who will give that they should have this heart, to fear Me.” “Who will give” specifically: this is the level of the Most Concealed of all concealed (Stimu d’chol Stimin), where there is this power, to draw awe into them,
Of this G‑d says, “Who will give that they should have this heart, to fear Me”: “Who” here is the Most Concealed of all concealed, the level that has the power to draw awe into people.
אע״פ שבידי שמים אין בחינה זו כנ״ל. וא״כ פי׳ מי יתן זהו ע״ד מארז״ל (פ״ק דברכות ד״ז סע״א) שהקב״ה מתפלל כו׳ יהי רצון2 כו׳
although in the hands of “Heaven” this level is not [found], as mentioned above. And if so, the meaning of “Who will give” is along the lines of the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory (first chapter of Berachos, end of folio 7a), that the Holy One, blessed be He, prays, etc.: “May it be the will,” etc.
That power is not found “in the hands of Heaven,” the attributes. “Who will give” is therefore like the Talmud’s teaching that G‑d Himself prays, “May it be My will that My compassion overcome My anger.”
ופי׳ בספר שו״ס לתלמיד הרמב״ן ז״ל שהקב״ה נקרא כאן בחי׳ האור המאיר במדות העליונות והוא מצלי להמשיך הרצון ממקור הרחמים שלמעלה מעלה מהמדות כו׳ ע״ש.
And it is explained in the book Shushan Sodos, by a student of the Ramban, of blessed memory, that “the Holy One, blessed be He” here refers to the level of the light that shines in the supernal attributes (middos), and He prays to draw down the will from the source of compassion that is far above the attributes, etc. See there.
Shushan Sodos explains that “the Holy One, blessed be He,” who prays, is the light that shines in the attributes, and His prayer draws down will from the source of compassion far above them. So too “Who will give” asks for awe from above the attributes.
And in the same way one may explain the verse “Who knows the spirit of men that goes upward,” etc. (in Koheles 3:21);
The same approach explains Koheles’ question, “Who knows the spirit of men that goes upward,” set against the spirit of the beast that goes down to the earth.
דלכאורה אינו מובן שהרי אח״כ אמר והרוח תשוב אל האלקים אשר נתנה5 ואיך אמר תחלה מי יודע כו׳.
for on the face of it this is not understood, since afterwards he said, “And the spirit returns to G‑d, who gave it”; so how did he say first, “Who knows,” etc.?
On the face of it the question is puzzling, since Koheles later states plainly that “the spirit returns to G‑d, who gave it.” How could he first ask “Who knows”?
אך הענין עפמ״ש ברבות ס״פ האזינו6 ואיני יודע להיכן נפשי הולכת כו׳ שנאמר מי יודע רוח כו׳
But the explanation is according to what is written in the Midrash Rabbah at the end of Parshas Haazinu: “And I do not know where my soul is going,” etc., “as it is said, ‘Who knows the spirit,’” etc.
The Midrash at the end of Haazinu has Moshe say, “I do not know where my soul is going,” citing this same verse, “Who knows the spirit.”
לכאורה תמוה שיסתפק מרבע״ה7 שמא נפשו כו׳ ועוד דאם ח״ו יורדת למטה בארץ א״כ מהו שאמר שתהא מונחת יפה.
On the face of it, it is astonishing that Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, should be in doubt whether perhaps his soul, etc.; and further, if, G‑d forbid, it goes down below into the earth, then what is [the meaning of] what he said, that it should rest well?
This is astonishing: how could Moshe doubt whether his soul would go up? And if it might go down into the earth, what would his words mean, that it should rest well?
דלכאורה רוח הבהמה היורדת למטה לארץ אין לה קיום א״ו עכצ״ל דשמים וארץ אינן שמים וארץ גשמיים אלא הן זו״נ דאצילות שנקרא שמים וארץ.
For on the face of it, “the spirit of the beast that goes down below to the earth” has no endurance. Rather, one is compelled to say that “heaven” and “earth” are not the physical heaven and earth, but they are Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) and Nukva (the feminine / Malchus) of Atzilus (Emanation), which are called heaven and earth.
A spirit that goes down to the earth, like an animal’s, has no lasting existence. So “heaven” and “earth” here must mean Z’eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus, which are called heaven and earth.
אשר ארץ היא בחינת מלכות כמ״ש בד״ה והיה מספר בנ״י.8 ועז״נ והארץ הדום רגלי9 וכתיב ועמך כולם צדיקים לעולם יירשו ארץ.10
For “earth” is the level of Malchus (sovereignty), as is written in the discourse beginning “And the number of the children of Israel shall be.” And of this it is said, “And the earth is My footstool,” and it is written, “And Your people are all tzaddikim; they shall inherit the earth forever.”
“Earth” is Malchus, as explained in the discourse on “And the number of the children of Israel shall be.” So Malchus is “My footstool,” and the righteous are promised that they “shall inherit the earth” forever.
“Who will give” refers to the Most Concealed level, above “Heaven,” which alone can draw awe into the heart, just as G‑d “prays” to draw compassion from above the attributes. The same reading resolves Koheles’ “Who knows the spirit” and Moshe’s doubt: “heaven” and “earth” are Z’eir Anpin and Malchus of Atzilus, both holy.
Kehot’s notes show that this explanation of “Who knows the spirit” was copied into Or HaTorah on Nach, which ends: “With this the difficulty is resolved, for afterwards it says ‘and the spirit returns to G‑d, who gave it’; how then did he first say ‘who knows’? Rather, the meaning is as above.” Likkutei Torah on Shir HaShirim gives a fuller version: through the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva the soul contains both levels, heaven and earth.
Marei mekomos
- 1מי יתן והיה לבבם זה להם ליראה אותי · Deuteronomy 5:26
- 2
- 3יש לפרש הפסוק מי יודע רוח בני האדם · ראה באוה״ת נ״ך-ב ע׳ א׳קיג פי׳ הפסוק.
- 4מי יודע רוח בני האדם העולה היא למעלה · Ecclesiastes 3:21
- 5והרוח תשוב אלהאלקים אשר נתנה · Ecclesiastes 12:7
- 6ברבות ס״פ האזינו · נעתק באוה״ת נ״ך-ב ע׳ א׳קיב-יג, ומכאן עד תי׳ ”נק׳ רוח בני האדם העולה כו׳” נמצא שם. ומסיים ”ובזה מתורץ שהרי אח״כ נאמר והרוח תשוב אל האלקים אשר נתנה, ואיך אמר תחלה מי יודע, אלא דהפי׳ הוא כנ״ל”.
- 7לכאורה תמוה שיסתפק מרבע״ה · ראה לקמן שה״ש מט, ג.
- 8והיה מספר בנ״י · Hosea 2:1
- 9והארץ הדום רגלי · Isaiah 66:1
- 10ועמך כולם צדיקים לעולם יירשו ארץ · Isaiah 60:21
18והנה הנשמה כלולה מב׳ הבחינות דשמים וארץ שהרי נולדו ע״י יחוד זו״נ ועיין בזח״א ויחי דרמ״ה סע״א1 תלת נשמתין אינון2 כו׳ אך יש נשמות עליונות שעיקר הנשמה מז״א הנק׳ שמים וקצת מהמל׳ הנקרא ארץ.
Now, the soul is composed of the two levels of heaven and earth, for [the souls] are born through the union of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) and Nukva (the feminine / Malchus); and see the Zohar, Part I, Vayechi, end of folio 245a: “There are three souls,” etc. But there are lofty souls whose main soul is from Z’eir Anpin, which is called heaven, and a little from Malchus (sovereignty), which is called earth.
Since souls are born from the union of Z’eir Anpin (“heaven”) and Nukva (“earth”), every soul contains both levels; the Zohar on Vayechi speaks of three kinds of soul. Some lofty souls come mainly from Z’eir Anpin, with only a little from Malchus.
וזהו ענין רוח האדם ויש להפך שעיקר נשמתם מבחי׳ מלכות שם ב״ן רוח הבהמה כו׳
And this is the meaning of “the spirit of men.” And there are [souls] the reverse, whose main soul is from the level of Malchus, the Name Ban, “the spirit of the beast,” etc.,
Such souls are “the spirit of men” that goes upward. Others are the reverse, coming mainly from Malchus, the Name Ban, and these are called “the spirit of the beast,” though they too are rooted in a holy level.
וכמו המלאכים שנק׳ פני אריה פני שור3 וגם י״ב שבטים נק׳ י״ב בקר וכמ״ש במק״מ (פ׳ בראשית דל״ז סע״ב).
like the angels that are called “the face of a lion” and “the face of an ox”; and the twelve tribes, too, are called “twelve oxen,” as is written in the Mikdash Melech (Parshas Bereishis, end of folio 37b).
So too some angels are called by animal names, “the face of a lion” and “the face of an ox,” and the twelve tribes are called “twelve oxen,” as the Mikdash Melech explains. An animal name here describes a soul’s root, not a lowly soul.
וזה היה ענותנותו דמשה שנסתפק מאיזו בחי׳ היא נשמתו כו׳ גם שמים נקרא גן העליון והארץ נקרא ג״ע התחתון כנודע מענין מי לי בשמים ועמך לא חפצתי
And this was the humility of Moshe, that he was in doubt from which level his soul is, etc. Also, “heaven” is called the higher Garden and “earth” is called the lower Gan Eden, as is known from the matter of “Whom do I have in heaven? And with You I desire nothing
This explains Moshe’s doubt: in his humility he was unsure from which level his soul came, heaven or earth. “Heaven” and “earth” are also the higher and the lower Gan Eden, as in the verse “Whom do I have in heaven?”
בארץ4 וכמ״ש ע״פ וזאת המצוה אשר צוה5 ה׳ לעשות בארץ ועז״נ מי יודע פי׳ בחי׳ מי שאמר והיה העולם הוא היודע איזה נק׳ רוח בני האדם העולה6 כו׳.
on earth”; and as is written on [the verse] “And this is the commandment that Havayah commanded, to do in the land.” And of this it is said, “Who knows”: that is, the level of mi, “He who spoke and the world came into being,” is the One who knows which is called “the spirit of men that goes upward,” etc.
The verse continues, “And with You I desire nothing on earth,” and the discourse on “to do in the land” explains this further. So “Who knows” means that the level of mi, “He who spoke and the world came into being,” knows which souls are “the spirit of men that goes upward.”
וזהו ג״כ ענין מ״ש מי יודע ישוב ונחם האלקים7 (ביונה סי׳ ג׳ ט׳). ועמ״ש בביאור ע״פ ועתה יגדל נא כח8 בפי׳ הפסוק אם עונות תשמר9 יה אדני מי יעמוד.
And this is also the meaning of what is written, “Who knows, G‑d may turn and relent” (in Yonah 3:9). And see what is written in the explanation on [the verse] “And now, let the power be great,” on the meaning of the verse “If You keep [account of] sins, Y-ah, Ado-nai, who will stand?”
The same reading of “Who” explains the words of the king of Nineveh, “Who knows, G‑d may turn and relent,” and the verse “If You keep account of sins, Y-ah, Ado-nai, who will stand?” which another maamar discusses.
And according to this one may also explain the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, “Who revealed to My children this secret,” etc. And see what is written on [the verse] “And all your children shall be taught of Havayah,” etc.
In the same way, “Who revealed to My children this secret” means that the level of mi revealed it. The text also refers to the discourse on “And all your children shall be taught of Havayah.”
Every soul contains both heaven and earth, Z’eir Anpin and Malchus, but some are mainly “heaven,” the spirit of men, and some mainly “earth,” the spirit of the beast. Moshe’s humble doubt was which of these he was, and “Who knows” means that only the level of mi knows; the same mi is the subject of “Who revealed to My children this secret.”
Likkutei Torah on Shir HaShirim, to which Kehot’s note points, gives the same reading in brief and adds that in truth the root of Moshe’s soul was from far above.
Marei mekomos
- 1בזח״א ויחי דרמ״ה סע״א · ראה גם לקמן שה״ש מט, ג.
- 2תלת נשמתין אינון · Zohar, Vayechi 71:731–72:742
- 3פני אריה פני שור · Ezekiel 1:10
- 4מי לי בשמים ועמך לא חפצתי בארץ · Psalms 73:25
- 5וזאת המצוה אשר צוה ה׳ לעשות בארץ · Deuteronomy 6:1
- 6רוח בני האדם העולה · Ecclesiastes 3:21
- 7מי יודע ישוב ונחם האלקים · Jonah 3:9
- 8ועתה יגדל נא כח · Numbers 14:17
- 9אם עונות תשמר יה אדני מי יעמוד · Psalms 130:3
- 10מי גילה לבני רז זה · Shabbat 88a:8
- 11וכל בניך למודי הוי׳ · Isaiah 54:13
19וזהו מ״ש במדרש תלים סי׳ י״ד ע״פ מי יתן מציון ישועות ישראל את מוצא שני פעמים כתוב בספר תלים מי יתן כו׳
And this is what is said in Midrash Tehillim, chapter 14, on [the verse] “Who will give out of Zion the salvations of Israel”: “You find that twice it is written in the book of Tehillim, ‘Who will give,’ etc.
The Midrash on Tehillim notices that the words “Who will give out of Zion the salvation of Israel” appear twice in the book of Tehillim, and asks why.
ולמה א״ר לוי הרב אמר כתוב אחד מי יתן והיה לבבם1 והתלמיד אמר כתוב אחד ומי יתן כל עם2 ה׳ נביאים לא דברי הרב ולא דברי התלמיד מתקיימין בעוה״ז.
And why? Rabbi Levi said: The teacher said one verse, ‘Who will give that they should have this heart,’ and the student said one verse, ‘And who will give that all the people of Havayah be prophets’; neither the words of the teacher nor the words of the student are fulfilled in this world,
Rabbi Levi answers that two other “Who will give” sayings were never fulfilled: the Teacher, G‑d, said “Who will give that they should have this heart,” and the student, Moshe, said “Who will give that all the people of Havayah be prophets.” Neither is fulfilled in this world.
אבל לעוה״ב שניהם מתקיימין. דברי הרב מנין שנאמר ונתתי לכם לב חדש3 דברי התלמיד מנין שנאמר והיה אחרי כן אשפוך רוחי על כל בשר4 עכ״ל הובא ג״כ בילקוט.
but in the World to Come both of them are fulfilled. The words of the teacher, from where? As it says, ‘And I will give you a new heart.’ The words of the student, from where? As it says, ‘And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh.’” End of quote; it is also cited in the Yalkut.
In the World to Come both will be fulfilled: G‑d’s wish in “I will give you a new heart,” and Moshe’s in “I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh,” prophecy for all. The Yalkut quotes the same Midrash.
וכל זה נמשך ע״י שלע״ל יהיה התגלות מבחי׳ מי שהוא בחי׳ שער החמשים דבינה כו׳. והוא שער האיתן שע״ז אמרו אותיות איתן משמשות לעתיד:56
And all this is drawn down because in the Time to Come there will be a revelation from the level of “Who” (mi), which is the level of the fiftieth gate of Binah (understanding), etc. And this is the gate of eisan (the strong), of which they said, “The letters of eisan [alef, yud, tav, nun] serve for the future [tense].”
All this will come because in the Time to Come the level of mi will be revealed. Mi has the numerical value fifty, the fiftieth gate of Binah, called the gate of eisan, “the strong”; the letters of eisan are the prefixes of the future tense, a hint that this gate belongs to the future.
The Midrash’s two unfulfilled wishes, a heart that fears G‑d and prophecy for all, will be fulfilled in the Time to Come, when the level of mi, the fiftieth gate of Binah, is revealed; this completes the explanation of “Who revealed to My children this secret.”
Rabbeinu Bachya, on “Who will give that they should have this heart” (Deuteronomy 5:26), brings this same Midrash as the way of the Midrash, beside the Kabbalistic reading that the text adopted earlier.
Marei mekomos
- 1מי יתן והיה לבבם · Deuteronomy 5:26
- 2ומי יתן כל עם ה׳ נביאים · Numbers 11:29
- 3ונתתי לכם לב חדש · Ezekiel 36:26
- 4והיה אחרי כן אשפוך רוחי על כל בשר · Joel 3:1
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Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
A person must not deceive himself that his desires are already broken, but break them in very truth. The power to “do His word” depends on the will of the heart, bringing the hidden love out of the depth of the point of the heart, as Israel did when they put “we will do” first. And since awe comes from above the attributes, it is to be asked for, as we pray, “Unite our hearts to love and to fear Your Name.”
Questions for discussion
- Why is Chochmah, the first of the Sefiros, called G‑d’s “end of the deed”?
- How does the analogy of a householder and his vessels explain the relation between the Torah’s laws and the mitzvos, for example the measurements of a sukkah?
- Why does the Torah, as adam, correspond to blood, while the mitzvos correspond to water?
- What did Israel’s “we will do” draw down that the Avos, complete tzaddikim, did not?
- If the fear of Heaven is not “in the hands of Heaven,” what does it mean to pray, “Unite our hearts to fear Your Name”?
Key terms in this maamar
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×8
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×5
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×3
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration.
- Nukva (the feminine / Malchus)נוקבא
- Malchus as the receiving configuration.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×3
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×5
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect. ×2
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×5
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×5
- Delightתענוג
- Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×1
- Kelipah (the husk)קליפה
- The forces of concealment that oppose holiness. ×2
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×2
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×4
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence.
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions.
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one.
- Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah)אבא ואמא
- The intellectual configurations.
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×4
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×3
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×3
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×3
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×11
- The light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin)סובב כל עלמין
- Divine light too great to enter the worlds; it 'surrounds' them and affects them from beyond.
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×2
- The kav (line of light)קו
- The thin ray of light drawn into the space left after the tzimtzum. ×3