Likkutei Torah · Parshas Bamidbar · Maamar 8
ביאור מעט ע״פ כי גדול יום יזרעאל
A brief explanation on “For great is the day of Yizre’el”
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The big idea
The “great day” of Yizre’el is the Future revelation of Arich Anpin, pure kindness, in which there is neither day nor night. It grows from what we sow now, when we make our two inclinations one and practise charity and kindness, and in it the hidden level above the parsa will shine even in the revealed world below.
The maamar in brief
This short explanation follows the discourse on “And the number of the children of Israel shall be.” The Zohar calls the Future “one day,” neither day nor night, because day and night exist only “from our side.” Day and night are Z’eir Anpin and Nukva; the Future reveals Arich Anpin, which is above both, so that “the night shines like the day.” “From our side” also means that the union above follows our service: when a person makes his two hearts one, the evil inclination too turning to G‑d, the left is drawn into the right above. Such service is a sowing, “yizra El”: charity and kindness now are the vessel for the Future revelation of “abundant in kindness,” as a body is for the soul. The Zohar also applies “one day” to Shavuos, which may explain why Jews stay awake that night. A further reading of “the number of the children of Israel”: hidden and revealed divide at the chest, in Z’eir Anpin and Arich Anpin alike. What lies above the parsa does not reach the lower levels now; in the Future the revealed world will rise to the concealed, and below will be as above.
Outline
- The great day: neither day nor nightHosea’s “great day” is the Zohar’s “one day” of Zechariah, which is neither day nor night, for these exist only “from our side.” Day and night are Z’eir Anpin and Nukva; the Future revelation of Arich Anpin is above both.¶1–3
- “From our side”: the two hearts and the sowingAs in “Know this day,” the two hearts become one when the evil inclination too turns to G‑d; this draws the left into the right above and unites Havayah with Elokim. This arousal from below is a sowing that sprouts in the Future as Arich Anpin, where “there is no left.”¶4–5
- Shavuos and the sowing of kindnessThe Zohar applies “one day” to Shavuos, when the Keser of Arich Anpin reaches Z’eir Anpin; hence, perhaps, the custom of staying awake that night. The “great day” is drawn down by “yizra El,” the charity and kindness sown now as a vessel for “abundant in kindness.”¶6–7
- Hidden and revealed in Arich AnpinThe division into hidden and revealed at the chest exists in Arich Anpin too, where the Yesod of Atik ends. That hidden level, above the parsa, does not reach Z’eir Anpin and Nukva now; in the Future it will, beyond all number.¶8–9
- “From your middle downward”: the parsaThe parsa at the chest, like the membrane in a person’s body, divides the unified realm above from the realm of separation below, the source of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. In the Future the revealed world below will rise to the level of the concealed world above.¶10
Key concepts
- Arich Anpinאריך אנפין
- The configuration of Keser above Z’eir Anpin and Nukva; of it the Zohar says “there is no left,” only kindness. Its Future revelation is the “great day,” “a day that is entirely long.”
- Z’eir Anpin and Nukvaזעיר אנפין ונוקבא
- The emotive attributes and Malchus, which receives from them. They are “day” and “night,” the levels at which tzimtzum and concealment apply.
- The arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human service that draws a response from above. Here it is the uniting of the two inclinations, and the charity and kindness that are “sown” now.
- Hidden and revealedסתים וגליא
- The division at the chest of a configuration: above it the covered chasadim within the Yesod that ends there, below it the revealed. It holds in Z’eir Anpin and also in Arich Anpin.
- The parsa (partition)פרסא
- The partition at the chest, like the membrane in the human body, which divides the unified realm above from the realm of separation below, the source of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.
The great day: neither day nor night ¶1–3
A brief explanation on the verse “For great is the day of Yizre’el.”
The verse is Hosea 2:2, from the haftarah of Parshas Bamidbar, where it follows “And the number of the children of Israel shall be” (Hosea 2:1). This short addition explains what the “great day” is and how our service now brings it about.
The heading: a brief explanation of “For great is the day of Yizre’el,” the verse that follows “And the number of the children of Israel shall be” in Hosea.
Marei mekomos
- 1ביאור מעט · ראה בסה״מ תקס״ה-ב ע׳ תרב עוד ביאור.
- 2
The explanation of the matter of “For great is the day” is as is written in the Zohar, Part III, folio 134b: “This is [the meaning of] what is written, ‘One day, which shall be known,’ etc.,”
The Zohar cited here (Part III, 134b) speaks of the time when Atik Yomin, the innermost level of Keser, is aroused, and says that this time is called “one day,” quoting Zechariah 14:7. The Alter Rebbe identifies Hosea’s “great day” with this “one day.”
עד לא אתקרי לא יום ולא לילה דלית יום אלא מסטרא דילן2 ולית לילה אלא מסטרא דילן.
up to: “It is called neither day nor night, for there is no day except from our side, and there is no night except from our side.”
The Zohar goes on to say that this day is called neither day nor night, because day and night exist only “from our side.” The division into day and night belongs to the levels that relate to us; the next paragraphs explain what this means.
The “great day” is the Zohar’s “one day” of Zechariah, which is neither day nor night, because day and night exist only “from our side.”
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2לא אתקרי לא יום ולא לילה דלית יום אלא מסטרא דילן · Zohar, Idra Rabba 21:157–23:166
3ופירש שם בספר רוח דוד כי יום ולילה הם ז״א ונוק׳. אבל לעתיד שיהיה גילוי א״א כתיב לא יום ולא לילה1 והיה לעת ערב יהיה אור דלילה כיום יאיר.2
And there, the book Ruach David explains that day and night are Z’eir Anpin and Nukva. But in the Future, when there will be the revelation of Arich Anpin, it is written, “Neither day nor night, and it shall be that at evening time there shall be light,” for “the night shines like the day.”
The book Ruach David reads day and night as Z’eir Anpin, the emotive attributes, and Nukva, Malchus, which receives from them. In the Future Arich Anpin, which is above them both, will be revealed; then, as Zechariah says, it will be “neither day nor night,” and evening itself will be light, for “the night shines like the day.”
Day and night are the two configurations Z’eir Anpin and Nukva; the Future revelation of Arich Anpin is above both, so that night will shine like day.
In the Zohar the “one day” is the arousal of Atik Yomin with its tikkunim; by Ruach David’s reading, day and night stand below that level, in the configurations that receive from it.
Marei mekomos
- 1לא יום ולא לילה · Zechariah 14:7
- 2לילה כיום יאיר · Psalms 139:12
“From our side”: the two hearts and the sowing ¶4–5
And the matter of its saying, “for there is no day and night except from our side,” will be understood according to what has been explained elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “Know this day,” etc. The meaning is:
To explain the Zohar’s “from our side,” the Alter Rebbe draws on the discourse beginning “Know this day” (Deuteronomy 4:39), which the Kehot note locates in Parshas Va’eschanan. Its explanation follows.
כמו שהיום הוא עם הלילה ושניהם אחד כך והשבות אל לבבך שכמו שהוא בזמן כך הוא בנפש שהשני לבבות
just as the day is with the night and the two of them are one, so too [with] “and return [it] to your heart (levavecha)”: that as it is in time, so it is in the soul, that the two hearts,
“The day” is read as including night, for day and night together are one day. In the same way “your heart” is written levavecha, with a doubled letter, meaning two hearts: what is true in time is true in the soul.
שהם היצ״ט והיצה״ר הם שניהם כאחד שגם היצה״ר ישוב לאהבת הוי׳ כד אתכפיא סט״א3 כו׳
which are the good inclination and the evil inclination, are both as one: that the evil inclination too will return to the love of Havayah, “when the sitra achra (the other side) is subdued,” etc.
The two hearts are the good inclination and the evil inclination, and they become one when the evil inclination too turns to the love of G‑d. The Zohar’s phrase “when the sitra achra is subdued” describes this: when the other side is subdued, the glory of G‑d rises.
ומזה וידעת כי הוי׳ הוא האלקים שנמשך להיות חיבור ויחוד שם הוי׳ עם שם אלקים שבאתעדל״ת תליא מלתא שע״י והשבות אל
And from this [comes] “and you shall know that Havayah is Elokim”: that there is drawn down a joining and union of the Name Havayah with the Name Elokim. For the matter depends on the arousal from below (isarusa dilesata): that through “and return [it] to
The rest of the verse, “that Havayah is Elokim,” is the result: the Name Havayah, G‑d as transcending all and bringing all into being, is united with the Name Elokim, G‑d as concealed and limiting. This union above depends on the arousal from below, on what a person does first.
לבבך שיהיו ב׳ הלבבות כאחד שישוב גם היצה״ר להיות בטל לגבי היצ״ט נמשך כמ״כ למעלה שיהיה שמאלא אתכליל בימינא,
your heart,” that the two hearts be as one, that the evil inclination too return to be nullified before the good inclination, there is likewise drawn down above, that “the left is included in the right.”
When a person makes his two hearts one, so that the evil inclination is nullified before the good, this draws down a parallel union above: “the left is included in the right,” restraint (Gevurah) taken up into kindness (Chesed).
וזהו ענין שמזכירין מדת לילה ביום ומדת יום בלילה בברכת יוצר אור ובברכת מעריב ערבים כו׳ וז״ש דלית יום
And this is the meaning of [the practice] that the attribute of night is mentioned in the day and the attribute of day in the night, in the blessing “Who forms light” and in the blessing “Who brings on evenings,” etc. And this is [the meaning of] what is said, “for there is no day
The morning blessing before the Shema, “Who forms light,” also mentions darkness, and the evening blessing, “Who brings on evenings,” also mentions light. Mentioning night by day and day by night expresses the same joining of opposites.
אלא מסט׳ דילן ולית לילה אלא מסט׳ דילן שכמו שהיא בנפש כך הוא בעולם, וגם כי באתעדל״ת תליא.
except from our side, and there is no night except from our side”: that as it is in the soul, so it is in the world; and also, that it depends on the arousal from below.
This is the meaning of the Zohar’s “there is no day except from our side”: day and night merge above as they merge in the soul, and the merging above depends on the arousal from below.
Day and night become one above when, below, a person makes his two inclinations one; this is why the Zohar says that day and night exist only “from our side.”
The parallel runs on three levels: the two hearts in the soul, the Names Havayah and Elokim, and right and left, Chesed and Gevurah. Turning the evil inclination to serve G‑d is the arousal from below that draws the left into the right above.
Marei mekomos
- 1בד״ה וידעת היום · ראה לקמן פ׳ ואתחנן ד, ד.
- 2
- 3כד אתכפיא סט״א · Zohar II, 128b
5והנה ע״י אתעדל״ת זו שהיא בבחי׳ זריעה נצמח לעתיד בחי׳ גילוי א״א שהוא בחי׳ רב חסד דלית שמאלא בהאי עתיקא1 ולא שייך שום יום ולילה כלל
Now, through this arousal from below, which has the quality of sowing, there will sprout in the Future the level of the revelation of Arich Anpin, which is the level of “abundant in kindness,” for “there is no left in this Atika,” and no day and night whatsoever applies [there],
This service is a kind of sowing: like a seed, it bears fruit later. What sprouts in the Future is the revelation of Arich Anpin, “abundant in kindness,” of which the Zohar says “there is no left in this Atika”: all is right, all kindness, so day and night have no place there.
כמו בזו״נ דשייך בחי׳ צמצום והסתר כו׳ (ועמ״ש במ״א ע״פ והי׳ אור הלבנה כאור החמה כו׳ כאור שבעת הימים2 כו׳):
as [they apply] in Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, to which the level of tzimtzum (contraction) and concealment applies, etc. (And see what is written elsewhere on the verse “And the light of the moon shall be like the light of the sun,” etc., “like the light of the seven days,” etc.)
Day and night apply only in Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, where there is tzimtzum (contraction) and concealment. The parenthesis refers to a discourse on Isaiah 30:26, the Future in which the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun.
Our service now is a sowing whose harvest is the Future revelation of Arich Anpin, pure kindness, above the alternation of day and night that belongs to Z’eir Anpin and Nukva.
The Kehot note also sends the reader to the Zohar, Part III, 289a, alongside 129a, for this teaching that in Atika there is no left.
Marei mekomos
- 1דלית שמאלא בהאי עתיקא · Zohar III, 129a
- 2
Shavuos and the sowing of kindness ¶6–7
6וזהו ענין ויברך ובזהר ח״ג פ׳ אמור דצ״ו ע״ב פי׳ ג״כ פסוק והיה יום אחד הוא יודע12 כו׳ על חג השבועות והיינו לפי שבשבועות נמשך לז״א הכתר מא״א ממש.
And this is the meaning of “vayevarech” (“and he blessed”). And in the Zohar, Part III, Parshas Emor, folio 96b, the verse “And it shall be one day, which shall be known,” etc., is also explained as [referring] to the festival of Shavuos. That is, because on Shavuos the Keser (the Crown) is drawn down to Z’eir Anpin from Arich Anpin itself.
The word “vayevarech” (“and he blessed”) stands here without its verse, and the text does not explain it. Then a second Zohar (Part III, Parshas Emor, 96b) applies “one day” to Shavuos, and the Alter Rebbe explains why: on Shavuos Z’eir Anpin receives the Keser (the Crown) from Arich Anpin itself.
ומה״ט י״ל מנהג כל ישראל להיות נעורים בחג השבועות כדי להמשיך מבחי׳ גם לילה כיום יאיר3 כו׳.
And for this reason, it may be said, [there is] the custom of all Israel to stay awake on the festival of Shavuos: in order to draw down from the level of “the night too shines like the day,” etc.
This gives a reason for the custom of staying awake all through the night of Shavuos: to draw down the level at which “the night shines like the day,” above the division of day and night. The Kehot note gives the custom’s place in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 494) and its commentaries, which cite it in the name of the Zohar.
The Zohar also reads Zechariah’s “one day” as Shavuos, when the Keser of Arich Anpin reaches Z’eir Anpin; this may explain the custom of staying awake on the night of Shavuos.
Marei mekomos
- 1והיה יום אחד הוא יודע · Zechariah 14:7
- 2והיה יום אחד הוא יודע · Zohar, Emor 31:147–32:155
- 3גם לילה כיום יאיר · Psalms 139:12
7וע׳ בפי׳ הרמ״ז שם בפי׳ יודע להוי׳ והיינו שזהו התגלות דעת עליון שלמעלה מעלה מבחי׳ וידעת היום כו׳, וזהו ענין
And see the commentary of the Ramaz there, on the meaning of “known to Havayah”: that is, that this is the revelation of supernal Daas (knowledge), which is far, far above the level of “Know this day,” etc. And this is the meaning of
The Ramaz, commenting on the Zohar there, explains “known to Havayah” as the revelation of supernal Daas (knowledge). This is far above the knowledge a person reaches through “Know this day,” described above.
כי גדול יום1 פי׳ התגלות בחי׳ א״א יום שכולו ארוך וכ״ז נמשך על ידי יזרע אל זריעת הצדקה והחסד עכשיו אשר זהו כלי לגילוי בחי׳ ורב חסד.
“For great is the day”: that is, the revelation of the level of Arich Anpin, “a day that is entirely long.” And all this is drawn down through “yizra El” (“G‑d will sow”), the sowing of charity and kindness now, which is a vessel for the revelation of the level of “and abundant in kindness,”
So the “great day” is the revelation of Arich Anpin, the Future era called “a day that is entirely long.” Hosea’s “Yizre’el” is read as “yizra El,” “G‑d will sow”: the charity and kindness we sow now are the vessel for the Future revelation of “abundant in kindness.”
כגופא לנשמתא (כמ״ש במ״א ע״״פ ה׳ יחתו2 מריביו וע״פ אני הוי׳ אלקיכם דפ׳ ציצית). וזהו אל עליון גומל חסדים טובים:3
like the body to the soul (as is explained elsewhere, on the verse “Havayah, His adversaries shall be shattered,” and on the verse “I am Havayah your G‑d” in the section of tzitzis). And this is [the meaning of] “G‑d Most High, Who bestows good kindnesses.”
Our kindness relates to that higher kindness as a body to the soul it houses; the text refers to its discourses on “Havayah, His adversaries shall be shattered” and on “I am Havayah your G‑d,” the close of the passage of tzitzis. The words of the first blessing of the Amidah, “G‑d Most High, Who bestows good kindnesses,” join the highest level to kindness in the same way.
The “great day” is the revelation of Arich Anpin, above even supernal Daas, and it is drawn down by the charity and kindness we sow now, which serve as its vessel as a body serves the soul.
Yizre’el contains the Name E-l, the Name associated with Chesed; the same Name returns in “G‑d (E-l) Most High, Who bestows good kindnesses,” tying the kindness sown below to the revelation of “abundant in kindness” above.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי גדול יום · Hosea 2:2
- 2ה׳ יחתו · I Samuel 2:10
- 3אני הוי׳ אלקיכם · Numbers 15:41
Hidden and revealed in Arich Anpin ¶8–9
8ועוי״ל בפי׳ והיה מספר כו׳ ע״ד מ״ש במ״א שבחינת סתים וגליא הנ״ל דחסדים המכוסים והמגולים הנ״ל הוא כמ״כ למעלה מעלה עד רום המעלות עד אין קץ כו׳ ואפילו בא״ק כו׳.
And one may further say, on the meaning of “And the number shall be,” etc., along the lines of what is written elsewhere: that the level of “hidden and revealed” mentioned above, of the covered and the revealed chasadim (kindnesses) mentioned above, is likewise [found] far, far above, up to the highest of levels, without end, etc., and even in Adam Kadmon, etc.
Here begins a further reading of “And the number of the children of Israel shall be.” The pair “hidden and revealed” mentioned above, the covered chasadim (kindnesses) within the Yesod of Imma and the revealed chasadim below it, recurs at every higher level, even in Adam Kadmon.
And see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Arich Anpin, chapter 1, and the end of chapter 2, in the gloss, and in Sha’ar Abba ve’Imma, chapter 1: that the Yesod of Atik, which is clothed in Arich Anpin, also ends
Etz Chaim, in its gates on Arich Anpin and on Abba and Imma, teaches that the Yesod of Atik, which is clothed within Arich Anpin, ends at the chest of Arich Anpin.
במקום החזה דא״א3 ע״ד יסוד אימא בחזה דז״א כו׳. וזהו ענין סתים וגליא שלמעלה מעלה בא״א ע״ד שהוא בז״א כו׳.
at the place of the chest of Arich Anpin, in the manner of the Yesod of Imma at the chest of Z’eir Anpin, etc. And this is the meaning of “hidden and revealed” far, far above, in Arich Anpin, in the manner that it is in Z’eir Anpin, etc.
This parallels Z’eir Anpin, in which the Yesod of Imma ends at the chest. So in Arich Anpin too, what lies above the chest is “hidden” and what lies below it is “revealed.”
The division into hidden and revealed at the chest, familiar in Z’eir Anpin, exists in Arich Anpin as well, where the Yesod of Atik ends at its chest.
In Z’eir Anpin the chasadim are covered while they are still within the Yesod of Imma, above the chest, and revealed once they come out below it; Etz Chaim gives the same structure for the Yesod of Atik within Arich Anpin, where the chasadim and gevuros stand from the chest upward.
Marei mekomos
- 1ועיין בע״ח שער א״א · ראה בספר החקירה סא, ב הלשון.
- 2דעתיק המתלבש בא״א מסתיים · Sefer Etz Chaim 13:2
- 3במקום החזה דא״א · Sefer Etz Chaim 14:3
9והנה ז״א מלביש לא״א לנה״י שבו כנזכר לעיל ובחי׳ כתר דז״א מלביש לחלק הת״ת דא״א שתחת הפרסא כמ״ש במ״ח מסכת הלידה דהיינו למטה מהחזה דא״א.
Now, Z’eir Anpin clothes Arich Anpin, [namely] its Netzach, Hod and Yesod, as mentioned above; and the level of the Keser of Z’eir Anpin clothes the part of the Tiferes of Arich Anpin that is beneath the partition (parsa), as is written in Mishnas Chassidim, Tractate HaLeidah; that is, below the chest of Arich Anpin.
Z’eir Anpin clothes the lower Sefiros of Arich Anpin, its Netzach, Hod and Yesod, as said above. Even the highest part of Z’eir Anpin, its Keser, reaches only the part of Arich Anpin’s Tiferes beneath the parsa (partition), below its chest, as Mishnas Chassidim writes.
נמצא בחינת הסתים דא״א מה שלמעלה מהפרסא ששם מסתיים יסוד דעתיק אשר הוא המשכת אור א״ס בחי׳ תחתונה שבמאציל כו׳ אינו נמשך ומתלבש כלל בז״א וכ״ש בנוק׳.
It follows that the level of the “hidden” of Arich Anpin, that which is above the parsa, where the Yesod of Atik ends, which is the drawing down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), the lowest level within the Emanator, etc., is not drawn down and clothed at all in Z’eir Anpin, and all the more so not in Nukva.
So the “hidden” part of Arich Anpin, above the parsa, where the Yesod of Atik ends and the Infinite Light is drawn down as the lowest level of the Emanator, does not reach Z’eir Anpin at all, and still less Nukva.
אכן לע״ל אשר יתעלה בחי׳ עלמא דאתגליא להיות במדרגת עלמא דאתכסיא ממש כך עד״ז גם למעלה בא״א יתפרש כן וממילא שגם בזו״נ שמלבישי׳ לא״א יהיה גילוי זה שמבחי׳ יסוד דעתיק ממש שלמעלה מהפרסא שבא״א כו׳.
However, in the Time to Come, when the level of the revealed world (alma de’isgalya) will be elevated to be at the very rank of the concealed world (alma de’iskasya), so, in the same way, above as well, in Arich Anpin, it will become explicit in this manner; and consequently, in Z’eir Anpin and Nukva too, which clothe Arich Anpin, there will be this revelation that is from the level of the very Yesod of Atik, which is above the parsa that is in Arich Anpin, etc.
In the Future the revealed world will rise to the rank of the concealed world, and so in Arich Anpin too the hidden part will be disclosed. Then Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, which clothe Arich Anpin, will receive a revelation from the very Yesod of Atik above the parsa.
וזהו ג״כ נכלל בפי׳ והיה מספר בנ״י כו׳ אשר לא ימד ולא יספר.1 כי לפני אחד מה אתה סופר.23 (ועיין בפי׳ הרמ״ז בזהר בראשית דף ח׳ בד״ה אזדמנת למהוי):
And this too is included in the meaning of “And the number of the children of Israel shall be,” etc., “which can be neither measured nor counted”: for “before One, what do you count?” (And see the commentary of the Ramaz on the Zohar, Bereishis, folio 8, in the passage beginning “You are destined to be.”)
This too is meant by “which can be neither measured nor counted”: counting belongs where there is division, but at that level all is one, “before One, what do you count?” The text also refers to the Ramaz’s comment on the Zohar, Bereishis, folio 8.
The hidden part of Arich Anpin, above its parsa, does not reach Z’eir Anpin and Nukva now; in the Future it will, and this is the number that “can be neither measured nor counted.”
Marei mekomos
- 1אשר לא ימד ולא יספר · Hosea 2:1
- 2לפני אחד מה אתה סופר · ס״י פ״א, מ״ז.
- 3לפני אחד מה אתה סופר · Sefer Yetzirah 1:7
“From your middle downward”: the parsa ¶10
10ומכ״ז יובן ג״כ מ״ש בד״ה ששים המה מלכות12 בענין ביאור המאמר מפלגך לעילאי3 כו׳ מפלגך לתתאי. דמפלגך לתתאי היינו מ״ש ומשם יפרד.4
And from all this will also be understood what is written in the discourse beginning “There are sixty queens,” concerning the explanation of the saying “From your middle upward,” etc., “from your middle downward”: that “from your middle downward” is what is written, “and from there it divided.”
This also clarifies the discourse “There are sixty queens” (Song of Songs 6:8), which explains the Talmud’s phrase “from your middle upward … from your middle downward” (Sanhedrin 39a). “From your middle downward” is the realm of “and from there it divided” (Genesis 2:10), where the one river from Eden separates into many.
ונקרא מפלגך לתתאי כי מקור התהוות בי״ע הוא מבחי׳ מל׳ דאצילות שמקבלת מלמטה מהחזה דז״א וכמ״ש בזהר בראשית (דל״ב ע״ב)
The lower half is the source of the worlds Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, which come from the Malchus of Atzilus, and Malchus receives from below the chest of Z’eir Anpin. The Zohar (Part I, 32b) gives an image for the boundary.
ע״פ יהי רקיע בתוך המים5 אית קרומא במציעות מעוי דבר נש כו׳ והבדילה הפרוכת6 כו׳ והקרום היינו הפרסא שמתחלת מהחזה מצד פנים7 כמ״ש במק״מ שם בשם האוצ״ח.
on the verse “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters”: “There is a membrane in the middle of a person’s innards,” etc.; “and the curtain shall divide,” etc. And the membrane is the parsa, which begins from the chest on the front side, as is written in the Mikdash Melech there, in the name of the Otzros Chaim.
On “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters,” the Zohar compares the firmament to the membrane in the middle of a person’s body, which divides upper from lower, and brings “and the curtain shall divide,” the curtain between the Holy and the Holy of Holies. The Mikdash Melech, citing Otzros Chaim, identifies this membrane with the parsa, which begins at the chest on the front of the body.
(ועיין בע״ח שער או״א פ״ג מזה. ובשער הנקודים פ״ב במ״ש וכיוצא בזה כו׳) וענין הפרסא היה כדי שיוכל גם הבריאה לקבל אורו ותבין ותשכיל בזה איך יש פרסא בין אצילות לבריאה עכ״ל.
(And see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Abba ve’Imma, chapter 3, on this; and Sha’ar HaNekudim, chapter 2, in what is written, “And similar to this,” etc.) And the purpose of the parsa was so that Beriah too would be able to receive its light; and you will understand and grasp from this how there is a parsa between Atzilus and Beriah. End of quote.
The parenthesis sends the reader to Etz Chaim on the same subject. The quotation that ends here gives the reason for the parsa: so that Beriah too can receive light, and it shows how a parsa stands between Atzilus and Beriah.
אכן לע״ל דכתיב והיה מספר8 בנ״י שהוא עלמא דאתגליא שמהחזה ולמטה יהיה בבחי׳ ומדרגת עלמא דאתכסיא שלמעלה מהפרסא בחי׳ ולתבונתו אין מספר9 וא״כ יהי׳ הגילוי למטה כמו למעלה:10
However, in the Time to Come, of which it is written, “And the number of the children of Israel shall be”: [the number,] which is the revealed world, from the chest downward, will be at the level and rank of the concealed world, which is above the parsa, the level of “and His understanding is beyond number”; and if so, the revelation will be below as it is above.
In the Future “the number of the children of Israel,” the revealed world below the chest, will stand at the level of the concealed world above the parsa, of which it is said “His understanding is beyond number.” Then the revelation below will be as it is above.
The parsa at the chest divides the unified realm above from the realm of separation below, the source of the lower worlds; in the Future the realm below will rise to the level of the realm above it.
Etz Chaim (Sha’ar Abba ve’Imma, chapter 3) describes the parsa as a membrane like the one in the human body between the organs of breath and the lower organs, beginning right below the chest in front and sloping down to the level of the navel behind. The discourse on “There are sixty queens” explains that the realm of separation below is what let the dualist in the Talmud claim two powers, though above all is one.
Marei mekomos
- 1בד״ה ששים המה מלכות · לקו״ת שה״ש לט, ב. וראה לקמן פ׳ נשא כד, א.
- 2ששים המה מלכות · Song of Songs 6:8
- 3מפלגך לעילאי · Sanhedrin 39a:9–10
- 4ומשם יפרד · Genesis 2:10
- 5יהי רקיע בתוך המים · Genesis 1:6
- 6והבדילה הפרוכת · Exodus 26:33
- 7שמתחלת מהחזה מצד פנים · Sefer Etz Chaim 14:3
- 8והיה מספר · Hosea 2:1
- 9ולתבונתו אין מספר · Psalms 147:5
- 10
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Make your two hearts one, so that the evil inclination too turns to the love of G‑d, and practise charity and kindness now. This is the sowing from which the Future revelation of “abundant in kindness” grows; and staying awake on the night of Shavuos draws down the level at which “the night shines like the day.”
Questions for discussion
- Why does the Zohar say that day and night exist only “from our side,” and in what two ways does the Alter Rebbe read that phrase?
- How does making the good and evil inclinations one below lead to “the left is included in the right” above?
- In what sense are our charity and kindness a vessel for the revelation of “abundant in kindness,” as a body is for the soul?
- Why does the parsa keep the hidden level of Arich Anpin from reaching Z’eir Anpin and Nukva now, and what will change in the Future?
Key terms in this maamar
- Nukva (the feminine / Malchus)נוקבא
- Malchus as the receiving configuration.
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration.
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- The sitra achra (the other side)סטרא אחרא
- The realm opposed to holiness.
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×2
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds. ×1
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×2
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×1
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×4
- Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah)אבא ואמא
- The intellectual configurations.
- Netzach (victory)נצח
- Perseverance, the drive to overcome.
- Hod (splendor)הוד
- Acknowledgment and yielding.
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×2
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence. ×2
- 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.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×3