Likkutei Torah · Parshas Bechukosai · Maamar 1
אם בחקותי תלכו
“If you will walk in My statutes”
Kept on this device only. Sign in to save it on every device
The big idea
Angels, created from Divine speech, “stand” at one fixed level, while the souls of Israel, rooted in the supernal thought, are “walkers” whose love and awe can grow without end. G‑d’s “if” is a plea that a person walk this way in prayer, and the mitzvos are the vessels that keep the light so that the walking lasts.
The maamar in brief
The maamar asks three questions on the opening of Bechukosai: why the Sages read “if” as a plea, why the laws are called chukim, “engravings,” and why the verse says “walk.” Engraved letters, like those on the Tablets, are one with their stone; written letters, ink on parchment, exist in their own right. Both kinds exist in the soul. Angels come from Divine speech, whose letters are fixed, so they “stand” at one level; souls come from thought, a spring that keeps flowing like the river from Eden, so they are “walkers.” Thought has two levels: a lower thought, the “one utterance” that enlivens all speech, and a supernal thought whose letters are engraved, “beyond the river,” the root of the Patriarchs. A person walks in prayer, where verses of G‑d’s greatness, might and compassion, the attributes of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, enlarge his love; compassion, the shepherd’s attribute, carries his attributes up to G‑d. In a body this walking needs vessels: the mitzvos, “limbs of the King,” keep the “wine” of G‑d’s light, which brings out the hidden love. The walker weeps over his distance, then comes to joy, and must never rest content with standing still.
Outline
- Three questions and two kinds of writingWhy “if” is a plea, why “statutes” means engraving, and why “walk”; engraved letters are one with the stone, written letters are separate, and both are found in every soul, as in “walkers among these who stand.”¶1–2
- Angels stand, souls walkThe angels come from Divine speech, whose letters are separate and fixed, so they stay at one level; the souls come from thought, an ever-flowing spring like the river from Eden.¶3–4
- Two levels of thoughtThe lower thought gives life to speech and is the “one utterance” within the ten; the supernal thought, “beyond the river,” has engraved letters, and there too the soul keeps going on and growing brighter.¶5–6
- Prayer as the place of walkingThe prayer of the Men of the Great Assembly, built on the Patriarchs’ greatness, might and compassion, enlarges a person’s love; compassion carries his attributes up like a shepherd, and G‑d’s “if” is a plea that he walk there.¶7–9
- Walking needs a vessel“In My statutes” is the Patriarchs’ engraved level, but in a body walking lasts only through the mitzvos, the “limbs of the King,” vessels for G‑d’s endless light.¶10–11
- The wine and the secretThe light kept in the mitzvos is wine that brings out the secret, the hidden love, in running and returning; without it a person stands, while the walker weeps and then comes to joy.¶12–13
- Holy, and making yourselvesThe walker reaches the holy and separate level where all souls will be united, so no one may rest content with standing; by doing the mitzvos a person “makes himself,” and every blessing intends “I will command My blessing.”¶14
Key concepts
- Engraved and written lettersאותיות החקוקים ואותיות הכתובים
- Engraved letters are carved from the substance of the stone and have no existence apart from it; written letters are ink on parchment, a separate substance. The maamar finds both in the soul and in the levels of thought.
- Those who stand and walkersעומדים ומהלכים
- From Zechariah 3:7: the angels “stand” at one fixed level of love or awe, while the souls of Israel “walk,” growing from day to day without limit.
- The supernal thought and the lower thoughtמחשבה עילאה ומחשבה תתאה
- The lower thought gives life to speech, the “one utterance” within the ten of Creation; the supernal thought is bound to the essence of the intellect, its letters “engraved,” and it is the root of the souls and of the Patriarchs.
- Beyond the riverעבר הנהר
- The river from Eden is the ever-flowing stream of thought from Chochmah; “beyond the river,” where the fathers dwelt, is the level above it, the supernal thought.
- The limbs of the Kingאברין דמלכא
- The 248 positive commandments, which, like limbs of the body, are vessels that receive and draw down G‑d’s light.
- Wine and the secretיין וסוד
- G‑d’s light kept in the heart through Torah and mitzvos is “wine,” and as wine brings out a secret, it brings out the hidden love, so that a person becomes a walker.
- Running and returningרצוא ושוב
- The soul’s yearning to rise to its source and its return below; G‑d’s light descends so as to raise every soul in this rhythm.
Three questions and two kinds of writing ¶1–2
1אם בחקותי תלכו.12 וגו׳. הנה אמרו רז״ל (ע״ז ה׳ א׳) אין אם אלא לשון תחנונים3 שנאמר לו עמי שומע לי4 ישראל בדרכי יהלכו וצריך להבין ענין תחנונים האלו מה הם.
“If you will walk in My statutes,” etc. Now, our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Avodah Zarah 5a): “‘If’ is nothing other than an expression of supplication, as it is said, ‘Would that My people listen to Me, that Israel walk in My ways.’” We need to understand the matter of these supplications: what are they?
The maamar opens with the first verse of Parshas Bechukosai, which promises blessing to those who walk in G‑d’s statutes. The Talmud reads its first word, “if,” not as a condition but as G‑d pleading, “would that,” as in the Psalm where He longs for His people to listen. The Alter Rebbe’s first question is what this divine pleading means.
וגם צריך להבין לשון בחקותי אשר פירשו חז״ל (בקדושין דל״ט) על פסוק את חקותי תשמרו חוקות שחקקתי לכם5 וכו׳.
We also need to understand the expression bechukosai, “in My statutes,” which our Sages, of blessed memory, explained (in Kiddushin, folio 39) on the verse “You shall keep My statutes”: “statutes (chukos) that I engraved (chakakti) for you,” etc.
The second question is about the word bechukosai itself. The Talmud explains chukim, “statutes,” as things G‑d “engraved” (from chakak, to engrave), and the Alter Rebbe asks what this engraving is.
וגם להבין לשון תלכו הנאמר כאן. הנה ידוע כי בתורה שבכתב יש ב׳ מיני כתיבה
And [we need] also to understand the expression telechu, “you will walk,” that is said here. Now, it is known that in the Written Torah there are two kinds of writing,
The third question is why the verse speaks of “walking.” To begin the answer, the Alter Rebbe introduces two kinds of writing found in the Written Torah.
כי בלוחות נאמר והמכתב מכתב6 אלהים חרות על הלוחות שהכתב הוא מעצמן של הלוחות אשר נחקק מהם ובהם ולא היו האותיות ענין ומהות בפני עצמן.
for of the Tablets it is said, “And the writing was the writing of G‑d, engraved upon the Tablets”: the writing is from the very substance of the Tablets, engraved out of them and in them, and the letters were not a thing and an entity in their own right.
The Ten Commandments were engraved into the stone Tablets, so their letters were made of the Tablets’ own substance, with nothing added. Such letters have no existence apart from the stone they are carved in.
אבל שאר תורה שבכתב דיו כתובה על הקלף אשר האותיות הם מהות בפני עצמן ולא מעצמיות הקלף הם ונק׳ תורה שבכתב כי התורה מלובשת בכתב וד״ל.7
But the rest of the Written Torah is ink written upon the parchment, where the letters are an entity in their own right and are not from the essence of the parchment; and it is called the Written Torah because the Torah is clothed in writing. This suffices for one who understands.
A Torah scroll, by contrast, is ink on parchment: the ink is a second substance, so the letters exist in their own right and only rest on the parchment. The Torah there is “clothed” in writing, and the closing phrase hints that this contrast will be applied to deeper matters.
The maamar raises three questions on its opening verse: why “if” is a plea, why the laws are called “engraved” statutes, and why the verse says “walk.” It then sets out the distinction between engraved letters, one with their stone, and written letters, separate from their parchment.
Marei mekomos
- 1אם בחוקותי תלכו · הנחת כ״ק אדמו״ר האמצעי בסה״מ תקס״ד ע׳ קז. וראה סה״מ תקס״ו ע׳ קסג וע׳ קצח. אוה״ת ויקרא-ג ע׳ תתקכא עם הגהות אחרות וקיצורים.
- 2אם בחוקותי תלכו · Leviticus 26:3
- 3
- 4לו עמי שומע לי · Psalms 81:14
- 5לשון בחוקותי . . שחקקתי לכם · ראה לקו״ש חי״ז ע׳ 318. באוה״ת ויקרא-ג ע׳ תתקכא מוסיף וצ״ל מהו ענין חקיקה זו.
- 6והמכתב מכתב אלקים · Exodus 32:16
- 7
2והנה תלת קשרין1 אינון קוב״ה ואורייתא וישראל וישראל מתקשראן וכו׳. על כן בכל ניצוץ ונפש אלקית מישראל ישנן ג״כ ב׳ בחי׳ אלו אותיות החקוקים ואותיות הכתובים דהנה כתיב ונתתי לך מהלכים בין העומדים2 האלה.
Now, “there are three bonds: the Holy One, blessed be He, the Torah and Israel; and Israel are bound,” etc. Therefore in every spark and G‑dly soul of Israel there are also these two levels, engraved letters and written letters. For it is written, “And I will give you walkers among these who stand.”
The Zohar teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, the Torah and Israel are bound together. Because Israel is bound to the Torah, the Torah’s two kinds of letters, engraved and written, are found in every G‑dly soul as well, and the verse from Zechariah, “walkers among these who stand,” will show what these two levels are.
The bond between G‑d, the Torah and Israel carries the Torah’s two kinds of letters into every Jewish soul; the verse “walkers among these who stand” introduces the contrast that will explain them.
The parallel discourse in Torah Ohr, Vayeshev, explains that angels are called “standing,” and souls too before they come into this world, because both are rooted in letters, which are like inanimate stone; only after descending into a body and an animal soul is the soul called a “walker.”
Marei mekomos
- 1תלת קשרין · Zohar III, 73a
- 2ונתתי לך מהלכים בין העומדים · Zechariah 3:7
Angels stand, souls walk ¶3–4
Now, “those who stand” are the angels, and the “walkers” are the souls of Israel as a whole. And to understand this, why the angels are called “those who stand”:
Applying the verse, the Alter Rebbe identifies “those who stand” as the angels and the “walkers” as the souls of Israel. He then asks why the angels in particular are called “standing.”
הנה כתיב בדבר ה׳ וכו׳ וברוח פיו2 כל צבאם דהיינו שהמלאכים מקום מקור חוצבן ובריאתן הוא מדיבורו של הקב״ה כביכול הגם שאין לו דמות הגוף34
it is written, “By the word of Havayah,” etc., “and by the breath of His mouth all their host.” That is, the place of the source from which the angels are hewn, and of their creation, is from the speech of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were. Even though He has no bodily form,
Psalms 33:6 says the heavens were made by G‑d’s word and “all their host,” the angels, by the breath of His mouth, so the angels are rooted in Divine speech. The words “as it were” and “He has no bodily form” guard against taking that speech literally.
ולא נערוך אליו קדושתו אעפ״כ דברה תורה כלשון בנ״א להקראות התגלות אורו לבחי׳ נבראים בשם דבור.5
and we cannot compare [anything] to Him in His holiness, nevertheless “the Torah speaks in the language of human beings,” so that the revelation of His light to the level of created beings is called by the name “speech.”
Since G‑d has no body, “speech” is a borrowed term: as the Sages say, the Torah speaks in human language. G‑d’s revelation of His light to created beings is called “speech,” the way a person reveals himself to others by speaking.
The angels are “those who stand” because they come from Divine “speech,” the Torah’s human-language term for G‑d’s revealing His light to created beings.
Marei mekomos
- 1העומדים הן המלאכים · וכ״ה לקמן שלח לח, ד. תו״א ל, א ובכ״מ ”וכמ״ש שרפים עומדים”. וראה בארוכה בסה״מ תקס״ב ע׳ קיז ואילך. ביאה״ז — לכ״ק אדהאמ״צ — ה, סע״ד. מאמרי אדהאמ״צ ויקרא-ב ע׳ תרסז ואילך. סה״מ תרנ״ד ע׳ רסא ואילך.
- 2בדבר ה׳ . . וברוח פיו · Psalms 33:6
- 3אין לו דמות הגוף · ראה רמב״ם הל׳ יסוה״ת פ״א.
- 4שאין לו דמות הגוף · Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah 1:9–10
- 5דברה תו׳ כלשון בנ״א · Berakhot 31b:13–15
Now, the letters of speech are, by way of analogy, divided bodies, each one standing by itself, so that from this utterance another utterance will never come into being.
Letters of speech are like separate bodies, each standing alone: a word once spoken does not grow or give rise to another word. Speech therefore remains at a fixed level, and this is what “standing” means.
ועל כן המלאכים אשר עבודתם בבחי׳ אהבה כמו מחנה מיכאל או אשר עבודתם בבחי׳ יראה
Therefore the angels whose service is at the level of love, like the camp of Michael, or whose service is at the level of awe,
Because the angels come from speech, they share its fixedness. Their service is either love, as with the camp of the angel Michael, or awe, as with the camp of Gabriel.
כמו מחנה גבריאל הם עומדים ברום עולם במדרגה אחת והאהבה והיראה אשר ניתנה בהם מששת ימי בראשית לא ישנו את תפקידם להיות הולך וגדל מיום ליום
like the camp of Gabriel, stand in the heights of the world at one level; and the love and awe that were placed in them from the six days of Creation do not alter their appointed role, so as to keep growing greater from day to day.
Each camp of angels stands at a single level: the love or awe it was given at Creation never grows from day to day. That unchanging station is the angels’ “standing.”
וכמאמר הכתוב שרפים עומדים2 במדרגה אחת, אבל נשמות ישראל עליהם אמרו ישראל עלו במחשבה34 תחלה אשר מקור חוצבן מאותיות המחשבה הנקראת מחשבה עילאה אשר הם כמעין הנובע תמיד
And as the verse says, “Seraphim stand”: at one level. But the souls of Israel: of them it was said, “Israel arose in thought first”; the source from which they are hewn is from the letters of thought, which is called the supernal thought (machshavah ila’ah), and these are like a spring that flows constantly,
Isaiah saw “Seraphim standing,” which the Alter Rebbe reads as standing at one level. The souls of Israel, by contrast, “arose in thought” before Creation, so their source is the letters of thought, the supernal thought, which flow like a spring that never stops.
כמאמר רז״ל מבין דבר מתוך דבר5 ומיד בנפול דבר אחד במחשבה הקשורה במקור השכל אזי יתהלך ברחבה להיות מתרחב ומתפשט יותר ויותר אשר ע״ז נאמר
as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “understanding one thing out of another.” As soon as one thing falls into the thought that is bound to the source of the intellect, it then walks about in a broad expanse, widening and spreading out more and more. Of this it is said,
The Sages describe understanding as “understanding one thing out of another”: an idea that enters a thought bound to its source in the intellect keeps unfolding. Unlike speech, thought “walks about” freely, widening and spreading further and further.
ונהר יוצא מעדן6 להשקות את הגן ונהר זה הוא הנמשך ויוצא תמיד מעדן הוא מקור החכמה והולך ומתרחב עד שבא להשקות ג״ן סדרים דאורייתא7 הנק׳ תורה שבכתב כנ״ל.
“And a river goes out of Eden to water the garden.” This river is what is drawn and goes out constantly from Eden, that is, the source of Chochmah (wisdom), and it goes on widening until it comes to water the fifty-three (gan) portions of the Torah, which are called the Written Torah, as mentioned above.
The river that goes out of Eden to water the garden is this ever-flowing stream of thought, issuing from Eden, the source of Chochmah. The word gan, “garden,” has the numerical value fifty-three, the number of the Torah’s portions, so the river comes to water the Written Torah.
Speech produces fixed, “standing” letters, so the angels created from it stay at one level; the souls of Israel come from thought, a spring that keeps flowing and widening like the river from Eden, and so they can grow.
The Kehot note points to the Zohar (1:104b), which counts the portions of the Torah as fifty-three; fifty-three is the numerical value of gan. In Likkutei Torah, Chukas, the Alter Rebbe explains, with a reference to this maamar, that from one letter or word no other comes into being, so letters of thought, speech and action are “inanimate,” while the emotions grow from small to great.
Marei mekomos
- 1אשר מדבור זה לא יתהוה דבור אחר · ראה לקמן פ׳ חוקת נח, א.
- 2שרפים עומדים · Isaiah 6:2
- 3ישראל עלו במחשבה · ב״ר רפ״א. ת״ז ת״י בסופו. ע״ל בפ׳ צו ד״ה הים ראה טז, ג. וש״נ. ע״ע במטות פג, ג. וש״נ. [כ].
- 4ישראל עלו במחשבה · Bereshit Rabbah 1:4
- 5מבין דבר מתוך דבר · Chagigah 14a:12
- 6ונהר יוצא מעדן · Genesis 2:10
- 7ג״ן סדרים דאורייתא · Zohar I, 104b
Two levels of thought ¶5–6
5ועל כן נאמר בעבר הנהר ישבו אבותיכם1 מעולם כו׳ למעלה מבחי׳ נהר ומחשבה זו יש בה ג״כ ב׳ בחי׳ כמאמר הכתוב כי לא מחשבותי מחשבותיכם2 לשון רבים.
Therefore it is said, “Beyond the river your fathers dwelt of old,” etc.: above the level of the river. And this thought also has two levels, as the verse says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,” in the plural.
Since the river stands for the flow of thought from Chochmah, the fathers who dwelt “beyond the river” are rooted higher, above the river. Thought itself has two levels, as the plural in “My thoughts are not your thoughts” implies.
כי מחשבה תתאה היא המחיה את הדבור כי בלתי מחשבה א״א לדבר כמאמר רז״ל השמע לאזנך3 מה שאתה מוציא מפיך ועל בחי׳ זו אמרו רז״ל בעשרה מאמרות4
For the lower thought (machshavah tata’ah) is what gives life to speech, since without thought it is impossible to speak, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Let your ears hear what you bring forth from your mouth.” And of this level our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “With ten utterances
The first level is the lower thought, which gives life to speech, for no one can speak without thinking; the Sages’ instruction to let one’s ears hear what one says shows that speech is never apart from the mind behind it. The Mishnah’s “ten utterances” of Creation belong to this level.
נברא העולם והלא במאמר אחד יכול להבראות5 והמאמר אחד הוא בחי׳ מחשבה6 זו המלובשת ומחיה את כל כללות הדבור
the world was created; yet could it not have been created with one utterance?” The one utterance is the level of this thought, which is clothed in, and gives life to, all of speech as a whole,
The Mishnah asks why the world was created with ten utterances when it could have been created with one. The Alter Rebbe identifies that “one utterance” with the lower thought, which is clothed in all ten and gives life to speech as a whole.
וכמאמר הכתוב היוצר יחד לבם7 המבין אל כל מעשיהם אשר כולם נסקרים בסקירה אחת8 אבל בחי׳ השנית היא בחי׳ מחשבה עלאה הדבוקה בעצם השכל אשר אותיות ההם הם הנקראים חקוקים ואינם מהות בפני עצמם כנ״ל.
as the verse says, “He who fashions their hearts together, who understands all their deeds,” for they are all surveyed in a single glance. But the second level is the level of the supernal thought, which cleaves to the essence of the intellect; those letters are the ones called “engraved,” and they are not an entity in their own right, as mentioned above.
As the Sages read Psalms 33:15, G‑d surveys all creatures in a single glance, just as the one lower thought embraces all speech at once. The second, higher level is the supernal thought, bound to the essence of the intellect; its letters are the “engraved” ones, which, like the letters of the Tablets, have no separate existence.
Thought has two levels: a lower thought that gives life to speech, the “one utterance” within the ten, and a supernal thought, one with the intellect itself, whose letters are “engraved.” This higher level is “beyond the river.”
In Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei, the Alter Rebbe explains that the one utterance in which all ten are included is “one thought,” as the Zohar says, “with one thought He created the world”; this thought, the source of the revealed worlds, is itself called “speech.”
Marei mekomos
- 1בעבר הנהר ישבו אבותיכם · Joshua 24:2
- 2כי לא מחשבותי מחשבותיכם · Isaiah 55:8
- 3השמע לאזנך · Berakhot 13a:28–30
- 4בעשרה מאמרות נבה״ע · אבות רפ״ה.
- 5בעשרה מאמרות נברא העולם והלא במאמר אחד יכול להבראות · Pirkei Avot 5:1
- 6והמאמר אחד הוא בחי׳ מחשבה · נתבאר באוה״ת ויקרא-ג ע׳ תתקכב. וראה גם לקמן פ׳ כי תצא לה, א.
- 7היוצר יחד לבם · Psalms 33:15
- 8נסקרים בסקירה אחת · Rosh Hashanah 18a:14
6וע״כ הנשמות נקראו מהלכים כי יכול להתהלך בהרחבה להרחיב אהבתו ויראתו לה׳ ית׳ מיום ליום יותר ויותר עד בואו למקור חוצבה תחלת המחשבה הנק׳ עבר הנהר אשר גם שם לא ישקוט ולא ינוח כי הולך ואור1
Therefore the souls are called “walkers,” for one can walk about in breadth, broadening his love and awe for G‑d, may He be blessed, more and more from day to day, until he comes to the source from which [his soul] is hewn, the beginning of thought, which is called “beyond the river.” And even there he will not be still and will not rest, for [he is] “going on and growing brighter,”
Since the souls come from the ever-flowing supernal thought, they are “walkers”: a person can keep broadening his love and awe of G‑d from day to day. Even on reaching his soul’s source, “beyond the river,” he does not rest but keeps rising, like the light of the righteous that goes on growing brighter.
כמאמר הכתוב ונהר יוצא2 (ועמ״ש ע״פ ונתתי לך מהלכים3 בפ׳ וישב4 ובפ׳ שלח ע״פ ועתה יגדל.56 ועיין ע״פ יונתי בחגוי הסלע78 בפי׳ קומי לך כו׳ ולכי לך. וע״פ אלה מסעי910 בפי׳ ואלה מסעיהם למוצאיהם):11
as the verse says, “And a river goes out.” (And see what is written on the verse “And I will give you walkers” in Parshas Vayeshev; and in Parshas Shelach, on the verse “And now, let it be great.” And see on the verse “My dove, in the clefts of the rock,” on the explanation of “Arise for yourself,” etc., “and go for yourself.” And on the verse “These are the journeys,” on the explanation of “And these are their journeys according to their goings forth.”)
The verse “a river goes out” shows that the flow from the source never stops. The parenthesis sends the reader to other discourses on walking and journeys: Torah Ohr, Vayeshev, on “walkers among these who stand”; Likkutei Torah, Shelach, on “And now, let it be great”; Shir HaShirim, on “My dove, in the clefts of the rock”; and Masei, on “These are the journeys.”
The souls are called “walkers” because their love and awe can grow without end, and even at their source they keep ascending.
Marei mekomos
- 1הולך ואור · Proverbs 4:18
- 2ונהר יוצא · Genesis 2:10
- 3ונתתי לך מהלכים · Zechariah 3:7
- 4ע״פ ונתתי לך מהלכים בפ׳ וישב · תו״א ל, א ואילך. אוה״ת חנוכה כרך-ה דף תתקיג, א.
- 5ובפ׳ שלח ע״פ ועתה יגדל · לקו״ת שלח לח, ד.
- 6ועתה יגדל · Numbers 14:17
- 7ועיין ע״פ יונתי בחגוי הסלע · ראה לקו״ת שה״ש יט, ד.
- 8יונתי בחגוי הסלע · Song of Songs 2:14
- 9וע״פ אלה מסעי · לקו״ת מסעי צא, ג ואילך. ראה סה״מ תקס״ב ע׳ קיז ואילך.
- 10אלה מסעי · Numbers 33:1
- 11ואלה מסעיהם למוצאיהם · Numbers 33:2
Prayer as the place of walking ¶7–9
7ב והנה מקום ההילוך ועת ההילוך לכל אדם להיות מרחיב ומגדיל אהבתו לה׳ הוא בעת התפלה וקודם התפלה פסוקי דזמרה.
2. Now, the place of walking and the time of walking for every person, to broaden and increase his love for G‑d, is at the time of prayer, and before the prayer, Pesukei deZimra (the Verses of Song).
Turning to practice, the Alter Rebbe says that the place and the time for “walking,” for broadening one’s love of G‑d, is prayer. Before the prayer itself come the Pesukei deZimra, the Verses of Song.
וברכות אשר תיקנו לנו אנשי כנה״ג1 ע״י אבות העולם כמארז״ל תפלות אבות תקנום2 אברהם יצחק ויעקב והם מדת גדולה גבורה ורחמים כאשר כללו לנו
And the blessings that the Men of the Great Assembly instituted for us [were] through the fathers of the world, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “The prayers—the Patriarchs instituted them”: Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. And they are the attributes of greatness (Gedulah), might (Gevurah) and compassion (Rachamim), as there were included for us
The Men of the Great Assembly composed the fixed blessings of prayer, building on the Patriarchs, who first instituted the prayers. Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov embody greatness (Chesed), might (Gevurah) and compassion (Tiferes), and the prayers were arranged to arouse each of these.
חז״ל פסוקים המבארים גדולת הבורא ית׳ ולגדולתו אין חקר3 אשר אין לו תחלה ואין לו תכלה אשר ע״י התבוננות זו יגדיל אהבתו לה׳ ית׳.
by our Sages, of blessed memory, verses that explain the greatness of the Creator, may He be blessed, “and His greatness is unsearchable,” who has no beginning and no end; and through this contemplation one will increase his love for G‑d, may He be blessed.
For Avraham’s attribute, the Sages placed in the prayers verses about the Creator’s greatness, such as “His greatness is unsearchable” in Ashrei. Contemplating that He has no beginning and no end makes a person’s love for G‑d grow.
Prayer is where a person “walks”: its order, from the Patriarchs and the Men of the Great Assembly, leads him through contemplation of G‑d’s greatness to growing love.
Marei mekomos
- 1וברכות אשר תקנו לנו אנשי כנה״ג · Megillah 17b:8
- 2תפלות אבות תקנום · Berakhot 26b:4–5
- 3ולגדולתו אין חקר · Psalms 145:3
8וכן פסוקים המבארים גבורתו ויראתו יתברך היא מדת יצחק וכן יש פסוקים המבארים רחמנותו ית׳ אשר היא נקראת נחלת יעקב12 נחלה בלי מצרים34 בלי גבול
So too, verses that explain His might and the awe of Him, may He be blessed: this is the attribute of Yitzchak. And so too there are verses that explain His compassion, may He be blessed, which is called “the heritage of Yaakov,” “a heritage without boundaries,” without limit;
Likewise, verses describing G‑d’s might and the awe of Him belong to Yitzchak’s attribute. Verses of His compassion belong to Yaakov, whose portion the Sages call “a heritage without boundaries.”
כי הרחמנות שורה ושייך על כל העולמות מבריח מן הקצה5 אל הקצה עד רום המעלות כי כולם אינם עצמיותו ית׳ כ״א בחי׳ הארה
for compassion rests upon, and applies to, all the worlds, “passing through from end to end,” up to the highest of levels, since none of them is His essence, may He be blessed, but only the level of a radiance,
Compassion is boundless because it applies to every world, like the middle bar of the Tabernacle that passed “from end to end,” which the Zohar connects with Yaakov. One feels compassion for what is far away, and every world, even the highest, is only a radiance of G‑d, not His essence.
כמאמר הכתוב הודו על6 ארץ ושמים ארץ הוא בחי׳ ממלא ושמים הוא בחי׳ סובב אינם אלא הארה דהארה והוא בחי׳ שם
as the verse says, “His splendor is upon earth and heaven”: “earth” is the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin), and “heaven” is the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin); they are only a radiance of a radiance, and this is the level of a name,
Psalms 148:13 says G‑d’s splendor is “upon earth and heaven”: “earth” is the light that fills all worlds and “heaven” the light that encompasses them. Both are only a radiance of a radiance, the level of a “name,” and the same verse speaks of His Name.
כמאמר ישתבח שמך לעד מלכנו על כן שייך עליהם רחמנות אשר רחוקים הם מעצמותו ית׳.
as it is said, “May Your Name be praised forever, our King.” Therefore compassion applies to them, for they are far from His essence, may He be blessed.
A name is only how one is called by others, not one’s own self; so too the worlds relate only to G‑d’s Name, as in the prayer “May Your Name be praised forever, our King.” Because the worlds are so far from His essence, compassion applies to them all.
Yaakov’s compassion is boundless because it extends to every world, all of which, the encompassing and the filling light alike, are only a radiance of G‑d’s Name, far from His essence.
Marei mekomos
- 1נחלת יעקב · Isaiah 48:14
- 2נחלת יעקב · Isaiah 58:14
- 3נחלה בלי מצרים · שבת קיח, סע״א.
- 4נחלה בלי מצרים · Shabbat 118a:7–8
- 5מבריח מן הקצה · Exodus 26:28
- 6הודו על או״ש · Psalms 148:13
9והנה בהתבונן האדם בהתבוננות רחמנות זו יגדיל מדותיו הטובות לה׳ וישא אותם לה׳ כמאמר הכתוב אליך ה׳ נפשי אשא12 כי האבות הם3 הנקראים רועים מהשבעה רועים המפרנסין ונותנים
Now, when a person engages in contemplating this compassion, he will increase his good attributes (middos) for G‑d and lift them up to G‑d, as the verse says, “To You, Havayah, I lift up my soul.” For the Patriarchs are the ones called “shepherds,” of the seven shepherds who sustain and give
Contemplating G‑d’s compassion makes a person’s good attributes grow and lifts them up to G‑d, as David says, “To You, Havayah, I lift up my soul.” The Patriarchs are called shepherds; the Talmud lists the “seven shepherds,” among them Avraham and Yaakov, and like shepherds they sustain the flock.
כח וחיות להצאן קדשים4 להיות יכולים להלוך ולהתגדל מיום ליום ועיקר צער גידול בנים היה לו ליעקב5 מדת רחמנות הוא המגדל את המדות לה׳ ית׳
strength and life-force to the “holy flock,” so that they are able to walk and to grow from day to day. And the main “pain of raising children” was Yaakov’s, the attribute of compassion: it is what raises the attributes for G‑d, may He be blessed.
The shepherds give the “holy flock,” the souls of Israel, the strength to walk and grow each day. Yaakov above all knew “the pain of raising children,” and his attribute, compassion, is what raises a person’s attributes toward G‑d.
ועל כן נאמר (ישעיה מ׳ י״א) כרועה עדרו ירעה בזרועו יקבץ טלאים ובחיקו ישא עלות ינהל6.
Therefore it is said (Isaiah 40:11), “Like a shepherd he tends his flock; with his arm he gathers the lambs, and in his bosom he carries [them]; he gently leads the nursing ewes.”
Isaiah pictures a shepherd who gathers the lambs in his arm, carries them in his bosom and gently leads the nursing ewes. The Alter Rebbe applies the image to the compassion that raises the soul’s attributes.
והנה בחיקו ישא כתיב. ישאום לה׳ כמאמר הכתוב אליך ה׳ נפשי אשא ועל כן אמרו חז״ל אם לשון תחנונים פי׳ הלואי
Now, it is written, “in his bosom he carries”: they carry them up to G‑d, as the verse says, “To You, Havayah, I lift up my soul.” And therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said that “if” is an expression of supplication, meaning: would that
The verb for “carries” (yisa) is the same as in “I lift up (esa) my soul”: the shepherd carries the flock up to G‑d. This, says the Alter Rebbe, is why the Sages read “if” as a plea meaning “would that.”
שיהיה הליכת האדם בתפלה הניתקנה לנו מאנשי כנה״ג ואין צריך לחפש הליכות אחרות כי היא טובה שבכולן והלוואי שיוספק להם.
a person’s walking be in the prayer that was instituted for us by the Men of the Great Assembly, and there is no need to search for other ways of walking, for it is the best of them all; and would that they be enabled [to do this].
G‑d’s plea is that a person’s “walking” take place in the prayer composed by the Men of the Great Assembly; no other path is needed, for this is the best of all. “Would that” they be granted this, and so the first question of the maamar is answered.
Through prayer, the Patriarchs’ compassion raises a person’s attributes to G‑d, like a shepherd carrying lambs in his bosom; G‑d’s “if” is a plea that a person walk in this prayer, the best of all paths.
Marei mekomos
- 1אליך ה׳ נפשי אשא · שם כה, א.
- 2אליך ה׳ נפשי אשא · Psalms 25:1
- 3האבות הם הנק׳ רועים מהש״ר · Sukkah 52b
- 4להצאן קדשים · Ezekiel 36:38
- 5צער גידול בנים היה לו ליעקב · Shabbat 89b:4
- 6
Walking needs a vessel ¶10–11
10והיינו בחקותי תלכו הם בחי׳ אבות אשר בעבר הנהר ישבו1 בחינת מחשבה עילאה אותיות חקוקים והיו לאחדים ממש במקורן ומקומן החקוקים שם
And this is [the meaning of] “in My statutes you will walk”: these are the level of the Patriarchs, who “dwelt beyond the river,” the level of the supernal thought, engraved letters; and they became truly one in their source and their place, engraved there.
Now the word bechukosai, from chakak, “engrave,” is explained: walking “in My engravings” means the level of the Patriarchs, who “dwelt beyond the river,” in the supernal thought. Their letters are engraved there, truly one with their source, like the letters of the Tablets.
ועל כן בהם יכול האדם לבא לבחי׳ הילוך כו׳, כי שם הוא מקום ההילוך למעלה מעלה.
Therefore through them a person can come to the level of walking, etc., for there is the place of walking, higher and higher.
Through the Patriarchs, aroused in prayer, a person can reach true “walking,” for the supernal thought is the place of endless ascent. This answers the question about the word “walk.”
אבל מחמת גשמיות הגוף לא תעמוד ולא תקום החקיקה וההילוך הזה בלתי שמירת כלי אשר ע״י כלי זו תכון לעד2 ע״כ נאמר אחר זה ואת מצותי תשמרו.3 דהנה המצות הן רמ״ח מ״ע ושס״ה ל״ת.
But because of the physicality of the body, this engraving and this walking will not stand and will not endure without the safekeeping of a vessel, through which vessel it “will be established forever.” Therefore it is said after this, “and you will keep My commandments.” For the mitzvos are 248 positive commandments and 365 prohibitions.
Yet in a physical body such engraving and walking cannot last without a vessel to keep it, a vessel through which it is “established forever.” That is why the verse continues “and you will keep My commandments”: the 248 positive commandments and the 365 prohibitions.
“Walking in My statutes” means reaching the engraved letters of the supernal thought, the level of the Patriarchs, through prayer; in a body this needs the mitzvos as a vessel, and so the verse adds “and keep My commandments.”
Marei mekomos
- 1בעבר הנהר ישבו · Joshua 24:2
- 2תכון לעד · Proverbs 12:19
- 3ואת מצותי תשמרו · Leviticus 26:3
11והנה השס״ה ל״ת הן להפריד את הרע אבל רמ״ח מ״ע הן הנק׳ אברין דמלכא כמו למשל אבר הוא כלי אשר בו נמשך חיות ממקור החיות אשר שורה במוח כן הוא כאן
Now, the 365 prohibitions are to separate the evil, but the 248 positive commandments are the ones called “the limbs of the King.” Just as, for example, a limb is a vessel into which life-force (chayus) is drawn from the source of the life-force, which rests in the brain, so it is here:
The 365 prohibitions separate a person from evil, while the 248 positive commandments are “the limbs of the King.” A limb is a vessel that receives life-force from its source in the brain, and so too here.
כי המצוה היא כלי לאורו ית׳ הנמשך מסתימא דכל סתימין1 למטה להשגת האדם השפל ואורו ית׳ המלובש בה הוא הנק׳ יין מלכות רב כיד המלך2 אין סוף לאורו ית׳
for the mitzvah is a vessel for His light, may He be blessed, which is drawn down from “the most hidden of all hidden” to the comprehension of lowly man; and His light, may He be blessed, that is clothed in it is what is called “royal wine in abundance, according to the hand of the King,” for there is no end to His light, may He be blessed.
Each mitzvah is a vessel for G‑d’s light, drawn from “the most hidden of all hidden” down to where a lowly human being can grasp it. The light within the mitzvah is the “royal wine in abundance” of the Book of Esther, for His light has no end.
והוא כוונת המצוה שהוא להמשיך אורו ית׳ למטה ע״י כלי המצוה והתורה הלזו והוא לשון צוותא לשון חיבור.3
And this is the intent of the mitzvah: to draw His light, may He be blessed, down below through this vessel of the mitzvah and the Torah. And [the word mitzvah] is an expression of tzavta, an expression of joining.
The purpose of a mitzvah is to draw G‑d’s light down through the vessel of the mitzvah and of the Torah. The word mitzvah is related to tzavta, “joining,” for it joins that light with the one who performs it.
אך הם נחלקים לכללים ופרטים רבים הן בתורה והן במצות כי המשכת המקרא אינו דומה להמשכת לימוד משנה או גמרא הלכות ואגדות וכן במצות.
However, they are divided into many general categories and particulars, both in the Torah and in the mitzvos: for the drawing down by Scripture is not like the drawing down by the study of Mishnah or Gemara, halachos and aggados; and so too with the mitzvos.
The Torah and the mitzvos divide into many general categories and details, and each draws down light in its own way. Studying Scripture draws down differently from studying Mishnah, Gemara, halachah or aggadah, and so it is with each mitzvah.
The positive mitzvos are vessels, like limbs of the body, that draw G‑d’s endless light, the “royal wine,” down to man; each part of the Torah and each mitzvah draws it in its own way.
Marei mekomos
- 1מסתימא דכל סתימין · Zohar II, 89a
- 2יין מלכות רב כיד המלך · Esther 1:7
- 3המצוה — לשון צותא לשון חיבור · ראה לקו״ש ח״ז 304 ואילך. תניא מהדו״ק ספמ״ט. סה״מ מלוקט-ג ע׳ עב הערה 55.
The wine and the secret ¶12–13
12ועל כן נאמר וכלים מכלים שונים1 בהמשכותיהם וכלל הכל הוא אורו ית׳ הנק׳ יין אשר בהכנס היין יצא הסוד2 והיין הוא התלהבות אורו ית׳ הנשמר בלבו של אדם ע״י התורה והמצוה
Therefore it is said, “and vessels differing from vessels,” [differing] in what they draw down. And what encompasses them all is His light, may He be blessed, which is called “wine,” of which [it is said], “When the wine enters, the secret comes out.” The wine is the fervor of His light, may He be blessed, which is kept in a person’s heart through the Torah and the mitzvah;
Because each mitzvah draws differently, the verse speaks of “vessels differing from vessels.” What all of them hold is G‑d’s light, called “wine,” and the Sages say (Eruvin 65a), “When wine enters, the secret comes out”; the wine is the fervor of G‑d’s light kept in the heart through Torah and mitzvos.
יצא מעצמו סוד הוא אהבה מסותרת אשר תבוא לבחי׳ גילוי להיות בבחי׳ מהלך הנ״ל לשוב למקורו הגבוה מבחי׳ סובב וממלא ותכלית ירידת אורו ית׳ הוא בכדי להשיב נפש ונצוץ כל אדם למעלה בבחי׳ רצוא ושוב.3
of itself “the secret comes out”: this is the hidden love, which will come to the level of revelation, so as to be at the level of a “walker,” mentioned above, returning to its source, which is higher than the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev) and the light that fills all worlds (memalei). And the purpose of the descent of His light, may He be blessed, is in order to bring the soul and spark of every person back up above, at the level of running and returning (ratzo vashov).
The “secret” that comes out is the hidden love for G‑d concealed in the soul, which becomes revealed and makes the person a “walker,” rising to a source higher than both the encompassing and the filling light. G‑d’s light descends precisely so that it can bring every soul back up, in the rhythm of “running and returning.”
והיינו והתהלכתי בתוככם4 שאני בעצמי אהיה המהלך בתוככם בבחי׳ רצוא ושוב ועי״ז והייתי לכם לאלהים.
And this is [the meaning of] “And I will walk among you”: that I Myself will be the one who walks among you, at the level of running and returning; and through this, “I will be your G‑d.”
This is “And I will walk among you”: G‑d Himself becomes the one who walks within the person, running and returning. Through this, “I will be your G‑d.”
The light kept in the mitzvos is “wine” that brings out the “secret,” the hidden love, so that the soul runs upward and returns; in this walking G‑d Himself walks within a person, as the verse says, “I will walk among you.”
Marei mekomos
- 1וכלים מכלים שונים · Esther 1:7
- 2בהכנס היין יצא הסוד · Eruvin 65a
- 3רצוא ושוב · Ezekiel 1:14
- 4והתהלכתי בתוככם · Leviticus 26:12
Now, this is [the meaning of] the verse’s words, “and you will keep My commandments”: that is, through the mitzvos you will keep the good wine that is drawn down below to the heart
The Alter Rebbe explains “you will keep My commandments” as keeping in the sense of preserving. Through the mitzvos one preserves the good wine, G‑d’s light that is drawn down into the heart.
האדם להיות יוצא סוד אהבה מסותרת להיות בבחינת מהלך מיום ליום למעלה מעלה ובלעדי זה נק׳ עומד וטוב וישר הוא בעיניו ולא יבא לבחי׳ בכייה
of man, so that the secret, the hidden love, will come out, to be at the level of a “walker” from day to day, higher and higher. Without this he is called “one who stands,” and he is good and upright in his own eyes, and will not come to the level of weeping,
Preserved, that wine brings out the hidden love so that a person rises day by day. Without it he is called “one who stands,” content with himself, good and upright in his own eyes, and he will never come to tears.
כמאמר הכתוב הלוך ילך ובכה2 כי בבחי׳ הליכה יבא לבחי׳ רחמים רבים לבכות בחדרי לבו על ריחוקו
as the verse says, “He walks on and on, weeping”; for through the level of walking he will come to the level of great compassion, weeping in the chambers of his heart over his distance
The Psalm says that one who “walks on and on” goes “weeping”: a person who truly walks feels great compassion for his own soul and weeps within his heart over how far he is from G‑d’s light.
מאורו ית׳ ואח״כ יבא לבחינת בוא יבוא ברנה כמאמר הכתוב תחת אשר לא עבדת3 את ה׳ אלהיך בשמחה ובטוב לבב מרב כל.
from His light, may He be blessed. And afterwards he will come to the level of “he will surely come with joyful song,” as the verse says, “Because you did not serve Havayah your G‑d with joy and with gladness of heart, out of the abundance of everything.”
After the weeping comes joy, “he will surely come with joyful song.” The verse “because you did not serve Havayah your G‑d with joy” shows that the service G‑d asks for is joyful.
Keeping the mitzvos preserves the light that makes a person a walker; without them he stands still and self-satisfied, while the walker first weeps over his distance from G‑d and then comes to joy.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואת מצותי תשמרו · Leviticus 26:3
- 2הלוך ילך ובכה · Psalms 126:6
- 3תחת אשר לא עבדת · Deuteronomy 28:47
Holy, and making yourselves ¶14
14ועי״ז נושא משך הזרע1 כמאמר הכתוב ובחיקו ישא2 ויבא לבחי׳ עבר הנהר מחשבה עילאה המיוחד במהותו ועצמותו ית׳ הנק׳ קדוש ומובדל.
And through this he is “carrying the bag of seed,” as the verse says, “and in his bosom he carries [them],” and he will come to the level of “beyond the river,” the supernal thought, which is united with His being and essence, may He be blessed, which is called “holy and separate.”
Through this weeping the person is like the sower “carrying the bag of seed,” and like the shepherd who carries the lambs “in his bosom.” He will come to “beyond the river,” the supernal thought, united with G‑d’s essence and called “holy and separate.”
כן סוף דבר הנשמות יוכללו ויתאחדו שם כמאמר הכתוב קדושים תהיו3 סופכם להיות קדושים בודאי ואל יקל אדם לעצמו אם זך ואם ישר פעלו4 להיות מספיק א״ע בעבודתו תמה בבחי׳ עמידה במדרגה א׳ ח״ו
So, in the end, the souls will be included and united there, as the verse says, “You shall be holy”: in the end you will certainly be holy. And let a person not be lenient with himself, [even] “if his deed is pure and if it is upright,” so as to content himself with his perfect service at the level of standing at one level, G‑d forbid;
In the end all souls will be included and united there, for “You shall be holy” promises that in the end you will surely be holy. So no one should excuse himself, even if his deeds seem “pure and upright,” by settling into a service that stays at one level.
כי לא תקום ולא5 תהיה כזאת כמאמר הכתוב קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ואתם עם בני ישראל ממקום קדוש יהלכו6 וחוצבו ע״כ מוכרח כל א׳
for such a thing “shall not stand and shall not come to pass,” as the verse says, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And you, the people of the children of Israel: “from a holy place they walk,” and [from there] they were hewn; therefore each one must
Such standing still “shall not stand and shall not come to pass,” for G‑d says, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” The souls of Israel “walk from a holy place” and were hewn from it, so each one must return there.
לבוא לבחי׳ קדוש אשר שם הוא בבחי׳ הולך ואור בלי גבול למעלה מעלה וכ״ז ע״י המצות שהם הכלים שומרי היין הטוב כנ״ל בכדי להוציא הסוד.
come to the level of “holy,” where one is at the level of “going on and growing brighter” without limit, higher and higher. And all this is through the mitzvos, which are the vessels that keep the good wine, as mentioned above, in order to bring out the secret.
Every soul must reach the level of “holy,” where it goes on growing brighter without end. All this comes through the mitzvos, the vessels that preserve the good wine and bring out the secret.
ואחר כ״ז נאמר ועשיתם אותם78910 דהיינו ועשיתם אתם11 (עיין בזהר בחקותי דקי״ג סע״א ובמק״מ שם. ובהרמ״ז שם בעמוד ב׳ ובזהר נשא קכ״ב א׳).
And after all this it is said, “and you will do them” (otam), that is, “and you will make yourselves” (atem). (See the Zohar, Bechukosai, folio 113, end of side a, and the Mikdash Melech there; and the Ramaz (Rabbi Moshe Zacuto) there, on side b; and the Zohar, Nasso, 122a.)
The verse ends “and you will do them” (otam), a word that can be read atem, “you”: by doing the mitzvos you make yourselves. The Zohar on Bechukosai reads the verse this way, and the Midrash says, “I consider it as though you had made yourselves.”
ונתנה הארץ יבולה12 ממטה למעלה ועץ השדה יתן פריו מלמעלה למטה וצויתי את ברכתי13 בשנה הששית14 היינו כוונת כל ברכה ברוך אתה ה׳ אלקינו
“And the land will yield its produce”: from below upward; “and the tree of the field will yield its fruit”: from above downward. “And I will command My blessing in the sixth year”: this is the intent of every blessing, “Blessed are You, Havayah our G‑d.”
The Alter Rebbe reads “the land will yield its produce” as an ascent from below upward and “the tree of the field will yield its fruit” as a flow from above downward. “I will command My blessing” is what every blessing intends when it says, “Blessed are You, Havayah our G‑d.”
(And see the Zohar, Terumah, 162b, and the Mikdash Melech there, on the matter of “If in My statutes.” And in [Midrash] Rabbah, Shemos, section 2. And see what is written on the verse “This is the statute of the Torah.”)
The closing parenthesis points to further sources: the Zohar on Terumah with its commentary Mikdash Melech, on the word “if” in “If you will walk in My statutes”; Midrash Rabbah on Shemos; and the Alter Rebbe’s discourse on “This is the statute of the Torah,” the first maamar of Likkutei Torah, Chukas, which reads chukah as engraving and contrasts the Torah’s engraved letters with its written ones.
Through the mitzvos that keep the wine, the walker reaches “beyond the river,” the holy and separate level where all souls will finally be united; no one may rest content with standing still, and by doing the mitzvos a person “makes himself.”
The Zohar on Bechukosai (3:113a) says that whoever does the Torah’s commandments and walks in its ways, as it were, “makes” Him above, and notes that the word is written atem. The Zohar on Nasso (3:122a) adds that one who cleaves to G‑d and does the commandments, as it were, sustains the worlds above and below.
Marei mekomos
- 1נושא משך הזרע · Psalms 126:6
- 2ובחיקו ישא · Isaiah 40:11
- 3קדושים תהיו · Leviticus 19:2
- 4אם זך ואם ישר פעלו · Proverbs 20:11
- 5לא תקום ולא תהי׳ · Isaiah 7:7
- 6ממקום קדוש יהלכו · Ecclesiastes 8:10
- 7ועשיתם אותם · Leviticus 26:3
- 8ועשיתם אתם · Zohar, Bechukotai 2:12–4:19
- 9ועשיתם אותם · Zohar, Nasso 3:17–4:24
- 10ועשיתם אתם · Vayikra Rabbah 35:7
- 11דהיינו ועשיתם אתם · Vayikra Rabbah 35:6
- 12ונתנה הארץ יבולה · Leviticus 26:4
- 13וצויתי את ברכתי · שם כה, כא.
- 14וצויתי את ברכתי בשנה הששית · Leviticus 25:21
- 15אם בחקתי · Zohar, Terumah 64:660–66:669
- 16זאת חקת התורה · Numbers 19:2
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 rest content with his service, even when it seems pure and upright, for that is “standing.” His place of walking is prayer: in Pesukei deZimra and the blessings he should contemplate G‑d’s greatness, might and compassion so that his love and awe grow day by day, and he should guard that growth with the mitzvos, which keep the light so the hidden love comes out. The walker weeps in his heart over his distance from G‑d, and afterwards comes to joy.
Questions for discussion
- How does the difference between engraved and written letters explain why angels “stand” and souls “walk”?
- Why does the maamar locate the souls’ source in thought rather than speech, and what are the two levels of thought?
- Why is prayer, and not some other path, called the place and time of walking, and how do the attributes of the three Patriarchs enter into it?
- If walking comes from the supernal thought, why does it need the vessel of the mitzvos, and what does the image of wine and its secret add?
- What is wrong with being “good and upright in one’s own eyes,” and why must the walker first weep before coming to joy?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- The G‑dly soulנפש האלקית
- The soul that is 'a part of G‑d above'.
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- Love and aweאהבה ויראה
- The two 'wings' of divine service.
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×1
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×1
- The light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin)ממלא כל עלמין
- Divine light that enters each world and gives it life according to its measure.
- 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.
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×1
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×3
- The general and collective expression (klalus)כללות
- That which encompasses the particulars as one: their general and collective expression (the klal, as against the prat). Never “sum”, “sum total”, “totality” or “general principle”, as if the particulars were added up (וכללותן היא מצות הצדקה is “their general and collective expression is the mitzvah of charity”). Render by sense: “their general and collective expression”, “that which encompasses them all”, “X in general”, “X as a whole”. Keep התכללות as “inclusion” / “inter-inclusion”. ×2
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence. ×1
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1