LikuteiTorah.comThe Chassidishe Parsha
Sign in

Likkutei Torah · Parshas Chukas · Maamar 1

וידבר הוי׳ וגו׳ זאת חקת התורה אשר צוה הוי׳ לאמר

“And Havayah spoke… This is the statute of the Torah which Havayah commanded, saying”

  • 21 paragraphs · 154 sections
  • about 1 h 30 min of study
  • 233 sources

Begin the maamar Download PDFPDF · 1.0 MB

Your progress 0 of 154 sections

Kept on this device only. Sign in to save it on every device

The big idea

The red heifer is called “the statute of the Torah” because it holds, in open and general form, the two movements on which every mitzvah is built: ratzo, the soul’s running toward G‑d, which is the burning of the heifer to ashes, and shov, the return that draws the Torah down, which is the living water put in a vessel. Through it the Torah’s root, its “engraved letters,” is drawn into the Written and the Oral Torah, and the encompassing light of G‑d is joined to the light that fills the worlds.

The maamar in brief

The maamar asks why the verse says “which Havayah commanded” when G‑d Himself is speaking, and why one mitzvah is called “the statute of the Torah.” Reading chukah as “engraving,” it places above the Written Torah a root of “engraved letters,” one with their source, which the soul came down to draw into the world. Every mitzvah brings a person to ratzo vashov, the running and returning of the Chayos: love from contemplating that even the World to Come is nothing before G‑d, and awe from knowing that He is equally present above and below. The heifer “receives from the left,” and so does the animal soul; its burning leaves only the bare power of desire, like ashes, which teshuvah turns to love of G‑d, raising sham to shem ayin. The living water is the Torah, which must go into the vessels of the mitzvos and be spoken aloud, as the “worm” of Yaakov prevails with its mouth. Finally, “commanded” means “joined”: the encompassing Havayah is bound to the filling one, as the Shema traces love, words of Torah, and the vessels of the mitzvos.

Outline

  1. The questions, and the engraved lettersWhy “which Havayah commanded,” and why the heifer is “the statute of the Torah.” Chukah means engraving: the Torah’s root of engraved letters, one with their source, above the written letters; man “makes” the statutes by drawing them down. The mitzvos bring ratzo vashov: love from contemplating that even the World to Come is a single letter, and the return in awe from contemplating sovev kol almin.¶1–2
  2. Fire and water: the heifer as the general formThe Torah is “a fiery law” from G‑d’s “right hand,” fire and water; the burning of the heifer is ratzo and the living water is shov, revealed in it as in no other mitzvah. Like Eliezer’s section, which is the union of Mah and Ban in general form, the heifer is the union of running and returning, of heart and brain, while each mitzvah holds it in a particular way.¶3–8
  3. The burning: the animal soul and its desireThe heifer “receives from the left,” the side from which the external forces draw through many contractions; so does the animal soul. Burning wood leaves only the earth, its simple matter, while the form vanishes in smoke: so subduing the forbidden thoughts, words and deeds leaves the bare power of desire, which can be turned to love of G‑d. From sham, the distant place of kelipah, G‑d is found through teshuvah, and it becomes shem ayin; the heifer purifies from the “death” of the shattering.¶9–14
  4. The living water, and the wormThe living water is the Torah, flowing from G‑d, the hidden source, into the vessels of the mitzvos; the ashes go with it because running must remain within returning. The scarlet worm thrown into the fire is the power of the mouth: prayer and spoken words of Torah, said in self-nullification, in which G‑d’s words are placed and which tear away the external forces. The one who is a worm in his own eyes becomes a “man,” a giver.¶15–17
  5. The verse explained“Statute” is both the order of the whole Torah and its engraving. The first Havayah is memalei kol almin and the second sovev kol almin; “commanded” (tzivah) means “joined” (tzavta), so the encompassing light is bound to the filling light through the Divine words. Part of the ashes was kept as a lasting source of the running in every mitzvah, and the first section of the Shema traces love, the words of Torah spoken, and the practical mitzvos as vessels.¶18–21

Key concepts

Ratzo vashov (running and returning)רצוא ושוב
The two movements of the soul, from the Chayos of Ezekiel’s vision: ratzo, the longing to rise and be absorbed in G‑d, which is fire in the heart and comes from Binah; and shov, the return to draw G‑d’s light down into the world, which is water in the brain and comes from Chochmah. Every mitzvah is built on both.
Engraved lettersאותיות החקיקה
Letters cut out of the stone itself, as against ink added to parchment. They stand for the Torah in its root, wholly one with its source, above the Written Torah; chukah, “statute,” is read as chakikah, “engraving.”
The power of desireכח המתאוה
The bare capacity to want, the “simple matter” of the animal soul’s emotions. It is not evil in itself and is rooted in holiness, in “the face of the ox” of the Chariot; once its forbidden garments are burned away, like wood reduced to ashes, it can be turned to love of G‑d.
Iskafya and is’hapcha (subduing and transforming)אתכפיא ואתהפכא
First the other side is subdued, by refusing it every thought, word and deed; then darkness itself is transformed into light, as the evil inclination too comes to love G‑d.
Living waterמים חיים
Spring water that rises from a hidden source, and so the Torah, flowing from G‑d, “the source of living water.” It must be put “in a vessel,” the practical mitzvos and the letters of the Torah.
Worm Yaakovתולעת יעקב
Israel’s strength, like the worm’s, is in the mouth: prayer and spoken words of Torah. It works only with self-nullification, “I am a worm and not a man,” and then G‑d’s own words are in a person’s mouth.
Tzivah as tzavta (commanding as joining)צוה מלשון צוותא
“Commanded” read as “joined”: the encompassing light, sovev kol almin, the second Havayah of the verse, is bound to and drawn into the light that fills the worlds, memalei kol almin, the first.

Skip to the text

The questions, and the engraved letters ¶1–2

1וידבר הוי׳ וגו׳ זאת חקת התורה אשר צוה הוי׳ לאמר. וצ״ל דהא כתיב תחלה וידבר הוי׳ שהקב״ה הוא המדבר למשה זאת חקת התורה וא״כ מהו אשר צוה הוי׳ הל״ל אשר אני מצוה.

“And Havayah spoke,” etc., “This is the statute (chukas) of the Torah which Havayah commanded, saying.” Now, we must understand: it is written first, “And Havayah spoke,” [meaning] that the Holy One, blessed be He, is the One speaking to Moshe, “This is the statute of the Torah.” If so, what is [meant by] “which Havayah commanded”? It should have said, “which I command.”

Explanation

The maamar opens with the verse that introduces the laws of the red heifer. Since the Torah has just said that G‑d Himself is speaking to Moshe, the words “which Havayah commanded” sound like someone else reporting His command; in His own voice the verse should have said “which I command.”

גם להבין קצת ענין פרה אדומה שנאמר בה חקת התורה. אך הענין דהנה התורה נק׳ תורה שבכתב הקב״ה אומר ומשה כותב ודברי סופרים נק׳ תורה שבעל פה.

We also [need] to understand somewhat the matter of the red heifer (parah adumah), of which it is said, “the statute of the Torah.” However, the explanation is this: the Torah is called the Written Torah, [for] “the Holy One, blessed be He, says, and Moshe writes”; and the words of the Scribes are called the Oral Torah.

Explanation

A second question: why is the red heifer, a single mitzvah, called “the statute of the Torah,” as if it stood for the Torah itself? The answer begins with the familiar division between the Written Torah, the words G‑d spoke and Moshe wrote down, and the Oral Torah, the words of the Sages.

אמנם חקת התורה לשון חקיקה (כמ״ש ברבות ר״פ זו חקה חקקתי), והיינו כמו שהתורה היא בשרשה ומקורה ששם היא בבחי׳ אותיות החקיקה שהוא מדרגה עליונה מבחי׳ התלבשותה במדרגת שנק׳ אותיות הכתב להיות נק׳ תורה שבכתב

But chukas ha-Torah is a term of engraving (chakikah) (as is written in [Midrash] Rabbah, at the beginning of the parshah: “This is a statute (chukah); I have engraved it (chakakti)”). That is, [it refers to the Torah] as it is in its root and source, where it is at the level of engraved letters, which is a degree higher than the level of its being clothed in the degree called written letters, so as to be called the Written Torah.

Explanation

The Midrash links chukah (statute) with chakikah (engraving). The Alter Rebbe uses this to point to a level of the Torah above the Written Torah: the Torah in its root, where its letters are “engraved” rather than “written.”

כמו עד״מ בגשמיות באותיות הנכתבים ע״ג הקלף לבן הרי האותיות הם דיו שהוא דבר זר ונפרד מהקלף שלא היה לו שום שייכות מקודם אל הקלף רק שאח״כ כשכותב הספר בדיו ע״ג קלף נתאחדו והיו לאחדים.

As, by way of analogy, in physical things: with letters written upon white parchment, the letters are ink, which is a thing foreign to and separate from the parchment, having had no connection at all with the parchment beforehand; only afterwards, when one writes the scroll in ink upon the parchment, they become united and become one.

Explanation

Written letters are made of ink, a separate substance that had nothing to do with the parchment until the scribe put it there. Even once they are joined, the letters remain something added onto the surface.

אבל אותיות החקיקה הם מיניה וביה והן דבר א׳ ממש עם האבן שנחקקו בו (ועמ״ש מענין זה בד״ה אם בחקתי תלכו ועמ״ש בד״ה שחורה אני ונאוה בענין שהתורה ניתנה באש שחורה ע״ג אש לבנה.

But engraved letters are of the thing itself and within it, and they are truly one thing with the stone in which they were engraved. (And see what is written on this matter in the discourse beginning “If you walk in My statutes,” and see what is written in the discourse beginning “I am black and comely,” on the matter that the Torah was given as black fire upon white fire.

Explanation

Engraved letters are cut out of the stone itself, so they are made of the stone’s own substance and are one with it. The parenthesis sends the reader to two other maamarim; the second explains the Sages’ image of the Torah given as “black fire upon white fire,” the letters and the background on which they appear.

וזהו ענין תורה שבכתב. וממש״ש יובן ג״כ ענין פי׳ אותיות החקיקה דהיינו עד״מ האותיות שבנפש ע״ש) וזהו זאת חקת התורה.

And this is the matter of the Written Torah. And from what is written there, the meaning of engraved letters will also be understood, namely, by way of analogy, the letters that are in the soul; see there.) And this is [the meaning of] “This is the statute of the Torah.”

Explanation

That image describes the Written Torah. The same discourse also explains engraved letters by an analogy from the soul, letters that are within the soul itself; and this, the Alter Rebbe says, is what “the statute of the Torah” refers to.

כלומר שע״י מצות פרה אדומה שהיא חוקה (עיין בקהלת רבה ס״פ מי כהחכם וברבות בא פי״ט תצוה ר״פ ל״ח אמור ספ״ל נשא פי״ב דרמ״ט ע״ד פי״ג דרנ״ג ע״ד)

That is to say: through the mitzvah of the red heifer, which is a statute (chukah) (see Koheles Rabbah, at the end of the passage “Who is like the wise man”; and [Midrash] Rabbah: Bo, chapter 19; Tetzaveh, beginning of chapter 38; Emor, end of chapter 30; Naso, chapter 12, page 249, column d; chapter 13, page 253, column d),

Explanation

The red heifer is the classic chok, a mitzvah whose reason is not revealed, and the parenthesis lists Midrashim that discuss it. In one of them G‑d tells Moshe of the heifer, “It is a statute, and I have decreed a decree”; another compares the statute of the Pesach offering with the statute of the heifer.

תמשיכו למעלה בחי׳ אותיות החקיקה של התורה להיות משם ממש יורד ונמשך בבחי׳ אותיות הכתב דהיינו בתשב״כ ומתשב״כ יומשך גילוי זה בתשבע״פ.

you will draw forth on high the level of the engraved letters of the Torah, so that from there itself it descends and is drawn into the level of written letters, that is, into the Written Torah; and from the Written Torah this revelation will be drawn into the Oral Torah.

Explanation

This is the maamar’s first answer: through the red heifer a person draws forth the root, “engraved” level of the Torah, so that it flows down into the Written Torah and from there into the Oral Torah. Chukas ha-Torah is read as “the engraving of the Torah,” the source that this mitzvah brings down.

והיינו לפי שמצות פרה אדומה הוא כללות התורה כמשי״ת ולזאת ירדה הנשמה ממקום כבודה בג״ע ונתלבשה בגוף החומרי כדי לעשות את התורה.

And this is because the mitzvah of the red heifer is the general and collective expression (klalus) of the Torah, as will be explained. And for this the soul descended from its place of glory in Gan Eden and was clothed in the material body: in order to make the Torah.

Explanation

The reason, explained later, is that the red heifer is the general and collective expression of the whole Torah. The soul came down from Gan Eden into a body for exactly this purpose: to “make” the Torah, that is, to draw it down, a phrase the next paragraph takes from the verses about “doing” the statutes.

Paragraph 1 in brief

The maamar asks why the verse says “which Havayah commanded” and why the red heifer is called “the statute of the Torah.” It begins to answer by reading chukah as “engraving”: above the “written letters” of the Written Torah is a root level of “engraved letters,” one with their source, and the red heifer draws that root down into the Written and the Oral Torah.

Deeper

Ink on parchment and letters cut in stone are two ways an expression can relate to its source: as something added onto it, or as the source’s own substance. According to the Kehot note, a discourse of 5729 on this verse explains that “the general and collective expression of the Torah” here means chiefly the mitzvos, since ratzo vashov, the running and returning described in the next paragraph, is the foundation of all the mitzvos, and the red heifer is ratzo vashov.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    זאת חוקת התורה · הנחת כ״ק אדמו״ר האמצעי ממאמר זה נדפס בסה״מ תקס״ה ח״ב ע׳ תערב. הגהות באוה״ת חוקת ע׳ תשנט. תשס. וראה אוה״ת חוקת כרך ה׳ ע׳ א׳תרטז. א׳תריז.
  2. 2
    Numbers 19:2
  3. 3
    Shemot Rabbah 19:2
  4. 4
    וידבר ה׳ . . זאת חקת · Numbers 19:1
  5. 5
    Shemot Rabbah 38:3
  6. 6
    הקב״ה אומר ומשה כותב · Bava Batra 15a:5
  7. 7
    בד״ה אם בחקתי תלכו · לקו״ת בחקותי מה, ד. סה״מ תקס״ד ע׳ קז. אוה״ת ויקרא-ג ע׳ תתקכא.
  8. 8
    בד״ה שחורה אני · לקו״ת שה״ש ד, ב.
  9. 9
    שחורה אני ונאוה · Song of Songs 1:5
  10. 10
    Kohelet Rabbah 8:1:5
  11. 11
    וברבות בא פי״ט · ”ד״א יהי לבי תמים בחוקיך זה חוקת הפסח וחוקת פרה אדומה, למה ששניהן דומין זה לזה, בזה נאמר זאת חקת הפסח ובזה נאמר זאת חקת התורה, ואי אתה יודע איזה חקה גדולה מזו” — אוה״ת חקת ע׳ תשעג. וראה שם ע׳ תתיב בארוכה.
  12. 12
    תצוה ר״פ ל״ח · ”כשהוא רוצה הוא קוראה לשון נקבה שנאמר ויקחו אליך פרה כו׳” — אוה״ת חקת ע׳ תשעד.
  13. 13
    אמור ספ״ל · ע״פ ולקחתם לכם ביום הראשון . . הרבה קיחות צויתי אתכם בשביל לזכותיכם אמרתי אליכם ויקחו אליך פרה אדומה תמימה” — אוה״ת חקת ע׳ תשעד.
  14. 14
    נשא פי״ב · ע״פ ויהי ביום כלות משה, ישראל נתקדשו בפרת חטאת שנאמר דבר אל בנ״י ויקחו אליך פרה אדומה וגו׳” — אוה״ת חקת ע׳ תשעה.
  15. 15
    פי״ג דרנ״ג ע״ד · ”ע״פ ביום השני הקריב נתנאל כו׳ הקריב את קרבנו אמר ר״פ בן יאיר למה הוסיף הקרב וחסר יו״ד, אלא כנגד פרה אדומה שעשו באותו היום” — אוה״ת חקת ע׳ תשעה.
  16. 16
    לפי שמצות פרה אדומה הוא כללות התורה · בד״ה זאת חוקת תשכ״ט הנ״ל מבאר ”הכוונה היא בעיקר למצות התורה [כמובן מהביאור בלקו״ת שם [נו, ב ואילך], דזה שמצות פרה אדומה הוא כללות התורה הוא כי יסוד כל המצוות הוא רצוא ושוב, ופרה אדומה הו״ע רצוא ושוב]”.
  17. 17
    בדרמ״צ מצות פרה אדומה (צט, ב) ז״ל · ביאור הדברים צריך להעתיק אי״ה מכתב ידי בביכעל המתחיל כי ביום הזה יכפר כו׳ את התורה ששמענו פ׳ פנחס על המשנה דמס׳ פרה הכל כשרים לקדש כו׳ וענין התולעת לא נת׳ שם אך נת׳ בתורה ע״פ וידבר ה׳ אל משה כו׳ זאת חוקת התורה וביאורה שנת תקס״ה כ״י כדו״ח הרב שי׳ [הוא הנדפס בסה״מ תקס״ה הנ״ל]. למאמר זה ראה גם ד״ה זה בסה״מ תרכ״ט ע׳ פה. סה״מ תרס״ה ע׳ רכד. המשך בששה״ק תער״ב ע׳ מא. לקו״ש חי״ג ע׳ 67. ד״ה לה״ע פרה בסה״מ תקס״ב-ב ע׳ שסח (וש״נ). ד״ה זאת חקת התורה פ׳ פרה תשמ״ו. ד״ה זאת התורה אדם תשמ״ז. ד״ה זאת חקת התורה תשמ״ה. תשמ״ח. ד״ה זאת חקת תשכ״ט (נדפס בקונטרס יב-יג תמוז תנש״א) בסה״מ מלוקט ח״ה. ביכעל קטן שמינית בויגין כת״י שתח״י באריכות יותר (קיד, ב) מבכאן [כ].
  18. 18
    ויצונו ה׳ לעשות את כל החקים · Deuteronomy 6:24
  19. 19
    Vayikra Rabbah 30:13
  20. 20
    Jeremiah 36:18
  21. 21
    Leviticus 26:3
  22. 22
    Bamidbar Rabbah 19:1
  23. 23
    Bamidbar Rabbah 12:15
  24. 24
    Bamidbar Rabbah 13:15

2וזהו ויצונו ה׳ לעשות את כל החקים האלה כו׳ וזהו ועשיתם אתם וכתיב ושמרתם את חקתי כו׳

And this is [the meaning of] “And Havayah commanded us to do all these statutes,” etc. And this is [the meaning of] “And you shall do them”; and it is written, “And you shall keep My statutes,” etc.,

Explanation

These verses about “doing” the statutes support the claim that the soul came down “to make the Torah.” The Hebrew verb asah means both “do” and “make,” and the maamar reads it here as “make.”

אשר יעשה אותם האדם שהאדם הוא העושה אותן למצות וחוקים שממשיך אותן מבחי׳ אותיות החקיקה בבחינת תורה שבכתב ועי״ז וחי בהם

“which man shall do”: for man is the one who makes them into mitzvos and statutes, in that he draws them from the level of the engraved letters into the level of the Written Torah; and through this, “and he shall live by them.”

Explanation

“Which man shall do” means that man makes the statutes into mitzvos: he draws them from the engraved letters, the Torah’s root, down into the Written Torah. Through this “he shall live by them,” receiving life from what he has drawn down.

וזהו ירידת הנשמות בגוף ירידה צורך עליה ועשיה והמשכה זו היינו ע״י אתעדל״ת וכמ״ש ואהבת בכל לבבך כו׳, ועי״ז אח״כ והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך כו׳

And this is [the purpose of] the descent of the souls into the body: a descent for the sake of an ascent. And this making and drawing-down is through an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata), as it is written, “And you shall love… with all your heart,” etc.; and through this, afterwards, “And these words which I command you shall be,” etc.

Explanation

This is why souls descend into bodies: the descent makes possible a greater ascent. The drawing-down depends on an arousal from below, a person’s own love of G‑d “with all your heart”; after it comes “these words which I command you,” the Torah drawn down to him.

(וזהו ע״ד שנת׳ סד״ה זכור את יום השבת לקדשו וכתיב שמור כו׳ גבי וכדי להעלות התורה ולקשרה באור א״ס ב״ה ממש שלמעלה מבחי׳ אדם כו׳ ע״ש גם כמ״ש סד״ה נר חנוכה כו׳

(And this is along the lines of what was explained at the end of the discourse beginning “Remember the Shabbos day to keep it holy; and it is written, ‘Keep,’” etc., regarding “and in order to raise the Torah and bind it to the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself, which is above the level of Adam,” etc.; see there. Also as is written at the end of the discourse beginning “The Chanukah lamp,” etc.,

Explanation

The parenthesis compares this with the end of the Torah Ohr discourse on “Remember the Shabbos day,” about raising the Torah and binding it to the Infinite Light that is above the level called Adam (man). There, the Torah Ohr passage explains, there is no division at all into giver and receiver.

מזוזה מימין שאותיות התורה שרשן למעלה מעלה מבחי׳ התורה ונמשך משם בחי׳ תוספת אור באור התורה והיינו ע״י ההעלאה של נר מצוה וע״י אותיות התפלה כו׳ ע״ש, וענין האותיות שלמעלה מהתורה עצמה היינו בחי׳ אותיות החקיקה).

“The mezuzah on the right”: that the root of the letters of the Torah is far, far above the level of the Torah, and from there an added light is drawn into the light of the Torah; and this is through the raising up of “the lamp of a mitzvah” and through the letters of prayer, etc.; see there. And the letters that are above the Torah itself are the level of the engraved letters.)

Explanation

The Chanukah discourse in Torah Ohr explains that the Torah’s letters are rooted far above the Torah itself, and that added light is drawn from there into the Torah by raising up the mitzvos (“a mitzvah is a lamp”) and the letters of prayer. Those letters above the Torah, the parenthesis concludes, are what this maamar calls the engraved letters.

ולהבין איך יהיה ביכולתם להמשיך המשכה עליונה זו וגם מה שייכות ענין זה שהוא כללות התורה למצות פרה אדומה דוקא.

And [we need] to understand how they will be able to draw down this supernal drawing-down; and also, what connection this matter, which is the general and collective expression of the Torah, has to the mitzvah of the red heifer specifically.

Explanation

Two questions remain: how can a human being draw down so lofty a level, and why should this drawing-down, which concerns the whole Torah, be tied to the red heifer in particular?

והענין דהנה מבואר במ״א (בפ׳ יתרו בד״ה וכל העם רואים את הקולות) שכללות ענין המצות הוא שעי״ז נמשך לאדם בחי׳ ומדרגת מ״ש בחיות הקדש והחיות רצוא ושוב

And the explanation: it is explained elsewhere (in Parshas Yisro, in the discourse beginning “And all the people saw the sounds”) that the point of the mitzvos in general is that through this there is drawn to a person the level and degree of what is written of the holy Chayos: “And the Chayos ran and returned (ratzo vashov).”

Explanation

The answer starts from the Torah Ohr discourse on the giving of the Torah: the mitzvos as a whole bring a person to the state of the holy Chayos, the angels of Ezekiel’s vision, who “ran and returned” (ratzo vashov). Ratzo is the soul’s running toward G‑d; shov is its return, as the following lines explain.

וזהו מ״ש באברהם הלוך ונסוע והוא מ״ש בס״י ואם רץ לבך שוב לאחד, רץ לבך

And this is what is written of Avraham, “going and journeying”; and it is what is said in Sefer Yetzirah, “And if your heart runs, return to the One.” “Your heart runs”:

Explanation

Avraham’s “going and journeying” and Sefer Yetzirah’s “if your heart runs, return to the One” describe the same two movements. The maamar now explains the first, “your heart runs.”

כי בינה ליבא שע״י ההתבוננות בגדולת ה׳ איך כי ביו״ד נברא העוה״ב שאפילו עוה״ב שהוא תענוג אין קץ

for “Binah (understanding) is the heart”: through contemplating the greatness of G‑d, how “with the yud the World to Come was created,” so that even the World to Come, which is delight without end,

Explanation

“Binah is the heart”: contemplation, the work of Binah, stirs the feelings of the heart. One contemplates that the whole World to Come, a delight without end, was created with the yud, the smallest letter.

וכמאמר מוטב דלידייניה כו׳ נמשך רק מאות א׳ דכלא חשיב ממש לגבי עצמות א״ס ב״ה

as in the saying, “Better that he be judged,” etc., is drawn from only one letter, which is truly accounted as nothing relative to the essence of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He.

Explanation

The delight of the World to Come is so great that Rabbi Meir said of Acher, “Better that he be judged” and then enter it. Yet all of it comes from a single letter, which is nothing compared with G‑d’s own essence.

וזהו כי עמך מקור חיים שבחי׳ מקור חיים ג״ע ועוה״ב הוא רק עמך בחי׳ טפל כו׳

And this is [the meaning of] “For with You is the source of life”: the level of “the source of life,” Gan Eden and the World to Come, is only “with You,” at the level of something secondary, etc.,

Explanation

Psalms says, “With You is the source of life.” Gan Eden and the World to Come, the souls’ “source of life,” are only “with You”: beside G‑d, as something secondary to Him.

ובטל לגבי מהו״ע ית׳ ועי״ז יומשך הרצוא והתשוקה אליו ית׳ ממש ליכלל וליבטל בו ית׳ וכמ״ש מי לי בשמים ועמך לא חפצתי כו׳

and nullified relative to His being and essence, may He be blessed. And through this the running and the longing will be drawn forth toward Him Himself, may He be blessed, to be included and nullified in Him, may He be blessed; as it is written, “Whom have I in heaven? And with You I do not desire,” etc.

Explanation

Seeing that even Gan Eden is nothing before G‑d’s essence makes the soul run and long for Him alone, to be absorbed and nullified in Him. This is how the maamar reads “Whom have I in heaven? And with You I do not desire”: not even what is “with You.”

פי׳ אפילו בחי׳ ג״ע שנק׳ עמך מקור חיים לא חפצתי רק אליו ית׳ ממש, ורצוא זה נק׳ רץ לבך שהוא בחי׳ יסוד האש שבלב, ואח״כ שוב לאחד ונמשך מחמת

That is: even the level of Gan Eden, which is called “with You is the source of life,” I do not desire, only Him Himself, may He be blessed. And this running is called “your heart runs,” which is the level of the element of fire in the heart. And afterwards [comes] “return to the One,” which is drawn forth because of

Explanation

Gan Eden itself, “with You is the source of life,” is not what the soul wants; it wants G‑d Himself. This running is “your heart runs,” the element of fire in the heart; after it comes the second movement, “return to the One.”

ההתבוננות בסכ״ע אשר אין לפניו מעלה ומטה ועולמות העליונים עם העשייה גשמיות שוין אצלו ית׳ כמ״ש את השמים ואת הארץ אני מלא א״כ לא שייך רצוא ועליה כי הוא

contemplating the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), before which there is no above and below, and the higher worlds together with the physical World of Asiyah (Action) are equal to Him, may He be blessed, as it is written, “I fill the heavens and the earth.” If so, running and ascent do not apply, for He

Explanation

The return comes from contemplating G‑d as sovev kol almin, the light that encompasses all worlds, for which there is no above or below: the highest worlds and this physical world are alike before Him, as “I fill the heavens and the earth.” If He is equally present everywhere, there is nowhere higher to run to.

נמצא למטה כמו למעלה וכל העליות ילכו מחיל אל חיל זהו שייך רק בבחי׳ ממכ״ע כו׳

is found below just as above; and all the ascents, “they go from strength to strength,” apply only to the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin), etc.

Explanation

He is as present below as above. Rising “from strength to strength” belongs only to memalei kol almin, the light that fills each world according to its measure, so that one world receives more than another.

ואדרבה בחי׳ גילוי זה דסכ״ע יהיה לע״ל למטה דוקא, וזהו ולא תוסיף קום שא״צ עליות כי יהיה הגילוי למטה ע״י קיום התורה ומצות בעשייה

On the contrary: this revelation of sovev kol almin will be, in the Time to Come, specifically below. And this is [the meaning of] “and she shall rise no more”: there is no need for ascents, for the revelation will be below, through the fulfillment of the Torah and mitzvos in Asiyah.

Explanation

In fact the revelation of sovev kol almin is destined to come, in the Time to Come, specifically below, through actually fulfilling the Torah and mitzvos in this lowest world. The maamar reads “she shall rise no more” this way: there will be no need to rise, for the revelation will be here below.

ולכן נמשך מזה בחי׳ שוב והוא בחי׳ יראה וביטול שלמעלה מבחי׳ אהבה והוא בחי׳ יסוד המים שבמוח חכמה כח מ״ה שלמעלה מבחי׳ בינה ליבא כו׳.

Therefore the level of “return” is drawn from this; and it is the level of awe and self-nullification (bittul), which is above the level of love; and it is the level of the element of water in the brain, Chochmah (wisdom), koach mah (the potential of “what”), which is above the level of “Binah is the heart,” etc.

Explanation

So the return (shov) follows from this contemplation. It is awe and self-nullification, higher than love: the element of water in the brain, Chochmah, read as koach mah, “the potential of what,” which is above Binah, the understanding that stirs the heart.

Paragraph 2 in brief

The paragraph explains how man “makes” the statutes, drawing the Torah’s root down through his own service, and introduces the key idea of the maamar: the mitzvos bring a person to ratzo vashov, running toward G‑d in love (fire in the heart, from Binah) and returning in awe and self-nullification (water in the brain, Chochmah), because G‑d’s encompassing light is to be revealed below.

Deeper

The two movements come from two contemplations. Seeing that even the World to Come is a single letter, nothing before G‑d’s essence, the soul longs to leave everything for Him (ratzo); seeing that as sovev kol almin He is equally present above and below, it returns to serve Him here (shov). That is why the revelation of the Time to Come is tied to the mitzvos done in this physical world, and why love, from Binah, is placed below awe and bittul, from Chochmah.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ועשיתם אתם · Numbers 15:39
  2. 2
    ושמרתם את חקתי · Leviticus 18:5
  3. 3
    ואהבת בכל לבבך · Deuteronomy 6:5
  4. 4
    והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך · Deuteronomy 6:6
  5. 5
    סד״ה זכור את יום השבת לקדשו · תו״א עא, ג.
  6. 6
    זכור את יום השבת לקדשו · Exodus 20:8
  7. 7
    סד״ה נר חנוכה · תו״א מג, ב.
  8. 8
    נר מצוה · Proverbs 6:23
  9. 9
    בד״ה וכל העם רואים · תו״א עג, ד.
  10. 10
    והחיות רצוא ושוב · Ezekiel 1:14
  11. 11
    הלוך ונסוע · Genesis 12:9
  12. 12
    ואם רץ לבך שוב · Sefer Yetzirah 1:8
  13. 13
    ביו״ד נברא העוה״ב · Menachot 29b:13–14
  14. 14
    מוטב דלידייניה · Chagigah 15b:3
  15. 15
    כי עמך מקור חיים · Psalms 36:10
  16. 16
    מי לי בשמים ועמך לא חפצתי · Psalms 73:25
  17. 17
    את השמים ואת הארץ אני מלא · Jeremiah 23:24
  18. 18
    ילכו מחיל אל חיל · Psalms 84:8
  19. 19
    לא תוסיף קום · Amos 5:2
  20. 20
    Numbers 19:2
  21. 21
    Deuteronomy 6:24
  22. 22
    Exodus 20:15

Fire and water: the heifer as the general form ¶3–8

3ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה וידעת היום. אך איך יבא האדם לבחי׳ זו הוא ע״י קיום המצות

And see what is written on this in the discourse beginning “And you shall know this day.” But how a person comes to this level is through the fulfillment of the mitzvos,

Explanation

The text points to a fuller discussion in the discourse “And you shall know this day” (in Likkutei Torah, Vaetchanan). It then answers the first question: a person comes to ratzo vashov through doing the mitzvos.

דכתיב מימינו אש דת ימינו הוא בחי׳ מים וגם אש דת שכלולים מב׳ בחי׳ אלו ועי״ז יבא האדם לבחי׳ רצוא ושוב שהן בחי׳ אש ומים כו׳

as it is written, “From His right hand, a fiery law”: “His right hand” is the level of water, and [it is] also “a fiery law,” [meaning] that they are comprised of these two levels. And through this a person will come to the level of ratzo vashov (running and returning), which are the levels of fire and water, etc.,

Explanation

The Torah is “a fiery law” given “from His right hand.” The right hand is the level of water, and the law itself is fire, so the Torah and its mitzvos hold both; through them a person comes to ratzo, which is fire, and shov, which is water.

שהן כללות התורה שעד״ז הוסדו כל המצות שהוא רק שיהיה בחינת העלאת מ״ן דהיינו אתעדל״ת והמשכת מ״ד בחי׳ אתעדל״ע.

which are the general and collective expression (klalus) of the Torah; for on this pattern all the mitzvos were founded, which is only that there should be the level of raising mayin nukvin (feminine waters), that is, an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata), and the drawing-down of mayin duchrin (masculine waters), the level of an arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila).

Explanation

Fire and water, running and returning, are the general pattern of the whole Torah. Every mitzvah is built so that a person raises “feminine waters” (mayin nukvin), his own arousal from below, and in answer “masculine waters” (mayin duchrin), an arousal from above, are drawn down to him.

Paragraph 3 in brief

The paragraph answers how a person can reach ratzo vashov: through the mitzvos, which, like the Torah given as “a fiery law” from G‑d’s “right hand,” combine fire and water, and are all built on the pattern of raising feminine waters from below and drawing down masculine waters from above.

Deeper

In Kabbalah, mayin nukvin are the “waters” that the receiver raises, its longing to receive, and mayin duchrin the flow that the giver sends down in answer. The raising parallels ratzo and the drawing-down parallels shov, so the structure of every mitzvah repeats the running and returning of the Chayos.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    Deuteronomy 33:2

4והנה מצות פרה אדומה הוא כללות ענין זה דבחי׳ הרצוא ושוב, הרצוא זהו ענין שריפת הפרה לאפר.

Now, the mitzvah of the red heifer is the general and collective expression (klalus) of this matter of the level of ratzo vashov. The ratzo (running) is the burning of the heifer to ashes,

Explanation

The red heifer is now shown to be ratzo vashov in its general and complete form. Burning the heifer to ashes corresponds to the ratzo, the soul’s running upward.

והשוב זהו ענין ונתן עליו מים חיים אל כלי. ולכן נאמר בה דייקא זאת חקת התורה.

and the shov (returning) is [the meaning of] “and he shall put upon it living water in a vessel.” Therefore it is specifically of it that it is said, “This is the statute of the Torah.”

Explanation

Putting “living water,” fresh spring water, upon the ashes in a vessel corresponds to the shov, the return. This is why this mitzvah in particular is called “the statute of the Torah.”

(ועמ״ש בד״ה וקבל היהודים גבי שאין כח בנפש להכיל כו׳ כ״א בבחי׳ רצוא ושוב והיינו כמ״ש בזח״ג) (האזינו דרפ״ח ע״ב) ועל האי אקרי כו׳ והחיות רצוא ושוב.

(And see what is written in the discourse beginning “And the Jews took upon themselves,” regarding [the point] that the soul has no capacity to contain, etc., except in the manner of ratzo vashov; and this is as is written in the Zohar, Part III) (Haazinu, page 288b): “And on account of this it is called,” etc., “And the Chayos ran and returned.”

Explanation

The parenthesis refers to the Torah Ohr discourse on “And the Jews took upon themselves,” which explains that the soul cannot contain the Divine light except by running and returning. The Zohar says the same of the supernal Head, which no wisdom can grasp: of it is said “And the Chayos ran and returned.”

והנה הגם שבכל מצוה יש בחי׳ זו אך לא בא בחינה זו בביאור וגילוי גמור בכל המצות כמו במצות פרה אדומה.

Now, although in every mitzvah there is this level, this level does not come in full clarity and revelation in all the mitzvos as in the mitzvah of the red heifer,

Explanation

Every mitzvah contains ratzo vashov, but in most mitzvos it is hidden. In the red heifer it is fully revealed.

שכל ענינה הוא ב׳ בחינות אלו דרצוא ושוב שזהו ענין האפר והמים חיים, ולפיכך הוא נק׳ חקת התורה.

whose whole content is these two levels of ratzo vashov, which are the ashes and the living water. Therefore it is called “the statute of the Torah.”

Explanation

The whole procedure of the red heifer consists of these two things, the ashes and the living water, so it openly shows the pattern of the whole Torah. That is why it is called “the statute of the Torah.”

Paragraph 4 in brief

The red heifer openly displays the two movements that underlie all the mitzvos: the burning to ashes is ratzo, and the living water put on the ashes is shov. That is why it alone is called “the statute of the Torah.”

Deeper

The Zohar passage cited ties ratzo vashov to the limits of comprehension: before a level that no wisdom can hold, the Chayos can only reach toward it and return, and the Zohar reads “Flee to your place” in the same sense. This alternation is how a finite soul can hold a light too great for it.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    Numbers 19:17
  2. 2
    Numbers 19:2
  3. 3
    וקבל היהודים · Esther 9:23
  4. 4
    ועל האי אקרי כו׳ והחיות רצוא ושוב · Zohar, Idra Zuta 1:29–4:37
  5. 5
    והחיות רצוא ושוב · Ezekiel 1:14

5וזהו ע״ד משנ״ת במ״א ע״פ והאיש משתאה לה בענין מארז״ל יפה שיחתן של עבדי בתי אבות מתורתן של בנים שהרי פרשה של אליעזר כפולה בתורה והרבה גופי תורה לא נתנו אלא ברמיזה.

And this is along the lines of what was explained elsewhere, on the verse “And the man was wondering at her,” on the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory: “The conversation of the servants of the Patriarchs’ households is more beautiful than the Torah of the sons; for the section of Eliezer is repeated in the Torah, while many essentials of the Torah were given only by allusion.”

Explanation

The text compares this with a discourse on “And the man was wondering at her,” about Eliezer, Avraham’s servant, at the well. It explains the Sages’ saying that the conversation of the Patriarchs’ servants is “more beautiful” than the Torah of their descendants: Eliezer’s story is told twice at length, while many essential laws are only hinted at.

Paragraph 5 in brief

A parallel is introduced: the Torah tells Eliezer’s mission at length, though many essential laws are given only by allusion. The next paragraph gives the reason, which will explain the red heifer as well.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    והאיש משתאה לה · Genesis 24:21

6והיינו לפי שפרשה של אליעזר הוא ענין התחברות שם ב״ן לשם מ״ה והיינו תשבע״פ עם תשב״כ

And this is because the section of Eliezer is the joining of the Name Ban (52) to the Name Mah (45), that is, the Oral Torah with the Written Torah;

Explanation

The reason given there: Eliezer’s mission, bringing a wife for Yitzchak, stands for the joining of the Name Ban (52) to the Name Mah (45), the receiving and the giving aspects. In terms of the Torah, this is the joining of the Oral Torah to the Written Torah.

והוא כללות החיבור דמ״ה וב״ן ובכל המצות הוא דרך פרטי, שיחוד זה במצוה זו הוא בחינה פרטית כו׳ ע״ש.

and it is the general and collective expression (klalus) of the union of Mah and Ban, whereas in all the mitzvos it is in a particular way, for this union in a given mitzvah is a particular level, etc.; see there.

Explanation

Eliezer’s story is the general and collective expression of this union, which is why the Torah dwells on it. Each mitzvah effects the same union, but only in a particular, partial way.

Paragraph 6 in brief

The section of Eliezer is the union of Mah and Ban, the Written and the Oral Torah, in its general form, while each mitzvah effects only a particular part of it.

Deeper

Mah (45) and Ban (52) are two spellings of the Name Havayah with its letters filled out, with alef and with hei. Mah is associated with Z’eir Anpin, the giver, and the Written Torah; Ban with Malchus, the receiver, and the Oral Torah. Their union is what every mitzvah is meant to bring about.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ביו״ד נברא העוה״ב · Menachot 29b:13–14

7וכענין זה יובן ג״כ בפרה אדומה שעליה נאמר חקת התורה שהיא ג״כ כללות התורה. דהיינו שע״י האפר ומים חיים הוא כללות חיבור הרצוא ושוב שזהו ענין יחוד מ״ה וב״ן.

In the same way, it will also be understood regarding the red heifer, of which it is said, “the statute of the Torah,” that it too is the general and collective expression (klalus) of the Torah: through the ashes and the living water there is the general and collective joining of ratzo and shov, which is the union of Mah and Ban.

Explanation

The red heifer, too, is the general and collective expression of the Torah: its ashes and its living water join ratzo with shov, and this joining is itself the union of Mah and Ban.

והוא ג״כ כענין התחברות הלב והמוח שיסוד האש הוא בלב וזהו אם רץ לבך. ויסוד המים הוא במוח והוא בחי׳ שוב ושיתחברו יחד זהו ענין חיבור הרצוא ושוב ועמ״ש בד״ה החלצו מאתכם כו׳.

And it is also like the joining of the heart and the brain: for the element of fire is in the heart, and this is “if your heart runs”; and the element of water is in the brain, and it is the level of “return”; and their joining together is the joining of ratzo and shov. And see what is written in the discourse beginning “Arm from among you,” etc.

Explanation

In a person the same union is the joining of heart and brain: fire, the running, is in the heart (“if your heart runs”), and water, the return, is in the brain. The text points to the discourse “Arm from among you” in Likkutei Torah for more.

Paragraph 7 in brief

Like Eliezer’s section, the red heifer is a union in general form: of ratzo and shov, of Mah and Ban, and within a person, of heart and brain.

Deeper

The discourse cited describes such a union of opposites as “peace”: the left (Gevurah) included in the right (Chesed), a joining that comes from a light above the chain of descending worlds, so that the two, though opposites in themselves, become truly one.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    אם רץ לבך · Sefer Yetzirah 1:8
  2. 2
    בד״ה החלצו מאתכם · לקו״ת מטות פו, ג.
  3. 3
    החלצו מאתכם · Numbers 31:3

8והנה בכל המצות יש ג״כ בחי׳ אש ומים ולכן ע״י קיום כל מצוה יבא האדם לבחי׳ רצוא ושוב כי גם כל אבר כלול מהלב ומוח.

Now, in all the mitzvos there is also the level of fire and water; therefore through the fulfillment of every mitzvah a person will come to the level of ratzo vashov, for every limb, too, is comprised of the heart and the brain.

Explanation

Every mitzvah has fire and water in it, so every mitzvah brings a person to ratzo vashov. In the same way, every limb of the body contains something of both the heart and the brain.

אמנם שם הוא בחינה פרטית, אבל במצות פרה אדומה הוא כללות יחוד זה וכמו חיבור ויחוד המוח והלב עצמן כו׳.

There, however, it is a particular level; but in the mitzvah of the red heifer it is the general and collective expression (klalus) of this union, like the joining and union of the brain and the heart themselves, etc.

Explanation

In a single limb the union of heart and brain is only partial. The red heifer is like the union of the brain and the heart themselves: the union in its general form.

ועמ״ש עוד בפ׳ שלח בד״ה והיה לכם לציצית בענין אש יו״ד ואש ה״א דשם מבואר ג״כ איך ע״י המצות נמשך יחוד זה כו׳ ע״ש:

And see what is written further in Parshas Shelach, in the discourse beginning “And it shall be to you for tzitzis,” on the matter of the fire of yud and the fire of hei, where it is also explained how this union is drawn through the mitzvos, etc.; see there.

Explanation

The text refers to the discourse on tzitzis in Likkutei Torah, Shelach, on the “fire of yud” and the “fire of hei”: ish (man) and ishah (woman) both contain esh (fire), with a yud in one and a hei in the other. That discourse also explains how the mitzvos draw this union down.

Paragraph 8 in brief

Each mitzvah unites fire and water in a particular way, as each limb unites heart and brain; the red heifer is the union in its general form, like the heart and brain themselves.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    בד״ה והי׳ לכם לציצית · לקו״ת שלח מד, ד.
  2. 2
    והיה לכם לציצית · Numbers 15:39
  3. 3
    אש יו״ד ואש ה״א · Sotah 17a:2–3

The burning: the animal soul and its desire ¶9–14

9ב ועתה יש להבין ענין שריפת הפרה איך שזהו בחי׳ רצוא. והענין דאיתא בזהר (פ׳ חקת דק״פ ע״ב) פרה דקבילת מן שמאלא ומאן הוא לשמאלא שור כד״א ופני שור מהשמאל

2. Now we must understand the burning of the heifer: how it is the level of ratzo. The explanation: it is stated in the Zohar (Parshas Chukas, page 180b): “A heifer, which receives from the left. And who is it that is to the left? The ox, as it says, ‘And the face of an ox on the left.’”

Explanation

Section 2 explains why burning the heifer is ratzo. The Zohar says the heifer “receives from the left,” from the ox, as in Ezekiel’s vision of the Chariot “the face of an ox” is on the left.

כי שמאל דוחה וימין מקרבת ויש למעלה בחי׳ ימין ושמאל תפרוצי שמבחי׳ ימין נמשך ההשפעה בהתגלות אור וזהו ימין מקרבת

For “the left pushes away and the right draws near.” And above there are the levels of “right and left you shall spread out”: from the level of the right the flow of influence is drawn with a revelation of light, and this is “the right draws near.”

Explanation

The Sages’ phrase “the left pushes away and the right draws near” describes two ways in which Divine influence is given. From the right, influence comes openly, with revealed light, drawing the receiver close.

ולכן א״א להחיצונים לקבל יניקה מבחי׳ ימין כי ההשפעה הבאה בבחי׳ ההתקרבות והחיבה אינו רק לסט׳ דקדושה וכמ״ש אהבתי אתכם אמר ה׳

Therefore it is impossible for the external forces to receive nourishment from the level of the right; for influence that comes by way of closeness and affection is only for the side of holiness, as it is written, “I have loved you, says Havayah,”

Explanation

Because the right gives in closeness and affection, only the side of holiness receives from it, and the external forces opposed to holiness cannot draw from it. “I have loved you, says Havayah” shows that this love is for the side of holiness.

וכתיב יאר פניו אתנו משא״כ הקליפות אינם מקבלים רק מבחי׳ אחוריים דהיינו כמאן דשדי בתר כתפין ולזאת אין להם יניקה מבחי׳ ימין מקרבת כ״א אדרבה ימינך ה׳ תרעץ אויב כתיב

and it is written, “May He make His face shine with us.” Whereas the kelipos (the husks) receive only from the level of the back (achorayim), that is, like one who throws [something] over his shoulder. Therefore they have no nourishment from the level of “the right draws near”; on the contrary, it is written, “Your right hand, Havayah, shatters the enemy.”

Explanation

The shining of G‑d’s “face” is closeness. The kelipos receive only from the “back,” like something tossed over one’s shoulder without looking; far from feeding the enemy, G‑d’s right hand “shatters” it.

(ולכן בחורבן בהמ״ק כתיב השיב אחור ימינו כו׳ ועמ״ש בד״ה ואהיה אצלו אמון בענין וימינך מקרב חיקך כלה) כ״א יניקתם הוא מבחי׳ שמאל כי

(Therefore, at the destruction of the Holy Temple, it is written, “He has drawn back His right hand,” etc.; and see what is written in the discourse beginning “Then I was by Him as a nursling,” on the matter of “Your right hand, from within Your bosom, consume [them].”) Rather, their nourishment is from the level of the left, for

Explanation

So when the Temple was destroyed and the enemy prevailed, Scripture says G‑d “drew back His right hand.” The text also refers to the discourse “Then I was by Him as a nursling,” on the plea that G‑d bring out His right hand “from within Your bosom” and consume the enemy.

הנה שמאל דוחה שההשפעה שמקו השמאל אינו בבחינת ודרך ימין שמקרבת כ״א בבחי׳ דחייה שדוחה את ההשפעה

“the left pushes away”: the influence from the line of the left is not in the manner and way of the right, which draws near, but rather in the manner of pushing away, so that it pushes the influence away.

Explanation

The left “pushes away”: its giving is not a drawing near but a pushing off, so that what it gives arrives at a distance from the giver.

ולכן ע״י רבוי הצמצומים דחייה אחר דחייה יוכל להיות שיקבלו ג״כ החיצונים וזהו ענין פרה דקבילת משמאלא

Therefore, through many contractions (tzimtzumim), one pushing-away after another, it can come about that the external forces also receive. And this is the meaning of “a heifer, which receives from the left”

Explanation

Through many contractions, one pushing-away after another, the flow becomes so reduced and distant that even the external forces can receive from it. This is what the Zohar means when it says the heifer “receives from the left.”

(ועיין בפי׳ הרמ״ז שם ובלק״ת ס״פ חקת וע׳ בזח״ב פקודי דף רכ״ד ע״ב ובפי׳ הרמ״ז שם ובזהר בפ׳ אחרי דע״ט ע״ב מענין יניקת החיצונים מקו השמאל) וזהו ענין מצות פרה אדומה לתקן ענין זה.

(see the commentary of the Ramaz there, and the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal at the end of Parshas Chukas; and see the Zohar, Part II, Pekudei, page 224b, and the commentary of the Ramaz there; and the Zohar, Parshas Acharei, page 79b, on the external forces’ nourishment from the line of the left). And this is [the purpose of] the mitzvah of the red heifer: to rectify this.

Explanation

The parenthesis gives further sources on the external forces drawing from the line of the left. As the Ramaz (Rabbi Moshe Zacuto) is quoted in the Kehot note, no kelipah comes from the right, but the left itself, spreading downward, becomes dross; the red heifer comes to repair this.

ושבע הזיות נכח פני אהל מועד היינו להעלות פנימיותה שהוא בחי׳ הטוב שנמשך ונתפשט בתוכה מבחינת פני שור שבמרכבה ולהחזירו ולהעלותו לשרשו ואח״כ שריפת הפרה לעשותה אפר.

And the seven sprinklings “toward the front of the Tent of Meeting” are to raise up its inner dimension (pnimiyus), which is the level of the good that was drawn and spread within it from the level of the face of the ox in the Chariot, and to return it and raise it to its root. And afterwards [comes] the burning of the heifer, to make it ashes.

Explanation

Before the heifer is burned, its blood is sprinkled seven times “toward the front of the Tent of Meeting.” This raises the good within it, which came from “the face of the ox” in the Chariot, back to its root; only afterwards is the heifer burned to ashes.

הענין דהנה עד״מ כששורפים עצים ועי״ז נעשים אפר שהאפר הוא מהותו ועצמותו של העץ הנשרף

The explanation is this: by way of analogy, when wood is burned and through this becomes ashes, the ashes are the very being and essence of the burned wood;

Explanation

To explain the burning, the maamar uses an analogy: when wood burns, the ashes that remain are the wood’s very essence.

כי הכל הי׳ מן העפר רק שנרכבו בו עוד ג׳ יסודות אש רוח מים אל העפר שהוא עצמותו וע״י השריפה באש

for “all was from the dust,” only that three more elements, fire, air and water, were compounded in it with the earth, which is its essence. And through the burning in fire

Explanation

“All was from the dust”: earth is the essence of the wood, and fire, air and water were only compounded with it. The burning separates them.

אזי ג׳ יסודות אמ״ר שהיו בהעץ חלפו וכלו בעשן המתהוה מהרכבתן ויסוד הד׳ שהי׳ בעץ שזהו עצמותו

the three elements, fire, water and air, that were in the wood pass away and are consumed in the smoke that comes into being from their combination; and the fourth element that was in the wood, which is its essence,

Explanation

In the fire the other three elements leave the wood and vanish in the smoke that their compound produces. The fourth element, earth, which is the wood’s essence, stays.

שהוא העפר שבו הוא הנשאר קיים והוא האפר והוא ג״כ ענין חומר וצורה שבכל דבר יש חומר וצורה.

that is, the earth in it, is what remains in existence, and it is the ashes. And this is also the matter of matter and form, for in everything there are matter and form.

Explanation

What remains is the earth in the wood: the ashes. The same distinction can be put in terms of matter and form, which every physical thing has.

והחומר הפשוט של העץ הוא יסוד העפר וג׳ היסודות אר״מ הן רק הצורה של העץ וע״י שריפת העץ נשאר רק עצם החומר שלו הפשוט כו׳.

The simple matter of the wood is the element of earth, and the three elements, fire, air and water, are only the form of the wood; and through the burning of the wood only the essence of its simple matter remains, etc.

Explanation

Earth is the wood’s simple matter, and the other three elements give it its particular form. Burning removes the form and leaves only the simple matter; the next paragraph applies this to the soul.

Paragraph 9 in brief

Section 2 begins to explain why burning the heifer is ratzo. The heifer “receives from the left,” the side through which, by many contractions, the external forces draw life; the mitzvah repairs this by first raising the heifer’s inner good to its root and then burning it to ashes, which, like the ashes of wood, are its simple matter once its form is gone.

Deeper

The analogy of ashes as the essence of burned wood appears also in Iggeres HaKodesh (section 15), where it explains Avraham’s words “I am dust and ashes.” Matter and form are the terms of medieval philosophy, as in the Rambam: every body below the heavens is composed of matter and form, and its matter of the four elements.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ועתה יש להבין · לסעיף זה ראה סה״מ תרכ״ט (הוצאת תשנ״ב) ע׳ קא ואילך.
  2. 2
    פרה דקבילת מן שמאלא ומאן הוא לשמאלא שור · Zohar, Chukat 3:16–4:25
  3. 3
    ופני שור מהשמאל · Ezekiel 1:10
  4. 4
    שמאל דוחה וימין מקרבת · Sotah 47a:6–7
  5. 5
    ימין ושמאל תפרוצי · Isaiah 54:3
  6. 6
    אהבתי אתכם אמר ה׳ · Malachi 1:2
  7. 7
    יאר פניו אתנו · Psalms 67:2
  8. 8
    ימינך ה׳ תרעץ אויב · Exodus 15:6
  9. 9
    השיב אחור ימינו · Lamentations 2:3
  10. 10
    בד״ה ואהי׳ אצלו אמון · Numbers 18:4
  11. 11
    ואהיה אצלו אמון · Proverbs 8:30
  12. 12
    וימינך מקרב חיקך כלה · Psalms 74:11
  13. 13
    ובלקו״ת ס״פ חקת · להאריז״ל.
  14. 14
    בזח״ב פקודי דף רכ״ד ובפי׳ הרמ״ז שם · ”כי הימין אין ממנה קליפה אבל השמאל עצמו בהתפשטותו למטה נעשה סיגים”. ביאה״ז להצ״צ-א ע׳ שעג. ובכרך-ב ע׳ תתנב ד״ה אמר לצפון תני — תר״ן ע׳ שצ. ראה גם לקמן נז, ג.
  15. 15
    ושבע הזיות נוכח פני אהל מועד · Numbers 19:4
  16. 16
    שהאפר הוא מהותו . . של העץ · ראה אגה״ק סי׳ טו. אוה״ת יתרו ע׳ תתכו.
  17. 17
    הכל הי׳ מן העפר · Ecclesiastes 3:20
  18. 18
    חומר וצורה · במו״נ להרמב״ם בשלישי פכ״ב ובח״א (פי״ז) ובפ״א מח׳ פרקים שלו. [כ]. ראה הל׳ יסוה״ת רפ״ד.
  19. 19
    חומר וצורה · Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah 4:1

10והנה כך עד״מ בעבודת ה׳ יש בחי׳ עד״ז והוא כי הנפש הבהמית נשתלשלה ג״כ מפני שור מהשמאל כמו בחי׳ פרה דקבילת משמאלא.

Now, so too, by way of analogy, in the service of G‑d there is a level along these lines: the animal soul, too, descended from “the face of an ox on the left,” like the level of “a heifer, which receives from the left.”

Explanation

The analogy now turns to a person’s service of G‑d. The animal soul, the source of a person’s natural drives, also comes from “the face of an ox on the left,” like the heifer that “receives from the left.”

וכמו שמבחי׳ פרה נמשך אחר כך ההשפעה לחיצונים כך מן המדות דנה״ב נמשך החשק והתאוה לתענוגי עוה״ז בהיתר או באיסור ח״ו,

And just as from the level of the heifer the influence is afterwards drawn to the external forces, so from the emotive attributes (middos) of the animal soul there is drawn the desire and craving for the pleasures of this world, whether in what is permitted or in what is forbidden, G‑d forbid.

Explanation

Just as the heifer’s flow continues on to the external forces, so the emotions of the animal soul give rise to desire for the pleasures of this world, whether permitted or forbidden.

והנה כשהאדם חושק וחפץ לדבר מעניני עוה״ז הגשמי הנה אותו הדבר הוא כלי להרצון והתשוקה שבלב האדם

Now, when a person desires and wants something of the matters of this physical world, that thing is a vessel for the will and the longing in the person’s heart;

Explanation

When a person wants some worldly thing, the thing itself becomes a “vessel” for the will and longing in his heart: it is what the will takes hold of and takes shape in.

וכן אותיות המחשבה והדבור שמהרהר ומדבר איך להשיג הדבר הן ג״כ כלים להרצון ההוא וכ״ש המעשה שהן כולם בחי׳ כלים ולבושים להרצון גם הם

and likewise the letters of thought and speech with which he thinks and speaks of how to obtain the thing are also vessels for that will, and all the more so the action; for they are all the level of vessels and garments for the will. And they, too, [are]

Explanation

So too are the thoughts and words with which he plans how to get it, and still more the act of getting it. All of them are vessels and garments in which the will is clothed.

כמו צורה לחומר לעצם הרצון שהוא עד״מ כמו החומר הפשוט והם הם הצורה להיות רוצה כך וכך כו׳.

like form to matter, [form] to the essence of the will, which is, by way of analogy, like the simple matter; and it is they that are the form, [so that he] wants such and such, etc.

Explanation

In the terms of the wood analogy, these vessels are the “form” and the will itself is the “simple matter.” The vessels give the bare will its particular shape: wanting this thing or that.

Paragraph 10 in brief

The analogy of the burning is applied to the soul. The animal soul, like the heifer, comes from the left, and its desires, like the heifer’s flow, can reach out to worldly pleasures; in every desire the will itself is the simple matter, while the thing desired and the thoughts, words and deeds about it are its form.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    מפני שור מהשמאל · Ezekiel 1:10
  2. 2
    פרה דקבילת משמאלא · Zohar, Chukat 3:16–4:25

11והנה עצם הרצון אף שכשנתלבש בתאוה רעה הוא רע גמור מ״מ אין מהות כח הזה חטא ורע מצד עצם עצמותו

Now, as for the essence of the will: although when it is clothed in an evil craving it is utterly evil, nevertheless the nature of this power is not sin and evil in its own very essence;

Explanation

The will itself, even when it is attached to an evil craving and becomes wholly evil, is not evil in its essence.

שהרי עצם מהותו הוא רק כח המתאוה והרי הוא יכול להיות כח המתאוה לטוב כמו שהוא עכשיו מתאוה לרע.

for its essential nature is only a power of desire, and it can be a power that desires good just as it now desires evil.

Explanation

In itself it is only a capacity to desire, and the same capacity could desire good just as it now desires evil.

אלא שהרע הוא מה שהטה והמשיך כח המתאוה להיות מתאוה לרע ונעשה בו הצורה רע מאד ונתלבש בלבושים צואים עד שנמשך לסור ממ״ע או להתאוות לאיסור.

Rather, the evil is that he has bent and drawn the power of desire to desire evil, and the form in it became very evil, and it was clothed in filthy garments, until it was drawn to turn away from the positive commandments or to crave what is forbidden.

Explanation

The evil lies in the direction it was given: it was bent toward evil, took on an evil “form” and was dressed in “filthy garments,” until it led the person to neglect positive commandments or to crave what is forbidden.

אבל מצד כח המתאוה בעצמו הרי יש בכח זה להפוך לבבו מן הקצה אל הקצה להיות מתאוה ואוהב וחפץ לדבקה בה׳ וכמ״ש נפשי אויתיך

But in terms of the power of desire itself, this power is able to turn his heart from one extreme to the other: to crave, to love and to want to cleave to G‑d, as it is written, “My soul, I have desired You,”

Explanation

Since the capacity itself is not evil, it can be turned around completely, from one extreme to the other, into a longing to cleave to G‑d. Isaiah’s words “My soul, I have desired You” express such a longing.

כמו שאוהב ומתאוה לחיי נפשו כו׳ כי באמת כח המתאוה שבנה״ב מצד עצמו שרשו ויסודתו בקדושה עליונה מבחי׳ פני שור שבמרכבה כנ״ל וכמ״ש במ״א ע״פ

as one loves and craves the life of his soul, etc. For in truth the power of desire in the animal soul, in itself, has its root and foundation in supernal holiness, in the level of the face of the ox in the Chariot, as mentioned above, and as is explained elsewhere on the verse

Explanation

The longing for G‑d can be like a person’s craving for his own life. The desiring power of the animal soul is rooted in holiness, in “the face of the ox” of the Divine Chariot; the text refers to the discourse on “When you go out” (to war) for more.

כי תצא כו׳ אלא שבירידות המדרגות ונפילתן בשבה״כ נמשך שיהיה כח המתאוה גם לדבר עבירה ולזאת כשישוב אל ה׳ יוכל להפוך לבו מן הקצה

“When you go out,” etc. Only that through the descent of the levels and their fall in the shattering of the vessels (sheviras hakeilim), it came about that the power of desire is [directed] also to a matter of sin. Therefore, when he returns to G‑d, he can turn his heart from one extreme

Explanation

It came to desire sin only because, in the shattering of the vessels, the levels fell and descended. Therefore, when a person returns to G‑d, he can turn his heart around completely.

אל הקצה שגם כח המתאוה שהיה מלובש בתאוה רעה ישוב לאהבת ה׳ כמו שהי׳ בשרשו בבחי׳ פני שור כו׳.

to the other, so that even the power of desire that was clothed in an evil craving will return to the love of G‑d, as it was in its root, in the level of the face of the ox, etc.

Explanation

Even the power that had been clothed in an evil craving returns to love of G‑d, as it was at its root in “the face of the ox.”

משא״כ המעשה רע אשר מתאוה לו מחמת שהוא באמת רע גמור מצד עצמו א״א לו להתכלל בקדושה ואין לה תקנה אלא ביטולה והעברתה מן העולם.

Not so the evil deed that he craves: since it is in truth utterly evil in itself, it cannot be included in holiness, and there is no remedy for it but its nullification and removal from the world.

Explanation

The evil deed itself is different: it is evil in its own nature and cannot be absorbed into holiness. It can only be nullified and removed from the world.

Paragraph 11 in brief

The will at the core of the animal soul’s desires is not evil in itself: it is a power to desire, rooted in holiness, that fell into evil through the shattering of the vessels. That is why one who returns to G‑d can turn it completely to love of G‑d, while the evil deed itself can only be eliminated.

Deeper

Kuntres HaAvodah, quoted in the Kehot note, qualifies this teaching: that the power of desire is not evil in essence means only that it has no evil form of its own; it is not therefore good, and by its nature it is drawn to material things. Nearly the same words as here appear in Likkutei Torah on Rosh Hashanah, which also cites “with all your heart, with both your inclinations.”

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    כח המתאוה · ראה לקמן ר״ה סא, ד. נתבאר בסה״מ תרס״ד ע׳ רטו.
  2. 2
    שהרי עצם מהותו . . לטוב · בקונטרס העבודה פ״ה מציין ”מ״ש בכ״ד שכח המתאווה בעצם אינו רע וכמ״ש בלקו״ת ד״ה זאת חוקת התורה זהו רק שאין בו ציור רע בעצם, אבל מ״מ אינו טוב, ואדרבא בטבעו הוא נמשך לענינים חומריים”.
  3. 3
    נפשי אויתיך · Isaiah 26:9
  4. 4
    כמו שאוהב ומתאוה לחיי נפשו · Numbers 8:3
  5. 5
    ע״פ כי תצא · לקו״ת תצא לד, ג ואילך.
  6. 6
    כי תצא · Deuteronomy 21:10

12וכמ״ש כ״ז בד״ה להבין פי׳ הפסוק מי אל כמוך גבי ענין נושא עון ועובר על פשע.

As all this is explained in the discourse beginning “To understand the meaning of the verse ‘Who is a G‑d like You,’” regarding “Who bears iniquity and passes over transgression.”

Explanation

The text refers to the discourse in Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah, on “Who is a G‑d like You, who bears iniquity and passes over transgression,” where all this is explained more fully.

וזהו ענין שריפת הפרה שישאר רק האפר שהוא ענין עצם המדות דנה״ב דהיינו בחי׳ כח המתאוה עד״מ כנ״ל שהוא החומר הפשוט

And this is [the meaning of] the burning of the heifer, so that only the ashes remain, which are the essence of the emotive attributes (middos) of the animal soul, that is, the level of the power of desire, which, by way of analogy as mentioned above, is the simple matter;

Explanation

The burning of the heifer, which leaves only its ashes, represents this: what remains of the animal soul’s emotions is only their essence, the bare power of desire, the “simple matter” of the analogy.

אבל הצורה והלבושים צואים שהי׳ כח המתאוה מלובש בהן יהיו חולפים וכלים לגמרי דהיינו שלא יהי׳ כח המתאוה מלובש בהן עוד לא במחשבה שיסיח דעתו לגמרי מלחשוב ולדבר בזה וכ״ש במעשה ח״ו.

but the form and the filthy garments in which the power of desire was clothed will pass away and be consumed entirely. That is, the power of desire will no longer be clothed in them, not [even] in thought, for he will put [the matter] entirely out of his mind, [ceasing] from thinking and speaking of it, and all the more so in deed, G‑d forbid.

Explanation

Its “form,” the filthy garments in which it was clothed, must be consumed completely: a person should not even think or speak about the forbidden thing, and certainly not do it.

ולהיות עוצם עיניו מראות ברע וכדומה לאכפיא לסט״א לעשות ההפך ונגד תאות נפש הבהמית בכל החושים ראיה ושמיעה כו׳ ובמחשבה דבור ומעשה.

And [he is] to be “shutting his eyes from seeing evil,” and the like: to subdue the sitra achra (the other side), doing the opposite of and against the craving of the animal soul in all the senses, sight and hearing, etc., and in thought, speech and action.

Explanation

He is to “shut his eyes from seeing evil” and the like, subduing the other side by acting against the cravings of the animal soul with every sense, and in thought, speech and action.

Paragraph 12 in brief

The burning of the heifer stands for subduing the animal soul’s desires: the bare power of desire remains, like the ashes, while its “form,” every thought, word and deed of the forbidden, is consumed completely.

Deeper

The discourse cited reads “who bears iniquity” as G‑d lifting up what can still be raised, and “passes over transgression” as passing over what is too coarse to rise, so that His kindness is not blocked. In the same way, the power of desire can be raised, while the forbidden garments must be removed.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    בד״ה להבין — מי א-ל כמוך · לקו״ת ר״ה ס, ד ואילך.
  2. 2
    מי אל כמוך · Micah 7:18
  3. 3
    עוצם עיניו מראות ברע · Isaiah 33:15
  4. 4
    לאכפיא לסט״א · Zohar II, 128b

13והנה ע״י אתכפיא זה שמבטל הכלים שבהם מלובש הרצון זה ולהיות דוחה אותן ממנו לגמרי ה״ז עד״מ

Now, through this subduing (iskafya), in which he nullifies the vessels in which this will is clothed and pushes them away from it completely, this is, by way of analogy,

Explanation

This subduing (iskafya), in which a person rejects and pushes away all the vessels in which the craving was clothed, corresponds in the analogy to the burning.

כמו שריפת הפרה שהג׳ יסודות אר״מ שהיו בדרך הרכבה בה חלפו וכלו ע״י השריפה ונשאר רק עצמותה שהוא האפר.

like the burning of the heifer, in which the three elements, fire, air and water, that were compounded in it pass away and are consumed through the burning, and only its essence, which is the ashes, remains.

Explanation

In the burning of the heifer, the fire, air and water compounded with its essence are burned away, and only the ashes, its essence, remain.

כך כשנפרדו הלבושים צואים מודומ״ע דהאיסור מן הנה״ב ונשאר רק עצם כח המתאוה דנה״ב כאשר הוא בעצמותו ואינו מורכב ומלובש במודומ״ע דאיסור וזהו בחי׳ האפר

So too, when the filthy garments, the thought, speech and action of what is forbidden, are separated from the animal soul, and there remains only the essence of the animal soul’s power of desire as it is in itself, not compounded with and clothed in the thought, speech and action of what is forbidden: this is the level of the ashes.

Explanation

When the forbidden thoughts, words and deeds are stripped away from the animal soul, what remains is the bare power of desire, no longer clothed in anything forbidden. This is the “ashes.”

ואזי יוכל להפוך אח״כ כח המתאוה זה מהקצה אל הקצה מאהבה רעה לאהבת ה׳ וכמ״ש ואהבת בכל לבבך בשני יצריך, שגם היצה״ר ישוב לאהבת ה׳ ממש

And then he can afterwards turn this power of desire from one extreme to the other, from an evil love to the love of G‑d, as it is written, “And you shall love… with all your heart,” “with both your inclinations”: that even the evil inclination will return to the love of G‑d itself.

Explanation

Then a person can turn this power around completely, from an evil love to love of G‑d. The Mishnah reads “with all your heart” as “with both your inclinations”: the evil inclination too is to love G‑d.

והיינו שמבחי׳ אתכפיא יבא לבחינת אתהפכ א חשוכא לנהורא וזהו ענין שמע ישראל שם ע׳.

That is, from the level of subduing (iskafya) he comes to the level of transforming (is’hapcha) darkness into light. And this is the meaning of “Shema Yisrael”: shem ayin.

Explanation

This is the step from iskafya, subduing the other side, to is’hapcha, transforming darkness into light. The text hints at it in “Shema Yisrael,” whose first word is read as two, shem ayin.

דהנה ע׳ רבתי זהו ז׳ מדות דקדושה הכלולים מיו״ד והן ע׳ נפש דיעקב וע״י שבה״כ שהי׳ בז׳ מדות הנ״ל בחי׳ ז׳ מלכין קדמאין דתהו דארץ אדום וימלוך וימת כו׳ נתהוו מזה המדות רעות ג״כ ע׳ בחי׳.

For the large ayin is the seven holy emotive attributes, [each] comprised of ten, and they are the seventy souls of Yaakov. And through the shattering of the vessels that took place in these seven attributes, the level of the seven primordial kings of Tohu, of “the land of Edom,” “and he reigned… and he died,” etc., there came into being from this the evil attributes, also seventy levels.

Explanation

The large ayin of Shema (ayin is seventy) stands for the seven holy emotive attributes, each made up of ten, which are also the seventy souls of Yaakov’s household. When these seven shattered, in the world of Tohu represented by the kings of Edom who “reigned” and “died,” seventy evil attributes came into being opposite them.

Paragraph 13 in brief

Once the forbidden garments are stripped away (iskafya), the bare power of desire, the “ashes,” can be transformed into love of G‑d (is’hapcha). The large ayin of Shema alludes to this: seventy holy attributes, and seventy evil ones that came from their shattering.

Deeper

The kings of Edom in Genesis 36, each of whom “reigned” and then “died,” are read in Kabbalah as the seven attributes of the world of Tohu, whose vessels could not hold their light and shattered. Their fallen sparks are the source of the evil attributes, and raising them back to their root is the work of transforming darkness into light.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ואזי יוכל להפוך אח״כ · ראה לקמן פ׳ ואתחנן ב, ג. ולעיל פ׳ שלח מ, ב. אוה״ת סידור ע׳ נט.
  2. 2
    ואהבת בכל לבבך · Deuteronomy 6:5
  3. 3
    ואהבת בכל לבבך בשני יצריך · ברכות פ״ט, מ״ה.
  4. 4
    בכל לבבך בשני יצריך · Mishnah Berakhot 9:5
  5. 5
    אתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא · Zohar III, 267a
  6. 6
    חשוכא לנהורא · Zohar, Introduction 9:48–10:56
  7. 7
    שמע ישראל · Deuteronomy 6:4
  8. 8
    ע׳ נפש דיעקב · Genesis 46:27
  9. 9
    דארץ אדום · Genesis 36:31
  10. 10
    וימלוך וימת · שם לו, לב-לג והלאה.
  11. 11
    וימלוך וימת · Genesis 36:32–33

14וצריך לברר המדות רעות ולהעלותן לשרשן לבחי׳ ע׳ רבתי, ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה וכל בניך למודי גבי ענין ורב שלום, וזהו שם ע׳.

And one must refine the evil attributes (middos) and raise them to their root, to the level of the large ayin; and see what is written on this in the discourse beginning “And all your children shall be taught,” regarding “and great shall be the peace.” And this is shem ayin.

Explanation

The evil attributes must be refined, their good separated out, and raised back to their root in the large ayin, the seventy holy attributes. The text points to the discourse on “And all your children shall be taught of Havayah, and great shall be the peace of your children,” and then explains the phrase shem ayin.

דהנה כתיב ובקשתם משם את ה׳ כו׳ משם דייקא כמ״ש קראו שם פרעה מלך מצרים,

For it is written, “And from there you will seek Havayah,” etc.: “from there” (misham) specifically, as it is written, “They cried there: Pharaoh king of Egypt,”

Explanation

The verse says “And from there you will seek Havayah”: from there (misham) specifically. In the verse “They cried there: Pharaoh king of Egypt,” sham, “there,” is the place of Pharaoh, the realm opposed to holiness.

כי לשון שם הוא מקום הסט״א כי לשון זה הוא דבר שיכול ממש להראות באצבעו אשר יאמר עליו

for the term sham (there) denotes the place of the sitra achra (the other side). For the term zeh (this) [denotes] something one can actually point to with one’s finger, of which one would say

Explanation

Sham, “there,” points to something far away, so it denotes the place of the other side. Zeh, “this,” is used for something right in front of one, which one can point to with a finger and say, “this is it.”

כי הוא זה וא״א לומר כך רק על הקב״ה כמ״ש זה אלי ואנוהו כו׳ כי מלא כל הארץ כבודו, אבל מקום ומשכן הקליפות הוא רחוק מאד

“that this is it”; and this cannot be said except of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, “This is my G‑d, and I will glorify Him,” etc., for “the whole earth is full of His glory.” But the place and dwelling of the kelipos (the husks) is very far away;

Explanation

Only G‑d can truly be called “this,” as in the Song at the Sea, “This is my G‑d,” for “the whole earth is full of His glory” and He is present everywhere. The kelipos, by contrast, are very far from Him.

לכן נק׳ שם כלומר עמוק מאד למטה וז״ש ושם ימותו שהוא מקום המיתה ושבה״כ כו׳ וזהו ובקשתם משם את ה׳ אלקיך ומצאת כו׳ כי לית אתר פנוי מיניה

therefore it is called sham (there), that is, very deep below. And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “And there they shall die”: it is the place of death and of the shattering of the vessels (sheviras hakeilim), etc. And this is [the meaning of] “And from there you will seek Havayah your G‑d, and you will find,” etc.: for “there is no place empty of Him.”

Explanation

So the place of the kelipos is called “there”: very deep below. “And there they shall die” shows it to be the place of death and of the shattering of the vessels; yet from there one can seek G‑d and find Him, for no place is empty of Him.

ולכן גם מבחי׳ שם יוכלו למצוא את ה׳ ע״י ובקשתם את ה׳ לצעוק אל ה׳ בצר לו מעומקא דליבא ובחי׳ תשובה. ועמ״ש מענין זה ע״פ וישב יעקב וע״פ אני לדודי.

Therefore even from the level of sham they can find G‑d, through “and you will seek Havayah”: crying out to G‑d in one’s distress from the depth of the heart, and the level of teshuvah (return). And see what is written on this matter on the verse “And Yaakov settled,” and on the verse “I am my Beloved’s.”

Explanation

Even from that lowest place a person can find G‑d by seeking Him: crying out to Him in distress from the depth of the heart, which is teshuvah. The text points to its discussions of “And Yaakov settled” and “I am my Beloved’s.”

ואזי אתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא ומבחי׳ שָׁם נעשה שֵׁם ע׳ שמתעלה החיות לשרשו וזהו ענין שריפת הפרה לאפר כו׳ כנ״ל,

And then darkness is transformed into light, and from the level of sham it becomes shem ayin, for the life-force is raised to its root. And this is [the meaning of] the burning of the heifer to ashes, etc., as mentioned above.

Explanation

Then darkness is turned into light: the life-force that had fallen “there” (sham) is raised to its root and becomes shem ayin, part of the seventy holy attributes. This is what the burning of the heifer to ashes accomplishes.

(והיינו כמ״ש בפע״ח שם רפ״ח ניצוצין ושם ב״ן בגימט׳ שם והם מתעלים לשרשן בע׳ רבתי ז״ת דס״ג, ועיין מ״ש בפ׳ וישלח סד״ה ויאבק איש כו׳.

(And this is as is written in Pri Etz Chaim: sham, the 288 sparks and the Name Ban (52), [together] equal sham in numerical value, and they rise to their root in the large ayin, the seven lower [Sefiros] of the Name Sag (63). And see what is written in Parshas Vayishlach, at the end of the discourse beginning “And a man wrestled,” etc.

Explanation

Pri Etz Chaim explains that the fallen sparks, 288 in number, together with the Name Ban (52), add up to 340, the numerical value of sham. They rise to their root in the large ayin, which is the seven lower Sefiros of the Name Sag.

וזהו שהפרה באה לטהר טומאת מת היינו בחי׳ שבה״כ דזמ״ל הנ״ל שנק׳ וימת כו׳ מאן דנפיל מדרגי׳ אקרי מית ועמ״ש ע״פ ויאכילך את המן כו׳ וזהו שקורין פ׳ פרה קודם ר״ח ניסן ליטהר ולבא לבחי׳ יציאת מצרים כו׳ ועיין ברבות בא פי״ט):

And this is why the heifer comes to purify from the impurity of the dead: that is, the level of the shattering of the vessels of the seven kings mentioned above, which is called “and he died,” etc., [for] “one who falls from his level is called dead.” And see what is written on the verse “And He fed you the manna,” etc. And this is why Parshas Parah is read before Rosh Chodesh Nissan: to be purified and to come to the level of the Exodus from Egypt, etc. And see [Midrash] Rabbah, Bo, chapter 19.)

Explanation

This is why the red heifer purifies from the impurity of death: it repairs the “death” of the seven kings, the shattering of the vessels, for “one who falls from his level is called dead.” That is also why Parshas Parah is read before Rosh Chodesh Nissan: to be purified and ready for the Exodus, as the Midrash cited ties the heifer to the Pesach offering.

Paragraph 14 in brief

The evil attributes must be refined and raised to the large ayin. The paragraph reads Shema as shem ayin: from sham, “there,” the distant place of the kelipos and of the shattering, one can still seek and find G‑d through teshuvah, and the fallen life-force is raised to become shem ayin. This is the work of the heifer’s ashes, which purify from the “death” of the shattering.

Deeper

Pri Etz Chaim (Gate of the Recitation of the Shema, ch. 9) counts the fallen “back” levels as 288 sparks, four times 72, and adds the Name Ban, the “face” of Malchus, which also descended: 288 + 52 = 340, the value of שם. All that needs sweetening joins Malchus and is called by this name, and in the Shema one intends to draw light to it from the large ayin, the seven lower Sefiros of Binah.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    בד״ה וכל בניך · לקו״ת ראה ל, ב.
  2. 2
    וכל בניך למודי · Isaiah 54:13
  3. 3
    ובקשתם משם את ה׳ · Deuteronomy 4:29
  4. 4
    קראו שם פרעה · Jeremiah 46:17
  5. 5
    אשר יאמר עליו כי הוא זה · Exodus 22:8
  6. 6
    ושם ימותו · Numbers 14:35
  7. 7
    לית אתר פנוי מיני׳ · ת״ז תנ״ז.
  8. 8
    לית אתר פנוי מיניה · Tikkunei Zohar 91b:6–92a:1
  9. 9
    לצעוק . . בצר לו · Psalms 107:6
  10. 10
    ע״פ וישב יעקב · תו״א כו, ד.
  11. 11
    וישב יעקב · Genesis 37:1
  12. 12
    וע״פ אני לדודי · ראה לקו״ת פ׳ ראה לג, ג.
  13. 13
    אתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא · Zohar, Introduction 9:48–10:56
  14. 14
    כמ״ש בפע״ח · ש׳ הק״ש פ״ט. [כ].
  15. 15
    רפ״ח ניצוצין ושם ב״ן בגימט׳ שם · Pri Etz Chaim, Gate of the Recitation of the Shema 9:4
  16. 16
    בפ׳ וישלח סד״ה ויאבק איש · תו״א כו, ג ואילך.
  17. 17
    ויאבק איש · Genesis 32:25
  18. 18
    מאן דנפל מדרגי׳ אקרי מית · בזח״ג קלה, ב — הובא בע״ח ש׳ שבה״כ פ״ב ובמבו״ש ש״ב ח״ב פ״ג — איתא מאן דנחית מדרגי׳ קדמאה דהוה בי׳ קארי׳ בי׳ מיתה — לקו״ש ח״י ע׳ 211. ראה ב״ר ר״פ ויחי. בענין שנתבאר כאן — ראה אוה״ת חקת ע׳ תשפ.
  19. 19
    מאן דנפיל מדרגי׳ אקרי מית · Zohar, Idra Rabba 24:177–25:188
  20. 20
    ויאכילך את המן · Deuteronomy 8:3
  21. 21
    זה א-לי ואנוהו · Exodus 15:2
  22. 22
    מלא כה״א כבודו · Isaiah 6:3

The living water, and the worm ¶15–17

15ג והנה בחי׳ שריפת הפרה לאפר הוא להיות ואהבת בכל לבבך בשני יצריך והוא בחי׳ רצוא אם רץ לבך יסוד האש שבלב ואח״כ צ״ל בחי׳ שוב

3. Now, the level of the burning of the heifer to ashes is so that there be “And you shall love… with all your heart,” “with both your inclinations”; and this is the level of ratzo, “if your heart runs,” the element of fire in the heart. And afterwards there must be the level of shov,

Explanation

Section 3 turns to the second stage, the living water. The burning to ashes stood for loving G‑d “with both your inclinations,” the ratzo of the fire in the heart; after it must come shov, the return.

והוא ענין מ״ש ונתן עליו מים חיים אל כלי דכמו מים חיים הם הנובעים מתחת הארץ שמקורם הוא בהעלם בתוך הארץ ונמשכים מההעלם אל הגילוי כך

and this is the meaning of what is written, “and he shall put upon it living water in a vessel.” For just as living water is [water] that springs up from beneath the earth, whose source is hidden within the earth, and it is drawn from concealment to revelation, so

Explanation

This is the “living water in a vessel” put with the ashes. Living water is spring water, which rises from a source hidden deep in the earth and comes out into the open.

הנה הוא ית׳ נק׳ מקור מים חיים כי הוא סתימו דכל סתימין וטמירו דכל טמירין אנכי מי שאנכי וממנו ית׳ נמשך בחי׳ מים חיים היא התורה

He, may He be blessed, is called “the source of living water,” for He is “the hidden of all hidden ones” and “the concealed of all concealed ones,” “I am who I am”; and from Him, may He be blessed, is drawn the level of living water, which is the Torah,

Explanation

So G‑d is called “the source of living water,” for He is utterly hidden, “the hidden of all hidden ones,” the “I” of “I am who I am.” From Him flows the “living water,” which is the Torah.

שהיא בחי׳ חכמה עילאה שנאמר בה והחכמה תחיה ולכן נאמר ימותו ולא בחכמה. כי החכמה היא בחי׳ עץ חיים.

which is the level of supernal Chochmah (wisdom), of which it is said, “and wisdom gives life”; and therefore it is said, “They die, and not with wisdom.” For Chochmah is the level of the Tree of Life.

Explanation

The Torah is supernal Chochmah, and wisdom “gives life”; of those who perish it is said that they die “not with wisdom.” Chochmah is the Tree of Life.

אך הנה המשכה זו דמים חיים הוא אל כלי דוקא שהם מעשה המצות שהם בחי׳ כלים

However, this drawing-down of living water is “into a vessel” specifically: these are the deeds of the mitzvos, which are the level of vessels.

Explanation

But the living water must be put “into a vessel”: the mitzvos done in practice are the vessels that receive and hold the flow drawn from the Torah’s source.

כי רמ״ח מ״ע נק׳ רמ״ח אברים דמלכא שכל מצוה ומצוה היא בחי׳ כלי מיוחד לגילוי אור כמו בתפילין הגילוי בבחי׳ מוחין ובצדקה בבחי׳ חסד כו׳

For the 248 positive commandments are called “the 248 limbs of the King,” for each and every mitzvah is the level of a particular vessel for the revelation of light: as in tefillin the revelation is at the level of the intellect (mochin), and in charity at the level of Chesed (kindness), etc.

Explanation

The 248 positive commandments are “the 248 limbs of the King”: each mitzvah is a vessel for a particular revelation of Divine light, as each limb serves a particular power. Tefillin reveal the light of the intellect; charity reveals the light of Chesed, kindness.

(ועמ״ש בד״ה ראיתי והנה מנורת זהב ובד״ה וקבל היהודים) וכן אותיות התורה הם ג״כ בחי׳ כלים כו׳.

(And see what is written in the discourse beginning “I saw, and behold, a menorah all of gold,” and in the discourse beginning “And the Jews took upon themselves.”) And likewise the letters of the Torah are also the level of vessels, etc.

Explanation

The text points to two discourses for more, “I saw, and behold, a menorah all of gold” and “And the Jews took upon themselves,” and adds that the letters of the Torah too are vessels for its light.

(ועמ״ש בפ׳ מקץ בד״ה נר חנוכה כו׳ ומזוזה מימין כו׳). וכ״ז הוא בחי׳ שוב לאחד

(And see what is written in Parshas Miketz, in the discourse beginning “The Chanukah lamp,” etc., “and the mezuzah on the right,” etc.) And all this is the level of “return to the One,”

Explanation

A further reference is to the Chanukah discourse on “the mezuzah on the right.” All this drawing-down through Torah and mitzvos is the “return to the One,” the shov.

והיינו שלאחר בחי׳ הרצוא שהוא ענין אפר הפרה צ״ל בחי׳ שוב להמשיך גילוי אור א״ס ב״ה מלמעלה למטה ע״י עסק התומ״צ והמשכה זו היא ממקור מים חיים ממש שהוא בחי׳ מקור התורה א״ס ב״ה

that is, after the level of ratzo, which is the ashes of the heifer, there must be the level of shov: to draw down the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, from above to below, through occupation with the Torah and mitzvos. And this drawing-down is from the very source of living water, which is the level of the source of the Torah, the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He.

Explanation

After the ratzo, the ashes, must come the shov: drawing the Infinite Light down into the world through Torah study and the mitzvos. This flow comes from the very source of the living water, the Infinite One, who is the source of the Torah itself.

כי רוח אייתי רוח ואמשיך רוח שע״י אם רץ לבך כו׳ ואתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא דנה״ב שזהו בחי׳ תשובה עי״ז ממשיך מבחי׳ מקור מים חיים כו׳

For “spirit brings spirit and draws down spirit”: through “if your heart runs,” etc., and the transformation of the darkness of the animal soul into light, which is the level of teshuvah (return), through this one draws from the level of the source of living water, etc.

Explanation

The Zohar’s saying “spirit brings spirit and draws down spirit” explains how: the heart’s running, and the turning of the animal soul’s darkness into light, which is teshuvah, rise from below and draw down in answer a flow from the source of living water.

ולכן צ״ל נתינת האפר ע״ג המים כי גם אחר בחי׳ שוב מ״מ צ״ל ניכר רישומו של הרצוא כי צ״ל תמיד רצוא ושוב וכמ״ש במ״א בד״ה וכל העם רואים כו׳.

Therefore the ashes must be put upon the water: for even after the level of shov, nevertheless the impression of the ratzo must be recognizable, for there must always be ratzo vashov, as is explained elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “And all the people saw,” etc.

Explanation

That is why the ashes are put with the water: even in the return, the mark of the running must remain, for there must always be both running and returning. The text refers to the discourse “And all the people saw.”

בשגם כי האפר והרצוא הוא הגורם המשכת המים חיים ממקור מים חיים כנ״ל (ועמ״ש בד״ה ואהיה אצלו אמון בענין אני תורתך שעשעתי ועמ״ש במ״א ע״פ הזהר פ׳ תזריע)

All the more so, since the ashes and the ratzo are what cause the drawing-down of the living water from the source of living water, as mentioned above. (And see what is written in the discourse beginning “Then I was by Him as a nursling,” on the matter of “I have delighted in Your Torah”; and see what is written elsewhere on the Zohar, Parshas Tazria)

Explanation

Moreover, the ashes, the running, are what draw the living water down from its source. The parenthesis points to the discourse “Then I was by Him as a nursling,” on “I have delighted in Your Torah,” and to an explanation of a Zohar passage in Parshas Tazria.

(דמ״ט א׳) בענין הזה עליהם מי חטאת שיורי טלא דבדולחא כו׳ ועמ״ש בביאור ע״פ ששים המה מלכות כו׳ אחת היא יונתי כו׳.

(page 49a), on the matter of “Sprinkle upon them the water of purification,” “the remnants of the crystal dew,” etc. And see what is written in the explanation on “There are sixty queens,” etc., “My dove is one,” etc.

Explanation

That Zohar passage speaks of the “water of purification” sprinkled on the Levites as “the remnants of the crystal dew.” A further reference is to the explanation of “There are sixty queens… My dove is one.”

ובזה יובן ג״כ מ״ש ולקח הכהן עץ ארז ואזוב ושני תולעת והשליך אל תוך שרפת הפרה.

And with this will also be understood what is written, “And the kohen shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet wool (shni tola’as), and cast [them] into the midst of the burning of the heifer.”

Explanation

The same idea explains the three things thrown into the fire of the heifer: cedar wood, hyssop and “scarlet,” shni tola’as, literally the crimson of the worm.

דהנה כתיב אל תיראי תולעת יעקב מתי ישראל וארז״ל מה תולעת זו אינה מכה ארזים

For it is written, “Fear not, worm (tola’as) Yaakov, men of Israel”; and our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Just as this worm strikes the cedars only

Explanation

Isaiah calls Israel “worm (tola’as) Yaakov.” The Sages explain: as the small worm overcomes the mighty cedar with its mouth alone, so Israel’s strength is in the mouth.

אלא בפיה כך ישראל אין להם אלא תפלה כו׳ וכן בדיבור התורה וכמארז״ל (במ״ק דט״ז ע״ב)

with its mouth, so Israel have nothing but prayer,” etc. And so too with the speech of Torah, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (in Moed Katan, page 16b)

Explanation

Israel’s weapon is prayer, the power of the mouth. The same holds for spoken words of Torah, as the Talmud says of King David.

גבי דוד כשהיה יושב ועוסק בתורה היה מעדן עצמו כתולעת וכמארז״ל ע״פ הקל קול יעקב כו׳ וע׳ מזה בזהר ס״פ וישלח (דקע״ח א׳) ובפ׳ תרומה (דקל״ט א׳).

regarding David: when he would sit and occupy himself with Torah, he would make himself soft like a worm; and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said on the verse “The voice is the voice of Yaakov,” etc. And see on this the Zohar at the end of Parshas Vayishlach (page 178a) and in Parshas Terumah (page 139a).

Explanation

When David sat and studied Torah he “made himself soft like a worm.” The text adds the Sages’ teaching on “The voice is the voice of Yaakov” and two Zohar passages on the same theme.

והענין כי עסק התורה הנק׳ מים חיים צ״ל בדבור דוקא וכמ״ש ודברת בם ולא סגי בהגיון במחשבה לבד. וכנודע ג״כ שכל המצות צריך לקיימן במעשה ודבור ומחשבה.

And the explanation is that occupation with the Torah, which is called living water, must be in speech specifically, as it is written, “and you shall speak of them”; meditation in thought alone does not suffice. And as is also known, all the mitzvos must be fulfilled in action, speech and thought.

Explanation

Torah study, the “living water,” must be spoken aloud: “and you shall speak of them”; thinking about it alone is not enough. Indeed every mitzvah is to be fulfilled in action, speech and thought.

וגם המצות שאינן נוהגות אלא בפני הבית שא״א לקיימן במעשה אבל בדבור אפשר לקיימן וכמארז״ל כל העוסק בתורת עולה כאלו הקריב עולה כו׳.

And even the mitzvos that apply only in the presence of the Temple, which cannot be fulfilled in action, can be fulfilled in speech, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Whoever occupies himself with the Torah of the burnt-offering is as if he offered a burnt-offering,” etc.

Explanation

Even the mitzvos that apply only when the Temple stands, which cannot be done in practice, can be fulfilled in speech: one who studies the laws of the burnt-offering is “as if he offered” it.

והענין הוא שע״י הדבור בד״ת נמשך ומתלבש כח הדבור העליון בפי המדבר וכמ״ש ודברי אשר שמתי בפיך וכמ״ש במ״א בכמה דוכתי,

And the explanation is that through speaking words of Torah, the power of the supernal speech is drawn down and clothed in the mouth of the one who speaks, as it is written, “and My words which I have put in your mouth,” and as is explained elsewhere in several places.

Explanation

The reason is that when a person speaks words of Torah, G‑d’s own supernal speech is drawn down and clothed in his mouth, as in “My words which I have put in your mouth.”

(ועמ״ש בפ׳ יתרו בד״ה בחדש השלישי בפי׳ לאמר דתחלת עשרת הדברות ועמש״ש סד״ה משה ידבר ועמ״ש סד״ה ביום השמיני עצרת גבי ואשים דברי בפיך ובצל ידי כסיתיך ובד״ה וארשתיך לי בענין פי׳ את ה׳ האמרת היום כו׳

(And see what is written in Parshas Yisro, in the discourse beginning “In the third month,” on the meaning of “saying” (lemor) at the beginning of the Ten Commandments; and see what is written there at the end of the discourse beginning “Moshe would speak”; and see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “On the eighth day, an assembly,” regarding “And I have put My words in your mouth, and in the shadow of My hand I have covered you”; and in the discourse beginning “And I will betroth you to Me,” on the meaning of “You have declared Havayah this day,” etc.;

Explanation

A long parenthesis lists discourses on the power of spoken Torah: on “saying” at the opening of the Ten Commandments, on “Moshe would speak,” on “I have put My words in your mouth, and in the shadow of My hand I have covered you,” and on “You have declared Havayah this day.”

ומ״ש סד״ה להבין מ״ש ביום השמיני עצרת גבי תען לשוני אמרתך ועמ״ש מענין הדבור בד״ת בד״ה קא מיפלגי במתיבתא דרקיעא אם בהרת קדמה כו׳. וע׳ בזהר ס״פ משפטים)

and what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “To understand what is written, ‘On the eighth day, an assembly,’” regarding “My tongue shall respond with Your word”; and see what is written on speaking words of Torah in the discourse beginning “They disputed in the Heavenly Academy: if the white spot preceded,” etc. And see the Zohar at the end of Parshas Mishpatim)

Explanation

It continues with the discourse on “My tongue shall respond with Your word,” the one on the dispute in the Heavenly Academy about the white spot, and a Zohar passage at the end of Parshas Mishpatim.

(דקכ״ג א׳) בענין דעת גניז בפומא כו׳ ומ״ש ע״ז בספר מבוא שערים (שער שלישי ח״ב פ״ג) ועיין ברבות

(page 123a), on the matter of “Daas (knowledge) is hidden in the mouth,” etc.; and what is written about this in the book Mavo She’arim (Sha’ar 3, part 2, chapter 3); and see [Midrash] Rabbah,

Explanation

That Zohar passage says that Daas, knowledge, is “hidden in the mouth,” and the Kabbalistic work Mavo She’arim discusses it. The Midrash on Ki Sisa is cited next.

כי תשא פמ״א גבי נתן לו מתוך פיו כו׳ מפיו דעת כו׳ ע״ש ועמ״ש בד״ה ויאמר כו׳ מי שם פה לאדם כו׳ ועיין בסש״ב ח״א ספ״ה.

Ki Sisa, chapter 41, regarding “He gave it to him from within His mouth,” etc., “from His mouth, knowledge,” etc.; see there. And see what is written in the discourse beginning “And He said,” etc., “Who gave man a mouth,” etc. And see Sefer Shel Beinonim, Part I, end of chapter 5.

Explanation

The Midrash says that G‑d gave the Torah to Moshe “from within His mouth,” like a father who gives his beloved son a morsel from his own mouth, citing “from His mouth, knowledge and understanding.” Further references are to the discourse on “Who gave man a mouth” and to the end of chapter 5 of Tanya (Sefer Shel Beinonim).

וז״ש למען תהיה תורת ה׳ בפיך כו׳ בפיך דייקא וזהו ענין תולעת יעקב שכחו בפיו דייקא.

And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “so that the Torah of Havayah may be in your mouth,” etc.: “in your mouth” specifically. And this is [the meaning of] “worm Yaakov,” whose strength is in his mouth specifically.

Explanation

So the verse says the Torah should be “in your mouth” specifically. This is “worm Yaakov”: like the worm, Israel’s strength is in the mouth.

Paragraph 15 in brief

Section 3 explains the shov. The “living water” is the Torah, flowing from G‑d, the hidden source, and it must be received “in a vessel,” the mitzvos and the letters of the Torah; the ashes go with the water because the running must remain within the return, and it is the running that draws the water down. The “scarlet worm” thrown into the fire then introduces the power of the mouth: prayer and spoken words of Torah, in which G‑d’s own speech is clothed.

Deeper

The two stages of the red heifer map onto teshuvah and Torah: the burning is the soul’s ratzo, rising from below in teshuvah, and the living water is the Torah drawn down from above into the vessels of the mitzvos. Because “spirit brings spirit,” the arousal from below is what calls forth the flow from above, which is why the ashes must be present in the water.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ואהבת בכל לבבך בשני יצריך · Mishnah Berakhot 9:5
  2. 2
    אם רץ לבך · Sefer Yetzirah 1:8
  3. 3
    ונתן עליו מים חיים אל כלי · Numbers 19:17
  4. 4
    מקור מים חיים · Jeremiah 2:13
  5. 5
    סתימו דכל סתימין · Zohar II, 89a
  6. 6
    בחי׳ מים חיים היא התורה · ראה לקו״ש ח״ז ע׳ 321.
  7. 7
    והחכמה תחי׳ · Ecclesiastes 7:12
  8. 8
    ימותו ולא בחכמה · Job 4:21
  9. 9
    רמ״ח מ״ע נק׳ רמ״ח אברים דמלכא · ראה ת״ז ת״ל.
  10. 10
    רמ״ח מ״ע נק׳ רמ״ח אברים דמלכא · Tikkunei Zohar 74a:8
  11. 11
    ראיתי והנה מנורת זהב · Zechariah 4:2
  12. 12
    וקבל היהודים · Esther 9:23
  13. 13
    רוח אייתי רוח · Zohar II, 162b
  14. 14
    נתינת האפר ע״ג המים · רמב״ם הל׳ פרה פ״ט, ה״א.
  15. 15
    נתינת האפר ע״ג המים · Mishneh Torah, Red Heifer 9:1
  16. 16
    בד״ה וכל העם רואים · תו״א עג, ד.
  17. 17
    וכל העם רואים · Exodus 20:15
  18. 18
    ואהיה אצלו אמון · Proverbs 8:30
  19. 19
    אני תורתך שעשעתי · Psalms 119:70
  20. 20
    במ״א ע״פ הזהר פ׳ תזריע · ביאה״ז לכ״ק אדה״א עג, א ואילך. נוסחא שני׳ בסה״מ תקס״ה.
  21. 21
    הזה עליהם מי חטאת · Numbers 8:7
  22. 22
    שיורי טלא דבדולחא · Zohar, Tazria 24:123–25:134
  23. 23
    ששים המה מלכות · Song of Songs 6:8
  24. 24
    אחת היא יונתי · Song of Songs 6:9
  25. 25
    ולקח הכהן עץ ארז · Numbers 19:6
  26. 26
    אל תיראי תולעת יעקב · Isaiah 41:14
  27. 27
    מה תולעת זו אינה מכה ארזים אלא בפיה · Zohar I, 178a
  28. 28
    מה תולעת זו אינה מכה ארזים אלא בפיה · Midrash Tanchuma, Beshalach 9:2
  29. 29
    Moed Katan 16b:26
  30. 30
    וכמארז״ל ע״פ הקל קול יעקב · Genesis 27:22
  31. 31
    ודברת בם · Deuteronomy 6:7
  32. 32
    כל העוסק בתורת עולה · Menachot 110a:13–14
  33. 33
    משה ידבר · Exodus 19:19
  34. 34
    ודברי אשר שמתי בפיך · Isaiah 59:21
  35. 35
    בחדש השלישי · Exodus 19:1
  36. 36
    סד״ה ביום השמיני עצרת · לקו״ת שמע״צ פד, ב.
  37. 37
    ביום השמיני עצרת · Numbers 29:35
  38. 38
    ואשים דברי בפיך ובצל ידי כסיתיך · Isaiah 51:16
  39. 39
    ובד״ה וארשתיך לי · לקו״ת במדבר ח, ד.
  40. 40
    וארשתיך לי · Hosea 2:21
  41. 41
    את ה׳ האמרת היום · Deuteronomy 26:17
  42. 42
    סד״ה להבין מ״ש ביום השמע״צ · לקו״ת סוכות פא, ג.
  43. 43
    תען לשוני אמרתך · Psalms 119:172
  44. 44
    בד״ה קא מיפלגי · לקו״ת תזריע כב, ב ואילך.
  45. 45
    קא מיפלגי במתיבתא דרקיעא אם בהרת קדמה · Bava Metzia 86a:6–7
  46. 46
    דעת גניז בפומא · Zohar, Mishpatim 22:528–536
  47. 47
    נתן לו מתוך פיו · Shemot Rabbah 41:3
  48. 48
    מפיו דעת · Proverbs 2:6
  49. 49
    מי שם פה לאדם · Exodus 4:11
  50. 50
    למען תהי׳ תורת ה׳ · Exodus 13:9
  51. 51
    Zohar, Mishpatim 22:529

16וזהו עיקר בחי׳ מדבר. וכמ״ש במב״ש שם כי ההבדל בין חי מדבר לחי בלתי מדבר הוא בפה כו׳.

And this is the essence of the level of medaber (the speaking being). As is written in Mavo She’arim there, the difference between a living being that speaks and a living being that does not speak is in the mouth, etc.

Explanation

This power of the mouth is what makes a human being a medaber, a “speaking being,” the highest of the kinds of creation. As Mavo She’arim says, what separates a creature that speaks from other living creatures is the mouth.

אך הכח הזה היינו כשיהיה הדבור בד״ת בבחי׳ ביטול כמ״ש ולא תחללו כו׳ שלאלעשות חלל ומסך מבדיל.

But this power [comes] when the speech in words of Torah is in a state of self-nullification (bittul), as it is written, “And you shall not profane,” etc.: not to make a void (chalal) and a separating screen.

Explanation

But the mouth has this power only when words of Torah are spoken with self-nullification. “You shall not profane” (techalelu) is read as “do not make a void” (chalal): self-importance creates a gap, a screen that separates a person from G‑d.

וזהו בחי׳ תולעת היינו שיהיה בבחי׳ ביטול בבחי׳ נבזה בעיניו נמאס ואנכי תולעת ולא איש ועי״ז יהיה הכח בפיו כשמדבר דברי תורה להיות ואשים דברי ממש בפיך ועי״ז יהיה עצום כח פיו לגרש ולהפריד יניקת החיצונים

And this is the level of the worm: that he be in a state of self-nullification, at the level of “lowly in his own eyes, despised,” and “But I am a worm and not a man.” Through this there will be power in his mouth when he speaks words of Torah, so that there be “And I have put My words,” truly, “in your mouth”; and through this the power of his mouth will be mighty to drive out and separate the nourishment of the external forces

Explanation

This self-nullification is the quality of the worm: to be lowly in one’s own eyes, as David said, “I am a worm and not a man.” Then G‑d’s words are truly placed in the person’s mouth, and his speech has the strength to drive away the external forces and cut off their nourishment.

(ועמ״ש בפ׳ מקץ בד״ה רני ושמחי בענין בחי׳ אחותי שהוא מדרגת מארי תורה. ושם בביאור ע״פ המגביהי לשבת בענין רב יהודה כולה תנוייה בנזיקין הוה)

(and see what is written in Parshas Miketz, in the discourse beginning “Sing and rejoice,” on the level of “my sister,” which is the degree of the masters of Torah; and there, in the explanation on “Who is enthroned on high,” on the matter of Rav Yehudah, all of whose learning was in Nezikin),

Explanation

The parenthesis refers to two discourses in Parshas Miketz: one on “Sing and rejoice,” about the level called “my sister,” the masters of Torah, and one on “Who is enthroned on high,” about Rav Yehudah, all of whose study was in the laws of damages (Nezikin).

וכמ״ש בפע״ח (שער ה׳ פ״ג) בענין עולת תמיד עולת אותיות תולע והוא בחי׳ תולעת יעקב וע״ז נאמר צו את בני ישראל כו׳ להקריב אותיות להרקיב כמו התולע שמכלה ומרקיב את עץ החזק כו׳

and as is written in Pri Etz Chaim (Sha’ar 5, chapter 3) on the matter of the continual burnt-offering: olas (burnt-offering) has the letters of tola (worm), and this is the level of “worm Yaakov.” And of this it is said, “Command the children of Israel,” etc.: lehakriv (to offer) has the letters of leharkiv (to rot), like the worm that consumes and rots the strong wood, etc.

Explanation

Pri Etz Chaim notes that olas (burnt-offering) has the same letters as tola (worm), and lehakriv (to offer) the same letters as leharkiv (to rot). Like a worm that eats through hard wood, the offering wears away what opposes holiness.

ולכן ר״ת אנא בכח גדולת ית״ץ גימטריא תולע שע״י התורה ימינך נאדרי בכח שממשיך בחי׳ ח״ע בחסד דרועא ימינא כו׳

Therefore the initials of “Ana b’choach gedulas yeminecha tatir tzerurah” (“Please, by the great might of Your right hand, release the bound one”) equal tola (worm) in numerical value: for through the Torah, “Your right hand is glorious in power,” in that it draws the level of the higher Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah) into Chesed (kindness), “the right arm,” etc.

Explanation

The initials of the first line of the prayer Ana B’choach equal 506, the numerical value of tola, “worm.” That line speaks of G‑d’s “right hand”: through the Torah, supernal Chochmah is drawn into Chesed, the right arm, and “Your right hand is glorious in power.”

ועי״ז נמשך להפריד יניקת החיצונים והוא גם כן מה שכתוב אחר כך קבל רנת עמך כו׳ ר״ת קר״ע שט״ן

And through this [the power] is drawn to separate the nourishment of the external forces. And this is also what is written afterwards, “Kabel rinas amcha” (“Accept the song of Your people”), etc., whose initials are kra Satan (“tear Satan”);

Explanation

This power separates the external forces from their nourishment. The next line of Ana B’choach, “Accept the song of Your people,” has initials that spell kra Satan, “tear Satan.”

כי כן בחי׳ לימוד התורה בפיו כשהוא בבחי׳ ביטול ע״ד ואנכי תולעת כו׳ להרקיב ולקרוע יניקת החיצונים שמסט׳ דשמאלא ע״ד פרה דקבילת משמאלא

for so is the level of Torah study with one’s mouth, when it is in a state of self-nullification, in the manner of “But I am a worm,” etc.: to rot and to tear away the nourishment of the external forces, which is from the side of the left, in the manner of “a heifer, which receives from the left.”

Explanation

Torah spoken with self-nullification, like the worm, rots and tears away the nourishment that the external forces draw from the left, the side from which “the heifer receives.”

וזהו ענין קרע שטן (וכמ״ש תהלים ע״א י״ג) יכלו שוטני נפשי, [ועמ״ש בפע״ח ובלק״ת פרשה תרומה

And this is [the meaning of] “tear Satan,” (as is written in Psalms 71:13) “Let the adversaries (sotnei) of my soul be consumed.” [And see what is written in Pri Etz Chaim and in the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, Parshas Terumah,

Explanation

“Tear Satan” is like the verse “Let the adversaries (sotnei) of my soul be consumed.” A bracketed note then adds sources in Pri Etz Chaim and the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah.

כי ג״כ ר״ת שועתנו קבל ושמע צעקתנו יודע תעלומות הוא גימטריא תולעת וענין זה י״ל דקאי על דבור אותיות התפלה

that also the initials of “Shav’asenu kabel ushma tza’akasenu yode’a ta’alumos” (“Accept our cry and hear our plea, You who know hidden things”) equal tola’as (worm) in numerical value; and this matter can be said to refer to the speech of the letters of prayer,

Explanation

The initials of the last line of Ana B’choach, “Accept our cry and hear our plea, You who know hidden things,” equal 906, the value of tola’as, “worm.” This, the text suggests, refers to the spoken letters of prayer.

וכמו שארז״ל ע״פ תולעת יעקב דקאי על התפלה וא״ש ענין השלכת תולעת שני לתוך שרפת הפרה שהוא בבחינת הרצוא שהוא בחי׳ תפלה.

as our Sages, of blessed memory, said on “worm Yaakov,” that it refers to prayer. And [so] it is well understood why the scarlet worm (tola’as shani) is cast into the burning of the heifer, which is at the level of ratzo, which is the level of prayer.

Explanation

The Sages, too, read “worm Yaakov” as referring to prayer. That explains why the scarlet worm is thrown into the burning heifer: the burning is ratzo, and prayer is ratzo, the soul’s running upward.

כי בחי׳ זו דתולעת יעקב שייך בבחי׳ רצוא ובבחי׳ שוב דהיינו בדבור התפלה ובדברי תורה, ועיין בפרדס בעה״כ ערך תולעת ובהרמ״ז פ׳ צו דכ״ז] ולכן השליכו לתוך שרפת הפרה עץ ארז ואזוב ושני תולעת כו׳

For this level of “worm Yaakov” applies both to the level of ratzo and to the level of shov, that is, in the speech of prayer and in words of Torah. And see Pardes, in Erchei HaKinuyim, the entry tola’as, and the Ramaz on Parshas Tzav, page 27.] Therefore they cast into the burning of the heifer cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet wool, etc.;

Explanation

The “worm” belongs to both movements: to ratzo in the words of prayer and to shov in the words of Torah. After references to Pardes and the Ramaz, the text returns to why cedar, hyssop and scarlet are cast into the fire.

כי בחי׳ המדות עליונות נק׳ צומח וכנודע מענין עץ החיים ועץ הדעת כו׳ ויש בהם בחי׳ קטנות וגדלות וזהו עץ ארז הגדול שבצמחים ואזוב היותר קטן שבצמחים.

for the level of the supernal attributes (middos) is called “vegetation” (tzome’ach), as is known from the matter of the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge, etc.; and in them there are the levels of smallness (katnus) and greatness (gadlus). And this is the cedar wood, the greatest of plants, and the hyssop, the smallest of plants.

Explanation

The supernal attributes are called “vegetation,” as in the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge, and they have states of smallness and greatness. The cedar, the tallest of plants, and the hyssop, the smallest, stand for these two states.

Paragraph 16 in brief

The power of the mouth, which makes man a “speaking being,” depends on self-nullification, the quality of the “worm.” Prayer and Torah spoken this way, like the worm that fells the cedar with its mouth, cut off the external forces that draw from the left; the scarlet worm in the fire stands for prayer, which is ratzo, and the cedar and hyssop for the greatness and smallness of the supernal attributes.

Deeper

The gematrias cited from the Kabbalists, in which the initials of the first and last lines of Ana B’choach equal tola and tola’as and its second line spells “tear Satan,” present speech with self-nullification as the force that breaks the hold of kelipah. Self-nullification is what lets G‑d’s own words be “put in your mouth,” so that the person’s speech carries their strength.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ולא תחללו · Leviticus 22:32
  2. 2
    נבזה בעיניו נמאס · Psalms 15:4
  3. 3
    ואנכי תולעת ולא איש · שם כב, ז.
  4. 4
    ואנכי תולעת ולא איש · Psalms 22:7
  5. 5
    ואשים דברי · Isaiah 51:16
  6. 6
    רני ושמחי · Zechariah 2:14
  7. 7
    המגביהי לשבת · Psalms 113:5
  8. 8
    תולעת יעקב · Isaiah 41:14
  9. 9
    צו את בני ישראל כו׳ להקריב · Numbers 28:2
  10. 10
    ר״ת אנא בכח . . גימט׳ תולע · מאו״א אות ת סעיף יב. וראה אוה״ת פ׳ כי תבוא ע׳ תתשג. ובאוה״ת פ׳ פנחס ע׳ א׳קכא מציין לספר ילקוט ראובני — קבלה ערך קליפות ע״ש בארוכה.
  11. 11
    ימינך נאדרי בכח · Exodus 15:6
  12. 12
    בחסד דרועא ימינא · Zohar I, 26a
  13. 13
    בחסד דרועא ימינא · Zohar, Bereshit 21:248–22:255
  14. 14
    בחסד דרועא ימינא · Tikkunei Zohar 17a:16–17
  15. 15
    עץ ארז ואזוב ושני תולעת · Numbers 19:6
  16. 16
    עץ החיים ועץ הדעת · Genesis 2:9
  17. 17
    Psalms 71:13

17והנה עיקר שבירת הכלים היה בז׳ מדות שמזה נשתלשלו ז׳ מדות דקליפה ויניקתם מז׳ מדות עליונות ושני תולעת הוא מרקיב העץ דקליפה ומפריד יניקת החיצונים מבחי׳ המדות דקדושה שהן הן בחי׳ צומח שבקדושה כו׳,

Now, the shattering of the vessels was chiefly in the seven attributes (middos), and from this the seven attributes of kelipah (the husk) descended, and their nourishment is from the seven supernal attributes. And the scarlet worm rots the wood of kelipah and separates the nourishment of the external forces from the level of the holy attributes, which are themselves the level of vegetation in holiness, etc.

Explanation

The shattering of the vessels took place chiefly in the seven emotive attributes, and from them came the seven attributes of kelipah, which draw their life from the holy attributes. The scarlet worm “rots” the wood of kelipah and cuts it off from the holy attributes, the “vegetation” of holiness.

(ועיין בפע״ח שם איך יש ג״כ תולע בקליפה ואפשר שרפת התולעת שני רומז ג״כ ע״ז להתגבר תולע שבקדושה על תולע שבקליפה וכן בעץ ארז ואזוב כו׳ וע׳ בזח״ג פ׳ מצורע) (דנ״ג ע״ב) מענין עץ ארז ואזוב.

(And see in Pri Etz Chaim there how there is also a worm in kelipah; and perhaps the burning of the scarlet worm also alludes to this: that the worm of holiness should prevail over the worm of kelipah; and likewise with the cedar wood and hyssop, etc. And see the Zohar, Part III, Parshas Metzora) (page 53b) on the matter of the cedar wood and hyssop.

Explanation

Pri Etz Chaim speaks of a “worm” in kelipah as well, and the text suggests that burning the scarlet worm alludes to the worm of holiness overcoming it, and likewise with the cedar and hyssop. The Zohar on Metzora discusses the cedar and hyssop.

וזהו ג״כ פי׳ תולעת יעקב מתי ישראל פי׳ ע״י שמשים אדם את עצמו בעסקו בתורה ותפלה כתולעת להיות נבזה בעיניו נמאס

And this is also the meaning of “worm Yaakov, men of Israel (mesei Yisrael)”: that is, when a person makes himself like a worm in his occupation with Torah and prayer, to be “lowly in his own eyes, despised,”

Explanation

“Worm Yaakov, men of Israel” describes a person who makes himself like a worm in his Torah study and prayer, lowly in his own eyes.

דהיינו שמשים א״ע כשיריים הנה עי״ז יהיה בחי׳ מתי ישראל תרגום אונקלוס ע״פ כל עיר מתם גברייא כו׳

that is, he makes himself like leftovers; then through this he will be at the level of mesei Yisrael; [for] Targum Onkelos on the verse “every city of men (mesim)” [renders it] “men” (gavraya), etc.,

Explanation

One who counts himself as mere leftovers becomes “men (mesei) of Israel.” Onkelos translates mesim in “every city of men” as gavraya, “men.”

דהיינו זכרים והוא כמ״ש במ״א בפי׳ למען תזכרו ועשיתם את כל מצותי שתהיו בבחי׳ זכרים ומשפיעים לעשות ולהמשיך האור בהמצות כו׳ וכדלעיל בפי׳ אשר יעשה אותם האדם כו׳:

that is, males. And this is as is explained elsewhere on the meaning of “So that you shall remember (tizkeru) and do all My commandments”: that you be at the level of males (zecharim) and givers, to make and to draw the light into the mitzvos, etc., as [explained] above on the meaning of “which man shall do,” etc.

Explanation

“Men” here means males, that is, givers. As explained on “so that you shall remember (tizkeru) and do all My commandments,” whose verb shares the root of zachar, “male,” such people become givers who draw the light into the mitzvos, as with “which man shall do” earlier.

Paragraph 17 in brief

The scarlet worm cuts off the external forces from the seven holy attributes. And “worm Yaakov, men of Israel” teaches that one who makes himself small like a worm in Torah and prayer becomes a “man,” a giver who draws light into the mitzvos.

Deeper

The worm and the “man” are one person seen from two sides: self-nullification before G‑d is what makes a person a giver toward the world. This closes the circle with the opening paragraphs, where man “makes” the statutes by drawing their light down.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    עץ ארז ואזוב · Zohar, Metzora 4:18–7:25
  2. 2
    תולעת יעקב מתי ישראל · Isaiah 41:14
  3. 3
    נבזה בעיניו נמאס · Psalms 15:4
  4. 4
    כל עיר מתם · Deuteronomy 2:34
  5. 5
    כל עיר מתם · Deuteronomy 3:6
  6. 6
    למען תזכרו ועשיתם את כל מצותי · Numbers 15:40
  7. 7
    אשר יעשה אותם האדם · Leviticus 18:5

The verse explained ¶18–21

18ד וזהו וידבר ה׳ אל משה ואל אהרן לאמר. זאת חקת התורה. דהנה כללות ענין מעשה

4. And this is [the meaning of] “And Havayah spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying: This is the statute of the Torah.” For, as a whole (klalus), the matter of the procedure

Explanation

Section 4 returns to the opening verse, “And Havayah spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying: This is the statute of the Torah,” to read it in the light of all that has been explained.

פרה אדומה הוא ב׳ ענינים הללו דבחי׳ הרצוא ובחי׳ השוב והנה על ב׳ ענינים אלו דרצוא ושוב הוסדה כל עיקר התורה והמצות.

of the red heifer is these two matters, the level of ratzo and the level of shov; and on these two matters of ratzo and shov the whole essence of the Torah and the mitzvos was founded.

Explanation

The whole procedure of the red heifer consists of ratzo and shov, and these two are the foundation of the entire Torah and its mitzvos.

ולכן נאמר ע״ז זאת חקת התורה. כענין פי׳ חקות שמים וארץ דהיינו הנהגות שמים וארץ כו׳.

Therefore it is said of this, “This is the statute of the Torah,” in the sense of “the statutes of heaven and earth,” that is, the ordering of heaven and earth, etc.

Explanation

That is why it is called “the statute (chukas) of the Torah,” in the sense of “the statutes of heaven and earth,” the laws by which they are ordered. The heifer holds the basic order on which all the mitzvos run.

והוא ג״כ לשון חקיקה דהיינו להמשיך מקור התורה שהיא בחי׳ אותיות החקיקה להמשיך משם האור וההמשכה לבחי׳ חכמה עילאה שהיא תורה שבכתב וממנה לתשבע״פ.

And it is also a term of engraving: that is, to draw down the source of the Torah, which is the level of the engraved letters, to draw from there the light and the flow into the level of supernal Chochmah (wisdom), which is the Written Torah, and from it into the Oral Torah.

Explanation

Chok also means “engraving”: the heifer draws from the Torah’s source, the engraved letters, into supernal Chochmah, which is the Written Torah, and from there into the Oral Torah.

(ועיין בזהר חלק ב׳ ויקהל) (דף רי״ש ע״א) ועמ״ש ע״פ תקעו בחדש בענין כי חק לישראל הוא ג״כ מלשון חקיקה כו׳

(And see the Zohar, Part II, Vayakhel) (page 200a). And see what is written on the verse “Blow the shofar on the New Moon,” regarding “For it is a statute (chok) for Israel,” that it too is from the term engraving, etc.,

Explanation

The text points to the Zohar on Vayakhel and to its own discussion of “Blow the shofar on the New Moon… for it is a statute (chok) for Israel,” where chok also means engraving.

ומ״ש לקמן גבי במחוקק במשענותם, ועוד יובן ענין המשכה זו שמבחי׳ אותיות החקיקה לבחינת תשב״כ ע״ד שנתבאר בד״ה תורה צוה.

and what is written below regarding “with the lawgiver (bimchokek), with their staffs.” And further, this drawing-down from the level of the engraved letters to the level of the Written Torah will be understood along the lines of what was explained in the discourse beginning “The Torah [that Moshe] commanded.”

Explanation

Further references: to the discussion below of “with the lawgiver (mechokek), with their staffs,” and to the discourse on “The Torah [that Moshe] commanded” for how the engraved letters are drawn into the Written Torah.

כי התורה נקרא נובלות חכמה שלמעלה אבל כדי שיומשך מבחי׳ עצמיות חכמה עילאה כו׳ ע״ש וזהו ענין חקת התורה אשר צוה הוי׳ לאמר וכמשי״ת.

For the Torah is called “the fallen fruit of the supernal wisdom”; but in order that there be drawn from the level of the very essence of supernal Chochmah, etc.; see there. And this is [the meaning of] “the statute of the Torah which Havayah commanded, saying,” as will be explained.

Explanation

There the Torah is called “the fallen fruit of supernal wisdom,” only an outer echo of Chochmah, and the question is how to draw from Chochmah’s very essence. That is what “the statute of the Torah which Havayah commanded” is about, as the next paragraph explains.

Paragraph 18 in brief

Section 4 returns to the opening verse. The red heifer, whose whole content is ratzo and shov, the foundation of all the mitzvos, is “the statute of the Torah” both as its governing order and as its “engraving,” the root from which the Torah flows into the Written and the Oral Torah.

Deeper

The discourse cited contrasts the Torah as “the fallen fruit of supernal wisdom,” drawn only from the back and outer aspect of Chochmah, with a drawing from the essence of Chochmah itself. The engraved letters are this higher root, and the red heifer is what reaches it.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    וידבר ה׳ אל משה ואל אהרן לאמר. זאת חקת התורה · Numbers 19:1–2
  2. 2
    חקת שמים וארץ · Jeremiah 33:25
  3. 3
    ע״פ תקעו בחדש · לקו״ת ר״ה נד, ד.
  4. 4
    תקעו בחדש · Psalms 81:4
  5. 5
    כי חק לישראל הוא · Psalms 81:5
  6. 6
    במחוקק במשענותם · Numbers 21:18
  7. 7
    בד״ה תורה צוה · לקמן פ׳ ברכה צה, א ואילך.
  8. 8
    תורה צוה · Deuteronomy 33:4

19וזהו וידבר ה׳ אל משה ואל אהרן שהם מבחי׳ ונחנו מ״ה ח״ע כו׳ זאת חקת התורה להמשיך בח״ע מבחי׳ אותיות החקיקה שלמעלה מהחכמה.

And this is [the meaning of] “And Havayah spoke to Moshe and to Aharon,” who are of the level of “and what (mah) are we,” the higher Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah), etc.: “This is the statute of the Torah,” to draw into the higher Chochmah from the level of the engraved letters, which is above Chochmah.

Explanation

Now the verse is read in detail. Moshe and Aharon said of themselves “and what are we,” utter self-nullification, which is the higher Chochmah; through them “the statute of the Torah” draws into Chochmah from the engraved letters above it.

וזהו אשר צוה הוי׳ לאמר. כי הנה שם הוי׳ הראשון זהו בחי׳ ממכ״ע ביו״ד נברא העוה״ב כו׳

And this is [the meaning of] “which Havayah commanded, saying.” For the first Name Havayah is the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin), “with the yud the World to Come was created,” etc.;

Explanation

This answers the opening question about “which Havayah commanded.” The Name Havayah appears twice: the first, in “And Havayah spoke,” is memalei kol almin, the light that fills the worlds, the level of “with the yud the World to Come was created.”

ושם הוי׳ הב׳ זה הוא בחי׳ סוכ״ע (ועיין בזח״ג דקל״ח ע״ב. ובפי׳ האריז״ל שם. ועמ״ש בד״ה וירא ישראל את היד בענין פי׳ ויאמינו בהוי׳).

and the second Name Havayah is the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin). (And see the Zohar, Part III, page 138b, and the commentary of the Arizal there; and see what is written in the discourse beginning “And Israel saw the hand,” on the meaning of “and they believed in Havayah.”)

Explanation

The second, in “which Havayah commanded,” is sovev kol almin, the light that encompasses all worlds. The parenthesis points to a Zohar passage and the Arizal’s commentary on it, and to the discourse on “and they believed in Havayah” at the Sea.

ופי׳ צוה מלשון צוותא וחיבור שנתחבר ונמשך בחינת סוכ״ע אל בחינת ממכ״ע וזהו לאמר המאמרות הן בחינת אותיות הנמשכים מחכמה בראשית נמי מאמר הוא ות״י בראשית בחכמתא כו׳,

And the meaning of tzivah (commanded) is from the term tzavta (companionship) and joining: that the level of sovev kol almin is joined and drawn to the level of memalei kol almin. And this is lemor (saying): the utterances are the level of letters drawn from Chochmah; “Bereishis (In the beginning) is also an utterance,” and the Targum Yerushalmi [renders] Bereishis as “with wisdom,” etc.

Explanation

Tzivah, “commanded,” is read as tzavta, “joining”: the encompassing light is joined to and drawn into the light that fills the worlds. Lemor, “saying,” refers to the Divine utterances, letters drawn from Chochmah, as the Talmud counts “In the beginning” as an utterance and the Targum renders it “with wisdom.”

וכמ״ש והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך שבבחי׳ הדברים האלה יהיה נמשך בחי׳ גילוי אנכי מי שאנכי סתימו דכל סתימין וזהו אנכי מצוך בבחי׳ צוותא והתקשרות ממש והוא מ״ש אשר צוה הויה לאמר.

And as it is written, “And these words which I (Anochi) command you shall be”: into the level of “these words” there will be drawn the revelation of “I (Anochi) am who I am,” “the hidden of all hidden ones.” And this is “I command you” (metzavecha): in the manner of companionship (tzavta) and actual bonding. And this is what is written, “which Havayah commanded, saying.”

Explanation

So too “these words which I (Anochi) command you”: the hidden “I” of “I am who I am” is to be revealed within “these words,” the words of Torah, bonded with them (metzavecha, from tzavta). This is “which Havayah commanded, saying”: the encompassing Havayah joined to the filling one through the Divine words.

Paragraph 19 in brief

The opening question is answered. “And Havayah spoke” and “which Havayah commanded” refer to two levels, the light that fills the worlds and the light that encompasses them; “commanded” (tzivah) means “joined” (tzavta), so the verse says that through the red heifer the encompassing light is joined and drawn into the filling light by way of the “saying,” the letters drawn from Chochmah.

Deeper

The same reading explains “which I (Anochi) command you” in the Shema: Anochi, the hidden essence, binds itself to “these words,” the Torah. The engraved letters of the maamar’s opening are this bond, in which the source is one with its expression.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ונחנו מה · Exodus 16:8
  2. 2
    וידבר ה׳ אל משה ואל אהרן שהם מבחי׳ ונחנו מ״ה ח״ע כו׳ זאת חקת התורה · Numbers 19:1–2
  3. 3
    בזח״ג . . ובפי׳ האריז״ל שם · ראה לקמן בתחילת הביאור ולעיל פ׳ שלח נא, ב.
  4. 4
    בד״ה וירא ישראל · תו״א סב, א.
  5. 5
    וירא ישראל את היד · Exodus 14:31
  6. 6
    בראשית נמי מאמר הוא · Rosh Hashanah 32a:19–20
  7. 7
    והיו הדברים האלה · Deuteronomy 6:6
  8. 8
    סתימו דכל סתימין · Zohar, Yitro 27:464–475
  9. 9
    Genesis 18:1–22:24

20והיינו ע״י ויקחו אליך פרה כו׳ שבחי׳ האפר זהו בחי׳ רצוא אם רץ לבך כו׳

And this is through “that they take to you a heifer,” etc.: for the level of the ashes is the level of ratzo, “if your heart runs,” etc.,

Explanation

This joining comes about through “that they take to you a heifer”: its ashes are ratzo, the running of the heart.

בכה ארוץ גדוד כו׳ להיות ואהבת בכל לבבך בשני יצריך כו׳ ואח״כ שוב לאחד הוא בחי׳ מים חיים

“With You I run against a troop,” etc., so that there be “And you shall love… with all your heart,” “with both your inclinations,” etc. And afterwards, “return to the One,” which is the level of living water,

Explanation

“With You I run against a troop” is another verse of running; it is love of G‑d with both inclinations. After it comes “return to the One,” which is the living water.

דהיינו מ״ש והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך כו׳. שזהו יסוד כל התורה להיות בחי׳ רצוא ושוב.

that is, what is written, “And these words which I command you shall be,” etc. For this is the foundation of the entire Torah: that there be the level of ratzo vashov.

Explanation

The living water is “these words which I command you”: the Torah drawn down. Running and returning are the foundation of the whole Torah.

Paragraph 20 in brief

The red heifer brings about this joining: its ashes are the running of love with both inclinations, and its living water is the return, the words of Torah drawn down. These two are the foundation of the whole Torah.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ויקחו אליך פרה · Numbers 19:2
  2. 2
    אם רץ לבך · נסמן לעיל נו, ב.
  3. 3
    אם רץ לבך · Sefer Yetzirah 1:8
  4. 4
    בכה ארוץ גדוד · Psalms 18:30
  5. 5
    ואהבת בכל לבבך בשני יצריך · Mishnah Berakhot 9:5
  6. 6
    והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך · Deuteronomy 6:6

21ובכל מצוה ג״כ יש בחי׳ זו דרך פרט. אך כללות בחי׳ זו הוא ענין זה דפרה כו׳.

And in every mitzvah, too, there is this level, in a particular way; but the general and collective expression (klalus) of this level is this matter of the heifer, etc.

Explanation

Every mitzvah has running and returning in a particular form, but the red heifer is their general and collective expression.

ולכך הוא מעורר וממשיך בחי׳ חקת התורה להיות נמשך בתשב״כ ותשבע״פ, וזהו שאמר שלמה ע״ז אמרתי אחכמה והיא רחוקה ממני. לפי שהיא מעוררת למעלה מעלה מהחכמה כו׳

Therefore it arouses and draws down the level of “the statute of the Torah,” so that it be drawn into the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. And this is what Shlomo said of it, “I said, ‘I will become wise,’ but it is far from me”: because it arouses [a level] far, far above wisdom, etc.

Explanation

That is why it draws down “the statute of the Torah,” its engraved root, into the Written and the Oral Torah. Shlomo’s words about it, “I said, I will become wise, but it is far from me,” show that it reaches far above wisdom.

(ומשם נמשך בבחי׳ חכמה וכענין אאלפך חכמה כו׳ וזהו נוצר חסד לאלפים כו׳ ועמ״ש באגה״ק ד״ה למה נסמכה פ׳ מרים, וגם ענין אפר הפרה היינו שמבחינת פר ה׳ נעשה אפר שהוא בח י׳ פר אל״ף כמ״ש הפירוש בלק״ת).

(And from there it is drawn into the level of Chochmah (wisdom), as in the matter of “I will teach you (a’alefcha) wisdom,” etc.; and this is “He preserves kindness for thousands (alafim),” etc. And see what is written in Iggeres HaKodesh, in the passage beginning “Why was the section of Miriam placed next,” etc. And also the matter of the ashes of the heifer: that from the level of par-hei (parah, the heifer) it becomes efer (ashes), which is the level of par-alef, as the explanation is written in the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal.)

Explanation

From that level above wisdom it is drawn into Chochmah. The verses cited share the root alef: a’alefcha, “I will teach you,” and alafim, “thousands”; likewise parah, the heifer (par with a hei), becomes efer, ashes (par with an alef), as the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah explains. The text also refers to a passage in Iggeres HaKodesh.

ובכל הנ״ל יובן מ״ש והיתה לעדת בנ״י למשמרת כו׳ שהוא לבד האפר שמקדשין ומזין ממנו עוד זאת היו מצניעין ממנו בחיל למשמרת כמבואר בפרש״י ובמשנה ספ״ג דפרה ובהרמב״ם.

And with all the above will be understood what is written, “And it shall be for the congregation of the children of Israel for a keeping,” etc.: that apart from the ashes with which they would sanctify and sprinkle, they would also set some of it aside in the cheil (the rampart) for safekeeping, as is explained in Rashi’s commentary, and in the Mishnah at the end of chapter 3 of [tractate] Parah, and in the Rambam.

Explanation

This also explains why part of the ashes was not used at all but set aside “for a keeping” in the cheil, the rampart of the Temple Mount, as Rashi, the Mishnah and the Rambam explain.

והענין הוא לפי שבאמת בכל מצוה ומצוה יש בחי׳ רו״ש והכח לזה נמשך מבחי׳ מעשה דפרה שהאפר פרה זהו כללות בחי׳ הרצוא כו׳

And the explanation is that, in truth, in each and every mitzvah there is the level of ratzo and shov, and the power for this is drawn from the level of the procedure of the heifer; for the ashes of the heifer are the general and collective expression of the level of ratzo, etc.

Explanation

Every mitzvah contains running and returning, and the power for it comes from the red heifer, whose ashes are the running in its general form.

וע״ז נאמר והיתה למשמרת כו׳, וזהו מבואר ג״כ בפ׳ ראשונה דק״ש ואהבת בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך כו׳

And of this it is said, “And it shall be for a keeping,” etc. And this is also explained in the first section of the Shema: “And you shall love… with all your heart and with all your soul,” etc.:

Explanation

That is why some of the ashes were kept “for a keeping”: they preserve the source of the running for all the mitzvos. The first section of the Shema shows the same order, beginning with “You shall love… with all your heart and with all your soul.”

זהו בחי׳ הרצוא ואח״כ והיו הדברים האלה זהו בחי׳ שוב כו׳ ושננתם לבניך ודברת בם כו׳,

this is the level of ratzo; and afterwards, “And these words shall be,” this is the level of shov, etc.; “And you shall teach them to your children, and you shall speak of them,” etc.,

Explanation

The love is the running; “And these words shall be” is the return; and “you shall teach them to your children and speak of them” is Torah spoken aloud.

והיינו שצ״ל הדבור דייקא בתורה כנ״ל וקשרתם כו׳ וכתבתם כו׳ כי המים חיים צ״ל אל כלי דוקא שהוא מעשה המצות שהן בחי׳ כלים כו׳:

that is, there must be speech specifically in Torah, as mentioned above; “And you shall bind them,” etc., “And you shall write them,” etc.: for the living water must be “into a vessel” specifically, which is the deeds of the mitzvos, which are the level of vessels, etc.

Explanation

As explained above, Torah must be spoken. The Shema goes on to “you shall bind them” and “you shall write them,” because the living water must go into a vessel: the mitzvos done in practice.

Paragraph 21 in brief

The red heifer, the general form of running and returning, draws the Torah’s root, above wisdom, into the Written and the Oral Torah; that is why part of its ashes was kept as a lasting source of the running in every mitzvah. The first section of the Shema traces the whole sequence: love (running), the words of Torah spoken (return), and the practical mitzvos as vessels.

Deeper

The maamar ends where it began: the soul came down to “make” the Torah, and the Shema shows how. The running of love, the return in words of Torah spoken aloud, and the vessels of the mitzvos, into which the living water is poured, together draw the engraved root of the Torah down into the world.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    אמרתי אחכמה והיא רחוקה ממני · Ecclesiastes 7:23
  2. 2
    אאלפך חכמה · Job 33:33
  3. 3
    ונוצר חסד לאלפים · Exodus 34:7
  4. 4
    למה נסמכה פ׳ מרים · Tanya, Iggeres HaKodesh 28:2–3
  5. 5
    והיתה לעדת בנ״י למשמרת · Numbers 19:9
  6. 6
    בחיל למשמרת · Rashi on Numbers 19:9
  7. 7
    ואהבת בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך · Deuteronomy 6:5
  8. 8
    והיו הדברים האלה · Deuteronomy 6:6
  9. 9
    ושננתם לבניך ודברת בם · Deuteronomy 6:7
  10. 10
    המים חיים צ״ל אל כלי · Numbers 19:17
  11. 11
    Mishnah Parah 3:11

Finished the maamar?

Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.

Download PDFPDF · 1.0 MB

In one’s avodah

Love of G‑d should come from contemplating that even Gan Eden and the World to Come are nothing before Him, and it should lead back to Torah study spoken aloud and to mitzvos done in practice, the vessels for His light. A person’s own desires are not to be denied as evil in themselves: their forbidden garments, every thought, word and deed of the forbidden, must be burned away, and then the bare power of desire can be turned to love of G‑d. And speech in Torah and prayer has its power only when a person is lowly in his own eyes, like the worm.

Questions for discussion

  1. Why does an engraved letter express its source better than a written one, and what does this say about the Torah’s root?
  2. What two contemplations produce ratzo and shov, and why must the ashes remain in the water, so that the running stays within the return?
  3. How can the power of desire be “not evil in itself” while the evil deed has no remedy but removal? What does this distinction mean in practice?
  4. Why must Torah study be spoken aloud, and why does the power of speech depend on self-nullification?
  5. How does reading tzivah (commanded) as tzavta (joining) answer the maamar’s opening question about “which Havayah commanded”?

Key terms in this maamar

The Name Havayahהוי׳
The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
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”. ×12
An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
G‑d's own boundless essence.
Binah (understanding)בינה
Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×2
Delightתענוג
Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×1
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 World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
The lowest world, including our physical one. ×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.
Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
The first flash of insight. ×13
Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×4
An arousal from aboveאתערותא דלעילא
Divine initiative, unprompted by us.
Kelipah (the husk)קליפה
The forces of concealment that oppose holiness. ×4
The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
The innermost core of a level.
The animal soulנפש הבהמית
The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×2
The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×11
Willרצון
Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×6
The sitra achra (the other side)סטרא אחרא
The realm opposed to holiness.
Teshuvah (return)תשובה
Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×2
Life-forceחיות
The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×4
The intellect (mochin)מוחין
Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×1
Chesed (kindness)חסד
Expansive giving. ×3
Daas (knowledge)דעת
Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×3
Yesod (foundation)יסוד
The channel that connects and transmits. ×8
The kav (line of light)קו
The thin ray of light drawn into the space left after the tzimtzum. ×2

Text size

Theme

How I learn

Calendar

Show

Abbreviations

Tap an abbreviation in the Hebrew to see it written out.

Print

The browser’s Print (Ctrl+P, ⌘P) follows the same choices.

PDF

CompleteHebrew, translation, explanations and notes · PDF · 1.0 MBText onlyThe Hebrew and the translation · PDF · 299 KB

EPUB

For your e-readerThe Hebrew, translation, explanations and notes · EPUB · 273 KB

For Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo and other e-readers. A Kindle takes it through Amazon’s Send to Kindle.

The whole books, ready to print

Language

English

This page is in English only for now. Also in, so far:

Español183 maamarim so farFrançais183 maamarim so farעברית183 maamarim so farPortuguês183 maamarim so farРусский183 maamarim so far

Send us a suggestion

Corrections, ideas, questions. Name and email are optional; leave an email if you’d like an answer.

We send it by email to the editor, with the page you’re on. Nothing is published.

Contents

Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורה

Parshas Chukasחקת

  1. 1וידבר הוי׳ וגו׳ זאת חקת התורה…“And Havayah spoke… This is the statute of the Torah which Havayah commanded, saying”
    1. The questions, and the engraved letters ¶1–2
    2. Fire and water: the heifer as the general form ¶3–8
    3. The burning: the animal soul and its desire ¶9–14
    4. The living water, and the worm ¶15–17
    5. The verse explained ¶18–21
    1. 1
    2. 2
    3. 3
    4. 4
    5. 5
    6. 6
    7. 7
    8. 8
    9. 9
    10. 10
    11. 11
    12. 12
    13. 13
    14. 14
    15. 15
    16. 16
    17. 17
    18. 18
    19. 19
    20. 20
    21. 21
  2. 2א ביאור ע״פ זאת חקת כו׳An explanation on “This is the statute,” etc.
  3. 3ויקחו אליך פרה אדומה“And they shall take to you a red heifer” (Numbers 19:2)
  4. 4תוספת ביאור מעט ע״פ ויקחו אליך…A brief additional explanation on “That they take to you a heifer” (Numbers 19:2)
  5. 5ויקחו אליך פרה אדומה תמימה אשר…“And let them take to you a red heifer, perfect” (Numbers 19:2)
  6. 6והזה הטהור על הטמא ביום השלישי…“And the pure one shall sprinkle upon the impure one on the third day and on the seventh day” (Numbers 19:19)
  7. 7ויעש משה נחש נחשת וישימהו על…“And Moshe made a copper serpent and set it upon the pole” (Numbers 21:9)
  8. 8אז ישיר ישראל את השירה הזאת…“Then Israel sang this song: Spring up, O well” (Numbers 21:17)
  9. 9ביאור ענין עלי באר כו׳An explanation of the matter of “Rise up, O well,” etc.
  10. 10על כן יאמרו המושלים באו חשבון…“Therefore the rulers will say: Come to Cheshbon” (Numbers 21:27)
  11. 11ביאור ע״פ על כן יאמרו המושלים…An explanation on the verse “Therefore the moshlim say: ‘Come to Cheshbon’”