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Likkutei Torah · Parshas Chukas · Maamar 8

אז ישיר ישראל את השירה הזאת עלי באר…

“Then Israel sang this song: Spring up, O well” (Numbers 21:17)

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The big idea

The soul is a well: its waters come down from above through Gan Eden, and in the body they spring up again from below, and this rising, through physical mitzvos, Torah and teshuvah, reaches higher than the flow that came down. To open the well a person must dig and delve away what hides the soul’s love, a work done by the “princes,” the Patriarchs and above all Yaakov, and begun by an arousal from above.

The maamar in brief

Israel’s Song of the Well is read as the song of the soul. The well is Knesses Yisrael, the source of the souls: like water that comes from the rivers above through the earth, the soul descends through the higher and lower Gan Eden, where it is a “fountain of gardens,” and in the body becomes “a well of living waters” that springs up from below. Through the physical mitzvos, whose root is highest because they descend lowest, a person waters Gan Eden with the souls’ delight, in an inner and an encompassing mode, like the food and the clothing given in charity. The well that rises from below, like the return of the penitent, is higher than the river that flows down. To open it one must dig away coarse clods and delve away fine sand, subduing the sitra achra in the forbidden, the permitted and the mitzvos. This is done by the princes, chiefly Yaakov, whose voice of Torah rules over concealment and whose compassion reveals Avraham’s love. The living waters are a steady love rooted in Chochmah and Torah, and all of it begins with an arousal from above, which we ask for in prayer.

Outline

  1. The soul as a wellThe well is Knesses Yisrael. Like well water that comes down from the four rivers through the veins of the earth and springs up again, the soul comes down through the higher and lower Gan Eden, a “fountain of gardens,” and in the body becomes “a well of living waters” that rises from below upward.¶1
  2. Watering Gan Eden through the mitzvosAdam was placed in Gan Eden to work it with the positive commandments and guard it with the prohibitive ones, and working a garden is watering it. Gan Eden is the souls’ delight in comprehending G‑d, who is hidden in Himself; it is drawn down by the physical mitzvos, whose root is highest because they descend lowest, and by every mitzvah in thought, speech and action, which correspond to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.¶2–4
  3. Inner and encompassing lightThe revelation comes in an inner mode and an encompassing mode, like the food and the clothing given in charity. “Delight upon Havayah” is the inner mode, in which the soul’s mind encompasses what it grasps, as the Seraphim stand “above”; the encompassing mode is a flash of lightning, and in Gan Eden it is the soul’s garment, “the glory of Havayah shall gather you in.” Below, the revelation becomes the well of a person’s love of G‑d.¶5–8
  4. Life in the body and the higher wellLife in the body is only a passage; the soul is here to be refined like water passing through soil, through the practical mitzvos and the mastery of the G‑dly soul over the animal soul. A gloss finds a fountain and a well in the soul itself, contemplative prayer watering Torah study and the returning light of teshuvah. The well that springs from below is higher than the river from above, like the penitent over the perfectly righteous, and it is the water that came from the rock.¶9–10
  5. Digging and delving; Yaakov the princeDigging removes coarse clods and delving removes fine sand: subduing the sitra achra in the forbidden, the permitted and the mitzvos, with a broken heart and without attachment even to permitted things. The princes who dig are the Patriarchs, above all Yaakov, who rules over Elokim, the Name of concealment, and over angels, because he is the body of the Torah, whose unity no angel shares. His compassion reveals Avraham’s love, and the order of prayer is built on this pattern.¶11–13
  6. The living waters of TorahThe well yields living waters, a steady love beyond the passing fire of prayer: Avraham’s water-like kindness, received from Chochmah and bittul. It is revealed through Torah, which is like sight and brings a love higher than the love born of hearing; the Torah’s waters flow from the well of the mitzvos and rise until even the “eastern sea” receives from them.¶14–16
  7. G‑d hears; the mechokek and the staffs; the arousal from aboveG‑d, as the light that fills all worlds, “listens and hears” the Torah below, because it draws from the light that encompasses all worlds. The mechokek engraves the soul from without and within to make it a vessel through Torah and bittul; the staffs are those who support Torah, like Zevulun. Every rising from below needs an arousal from above first, Chochmah at the beginning, which we ask for in prayer, and ends in Chochmah at the end, the well from which living waters flow.¶17

Key concepts

Well (be’er)באר
Water that comes down from above, passes through the earth and springs up again from below: the soul in the body and its service, which rises higher than the flow that came down.
Fountain of gardens (ma’ayan ganim)מעין גנים
The soul’s root, Knesses Yisrael, as it waters the higher and the lower Gan Eden; in the soul, the contemplation of prayer, the “river that goes out of Eden,” that waters Torah study.
Knesses Yisraelכנסת ישראל
The Congregation of Israel, the source of the souls of Israel, which gathers into itself the “Israel above.”
Inner and encompassing light (pnimi and makif)פנימי ומקיף
Two modes of revelation: what is grasped and held within the mind, like food, and what surrounds without being absorbed, like a garment or a flash of lightning.
Digging and delvingחפירה וכריה
Two stages of clearing the well: removing the coarse clods, what openly hides the love of G‑d, and then the pebbles and fine sand, even attachment to permitted things.
Living waters (mayim chayim)מים חיים
A steady, unbroken love of G‑d, Avraham’s water-like kindness, received from Chochmah and revealed through Torah, unlike the fiery love of prayer that passes.
Mechokekמחוקק
The “lawgiver” of the verse, read as one who engraves: the soul is engraved from without, by removing what hides, and from within, by becoming a vessel for the Infinite Light through Torah and bittul.
Arousal from above and from belowאתערותא דלעילא ואתערותא דלתתא
Every rising of the well from below needs a prior response from above, “Chochmah at the beginning,” and leads to a further one in answer to it, “Chochmah at the end.”

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The soul as a well ¶1

1אז ישיר ישראל את השירה הזאת עלי באר ענו לה באר חפרוה שרים כרוה כו׳. הנה באר נק׳ כנס״י כמ״ש בשה״ש מעין גנים באר מים חיים.

“Then Israel sang this song: Spring up, O well, sing out to it! The well, princes dug it, delved it,” etc. Now, the well is called the Congregation of Israel (Knesses Yisrael), as is written in the Song of Songs, “a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters.”

Explanation

The maamar opens with the Song of the Well that Israel sang in the desert. The Alter Rebbe identifies the well with Knesses Yisrael, the Congregation of Israel, the collective root of all Jewish souls, on the strength of the Song of Songs, where the beloved, Israel, is called “a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters.”

כי הנה הבאר מים שנובעת מתחת לארץ המים הן היורדים מלמעלה מן הארבעה נהרות דרך סולמא דפרת כו׳ וארעא חלחולי מחלחלא כו׳

For the well of water that springs up from beneath the earth: the waters are those that come down from above, from the four rivers, by way of the “ladder of the Euphrates,” etc., and “the earth is perforated with channels,” etc.;

Explanation

To explain the image, he describes where well water comes from: it comes down from the four rivers above, carried underground by what the Talmud calls the “ladders of the Euphrates,” channels that, as Or HaTorah explains, flow beneath the ground and rise in the mountains like a ladder. The phrase “the earth is perforated with channels” comes from the Talmud, which says that the whole earth is full of such channels.

יורדים המים דרך גידי הארץ עד שנעשה מי באר שחוזרים ונובעים מתחת לארץ מלמטה למעלה [וכמ״ש מזה ע״פ ויחפרו בפ׳ תולדות] וכך כנס״י היא מקור

the waters go down through the veins of the earth until they become well water, which springs back up from beneath the earth, from below upward [as is written about this on the verse “And they dug,” in Parshas Toldos]. And so too the Congregation of Israel, which is the source of

Explanation

The waters travel down through the veins of the earth and then spring up again as well water, moving from below upward. The bracket refers to the discourse in Torah Ohr, Parshas Toldos, on the wells that Yitzchak’s servants dug. The Congregation of Israel follows the same path as the water.

נש״י היא באה מלמעלה ותחלה היתה מעין גנים ב׳ גנים ג״ע העליון וג״ע התחתון שבאה בהשתלשלות העולמות דרך ג״ע העליון ודרך ג״ע התחתון ושם היתה מקום

the souls of Israel, comes from above. At first it was “a fountain of gardens,” two gardens, the higher Gan Eden and the lower Gan Eden, for it comes down through the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) by way of the higher Gan Eden and by way of the lower Gan Eden; and there was the place

Explanation

Knesses Yisrael, the source of the souls, comes down from above, passing through the chain of worlds by way of the higher and the lower Gan Eden. These are the two “gardens” of the verse, so at this first stage it is called “a fountain of gardens,” and there the soul stood before coming down into this world.

עמידת הנשמה טרם בואה לעוה״ז וכשבאה בהתלבשות הגוף נעשית בחי׳ באר מים חיים שחוזרים ועולים ונובעים ממטה למעלה ביציאתה מנרתקה היא מאסר הגוף לאור באור החיים:

where the soul stood before it came into this world. And when it comes to be enclothed in the body, it becomes the level of “a well of living waters,” which rise back up and spring forth from below upward, as it goes out of its sheath, that is, out of the prison of the body, “to be illumined with the light of life.”

Explanation

When the soul enters a body it becomes “a well of living waters”: like water that went down into the earth and springs up again, it rises from below upward. This happens as it goes out of its “sheath,” the confinement of the body, to shine, in Job’s words, “with the light of life.”

Paragraph 1 in brief

The paragraph sets out the maamar’s central image: Knesses Yisrael, the root of the souls, descends like water from the rivers above down through the earth, and in the body it springs back up from below as a well of living waters.

Deeper

Kehot’s notes send the reader to Or HaTorah on Chukas, which treats this image at length and glosses the “ladders of the Euphrates” as waters that flow under the ground and rise in the mountains like a ladder. The two halves of the verse in the Song of Songs, “fountain of gardens” and “well of living waters,” become two stages of one soul: in Gan Eden before its descent, and in the body, rising from below.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    Numbers 21:17
  2. 2
    באר חפרוה שרים כרוה · Numbers 21:18
  3. 3
    Song of Songs 4:15
  4. 4
    סולמא דפרת · Bekhorot 55b:1–4
  5. 5
    וארעא חלחולי מחלחלא · Chagigah 22a:6–7
  6. 6
    לאור באור החיים · Job 33:30
  7. 7
    Joshua 3:16

Watering Gan Eden through the mitzvos ¶2–4

2והנה ככל הדברים האלה כך הוא דרך וסדר העבודה כי הנה כתיב ויניחהו בג״ע לעבדה ולשמרה לעבדה במ״ע

Now, in accordance with all these things, so is the way and order of [divine] service. For it is written, “And He placed him in Gan Eden to work it and to guard it”: “to work it” with the positive commandments,

Explanation

The same pattern governs a person’s service of G‑d. Adam was placed in Gan Eden “to work it and to guard it,” and, following the Zohar and the Tikkunei Zohar, “to work it” means the positive commandments.

ולשמרה במל״ת שע״י קיום מ״ע ושמירת מל״ת עובד ומתקן את הג״ע ועבודת הגן היא להשקותה וכמ״ש ונהר יוצא מעדן להשקות את הגן.

and “to guard it” with the prohibitive commandments. For through fulfilling the positive commandments and keeping the prohibitive commandments, one works and perfects Gan Eden; and the work of the garden is to water it, as it is written, “And a river goes out of Eden to water the garden.”

Explanation

“To guard it” means the prohibitive commandments, so that by doing the one and refraining from the other a person works and perfects Gan Eden. Working a garden means above all watering it, as the verse says of the river that goes out of Eden to water the garden.

Paragraph 2 in brief

The paragraph turns the image into a description of divine service: through the positive and the prohibitive commandments a person tends Gan Eden, and tending a garden means watering it.

Deeper

The reading of “to work it and to guard it” as the positive and the prohibitive commandments appears in the Zohar and near the end of Tikkun 21 of the Tikkunei Zohar, and Kehot adds Yalkut Reuveni, which cites it in the name of a Midrash. For the verse of the river that goes out of Eden, the note points to Or HaTorah on Bereishis.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    Genesis 2:15
  2. 2
    לעבדה במ״ע ולשמרה במל״ת · Zohar, Bereshit 22:255–24:264
  3. 3
    לעבדה במ״ע ולשמרה במל״ת · Tikkunei Zohar 62a:15–16
  4. 4
    ונהר יוצא מעדן להשקות את הגן · Genesis 2:10

3ובחי׳ זו נעשית ע״י ישראל למטה שכנס״י היא המעין גנים המשקה את הגן העליון וגן התחתון.

And this level is brought about by Israel below, for the Congregation of Israel is the “fountain of gardens” that waters the higher garden and the lower garden.

Explanation

Israel’s service below is what waters the gardens above. Knesses Yisrael is the “fountain of gardens” that waters both the higher and the lower Gan Eden.

והענין שכשם שבגן צ״ל בו מעיין להשקותו כדי להצמיח כל פרי שבגן. שהמים מצמיחים כל מיני תענוג כך הנה ג״ע צ״ל בו בחינת מעיין.

The explanation: just as a garden must have in it a fountain to water it, in order to make every fruit in the garden grow (for the water makes all kinds of delights grow), so too Gan Eden must have in it the level of a fountain.

Explanation

An ordinary garden needs a spring to water it so that every kind of fruit and delight can grow. Gan Eden too needs a “fountain” of its own.

כי ג״ע הוא תענוג הנשמות שנהנין מזיו השכינה שבא לכלל גילוי השגת הנפש המשגת באור א״ס ב״ה [ועי״ז מתענגין בו תענוג נפלא אין קץ עד שאמרו מוטב דלידייני׳ כו׳

For Gan Eden is the delight of the souls, who take pleasure in the radiance of the Shechinah (Divine Presence), which comes within the scope of the revealed comprehension of the soul that comprehends the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He [and through this they delight in it with a wondrous, endless delight, to the point that they said, “Better that he be judged,” etc.,

Explanation

Gan Eden is the delight of souls who, as the Talmud says of the World to Come, “take pleasure in the radiance of the Shechinah,” a radiance revealed to them as they comprehend the Infinite Light. The delight is so great that Rabbi Meir said of his teacher Elisha ben Avuyah, “Better that he be judged” and so come to the World to Come.

שאפילו כל יסורי גיהנם כדאי הוא לה וצריכה הנשמה להיות לה מירוק בגיהנם תחלה כדי שתבוא להתענג על ה׳ באור א״ס ב״ה]

for even all the sufferings of Gehinnom are worthwhile to it; and the soul must first undergo a scouring in Gehinnom so that it may come to delight in G‑d, in the Infinite Light, blessed be He].

Explanation

Even all the sufferings of Gehinnom are worth enduring for the sake of this delight. The soul must first be cleansed in Gehinnom so that it can come to “delight in G‑d,” in Isaiah’s phrase, in the Infinite Light.

והנה הוא ית׳ סתימא דכל סתימין ואיך יבוא לידי גילוי ההשגה אלא באתעדל״ת תליא מילתא בקיום התומ״צ שהמצות שנתלבשו בענינים גשמיים כמו קרבנות שהם בע״ח ותרומות ומעשרות שהם בבחינת צומח וצדקה שהיא בבחי׳ דומם

Now, He, may He be blessed, is “the most hidden of all hidden”; how then can He come to be revealed in comprehension? Rather, the matter depends on an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata), on the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos. For the mitzvos that were enclothed in physical matters, such as sacrifices, which are animals; terumos and tithes, which are of the level of plant life; and charity, which is of the level of the inanimate:

Explanation

Yet G‑d in Himself is “the most hidden of all hidden,” beyond any grasp, so how can He be revealed to the souls’ understanding? It depends on the arousal from below, the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos, which are enclothed in physical things from every level of nature: animals for sacrifices, plants for terumos and tithes, and inanimate things, such as money, for charity.

הנה שרשן ויסודתן מאד נעלה בהררי קדש ממדרגה של רצון עליון ואור א״ס ב״ה כנודע ממשל נפילת החומה שמה שנפל יותר למטה הוא ממקום גבוה יותר כו׳ וכמ״ש בס״י נעוץ תחלתן בסופן דייקא

their root and their foundation are exceedingly lofty, “in the mountains of holiness,” from the level of the Supernal Will and the Infinite Light, blessed be He; as is known from the parable of a falling wall: what falls farther down is from a higher place, etc. And as is written in Sefer Yetzirah, “their beginning is wedged in their end,” specifically,

Explanation

Precisely because these mitzvos come down so low, their root is very high, in the Supernal Will and the Infinite Light. A wall that falls farthest is one that stood highest, and Sefer Yetzirah says that the beginning is wedged in the end: the lowest point is bound to the highest.

כי סוף מעשה במחשבה תחלה והן הן הממשיכים חיות ואור א״ס ב״ה להיות בגילוי ההשגה ותענוג הנשמות בג״ע העליון בעולם הבריאה וג״ע התחתון שבעולם העשיה [ועמ״ש מזה בביאור ע״פ וידבר משה אל ראשי המטות].

for “last in deed, first in thought.” And it is they, precisely they, that draw down life-force and the Infinite Light, blessed be He, to be in the revelation of the comprehension and delight of the souls in the higher Gan Eden, in the World of Beriah (Creation), and in the lower Gan Eden, which is in the World of Asiyah (Action) [and see what is written about this in the explanation on the verse “And Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes”].

Explanation

As the Shabbos hymn Lecha Dodi puts it, what comes last in deed was first in thought. It is therefore the physical mitzvos that draw G‑d’s light down into revealed comprehension and delight for the souls, in the higher Gan Eden in Beriah and the lower Gan Eden in Asiyah; the bracket refers to the explanation of the discourse on “And Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes.”

Paragraph 3 in brief

The paragraph explains how Israel “waters” Gan Eden: the souls’ delight there is a revealed grasp of G‑d, who in Himself is hidden, and it is drawn down by the physical mitzvos, whose root is the highest because they come down the lowest.

Deeper

Kehot points to the Zohar (2:135b), which teaches that whoever awakens something below brings about the same awakening above. The falling wall and Sefer Yetzirah’s “their beginning is wedged in their end” make one point: the last link in the chain of descent is joined to its very beginning, which is why mitzvos done with animals, produce and money reach the Supernal Will itself.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    בשה״ש מעין גנים · ד, טו.
  2. 2
    המעין גנים · Song of Songs 4:15
  3. 3
    ג״ע הוא תענוג הנשמות · Berakhot 17a
  4. 4
    מוטב דלדייני׳ · Chagigah 15b:3
  5. 5
    להתענג על ה׳ · Isaiah 58:14
  6. 6
    באתעדל״ת תליא מילתא · Zohar II, 135b
  7. 7
    בהררי קדש · Psalms 87:1
  8. 8
    בס״י נעוץ תחלתן בסופן · פ״א, מ״ז.
  9. 9
    נעוץ תחלתן בסופן · Sefer Yetzirah 1:7
  10. 10
    סוף מעשה במחשבה תחלה · פיוט לכה דודי.
  11. 11
    סוף מעשה במחשבה תחלה · Siddur Ashkenaz, Shabbat, Kabbalat Shabbat, Lekha Dodi 4–6
  12. 12
    וידבר משה אל ראשי המטות · Numbers 30:2
  13. 13
    שנובעת מתחת לארץ · ראה אוה״ת ויקרא-ד ע׳ א׳סב.
  14. 14
    דרך סולמא דפרת · ”דהיינו שמקלחין תחת הקרקע ועולין בהרים כמו סולם” — אוה״ת חקת ע׳ תתס.
  15. 15
    מן הארבעה נהרות דרך סולמא דפרת · Bekhorot 55a
  16. 16
    וארעא חלחולי מחלחלא · Chagigah 22a:6–7
  17. 17
    ע״פ ויחפרו בפ׳ תולדות · תו״א כ, ב.
  18. 18
    ויניחהו בג״ע לעבדה · Genesis 2:15
  19. 19
    לעבדה במ״ע ולשמרה במל״ת · Zohar I, 27a
  20. 20
    ונהר יוצא מעדן · Genesis 2:10

4ועד״ז שאר כל מצות ה׳ שהן במודו״מ של האדם מחשבה היא כוונת המצות ודבור הוא

And in the same way all the rest of G‑d’s commandments, which are in a person’s thought, speech and action: thought is the intention of the mitzvos; and speech is

Explanation

The same holds for every other mitzvah, each of which a person performs in thought, speech or action. The thought is the intention with which the mitzvos are done.

ת״ת וק״ש ובהמ״ז וכיוצא בהן ומעשה המצות מעשיות שבפו״מ הן הן בחי׳ בי״ע שבהן ועל ידן נמשך חיות ואור א״ס ב״ה מההעלם אל הגילוי:

Torah study, the recital of Shema, Grace after Meals and the like; and action is the practical mitzvos in actual deed. These are precisely the levels of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah within them, and through them life-force and the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, are drawn down from concealment into revelation.

Explanation

Speech means the mitzvos done by speaking, such as Torah study, the Shema and Grace after Meals; action means the practical mitzvos done in deed. These three correspond, within the mitzvos, to the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and through all of them life-force and the Infinite Light are drawn from concealment into revelation.

Paragraph 4 in brief

The paragraph extends the principle to all the mitzvos: thought, speech and action, matching Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, each draws G‑d’s light from concealment into revelation.

Inner and encompassing light ¶5–8

5וגילוי זה הוא בבחי׳ פנימית ובבחי׳ מקיפים כי במצות יש ב׳ ענינים בחי׳ פנימית המצות ובחי׳ מקיפים [ועמש״ל מזה בשה״ש בביאור ע״פ קול דודי] ובפרטות המצות במצות הצדקה הלא פרוס לרעב לחמך כו׳

And this revelation is on the level of the inner and on the level of the encompassing (makifim). For in the mitzvos there are two matters: the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the mitzvos, and the level of the encompassing [lights] [and see what is written above about this in Shir HaShirim, in the explanation on the verse “The voice of my beloved”]. And among the particular mitzvos, in the mitzvah of charity: “Is it not to break your bread for the hungry,” etc.:

Explanation

This revelation comes in two modes: an inner light that is absorbed within, and encompassing lights (makifim) that surround from without; every mitzvah has both. The bracket refers to the explanation of “The voice of my beloved” in Likkutei Torah on Shir HaShirim, and charity is given as the example, beginning with Isaiah’s call to break one’s bread for the hungry.

לתת מזון ומחיה בחי׳ פנימית וגם כי תראה ערום וכסיתו בחי׳ מקיף ועי״ז נמשך להיות אז תתענג על ה׳ על דייקא כמ״ש בזהר פ׳ ויחי (דרי״ט ע״א)

to give food and sustenance is the level of the inner; and also “when you see the naked, that you cover him” is the level of the encompassing. And through this there comes to be “Then you shall delight upon Havayah”: “upon,” specifically, as is written in the Zohar, Parshas Vayechi (page 219a).

Explanation

Food and sustenance, which enter the body, are the inner aspect; covering the naked, with a garment that surrounds the body, is the encompassing aspect. Through these comes the promise a few verses later, “Then you shall delight upon Havayah,” and the Zohar stresses the word “upon.”

והיינו שיהיה הוי׳ אור א״ס ב״ה נתפס ונקלט בהשגות הנשמות בבחי׳ פנימית עד שתהיינה מתענגות ונהנות וכו׳

That is, that Havayah, the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, be grasped and absorbed in the souls’ comprehension on the level of the inner, until they delight and take pleasure, etc.

Explanation

Here “upon Havayah” describes the inner mode: Havayah, the Infinite Light, is grasped and absorbed within the souls’ comprehension, so that they delight and take pleasure in it.

כי המושכל הנתפס בהשגת האדם ושכלו הרי השכל וההשגה מקיפים את המושכל מכל צד והמושכל מלובש בפנימיותה ובתוך תוכה והרי שכל האדם והשגתו הם למעלה מן המושכל.

For a concept that is grasped in a person’s comprehension and intellect: the intellect and the comprehension encompass the concept from every side, and the concept is enclothed in its inner part and within its very core; and so a person’s intellect and comprehension are above the concept.

Explanation

The word “upon” fits because when the mind grasps an idea, it surrounds the idea on every side and holds it within. In that sense the one who knows stands “above” what he knows, and the soul that grasps G‑dliness is, as it were, “upon” it.

Paragraph 5 in brief

The paragraph distinguishes inner and encompassing revelation, illustrated by the two sides of charity, food and clothing, and explains “delight upon Havayah” as the inner mode, in which the soul’s mind encompasses what it grasps.

Deeper

The Zohar on Vayechi reads “upon Havayah” as a delight above the level called “heavens.” Kehot points to Tanya, chapter 5, where the mind that grasps an idea encompasses it and the idea is enclothed within the mind, and to a passage in Sefer HaMaamarim 5566 that sets out the same pair at greater length: food and bread as the inner light, garments as the encompassing light, both in physical charity.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    כי במצות יש ב׳ ענינים בחי׳ פנימית המצות ובחי׳ מקיפים · ראה ביאור ע״ז בס׳ אגרות קודש דכ״ק אדמו״ר מוהריי״צ נ״ע ח״ד ע׳ קמא.
  2. 2
    Song of Songs 2:8
  3. 3
    הלא פרוס לרעב · Isaiah 58:7
  4. 4
    לתת מזון ומחיה בחי׳ פנימית · בסה״מ תקס״ו ע׳ רעא מבואר יותר בארוכה ”בב׳ מדרגו׳ בבחי׳ א״פ והוא המזון לחם וכיוצא, וא״מ והן הלבושים כמ״ש כי תראה ערום וכסיתו וזהו מצות הצדקה בגשמיות”. וראה אוה״ת חקת ע׳ תתסה.
  5. 5
    כי תראה ערום וכסיתו · המשך הפסוק הלוא פרוס לרעב.
  6. 6
    אז תתענג על ה׳ · Isaiah 58:14
  7. 7
    אז תתענג על ה׳ על דייקא · Zohar, Vayechi 21:171–23:182
  8. 8
    כמ״ש בזהר פ׳ ויחי (דרי״ט ע״א) · ראה גם לקמן דרושים לשמע״צ פה, א.
  9. 9
    השכל וההשגה מקיפים את המושכל · ראה תניא פרק ה ובליקוט פי׳ לשם.

6וזהו ענין שרפים עומדים ממעל לו כו׳ וכמ״ש במ״א. וגם בבחי׳ מקיף שהוא כענין שנאמר ויצא כברק חצו שאינו אלא כברק המבריק במוחו והשגתו אבל אינו נתפס ונקלט לתוך השגתו ממש.

And this is the meaning of “Seraphim stand above Him,” etc., as is explained elsewhere. And also on the level of the encompassing, which is like what is said, “And His arrow shall go forth like lightning”: it is only like lightning flashing in his mind and comprehension, but it is not grasped and absorbed into his actual comprehension.

Explanation

The principle that the grasping mind stands above what it grasps is also the meaning of Isaiah’s vision, “Seraphim stand above Him,” explained elsewhere. The encompassing mode, by contrast, is like Zechariah’s “His arrow shall go forth like lightning”: a flash that lights up the mind for a moment but is never grasped and held within the understanding.

Paragraph 6 in brief

The paragraph links the inner mode to the Seraphim who stand “above” and describes the encompassing mode as a lightning flash that lights up the mind but is not absorbed in it.

Deeper

The Kehot note gathers many places in Likkutei Torah that use the image of lightning flashing in the mind. In the discourse on tzitzis in Sh’lach, for example, Chochmah is “only like lightning flashing in the mind” before it comes into Binah and comprehension.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    שרפים עומדים ממעל לו · Isaiah 6:2
  2. 2
    ויצא כברק חצו · Zechariah 9:14
  3. 3
    כברק המבריק · על״ק ביאור החלצו [פז, ג] רפ״ב וסד״ה לבאר ענין המסעות וד״ה ואתחנן רפ״ד ושם בקיצור [ג, ב] אות ד. ובביאור ואתחנן ספ״א. ביום השמע״צ הג׳ [פז, ד] פ״ד. ובשה״ש ריש ביאור כי על כל כבוד חופה [מז, ג]. וע׳ לעיל רד״ה והי׳ לכם לציצית (מד, ד) וד״ה ולא אבה בפ׳ תצא (לח, ד). [כ].

7וזהו ענין לבושי הנשמה שבג״ע להיות צרורה בצרור החיים כבוד ה׳ יאספך דהיינו להיות אור א״ס ב״ה מקיף עליו ומלבישו וסובבו מכל צד עד שיהיה נכלל באור א״ס ב״ה ממש בבחי׳ ביטול ההשגה כו׳.

And this is the meaning of the garments of the soul in Gan Eden, that it be “bound up in the bond of life”; “the glory of Havayah shall gather you in”: that is, that the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, encompass him, clothe him and surround him from every side, until he is subsumed in the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, on the level of the nullification (bittul) of comprehension, etc.

Explanation

In Gan Eden the souls are clothed in “garments,” which belong to the encompassing mode: the soul is “bound up in the bond of life,” and, in Isaiah’s words, “the glory of Havayah shall gather you in.” The Infinite Light surrounds the soul on every side until it is wholly absorbed in it, in a bittul in which comprehension itself is set aside.

Paragraph 7 in brief

The paragraph applies the encompassing mode to the soul in Gan Eden: its garments are the Infinite Light surrounding it, so that it is absorbed in G‑d beyond comprehension.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    צרורה בצרור החיים · I Samuel 25:29
  2. 2
    כבוד ה׳ יאספך · Isaiah 58:8

8וזהו שא׳ כבוד הוי׳ יאספך אחר כי תראה ערום וכסיתו שהוא בחי׳ מקיף ולבוש וזהו ענין כבוד שהוא ענין מקיף כמ״ש במ״א.

And this is why it says “the glory of Havayah shall gather you in” after “when you see the naked, that you cover him,” which is the level of the encompassing and of a garment. And this is the meaning of “glory,” which is a matter of the encompassing, as is explained elsewhere.

Explanation

Isaiah places “the glory of Havayah shall gather you in” right after “when you see the naked, cover him”: the encompassing side of charity, the garment, is answered by an encompassing reward. “Glory” itself denotes an encompassing light, as explained elsewhere.

וזהו ענין מעיין גנים שכנס״י היא בחי׳ מעיין המשקה את הגנים להיות המשכת תענוג עליון מאור א״ס ב״ה מההעלם אל הגילוי בג״ע העליון וג״ע התחתון וגילוי זה נמשך ג״כ למטה בנפש האדם.

And this is the meaning of “a fountain of gardens”: the Congregation of Israel is the level of a fountain that waters the gardens, so that there be a drawing down of supernal delight from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, from concealment into revelation, in the higher Gan Eden and the lower Gan Eden. And this revelation is also drawn down below, into a person’s soul,

Explanation

This is the meaning of “a fountain of gardens”: Knesses Yisrael waters the higher and the lower Gan Eden by drawing supernal delight from the Infinite Light out of concealment into revelation. That revelation is drawn down here below as well, into the soul of each person.

להיות בחי׳ באר הנובעת ממטה למעלה בקיום מ״ש ואהבת את ה׳ אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך כו׳.

so that there be the level of a well that springs from below upward, in the fulfillment of what is written, “And you shall love Havayah your G‑d with all your heart and with all your soul,” etc.

Explanation

In a person’s soul it takes the form of a well that springs from below upward. This is the fulfillment of the command “You shall love Havayah your G‑d with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Paragraph 8 in brief

The paragraph draws the threads together: the encompassing side of charity is matched by the encompassing “glory,” Knesses Yisrael as the “fountain of gardens” brings delight into both Gan Edens, and below it becomes the “well” of a person’s love of G‑d.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    כי תראה ערום וכסיתו · Isaiah 58:7
  2. 2
    מעיין גנים · Song of Songs 4:15
  3. 3
    ואהבת את ה״א · Deuteronomy 6:5
  4. 4
    כבוד הוי׳ יאספך · Isaiah 58:8

Life in the body and the higher well ¶9–10

9וכמ״ש אליך ה׳ נפשי אשא כו׳ כי אתה בראתה ואתה יצרתה כו׳ ואתה עתיד ליטלה ממני כו׳

As it is written, “To You, Havayah, I lift up my soul,” etc. For “You created it, and You formed it,” etc., “and You will in the future take it from me,” etc.

Explanation

The soul’s life in the body is framed by the verse “To You, Havayah, I lift up my soul” and by the morning blessing Elokai Neshamah, which says that G‑d created and formed the soul and will one day take it back. The soul belongs to G‑d; a person only holds it for a time.

ואינה נתונה לאדם אלא כדי שיעור ימי חייו לזאת יהיה בעיניו כל ימי חיי העולם הזה בבחי׳ בעל כרחך

And it is given to a person only for the measure of the days of his life. Therefore all the days of the life of this world should be, in his eyes, in the manner of “against your will

Explanation

Since the soul is given to a person only for the span of his life, he should regard all of life in this world in the spirit of the Mishnah in Avos: “against your will you live.” Life in the body is not an end in itself.

אתה חי וכמאן דשדי בתר כתפוי ואליו ית׳ לבדו יהיה נושא את נפשו וכל ימי חיי האדם אשר נתלבשה נפשו בגופו בעולם הזה הוא רק

you live,” and like something one casts behind his shoulders; and to Him alone, may He be blessed, shall he lift up his soul. And all the days of a person’s life, in which his soul is enclothed in his body in this world, are only

Explanation

Worldly life should be like something tossed behind one’s shoulders, given no real regard, and the soul should be lifted to G‑d alone, as the verse said. The real purpose of the soul’s stay in the body is stated next.

כדי להיות בחי׳ באר שנובעת מתחת לארץ דייקא שעל ידי שהמים הולכים דרך עפר הארץ הם מתבררים ונעשים צלולים יותר כך הנשמה מתבררת יותר בקיום התומ״צ מעשיות שבענינים גשמיים

so as to be the level of a well that springs from beneath the earth, specifically. For through the waters’ passing through the dust of the earth, they are refined and become clearer; so too the soul is further refined through fulfilling the Torah and the practical mitzvos, which are in physical matters,

Explanation

The soul is here only to become a well that springs up from beneath the earth, and the words “beneath the earth” are precise. Just as water is filtered and clarified by passing through the soil, the soul is refined by keeping the Torah and the practical mitzvos, which are done with physical things.

וגם ע״י תגבורת כח נפש האלקית על נפשה הבהמית לאכפיא ולאהפכא חשוכא לנהורא כו׳ ואי לזאת חומריות הגוף וגשמיות העוה״ז אינו אלא בבחינת מעבר לנשמה ועיקר דביקותה תהיה בשרשה באלקים חיים

and also through the strengthening of the power of the G‑dly soul over its animal soul, to subdue, and to transform darkness into light, etc. And accordingly, the coarseness of the body and the physicality of this world are only in the manner of a passageway for the soul, and its main cleaving shall be in its root, in the living G‑d.

Explanation

It is also refined when the G‑dly soul masters the animal soul, subduing the other side and turning darkness into light, in the Zohar’s terms. The body’s coarseness and the world’s physicality are therefore only a passage the soul goes through, while its true attachment stays with its root in the living G‑d.

(עוי״ל שבנפש ג״כ ימצא ב׳ בחי׳ מעיין ובאר וכנז׳ ע״פ ויחפרו עבדי יצחק הנ״ל מה שמתבונן בעומק מחשבתו בגדולת אור א״ס ב״ה בק״ש ותפלה זהו בחי׳ נהר יוצא מעדן חו״ב תרין ריעין כו׳

(One may further say that in the soul too there are found the two levels of fountain and well, as mentioned on the verse “And Yitzchak’s servants dug,” cited above: what a person contemplates in the depth of his thought on the greatness of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, during the Shema and prayer is the level of “a river goes out of Eden,” Chochmah and Binah, “two companions,” etc.;

Explanation

A parenthetical gloss adds that the soul itself contains both a fountain and a well, as explained in the discourse on the wells of Yitzchak’s servants. Deep contemplation of G‑d’s greatness during the Shema and prayer is the “river that goes out of Eden,” which is Chochmah and Binah, the “two companions” of the Zohar that never part.

והוא משקה את הג״ן סדרים דאורייתא הוא עסק התורה שעוסק אח״כ ד׳ אמות של הלכה כו׳ שיומשך בהתורה מבחי׳ תענוג עליון וזהו ענין על תפלתי שתהא סמוכה למטתי

and it waters the fifty-three (gan) sections of the Torah, which is the study of Torah that he engages in afterward, “the four cubits of halachah,” etc., so that [light] from the level of supernal delight be drawn into the Torah. And this is the meaning of “about my prayer, that it be close to my bed,”

Explanation

That river waters the gan, “garden,” whose letters add up to fifty-three, the number of the sections of the Torah: it is the Torah study that follows prayer, the “four cubits of halachah” that the Talmud calls G‑d’s place in His world. Prayer brings supernal delight into the Torah one then learns, and the gloss reads Abba Binyamin’s wish in the Talmud, that his prayer be “close to his bed,” in this light.

כדי שיהי׳ עסק התורה אחר התפלה להיות קולך ערב כמ״ש במ״א בביאור ע״פ יונתי בחגוי הסלע כו׳ וזהו ענין מעין גנים. וכמ״ש בזח״ג) (דרצ״ח א׳) דמעין גנים זהו ענין ונהר יוצא מעדן.

so that the study of Torah be after prayer, so that “your voice is sweet,” as is explained elsewhere in the explanation on the verse “My dove, in the clefts of the rock,” etc. And this is the meaning of “a fountain of gardens.” And as is written in the Zohar, Part III) (page 298a), that “a fountain of gardens” is the meaning of “and a river goes out of Eden.”

Explanation

Learning right after prayer makes one’s voice “sweet,” in the words the Song of Songs says to the dove in the clefts of the rock, as the discourse on that verse explains; this is the “fountain of gardens.” The Zohar, too, places the fountain of gardens together with the river that goes out of Eden.

וענין באר היינו ע״ד המבואר ע״פ יונתי הנ״ל בענין יונתי כשהיא בחגוי הסלע עז״נ הראיני את מראיך שזהו בחי׳ אור חוזר אשר ע״ז אמרו במקום שבע״ת עומדים צדיקים גמורים אין יכולים לעמוד דמשכין ליה בחילא יתיר.

And the matter of the well is along the lines of what is explained on the verse “My dove” mentioned above, on the matter of “my dove” when she is in the clefts of the rock, of which it is said, “Let me see your countenance”: that this is the level of returning light (or chozer), of which they said, “In the place where penitents stand, the perfectly righteous cannot stand,” for they draw it with greater strength.

Explanation

The well corresponds to the dove “in the clefts of the rock,” to whom it is said, “Let me see your countenance”: returning light (or chozer), light that rises from below. This is the strength of penitents, who, the Talmud says, stand where the perfectly righteous cannot, because they draw the light with greater force.

Paragraph 9 in brief

The paragraph describes the soul’s life in the body as a well beneath the earth: worldly life is only a passage, and through the physical mitzvos and the G‑dly soul’s mastery over the animal soul the soul is refined and rises from below. A gloss finds both images within the soul: the river of contemplative prayer that waters Torah study, and the well of returning light that belongs to teshuvah.

Deeper

Tanya, chapter 22, to which Kehot points, uses the image of throwing something over one’s shoulder for the vitality given grudgingly to the sitra achra, from the “back” rather than the “face”; here the same gesture describes how a person should regard the life of this world. The Zohar on Ha’azinu, cited in the gloss, reads “a fountain of gardens” as the “heavens” and links the well of living waters to the wells dug by Yitzchak’s servants.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    אליך ה׳ נפשי אשא · Psalms 25:1
  2. 2
    אתה בראת · ברכת אלקי נשמה.
  3. 3
    ואתה עתיד ליטלה ממני · Berakhot 60b:4
  4. 4
    בע״כ אתה חי · אבות ספ״ד.
  5. 5
    בעל כרחך אתה חי · Pirkei Avot 4:22
  6. 6
    וכמאן דשדי בתר כתפוי · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 22:5
  7. 7
    לאכפיא · Zohar II, 128b
  8. 8
    ולאהפכא · Zohar I, 4a
  9. 9
    ויחפרו עבדי יצחק · Genesis 26:19
  10. 10
    נהר יוצא מעדן · Genesis 2:10
  11. 11
    אמות של הלכה · Berakhot 8a:18–19
  12. 12
    תפלתי שתהא סמוכה למטתי · Berakhot 5b:21–22
  13. 13
    יונתי בחגוי הסלע · Song of Songs 2:14
  14. 14
    דמעין גנים זהו ענין ונהר יוצא מעדן · Zohar, Ha'Azinu 11:221–12:231
  15. 15
    במקום שבע״ת עומדים צדיקים גמורים · Berakhot 34b:22–23

10וכך הוא בחי׳ באר דנביע מתתא לעילא ולכן הוא למעלה מבחי׳ מעין גנים כו׳ עד שהיא בחינת מים חיים ממש שלמעלה מבחינת ונהר יוצא כו׳ כמ״ש במ״א בד״ה ששים המה מלכות.

And so it is with the level of a well, which springs from below upward; and therefore it is above the level of “a fountain of gardens,” etc., to the point that it is the level of actual “living waters,” which is above the level of “and a river goes out,” etc., as is explained elsewhere in the discourse beginning “There are sixty queens.”

Explanation

The well, which springs from below upward, therefore stands higher than the “fountain of gardens.” It is truly “living waters,” above even the river that goes out of Eden, as explained in the discourse on “There are sixty queens.”

א״נ אף שהנהר הוא ג״כ בחי׳ כנ״ל בענין מים גנים עכ״ז הבאר שהוא ממטה למעלה יש בו בחינה עליונה יותר כנ״ל בענין שבעלי תשובה כו׳ וצ״ל כל ימיו בתשובה.

Alternatively: although the river too is a [lofty] level, as mentioned above in the matter of the waters of the gardens, nevertheless the well, which is from below upward, has in it a higher level, as mentioned above in the matter that penitents, etc. And all his days must be in teshuvah (return).

Explanation

An alternative explanation: the river too is a lofty level, as explained above about the fountain that waters the gardens, yet the well, rising from below, has something higher still, like the advantage of penitents over the perfectly righteous. That is why, as the Talmud teaches, a person must spend all his days in teshuvah.

וזהו ענין ודברתם אל הסלע ונתן מימיו שע״ז נאמר עלי באר כו׳ והיינו ממש כענין הראיני את מראיך דיונתי בחגוי הסלע כו׳:

And this is the meaning of “And you shall speak to the rock, and it shall give forth its water,” of which it is said, “Spring up, O well,” etc. And this is exactly like the matter of “Let me see your countenance” said of “my dove in the clefts of the rock,” etc.

Explanation

This is the meaning of the command to Moshe, “Speak to the rock, and it shall give forth its water,” the water of which Israel sang, “Spring up, O well.” It is the same as the dove in the clefts of the rock whose countenance is longed for: light that rises from below.

Paragraph 10 in brief

The paragraph ranks the well above the fountain: light that rises from below, like the return of the penitent, reaches higher than the light that flows down, and it is this water that came from the rock and of which Israel sang.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ששים המה מלכות · Song of Songs 6:8
  2. 2
    כל ימיו בתשובה · Shabbat 153a
  3. 3
    ודברתם אל הסלע ונתן מימיו · Numbers 20:8
  4. 4
    עלי באר · Numbers 21:17
  5. 5
    הראיני את מראיך · Song of Songs 2:14

Digging and delving; Yaakov the prince ¶11–13

11ב אך להיות גילוי בחי׳ באר זו צריך להיות חפרוה כרוה חפירה וכריה היא להשליך את עפר הארץ הסותמים את פי הבאר אלא שחפירה הוא להשליך את רגבי הארץ הגסים וכריה היא להשליך הצרורות וחול הדק.

2. However, for this level of a well to be revealed, there must be “dug it, delved it.” Digging and delving are casting away the dust of the earth that blocks the mouth of the well; except that digging is casting away the coarse clods of earth, and delving is casting away the pebbles and the fine sand.

Explanation

The second section turns to how the well is uncovered: the verse says the princes “dug it” and “delved it.” Both mean clearing away the earth that blocks the well’s mouth, but digging removes the coarse clods, while delving removes the pebbles and fine sand that remain.

Paragraph 11 in brief

The paragraph opens the second section by defining the two stages of uncovering the well: digging out the coarse clods and delving out the pebbles and fine sand.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    חפרוה כרוה · Numbers 21:18

12וכך צריך להעביר כל המסתירים ומכסים על האהבה המסותרת ולאכפיא לסט״א הן באיסור להיות סור מרע כו׳

And so one must remove everything that hides and covers the hidden love, and subdue the sitra achra (the other side): whether in what is forbidden, to “turn away from evil,” etc.;

Explanation

In the soul, the earth that blocks the well is whatever hides and covers the hidden love of G‑d within it. Removing it means subduing the sitra achra, first in what is forbidden, by turning away from evil.

והן בהיתר קדש עצמך במותר לך ובטל רצונך מפני רצונו והן בקיום המצות להתחזק בלימוד התורה יותר מהרגילות וליתן צדקה יותר

or in what is permitted, “sanctify yourself in what is permitted to you,” and “nullify your will before His will”; or in fulfilling the mitzvos, to strengthen oneself in Torah study more than one’s habit and to give charity beyond

Explanation

It applies also to what is permitted, as the Talmud says, “Sanctify yourself in what is permitted to you,” and as the Mishnah says, “Nullify your will before His will.” And it applies to the mitzvos themselves: studying more Torah than one is used to and giving more charity than comes naturally.

מטבעו וכיוצא בהן שכל הדברים האלה וכיוצא בהן הן הן בחי׳ חפירה וכריה להעביר כחות החומריות שמצד הקליפה ולבטלן בבחינת ביטול לגמרי בטל רצונך כו׳

his nature, and the like. For all these things and the like are precisely the levels of digging and delving: to remove the powers of coarseness that come from the side of kelipah and to nullify them in complete self-nullification (bittul), “nullify your will,” etc.,

Explanation

All these efforts are the digging and delving. They clear away the coarse forces that come from kelipah and nullify them completely, in the spirit of “nullify your will.”

כדי לגלות מצפוני האהבה מההעלם אל הגילוי (וב׳ בחי׳ אלו דחפירה וכריה לעשותה בבחי׳ באר זהו כמו ענין המבואר ע״פ לא תהיה משכלה ועקרה בארצך.

in order to reveal the hidden recesses of the love, from concealment into revelation. (And these two levels, digging and delving, to make it into the level of a well, are like the matter explained on the verse “None shall miscarry or be barren in your land”:

Explanation

The purpose is to bring the hidden love out of concealment into revelation. A parenthetical gloss links the two stages to a discourse on the verse “None shall miscarry or be barren in your land.”

ענין אפילו בית ולד אין לה כו׳ והנה העצה לעשות כלי ריקן הוא כמ״ש לב נשבר ונדכה כו׳. וזהו בחי׳ חפירה כו׳ אך עוד צריך הוא שלא יטה לבו אפילו לדברים המותרים להיות מקושר בהם כו׳ ע״ש.

the matter of “she did not even have a womb,” etc. And the counsel for making an empty vessel is as it is written, “a broken and crushed heart,” etc.; and this is the level of digging, etc. But he must further not incline his heart even to permitted things, to be bound up in them, etc.; see there.

Explanation

The gloss recalls the Talmud’s saying about Sarah, that she “did not even have a womb,” and explains that to become an empty vessel, ready to receive, one needs “a broken and crushed heart”: this is the digging. Beyond that, one must not let his heart incline even toward permitted things so as to become bound up in them.

וזהו בחינת כריה להשליך הצרורות וחול הדק ועי״ז יתגלה מצפון האהבה בחינת ותתפלל חנה על ה׳ כו׳ ע״ש וזהו פי׳ וענין עלי באר)

And this is the level of delving, casting away the pebbles and the fine sand. And through this the hidden recess of the love will be revealed, the level of “And Channah prayed upon Havayah,” etc.; see there. And this is the meaning and the matter of “Spring up, O well.”)

Explanation

Freeing the heart even from attachment to permitted things is the delving, the removal of the pebbles and fine sand. Then the hidden love is revealed, as when Channah “prayed upon Havayah,” and this is the meaning of “Spring up, O well.”

ובחי׳ חפירה וכריה זו נעשה ע״י בחי׳ שרים ונדיבי עם שרים הם האבות ובחיר האבות הוא יעקב.

And this level of digging and delving is brought about through the level of “princes” and “nobles of the people.” The “princes” are the Patriarchs, and the choicest of the Patriarchs is Yaakov,

Explanation

This digging and delving is done by the “princes” and “nobles of the people” of the verse. The princes are the Patriarchs, and the choicest of them is Yaakov.

כענין ואלקי יעקב בתוספת וי״ו המחבר כו׳ שיעקב הוא הכולל כל בחי׳ האבות כי ביעקב נאמר

as in the matter of “and the G‑d of Yaakov,” with the addition of the connecting vav, etc.: for Yaakov is the one who includes all the levels of the Patriarchs. For of Yaakov it is said,

Explanation

In the phrase “the G‑d of Avraham, the G‑d of Yitzchak, and the G‑d of Yaakov,” only Yaakov’s name has the connecting letter vav, “and,” a sign that Yaakov joins and includes the qualities of all the Patriarchs. This is borne out by what was said to Yaakov when he was named Yisrael.

כי שרית לשון שררה וממשלה עם אלקים הוא ענין הצמצום כי הנה אני הוי׳ לא שניתי ואין עוד מלבדו וכולא קמיה כלא כו׳.

“For you have striven (sarisa),” an expression of rulership and dominion, “with Elokim,” which is the matter of the tzimtzum (contraction). For “I, Havayah, have not changed,” and “there is none else besides Him,” and “all before Him is as nothing,” etc.

Explanation

In “For you have striven (sarisa) with Elokim,” sarisa is read as rulership, from sar, a prince, and Elokim as the Name of the tzimtzum, the concealment of G‑d’s light. In truth G‑d does not change, there is none besides Him, and all before Him is as nothing; only through the concealment of Elokim does anything else appear to exist.

Paragraph 12 in brief

The paragraph applies digging and delving to the soul: subduing the sitra achra in the forbidden, the permitted and the mitzvos clears away what hides the love of G‑d. This work is done by the “princes,” the Patriarchs, above all Yaakov, who rules over Elokim, the Name of concealment.

Deeper

The gloss maps the two stages onto the discourse on barrenness: the broken heart that makes a person an empty vessel removes the coarse clods, while freeing the heart from attachment even to permitted things removes the fine sand that still blocks the flow.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    קדש עצמך במותר לך · Yevamot 20a:15
  2. 2
    ובטל רצונך מפני רצונו · Pirkei Avot 2:4
  3. 3
    לא תהיה משכלה ועקרה בארצך · Exodus 23:26
  4. 4
    אפילו בית ולד אין לה · Yevamot 64b:2–3
  5. 5
    לב נשבר ונדכה · Psalms 51:19
  6. 6
    ותתפלל חנה על ה׳ · I Samuel 1:10
  7. 7
    שרים ונדיבי עם · Numbers 21:18
  8. 8
    שרים הם האבות · Bamidbar Rabbah 19:26
  9. 9
    כי שרית · Genesis 32:29
  10. 10
    אני הוי׳ לא שניתי · Malachi 3:6
  11. 11
    ואין עוד מלבדו · Deuteronomy 4:35
  12. 12
    וכולא קמיה כלא · Zohar, Introduction 20:188–22:199

13ומה שנראה העולם ליש ודבר נפרד הוא ע״י בחי׳ שם אלקים המצמצם ומסתיר גילוי אלהותו ית׳ להיות עולם המעלים כו׳

And that the world appears as an existent thing (yesh) and a separate entity is through the level of the Name Elokim, which contracts and hides the revelation of His G‑dliness, may He be blessed, so that there be a world (olam), which conceals (ma’alim), etc.

Explanation

The world seems to be a real, independent existence only because of the Name Elokim, which contracts and hides the revelation of G‑dliness. The Hebrew word for world, olam, is read as related to he’elem, concealment: a world is by definition what conceals.

ויעקב הוא בחינת שר ומושל על בחי׳ אלקים שלא יסתיר ויעלים כו׳ כמ״ש והיה הוי׳ לי לאלקים כו׳

And Yaakov is the level of a prince and ruler over the level of Elokim, so that it not hide and conceal, etc., as it is written, “And Havayah shall be my Elokim,” etc.,

Explanation

Yaakov is a “prince” who rules over Elokim, so that its concealment no longer hides G‑d. This is the sense of his vow, “Havayah shall be my Elokim”: Havayah, G‑d as He transcends the world, is to be present for Yaakov even through Elokim, the Name of concealment.

כמ״ש במ״א ועם אנשים הם המלאכים כמ״ש באברהם וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו שבאו ג׳ מלאכים בשביל ג׳ שליחות.

as is explained elsewhere. “And with men”: these are the angels, as is written of Avraham, “And he looked, and behold, three men were standing over him”; for three angels came for three missions.

Explanation

The verse goes on, “and with men,” and these “men” are angels, just as the three “men” who appeared to Avraham were angels. Three came because each had a single mission.

לפי שאין מלאך א׳ יכול לעשות שתי שליחות כי המלאך הוא שליח ההשפעה שהוא בחי׳ כלי שבו

For one angel cannot carry out two missions, since the angel is the messenger of the flow (hashpa’ah), being the level of a vessel in which

Explanation

An angel cannot carry out two missions, because an angel is only a messenger for the flow of influence from above. He is a vessel through which that flow passes.

ועל ידו עוברת ההשפעה ואין כח בכלי שלו לסבול ולהגביל שתי שליחות שהן שתי השפעות

and through which the flow passes; and its vessel has no power to bear and contain two missions, which are two flows,

Explanation

A vessel holds only what fits its measure, so an angel cannot bear and contain two missions, which would be two separate flows.

כי הם מבי״ע שנאמר ומשם יפרד שכל דבר הוא ענין בפני עצמו וביעקב כתיב וישר אל מלאך ויוכל (בהושע סי׳ י״ב ה׳)

for they are from Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, of which it is said, “And from there it divided,” where each thing is a matter of its own. And of Yaakov it is written, “And he strove (vayasar) with an angel, and prevailed” (in Hosea, chapter 12, [verse] 5);

Explanation

Angels belong to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, the worlds of which the verse about the river of Eden says, “from there it divided”: there each thing stands apart as a matter of its own. Of Yaakov, however, Hosea says that he “strove (vayasar)” with an angel and prevailed.

וארז״ל (חולין צ״ב א׳) שיעקב נעשה שר למלאך כי יעקב הוא גופא דאורייתא וכמ״ש הקל קול יעקב ויקם עדות ביעקב כו׳.

and our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Chullin 92a) that Yaakov became a prince over the angel. For Yaakov is the body of the Torah (gufa de’oraysa), as it is written, “The voice is the voice of Yaakov,” and “He established a testimony in Yaakov,” etc.

Explanation

The Talmud in Chullin reads the verse to mean that Yaakov became a sar, a prince, over the angel. He could do so because Yaakov is the “body of the Torah,” as in “The voice is the voice of Yaakov” and “He established a testimony in Yaakov,” where the testimony is the Torah.

ועל התורה נאמר אחת דבר אלקים שתים זו שמענו וכפטיש יפוצץ סלע מקרא אחד מתחלק כו׳

And of the Torah it is said, “One thing G‑d has spoken; two things have we heard,” and “like a hammer that shatters a rock”: one verse divides, etc.;

Explanation

The Torah is not like an angel’s single mission: “One thing G‑d has spoken, two things have we heard,” and “like a hammer that shatters a rock.” As the Talmud explains, just as a hammer’s blow sends out many sparks, a single verse yields many meanings.

כי אורייתא מחכמה נפקת והיא חכמתו ית׳ דאיהו וגרמוהי חד שהכל נכלל בבחינת אחדות לכן דבור התורה אפילו פסוק אחד או הלכה א׳ כו׳

for “the Torah comes forth from Chochmah (wisdom),” and it is His Chochmah, may He be blessed, of which “He and His vessels are one” (ihu vegarmohi chad), where everything is included in the level of oneness. Therefore the speech of the Torah, even one verse or one halachah, etc.,

Explanation

The reason is that the Torah comes from Chochmah, G‑d’s wisdom, which is one with Him (“He and His vessels are one”), so that everything in it is held in unity. Therefore every word of Torah, even a single verse or a single halachah, contains the whole Torah.

כולל כל התורה כולה. משא״כ המלאכים שלא ניתן להם התורה ע״כ אין כח במלאך לסבול ולקבל שני שליחות

includes the entire Torah. This is not so with the angels, to whom the Torah was not given; therefore an angel has no power to bear and receive two missions.

Explanation

Angels were not given the Torah and lack this unity, so an angel can bear only one mission at a time. Yaakov, the body of the Torah, can therefore rule over the angel.

(ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה כנשר יעיר דגבי מתן תורה נאמר רואין את הנשמע ושומעין את הנראה שאין התחלקות בין ראיה לשמיעה לפי שהתורה מחכמה עילאה נפקת שאין שם התחלקות המדרגות כי הוא למעלה מעולם הפירוד והנה איתא ברע״מ פ׳ פינחס)

(And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “As an eagle stirs up [its nest]”: that concerning the Giving of the Torah it is said, “They saw what is heard and heard what is seen,” for there is no division between sight and hearing, since the Torah comes forth from supernal Chochmah, where there is no division of levels, for it is above the world of separation. Now, it is found in the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Pinchas)

Explanation

A parenthetical gloss refers to the discourse on “As an eagle stirs up its nest,” which explains that at the Giving of the Torah Israel “saw what is heard and heard what is seen.” Sight and hearing were not divided, because the Torah comes from supernal Chochmah, above the world of separation where levels divide.

(דרכ״ט ע״ב) וכפטיש יפוצץ סלע ודא סלע דאתמר ביה ודברתם אל הסלע לעיניהם ונתן מימיו וכמארז״ל שנה עליו פרק אחד

(page 229b): “like a hammer that shatters a rock,” and this is the rock of which it is said, “And you shall speak to the rock before their eyes, and it shall give forth its water”; and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Recite one chapter over it.”

Explanation

The Raaya Mehemna on Pinchas reads the rock that the hammer shatters as the rock Moshe was told to speak to, and the Sages say that speaking to it meant reciting a chapter of Torah over it. The rock gives its water through words of Torah.

וזהו ענין חפרוה שרים בחי׳ קול יעקב שעי״ז נעשה בחי׳ באר מים חיים דהיינו כמ״ש ונתן מימיו כו׳

And this is the meaning of “princes dug it”: the level of “the voice of Yaakov,” through which there comes to be the level of a well of living waters, namely, as it is written, “and it shall give forth its water,” etc.

Explanation

This is “princes dug it”: the princes dig the well with the “voice of Yaakov,” the voice of Torah. Through it the well of living waters is opened, as in “and it shall give forth its water.”

(ועיין בזח״א ד״ו סע״ב ח״ב דס״ד ב׳ ועיין עוד ח״ג דרמ״ט ב׳ רע״ט ב׳ ובלק״ת פ׳ חקת)

(And see the Zohar, Part I, page 6, end of side b; Part II, page 64b; and see further Part III, page 249b and 279b; and the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, Parshas Chukas.)

Explanation

The parenthesis lists further passages: in the Zohar, on Moshe’s staff with which he struck the rock, on the lower rock that brings forth water by the power of the higher “rock,” on the rock struck twice, and on the rock of Moshe that was meant to be spoken to; and the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah on Parshas Chukas.

והנה מדתו של יעקב הוא בחינת רחמנות ועמ״ש מזה לקמן סד״ה מי מנה עפר יעקב וע״ז נאמר ליעקב אשר פדה את אברהם הוא גילוי אהבה שבו

Now, the attribute of Yaakov is the level of compassion (and see what is written about this below, at the end of the discourse beginning “Who has counted the dust of Yaakov”), and of this it is said, “to Yaakov, who redeemed Avraham”: the revelation of the love that is within him.

Explanation

Yaakov’s attribute is compassion, as explained later in the discourse on “Who has counted the dust of Yaakov.” Isaiah’s phrase “Yaakov, who redeemed Avraham” is read as Yaakov bringing out into the open the love, Avraham’s attribute, that lies within.

ועל ידו נעשה בחי׳ חפירה וכרייה לבאר הנובעת ממטה למעלה מההעלם אל הגילוי (וז״ש בזח״א ויצא קנ״ב א׳ ויעקב בלחודוי כו׳ ע״ש).

And through him there comes about the level of digging and delving for the well that springs from below upward, from concealment into revelation (and this is what is written in the Zohar, Part I, Vayetzei, 152a, “And Yaakov alone,” etc.; see there).

Explanation

Through Yaakov’s compassion the well is dug and delved, so that love springs from below upward, out of concealment into revelation. The Zohar on Vayetzei says that Yaakov by himself needed no other help, for he was the perfection of the Patriarchs.

ועד״ז נתקנו כל סדר התפלה שהוא לעורר את האהבה מההעלם אל הגילוי ע״י שישים אל לבו להתבונן בברוך שאמר והיה העולם איך שאמר מאמר אחד בלבד והיה העולם בבחי׳ ממלא כל עלמין וסובב כל עלמין כו׳

And in this way the entire order of prayer was instituted, which is to arouse the love from concealment into revelation: through his setting his heart to contemplate “Blessed is He who spoke and the world came to be,” how He spoke one utterance alone and the world came to be, on the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin) and the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), etc.;

Explanation

The whole order of prayer was arranged to arouse this love. It begins with Baruch She’amar, where one contemplates how a single utterance brought the world into being, through the light that fills all worlds and the light that encompasses them.

ואיך שהאופנים ברעש גדול כו׳ וצבא השמים לך משתחוים השתחוו לא נא׳ אלא משתחוים שתמיד משתחוים כו׳.

and how “the Ofanim, with a great noise,” etc.; and “the host of heaven bow down to You”: it does not say “bowed down” but “bow down,” for they bow down always, etc.

Explanation

It continues with the Ofanim, who rise “with a great noise,” and with the verse “the host of heaven bow down to You.” The verse says “bow down,” not “bowed down,” because their bowing never stops.

ואח״כ אומרים אב הרחמן רחם נא עלינו במדתו של יעקב שלא להיות גשמיות הגוף והעולם מסתירים ומעלימים עליו ויהיה גילוי האהבה למטה כמו למעלה:

And afterward we say, “Merciful Father, have mercy upon us,” with the attribute of Yaakov: that the physicality of the body and of the world not hide and conceal over him, and that the revelation of the love be below as it is above.

Explanation

After this contemplation comes the plea “Merciful Father, have mercy upon us,” an appeal to the attribute of Yaakov. It asks that the physicality of the body and the world not conceal G‑d from a person, so that the love be revealed below as it is above.

Paragraph 13 in brief

The paragraph explains why the digging falls to Yaakov: he rules over Elokim, the Name of concealment, and even over angels, because he is the body of the Torah, whose unity no angel shares. His voice of Torah and his attribute of compassion open the well of love, and the order of prayer, from Baruch She’amar to “Merciful Father,” follows the same pattern.

Deeper

An angel’s limit of one mission belongs to the worlds of separation, where “from there it divided”; the Torah stems from Chochmah, where “He and His vessels are one,” so each verse holds the whole. That is why the voice of Torah can make the rock give its water, the rock that the Raaya Mehemna identifies with the one the hammer shatters.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    והיה הוי׳ לי לאלקים · Genesis 28:21
  2. 2
    ועם אנשים · Genesis 32:29
  3. 3
    וירא והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו · Genesis 18:2
  4. 4
    ומשם יפרד · Genesis 2:10
  5. 5
    Chullin 92a:2
  6. 6
    וישר אל מלאך ויוכל · Hosea 12:5
  7. 7
    הקל קול יעקב · Genesis 27:22
  8. 8
    ויקם עדות ביעקב · Psalms 78:5
  9. 9
    אחת דבר אלקים שתים זו שמענו · Psalms 62:12
  10. 10
    וכפטיש יפוצץ סלע · Jeremiah 23:29
  11. 11
    מקרא אחד מתחלק · Sanhedrin 34a:12
  12. 12
    כנשר יעיר · Deuteronomy 32:11
  13. 13
    וכפטיש יפוצץ סלע ודא סלע דאתמר ביה · Zohar, Pinchas 51:314–53:325
  14. 14
    ודברתם אל הסלע לעיניהם ונתן מימיו · Numbers 20:8
  15. 15
    ודברתם אל הסלע לעיניהם ונתן מימיו · Zohar, Ki Teitzei 14:70–17:79
  16. 16
    חפרוה שרים · Numbers 21:18
  17. 17
    מי מנה עפר יעקב · Numbers 23:10
  18. 18
    אשר פדה את אברהם · Isaiah 29:22
  19. 19
    ויעקב בלחודוי · Zohar, Vayetzei 14:92–95
  20. 20
    ברוך שאמר והיה העולם · Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Pesukei Dezimra, Barukh She'amar 2
  21. 21
    שהאופנים ברעש גדול · Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Blessings of the Shema, First Blessing before Shema 6–8
  22. 22
    וצבא השמים לך משתחוים · Nehemiah 9:6
  23. 23
    אב הרחמן רחם נא עלינו · Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Blessings of the Shema, Second Blessing before Shema

The living waters of Torah ¶14–16

14ג והנה מן הבאר הזאת ע״י חפירה זו נעשה גילוי בחי׳ מים חיים שהוא קיום יותר מבחי׳ אהבה ברשפי אש בהתלהבות התפלה ע״י התבוננות כו׳ שאחר התפלה חולפת ועוברת כו׳

3. Now, from this well, through this digging, there comes about the revelation of the level of living waters, which is more lasting than the level of love like fiery flames (rishpei esh) in the fervor of prayer through contemplation, etc., which after prayer passes and goes away, etc.

Explanation

The third section: the digging of the well reveals “living waters,” a love more lasting than the fiery love of prayer. Love like fiery flames, kindled by contemplation in prayer, flares up and then passes once prayer is over.

אבל בחי׳ מים הם המשכות אהבה שאין לה הפסק וזו היא מעלת אברהם אוהבי איש החסד זכור אב נמשך אחריך כמים

But the level of water is flows of a love that has no interruption. And this is the virtue of Avraham, “who loves Me,” “the man of kindness”: “Remember the father, who was drawn after You like water.”

Explanation

Water, by contrast, flows on without interruption, and this is Avraham’s quality: Isaiah calls him “Avraham who loves Me,” and he is the man of kindness. The prayer for rain says of him, “Remember the father, who was drawn after You like water.”

(וזהו ליעקב אשר פדה את אברהם דוקא וע׳ ברבות וירא פמ״ח אתה אמרת יוקח נא מעט מים חייך שאני פורע לבניך כו׳ עלי באר כו׳ וע״ש ג״כ ס״פ נ״ד.

(And this is “to Yaakov, who redeemed Avraham,” specifically. And see Midrash Rabbah on Vayeira, chapter 48: “You said, ‘Let a little water be brought’; by your life, I will repay your children,” etc., “Spring up, O well,” etc. And see there also, at the end of chapter 54.

Explanation

A gloss explains that this is why Yaakov is said to have redeemed Avraham specifically: Yaakov’s digging brings out Avraham’s water-like love. The Midrash on Vayeira says that because Avraham offered his guests “a little water,” G‑d repays his children with water, including the well of “Spring up, O well,” and near the end of chapter 54 the water rises for Avraham’s flock, a sign that the well would rise for his children.

וע׳ עוד מענין עלי באר ברבות חיי שרה פ״ס בשלח פכ״ה ר״פ במדבר שלח לך ר״פ י״ז ובפ׳ חקת ובפ׳ עקב בפסוק שמע ישראל אתה עובר היום ובקהלת רבה ס״פ שלח לחמך ע״פ המים).

And see further on the matter of “Spring up, O well” in Midrash Rabbah: Chayei Sarah, chapter 60; Beshalach, chapter 25; the beginning of Bamidbar; Shelach Lecha, the beginning of chapter 17; and in Parshas Chukas; and in Parshas Eikev, on the verse “Hear, O Israel, you are crossing today”; and in Koheles Rabbah, at the end of “Send your bread upon the waters.”)

Explanation

The gloss lists more Midrashim on “Spring up, O well”: in Midrash Rabbah on Chayei Sarah, Beshalach, Bamidbar, Shelach and Chukas, on Eikev, and in Koheles Rabbah. Midrash Rabbah on Chukas, for example, says the well was given in the merit of the Patriarchs, who are called “princes.”

והיינו לפי שהם מים חיים שמקבלים מחכמה שנק׳ חיים כי החכמה תחיה באור פני מלך חיים

And this is because they are living waters, which receive from Chochmah (wisdom), which is called “life,” for “Chochmah gives life,” “in the light of the King’s countenance is life”:

Explanation

These waters are “living” because they come from Chochmah, which is called life, as in “wisdom gives life” and “in the light of the King’s countenance is life.”

דהיינו בחי׳ ביטול כח מ״ה [וכמ״ש במ״א ע״פ ושאבתם מים בששון בענין ניסוך המים בחג איך שהיא בחי׳ אהבה שלמעלה מרשפי אש וכמשל הבן כשהוא אצל אביו ממש כו׳.

that is, the level of self-nullification (bittul), koach mah (the power of “what”) [as is explained elsewhere on the verse “And you shall draw water with joy,” concerning the water libation on the Festival: how it is the level of a love that is above fiery flames, like the analogy of a son when he is actually with his father, etc.

Explanation

Chochmah is koach mah, “the power of ‘what,’” the self-nullification of one who feels he is nothing. A bracketed gloss refers to the discourse on “And you shall draw water with joy,” about the water libation on Sukkos, which describes a love above fiery flames, like that of a son who is right beside his father.

Paragraph 14 in brief

The paragraph opens the third section: the well yields living waters, a steady love beyond the passing fire of prayer. It is Avraham’s water-like kindness, revealed by Yaakov and rooted in Chochmah, the level of bittul.

Deeper

The gloss’s string of Midrashim ties the well in the desert to the merit of the Patriarchs: in Bereishis Rabbah Avraham’s offer of water to his guests is repaid with the well, and in Midrash Rabbah on Chukas the “princes” who dug it are the Patriarchs.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ברשפי אש · Song of Songs 8:6
  2. 2
    אברהם אוהבי · Isaiah 41:8
  3. 3
    ליעקב אשר פדה את אברהם · Isaiah 29:22
  4. 4
    יוקח נא מעט מים · Genesis 18:4
  5. 5
    אתה אמרת יוקח נא מעט מים חייך שאני פורע לבניך · Bereshit Rabbah 48:10
  6. 6
    עלי באר · Bereshit Rabbah 54:5
  7. 7
    עלי באר · Bereshit Rabbah 60:5
  8. 8
    עלי באר · Shemot Rabbah 25:7
  9. 9
    עלי באר · Bamidbar Rabbah 1:2
  10. 10
    עלי באר · Bamidbar Rabbah 17:1
  11. 11
    עלי באר · Bamidbar Rabbah 19:26
  12. 12
    עלי באר · Kohelet Rabbah 11:1
  13. 13
    שמע ישראל אתה עובר היום · Deuteronomy 9:1
  14. 14
    שלח לחמך · Ecclesiastes 11:1
  15. 15
    החכמה תחיה · Ecclesiastes 7:12
  16. 16
    באור פני מלך חיים · Proverbs 16:15
  17. 17
    ושאבתם מים בששון · Isaiah 12:3

15ובמ״א מבואר שזהו בחי׳ כהן גדול חסד דאבא אהבה בבחי׳ ביטול] וגילוי זה בנפשו של האדם הוא ע״י העסק בתורה דאורייתא מחכמה נפקת בחי׳ ביטול

And elsewhere it is explained that this is the level of the High Priest, the Chesed (kindness) of Abba, a love in the manner of self-nullification (bittul).] And this revelation in a person’s soul comes through occupation with the Torah, for “the Torah comes forth from Chochmah (wisdom),” the level of bittul;

Explanation

The bracket begun in the previous paragraph closes with another explanation: this water-like love is the level of the High Priest, the Chesed of Abba (Chochmah), a love rooted in bittul. Such love is revealed in a person’s soul through Torah study, because the Torah comes from Chochmah, the level of bittul.

ולכן נמשך ממנה גילוי זה בנפש האדם בבחי׳ ולא תחללו כו׳ שלא לדחוק רגלי השכינה ואשים דברי בפיך כו׳,

and therefore this revelation is drawn from it into a person’s soul in the manner of “And you shall not profane,” etc., not to “push away the feet of the Shechinah (Divine Presence),” and “I have put My words in your mouth,” etc.

Explanation

From the Torah this bittul is drawn into the soul in the spirit of “You shall not profane My holy Name”: care not to “push away the feet of the Shechinah,” as the Talmud says of one who sins in secret. It is also the sense of “I have put My words in your mouth,” G‑d’s words placed in a person’s mouth through the Torah.

ולכן בפ׳ קדש לי שהוא ח״ע נאמר ולזכרון בין עיניך דהיינו שאין הפסק להאהבה כבאר מים חיים שנובעים תמיד

And therefore in the section “Sanctify to Me,” which is the higher Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah), it is said, “and for a remembrance between your eyes”: that is, that the love has no interruption, like a well of living waters that spring forth constantly;

Explanation

This is why the tefillin section “Sanctify to Me,” associated with the higher Chochmah, says “and for a remembrance between your eyes.” A remembrance that is always before one’s eyes is a love that never stops, like a well of living water that flows constantly.

והיינו ע״י מ״ש אח״כ למען תהיה תורת ה׳ בפיך וכמ״ש בספרי פ׳ ואתחנן לפי שהוא אומר ואהבת את ה׳ איני יודע באיזה צד אוהבים את הקב״ה ת״ל והיו הדברים האלה כו׳

and this is through what is written afterward, “so that the Torah of Havayah be in your mouth.” And as is written in the Sifrei, Parshas Va’eschanan: “Since it says, ‘And you shall love Havayah,’ I do not know in what way one loves the Holy One, blessed be He; the verse teaches, ‘And these words shall be,’ etc.,

Explanation

The same verse goes on, “so that the Torah of Havayah be in your mouth”: the constant love comes through the Torah. The Sifrei on Va’eschanan makes the same point: after the command to love G‑d, the verse “And these words shall be upon your heart” tells how one comes to love Him.

שמתוך כך אתה מכיר את הקב״ה והיינו לפי כי החכמה שהיא התורה היא בחינת ראיה והאהבה הנמשך מבחי׳ ראיה היא בבחי׳ ביטול והיא למעלה מבחי׳ אהבה הנמשכת מבחי׳ שמיעה שהיא מרחוק והיא בחי׳ רשפי אש כו׳

for through this you come to know the Holy One, blessed be He.” And this is because Chochmah, which is the Torah, is the level of sight, and the love drawn from the level of sight is in the manner of bittul; and it is above the level of the love drawn from the level of hearing, which is from afar and is the level of fiery flames, etc.

Explanation

Through the words of Torah one comes to know G‑d. The Torah is Chochmah, which is like sight, and love that comes from seeing is a love of bittul, higher than love that comes from hearing, which knows its object only from afar and burns like fiery flames.

[ועמ״ש במ״א סד״ה מי כה׳ אלקינו המגביהי לשבת המשפילי לראות. לראות בחי׳ ראיה והתגלות אור א״ס ב״ה כו׳ והיינו ע״י התורה כו׳ ע״ש].

[And see what is written elsewhere, at the end of the discourse beginning “Who is like Havayah our G‑d, who is enthroned on high, who looks down low to see”: “to see,” the level of sight and the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, etc., and this is through the Torah, etc.; see there].

Explanation

A bracket refers to the end of the discourse on “Who is like Havayah our G‑d” in Torah Ohr, where “to see” is read as the sight and revelation of the Infinite Light that comes through the Torah.

Paragraph 15 in brief

The paragraph roots the constant love of “living waters” in Torah study: the Torah stems from Chochmah, the level of sight and bittul, so the love it brings is higher and steadier than the fiery love born of hearing.

Deeper

The contrast between sight and hearing echoes the gloss earlier in the maamar on the Giving of the Torah, when Israel “saw what is heard”: sight, unlike hearing, takes in its object directly rather than from afar, and so belongs to Chochmah and to bittul.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ולא תחללו · Leviticus 22:32
  2. 2
    לדחוק רגלי השכינה · Kiddushin 31a:2
  3. 3
    ואשים דברי בפיך · Isaiah 51:16
  4. 4
    קדש לי · Exodus 13:2
  5. 5
    ולזכרון בין עיניך · Exodus 13:9
  6. 6
    ואהבת את ה׳ · Deuteronomy 6:5
  7. 7
    איני יודע באיזה צד אוהבים את הקב״ה ת״ל והיו הדברים האלה · Sifrei Devarim 33:1
  8. 8
    והיו הדברים האלה · Deuteronomy 6:6
  9. 9
    רשפי אש · Song of Songs 8:6
  10. 10
    מי כה׳ אלקינו המגביהי לשבת המשפילי לראות · Psalms 113:5–6

16וגילוי בחי׳ מים חיים של התורה נמשך מהבאר ההיא שנובעת מתחת לארץ הוא בחי׳ המצות המלובשים בענינים הגשמיים כי כל התורה הוא פי׳

And the revelation of the level of the living waters of the Torah is drawn from that well which springs from beneath the earth, which is the level of the mitzvos enclothed in physical matters; for the whole Torah is the explanation

Explanation

The living waters of Torah flow from the well that springs from beneath the earth, which is the mitzvos enclothed in physical things. The whole Torah is, after all, the explanation of the mitzvos.

וביאור המצות כמ״ש במ״א, ומן הבאר ההיא נובעים מים חיים של התורה להיות בבחי׳ ביטול ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ואשים דברי בפיך כו׳

and elucidation of the mitzvos, as is explained elsewhere. And from that well spring the living waters of the Torah, so as to be in the manner of self-nullification (bittul), “And you shall not profane My holy Name,” and “I have put My words in your mouth,” etc.

Explanation

From the well of the mitzvos, then, flow the living waters of Torah, bringing bittul: care not to profane G‑d’s holy Name, and G‑d’s words placed in a person’s mouth.

וע״ז נאמר ביום ההוא יצאו מים חיים מירושלים חצים אל הים הקדמוני כי מים חיים של התורה המלובשת בגשמיות יומשכו ממטלמ״ע אל הים הקדמוני והים הקדמוני יהיה בבחי׳ מקבל מבחי׳ מים חיים שלמטה.

And of this it is said, “On that day living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea”: for the living waters of the Torah, which is enclothed in physicality, will be drawn from below upward to the eastern sea, and the eastern sea will be in the position of a recipient from the level of the living waters below.

Explanation

Zechariah prophesies that “living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea.” The word for eastern, kadmoni, also means “earlier,” and the point is a reversal: the Torah enclothed in physical things will flow from below upward to this sea, and the sea will receive from the living waters below.

Paragraph 16 in brief

The paragraph traces the Torah’s living waters back to the mitzvos done in the physical world and, through Zechariah’s prophecy, shows them flowing upward until even a higher level receives from them.

Deeper

Here the image of the maamar’s opening reaches its height: the waters that rise from beneath the earth not only water the gardens but are received by the “eastern sea,” a reversal of the usual flow from above to below.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ולא תחללו · Leviticus 22:32
  2. 2
    ואשים דברי בפיך · Isaiah 51:16
  3. 3
    ביום ההוא יצאו מ״ח · Zechariah 14:8
  4. 4
    שלא לדחוק רגלי השכינה · Kiddushin 31a:2
  5. 5
    בפ׳ קדש . . ח״ע · ראה מא״א בערכו.
  6. 6
    ולזכרון בין עיניך · Exodus 13:9
  7. 7
    רשפי אש · Song of Songs 8:6
  8. 8
    סד״ה מי כה׳ אלקינו · תו״א לט, א.

G‑d hears; the mechokek and the staffs; the arousal from above ¶17

17והענין כמ״ש אז נדברו כו׳ ויקשב ה׳ וישמע כו׳. ולכאורה אינו מובן מה צריך הקב״ה לשמיעת התורה שלמטה והלא תורה מאתו תצא.

And the explanation is as it is written, “Then they spoke,” etc., “and Havayah listened and heard,” etc. At first glance this is not understood: what need has the Holy One, blessed be He, to hear the Torah below? Surely “Torah goes forth from Him”!

Explanation

The rising of the Torah’s waters is explained through Malachi’s verse: when those who fear G‑d speak with one another, “Havayah listened and heard.” The question is obvious: why would G‑d need to hear the Torah learned below, when the Torah comes from Him in the first place?

אלא הענין כי הנה הקב״ה נק׳ לפעמים בחי׳ ממכ״ע (ועיין זח״ב בשלח מ״ו א׳ ובמק״מ שם).

But the explanation is that the Holy One, blessed be He, is sometimes called the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin) (and see the Zohar, Part II, Beshalach, 46a, and the Mikdash Melech there).

Explanation

The answer is that “the Holy One, blessed be He” sometimes denotes the light that fills all worlds, the light that enters each world according to its measure. The text refers to the Zohar on Beshalach and its commentary, the Mikdash Melech, for this usage.

והנה התורה של העוה״ז לפי שהיא מלובשת בענינים גשמיים שרשה מאד נעלה כו׳ ולכן היא ממשכת כח החיות מאור א״ס ב״ה מלמעלה מעלה מבחינת סובב כל עלמין לבחי׳ ממכ״ע ויקשב ה׳ וישמע כו׳.

Now, the Torah of this world, because it is enclothed in physical matters, has a very lofty root, etc.; and therefore it draws the power of life-force from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, from the highest heights, from the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), to the level of the light that fills all worlds: “and Havayah listened and heard,” etc.

Explanation

The Torah of this world, enclothed in physical matters, has a very lofty root, so it draws life-force from the Infinite Light far above, from the light that encompasses all worlds, down to the light that fills them. That is how G‑d, as the light that fills the worlds, “listens and hears” the Torah below: He receives from it.

ועיין מזה בזח״ב ס״פ ויקהל (דרי״ז ע״א) וזהו ענין במחוקק במשענותם וכמ״ש ע״פ אם בחקתי תלכו (עיין לעיל פ׳ בחקתי ד״ה מבואר בע״ח)

And see about this in the Zohar, Part II, at the end of Parshas Vayakhel (page 217a). And this is the meaning of “with the mechokek (lawgiver), with their staffs,” as is explained on the verse “If you walk in My statutes” (see above, Parshas Bechukosai, the discourse beginning “It is explained in Etz Chaim”):

Explanation

The Zohar at the end of Vayakhel expounds this verse: the holy words spoken below rise up before the King. The same idea explains the next phrase of the Song of the Well, “with the mechokek, with their staffs,” as explained on “If you walk in My statutes” in Bechukosai, where chok, “statute,” is linked with chakikah, “engraving.”

ששני חקיקות לכלי עד״מ מבית ומבחוץ מבחוץ להעביר כל חלודה ובפנים לחקוק בה בית קיבול כך צ״ל חקיקת הנפש מבחוץ להעביר כל מונע ומסתיר כו׳

that there are two engravings of a vessel, by way of analogy, from within and from without: from without, to remove all rust, and within, to engrave in it a receptacle. So too there must be an engraving of the soul: from without, to remove everything that hinders and hides, etc.,

Explanation

There a vessel is said to be engraved in two ways: on the outside, to scrape off all the rust, and on the inside, to hollow out a space that can hold something. So too the soul must be engraved: outwardly, by removing whatever hinders and hides G‑dliness.

והוא בחינת חפירה הנ״ל ומבפנים להיות בחינת כלי קיבול אור א״ס ב״ה להיות כלי מחזיק ברכה כו׳

and this is the level of digging mentioned above; and from within, to be the level of a vessel that receives the Infinite Light, blessed be He, to be “a vessel that holds blessing,” etc.

Explanation

That outer engraving is the “digging” described earlier. The inner engraving makes the soul a vessel that can receive the Infinite Light, “a vessel that holds blessing,” in the words of the Mishnah.

ואין אור א״ס ב״ה שורה ומתגלה אלא בבחי׳ חכמה כח מה כו׳ והמחוקק העושה הכלי קיבול הוא הממשיך בחי׳ התורה בבחינת הביטול כו׳

And the Infinite Light, blessed be He, rests and is revealed only in the level of Chochmah (wisdom), koach mah, etc. And the mechokek, who makes the receptacle, is the one who draws down the level of the Torah in the manner of self-nullification (bittul), etc.

Explanation

The Infinite Light rests and is revealed only in Chochmah, koach mah, the power of self-nullification. The mechokek who carves the receptacle is therefore the one who draws down the Torah, which comes from Chochmah, in a spirit of bittul.

(ועמ״ש לקמן בביאור ע״פ החלצו מאתכם בפ׳ מטות ענין שמשה נק׳ מחוקק, ועמש״ל ע״פ משה ידבר, וע׳ עוד מענין במחוקק בזח״ג ס״פ וילך רפ״ו א׳ ופ׳ בהעלותך דק״נ).

(And see what is written below in the explanation on the verse “Arm from among you,” in Parshas Matos, on the matter that Moshe is called mechokek; and see what is written above on the verse “Moshe would speak”; and see further on the matter of “with the mechokek” in the Zohar, Part III, at the end of Parshas Vayelech, 286a, and Parshas Beha’aloscha, page 150.)

Explanation

A parenthesis refers to the explanation of “Arm from among you” in Parshas Matos, where Moshe is called mechokek, to the discourse on “Moshe would speak,” and to the Zohar on Vayelech and Beha’aloscha. The Zohar at the end of Vayelech reads the mechokek of this verse as Yesod and the staffs as Netzach and Hod.

במשענותם הם תמכי אורייתא (ע׳ זח״א ד״ח ע״א) עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה וכענין שנאמר ביששכר וזבולון שמבני יששכר היו הסנהדרין וזבולון ע״י שהיה עוסק בפרקמטיא בשביל יששכר זכה ונתעלה במעלה יותר בבחי׳ א׳

“With their staffs”: these are the supporters of the Torah (tamchei oraysa) (see the Zohar, Part I, page 8a), “It is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it.” And it is like what is said about Yissachar and Zevulun: from the children of Yissachar came the Sanhedrin, and Zevulun, through engaging in commerce for Yissachar’s sake, merited and was raised to a higher rank in one respect,

Explanation

“Their staffs” are those who support the Torah, the tamchei oraysa of the Zohar, who uphold those who learn; of them it is said, “It is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it.” The model is Yissachar, whose descendants were the Sanhedrin, and Zevulun, who traded to support him and so gained a higher rank in one respect.

דהיינו בבחינת ממטה למעלה שמפני שע״י השפעת טובו וחיותו היה יששכר עוסק בתורה בחיות זה הנמשך לו הרי זבולון קודם לו שממשיך חיות לתורתו

namely, in the manner of from below upward: since it was through the bestowal of his bounty and his life-force that Yissachar engaged in Torah, with this life-force that was drawn to him, Zevulun therefore precedes him, for he draws life-force into his Torah.

Explanation

That respect is the movement from below upward: since Yissachar learned with the life-force that Zevulun’s support gave him, Zevulun draws life into his Torah. That is why Zevulun is named before Yissachar.

(ועיין מזה ברבות ויחי ס״פ צ״ט זח״א ח׳ א׳ ויחי דרמ״א ב׳ ח״ג מצורע נ״ג ב׳ ועמ״ש סד״ה קול דודי גבי מקפץ על הגבעות).

(And see about this in Midrash Rabbah, Vayechi, end of chapter 99; the Zohar, Part I, 8a; Vayechi, page 241b; Part III, Metzora, 53b; and see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “The voice of my beloved,” regarding “leaping over the hills.”)

Explanation

A parenthesis gives further sources: Midrash Rabbah on Vayechi, which says Zevulun comes before Yissachar because he fed him, the Zohar on the partnership between them, and the end of the discourse on “The voice of my beloved,” on “leaping over the hills.”

ולכן נאמר בזבולון עמים הר יקראו כו׳. פי׳ ע״ד מה שנאמר מי יעלה בהר ה׳ ומי יקום כו׳.

And therefore it is said of Zevulun, “Peoples they shall call to the mountain,” etc. The meaning is along the lines of what is said, “Who shall ascend the mountain of Havayah, and who shall stand,” etc.

Explanation

This is why Moshe’s blessing says of Zevulun, “Peoples they shall call to the mountain.” The mountain is the one of which Psalms asks, “Who shall ascend the mountain of Havayah, and who shall stand in His holy place?”

אבל גבי זבולון אפי׳ בחי׳ עמים עוממות יקראו ויתאספו לבחינת הר ה׳. אך הנה כל בחינות הנ״ל שבבחינת באר ממטה למעלה צריך להיות אתעדל״ע לפני אתעדל״ת.

But regarding Zevulun, even the level of “peoples” (amim), [as in] “dimmed” (omemos), shall be called and gathered to the level of “the mountain of Havayah.” However, all the levels mentioned above, which are in the manner of a well, from below upward, require that there be an arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila) before the arousal from below (isarusa dilesata).

Explanation

Through Zevulun even amim, “peoples,” read as omemos, “dimmed,” what is dim and far from holiness, are called and gathered to G‑d’s mountain. But all this rising from below, the well’s movement, first needs an arousal from above.

וזהו אז ישיר ישראל ישראל דלעילא (עיין זהר ח״ב נ״ד א׳) עלי באר (עי׳ זהר ס״פ וילך שם ובע״ח שער ל״א פ״ז)

And this is “Then Israel sang”: the Israel above (Yisrael dile’eila) (see the Zohar, Part II, 54a); “Spring up, O well” (see the Zohar, at the end of Parshas Vayelech, there, and Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 31, chapter 7):

Explanation

That is the meaning of “Then Israel sang”: this Israel is the “Israel above,” and the text points to the Zohar on Beshalach, which discusses the songs that begin with “then.” “Spring up, O well” is explained with the Zohar at the end of Vayelech and with Etz Chaim.

היא כנס״י מקור נש״י שכונסת ואוספת לתוכה בחי׳ ישראל דלעילא ענו לה מלמעלה למטה להיות אתעדל״ע שלפני אתעדל״ת כדי להיות עלי באר ממטה למעלה וכמארז״ל אלמלא הקב״ה עוזרו כו׳

this is the Congregation of Israel (Knesses Yisrael), the source of the souls of Israel, which gathers in and collects within itself the level of the Israel above. “Sing out to it”: from above downward, so that there be the arousal from above that comes before the arousal from below, in order that there be “Spring up, O well,” from below upward. And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Were it not that the Holy One, blessed be He, helps him,” etc.

Explanation

The well is Knesses Yisrael, the source of the souls, which gathers into itself the Israel above. “Sing out to it” is the response from above that comes first, so that the well can rise from below; as the Talmud says, a person could not overcome his evil inclination were it not that G‑d helps him.

(וע׳ בע״ח של״א פ״ז ובזח״ג ס״פ וילך) ואותה אנו מבקשים בתפלה והחזירנו בתשובה שלימה לפניך כו׳ אב הרחמן רחם נא עלינו ותן בלבנו בינה דהיינו

(and see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 31, chapter 7, and the Zohar, Part III, at the end of Parshas Vayelech). And it is this that we ask for in prayer: “And bring us back in complete teshuvah (return) before You,” etc.; “Merciful Father, have mercy upon us, and put understanding into our hearts,” that is,

Explanation

This help from above is what we ask for in prayer: in the Amidah, “bring us back in complete teshuvah before You,” and before the Shema, “Merciful Father, have mercy upon us, and put understanding into our hearts.”

להבין דבר מתוך דבר כו׳ כי גם הרחמנות הגדולה שעלינו היא ר חוקה מהשגתנו ואין אנו יכולים לעורר את הרחמנות

to understand one thing from another, etc. For even the great compassion upon us is far from our comprehension, and we cannot arouse the compassion

Explanation

The understanding asked for is to “understand one thing from another,” as the Talmud describes the discerning mind. We ask because even G‑d’s great compassion toward us is beyond our grasp, and by our own efforts we cannot arouse it as it truly is.

כמו שהיא כו׳ ואתעדל״ע זו היא ע״י המשכות התורה חכמה בראש וחכמה בסוף חכמה בראש היא בחינת אתעדל״ע שלפני אתעדל״ת.

as it is, etc. And this arousal from above comes through the drawings-down of the Torah: “Chochmah at the beginning and Chochmah at the end.” Chochmah at the beginning is the level of the arousal from above that precedes the arousal from below;

Explanation

This arousal from above comes through the Torah, described as “Chochmah at the beginning and Chochmah at the end.” Chochmah at the beginning is the arousal from above that comes before any arousal from below.

וחכמה בסוף שע״י אתעדל״ת אתעדל״ע היא הבאר שחפרוה כרוה כו׳ במחוקק במשענותם יצאו מים חיים

and Chochmah at the end, where through the arousal from below [comes] an arousal from above, is the well that “dug it, delved it,” etc., “with the mechokek, with their staffs”; “living waters shall go out.”

Explanation

Chochmah at the end is the arousal from above that comes in response to the arousal from below: it is the well that the princes dug and delved with the mechokek and the staffs. From it, as Zechariah says, “living waters shall go out.”

(ועיין בזהר בראשית דכ״ו ע״ב ועמ״ש בפ׳ נשא סד״ה כה תברכו מענין ברכה בראש ברכה בסוף, וע׳ עוד בזהר ויקהל דקצ״ז ב׳ מענין כרוה נדיבי עם ועמ״ש בפ׳ ויקהל סד״ה

(And see the Zohar, Bereishis, page 26b; and see what is written in Parshas Nasso, at the end of the discourse beginning “Thus shall you bless,” on the matter of “blessing at the beginning, blessing at the end”; and see further in the Zohar, Vayakhel, page 197b, on the matter of “the nobles of the people delved it”; and see what is written in Parshas Vayakhel, at the end of the discourse beginning

Explanation

The closing parenthesis gives further sources: the Zohar on Bereishis, the discourse on “Thus shall you bless” in Nasso on blessing at the beginning and at the end, the Zohar on Vayakhel, where the nobles who delved the well are the Patriarchs, and a discourse in Vayakhel.

קחו מאתכם בפי׳ כל נדיב לבו יביאה ובשה״ש ע״פ מה יפו פעמיך בנעלים בת נדיב כו׳, וע׳ עוד זח״ג י״ט ב׳ כ״ו א׳, ח״א רל״ה א׳, ח״ב קי״ג סע״ב קי״ד ח״ג רל״ה ב׳):

“Take from among you,” in the explanation of “whoever is of a generous heart shall bring it”; and in Shir HaShirim, on the verse “How beautiful are your steps in sandals, O daughter of the noble one,” etc.; and see further the Zohar, Part III, 19b, 26a; Part I, 235a; Part II, 113, end of side b, 114; Part III, 235b.)

Explanation

It continues with that discourse, “Take from among you,” on “whoever is of a generous heart,” the Shir HaShirim discourse on “How beautiful are your steps in sandals, O daughter of the noble one,” and further passages of the Zohar on the nobles and on the well the princes dug.

Paragraph 17 in brief

The paragraph shows how the Torah learned below rises to G‑d, who “listens and hears,” and explains the rest of the Song of the Well: the mechokek engraves the soul into a vessel through Torah and bittul, the staffs are those who support Torah like Zevulun, and every rising from below begins with an arousal from above, Chochmah at the beginning, and ends with Chochmah at the end, the well from which living waters flow.

Deeper

The Zohar at the end of Vayelech, which the text cites twice, reads the Song of the Well this way: Israel will sing from below upward and from above downward; the princes who dug the well are Abba and Imma, who brought it forth, the nobles who delved it are the Patriarchs, the mechokek is Yesod and the staffs are Netzach and Hod. Kehot notes that Or HaTorah on Chukas quotes and discusses several of these Zohar passages.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    אז נדברו · Malachi 3:16
  2. 2
    תורה מאתו תצא · Isaiah 51:4
  3. 3
    במחוקק במשענותם · Numbers 21:18
  4. 4
    במחוקק במשענותם · Zohar, Vayeilech 8:45–9:49
  5. 5
    אם בחקתי תלכו · Leviticus 26:3
  6. 6
    כלי מחזיק ברכה · סוף עוקצין.
  7. 7
    כלי מחזיק ברכה · Mishnah Oktzin 3:12
  8. 8
    החלצו מאתכם · Numbers 31:3
  9. 9
    משה ידבר · Exodus 19:19
  10. 10
    ס״פ וילך (רפ״ו א׳) · נעתק באוה״ת חוקת ע׳ תתמג.
  11. 11
    בהעלותך דק״נ · בזח״ג. ראה אוה״ת חקת ע׳ תתסז.
  12. 12
    תמכי אורייתא · Zohar, Introduction 13:123–14:132
  13. 13
    עץ חיים היא · Proverbs 3:18
  14. 14
    וזבולון ע״י שהיה עוסק בפרקמטיא בשביל יששכר · Bereshit Rabbah 99:9
  15. 15
    בפרקמטיא בשביל יששכר · Zohar, Vayechi 65:661–66:673
  16. 16
    זח״א ח׳ א׳ · ראה באוה״ת חוקת ע׳ תתמב.
  17. 17
    מקפץ על הגבעות · Song of Songs 2:8
  18. 18
    עמים הר יקראו · Deuteronomy 33:19
  19. 19
    מי יעלה בהר ה׳ · Psalms 24:3
  20. 20
    אז ישיר ישראל · Zohar, Beshalach 15:209–219
  21. 21
    ענו לה · Numbers 21:17
  22. 22
    אלמלא הקב״ה עוזרו · Kiddushin 30b:7
  23. 23
    והחזירנו בתשובה שלימה לפניך · ברכת תפלת שמו״ע.
  24. 24
    והחזירנו בתשובה שלימה לפניך · Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Amidah, Repentance
  25. 25
    אב הרחמן רחם נא עלינו ותן בלבנו בינה · Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Blessings of the Shema, Second Blessing before Shema
  26. 26
    להבין דבר מתוך דבר · Chagigah 14a:12
  27. 27
    חכמה בראש וחכמה בסוף · Zohar I, 26a
  28. 28
    חכמה בראש וחכמה בסוף · Zohar, Bereshit 21:248–22:255
  29. 29
    הבאר שחפרוה כרוה · Zohar, Mishpatim 3:355–364
  30. 30
    יצאו מים חיים · Zechariah 14:8
  31. 31
    כה תברכו · Numbers 6:23
  32. 32
    כרוה נדיבי עם · Zohar, Vayikra 66:445–67:449
  33. 33
    כרוה נדיבי עם · Zohar, Vayechi 53:528–54:539
  34. 34
    כל נדיב לבו יביאה · Exodus 35:5
  35. 35
    Song of Songs 7:2
  36. 36
    זח״ג י״ט ב׳ כ״ו א׳ · מענין כרוה נדיבי — אוה״ת חוקת ע׳ תתמג. וע׳ תתנד.
  37. 37
    ח״א רל״ה א׳ ח״ב קי״ג סע״ב . . רל״ה ב׳ · מענין באר חפרוה. ראה אוה״ת חקת ע׳ תתמג. וע׳ תתנד.
  38. 38
    Zohar, Vayakhel 4:48–5:58
  39. 39
    ויקשב ה׳ וישמע · Zohar, Vayakhel 34:433–36:443

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In one’s avodah

Regard life in this world as a passage, and lift the soul to G‑d alone; refine it through the practical mitzvos and the G‑dly soul’s mastery over the animal soul. Clear away what hides the love of G‑d: turn from evil, sanctify yourself in what is permitted, study more Torah and give more charity than comes naturally, with a broken heart and without attachment even to permitted things. Contemplate G‑d’s greatness in prayer and learn Torah right after it, so that love becomes a steady flow, and ask in prayer for the help from above without which none of this can rise.

Questions for discussion

  1. Why is the well, which springs from below, higher than the fountain and the river that flow from above?
  2. How do the food and the clothing given in charity correspond to the inner and encompassing modes, and what does “delight upon Havayah” mean in this maamar?
  3. What is the difference between digging and delving, and which parts of a person’s service belong to each?
  4. Why can Yaakov rule over an angel, when an angel cannot carry out two missions?
  5. How does the love drawn from sight, through Torah and Chochmah, differ from the love drawn from hearing, and why is it more lasting?

Key terms in this maamar

The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×1
Delightתענוג
Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×6
The Shechinah (Divine Presence)שכינה
G‑d's presence as it dwells in the world. ×2
The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
Willרצון
Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×1
Life-forceחיות
The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×5
The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
The first world of separate existence. ×1
The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
The lowest world, including our physical one. ×1
The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
The world of the angels and emotions.
The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
The innermost core of a level.
The Name Havayahהוי׳
The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×7
The G‑dly soulנפש האלקית
The soul that is 'a part of G‑d above'. ×1
The animal soulנפש הבהמית
The soul that animates the body and its drives.
Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
The first flash of insight. ×11
Binah (understanding)בינה
Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×1
Teshuvah (return)תשובה
Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×3
The sitra achra (the other side)סטרא אחרא
The realm opposed to holiness.
Kelipah (the husk)קליפה
The forces of concealment that oppose holiness. ×1
The Name Elokimאלקים
G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×6
Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds. ×1
“He and His vessels” (ihu vegarmohi)איהו וגרמוהי
From the Tikkunei Zohar: in Atzilus the Light and the vessels are one. Always “vessels”, never “organs”, “causations” or “bones”. Its companion איהו וחיוהי is “He and His life-forces”. Not מגרמיה (“of itself”). ×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. ×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. ×2
Chesed (kindness)חסד
Expansive giving. ×2
The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
An arousal from aboveאתערותא דלעילא
Divine initiative, unprompted by us.
Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1

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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”
  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)
    1. The soul as a well ¶1
    2. Watering Gan Eden through the mitzvos ¶2–4
    3. Inner and encompassing light ¶5–8
    4. Life in the body and the higher well ¶9–10
    5. Digging and delving; Yaakov the prince ¶11–13
    6. The living waters of Torah ¶14–16
    7. G‑d hears; the mechokek and the staffs; the arousal from above ¶17
    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
  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’”