Likkutei Torah · Parshas Emor · Maamar 3
וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת מיום הביאכם את עומר…
“And You Shall Count for Yourselves from the Morrow of the Shabbos”
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The big idea
The Counting of the Omer draws down light. Pesach’s Exodus is the soul’s rush upward (ratzo), which frees only the G‑dly soul; the waving and counting of the Omer refine the animal soul too and nullify a person’s own will, so that at Shavuos G‑d’s will can come down (shov) into the letters of the Torah.
The maamar in brief
Usefartem, “you shall count,” shares its root with sapir, brightness, and with the Sefiros: counting the Omer draws the light of the Sefiros down to us. Pesach and Shavuos are ratzo and shov. The Exodus came in haste, a revelation from above met by a rush from below upward; the Giving of the Torah was G‑d’s will coming down. Each day the Exodus is relived in the Shema: the prayers before it show that all the worlds, however vast, live from a mere radiance of G‑d’s kingship and are as nothing before His infinite light, and this wakes a love that longs to leave every limit (meitzarim) and cleave to Him. Prayer follows the three Patriarchs: Avraham’s love, Yitzchak’s awe, and Yaakov’s compassion, which redeems love when the heart is like stone. Yet all this frees only the G‑dly soul. To receive the Torah the animal soul too had to be nullified: the barley Omer, animal food, raised the supernal “great animal” above Havayah, and the seven weeks of counting drew down encompassing lights that nullify a person’s own will. Only then could G‑d’s will come down into the letters of the Torah and its physical commands.
Outline
- Counting as light; Pesach and ShavuosUsefartem means brightness: the counting draws down the Sefiros. Pesach, the hasty Exodus, is ratzo from below upward; Shavuos is shov, G‑d’s will coming down; and the Exodus must be relived every day.¶1
- The daily Exodus in the ShemaContemplating the angels’ self-nullification, the worlds’ life from a mere radiance of Malchus, and the nothingness of the finite before the infinite brings the love of the Shema, a going out of all limits; Egypt was the exile of the knowledge of Havayah.¶2–7
- The Patriarchs in prayerAvraham’s love makes Torah fixed and work occasional; Yitzchak brings awe; Yaakov’s compassion, aroused in the blessings of the Shema, redeems love in a heart of stone by asking for understanding now, to be spared the shame the soul feels after death.¶8–12
- Only the G‑dly soul goes outThe ratzo belongs to the G‑dly soul, Yaakov and Israel; the animal soul still wants to eat as an animal does, and it too had to be nullified before the Torah could be received.¶13–14
- The Omer and its countingBarley, animal food, corresponds to the supernal Chariot and the great animal, the Name Ban; the kohen’s waving, supernal Chesed, raises it above Havayah and above Shabbos, and the counting draws down encompassing lights that nullify the will of the animal soul.¶15–19
- The Giving of the TorahAfter the forty-nine days G‑d’s will comes down at Shavuos, higher than prayer; Torah study is G‑d’s own word only after the ratzo, and the Omer prepared His will to be clothed even in physical mitzvos and in the letters of the Torah.¶20–23
Key concepts
- Ratzo and shovרצוא ושוב
- Running and returning: the soul’s rush upward toward G‑d, and the return downward that brings His will into the world. Pesach is ratzo; Shavuos is shov.
- Going out of the straitsלצאת מן המצרים וגבולים
- Mitzrayim, Egypt, read as meitzarim, limits: every created thing, physical or spiritual, that hides G‑d and makes the world seem an entity of its own. The love of the Shema is the daily Exodus from them.
- Havayah and Elokimשם הוי׳ ושם אלקים
- Havayah, “was, is and will be,” is G‑d beyond change; Elokim is the Name that conceals Him in nature. Pharaoh knew only Elokim, so Egypt was an exile of Daas.
- Yaakov, who redeemed Avrahamליעקב אשר פדה את אברהם
- Compassion, Yaakov’s attribute, frees love, Avraham’s attribute, when the heart is like stone; it is aroused in the blessings before the Shema.
- The great animalבהמה רבה
- A supernal level, the Name Ban (52, the value of behemah), which is the root of the Chariot and of the animal soul. The barley Omer, animal food, raises it above Havayah.
- Encompassing lights (makifim)מקיפים
- Light too high to be absorbed within, which acts from beyond. Drawn down by the counting of the Omer from above Shabbos, they transform the animal soul and nullify a person’s will.
- The nullification of willביטול הרצון
- Lirtzonchem, “for your favor,” read as the nullification of your own will: the goal of the seven weeks and the condition for receiving G‑d’s will at Sinai.
Counting as light; Pesach and Shavuos ¶1
1וספרתם לכם1 ממחרת השבת2 מיום הביאכם3 את עומר התנופה שבע שבתות כו׳. הנה וספרתם הוא לשון בהירות4 כמו אבן ספיר5 וכן ע״ס הוא לשון בהירות.
“And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbos, from the day you bring the Omer of the waving, seven weeks,” etc. Now, usefartem (“you shall count”) is an expression of brightness, as in “a sapphire stone” (even sapir); and likewise “the Ten Sefiros” is an expression of brightness.
The maamar opens with the verse that commands the Counting of the Omer: from the day after the first day of Pesach, when the Omer offering of barley was waved in the Temple, seven weeks are counted until Shavuos. The Alter Rebbe hears in usefartem, “you shall count,” the word sapir, sapphire: counting is also an expression of brightness, and so is the word Sefiros, the name of the divine attributes.
וזהו וספרתם לכם כו׳ היינו להמשיך ע״ס שיאירו לכם למטה (עיין בפרדס ש״ח פ״ב בשם ספר הבהיר אמאי אקרי ספירות ע״ש השמים מספרים678 כו׳. ועיין בזהר תרומה קל״ו ב׳ מאי מספרים כו׳ דנהרין9 כו׳).
And this is [the meaning of] “And you shall count for yourselves,” etc.: that is, to draw down the Ten Sefiros so that they shine for you below. (See the Pardes, Sha’ar 8, chapter 2, in the name of Sefer HaBahir: “Why are they called Sefiros? On account of ‘The heavens declare (mesaprim),’” etc. And see the Zohar, Terumah, 136b: “What is mesaprim?” etc., “that they shine,” etc.)
So the command means: draw the Ten Sefiros down so that they shine for you, here below. In the parentheses the Alter Rebbe gives his sources: the Pardes, quoting the Bahir, derives the name Sefiros from “The heavens declare (mesaprim),” and the Zohar explains that mesaprim there means not telling but shining.
ולהבין זאת הנה פסח הוא יציאת מצרים וחג השבועות הוא מ״ת וקודם קבלת התורה היו צריכים לספור ז׳ שבועות שלימות ואח״כ היו יכולים לקבל התורה
To understand this: Pesach is the Exodus from Egypt, and the festival of Shavuos is the Giving of the Torah; and before receiving the Torah they had to count seven complete weeks, and afterwards they could receive the Torah
To explain why this counting is needed, the Alter Rebbe sets out the two festivals it joins. Pesach is the Exodus and Shavuos is the Giving of the Torah, and the Torah could be received only after seven full weeks had been counted.
(and see the Zohar, Parshas Emor, page 97). For it is written, “And the living creatures (chayos) ran and returned (ratzo vashov)”: that above, everything is in the aspect of ratzo and shov.
The Zohar on Emor, cited here, describes the seven weeks as a purification that Israel needed before receiving the Torah. The principle behind it comes from Yechezkel’s vision: the chayos, the holy creatures of the divine Chariot, “ran and returned,” and all life above moves in this double motion of ratzo, rising upward, and shov, returning downward.
וכמ״כ פסח הוא בחי׳ רצוא ושבועות הוא בחי׳ שוב כי פסח הוא יצ״מ שהוא בחפזון כמ״ש ואכלתם אותו בחפזון.12
So too, Pesach is the level of ratzo and Shavuos is the level of shov. For Pesach is the Exodus from Egypt, which was in haste, as it is written, “And you shall eat it in haste.”
Pesach is ratzo and Shavuos is shov. Ratzo is a rushing, and the Exodus was in haste: even the Pesach offering was to be eaten in haste.
וכתיב בחפזון יצאת13 כו׳, כי אז היה התגלות אלקות מלמעלה כמאמר עד שנגלה עליהם14 מלך מלכי המלכים הקב״ה וגאלם15 בבחי׳ חפזון ולעתיד כתיב כי לא בחפזון תצאו161718 ובמנוסה לא תלכון19 כו׳ שלא יהיה בבחי׳ חפזון
And it is written, “For in haste you went out,” etc. For then there was a revelation of G‑dliness from above, as it is said, “until the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them”: in the aspect of haste. But of the Future it is written, “For not in haste shall you go out, nor shall you go in flight,” etc.: that it will not be in the aspect of haste,
The haste came because at the Exodus G‑dliness was revealed from above, as the Haggadah says: the King of kings revealed Himself and redeemed them before their dough could rise. Of the final redemption, by contrast, Yeshayahu promises that it will come neither in haste nor in flight.
אבל יצ״מ20 היה בחפזון כו׳, (ועמ״ש מזה ברבות ס״פ בא21 ובמכילתא פ׳ בא פרשה ז׳ וע״ש והובא ג״כ בילקוט פ׳ בא.22 וע׳ בסש״ב פל״א23 ועמ״ש ס״פ וישב סד״ה כה אמר כו׳ ונתתי לך מהלכים2425
whereas the Exodus from Egypt was in haste, etc. (See what is written about this in [Midrash] Rabbah at the end of Parshas Bo, and in the Mechilta, Parshas Bo, section 7, and see there; it is also brought in the Yalkut, Parshas Bo. And see Sefer Shel Beinonim (Tanya), chapter 31. And see what is written at the end of Parshas Vayeshev, at the end of the discourse beginning “Thus says,” etc., [on] “And I will give you places to walk,”
The parentheses gather the sources on this contrast: the Midrash Rabbah, the Mechilta and the Yalkut on Parshas Bo, which set the haste of the Exodus against the Time to Come; and Tanya, chapter 31, which explains that the people fled because the evil in their souls was still at full strength. The Alter Rebbe then points to a discourse in Torah Ohr on the verse “And I will give you places to walk.”
אבל לע״ל כשיתגלה בחי׳ סוכ״ע כו׳ שיהיה גם השוב בבחי׳ הליכה כמו הרצוא כו׳, ומ״ש סד״ה והיה מספר בני ישראל26 בענין שלעתיד תהיה מעלת אתעדל״ת גדולה וגבוה לאין קץ כו׳. ומכ״ז יובן ענין כי לא בחפזון)
but in the Time to Come, when the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) is revealed, etc., even the shov will be in the aspect of walking, like the ratzo, etc. And [see] what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “And the number of the children of Israel shall be,” on the matter that in the Future the superiority of the arousal from below (isarusa dilesata) will be great and high without end, etc. From all this the matter of “For not in haste” will be understood.)
That discourse explains that divine service now moves in ratzo and shov, but in the Time to Come, when the light that encompasses all worlds is revealed, even the shov will be a steady “walking,” like the ratzo. A second discourse, in Likkutei Torah, adds that in the Future the arousal from below will be infinitely elevated; together they explain why the final redemption will not be “in haste.”
והיינו בחי׳ רצוא ממטה למעלה משא״כ שבועות הוא בחי׳ שוב שהוא בחי׳ מ״ת גילוי רצונו למטה. כמ״ש וירד ה׳ על הר סיני27 המשכה מלמעלה למטה.
And this is the level of ratzo, from below upward; whereas Shavuos is the level of shov, which is the level of the Giving of the Torah, the revelation of His will below, as it is written, “And Havayah descended upon Mount Sinai”: a drawing down from above to below.
Ratzo is a movement from below upward: the soul’s rush to leave its limits, as at the Exodus. Shavuos is shov, a movement from above downward: G‑d’s will revealed in the world, as at Sinai, where “Havayah descended upon Mount Sinai.”
והנה כתיב למען תזכור את יום צאתך28 מארץ מצרים כל ימי חייך וכמארז״ל בכל דור ודור29 כו׳. שצ״ל בכל יום בחי׳ יצ״מ.
Now, it is written, “So that you remember the day of your going out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life”; and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “In every generation,” etc.: that each day there must be the level of the Exodus from Egypt.
The Torah commands remembering the Exodus all the days of one’s life, and the Sages say that in every generation a person must see himself as leaving Egypt. So the Exodus is not only history: each day a person must have his own going out of Egypt, which the next paragraph locates in the Shema.
The Counting of the Omer draws the light of the Sefiros down to us. Pesach, the hasty Exodus, is ratzo, the rush upward; Shavuos, the Giving of the Torah, is shov, G‑d’s will coming down; and the Exodus must be lived anew every day.
The Zohar on Emor that the Alter Rebbe cites compares Israel in Egypt to a woman in her days of impurity: once they were circumcised and entered the holy covenant the impurity ceased, and as a woman counts seven clean days, they counted seven weeks to be purified in the supernal waters, and then to draw close to the King and receive His Torah. Or HaTorah’s notes on this maamar, quoted by Kehot, add that the Exodus had to be in haste because the animal soul was not yet refined; the seven weeks refine it, until the Giving of the Torah is like “For not in haste shall you go out.”
Marei mekomos
- 1וספרתם לכם · ראה הערת כ״ק אדמו״ר בהערות וציונים לעיל יט, א. וראה רשימת המאמרים שבריש סה״מ תקס״ו הערה 29 ולהלן בהוספות ברשימת הכתבי-יד. התוכן — באוה״ת ויקרא-ב בע׳ תקפב. הערות וקיצורים — באוה״ת ויקרא-ג ע׳ תתסו. כמה ענינים מהמאמר נתבארו במאמרי אדה״א במדבר כרך-ב דרושים לשבועות ע׳ שטו ואילך.
- 2וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת · Leviticus 23:15
- 3וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת מיום הביאכם · Zohar, Emor 32:155–34:162
- 4וספרתם הוא לשון בהירות · ראה ביאה״ז להצ״צ פ׳ חיי שרה ע׳ ע׳ ואילך. אוה״ת ויקרא-ב ע׳ תקכח. יום ב׳ דחה״ש תרכ״א בסעודה סיפר הצ״צ: יום ב׳ דחה״ש תקנ״ה בסעודה אמר אאזמו״ר (רבינו הזקן): ביום ב׳ דחה״ש תקכ״ח בסעודה אמר כ״ק מו״ר המגיד ממעזריטש: וספרתם לכם, וספרתם הוא מלשון ספירות ובהירות. וספרתם לכם, צריכים לעשות שיהי׳ הלכם בהיר. וישען כ״ק אאזמו״ר על זרועות קדשו וישורר את הניגון של ד׳ בבות בדבקות גדולה, אח״כ הגבי׳ את ראשו הק׳ ויאמר — בניגון של שאלה: ובמה מספרים את הלכם? ותוך כדי דיבור אמר — בניגון של תשובה: בשבע שבתות תמימות, בבירור שבע המדות, שכל מדה ומדה תהי׳ כלולה משבע, ושבע המדות עצמם יהיו שבע שבתות, דשבת אינה צריכה בירור (היום יום ע׳ נב).
- 5אבן ספיר · Ezekiel 1:26
- 6
- 7אמאי אקרי ספירות ע״ש השמים מספרים · Pardes Rimmonim 8:2
- 8השמים מספרים · Psalms 19:2
- 9מאי מספרים כו׳ דנהרין · Zohar, Terumah 15:182–16:192
- 10והחיות רו״ש · Ezekiel 1:14
- 11והחיות רצוא ושוב · שם א, יד.
- 12ואכלתם אותו בחפזון · Exodus 12:11
- 13בחפזון יצאת · Deuteronomy 16:3
- 14עד שנגלה עליהם · הגדה של פסח.
- 15עד שנגלה עליהם מלך מלכי המלכים הקב״ה וגאלם · Pesach Haggadah, Magid, Rabban Gamliel's Three Things 4
- 16כי לא בחפזון תצאו · Isaiah 52:12
- 17כי לא בחפזון תצאו · Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Pischa 7:4
- 18כי לא בחפזון תצאו · Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 199:3
- 19ולעתיד כתיב כי לא בחפזון תצאו ובמנוסה לא תלכון · Shemot Rabbah 19:6
- 20אבל יצ״מ הי׳ בחפזון · באוה״ת ויקרא-ג ע׳ תתסו: ”ואפ״ל כיון יצ״מ הוכרח להיות החפזון שלא נתברר עדיין נה״ב ע״כ לתקן זה צ״ל ספה״ע ז׳ שבועות שעי״ז מתברר נה״ב עד שמתן תורה הוא דוגמת כי לא בחפזון” ע״ש.
- 21ועמ״ש מזה ברבות ס״פ בא · ראה באוה״ת פ׳ בא ע׳ רצא דשם מבאר ענין החפזון דמי. שם ע׳ רצט. שג. שם כרך-ח ע׳ ב׳תתקלד ואילך. וראה ד״ה וככה תער״ב (נ׳ בס׳ ליקוט-ב ע׳ קצ).
- 22בילקוט פ׳ בא · רמז קצט.
- 23בסש״ב פל״א · וראה בליקוט פירושים שם ובאוה״ת חקת ע׳ תשצא ובארוכה אוה״ת בא ע׳ רצא ואילך. שם ע׳ שג. וככה תרל״ז בתחילתו. שם פקכ״ט. ד״ה כי בחפזון תש״ח.
- 24סד״ה . . ונתתי לך מהלכים · תו״א ל, ד. ראה באוה״ת פ׳ בא ע׳ רצב.
- 25
- 26סד״ה והי׳ מספר בני ישראל · לקו״ת במדבר ו, ג.
- 27וירד ה׳ על הר סיני · Exodus 19:20
- 28למען תזכור את יום צאתך מאמ״צ · Deuteronomy 16:3
- 29בכל דור ודור חייב אדם · Pesachim 116b:3–4
The daily Exodus in the Shema ¶2–7
2והיינו בק״ש ואהבת כו׳. וחותם אני ה׳ אלקיכם אשר הוצאתי1 כו׳. ובפרט מן ב״ש עד ק״ש הוא הכנה שיבוא לבחי׳ יצ״מ ואהבת כו׳.
That is, in the Shema, “And you shall love,” etc.; and one concludes, “I am Havayah your G‑d, Who brought [you] out,” etc. In particular, [the prayers] from Baruch She’amar until the Shema are a preparation for one to come to the level of the Exodus from Egypt, “And you shall love,” etc.
The daily Exodus takes place in the Shema: its love, “And you shall love,” is the ratzo, and the Shema closes with “I am Havayah your G‑d, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The prayers before it, from Baruch She’amar, which opens the Verses of Praise, up to the Shema, prepare a person to reach that love.
והיינו כשיתבונן איך שכל צבא השמים לך משתחוים2 והאופנים וחיות הקדש3 ברעש גדול כו׳ והחיות זעות מחיל כסא4 נושאות ומנושאות עם כסא אלף אלפים ורבוא רבבן5 ישמשוניה וכולם הם בבחי׳ ביטול תמיד.
That is, when one contemplates how “all the host of heaven bow down to You,” and “the ofanim and the holy chayos, with a great noise,” etc., and “the chayos tremble with dread of the Throne; they carry and are carried with the Throne”; “a thousand thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand serve Him”; and all of them are constantly at the level of self-nullification (bittul).
The preparation is contemplation. The prayers describe all the host of heaven bowing to G‑d, the ofanim and the holy chayos (orders of angels) rising with a great noise, the chayos trembling before the divine Throne that they both carry and are carried by, and the angels serving Him in myriads; all of them are constantly nullified before Him.
The Shema is where each day’s Exodus happens, and the prayers before it prepare for it by describing the self-nullification of all the heavenly hosts.
Kehot locates these phrases: “all the host of heaven bow down to You” is from Nechemiah (9:6); “the ofanim and the holy chayos” from the blessing Yotzer before the Shema; “the chayos tremble” from the piyut VeHachayos in the Musaf of Rosh Hashanah; and “a thousand thousands” from Daniel (7:10).
Marei mekomos
- 1אני ה׳ אלקיכם אשר הוצאתי · Numbers 15:41
- 2צבא השמים לך משתחוים · Nehemiah 9:6
- 3והאופנים וחיות הקדש · ברכת יוצר.
- 4והחיות זעות מחיל כסא · ראה פיוט והחיות (במוסף לר״ה אחרי קדוש).
- 5אלף אלפים ורבוא רבבן · Daniel 7:10
3וזהו להודיע לבני האדם1 גבורותיו וכבוד הדר מלכותו שהוא בחי׳ הדר מלכותו שכולם בטלים לגבי׳ ממש ונמשך להם הביטול ע״י שמשיגים כי מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים.
And this is [the meaning of] “To make known to the sons of man His mighty deeds and the glory of the splendor of His kingship”: this is the level of “the splendor of His kingship,” that all of them are truly nullified before Him. And the self-nullification is drawn to them through their comprehending that “Your kingship is the kingship of all worlds.”
The verse from Psalm 145, Ashrei, speaks of “the splendor of His kingship”: the total nullification of the heavenly hosts before Him. That nullification comes from grasping the next verse, “Your kingship is the kingship of all worlds.”
פי׳ מלכותך שחיות כל העולמות אינו אלא מבחי׳ מלכותך הארת שמו בלבד לא כמו שהנשמה מחיה את הגוף שעצמיות חיות הנשמה מלובש בתוך הגוף ממש. אבל מהותו ועצמותו רם ומתנשא כו׳.2
The meaning of “Your kingship”: that the life-force (chayus) of all the worlds is only from the level of “Your kingship” (Malchus), merely the radiance of His Name; not as the soul gives life to the body, where the very essence of the soul’s life-force is enclothed within the body itself. Rather, His being and essence is exalted and uplifted, etc.
“Your kingship” means that the worlds draw their life only from Malchus, G‑d’s kingship, which is no more than the radiance of His Name. A name expresses a person outwardly without containing him; so the worlds receive only a glow, unlike the body, into which the very essence of the soul enters, while G‑d’s own being remains exalted above them.
The nullification of the heavenly hosts comes from understanding that all the worlds live from G‑d’s Malchus alone, a mere radiance of His Name, while His being remains above them.
Marei mekomos
- 1להודיע לבני האדם · Psalms 145:12
- 2מלכות דמלכות כ״ע · Psalms 145:13
4ואין שום דבר מלבישו כלל היה הוה ויהיה בלי שינוי כלל כמ״ש אני ה׳ לא שניתי1 אתה הוא קודם2 שנברא העולם ואתה הוא לאחר שנברא כו׳
And nothing whatsoever enclothes Him; [He] was, is and will be without any change at all, as it is written, “I, Havayah, have not changed”; “You are He before the world was created, and You are He after it was created,” etc.,
Because the worlds receive only a radiance, G‑d Himself is not enclothed in them, and creating them changed nothing in Him. Malachi says, “I, Havayah, have not changed,” and the morning prayers say, “You are He before the world was created and You are He after it was created.”
בלי שום שינוי כלל ואין שום דבר מכסה ומסתיר נגדו אלא רק הארת שם כבוד מלכותו בלבד זהו חיות והתהוות כל העולמות.
without any change whatsoever; and nothing at all covers over or conceals before Him. But only the mere radiance of “the Name of the glory of His kingship”: this is the life-force and the coming-into-being of all the worlds.
Nothing in creation can cover or hide Him. All the worlds’ life and existence come from no more than the glow of “the Name of the glory of His kingship,” the words said after the first verse of the Shema.
G‑d remains unchanged and unconcealed by creation; the worlds exist only by the glow of His kingship.
Kehot notes that the words “You are He before the world was created” are from the morning prayers, in slightly different wording, and from Tanna DeVei Eliyahu, chapter 21.
Marei mekomos
- 1אני ה׳ לא שניתי · Malachi 3:6
- 2אתה הוא קודם שנה״ע · נוסח תפלת השחר (בשינוי לשון). תד״א פכ״א [בשינוי] [כ].
5וזהו מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים1 היינו שכל עולמים אף שהן אלף אלפים ורבוא רבבן2 כמ״ש היש מספר לגדודיו3 ומן הארץ לרקיע מהלך ת״ק שנה כו׳.
And this is [the meaning of] “Your kingship is the kingship of all worlds”: that all worlds, even though they are a thousand thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, as it is written, “Is there any number to His legions?”, and “from the earth to the firmament is a journey of five hundred years,” etc.,
The worlds are vast beyond counting: Iyov asks whether G‑d’s legions can be numbered, and the Talmud says that the distance from the earth to the first heaven alone is a journey of five hundred years.
עכ״ז הם אין ערוך כלל לגבי אורו כו׳ שהוא בחי׳ א״ס ממש וכנודע שאפילו אחד לגבי רבוא רבבן יש לו ערך
nevertheless they bear no relation at all to His light, etc., which is truly the level of the Infinite One (Ein Sof). As is known, even one, relative to ten thousand times ten thousand, has a relation [to it],
Yet all of them bear no relation to His infinite light. Even the number one has some relation to a hundred million (ten thousand times ten thousand), since it is a tiny part of it.
for it is a small part of it; but ten thousand times ten thousand, relative to [what is] without limit, at the level of the Infinite One itself, has no relation at all.
But no finite number, however large, has any relation at all to the infinite, so the countless worlds are as nothing before G‑d’s light. This is the meaning of “Your kingship is the kingship of all worlds”: all of them together are sustained by a mere glow.
However vast the worlds are, the finite has no relation to the infinite, so all of them are as nothing before G‑d’s light.
Tanya, chapter 48, to which Kehot points, develops the same reasoning: the light that enlivens the worlds is a very small glow, as nothing beside the hidden infinite light, which does not enter the worlds but encompasses them from above and is called sovev kol almin.
Marei mekomos
- 1מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים · Psalms 145:13
- 2אלף אלפים ורבוא רבבן · Daniel 7:10
- 3היש מספר לגדודיו · Job 25:3
- 4אבל רבוא רבבן לגבי בלי גבול · ראה תניא פרק מח. אוה״ת ראה ע׳ תשפב.
- 5ומהארץ לרקיע ת״ק שנה · Chagigah 13a:3
6וע״י שמשיגים את כל הנ״ל עי״ז הם בבחי׳ ביטול תמיד וע״י התבוננות כל הנ״ל בעומק הדעת
And through their comprehending all the above, through this they are constantly at the level of self-nullification. And through contemplating all the above in the depth of Daas (knowledge),
The angels are constantly nullified because they grasp G‑d’s greatness. A person reaches the same through contemplation with depth of Daas, the faculty that binds the mind to an idea until it is felt.
אזי ממילא יבא לבחי׳ רצוא בק״ש להיות ואהבת את1 הוי׳ אלקיך בכל לבבך לצאת מן המצרים וגבולים2 שכולם הם בבחי׳ גבול,
then, of itself, one will come to the level of ratzo in the Shema, so that there will be “And you shall love Havayah your G‑d with all your heart”: to go out of the straits (meitzarim) and limits, all of which are in the aspect of limitation,
Such contemplation brings, by itself, the ratzo of the Shema, “And you shall love Havayah your G‑d with all your heart.” This love is a longing to leave all meitzarim, straits and limits, a play on Mitzrayim, Egypt.
כמו מהלך ת״ק שנה הן בגשמיות הן ברוחניות הוא בבחי׳ מצר וגבול המכסים ומסתירים להיות נראה ליש ודבר בפ״ע רק לדבקה בו כו׳ שהוא בלי גבול בחי׳ א״ס ממש.
like a journey of five hundred years, whether in physicality or in spirituality: it is in the aspect of a strait and a limit, which cover over and conceal, so that [the world] appears as an entity, a thing unto itself; but only to cleave to Him, etc., Who is without limit, truly the level of the Infinite One.
Every created thing, physical or spiritual, even the vast distances of the heavens, is a limit that hides G‑d and makes the world look like an entity of its own. The love of the Shema longs to leave all such limits and cleave only to Him, the Infinite One.
Deep contemplation leads by itself to the love of the Shema, a longing to leave all the limits that hide G‑d and to cleave to the Infinite.
The Or HaTorah note that Kehot quotes ties this love to the Shema’s “One”: when a person sets his heart on G‑d’s oneness, the love “with all your heart” comes from the Yechidah, the innermost level of the soul.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואהבת את הוי׳ אלקיך בכל לבבך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 2בכל לבבך לצאת מן המצרים וגבולים · באוה״ת ויקרא-ג ע׳ תתסו מציין ע״ז: ”(וע׳ בלק״ת פ׳ ואתחנן ד״ה ענין ק״ש אחד ואהבת ושם פ״ב גבי וכשישים האדם אל לבו בחי׳ אחד זה בק״ש אזי יהי׳ ואהבת בכל לבבך בבחי׳ יחידה שבנפש כו׳)”.
This is what is called the Exodus from Egypt: going out of the straits (meitzarim) and limits, as mentioned above. And this is why, in the exile of Egypt, it is said of Pharaoh, “I do not know Havayah”: that the Name Havayah,
That is why it is called the Exodus from Egypt: Mitzrayim, Egypt, is read as meitzarim, limits, and leaving them is the Exodus. Pharaoh, the ruler of that exile, said, “I do not know Havayah.”
שהוא היה הוה ויהיה בלי שינוי לא ידעתי רק שם אלקים המכסה ומסתיר להיות יש ודבר בפ״ע דוקא.
which is [that] He was, is and will be without change, “I do not know”; [I know] only the Name Elokim, which covers over and conceals so that there be, specifically, an entity, a thing unto itself.
The Name Havayah holds the letters of hayah, hoveh, yihyeh, “was, is, will be”: G‑d beyond time and change. Pharaoh knew only Elokim, the Name through which G‑d conceals Himself in nature and lets things seem to exist on their own.
וזהו לא ידעתי את הוי׳ שהדעת הי׳ בבחינת גלות. וזהו שחותם בק״ש אני הוי׳ אלקיכם אשר הוצאתי2 כו׳ אני הוי׳ דוקא:
And this is [the meaning of] “I do not know Havayah”: that Daas (knowledge) was in the aspect of exile. And this is why one concludes the Shema with “I am Havayah your G‑d, Who brought [you] out,” etc.: “I am Havayah,” specifically.
So the exile of Egypt was an exile of Daas, knowledge: the knowledge of Havayah was hidden. That is why the Shema ends, “I am Havayah your G‑d, Who brought you out”: going out of Egypt is the revelation of Havayah.
The Exodus is the revelation of Havayah, G‑d beyond all limits, in place of Elokim, which hides Him; Egypt was an exile of Daas.
Marei mekomos
- 1לא ידעתי את ה׳ · Exodus 5:2
- 2אני הוי׳ אלקיכם אשר הוצאתי · Numbers 15:41
The Patriarchs in prayer ¶8–12
2. And this is [the meaning of] the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, “The prayers were instituted by the Patriarchs.” The meaning: the Patriarchs are Chesed (kindness), Gevurah (restraint) and Tiferes (beauty), from which are drawn love and awe and compassion; these are Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.
The Talmud says that the Patriarchs instituted the three daily prayers. The Alter Rebbe reads “the Patriarchs” as Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes, the sources of love, awe and compassion, which Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov each embodied.
והיינו שכל התפלה היא בג׳ מיני פסוקים, היינו פסוקים של חסד שנעשה מהם בק״ש ואהבת כו׳
That is, the whole of prayer consists of three kinds of verses: namely, verses of Chesed, from which there comes about, in the Shema, “And you shall love,” etc.,
Accordingly prayer is built from three kinds of verses. The first kind, verses of Chesed (kindness), lead to the love of the Shema, “And you shall love.”
ע״י ההתבוננות כנ״ל שהוא בחי׳ אברהם אוהבי3 להיות גילוי האהבה בנפש בחי׳ רצוא ועי״ז אח״כ והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך4 ודברת בם5 כו׳.
through the contemplation mentioned above, which is the level of “Avraham, who loves Me”: that there be a revelation of love in the soul, the level of ratzo. And through this, afterwards, [comes] “And these words which I command you shall be,” “and you shall speak of them,” etc.
Contemplation reveals love in the soul, the quality of Avraham, whom G‑d calls “who loves Me,” and this love is ratzo. From it follow the next verses of the Shema: “these words” are to be on one’s heart, and “you shall speak of them,” that is, Torah study.
The three Patriarchs are three paths in prayer; the first, Avraham’s love, comes from contemplation and leads on to Torah study.
Marei mekomos
- 1תפלות אבות תקנום · Berakhot 26b:4–5
- 2אהוי״ר ורחמנות · ראה אוה״ת ויקרא-ג ע׳ תתסו הגה״ה.
- 3אברהם אוהבי · Isaiah 41:8
- 4והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך · Deuteronomy 6:6
- 5ודברת בם · Deuteronomy 6:7
And although in the second section [of the Shema] it is written, “And you shall gather in your grain,” nevertheless it comes to be “their Torah fixed and their work occasional.” And this is [the meaning of] “For man is the tree of the field”: that he is
The second paragraph of the Shema speaks of gathering in one’s grain, that is, working for a living. Even so, the love of the first paragraph lets a person make Torah his fixed occupation and his work a passing one, as the Talmud praises the early generations; the verse “For man is the tree of the field” shows how.
כמו אילן4 הצומח בארץ שהעיקר הוא הפרי שעליו עכ״ז יש גם קוצין ועלין וגוף האילן והעיקר הוא רק הפירות כו׳.
like a tree that grows in the ground, whose main thing is the fruit upon it. Even so, it also has thorns and leaves and the body of the tree; and the main thing is only the fruit, etc.
A tree’s purpose is its fruit. It also has thorns, leaves and a trunk, but these exist only for the sake of the fruit.
כמ״כ האדם העיקר הוא הפרי היינו תורה ומצות כמארז״ל מאי פרי מצות5 וזהו ענין תורתן קבע ושאר כל צרכי גופו הם כמו העלים לגבי הפרי.
So too with a person: the main thing is the fruit, that is, Torah and mitzvos, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “What is ‘fruit’? Mitzvos.” And this is the matter of “their Torah fixed”; and all the other needs of his body are like the leaves relative to the fruit.
A person’s fruit is Torah and mitzvos, as the Talmud reads “fruit” as mitzvos. The rest of his bodily needs are like leaves beside the fruit, and to treat them so is to make one’s Torah fixed.
Even with the work that the second paragraph of the Shema allows, a person whose love is awake treats Torah and mitzvos as his fruit and everything else as leaves.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואספת דגנך · Deuteronomy 11:14
- 2תורתן קבע ומלאכתן עראי · Berakhot 35b:10
- 3כי האדם עץ השדה · Deuteronomy 20:19
- 4שהוא כמו אילן · ”כמו בעץ יש פרי ועלין כן באדם” — אוה״ת ויקרא-א ע׳ קיז.
- 5מאי פרי מצות · Sotah 46a:2
10וזה נעשה הכל מבחי׳ ואהבת כו׳ שהוא בחי׳ אברהם, וכן יצחק בחי׳ גבורה שנעשה מזה בחי׳ יראה בנפש פחד יצחק.1
And all this comes about from the level of “And you shall love,” etc., which is the level of Avraham. And likewise Yitzchak, the level of Gevurah (restraint), from which there comes about the level of awe in the soul: “the Fear of Yitzchak.”
All of this comes from Avraham’s love, “And you shall love.” Yitzchak is Gevurah, from which comes awe in the soul, “the Fear of Yitzchak,” as Yaakov called the G‑d of his father.
ובחי׳ יעקב הוא בחי׳ רחמנות דהיינו מי שלבו כלב האבן שאף שמתבונן בכל הנ״ל לא יבא לבחי׳
And the level of Yaakov is the level of compassion: that is, one whose heart is like a heart of stone, so that even though he contemplates all the above, he will not come to the level of
Yaakov is compassion, and this is the path for one whose heart is like stone: even after contemplating all that was said, he does not come to love.
ואהבת שבק״ש מחמת שקשור מאד בהבלי העולם להיות יש ודבר בפ״ע ומחמת זה לבו כלב האבן. אזי העצה לזה הוא לעורר רחמים רבים על נפשו.
“And you shall love” of the Shema, because he is very bound up in the vanities of the world, so as to be an entity, a thing unto himself; and because of this his heart is like a heart of stone. Then the counsel for this is to arouse great compassion upon his soul.
His heart stays hard because he is deeply bound to the vanities of the world, so that he feels himself an entity of his own. The counsel is to arouse great compassion on his own soul, and the next paragraph explains how.
Yitzchak brings awe; Yaakov’s compassion is the remedy for a heart of stone that contemplation alone does not move.
Marei mekomos
- 1פחד יצחק · Genesis 31:42
11וכמ״ש ליעקב אשר פדה את אברהם1 וזהו ע״י פסוקי רחמנות שבתפלה2 והוא המלך המרומם כו׳ ברחמיך הרבים רחם עלינו.
As it is written, “To Yaakov, who redeemed Avraham.” And this is through the verses of compassion in the prayer, namely, “The King Who is exalted,” etc., “In Your abundant compassion, have compassion on us.”
Yeshayahu speaks of “Yaakov, who redeemed Avraham,” and the Alter Rebbe reads it as compassion, Yaakov’s attribute, redeeming love, Avraham’s attribute. This happens through the prayers of compassion in the blessings before the Shema, “The King Who alone is exalted…” and “In Your abundant compassion, have compassion on us.”
אבינו אב הרחמן3 רחם עלינו ותן בלבנו בינה להבין ולהשכיל ולא נבוש לע״ו. פי׳ כי הנה כתיב כי לא יראני האדם וחי4 וארז״ל בחייהם אינם רואים5
“Our Father, compassionate Father, have compassion on us, and put understanding (binah) in our heart, to understand and to comprehend, and let us not be ashamed forever and ever.” The explanation: for it is written, “For man shall not see Me and live,” and our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “In their lifetime they do not see,
The blessing Ahavah Rabbah asks, “Our Father, compassionate Father … put understanding in our heart … and let us not be ashamed forever.” To explain the shame, the Alter Rebbe cites the verse “For man shall not see Me and live” and the Sages’ reading: in their lifetime people do not see G‑d, but at death they do.
אבל6 במיתתם רואים כי בחייהם שהנפש מלובש בגוף ומכסה ומסתיר עליו להיות נראה לו זה העולם ליש ודבר בפ״ע.
but in their death they see.” For in their lifetime, when the soul is enclothed in the body, [the body] covers over him and conceals, so that this world appears to him as an entity, a thing unto itself.
In life the soul is enclothed in a body, which hides the truth, so that this world seems to exist on its own.
אבל בצאת הנפש מהגוף אזי רואים שבאמת מהותו ועצמותו כו׳ היה הוה ויהיה בלי שום שינוי ואין שום דבר יכול להלבישו כלל ולהסתירו והיה מקח טעות לגמרי מה שהיה נראה לו העולם ליש ודבר בפ״ע.
But when the soul leaves the body, then they see that in truth His being and essence, etc., was, is and will be without any change, and that nothing at all can enclothe Him or conceal Him; and it was an utterly mistaken transaction, that the world appeared to him as an entity, a thing unto itself.
When the soul leaves the body, it sees that G‑d’s being has never changed and that nothing could hide Him. Its whole impression of an independent world was a “mistaken transaction,” the legal term for a sale made in error.
Compassion, Yaakov’s path, is aroused in the prayers before the Shema, starting from the truth the soul sees only after death: that the world’s independence was an illusion.
Tanya, chapter 45, to which Kehot points, describes this path of Yaakov: to arouse great compassion before G‑d for the spark of G‑dliness that gives life to one’s soul, which came down from its source and is clothed in the body, far from the light of the King’s face. Through this a person can come to a revealed “great love,” as in “Yaakov, who redeemed Avraham.”
Marei mekomos
- 1ליעקב אשר פדה את אברהם · Isaiah 29:22
- 2פסוקי רחמנות שבתפלה · ראה לקו״ת פ׳ תצא לה, א.
- 3המלך המרומם . . ברחמים הרבים . . אבינו אב הרחמן · ברכות ק״ש.
- 4כי לא יראני האדם וחי · Exodus 33:20
- 5בחייהם אינם רואים · Bamidbar Rabbah 14:22
- 6בחייהם אינם רואים אבל · Zohar I, 218b
12ואזי הבושה גדולה עד למאד על שכל מחשבותיו ומגמותיו היו בהבלי העולם ובעסקיו כאלו הוא דבר בפ״ע ממש והוא חוצפא והעזה גדולה כו׳.
Then the shame is exceedingly great, that all his thoughts and aims were in the vanities of the world and in his affairs, as if it were truly a thing unto itself; and this is great impudence and brazenness, etc.
Then the shame is overwhelming: all one’s thoughts and aims went into the world’s vanities and one’s own affairs, as though the world were truly independent. Such a view, before G‑d, is great impudence.
ולכן בקשתנו ברחמיך הרבים רחם עלינו ותן בלבנו בינה היינו להבין דבר מתוך דבר1 היינו
Therefore our request is, “In Your abundant compassion, have compassion on us, and put understanding (binah) in our heart”: that is, to understand one thing from another; that is,
Hence the prayer for binah, which the Sages define as understanding one thing from another: deducing what is not seen from what is.
אף בעוד שהנשמה מלובש בגוף יבין וישכיל שבאמת הכל בטל בתכלית כמו קודם שנברא העולם בלי שום שינוי ממש כנ״ל ולא נבוש לע״ו.
that even while the soul is enclothed in the body, one will understand and comprehend that in truth everything is utterly nullified, just as before the world was created, truly without any change, as mentioned above; “and let us not be ashamed forever and ever,”
The request is to grasp, while the soul is still in the body, that in truth everything is utterly nullified, unchanged since before creation. That is what “let us not be ashamed forever” asks: to know now what the soul would otherwise see only after death.
בכדי שלא יהיה אח״כ הבושה לעולם ועד. וזהו ליעקב אשר פדה את אברהם [עיין בד״ה מה יפו פעמיך]:2
so that afterwards there will not be the shame forever and ever. And this is [the meaning of] “To Yaakov, who redeemed Avraham.” [See the discourse beginning “How beautiful are your steps.”]
Then there will be no shame afterwards, forever. This compassion, which frees one’s love, is “Yaakov, who redeemed Avraham,” and the Alter Rebbe refers for more to the discourse “How beautiful are your steps” in Likkutei Torah on Shir HaShirim.
The prayer for understanding asks to see the truth now, while in the body, and so to be spared the shame the soul would feel after death.
Marei mekomos
- 1בינה היינו להבין דבר מתוך דבר · Eruvin 100b
- 2בד״ה — מה יפו פעמיך · לקו״ת שה״ש מג, ב.
Only the G‑dly soul goes out ¶13–14
13ג והנה כל הנ״ל שהוא בחי׳ רצוא יצ״מ אינו אלא לנפש האלקית בלבד שהיא בבחי׳ גלות בתוך מצרים וגבולים המכסים כו׳.
3. Now, all the above, which is the level of ratzo, the Exodus from Egypt, is only for the G‑dly soul alone, which is in the aspect of exile within straits and limits that cover over, etc.
3. The ratzo described so far, the Exodus, belongs only to the G‑dly soul. It is the G‑dly soul that is in exile within the limits that hide G‑dliness.
וכמו שאמר פרעה לא ידעתי את1 הוי׳ כו׳. וכמ״ש אנכי ארד עמך מצרימה ואנכי אעלך2 כו׳ שזהו שנאמר ליעקב שהוא הנפש האלקית בלבד.
As Pharaoh said, “I do not know Havayah,” etc. And as it is written, “I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will bring you up,” etc.: for this was said to Yaakov, who is the G‑dly soul alone.
Pharaoh’s “I do not know Havayah” describes this exile. G‑d’s promise “I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will bring you up” was spoken to Yaakov, who stands for the G‑dly soul.
יו״ד עקב3 יעקב חבל נחלתו4 כי חלק5 הוי׳ עמו. כמ״ש וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה6 אשר עשה ה׳ שישראל בלבד שהוא הנפש האלקית
Yud akev (yud and heel); “Yaakov is the cord of His inheritance,” “for Havayah’s portion is His people.” As it is written, “And Israel saw the great hand that Havayah had wrought”: that Israel alone, which is the G‑dly soul,
Yaakov is read as yud akev, “yud” and “heel”: in Kabbalah, ten sparks of light (yud is ten) set in the heel, the lowest part. “Yaakov is the cord of His inheritance, for Havayah’s portion is His people” calls it G‑d’s own portion, bound to Him like a cord; and at the sea it was “Israel” that saw the great hand: Israel alone, the G‑dly soul.
for “Israel arose in [G‑d’s] thought,” [and] Yisrael is li rosh, “a head for Me,” etc., Israel alone saw what Havayah had wrought, etc.
Israel, the G‑dly soul, “arose in [G‑d’s] thought” before creation, and the letters of the name Yisrael spell li rosh, “a head for Me.” So it alone saw what Havayah had done; the animal soul did not.
The ratzo of the Exodus is the work of the G‑dly soul alone, called Yaakov and Israel, which is G‑d’s own portion.
Kehot quotes Etz Chaim (Sha’ar 3, the Seder Atzilus of Rabbi Chaim Vital, end of chapter 2): this is the secret of Yaakov, yud akev, for these are ten sparks of light that are given in the heel.
Marei mekomos
- 1לא ידעתי את הוי׳ · Exodus 5:2
- 2אנכי ארד עמך מצרימה ואנכי אעלך · Genesis 46:4
- 3יו״ד עקב · ע׳ דרושים לר״ה לקמן סב, ריש א׳ וש״נ. ות״ל מצאתי הל׳ הזהב בע״ח ש״ג (סדר אצי׳ למהרח״ו) ספ״ב וזה״ל שהוא סוד [יסוד] יעקב י׳ עקב כי הי׳ [הם] עשר ניצוצי אורה הניתנין בעקב כו׳ עכלה״ט. [כ].
- 4יעקב חבל נחלתו · Deuteronomy 32:9
- 5כי חלק ה׳ עמו · שם.
- 6וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה · Exodus 14:31
- 7ישראל עלה במחשבה · Bereshit Rabbah 1:4
- 8ישראל לי ראש · על״ק שלח מח, ב וש״נ. [כ].
14וכמ״כ בק״ש בחי׳ רצוא יצ״מ הנ״ל ואהבת כו׳ אינו אלא לנפש האלהית בלבד אבל נפש הבהמית מ״מ הוא רוצה לאכול כמעשה בהמה כו׳.
So too in the Shema, the level of ratzo, the Exodus from Egypt mentioned above, “And you shall love,” etc., is only for the G‑dly soul alone; but the animal soul, nevertheless, wants to eat as an animal does, etc.
Even the love of the Shema belongs only to the G‑dly soul. The animal soul, the life-force of the body and its drives, still wants to eat as an animal does.
וכדי לקבל את התורה שהוא גילוי רצונו ית׳ כביכול למטה הוצרך להיות מקודם בחי׳ ביטול נפש הבהמית ג״כ. [ועמ״ש ע״פ אדם כי יקריב1 כו׳ תקריבו2 כו׳ ע״ש].
And in order to receive the Torah, which is the revelation of His will, may He be blessed, as it were, below, there first had to be the level of the nullification of the animal soul as well. [And see what is written on “When a man brings,” etc., “you shall bring,” etc.; see there.]
To receive the Torah, the revelation of G‑d’s will below, the animal soul too had first to be nullified. For this the Alter Rebbe refers to his explanation of “When a man of you brings an offering … from the animals … you shall bring.”
The G‑dly soul’s love leaves the animal soul untouched, yet receiving the Torah required that the animal soul too be nullified.
Marei mekomos
- 1ע״פ אדם כי יקריב · לעיל פ׳ ויקרא
- 2אדם כי יקריב כו׳ תקריבו · Leviticus 1:2
The Omer and its counting ¶15–19
This is through the waving of the Omer and the Counting of the Omer. As it is written, “And he shall wave the Omer before Havayah, for your favor (lirtzonchem); on the morrow of the Shabbos the kohen shall wave it.” For
That nullification came through waving the Omer and counting the Omer. The verse says the kohen waves the Omer “before Havayah,” “for your favor,” on “the morrow of the Shabbos,” and the coming paragraphs explain each phrase.
הנה העומר הוא מן השעורים2 שהוא מאכל בהמה וכמ״כ למעלה יש ג״כ בחי׳ בהמה והוא המרכבה העליונה פני אריה אל הימין3 ופני שור מהשמאל
the Omer is from barley, which is animal food. And likewise above there is also the level of an animal (behemah): this is the supernal Chariot (Merkavah), “the face of a lion on the right, and the face of an ox on the left,”
The Omer was of barley, which is animal food. Above too there is an “animal”: the supernal Chariot (Merkavah) that Yechezkel saw, with the face of a lion on the right and the face of an ox on the left.
for a wild animal (chayah) is included in [the term] behemah. As it is written of the Sea that Shlomo made, “It stood upon twelve oxen, three facing north,” etc.,
A lion is a wild beast, not a domestic one, but the Talmud rules that a chayah is included in the term behemah, so the whole Chariot can be called behemah. Shlomo’s Sea, the great copper basin of the Temple, stood on twelve oxen, three facing each direction.
שהיא המרכבה העליונה והים עליהם מלמעלה שהיא בחי׳ ים העליון בחי׳ בהמה רבה שם ב״ן גימטריא בהמה
which is the supernal Chariot; “and the Sea was upon them, above,” which is the level of the supernal Sea, the level of the great animal (behemah rabbah), the Name Ban (52), numerically [equal to] behemah,
The oxen are the supernal Chariot, and the Sea above them is the supernal sea, called “the great animal” (behemah rabbah). It is the Name Ban, the Name Havayah spelled out so that its letters total 52, the numerical value of behemah (ב=2, ה=5, מ=40, ה=5).
שהוא שרש המרכבה דפני אריה כו׳, והמרכבה הנ״ל הוא שרש ומקור לכל הבהמות ונפש הבהמית שלמטה שנמשכים ממנה.
which is the root of the Chariot of “the face of a lion,” etc. And this Chariot is the root and source of all the animals and of the animal soul below, which are drawn from it.
Ban is the root of the Chariot with the lion’s face, and that Chariot is the source of all animals and of the animal soul below. So the refinement of the animal soul is bound up with this supernal “animal.”
The Omer of barley, animal food, relates to the supernal “animal”: the Chariot rooted in the Name Ban, the source of the animal soul below.
Marei mekomos
- 1והניף את העומר · Leviticus 23:11
- 2העומר מן השעורים · Menachot 84a:10–11
- 3פני ארי׳ אל הימין · Ezekiel 1:10
- 4חי׳ בכלל בהמה · Bava Kamma 17b:3–4
- 5עומד על שנים עשר בקר · I Kings 7:25
- 6עומד על שנים עשר בקר שלשה פונים צפונה · II Chronicles 4:4
16ושעורה שעור1 ה׳ והיינו מברורים שלמטה שנבררים ונכללים בבחי׳ בהמה רבה הנ״ל כמאמר יוצר משרתים2 שיש מלאכים שהם בטלים בכל יום ונבלעים ונכללים בבחי׳ בהמה רבה3 הנ״ל.
And barley (se’orah) is shi’ur hei, “the measure of hei”: that is, [it is] from the refinements (birurim) below, which are refined and included in the level of the great animal mentioned above; as in the saying, “Who forms ministering [angels],” for there are angels that are nullified every day, and are swallowed and included in the level of the great animal mentioned above,
The Zohar reads se’orah, barley, as shi’ur hei, “the measure of hei.” The barley stands for the birurim, the sparks of holiness refined from the world below and absorbed into the great animal; so too, the present tense of “Who forms ministering angels” in the morning blessing teaches that there are angels nullified each day and absorbed into the great animal.
כמו המאכל שעורים שנבלע בבהמה שלמטה וחוזרים ומתחדשים בכל יום כו׳.
like the food of barley that is swallowed into an animal below; and they are renewed again every day, etc.
They are absorbed as barley is consumed by an animal below, and they are formed anew each day.
Barley, “the measure of hei,” stands for the refinements from below that are absorbed into the supernal “great animal,” as angels are absorbed and renewed each day.
The Zohar that Kehot cites (Balak, 188b) explains that barley is brought first because it comes before all the other grains of bread in the world, and that se’orah is “in the measure of hei.”
Marei mekomos
- 1שעורה שעור ה׳ · Zohar III, 188b
- 2יוצר משרתים · ברכת יוצר.
- 3בהמה רבה · Jonah 4:11
17וזהו יניפנו הכהן שהוא בחי׳ חסד העליון העלה את בחי׳ בהמה רבה הנ״ל [עיין בזהר פ׳ בלק דקפ״ח ע״ב] ע״י עומר שעורה שעור1 ה׳ הנ״ל.
And this is [the meaning of] “the kohen shall wave it”: [the kohen,] who is the level of supernal Chesed (kindness), raised up the level of the great animal mentioned above [see the Zohar, Parshas Balak, page 188b] through the Omer of barley, shi’ur hei, mentioned above.
“The kohen shall wave it”: the kohen stands for supernal Chesed, and through the barley Omer he lifts the great animal upward. The text refers to the Zohar on Balak, which discusses the waving of the Omer and its barley.
לפני הוי׳ למעלה מהוי׳ כנודע. וזהו ממחרת השבת ולא ממחרת יו״ט שהוא למעלה מבחי׳ שבת וד״ל.
“Before Havayah”: above Havayah, as is known. And this is [why it says] “from the morrow of the Shabbos” and not “from the morrow of the Yom Tov”: for it is above the level of Shabbos. This suffices for one who understands.
“Before Havayah” here means above Havayah: the Omer raises it to a level higher even than the Name Havayah. That is why the verse counts from “the morrow of the Shabbos,” the day after the first day of Pesach, and not “the morrow of the Yom Tov”: it alludes to a level above Shabbos.
The waving of the Omer by the kohen, supernal Chesed, raises the supernal “animal” to a level above Havayah and above Shabbos.
The Zohar on Balak that the text cites asks what tenufah, waving, means, and answers that the Omer must be raised upward. It reads tenufah as tenu peh, “give the mouth,” as in “Give glory to Havayah your G‑d,” for the supernal “mouth” is the glory that Israel gives to the King.
Marei mekomos
- 1ע״י עומר שעורה שעור ה׳ · Zohar, Balak 6:67–78
18ועי״ז אח״כ ע״י ספה״ע היו המשכות מקיפים מלמעלה למטה לעומר כו׳. וזהו היום יום א׳ לעומר יום הוא בחי׳ חסד כמ״ש יומם יצוה1 ה׳ חסדו
And through this, afterwards, through the Counting of the Omer, there were drawings down of encompassing lights (makifim) from above to below, to the Omer, etc. And this is [the meaning of] “Today is one day of the Omer”: “day” is the level of Chesed (kindness), as it is written, “By day Havayah commands His kindness”;
After the waving, the counting drew down makifim, encompassing lights: light too high to be absorbed within, which surrounds and acts from beyond. The words of the count, “Today is one day of the Omer,” hint at this, for “day” signifies Chesed, as in “By day Havayah commands His kindness.”
והיינו בחי׳ חסד עליון להמשיך מלמעלה מעלה לבחי׳ עומר כדי שיהיה ביטול הרצון מנפש הבהמית ג״כ דוקא.
that is, the level of supernal Chesed, to draw down from the very highest [levels] to the level of the Omer, so that there be the nullification of the will of the animal soul too, specifically.
This is supernal Chesed, drawn from the very highest levels to the Omer, so that the will of the animal soul too will be nullified.
Each day of counting draws supernal Chesed into the Omer as encompassing light, to nullify the will of the animal soul.
Marei mekomos
- 1יומם יצוה ה׳ חסדו · Psalms 42:9
And this is [the meaning of] “for your favor (lirtzonchem)”: so that there be the nullification of your will (ratzon), through the drawing down of the encompassing lights mentioned above, through the Counting of the Omer, etc.
Lirtzonchem, “for your favor,” is read as from ratzon, will: the purpose is the nullification of your will, brought about by the encompassing lights drawn down through the counting.
וזהו וספרתם לכם2 היינו להמשיך הארת המקיפים הנ״ל שהוא ממחרת השבת3 דוקא כנ״ל לכם למטה להפוך את נפש הבהמית ג״כ שיהיה ביטול רצונכם.
And this is [the meaning of] “And you shall count for yourselves”: that is, to draw down the radiance of the encompassing lights mentioned above, which is specifically from “the morrow of the Shabbos,” as mentioned above, “for yourselves,” below, to transform the animal soul too, so that there be the nullification of your will.
So “you shall count for yourselves” means: draw down the light of these makifim, which comes from “the morrow of the Shabbos,” a level above Shabbos, “for yourselves,” here below, to transform the animal soul too, until your own will is nullified.
The counting draws light from above Shabbos down to transform the animal soul and nullify a person’s own will; this is “for your favor” and “count for yourselves.”
Or HaTorah, quoting this passage, explains that “the morrow of the Shabbos” is above the level of Shabbos: Shabbos is Chochmah, the mochin of Abba, so the level above it is from Atik. Through these encompassing lights the vessel is refined, until the makif polishes half the vessel from outside.
Marei mekomos
- 1לרצונכם · Leviticus 23:11
- 2וספרתם לכם · Leviticus 23:15
- 3להמשיך הארת המקיפים . . ממחרת השבת · מובא באוה״ת ויקרא-ב ע׳ תקכח ומבאר שממחרת השבת הוא למעלה מבחי׳ השבת, והשבת הוא מחכ׳ מוחין דאבא, וא״כ מבחי׳ שלמעלה מהשבת זה מע״ק וע״י מקיפים אלו יזכך עד שהמקיף מצחצח חצי הכלי מבחוץ ע״ש.
The Giving of the Torah ¶20–23
20וזהו מיום הביאכם את עומר1 פי׳ מאות ו יום שהניפו את העומר שהוא לפני הוי׳ אזי וספרתם לכם תמשיכו לכם ע״י ספה״ע שבע שבתות שהם מ״ט מדות.
And this is [the meaning of] “From the day you bring the Omer”: the meaning is, from that day on which they waved the Omer, which is “before Havayah,” then “you shall count for yourselves”: you shall draw down for yourselves, through the Counting of the Omer, “seven weeks,” which are the forty-nine attributes (middos).
“From the day you bring the Omer” means from the day the Omer was waved “before Havayah,” above Havayah. From then, “you shall count” means you shall draw down for yourselves, through the counting, seven weeks: the forty-nine attributes, each of the seven middos including all seven.
ואז היה יכול להיות אח״כ מתן תורה בשבועות שהוא גילוי רצונו ממש מלמעלה למטה שהוא למעלה מתפלה שהוא בחי׳ יצ״מ שהוא הרצוא כנ״ל.
And then, afterwards, there could be the Giving of the Torah on Shavuos, which is the revelation of His very will from above to below, which is higher than prayer, which is the level of the Exodus from Egypt, which is the ratzo, as mentioned above.
Then the Giving of the Torah could follow on Shavuos: G‑d’s very will revealed from above to below. This is higher than prayer, which is the Exodus, the ratzo from below upward.
The seven weeks counted from the waving of the Omer prepare for the Giving of the Torah, the descent of G‑d’s will, which stands higher than the upward reach of prayer.
Marei mekomos
- 1מיום הביאכם את עומר · Leviticus 23:15
21ואהבת בכל לבבך1 שעדיין אינו בבחי׳ ביטול בתכלית כי יש מי שאוהב כו׳. משא״כ בלימוד התורה שהוא דבר ה׳ ממש בפיו.
“And you shall love with all your heart” is still not at the level of utter self-nullification (bittul), for there is one who loves, etc. Torah study, by contrast, is the very word of G‑d in his mouth.
Even love “with all your heart” is not complete self-nullification, because someone is still there who loves: the self remains. Torah study is different, for then the word of G‑d itself is in a person’s mouth.
כמ״ש ואשים דברי בפיך2 דברי ממש. אני המשנה המדברת בפיך. וכמארז״ל אלו ואלו דברי אלקים חיים כו׳ שהם דברי אלקים ממש גילוי רצונו ממש למטה.
As it is written, “And I have put My words in your mouth”: My words, truly. “I am the Mishnah that speaks in your mouth.” And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “These and these are the words of the living G‑d,” etc.: that they are truly the words of G‑d, the very revelation of His will below.
G‑d says, “I have put My words in your mouth”: His actual words. A saying puts it in the Mishnah’s own voice, “I am the Mishnah that speaks in your mouth,” and the Sages say of both sides of a dispute, “These and these are the words of the living G‑d”: both reveal His will below.
וזהו ודברת בם3 בם ממש והוא בחי׳ ובכל נפשך היינו לקשר מחשבה במחשבה כו׳. (ועמ״ש סד״ה וארא אל אברהם).
And this is [the meaning of] “And you shall speak in them (bam)”: in them, truly. And this is the level of “and with all your soul,” that is, to bind thought with thought, etc. (And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “And I appeared to Avraham.”)
So “you shall speak in them” means in G‑d’s words themselves. This is “with all your soul”: binding one’s own thought to G‑d’s thought, which the Torah is; the Alter Rebbe refers to the discourse “And I appeared to Avraham” for more.
אך הנה ארז״ל כל האומר אין לי אלא תורה אפילו תורה אין לו שמאחר שהוא יש ודבר בפ״ע.
But our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Whoever says, ‘I have nothing but Torah,’ even Torah he does not have”: for since he is an entity, a thing unto himself,
Yet the Sages say that whoever says he has nothing but Torah does not have even Torah. The reason is that he still feels himself an entity of his own.
אזי אף כשמדבר ד״ת אין זה דבר ה׳ כלל. ואין זה גילוי רצונו כלל, רק צריך להיות מקודם בחי׳ הרצוא יצ״מ ממטה למעלה כנ״ל.
then even when he speaks words of Torah, this is not the word of G‑d at all, and this is not the revelation of His will at all. Rather, there must first be the level of the ratzo, the Exodus from Egypt, from below upward, as mentioned above.
For such a person even his words of Torah are not G‑d’s word and do not reveal His will. First there must be the ratzo, the inner Exodus from below upward described above.
Torah study is a higher self-nullification than love, since G‑d’s own words are in one’s mouth; yet it is His word only when the ratzo of prayer has first freed a person from his sense of self.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואהבת בכל לבבך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 2ואשים דברי בפיך · Isaiah 51:16
- 3ודברת בם · Deuteronomy 6:7
22וע״י זה רוח אייתי רוח ואמשיך רוח כי באתערותא דלתתא אתעדל״ע ומעורר למעלה המשכת רצונו כביכול למטה.
And through this, “spirit brings spirit and draws down spirit”; for through an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata) [there comes] an arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila), and it arouses above the drawing down of His will, as it were, below.
Through that ratzo, in the words of the Aramaic saying, “spirit brings spirit and draws down spirit”: an arousal from below awakens an arousal from above, which draws G‑d’s will down into the world.
אך שיתלבש בדברים גשמיים כמו תרומות ומעשרות וקרבנות כו׳ ולאו אורחא דמלכא לאשתעי במלין דהדיוטא כו׳.
But that it should be enclothed in physical things, such as terumos and tithes and offerings, etc.: “and it is not the way of the King to speak of the matters of a commoner,” etc.
But G‑d’s will is clothed in physical matters, such as terumos, tithes and offerings, mitzvos about produce and animals. And “it is not the way of the King to speak of the matters of a commoner”: how can His will be invested in such lowly things?
The arousal from below draws G‑d’s will down, but that will is clothed in physical mitzvos, which seem beneath the King.
23וע״ז היה צריך מקודם שיניף הכהן את העומר שהוא שעורה שעור ה׳ מיכלא דבהמה רבה הנ״ל לפני הוי׳ למעלה מהוי׳ כנ״ל.
And for this, the kohen first had to wave the Omer, which is barley, shi’ur hei, the food of the great animal mentioned above, “before Havayah”: above Havayah, as mentioned above.
For this the kohen first had to wave the Omer, the barley that is “the food of the great animal,” “before Havayah,” raising it above Havayah. This answers the question: the root of the animal level was first raised above Havayah, so that G‑d’s will could then come down even into physical things.
ועי״ז אח״כ ע״י ספה״ע היה המשכת המקיפים למטה לעומר וספרתם לכם כו׳ שבע שבתות1 כו׳.
And through this, afterwards, through the Counting of the Omer, there was the drawing down of the encompassing lights below, to the Omer: “And you shall count for yourselves,” etc., “seven weeks,” etc.
Then, through the counting, the encompassing lights were drawn down to the Omer: “And you shall count for yourselves … seven weeks.”
והיה יכול להיות אח״כ מתן תורה בשבועות שהוא גילוי רצונו כביכול למטה באותיות התורה [ועיין בזהר פ׳ תצוה דף קפ״ב סע״ב וכיון כו׳ ודף קפ״ג ע״א עד אפיק אורייתא2 כו׳ וע׳ לקמן]:3
And afterwards there could be the Giving of the Torah on Shavuos, which is the revelation of His will, as it were, below, in the letters of the Torah. [And see the Zohar, Parshas Tetzaveh, page 182, end of side b, “And since,” etc., and page 183a, until “brings forth the Torah,” etc.; and see below.]
After that the Giving of the Torah could follow on Shavuos: G‑d’s will drawn down, as it were, into the letters of the Torah. The text refers to the Zohar on Tetzaveh, which describes the counting of the Omer as a sanctification and the fiftieth day as bringing forth the Torah through an arousal from below.
Waving the Omer and counting the seven weeks prepare the way for G‑d’s will to come down into the letters of the Torah at Sinai, even into its physical commands.
The Zohar on Tetzaveh that the text cites says that this level descends to sanctify its house, Israel below, through the counting of the Omer, and once they are sanctified it rises to be bound to the supernal days. When the forty-nine days are complete, the fiftieth day, which rules over them, brings forth the Torah, through the arousal from below, in its forty-nine faces.
Marei mekomos
- 1וספרתם לכם כו׳ שבע שבתות · Leviticus 23:15
- 2וכיון כו׳ ודף קפ״ג ע״א עד אפיק אורייתא · Zohar, Tetzaveh 6:55–7:64
- 3מאכל שעורים שהוא מיכלא דבעירא · Sotah 14a:3–4
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Each day a person must go out of Egypt: in the prayers before the Shema, contemplate how all the worlds and the angels are nullified before G‑d, until love wakes to leave every limit and cleave to Him. If the heart stays like stone, arouse great compassion on your own soul and ask for understanding now, so as not to be ashamed afterwards. Let Torah and mitzvos be the fruit, and all the body’s needs the leaves. And since this love frees only the G‑dly soul, the days of the Omer are for nullifying the will of the animal soul too; then Torah study becomes G‑d’s own word in your mouth.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the Alter Rebbe call Pesach ratzo and Shavuos shov, and why did the Exodus have to be in haste while the final redemption will not?
- How does contemplating that the worlds live only from a radiance of G‑d’s kingship lead to the love of the Shema, and why is that love called the Exodus from Egypt?
- What is the remedy for one whose heart stays like stone after contemplation, and how does the prayer for binah relate to the shame the soul feels after death?
- Why is the ratzo of the Shema not enough to receive the Torah, and how do the waving and the counting of the Omer reach the animal soul?
- Why is Torah study a greater self-nullification than love, and why does one who says he has nothing but Torah lack even Torah?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation. ×1
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×2
- 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.
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response. ×1
- 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. ×8
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×2
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×6
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×2
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×3
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×4
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×1
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.
- Love and aweאהבה ויראה
- The two 'wings' of divine service.
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×2
- The G‑dly soulנפש האלקית
- The soul that is 'a part of G‑d above'. ×3
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×5
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×1
- An arousal from aboveאתערותא דלעילא
- Divine initiative, unprompted by us.