Likkutei Torah · Parshas Emor · Maamar 4
והניף את העומר
“And he shall wave the Omer”
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The big idea
The barley Omer, “animal fodder,” stands for the refining of the animal soul, which is rooted in Malchus as behemah (beast). Its waving and the counting that follows raise this “beast” and draw down the encompassing light of Binah, so that on Shavuos Malchus becomes adam (man) and the Torah, from the Supernal Will, is drawn into the letters of wheat.
The maamar in brief
The Omer is barley, animal food. The Alter Rebbe explains this through the angels created each day, which are sparks refined from nogah: they rise and “expire” into Malchus, the “great beast” (behemah, equal to the Name Ban), which “eats” them. Barley, se’orah, is shi’ur hei, “the measure of five”: the five Gevuros, which divide the one divine “voice” into letters and countless creations and seize the sparks from the kelipos. The second chapter turns to the waving. On Pesach Z’eir Anpin and the G‑dly soul rise; the waving raises the animal soul to Binah, and the counting draws Binah’s encompassing lights down to Malchus. An encompassing love, born of contemplating G‑d’s infinite greatness, guards the limited inner love, as the Chashmal guards Z’eir Anpin and Nukva. On Shavuos the union of the two reveals Keser to both. The third chapter asks why the Zohar places wheat too in Malchus: wheat is her inner dimension, the letters ches-tes sweetened by the hei of Abba’s Chasadim, the root of the G‑dly souls. It was a sin for Adam, whose soul was higher. Barley is her outer dimension; the counting raises it so that on Shavuos it becomes adam.
Outline
- Barley, the food of the great beastThe angels created daily are sparks refined from nogah and included in Malchus, the behemah rabbah; barley is shi’ur hei, the five Gevuros that divide speech into letters and creations and seize the sparks from the kelipos.¶1–11
- The waving and the countingPesach raises Z’eir Anpin and the G‑dly soul; the waving raises the animal soul to Binah; the counting draws down Binah’s encompassing lights, like an encompassing love that guards the inner one, so that on Shavuos the union of Z’eir Anpin and Malchus reveals Keser.¶12–21
- Wheat, and the sin of AdamWheat is the inner dimension of Malchus, the letters ches-tes sweetened by the Chasadim of Abba and the root of the G‑dly souls; for Adam, whose soul was from Z’eir Anpin and above, descending to wheat was a sin.¶22–34
- Barley, wheat and ShavuosBarley is the outer dimension of Malchus, behemah in Beriah; the counting raises it to adam in Atzilus, so that the Torah, Keser and Chochmah, is drawn into the letters of wheat.¶35–36
Key concepts
- Birurim (refined sparks)בירורים
- Sparks of holiness that fell in the shattering into nogah and are refined each day; as they rise they “expire” and are included in Malchus, which is their “food.”
- Behemah rabbah (the great beast)בהמה רבה
- Malchus, called behemah because בהמה equals 52, the Name Ban, and “great” because it is a general level that includes all the particular levels below it.
- Shi’ur hei (the measure of five)שעור ה׳
- The Zohar’s reading of se’orah, barley: the five Gevuros, which divide the simple divine “voice” into many letters and creations.
- Encompassing light (makif)מקיף
- Light greater than a vessel can contain, which therefore surrounds it rather than entering it; in a person, a love above his vessel that guards the limited, inner love.
- The Supernal Will and the lower willרצון העליון ורצון תחתון
- The Supernal Will, above reason, revealed at the Giving of the Torah, and the lower will, born of understanding, which a person must first beget in himself.
- Inner and outer dimensions of Malchusפנימיות וחיצוניות המלכות
- The inner dimension receives the Chasadim of Abba and is the root of the G‑dly souls (wheat, adam); the outer receives the Gevuros of Imma, enlivens the angels and is the root of the animal soul (barley, behemah).
- Chitah (wheat)חטה
- The letters ches and tes, which spell chet (sin), sweetened by the hei of the five Chasadim of Abba; the inner dimension of Malchus.
Barley, the food of the great beast ¶1–11
1והניף את העומר.1 הנה העומר הוא מאכל שעורים23 שהוא מיכלא דבעירא. הענין הוא עפ״י מ״ש יוצר משרתים ואשר משרתיו כו׳ שיש ב׳ מיני מלאכים.
“And he shall wave the Omer.” Now, the Omer is a food of barley, which is animal fodder. The matter is according to what is said, “Who forms ministering [angels], and whose ministers,” etc.: that there are two kinds of angels.
The maamar opens with the verse about the Omer offering waved on the second day of Pesach, and notes that it was brought from barley, which the Talmud calls animal food. To explain why, the Alter Rebbe turns to the blessing before the morning Shema, which praises G‑d as “Who forms ministering [angels], and whose ministers [all stand in the heights of the universe],” and reads it as speaking of two different kinds of angels.
הא׳ הם אשר עומדים ברום עולם מששת ימי בראשית והם נצחיים וקימים עד שיחזור העולם לתוהו כו׳.
The first are those who stand in the heights of the universe since the six days of Creation; they are eternal and endure until the world returns to tohu (chaos), etc.
The first kind are the permanent angels: created during the six days of Creation, they “stand in the heights of the universe” and endure as long as the world itself does.
The paragraph raises the question of the Omer’s barley, “animal fodder,” and begins its answer with the two kinds of angels in the morning blessing: permanent ones, and (as the next paragraph says) ones created anew each day.
The blessing is read as two separate clauses: “Who forms ministers” in the present tense, forming new angels all the time, and “whose ministers,” who have served Him from of old. Likkutei Torah, Pinchas, to which the Kehot note on the next paragraph points, spells out this reading.
Marei mekomos
- 1והניף את העומר · Leviticus 23:11
- 2העומר הוא מאכל שעורים · Sotah 14a:14
- 3מאכל שעורים · Pesachim 3b:10–11
2והן הם החיות שבמרכבה. ויש מלאכים שנבראים בכל יום1 ואומרים שירה וכלים והיינו בחי׳ ניצוצי הקדושה שנפלו בשבירה
And these are the chayos (holy beasts) of the Chariot. And there are angels that are created every day, and say song, and expire; that is, the level of the sparks of holiness that fell in the shattering
The permanent angels are the chayos, the “holy beasts” of Ezekiel’s Chariot. The second kind are angels created each day, who sing and then expire, as the Midrash says; the Alter Rebbe explains that they are sparks of holiness that fell in the “shattering of the vessels,” the primordial breaking from which the sparks were scattered.
דנוגה דבי״ע וכשהם מתבררים ועולים בבחי׳ מ״ן בכל יום ויום מחדש היינו ענין השירה וכלות הנפש שלהם שהם כלים ונכללים בבחי׳ המל׳.
These sparks are held in nogah, the “translucent” husk of mixed good and evil within the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. Each day some of them are refined and rise as mayin nukvin, the “feminine waters” that rise from below; their rising is their “song,” and their “expiry” is their being included in Malchus.
The angels created each day are reinterpreted as sparks of holiness refined each day from nogah: their song is their ascent, and their expiry is their inclusion in Malchus.
Klos hanefesh, the soul’s “expiry” in its yearning, is here the self-nullification of these angels: they cease to exist as separate beings and are included in their source. The Hebrew plays on kalim (“they expire”) and nichlalim (“they are included”).
Marei mekomos
- 1מלאכים שנבראים בכל יום · Eikhah Rabbah 3:8
3וכענין מארז״ל הושיט הקב״ה אצבעו הקטנה1 ביניהם ושרפן, והפי׳ ידוע2 דהיינו שמחמת הארת גילוי אלקות עליהם יותר
And it is like the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory: “The Holy One, blessed be He, stretched out His little finger among them and burned them.” And the explanation is known: that because the radiance of the revelation of G‑dliness upon them was more
The Talmud tells that when G‑d wished to create man and consulted the ministering angels, some objected, and He “stretched out His little finger among them and burned them.” The well-known Chassidic explanation is that even this smallest glimmer of G‑dliness was more than they could hold.
מכדי המדה וגבול שהיו יכולים להכיל ולהגביל בתוכן נשרפו ונכללו בה׳ אחד ויוצאים מן הכלי אמנם זה היה מצד עונש מחמת שקטרגו מה אנוש3 כו׳.
than the measure and limit that they could contain and confine within themselves, they were burned and included in the One G‑d, and they go out of the vessel. However, this was by way of punishment, because they had accused [man, saying], “What is man,” etc.
A being that receives more light than its vessel can contain cannot remain separate: it is “burned,” that is, absorbed into G‑d’s oneness, and leaves its vessel. In that story the burning came as a punishment, because the angels had protested, “What is man that You remember him?”
אך יובן כמ״כ מדוגמא זו ג״כ בענין הבירורים שהם מתבררים וכלים בבחי׳ מל׳ שהוא מחמת ריבוי גילוי אור א״ס עליהם.
But likewise, from this example, it will also be understood concerning the birurim (refined sparks), that they are refined and expire into the level of Malchus: this is because of the abundant revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) upon them.
The same mechanism, without any punishment, explains the daily birurim: so much of the Infinite Light is revealed upon the refined sparks that they “expire” and are included in Malchus.
Through the Talmud’s story of the angels burned by G‑d’s “little finger,” the paragraph shows that expiry comes from receiving more light than one’s vessel can hold, and applies this to the sparks that are included in Malchus.
Marei mekomos
- 1הושיט הקב״ה אצבעו הקטנה · Sanhedrin 38b:5
- 2והפי׳ ידוע · ראה גם לקמן פ׳ תצא לח, ד. דרושים לר״ה ס, ב. שה״ש כב, ב. בארוכה במאמרי אדה״א ויקרא-ב ע׳ תרנ.
- 3מה אנוש · Psalms 8:5
4וזהו עיקר עבודתם התמידי כו׳. וזהו ענין אלף טורין1 דאכלה בהמה רבה.23 עיין בזהר פ׳ פנחס דרי״ז א׳, שהוא בחי׳ מלכות הנק׳ בהמה בגימ׳ ב״ן שבה נכללים הבירורים דנוגה כו׳,
And this is the essence of their constant service, etc. And this is the matter of “the thousand mountains that the great beast (behemah rabbah) eats” (see the Zohar, Parshas Pinchas, 217a), which is the level of Malchus, called behemah (beast), whose numerical value is [that of] the Name Ban (52), in which the birurim of nogah are included, etc.;
This daily rising and expiry is the essence of these angels’ constant service. The Zohar speaks of a “great beast” (behemah rabbah) that eats a thousand mountains each day; the Alter Rebbe identifies it with Malchus, called behemah because בהמה has the numerical value 52, that of the Name Ban (Havayah spelled out with the letter hei), which belongs to Malchus, and what it “eats” is the birurim of nogah, which are included in it.
ונק׳ בהמה רבה כי הוא בחי׳ כללי נגד מרכבה י״ב בקר שהם בחי׳ פרטיים ומל׳ כולל הכל. לכן נק׳ רבה.
and it is called behemah rabbah because it is a general level, as against the Chariot of the twelve oxen, which are particular levels; and Malchus includes everything. Therefore it is called rabbah (great).
Malchus is “great” (rabbah) not in size but because it is a general level that includes everything. The “twelve oxen” of the Chariot are twelve particular powers below it.
Malchus is the “great beast” that “eats” the refined sparks: behemah equals the Name Ban, and “great” means that Malchus includes all the particular levels below it.
The Kehot note ties “a thousand mountains” to the Targum on “the beasts on a thousand mountains.” Torah Ohr, to which the note also points, explains the image: Malchus of Atzilus descends each night into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah to refine the sparks of Tohu, which there are mixed of good and evil, and transforms them into G‑dliness.
Marei mekomos
- 1אלף טורין · Aramaic Targum to Psalms 50:10
- 2אלף טורין דאכלה בהמה רבה · Psalms 50:10
- 3אלף טורין דאכלה בהמה רבה · Zohar, Pinchas 12:70–80
And this is along the lines of what the Zohar explains in Parshas Vayechi, 247a: “What is rabbos? Rather, as it is written, ‘The outcry of Sedom and Amorah, for it is rabbah,’ like gadlah (great).”
On “Many daughters have done valiantly,” the Zohar asks why the twelve tribes are called rabbos (“many”) when they are only twelve. It answers from “the outcry of Sedom and Amorah, for it is rabbah,” where the word means “great,” not “many.”
וכן רבות גדולות עילאין ורברבין על כולא ושם קאי אפילו על י״ב בקר הנ״ל דבריאה שהם ג״כ נק׳ רבות לגבי הפרטיים הנמשכים מהן.
“And so rabbos [means] great ones, supernal and greater than all.” And there it refers even to the twelve oxen of Beriah mentioned above, which are also called rabbos relative to the particulars that are drawn from them.
So rabbos means “great ones,” exalted above all. The Alter Rebbe adds that the passage applies this even to the twelve oxen of the World of Beriah: they too are “great” relative to the many particular beings drawn from them.
כמו הי״ב שבטים הם נשמות כוללות כמו שבט ראובן יש במחנה שלו כמה רבואות ואלפים ונשמת ראובן עצמו היא כוללת כל הנשמות שבשבטו שהם ענפים ממנו וכן כל שבט כו׳.
Just as the twelve tribes are inclusive souls: the tribe of Reuven, for instance, has in its camp many myriads and thousands, and the soul of Reuven himself includes all the souls of his tribe, which are branches of him; and so with every tribe, etc.
The twelve tribes show the idea: the soul of each tribe’s founder is an inclusive soul. Reuven’s camp held many thousands, and Reuven’s own soul contained all the souls of his tribe, as branches of one root.
Through the Zohar’s reading of rabbos as “great,” the paragraph shows that a general level is “great” relative to the particulars that branch out from it, as the twelve tribes are relative to their thousands.
Marei mekomos
- 1בפ׳ ויחי דרמ״ז ע״א · ראה גם לעיל פ׳ צו יב, ד. הלשון נעתק ביהל אור ע׳ קנג.
- 2זעקת סדום ועמורה כי רבה · Genesis 18:20
- 3מאי רבות אלא כמה דכתיב זעקת סדום ועמורה כי רבה כמו גדלה · Zohar, Vayechi 75:771–781
And this is the matter of “Many daughters (rabbos banos),” etc.; see there. However, relative to the level of Malchus, the twelve oxen mentioned above are called particular levels, and Malchus,
This explains the “many daughters” of Proverbs: they are the twelve “great ones.” Yet greatness is relative: compared with Malchus, the twelve oxen are themselves particulars.
שהיא כולל כולם נק׳ בהמה רבה. וכמ״כ מל׳ דא״ק נק׳ בהמה רבה2 [ועיין בע״ח שער א״א פ״א ושער ז״א פ״א].
which includes them all, is called behemah rabbah. And likewise the Malchus of Adam Kadmon is called behemah rabbah [and see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Arich Anpin, chapter 1, and Sha’ar Z’eir Anpin, chapter 1].
Malchus, which includes all twelve, is the behemah rabbah, the “great beast.” The same pattern holds at the very top: the Malchus of Adam Kadmon, the primordial level above all the worlds, is also called behemah rabbah, and the Alter Rebbe refers the reader to Etz Chaim for this.
Greatness is relative: the twelve oxen are “great” compared with what comes from them but particular compared with Malchus, the all-including “great beast”; and the same is true of the Malchus of Adam Kadmon.
Marei mekomos
- 1רבות בנות · Proverbs 31:29
- 2וכמ״כ מל׳ דא״ק נק׳ בהמה רבה · Sefer Etz Chaim 13:1
7והנה במל׳ דבריאה נכללים הבירורים שמנוגה דבריאה ובמל׳ דיצי׳ נכללים הברורים דנוגה דיצי׳ כו׳. וכמ״כ ענין העומר שהוא מיכלא דבעירא
Now, in the Malchus of Beriah are included the birurim from the nogah of Beriah, and in the Malchus of Yetzirah are included the birurim of the nogah of Yetzirah, etc. And likewise the matter of the Omer, which is animal fodder,
Each world has its own Malchus, which takes in the sparks refined from that world’s nogah. The Omer offering, brought from barley, which is animal fodder, belongs to this same pattern.
שהוא מאכל שעורים היינו בחי׳ הבירורים שמתכללים בבחי׳ מל׳ שנמשל לאכילה שהמאכל מתעכל באצטומכא והפסולת נדחה לחוץ והמובחר עולה עד למוח ונעשה חיות לנפשו.
being a food of barley, is the level of the birurim that become included in the level of Malchus. This is likened to eating: the food is digested in the stomach, and the waste is pushed outside, and the choicest part rises up to the brain and becomes life-force (chayus) for his soul.
Eating illustrates the process: food is digested, its waste expelled, and its best part rises to the brain and becomes life for the soul. So the birurim are “food” for Malchus: their good is taken in and their dross rejected.
The Omer’s barley, “animal fodder,” stands for the birurim that Malchus “eats,” just as eating separates the waste of food from the part that becomes life.
So too these birurim, which become included in the level of Malchus, become life-force in it, etc. However, the matter of se’orah (barley) is shi’ur hei (the measure of five), as is mentioned in the Zohar.
Once included in Malchus, the birurim become its life-force. The Zohar reads se’orah (barley) as shi’ur hei, “the measure of hei”; since the letter hei is five, the Alter Rebbe takes it as the measure of the five Gevuros.
והענין הוא כי שעור ה׳ היינו התחלקות ה׳ גבורות לחלקים רבים להחיות הנבראים רבים שונים זמ״ז מחנה מיכאל כו׳
And the explanation is that shi’ur hei is the division of the five Gevuros into many parts, to give life to the many creations, which differ from one another: the camp of Michael, etc.
The five Gevuros are the powers of restraint that divide and differentiate. Their division into many parts is what makes many distinct creations possible, such as the camp of Michael and the other camps of angels.
שבהתחלקות זו הוא מה׳ גבורות המפרידות ומחלקות להקול פשוט שיתחלק לחלקים רבים באותיות הדבור ודרך כלל מתחלק לה׳ מוצאות הפה2 אחה״ע מהגרון3 בומ״ף משפתים כו׳.4
For this division comes from the five Gevuros, which separate and divide the simple voice, so that it is divided into many parts in the letters of speech; and in general it is divided into the five places of articulation of the mouth: alef-ches-hei-ayin from the throat, beis-vav-mem-pei from the lips, etc.
Speech is the model: one simple voice becomes many letters only because it is divided. The five Gevuros correspond to the five places of articulation in the mouth, such as the throat for the guttural letters and the lips for the labial letters.
Barley as shi’ur hei, “the measure of five,” points to the five Gevuros, which divide the one divine “voice” into many letters and creations, just as the mouth’s five places of articulation divide a simple voice.
Marei mekomos
- 1ענין שעורה הוא שעור ה׳ · Zohar, Balak 6:67–78
- 2לה׳ מוצאות הפה · ע׳ סש״ב ח״ב שהיוה״א ספ״ד. [כ].
- 3אחה״ע מהגרון · ראה ס״י (מנטובה שכ״ב) פ״ב, מ״א. ע״ח שער טנת״א פ״ג. שער דרושי הצלם דרוש ב. תשובות וביאורים (קה״ת תשל״ד) ע׳ 62 הערה 1.
- 4שעורה שעור ה׳ כנזכר בזהר · ח״ג קפח, ב.
9ואח״כ נתחלק לרבוא רבבות צירופי אותיות ממוצא זה עם מוצא זולתו שמזה הוא סיבת התהוות המלאכים והנשמות בלי מספר. כמ״ש אלף אלפין ישמשוניה1 דהיינו ע״י התחלקות צירופי אותיות שבעשרה מאמרות2 יהי אור3 כו׳.
And afterwards it is divided into myriads upon myriads of combinations of letters, of one place of articulation with another; and this is the cause of the coming into being of the angels and the souls without number, as it is written, “A thousand thousands minister to Him”: that is, through the division of the combinations of letters in the Ten Utterances, “Let there be light,” etc.
The places of articulation combine with one another in countless ways, and these letter-combinations are the cause of the countless angels and souls, the “thousand thousands” who minister before G‑d. They come from the divided combinations of the letters of the Ten Utterances of Creation, such as “Let there be light.”
From the division of the letters into endless combinations come the countless angels and souls, all from the Ten Utterances by which the world was created.
Marei mekomos
- 1אלף אלפין ישמשוני׳ · Daniel 7:10
- 2שבעשרה מאמרות · Pirkei Avot 5:1
- 3יהי אור · Genesis 1:3
10ושרש הה״ג הוא מה״ג דאימא דהיינו בחי׳ התחלקות האותיות במחשבה שהם בחי׳ אותיות דאימא שנק׳ פתוחי חותם1
And the root of the five Gevuros is from the five Gevuros of Imma: that is, the level of the division of the letters in thought, which are the level of the letters of Imma, which are called “engravings of a signet” (pituchei chosam),
The five Gevuros of Malchus, the level of speech, are rooted in the five Gevuros of Imma, that is, Binah, the level of thought. The letters are already divided in thought, which is why the letters of Imma are called “engravings of a signet,” the phrase the Torah uses for the names engraved on the stones of the High Priest’s ephod.
דהיינו ביסוד דאימא שכפי התחלקות צירופי האותיות במחשבה כך נמשך הדבור לדבר צירופי׳ הללו דוקא
that is, in the Yesod of Imma. For as the combinations of the letters are divided in thought, so speech is drawn to speak these very combinations;
This engraving is in the Yesod of Imma, the point through which thought passes on what is in it. Whatever letter-combinations are formed in thought are exactly the ones that speech will later say.
והיינו כפי הרצון שיש לו באיזה צירופי אותיות כך הוא מחשב וממילא אח״כ נמשך כן בדבור [ועמ״ש מזה בפ׳ חקת ע״פ ויקחו אליך פרה2 כו׳ ע״ש].
that is, according to the will one has for certain combinations of letters, so does he think, and as a matter of course it is afterwards drawn so into speech [and see what is written on this in Parshas Chukas, on the verse “And they shall take to you a heifer,” etc.; see there].
Thought itself follows will: a person thinks the combinations he wants, and speech follows of itself. The bracket refers to the Alter Rebbe’s discourse in Parshas Chukas on the verse of the red heifer.
The division of speech comes from the division already present in thought, the Gevuros of Imma, and thought follows will; so the five Gevuros of Malchus are rooted in Binah.
Marei mekomos
- 1פתוחי חותם · Exodus 28:11
- 2ויקחו אליך פרה · Numbers 19:2
11והנה הבירורים שהמל׳ מבררת הרפ״ח ניצוצים הוא ג״כ ע״י ה״ג שהוא בחי׳ גבורות וצמצומים לירד למטה ולטרוף הניצוצים מידי החיצונים,
Now, the birurim by which Malchus refines the 288 sparks are also through the five Gevuros, which are the level of gevuros (powers of restraint) and contractions (tzimtzumim), to descend below and to seize the sparks from the hands of the external forces (chitzonim).
Malchus refines 288 sparks, the number the Kabbalah gives for the sparks that fell in the shattering. This too is done through the five Gevuros, powers of restraint that let Malchus descend into the lower worlds and seize the sparks from the external forces (chitzonim), the kelipos that hold them.
ולכן נאמר ע״ז ותתן טרף לביתה1 שהוא ענין בירור הרפ״ח שנק׳ טרף2 כמו ארי טורף3 שהוא ע״י גבורה. ולמטה בעבודה הוא ענין לעולם ירגיז אדם4 יצ״ט על יצה״ר.
Therefore it is said of this, “And she gives teref (food) to her household”: this is the matter of the refinement of the 288 [sparks], which is called teref (prey), like a lion that tears (tores), which is through Gevurah. And below, in divine service, this is the matter of “A person should always incite his good inclination against his evil inclination.”
“She gives teref to her household,” said of the Woman of Valor, is read with teref’s other meaning, “prey”: Malchus seizes the sparks as a lion tears its prey, an act of Gevurah. In a person’s own service, the parallel is the Talmud’s instruction always to rouse the good inclination against the evil inclination.
ולכן נק׳ הבירורים שעורה שעור ה׳ והוא מיכלא דההיא בהמה [וע׳ בזהר ר״פ יתרו דס״ז סע״ב ובהרמ״ז שם ומשם יובן מה שאומרים מזמור אלקים יחננו567 בימי הספירה בעת ספירת העומר]:
Therefore the birurim are called se’orah, shi’ur hei, and it is the fodder of that behemah [and see the Zohar at the beginning of Parshas Yisro, at the end of 67b, and the Ramaz there; and from there will be understood our saying the psalm “May G‑d be gracious to us” in the days of the Counting, at the time of the counting of the Omer].
Because Malchus does this through the five Gevuros, the birurim are called se’orah, “the measure of five,” and they are the fodder of the “great beast.” The bracket adds that the Zohar at the beginning of Yisro, with the Ramaz’s comment, explains why the psalm “May G‑d be gracious to us” is said during the counting of the Omer.
Refining the sparks takes Gevurah, the strength to descend and seize them from the kelipos, and this is why the birurim are called barley, “the measure of five,” the food of Malchus.
A Kehot note observes that teref (טרף) has the numerical value 289, which is 288 with one added for the word itself, so the word alludes to the 288 sparks. The Zohar at the start of Yisro joins the two verses: when the Holy One, blessed be He, rouses Himself to give teref to all the chariots, as in “she gives teref to her household,” they all begin in joy, “May G‑d be gracious to us and bless us.”
Marei mekomos
- 1ותתן טרף לביתה · Proverbs 31:15
- 2בירור הרפ״ח שנק׳ טרף · Zohar III, 60a
- 3ארי טורף · Nahum 2:13
- 4לעולם ירגיז אדם · Berakhot 5a:2
- 5מזמור אלקים יחננו · תהלים ס.
- 6אלקים יחננו · Psalms 67:2
- 7אלקים יחננו · Zohar, Yitro 1:8–18
The waving and the counting ¶12–21
2. However, the matter of the waving of the Omer [is] “a waving (tenufah) before Havayah.” And it is explained in the Zohar, Parshas Balak, 188b: tenufah is tenu peh (“give the mouth”); “Give glory,” etc.
The second chapter turns from the barley to the act of waving: the Omer was “a waving before Havayah.” The Zohar splits tenufah (waving) into tenu peh, “give the mouth,” and links it to “Give glory to Havayah your G‑d,” explaining that the “mouth” is the glory that we must give to the Holy One, blessed be He.
והענין הוא עפ״י המבואר בענין ההפרש שבין פסח לשבועות, שבפסח היה בחי׳ העלאת ז״א מבחי׳ קטנות הנק׳ מצרים בחי׳ מצרים וגבולים להתעלות לקבל בחי׳ מוחין דגדלות
And the matter is according to what is explained concerning the difference between Pesach and Shavuos: that on Pesach there was the level of the elevation of Z’eir Anpin from the level of smallness (katnus), called Mitzrayim (Egypt), the level of meitzarim (straits) and limits, rising to receive the level of the intellect (mochin) of greatness (gadlus);
To explain the waving, the Alter Rebbe contrasts Pesach and Shavuos. On Pesach, Z’eir Anpin, the configuration of the emotive attributes, rose out of katnus, a small and constricted state, which is “Mitzrayim” (Egypt), read as meitzarim, “straits,” to receive the intellect (mochin) of gadlus, maturity.
והיינו בחי׳ עליות הנפש האלקית שבאדם ששרשה מז״א כי אתם קרוים אדם3 בגימטריא מ״ה כו׳ [ועמ״ש במ״א בביאור ע״פ אדם כי יקריב מכם45 וע׳ בזהר פ׳ ויחי דרמ״ה ע״ב].67
and this is the level of the ascents of the G‑dly soul in man, whose root is from Z’eir Anpin, for “you are called adam (man),” whose numerical value is [that of] the Name Mah (45), etc. [and see what is written elsewhere in the explanation on the verse “When a man (adam) of you brings an offering”; and see the Zohar, Parshas Vayechi, 245b].
In a person, this is the ascent of the G‑dly soul, which is rooted in Z’eir Anpin. The Talmud says of Israel “you are called adam,” and אדם has the numerical value 45, that of the Name Mah (Havayah spelled out with the letter alef), which belongs to Z’eir Anpin.
The second chapter begins: the waving of the Omer is explained through the difference between Pesach, when Z’eir Anpin and the G‑dly soul rise, and Shavuos.
Mah (45) and Ban (52) are the two spellings of Havayah that stand for Z’eir Anpin and Malchus, the male and the female. The maamar matches them with adam, the G‑dly soul, and behemah, the animal soul, and goes on to show that each must be elevated in its own time.
Marei mekomos
- 1תנו כבוד · Jeremiah 13:16
- 2תנופה תנ״ו פ״ה תנו כבוד · Zohar, Balak 6:67–78
- 3אתם קרויים אדם · Yevamot 61a:1–3
- 4בביאור ע״פ אדם כי יקריב מכם · לעיל ג, א.
- 5אדם כי יקריב מכם · Leviticus 1:2
- 6ומבואר בפ׳ בלק קפ״ח ב׳ · נתבאר בדרך מצותיך כה, ב.
- 7אדם בגי׳ מ״ה · ראה פרדס שעה״כ בערכו. ע״ח שער התיקון פ״ג. שער לאה ורחל פ״ב. שער מ״ן ומ״ד דרוש ה. ועוד. ע׳ במאו״א במערכת א׳ נסל״ב ובי״נ ע״ש. [כ].
13ואח״כ ביום שני של פסח מניף הכהן ששרשו מאבא את העומר שהוא בחי׳ העלאת הנפש הבהמית שבאדם שתתברר לאתהפכא כו׳.
And afterwards, on the second day of Pesach, the kohen, whose root is from Abba, waves the Omer, which is the level of the elevation of the animal soul in man, that it be refined so as to be transformed (lis’hapcha), etc.
On the second day of Pesach the kohen, whose root is in Abba (Chochmah), waves the Omer. The barley Omer, animal fodder, stands for the animal soul, which must be refined until it is transformed (lis’hapcha), the Zohar’s word for turning darkness into light.
ושרשה הוא מבחי׳ מל׳ שנק׳ בהמה בגימ׳ ב״ן כו׳, היינו ששרש הנה״ב הוא מן המרכבה י״ב בקר ששרשם מבחי׳ מל׳. שגם היא צריכה להתעלות אח״כ בשבועות בכדי לקבל התורה שהוא מבחי׳ כתר רצה״ע.
And its root is from the level of Malchus, which is called behemah, whose numerical value is Ban, etc.; that is, the root of the animal soul is from the Chariot of the twelve oxen, whose root is from the level of Malchus. For it too needs to be elevated afterwards, on Shavuos, in order to receive the Torah, which is from the level of Keser, the Supernal Will.
The animal soul is rooted in Malchus, the behemah whose numerical value equals Ban, by way of the Chariot of the twelve oxen. It too must be raised, so that on Shavuos it can receive the Torah, which comes from Keser, the Supernal Will.
כי יש ב׳ מיני רצון רצון העליון ורצון תחתון רצ״ע שלמעלה מהשכל ורצון תחתון שלמטה מן השכל שהוא מסתעף מחמת שהשכיל בדעתו בטובת אותו דבר ע״כ רוצה וחפץ בו.
For there are two kinds of will, the Supernal Will and the lower will: the Supernal Will, which is above intellect, and the lower will, which is below intellect, which branches out because he has grasped with his mind the goodness of that thing; therefore he wants it and desires it.
There are two kinds of will. The Supernal Will is above reason, while the lower will follows reason: a person wants something because his mind has understood that it is good.
The waving of the Omer is the elevation of the animal soul, rooted in Malchus, so that it too can receive on Shavuos the Torah, which comes from the Supernal Will, a will above reason.
14ובשבועות במ״ת היה בחי׳ גילוי רצון העליון ולא היה אפשר להיות זה כ״א ע״י ההכנה תחלה להוליד הרצון לה׳ ע״י ההתבוננות ועי״ז ישרה עליו הרצון העליון
And on Shavuos, at the Giving of the Torah, there was the level of the revelation of the Supernal Will. And this could not be except through preparation first, to beget the will for G‑d through contemplation; and through this the Supernal Will will rest upon him.
At the Giving of the Torah the Supernal Will was revealed. This needed a preparation from below: a person must first beget in himself, through contemplation, a will for G‑d, and then the Supernal Will rests upon him.
וזהו ענין עשה רצונו כרצונך1 כדי שיעשה רצונך כרצונו2 וכמ״ש במ״א ע״פ צאינה וראינה3 כו׳, וזהו ענין ספירת העומר
And this is the matter of “Make His will as your will, so that He will make your will as His will,” and as is explained elsewhere on the verse “Go forth and gaze,” etc. And this is the matter of the counting of the Omer;
This is the Mishnah’s teaching, “Make His will as your will, so that He will make your will as His will.” The days of the counting of the Omer are this preparation; for more, the Alter Rebbe refers to the explanation elsewhere on “Go forth and gaze.”
והיינו אחר שהניף את העומר לפני4 הוי׳ למעלה משם הוי׳ דז״א דהיינו בבחי׳ בינה והוא מלמטה למעלה אזי אח״כ ממשיכים מלמעלה למטה
that is, after he has waved the Omer “before Havayah,” above the Name Havayah of Z’eir Anpin, that is, in the level of Binah, and this is from below upward, then afterwards one draws down from above to below.
The waving “before Havayah” reaches above the Name Havayah of Z’eir Anpin, to Binah; it is a movement from below upward. After it, the counting draws light down from above to below.
וזהו ענין וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת5 כו׳, דהיינו המשכת המקיפים דאימא שנק׳ ממחרת השבת כי מעלי שבתא הוא בחי׳ מל׳.6
And this is the matter of “And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbos,” etc.: that is, the drawing down of the encompassing [lights] (makifim) of Imma, which is called “the morrow of the Shabbos.” For the eve of Shabbos (ma’alei shabbata) is the level of Malchus,
The verse “You shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbos” is read Kabbalistically: what is drawn down are the encompassing lights (makifim) of Imma, Binah, called “the morrow of the Shabbos.” The eve of Shabbos is Malchus and, as the next paragraph says, the day of Shabbos is Z’eir Anpin; the Kehot note traces this to the introduction of the Tikkunei Zohar.
After the upward waving, the counting of the Omer draws down from Binah, “the morrow of the Shabbos,” encompassing lights that prepare a person to receive the Supernal Will at Sinai.
The order matters: first an arousal from below (the waving, the will a person begets through contemplation), then a drawing down from above (the counting, the Supernal Will that comes to rest on him).
Marei mekomos
- 1עשה רצונו כרצונך · אבות ב, ד.
- 2עשה רצונו כרצונך כדי שיעשה רצונך כרצונו · Pirkei Avot 2:4
- 3צאינה וראינה · Song of Songs 3:11
- 4שהניף את העומר לפני הוי׳ · Leviticus 23:11
- 5וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת · Leviticus 23:15
- 6מעלא שבתא הוא בחי׳ מל׳ ויומא דשבתא הוא בחי׳ ז״א · ת״ז בהקדמה ב, ב. וראה ג״כ פרדס בעה״כ ערך שבת. מובא בסה״מ תרכ״ט (הוצאת תשנ״ב) ע׳ יא.
15ויומא דשבתא הוא בחי׳ ז״א.1 וממחרת השבת היינו בחי׳ בינה שלמעלה מן השבת. כמו ע״ד דוגמא הפי׳ הידוע2 במ״ש בעבר הנהר3
and the day of Shabbos (yoma deshabbata) is the level of Z’eir Anpin. And “the morrow of the Shabbos” is the level of Binah, which is above Shabbos. [This is] by way of comparison like the known explanation of what is written, “beyond the river (be’ever hanahar),”
The day of Shabbos is Z’eir Anpin; “the morrow of the Shabbos” is Binah, which is above both. A known explanation of Joshua’s words “beyond the river your fathers dwelt” serves as a model.
שהוא בחי׳ חכמה שנק׳ עבר הנהר שלמעלה מן הנהר דבינה ונהר יוצא מעדן4 וכך הוא פי׳ וענין ממחרת השבת
which is the level of Chochmah, called “beyond the river,” that is above the river of Binah, [as in] “And a river goes forth from Eden.” And so is the meaning and matter of “the morrow of the Shabbos”:
In that explanation, “beyond the river” is Chochmah, which is above the “river” of Binah, the river that “goes forth from Eden.” In the same way, “the morrow of the Shabbos” is the level above Shabbos.
דהיינו בחי׳ בינה שהיא למעלה מבחי׳ זו״נ שהם בחי׳ שבתא דלילא ושבתא דיומא5 והגם כי בינה נק׳ ג״כ שבת
that is, the level of Binah, which is above the level of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, which are the levels of the Shabbos of the night and the Shabbos of the day. And although Binah too is called Shabbos,
That level is Binah, above Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, which are “the Shabbos of the day” and “the Shabbos of the night.” Binah too is called Shabbos, but of a higher kind.
אבל נק׳ שבת שבתון [כמ״ש הפרדס בעה״כ ערך שבת6 וע׳ בזהר ח״ב ס״ג ב׳ פ״ח א׳], ומבחי׳ בינה נמשכים המקיפים למל׳.7
yet it is called Shabbos Shabbason (a Shabbos of complete rest) [as the Pardes writes in Erchei HaKinuyim, under the entry “Shabbos”; and see the Zohar, Part II, 63b and 88a]. And from the level of Binah the encompassing [lights] are drawn to Malchus.
Binah is “Shabbos Shabbason,” a Shabbos of complete rest, as the Pardes explains and the Zohar passages cited in the bracket discuss. From Binah the encompassing lights are drawn down to Malchus, and this is what the counting achieves.
“The morrow of the Shabbos” is Binah, “Shabbos Shabbason,” above the two Shabbos levels of Z’eir Anpin and Malchus, and from it the encompassing lights come down to Malchus.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויומא דשבתא הוא בחי׳ ז״א · Zohar, Yitro 26:441–27:453
- 2הפי׳ הידוע · על״ק ד״ה אם בחקותי בבי׳ פ״ד [מז, א]. [כ].
- 3בעבר הנהר · Joshua 24:2
- 4נהר יוצא מעדן · Genesis 2:10
- 5שבתא דלילא ושבתא דיומא · Zohar, Beshalach 28:408–418
- 6הפרדס . . ערך שבת · ראה אוה״ת ויקרא-א ע׳ קע.
- 7מעלא שבתא הוא בחי׳ מל׳ ויומא דשבתא הוא בחי׳ ז״א · ת״ז בהקדמה ב, ב. וראה ג״כ פרדס בעה״כ ערך שבת. מובא בסה״מ תרכ״ט (הוצאת תשנ״ב) ע׳ יא.
16וזהו פי׳ היום בגימ׳ א״ל הוי׳ שהוא המשכת המקיפים לעומר לבחי׳ המל׳ הנק׳ עומר.1 וענין המקיפים יובן ע״ד מ״ש למעלה בענין המלאכים שהם כלים מחמת גילוי אור א״ס עליהם יותר מכדי מדתן.
And this is the meaning of “the day” (hayom), whose numerical value is [that of the Names] Kel Havayah: it is the drawing down of the encompassing [lights] to the Omer, to the level of Malchus, which is called omer. And the matter of the encompassing [lights] will be understood along the lines of what was written above concerning the angels, who expire because of the revelation of the Infinite Light upon them beyond their measure;
The word “the day” (hayom) alludes to this drawing down: as the Kehot note explains, yom (56), counted with one for the word itself, equals 57, the sum of the Names Kel (31) and Havayah (26). To explain what encompassing lights are, the Alter Rebbe returns to the angels who expire because the light revealed to them exceeds their measure.
דהיינו מחמת שהכלי שלהם קטנה מהכיל אור הגדול הזה והוא הנעשה בחי׳ מקיף סובב עליהם והמלאכים שכלי שלהם גדול יותר הם יכולים להכיל אור זה בבחי׳
that is, because their vessel is too small to contain this great light, and it is this that becomes the level of an encompassing [light] surrounding them. And the angels whose vessel is larger can contain this light in the manner of
A light too great for a vessel does not vanish; it stays outside the vessel as an encompassing light (makif). Angels with larger vessels can take the same light in as an inner light.
פנימית א״כ לפי ערך זה גם אם עליהם יהיה הארת אור גדול ונעלה מאד עד שגם הכלי שלהם לא תוכל להכילו יהיה ג״כ בבחי׳ מקיף עליהם.2
an inner [light]. If so, by this proportion, even upon them, if there were the radiance of a very great and exalted light, such that even their vessel could not contain it, it too would be in the manner of an encompassing [light] upon them.
So “inner” and “encompassing” are relative: a light great enough to exceed even the larger vessels would be an encompassing light for them too.
The counting draws down encompassing lights, and the paragraph defines them: light beyond a vessel’s capacity, which therefore surrounds it instead of entering it, relative to the size of each vessel.
Marei mekomos
- 1המל׳ הנק׳ עומר · ראה גם לקמן שה״ש טז, א. אוה״ת ויקרא-א ע׳ קס.
- 2היום בגימט׳ א״ל הוי׳ · בסידור שו, ג תיב׳ יום בגי׳ ב׳ שמות דא״ל הוי׳ ע״ה. מאו״א אות י׳ סי׳ ח ”יום ע״ה גי׳ א״ל הוי׳” — לקמן שה״ש טז, א.
17וכמ״כ בעבודת ה׳ יש ב׳ בחי׳ אהבה הא׳ האהבה שהיא מוגבלת בנפש בבחי׳ פנימי׳ ואהבה זו יש לה קץ ותכלה בזמן כמו שעה א׳ וכדומה.
So too in the service of G‑d there are two levels of love. The first is the love that is limited within the soul, in an inner manner; and this love has an end and conclusion in time, such as one hour and the like.
The same two modes exist in a person’s love of G‑d. The first love fits inside the soul as an inner light, and so it is limited: it lasts for a time, an hour or so, and then ends.
אכן יש אהבה הב׳ שהוא מחמת ההתבוננות בגדולת ה׳ בעצמו ובכבודו כי אני1 הוי׳ לא שניתי כו׳ שמחמת זה יתעורר בנפשו אהבה שלמעלה מן הכלי שלו.2
But there is the second love, which comes from contemplating the greatness of G‑d Himself and His glory, “For I, Havayah, have not changed,” etc.; and because of this a love that is above his vessel will be aroused in his soul.
The second love comes from contemplating G‑d’s greatness as it is in Himself, unchanging, as in “For I, Havayah, have not changed.” Such a love is greater than the person’s vessel can hold, and so it is an encompassing love.
The two kinds of light have their counterpart in two loves: a limited, inner love that comes and goes, and a love beyond the soul’s vessel that comes from contemplating G‑d’s unchanging greatness.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי אני הוי׳ לא שניתי · Malachi 3:6
- 2שמחמת זה יתעורר בנפשו אהבה שלמעלה מן הכלי שלו · נתבאר במאמרי אדה״א ויקרא-ב ע׳ תרנה ”והיינו להיות כי הרי התבוננות זאת שהיא בחי׳ הא״ס הוא למעלה מהכלי שלו המצומצם ולא תוגבל בכלי שלו כלל, וע״כ [ממילא] לא תוגבל התפעלות מזה בכלי הלב עד שנאמר שתכלה במעט זמן להיותה בבחי׳ מקיף על הכלי”. וראה שם ע׳ תרמח.
18והוא הנק׳ בחי׳ מקיף שהוא בחי׳ שומר כי מאהבה ראשונה מאחר שיש לה הפסק א״כ אח״כ יוכל להתאוות
And it is this that is called the level of an encompassing [light] (makif), which is the level of a guard (shomer). For with the first love, since it has an interruption, he can then afterwards come to desire
The encompassing love acts as a guard (shomer). The inner love, because it stops, leaves room afterwards for desire for physical things.
לדברים גשמיים מאחר שאין חבוש מתיר עצמו1 כו׳ כי גם בזלעו״ז יש לעומת בחי׳ פנימי זה מנגד וסותר לזה.
physical things, since “a prisoner cannot free himself,” etc. For on the opposing side too (“one opposite the other”) there is, corresponding to this inner level, [something] that opposes and contradicts it.
As the Talmud says, “a prisoner cannot free himself”: the limited love cannot protect itself. For on the side opposed to holiness, “one opposite the other,” there is a counterpart to every inner level that opposes and contradicts it.
אכן אהבה זו שלמעלה מהגבלה בכלי הוא בחי׳ שומר והוא ענין לבוש החשמל שמלביש לזו״נ23 משני צדדיהם בשביל שלא יינקו החיצונים.
But this love, which is above being limited in a vessel, is the level of a guard. And this is the matter of the garment of the Chashmal, which clothes Z’eir Anpin and Nukva on both their sides, so that the external forces should not draw nourishment.
The love above the vessel guards the inner love. In Kabbalah this is the “garment of the Chashmal,” which clothes Z’eir Anpin and Nukva on every side so that the external forces cannot draw nourishment from them.
The encompassing love guards the limited inner love from being displaced by its opposite, just as the Chashmal surrounds Z’eir Anpin and Nukva to keep the external forces away.
Etz Chaim, to which the note points, explains that the outer garment of Binah is called Chashmal (חשמ״ל, whose numerical value equals malbush, “garment”), and that with it Binah clothes Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, since the external forces can take hold only below Binah.
Marei mekomos
- 1אין חבוש מתיר עצמו · Berakhot 5b:13–14
- 2לבוש החשמל שמלביש לזו״נ · ראה ע״ח שער מ״ב פי״ג. וראה בתו״א יב, ד.
- 3לבוש החשמל שמלביש לזו״נ · Sefer Etz Chaim 42:13
19וביאור הענין בעבודה הוא כי הנה ענין המוחין שנכנסו בבחי׳ או״פ הוא השכל וההתבוננות שנמשך מזה אהבה ותשוקה במדות שבלב.
And the explanation of the matter in divine service is this: the intellect (mochin) that entered in the manner of an inner light (or pnimi) is the reasoning and contemplation from which love and longing are drawn into the emotive attributes (middos) of the heart.
In divine service, the inner mochin are a person’s understanding and contemplation, which enter the heart and produce love and longing in its emotions (middos).
וזה יוכל להיות נפסק שנפסק המדה ויוכל להיות התהוות והולדת מדות ורצונות זרים רק השמירה ע״ז שלא
And this can be interrupted, the attribute being interrupted, and there can be the coming into being and birth of foreign attributes and desires. Only, the safeguard against this, so that he not
Because these feelings are held within limits, they can stop, and then foreign attributes and desires can arise in their place.
יפול ממדריגתו הוא ע״י מוחין עליונים יותר שלא נכנסו כלל במדות רק מקיף על המדות ושומרם שלא יהיה לו חפץ ורצון אחר בלתי לה׳ לבדו
fall from his level, is through higher mochin, which did not enter the middos at all, but only encompass the middos and guard them, so that he should have no desire or will other than for G‑d alone.
What keeps a person from falling from his level is a higher intellect that never enters the emotions at all, but surrounds and guards them, so that he wants nothing but G‑d alone.
והיינו ע״י ההתבוננות בגדולת א״ס ב״ה בהשגת מוחו ובינתו מה שהלב קטן מהכיל התבוננות זו ולא נכנס בגילוי הלב כו׳.
And that is through contemplating the greatness of the Infinite One, blessed be He, in the grasp of his mind and his understanding, [a contemplation] which the heart is too small to contain, and which did not enter into the revelation of the heart, etc.
This higher intellect is the contemplation of the greatness of the Infinite One that the mind can grasp but the heart is too small to contain, so it never becomes a felt emotion; it stays above the heart as an encompassing light.
[ותוכן ענין זה מבואר במ״א ע״פ טוב לחסות בה׳ מבטוח באדם1 יעו״ש ועמ״ש מזה ג״כ בד״ה עיני כל2 אליך ישברו].3
[The substance of this matter is explained elsewhere, on the verse “It is better to take refuge in Havayah than to trust in man”; see there. And see what is written on this also in the discourse beginning “The eyes of all look hopefully to You.”]
The bracket gives two further places for this theme: an explanation on “It is better to take refuge in Havayah than to trust in man,” and the discourse beginning “The eyes of all look hopefully to You.”
In divine service, the emotions born of contemplation can lapse, and what protects them is a higher contemplation of the Infinite One that stays above the heart and surrounds it.
Marei mekomos
- 1טוב לחסות בה׳ מבטוח באדם · Psalms 118:8
- 2בד״ה עיני כל · לקו״ת מטות פה, ב ואילך.
- 3עיני כל אליך ישברו · Psalms 145:15
The verse “Seven complete weeks (shabbasos) shall there be” describes the fifty days counted in the seven attributes of Imma, Binah, from Chesed to Malchus as they are within Binah. That level is above the realm where the external forces can draw.
where there is no place at all for the external forces to draw nourishment; and it is called “the world of freedom” (alma decheirusa), as is written in the Zohar, Parshas Tetzaveh, 183a, on the verse “And you shall proclaim liberty,” etc.
In Binah the external forces have no hold at all. The Zohar calls it “the world of freedom,” linking it to “proclaim liberty (deror)” of the Jubilee, the fiftieth year.
משא״כ בז״א אברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל5 כו׳ שיש יניקה להחיצונים מפסולת המדות וע״כ בבינה נק׳ שבע שבתות תמימות שהם בבחי׳ שלימות שאין מהם יניקת החיצונים.6
Whereas in Z’eir Anpin, [which is] Avraham, from whom Yishmael came out, etc., the external forces draw nourishment from the waste of the middos. And therefore in Binah they are called “seven complete weeks (shabbasos),” for they are in a state of completeness, from which the external forces do not draw nourishment.
In Z’eir Anpin it is otherwise: its Chesed is Avraham, from whom Yishmael came, an image of the waste of the attributes from which the external forces draw. Because Binah’s attributes have no such waste, they are called “complete” (temimos).
The counting takes place in the attributes of Binah, called “complete” because, unlike the attributes of Z’eir Anpin, they have no waste from which the external forces can draw; the Zohar calls this “the world of freedom.”
Marei mekomos
- 1שבע שבתות תמימות תהיינה · Leviticus 23:15
- 2תספרו חמשים יום · Leviticus 23:16
- 3וקראתם דרור · Zohar, Tetzaveh 7:64–9:73
- 4וקראתם דרור · Leviticus 25:10
- 5אברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל · Pesachim 56a:7
- 6כמ״ש בפ׳ תצוה קפ״ג א׳ · הלשון נעתק באוה״ת תשא ע׳ ב׳כא.
21והנה ע״י המשכת המקיפים יוכל להיות אח״כ בשבועות גילוי הארת רצון העליון במתן תורה מבחי׳ כ״ע אנכי1 הוי׳ כו׳.
Now, through the drawing down of the encompassing [lights], there can afterwards be, on Shavuos, the revelation of the radiance of the Supernal Will at the Giving of the Torah, from the level of Keser Elyon (the Supernal Crown): “I am Havayah,” etc.
Because the encompassing lights have been drawn down, Shavuos can bring the revelation of the Supernal Will at Sinai, from Keser Elyon, the Supernal Crown. “I am Havayah,” the first of the Ten Commandments, comes from this level.
והיינו מפני שבפסח היה בחי׳ עליות ז״א שנק׳ איש כו׳. ואח״כ ע״י העומר הוא עליית המל׳ ואז יהיה בשבועות יחוד זו״נ כתר א׳ לשתיהן וז״ש לרצונכם2 פי׳ לעשות בחי׳ רצון וכתר כו׳.
And this is because on Pesach there was the level of the ascent of Z’eir Anpin, which is called ish (man), etc.; and afterwards, through the Omer, there is the ascent of Malchus; and then on Shavuos there will be the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, one crown for both of them. And this is what is written, lirtzonchem (“for your acceptance”): that is, to make the level of will (ratzon) and crown, etc.
On Pesach Z’eir Anpin, called ish (man), rose; through the Omer, Malchus rises; and on Shavuos the two unite under one crown. So the Omer is waved lirtzonchem, “for your acceptance,” read as making ratzon, the will and crown above both.
[וזהו ענין המבואר בזהר פ׳ תצוה דקפ״ב סע״ב ת״ח כתיב וכפר בעדו ובעד ביתו כו׳
[And this is the matter explained in the Zohar, Parshas Tetzaveh, at the end of 182b: “Come and see: it is written, ‘And he shall atone for himself and for his household,’ etc.
The bracket brings the Zohar on Tetzaveh, which quotes the Yom Kippur verse about the High Priest: one who atones must atone first for himself and then for his household.
כגוונא דא האי דרגא שארי לאתקדשא3 פי׳ ביום א׳ דפסח נתקדש ז״א ע״י שנמשכו בו המוחין דאו״א שזהו ענין קול דודי4 כו׳ מדלג על ההרים כו׳
In the same way, this level begins to be sanctified.” The meaning is: on the first day of Pesach Z’eir Anpin was sanctified, through the mochin of Abba and Imma being drawn into it; and this is the matter of “The voice of my beloved,” etc., “leaping upon the mountains,” etc.
“In the same way,” says the Zohar, this level is first sanctified itself. The Alter Rebbe explains that on the first day of Pesach Z’eir Anpin is sanctified by receiving the mochin of Abba and Imma, and that this is the “leaping upon the mountains” of “The voice of my beloved.”
וכיון דאיהו אתקדש בעי לכפרה על בית ו היינו להיות תיקון ועליית המל׳ ג״כ וזהו ע״י אתעדל״ת דישראל בספירת העומר מאכל בהמה כו׳
“And since he has been sanctified, he needs to atone for the house of the vav”: that is, that there be the rectification and ascent of Malchus too; and this is through the arousal from below (isarusa dilesata) of Israel in the counting of the Omer, animal fodder, etc.
Once sanctified, Z’eir Anpin must “atone for his house,” read as “the house of the vav”: the vav of Havayah is Z’eir Anpin, and its “house” is Malchus. Malchus is rectified and raised through Israel’s arousal from below in counting the Omer, the “animal fodder.”
ועי״ז נמשך ומתגלה אח״כ בחג השבועות בחי׳ הגבוה משניהם והוא התגלות הכתר לשניהם וזהו מקפץ על הגבעות קיפוץ בשתיים
And through this, afterwards, on the festival of Shavuos, there is drawn down and revealed a level higher than both of them, which is the revelation of the Keser to both of them. And this is “skipping upon the hills”: skipping (kipotz) is with both [feet].
Through this, on Shavuos, a level higher than both is revealed: Keser, which crowns both together. This is “skipping upon the hills”: kipotz, skipping, is a jump with both feet, both partners at once.
והיינו ע״ד שנת׳ במ״א ע״פ זכר ונקבה בראם5 ויברך אותם6 שע״י יחוד מ״ה וב״ן נמשך ומתגלה בחי׳ הגבוה משניהם ע׳ מזה בביאור ע״פ חכלילי עינים מיין.78 ובפ׳ תצוה סד״ה ועשית בגדי קדש9 ועד״ז יובן כאן]:10
And this is along the lines of what was explained elsewhere on the verse “Male and female He created them, and He blessed them”: that through the union of [the Names] Mah and Ban there is drawn down and revealed a level higher than both of them (see on this in the explanation on the verse “His eyes are red with wine,” and in Parshas Tetzaveh, at the end of the discourse beginning “And you shall make holy garments”); and in the same way it will be understood here.]
The Alter Rebbe compares this to the explanation of “Male and female He created them, and He blessed them”: when Mah and Ban, male and female, unite, a level higher than both is revealed. He gives two discourses in Torah Ohr where this is explained.
On Pesach Z’eir Anpin rises, through the Omer Malchus rises, and on Shavuos their union reveals Keser above both: the revelation of the Supernal Will at the Giving of the Torah.
Torah Ohr explains why a union reveals what neither partner has alone: as the Zohar says, the Holy One, blessed be He, dwells only in a complete place, so when male and female are included in each other they arouse a level higher than both, like the chuppah under which bride and groom stand, where encompassing light is revealed.
Marei mekomos
- 1אנכי הוי׳ · Exodus 20:2
- 2לרצונכם · Leviticus 23:11
- 3כגוונא דא האי דרגא שארי לאתקדשא · Zohar, Tetzaveh 6:55–7:64
- 4קול דודי · Song of Songs 2:8
- 5ע״פ זכר ונקבה בראם · כנראה הכוונה לתו״א מח, א. פב, ד. המובאי׳ לקמן.
- 6זכר ונקבה בראם ויברך אותם · Genesis 5:2
- 7בביאור ע״פ חכלילי עינים מיין · תו״א מח, א.
- 8חכלילי עינים מיין · Genesis 49:12
- 9וסד״ה ועשית בגדי קדש · תו״א פב, ד.
- 10במ״ת מבחי׳ כתר עליון אנכי · Zohar III, 11a
Wheat, and the sin of Adam ¶22–34
22ג והנה להבין מ״ש בזהר בלק קפ״ח ב׳ דבחי׳ חטה הוא ג״כ רק בבחי׳ מל׳ כמש״ש חטה ברתא דמתחטא לקמי אבוה1 כו׳ אבל חמינן בשבטים כולהו דלית בהו ח״ט. ובה אית ח״ט וקרינן חט״ה כו׳ ע״ש.
3. Now, to understand what is written in the Zohar, Balak, 188b, that the level of chitah (wheat) too is only in the level of Malchus, as is written there: “Chitah: the daughter who pleads endearingly (mischata) before her father,” etc.; “but we see that in all the tribes there is no ches and tes, and in her there is ches and tes, and we call [her] chitah,” etc.; see there.
The third chapter takes up a teaching of the Zohar on Balak. Wheat (chitah) too belongs to Malchus: she is “the daughter who pleads endearingly (mischata) before her father,” a play on chitah; and the Zohar notes that the names of the twelve tribes contain neither ches nor tes, the letters that spell chet (sin), while chitah does.
The third chapter opens with the Zohar’s teaching that wheat too is of Malchus, and that the letters ches and tes of chitah are absent from the names of the tribes.
In the Zohar the child explains that ches and tes “dwell close to her” but were absent from the tribes, who came from the side of supernal holiness, and that chitah has “a point in the middle,” leaving no share there for the side of sin.
Marei mekomos
- 1חטה ברתא דמתחטא לקמי אבוה · Zohar, Balak 6:67–78
23וזה לכאורה נגד מ״ש לעיל דבחי׳ שעורה שעור ה׳ זהו מיכלא דההוא בהמה רבה שהוא בחי׳ מל׳ שם ב״ן.
And this seemingly contradicts what was said above, that the level of se’orah, shi’ur hei, is the fodder of that behemah rabbah, which is the level of Malchus, the Name Ban.
This seems to contradict what was said above: barley, “the measure of five,” is the food of the “great beast,” Malchus, the Name Ban.
אבל חטה הוא מאכל אדם והרי ממ״ש הזהר מבואר דחטה הוא ג״כ בבחי׳ מל׳ שנק׳ בהמה. משא״כ בשבטים כולהו אין בהן אותיות ח״ט כו׳.
But chitah is human food; and yet from what the Zohar writes it is clear that chitah too is in the level of Malchus, which is called behemah, whereas none of the tribes has the letters ches and tes, etc.
Wheat is human food, the food of adam, and should belong to a higher level; yet the Zohar places wheat too in Malchus, the behemah, and contrasts it with the tribes, whose names lack the letters ches and tes.
The question: if barley is the animal fodder of Malchus, how can wheat, human food, also belong to Malchus, as the Zohar says?
24ועוד צ״ל מ״ש למעלה דשורש נה״א הוא מבחי׳ ז״א ושרש נה״ב הוא מבחי׳ מל׳. והרי מבואר בדוכתי טובא דמל׳ נק׳ אימא תתאה וכנס״י שהיא שרש ומקור הנשמות נה״א.
And further, we must understand what was said above, that the root of the G‑dly soul is from the level of Z’eir Anpin and the root of the animal soul is from the level of Malchus. Yet it is explained in very many places that Malchus is called Imma Tata’ah (the lower mother) and Knesses Yisrael (the Congregation of Israel), which is the root and source of the souls, [of] the G‑dly soul.
A second question: it was said that the G‑dly soul is rooted in Z’eir Anpin and the animal soul in Malchus. Yet many sources call Malchus “the lower mother” (Imma Tata’ah) and Knesses Yisrael, the root and source of the G‑dly souls of Israel.
אך הענין הוא כי המל׳ מקבלת ה״ח וה״ג. ה״ח נמשכין לה מאבא וה״ג נמשכין לה מאימא.
But the matter is that Malchus receives the five Chasadim and the five Gevuros: the five Chasadim are drawn to her from Abba, and the five Gevuros are drawn to her from Imma.
The answer begins: Malchus receives two kinds of flow, the five Chasadim (kindnesses) from Abba and the five Gevuros (restraints) from Imma.
A second question, how Malchus can be both the root of the animal soul and the mother of the G‑dly souls, is answered through the two flows Malchus receives: Chasadim from Abba and Gevuros from Imma.
25וב׳ בחי׳ אלו הם ג״כ בחי׳ פנימיות המל׳ וחיצוניות המל׳. ושרש נש״י הוא מבחי׳ פנימי׳ דמל׳ המקבלת ה״ח הנ״ל אשר שרשן מאבא וזהו בחי׳ חטה כמבואר בפע״ח בדרוש השבועות.
And these two levels are also the levels of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Malchus and the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of Malchus. And the root of the souls of Israel is from the level of the inner dimension of Malchus, which receives the five Chasadim mentioned above, whose root is from Abba; and this is the level of chitah, as is explained in Pri Etz Chaim, in the discourse on Shavuos.
These two flows are the inner and the outer dimensions of Malchus. The souls of Israel come from her inner dimension, which receives the Chasadim of Abba; this is chitah (wheat), as the Arizal’s Pri Etz Chaim explains in its discourse on Shavuos.
והענין ע״פ חסידות הוא מבואר במ״א ע״פ וספרתם לכם גבי חג השבועות1 שהוא כענין אין התינוק יודע לקרות אבא2 עד שיטעום כו׳ שהדעת ההוא שנתחדש בתינוק הוא ענין גילוי הדעת הנעלם שלמעלה מן הדעת המושג כו׳
And the matter, according to Chassidus, is explained elsewhere, on the verse “And you shall count for yourselves,” with regard to the festival of Shavuos: that it is like the matter of “A child does not know how to call ‘Abba’ (father) until he tastes,” etc.; that the daas (knowledge) newly born in the child is the matter of the revelation of the hidden daas, which is above the daas that is grasped, etc.,
The Chassidic explanation is given elsewhere, on “And you shall count for yourselves”: the Talmud says that a child does not know how to call “Abba” until he tastes grain. The new awareness that dawns in the child is a revelation of hidden daas, higher than the daas a person can grasp.
רק שנתלבש בקטנות דעת התינוק, וכך הוא המשכת ה״ח דאבא שבחי׳ ח״ע הוא למעלה מההשגה ונמשך ומתלבש בנש״י להיות ביטול הנפש כו׳ וזהו ענין אבא יסד ברתא.34
only that it is clothed in the smallness of the child’s daas. And so it is with the drawing down of the five Chasadim of Abba: the level of the higher Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah) is above comprehension, and it is drawn down and clothed in the souls of Israel, to be the self-nullification (bittul) of the soul, etc. And this is the matter of “Abba founded the daughter” (Abba yasad barta).
That higher daas is clothed in a child’s small understanding. So too the Chasadim of Abba, the higher Chochmah, which is above comprehension, are clothed in the souls of Israel as the soul’s self-nullification (bittul); this is “Abba founded the daughter.”
[וע׳ בזהר ח״א קי״ב א׳ ובפ׳ אמור ק׳ ע״ב מענין בת אבי5 שמבואר מזה דהמשכת הנשמות מבחי׳ מל׳ הוא כשמקבלת מבחי׳ אבא דוקא].
[And see the Zohar, Part I, 112a, and Parshas Emor, 100b, on the matter of “the daughter of my father,” from which it is explained that the drawing down of the souls from the level of Malchus is when she receives from the level of Abba specifically.]
The Zohar on “she is my sister, the daughter of my father” teaches that Malchus is the daughter of supernal Chochmah, Abba. So the souls are drawn from Malchus when she receives from Abba specifically.
The G‑dly souls come from the inner dimension of Malchus, which receives the Chasadim of Abba, the higher Chochmah; this is chitah, the self-nullification that “Abba founded the daughter” places in the souls of Israel.
Marei mekomos
- 1ע״פ וספרתם לכם גבי חג השבועות · לקו״ת במדבר י, ג.
- 2אין התינוק יודע לקרות אבא · נסמן לעיל לד, ג.
- 3אבא יסד ברתא · Zohar III, 248a
- 4אבא יסד ברתא · Tikkunei Zohar 61b:4–5
- 5בת אבי · Zohar, Vayera 23:349–354
26ושעורה שהיא בחיצוניות המל׳ נת׳ לעיל וית׳ עוד לקמן. ומה שכתוב בזהר אשר בשבטים לא היו ב׳ אותיות ח״ט הנ״ל היינו
And se’orah, which is in the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of Malchus, was explained above and will be explained further below. And what is written in the Zohar, that in the tribes there were not the two letters ches and tes mentioned above, that is
Barley, the outer dimension of Malchus, was explained above and will be taken up again. The Alter Rebbe now explains the Zohar’s remark that the tribes lacked the letters ches and tes.
כי באמת ב׳ אותיות ח״ט הם מגבורות והשבטים היו גבוהים מהם רק אחר שנצטרף ה׳ לשני אותיות הנ״ל
because in truth the two letters ches and tes are from the Gevuros, and the tribes were higher than them. Only after the hei has been joined to the two letters mentioned above,
The letters ches and tes come from the Gevuros, and the tribes, who stood higher, lacked them for that reason. These letters are transformed only when a hei is joined to them.
היינו ה״ח דאבא אז נמתקים ב׳ אותיות ח״ט הנ״ל ונק׳ חטה. [ועמ״ש במ״א דהחילוק בין חמץ למצה זהו בין ח׳ לה״א].
that is, the five Chasadim of Abba, then the two letters ches and tes mentioned above are sweetened, and it is called chitah. [And see what is written elsewhere, that the difference between chametz and matzah lies between ches and hei.]
That hei, whose value is five, stands for the five Chasadim of Abba: with it the letters ches and tes are sweetened and become chitah (חטה). Similarly, the bracket notes, chametz (חמץ) and matzah (מצה) differ only in their ches and hei.
Wheat is the letters of sin, ches and tes, sweetened by the hei of the five Chasadim of Abba; the tribes, higher than the Gevuros, did not need this, and so their names lack these letters.
חמץ and מצה share the letters mem and tzadi and differ only in ches against hei, the same contrast as in chitah, where the hei sweetens the ches and tes.
27וז״ש בזהר כברתא דמתחטא לקמי אבוה ועביד לה רעותא1 ר״ל שעושה לה אביה חסד דהיינו המשכת ה״ח דאבא להמתיק אותיות ח״ט הנ״ל
And this is what is written in the Zohar, “like a daughter who pleads endearingly before her father, and he does her will”: that is to say, her father does kindness (chesed) for her, that is, the drawing down of the five Chasadim of Abba to sweeten the letters ches and tes mentioned above.
The Zohar’s words “like a daughter who pleads endearingly before her father, and he does her will” mean that her father does her a kindness (chesed): Abba draws down the five Chasadim to sweeten the letters ches and tes.
And this is “who pleads endearingly (mischata),” etc. [along the lines of “And I and my son Shlomo will be chata’im (offenders)”; and this is “Redeem your sin (chata’ach) with charity (tzedakah),” for charity draws down the five Chasadim into Malchus].
Mischata (“pleads endearingly”) is built on the same root as chet. The bracket compares Bas Sheva’s words “I and my son Shlomo will be chata’im” and the verse “Redeem your sin with charity,” for charity (tzedakah) draws the five Chasadim into Malchus.
Wheat is Malchus “pleading endearingly” before Abba, who answers with Chesed, the five Chasadim that sweeten the letters of sin; charity does the same below.
Marei mekomos
- 1כברתא דמתחטא לקמי אבוה ועביד לה רעותא · Zohar, Balak 6:67–78
- 2וחטאך בצדקה פרוק · Daniel 4:24
- 3כו׳ — והייתי אני ובני שלמה חטאים · I Kings 1:21
28והנה חטה הנ״ל הוא בבחי׳ מל׳ רק שהוא בפנימי׳ דמל׳ גבורות ממותקות מה״ח. ולכן אדם הראשון אשר נשמתו היה מאילנא דחיי היה גבוה מזה דהיינו שהוא מז״א שנק׳ אילנא דחיי.
Now, the chitah mentioned above is in the level of Malchus, only it is in the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Malchus: Gevuros sweetened by the five Chasadim. And therefore Adam, the first man, whose soul was from the Tree of Life (ilana dechayei), was higher than this; that is, he was from Z’eir Anpin, which is called the Tree of Life.
Wheat, then, is Gevuros within the inner dimension of Malchus, sweetened by the Chasadim. Adam’s soul came from the Tree of Life, which is Z’eir Anpin, and so it was higher than this level.
ולכן חטא דאדה״ר עץ הדעת חטה היתה1 כי חטה היה מדרגה שלמטה ממנו בחי׳ מלכות דאצי׳ שנק׳ עץ הדעת לגבי ז״א כו׳.
And therefore [concerning] the sin of Adam, “The Tree of Knowledge was wheat (chitah)”: for chitah was a level below him, the level of Malchus of Atzilus, which is called the Tree of Knowledge relative to Z’eir Anpin, etc.
This is why the Talmud describes Adam’s sin as eating wheat, in the opinion that “the Tree of Knowledge was wheat.” Wheat was below Adam: it belongs to Malchus of Atzilus, which relative to Z’eir Anpin is called the Tree of Knowledge.
[והפי׳ כי חטה היינו מה שהדעת נשפל ונמשך למטה בקטנות וכענין מ״ש במ״א ע״פ בשברי לכם מטה לחם2 כו׳
[And the explanation is that chitah is daas being lowered and drawn downward into smallness, like the matter of what is written elsewhere on the verse “When I break for you the staff of bread,” etc.;
A long bracket begins here. Chitah is daas (awareness) lowered and drawn down into a state of smallness, as is explained elsewhere on “When I break for you the staff of bread.”
וזה שייך בבחי׳ מל׳ ששם בירור בחי׳ חט ע״י ה״ח משא״כ בז״א שהוא למעלה מבחי׳ זו.
and this pertains to the level of Malchus, where there is the refinement of the level of chet (sin) through the five Chasadim, whereas Z’eir Anpin is above this level.
Such lowered awareness belongs to Malchus, where the chet is refined through the five Chasadim; Z’eir Anpin is above this level.
אך לכאורה צ״ל הרי הנשמות נולדים ע״י זיווג זו״נ דאצי׳ וא״כ יש בכל נשמה מחלק האם שהיא בחי׳ מל׳ והיינו בחי׳ חטה.
But seemingly we must understand: the souls are born through the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus; and if so, in every soul there is [something] of the mother’s share, which is the level of Malchus, and that is the level of chitah.
A new difficulty: all souls are born of the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus, so every soul has a share from the “mother,” Malchus, which is chitah.
Adam’s soul came from Z’eir Anpin, the Tree of Life, so descending to wheat, Malchus, the Tree of Knowledge, was a sin for him; but this raises the question that every soul has a share of Malchus.
The Talmud’s reason for the wheat opinion, that a child does not know how to call “Abba” and “Imma” until he tastes grain, ties this paragraph to the earlier one about the child’s daas: wheat is a knowledge that descends into smallness.
Marei mekomos
- 1עץ הדעת חטה היתה · Berakhot 40a:14
- 2בשברי לכם מטה לחם · Leviticus 26:26
29וא״כ מדוע נק׳ זה חטא על אדה״ר שאכל חטה. אך התירוץ ע״פ מ״ש בזהר תרומה דקס״ז ע״ב אדם קדמאה אתצייר ואתגליף בלא נוקבא כו׳
If so, why is this called a sin for Adam, that he ate chitah? But the answer is according to what is written in the Zohar, Terumah, 167b: “The first Adam was formed and engraved without a female,” etc.;
If every soul has a share of Malchus, why was eating wheat a sin for Adam? The answer starts from the Zohar on Terumah: “The first Adam was formed and engraved without a female.”
ע״ש, דלכאורה הפי׳ דכמו שבגשמיות לא היה ילוד אשה כ״א יציר כפיו של הקב״ה כך ג״כ נשמתו שרשה למעלה מבחי׳ יחוד זו״נ דאצילות.1
see there. For seemingly the meaning is that just as physically he was not born of a woman but was the handiwork of the Holy One, blessed be He, so too his soul was rooted above the level of the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus.
This seems to mean that just as his body was not born of a woman but made by G‑d’s own hands, so his soul was rooted above the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus. Wheat, the share of Malchus, was therefore beneath him.
The answer: Adam’s soul, like his body, did not come from a union of male and female; it was rooted above the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, so the wheat of Malchus was beneath him.
Marei mekomos
- 1
30וא״כ לא היה בו מבחי׳ עה״ד ומבחי׳ חטה כ״א למעלה מבחי׳ זו היינו ח״ע כמו שהיא בעצמותה,
And if so, he had in him nothing of the level of the Tree of Knowledge and of the level of chitah, but only [what is] above this level, that is, the higher Chochmah as it is in its essence.
Adam therefore had nothing of the Tree of Knowledge or of wheat; his soul came from the higher Chochmah as it is in itself, before any descent into Malchus.
ולכן היה חטא מה שאכל מבחי׳ חטה כו׳ משא״כ כל הנשמות שאחריו כמו שנולדו למטה ע״י דכר ונוק׳.
And therefore it was a sin that he ate of the level of chitah, etc. Whereas all the souls after him: just as they are born below through male and female,
For him, eating wheat meant descending below his level, and so it was a sin. Later souls are different, for they are born below of a father and a mother.
כך שרש נשמתם מזיווג זו״נ. לכן שייך בהם בחי׳ חטה מאכל אדם כו׳ מצד שרשם מבחי׳ פנימי׳ דמל׳.
so the root of their soul is from the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva. Therefore the level of chitah, human food, etc., pertains to them, by virtue of their root in the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Malchus.
Their soul-root likewise comes from the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, so wheat, “human food,” is fitting for them: it belongs to their root in the inner dimension of Malchus.
Adam’s soul was above Malchus, so wheat was a descent for him, while later souls, rooted in the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, have a natural share in wheat, the inner dimension of Malchus.
31ומצד שרשם מז״א לא היה בשבטים אותיות ח״ט כו׳. אמנם בזהר ס״פ אמור דף ק״ד סע״א כ׳ ואדם
And by virtue of their root from Z’eir Anpin, the tribes did not have the letters ches and tes, etc. However, in the Zohar at the end of Parshas Emor, folio 104, at the end of side a, it writes: “And Adam
On the side of their root in Z’eir Anpin, the tribes lacked the letters ches and tes. But a passage at the end of Emor in the Zohar seems to say otherwise about Adam: “And Adam came forth from male and female.”
מדכר ונוק׳ נפיק1 ופי׳ הרמ״ז שנשמת אדה״ר יציר כפיו של הקב״ה נמשכה ג״כ מזיווג זו״נ דאצילות רק שהוא בהיכלות דאו״א כו׳ ע״ש.
came forth from male and female.” And the Ramaz explains that the soul of Adam, the handiwork of the Holy One, blessed be He, was also drawn from the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus, only that it was in the chambers (heichalos) of Abba and Imma, etc.; see there.
The Ramaz (Rabbi Moshe Zacuto) explains it to mean that Adam’s soul too was drawn from the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus, though within the chambers (heichalos) of Abba and Imma.
A difficulty: the Zohar at the end of Emor, as the Ramaz explains it, says that Adam’s soul too came from the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, in the chambers of Abba and Imma.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואדם מדכר ונוק׳ נפיק · Zohar, Emor 43:278–44:285
32וע׳ ברע״מ פ׳ קדושים דפ״ג סע״א ומ״ש עליו בספר הגלגולים פרק י״ח ובלק״ת ס״פ בראשית.
And see the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Kedoshim, 83, at the end of side a, and what is written on it in Sefer HaGilgulim, chapter 18, and in the Likkutei Torah [of the Arizal], at the end of Parshas Bereshis.
Other sources point the same way: the Raaya Mehemna (a section of the Zohar) on Kedoshim, Sefer HaGilgulim (the Arizal’s teachings on the transmigration of souls), and the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah on Bereshis.
ולפ״ז הפי׳ בזהר תרומה הנ״ל הוא באופן אחר וע׳ מק״מ שם. וא״כ לכאורה הדרא קושיא לדוכתה.
And according to this, the explanation of the Zohar, Terumah, mentioned above is in another way; and see the Mikdash Melech there. And if so, seemingly the question returns to its place.
According to them, the Zohar on Terumah (“formed without a female”) must be read in another way, as the Mikdash Melech does there. Then the question returns: why was wheat a sin for Adam?
But in truth there is no difficulty at all. For it is explained in the Zohar, Bereshis, 37, at the end of side a, on the verse “My spirit shall not abide in man forever”:
The Alter Rebbe answers that there is no real difficulty, and brings the Zohar on “My spirit shall not abide in man forever.”
ר׳ אחא אמר בההוא זמנא הוה ההוא נהרא דנגיד ונפיק אפיק רוחא מאילנא דחיי3 ואריק באילנא דשריא ביה מותא ואתמשכן רוחין בגווייהו דבני נשא יומין סגיאין.
“Rabbi Acha said: At that time, that river which flows and goes forth would bring forth spirit from the Tree of Life and pour it into the tree in which death dwells, and spirits were drawn into human beings for many days,
There Rabbi Acha says that in early times the “river” brought spirit from the Tree of Life into the tree in which death dwells, and from it spirits were drawn into people for many days; this is why the first generations lived so long.
עד דסלקו בישין כו׳ כדין אסתלק רוחא עילאה מההוא אילנא בשעתא דפרחו נשמתין בבני נשא כו׳ וע״ש במק״מ שמתחלה היה עיקר הנשמה מז״א וקצת מהמל׳.
until the wicked arose,” etc. “Then the supernal spirit departed from that tree, at the time that the souls in human beings flew off,” etc. And see there in the Mikdash Melech, that at first the essence of the soul was from Z’eir Anpin, and a little from Malchus.
When the wicked rose up, the supernal spirit withdrew. The Mikdash Melech explains that at first the essence of the soul was from Z’eir Anpin, with only a little from Malchus.
Even granting that all souls, Adam’s included, come from the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, the Zohar shows that the proportion matters: in early times the essence of the soul came from Z’eir Anpin, with only a little from Malchus.
Marei mekomos
- 1מבואר בזהר בראשית דל״ז סע״א · מובא גם באוה״ת ויקרא-א ע׳ קצו. ושם בכרך-ג ע׳ תתיב.
- 2לא ידון רוחי באדם לעולם · Genesis 6:3
- 3ר׳ אחא אמר בההוא זמנא הוה ההוא נהרא דנגיד ונפיק אפיק רוחא מאילנא דחיי · Zohar, Bereshit 48:470–49:479
33וגם מז״א היינו מה שנמשך לו מא״א ע״י אימא עילאה ולכך היו חיים הרבה כי אריכו דיומין אינון מאריך.
And also from Z’eir Anpin, that is, what is drawn to it from Arich Anpin through Imma Ila’ah (the higher Imma); and therefore they lived long, for “length of days is from Arich.”
The share from Z’eir Anpin itself came to it from Arich Anpin through the higher Imma; and since “length of days” comes from Arich, the early generations lived long.
ואחר שחטאו היה בהפך טיפת הנוק׳ מרובה על הדכורא והיא נק׳ אילנא דמותא לכך לא היו מאריכים ימים עכ״ד ועיין בזהר ר״פ בשלח דמ״ד סע״ב.1
And after they sinned it was the reverse: the drop of the female was greater than [that of] the male, and it is called the tree of death; therefore they did not live long. Thus far his words. And see the Zohar at the beginning of Parshas Beshalach, 44, at the end of side b.
After the sin the proportion was reversed: the female “drop” outweighed the male, and that is the “tree of death,” so lifespans grew short. The words “thus far his words” close the quotation from the Mikdash Melech.
Long life came from the predominance of Z’eir Anpin, drawn from Arich Anpin; after the sin the female share predominated, the “tree of death,” and lifespans grew short.
The Zohar at the start of Beshalach, cited at the end of the paragraph, explains the death of the Shunammite’s son: he was given to her and not to her husband, and one who comes from the side of the female, “death comes early to his feet.”
Marei mekomos
- 1בזהר ר״פ בשלח דמ״ד סע״ב · ראה לקמן פ׳ מטות פג, ריש ע״ד.
34וכיון שכן שאפילו בבני אדם ואחר חטא עה״ד עכ״ז היה אז עיקר הנשמה מז״א ומלמעלה מעלה כו׳.
And since it is so, that even in human beings, and after the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, nevertheless the essence of the soul was then from Z’eir Anpin and from higher and higher, etc.,
So even in ordinary people, after the sin, the essence of the soul still came from Z’eir Anpin and above.
כ״ש וק״ו באדה״ר עצמו שהיה יציר כפיו וקודם חטא עה״ד שהיה עיקר הנשמה שמלמעלה מעלה מרובה על טיפת הנוק׳ וכמ״ש בספר הגלגולים
how much more so, by a fortiori reasoning, in Adam himself, who was His handiwork, and before the sin of the Tree of Knowledge: the essence of the soul, which is from higher and higher, was greater than the drop of the female; and as is written in Sefer HaGilgulim,
All the more so in Adam himself, formed by G‑d’s hands and before the sin: in him the higher share far outweighed the female “drop.”
פי״ט שהיה לו נר״נ דאצי׳ וגם נשמה לנשמה דאצי׳ ולכן נק׳ זה חטא על אדה״ר מה שירד בבחי׳ חטה.
chapter 19, that he had nefesh, ruach and neshamah of Atzilus, and also a neshamah of the neshamah of Atzilus. And therefore this is called a sin for Adam: that he descended into the level of chitah.
Sefer HaGilgulim says that he had nefesh, ruach and neshamah of Atzilus, and even a “soul of the soul” of Atzilus. For a soul so high, descending to the level of wheat was a sin.
A fortiori: if even later people’s souls were mainly from Z’eir Anpin and above, Adam’s soul, with all its levels from Atzilus, was far above wheat, and so eating it was a sin for him.
Barley, wheat and Shavuos ¶35–36
35ועמ״ש מזה עוד בביאור ענין קי״ס ד״ה הנה ים סוף]. ושעורה הוא בחי׳ חיצוניות שבמל׳ שהוא להחיות כל פרטי התחלקות נבראים מלאכים שהוא ע״י ה״ג.
And see what is written on this further in the explanation of the matter of the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds, the discourse beginning “Behold, the Sea of Reeds.”] And se’orah is the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) in Malchus, which is to give life to all the particulars of the division of creations, angels, which is through the five Gevuros.
The long bracket closes with a reference to the discourse on the Splitting of the Sea. Returning to barley: it is the outer dimension of Malchus, which gives life to the many differentiated creations, the angels, through the five Gevuros.
ושרשן מה״ג דאימא [כי בינה מקננא בכורסייא12 עולם הבריאה וכן בחי׳ חיצוניות שבמל׳ שמתלבש בבי״ע מקור קבלתה מה״ג דאימא] והוא כמו עד״מ הדבור באדם נמשך ע״י ה׳ מוצאות אחה״ע מהגרון כו׳
And their root is from the five Gevuros of Imma [for Binah nests in the Throne, the World of Beriah; and likewise the level of the outer dimension in Malchus, which is clothed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, the source of its receiving is from the five Gevuros of Imma]. And this is, by way of analogy, like speech in man, which is drawn through the five places of articulation, alef-ches-hei-ayin from the throat, etc.
Their root is in the five Gevuros of Imma, for Binah “nests” in the Throne, the World of Beriah, and the outer dimension of Malchus, clothed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, receives from it. Speech in man illustrates this: it issues through the five places of articulation.
כי הקול הוא פשוט ונתצמצם ומתחלק בכ״ב אותיות ע״י ה״ג ומקור המחלקן הוא המחשבה כמ״כ כל פרטי התחלקות צירופי אותיות דבר ה׳ בחי׳ מל׳ הוא ע״י ה״ג ושרשן מה״ג דאימא בחי׳ מחשבה
For the voice is simple, and it was contracted and is divided into twenty-two letters through the five Gevuros, and the source that divides them is thought. Likewise, all the particulars of the division of the combinations of letters of the word of G‑d, the level of Malchus, are through the five Gevuros, and their root is from the five Gevuros of Imma, the level of thought.
A simple voice is divided into the twenty-two letters by the five Gevuros, and what divides it is thought. So too the letter-combinations of G‑d’s word, Malchus, are divided by the five Gevuros rooted in Imma, the level of thought.
וזהו ענין שעורה וכמש״ל3 ומשם ג״כ שרש נה״ב ששרשה מי״ב בקר אבל הנה״א שרשה מפנימי׳ המל׳ ומז״א עצמו וכמ״ש בזהר ויחי דף רמ״ה,
And this is the matter of se’orah, as was written above. And from there too is the root of the animal soul, whose root is from the twelve oxen; but the G‑dly soul, its root is from the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Malchus and from Z’eir Anpin itself, as is written in the Zohar, Vayechi, folio 245.
This is barley, as explained in the first chapter. The animal soul is rooted there, in the twelve oxen, while the G‑dly soul is rooted in the inner dimension of Malchus and in Z’eir Anpin itself, as the Zohar on Vayechi says.
וזהו שבחי׳ מל׳ נק׳ לפעמים בהמה כנ״ל4 ולפעמים נק׳ אדם שכשהיא באצי׳ נק׳ אדם וכשיורדת בבריאה נק׳ בהמה וכמ״ש ורוח הבהמה היורדת היא למטה5 כו׳ והיינו ב׳ בחי׳ הנ״ל חיצונית המל׳ ופנימי׳ המל׳.
And this is why the level of Malchus is sometimes called behemah, as mentioned above, and sometimes called adam: when she is in Atzilus she is called adam, and when she descends into Beriah she is called behemah, as it is written, “and the spirit of the beast that goes down below,” etc. And these are the two levels mentioned above, the outer [dimension] of Malchus and the inner dimension of Malchus.
So Malchus has two names: in Atzilus, her inner dimension, she is adam (man); descending into Beriah, her outer dimension, she is behemah (beast), as in “the spirit of the beast that goes down below.”
Barley is the outer dimension of Malchus, which descends into Beriah as behemah and is the root of the animal soul; wheat is her inner dimension, adam in Atzilus, the root of the G‑dly soul.
Marei mekomos
- 1בינה מקננא בכורסיא · ראה ת״ז ת״ו.
- 2כי בינה מקננא בכורסייא · Tikkunei Zohar 23a:10–11
- 3בחי׳ — וכמש״ל · פ״א [כ].
- 4בזהר — כנ״ל · פ״א. [כ].
- 5ורוח הבהמה היורדת היא למטה · Ecclesiastes 3:21
36וענין ספי׳ העומר שהוא בירור נפש הבהמית זהו תיקון ועליית בחי׳ שבמל׳ הנק׳ בהמה ועי״ז אח״כ בחג השבועות נעשי׳ בבחי׳ אדם שמתעלה באצילות בפנימי׳ המל׳.
And the matter of the counting of the Omer, which is the refinement of the animal soul: this is the rectification and elevation of the level within Malchus that is called behemah; and through this, afterwards, on the festival of Shavuos, it becomes the level of adam, which rises into Atzilus, into the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Malchus.
The counting of the Omer refines the animal soul, raising the part of Malchus called behemah. Through it, on Shavuos, that level becomes adam, rising into Atzilus, into the inner dimension of Malchus.
וזהו ענין והקרבתם מנחה חדשה1 כו׳ והמ״ד שנמשך עי״ז זהו ענין מתן תורה כו׳ שהיא המשכת כתר וחכמה באותיות דבחי׳ חטה
And this is the matter of “And you shall offer a new meal-offering,” etc. And the mayin duchrin (masculine waters) that are drawn down through this are the matter of the Giving of the Torah, etc., which is the drawing down of Keser and Chochmah into the letters of the level of chitah.
This is the “new meal-offering” of Shavuos. The mayin duchrin, the “masculine waters” drawn down from above in response, are the Giving of the Torah: Keser and Chochmah drawn into the letters of chitah.
והוא כענין יחוד וחיבור הטוב דעה״ד והתכללותו בעץ החיים למהוי אחד באחד2 (ועיין בזהר פ׳ אמור דף צ״ו ע״א ועיין מ״ש בביאור ע״פ קול דודי כו׳):
And it is like the matter of the union and joining of the good of the Tree of Knowledge and its inclusion in the Tree of Life, to be one in one (lemehevei echad be’echad) (and see the Zohar, Parshas Emor, folio 96a; and see what is written in the explanation on the verse “The voice of my beloved,” etc.).
It is like the joining of the good of the Tree of Knowledge with the Tree of Life, until they are “one in one.” The Alter Rebbe refers to the Zohar on Emor and to the explanation on “The voice of my beloved.”
The maamar concludes: the counting raises the “beast” within Malchus to “man,” so that on Shavuos the Torah, Keser and Chochmah, is drawn into the letters of wheat, joining the Tree of Knowledge to the Tree of Life.
The maamar is framed by the two “waters”: it began with sparks rising each day as mayin nukvin, the feminine waters, and it ends with the mayin duchrin of the Giving of the Torah, drawn down in response.
Marei mekomos
- 1והקרבתם מנחה חדשה · Leviticus 23:16
- 2בעץ החיים למהוי אחד באחד · Zohar, Emor 29:139–31:147
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
A person must rouse his good inclination against his evil inclination, and through contemplation beget in himself a will for G‑d, so that the Supernal Will comes to rest on him. A love that is held within the heart lasts for a time and can lapse, leaving room for physical desires; what guards it is a higher contemplation of the greatness of the Infinite One, which the heart cannot contain and which surrounds it, so that he wants nothing but G‑d alone. This is the work of the counting of the Omer: refining the animal soul so that on Shavuos it becomes adam and can receive the Torah.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the Alter Rebbe identify the angels that are created each day and “expire” with sparks refined from nogah? What does their “expiry” mean?
- How do the five Gevuros make multiplicity possible, in speech and in creation, and why does refining the sparks also need Gevurah?
- What is the difference between the inner love and the encompassing love, and why does the first need the second as a “guard”?
- Why is wheat, though human food, still said to belong to Malchus, and why was it a sin for Adam to descend to it while it is fitting for later souls?
- How do the waving of the Omer, the counting, and the “new meal-offering” of Shavuos together describe the elevation of the animal soul?
Key terms in this maamar
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence. ×5
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions.
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one.
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×2
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×5
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×1
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×1
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×11
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- The intellect (mochin)מוחין
- Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×4
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration.
- 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. ×2
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×5
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×8
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×2
- Nukva (the feminine / Malchus)נוקבא
- Malchus as the receiving configuration. ×1
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×6
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×1
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.
- Netzach (victory)נצח
- Perseverance, the drive to overcome.
- Hod (splendor)הוד
- Acknowledgment and yielding.
- Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah)אבא ואמא
- The intellectual configurations.
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×1
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect. ×4
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×7
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×1
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×3