Likkutei Torah · Parshas Haazinu · Maamar 2
האזינו השמים ואדברה ותשמע הארץ כו׳ יערוף כמטר…
Give ear, O heavens
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The big idea
Heaven and earth, the Written and the Oral Torah, are witnesses to Israel because Israel clothe G‑d in the Torah: every mitzvah, and every word learned for its own sake, draws the Infinite Light into a wisdom that on its own is beyond grasp. The power to do this comes from prayer, from the self-sacrifice of the Shema and the uniting of the soul’s two hearts, after which Torah learned for practice falls on the soul like rain and gives it the strength to love G‑d.
The maamar in brief
Moshe calls on heaven and earth, the pair he made witnesses in Nitzavim. They are the Written Torah, “heaven,” sham mayim, “there is water,” and the Oral Torah, “earth.” Like water, which takes the color of its vessel, the Written Torah is rooted in a wisdom beyond grasp and appears as stories and unexplained laws until the Sages explain it. The Torahs testify to Israel because each mitzvah, and Torah learned for its own sake, draws the Infinite Light into the Torah: as a servant dresses the king, Israel clothe G‑d in the Torah, His “glory” and garment. The power for this comes from prayer. Self-sacrifice is not noisy fervor but bittul; Pesukei deZimra and the contemplation of the angels “circumcise” the outer heart of the animal soul so that it can unite with the inner heart’s natural love. Isaiah’s three verbs become thought, speech and action, and the highest service is the servant’s action beyond reason. Then Torah learned for practice falls like rain and gives the strength (oz) to love G‑d, provided that self-sacrifice, its thunder and clouds, came first.
Outline
- Heaven and earth: the two TorahsMoshe’s witnesses, heaven and earth, are the Written and the Oral Torah. The Written Torah is “water”: rooted in a wisdom beyond grasp, it has no color of its own, and its laws are explained only by the Sages of the Oral Torah.¶1–2
- Why the Torahs are witnessesEach mitzvah draws the Infinite Light, far above all wisdom, into the Torah, as “and live in them” and “as though they had made Me” teach. Learning lishmah, for the Torah’s own sake, calls that light into it; Israel were created for G‑d’s “glory,” the Torah.¶3–5
- The King’s garmentAs a king is seen only in his robes and is dressed by his servant, G‑d is revealed only clothed in the Torah, and Israel clothe Him. “Speak of them” draws the Infinite Light into the Torah, and “which I command you” binds G‑d’s essence to the person.¶6–7
- Prayer and self-sacrificeThe power for this comes from prayer: the love and self-sacrifice of the Shema. Self-sacrifice is bittul, not noise; even G‑d’s “greatness” is nothing before Him. The blessings and Pesukei deZimra stir the soul through contemplating the angels.¶8–10
- Thought, speech and actionThe animal soul is fed by the angels, its “grass.” “Created, formed, made” are thought, speech and action; action, the mitzvos, is where a king’s rule is seen.¶11–12
- Two heartsObedience beyond reason is the yoke of Heaven. The inner heart loves G‑d by nature; the outer heart of the animal soul must be “circumcised” by contemplation, and prayer from the depths of the heart arouses G‑d’s own inner light. David asks to be the higher servant.¶13–14
- Torah like rainService in action, then the union of the two hearts, lets the Torah draw the light down. Torah learned for practice falls like rain and gives the strength (oz) to love G‑d, but only after the thunder and clouds of self-sacrifice.¶15
Key concepts
- The Written and the Oral Torahתורה שבכתב ותורה שבעל פה
- Heaven and earth, the witnesses Moshe calls on: the Written Torah is “heaven” and “water,” the Oral Torah is “earth,” which explains it.
- The higher Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah)חכמה עילאה
- G‑d’s wisdom as it is beyond any wisdom that can be known, “wise, but not with a known wisdom”; the root of the Torah, which therefore has no “color” of its own.
- Torah for its own sake (lishmah)תורה לשמה
- Learning for the sake of the Torah itself, which “calls” the Infinite Light and draws it into the Torah.
- Garmentsלבושים
- The Torah as G‑d’s garment and “glory,” put on Him through Israel; and the soul’s three garments of thought, speech and action.
- Self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh)מסירות נפש
- Not loud fervor but bittul: lifting the soul to G‑d and not wanting to be a separate self, intended at “One” in the Shema.
- The inner and the outer heartפנימיות הלב וחיצוניות הלב
- The inner heart’s natural love for G‑d, and the outer heart of the animal soul, which conceals it and must be “circumcised” through contemplation.
- Sovev and memaleiסובב וממלא
- G‑d’s inner and outer dimensions: the light that encompasses all worlds and the light that fills them. The arousal from below awakens even the inner, encompassing light.
- Strength (oz)עוז
- A name for the Torah: Torah learned for practice gives the soul the strength to love G‑d.
Heaven and earth: the two Torahs ¶1–2
1האזינו השמים ואדברה1 ותשמע הארץ כו׳ יערוף כמטר לקחי תזל כטל אמרתי2 כו׳. הנה בסדרה שלפניה אמר העדותי בכם היום את השמים ואת הארץ.3
“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear,” etc. “My teaching shall drop like the rain; my word shall flow like the dew,” etc. Now, in the portion before it, he said, “I call to witness against you this day the heavens and the earth.”
The maamar opens with the first two verses of Ha’azinu, Moshe’s song: he calls on the heavens and the earth to listen, and compares his teaching to rain and dew. The Alter Rebbe sets beside them the verse in the previous portion, Nitzavim, where Moshe calls the same heavens and earth as witnesses against Israel.
הנה שמים וארץ הם תורה שבכתב ותורה שבעל פה.4 תורה שבכתב נקרא שמים כי שמים נוטריקון שם מים56 והתורה נמשלה למים.7
Now, the heavens and the earth are the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. The Written Torah is called “heavens” (shamayim), for shamayim is a notarikon of sham mayim, “there is water”; and the Torah is likened to water.
Heaven and earth stand for the two parts of the Torah: the Written Torah, Scripture, and the Oral Torah, the Sages’ explanation of it. The Written Torah is “heaven” because the Talmud reads shamayim as sham mayim, “there is water,” and water is a classic image of the Torah.
The maamar sets out its verse and its first claim: the heavens and earth that Moshe addresses, and that he made witnesses, are the Written and the Oral Torah. The Written Torah is “heaven” because it is “water,” the Torah’s classic image.
In Chagigah 12a Rabbi Yosei bar Chanina explains shamayim as “there is water,” and a baraita there reads it as “fire and water.” The maamar uses the first reading, since its theme is the Torah as water.
Marei mekomos
- 1האזינו השמים ואדברה · Deuteronomy 32:1
- 2יערוף כמטר לקחי תזל כטל אמרתי · Deuteronomy 32:2
- 3העדותי בכם היום את השמים ואת הארץ · Deuteronomy 30:19
- 4שמים וארץ . . שבעל פה · הובא בס׳ ערכי הכנויים לסה״ד וש״נ המ״מ בזה בע׳ שמים. וע״ע בילקוט ראובני ר״פ האזינו. [כ]. ראה אוה״ת נ״ך כרך א ע׳ שיז.
- 5שמים נוטריקון שם מים · חגיגה יב, סע״א.
- 6שמים נוטריקון שם מים · Chagigah 12a:5–6
- 7והתו׳ נמשלה למים · Bava Kamma 17a:14
2וכדכתיב הוי כל צמא לכו למים1 וכתיב במשה כי מן המים משיתיהו2 שהוא עד״מ כמו המים שאין להם גוון מיוחד בעצמותם אלא שגוונם משתנה ומתהפך לפי אופן גוון הכלי אם אדום כו׳.
As it is written, “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the water,” and it is written of Moshe, “For I drew him out of the water.” That is, by way of analogy, like water, which has no particular color in its essence; rather, its color changes and turns according to the manner of the vessel’s color: if red, etc.
Two verses tie water to the Torah and to Moshe, through whom it was given: Isaiah’s call to the thirsty, and the name Moshe, “drawn from the water.” Water has no color of its own; it takes on the color of whatever vessel holds it.
כך התורה שרשה מבחי׳ ח״ע [חכמה עילאה] חכים ולא3 בחכמה ידיעא4 שהוא למעלה מגדר ההשגה והקבלה ולכך כל התורה היא
So too the Torah: its root is from the level of the higher Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah), “wise, but not with a known wisdom,” which is above the bounds of comprehension and reception. And therefore the whole Torah is
Like water, the Torah has no “color” of its own, because its root is in the higher Chochmah, G‑d’s wisdom as it is beyond any wisdom that can be known. Wisdom of that kind cannot be grasped or received as it is.
רק סיפורי מעשיות5 בלבד שאין בהם השגה כלל בעמקות הסודות המלובשים בהם ואפילו הדינים הנאמרים בה
only stories of events and nothing more, in which there is no comprehension at all of the depth of the secrets clothed in them. And even the laws stated in it,
That is why the Written Torah reads like plain stories: its deep secrets are clothed in them and cannot be seen. Even its laws are not given in full on the surface.
כמו ויאמר משה כו׳ ויאמר ה׳ אל משה כו׳ אינם מפורשים ומבוארים בכל פרטיהם עד שבאו חכמי הש״ס [הששה סדרים] ופירשו אותה.
such as “And Moshe said,” etc., “And Havayah said to Moshe,” etc., are not spelled out and explained in all their details, until the Sages of the Talmud came and explained it.
Verses such as “And Moshe said” or “And Havayah said to Moshe” introduce laws whose details the Written Torah leaves unstated. Only when the Sages of the Talmud came, with the Oral Torah, were they explained.
The Written Torah is like water: rooted in a wisdom beyond grasp, it has no fixed “color,” so on its surface it is stories and laws without their details. The Sages of the Oral Torah are needed to explain it.
The analogy prepares paragraph 3. In the parallel maamar of 5567 quoted in the Kehot note, the “vessel” that gives the Torah its color is the mitzvos Israel carry out in action, which is why the Torah can testify about them.
Marei mekomos
- 1הוי כל צמא לכו למים · Isaiah 55:1
- 2כי מן המים משיתיהו · Exodus 2:10
- 3חכים ולא בחכ׳ ידיעא · ת״ז בהקדמה.
- 4חכים ולא בחכמה ידיעא · Tikkunei Zohar 17b:3–4
- 5כך התורה . . ולכך כל התורה היא רק סיפורי מעשיות · בסה״מ תקס״ז ע׳ שנה כאן מבואר יותר הנמשל וז״ל שם: ”כך אור החכמה שבתושב״כ אין לה השגה והבנה פשוטה אלא נעלמה היא בספורי מעשיות בעלמא וכיוצא, רק כשבאין המצות הכתובי׳ בה לידי קיום מעשה ה״ז כדמיון המים כשהן בכלי שיש לה גוון לפי אופן גוון הכלי, כך ע״י מצות מעשיות שעושין ישראל אזי יש לתורה גוון” ע״ש.
Why the Torahs are witnesses ¶3–5
3ותורה שבעל פה נקרא ארץ כו׳ והם הם עדים לפני המקום ב״ה על ישראל כי בהם ניכר אם קיימו וקבלו ישראל את התורה והמצות משום
And the Oral Torah is called “earth,” etc. And it is they who are witnesses before the Omnipresent, blessed be He, concerning Israel, for through them it is evident whether Israel have fulfilled and accepted the Torah and the mitzvos, because
The Oral Torah is called “earth,” and the two Torahs are the witnesses Moshe called on. They testify concerning Israel because through them one can see whether Israel kept and accepted the Torah and its mitzvos.
שע״י כל מצוה ומצוה ממשיכים גילוי אור א״ס ב״ה בתורה שיהיה בחי׳ השראת אור א״ס ב״ה בח״ע [בחכמה עילאה] כי מצד עצמו הוא מרומם ומתנשא רבבות מדרגות לאין קץ מבחי׳ חכמה.
through each and every mitzvah one draws down a revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, into the Torah, so that there be the level of the indwelling of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, in the higher Chochmah. For in itself it is exalted and uplifted myriads of levels, without end, above the level of Chochmah.
Each mitzvah draws a revelation of the Infinite Light, G‑d’s own light, into the Torah, so that it comes to dwell in the higher Chochmah, the Torah’s root. In itself the Infinite Light is endlessly above Chochmah; it comes to rest there only through the mitzvos.
The Written and the Oral Torah are witnesses to Israel’s keeping of the mitzvos, because each mitzvah draws the Infinite Light, which is far above all wisdom, into the Torah’s wisdom.
4וכמאמר דלית מחשבה תפיסא בי׳ [ביה]1 כ״א ע״י השגת התורה וקיום המצות ממשיכים גילוי אלהותו ית׳ להיות שורה ומתלבש בהם.
And as the saying [goes], “No thought can grasp Him”; only through comprehending the Torah and fulfilling the mitzvos does one draw down a revelation of His G‑dliness, may He be blessed, so that it rests and is clothed in them.
“No thought can grasp Him” is a phrase from the introduction to the Tikkunei Zohar: G‑d in Himself is beyond every mind. Yet by understanding Torah and doing the mitzvos, a person draws His G‑dliness down so that it rests and is clothed in them.
וכמ״ש אלה המצות אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם23 בהם דייקא פי׳ שממשיך אור א״ס מחיי החיים להיות שורה בהם כו׳.
And as it is written, “These are the commandments which a man shall do, and live in them”: “in them,” precisely. The meaning is that he draws down the Infinite Light from the Life of life, to rest in them, etc.
The Alter Rebbe joins two verses, “These are the commandments” and “which a man shall do and live in them.” He stresses “in them”: by doing the mitzvos a person draws the Infinite Light, the Life of life, to rest within the mitzvos themselves.
G‑d is beyond every thought, yet Torah study and the mitzvos draw Him down to rest within them. The words “and live in them” are read to say exactly this.
Marei mekomos
- 1דלית מחשבה תפיסא בי׳ · Tikkunei Zohar 17a:10–12
- 2אלה המצות אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם · Leviticus 27:34
- 3אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם · Leviticus 18:5
5ולכן ארז״ל [אמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] ועשיתם אתם. אתם כתיב כאלו עשאוני1 כו׳. וזהו ענין עוסק בתורה לשמה.2 ופי׳ לשם התורה עצמה.
Therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “And you shall do them”: atem is written; [it is] as though they had made Me, etc. And this is the matter of one who occupies himself with Torah for its own sake (lishmah). And the meaning is: for the sake of the Torah itself.
The Zohar notes that “and you shall do them” is spelled so that it can be read atem, and teaches that whoever keeps the mitzvos “makes” G‑d above, as it were: “It is as though they had made Me.” The Alter Rebbe adds that this is the meaning of learning Torah lishmah, which he explains as “for the sake of the Torah itself.”
כי על ידי זה הוא קורא וממשיך גילוי אור א״ס בתורה כנ״ל. וז״ש [וזהו שכתוב] כל הנקרא בשמי ולכבודי בראתיו יצרתיו אף עשיתיו כו׳.6
For through this he calls and draws down a revelation of the Infinite Light into the Torah, as mentioned above. And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “Everyone that is called by My Name, and for My glory I have created him, I have formed him, I have even made him,” etc.
Learning Torah for its own sake “calls” the Infinite Light and draws it down into the Torah. Isaiah’s verse about those “called by My Name,” whom G‑d created “for My glory,” is brought as the scriptural basis.
כל הנקרא בשמי היינו כללות נש״י [נשמות ישראל] שבראם לכבודו ואין כבוד אלא3 תורה4 כי התורה היא בחי׳ לבושים.5
“Everyone that is called by My Name” means the souls of Israel as a whole, whom He created for His glory; and “there is no glory but Torah,” for the Torah is the level of garments.
Those “called by My Name” are the souls of Israel as a whole, created for G‑d’s “glory”; and the Mishnah says that “glory” means Torah. The Torah is His glory because it is a garment, as the next paragraph explains.
Learning Torah lishmah means learning for the Torah’s own sake, so as to draw the Infinite Light into it. This is why Israel were created “for My glory”: the “glory” is the Torah, which is G‑d’s garment.
The three verbs of the verse, “I have created him, I have formed him, I have even made him,” return in paragraphs 11 and 12, where they become the three garments of thought, speech and action.
Marei mekomos
- 1ועשיתם אתם אתם כתיב כאלו עשאוני · Zohar III, 113a
- 2עוסק בתורה לשמה · Pirkei Avot 6:1
- 3אין כבוד אלא תו׳ · אבות פ״ו, מ״ג.
- 4ואין כבוד אלא תורה · Pirkei Avot 6:3
- 5וזהו״ע עוסק בתו׳ לשמה · ראה אבות רפ״ו.
- 6כל הנק׳ בשמי ולכבודי · Isaiah 43:7
The King’s garment ¶6–7
6וכמ״ש עוטה אור כשלמה.1 והיינו כמארז״ל [כמאמר רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] דר״י [דרבי יוחנן] קארי למאני מכבדותא2 שהוא כמו עד״מ המלך אין רואים אותו כשהוא ערום3 זולתי כשהוא מלובש בלבוש מלכות.
As it is written, “He wraps Himself in light as in a garment.” And this is as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, that Rabbi Yochanan called his garments “my honorers.” That is, by way of analogy, like the king: he is not seen when he is unclothed, but only when he is clothed in a royal garment.
Psalm 104 says that G‑d wraps Himself in light as in a garment, and the Talmud tells that Rabbi Yochanan called his clothes “my honorers,” because clothing gives a person dignity. So it is with a king: he is never seen unclothed, only in royal dress.
אך המלך בעצמו ובכבודו אין דרכו4 להלביש א״ע [את עצמו] זולתי שהעבד מלביש אותו5 כו׳. כמ״כ [כמו כן] ממ״ה [מלך מלכי המלכים] הקב״ה כמו שהוא בעצמותו א״א לו להיות מושג ומתגלה בנבראים דלית מחשבה תפיסא בי׳ [ביה].
But the king, in himself and in his dignity, is not accustomed to dress himself; rather, the servant dresses him, etc. So too the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He: as He is in His essence, it is impossible for Him to be grasped and revealed in created beings, for “no thought can grasp Him,”
A king does not dress himself; his servant dresses him. In the same way, G‑d as He is in Himself cannot be grasped by any creature.
כ״א ע״י שמתלבש בתורה שהיא חכמתו ורצונו ב״ה והלבשה זו הוא ע״י ישראל דוקא כו׳.6
but only through His being clothed in the Torah, which is His wisdom and His will, blessed be He. And this clothing comes about through Israel specifically, etc.
He becomes knowable only by being clothed in the Torah, His wisdom and will. And it is Israel, like the servant who dresses the king, who clothe Him in it.
The Torah is G‑d’s royal garment: as a king is seen only in his robes, G‑d is revealed only as clothed in the Torah. And as a servant dresses the king, it is Israel who clothe G‑d in the Torah.
This is why Israel were created “for My glory” (paragraph 5): the garment of Torah, G‑d’s “glory,” is put on Him only through them.
Marei mekomos
- 1עוטה אור כשלמה · Psalms 104:2
- 2דר״י קארי למאני מכבדותא · Shabbat 113a:14
- 3המלך אין רואים אותו כשהוא ערום · Sanhedrin 22a:11–12
- 4אין דרכו · ביהל אור שם: אין דרך.
- 5אך המלך . . מלביש אותו · מובא ביהל אור ע׳ רחצ.
- 6כ״א ע״י שמתלבש בתורה . . הוא ע״י ישראל דוקא כו׳ · בסה״מ תקס״ז ע׳ שנו מוסיף ”דהיינו כל הנק׳ בשמי לכבודי כבודו העצמי שהוא לבוש דתורה שנאמר בה עוטה אור כשלמה כו׳ לכך בראתיו כו׳ וד״ל”.
7וזהו ודברת בם1 ודברת הוא מלשון הנהגה והמשכה כמו ידבר עמים2 כו׳ בם היינו המשכ׳ אא״ס [אור אין סוף] בהתורה.
And this is [the meaning of] “And you shall speak of them” (vedibarta bam). Vedibarta is an expression of leading and drawing, as in “He leads (yadber) peoples,” etc. “Bam,” in them, means the drawing down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) into the Torah.
In “and you shall speak of them,” the Alter Rebbe reads vedibarta not as speaking but as leading and drawing, as in the verse “He leads (yadber) peoples.” “Of them,” literally “in them,” means drawing the Infinite Light into the Torah.
And this is [the meaning of] “And these words shall be, which I (Anochi)”: He who is “I,” His being and essence, may He be blessed, “command you” (metzavecha), an expression of binding and joining, etc.
In “these words which I command you,” “I” (Anochi) means G‑d’s very being and essence. And “command” (metzavecha) is read as connection and joining: through the Torah, His essence is bound to the person.
Two verses of the Shema describe what Torah study does: “speaking” the words draws the Infinite Light into them, and the “I” who commands is G‑d’s essence, which the command binds to the person.
The Kehot note on “and you shall speak of them” also points to Berachos 21a, where Abaye says that the words “when you lie down and when you rise” in this verse are said of words of Torah. This supports reading “them” as the Torah.
Marei mekomos
- 1ודברת בם · Deuteronomy 6:7
- 2ידבר עמים · Psalms 47:4
- 3והיו הדברים האלה · Deuteronomy 6:6
- 4אנכי מי שאנכי · נסמן לעיל עב, ד.
Prayer and self-sacrifice ¶8–10
And this power that the soul has, to bring about this drawing down through the Torah, comes through prayer, which precedes Torah. For one who says, “I have nothing
The soul’s power to draw G‑d’s light into the Torah it learns comes from prayer, which comes before study. The Talmud teaches that one who claims to have nothing but Torah does not have even Torah.
but Torah,” does not have even Torah. For there must first be the level of “And you shall love” in the Shema, to give over his soul at [the word] Echad, “One.”
Before Torah there must be “And you shall love” of the Shema, with the readiness to give up one’s life for G‑d at the word Echad, “One.” Without this, Torah study lacks the power to draw down G‑d’s light.
Torah draws G‑d’s light only when prayer has come first: the love of G‑d in the Shema, with readiness for self-sacrifice at “One,” gives the soul the power its Torah study needs.
The Kehot note on “to give over his soul at Echad” points to the Bach on the Tur (Orach Chayim 61), who writes that while reading the Shema one should intend to accept the yoke of Heaven to the point of being killed for the sanctification of G‑d’s Name, for this is “with all your soul”; and to the Pri Etz Chaim, which places this intention at the dalet of Echad.
Marei mekomos
- 1והכח הזה שיש בנפש לגרום המשכה זאת כו׳ ואהבת כו׳ מעומקא דליבא · מובא באוה״ת ויקרא כרך א ע׳ צא ומוסיף ”ובהביאור שזהו ענין ז״א שהוא המדות הטבעיות שבנה״א בעתיקא אחיד ותליא היינו למעלה משרש חו״ב שיניקתם ממזלא” ע״ש.
- 2האומר אין לי אלא תו׳ · Yevamot 109b:4–5
- 3למסור נפשו באחד · ראה ב״ח בטוא״ח ר״ס סא. פע״ח שער הק״ש פי״ב.
- 4למסור נפשו באחד · Pri Etz Chaim, Gate of the Recitation of the Shema 12:4–5
9וענין מס״נ [מסירות נפש] אינו כמו שסוברים העולם שהוא הצעקה בהתלהבות ברעש אלא הוא כמ״ש אליך ה׳ נפשי אשא1 שאינו רוצה להיות יש ודבר נפרד
Now, the matter of self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) is not as people think, that it is crying out with fervor and tumult. Rather, it is as it is written, “To You, Havayah, I lift up my soul”: that he does not want to be an entity (yesh) and a separate thing,
Self-sacrifice is not loud, fiery shouting in prayer. It is what the verse “To You, Havayah, I lift up my soul” describes: not wanting to be a separate self at all.
אלא להיות בחי׳ ביטול לשאת נפשו ורוחו אליו ית׳ שהוא מקור החיים דכולא קמי׳ [קמיה] כלא חשיבי2 לך ה׳ הגדולה כו׳.
but rather to be at the level of self-nullification (bittul), to lift up his soul and his spirit to Him, may He be blessed, who is the Source of life, for “all before Him are considered as nothing.” “Yours, Havayah, is the greatness,” etc.:
It is self-nullification: lifting one’s soul and spirit to G‑d, the Source of all life, before whom everything is as nothing. The verse “Yours, Havayah, is the greatness” is brought to show this.
שבחי׳ גדולה שהיא בחי׳ התפשטות חסדו ית׳ להחיות העולמות אלף אלפין כו׳3 הוא לך ה׳ בבחי׳ ביטול
that is, the level of greatness (gedulah), which is the level of the spreading forth of His kindness, may He be blessed, to give life to the worlds, “a thousand thousands,” etc., is “Yours, Havayah,” at the level of bittul,
“Greatness” (gedulah) here is the spreading forth of G‑d’s kindness, which gives life to countless worlds. The verse calls this greatness “Yours”: before G‑d, it too is in a state of bittul.
כי קמי׳ [קמיה] ית׳ כלא כו׳ ואימתי גדול כשהוא בעיר אלקינו4 היינו בחי׳ צירופי אותיות מעשרה מאמרות שמחי׳ עולמות הנבראים ששם יש בחי׳ גדולה והתשפטות כו׳.5
for before Him, may He be blessed, [all is] as nothing, etc. And “when is He great? When He is in the city of our G‑d”: that is, the level of the combinations of letters of the Ten Utterances, which give life to the created worlds, where there is the level of greatness and spreading forth, etc.
Before G‑d all is as nothing, so His “greatness” appears only “in the city of our G‑d,” which the Alter Rebbe reads as the combinations of letters of the Ten Utterances that give life to the created worlds. There, within the worlds, G‑d’s greatness spreads out.
True self-sacrifice is bittul, giving oneself over to G‑d, the Source of all life. Even G‑d’s “greatness,” the kindness that sustains the worlds, is nothing before Him and is “great” only within the created worlds.
The Zohar asks when the Holy One is called great and answers: when the Community of Israel (Knesses Yisrael) is with Him, “in the city of our G‑d.” The Kehot note also points to parallels in the Zohar Chadash on Ki Sisa and Chukas.
Marei mekomos
- 1אליך ה׳ נפשי אשא · Psalms 25:1
- 2דכולא קמי׳ כלא חשיבי · Zohar I, 11b
- 3אלף אלפין כו׳ · Daniel 7:10
- 4ואימתי גדול כשהוא בעיר אלקינו · Zohar III, 5a
- 5לך ה׳ הגדולה · I Chronicles 29:11
10וע״כ תקנו לנו אנכה״ג [אנשי כנסת הגדולה] לפני התפלה שתים לפניה1 כו׳ ופסוד״ז [ופסוקי דזמרה] לזמר עריצים2 רוממות אל בגרונם ע״י שמתבונן איך שהאופנים כו׳
Therefore the Men of the Great Assembly instituted for us, before the prayer, “two [blessings] before it,” etc., and Pesukei deZimra (the Verses of Praise), “to cut down (lezamer) the tyrants,” “the exaltations of G‑d in their throat,” through one’s contemplating how the Ofanim, etc.,
This is why the Men of the Great Assembly set the blessings before the Shema, and the Pesukei deZimra, before prayer. Zimra is read as “cutting down” (lezamer) the tyrants, and the psalms put “the exaltations of G‑d” in one’s throat; both work through contemplating how the angels, such as the Ofanim, praise Him.
ואומרים קדוש ע״י שמשיגים שהוא ית׳ מקור החיים ומגילוי רוח פיו ית׳ הם חיים וקיימים ואליו יאתה ומחמת זה תתפעל ותתלהב נפשו כו׳
and they say “Holy” through comprehending that He, may He be blessed, is the Source of life, and that from the revelation of the breath of His mouth, may He be blessed, they live and exist, and that to Him it is fitting. And because of this his soul will be stirred and set aflame, etc.
The angels say “Holy” because they grasp that G‑d is the Source of life and that they exist only by the breath of His mouth. Contemplating this, a person’s own soul is stirred and set aflame.
ואע״פ [ואף על פי] שהנשמות הם גבוהים יותר מהמלאכים3 מ״מ צריכים להתבוננות מענין אהוי״ר [אהבה ויראה] של המלאכים מפני שדברים אלה הם הגורמים שתתחכם גם נפש השכלית ומזה תתפעל גם היא כו׳.4
And although the souls are higher than the angels, they nevertheless need contemplation of the love and awe of the angels, because these things are what cause the intellectual soul, too, to become wise, and from this it, too, will be stirred, etc.
Souls are higher than angels, yet a person still needs to contemplate the angels’ love and awe. This contemplation makes even the intellectual soul wise, so that it too is stirred; the next paragraph explains that the animal soul is nourished by the angels.
The blessings before the Shema and Pesukei deZimra prepare a person for prayer through contemplating the angels’ praise. Though souls are higher than angels, this contemplation brings the mind to understand and be moved.
The Midrash shows the soul’s superiority over the angels: G‑d said that man’s wisdom would exceed theirs, and Adam named the animals that the angels could not. Even so, the angels’ love and awe, which come from grasping G‑d, are what teach the human mind.
Marei mekomos
- 1שתים לפניה · Mishnah Berakhot 1:4
- 2לזמר עריצים · Isaiah 25:5
- 3שהנשמות הם גבוהים יותר מהמלאכים · Bereshit Rabbah 17:4
- 4רוממות א-ל בגרונם · Psalms 149:6
Thought, speech and action ¶11–12
11וזהו ונתתי עשב בשדך לבהמתך1 היינו נפש הבהמית שמזונה מהמלאכים שנקרא עשב כו׳. וזהו בראתיו יצרתיו אף עשיתיו2 כו׳4
And this is [the meaning of] “And I will give grass in your field for your cattle”: that is, the animal soul, whose nourishment is from the angels, which are called “grass,” etc. And this is [the meaning of] “I have created him, I have formed him, I have even made him,” etc.,
“Grass in your field for your cattle” is read as the animal soul, the “cattle,” fed by the angels, whom the Zohar calls “grass.” So the contemplation of the angels in prayer is food for the animal soul. The Alter Rebbe then returns to the verse “I have created him, I have formed him, I have even made him.”
שהם ג׳ לבושים מחדו״מ [מחשבה דבור ומעשה] מחשבה ושכל נקרא בריאה שהוא יש מאין וכמ״ש והחכמה מאין תמצא3 ודבור הוא בחי׳ יצירה כמו הצורה שהיא גילוי החומר בלבד ולא חידוש מעיקרו.
which are the three garments of thought, speech and action. Thought and intellect are called “creation” (beriah), which is something from nothing, as it is written, “And wisdom is found from nothing (ayin)”; and speech is the level of formation (yetzirah), like form, which is only a revelation of the matter and not something new from its root.
Its three verbs are three garments of the soul: thought, speech and action. Thought and intellect are “creation,” something from nothing, as “wisdom is found from nothing (ayin)” shows; speech is “formation,” which only gives form to what already exists, as form reveals matter without creating it.
The animal soul is nourished by contemplating the angels, its “grass.” Isaiah’s three verbs are the three garments: thought is creation from nothing, and speech is formation of what is already there.
Creation (beriah) brings something new into being from nothing, while formation (yetzirah) shapes what already exists. Here the distinction is applied to the soul: thought arises as something new, while speech only reveals that thought.
Marei mekomos
- 1ונתתי עשב בשדך לבהמתך · Deuteronomy 11:15
- 2בראתיו יצרתיו אף עשיתיו · Isaiah 43:7
- 3והחכ׳ מאין תמצא · Job 28:12
- 4מהמלאכים שנק׳ עשב כו׳ · Zohar I, 18b
12וכך הדבור הוא גילוי העלם השכלי עשיתיו הוא בחי׳ מעשה המצות כמו מלך בו״ד [בשר ודם] שעיקר הכרת מלכותו הוא ע״י המעשה דייקא שישמעו לפקודתו ולא ישנו את תפקידו. וכך מלכותו ית׳ כתיב ה׳ מלך גאות לבש1 כו׳.
So too, speech is the revelation of what is hidden in the intellect. “I have made him” is the level of the action of the mitzvos, like a king of flesh and blood, the main recognition of whose kingship is through action specifically: that they obey his command and do not alter his orders. And so too of His kingship, may He be blessed, it is written, “Havayah reigns; He is clothed in majesty,” etc.
Speech reveals what was hidden in the mind. “I have even made him” is action, the doing of the mitzvos: a king’s rule is seen chiefly in deeds, when his orders are carried out, and so of G‑d’s kingship it is written, “Havayah reigns; He is clothed in majesty,” His kingship described as a garment.
Speech reveals thought, and “making” is the doing of the mitzvos. As a king’s rule shows above all in the carrying out of his orders, G‑d’s kingship is His “garment,” put on through deeds.
Marei mekomos
- 1ה׳ מלך גאות לבש · Psalms 93:1
Two hearts ¶13–14
13ואל יאמר אדם א״א בבשר חזיר1 אלא אפשי אבל מה אעשה אבי שבשמים גזר23 כו׳ שהוא ענין עומ״ש [עול מלכות שמים] הגם שהוא בלתי שכל כלל ונעוץ סופן4 כו׳.5
“And a person should not say, ‘I have no desire for pig’s flesh,’ but rather, ‘I do desire it, but what can I do? My Father in Heaven has decreed,’” etc. This is the matter of the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, even though it is altogether without reason; and “their end is wedged,” etc.
The Sifra teaches that one should not say “I have no desire for pork,” but “I would like it, but my Father in Heaven has forbidden it.” This is accepting the yoke of Heaven, obedience beyond reason; and, as Sefer Yetzirah says, “their end is wedged in their beginning”: this lowest level, plain action, is bound to the highest.
וזהו שתקנו בתפלת יוצר ויחד לבבינו כו׳ כי ב׳ לבבות הם פנימי׳ [פנימיות / פנימית] הלב וחיצונית הלב.6
And this is what they instituted in the Yotzer prayer, “And unite our heart (levaveinu),” etc. For the two hearts are the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the heart and the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of the heart.
That is why the Yotzer blessings include “Unite our heart”: a person has two “hearts,” an inner one and an outer one, and the prayer asks that they become one.
The inner dimension of the heart is the level of the heart’s will (re’usa deliba), with true desire and longing to cleave to Him, may He be blessed, for “a son is the leg [of his father],” etc.
The inner heart is the heart’s will, a true longing to cleave to G‑d. It is natural, as a son is part of his father; the Aramaic saying is “a son is his father’s leg.”
ה׳ אלהינו שלנו ממש וא״צ [ואין צריך / ואינו צריך] להתבוננות כלל כי מאליו תתלהט ואמנם חיצוני׳ הלב שהוא מחמת נה״ב [נפש הבהמית] שמסתרת והוא מ״ש ערלת לבבכם9
“Havayah our G‑d”: truly ours. And it needs no contemplation at all, for it blazes up of itself. However, the outer dimension of the heart, which comes from the animal soul, which conceals, is what is written, “the foreskin of your heart,”
This inner love needs no contemplation: Havayah is “our G‑d,” truly ours, and the love blazes up on its own. The outer heart comes from the animal soul, which hides that love; the Torah calls it “the foreskin of your heart.”
שהוא בחי׳ ההסתרה שמסתרת אור קדושת ה׳ ועליה כתיב ומלתם כו׳ שצריך להעביר ערלה זו המפסקת ע״י ההתבוננות בכל המבואר בענין פסוד״ז [פסוקי דזמרה] והאופנים כו׳.
which is the level of the concealment that conceals the light of the holiness of G‑d. And of it, it is written, “You shall circumcise,” etc.: one must remove this foreskin, which interposes, through contemplating all that is explained in the matter of Pesukei deZimra and the Ofanim, etc.
The command “circumcise the foreskin of your heart” means removing this barrier that hides G‑d’s holiness. It is done through the contemplation described above, in Pesukei deZimra and the praise of the Ofanim.
Every Jew has two hearts: an inner heart that loves G‑d by nature, and an outer heart, from the animal soul, that hides that love. The contemplation of prayer “circumcises” the outer heart so that the two can be united.
Rashi, quoting the Sifra, ends the teaching with “he separates himself from sin and accepts upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven,” the very phrase the Alter Rebbe uses here. The Kehot note also traces “a son is his father’s leg” to Etz Chaim, Shaar Pirkei HaTzelem, chapter 1.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואל יאמר אדם א״א בבשר חזיר · Leviticus 20:26
- 2ואל יאמר אדם א״א בבשר חזיר אלא אפשי אבל מה אעשה אבי שבשמים גזר · Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 9 12
- 3ואל יאמר אדם א״א בבשר חזיר אלא אפשי אבל מה אעשה אבי שבשמים גזר · Rashi on Leviticus 20:26
- 4ונעוץ סופן · Sefer Yetzirah 1:7
- 5ונעוץ סופן כו׳ · ס״י פ״א, מ״ז.
- 6כי ב׳ לבבות הם פנימי׳ הלב וחיצונית הלב · ראה לעיל פ׳ בלק סז, ג.
- 7כי ברא כרעא · Tosafot on Yevamot 3a:7
- 8ברא כרעא כו׳ · Yevamot 3a:2–4
- 9ערלת לבבכם · Deuteronomy 10:16
14ועל״ל [ולעתיד לבוא] כתיב ומל ה׳ את לבבך1 כו׳ ועי״ז יהיה ויחד לבבינו כו׳ וזהו בכל השנה ובעשי״ת [ובעשרת ימי תשובה] כתיב ממעמקים קראתיך2 הוי׳ מעומקא דליבא פנימית הלב בקשו פני3 כו׳
And of the Time to Come it is written, “And Havayah will circumcise your heart,” etc., and through this there will be “And unite our heart,” etc. And this [applies] throughout the year; and in the Ten Days of Teshuvah it is written, “Out of the depths I have called You, Havayah”: from the depth of the heart, the inner dimension of the heart. “Seek My face,” etc.;
In the time to come G‑d Himself will “circumcise your heart,” and then the two hearts will truly be one. This applies throughout the year; and in the Ten Days of Teshuvah the cry is “out of the depths,” from the depth of the heart, its inner dimension. The next verse brought is “Seek My face.”
את פניך ה׳ אבקש שגם למעלה יש פנימי׳ [פנימיות / פנימית] וחיצוני׳ סובב וממלא ממלא הוא בחי׳ חיצוניו׳ [חיצוניות] דכולא קמי׳ [קמיה] כלא חשיב ובאתעדל״ת [ובאתערותא דלתתא] נתעורר פנימי׳ [פנימיות / פנימית] אלהותו סוכ״ע כו׳. אל תט באף עבדך.4
“Your face, Havayah, I will seek.” For Above, too, there is an inner and an outer dimension, the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev) and the light that fills all worlds (memalei). The light that fills all worlds is the level of the outer dimension, for “all before Him is considered as nothing”; and through the arousal from below (isarusa dilesata), the inner dimension of His G‑dliness, the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), is aroused, etc. “Do not turn Your servant away in anger (be’af).”
“Your face (panim), Havayah, I will seek” points to G‑d’s inner dimension (pnimiyus): Above, too, there is an outer level, the light that fills the worlds, before which they are as nothing, and an inner level, the light that encompasses them. A person’s effort from below arouses G‑d’s inner light; and the psalm goes on, “Do not turn Your servant away in anger (be’af).”
היינו כי יש עבד למטה כי לי בנ״י [בני ישראל] עבדים5 ואברהם אוהבי6 למעלה מבחי׳ עבד כבן לפני המלך ואמר דוד המלך ע״ה [עליו השלום] שלא יהי׳ [יהיה] מבחי׳ עבד שלמטה אלא מעבד שלמעלה וכן משה עבדי7 דוד עבדי.89
That is, there is a servant below: “For the children of Israel are servants to Me”; and “Avraham, who loves Me,” is above the level of a servant, like a son before the king. And King David, peace be upon him, said that it should not be from the level of the servant who is below, but from the servant who is above; and so too, “Moshe My servant,” “David My servant.”
There are two kinds of servant: the lower servant, as all Israel are G‑d’s servants, and one who stands above that, like Avraham “who loves Me,” a son before the king. David asked to serve as the higher servant, the level of “Moshe My servant” and “David My servant.”
Only G‑d will fully unite the two hearts, in the time to come; now, prayer from the depths of the heart arouses G‑d’s own inner light, the light that encompasses all worlds. David asks to be a servant of the higher kind, like Moshe.
Marei mekomos
- 1ומל ה׳ את לבבך · Deuteronomy 30:6
- 2ממעמקים קראתיך הוי׳ · Psalms 130:1
- 3בקשו פני את פניך ה׳ אבקש · Psalms 27:8
- 4אל תט באף עבדך · Psalms 27:9
- 5כי לי בנ״י עבדים · Leviticus 25:55
- 6אברהם אוהבי · Isaiah 41:8
- 7משה עבדי · Joshua 1:2
- 8דוד עבדי · מ״א יא, יג. ובכ״מ.
- 9דוד עבדי · I Kings 11:13
Torah like rain ¶15
15וז״ש [וזהו שכתוב] באף עבדך1 שהוא כמ״ש אף עשיתיו2 כו׳ בחי׳ מעשה בלי טעם כעבד שמשרת לפני אדונו ועושה רצונו אף שאין לו טעם לכ״ד [לכל דבר] כו׳
And this is [the meaning of] “in anger (be’af), Your servant”: it is as it is written, “I have even (af) made him,” etc., the level of action without reason, like a servant who serves before his master and does his will even though he has no reason for anything, etc.
The af of “do not turn Your servant away in anger (be’af)” recalls “I have even (af) made him,” the level of action. This is service without reasons, like a servant who simply does his master’s will.
וע״י יחוד ב׳ לבבות בק״ש [בקריאת שמע] יהי׳ [יהיה] אח״כ ההמשכה ע״י התורה לכבודי בראתיו כו׳ ולפיכך נקראים עדים העדותי בכם3 כו׳ עד שאמר האזינו השמים4 כו׳ יערוף כמטר5 כו׳.
And through the unification of the two hearts in the Shema, there will afterwards be the drawing down through the Torah, “for My glory I have created him,” etc. And therefore they are called witnesses, “I call to witness against you,” etc., until he said, “Give ear, O heavens,” etc., “My teaching shall drop like the rain,” etc.
Once the two hearts are united in the Shema, Torah study can draw G‑d’s light down: “for My glory I have created him.” That is why the two Torahs are called witnesses, and why Moshe goes on to say “Give ear, O heavens” and “My teaching shall drop like the rain.”
כי יש ב׳ בחי׳ בתורה האחד תלמוד שמביא לידי מעשה6 שהוא ללמוד כדי לידע הדין אם יוצרך למעשה כו׳
For there are two levels in the Torah. The one is study that leads to action, which is learning in order to know the law, should it be needed in practice, etc.,
Torah has two levels. The first is study that leads to action: learning to know the law in case it is needed in practice.
ובהרהור לא סגי עד שידע ויוחקק בלוח לבו כו׳ וע״ז הוא שכתוב יערוף כמטר כו׳ כמ״ש כי כאשר ירד הגשם כו׳
and thinking does not suffice, until he knows [it] and it is engraved on the tablet of his heart, etc. And of this it is written, “My teaching shall drop like the rain,” etc., as it is written, “For as the rain comes down,” etc.,
Merely thinking about the law is not enough; one must know it so well that it is engraved on the heart. This Torah is “rain,” as Isaiah compares G‑d’s word to rain that comes down from heaven.
ועשה את אשר חפצתי7 כו׳ ומה לא ישוב כ״א הרוה את הארץ והולידה והצמיחה8 והאדם יאכל ובכח זה יאמר ואהבת כו׳.
“and it shall do that which I desire,” etc. And just as it “does not return, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and sprout,” and man will eat, and by this strength he will say “And you shall love,” etc.
Isaiah’s rain does not return without watering the earth and making it grow, so that man eats; so G‑d’s word does what He desires. From the strength of that nourishment a person can say “And you shall love”: this Torah gives the strength to love G‑d.
וכך בחי׳ תורה זו הוא הנק׳ עוז שניתן כח שיוכל לומר ואהבת וצ״ל ע״י הקדמת המס״נ [המסירות נפש] כנ״ל כמו הגשם שהוא ע״י רעמים ועבים כו׳:910
And so this level of Torah is what is called “strength” (oz), for power is given so that he can say “And you shall love.” And this must come through self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) going before it, as mentioned above, like the rain, which comes through thunder and clouds, etc.
That is why this Torah is called “strength” (oz): it gives the power to love G‑d. But it must be preceded by self-sacrifice, as rain comes only through thunder and clouds; the maamar breaks off here.
Service in action beyond reason, and then the uniting of the two hearts in the Shema, let the Torah draw G‑d’s light down. Torah learned for practice falls on the soul like rain and gives it the strength to love G‑d, but only after self-sacrifice.
The maamar comes full circle: the “rain” of Ha’azinu’s second verse is Torah learned for practice, which the soul can take in only after the self-sacrifice of prayer, as rain follows thunder and clouds.
Marei mekomos
- 1באף עבדך · Psalms 27:9
- 2אף עשיתיו · Isaiah 43:7
- 3העדותי בכם · Deuteronomy 30:19
- 4האזינו השמים · Deuteronomy 32:1
- 5יערוף כמטר · Deuteronomy 32:2
- 6תלמוד שמביא לידי מעשה · Kiddushin 40b:8–9
- 7ועשה את אשר חפצתי · Isaiah 55:11
- 8כי כאשר ירד הגשם . . והולידה והצמיחה · Isaiah 55:10
- 9רעמים ועבים כו׳ · סיום הענין שבמאמר — ראה מאמרי אדה״ז תקס״ז ע׳ שנט-ס.
- 10תו׳ . . הנק׳ עוז · נסמן לעיל נה, ג.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Before learning, pray: let the love of the Shema and the readiness for self-sacrifice, quiet bittul rather than noise, come first, and use Pesukei deZimra to contemplate until the outer heart joins the inner one. Then learn Torah for its own sake and for practice, until the law is engraved on the heart, and keep the mitzvos even where they are beyond reason, like a servant who does his master’s will.
Questions for discussion
- Why does water, which takes the color of its vessel, describe the Written Torah, and what gives it its “color”?
- How can Israel be said to “clothe” G‑d in the Torah, and why is it the servant, not the king, who puts on the garment?
- What is the difference between the self-sacrifice the maamar rejects and the one it describes?
- Why do souls, which are higher than angels, need to contemplate the angels’ love and awe?
- Why must prayer come before Torah, and how does Torah learned for practice become “strength” to love G‑d?
Key terms in this maamar
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×3
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect.
- Self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh)מסירות נפש
- Giving oneself over entirely to G‑d.
- 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. ×2
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving.
- Love and aweאהבה ויראה
- The two 'wings' of divine service.
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×1
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence. ×1
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions. ×1
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level.
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect.
- The light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin)סובב כל עלמין
- Divine light too great to enter the worlds; it 'surrounds' them and affects them from beyond.
- The light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin)ממלא כל עלמין
- Divine light that enters each world and gives it life according to its measure.
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×1
- The general and collective expression (klalus)כללות
- That which encompasses the particulars as one: their general and collective expression (the klal, as against the prat). Never “sum”, “sum total”, “totality” or “general principle”, as if the particulars were added up (וכללותן היא מצות הצדקה is “their general and collective expression is the mitzvah of charity”). Render by sense: “their general and collective expression”, “that which encompasses them all”, “X in general”, “X as a whole”. Keep התכללות as “inclusion” / “inter-inclusion”. ×1