Likkutei Torah · Parshas Masei · Maamar 10
איתא במדרש תהלים ע״פ אחת שאלתי מאת ה׳…
It Is Stated in Midrash Tehillim on “One Thing I Have Asked”
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The big idea
Above, awe and love are one, so G‑d asks only for the higher awe and the higher love comes to it of itself; from this David learned to ask for only “one thing.” Below, where awe and love are nearly opposites, a person must first soften the heart through humility, the lower awe, so that the love hidden in every soul can grow.
The maamar in brief
A Midrash relates that G‑d asked David why he said “One thing I have asked” and then listed several requests, and David answered that he learned it from G‑d, who asks Israel only “to fear” and then adds many mitzvos. The Maggid explained that David’s other requests branch out from the one and come by themselves. The Alter Rebbe asks why, then, David needed G‑d’s example, and answers through the letters of the Name Havayah: awe, love, Torah and mitzvos. The higher a level, the greater its unity. The higher awe, the purpose of all the mitzvos, stands above the Torah, and when a person reaches it the higher love, “love in delights,” comes by itself, for above the two never part. Below, in the world of separation, awe and love are almost opposites, and the beinonim must first reach a lower love, the soul’s thirst for G‑d. This requires “plowing”: softening the heart by mastering worldly desires and humbling oneself, which is the lower awe. Finally, David’s “house of Havayah” is the letters of the Torah and its “pleasantness” their light; for great tzaddikim the two are one.
Outline
- David’s one requestThe Midrash: G‑d asks David why “one thing” became several requests, and David answers that he learned it from G‑d’s own “only to fear.” The Maggid explains that the other requests branch out from the one and come with it.¶1–2
- Higher awe and higher loveThe letters of Havayah correspond to awe, love, Torah and mitzvos. The higher awe, the goal of the mitzvos, brings the higher love by itself, since above they are one; below they are nearly opposites, and the beinonim must first reach a lower love, the “service of love” that is like plowing.¶3
- Plowing the heartThe love hidden in every heart is a supernal spark buried in the kelipos. Mastering worldly desires and humbling the heart, the lower awe, softens it so that the love can grow.¶4
- The house and its pleasantnessDavid’s “house of Havayah” is the letters of the Torah, the vessels, and its “pleasantness” the light within them; for great tzaddikim such as Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Ilai they are one. The Book of Bamidbar closes.¶5–6
Key concepts
- Higher awe (the awe of exaltedness)יראה עליונה / יראת הרוממות
- Awe before G‑d’s exaltedness, reaching to being nullified in one’s very existence; the goal of all the mitzvos, which not everyone attains.
- Lower aweיראה התחתונה
- The lowliness and humbled heart that come from lowering oneself; the first step, which precedes love.
- Great love, love in delightsאהבה רבה / אהבה בתענוגים
- The higher love, the soul’s consuming yearning for its root. It cannot be produced by human effort; it comes from above to one who has reached the higher awe.
- The hidden loveהאהבה המסותרת
- The love for G‑d concealed in every heart, a supernal spark buried in the kelipos, which grows as the heart is softened.
- Beinonim (intermediate people)בינונים
- Those who must begin from below: first a lower love, “My soul thirsts for You,” prepared for by the lower awe.
- Letters and lightsאותיות / אורות
- The letters of the Torah are its vessels, its “houses,” and its pleasantness is the light within them; above, and for great tzaddikim, the two are one.
David’s one request ¶1–2
1איתא במדרש תהלים1 ע״פ אחת שאלתי מאת ה׳ וגו׳ והובא בילקוט2 אמר הקב״ה לדוד בתחלה אתה אומר אחת שאלתי3 שבתי4 בבית ה׳ ואח״כ אתה שואל כמה שאלות ולחזות בנועם ה׳ ולבקר בהיכלו5 וגו׳
It is stated in Midrash Tehillim on the verse “One thing I have asked of Havayah,” etc., and it is cited in the Yalkut: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to David, “At first you say, ‘One thing I have asked: that I may dwell in the house of Havayah’; and afterwards you ask several requests: ‘and to behold the pleasantness of Havayah, and to visit in His Sanctuary,’ etc.”
The maamar opens with a Midrash on Psalms 27:4, where David says he asked G‑d for “one thing” and then lists several: to dwell in G‑d’s house, to behold His pleasantness, and to visit His Sanctuary. G‑d points out this apparent inconsistency to David.
והשיבו דוד ממך למדתי בתחלה לא באת עלי6 אלא באחת שנאמר ועתה ישראל מה7 ה׳ אלקיך שואל מעמך כי אם ליראה ואח״כ פתחת עלינו במצות הרבה שנאמר ללכת בכל דרכיו8 ולדבקה בו וגו׳.910
And David answered Him: “I learned it from You. At first You came to me with nothing but one [thing], as it is said, ‘And now, Israel, what does Havayah your G‑d ask of you but to fear’; and afterwards You opened upon us with many mitzvos, as it is said, ‘to walk in all His ways and to cleave to Him,’ etc.”
David replies that he learned this from G‑d Himself: in Deuteronomy 10:12 G‑d first asks Israel for one thing only, “to fear,” and then goes on to many mitzvos. On its face the reply only shows the same pattern in G‑d’s own words without explaining it, and the maamar sets out to explain it.
The maamar opens with a Midrash: G‑d asks David why he speaks of asking “one thing” and then lists several requests, and David answers that he learned this from G‑d, who asks Israel only “to fear” and then adds many mitzvos.
In Midrash Tehillim David’s reply ends, “It is enough for the servant to be like his master.” The Kehot note records variant readings of the reply: the Yalkut has “At first You said,” and Buber’s edition of Midrash Tehillim reads “to us.”
Marei mekomos
- 1איתא במדרש תהלים · הגהות אחדות באוה״ת מסעי ע׳ א׳תטז. וראה ד״ה אחת שאלתי בסה״מ תקס״ג ח״ב ע׳ תשד ואילך. אוה״ת עקב ע׳ תקעח. שם ע׳ תקפג ואילך. יהל אור עה״פ. ד״ה אני לדודי תרכ״ט. ד״ה ועתה ישראל — תשל״ז (סה״מ מלוקט ח״ב).
- 2והובא בילקוט · עה״פ רמז תשו.
- 3אחת שאלתי · Psalms 27:4
- 4
- 5בתחלה אתה אומר . . ולבקר בהיכלו · ראה לקו״ש ח״ט ע׳ 170.
- 6לא באת עלי · ביל״ש הגירסא: בתחלה אמרת. אבל במדרש תהלים באבער: לנו.
- 7ועתה ישראל מה ה״א · Deuteronomy 10:12
- 8ללכת בכל דרכיו · שם.
- 9והשיבו דוד . . ולדבקה בו וגו׳ · בד״ה ועתה ישראל — תשל״ז הקשה ”דלכאורה תשובת דוד ממך למדתי אינה מתרצת זה שאמר אחת שאלתי אלא שאומרת שהשאלה היא על הקב״ה שבתחלה אומר כי אם ליראה, ואח״כ פתח במצוות הרבה”.
- 10
2ואמר הרב המגיד1 ז״ל [זכרונו לברכה / זכרונם לברכה] נ״ע [נשמתו עדן] הטעם שבאמת שאל רק דבר אחד לבד והדברים הנוספים מסתעפים מזה
And the Rav, the Maggid, of blessed memory, whose soul is in Eden, said that the reason is that in truth he asked only one thing alone, and the additional things branch out from this
The Maggid of Mezritch, the Alter Rebbe’s teacher, answers that David really asked for only one thing. The further requests are not additions but branch out from that one thing.
הדבר שמוכרחים להיות ממילא בהיות הדבר הזה מפני שהכל אחד ולא הוצרך לבקש רק דבר אחד וממילא באים עם זה שאר הדברים.
thing: they must necessarily come to be of themselves when this thing is present, because all is one; and he did not need to ask for more than one thing, and of themselves the other things come along with it.
Once that one thing is present, the others must follow of themselves, because at root they are all one. So David needed to ask for only one thing, and the rest came with it.
The Maggid’s answer: David asked for a single thing, and the other requests are its branches, which follow from it by themselves because all are one.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואמר הרב המגיד · מובא גם באוה״ת עקב ע׳ תקעה. ראה ד״ה אחת שאלתי — בסה״מ תער״ב-ב ע׳ א׳קיד. ד״ה ועתה ישראל תשל״ז סעי׳ ג (בסה״מ מלוקט-ב ע׳ שכו).
Higher awe and higher love ¶3
3וצריך ביאור לדבריו שלזה לא היה צריך דוד ללמוד מה׳ שהרי באמת לא שאל רק שאלה אחת.
His words require explanation: [if so,] David had no need to learn this from G‑d, since in truth he asked only one request.
The Alter Rebbe questions the Maggid’s answer: if David truly asked for only one thing, he had nothing to learn from G‑d’s example, and his reply “I learned it from You” would be unnecessary.
אך הענין הוא ידוע י׳ יראה1 ה׳ אהבה ו׳ תורה ה׳ מצות והיותר למעלה יותר ענין אחדות והיראה עליונה הוא למעלה מן התורה כמ״ש
But the matter is [this]: it is known that the yud is awe, the hei is love, the vav is Torah, the [final] hei is the mitzvos; and the higher [a level is], the more it is a matter of unity. And the higher awe is above the Torah, as it is written,
The answer begins from a known teaching that the four letters of the Name Havayah correspond to four parts of divine service: yud to awe, the first hei to love, vav to Torah, and the final hei to the mitzvos. The higher a level, the more unified it is, and the higher awe, the yud, stands above even the Torah.
ויצונו ה׳ לעשות את כל החקים2 האלה ליראה את ה׳ אלקינו, הרי כל שמירת המצות אינם רק להגיע למדרגת היראה ההיא והוא יראת הרוממות
“And Havayah commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Havayah our G‑d.” Thus all the keeping of the mitzvos is only in order to reach that level of awe, which is the awe of [His] exaltedness;
The verse says G‑d commanded “all these statutes” in order “to fear Havayah our G‑d,” so the mitzvos are the means and this awe is their goal. It is called “the awe of exaltedness,” awe before G‑d’s greatness.
ולא כל אדם זוכה לזה היראה ואהבה34 העליונה שלמעלה מיראה זו היא אהבה רבה אשר אינה באה מעבודת האדם ויגיעתו כ״א השפעה עליונה כאשר יגיע האדם אל היראה עליונה ממילא תבוא עליו האהבה הזאת המופלגת
and not every person merits this awe. And the higher love, which is above this awe, is great love (ahavah rabbah), which does not come from a person’s service and toil, but [is] a bestowal from above: when a person reaches the higher awe, this surpassing love will come upon him of itself,
Few attain this higher awe. Above it stands the higher love, ahavah rabbah (“great love”), which no human effort can produce: it is a gift from above that comes by itself to one who has reached the higher awe.
והיא כלות הנפש לשרשו והיא אהבה בתענוגים56 ולמעלה היראה והאהבה הנ״ל הם כולא חד תרין ריעין דלא מתפרשין7
and it is the soul’s consuming yearning for its root (kelos hanefesh), and it is love in delights (ahavah betaanugim). And above, the aforementioned awe and love are all one, “two companions that never part,”
This love is the soul’s yearning to dissolve into its source, called “love in delights” (Song of Songs 7:7). In the higher realms awe and love are not separate at all but always together, like two companions who never part.
כי היותר למעלה הוא באחדות יותר משא״כ למטה הוא עולם הפירוד היראה והאהבה הם כמעט שני הפכים, היראה צריך שיגיע האדם מתחלה להשפיל א״ע [את עצמו] במדרגת השפלות עד מאד
for the higher [a level is], the more it is in unity; whereas below, which is the world of separation, awe and love are almost two opposites. [As for] awe, a person must first come to lower himself exceedingly, to the level of lowliness,
Unity increases the higher one goes; below, in the world of separation, awe and love are almost opposites. Awe begins with a person making himself utterly lowly.
ומזה יבוא ליראה התחתונה, ואהבה שלמעלה ממנו הוא השמחה ישמח ישראל בעושיו8 וזאת האהבה היא למטה מיראה העליונה שע״י האהבה הזאת יוכל להגיע למעט מן היראה העליונה שהוא בטל במציאות כו׳.
and from this he will come to the lower awe. And the love that is above it is joy: “Let Israel rejoice in its Maker.” And this love is below the higher awe, for through this love one can reach a little of the higher awe, which is to be nullified in [one’s very] existence, etc.
That lowliness brings the lower awe. Above it is a love expressed as joy, as in “Let Israel rejoice in its Maker”; this love is still below the higher awe, but through it a person can reach a small measure of that higher awe, which is bittul, being nullified in one’s very existence.
וזהו מה ה׳ אלקיך שואל מעמך9 כ״א ליראה העליונה הנ״ל וממילא בא אל האהבה העליונה הנ״ל
And this is [the meaning of] “What does Havayah your G‑d ask of you but to fear,” [that is,] the aforementioned higher awe; and of itself he comes to the aforementioned higher love,
This explains the verse “What does Havayah your G‑d ask of you but to fear”: G‑d asks for the higher awe alone, and once it is attained the higher love comes by itself. The single request includes the rest.
כי דרכו של איש לחזור10 אחר אשה כי כולא חד למעלה כמבואר בלק״א [בלקוטי אמרים].11 (ועמ״ש מזה בהערה לתיקון חצות).12
for “it is the way of a man to seek out a woman,” since above, all is one, as is explained in Likkutei Amarim [the Tanya]. (And see what is written about this in the note on Tikkun Chatzos.)
The Talmud says it is the way of a man to seek out a woman; Tanya, chapter 43, applies this to love, called “man,” which comes of itself to awe, called “woman,” because above they are one. The text also refers the reader to the note on Tikkun Chatzos, the midnight lament over the destruction of the Temple.
אבל הבינונים צריכים להגיע מתחלה לאהבה שלמטה מן היראה העליונה הנ״ל והיא צמאה לך נפשי13 וגו׳.
But the intermediate ones (beinonim) must first reach the love that is below the aforementioned higher awe, which is “My soul thirsts for You,” etc.
The beinonim (“intermediate” people, in the Tanya’s term), who are not tzaddikim, cannot begin from the higher awe. They must first reach a lower love, the soul’s thirst for G‑d expressed in “My soul thirsts for You.”
ועליה רמז בזוהר לית פולחנא כפולחנא דרחימותא14 כי הוא כמ״ש לרפויא ארעא15 פי׳ עבודת הקרקע היא חרישתה שתתרכך להצמיח הזרעים שבתוכה. משא״כ אם היא קשה אין מצמחת מה שזורעין בה.
And it is to this [love] that the Zohar alludes: “There is no service like the service of love.” For it is as is said, “to loosen the earth”; that is, the work of the ground is its plowing, so that it softens to make the seeds within it sprout; whereas if it is hard, it does not make what is sown in it sprout.
The Zohar calls this love the greatest “service,” and the Alter Rebbe reads “service” in its farming sense: the Talmud describes plowing as “loosening the earth.” Ground that is hard cannot grow what is sown in it, so it must first be softened by plowing.
The Alter Rebbe answers by distinguishing levels. Above, the higher awe and the higher love are one, so asking for awe brings love with it; below, they are nearly opposites, and the beinonim must first cultivate a lower love, which, like plowing, softens the ground.
Tanya’s Iggeres HaKodesh, epistle 18, sets out the same two loves: “love in delights,” which no toil can reach and which comes upon a person from above after he has toiled in the awe of exaltedness, “for it is the way of a man to pursue,” and the love hidden in the heart of all Israel, which when revealed is described by “My soul thirsts.” Or HaTorah (Nach, vol. 1, p. 624), cited in the Kehot note, explains that the higher awe is the vessel that receives supernal Chochmah and is drawn from Binah; since Abba (Chochmah) enclothes the Chesed of Arich Anpin, the love in delights comes through the higher awe.
Marei mekomos
- 1י׳ יראה · ע׳ זח״ג (קכב, ב) ברע״מ שם (קכג, ב). [כ].
- 2ויצונו ה׳ לעשות את כל החקים · Deuteronomy 6:24
- 3י׳ יראה ה׳ אהבה ו׳ תורה ה׳ מצות · Zohar, Nasso 4:30–38
- 4י׳ יראה ה׳ אהבה ו׳ תורה ה׳ מצות · Zohar, Nasso 4:49–59
- 5והיא אהבה בתענוגים · באוה״ת נ״ך כרך א ע׳ תרכד מבואר ”יראה עילאה שהיא כלי קיבול לחכמה עילאה וכן פי׳ בפרדס ערך יראה שהיא הבינה. ולפ״ז אתי שפיר מ״ש בלק״ת ס״פ מסעי בד״ה איתא במדרש תלים . . בענין שע״י יראה עילאה יבא אהבה בתענוגים כי דרכו של איש לחזור כו׳ וכן פי׳ באג״ה . . בד״ה מה יפית ומה נעמת אהבה בתענוגים, והיינו כי אבא מלביש חסד דא״א ובינה מלבשת גבורה דא״א ולכן מבחי׳ בינה נמשך יראה עילאה” ע״ש.
- 6אהבה בתענוגים · Song of Songs 7:7
- 7כולא חד תרין ריעין דלא מתפרשין · בד״ה ואתם תהיו — תר״ס ע׳ קנא שמפרש ”והיינו דכשיש בחי׳ יראה עילאה ממילא באה האהבה בתענוגים וא״צ עבודה ויגיעה לזה כ״א באה ממילא אחרי בחי׳ יראה עילאה וכמ״ש באגה״ק [סי׳ יח]”.
- 8ישמח ישראל בעושיו · Psalms 149:2
- 9מה ה׳ אלקיך שואל מעמך · Deuteronomy 10:12
- 10דרכו של איש לחזור · Kiddushin 2b:13–14
- 11כמבואר בלק״א · פרק מג.
- 12בהערה לתיקון חצות · בסידור עם דא״ח קנב, א.
- 13צמאה לך נפשי · Psalms 63:2
- 14לית פולחנא כפולחנא דרחימותא · Zohar III, 267a
- 15לרפויא ארעא · Moed Katan 2b:4
Plowing the heart ¶4
4וכן הענין בזאת האהבה המסותרת בלב כל אחד ואחד יעקב חבל נחלתו1 ניצוץ עליון, אך שהיא מלובשת מאד בעמקי הקליפות וצריך להעלותה לשרשה
And so it is with this love that is hidden in the heart of each and every one — “Jacob is the lot of His inheritance” — a supernal spark; but it is very much enclothed in the depths of the kelipos (husks), and it must be raised to its root;
The same holds for the love hidden in every Jewish heart, for each soul is “the lot of His inheritance,” a spark from above. But that love lies wrapped deep within the kelipos, the husks that conceal holiness, and it must be raised back to its source.
וצריך להיות רך בתחלה פי׳ כמו חרישה שמרככין ארעא כדי שתצמיח הזרעים, פי׳ להתגבר על חפציו ותשוקתו בעניני עוה״ז וכל תאוותיו ולעמוד על נפשו שלא לפנות לבבו אליהם ולשבור לבבו בשביל חפצו לדבקה בה׳ אלקים,
and one must be soft at first, that is, like plowing, which softens the earth so that it will make the seeds sprout. That is: to overpower his wants and his longing for the matters of this world, and all his desires, and to stand guard over his soul so as not to turn his heart to them, and to break his heart for the sake of his desire to cleave to Havayah Elokim;
As ground must be plowed before seeds can grow, a person must first become “soft.” This means overcoming his wants and cravings for worldly things, guarding himself from turning his heart toward them, and breaking his heart out of the desire to cleave to G‑d.
ומה שיחרוש גופו ביותר וישבר בענין זה כן מצמיח יותר האהבה המסותרת הנ״ל, ועבודה זו נקראת בחינת יראה התחתונה הקודמת לאהבה זו והוא השפלות והכנעת לבו כמ״ש רז״ל [רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] אין עומדין להתפלל אלא מתוך כובד ראש.2
and the more he plows his body and is broken in this matter, the more it makes the aforementioned hidden love sprout. And this service is called the level of the lower awe, which precedes this love; and it is lowliness and the humbling of his heart, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “One may stand to pray only out of gravity of mind (koved rosh).”
The more a person “plows” his body and breaks its hold in this way, the more the hidden love grows. This preparatory work is the lower awe that comes before this love: lowliness and a humbled heart, like the gravity of mind the Sages require before prayer.
The plowing image is applied to the soul: the love hidden in every Jew lies buried in the kelipos, and only a heart softened by humility and self-mastery, the lower awe, allows that love to grow.
Tanya’s Iggeres HaKodesh, epistle 18, describes this same love as hidden in the heart of all Israel and held in exile within the body, where the kelipah can rule over it. The work it prescribes is the one described here: to overpower the kelipah and drive it out of thought, speech and action, so that the hidden love can be revealed.
Marei mekomos
- 1יעקב חבל נחלתו · Deuteronomy 32:9
- 2אין עומדין להתפלל אלא מתוך כובד ראש · Mishnah Berakhot 5:1
The house and its pleasantness ¶5–6
5ומן פסוק ועתה ישראל1 למד דוד המלך ע״ה [עליו השלום] בבקשתו שבקש רק דבר אחד שבתי בבית2 ה׳ פי׳ אותיות התורה הם נקראים בתים כנודע והם הכלים
And from the verse “And now, Israel,” King David, peace be upon him, learned [this] in his request, in which he asked only one thing, “that I may dwell in the house of Havayah.” That is: the letters of the Torah are called “houses,” as is known, and they are the vessels;
Returning to the Midrash: from the verse “And now, Israel,” David learned to ask for one thing only, “that I may dwell in the house of Havayah.” The “houses” are the letters of the Torah, which serve as vessels.
ולחזות בנועם ה׳ היא המתקה עמ״ש בביאור ע״פ באתי לגני3 והם האורות שבתוך הכלים ולמעלה הם כולם אחדות אחד משא״כ למטה הם נפרדים יש שלומד באותיות כו׳.
and “to behold the pleasantness of Havayah” is sweetening — see what is written in the Biur on the verse “I have come into My garden” — and they are the lights within the vessels. And above, they are all one unity, whereas below they are separate: there is one who studies [only] the letters, etc.
“Beholding the pleasantness of Havayah” is the sweetness of the Torah, the light within those letter-vessels; on “sweetening” the text refers to the explanation (Biur) of “I have come into My garden.” Above, letters and light are one, but below they can be separated, so that a person may study the letters of the Torah without its inner light.
וכן מצינו ברבי יהודה בר׳ [ברבי] אלעאי שהיו פניו צהובים מטוב לבו מרוב השמחה והאורה שבתורה שבע״פ [שבעל פה] מפני שהיו צדיקים מופלגים והיו להם הפנימית והאותיות כולא חד וכו׳ וד״ל [ודי למבין]:4
And so we find with Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Ilai, that his face was radiant out of the gladness of his heart, from the abundance of joy and light in the Oral Torah; because they were extraordinary tzaddikim, and for them the inner [dimension] and the letters were all one, etc. And this suffices for one who understands.
Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Ilai shows the higher state: his face shone with gladness from the joy and light of the Oral Torah. For such extraordinary tzaddikim the inner light and the letters were one, so the letters brought their light with them.
The maamar applies its principle to David’s request: the “house of Havayah” is the letters of the Torah, the vessels, and “the pleasantness of Havayah” is the light within them. For extraordinary tzaddikim, such as Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Ilai, these are one, so David’s one request carried the other within it.
Marei mekomos
- 1ועתה ישראל · Deuteronomy 10:12
- 2שבתי בבית ה׳ · Psalms 27:4
- 3באתי לגני · Song of Songs 5:1
- 4בפ׳ שמות ע״פ איה סופר · בתו״א נג, ב ”איה הוא בחי׳ העיגול הגדול בחי׳ סובב”.
6סליק ספר במדבר
The Book of Bamidbar is concluded.
A closing line: with this maamar, Likkutei Torah’s discourses on the Book of Bamidbar come to an end.
The closing formula marking the end of the Book of Bamidbar in Likkutei Torah.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Before hoping for the exalted love of G‑d, soften the heart: overcome the pull of worldly wants and desires, refuse to turn the heart toward them, and come to prayer with lowliness and gravity of mind. The more a person “plows” himself this way, the more the love hidden in his soul grows; and whoever attains the higher awe will find the higher love coming to him of itself.
Questions for discussion
- If David truly asked for only one thing, why did he need to learn it from G‑d’s words to Israel?
- Why are awe and love one above but almost opposites in the world of separation?
- Why can the higher love not be produced by effort, while the lower love must be cultivated?
- How does the image of plowing explain the place of humility in revealing the hidden love?
- What does it mean that for great tzaddikim the letters of the Torah and its inner light are one?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- 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.
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×1