Likkutei Torah · Parshas Shelach · Maamar 6
ענין הנסכים
The matter of the libations
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The big idea
An offering is an ascent: like bread that supports the heart to receive life from the brain, it raises the supernal heart to receive from above and so joins life-force to all the worlds, yet reveals only the outer dimension of that life. The libations of wine, poured down to the deep, are the drawing down that answers it: as wine reveals what is hidden, they reveal G‑d’s inner dimension even in the lowest places, and the ascent exists for the sake of this drawing down.
The maamar in brief
Why are the offerings called the altar’s “bread,” and why are the libations, unlike the offering that rises, poured so that they go down through the shissin to the deep? Why wine, and why is an offering without libations “nothing”? Everything has an inner dimension, which receives from and cleaves to its cause, and an outer dimension, which bestows on what is below; in the chain of descent only the outer dimension of the higher reaches the lower. Wine, hidden in the grape, reveals the hidden. The offering is like bread: it raises the supernal heart, the Throne of Glory, to receive from the Brain, and so joins life-force to all the worlds, but their inner dimension stays concealed. The libations draw it down and reveal it, “wine that gladdens Elokim.” With the meal-offering they bring Chochmah, Binah and Daas below, as tefillin draw down the ascent of the Shema. Flowing to the deep, they reach the lower waters, severities gathered there, and give them power to rise into holiness. Wine is Binah, where severities are sweetened in their root; its measure follows the ascent; and the shissin, the yekev, are the union of Havayah with Elokim.
Outline
- The questions, and the hidden made knownThe Sages call the offering “the eating of the altar,” and the Torah calls it “bread.” Why, and why are the libations wine, poured down to the deep, the opposite of the offering’s ascent, and why is an offering “a pleasing fragrance” only with them? The answer begins with “wine that gladdens”: joy brings what is hidden into revelation, for everything has an inner dimension that cleaves to its cause and an outer dimension that bestows on what is other than itself.¶1
- Inner and outer in every levelA fruit’s taste receives from the stars and bestows on the fruit’s substance; an animal’s life cleaves to the faces of the lion and the ox in the Chariot; the root of the soul cleaves to the face of man; angels receive from one another and give permission to one another. In the whole chain of descent the outer dimension of the higher becomes the inner dimension of the lower. Panim means turning toward one’s cause, the outer dimension is bestowal, and the essence joins them, as Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov are water, fire and the middle bar.¶2–4
- Wine gladdens the heartWine, hidden in its grapes, arouses the revelation of the hidden: it reveals the inner dimension of the blood, and with it the inner dimension of the vital soul. Too much brings sleep, for the vessel cannot hold so great a revelation.¶5
- The offering as bread, the libation as wineBread joins soul and body by supporting the heart to receive life from the brain, after the food is refined. So the offerings, refined by the angels called “innards,” raise the supernal heart, the Throne of Glory, to receive from the Brain, and the life-force of all the worlds is joined, yet only its outer dimension is revealed. The libations draw down and reveal the inner dimension, “wine that gladdens Elokim,” so the concealment of the Name Elokim no longer hides; therefore every offering had libations.¶6
- Meal-offering, libations and tefillin; the division of the watersOil is Chochmah, flour Daas and wine Binah: without the meal-offering and libations nothing is drawn down, as the Shema without tefillin is an ascent alone. The libations’ descent is explained through the second day, when the firmament divided the spiritual waters, making the upper waters more refined and the lower waters physical, like wine that clears as its lees settle.¶7
- Down to the deepOn the third day the lower waters were gathered into the deep, further from holiness, severities that must be refined and are sweetened as they well up from below, like the living waters of a spring. The libations’ revelation of the inner dimension reaches them and gives them power to rise into holiness: “In holiness pour a libation.”¶8
- Why wine, how much, and the yekevWine is Binah, the root where severities are sweetened. The measure of wine follows the ascent: half a hin for the bull, the essence of the face of the ox, less for the ram and the lamb; and the ascent must exceed the drawing down. The shissin are the yekev, the union of Havayah and Elokim, which draws the inner dimension even into the lower waters; a closing gloss lists more places on yekev as union, holiness and blessing.¶9–10
Key concepts
- The libationsנסכים
- The wine poured on the altar, which flowed down through the shissin to the deep: the drawing down and revelation of the inner dimension that answers the offering’s ascent.
- The inner and the outer dimensionפנימיות וחיצוניות
- In every thing, the inner dimension receives from and cleaves to its cause, and the outer dimension bestows on what is other than itself. In the chain of descent the outer dimension of the higher becomes the inner dimension of the lower.
- Ascent and drawing downהעלאה והמשכה
- The offering raises the animal’s life-force to its source, the face of the ox in the Chariot; the libations draw down in return, in proportion to the ascent. The main purpose of the ascent is the drawing down that follows it.
- Bread that sustains the heartולחם לבב אנוש יסעד
- Food supports the heart so that it receives life from the brain. So the offerings raise the supernal heart, the Throne of Glory, to receive from the supernal Chochmah, joining the life-force to all the worlds.
- Wine that gladdens Elokimיין המשמח אלקים
- Wine reveals what is hidden. Above, it “gladdens” the concealment that comes from the Name Elokim, so that it no longer hides and the inner dimension is revealed below.
- The upper and the lower watersמים עליונים ומים תחתונים
- Divided on the second day by the firmament, the Name Elokim. The lower waters, gathered into the deep, are severities that must be refined, sweetened as they rise from below and through the libations that reach them.
- The shissin and the yekevשיתין / יקב
- The cavities beneath the altar, which the Talmud calls the “winepress” of Isaiah’s vineyard. Yekev has the numerical value of Havayah and Elokim together, their union, and the Raaya Mehemna reads it as union, holiness and blessing.
The questions, and the hidden made known ¶1
1ענין הנסכים. כתיב בפ׳ צו (ז׳ י״ח) ואם האכל יאכל1 מבשר זבח שלמיו כו׳ וארז״ל (פ״ק דזבחים י״ג ב׳ כ״ח ב׳ ושאר דוכתי)
The matter of the libations (nesachim). It is written in Parshas Tzav (7:18), “And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings is at all eaten,” etc. And our Sages, of blessed memory, said (in the first chapter of Zevachim, 13b [and] 28b, and in other places)
The maamar opens with its subject, the wine libations poured on the altar, and begins from a verse about the peace-offering. The verse doubles the verb “eaten” (he’achol ye’achel), and the Sages read the doubling as pointing to two different kinds of eating.
בשתי אכילות הכתוב מדבר23 כו׳ ואחת אכילת מזבח. וצריך להבין ענין הקרבנות שהיו מקריבין ע״ג המזבח מן הבקר כו׳.
that “the verse speaks of two eatings,” etc., “and one is the eating of the altar.” Now we need to understand the matter of the offerings that they would offer upon the altar, “from the cattle,” etc.
The Talmud explains that the verse speaks of two eatings: the eating of the offering by people, and the “eating” of the altar, when the offering’s parts are consumed by its fire. This raises the first question: what is the inner meaning of bringing animals upon the altar?
And why is it called by the name “eating,” as mentioned above, and as it is written (Leviticus 3:11), “the bread of the fire-offering to Havayah”; and it is written, “My bread for My fire-offerings,” etc.?
The question is why the burning of an offering is called “eating” at all. Scripture itself calls the offerings G‑d’s “bread,” so the term is deliberate and needs explaining.
ולהבין ענין הנסכים שהיו מנסכין היין ע״ג המזבח ויורד לשיתין (סוכה מ״ט א׳) שמחוללין ויורדין עד התהום6 אשר הוא לכאורה פלא היפך הקרבן
And [we need] to understand the matter of the libations: they would pour the wine upon the altar, and it would go down into the shissin (the cavities) (Sukkah 49a), which are hollow and go down to the deep (tehom). This is seemingly a wonder, the opposite of the offering,
The second question concerns the libations. The wine poured on the altar ran down into the shissin, hollow channels beneath the altar that reach down to the deep, and this downward movement seems to be the very opposite of what an offering does.
שהוא בחי׳ העלאה שהיה שוחט הפר או הכבש בחי׳ חי ונוטל חיותו ממנו שהחיות עולה למעלה
which is the level of ascent: one would slaughter the bull or the lamb, the level of the animal (chai), and take its life-force from it, so that the life-force rises upward;
An offering is a movement of ascent. The animal, which belongs to the category of the living (chai), is slaughtered, and its life-force is raised upward to its source.
וגם עתר ענן הקרבן עולה למעלה אבל הנסכים הן מצומח ומורידין למטה לתהום. ולמה הנסכים דוקא יין.
and also the thick cloud of the offering rises upward. But the libations are from the vegetable [kingdom], and they bring down below, to the deep. And why are the libations specifically wine?
The smoke of the offering rises too, in the words Ezekiel uses for the cloud of incense. The libations go the other way: they come from the plant world, from the vine, and they are brought down. This leads to a third question: why must the libation be specifically of wine?
וגם שהקרבן אינו לריח ניחוח אלא עם הנסכים כמארז״ל (בפ״ב דברכות י״ד סע״ב) כל הקורא קריאת שמע בלא תפילין7 כו׳ כזבח בלא נסכים ועמ״ש עוד מזה סד״ה ויקהל משה.
Also, the offering is not “a pleasing fragrance” except together with the libations, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (in the second chapter of Berachos, at the end of 14b): “Whoever recites the Shema without tefillin,” etc., “is like [one who offers] a sacrifice without libations.” And see what is written further on this at the end of the discourse beginning “And Moshe assembled.”
A fourth question: the Sages compare one who recites the Shema without tefillin to one who brings a sacrifice without libations, which implies that an offering without its libation is incomplete and not yet “a pleasing fragrance.” The text refers the reader to the end of the discourse beginning “And Moshe assembled” for more on this.
והענין הוא ע״פ מ״ש ויין ישמח8 לבב כו׳ החדלתי את תירושי המשמח אלקים9 כו׳ כי שמחה הוא בחי׳ גילוי ההעלם שע״י היין או ביום חתונתו ושמחת לבבו10 יוצא העלם ומצפוני לבבו מן ההעלם לגילוי.
The explanation of the matter is according to what is written, “And wine gladdens the heart,” etc., [and] “Shall I give up my wine that gladdens Elokim,” etc. For joy is the level of the revelation of what is hidden: through wine, or “on the day of his wedding” and [in] the joy of his heart, what is hidden and the secret places of his heart go out from concealment into revelation.
The answer begins with what wine does: it “gladdens,” and joy is the coming into the open of what was hidden. Wine, or the joy of a wedding day, brings out the feelings that lay concealed in the heart. Since the verse in Judges says that wine gladdens even Elokim, the same thing must happen Above.
כי הנה בכל דבר הנמצא במציאות יש בחי׳ פנימית ובחי׳ חיצוניות. פנימית הוא בחי׳ קבלת שפעו וחיותו ודביקותו בעילתו. וחיצוניות הוא בחי׳ השפעה לזולתו. כי אין לך עשב כו׳ שאין לו מזל11 כו׳.12
For in everything that exists there is the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) and the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus). The inner dimension is the level of receiving its flow and its life-force, and its cleaving to its cause. And the outer dimension is the level of bestowal upon what is other than itself. For “there is no blade of grass,” etc., “that has no mazal,” etc.
To explain this the maamar lays down a general principle: everything has an inner dimension, by which it receives from its source and cleaves to it, and an outer dimension, by which it gives to what is outside it. The Sages’ saying that every blade of grass has its mazal, a heavenly force over it, shows that each thing below receives from a source above.
The paragraph sets out the maamar’s questions: why the offerings are called “eating” and “bread,” why the libations flow down to the deep, why they must be wine, and why an offering is incomplete without them. It begins the answer with wine as the revealer of what is hidden, and with the principle that everything has an inner and an outer dimension.
The pairing of ascent (ha’alaah) with drawing down (hamshachah) runs through the whole maamar: the animal offering raises the worlds upward, while the libation brings the inner light down. Later the maamar reads “wine that gladdens Elokim” as the revelation of Havayah within the concealment of the Name Elokim.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9החדלתי את תירושי המשמח אלקים · Judges 9:13
- 10ביום חתונתו ושמחת לבבו · Song of Songs 3:11
- 11שאין לו מזל · Bereshit Rabbah 10:6
- 12
Inner and outer in every level ¶2–4
2והנה בכל פרי או עשב או תבואה יש ב׳ בחי׳ טעם הפרי שהוא בחי׳ רוחני ועצם ממשות הפרי
Now, in every fruit, herb or grain there are two aspects: the taste of the fruit, which is the spiritual aspect, and the very substance of the fruit itself.
The principle is first shown in the plant world. Every fruit, herb or grain has a spiritual element, its taste, and a physical element, its actual substance.
והרי בבחי׳ הטעם יש ב׳ כחות כח לקבל שפעו מן כוכבי מרום שהן המצמיחים כמ״ש ממגד תבואת שמש וממגד גרש ירחים1.
And in the aspect of the taste there are two powers. [One is] a power to receive its flow from the stars on high, which are what make [things] grow, as it is written, “And from the bounty of the sun’s produce, and from the bounty of the moons’ yield.”
The taste itself has two powers. The first is its power to receive from the heavenly bodies that make plants grow, as in Moshe’s blessing of the produce brought forth by the sun and by the moon.
The paragraph begins applying the principle of inner and outer dimensions to plants: the taste of a fruit is its spiritual side, and its inner power is the receiving of its flow from the stars above.
Marei mekomos
- 1
3וכן כל כוכב פרטי מצמיח עשב פרטי. וכח ההשפעה להשפיע שפעו וטעמו בגוף חומר הפרי וכן גבוה מעל גבוה.
So too, each individual star makes an individual herb grow. And [the other is] the power of bestowal, to bestow its flow and its taste into the body, the matter, of the fruit. And so too, “one higher than the high.”
Each herb has its own particular star. The second power of the taste faces outward: it passes its flow and its flavor into the physical body of the fruit. The words “one higher than the high” indicate that the same pattern repeats at every higher level.
So too in the level of the animal (chai): its life-force, which is the inner and spiritual aspect, cleaves to its cause, which is the level of the face of the lion [and] the face of the ox in the Chariot (Merkavah).
The same holds for animals. Their life-force is their inner, spiritual side, and it is bound to its source in the Divine Chariot (Merkavah) that Ezekiel saw, in the faces of the lion and the ox.
The paragraph completes the example of plants, which receive from above and give to their own physical body, and carries the principle up to animals, whose life-force cleaves to its source in the faces of the Chariot.
Marei mekomos
- 1פני אריה פני שור שבמרכבה · Ezekiel 1:10
- 2
As is known, the face of the lion is the source of the soul of the wild beasts, and the face of the ox is the source of the soul of the domestic animals, etc. And the life-force that gives life to the body and the flesh
The face of the lion in the Chariot is the spiritual source of the wild beasts, and the face of the ox the source of the domestic animals. The life-force that animates an animal’s body belongs to its outer side.
הבהמה הוא בחי׳ חיצוניות ועד״ז בבחי׳ נפש האדם שרש ופנימי׳ הנפש דבוק בעילתו בחי׳ פני אדם לקבל חיותו וחיצוניות הנפש הוא ההשפעה שמחיה את הגוף
of the animal is the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus). In the same way in the level of the human soul: the root and inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the soul cleaves to its cause, the level of the face of man, to receive its life-force; and the outer dimension of the soul is the bestowal that gives life to the body.
The animal’s life within its body is its outer dimension. The human soul has the same two sides: its root and inner core cleave to their source, the face of man in the Chariot, while its outer side is the force that gives life to the body.
So too regarding the angels it is written, “and they receive from one another”: the power that an angel has to say “Holy” it receives from above, as it is written,
The angels show the same pattern. The Targum on Isaiah describes them as “receiving from one another,” and the power to proclaim “Holy” comes to each angel from the one above it.
כי גבוה מעל גבוה4 שומר וגבוהים עליהם ונותנים גם כן רשות זה לזה5 שהוא בחי׳ השפעתו למלאך אחר זולתו המקבל שפעו ממנו.
“For one higher than the high watches, and there are higher ones above them.” And they also “give permission to one another,” which is the level of its bestowal upon another angel besides itself, who receives its flow from it.
The verse in Ecclesiastes describes a ladder of levels, each watched over by a higher one. The phrase “they give permission to one another,” from the Yotzer blessing before the morning Shema, shows the outward side: each angel gives to another angel, who receives from it.
ועד״ז בכללות השתלשלות העולמות וז״ש בע״ח6 שכל ההשתלשלות עילה ועלול הוא מבחינת חיצונית כו׳ (ר״ל שסדר ההשתלשלות הוא שחיצונית העליון נעשה פנימית לתח תון משא״כ פנימית העליון אינו יורד למטה לתחתון וכמ״ש מזה ג״כ באגה״ק בסופו7 וז״ל
In the same way in the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) as a whole. And this is [the meaning of] what is written in Etz Chaim, that the whole chain of descent, cause and effect, is from the level of the outer dimension, etc. (That is to say, the order of the chain of descent is that the outer dimension of the higher becomes the inner dimension of the lower, whereas the inner dimension of the higher does not descend below to the lower. And as is also written on this in Iggeres HaKodesh, at its end; these are its words:
The same holds for the whole chain of worlds. Etz Chaim teaches that the descent from cause to effect runs through the outer dimension: the outer side of a higher level becomes the inner core of the level below it, while the higher level’s own inner core does not come down.
ועוד זאת כמ״ש ופני לא יראו8 שפנימית העליון אינו יכול לירד למטה רק חיצוניותו ובחי׳ אחוריים שהוא נובלות חכמה עילאה וע׳ מזה ג״כ בד״ה ששים המה מלכות9 כו׳)
“And further, as it is written, ‘But My face shall not be seen’: the inner dimension of the higher cannot descend below, only its outer dimension and the level of the back (achorayim), which is the ‘fallen fruit’ (novlos) of the Supernal Chochmah (wisdom).” And see on this also in the discourse beginning “There are sixty queens,” etc.)
The gloss quotes the essay printed at the end of Iggeres HaKodesh: just as G‑d told Moshe, “My face shall not be seen,” the inner face of a higher level cannot descend, only its back, the “fallen fruit” (novlos) of the Supernal Chochmah. Novlos are fruit that drop from the tree before they ripen, an image for a lesser, outer offshoot of something higher.
הרי שבכל הנמצאים יש בחינת פנימית שהוא מלשון פנים (וע׳ בזהר אמור צ״ג ב׳ ע״פ בקשו פני)1011 שפירושו לשון פונה כי פנו אלי12 כו׳
Thus in all existing things there is the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus), which is from the word panim (face) (and see in the Zohar, Emor, 93b, on [the verse] “Seek My face”), whose meaning is an expression of turning (poneh), [as in] “For they have turned to Me,” etc.,
So every existing thing has an inner dimension, pnimiyus, a word that comes from panim, “face”; the text points to the Zohar on “Seek My face” for this. A face, in turn, implies turning (poneh), as in Jeremiah’s rebuke of those who turned their back to G‑d and not their face.
אל תפן13 כו׳ שהוא בחי׳ כל עילה שפונה ודבוק בעילתו וחיצונית הוא בחינת השפעת שפעו לחוץ ויש בחינה ממוצעת שהוא בבחי׳ עצמי׳ שמחבר ב׳ הכחות הנ״ל
[and] “Do not turn,” etc. This is the level of every cause that turns toward and cleaves to its own cause. And the outer dimension is the level of the bestowal of its flow outward. And there is an intermediate level, which is in the level of its essence, which joins the two powers mentioned above.
Moshe’s plea “Do not turn to their offering” uses the same root. Thus the inner dimension is a thing turning its face toward its own source and cleaving to it, the outer dimension is its giving outward, and between them stands a middle level, the thing’s own essence, which joins the two.
(י״ל ששלשה בחינות אלו הן חב״ד חג״ת נה״י וע׳ בע״ח שכ״ו פ״א ואפשר שזהו ג״כ ענין שבכל כלי יש ג׳ בחי׳ פנימי אמצעי חיצון שסימנם סת״ר סוף תוך ראש וכמ״ש במ״א) וג׳ כחות אלו הן בחי׳ אברהם יצחק ויעקב.
(It may be said that these three levels are Chochmah, Binah and Daas; Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes; [and] Netzach, Hod and Yesod. And see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 26, chapter 1. And perhaps this is also the matter that in every vessel there are three levels, inner, middle and outer, whose mnemonic is SaTaR: sof, toch, rosh (end, middle, head), as is written elsewhere.) And these three powers are the levels of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.
A gloss suggests that these three levels correspond to the three triads of Sefiros: the intellect (Chochmah, Binah, Daas), the main emotions (Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferes) and the lower emotions (Netzach, Hod, Yesod). Perhaps they are also the inner, middle and outer layers that every Kabbalistic vessel has. The text then names the three powers after the three Patriarchs.
כי אברהם בחינת חסד14 ומים שיורדים מלמעלה הוא בחי׳ כח ההשפעה ויצחק בחינת אש שטבעו לעלות ויעקב הוא בחינת בריח התיכון שמבריח15 ומחבר ב׳ הכחות כאחד.
For Avraham, the level of Chesed (kindness) and of water, which comes down from above, is the level of the power of bestowal; Yitzchak is the level of fire, whose nature is to rise; and Yaakov is the level of “the middle bar,” which runs through and joins the two powers as one.
Avraham is Chesed, likened to water, which flows down from above: the power of giving. Yitzchak is fire, which rises upward. Yaakov is the “middle bar” of the Tabernacle, which ran through all the boards from end to end and joined them: the middle power that unites the other two.
The paragraph carries the principle of inner and outer dimensions through animals, the human soul, the angels and the whole chain of worlds. It defines the inner dimension as turning toward one’s source, adds a middle level that joins receiving and giving, and identifies these three powers with Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.
The rule that the outer dimension of a higher level becomes the inner dimension of the lower is basic to the order of hishtalshelus. It is why the inner core of a higher level does not ordinarily reach below, and it sets up the maamar’s later point that only the libations bring the inner dimension itself down.
Marei mekomos
- 1פני אריה הוא מקור נפש החיות ופני שור · Ezekiel 1:10
- 2ומקבלין דין מן דין · תרגום לישעי׳ ו, ג.
- 3ומקבלין דין מן דין · Targum Jonathan on Isaiah 6:3
- 4גבוה מעל גבוה · Ecclesiastes 5:7
- 5רשות זה לזה · ברכת יוצר.
- 6וז״ש בע״ח · על״ק רד״ה יו״ט של ר״ה השתל׳ עו״ע הנק׳ בל׳ הפרדס הו״ע העגולים שבע״ח. וע׳ סוף ש׳ אנ״ך פ״י. ובש׳ או״א ספ״ט. ושם רפ״ו. ובש׳ המוחין רפ״ה. רפ״ו. ובש׳ פרצופי זו״ן ספ״ד. וש׳ פנימי׳ וחיצוני׳ דרוש ג. דרוש ח. וע׳ הקדמה לש׳ ציור עולמות אבי״ע [כ]. ראה שער י״ד, פ״ט.
- 7באגה״ק בסופו · דף קנז, א בד״ה להבין מ״ש בפע״ח.
- 8ופני לא יראו · Exodus 33:23
- 9בד״ה ששים המה מלכות · לקמן שה״ש לט, ד.
- 10וע׳ בזהר אמור צ״ג ב׳ ע״פ בקשו פני · Zohar, Emor 22:95–24:104
- 11בקשו פני · Psalms 27:8
- 12כי פנו אלי · Jeremiah 2:27
- 13אל תפן · Numbers 16:15
- 14אברהם בחינת חסד · ראה הנסמן במאמרי אדה״ז-פרשיות לע׳ תקפ.
- 15בריח התיכון שמבריח · Exodus 26:28
Wine gladdens the heart ¶5
And this is the matter of “And wine gladdens the heart of man.” The meaning is that wine arouses the revelation of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the soul, from concealment into revelation.
Now the verse “wine gladdens the heart of man” can be understood: wine brings the inner dimension of the soul out of hiding and into the open.
והיינו לפי שהיין טמון ונעלם בענביו ויוצא מן ההעלם ע״כ טבעו לעורר גילוי ההעלם וכל השותה יין פניו מאדימות שהוא גילוי ההעלם
This is because wine is hidden and concealed in its grapes and comes out from concealment; therefore its nature is to arouse the revelation of what is hidden. And whoever drinks wine, his face turns red, which is the revelation of what is hidden.
Wine has this effect because of its own nature: it lies hidden inside the grapes until it is pressed out, so it draws out what is hidden. The visible sign is the reddening of the drinker’s face.
והיינו כי הנפש החיונית מלובשת היא בדם והיין מעורר התגלות פנימית הדם וממילא מתגלה ג״כ פנימית הנפש החיונית המלובשת בפנימית הדם
That is, the vital soul is enclothed in the blood, and wine arouses the revelation of the inner dimension of the blood; and as a matter of course, the inner dimension of the vital soul, which is enclothed in the inner dimension of the blood, is also revealed.
The mechanism is that the vital soul, which animates the body, is enclothed in the blood. Wine stirs up the inner dimension of the blood, and with it the inner dimension of the vital soul enclothed there comes out.
אך אם שותה יותר מדאי גובר עליו השינה שהוא מחמת ריבוי גילוי ההעלם אין הכלי יכול לקבל רוב אור גילוי פנימית:
But if he drinks too much, sleep overcomes him. This is because of the abundance of the revelation of what is hidden: the vessel cannot receive the great light of the revelation of the inner dimension.
Too much wine brings sleep, and the cause is an excess of revelation. The vessel, the person’s capacity to receive, cannot hold so much revealed inner light.
The paragraph applies the principle to wine: being itself hidden in the grape, wine reveals the hidden inner dimension of the soul through the blood, and in excess its revelation overwhelms the vessel.
“Wine gladdens the heart of man” and “wine that gladdens Elokim” are parallel. The maamar will apply the same function of wine Above, where the libations reveal the inner dimension of the divine life-force.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויין ישמח לבב אנוש · Psalms 104:15
The offering as bread, the libation as wine ¶6
6ב ומעתה נבא לבאר הטעם שהקרבנות נק׳ לחם ומאכל.1 כי הנה פעולת המאכל לחבר חיות הנפש עם הגוף. והגם שבכח הנפש עצמו יש כח ההתפשטות להחיות הגוף.
2. And now we will come to explain the reason that the offerings are called bread and food. For the function of food is to join the life-force of the soul with the body. And although in the power of the soul itself there is the power of extension to give life to the body,
The second section begins to answer the first question: why the offerings are called bread and food. The function of food is to bind the soul’s life-force to the body, even though the soul itself has the power to spread into the body and give it life.
אך אעפ״כ אינו פועל פעולתו אלא ע״י הלחם וכמ״ש ולחם לבב אנוש יסעד2 וכתיב וסעדו לבכם3 עיין בפרש״י4 פי׳ שהלחם סועד ומעלה את הלב לקבל החיות מן המוח
even so it does not accomplish its effect except through bread, as it is written, “And bread sustains (yis’ad) the heart of man”; and it is written, “And sustain (sa’adu) your hearts” (see Rashi’s commentary). The meaning is that bread supports and raises the heart to receive the life-force from the brain
In practice the soul gives life to the body only through eating. Scripture says that bread “sustains” the heart, and Rashi on “sustain your hearts” notes that bread is called the support of the heart: it supports and lifts the heart so that it can receive life-force from the brain.
(כי סעד הוא ענין סמך שלא יפול כמו להכין אותה ולסעדה)5 (בישעיה סי׳ ט׳) דהיינו שלא תמוט
(for sa’ad is a matter of supporting, so that it should not fall, as in “to establish it and to support it”) (in Isaiah, chapter 9), that is, so that it should not totter.
The root sa’ad means to prop something up so that it does not fall, as Isaiah uses it of establishing and upholding the throne of David’s kingdom.
והיינו אחר שיתברר המאכל באצטומכא שהפסולת וחיצונית שבמאכל נדחה לחוץ והולך דרך הקרביים לחוץ והמובחר שבו עולה ללב ולמוח ואז יורד חיות מן המוח ללב ולכל האברים.
This is after the food has been refined in the stomach: the waste and the outer part of the food are pushed outside and go out by way of the intestines, while the choicest part of it rises to the heart and to the brain; and then life-force comes down from the brain to the heart and to all the limbs.
Digestion is a process of refinement: in the stomach the waste and outer part of the food is separated and expelled, while its choicest part rises to the heart and the brain. Only then does life-force flow down from the brain to the heart and to the whole body.
כך עד״מ זה יובן למעלה דהנה כתיב ואתה מחיה את כולם6 שחיות כל העולמות הוא ע״ד דוגמא חיות הנפש בגוף שיש בו בחינת פנימית וחיצונית כנ״ל והחיבור הוא ע״י בחי׳ לחם (וע׳ בסמוך)
By way of this analogy it will be understood Above. For it is written, “And You give life to them all”: the life-force of all the worlds is after the pattern of the life-force of the soul in the body, in which there is the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) and the outer dimension (chitzoniyus), as mentioned above; and the joining is through the level of bread (and see shortly below).
The same structure exists Above. The verse “You give life to them all” shows that G‑d gives life to all the worlds the way the soul gives life to the body, with an inner and an outer dimension, and the link between that life-force and the worlds is made by “bread.”
And this is the matter of the offerings. And the food must first be refined; this is the matter of what is written, “And all my innards, [bless] His holy Name,” [and] “My innards yearn for him,” etc.
That “bread” Above is the offerings. Like food, the offering must first be refined, and the verses “all my innards” and “my innards yearn for him” are taken as showing that the spiritual realm too has its “innards.”
For there are angels that are the level of eyes, “the eyes of Havayah”; and there are [angels] in the level of ears; and there are [angels] in the level of innards, which are the ones that refine, etc.,
The Tikkunei Zohar speaks of angels who are G‑d’s “eyes” and others who are His “ears.” Other angels are the “innards,” whose task, like that of the digestive organs, is to refine.
שהפסולת נדחה לחוץ שהוא בחי׳ השפעה חיצונית שיורד בריבוי השתלשלות עד שמצמיח כל חציר ותבואה וכמ״ש וממגד תבואת שמש12 כו׳
so that the waste is pushed outside, which is the level of outer bestowal, which descends through many [stages of] the chain of descent (hishtalshelus) until it makes all grass and grain grow, as it is written, “And from the bounty of the sun’s produce,” etc.
In this refinement Above, the “waste” is pushed outward: it is the outer bestowal, which descends through many stages until it makes grass and grain grow in this world. The verse about “the bounty of the sun’s produce,” cited earlier for the stars’ influence, is brought again here.
והמובחר עולה ללב שהוא בחי׳ כסה״כ שהוא רבוא רבבות מחנה מיכאל באהבה ומחנה גבריאל ביראה אשר בכללם נק׳ לב שע״י הקרבנות מן הבקר מן הצאן13
And the choicest part rises to the heart, which is the level of the Throne of Glory, which is the myriads upon myriads of the camp of Michael in love and the camp of Gavriel in awe, which as a whole are called the heart. So that through the offerings, “from the cattle, from the flock,”
The choicest part rises to the “heart” Above, which is the Throne of Glory: the vast camps of angels, Michael’s camp serving in love and Gavriel’s in awe, which together are called the heart. The offerings “from the cattle, from the flock” are what nourish this heart.
סועד הלב העליון להיות עולה לקבל חיות מן המוח ריח ניחוח להויה והיינו שבחי׳ הבהמה עולה בבחי׳ פני שור וכתיב והחיות נושאות את הכסא141516 כו׳
support is given to the supernal heart, so that it rises to receive life-force from the brain: “a pleasing fragrance to Havayah.” That is, the level of the animal rises into the level of the face of the ox; and it is written, “And the Chayos carry the Throne,” etc.
Through the offerings the supernal heart is supported and raised to receive life-force from the supernal “brain,” and this is the “pleasing fragrance to Havayah.” The animal that is offered rises into its source, the face of the ox, one of the Chayos (holy beasts) that, in the Midrash’s words, carry the Throne.
(וזהו וביום שמחת לבו17 זה בנין18 בית המקדש. כי על בהמ״ק ארז״ל מכון לשבתך19 מכוון נגד שבתך20 זה בהמ״ק שלמעלה והוא בחינת כסא הכבוד כמ״ש בע״ח שער כסה״כ ועיין בזח״ג שלח קס״א ב׳ דאקרי קדש הקדשים כו׳
(And this is [the meaning of] “and on the day of the joy of his heart”: “this is the building of the Holy Temple.” For concerning the Holy Temple our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “‘The place (machon) of Your dwelling’: aligned (mechuvan) opposite Your dwelling,” that is, the Holy Temple Above, which is the level of the Throne of Glory, as is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Kisei HaKavod. And see the Zohar, Part III, Shelach, 161b, that it is called “the Holy of Holies,” etc.,
A gloss connects this with the Mishnah’s reading of “the day of the joy of his heart” as the building of the Holy Temple. The earthly Temple is aligned opposite the Temple Above, which is the Throne of Glory, and the Zohar on Shelach calls that place the Holy of Holies.
ותמן הוא לבא שריא21 כו׳ וע״י הקרבן נעשה ההעלאה לקבל מבחי׳ חכמה עילאה ומלמעלה מעלה ועמ״ש בד״ה לבבתני אחותי)
“and there the heart dwells,” etc. And through the offering the ascent is effected, to receive from the level of Supernal Chochmah (wisdom), and from yet higher above. And see what is written in the discourse beginning “You have captured my heart, my sister.”)
The Zohar adds that “there the heart dwells,” so the Temple is the heart. Through the offering this heart rises to receive from Supernal Chochmah and from levels higher still.
וזהו ענין מעשה הקרבנות בחי׳ העלאה ובחי׳ מאכל לחבר התפשטות החיות להחיות כל העולמות בבחי׳ ואתה מחיה כו׳
And this is the matter of the act of the offerings: the level of ascent, and the level of food, to join the extension of the life-force, to give life to all the worlds, in the level of “And You give life,” etc.
This sums up the offerings: they are an ascent, and they are “food” that binds the life-force to the worlds, so that “You give life to them all” is fulfilled.
ובחי׳ הנסכים הוא בחי׳ המשכות וגילוי בחי׳ פנימית כמ״ש יאר ה׳ פניו אליך22 כו׳ נסך שכר להוי״ה23 בחינת סובב כל עלמין וזהו יין המשמח אלקים24 כו׳ בחי׳ המשכה מלמעלה למטה
And the level of the libations is the level of drawings-down and of the revelation of the inner dimension, as it is written, “May Havayah make His face shine upon you,” etc.; “a libation of strong drink to Havayah,” the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin). And this is “wine that gladdens Elokim,” etc., the level of drawing down from above to below.
The libations do something more: they draw down and reveal the inner dimension, as in the priestly blessing “May Havayah make His face shine upon you,” the face being the inner dimension. The libation is poured “to Havayah,” here the level of the encompassing light, and it is the “wine that gladdens Elokim,” a drawing down from above to below.
(הנה החילוק בין הזבח לנסכים לכאורה הוא ב׳ דברים. הא׳ כי הזבח הוא העלאה והלחם שסועד הלב היינו ג״כ שמגביהו שיקבל החיות מהמוח.
(Now, the difference between the sacrifice and the libations seemingly lies in two things. The first: the sacrifice is ascent; and the bread that supports the heart also means that it raises it up, so that it receives the life-force from the brain.
A long gloss now defines the difference between the sacrifice and the libation, which seems to be twofold. The first difference is direction: the sacrifice is an ascent, and even the bread that supports the heart does so by lifting it up toward the brain.
הב׳ כי ע״י הלחם הוא כללות התחברות הנשמה בגוף שלולי הלחם היה הנשמה מסתלקת מן הגוף עד״מ ולא היה נמשך ומתגלה אפי׳ חיצוניות החיות מהנפש בגוף וע״י הלחם הוא התחברות והתפשטות החיות מהנשמה בגוף,
The second: through bread there comes about the joining of the soul with the body in general. For without bread the soul would, by way of analogy, depart from the body, and not even the outer dimension of the life-force would be drawn from the soul and revealed in the body; and through bread there comes about the joining and extension of the life-force from the soul into the body.
The second difference is depth. Bread provides the basic bond between soul and body; without it the soul would leave the body, and not even the outer part of its life-force would appear there.
אך עכ״ז פנימית החיות הוא עדיין בבחי׳ העלם בתוך הגוף וההתגלות היא רק בחי׳ חיצוני׳ והיין משמח וממשיך גילוי הפנימית כו׳.
Nevertheless, the inner dimension of the life-force is still in a state of concealment within the body, and the revelation is only the level of the outer dimension; and wine gladdens and draws down the revelation of the inner dimension, etc.
Even with bread, the inner dimension of the life-force stays hidden within the body, and only its outer dimension is revealed. Wine is what “gladdens” and draws the inner dimension out into revelation.
וכך הנמשל למעלה עם היות שע״י הקרבן נעשה והחיות נושאות את הכסא העלאת בחי׳ ליבא הנ״ל לקבל מבחי׳ מוחא.
So too in the analogue Above: although through the offering there comes about “And the Chayos carry the Throne,” the ascent of the level of the Heart (liba) mentioned above to receive from the level of the Brain (mocha),
The same holds Above. Through the offering, “the Chayos carry the Throne”: the supernal heart rises to receive from the supernal brain.
ומזה נמשך להיות ואתה מחיה את כולם שמהלב יוצא החיות לכל האברים, עכ״ז פנימית החיות הוא עדיין בבחי׳ העלם והגילוי הוא רק בחינת חיצוניות, ולהיות גילוי הפנימית ממש זהו ע״י הנסכים שהן בחי׳ המשכה וגם גילוי הפנימית כו׳.
and from this it follows that there is “And You give life to them all,” as from the heart the life-force goes out to all the limbs, nevertheless the inner dimension of the life-force is still in a state of concealment, and the revelation is only the level of the outer dimension. And for there to be a revelation of the inner dimension itself, this is through the libations, which are the level of drawing down and also of the revelation of the inner dimension, etc.
From that ascent comes “You give life to them all,” the life-force going out from the heart to all the limbs, but only in its outer dimension. The real revelation of the inner dimension comes through the libations, which both draw it down and reveal it.
אך אפשר לומר עוד עפמ״ש בע״ח של״ט דרוש ה׳ ולפעמים התחתון עולה ג״כ ב׳ בחי׳ כי לוקח גם פנימית של העליון ואז הוא ממש כמוהו כו׳ ע״ש.
But one could say further, according to what is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 39, Derush 5: “And sometimes the lower rises also [in] two aspects, for it takes the inner dimension of the higher as well, and then it is truly like it,” etc.; see there.
The gloss then raises a further possibility from Etz Chaim: at times the lower level rises so high that it takes in the inner dimension of the higher level as well, and then it is truly equal to it.
ומה שנת׳ למעלה בשם הע״ח שפנימית העליון אינו יורד למטה לתחתון, אינו יורד דווקא אבל בבחי׳ עליי׳ התחתון לפעמים עולה כ״כ עד שלוקח גם פנימי׳ העליון כו׳ ועמ״ש סד״ה שובה ישראל.
And what was explained above in the name of Etz Chaim, that the inner dimension of the higher does not descend below to the lower, [means] specifically that it does not descend; but in the level of the ascent of the lower, it sometimes rises so high that it takes the inner dimension of the higher as well, etc. And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “Return, O Israel.”
This qualifies the rule quoted earlier from Etz Chaim. The inner dimension of the higher level does not come down, but the lower level can sometimes rise high enough to take hold of it; the text refers to the discourse “Return, O Israel” on this point.
וא״כ לפ״ז אפשר לומר שגם ע״י הזבח וההעלאה שהוא ענין והחיות נושאות את הכסא יוכל להיות ג״כ העליה כ״כ לפעמים עד שלוקח גם פנימית העליון.
If so, according to this, one could say that also through the sacrifice and the ascent, which is the matter of “And the Chayos carry the Throne,” the ascent can sometimes also be so great that it takes the inner dimension of the higher as well.
Accordingly, the sacrifice, the ascent in which “the Chayos carry the Throne,” may also at times reach the inner dimension of the higher level.
אך עכ״ז הוא רק דרך עלייה מלמטה למעלה אבל להיות גילוי פנימית העליון למטה ממש זהו ע״י הנסכים. וזהו ענין יין המשמח אלקים שמשמח את ההעלם וההסתר הנמשך משם אלקים שלא יעלים ויסתיר שיהי׳ גילוי הפנימית למטה)
Nevertheless, this is only by way of ascent from below to above; but for there to be a revelation of the inner dimension of the higher actually below, this is through the libations. And this is the matter of “wine that gladdens Elokim”: it gladdens the concealment and hiding that are drawn from the Name Elokim, so that it should not conceal and hide, so that there will be a revelation of the inner dimension below.)
Even so, that inner dimension is reached only by going up. Bringing the inner dimension of the higher level down into the lower realm itself is the work of the libations: “wine that gladdens Elokim” means that the Name Elokim, the source of concealment, is “gladdened” so that it no longer hides, and the inner dimension is revealed below.
(וע׳ בזח״א פ׳ נח דף ע׳ תחלת ע״ב וע׳ בזח״ג ויקרא דף ד׳ ע״א ע״פ שתו ושכרו דודים2526 וד״ז ב׳ ויחי דף רמ״ח א׳).
(And see the Zohar, Part I, Parshas Noach, page 70, at the beginning of side b; and see the Zohar, Part III, Vayikra, page 4a, on [the verse] “Drink, and be drunk, O beloved ones”; and page 7b; [and] Vayechi, page 248a.)
The gloss lists places in the Zohar where this theme is discussed, among them the Zohar on Vayikra on the verse “Drink, and be drunk, O beloved ones.”
ולכן לכל קרבן היה נסכים כי עיקר ההעלאה הוא בשביל ההמשכה שאחר כך:
Therefore every offering had libations, for the main purpose of the ascent is for the sake of the drawing down that comes afterward.
The main text concludes: every offering was accompanied by libations, because the ascent of the offering exists for the sake of the drawing down that comes after it.
The paragraph explains why the offerings are called bread: as refined food lifts the heart to receive life from the brain, the offerings raise the supernal heart, the Throne of Glory, to receive from above, and so sustain all the worlds. The libations, like wine, go further and reveal the inner dimension below, which is why every offering needs them.
The long gloss sharpens the distinction: an ascent from below may at times reach the inner dimension of the higher level, since, as Etz Chaim says, the lower can sometimes take the inner dimension of the higher; but only a drawing down from above brings that inner dimension into the lower realm itself. “Wine that gladdens Elokim” is thus the revealing of the Name Havayah, the inner dimension, through the concealment of the Name Elokim.
Marei mekomos
- 1שהקרבנות נק׳ לחם ומאכל · ראה לעיל כט, א.
- 2ולחם לבב אנוש יסעד · Psalms 104:15
- 3וסעדו לבכם · Genesis 18:5
- 4וסעדו לבכם עיין בפרש״י · Rashi on Genesis 18:5
- 5להכין אותה ולסעדה · Isaiah 9:6
- 6ואתה מחי׳ את כולם · Nehemiah 9:6
- 7וכל קרבי את שם קדשו · Psalms 103:1
- 8המו מעי לו · Jeremiah 31:20
- 9עיני ה׳ · Zechariah 4:10
- 10מלאכים . . אזנים · ראה ת״ז שם. אור התורה וירא תשלו, א.
- 11מלאכים . . קרבים · Zohar III, 234b
- 12וממגד תבואת שמש · Deuteronomy 33:14
- 13מן הבקר מן הצאן · Leviticus 1:2
- 14וכתיב והחיות נושאות את הכסא · בתנ״ך ל״מ, והוא בשמו״ר ספכ״ג וסו״פ נשא רבה רפי״ד. ופדר״א ספ״ד. [כ].
- 15והחיות נושאות את הכסא · Shemot Rabbah 23:15
- 16והחיות נושאות את הכסא · Bamidbar Rabbah 14:22
- 17וביום שמחת לבו · Song of Songs 3:11
- 18וביום שמחת לבו זה בנין ביהמ״ק · Taanit 26b:6
- 19מכון לשבתך · Exodus 15:17
- 20מכון לשבתך מכוון נגד שבתך · Shir HaShirim Rabbah 4:11
- 21דאקרי קדש הקדשים כו׳ ותמן הוא לבא שריא · Zohar, Sh'lach 11:84–92
- 22יאר ה׳ פניו אליך · Numbers 6:25
- 23נסך שכר להוי״ה · Numbers 28:7
- 24יין המשמח אלקים · Judges 9:13
- 25שתו ושכרו דודים · Song of Songs 5:1
- 26וע׳ בזח״ג ויקרא דף ד׳ ע״א ע״פ שתו ושכרו דודים · Zohar, Vayikra 2:29–3:41
Meal-offering, libations and tefillin; the division of the waters ¶7
7וזהו שאמרו רז״ל כל הקורא ק״ש בלא תפילין כאלו הקריב עולה בלא מנחה וזבח בלא נסכים1 שאין קרבנו כלום שלא המשיך כלום בלא מנחה ונסכים
And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Whoever recites the Shema without tefillin is as though he offered a burnt-offering without a meal-offering, and a sacrifice without libations”: his offering is nothing, for he drew down nothing without a meal-offering and libations.
The Talmudic saying quoted at the start is now explained. An offering brought without its meal-offering and libations “is nothing,” because without them nothing is drawn down from above; the offering achieves only an ascent.
(ולכאורה מגמרא זו יש קצת קושיא על הרמב״ם והרע״ב שכ׳ בפי׳ המשניות פ״ד דמנחות מ״ב דאין הלכה כר״ש דאמר אם היה להם פרים מרובים
(Seemingly, from this Gemara there is something of a difficulty for the Rambam and Rabbi Ovadiah of Bartenura, who wrote in the commentary on the Mishnah, chapter 4 of Menachos, Mishnah 2, that the halachah is not like Rabbi Shimon, who said, “If they had many bulls
A gloss notes a halachic difficulty. The Mishnah in Menachos records Rabbi Shimon’s view that if there are many bulls but no libations for them, one bull should be brought with its libations rather than all of them without; the Rambam and the Bartenura rule against him, yet the Talmud’s saying seems to support him.
ולא2 הי׳ להם נסכים יביאו פר אחד ונסכיו ואל יקריבו כולן בלא נסכים מיהו לפמ״ש בספר ושב הכהן במנחות3 שם יתיישב זה וע״ש שדחה דברי התוי״ט).
and they did not have libations, they should bring one bull and its libations, and they should not offer them all without libations.” However, according to what is written in the book VeShav HaKohen on Menachos there, this will be resolved; and see there, where he rejects the words of the Tosefos Yom Tov.)
Rabbi Shimon’s ruling expresses the idea that an offering without libations is lacking. The Kehot note explains that the book meant is Sh’elas HaKohanim Torah, by the author of VeShav HaKohen, where the difficulty is resolved and the explanation of the Tosefos Yom Tov is rejected.
וענין מנחה ונסכים הוא בחי׳ המשכת חב״ד למטה כו׳. כי שמן הוא בחי׳ חכמה4 שמן שצף ע״ג יין
And the matter of the meal-offering and libations is the level of drawing down Chochmah, Binah and Daas below, etc. For oil is the level of Chochmah (wisdom): oil floats on top of wine;
Meal-offering and libations together draw down Chochmah, Binah and Daas, the faculties of intellect. Oil, which is mixed into the meal-offering, is Chochmah, and the fact that oil floats on top of wine shows Chochmah standing above Binah, which is wine.
וגם שהרי מכל דבר מוציאין שמן5 ואפי׳ מאבנים (והוא הנקרא אָלִים) והיינו לפי שכולם בחכמה עשית כו׳.
and also, oil is extracted from everything, even from stones (and this is what is called alim). This is because “You made them all with wisdom,” etc.
Oil can be extracted from everything, even from stones, because “You made them all with wisdom”: Chochmah is enclothed in all things, and oil is its presence in each of them.
ע״כ נמצא בכל דבר בחי׳ שמן שהוא בחי׳ חכמה והסולת שבמנחות הוא בחי׳ דעת כמארז״ל אין התינוק6 יודע לקרות כו׳
Therefore in everything there is found the level of oil, which is the level of Chochmah. And the fine flour in the meal-offerings is the level of Daas (knowledge), as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “A child does not know how to call,” etc.;
The fine flour of the meal-offering is Daas. The Sages taught that a child does not know how to call “father” and “mother” until he has tasted grain: knowledge (daas) comes with grain.
וכן אמרו עץ הדעת חטה היתה7 והנסכים שהם יין הוא בחי׳ בינה הרי שמנחות ונסכים הוא בחי׳ המשכת חב״ד למטה ובלעדן לא המשיך כלום למטה
and so too they said, “The Tree of Knowledge was wheat.” And the libations, which are wine, are the level of Binah (understanding). Thus the meal-offerings and libations are the level of drawing down Chochmah, Binah and Daas below, and without them he drew down nothing below
The Sages also said that the Tree of Knowledge was wheat, linking grain with Daas again. Wine, the libation, is Binah, so the meal-offering and libations together bring all three faculties of intellect down; without them nothing is drawn below.
(ומבואר למעלה דחב״ד היינו בחי׳ פנימית וא״כ המשכת חב״ד למטה זהו ענין גלוי הפנימית למטה), וכך ענין ק״ש בלא תפילין
(and it was explained above that Chochmah, Binah and Daas are the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus); if so, drawing down Chochmah, Binah and Daas below is the matter of revealing the inner dimension below). And so is the matter of the Shema without tefillin.
A gloss recalls that the intellect is the inner dimension, so drawing down Chochmah, Binah and Daas means revealing the inner dimension below. The same pattern explains the Shema without tefillin.
כי ק״ש הוא התבוננות בהוי׳ אחד8 כלות הנפש בבחי׳ העלאה ותפילין המשכת אחד על הקלף גשמי ובלא תפילין שלא המשיך כלום כ״א ההעלאה כאלו הקריב עולה בלא מנחה כו׳ וד״ל.
For the Shema is contemplation of “Havayah is One,” the soul’s expiring (kelos hanefesh), in the level of ascent; and tefillin are the drawing down of “One” upon the physical parchment. And without tefillin, where he drew down nothing but only the ascent, it is “as though he offered a burnt-offering without a meal-offering,” etc. This suffices for one who understands.
Reciting the Shema means contemplating that Havayah is One until the soul longs to expire into G‑d, a movement of ascent. Tefillin draw that same “One” down onto physical parchment, so the Shema without tefillin is an ascent with no drawing down, like an offering without its meal-offering.
וענין הניסוך שהיו מנסכין בשיתין ויורד לתהום הוא ע״פ מ״ש9 יהי רקיע בתוך המים10 ויהי מבדיל בין מים למים כו׳
And the matter of the libation, which they would pour into the shissin and it would go down to the deep, is according to what is written, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide between waters and waters,” etc.,
The second question, why the libation goes down to the deep, is now addressed through the second day of creation, when the firmament divided the upper waters from the lower.
בין מים עליונים למים תחתונים כו׳ שתחלה היו מים במים שהיו בחי׳ מים רוחניים ולא גשמיים (ועיין באלשיך פ׳ בראשית ע״פ והארץ היתה תהו כו׳)
“between the upper waters and the lower waters,” etc. For at first there were “waters within waters,” which were the level of spiritual waters and not physical ones (and see the Alshich, Parshas Bereishis, on [the verse] “And the earth was tohu (formless),” etc.);
Before that division the waters were “waters within waters,” spiritual rather than physical. The text also points to the Alshich on the verse “And the earth was tohu.”
for it is written, “And the spirit of G‑d hovered over the face of the waters” (and see the Midrash Rabbah on Bereishis, at the end of [chapter] 2, and at the beginning of Parshas Tazria),
The verse “the spirit of G‑d hovered over the face of the waters” is brought to show that these waters were not yet physical water. The text refers to the Midrash Rabbah on this verse.
אלא בחי׳ מים רוחניים שהוא בחי׳ חכמה14 וכנודע בענין אור מים רקיע15 וכן המים אין להם גוון כלל כו׳ ומקוה מטהר את הטמאים16 כו׳
but rather the level of spiritual waters, which is the level of Chochmah, as is known regarding the matter of light, water, firmament. So too, water has no color at all, etc., and “a mikveh purifies the impure,” etc.
These spiritual waters are Chochmah, as in the known sequence “light, water, firmament.” Water’s having no color of its own, and its power to purify in a mikveh, are cited as signs of this.
וביום שני שהבדיל בין מים למים אז מים עליונים נעשו רוחניים יותר משהיו קודם ההבדלה ומים תחתונים נתגשמו להיות מים גשמיים כמשל חבית של יין17 כשהיא מעורבת עם השמרים אין היין צלול והשמרים אינם גסים כ״כ.
And on the second day, when He divided between waters and waters, the upper waters then became more spiritual than they had been before the division, and the lower waters became corporeal, to be physical water. It is like the analogy of a barrel of wine: when it is mixed with the lees, the wine is not clear and the lees are not so coarse.
On the second day the division made the upper waters more spiritual and the lower waters physical. The analogy is a barrel of wine mixed with its lees: as long as they are mixed, the wine is cloudy and the lees are not very coarse.
אבל כשהשמרים נופלים למטה אז היין נעשה צלול והשמרים נעשים גסים מאד כך קודם ההבדלה היו מים במים ואחר ההבדלה מים העליונים נתעלו ברוחני׳ ומים התחתונים נתגשמו.1819
But when the lees fall to the bottom, then the wine becomes clear and the lees become very coarse. So too, before the division there were waters within waters, and after the division the upper waters were elevated in spirituality and the lower waters became corporeal.
When the lees settle to the bottom, the wine becomes clear and the lees become thick. So too the division made the upper waters more spiritual and the lower waters coarser than they had been before.
The paragraph explains that the meal-offering and libations draw down the intellect, Chochmah (oil), Daas (flour) and Binah (wine), which is the inner dimension, and that the Shema without tefillin is like an offering without them. It then begins to explain the libations’ descent to the deep through the division of the upper and lower waters on the second day.
The parallel of the Shema and tefillin to the offering and its libations shows ascent and drawing down as two halves of one service: contemplation lifts the soul, and the mitzvah brings the divine unity down into matter. The Kehot note quotes the Mitteler Rebbe that in the brain of Chochmah there is a spiritual “moisture” in which the light of intellect spreads from nothing to something, which is why Chochmah is called water.
Marei mekomos
- 1כל הקורא ק״ש בלא תפילין כאלו הקריב עולה בלא מנחה וזבח בלא נסכים · Berakhot 14b:24–25
- 2אם היה להם פרים מרובים ולא הי׳ להם נסכים יביאו פר אחד ונסכיו ואל יקריבו כולן בלא נסכים · Mishnah Menachot 4:2
- 3בספר ושב הכהן במנחות · הכוונה לס׳ שאלת הכהנים תורה לבעה״מ ס׳ ושב הכהן, חידושים וביאורים על סדר קדשים.
- 4שמן הוא בחי׳ חכמה · ראה מא״א אות ש׳, סמ״ח.
- 5שהרי מכל דבר מוציאין שמן · ראה גם תו״א מקץ לט, א. תצוה קי, ד. מאמרי אדה״ז-פרשיות ע׳ שנב. מארז״ל ע׳ רלד. אוה״ת ואתחנן ע׳ שמב. ועוד.
- 6אין התינוק . . עה״ד חטה · ברכות מ, סע״א.
- 7אין התינוק יודע לקרות כו׳ וכן אמרו עץ הדעת חטה היתה · Berakhot 40a:14
- 8בהוי׳ אחד · Deuteronomy 6:4
- 9ע״פ מ״ש ויהי רקיע · ראה אוה״ת בראשית-א כט, א.
- 10יהי רקיע בתוך המים · Genesis 1:6
- 11ורוח אלהים מרחפת על פני המים ועיין ברבות בבראשית ס״פ ב׳ · Bereshit Rabbah 2:4
- 12ברבות בבראשית ס״פ ב׳ ור״פ תזריע · ראה גם לקמן שמע״צ פו, ג.
- 13ורוח אלהים מרחפת על פני המים ועיין ברבות בבראשית ס״פ ב׳ ור״פ תזריע · Vayikra Rabbah 14:1
- 14אלא בחי׳ מים רוחניים שהוא בחי׳ חכמה · נתבאר בסה״מ אדה״א במדבר שם ע׳ א׳רכא: ”(ע״ד דוגמא במוח החכמה יש בחי׳ מים שהוא בחי׳ הלחלוחית הרוחניו׳ ששם מתפשט אור השכל מאין ליש כו׳ וכמ״ש במ״א שמוח החכמה הוא קר ולח והוא המצמיח ומוליד שכליים וכל שהוא לח יותר יותר יהי׳ בעל הבנה כו׳)” ע״ש. ראה אמרי בינה שער הק״ש סד, ד.
- 15וכענין אור מים רקיע · ראה לעיל פ׳ תזריע כב, ד.
- 16מקוה מטהר את הטמאים · Yoma 85b:8
- 17כמשל חבית של יין · מובא ביהל אור ע׳ קפ.
- 18כולם בחכ׳ עשית · Psalms 104:24
- 19ורוח אלקים מרחפת · Genesis 1:2
Down to the deep ¶8
And on the third day it is said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered to one place,” which is the deep (tehom), for they were distanced even further,
On the third day the lower waters were gathered into one place, the deep (tehom), moving even further away from the upper waters.
כמאמר גער בהן הקב״ה2 שהוא בחי׳ גבורות ודינים יותר וצריכים בירור והוא ע״י נביעתן מתחת לארץ מלמטה למעלה מתמתקין (עמ״ש בפ׳ תולדות ע״פ ויחפ רו עבדי יצחק3 ובפ׳ חקת ע״פ עלי באר4 כו׳)
as it is said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked them,” which is the level of gevuros (severities) and judgments to a greater degree, and they require refinement. And this is through their welling up from beneath the earth, from below upward: [thus] they are sweetened (see what is written in Parshas Toldos on [the verse] “And Yitzchak’s servants dug,” and in Parshas Chukas on [the verse] “Spring up, O well,” etc.).
The Sages describe G‑d as “rebuking” the waters; the Kehot note points to Rashi on the second day of creation for this. A rebuke expresses severities and judgments, so these waters need refinement, and they are sweetened when they well up from beneath the earth, rising from below upward, as in the wells that Yitzchak’s servants dug and the song “Spring up, O well.”
So too, for a niddah and a zavah, their purification is specifically in living waters; and so our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “A spring purifies with any amount” (and see on [the verse] “that they take to you a heifer”).
Water that rises from below has a special power to purify: the text says purification here requires living waters, and the Mishnah rules that a spring purifies with any amount. The Kehot note remarks that the statement about the niddah and the zavah needs study, since the Talmud treats the zav more stringently than the zavah in this, and it lists possible resolutions and the Rebbe’s discussions of the question.
וזהו ענין הנסכים שהיו מנסכים יין ויורד לתהום פי׳ שע״י גילוי בחי׳ פנימית יורד ההמשכה גם למטה מטה ונותן בהם כח להיות יכולים גם הם לעלות בקדש. וזהו בקדש הסך נסך9 כו׳.
And this is the matter of the libations: they would pour wine, and it would go down to the deep. The meaning is that through the revelation of the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus), the drawing down descends even very far below, and gives them power, so that they too are able to rise into holiness. And this is “In holiness pour a libation,” etc.
This is the meaning of the libations flowing down to the deep: through the revelation of the inner dimension, the divine flow reaches even the lowest places and gives them the power to rise into holiness. That is “In holiness pour a libation.”
The paragraph explains why the libations go down to the deep: the deep is where the lower waters, the most distant and severe, were gathered, and they are sweetened by rising from below. The libations’ revelation of the inner dimension reaches down to them and gives them the power to rise into holiness.
The spring and its living waters illustrate the direction of sweetening: water that wells up from below is what purifies. The libation joins the two directions, sending the inner light all the way down so that the lowest levels can ascend.
Marei mekomos
- 1יקוו המים · Genesis 1:9
- 2גער בהן הקב״ה · ראה רש״י שם א, ו.
- 3ויחפ רו עבדי יצחק · Genesis 26:19
- 4עלי באר · Numbers 21:17
- 5נדה וזבה . . במים חיים · צע״ג ליישב דה״ק, וערש״י שבת (סה, ב) ובתוס׳ שם חומר בזב מבזבה. וע׳ פ״ה דמקואות מ״ה והרמב״ם שם נדחק בזה, וכבר עמד בזה בת׳ יעב״ץ ח״א (פ״ח). וע׳ רש״י סנהדרין (פז, א) ד״ה הלכתא משמע דמחלק בין זבה קטנה לזבה גדולה דבזבה גדולה בעי מים חיים. וגם י״ל דהתוספתא אתיא כר״ש. וע׳ בס׳ יראים סי׳ קצב [ובהשלם סי׳ כ״ו] דר״ש נפקא לי׳ טבילה לזבה מקרא דאחר תטהר א״כ לר״ש אינו מוכח דבעי מ״ח אבל רבנן דקי״ל כוותייהו דואחר תטהר אתיא לדרשא אחריתא וטבילה נפק״ל (מצוותן כו׳?) לזב י״ל באמת דבעי׳ מים חיים. [כ]. ראה בהערות וציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר לכאן. ובארוכה בלקו״ש חכ״ב ע׳ 305. חכ״ז ע׳ 346.
- 6מעין מטהר בכ״ש · מקוואות א, ז.
- 7מעין מטהר בכל שהוא · Mishnah Mikvaot 1:7
- 8ויקחו אליך פרה · Numbers 19:2
- 9בקדש הסך נסך · Numbers 28:7
Why wine, how much, and the yekev ¶9–10
And the libation is specifically with wine, because the gevuros are sweetened only in their root, which is the level of Binah (understanding), “from which judgments are aroused,” etc.
Wine is specifically the libation because severities can be sweetened only in their own root, and their root is Binah, “from which judgments are aroused.” Wine, as explained above, is Binah.
והטעם שיש חילוק בנסכים בין פר לאיל כו׳ כמ״ש חצי ההין4 יהיה לפר ושלישית ההין לאיל כו׳.
And the reason there is a difference in the libations between a bull and a ram, etc., as it is written, “Half a hin shall be for the bull, and a third of a hin for the ram,” etc.:
The Torah gives different amounts of wine for different offerings: half a hin for a bull, a third for a ram and a quarter for a lamb. The maamar now explains the reason.
היינו לפי שההמשכה הוא לפי ערך ההעלאה שהעלאת הפר הוא עליית עצמיות פני שור יורד ההמשכה מלמעלה ג״כ ביותר ריבוי חצי ההין
this is because the drawing down is in proportion to the ascent. Since the raising up of the bull is the ascent of the very essence of the face of the ox, the drawing down from above also descends in greater abundance, half a hin,
The drawing down matches the ascent. The bull is the very essence of the “face of the ox” in the Chariot, so its ascent is the greatest, and the flow drawn down in return is the greatest too: half a hin.
ויוכל להעלות יותר מדרגות התחתונים ודינים הקשים משא״כ האיל והכבש שאינן עצם פני שור גם המשכתו אינו כ״א שלישית ההין או רביעית כו׳.
and it can raise up more of the levels of the lower ones and the harsh judgments; whereas the ram and the lamb, which are not the essence of the face of the ox, their drawing down too is only a third of a hin or a quarter, etc.
That larger flow can raise more of the lower levels and the harsh judgments. The ram and the lamb are not the essence of the face of the ox, so their libations are smaller.
(ועיין מענין רביעית ההין בזח״ג פ׳ שלח קס״ב ב׳.56 בלק דף ר״ד78 א׳ ע״פ ומספר את רובע ישראל.9 ומענין חצי ההין ברע״מ ר״פ10 תשא דקפ״ז ע״ב11 ועיין בפע״ח שער כ״א פ״ו בענין פי׳ דודי).
(And see on the subject of a quarter of a hin in the Zohar, Part III, Parshas Shelach, 162b; Balak, page 204a, on [the verse] “And numbered the fourth part of Israel.” And on the subject of half a hin, in the Raaya Mehemna at the beginning of Parshas [Ki] Sisa, page 187b; and see Pri Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 21, chapter 6, on the explanation of dodi.)
A gloss lists Zohar passages on the quarter hin and the half hin. As the Kehot notes explain from Or HaTorah, the quarter hin is connected with Yosef and with Yesod, which can pass on only a quarter of what the giver holds, and the half hin with the letter vav, which mediates between the upper and the lower hei.
וזהו שאמרו רז״ל והשתיה כדת12 של תורה אכילה מרובה משתיה13 פי׳ שההעלאה הוא ברבוי יותר מן ההמשכה וכמארז״ל אין טפה14 יורד מלמעלה אלא א״כ טפיים עולים כנגדו1516 כו׳
And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “And the drinking was according to the law” of the Torah: eating more than drinking. The meaning is that the ascent is in greater abundance than the drawing down; and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “No drop comes down from above unless two drops rise up opposite it,” etc.
The Sages say that the Torah’s way is “eating more than drinking,” and the maamar reads this as the ascent being greater than the drawing down. In the same way, no drop comes down from above unless two drops rise toward it from below.
וד״ל ובגמרא (ספ״ד דסוכה דמ״ט ע״א) ע״פ וגם יקב חצב בו17 אלו השיתין18 ובמא״א אות יו״ד19 סעיף כ״ג דפי׳ יקב יחוד שמות הוי׳ אלקים שהוא גימטריא יקב
This suffices for one who understands. And in the Gemara (end of chapter 4 of Sukkah, page 49a), on [the verse] “And he also hewed out a winepress (yekev) in it”: “these are the shissin.” And in Me’orei Or, the letter yud, section 23, [it is written] that yekev means the union of the Names Havayah [and] Elokim, which is the numerical value of yekev.
The Talmud reads “he hewed out a winepress (yekev)” in Isaiah’s song of the vineyard as the shissin beneath the altar. Me’orei Or adds that yekev (112) equals Havayah (26) plus Elokim (86): the union of the two Names.
והיינו כי הרקיע המבדיל בין מים למים הוא שם אלקים ע״ד כי שמש ומגן20 כו׳
That is, the firmament that divides between waters and waters is the Name Elokim, along the lines of “For a sun and a shield,” etc.
The firmament that divides the upper waters from the lower is the Name Elokim, which conceals and limits. The verse “For a sun and a shield is Havayah Elokim” is brought for this, the Name Elokim being the shield that screens the sun of Havayah.
ובנסכים כתיב הסך נסך שכר לה׳21 שממשיכים גילוי שם הוי׳ שהוא הפנימית להיות משמח שם אלקים כנ״ל וזהו ע״י יחוד השמות
And regarding the libations it is written, “Pour a libation of strong drink to Havayah”: they draw down the revelation of the Name Havayah, which is the inner dimension, so as to gladden the Name Elokim, as mentioned above. And this is through the union of the Names,
The libation is poured “to Havayah”: it draws down the revelation of the Name Havayah, the inner dimension, so that it “gladdens” the Name Elokim. That is the union of the Names.
דהיינו המשכת שם הוי׳ בשם אלקים והמשכה זו נמשך גם בבחינת מים תחתונים שמתחת לרקיע כו׳ וזהו וגם יקב חצב בו.
that is, the drawing down of the Name Havayah into the Name Elokim; and this drawing down extends also into the level of the lower waters that are beneath the firmament, etc. And this is “And he also hewed out a winepress in it.”
Through this union the Name Havayah is drawn into the Name Elokim, and the flow reaches even the lower waters beneath the firmament, down to the deep. That is why the shissin beneath the altar are called yekev, the union of the Names.
The paragraph explains why the libation must be wine, since severities are sweetened only in their root, Binah; why its amount varies with the animal, since the drawing down matches the ascent; and why the shissin are called yekev: the libation unites Havayah with Elokim, so that the revelation reaches even the lower waters.
The rule that the ascent must exceed the drawing down, “eating more than drinking” and two drops rising for each one that descends, balances the emphasis on the libations: the drawing down is the purpose, but it is measured by the ascent before it. The Kehot note shows that the Talmud reads “handbreadth” (tefach) where several Kabbalistic works, like this maamar, read “drop” (tipah).
Marei mekomos
- 1שאין הגבורות נמתקות · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 31
- 2בינה דמינה דינין מתערין · Zohar III, 10a
- 3בינה דמינה דינין מתערין · Zohar, Vayikra 23:146–24:159
- 4חצי ההין יהי׳ לפר · Numbers 28:14
- 5ועיין מענין רביעית ההין בזח״ג פ׳ שלח קס״ב ב׳ · ”יוסף רביעא איהו כו׳ עלי׳ כתיב ונסכו רביעית ההין” — אוה״ת שלח ע׳ תקלג. ”שהוא בחי׳ יוסף” — אוה״ת ויקרא-א ע׳ קטז.
- 6ועיין מענין רביעית ההין בזח״ג פ׳ שלח קס״ב ב׳ · Zohar, Sh'lach 12:101–109
- 7בלק דף ר״ד א׳ · ”נזכר דברית רובע הוא משיעורא דגופא, היינו כי יסוד זהו ההשפעה להמקבל וא״א להיות נמשך בההשפעה רק חלק רביעי ממה שהוא בעצם המשפיע” — אוה״ת ויקרא-א ע׳ קטז. וראה בביאה״ז לאדה״א. ראה אוה״ת פנחס ע׳ א׳קס.
- 8בלק דף ר״ד א׳ ע״פ ומספר את רובע ישראל · Zohar, Balak 32:345–33:354
- 9ומספר את רובע ישראל · Numbers 23:10
- 10ברע״מ ר״פ כי תשא דקפ״ז ע״ב · ”חצי ההין ודא וי״ו ובהרמ״ז שם שהוי״ו חוצה ומתמצע בין ה׳ עילאה לה׳ תתאה” — אוה״ת שלח ע׳ תקלג.
- 11ומענין חצי ההין ברע״מ ר״פ תשא דקפ״ז ע״ב · Zohar, Ki Tisa 2:4–6
- 12והשתיה כדת · Esther 1:8
- 13והשתיה כדת של תורה אכילה מרובה משתיה · Megillah 12a:17
- 14אין טפה יורדת מלמע׳ · Zohar III, 247b
- 15אין טפה יורד מלמעלה אלא א״כ טפיים עולים כנגדו · Taanit 25b
- 16אין טפה יורד מלמעלה אלא א״כ טפיים עולים כנגדו · Sefer Etz Chaim 39:6
- 17וגם יקב חצב בו · Isaiah 5:2
- 18
- 19ובמא״א אות יו״ד סעי׳ כ״ג · נזכר גם לקמן ברכה צג, ד. אוה״ת בראשית-ג דף תפמב. ביאה״ז להצ״צ-ב ע׳ תשנא. נ״ך-א ע׳ קמז.
- 20כי שמש ומגן · Psalms 84:12
- 21הסך נסך שכר לה׳ · Numbers 28:7
10ועיין עוד מענין יקב1 בזח״א ס״פ לך לך דצ״ו ע״ב. וברע״מ פ׳ משפטים דקט״ז סע״א פי׳ יקב יחוד קדושה ברכה2 וע״ש דקי״ט ע״א3 ובפ׳ פקודי דרס״ב ע״א4 ועמ״ש מזה סד״ה ואתה מרבבות קדש:56
And see further on the subject of yekev in the Zohar, Part I, at the end of Parshas Lech Lecha, page 96b. And in the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Mishpatim, page 116, at the end of side a, it explains yekev [as] yichud (union), kedushah (holiness), berachah (blessing); and see there, page 119a; and in Parshas Pekudei, page 262a. And see what is written on this at the end of the discourse beginning “And He came from the myriads of holiness.”
This closing gloss gives further places on yekev, the “winepress” that the Talmud identifies with the shissin beneath the altar. At the end of Lech Lecha the Zohar reads “he also hewed out a winepress in it” as “the gate of Tzedek,” and the Raaya Mehemna on Mishpatim reads the word yekev as the initials of yichud, kedushah and berachah (union, holiness and blessing), the three that the other passages listed also speak of. The text then sends the reader to the end of the Alter Rebbe’s discourse “And He came from the myriads of holiness,” where these three are explained as levels of drawing down.
The paragraph closes the maamar with further sources on yekev: the Zohar passages that read the winepress as union, holiness and blessing, and the fuller treatment at the end of the discourse “And He came from the myriads of holiness.”
The Raaya Mehemna identifies the three with the Shechinah: blessing from the right of the Holy One, blessed be He, holiness from His left, and union in the middle. At the end of the discourse in V’Zos HaBerachah the Alter Rebbe suggests that blessing is the drawing down at the level of “You give life to them all,” holiness the drawing down of the light that encompasses all worlds through “who has sanctified us with His commandments,” and union the drawing down into the inner dimension, the revelation of the Infinite Light that is “One, but not in number.” That passage refers back to this discourse on the libations, whose wine, poured into the yekev, reveals the inner dimension below.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2יקב יחוד קדושה ברכה · Zohar, Mishpatim 10:405–11:414
- 3יחוד קדושה ברכה וע״ש דקי״ט ע״א · Zohar, Mishpatim 16:460–17:467
- 4יחוד קדושה ברכה וע״ש דקי״ט ע״א ובפ׳ פקודי דרס״ב ע״א · Zohar, Pekudei 52:819–829
- 5סד״ה ואתא מרבבות קדש · לקמן פ׳ ברכה צג, ד.
- 6ואתה מרבבות קדש · Deuteronomy 33:2
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Contemplation that lifts the soul toward G‑d, as in the Shema’s “Havayah is One,” until the soul longs to expire into Him, is an ascent; it is complete only when it is drawn down into a physical mitzvah, as tefillin bring that “One” onto the parchment. Without that, it is like an offering without its libations: nothing is drawn down. The ascent is for the sake of the drawing down that follows, and the drawing down is measured by the ascent that comes before it.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the Torah call the offerings the altar’s “bread,” and how does bread that supports the heart explain what an offering does above?
- What is the difference between the inner and the outer dimension of a thing, and why does only the outer dimension of a higher level descend to the lower?
- Why must the libations be wine, and how does wine’s being hidden in the grape explain its power to reveal?
- How is reciting the Shema without tefillin like an offering without libations, and what does this teach about contemplation and mitzvos?
- Why do the libations go down to the deep, and why is the measure of wine greater for a bull than for a ram or a lamb?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×21
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×8
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level.
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect. ×6
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×4
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×6
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×2
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×2
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×1
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment.
- 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.
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits.
- 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. ×1
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- 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”. ×2
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1