Likkutei Torah · Parshas Shemini Atzeres · Maamar 9
להבין ההפרש דבפסח כתיב והקרבתם אשה עולה ריח…
To understand the difference: on Pesach it is written, “You shall offer a fire-offering, a burnt-offering”
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The big idea
The Torah lists the Pesach offerings as isheh (fire-offering) then olah (burnt-offering), and those of Sukkos as olah then isheh, because isheh is the fiery, yearning love that rises from below and draws G‑d down, while olah is the hidden love of utter oneness that ‘rises of itself.’ On Sukkos and Shemini Atzeres that deeper love leads.
The maamar in brief
The maamar asks why the order of isheh and olah differs between Pesach and Sukkos. The Name Havayah is G‑d contracting His infinite essence; to draw that contraction, the soul must first nullify its own will. This ascent is isheh, ‘fire-offering, fragrance’, and G‑d’s answering descent is nichoach, ‘going down a level.’ But such love is fiery yearning, and yearning implies distance. Deeper is the hidden love in every Jewish soul, a oneness with G‑d like a person’s oneness with his own life, not felt as emotion at all. It is revealed on Shemini Atzeres through a flow from above that becomes inward there, having only encompassed the person during Sukkos. Like rain that must be held in clouds and measured into drops, this kindness needs restraint, which is why the day is called Atzeres. The love it reveals is olah, rising of itself. Olah also stands for the G‑dly soul’s own love, the inner heart, the ‘sealed fountain’ and the ‘male’ love that wants nothing but G‑d. Both orders join the two hearts, but whichever comes first leads, so Sukkos, with olah first, is higher, and the loftier the ascent, the loftier the revelation it draws down.
Outline
- The question and the Name HavayahWhy isheh olah on Pesach but olah isheh on Sukkos? Self-nullification below draws G‑d’s contraction into Havayah (isheh, nichoach); but fiery love implies distance, unlike the hidden love of oneness revealed on Shemini Atzeres.¶1
- Rain: the flow that reveals the hidden loveA flow from above, encompassing on Sukkos and inward on Shemini Atzeres, brings the hidden love out, as rain brings out the earth’s growth; it must be held back (‘Atzeres’) like rain in clouds, and the love it reveals is olah, rising of itself.¶2–3
- Olah above ishehAfter the festivals Havayah is drawn anew until Pesach. Olah ascends to the highest, like the Menorah’s self-rising flame; it is the G‑dly soul’s own love, the inner heart, the ‘sealed fountain’ and closed mem, and the ‘male’ love for G‑d Himself.¶4–5
- Which comes first leadsBoth orders unite outer and inner heart, but the first element dominates, as with intertwined Names and mizmor and shir; so the Sukkos order is higher, and its lofty ascent draws down a revelation from G‑d’s most hidden depths.¶6–7
Key concepts
- Isheh (fire-offering)אשה
- The ascent from below through fiery love and self-nullification, especially refining the animal soul’s ‘fire’; it draws G‑d down as nichoach.
- Olah (burnt-offering, ‘ascending’)עולה
- The hidden, essential love of the G‑dly soul that rises of itself in utter oneness with G‑d, revealed on Shemini Atzeres.
- Nichoachניחוח
- Read as related to nachis darga, ‘going down a level’: G‑d’s descent and self-contraction into the Name Havayah in response to the ascent from below.
- The hidden loveאהבה מסותרת
- The love latent in every Jewish soul: not a longing across distance but oneness with G‑d as with one’s own life.
- Encompassing and inwardמקיף ופנימי
- On Sukkos the flow from above surrounds the person; on Shemini Atzeres it enters within.
- The might of the rainsגבורות גשמים
- Rain is kindness that must be held back and measured into drops; so too the flow of Sukkos needs restraint, hence the name Atzeres.
- Outer and inner heartחיצוניות הלב ופנימיות הלב
- Felt emotion versus the soul’s essential core; the offerings’ two orders unite them, with the first one leading.
For children · ages 9–13
The love that rises by itself
The big idea
Deeper than a fiery love that longs for G‑d from far away is the hidden love in every Jewish soul, a oneness with G‑d as close as our own life, and on Shemini Atzeres it comes out into the open.
The Torah lists the Pesach offerings as “a fire-offering, a burnt-offering,” but the Sukkos offerings the other way around: “a burnt-offering, a fire-offering.” Why the change? The fire-offering stands for a love that burns and yearns, like flashes of fire. When a person sets aside every wish except what G‑d wants, that effort from below draws G‑d’s light down to us. Yet a person only yearns for what is far away. Nobody yearns for their own self, because they are already one with it. Hidden in every Jewish soul is a deeper love: being one with G‑d the way we are one with our own life. On Shemini Atzeres this hidden love comes out, like rain that makes seeds hidden in the earth sprout. Rain must first be held back in the clouds and then divided into drops, and so the day is called Atzeres, “holding back.” This deeper love is called olah, “rising,” because it rises upward by itself, like the flame of the Menorah. On Sukkos the olah comes first, so the deeper love leads, and the fiery love joins it.
The mashal
Rain begins far above, is held back in the clouds, and comes down drop by drop. Only then can it soak the earth and bring out the growth already hidden in it. In the same way, G‑d’s light on Shemini Atzeres comes down in a held-back, measured way, so that the love already hidden in every soul can come out.
Questions for the Shabbos table
- Why does a person feel yearning for something far away, but not for their own self?
- How is the hidden love in the soul like a seed in the earth waiting for rain?
- This week, what is one thing you can do only because G‑d wants it, and not for any reward?
Explanation © likuteitorah.com, CC BY-NC 4.0: retold for children from our translation and explanation, with AI assistance; not yet reviewed by a human editor.
The question and the Name Havayah ¶1
To understand the difference: regarding Pesach it is written, “And you shall offer a fire-offering (isheh), a burnt-offering (olah), a pleasing fragrance (rei’ach nichoach) to Havayah,” while regarding Sukkos it is written, “a burnt-offering, a fire-offering.” For
The maamar opens with a question of word order. For the Pesach offerings the Torah writes isheh (‘fire-offering’) before olah (‘burnt-offering’), while for Sukkos (and Shemini Atzeres) it writes olah first. The whole maamar explains what each word stands for in a person’s service and why the order changes.
הנה הוי׳ הוא בחי׳ צמצום והתפשטות כו׳ כי י׳ הוא בחי׳ צמצום נקודה לבד כי י׳ הוא בחי׳ ח״ע [חכמה עילאה]5
The Name Havayah is read letter by letter: the yud, a tiny point, stands for contraction, and the letters that follow stand for expansion. The yud corresponds to supernal Chochmah, the first ‘point’ of insight before it spreads out into detail.
ואף שנקרא ים החכמה עכ״ז [עם כל זה] אינו אלא הארה בעלמא לגבי למעלה מן החכמה עד שנחשבת לבחי׳ עשייה גשמיות כו׳
And although it is called “the sea of wisdom,” nevertheless it is no more than a mere glimmer relative to what is above wisdom, to the point that it is reckoned as the level of Asiyah (action), physicality, etc.
Chochmah is called ‘the sea of wisdom’ because of its vastness, yet compared with what lies above it, G‑d’s own essence, it is only a faint ray. Measured against G‑d, the highest wisdom and the lowest physical action count as equal.
ולכן הוא בחי׳ י׳ שאינו אלא נקודה קטנה כו׳ לגבי מהותו ועצמותו שממלא כל עלמין וסוכ״ע [וסובב כל עלמין] אינו
Therefore it is the level of the yud, which is only a small point, etc., relative to His very being and essence, for whom [the light that] fills all worlds and [the light that] encompasses all worlds is
This is why Chochmah is shown as a mere yud, a small dot. Even the two great modes of Divine light, the light that fills each world from within and the light that surrounds all worlds from beyond, are tiny relative to G‑d’s essence.
אלא בחינת מחשבה אחת לפניו וכדי שיצמצם א״ע [את עצמו] כביכול כ״כ [כל כך] צריך לעורר מלמטה באתעדל״ת [באתערותא דלתתא] ע״י בחינת ביטול רצון של נש״י [נשמות ישראל] כמ״ש ועמך לא חפצתי6 כו׳
no more than the level of a single thought before Him. And in order that He contract Himself, as it were, to such an extent, one must arouse [Him] from below through an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata), by way of the self-nullification (bittul) of the will of the souls of Israel, as it is written, “And besides You I desire nothing [on earth],” etc.:
All the worlds together are compared to ‘a single thought’ of G‑d, a minute fraction of Him. For G‑d to contract Himself so drastically into the Name Havayah, something must first be stirred from below: the Jewish people setting aside their own will, as the Psalmist says, ‘Besides You I desire nothing on earth.’
להיות ביטול עצמותם לגמרי שלא להיות רצון אחר כלל רק רצון ה׳ עי״ז מעוררים למעלה ג״כ שיצמצם עצמו כביכול רק להאיר בבחי׳ הארה מועטת מאד
that there be a complete nullification of their very selves, so that there is no other will at all but the will of G‑d. Through this they arouse [a response] above as well, that He contract Himself, as it were, to shine only as a very slight glimmer.
The self-nullification meant here is total: no will of one’s own besides G‑d’s will. This human self-effacement below awakens a matching self-contraction above, so that G‑d’s light shines in a measured, very slight form that worlds can receive.
כי רוח אייתי רוח ואמשיך רוח78 כו׳ להיות צמצום והתפשטות כו׳ שנקרא הוי׳ ונעשה ע״י אתעדל״ת [אתערותא דלתתא] הנ״ל (ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה ולא אבה9 הוי׳ אלקיך לשמוע אל בלעם)
For “spirit brings spirit and draws down spirit,” etc., so that there be contraction and expansion, etc., which is called Havayah; and this comes about through the arousal from below mentioned above. (See also what is explained on this in the maamar beginning “But Havayah your G‑d would not listen to Bilam.”)
The Zohar’s principle ‘spirit brings spirit and draws down spirit’ means that a spirit awakened below draws a spirit from above in response. The resulting contraction-and-expansion is the Name Havayah, and it is brought about by the human arousal from below. The parenthesis sends the reader to another maamar on the subject.
וזהו אשה ריח כו׳ שהוא בחי׳ ההעלאה ממטה למעלה באתעדל״ת [באתערותא דלתתא] הנ״ל ועי״ז נעשה אתעדל״ע [אתערותא דלעילא] להיות ניחוח שהוא לשון נחות דרגא10 להיות ירידת עצמותו כו׳
This is [the meaning of] “a fire-offering, a fragrance,” etc.: it is the level of the ascent from below to above, through the arousal from below mentioned above. Through this there comes about an arousal from above (isarusa dile’eila), so that there be nichoach, which is a term related to nachis darga (descending a level): that there be a descent of His essence, etc.,
Now the words of the verse are decoded. ‘Fire-offering, fragrance’ (isheh rei’ach) stand for the upward movement from below; nichoach (‘pleasing’) is read as related to the Aramaic nachis darga, ‘going down a level,’ and stands for G‑d’s answering descent.
לצמצם עצמו בבחי׳ שם הוי׳ וזהו ניחוח להוי׳ כו׳ והוא כמשל הריח שמשיב את הנפש הנה הריח הוא שמריח מלמטה ועולה למוחו
to contract Himself into the level of the Name Havayah. This is “nichoach to Havayah,” etc. It is like the analogy of fragrance, which restores the soul: the fragrance is smelled from below and rises to one’s brain,
That descent is G‑d contracting Himself into the Name Havayah, which is why the verse says ‘nichoach to Havayah.’ The analogy of smell begins: a fragrance is taken in from below and rises to the brain.
אך על ידי זה נעשה השבת הנפש להתפשט בגוף כמ״כ [כמו כן] ע״י בחינת אתעדל״ת [אתערותא דלתתא] מלמטה למעלה שנקרא אשה ריח נעשה המשכה מלמעלה למטה להיות ניחוח להוי׳ כו׳ (ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה לבבתני אחותי כלה)11
yet through this the soul is restored, spreading through the body. So too, through the arousal from below, from below to above, which is called “a fire-offering, a fragrance,” there comes about a drawing down from above to below, so that there be “nichoach to Havayah,” etc. (See also what is explained on this in the maamar beginning “You have captured my heart, my sister, [my] bride.”)
Yet a good fragrance revives the whole person; the refreshment spreads down through the body. Likewise the offering’s ascent (‘fire-offering, fragrance’) produces a downward flow of Divine light (‘nichoach to Havayah’).
אך כ״ז [כל זה] אינו אלא אתעדל״ת [אתערותא דלתתא] בבחי׳ אהבה ורשפי אש12 כו׳ ונודע שאהבה הוא מרחוק דוקא (ע׳ [עיין] מזה בד״ה וידעת היום)13
But all this is only an arousal from below in the mode of love and “flashes of fire,” etc. And it is known that love is specifically from a distance (see on this the maamar beginning “And you shall know this day”),
Now a limit is set. The ascent described so far is love of the fiery, yearning kind, ‘flashes of fire’ in the words of Song of Songs. Such love implies distance: one yearns only for what one does not yet have.
שלעצמו אינו מרגיש שום אהבה שהוא בבחי׳ יחוד בתכלית וכמ״כ [וכמו כן] אהבה מסותרת בכל נפש מישראל להיות מיוחד בתכלית היחוד ברוך הוא ולא בבחינת אהבה ותשוקה רק בבחי׳
for toward oneself a person feels no love at all, since he is in a state of complete unity [with himself]. So too, the hidden love in every Jewish soul is to be united with Him, blessed be He, in utter unity, not in the mode of love and longing, but in the mode of
A person does not ‘love’ himself in the sense of longing, because he is already one with himself. The hidden love latent in every Jewish soul is of this kind: not a yearning across a gap, but a oneness with G‑d as complete as a person’s oneness with his own life.
כמו האדם עם חיות עצמו ממש (וכמ״ש בד״ה אין ישראל נגאלין14 אלא בצדקה שזהו פי׳ ומל הוי׳ אלקיך כו׳ לאהבה את ה׳ אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך למען חייך כלומר למען
a person with his own very life-force. (As is explained in the maamar beginning “Israel will be redeemed only through tzedakah,” that this is the meaning of “And Havayah your G‑d will circumcise [your heart],” etc., “to love Havayah your G‑d with all your heart and with all your soul, for the sake of your life”; that is to say, for the sake
The parenthesis cites a letter in Tanya (Iggeres HaKodesh 4). There the verse’s phrase ‘for the sake of your life’ is read to mean that G‑d is one’s very life, so loving Him is like a person’s attachment to his own life-force.
כי ה׳ לבדו הוא כל חייך שלכן אהבה זו הוא מעומקא דלבא מנקודת פנימית ממש ועמ״ש מענין ומל ה׳ אלקיך את לבבך בד״ה ראה אנכי15 נותן ע״ש [עיין שם] במש״ש [במה שכתוב שם] ולא יהיה הרגש האהבה מפני שהיא נקודת עצמיות כו׳)
that G‑d alone is all your life; therefore this love is from the depth of the heart, from the very innermost point. See also what is explained on the subject of “And Havayah your G‑d will circumcise your heart” in the maamar beginning “See, I set [before you],” see there, in what is said there: “and there will be no feeling of love, because it is the point of the very self,” etc.)
Because G‑d is all of one’s life, this love comes from the innermost point of the heart. A related maamar (on ‘See, I set before you’) adds that such love is not even felt as love, because it is one’s very self rather than an emotion one has.
להיות כי עלה במחשבה כו׳ ומ״ש אחת היא16 כו׳ שהיא מיוחדת בתכלית וזהו תמתי17 רבי ינאי אמר תאומתי בשה״ש [בשיר השירים] רבה1819
This is because [Israel] “arose in [G‑d’s] thought,” etc., and as it is written, “She is one,” etc., for she is united in utter unity. And this is [the meaning of] “my perfect one” (tamasi): Rabbi Yannai said, “my twin” (te’omasi), in Shir HaShirim Rabbah.
This innate oneness goes back to Israel ‘arising in G‑d’s thought’ before creation, and to the verse ‘She is one,’ said of the Jewish people as G‑d’s beloved. The Midrash reads ‘my perfect one’ (tamasi) as ‘my twin’ (te’omasi): the relationship is one of equal, inseparable closeness, as between twins.
Now, the revelation of the love is only on Shemini Atzeres, which is the level of the union of groom and bride, as is explained in the maamar beginning “The Torah that [Moshe] commanded.”
This innermost love, hidden during the rest of the year, is revealed only on Shemini Atzeres. The festival is described as the union of groom and bride, G‑d and the Jewish people, a theme developed in another maamar.
The paragraph poses the maamar’s question (why Pesach has ‘fire-offering, burnt-offering’ but Sukkos ‘burnt-offering, fire-offering’) and explains the first order: ‘fire-offering, fragrance’ is the human ascent of self-nullification and fiery love that draws G‑d down into the Name Havayah. It then contrasts that love, which presupposes distance, with a deeper hidden love of complete oneness that is revealed on Shemini Atzeres.
The reading of Havayah as tzimtzum (the yud) followed by expansion is standard in Chassidus, and the principle that an arousal from below draws down an arousal from above is drawn here from the Zohar’s ‘spirit brings spirit.’ The contrast between love ‘from a distance’ and a love that is not felt as emotion at all, because it is the soul’s own essence, parallels the treatment of the heart’s inner point in Tanya, Iggeres HaKodesh 4, to which the text itself points.
Marei mekomos
- 1להבין ההפרש · בלי הגהות נדפס בס׳ מאמרי אדה״ז — הקצרים ע׳ צה. וראה אודות תאריך אמירת מאמר זה להלן ברשימת הכתבי-יד.
- 2והקרבתם אשה עולה · Numbers 28:19
- 3ובסוכות כתיב עולה אשה · Numbers 29:13
- 4ובסוכות כתיב עולה אשה · Numbers 29:36
- 5י׳ הוא בחי׳ ח״ע · ראה קה״י בערך יו״ד בתחלתו.
- 6ועמך לא חפצתי · תהלים עג, עה.
- 7רוח אייתי רוח ואמשיך רוח · Zohar II, 162b
- 8רוח אייתי רוח ואמשיך רוח · Zohar, Terumah 66:669–678
- 9בד״ה ולא אבה · נדפס לעיל לח, ג.
- 10נחות דרגא · Yevamot 63a:10–11
- 11בד״ה לבבתני אחותי כלה · לקמן שה״ש כח, ג.
- 12אהבה ורשפי אש · Song of Songs 8:6
- 13בד״ה וידעת היום · לעיל פ׳ ואתחנן.
- 14בד״ה אין ישראל נגאלין · אגה״ק סי׳ ד.
- 15בד״ה ראה אנכי · לעיל פ׳ ראה יח, ד.
- 16אחת היא · Song of Songs 6:9
- 17תמתי · Song of Songs 5:2
- 18בשה״ש רבה · (רפ״ה [ב, ב]). [כ].
- 19תמתי רבי ינאי אמר תאומתי בשה״ש רבה · Shir HaShirim Rabbah 5:3
- 20בד״ה תורה צוה · לקמן צד, א ואילך.
- 21
- 22ומל הוי׳ אלקיך כו׳ לאהבה את ה׳ אלקיך בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך למען חייך · Deuteronomy 30:6
Rain: the flow that reveals the hidden love ¶2–3
2ופי׳ יחוד זה היינו להיות מיוחד בתכלית היחוד בה׳ בבחי׳ לאהבה כו׳ למען חייך כנ״ל.
The meaning of this union is to be united with G‑d in utter unity, in the mode of “to love,” etc., “for the sake of your life,” as explained above.
The ‘union’ of Shemini Atzeres is defined: complete oneness with G‑d, the love ‘for the sake of your life’ described in the previous paragraph, where G‑d is one’s very life.
והיינו כי יציאת האהבה מסותרת הנ״ל מהעלם לגילוי אינו אלא ע״י גילוי והמשכה מלמעלה למטה מקודם לכל נפש ועי״ז בכחו להוציא האהבה מהעלם לגילוי וההמשכה הוא ע״י בחינת וימינו תחבקני1 שבכל ימי הסוכות
That is: bringing the hidden love mentioned above out of concealment into revelation comes about only through a revelation and drawing down from above to below, beforehand, to every soul; and through this one has the power to bring the love out of concealment into revelation. The drawing down is through the level of “and His right hand embraces me,” which is during all the days of Sukkos.
A person cannot draw this hidden love out alone; first G‑d must reveal and draw down light to every soul, and that gives the soul the strength to reveal its love. On Sukkos this comes through ‘His right hand embraces me,’ the right hand being kindness.
אך בכל ימי הסוכות הוא בבחי׳ מקיף והגילוי בפנימית הוא בשמע״צ [בשמיני עצרת] וגילוי זה של ההמשכה נק׳ מוריד הגשם
But during all the days of Sukkos it is in the mode of a makif (an encompassing light), while the revelation within is on Shemini Atzeres. And this revelation of the drawing down is called “He causes the rain to fall.”
During Sukkos the light is ‘encompassing’ (makif): it surrounds the person, like the sukkah itself, without entering within. On Shemini Atzeres it becomes an inner revelation, and this is what the prayer ‘He causes the rain to fall,’ begun on that day, alludes to.
כי כמו הגשם שבא מלמעלה ללחלח את הארץ ועי״ז יוצא כח הצומח שיש בארץ מהעלם לגילוי להיות והולידה והצמיחה ונתן זרע2 כו׳
For just like the rain, which comes from above to moisten the earth, and through it the power of growth that is in the earth emerges from concealment into revelation, so that “it makes it bring forth and sprout, and gives seed,” etc.,
The analogy: rain does not create the power of growth; it moistens the earth so that the potential already hidden in the soil comes out. Isaiah describes rain that makes the earth ‘bring forth and sprout.’
כמ״כ [כמו כן] גילוי והמשכה שבא מלמעלה לכל אחד הוא בכדי להוציא האהבה המסותרת בכל נפש מהעלם לגילוי להיות בחי׳ יחוד בה׳ בתכלית. ולכן מזכירין גבורות גשמים34 בשמ״ע [בשמיני עצרת].
so too the revelation and drawing down that comes from above to each person is in order to bring the love hidden in every soul out of concealment into revelation, so that there be the level of utter union with G‑d. And therefore we mention the “might of the rains” on Shemini Atzeres.
So too the Divine flow from above does not create the love but awakens the love already hidden in every soul. This is why the mention of rain in the Amidah begins on Shemini Atzeres.
The paragraph explains how the hidden love is revealed: it needs a prior flow from above, which on Sukkos is only ‘encompassing’ and on Shemini Atzeres becomes inward. The rain that begins to be mentioned on Shemini Atzeres is the image for that inward flow, which brings out a potential already present.
The distinction between makif and pnimi, surrounding versus internalized light, is the key to why the deepest revelation comes on the eighth day rather than during Sukkos itself.
Marei mekomos
- 1וימינו תחבקני · Song of Songs 2:6
- 2והולידה והצמיחה ונתן זרע · Isaiah 55:10
- 3מזכירין גבורות גשמים בשמע״צ · שו״ע או״ח סתרס״ח, ב.
- 4גבורות גשמים · בסידור סא, ד נתבאר למה נקראים גבורות והלא הגשמים הן ברכה ע״ש.
3והנה כמו שירידת הגשמים מלמעלה א״א [אי אפשר] לבא לארץ כ״א [כי אם] ע״י שמתעכבים ומתכסים הגשמים תחלה בעבים1
Now, just as the descent of the rains from above cannot reach the earth except by the rains first being held back and covered in clouds,
The rain analogy is developed: rain cannot fall straight to the earth; it must first be gathered and held back in clouds.
וגם שיתחלקו אח״כ [אחר כך] טיפין טיפין2 שלזאת נקרא גבורות גשמים3 לפי שיורדין בגבורה כי מים הוא התפשטות ומה שנעצרים בעבים ומתחלק אח״כ [אחר כך] לטיפין כו׳
and also by their dividing afterward into drop after drop—which is why it is called “the might [gevuros] of the rains,” because they descend with might [gevurah]; for water is expansion, and the fact that they are held back in clouds and afterward divided into drops, etc.,
It must also be divided into separate drops. That is why the liturgy speaks of the ‘might’ (gevuros) of rain: water by nature spreads out freely (kindness), and holding it back and measuring it into drops is an act of restraint.
is from the level of gevuros (restraints), and it is the level of the inclusion of gevuros within chasadim (kindnesses) (see also what is explained in the discourse on “The voice of my beloved” and on “And He will give strength to His king”)—
Restraint is thus built into kindness: this is ‘the inclusion of gevuros within chasadim.’ The parenthesis points to two other discourses where the idea is developed.
ובלא ז6 אי אפשר לבא למטה לארץ ללחלחה ולהוציא ממנה את כח הצומח7 שמוסתר בה כמ״כ [כמו כן] גילוי והמשכת אלקות שבא מלמעלה בחג הסוכות שהוא מבחי׳ חסד והתפשטות כו׳
and without this they could not come down to the earth to moisten it and bring out of it the power of growth that is hidden within it; so too the revelation and drawing down of G‑dliness that comes from above on the festival of Sukkos, which is from the level of Chesed (kindness) and expansion, etc.,
Without that restraint the rain could not water the earth and bring out its hidden growth; it would flood rather than nourish. The flow of G‑dliness on Sukkos, which is kindness and expansion, is the same.
בכדי להוציא האהבה המסותרת הנ״ל א״א [אי אפשר] להיות כ״א [כי אם] ע״י התכללות ג״כ בגבורה שיתעכב ויעצר ההשפעה תחלה.
in order to bring out the hidden love mentioned above, cannot be except through being included also with Gevurah (restraint), so that the flow first be held back and restrained.
That flow cannot reveal the hidden love unless it too is combined with restraint, first held back and gathered in before it is given.
ולזאת נק׳ עצרת כו׳ שהיה בחי׳ עיכוב ההשפעה (וכמ״ש ברבות נשא פ״י [פרק י׳ / פרשה י׳]8 שהוא מלשון נעצרה נא אותך)9 כדוגמת הגשם שמתכסה בעבים תחלה ומתחלק אח״כ [אחר כך] לטיפין כו׳
That is why it is called Atzeres, etc., for it was the level of holding back the flow (as is written in Rabbah, Nasso, chapter 10, that it is from the language of “Please, let us detain you”), like the rain, which is first covered in clouds and afterward divided into drops, etc.
This is why the day is called Atzeres, from the root ‘to hold back.’ The Midrash links the word to Manoach’s words to the angel, ‘Please, let us detain you.’ The holding back is like the rain gathered in clouds and then measured out in drops.
ואז נעשה היחוד שהוא בחי׳ גילוי האהבה המסותרת הנ״ל ובחינת אהבה זו נקרא בשם עולה10
And then the union takes place, which is the level of the revelation of the hidden love mentioned above; and this level of love is called by the name olah (burnt-offering, [literally, “ascending”]),
Only then does the union take place: the hidden love is revealed. This love is called olah, ‘that which ascends,’ the same word as the burnt-offering.
לפי שעולה מאליה למעלה בבחי׳ יחוד בתכלית לפי שחלק11 הוי׳ כו׳ אחת היא12 כו׳ ואינה בבחי׳ אהבה ורשפי אש13 כמו בכל הרגלים.
because it ascends upward of its own accord, in the mode of utter union, since “Havayah’s portion,” etc., “She is one,” etc.; and it is not in the mode of love and “flashes of fire,” as on all the [other] festivals.
It rises of itself, with no need to be kindled, because the soul is ‘G‑d’s portion’ and ‘one’ with Him. It is not the fiery, yearning love of the other festivals, which presupposes distance.
The paragraph explains why the revelation needs restraint: like rain that must be gathered in clouds and divided into drops, the kindness of Sukkos must be held back (‘Atzeres’) before it can bring out the hidden love. That revealed love is called olah because it ascends of itself.
Kehot’s notes point to Talmudic and Chassidic parallels: the Talmud (Taanis 2a) calls rain ‘gevuros,’ and Bava Basra 16a says each drop has its own mold, for if two drops came from one they would ruin the earth. The Ki Savo maamar cited in the notes refers back to this very passage for the love that ‘ascends of itself.’
Marei mekomos
- 1כ״א ע״י שמתעכבים ומתכסים הגשמים תחלה בעבים · נתבאר בסידור סב, א.
- 2שיתחלקו אח״כ טיפין טיפין · ראה לקמן צו, א. מאמרי אדה״א ויקרא ח״א ע׳ שצא.
- 3נקרא גבורות גשמים · Taanit 2a:1–2
- 4והוא בחי׳ התכללות גבורות בחסדים · ”ולכן ע״פ רוב הגשמים באים ע״י רעמים שבתחלה שהם בחי׳ גבורות כו׳ רק יש גשם נדבות בלא רעמים כו׳” — אוה״ת פ׳ תולדות כרך א קמא, א. וראה גם פ׳ בשלח ע׳ תרפו.
- 5וע״פ ויתן עוז למלכו · לעיל פ׳ נשא כה, ד.
- 6שיתחלקו . . ובלא זה א״א · Bava Batra 16a
- 7ולהוציא ממנה את כח הצומח · ראה אוה״ת פ׳ בשלח ע׳ תקנה.
- 8ברבות נשא פ״י · Bamidbar Rabbah 10
- 9נעצרה נא אותך · Judges 13:15
- 10ובחינת אהבה זו נקרא בשם עולה · ראה לעיל פ׳ תבוא מג, א.
- 11לפי שחלק הוי׳ · Deuteronomy 32:9
- 12אחת היא · Song of Songs 6:9
- 13אהבה ורשפי אש · Song of Songs 8:6
Olah above isheh ¶4–5
4ולכן אומרים עולה אשה כו׳ ואח״כ [ואחר כך] חוזרים וממשיכים שם הוי׳ חדש עד חג הפסח שבכל ו׳ חדשים דחורף אין בהם רגל כלל שכל הג׳ רגלים הן בקיץ כו׳.
Therefore we say “a burnt-offering, a fire-offering,” etc. Afterward we once again draw down the Name Havayah anew, until the festival of Pesach; for in all the six months of winter there is no festival at all, since all three festivals are in the summer, etc.
This answers the opening question. On Sukkos and Shemini Atzeres olah, the self-rising love, comes first. From then until Pesach there are no festivals, so the Name Havayah must be drawn down anew, and Pesach’s order, isheh first, begins that renewed ascent from below.
ועיין מענין עולה בזח״ג [בזהר חלק ג] ר״פ צו12 והרמ״ז [והרב משה זכות] שם העיר מענין רוח האדם העולה למעלה ועמ״ש בד״ה האזינו השמים3 בענין והרוח תשוב אל
See on the subject of olah in Zohar III, at the beginning of Parshas Tzav, where the Ramaz remarks on the subject of the spirit of man that ascends upward. See also what is explained in the maamar beginning “Listen, O heavens,” on “and the spirit returns to
The Zohar at the start of Parshas Tzav explains olah as the ascent of the Jewish people’s collective soul (Knesses Yisrael), binding it above in the World to Come; the Ramaz, a Kabbalistic commentator on the Zohar, relates this to the human spirit that rises upward. Another maamar treats the same idea through a verse from Koheles.
האלהים אשר נתנה4 ומשם יובן שעלייה זו היא למעלה מעלה בחינת עד יעבור עמך5 הוי׳ ועמ״ש ע״פ בהעלותך את הנרות6
G‑d who gave it”; from there it will be understood that this ascent is to the very highest, the level of “until Your people pass over, Havayah.” See also what is explained on “When you raise up the lamps.”
The verse says the spirit ‘returns to G‑d who gave it,’ to its very source. That source is the level of ‘until Your people pass over, Havayah,’ which the maamar treats as the height of the olah’s ascent. A further discussion is found on the lighting of the Menorah.
והנה אשה הוא ג״כ אש ה׳ וע׳ [ועיין] זח״ג [זהר חלק ג] פנחס (דרנ״ב סע״ב [סוף עמוד ב])7 וכמ״ש בד״ה את קרבני לחמי8 ובד״ה והיה לכם לציצית9 בענין לזאת יקרא אשה10 כו׳ אך עכ״ז [עם כל זה] בחי׳ עולה גבוה יותר כנ״ל.
Now, isheh (fire-offering) is also esh H’ (“fire of H’”). See Zohar III, Pinchas (252b, end of the column), and as is explained in the maamar beginning “My offering, My bread” and in the maamar beginning “And it shall be to you as tzitzis,” on “this one shall be called woman (ishah),” etc. Nevertheless, the level of olah is higher, as explained above.
The word isheh can be divided into esh (‘fire’) and the letter hei, pointing to a Divine fire. The text lists places where this is explained, including the wordplay on ishah (‘woman’) from Genesis. Still, it concludes, olah is the higher level.
ואפשר ע״ד [על דרך] שארז״ל [שאמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] גבי בהעלותך חייך שלך גדול משלהם1112 שבחי׳ העלאת הנרות בחי׳ שלהבת העולה מאליה גדול מהקרבנות הנק׳ אשה ריח כו׳.
And perhaps it is in the manner of what our Sages said regarding “When you raise up”: “By your life, yours is greater than theirs”; that is, the raising of the lamps, the level of a flame that rises of its own accord, is greater than the offerings, which are called “a fire-offering, a fragrance,” etc.
The Midrash, quoted by Rashi, says that when Aharon was dismayed at not joining the princes’ dedication offerings, G‑d told him, ‘By your life, yours is greater than theirs,’ for he would kindle the Menorah. A flame that rises of itself is olah, and so is greater than offerings called isheh.
The paragraph completes the answer: olah comes first on Sukkos and Shemini Atzeres, and after the festivals the Name Havayah is drawn down anew until Pesach. It then gathers sources showing olah as an ascent to the very highest level, above even isheh, the ‘fire of G‑d.’
The Kehot note quotes the Zohar (Tzav 26a) that the olah is the ascent and binding of Knesses Yisrael above, cleaving within the World to Come. The comparison with Aharon’s lamps sharpens the distinction: the olah-love is like the flame of the Menorah, which ‘rises of its own accord,’ and so it surpasses the offerings called isheh.
Marei mekomos
- 1בזח״ג ר״פ צו · ”דכ״ו ע״א ת״ח האי עולה סליקו וקשירו דכנס״י לעילא ודבוקה דילה בגו עלמא דאתי כו׳, ובפי׳ הרמ״ז שזהו ענין רוח האדם העולה הוא למעלה” — אוה״ת שמע״צ ע׳ א׳תתי ואילך.
- 2ועיין מענין עולה בזח״ג ר״פ צו · Zohar, Vayikra 65:435–66:445
- 3בד״ה האזינו השמים · לעיל ר״פ האזינו.
- 4והרוח תשוב אל האלהים אשר נתנה · Ecclesiastes 12:7
- 5עד יעבור עמך הוי׳ · Exodus 15:16
- 6בהעלותך את הנרות · Numbers 8:2
- 7וע׳ זח״ג פנחס דרנ״ב סע״ב · ראה אוה״ת פנחס ע׳ א׳צח.
- 8את קרבני לחמי · Numbers 28:2
- 9והיה לכם לציצית · Numbers 15:39
- 10לזאת יקרא אשה · Genesis 2:23
- 11חייך שלך גדול משלהם · רש״י ר״פ בהעלותך.
- 12חייך שלך גדול משלהם · Rashi on Numbers 8:2:1
5ועמ״ש בד״ה תחת אשר לא עבדת. גם י״ל [יש לומר] בחי׳ אשה אש ה׳ עיקרו בירור יסוד האש שבנפש הבהמית
See also what is explained in the maamar beginning “Because you did not serve.” It may also be said that the level of isheh, esh H’, is chiefly the refinement of the element of fire in the animal soul,
After pointing to another maamar, a second distinction is offered: isheh works mainly on the animal soul, refining its ‘element of fire,’ the source of its heated passions, and turning that heat toward G‑d.
אבל עולה הוא מצד האהבה המסותרת שבנפש האלקית עצמה בחי׳ בעטרה שעטרה לו אמו1 שאין בלעומת זה בחינה זו כלל אפילו לאחר הבירור כמ״ש סד״ה יביאו לבוש מלכות.
whereas olah comes from the hidden love in the G‑dly soul itself, the level of “the crown with which his mother crowned him,” a level that does not exist at all on the opposing side, even after the refinement, as is explained at the end of the maamar beginning “Let them bring royal apparel.”
Olah, by contrast, comes from the G‑dly soul’s own hidden love, likened to the ‘crown’ in Song of Songs, something above the ordinary faculties. This level has no counterpart on the side opposed to holiness, even after refinement, since it never needed refining.
גם יש להעיר לענין אשה עולה מענין ב׳ בחינות חיצוני׳ הלב ופנימיות הלב הנזכר בד״ה ושאבתם מים שהן ב׳ בחי׳ כלה הנזכר בד״ה שה״ש [שיר השירים].
One should also note, regarding isheh and olah, the subject of the two levels, the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of the heart and the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the heart, mentioned in the maamar beginning “And you shall draw water,” which are the two levels of “bride” mentioned in the maamar beginning “Shir HaShirim.”
Another way to see the pair: isheh and olah match the ‘outer dimension of the heart’ (emotions that can be felt and worked on) and its ‘inner dimension’ (the soul’s core). Other maamarim describe these as two levels of the ‘bride,’ the Jewish people in relation to G‑d.
גם איתא ברע״מ [ברעיא מהימנא] פ׳ פנחס שם דעצי העולה אינון עץ החיים ועה״ד [ועץ הדעת] וא״כ [ואם כן] בחינת עולה עצמה היא ממעל לעצים2 היינו למעלה ג״כ מבחי׳ עץ החיים ועמ״ש בפי׳ ממעל לעצים בד״ה וידעת היום.
It is also stated in the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Pinchas, there, that the wood of the olah is the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. If so, the level of olah itself is “above the wood,” that is, above even the level of the Tree of Life. See also what is explained on the meaning of “above the wood” in the maamar beginning “And you shall know this day.”
The Raaya Mehemna, a section of the Zohar, says the wood on which the olah burns represents the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. Since the olah lies ‘above the wood’ (as with Isaac on the altar), olah reaches above even the Tree of Life.
ועיין עוד מענין עולה בזח״ג [בזהר חלק ג] (דרנ״ח ב׳).3 ועמ״ש בד״ה ביום השמיני שלח45 בענין אז תשמח בתולה במחול בחינת אז שהוא בחי׳ קדם כו׳
See further on the subject of olah in Zohar III (258b). See also what is explained in the maamar beginning “On the eighth day he sent,” on “Then the maiden shall rejoice in the dance”: the level of az (“then”), which is the level of kedem (“before”), etc.
Another maamar, on the eighth day (Shemini Atzeres), reads ‘Then (az) the maiden shall rejoice’ as pointing to what is ‘before’ (kedem), a level that precedes and transcends the world. This is where the olah-love comes from.
וזהו ענין גן נעול כו׳ גל נעול מעין חתום6 (בשה״ש [בשיר השירים] סי׳ ד׳ י״ג) היינו בחינת ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם7 כו׳
And this is the meaning of “A locked garden,” etc., “a locked spring, a sealed fountain” (in Shir HaShirim, chapter 4, 13): that is, the level of “and you shall not stray after your heart,” etc.,
That pure, prior level is ‘a locked garden … a sealed fountain’: a love kept closed to anything foreign. In practice this is ‘you shall not stray after your heart,’ the command not to follow one’s desires away from G‑d. (The verse is 4:12 in standard numbering; the text cites 4:13.)
שלא להיות בחינת זונה ח״ו [חס ושלום] וע׳ [ועיין] זח״ג [זהר חלק ג] אמור (פ״ט8 א׳) ע״פ ולאחותו הבתולה9 כו׳ והוא ענין מ״ם סתומה כמש״ש [כמה שכתוב שם] בפ׳ אחרי (דס״ב ע״ב) מ״ם סתומה10 כו׳
so as not to be in the state of a harlot, G‑d forbid. See Zohar III, Emor (89a), on “and for his sister, the maiden,” etc. And this is the concept of the closed mem, as is explained there in Parshas Acharei (62b): “the closed mem,” etc.,
Straying is called ‘harlotry,’ giving oneself to what is not one’s own. The Zohar links this sealed quality to the maiden of Leviticus and to the closed (final) mem, the letter shaped as a closed square.
מעין חתום. כי מ״ם פתוחה היינו שיש פתח ומבוא ליניקת החיצונים11 מצד התלבשות בנפש הבהמית.
“a sealed fountain.” For the open mem means that there is an opening and entrance for the external forces to draw nourishment, by way of being enclothed in the animal soul.
The open mem, which has a gap in its shape, stands for a state with an opening through which the ‘external forces’ (kelipah) can draw nourishment. That opening arises because the soul is clothed in the animal soul.
מה שאין כן מ״ם סתומה היינו כד אתכפיא חשוכא לנהורא ועמ״ש בד״ה כי תצא בפי׳ על אויביך12 שאין לאויב שליטה ואחיזה שם
Not so the closed mem: it means “when darkness is subdued before light.” See also what is explained in the maamar beginning “When you go out,” on the meaning of “against your enemies”: that the enemy has no dominion or hold there.
The closed mem stands for the state in which darkness is subdued before light, so no gap remains. Another maamar reads ‘against your enemies’ similarly: at that level the enemy has no foothold at all.
והנה עי״ז שיהיה בבחי׳ ולא תתורו כו׳ יבוא לבחי׳ למען תזכרו13 שתהיו בבחינת זכרים כמ״ש במ״א
Now, through being in the state of “and you shall not stray,” etc., one will come to the level of “so that you remember” (tizkeru), that you be in the state of males (zecharim), as is explained elsewhere.
By not straying, one reaches ‘so that you remember’ (tizkeru), read through its root zachar as becoming ‘male.’ In the maamar’s usage, ‘male’ and ‘female’ name two modes of love, as the next lines explain.
וזהו ג״כ ענין עולה דכתיב זכר תמים יקריבנו14 ועיין מזה זח״א [זהר חלק א] (ויחי דרמ״ו סע״א [סוף עמוד א])1516 והיינו כמ״ש במ״א בד״ה שוש אשיש17 שכשהאבה הוא ע״מ [על מנת] לקבל פרס בחי׳ לגרמיה נק׳ נקבה נשים דעתן קלות18
And this is also the meaning of olah, of which it is written, “he shall offer a male without blemish.” See on this Zohar I (Vayechi, 246a, end of the column). That is, as is explained elsewhere, in the maamar beginning “I will greatly rejoice,” that when love is for the sake of receiving a reward, the level of [love] for oneself, it is called female, [as in] “women are of light mind”;
The olah must be ‘a male without blemish.’ Another maamar defines the ‘female’ mode as love that seeks a reward, love that is ultimately for oneself, and cites the Talmudic phrase quoted here for that mode.
אבל בחינת דכר הוא האהבה רבה למהותו ועצמותו ית׳ כמ״ש ועמך לא חפצתי19 ע״ש [עיין שם]. וזהו ענין העולה שעולה למעלה מעלה כנ״ל.
whereas the level of the male is the great love for His very being and essence, blessed be He, as it is written, “Besides You I desire nothing”; see there. And this is the meaning of the olah, which ascends to the very highest, as explained above.
The ‘male’ mode is the great love for G‑d’s very essence, wanting nothing but Him: ‘Besides You I desire nothing.’ This selfless love is the olah that rises to the very highest.
The paragraph offers further ways of seeing isheh and olah: refining the animal soul versus the G‑dly soul’s own hidden love; the outer versus inner heart; and a love ‘sealed’ against foreign influence, the closed mem, that rises above even the Tree of Life. It ends by identifying olah with the ‘male’ mode of love, love for G‑d Himself rather than for any reward.
The Kehot note on Zohar I (Vayechi 246a) quotes: ‘the supernal world is the world of the male … from where do we know this? From olah.’ The notes also relate the Zohar at 258b to olah as ‘a locked garden.’ Throughout, ‘male’ and ‘female’ are used as names for kinds of love, defined by the maamar itself: love for a reward and love for G‑d’s very essence.
Marei mekomos
- 1בעטרה שעטרה לו אמו · Song of Songs 3:11
- 2ממעל לעצים · Genesis 22:9
- 3בזח״ג (דרנ״ח ב׳) · דבחי׳ עולה זהו ע״ד גן נעול. ראה אוה״ת פ׳ פנחס ע׳ א׳קנו.
- 4בד״ה ביום השמיני שלח · לעיל פו, ג.
- 5ביום השמיני שלח · I Kings 8:66
- 6גן נעול כו׳ גל נעול מעין חתום · Song of Songs 4:12
- 7ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם · Numbers 15:39
- 8וע׳ זח״ג אמור (פ״ט א׳) · Zohar, Emor 3:12–6:22
- 9ולאחותו הבתולה · Leviticus 21:3
- 10כמש״ש בפ׳ אחרי (דס״ב ע״ב) מ״ם סתומה · Zohar, Achrei Mot 19:118–20:124
- 11מ״ם פתוחה היינו שיש פתח ומבוא ליניקת החיצונים · ראה לעיל פ׳ במדבר ב, ב. אוה״ת שמע״צ ע׳ א׳תתי.
- 12על אויביך · Deuteronomy 21:10
- 13למען תזכרו · Numbers 15:40
- 14זכר תמים יקריבנו · Leviticus 1:10
- 15ועיין מזה זח״א (ויחי דרמ״ו סע״א) · ”דעלמא עילאה עלמא דדכורא איהו כו׳ מנלן מעולה כו׳” — אוה״ת שמע״צ ע׳ א׳תתיא ע״ש באריכות.
- 16ועיין מזה זח״א (ויחי דרמ״ו סע״א) · Zohar, Vayechi 72:752–73:761
- 17בד״ה שוש אשיש · לעיל פ׳ תזריע.
- 18נשים דעתן קלות · Kiddushin 80b:5–6
- 19ועמך לא חפצתי · Psalms 73:25
Which comes first leads ¶6–7
6והנה מ״ש ב׳ הבחינוך היינו אשה עולה או עולה אשה היינו התחברות שני הבחינות יחד כמ״ש במ״א בפי׳ ויחד לבבינו1 לאהבה.
Now, what is said of the two levels, namely isheh olah or olah isheh, means the joining of the two levels together, as is explained elsewhere on the meaning of “and unite our hearts to love.”
Both orders, isheh olah and olah isheh, mean that the two kinds of love are joined. The morning prayer’s plea ‘unite our hearts to love’ is read the same way: the plural ‘hearts’ refers to two hearts made one.
דהענין יחוד ב׳ הבחינות דחיצוניות הלב ופנימיות הלב שיהיה נכלל בחי׳ החיצוניות בבחי׳ פנימיות. בד״ה מי מנה עפר יעקב.2
The matter is the union of the two levels, the outer dimension of the heart and the inner dimension of the heart, so that the level of the outer dimension be included in the level of the inner dimension. [See] the maamar beginning “Who can count the dust of Yaakov.”
The two are the outer heart and the inner heart. Uniting them means the outer heart’s felt emotion is absorbed into the inner heart’s essential oneness with G‑d. Another maamar develops this.
ועד״ז [ועל דרך זה] הוא ענין והקרבתם אשה עולה או והקרבתם עולה אשה3 לייחד ב׳ הלבבות יחד ועיין בזח״א [בזהר חלק א] וישב (דקפ״ג סע״ב [סוף עמוד ב])4 בפי׳ שחברה לה יחדיו5 והוא ענין ויחד לבבינו
In the same way is the matter of “you shall offer a fire-offering, a burnt-offering” or “you shall offer a burnt-offering, a fire-offering”: to unite the two hearts together. See Zohar I, Vayeshev (183b, end of the column), on the meaning of “that is joined together to it”; and this is the matter of “and unite our hearts.”
The two offering orders both express this uniting of ‘two hearts.’ The Zohar’s reading of ‘joined together’ (said of Jerusalem in Psalms) makes the same point: two things fused into one.
אך עכ״ז [עם כל זה] בחי׳ והקרבתם עולה אשה הוא בחי׳ גבוה יותר כי כיון שבחי׳ עולה קודמת א״כ [אם כן] בחינה זו היא העיקרית ובחי׳ אשה נכלל ובטל לה משא״כ בבחי׳ אשה עולה.
Nevertheless, the level of “you shall offer a burnt-offering, a fire-offering” is a higher level. For since the level of olah comes first, this level is the principal one, and the level of isheh is included in it and nullified to it; which is not so with the level of isheh olah.
Yet the orders are not equal. Whatever comes first dominates, so in ‘olah isheh’ (Sukkos) the inner love leads and the outer love is absorbed into it; in ‘isheh olah’ (Pesach) the outer effort leads.
The paragraph shows that both orders unite the outer and inner heart, as in ‘unite our hearts to love,’ but that the Sukkos order is higher because the inner love comes first and the outer love is nullified within it.
This refines the answer to the opening question: it is not that Pesach has only isheh and Sukkos only olah, but that both have both, and the order decides which one leads. The next paragraph supports this with the principle that in two intertwined Names the first letter dominates.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויחד לבבנו · ברכת ק״ש דשחרית.
- 2מי מנה עפר יעקב · Numbers 23:10
- 3והקרבתם עולה אשה · Numbers 29:13
- 4ועיין בזח״א וישב (דקפ״ג סע״ב) · Zohar, Vayeshev 10:102–12:112
- 5שחברה לה יחדיו · Psalms 122:3
7וכמ״ש כה״ג [כהאי גוונא] במ״א בענין ההפרש בין שילוב אד׳ בהוי׳ ושילוב הוי׳ באד׳ שאות הראשונה היא הגוברת כו׳ ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה שובה ישראל.1
As is explained, in a similar vein, elsewhere, on the difference between the intertwining of Ado-nai within Havayah and the intertwining of Havayah within Ado-nai: that the first letter is the dominant one, etc. See also what is explained on this in the maamar beginning “Return, O Israel.”
In Kabbalah the letters of two Names can be interleaved, alternating letter by letter. The maamar cites the rule that whichever Name supplies the first letter is the dominant one, and applies it to isheh and olah.
ועמ״ש כה״ג [כהאי גוונא] דבחי׳ ויחד לב בינו בענין מזמור שיר שהם ג״כ ב׳ בחינות חיצוניוץ ופנימיות ולפעמים נאמר כל אחד בפני עצמו ולפעמים מתחברים שניהם יחד
See also what is explained in a similar vein about the level of “and unite our heart” (lev beinu), in the matter of mizmor (psalm) and shir (song), which are also two levels, outer and inner; sometimes each is said by itself, and sometimes both are joined together.
The same pattern appears in ‘unite our heart’ read as two words, lev beinu, and in the pair mizmor and shir, two kinds of praise that are outer and inner. Sometimes each appears alone and sometimes together.
וגם בענין החיבור פעמים נאמר מזמור שיר ופעמים שיר מזמור. עיין מזה בד״ה מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית.2
And also regarding their joining, sometimes it says “mizmor shir” and sometimes “shir mizmor.” See on this the maamar beginning “A psalm, a song for the dedication of the House.”
When they appear together, sometimes Psalms says ‘mizmor shir’ and sometimes ‘shir mizmor’, and, by the rule just stated, the order tells which one leads.
(See Zohar III, beginning of Parshas Vayikra, page 5a, on “A song, a psalm of the sons of Korach,” etc., and page 56b.)
The Zohar at the start of Vayikra comments on ‘A song, a psalm of the sons of Korach’ (shir first), and the text also points to page 56b.
ועד״ז [ועל דרך זה] יובן כמ״כ [כמו כן] בענין הנ״ל והנה כאשר ההעלאה הוא בחי׳ עליונה מאד כמ״כ [כמו כן] ההמשכה שנמשך עי״ז ריח ניחוח להוי׳ הוא ג״כ בחי׳
In the same way it will likewise be understood in the matter discussed above. Now, when the ascent is of a very lofty level, so too the drawing down that is drawn down through it, “a pleasing fragrance to Havayah,” is likewise of a
Applying this to the offerings: the higher the ascent from below, the higher the Divine flow it draws down, the ‘pleasing fragrance to Havayah.’ The olah-love of Shemini Atzeres therefore draws down a flow from a very lofty level.
גבוה ביותר וכענין מ״ש במ״א בפירוש ממעמקים קראתיך5 הוי׳ שבחי׳ ממעמקים הוא בחי׳ ישת חשך סתרו6 סתימא דכל סתימין ומשם קראתיך להיות גילוי בחינת הוי׳:
most lofty level. This is like what is explained elsewhere on the meaning of “From the depths I call You, Havayah”: that the level of “from the depths” is the level of “He made darkness His hiding place,” “the most hidden of all hidden,” and from there “I call You,” so that there be a revelation of the level of Havayah.
The Psalmist’s ‘From the depths I call You’ is read as calling from the deepest, most hidden level of G‑d, ‘He made darkness His hiding place,’ the one ‘hidden beyond all hidden.’ Calling from there brings about a revelation of the Name Havayah, and so the maamar closes.
The paragraph supports the principle that the first element dominates, citing the interleaved Names and the pair mizmor and shir. It concludes that because the ascent of olah is so lofty, the flow it draws down is correspondingly lofty, a revelation from G‑d’s most hidden depths.
The closing reading of ‘From the depths’ ties the maamar together: the deeper the source of the call, the deeper the revelation it evokes. The olah-love, rising from the soul’s essence, reaches G‑d’s most hidden level and draws Havayah down from there, the kind of inner revelation the maamar attributes to Shemini Atzeres.
Marei mekomos
- 1שובה ישראל · Hosea 14:2
- 2מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית · Psalms 30:1
- 3ועיין זח״ג ר״פ ויקרא דף ה׳ ע״א · Zohar, Vayikra 3:41–6:51
- 4שיר מזמור לבני קרח · Psalms 48:1
- 5ממעמקים קראתיך · Psalms 130:1
- 6ישת חשך סתרו · Psalms 18:12
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Self-nullification, setting aside every will but G‑d’s, is the arousal from below that draws G‑d’s light down. Beyond fiery love, a person should reveal the hidden love that is oneness with G‑d as with one’s own life, keep it ‘sealed’ by not straying after the heart, and love G‑d Himself rather than for any reward, letting the outer heart be absorbed into the inner.
Questions for discussion
- Why does love that is felt as longing imply distance, and what kind of love does not?
- How does the analogy of rain held in clouds and divided into drops explain the name Atzeres?
- What distinguishes isheh from olah in each of the maamar’s readings: animal soul and G‑dly soul, outer and inner heart, female and male?
- Why does the order of the words (olah isheh versus isheh olah) decide which level is higher?
- Why is it only after the festivals, from Shemini Atzeres to Pesach, that the Name Havayah must be drawn down ‘anew’?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds. ×3
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×2
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one.
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×2
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×3
- An arousal from aboveאתערותא דלעילא
- Divine initiative, unprompted by us.
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×1
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×2
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×1
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×2
- The G‑dly soulנפש האלקית
- The soul that is 'a part of G‑d above'. ×1
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect. ×2
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×4
- The light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin)ממלא כל עלמין
- Divine light that enters each world and gives it life according to its measure. ×1
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×1
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1