Likkutei Torah · Parshas Shir HaShirim · Maamar 2
שיר השירים אשר לשלמה
The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s
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The big idea
In true prayer the one who sings is not the individual but the Community of Israel and, above it, Malchus; the person’s mouth is only a vessel through which praise from above flows, which is why the verse says “be praised” (hishallelu) rather than “praise.”
The maamar in brief
The maamar asks what it means in prayer to “receive the face of the Shechinah.” Reading the Sages’ “let your ears hear what you bring forth from your mouth,” it takes “you” as the Community of Israel, the collective soul that speaks within every Jew. All Jews form one body, so inner separation from a fellow Jew removes a limb and leaves G‑d’s Name incomplete. In prayer a person should resolve that his G‑dly soul, not his animal soul, is praying, and listen: that attentive hearing is receiving the Shechinah’s face, while inattention is the evil inclination’s work. This explains “Song of Songs”: the individual songs united in Israel’s one song. The maamar then asks why “Glory in His holy Name” uses the passive hishallelu. Sometimes the heart is moved in prayer without effort, because Malchus, which sings unceasingly, reveals its speech from the heart into souls; at other times that speech is silent, or the person lacks a vessel and must first arouse love and awe himself. “Ado-nai, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise” means Malchus opens the lips and the mouth only lets its praise flow, as the Ark once drew praise into Israel.
Outline
- Israel speaks within each person“You” in “what you bring forth from your mouth” is the Community of Israel; all Jews form one body, and separating from another Jew removes a limb.¶1
- Receiving the face of the ShechinahIn prayer the G‑dly soul speaks and the person listens as a vessel; failing to listen is the evil inclination’s scheme.¶2
- Song of Songs and the question of hishalleluThe many songs are united in Israel’s one song; why is praise stated in the passive, and why does the heart sometimes stir without toil?¶3
- The unceasing song of MalchusMalchus, “And I am prayer,” sings without rest; when the Infinite Light is revealed in its speech, it acts like heartfelt words that stir the listener.¶4–5
- Gifted love and its absenceRevealed divine speech kindles effortless love and awe in souls; when it is hidden, or the person has no vessel, he must first arouse love and awe himself.¶6
- My mouth shall declare Your praiseMalchus opens the lips and supplies the praise, the mouth only draws it forth; so the verse says hishallelu, as when the Ark drew praise into Israel.¶7–8
Key concepts
- Receiving the face of the Shechinahקבלת פני שכינה
- Attentive listening in prayer to the words the G‑dly soul, and through it the Community of Israel, speaks within a person.
- The Community of Israel (Knesses Yisrael)כנסת ישראל
- The collective soul of the Jewish people, called “you” (atah), which is the life of each Jew and the one who truly prays within him.
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- The divine level of speech and prayer, which sings unceasingly to the level above it and whose praise flows into souls and angels.
- Hishalleluהתהללו
- The passive form of “praise”: praise that is drawn into a person from above rather than produced by him.
- Love and awe given from aboveעבודת מתנה
- Stirring of the heart toward G‑d that comes without effort, as a gift, when the supernal speech is revealed; it is received by one who first arouses love and awe himself.
Israel speaks within each person ¶1
1שיר השירים1 אשר לשלמה2. להבין ענין קבלת פני שכינה דהנה ארז״ל (רפ״ב דברכות) השמע לאזניך3 מה שאתה מוציא מפיך4 פי׳ כנסת ישראל נק׳ אתה כמ״ש בזח״ב (ק״ד5 א׳)
“The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.” [We need] to understand the matter of receiving the face of the Shechinah (Divine Presence). Now, our Sages, of blessed memory, said (at the beginning of the second chapter of Berachos), “Let your ears hear what you bring forth from your mouth.” Meaning: the Community of Israel (Knesses Yisrael) is called “you” (atah), as is written in Zohar II (104a)
The maamar opens with the first verse of the Song of Songs and sets its theme: what it means in prayer to “receive the face of the Shechinah.” It rereads the Talmud’s rule about reciting the Shema audibly, “let your ears hear what you bring forth from your mouth,” by taking “you” (atah) as a name for the Community of Israel, the collective soul of the Jewish people, as the Zohar does.
ור״פ ויגש ור״פ ואתה תצוה ואמרו שאין חיוב לאדם בתפלה רק שישמע ויתבונן מה שאתה הוא כנסת ישראל מוצא מפיו פי׳
and at the beginning of Parshas Vayigash and at the beginning of Parshas Ve’atah Tetzaveh. And they said that a person has no obligation in prayer other than to hear and contemplate what “you” (that is, the Community of Israel) brings forth from his mouth, meaning
Read this way, the Sages’ words say that a person’s whole task in prayer is to listen to and contemplate what the Community of Israel, speaking within him, brings forth from his mouth. The speaker of the prayer is, at root, not the individual but the collective soul of Israel.
חיותו ונשמתו יעקב חבל נחלתו6 וכל ישראל אחד מעורב בחבירו מה שחסר לזה נמצא בחבירו וכשיצטרפו כולם כאחד הם קומה שלימה כידוע
his life-force and his soul, [as it is written,] “Jacob is the lot of His inheritance.” And all Israel are intermingled one with another: what one lacks is found in his fellow, and when they all join together as one they form a complete stature, as is known.
The Community of Israel is the life and soul of each Jew, the “lot of His inheritance.” Because all Jewish souls are bound up with one another, each supplies what the other lacks, and only together do they form one complete body, a “complete stature.”
ולכן כאשר יתפרד אחד מחבירו באיזו פירוד שמנתקת לבבו ורצונו ממנו מאחד הדברי׳ והענינים והמדות שלו או משכלו ועבודתו במילי דשמיא בתורה ובתפלה וכאשר כן בלבבו אז הוא מחסר במזימות לבו אבר אחד.
Therefore, when one separates himself from his fellow through any kind of separation, in which his heart and will are cut off from him [the other] in one of his words, affairs or traits, or in his intellect and his service in matters of Heaven, in Torah and in prayer, and when this is so in his heart, then by the designs of his heart he makes one limb lacking.
It follows that one who cuts himself off inwardly from a fellow Jew, in his attitudes, traits, understanding or divine service, is in effect removing a limb from that single body. Division between Jews is not only a social fault; it damages the wholeness of the Community of Israel.
The paragraph introduces the theme of receiving the face of the Shechinah and grounds it in the idea that the collective soul of Israel, called “you,” is the one who prays within each person, so that every Jew is one limb of a single body.
The reading of atah (“you”) as the Community of Israel, identified in Kabbalah with Malchus and the Shechinah, prepares the later claim that the praise in a person’s prayer comes from Malchus itself. The image of Israel as one “stature” with interdependent limbs explains why inner separation from another Jew is treated as a flaw in prayer itself.
Marei mekomos
- 1שיר השירים · ד״ה זה הוא חלק מד״ה הודו לה׳ קראו בשמו משנת תקס״א נדפס בסה״מ אתהלך ע׳ קלו. המאמר הנ״ל עם הגהות הצ״צ נדפס באוה״ת סידור ע׳ י׳ ואילך. ונאמר גם ע״י כ״ק מהר״ש בסה״מ תרכז ע׳ מז ואילך. ובסה״מ תרלה ח״א ע׳ ערא. ובלי הגהות בד״ה מצה זו תר״מ פרק ח. הצ״צ הוסיף כאן הפסוק שיר השירים (וכן עשה לכמה דרושים). בכל הדרוש לא נמצא הגהה מהצ״צ רק בסוף יש הגהה, והגהה זו מובנת רק כשמעיינים בתחלת המאמר באוה״ת בסידור ע׳ יא דשם מביא המדרש פ׳ וירא ע״פ וישרנה הפרות בדרך.
- 2
- 3השמע לאזניך · ביהל אור ע׳ קצז ”ושם [— הכוונה ללקו״ת כאן] ג״כ ע״ד השמע לאזנך מה שאתה מוציא מפיך היינו שבחי׳ אתה ע״ד כי אתה אבינו הוא המוציא מפיך אותיות ודבורים של תורה ותפלה”. וכ״ה באוה״ת פ׳ במדבר ע׳ כג.
- 4השמע לאזניך מה שאתה מוציא מפיך · Berakhot 15a:9–11
- 5כנסת ישראל נק׳ אתה כמ״ש בזח״ב (ק״ד א׳) · Zohar, Mishpatim 3:193–202
- 6יעקב חבל נחלתו · Deuteronomy 32:9
Receiving the face of the Shechinah ¶2
2ונמצא שאין שמו שלם וע״כ החרד לדבר ה׳ מאד מאד יזהר בזה ולכן כשיתפלל האדם יגמור בלבו שלא הגוף פי׳ נפש הבהמית המתהוה היא המתפלל
It follows that His Name is not complete. Therefore one who trembles at the word of G‑d should be very, very careful about this. And therefore, when a person prays, he should resolve in his heart that it is not the body, meaning the animal soul that is brought into being, that prays,
If one limb is missing, the Name of G‑d as it rests on Israel is incomplete, so a G‑d-fearing person must take great care over unity. In prayer this becomes a practical resolve: to recognize that the one praying is not the body and its animal soul, the soul that drives physical life.
רק נפש חלק אלוה ממעל1 היא המתפלל והיא מדבר בו דברי התפלה וכל הענינים הנאמר בה והיא לא יעשה דבר
but only the soul that is a part of G‑d above is the one that prays; it speaks within him the words of the prayer and all the matters said in it, and he is to do nothing
The one who truly prays is the G‑dly soul, “a part of G‑d above,” which speaks the words of prayer within the person. The person’s own role is set aside: he is not the author of the prayer.
כי אם ישמיע לאזנו אל הרנה והתפלה אשר מזמרת ומשבחת וכאשר יגמר בלבו כן ויעשה כן זאת העבודה נק׳ קבלת פני שכינה
except let his ear hear the song and the prayer which it sings and praises. And when he resolves this in his heart and does so, this service is called “receiving the face of the Shechinah.”
The person’s only task is to listen, letting his ear hear the song and praise the G‑dly soul utters. Prayer with this awareness is what the Alter Rebbe calls “receiving the face of the Shechinah.”
פירוש שעבודת כנס״י המתחננת ומתנפלת לפני ה׳ נקרא פני השכינה וענין שמיעת האדם רנתה ותפלה נק׳ קבלת פני השכינה ככלי המקבל מה שבתוכה פי׳ שאינה
Meaning: the service of the Community of Israel, which pleads and casts itself down before G‑d, is called “the face of the Shechinah,” and a person’s hearing its song and prayer is called “receiving the face of the Shechinah,” like a vessel that receives what is within it; meaning, it is
The phrase is now defined: the pleading and self-abasing prayer of the Community of Israel is itself “the face of the Shechinah,” and a person’s attentive hearing of it is the “receiving.” He is like a vessel holding what is placed in it.
אלא לבוש לה ויש כלי רע אשר לא יוכל לקבל הטוב שבה ותפלטמו דהיינו שלא יוכל לכפוף אזניו ולבבו
nothing but a garment for it. And there is a bad vessel that cannot receive the good within it and spits them out; that is, he cannot bend his ears and his heart
A vessel is only a garment for its contents: the listener serves as the container for the prayer. But a “bad vessel” rejects the good placed in it: a person who cannot bend his ears and heart toward the prayer spits it out, as it were.
להבין דברי התפלה והעבודה זה נקרא אין זוכין להקביל פני השכינה שהוא מעשה היצר ותחבולותיו לדחותו ולהסירו מאחרי ה׳ לבלתי ישמע באזניו ובלבבו יבין ושב ורפא לו.2
to understand the words of the prayer and the service. This is called “not meriting to receive the face of the Shechinah,” which is the work of the evil inclination and its schemes, to push him away and turn him aside from following G‑d, “lest he hear with his ears and understand with his heart, and return and be healed.”
Failing to attend to the words of prayer is called not meriting to receive the Shechinah’s face. The Alter Rebbe calls this the scheme of the evil inclination, which works to keep a person from hearing and understanding, lest he return to G‑d and be healed.
The paragraph turns the idea into a practice of prayer: the person should regard the G‑dly soul as the one praying and himself as a listener and vessel for it, which is receiving the face of the Shechinah, while inattention is the evil inclination’s way of blocking this.
The contrast between a vessel that receives and one that spits out echoes the Kabbalistic language of lights and vessels: the prayer is the light, and the person’s attention is the vessel. Making the G‑dly soul the true speaker turns the person’s own part in prayer into attentive listening.
Marei mekomos
- 1חלק אלוה ממעל · Job 31:2
- 2לבלתי ישמע באזניו ובלבבו יבין ושב ורפא לו · Isaiah 6:10
Song of Songs and the question of hishallelu ¶3
3וזהו שיר השירים פי׳ השירים הוא פרטית ישראל כל אחד מובדל מחבירו ושיר השירים הוא כנס״י והמ״י.
And this is [the meaning of] “the Song of Songs”: “songs” is the individual [aspect] of Israel, each one separate from his fellow, and “the Song of Songs” is the Community of Israel; and the one who understands will understand.
The title “Song of Songs” is now explained. The plural “songs” are the separate songs of individual Jews, while “the Song of Songs” is the single song of the Community of Israel in which they are all united, the song that sings within each person.
וזהו התהללו בשם קדשו1 דלכאורה אינו מובן לשון התהללו שהוא לשון נפעל כמו נשבע ונאכל דמשמע שבהן נמשך בחי׳ תהלה והרי אדרבה הם מהללים את ה׳ והל״ל הללו את שם קדשו ומהו לשון התהללו.
And this is [the meaning of] “Glory (hishallelu) in His holy Name.” For at first glance the expression hishallelu is not understood, since it is a passive form, like nishba (sworn) and ne’echal (eaten), which implies that the quality of praise is drawn into them. But on the contrary, they are the ones praising G‑d, and it should have said “Praise (hallelu) His holy Name.” So what is [the meaning of] the expression hishallelu?
A grammatical question: in “hishallelu in His holy Name,” hishallelu is a passive or reflexive form, like nishba (“sworn”) and ne’echal (“eaten”), suggesting that praise comes into the people rather than from them. Since they are the ones praising, one would expect the active hallelu, “praise.”
אך הענין הוא עפמ״ש אד׳ שפתי תפתח2 ופי יגיד תהלתך וביאור פסוק זה יובן עד״מ
But the matter is according to what is written, “Ado-nai, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise.” The explanation of this verse will be understood by way of an analogy.
The answer will come through the verse that opens the Amidah, “Ado-nai, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise.” The Alter Rebbe first gives an analogy from a person’s own experience of prayer.
הנה כשאדם מתפלל ברוב העתים צריך ליגיעה רבה בהתבוננות עד שיתפעל בלב ולפעמים א״צ ליגיעה3 כלל רק מיד שתעלה במחשבתו אחדות ה׳ וגדולתו תמשך הלב מאליה בהתפעלות
When a person prays, most of the time he needs great toil in contemplation until he is stirred in his heart. And sometimes he needs no toil at all: as soon as the oneness of G‑d and His greatness rise in his thought, the heart is drawn of itself into being stirred,
Usually, stirring the heart in prayer takes hard work in contemplation. But sometimes it comes with no effort: the moment a person thinks of G‑d’s oneness and greatness, his heart is moved on its own.
מבלי שידע מי הוא המושכה בעבותות4 אה״ר וכפלא יחשב בעיניו מהיכן באה לו הכוונה ברעותא דלבא מאליו וממילא כו׳. אך הענין הוא דכתיב למען יזמרך כבוד5 ולא ידום.
without his knowing who draws it with cords of great love. And it seems a wonder in his eyes: from where did the devotion, with the heart’s desire, come to him, of itself and spontaneously, etc.? But the matter is that it is written, “So that [my] glory may sing to You and not be silent.”
In such moments the person is drawn by “cords of love” without knowing who is drawing him, and he wonders where his heartfelt devotion came from. The explanation begins with the verse “so that glory may sing to You and not be silent,” which, as the next paragraph shows, refers to a song sung from above.
The paragraph explains “Song of Songs” as the united song of Israel, raises the question of the passive hishallelu, and points to the experience of effortless inspiration in prayer as the key to the answer.
The two modes of prayer, with toil and without, correspond to love generated by one’s own contemplation and love granted from above as a gift, a distinction the maamar develops in paragraph 6. The Kehot note links it to a parallel discussion in Likkutei Torah, Vayikra.
Marei mekomos
- 1התהללו בשם קדשו · I Chronicles 16:10
- 2אד׳ שפתי תפתח · Psalms 51:17
- 3צריך ליגיעה . . ולפעמים א״צ ליגיעה · ב׳ ענינים אלו נתבאר גם בלקו״ת פ׳ ויקרא ב, ב.
- 4בעבותות · Hosea 11:4
- 5למען יזמרך כבוד · Psalms 30:13
The unceasing song of Malchus ¶4–5
4וכתיב אלקים אל דמי לך1 ופי׳ בזוהר דקאי על בחי׳ מל׳ שמזמרת תמיד נהורא תתאה קרי תדיר2 לנהורא עילאה ולא שכיך3 כו׳. וזהו ואני תפלה4 אני היא בחי׳ מל׳ היא בחי׳ תפלה כו׳.
And it is written, “G‑d, do not be silent,” and the Zohar explains that it refers to the level of Malchus (sovereignty), which sings constantly: “the lower light calls constantly to the upper light and is not still,” etc. And this is [the meaning of] “And I am prayer”: “I” (ani) is the level of Malchus, which is the level of prayer, etc.
The Zohar reads “G‑d, do not be silent” as referring to Malchus, the lowest of the Sefiros, which constantly sings upward: the “lower light” never stops calling to the “upper light.” So too “And I am prayer”: the “I” is Malchus, whose very nature is prayer and praise.
ובחי׳ מל׳ כלולה מע״ס חב״ד ומדות ודבור ובחי׳ הדבור ממנו נמשכו עשרה מאמרות5 המלובשים בעולמות ובפרט בנשמות ומלאכים כו׳ שמקבלים שלא ע״י העלם כ״כ כו׳.
And the level of Malchus comprises ten Sefiros: Chochmah, Binah and Daas, the emotive attributes (middos), and speech. And from the level of speech were drawn the Ten Utterances, which are clothed in the worlds, and especially in souls and angels, etc., who receive not through so great a concealment, etc.
Malchus contains within it all ten Sefiros: intellect, emotions and speech. From its power of speech come the Ten Utterances by which the world was created; these are clothed in all the worlds, but souls and angels receive them with less concealment than lower creations do.
The paragraph identifies the unceasing song of the verses with Malchus, the divine level of speech and prayer, and describes how Malchus, containing all the Sefiros, gives life to souls and angels through the Ten Utterances.
In Kabbalah Malchus is the Shechinah and the Community of Israel; the “lower light” calling to the “upper light” is Malchus longing for Z’eir Anpin. By locating the song in Malchus, the Alter Rebbe links this back to paragraph 1, where the Community of Israel is the one who prays within each person.
Marei mekomos
- 1אלקים אל דמי לך · Psalms 83:2
- 2נהורא תתאה קרי תדיר · Zohar II, 256b
- 3נהורא תתאה קרי תדיר לנהורא עילאה ולא שכיך · Zohar, Lech Lecha 24:237–248
- 4ואני תפלה · Psalms 109:4
- 5עשרה מאמרות · Pirkei Avot 5:1
5והנה כשיש גילוי אור א״ס בתהלה זו של מדת מל׳ היינו שהגילוי בחב״ד ומדות עד גם בבחי׳ הדבור שבמל׳ כמ״ש למען יזמרך כו׳.1 אל דמי לך כו׳.2
Now, when there is a revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) in this praise of the attribute of Malchus, that is, the revelation is in Chochmah, Binah and Daas and the emotive attributes, reaching even the level of speech within Malchus, as it is written, “So that glory may sing to You,” etc., “Do not be silent,” etc.
At times the Infinite Light is revealed in Malchus’s praise, not only in its intellect and emotions but down to its level of speech. This is the state described by “so that glory may sing to You” and “do not be silent”: a song above that is fully expressed.
והנה עד״מ באדם התחתון כשמתפלל ברעותא דלבא וגילוי תשוקת הלב שאז הדבורים יוצאים מעומקא דלבא ורשפי אש3 ודבר היוצא מן הלב נכנס ללב השומע עד שהוא ג״כ מתפעל מזה משא״כ אם הדבור בקרירות כו׳.
Now, by way of analogy, in man below: when he prays with the heart’s desire and a revelation of the heart’s yearning, then the words come out from the depth of the heart, [like] flashes of fire, and a word that comes out from the heart enters the heart of the listener, until he too is stirred by it. This is not so if the speech is cold, etc.
An analogy from human prayer: when a person prays with real longing, his words come from the depth of his heart like flames, and words that come from the heart enter the heart of the one who hears, until he is moved too. Cold words have no such effect.
The paragraph describes a revelation of the Infinite Light in the speech of Malchus and illustrates it with heartfelt human prayer, whose words kindle feeling in the listener.
The analogy runs in both directions: just as a person’s heartfelt words move a listener, the “heartfelt” speech of Malchus, when filled with revealed light, moves the souls that receive it. This sets up the explanation of effortless inspiration in the next paragraph.
Marei mekomos
- 1למען יזמרך כו׳ · Psalms 30:13
- 2אל דמי לך כו׳ · Psalms 83:2
- 3רשפי אש · Song of Songs 8:6
Gifted love and its absence ¶6
6וכמ״כ יובן עד״מ למעלה בענין ואני תפלה דבחי׳ מל׳ שהוא בחי׳ חב״ד ומדות שבמל׳ עד גם בחי׳ הדבור
So too it will be understood by analogy above, regarding “And I am prayer,” of the level of Malchus, which is the level of Chochmah, Binah and Daas and the emotive attributes within Malchus, reaching even the level of speech,
The analogy is now applied above: Malchus, “And I am prayer,” contains intellect and emotions, which extend down into its power of speech.
שהוא בחי׳ האותיות כח הפועל שבנפעלים נשמות ומלאכים מאירים בבחי׳ גילוי אלקות דברים היוצאי׳ מן הלב כו׳
which is the level of the letters, the power of the Maker within the things made: [they] shine in souls and angels as a revelation of G‑dliness, [like] words that come out from the heart, etc.,
That speech is the “letters,” the Creator’s power present within every created thing. When they are filled with light, they shine in souls and angels as an open revelation of G‑dliness, like words spoken from the heart.
עד שמאיר בחי׳ זו גם בנשמות שלמטה שנמשכי׳ מאליהן להתפעל ולהתלהב לבו לה׳ בלי יגיעה וזהו בחי׳ אהוי״ר הנמשכים מלמעלה עבודת מתנה אתן1 כו׳.
until this level shines also in the souls below, which are drawn of themselves to be stirred and for one’s heart to be set aflame for G‑d without toil. And this is the level of love and awe that are drawn from above, [as it is written,] “a service of gift I will give,” etc.
This revelation can reach even souls in this world, so that a person’s heart is moved and set aflame for G‑d without effort. This is love and awe given from above as a gift, alluding to the verse “a service of gift I will give,” and it explains the effortless inspiration described in paragraph 3.
משא״כ לפעמים כשאין נמשך בחי׳ דבור העליון בבחי׳ גילוי למטה כמ״ש נאלמתי דומיה2 כרחל לפני גוזזיה3 נאלמה
This is not so at times, when the level of the supernal speech is not drawn down below in a revealed way, as it is written, “I was mute with silence,” [and] “like a ewe before her shearers is mute,”
At other times the supernal speech is not revealed below. The verses “I was mute with silence” and “like a ewe before her shearers is mute” describe that state of divine silence.
וגם מחמת גשמיות וחומריות האדם שאין לו כלי לקבל גילוי זה דהיינו כי כדי לקבל דו״ר הבאים מלמעלה הוא ע״י שמעורר תחלה אהוי״ר בנפשו.
and also because of a person’s physicality and coarseness, so that he has no vessel to receive this revelation. That is: to receive the awe and love (dechilu u’rechimu) that come from above is through his first arousing love and awe in his soul.
A second reason for not feeling inspiration is a person’s own coarseness, which leaves him no vessel for it. To receive love and awe from above, he must first arouse love and awe in himself through his own effort.
The paragraph explains effortless inspiration in prayer as the heartfelt speech of Malchus shining into souls, and explains its absence both by the concealment of that speech and by a person’s lack of a vessel, which he must prepare through his own love and awe.
The principle that a gift of love from above comes in response to one’s own arousal is the Kabbalistic rule of an arousal from below drawing an arousal from above. The Alter Rebbe thus makes room for both modes of prayer described in paragraph 3.
Marei mekomos
- 1עבודת מתנה אתן · Numbers 18:7
- 2נאלמתי דומי׳ · Psalms 39:3
- 3כרחל לפני גוזזי׳ · Isaiah 53:7
My mouth shall declare Your praise ¶7–8
And this is the matter of “Ado-nai, open my lips.” The level of the Name Ado-nai, which is the level of Malchus, is what opens the lips of the person who prays.
The verse from paragraph 3 is now explained. “Ado-nai, open my lips” uses the Name Ado-nai, which corresponds to Malchus; so it is Malchus that opens the lips of the person praying.
ופי יגיד תהלתך לשון יגיד הוא המשכה2 כמשל המושך מים מגבוה לנמוך שהמים הולכים מאליהם ורק שהאדם גרם בהטותו כלי המים העליונים כמ״כ התהלה והשבח שהנשמה משבחת אינה מצד השגת הנשמה עצמה
“And my mouth shall declare (yagid) Your praise”: the expression yagid denotes drawing forth, as in the analogy of one who draws water from high to low, where the water flows of itself and the person only brought it about by tilting the vessel of the upper waters. So too, the praise and acclaim with which the soul praises is not by virtue of the soul’s own comprehension,
The word yagid (“declare”) means drawing forth, like water poured from a higher vessel that flows down by itself once the vessel is tipped. So too, a soul’s praise of G‑d does not come from its own understanding.
שהיא המשיכה דבר מה רק התהלה היא תהלתך העצמי ממדת מל׳ ופי אינו אלא המגיד וממשיך בבחי׳ גרם בעלמא.
as though it drew forth something; rather, the praise is “Your praise,” the essential [praise], from the attribute of Malchus, and “my mouth” is only the one that declares and draws it forth, as a mere cause.
The soul does not produce the praise; the praise is “Your praise,” belonging to Malchus itself. The person’s mouth only releases and conveys it, like the hand that tips the vessel.
The paragraph interprets “Ado-nai, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Your praise” to mean that Malchus opens the lips and supplies the praise, while the human mouth merely lets it flow.
The Name Ado-nai (“Lord”) expresses G‑d’s sovereignty and so corresponds to Malchus. The explanation of yagid as drawing forth is paralleled later in Likkutei Torah on the Song of Songs, which reads yagid as in the Aramaic “flowing and going forth from before Him.”
Marei mekomos
- 1אד׳ שפתי תפתח · Psalms 51:17
- 2לשון יגיד הוא המשכה · ראה גם לקמן מא, א ”כמו נגד ונפק מן קדמוהי” ע״ש.
8והיינו שהפה שבאדם היא כלי להשראת דבור העליון כו׳. וזהו ענין התהללו בשם קדשו1 לשון נפעל ולא נאמר הללו
That is, the mouth of a person is a vessel for the resting of the supernal speech, etc. And this is the matter of “hishallelu in His holy Name,” in the passive form, and it does not say hallelu:
A person’s mouth is a vessel in which the divine speech of Malchus comes to rest. This answers the question from paragraph 3: the verse says the passive hishallelu, not the active hallelu, because the praise is received rather than produced.
דהיינו כשיש בחי׳ גילוי מלמעלה אז אומר לנשמות ומלאכים עליונים שתהלתם ושבחם בהשגות שלהם באלקים חיים שאין התהלה שלהם לשיאמר הללו רק שנמשך להם בחי׳ תהלה זו מלמעלה ופיהם יגיד תהלתו ית׳ הנמשך בהם מלמעלה
that is, when there is a revelation from above, then it says to the souls and the supernal angels, whose praise and acclaim are in their comprehension of the living G‑d, that their praise is not their own, such that it would say hallelu; rather, this quality of praise is drawn to them from above, and their mouth declares His praise, may He be blessed, which is drawn into them from above.
When there is a revelation from above, even souls and angels, whose praise rests on their grasp of G‑d, are told that their praise is not their own doing. The praise is drawn into them from above, and their mouths only declare it, which is why they are told to “be praised” (hishallelu) rather than to “praise.”
(ולכן נאמר זה הפסוק התהללו כשהביאו את הארון לירושלים שאז ע״י גילוי אלקות שבארון שהיא בחי׳ נורא תהלות2 נורא אותיות ארון כמ״ש בסה״מ סי׳ ע״ז3 עי״ז נמשך בהם גילוי בחי׳ תהלה להיות התהללו כו׳).4
(And therefore this verse, hishallelu, was said when they brought the Ark to Jerusalem, for then, through the revelation of G‑dliness in the Ark, which is the level of “awesome in praises” (nora has the letters of aron, “ark”), as written in סה״מ, section 77, through this a revelation of the quality of praise was drawn into them, so that it would be hishallelu, etc.)
The verse was said when David brought the Ark to Jerusalem, because the Ark revealed G‑dliness and embodied “awesome in praises”; the Alter Rebbe notes that nora (“awesome”) has the same letters as aron (“ark”). That revelation drew praise into the people, so the fitting word was hishallelu.
(And see Zohar I, 153a, at the end of the first column, on “And the cows went straight,” [and] Zohar II, 138a.) From all this the matter of “the Song of Songs” will be understood, as above.
The Alter Rebbe points to two Zohar passages, one on the cows that pulled the Ark and “went straight” singing, for further study. With all this, the title “Song of Songs” is understood: the song within each Jew is the song of the Community of Israel and of Malchus, drawn from above.
The paragraph answers the maamar’s question: praise is “hishallelu” because it is drawn into souls and angels from above, as shown when the revelation of the Ark drew praise into Israel, and this also explains the Song of Songs.
The Ark is linked to Malchus, whose revealed praise flows into the people, just as Malchus “opens the lips” in paragraph 7. The Kehot note connects the anagram nora/aron to Yahel Or and to Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan, and quotes the summary in the maamar Matzah Zu 5640: the ascent of Jewish souls comes through the letters of the Torah.
Marei mekomos
- 1התהללו בשם קדשו · I Chronicles 16:10
- 2נורא תהלות · Exodus 15:11
- 3בסה״מ סי׳ ע״ז · נורא בהפך אתוון ארון ראה הלשון ביהל אור ע׳ קכ עם הגהות ושם מציין ללקו״ת פ ואתחנן ח, א. ראה גם לעיל פ׳ נשא כט, ג. וע״ע בע״ח ש׳ מיעוט הירח פ״ג [כ].
- 4עי״ז נמשך בהם גילוי בחי׳ תהלה להיות התהללו כו׳ · בד״ה מצה זו תר״מ יש קיצור: קיצור שהעלי׳ בנש״י זהו ע״י אותיות התורה וכמ״ש התהללו בשם קדשו שהל״ל הללו אלא ע״י שנמשך גילוי אלקות בבחי׳ המל׳ להיות תהלה עי״ז נמשך גם בנשמות להיות התהללו לשון נפעל כו׳.
- 5וישרנה הפרות · I Samuel 6:12
- 6בזח״א דקנ״ג סע״א ע״פ וישרנה הפרות · Zohar, Vayetzei 14:95–15:115
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
When praying, resolve that it is the G‑dly soul that prays and give full attention to hearing and understanding its words, without separating yourself inwardly from any other Jew. When the heart is not moved of itself, first arouse love and awe through contemplation, so that there is a vessel to receive the love and awe given from above.
Questions for discussion
- Why does inward separation from another Jew make “His Name not complete”?
- What is the difference between a person who prays and one who listens to the G‑dly soul praying within him?
- Why do some prayers stir the heart without effort, and what does the maamar say a person should do when they do not?
- How does the image of tipping a vessel of water explain “my mouth shall declare Your praise”?
- How does the passive form hishallelu answer the question of who is really praising G‑d?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Shechinah (Divine Presence)שכינה
- G‑d's presence as it dwells in the world. ×5
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation.
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×1
- The G‑dly soulנפש האלקית
- The soul that is 'a part of G‑d above'.
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds.
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight.
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail.
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion.
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×4
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Love and aweאהבה ויראה
- The two 'wings' of divine service.
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×2