Likkutei Torah · Parshas Shir HaShirim · Maamar 31
לבאר הדברים ע״פ ששים המה מלכות כו׳ ודרשו…
“There Are Sixty Queens”
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The big idea
The Torah, the “sixty queens,” comes down through the gradual chain of descent from the outer dimension of Chochmah, while the souls of Israel, “One is she, my dove,” are rooted in its inner dimension, which no gradual chain can carry. One whose “desire of the heart” reaches that root stands above the Torah; one who has not reached it is below the Torah and bound to it.
The maamar in brief
The Sages read “sixty queens, eighty concubines and maidens without number” as the tractates, beraisos and halachos of the Torah. Yet the next verse, “One is she, my dove,” sets Knesses Yisrael above them, while other sources make the Torah the higher: Israel is “bound to the Torah,” and the Torah is the groom. Following Mishnas Chassidim, Knesses Yisrael is the Malchus within the inner dimension of Z’eir Anpin, equal to him. Every level has an inner and an outer dimension, and only the outer dimension of a cause reaches its effect, so the inner dimension of Chochmah stays above the chain of descent. Angels, born of a spiritual union through that chain, come from its outer dimension and cannot reproduce; the souls of Israel, from a lower “bodily” union where “the end is embedded in the beginning,” come from its inner dimension, where the Infinite Light dwells, and can beget. The Oral Torah is Malchus as a separate partzuf, rooted in the outer dimension of Abba; Knesses Yisrael, “one, my twin,” receives from Keser. Whoever reaches Keser through the “desire of the heart,” like the early pious ones, stands above the Torah; whoever has not is bound to it.
Outline
- Which is higher, Israel or the Torah?The sixty queens are the Torah’s tractates, yet “One is she, my dove” sets Knesses Yisrael above them, while other sources put the Torah higher. Knesses Yisrael is the Malchus within the inner dimension of Z’eir Anpin; and since only the outer dimension of a cause reaches its effect, the inner dimension of Chochmah stays above the whole chain of descent.¶1
- Souls and angelsAngels come from the spiritual “union of kisses” through the gradual chain, so from the outer dimension of Chochmah; they neither reproduce nor change. The souls of Israel come from the lower “bodily union,” where “the end is embedded in the beginning,” so from the inner dimension of Chochmah, where the Infinite Light dwells; they, the earth and what lives from it have the power to beget.¶2
- The queens and the doveThe Oral Torah, with its countless halachos, is Malchus as a separate partzuf, the supernal speech, rooted in the outer dimension of Abba: “fallen fruit” of wisdom. Knesses Yisrael is “my twin,” equal to Z’eir Anpin, “my dove,” tied to the 370 lights, and “one,” receiving from Keser.¶3
- Above the Torah and below itThe early pious ones, whose boundless “desire of the heart” reached Keser, stood above the Torah, and so their Torah was preserved of itself. One who has not reached that level is below the Torah, bound to it as to a groom.¶4
Key concepts
- Knesses Yisraelכנסת ישראל
- The Congregation of Israel. Here it is identified not with Malchus as a separate partzuf but with the Malchus within the inner dimension of Z’eir Anpin, where she is equal to him, his “twin.”
- the inner and outer dimensionsפנימיות וחיצוניות
- Every level has an inner core and an outer expression. In a chain of cause and effect only the outer dimension of the cause reaches the effect, where it becomes the effect’s inner core.
- “their end is embedded in their beginning”נעוץ סופן בתחלתן
- From Sefer Yetzirah: the lowest level is bound to the highest. It explains why the physical, outside the gradual chain, can hold the inner dimension that the more spiritual levels cannot.
- the union of kisses and the bodily unionזיווג נשיקין / זיווג גופני
- Two kinds of union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva. The angels come from the spiritual union of kisses, the souls of Israel from the lower bodily union, which carries the inner dimension of Chochmah.
- the fallen fruit of the wisdom aboveנובלות חכמה שלמעלה
- The Sages’ name for the Torah: what “falls” from the supernal Chochmah, its outer dimension, as speech carries only the outer dimension of a person’s intellect.
- the desire of the heartרעותא דליבא
- The boundless love of “with all your might,” above love measured by the vessel. It reaches Keser, above the Torah.
Which is higher, Israel or the Torah? ¶1
1לבאר הדברים ע״פ ששים המה1 מלכות2 כו׳ ודרשו רז״ל [רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] ס׳ מלכות אלו ס׳3 מסכתו.4 ושמונים פילגשים אלו שמונים ברייתות. ועלמות אין מספר אלו הלכות.5
To explain the matters on the verse “There are sixty queens,” etc. And our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded: “Sixty queens”: these are the sixty tractates. “And eighty concubines”: these are the eighty beraisos. “And maidens without number”: these are the halachos.
The maamar opens with Song of Songs 6:8 and the Sages’ reading of it as a picture of the Torah. The sixty “queens” are the sixty tractates of the Talmud, the eighty “concubines” the beraisos (teachings of the Tannaim outside the Mishnah), and the “maidens without number” the countless individual halachos.
ולהבין דלפ״ז [דלפי זה] מהו שכתו אח״כ אחת החא יונתי דקאי על כנס״י [כנסת ישראל] שמפליג במעלתה יותר מבמעלת התורה וכדמשמע ג״כ ממה שנקרא ישראל חתן והתורה כלה6 בפסוק תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה7 כו׳
And [we need] to understand: according to this, what is [the meaning of] what is written afterwards, “One is she, my dove,” which refers to the Congregation of Israel (Knesses Yisrael), [the verse] extolling her virtue beyond the virtue of the Torah? And so it is also implied by Israel’s being called the groom and the Torah the bride in the verse “Moshe commanded us the Torah, a heritage (morashah),” etc.
The difficulty: the very next verse, “One is she, my dove,” speaks of the Congregation of Israel and sets her above all those “queens,” that is, above the Torah. The Talmud says the same when it reads morashah, “a heritage,” as me’orasah, “betrothed”: the Torah is betrothed to Israel, so Israel is the groom and the Torah the bride.
ואמנם לפעמים משמע בהיפוך שהתורה היא יותר גבוה עד שאמרו ישראל מתקשראן באורייתא8 ולא עוד
Yet at times the opposite is implied: that the Torah is higher, to the point that they said, “Israel are bound to the Torah.” And not only that,
Other sources point the other way. The Zohar speaks of three that are bound to one another, the Holy One, blessed be He, the Torah and Israel, and in that chain Israel is bound to the Torah, which implies that the Torah is the higher.
אלא שלפעמים מבואר שהתורה נק׳ חתן וישראל נק׳ כלה כמ״ש רז״ל [רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] ע״פ ביום חתונתו910 זו מתן תורה
but at times it is explained that the Torah is called the groom and Israel is called the bride, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said on the verse “On the day of his wedding”: this is the Giving of the Torah.
Further still, the Mishnah at the end of Tractate Taanis reads “On the day of his wedding” (Song of Songs 3:11) as the Giving of the Torah. As the Alter Rebbe reads it here, the Torah is then the groom and Israel the bride.
וזהו היפוך כו׳ (ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה תורה צוה)11 ולהבין כ״ז [כל זה] כי אלו ואלו דברי אלקים חיים.
And this is the opposite, etc. (And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “Moshe commanded us the Torah.”) And to understand all this, for these and those are the words of the living G‑d,
This is the reverse of the first picture, and the Alter Rebbe refers to his discourse “Moshe commanded us the Torah” for more on it. He now sets out to show how both views are true, since “these and those are the words of the living G‑d,” the Talmud’s phrase for two opposing views that are both correct.
צריך להקדים מ״ש במ״ח12 דפי׳ כנ״י [כנסת ישראל] הגם שמתייחס לספי׳ [לספירה / לספירות] המלכות אינו בחי׳ המל׳ הנעשית פרצוף בפ״ע [בפני עצמו]
we must first preface what is written in Mishnas Chassidim: that the meaning of Knesses Yisrael, although it is associated with the Sefirah of Malchus, is not the level of Malchus that becomes a partzuf (configuration) by itself,
The answer begins with a teaching of Mishnas Chassidim, a Kabbalistic work. Knesses Yisrael is related to Malchus, the last of the Sefiros, but not to Malchus as it stands as a separate partzuf, a complete configuration of its own.
אלא הוא בחי׳ פרצוף המלכות שבתוך פנימית דז״א ושם הם שוים כי היא גדולה כמוהו ממש כו׳
but rather it is the level of the partzuf of Malchus that is within the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes); and there they are equal, for she is actually as great as he, etc.
Rather, Knesses Yisrael is Malchus as it exists within the inner dimension of Z’eir Anpin, the configuration of the emotive attributes. There Malchus is not smaller than Z’eir Anpin: the two are equal, “she as great as he.”
ע״ש וזהו ענין כלת משה (וע׳ בז״ה [בזוהר]13 ר״פ בראשית גבי כשושנה14 כו׳ כן רעיתי15 כו׳ ובסה״מ [ובספר הדרת מלך] סי׳ קנ״ו) וביאור הענין
See there. And this is the meaning of “the bride of Moshe.” (And see in the Zohar at the beginning of Parshas Bereishis, regarding “As a rose,” etc., “so is my beloved,” etc.; and in Sefer Hadras Melech, section 156.) And the explanation of the matter:
This inner Malchus is what is called “the bride of Moshe.” According to the Kehot edition’s note, the abbreviation translated here as “the Zohar” stands for Zohar HaRakia, a commentary on the Zohar, on the Zohar’s opening words “As a rose among the thorns” (Song of Songs 2:2), where the rose is Knesses Yisrael; Sefer Hadras Melech is another commentary on the Zohar.
הנה נודע שכל ההשתלשלות הם פנימית וחיצוניות וגם בי״ס [בי׳ ספירות] יש פנימית וחיצוניות כמו בבחי׳ חכמה שיש בה פנימית והוא על דרך משל עומק ותוכן המושכל
Now, it is known that the whole chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) is [made up of] inner and outer dimensions, and in the ten Sefiros, too, there are inner and outer dimensions; as in the level of Chochmah (wisdom), which has an inner dimension, and this is, by way of analogy, the depth and substance of the concept,
The explanation starts from a general rule: every level in the chain of descent, and each of the ten Sefiros, has an inner and an outer dimension. In Chochmah, the inner dimension is like the depth and core content of an idea.
שהוא למעלה מהתלבשות באותיות המחשבה ודבור וכמ״ש במ״א ועיין בביאור ע״פ והניף הכהן אותם1617 בסופו ובד״ה
which is above being enclothed in the letters of thought and speech, as is explained elsewhere; and see the explanation on the verse “And the kohen shall wave them,” at its end, and the discourse beginning
That core of the idea is above being put into the letters of thought and speech. The references are to other discourses of Likkutei Torah that develop this point.
הנה ים סוף18 ובביאור ע״פ כי ביום הזה יכפר1920 ויש בה חיצוניות והוא הארת השכל במלובש במו״ד [במחשבה ודבור]
“Behold, the Sea of Reeds,” and the explanation on the verse “For on this day He shall atone.” And it has an outer dimension (chitzoniyus), which is the radiance of the intellect as it is enclothed in thought and speech.
The outer dimension of Chochmah is the light of the idea as it is clothed in thought and speech, the part of the idea that can be thought in words and spoken.
וכן במדות חסד וגבורה שפנימיותם הוא בחי׳ עומק ותעלומות ההתפעלות שבבחי׳ חסד או גבורה שאינו יכול להוגבל ולהתלבש באותיות הדבור וחיצוניותם הוא הארת המדה המתלבשת בדבור שמפרשנה לזולתו כו׳
And so too in the emotive attributes (middos) of Chesed (kindness) and Gevurah (restraint): their inner dimension is the level of the depth and the hidden recesses of the emotional stirring that is in the level of Chesed or Gevurah, which cannot be bounded and enclothed in the letters of speech; and their outer dimension is the radiance of the attribute that is enclothed in speech, when one expresses it to another, etc.
The same holds for the emotive attributes. The inner dimension of kindness or of restraint is the deep, hidden feeling that cannot be held within words; the outer dimension is the part of the feeling that goes into speech when one tells it to someone else.
(וז״ש [וזהו שכתוב] בזהר ס״פ קדושים) (דפ״ו ע״א) ע״פ ואחרי לא יהיה21 דהא דוד הכי איקרי22 כי דוד הוא בחי׳ מל׳ עולם הדבור הוא מקבל מאחוריים דז״א וגם נה״י [נצח הוד יסוד] דז״א הם מוחין לנוק׳ [לנוקבא]
(And this is [the meaning of] what is written in the Zohar at the end of Parshas Kedoshim) (86a), on the verse “and after Me (acharai) there shall not be”: “for David is called thus.” For David is the level of Malchus, the world of speech; it receives from the back (achorayim) of Z’eir Anpin; and also, Netzach, Hod and Yesod of Z’eir Anpin are the intellect (mochin) of Nukva (the feminine).
The Zohar, on Isaiah 43:10, “and after Me there shall not be,” says that “after Me” (acharai) is a name of David. David stands for Malchus, the “world of speech,” which receives from the back (achorayim), the outer side, of Z’eir Anpin; and Netzach, Hod and Yesod, the lowest attributes of Z’eir Anpin, serve as the intellect (mochin) of Nukva.
ולכן נקרא אחרי ועמ״ש ע״פ אחרי ה׳ אלקיכם תלכו23 ועד״ז הוא בכל ההשתלשלות והנה ידוע שבהשתלשלות עילה ועלול נעשה מחיצוני׳ [מחיצוניות] העילה בחי׳ פנימיות בהעלול
Therefore he is called acharai (“after Me”). And see what is written on the verse “After Havayah your G‑d shall you walk.” And it is like this throughout the chain of descent. Now, it is known that in the chain of cause and effect, the outer dimension of the cause becomes the level of the inner dimension in the effect.
That is why Malchus is called “after Me”: it receives from what is behind, the outer dimension. The same pattern runs through the whole chain: what is outer in a cause becomes the inner core of the effect below it.
כי הפנימית של העילה א״א להעלול לקבל אותה כלל מאחר שהוא רחוק בערך המעלה והמדרגה וא״כ הרי בחי׳ חכמה שהיא ראשית הנאצלים והתחלת ההשתלשלות דאצילות
For the inner dimension of the cause, the effect cannot receive at all, since it is far removed [from it] in rank and level. If so, behold: the level of Chochmah, which is the first of the emanated [levels] and the beginning of the chain of descent of the World of Atzilus (Emanation),
The reason is that the effect is too far below the cause to receive its inner dimension at all. The rule is now applied to Chochmah, the first of the emanated levels, where the chain of descent of Atzilus begins.
כי מחכמה נמשכה הבינה ומבינה נמשכו המדות כו׳ מעולם לא נמשך ממנה בהשתלשלות רק החיצוניות
for from Chochmah was drawn forth Binah (understanding), and from Binah were drawn forth the emotive attributes, etc., from it nothing was ever drawn in the chain of descent but the outer dimension;
Binah issues from Chochmah, and the emotive attributes from Binah. But what Chochmah passes on in this chain is only its outer dimension.
אבל הפנימיות הוא למעלה מההשתלשלות ואינו מתלבש בבינה עד״מ מהתלבשות השכל בהשגה שהחיצוניות בלבד מתלבש ולא עמקותו כו׳
but the inner dimension is above the chain of descent and is not enclothed in Binah; as [is seen] by way of analogy from the enclothing of intellect in comprehension, where the outer dimension alone is enclothed, and not its depth, etc.
The inner dimension of Chochmah stays above the chain and is not enclothed even in Binah. It is like an idea entering someone’s comprehension: only its outer part is taken in, not its depth.
(וע׳ בזהר בראשית) (ד״כ ע״א) דא לגו מן דא כו׳ עד דאשתכח דהאי קליפה להאי24 כו׳
(And see in the Zohar, Bereishis) (20a): “This one within that one,” etc., until “it turns out that this one is a husk (kelipah) to that one,” etc.;
The Zohar describes all the levels as layers, “this one within that one,” each one the outer shell of the one inside it. Kelipah here means an outer shell around a kernel, as the Zohar itself puts it there, not the forces opposed to holiness.
נקודה קדמאה כו׳ אתעב יד חד היכלא כו׳ ועם כל דא לאו דקיק וזכיך איהו כההוא נקודא קדמאה כו׳
“the first point,” etc., “one palace was made,” etc., “and with all this, it is not as fine and pure as that first point,” etc.
The Zohar continues: the first point spread out and became a “palace” to clothe it, yet that palace is not as fine and pure as the first point. What comes out of a source is only its garment, never its full inner light.
See there. And it is understood according to the above. And see what is written elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “Who wraps [Himself] in light as in a garment,” and at the end of the discourse beginning “And these are the names of the children of Israel.”
The Zohar’s words are understood through the rule just explained. The Alter Rebbe then points to the discourse “Who wraps Himself in light as in a garment,” which the Kehot note identifies as Iggeres HaKodesh 19 in the Tanya, and to the end of the discourse “And these are the names of the children of Israel.”
The paragraph poses the question, whether Israel is above the Torah or the Torah above Israel, and lays the groundwork for the answer: every level has an inner and an outer dimension, and only the outer dimension of a cause descends to its effect, so the inner dimension of Chochmah remains above the whole chain of descent.
Knesses Yisrael is identified not with Malchus as a separate partzuf but with the Malchus that is still within the inner dimension of Z’eir Anpin, where she is equal to him. This prepares the resolution that follows: the Torah, the “sixty queens,” derives through the chain from the outer dimension of Chochmah, while the souls of Israel are rooted in its inner dimension.
Marei mekomos
- 1לבאר הדברים ע״פ ששים המה · הנחה אחרת בסה״מ תקס״ח ח״ב ע׳ תריד. קיצורים באוה״ת שה״ש כרך ג ע׳ תתקנז.
- 2
- 3ס׳ מלכות אלו ס׳ מסכתות · שהש״ר עה״פ, במדב״ר פי״ח, כא.
- 4ס׳ מלכות אלו ס׳ מסכתו · Bamidbar Rabbah 18:21
- 5ס׳ מלכות אלו ס׳ מסכתו. ושמונים פילגשים אלו שמונים ברייתות. ועלמות אין מספר אלו הלכות · Shir HaShirim Rabbah 6:10–11
- 6ישראל חתן והתורה כלה · Pesachim 49b:11–12
- 7
- 8ישראל מתקשראן באורייתא · Zohar III, 73a
- 9כמשרז״ל ע״פ ביום חתונתו · Taanit 26b:6–7
- 10ביום חתונתו · Shir HaShirim Rabbah 3:11
- 11בד״ה תורה צוה · לעיל פ׳ וזאת הברכה צד, א (גם ד״ה זה הוא משנת תקס״ח).
- 12מ״ש במ״ח · ע״ל ח׳ דברים (פב, רע״ג). והוא במס׳ אורות דז״א (ספ״ג). [כ]. קטע מכאן מובא בסה״מ תרל״ח ע׳ ט.
- 13וע׳ בז״ה · = בזהר הרקיע בהקדמת הזהר א, א.
- 14כשושנה · Zohar, Introduction 1:1–2:4
- 15כשושנה כו׳ כן רעיתי · Song of Songs 2:2
- 16בביאור ע״פ והניף הכהן אותם · לעיל פ׳ אמור לט, ג.
- 17והניף הכהן אותם · Leviticus 23:20
- 18ובד״ה הנה ים סוף · לעיל פ׳ צו טז, ד.
- 19ובביאור ע״פ כי ביום הזה יכפר · לעיל אחרי כח, ד.
- 20כי ביום הזה יכפר · Leviticus 16:30
- 21ואחרי לא יהיה · Isaiah 43:10
- 22ואחרי לא יהיה דהא דוד הכי איקרי · Zohar, Kedoshim 17:104–18:108
- 23אחרי ה׳ אלקיכם תלכו · Deuteronomy 13:5
- 24דא לגו מן דא כו׳ עד דאשתכח דהאי קליפה להאי · Zohar, Bereshit 9:106–10:117
- 25בד״ה עוטה אור כשלמה · אגה״ק סי׳ יט.
- 26עוטה אור כשלמ · Psalms 104:2
- 27ואלה שמות בנ״י · Exodus 1:1
- 28אחת היא יונתי · Song of Songs 6:9
- 29
Souls and angels ¶2
2והנה שרש הנשמות הוא מבחי׳ פנימיות החכמה1 ושרש נשמות מלאכי׳ [מלאכים] הוא מבחי׳ חיצוניות כי המלאכים נולדים מזיווג נשיקין דזו״נ [דזעיר אנפין ונוקבא] שהוא רוחני והיינו שנמשכה השפע כסדר ההשתלשלות
Now, the root of the souls is from the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Chochmah (wisdom), and the root of the souls of the angels is from the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus); for the angels are born from the “union of kisses” (zivug neshikin) of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, which is spiritual, meaning that the flow was drawn down in the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus).
The rule of inner and outer dimensions is now applied to souls and angels. The souls of Israel are rooted in the inner dimension of Chochmah and the angels in its outer dimension, because angels come from the “union of kisses” of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, a purely spiritual union whose flow descends step by step in the regular order of the chain.
והרי נתבאר שבהשתלשלות אינו נמשך רק מבחי׳ חיצוניות החכמה משא״כ הולדת נש״י [נשמות ישראל] להיותם מזיווג גופני שהוא נמשך יותר במדרגה והוא גשמי בערך
And it has been explained that in the chain of descent nothing is drawn except from the level of the outer dimension of Chochmah. Not so the birth of the souls of Israel: since they are from a bodily union, which is drawn further down in level and is physical by comparison,
Since only the outer dimension of Chochmah descends through the chain, that is all the angels receive. The souls of Israel come instead from what Kabbalah calls a “bodily union,” a union at a lower level that is physical by comparison.
הנה נעוץ סופו בתחלתו שבו דוקא נמשך הארת הפנימיות (וע׳ בפי׳ הראב״ד [הראב״ד] בס״י [בספר יצירה]2 גבי נעוץ סופן בתחלתן)3
behold, “its end is embedded in its beginning,” so that specifically in it the radiance of the inner dimension is drawn down. (And see the commentary of the Raavad on Sefer Yetzirah, regarding “their end is embedded in their beginning.”)
Here the teaching of Sefer Yetzirah applies, “their end is embedded in their beginning”: the lowest point is bound to the highest, so precisely in this lower union the light of the inner dimension is drawn down. The text refers to the Raavad’s commentary on that teaching (Sefer Yetzirah 1:7).
ויובן זה עד״מ מנפש האדם שבדבור יש הארת והתלבשות השכל ע״י השתלשלות ממחשבה כו׳ והוא רק חיצוניות השכל בלבד מפני שהפנימי׳ [שהפנימיות / שהפנימית] א״א לו להתלבש כלל בהשתלשלות
This will be understood by way of analogy from the soul of man: in speech there is a radiance and enclothing of the intellect, through a chain of descent from thought, etc., and this is only the outer dimension of the intellect alone, because the inner dimension cannot be enclothed at all in a chain of descent.
An analogy from the human soul: the intellect reaches speech only through a gradual descent, by way of thought. What reaches speech is only the outer dimension of the intellect, since the inner dimension cannot enter any gradual chain at all.
והרי אנו רואים שהמשכת הטפה הנולדת ממוח האב הוא מפנימי׳ [מפנימיות / מפנימית] כח המשכיל עד שמוליד בדומה והוא פלאי לכאורה
Yet we see that the drawing down of the drop that is generated from the father’s brain is from the inner dimension of the intellective power, to the point that he begets [one] like himself. And this is seemingly a wonder,
Yet the drop drawn from the father’s brain carries the inner power of his intellect, so that he begets a child like himself. This seems surprising.
שהרי הדבור יותר רוחני4 אלא שהיא הנותנת שהדבור להיותו רוחני וא״כ המשכת השכל בו הוא בדרך השתלשלות וקירוב ע״כ א״א רק בחי׳ חיצוניות
for speech is more spiritual. But that is the very reason: because speech is spiritual, the drawing of the intellect into it is by way of a chain of descent and closeness; therefore it can be only the level of the outer dimension.
It is surprising because speech is far more spiritual than the drop. But that is the very reason: being spiritual, speech stands close to the intellect and receives from it step by step, and such a gradual chain can carry only the outer dimension.
אבל בבחי׳ גשמיות יוכל להיות השראת הפנימיות כו׳ וכמ״כ [וכמו כן] יובן למשכיל למעלה להיות שהמלאכי׳ [שהמלאכים] נולדי׳ [נולדים] מזיווג רוחני שהוא בבחי׳ השתלשות הם רק מבחי׳ חיצוניות
But in the level of physicality there can be an indwelling of the inner dimension, etc. And so too the discerning will understand [it] above: since the angels are born from a spiritual union, which is in the manner of a chain of descent, they are only from the level of the outer dimension;
Something physical, which is not a step in that gradual chain, can become a resting place for the inner dimension. The same is true above: the angels, born of a spiritual union that proceeds through the chain of descent, receive only from the outer dimension.
אבל נש״י [נשמות ישראל] שהם מזיווג גופני בחי׳ טפת אבא והיא דוקא מבחי׳ הפנימי׳ [הפנימיות / הפנימית] דחכמה5 כנ״ל (ועמ״ש מזה בביאור ע״פ יונתי כו׳ המתחיל הנה ארז״ל [אמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] נובלו׳ [נובלות] חכמה כו׳)
but the souls of Israel, which are from a bodily union, the level of the drop of Abba (Chochmah), are specifically from the level of the inner dimension of Chochmah, as mentioned above. (And see what is written about this in the explanation on the verse “My dove,” etc., which begins, “Now, our Sages, of blessed memory, said: ‘The fallen fruit of wisdom,’” etc.)
The souls of Israel, born of the “bodily union,” come from the “drop of Abba,” that is, of Chochmah, and so from the inner dimension of Chochmah. The reference is to an explanation on the verse “My dove” that opens with the Sages’ saying about “the fallen fruit of wisdom.”
ולזה הטעם יובן מה שהנשמות דוקא יש בהן כח ההולדה6 אברהם הוליד7 ואין כן במלאכים והגם שממלאכים דבריאה מסתעפים מלאכים ביצירה זהו רק המשכת והתנוצצות בלבד מבריאה ליצירה
For this reason it will be understood why the souls specifically have the power of reproduction, [as it is written,] “Avraham begot,” and it is not so with the angels. And although from the angels of the World of Beriah (Creation) there branch out angels in the World of Yetzirah (Formation), this is only a drawing down and a scintillation alone, from Beriah to Yetzirah,
This explains why souls, and not angels, have the power of reproduction, as in “Avraham begot” (Genesis 25:19). Angels of Yetzirah do branch out from angels of Beriah, but that is only a drawing down and a scintillation, a ray of light passing from one world to the next.
כמו שמכל הבחי׳ דבריאה מסתעפים כמ״כ [כמו כן] ביצירה ומיצירה בעשיי׳ [בעשייה] אבל לא שהמלאכים דבריאה או דיצירה עצמם יולידו כדוגמתן כו׳
just as from all the levels of Beriah there branch out likewise [levels] in Yetzirah, and from Yetzirah in the World of Asiyah (Action); but not that the angels of Beriah or of Yetzirah themselves beget [others] like them, etc.
In the same way every level of Beriah has its offshoot in Yetzirah, and every level of Yetzirah its offshoot in Asiyah. That is not reproduction: the angels of Beriah or of Yetzirah do not themselves beget beings like themselves.
(כי לשון התנוצצות ענינו הארה בעלמא משא״כ הולדה שהיא המשכ׳ המהות והתהוות בדומה לו ממש ויובן ענין התנוצצות ממ״ש בע״ח [בעץ חיים] שער כסה״כ [כסא הכבוד] אורות המתנוצצים כו׳ איך מתנוצץ אור כו׳
(For the term “scintillation” denotes a mere radiance, whereas reproduction is the drawing down of the essence and the coming into being of [something] actually like it. And the matter of scintillation will be understood from what is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Kisei HaKavod (the Gate of the Throne of Glory): “lights that scintillate,” etc., “how a light scintillates,” etc.;
A parenthesis defines the terms: a scintillation is a mere radiance, while reproduction draws down the very essence and brings into being something truly like its source. Etz Chaim, in the Gate of the Throne of Glory, speaks in this sense of “lights that scintillate.”
אמנם הוא אור המתפשט מהם לא הם עצמם וע״ש בפ״א ואל תאמר כי תנה״י [תפארת נצח הוד יסוד] עצמו כו׳ רק מאירין כו׳)
“but it is a light that spreads forth from them, not they themselves.” And see there, in chapter 1: “And do not say that Tiferes, Netzach, Hod and Yesod themselves,” etc., “only that they shine,” etc.)
What scintillates is a light spreading out from those levels, not the levels themselves. The first chapter there says the same: it is not Tiferes, Netzach, Hod and Yesod themselves, only their shining.
וזהו מסבה הנ״ל להיות כי עיקר ההולדה הוא מצד הארת והתלבשות אור א״ס שמוליד ומשפיע מאין ליש ואור א״ס מלובש בחכמה8 דוקא כמ״ש הוי׳ בחכמה
And this is for the reason mentioned above: for the essence of reproduction comes from the radiance and enclothing of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), which begets and bestows from nothing to something; and the Infinite Light is enclothed specifically in Chochmah, as it is written, “Havayah with Chochmah,”
The deeper reason: all true reproduction comes from the Infinite Light, which alone brings forth something from nothing, and the Infinite Light is enclothed specifically in Chochmah, as the verse says, “Havayah with Chochmah founded the earth” (Proverbs 3:19).
והיינו בפנימיות החכמה ולזאת הנשמות מפני ששרשן מפנימיות החכמה יש בהם כח ההולדה שהוא ג״כ דוגמת בחי׳ כח א״ס שמאיש א׳ יוכל להיות כמה דורות כו׳
that is, in the inner dimension of Chochmah. Therefore the souls, because their root is from the inner dimension of Chochmah, have the power of reproduction, which is also akin to the level of the power of the Infinite One (Ein Sof): from one man there can come many generations, etc.
It is enclothed in the inner dimension of Chochmah. The souls, rooted there, therefore have the power of reproduction, which mirrors the infinite power of the Infinite One: from a single person come many generations.
וזהו ענין אור זרוע לצדיק9 זורע צדקות כו׳ כמו שהזורע גרעין א׳ מוציא כמה וכמה גרעינין כו׳ מפני שזרוע בארץ שבה יש ג״כ כח ההולדה
And this is the meaning of “Light is sown for the righteous,” “who sows acts of righteousness,” etc.: just as one who sows a single seed brings forth many, many seeds, etc., because it is sown in the earth, in which there is also the power of reproduction;
The same is seen in “Light is sown for the righteous” (Psalms 97:11) and in the liturgy’s phrase “who sows acts of righteousness”: a single seed that is sown yields many seeds. It does so because it is sown in the earth, which also has the power of reproduction.
כי הכל היה מן העפר10 וארץ ממנה יצא לחם11 כתיב ולזאת יש כח ההולדה גם בבהמות מפני שניזונ ות מצו מח שנצמח מהארץ כו׳
for “all came from the dust,” and it is written, “The earth, out of it comes bread.” And therefore there is the power of reproduction in animals as well, because they are nourished from plants that grow from the earth, etc.
The earth’s power is shown by the verses “All came from the dust” (Ecclesiastes 3:20) and “The earth, out of it comes bread” (Job 28:5). Animals too can reproduce, because they are nourished by plants that grow from the earth.
וסיבת מציאות ח ההולדה בהארץ הוא משום שנעוץ תחלתן בסופן כנ״ל בענין הנשמות (ועמ״ש בפ׳ שמות בד״ה הבאים ישרש12 בפי׳ וענין אשה יראת13 ה׳ היא תתהלל)
And the reason the power of reproduction exists in the earth is that “their beginning is embedded in their end,” as mentioned above regarding the souls. (And see what is written in Parshas Shemos, in the discourse beginning “Those who came, [Yaakov] will take root,” on the explanation of the matter of “A woman who fears Havayah, she shall be praised.”)
The earth, lowest of all, has this power because “their beginning is embedded in their end,” just as was said of the souls. The text refers to a discourse in Parshas Shemos on “Those who came, Yaakov will take root” (Isaiah 27:6), where “A woman who fears Havayah, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30) is explained.
אבל המלאכים להיות שרשם מחיצוניות בלבד אין בהם כח ההולדה ולזאת ארז״ל [אמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] שאין מלאך א׳ עושה שתי שליחות14 משום שהוא בחי׳ עומד שכמו
But the angels, since their root is from the outer dimension alone, do not have the power of reproduction. And therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said that one angel does not perform two missions, because it is in the state of “standing”: just as
Angels, rooted only in the outer dimension, cannot reproduce. That is why the Sages say that one angel does not carry out two missions: an angel is a “standing” being that remains exactly as it is.
שהוא כך ישאר אם הוא בבחי׳ ומדרגה זו אין בו בחי׳ ומדרגה אחרת מפני שנמשך מבחי׳ האותיות וכמו שאות א׳ לא יוליד זולתו
it is, so it will remain; if it is in this level and rank, it has no other level and rank, because it is drawn from the level of the letters. And just as one letter will not beget another besides itself,
An angel stays at one fixed level and has no other, because it is drawn from the level of the letters, the divine speech. A letter does not produce another letter.
וגם בו עצמו לא יהיה הגדלה תוספת וגרעון שכמו שנמשך ממקורו כך ישאר כך המלאכים כו׳ (ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה אם בחקתי תלכו):1516
and in itself, too, there will be no growth, addition or diminution, for just as it was drawn from its source, so it will remain, so it is with the angels, etc. (And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “If you walk in My statutes.”)
Nor does a letter grow, increase or diminish; it stays as it came from its source, and so do the angels. The text refers to the discourse “If you walk in My statutes” (Leviticus 26:3) for more on this.
The paragraph applies the rule of inner and outer dimensions to angels and souls: the angels, born of a spiritual union through the gradual chain, come from the outer dimension of Chochmah and cannot reproduce or change, while the souls of Israel, from the lower “bodily” union where “the end is embedded in the beginning,” come from its inner dimension, where the Infinite Light dwells, and so have the power of reproduction.
The argument rests on a paradox: the more spiritual and gradual the channel, the less of the source’s inner core it can hold, while the physical, which is not a step in the gradual chain, can hold the highest. The power to beget something truly like oneself reflects the Infinite Light’s power to bring forth something from nothing; that is why it appears in souls, in the earth and in what lives from the earth, but not in angels.
Marei mekomos
- 1והנה שרש הנשמות הוא מבחי׳ פנימיות החכמה · באוה״ת פ׳ יתרו כרך ח ע׳ ב׳תתקצז מציין לכאן ”וע׳ בביאר ולא תשבית מלח פ״א [— לעיל פ׳ ויקרא] שיש בהנשמה ע״ס ויש בה ג״כ בחי׳ שלמעלה מהחכמה. וכ״כ בד״ה ענין ק״ש אחד ואהבת שמהחכמה ואילך נק׳ השתלשלות, ואמנם הרצון שלמעלה מהחכמה הוא למעלה מהשתלשלות כך עלה במחשבה . . שכמ״כ יש בנשמה נר״נ, אך יחידה זהו הרצון שלמעלה מהשכל וזהו שישראל עלו במחשבה”. בהבא להלן ראה גם ס׳ מאמרי אדה״ז על ענינים ע׳ רמ. ביאוה״ז לאדה״א ב, א. ה, ג. צח, ג.
- 2בפי׳ הראב״ד בס״י · פ״א, מ״ז.
- 3נעוץ סופן בתחלתן · Sefer Yetzirah 1:7
- 4שהרי הדבור יותר רוחני · ”שהדבור הוא רוחנית הרבה יותר גם מרוחנית הטפה שהרי הדיבור נמשך מאור השכל השורה בכלי המוחין הגשמי והטיפה נמשכת רק מבחי׳ גשם המוחין עצמן” — סה״מ תקס״ח ח״ב ע׳ תרטו.
- 5שו״ה שהוא — אבל נש״י . . מבחי׳ הפנימי׳ דחכמה · מובא ביהל אור ע׳ תקצ. ראה אוה״ת יתרו כרך ח ע׳ ב׳תתקצז.
- 6שהנשמות דוקא יש בהן כח ההולדה · בארוכה בסה״מ תקס״ח ח״ב ע׳ תרטז. ראה ביאוה״ז לכ״ק אדה״א ה, ד. אוה״ת תולדות קלו, ב. ויחי כרך ב תיא, ב. וראה גם בד״ה שמח תשמח תרנ״ז ע׳ 5 ואילך (סה״מ תרנ״ז ע׳ קעט ואילך). ד״ה ואתם הדבקים תרפ״ו ע׳ רכז ואילך. וראה לקו״ש חי״ז ע׳ 155 בנוגע לאוה״ע ומציין שם ללקו״ש ח״ח ע׳ 155 הערה 45.
- 7אברהם הוליד · Genesis 25:19
- 8הוי׳ בחכמה · Proverbs 3:19
- 9אור זרוע לצדיק · Psalms 97:11
- 10הכל היה מן העפר · Ecclesiastes 3:20
- 11וארץ ממנה יצא לחם · Job 28:5
- 12הבאים ישרש · Isaiah 27:6
- 13אשה יראת ה׳ היא תתהלל · Proverbs 31:30
- 14עושה שתי שליחות · Bereshit Rabbah 50:2
- 15אם בחקתי תלכו · Leviticus 26:3
- 16
The queens and the dove ¶3
3וזהו ששים המה מלכות1 תשבע״פ [תורה שבעל פה] היא מבחי׳ מל׳ דפה קרינן לה2 והיינו בחי׳ המל׳ שנעשה פרצוף בפ״ע [בפני עצמו]
And this is [the meaning of] “There are sixty queens”: the Oral Torah is from the level of Malchus (sovereignty), which we call “mouth”; that is, the level of Malchus that becomes a partzuf (configuration) by itself.
Now the opening verse is explained. The “sixty queens” are the Oral Torah, which comes from Malchus, the Sefirah called “mouth,” and specifically from Malchus as a separate partzuf of its own, not the Malchus within Z’eir Anpin.
והיא בחי׳ דבור העליון ושרשה מחיצוניות אבא כמשל השכל שבדבור וז״ש [וזהו שכתוב] נובלות חכמה3 שלמעלה תורה נובלות בלבד ועלמות אין מספר
And it is the level of the supernal speech, and its root is from the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of Abba (Chochmah), like the analogy of the intellect that is in speech. And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “The fallen fruit (novlos) of the wisdom above is Torah”: fallen fruit alone. “And maidens without number”:
This Malchus is the supernal speech, and it is rooted in the outer dimension of Abba, that is, Chochmah, just as speech carries only the outer dimension of a person’s intellect. That is why the Sages call the Torah “the fallen fruit of the wisdom above”: it is what falls from Chochmah, not its inner core.
היינו פרטי ההלכות ב״ש [בית שמאי] אומרים כך וב״ה [ובית הלל] אומרים כך כאו״א [כל אחד ואחד] לפי שרשו ומדרגתו זה בחסד ע״כ מכשיר הכל שיהיה בחי׳ עליות
that is, the particulars of the halachos: Beis Shammai say thus and Beis Hillel say thus, each one according to his root and level. This one is in Chesed (kindness), and therefore he declares everything fit, so that it be at the level of ascent;
The “maidens without number” are the details of halachah, in which Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel disagree, each according to the root and level of his soul. One who is rooted in Chesed declares things fit and permitted, so that they can be elevated.
וזה מגבורה וע״כ אוסר כלומר שאינו ראוי להתעלות כי לפי אופן המדה והחסד שבלב כך מדבר כו׳
and that one is from Gevurah (restraint), and therefore he forbids, that is to say, that it is not fit to be elevated. For according to the manner of the attribute and the kindness in the heart, so does one speak, etc.
One who is rooted in Gevurah forbids, meaning that the thing is not fit to be elevated. A person speaks according to the attribute in his heart, and so the rulings differ.
והלכות אלו הם לאין מספר שהם המשכות פרטיים מכללות החכמה דנוק׳ [דנוקבא] שהיא תשבע״פ [תורה שבעל פה] ונקראים בזהר נימין כו׳ ועכ״ז [ועם כל זה] אחת היא4 יונתי תמתי567891011 תאומתי היינו כנס״י [כנסת ישראל] שהיא בתוך ז״א ונק׳ תאומה
And these halachos are without number, for they are particular drawings-forth from the general and collective expression (klalus) of the Chochmah (wisdom) of Nukva (the feminine), which is the Oral Torah; and in the Zohar they are called “hairs,” etc. Nevertheless, “One is she, my dove, my perfect one (tamasi),” [read] “my twin” (teomasi): that is, Knesses Yisrael, which is within Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) and is called “twin.”
These countless halachos branch out from the Chochmah of Nukva, the Oral Torah as a whole, and the Zohar calls them “hairs.” Yet above them all stands “One is she, my dove, my perfect one,” read as “my twin”: Knesses Yisrael, the Malchus within Z’eir Anpin, equal to him as a twin.
(עיין בזהר פ׳ ויצא קנ״ב ב׳ שמות דף י״ד ב׳ בשלח נ״א א׳ נ״ה א׳ נ״ב סע״ב [סוף עמוד ב] האזינו ר״צ סע״ב [סוף עמוד ב] חיי שרה קכ״ד ב׳ קכ״ה א׳)
(See in the Zohar, Parshas Vayeitzei, 152b; Shemos, page 14b; Beshalach, 51a, 55a, end of 52b; Ha’azinu, end of 290b; Chayei Sarah, 124b, 125a.)
The parenthesis lists places in the Zohar that expound “One is she, my dove.”
והוא בחי׳ יונתי עיניך יונים כד ז״א מסתכל במצחא מקבל ש״ע [ש״ע (370)] נהורין דהיינו שהוא בחי׳ הארה גבוה כ״כ [כל כך] שא״א להית נמשך בז״א כ״א ע״י בחי׳ הסתכלות שהוא בחי׳ חיצוניות דוקא
And this is the level of “my dove,” “your eyes are doves”: when Z’eir Anpin gazes at the forehead, he receives 370 lights; that is, it is the level of a radiance so high that it cannot be drawn into Z’eir Anpin except through the level of gazing, which is specifically the level of the outer dimension.
Knesses Yisrael is also “my dove” in the sense of “your eyes are doves.” When Z’eir Anpin gazes at the forehead it receives 370 lights, a radiance so high that it can reach Z’eir Anpin only through gazing, a contact that remains on the outer level.
כי א״א הוא מעולמות הא״ס שלמעלה מאצי׳ וכמ״ש בזהר דעד חכמה נק׳ עולמות א״ס וז״ש [וזהו שכתוב] מצמיח ישועות מענין וישע אל הבל12 והוא ענין ש״ע [ש״ע (370)] נהורין כו׳
For Arich Anpin is of the worlds of the Infinite One (Ein Sof) that are above the World of Atzilus (Emanation), as it is written in the Zohar that up to Chochmah they are called “worlds of the Infinite One.” And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “He causes salvations (yeshuos) to sprout,” from the expression “And He turned (vayisha) to Hevel”; and this is the matter of the 370 lights, etc.
The reason is that Arich Anpin, whose forehead is meant, belongs to the “worlds of the Infinite One” above Atzilus; the Zohar gives that name to everything up to Chochmah. The liturgy’s “He causes salvations (yeshuos) to sprout” is read in this light: yeshuos is linked to vayisha, “He turned [His gaze]” to Hevel, and its letters shin-ayin are the number 370, the 370 lights.
(ועמ״ש מזה בביאור ע״פ חכלילי עינים13 ובד״ה ואתחנן14 גבי וא ראה את הארץ)15 ולפיכך קרוין אחת שהיא בחי׳ מקבל מאחד היא בחי׳ כתר
(And see what is written about this in the explanation on the verse “His eyes are red,” and in the discourse beginning “And I besought,” regarding “and let me see the land.”) Therefore she is called “one,” for she is the level of one who receives from “One,” which is the level of Keser (the Crown).
After further references, the text explains why Knesses Yisrael is called “one”: she receives from the “One,” Keser, the crown above all the Sefiros.
וזהו ענין תאומתי שוין בקומתן כו׳ כתר א׳ כו׳ וכמ״ש בס׳ הקבלה בפי׳ מאמר אין אשה
And this is the matter of “my twin”: “equal in their stature,” etc., “one crown,” etc. And as is written in the books of Kabbalah, in the explanation of the saying “A woman is only
“My twin” means that she and Z’eir Anpin are “equal in stature” and share “one crown.” The books of Kabbalah explain the Talmudic saying “A woman is only for beauty” along the same lines.
אלא ליופי16 שהטעם לסיבת מציאת היופי בנשים יותר מבאנשים הוא מחמת הארת הכתר שמאיר במל׳ יותר כי נעוץ סופן כו׳ וגם לפי שצריכה שמירה כו׳.
for beauty”: that the reason for the presence of beauty in women more than in men is because of the radiance of Keser, which shines more in Malchus, for “their end is embedded,” etc.; and also because she needs protection, etc.
Beauty is found more in women than in men because the light of Keser shines more in Malchus, the last of the Sefiros, since “their end is embedded in their beginning.” A second reason is added: that she needs protection.
The paragraph gives the first half of the answer: the Oral Torah, the “sixty queens” with its countless halachos, comes from Malchus as a separate partzuf and from the outer dimension of Chochmah, while Knesses Yisrael, “one, my dove, my twin,” is the Malchus within Z’eir Anpin that receives from Keser, and so stands above the Torah.
Three names describe Knesses Yisrael here: “twin,” equal in stature to Z’eir Anpin; “dove,” tied to the gaze through which the 370 lights of Arich Anpin reach Z’eir Anpin; and “one,” receiving from Keser, the One. The rule “their end is embedded in their beginning” explains why the light of Keser shines most in Malchus, the last of the Sefiros.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2פה קרינן לה · Tikkunei Zohar 17a
- 3נובלות חכמה · Bereshit Rabbah 17:5
- 4אחת היא · Zohar, Idra Zuta 19:77–87
- 5אחת היא יונתי תמתי · Song of Songs 6:9
- 6אחת היא יונתי תמתי · Zohar, Vayetzei 14:95–15:115
- 7אחת היא יונתי תמתי · Zohar, Shemot 25:240–26:249
- 8אחת היא יונתי תמתי · Zohar, Beshalach 12:147–155
- 9אחת היא יונתי תמתי · Zohar, Beshalach 13:178–14:190
- 10אחת היא יונתי תמתי · Zohar, Beshalach 16:230–241
- 11אחת היא יונתי תמתי · Zohar, Chayei Sara 10:60–18:142
- 12וישע אל הבל · Genesis 4:4
- 13חכלילי עינים · Genesis 49:12
- 14ואתחנן · Deuteronomy 3:23
- 15וא ראה את הארץ · Deuteronomy 3:25
- 16אין אשה אלא ליופי · Ketubot 59b:9
Above the Torah and below it ¶4
4וה״ז [והרי זה] למעלה מבחי׳ ס׳ מלכות שהוא בחי׳ תורה שנק׳ נובלות בלבד כו׳ והוא ענין המבואר בגמ׳ [בגמרא] בחסידים הראשונים1 שהיו שוהים בתפלתם ט שעות
And this is above the level of the “sixty queens,” which is the level of Torah, which is called only “fallen fruit,” etc. And this is the matter explained in the Gemara about the early pious ones, who would spend nine hours in their prayer;
This level of Knesses Yisrael is higher than the “sixty queens,” the Torah, which is only the “fallen fruit” of Chochmah. The Gemara tells of the early pious ones who spent nine hours a day in prayer and asks how their Torah learning was preserved.
ולפי שחסידים היו תורתם נשמרת דהיינו שהיה בהם בחי׳ רעותא דליבא בחי׳ בצכ מאדך2 בלי גבול
and because they were pious, their Torah was preserved; that is, there was in them the level of “the desire of the heart” (re’usa deliba), the level of “with all your might,” without limit
The Gemara answers that because they were pious, their Torah was preserved. The Alter Rebbe explains that they had “the desire of the heart” (re’usa deliba), the boundless love of “with all your might.”
(והוא למעלה ממדרגת בכל נפשך שהוא כפי אופן הכלי כו׳) שהוא בחי׳ כתר שלמעלה מתורה וע״כ ממילא היתה נשמרת כו׳
(and this is above the rank of “with all your soul,” which is according to the manner of the vessel, etc.), which is the level of Keser (the Crown) that is above Torah; and therefore [their Torah] was preserved of itself, etc.
This love is higher than “with all your soul,” which is love according to the capacity of the vessel. It reaches Keser, which is above the Torah, and so their Torah was preserved of itself.
אבל מי שאין בו בחי׳ רעו״ד [רעותא דליבא] שיגיע למעלת ומדרגת הכתר ופנימית החכמה א״כ התורה היא למעלה ממנו ובזה הוא שארז״ל [שאמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] ישראל מתקשראן באורייתא3 והתורה נקראת חתן כו׳:
But one who does not have in him the level of the desire of the heart, such that he reaches the rank and level of Keser and the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Chochmah (wisdom), then the Torah is above him. And it is of this that our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Israel are bound to the Torah,” and the Torah is called the groom, etc.
One who has not reached this desire of the heart, the level of Keser and of the inner dimension of Chochmah, stands below the Torah. Of him it is said that “Israel are bound to the Torah” and that the Torah is the groom; so both views in the opening question are true, each of a different level.
The paragraph completes the answer: one whose “desire of the heart” reaches Keser and the inner dimension of Chochmah stands above the Torah, as Knesses Yisrael stands above the “sixty queens,” while one who has not reached it is below the Torah and bound to it.
The early pious ones show the higher side: their long prayer, an expression of boundless love, lifted them to the level of Keser, above the Torah, and that is why their Torah was preserved without separate effort.
Marei mekomos
- 1בגמרא בחסידים הראשונים · Berakhot 32b:20–22
- 2בצכ מאדך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 3ישראל מתקשראן באורייתא · Zohar, Achrei Mot 49:296–50:305
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
The maamar draws the lesson from the early pious ones: love of G‑d “with all your might,” the boundless desire of the heart, reaches the level of Keser, above the Torah, and then one’s Torah is preserved of itself. One who has not reached it stands below the Torah and is bound to it.
Questions for discussion
- How can the Torah be called both Israel’s bride and Israel’s groom, and Israel be both “bound to the Torah” and above it?
- Why can a gradual chain of descent carry only the outer dimension of its source, while the physical can hold the inner dimension?
- Why do souls have the power of reproduction while angels do not, and what does this show about the root of the souls?
- What is the difference between Malchus as a separate partzuf and the Malchus within Z’eir Anpin, and how does it explain “sixty queens” and “One is she”?
- What does the Gemara about the early pious ones teach about the relation between prayer and the preservation of one’s Torah learning?
Key terms in this maamar
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×6
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration.
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×7
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×2
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×11
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×15
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect. ×13
- The intellect (mochin)מוחין
- Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×1
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×4
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×3
- Nukva (the feminine / Malchus)נוקבא
- Malchus as the receiving configuration.
- Netzach (victory)נצח
- Perseverance, the drive to overcome.
- Hod (splendor)הוד
- Acknowledgment and yielding.
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits.
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×1
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×3
- Kelipah (the husk)קליפה
- The forces of concealment that oppose holiness. ×1
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions. ×5
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence. ×4
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one.
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- The general and collective expression (klalus)כללות
- That which encompasses the particulars as one: their general and collective expression (the klal, as against the prat). Never “sum”, “sum total”, “totality” or “general principle”, as if the particulars were added up (וכללותן היא מצות הצדקה is “their general and collective expression is the mitzvah of charity”). Render by sense: “their general and collective expression”, “that which encompasses them all”, “X in general”, “X as a whole”. Keep התכללות as “inclusion” / “inter-inclusion”. ×1
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×5