Likkutei Torah · Parshas Shir HaShirim · Maamar 9
לסוסתי ברכבי פרעה דמיתיך רעיתי
“To My Mare Among Pharaoh’s Chariots I Have Likened You, My Beloved”
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The big idea
The “horse,” the letters that carry without understanding, brings the divine light down to the lowest places and also carries the supernal Man upward, beyond the level of Man, to G‑d who “is not a man”; its strength comes not from itself but from G‑d’s essence, and so Israel, through Torah and mitzvos, are likened to G‑d’s mare.
The maamar in brief
G‑d has several “chariots”: the Chayos of Yechezkel’s vision, the horses of Zechariah’s, the cherub on which He rides at night. All are defined in relation to the supernal Man on the throne, whose limbs and sinews are the 248 positive and 365 prohibitive commandments, and who is the descent of the Infinite Light through the six days of the week. That descent serves the ascent of Shabbos through the refinement of nogah, a work of conquest that needs a running horse to reach so far down. While the Temple stood, the prophets saw Chayos that carry and are carried, close to the light they bear; in exile the light descends through “letters,” horses that run without grasping their rider. Yet the horse also carries upward: the soul yearns for G‑d “in the night,” beyond reason, and the horse runs above the Man on the throne to G‑d who “is not a man.” Its strength is G‑d’s own essence, “the dew from Atika Kadisha.” So Israel, G‑d’s “beloved” and “sustainer,” are likened to His mare: through Torah and mitzvos they draw life into the worlds and raise the supernal Man beyond itself.
Outline
- G‑d’s chariots and the supernal ManG‑d rides several chariots, all defined by the Man on the throne, whose limbs and sinews are the positive and prohibitive commandments and who is the descent of the Infinite Light through the six days.¶1–2
- A descent for the sake of an ascentThe week’s descent serves the ascent of Shabbos by refining nogah, a work of conquest that calls for the level of Man and for running horses to reach so far down.¶3–4
- Chayos and horsesIn Temple times the prophets saw Chayos that carry and are carried; in exile the light descends through letters, horses without understanding, and the soul ascends through them in a yearning beyond reason.¶5
- Higher than the Man on the throneIn exile the horse runs above the Man to G‑d who “is not a man”; its strength comes from G‑d’s essence, the dew of Atika on Shabbos, and its counterpart is the horse of Pharaoh’s chariots, in which G‑dliness only encompasses.¶6
- “My beloved,” my sustainerThrough Torah and mitzvos Israel sustain the worlds as food sustains the body, and like a horse they raise the supernal Man to the level of “He is not a man.”¶7
Key concepts
- Chariot (merkavah)מרכבה
- Whatever is wholly given over to the will of the One who rides it; the maamar contrasts the Chayos of Yechezkel’s vision with the horses of Zechariah’s.
- The supernal Manאדם העליון
- The likeness of a man upon the throne, whose 248 limbs and 365 sinews are the positive and prohibitive commandments, vessels and lights.
- Chayos that carry and are carriedחיות נושאות ומנושאות
- The holy creatures that seem to carry the throne but are carried by it, a sign of their closeness to the light that rides on them.
- Horse (sus)סוס
- The letters, which carry their rider without grasping him; they bring the light down to the lowest places and can raise the rider higher than he could reach alone.
- Descent for the sake of ascentירידה לצורך עליה
- The principle that the light descends through the week for the sake of the ascent of Shabbos.
- Adam and Elyonאדם, עליון
- Adam (man) is adameh l’Elyon, a likeness of the Most High; G‑d Himself “is not a man” and is above that likeness.
- The dew of Atika Kadishaטלא דנטיף מעתיקא קדישא
- Light from the innermost level of Keser that fills Z’eir Anpin on Shabbos and gives the horse its power to rise.
- Arousal from below and from aboveאתערותא דלתתא ואתערותא דלעילא
- Female and male horses: human initiative and the divine response; beyond both is an arousal from above that comes with no initiative at all, drawn from Atika.
- Encompassing (makif)מקיף
- Light that surrounds rather than enters; in kelipah G‑dliness only encompasses, and Israel’s Torah and mitzvos are likened to the encompassing level of “my mare.”
G‑d’s chariots and the supernal Man ¶1–2
1לסוסתי1 ברכבי פרעה דמיתיך רעיתי2. כי הנה כתיב לא בגבורת הסוס יחפץ.3 והענין כי הנה כתיב כי תרכב על סוסיך4 כו׳
“To my mare among Pharaoh’s chariots I have likened you, my beloved.” For it is written, “He does not desire the strength of the horse.” The explanation: it is written, “For You ride upon Your horses, etc.”
The maamar opens with a verse from the Song of Songs in which the beloved, Israel, is likened to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots. To explain it, two other verses about horses are brought: “He does not desire the strength of the horse” (Psalms 147:10), and Habakkuk’s words about G‑d riding upon His horses.
כי מלשון אם תרכב על סוסיך שיש כמה בחינת מרכבות להקב״ה מרכבת יחזקאל פני ארי׳ [אריה] פני שור5 כו׳ ומרכבות זכריה6 סוסים שחורים7 סוסים לבנים כו׳.
For [the word ki here] has the sense of im, “if”: “if You ride upon Your horses,” [implying] that the Holy One, blessed be He, has several levels of chariots: the chariot of Yechezkel, “the face of a lion, the face of an ox, etc.,” and the chariots of Zechariah, “black horses, white horses, etc.”
Reading the word ki as “if” suggests that riding horses is only one of G‑d’s ways: He has several kinds of “chariots.” Yechezkel saw a chariot of Chayos (holy creatures) with the faces of a lion, an ox and others, while Zechariah saw chariots drawn by horses of different colors.
וגם אמרינן בגמ׳ [בגמרא] (ע״ז [עבודה זרה] ג׳ ע״ב) ובלילא מאי קעביד רוכב על כרוב קל שלו ושט8 כו׳.
We also say in the Gemara (Avodah Zarah 3b): “And at night, what does He do? He rides upon His light cherub and soars, etc.”
The Talmud says that at night G‑d “rides upon His light cherub” and soars through eighteen thousand worlds. This adds a further kind of chariot, the cherub, to the Chayos and the horses.
וכמשל המלך שיש לו כמה מיני מרכבות פעם משתמש במרכבה זו ופעם במרכבה זו. והנה כל בחי׳ ומדריגות המרכבה הוא לגבי בחינת אדם העליון וכמ״ש
It is like the analogy of a king who has several kinds of chariots: at one time he uses this chariot, and at another time that chariot. Now, all the levels and grades of the chariot are in relation to the level of the supernal Man, as it is written,
A king chooses among his carriages, and in the same way G‑d is “carried” in different modes at different times. Every mode of the chariot is defined by its relation to the “supernal Man,” the figure Yechezkel saw upon the throne.
ועל דמות הכסא דמות כמראה אדם9 כו׳ שהוא בחינת רמ״ח מצות עשה רמ״ח פיקודין רמ״ח אברין דמלכא ושס״ה לא תעשה שס״ה גידים
“and upon the likeness of the throne, a likeness as the appearance of a man, etc.” This is the level of the 248 positive commandments, “the 248 commandments, the 248 limbs of the King,” and the 365 prohibitions, the 365 sinews,
Above the throne Yechezkel saw “a likeness as the appearance of a man.” This Man is made of the commandments: the 248 positive commandments are called the 248 “limbs of the King,” and the 365 prohibitions correspond to the 365 sinews of the body.
שהם בחי׳ אורות וכלים ורמ״ח אברים בחינת כלים ושס״ה גידים בחינת אורות הממשיכים הדם הוא הנפש10 חיות האברים11 וכמארז״ל [וכמאמר רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] י״ה עם שמי שס״ה.1213
which are the level of lights and vessels: the 248 limbs are the level of vessels, and the 365 sinews are the level of lights, which convey the blood (“the blood is the soul”), the life-force of the limbs. As our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Yud-Hei with Shemi (‘My Name’) is 365,
The limbs are vessels, and the sinews are lights, since they carry the blood, which the Torah calls “the soul,” and so bring life to the limbs. The Sages’ saying ties the 365 prohibitions to the first two letters of G‑d’s Name: Shemi (“My Name”) has the numerical value 350, and with Yud-Hei (15) it makes 365.
The paragraph sets out the maamar’s image: G‑d has several “chariots,” the Chayos of Yechezkel’s vision, the horses of Zechariah’s and the cherub of the Talmud. All of them are defined in relation to the supernal Man on the throne, whose limbs and sinews are the positive and prohibitive commandments, vessels and lights.
A chariot (merkavah) is whatever is wholly given over to the will of its rider; Torah Ohr on Yisro says the Chayos are a chariot because they are nullified to G‑d “like a horse to its rider.” The Kehot note on the 365 and the 248 points back to Likkutei Torah on Shir HaShirim (7a), where the prohibitions are linked to Yud-Hei, the hidden world, and the positive commandments to Vav-Hei, the revealed world.
Marei mekomos
- 1לסוסתי · הנחה אחרת בסה״מ תקס״ד ע׳ כג. נדפס גם בתו״א לעמבערג תרי״א כט, ג בלי הגהות. הגהות באוה״ת שה״ש ע׳ קלח, וע׳ קלט. וראה סה״מ עת״ר ע׳ ריט. ראה להלן בהוספות להערות וציונים השוואה לד״ה זה.
- 2
- 3לא בגבורות הסוס יחפץ · Psalms 147:10
- 4כי תרכב על סוסיך · Habakkuk 3:8
- 5פני ארי׳ פני שור · Ezekiel 1:10
- 6ומרכבות זכריה · (סי׳ ו, ב). [כ]. ראה סה״מ עת״ר ע׳ ריט.
- 7סוסים שחורים · Zechariah 6:2
- 8ובלילא מאי קעביד רוכב על כרוב קל שלו ושט · Avodah Zarah 3b:13–14
- 9ועל דמות הכסא דמות כמראה אדם · Ezekiel 1:26
- 10הדם הוא הנפש · Deuteronomy 12:23
- 11חיות האברים · ראה שערי אורה לכ״ק אדה״א צג, ב ואילך בענין חיות מהדם.
- 12י״ה עם שמי שס״ה וזכרי עם ו״ה רמ״ח · נסמן לעיל ז, א.
- 13כמה בחי׳ מרכבות · נתבאר בסה״מ תרל״ה ח״ב ע׳ שלט.
2וזכרי עם ו״ה רמ״ח ששס״ה מצות לא תעשה מבחינת י״ה ורמ״ח מ״ע [מצות עשה] מו״ה ובחינת אדם זה
and Zichri (‘My remembrance’) with Vav-Hei is 248”: the 365 prohibitive commandments are from the level of Yud-Hei, and the 248 positive commandments from Vav-Hei. And this level of Man,
The saying continues: Zichri (“My remembrance,” 237) with Vav-Hei (11) makes 248. So the prohibitions come from the upper letters of the Name, Yud-Hei, and the positive commandments from the lower ones, Vav-Hei; together they make up the supernal Man.
שהוא בחינת אורות וכלים המשכת אור א״ס ב״ה והארתו בתחתונים בבחינת ירידה והשתלשלות בששת ימי המעשה יום ראשון בחסד כו׳.
which is the level of lights and vessels, is the drawing down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, and its illumination in the lower realms, by way of descent and the chain of descent (hishtalshelus), in the six days of work: the first day in Chesed (kindness), etc.
This Man of lights and vessels is the way the Infinite Light descends, step by step, into the lower worlds. The descent unfolds over the six days of the week, each governed by one attribute, beginning with Chesed (kindness) on the first day.
The paragraph completes the link between the commandments and the letters of G‑d’s Name, and identifies the supernal Man with the descent of the Infinite Light through the six days of the week.
The passage the Kehot note points to (Likkutei Torah on Shir HaShirim, 7a) explains that Vav-Hei is the revealed world and Yud-Hei the hidden world. The positive commandments are vessels in which the life-force is openly enclothed, while the prohibitions draw the Infinite Light only in a hidden way.
A descent for the sake of an ascent ¶3–4
3והנה תכלית ירידות המדרגות והשתלשלות הארות אור א״ס ב״ה בששת ימי המעשה הוא כדי שיהיה עליה ביום השבת כנודע כי ירידה לצורך עליה12 היא כנודע.
Now, the purpose of the descents of the levels and of the step-by-step descent (hishtalshelus) of the illuminations of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, during the six days of work is that there be an ascent on the day of Shabbos, as is known; for it is a descent for the sake of an ascent, as is known.
During the six weekdays the divine light descends level by level, but the descent has a purpose: on Shabbos everything ascends. This follows the principle that a descent is “for the sake of an ascent,” a phrase the Talmud uses in another context.
דהיינו ע״י בירור מלבושי נוגה כו׳ בימות החול. ולכן צריך המשכות אור א״ס ב״ה מבחינת אדם דוקא כי האיש דרכו לכבוש3 ולעשות מלחמה לאכפייא כו׳.
That is, through the refinement of the garments of nogah, etc., during the weekdays. Therefore drawings-down of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, are needed specifically from the level of Man, for “it is the way of a man to conquer” and to wage war, to subdue, etc.
During the week the descent refines the “garments of nogah”: permitted, worldly things that belong to kelipas nogah, the translucent husk in which good and evil are mixed, so that their sparks can rise on Shabbos. This work calls for the quality of “man,” whose way, as the Talmud says, is to conquer: to wage war and subdue the sitra achra (the other side).
The descent of the light through the six days serves the ascent of Shabbos, by refining the garments of nogah during the week. That work of conquest requires the light to come specifically from the level of Man.
The Talmud derives “it is the way of a man to conquer” from the verse “fill the earth and conquer it.” Here the phrase explains why the light drawn down during the week must come through the level of Man, the quality able to wage war against what opposes holiness.
Marei mekomos
- 1ירידה לצורך עליה · מכות (ז, ב). [כ].
- 2ירידה לצורך עליה · Makkot 7b:6
- 3כי האיש דרכו לכבוש · Yevamot 65b:4–5
4והנה כתיב סוס מוכן למלחמה12 שבכדי לירד למקום המלחמה צ״ל בחינת סוס רץ כמו עד״מ שהסוס רץ למקום שאין האדם מגיע שם מפני מרחק המקום, וכך עד״מ מפני הירידה הגדולה מאיגרא רמה3 כו׳
Now, it is written, “A horse is prepared for battle”: in order to descend to the place of battle there must be the level of a running horse; just as, by way of analogy, a horse runs to a place that a person does not reach because of the distance of the place. So too, by way of analogy, because of the great descent, “from a lofty roof, etc.,”
The verse says a horse is “prepared” for battle: to reach the battlefield one needs a running horse, which can carry its rider to a place too far for him to reach on foot. So too the divine light must make a great descent, “from a lofty roof [to a deep pit],” as the saying goes, to reach the lower world. The verse itself (Proverbs 21:31) reads “for the day of battle.”
להיות אור א״ס ב״ה שכשמו כן הוא אור א״ס ואין תכלית כו׳ שורה ומתגלה בתחתונים צ״ל בבחינת מרכבות סוסים רצים כו׳.
for the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He—which, as its name says, is a light without end and without limit, etc.—to rest and be revealed in the lower realms, it must be by way of chariots of running horses, etc.
The Infinite Light is, as its name says, without end or limit. For such a light to rest and be revealed in the lower worlds, it must be carried down by “chariots of running horses,” which can cross the vast distance.
A running horse carries its rider where he could never go alone; so the Infinite Light, in order to descend into the lowest realms for the work of conquest, must travel by chariots of running horses.
Marei mekomos
- 1סוס מוכן למלחמה · משלי (כא, לא), ושם כתיב ”ליום מלחמה”. [כ].
- 2סוס מוכן למלחמה · Proverbs 21:31
- 3מאיגרא רמה · Chagigah 5b:16–17
Chayos and horses ¶5
Therefore, Yeshayahu and Yechezkel, who lived in the time of the Temple and close to it, when Israel stood at a lofty level: there was not
Yeshayahu prophesied while the First Temple stood, and Yechezkel close to that time. In that era the Jewish people stood at a high level, so the divine light had not descended very far.
אור א״ס ב״ה בבחי׳ ירידה והשפלה כ״כ [כל כך] שימות החול אינם רחוקים כ״כ [כל כך] מיום השבת לכך ראו את המרכבה בבחינת פני אריה פני שור כו׳
such a descent and lowering of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, since the weekdays were not so distant from the day of Shabbos; therefore they saw the chariot in the form of “the face of a lion, the face of an ox, etc.,”
Because the weekdays were then not far from Shabbos, meaning that the light’s descent was not extreme, these prophets saw the chariot in the form of Chayos with the faces of a lion, an ox and the like.
שהחיות נושאות23 ומנושאות עם הכסא שהכסא נושא אותם4 גם כן שאינם בבחי׳ ריחוק מקום כ״כ [כל כך] שיש להם איזה שייכות בצד מה לגבי הארות אור א״ס ב״ה הרוכב עליהם.
for the Chayos (the holy creatures) carry and are carried with the throne, since the throne carries them as well; for they are not so far removed in place, so that they have some relation, in some measure, to the illuminations of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, that rides upon them.
The Chayos both carry the throne and are carried by it, as Rabbeinu Bachya writes in the name of Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer. This mutual bond shows that they are not far from the light that rides on them and have some connection with it.
משא״כ זכריה ראה את המרכבה בבחינת סוסים שהם רצים כו׳ ואינם מנושאים כלל שאין להם ערך ויחוס והשגה במה שרוכב עליהם כלל שהסוס הוא בחינת אותיות כו׳ שאין בהם השכלה.
Zechariah, however, saw the chariot in the form of horses, which run, etc., and are not carried at all, for they have no proportion, relation or grasp at all of what rides upon them, since the horse is the level of letters, etc., in which there is no intellect.
Zechariah saw horses instead: horses run but are never carried, and a horse has no grasp of its rider. In the same way “letters,” the words of speech, carry meaning without any understanding of their own.
(והיינו לפי שירידת המלכות בגלות היא בחינת הירידה שלא בדרך ירידת וסדר המדרגות רק בבחי׳ אותיות שירדו מלמעלה מעלה ונתלבשו למטה מטה מ שא״כ ישעיה ויחזקאל ראו המרכבה פני אריה ופני שור כו׳
(That is, because the descent of Malchus (sovereignty) in exile is a descent that is not by way of the descent and order of the levels, but only in the mode of letters, which descended from the very highest heights and became enclothed in the very lowest depths. Yeshayahu and Yechezkel, by contrast, saw the chariot [as] “the face of a lion and the face of an ox, etc.,”
The parenthesis explains the link between horses and exile. In exile Malchus, the divine presence that animates the world, comes down not through the orderly chain of levels but by way of “letters,” which descend from the very highest to the very lowest; the visions of Yeshayahu and Yechezkel were different.
שהן המשכות המדות שנלקחו מחכמה דרך ירידת סדר המדרגות והתלבשות החכמה עצמה היא במדות כו׳ ועמ״ש ההפרש בין קבלת המדות מהשכל ובין האותיות בד״ה וייצר כו׳ את האדם בפ׳ בראשית ע״ש).
which are drawings-down of the emotive attributes (middos) that were taken from Chochmah (wisdom) by way of the descent of the order of the levels, and Chochmah itself is enclothed in the attributes, etc. See what is written on the difference between the reception of the attributes from the intellect and [that of] the letters, in the discourse beginning “And He formed, etc., the man,” in Parshas Bereshis; see there.)
The faces of the Chayos stand for emotive attributes that come from Chochmah through an orderly descent, so that wisdom itself is clothed in them, as feeling grows out of understanding. The text refers to a discourse in Parshas Bereshis on how this differs from the way letters relate to the intellect.
והנה כמו שהירידה היא בבחינת סוס כך הוא עלי׳ [עליה] ג״כ בבחינת סוס כמ״ש נפשי אויתיך בלילה.5
Now, just as the descent is at the level of the horse, so too the ascent is also at the level of the horse, as it is written, “[With] my soul I have yearned for You in the night.”
Just as the light descends through the “horse,” the soul’s ascent also comes through the horse. Yeshayahu’s words, “[With] my soul I have yearned for You in the night,” describe that ascent.
פי׳ בזמן שאין בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] קיים נפשי אויתיך בלא טעם ודעת בבחי׳ נפשי בבחי׳ אותיות כו׳.
That is, at the time when the Holy Temple is not standing, “[with] my soul I have yearned for You,” without reason and understanding: at the level of “my soul,” at the level of letters, etc.
“Night” is the time when the Temple is not standing. Then the soul yearns for G‑d without reason or understanding, from the level of nefesh (“my soul”), which corresponds to the letters: the horse that carries upward without grasping.
The visions of Yeshayahu and Yechezkel, Chayos that carry and are carried, differ from Zechariah’s running horses because of the depth of the divine descent: in exile the light comes through “letters,” not through ordered levels. The same “horse” also carries the soul’s ascent, in a yearning beyond reason.
The idea that the Chayos are carried by the throne they seem to carry is quoted by Rabbeinu Bachya from Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, and the Kehot note adds that it is also the wording of the piyut “VeChayos” in the Rosh Hashanah Musaf, after the Kedushah. The note also records that this passage is quoted in Or HaTorah on Bereshis, which refers to the discourse in Torah Ohr, Yisro, on “the Patriarchs are the chariot.”
Marei mekomos
- 1ולכן ישעי׳ ויחזקאל · מובא באוה״ת בראשית כרך ב רפא, ב ושם מציין לעיין בתו״א פ׳ יתרו בד״ה האבות הן הן המרכבה.
- 2שהחיות נושאות · בחיי תרומה כה, יו״ד בשם פדר״א. וראה פדר״א ספ״ד. שמ״ר ספכ״ג. ל׳ הפיוט ר״ה במוסף אחר קדושת כתר ד״ה וחיות. [כ].
- 3שהחיות נושאות · Shemot Rabbah 23:15
- 4שהחיות נושאות ומנושאות עם הכסא שהכסא נושא אותם · Rabbeinu Bahya, Shemot 25:18
- 5נפשי אויתיך בלילה · Isaiah 26:9
Higher than the Man on the throne ¶6
6וכתיב עד מהרה ירוץ דברו12 שהסוס רץ למקום שאין האדם יכול לילך בעצמו ברגליו כך עד״מ כתיב והארץ הדום רגלי3 והסוס רץ למקום שאין רגליו משיגים
It is also written, “His word runs very swiftly”: for the horse runs to a place where a person cannot go by himself on his feet. So too, by way of analogy, it is written, “and the earth is My footstool,” and the horse runs to a place that His feet do not reach.
Psalms says that G‑d’s word “runs,” like a horse, and a horse runs where a person cannot go on his own feet. Isaiah calls the earth G‑d’s “footstool,” so His “feet” stand for the level of G‑dliness that reaches down to the world, and the horse runs to places those “feet” cannot reach.
והוא דוקא בזמן שאין בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] קיים שאין כח ברגלים להיות בחי׳ חיות נושאות ומנושאות כו׳
This is specifically at the time when the Holy Temple is not standing, when there is no strength in the feet to be the level of Chayos that carry and are carried, etc.
This happens specifically when the Temple is not standing. Then the “feet” lack the strength to be Chayos that carry and are carried, as in the visions of the prophets of the Temple era.
אזי הסוס רץ למעלה מעלה עד רום המעלות למעלה מבחי׳ אדם שעל הכסא כי בחינת אדם הוא אדמה לעליון45 משא״כ עליון ממש כו׳
Then the horse runs higher and higher, to the loftiest heights, above the level of the Man upon the throne. For the level of Man (adam) is “I will be like (adameh) the Most High (Elyon),” which is not so of the Most High itself, etc.
In exile the horse runs higher still, above the Man upon the throne. The word adam (man) is read as adameh l’Elyon, “I will be like the Most High”: Man is only a likeness of the Most High, not the Most High itself.
(ועמ״ש במ״א ע״פ אתם נצבים6 מענין פי׳ עליון כו׳) כדכתיב ה׳ איש מלחמה78 פי׳ מה שהוי׳ נקרא בשם איש הוא בבחי׳ מלחמה להיות נקרא בשם איש ואדם.
(See what is written elsewhere, on the verse “You are standing,” on the meaning of Elyon, etc.) As it is written, “G‑d is a man of war”: that is, Havayah’s being called by the name “man” is in the aspect of war, to be called by the names ish and adam (“man”).
For the meaning of Elyon the text refers to the discourse on “You are standing.” In the Song at the Sea G‑d is called “a man of war”: it is for the sake of war that Havayah takes on the names ish and adam, “man.”
But in truth it is written, “for He is not a man, that He should relent.” (See what is written about this in the explanation on “Remember the Shabbos day to keep it holy.”)
In truth, as Shmuel told Shaul, G‑d “is not a man, that He should relent”: in Himself He is beyond the level of Man. The text refers to a fuller treatment in the explanation on “Remember the Shabbos day” in Torah Ohr.
והגם שהוא בבחי׳ סוס שאין בו השכלה להשיג את הרוכב כו׳ מ״מ יש בו בחי׳ זו להעלות את הרוכב מעלה מעלה כו׳.
And although it is at the level of a horse, which has no intellect to grasp the rider, etc., nevertheless it has this quality: to raise the rider higher and higher, etc.
The horse has no understanding of its rider, yet it can carry him higher and higher. So the “horse” can raise the supernal Man beyond his own level.
(ועיין מ״ש בד״ה יביאו לבוש מלכות11 בענין וסוס אשר רכב עליו המלך12 שריצת הסוס גדולה מריצת הכרוב כו׳ ובד״ה וקבל היהודים13 ובפ׳ בשלח בד״ה אז ישיר משה1415 ובד״ה אשירה16 כו׳ כי גאה גאה)
(See what is written in the discourse beginning “Let them bring royal apparel,” on the subject of “and the horse that the king has ridden upon,” that the running of the horse is greater than the running of the cherub, etc.; and in the discourse beginning “And the Jews accepted”; and in Parshas Beshalach, in the discourse beginning “Then Moshe sang,” and in the discourse beginning “I will sing, etc., for He is highly exalted.”)
The parenthesis lists other discourses on the horse: on Esther’s “and the horse that the king has ridden upon,” which says the horse runs faster than the cherub; on “And the Jews accepted”; and two in Parshas Beshalach on the Song at the Sea.
אך הכח שיש לבחינת סוס כנ״ל. הנה כתיב לא בגבורת הסוס17 יחפץ שגבורת הסוס הנ״ל לא מצד עצמו הוא כ״א רוצה
But as for the power that the level of the horse has, as mentioned above: it is written, “He does not desire the strength of the horse,” meaning that the strength of the horse mentioned above is not from itself; rather, “G‑d desires
Yet the horse’s power is not its own. This is how the verse “He does not desire the strength of the horse” is read here: the horse’s strength does not come from itself.
ה׳ את יראיו את המיחלים לחסדו18 חסדו של הקב״ה בכבודו ובעצמו דהיינו מהותו ועצמותו של אור א״ס ב״ה נמשך ונשתלשל למטה להעלות בחינת סוס הנ״ל.
those who fear Him, those who hope for His kindness”: the kindness of the Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory and His essence, that is, the very being and essence of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, is drawn down and descends, level by level, below, to raise up the level of the horse mentioned above.
The next verse names the true source: “G‑d desires those who fear Him, those who hope for His kindness.” That kindness is the very essence of the Infinite Light, drawn down level by level to raise the horse.
וזהו בחינת טלא דנטיף מעתיקא קדישא19 בשבת20 כו׳ שהוא המשכות אור א״ס ב״ה מריש כל דרגין למטה ליתן כח ועוז לעליית הסוס כו׳
This is the level of “the dew that drips from Atika Kadisha (the Holy Ancient One)” on Shabbos, etc., which is the drawing down of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, from “the head of all levels” below, to give power and might for the ascent of the horse, etc.
In the Zohar’s imagery this is “the dew that drips from Atika Kadisha,” the innermost level of Keser; on Shabbos this dew fills the head of Z’eir Anpin. It is light drawn from “the head of all levels,” and it gives the horse the strength to rise.
(והיינו כענין מ״ש בפ׳ בשלח בד״ה לסוסתי21 שיש סוסין נוקבין וסוסין דוכרין2223 אתעדל״ת [אתערותא דלתתא] ואתעדל״ע [ואתערותא דלעילא]24 כו׳ אך יש עוד אתעדל״ע [אתערותא דלעילא] שהם אותיות זכרים שהם באים שלא על ידי אתעדל״ת [אתערותא דלתתא] כלל כו׳ והיינו המשכות מבחינת עתיקא כו׳ ע״ש
(This is like what is written in Parshas Beshalach, in the discourse beginning “To my mare,” that there are female horses and male horses, an arousal from below and an arousal from above, etc.; but there is also a further arousal from above: the male letters, which come without any arousal from below at all, etc., and these are drawings-down from the level of Atika, etc.; see there.
The parenthesis cites the discourse “To my mare” in Torah Ohr, Beshalach: female horses stand for an arousal from below and male horses for an arousal from above. There is also a higher arousal from above, the “male letters,” which comes with no human initiative at all and is drawn from Atika.
והנה משם הוא שנמשך הכח ועוז לעליית הסוס דאתעדל״ת [דאתערותא דלתתא] וע״ש עוד ע״פ ויאמר משה אכלוהו היום25 מענין מוריד הטל כו׳). וזהו לסוסתי ברכבי פרעה דמיתיך רעיתי.
Now, it is from there that the power and might are drawn for the ascent of the horse of the arousal from below. See further there, on the verse “And Moshe said, ‘Eat it today,’” on the subject of “He causes the dew to descend,” etc.) And this is [the meaning of] “To my mare among Pharaoh’s chariots I have likened you, my beloved.”
From that higher source comes the strength of the human “horse,” the arousal from below, to rise; the parenthesis also points to the discourse on the manna, “Eat it today,” for the subject of dew. With this the text returns to the verse: Israel is likened to “my mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.”
פי׳ כמו שיש זה לעומת זה26 בחינת סוס ברכבי פרעה דקליפה שהחיות אלקות שיש בהם אינו נתפס ומושג בהם להיות בהם בחינת ביטול כו׳ אלא בבחי׳ מקיף עליהם מלמעלה והיא בחינת לבונ ה זכה שבקטורת.27
That is: just as, “one opposite the other,” there is the level of a horse among Pharaoh’s chariots of kelipah (the husk), where the G‑dly life-force that is in them is not grasped and apprehended within them, so as to bring about self-nullification (bittul) in them, etc., but is only in the mode of encompassing them from above; and this is the level of the pure frankincense in the incense.
Opposite holiness there are also horses: Pharaoh’s chariots of kelipah. In them the G‑dly life-force is not grasped inwardly and produces no self-nullification; it only encompasses them from above. The text identifies this with the frankincense of the incense: as explained earlier in this book (on “I am black, yet comely”), ten of the incense’s eleven spices stand for sparks exiled in the kelipos, while the eleventh, frankincense (levonah, from lavan, “white”), is the encompassing source of their life.
In exile the horse runs higher than the Man on the throne, toward G‑d who “is not a man.” Its power to raise its rider is not its own but comes from G‑d’s essence, “the dew from Atika Kadisha,” and this leads back to the verse: Israel are likened to the horses of Pharaoh’s chariots, in which G‑dliness is only encompassing.
The Kehot note gives several places in the Zohar for “the dew that drips from Atika Kadisha”; at 2:88a the Zohar says that on Shabbos the head of Z’eir Anpin is filled with dew descending from Atika Kadisha. For adam as adameh l’Elyon the note cites Asarah Maamaros and the Shelah, and for “G‑d is a man of war” it also points to the Mechilta on that verse.
Marei mekomos
- 1עד מהרה ירוץ דברו · תהלים רמז, טו.
- 2עד מהרה ירוץ דברו · Psalms 147:15
- 3והארץ הדום רגלי · Isaiah 66:1
- 4אדם הוא אדמה לעליון · עשרה מאמרות מאמר אם כל חי, ח״ב סל״ג. של״ה תושב״כ וישב סוף הדרוש צאן יוסף, עיי״ש. ועוד.
- 5אדמה לעליון · Isaiah 14:14
- 6ע״פ אתם נצבים · לעיל פ׳ נצבים מד, ג.
- 7ה׳ איש מלחמה · Exodus 15:3
- 8ה׳ איש מלחמה · Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Shirah 4:1
- 9כי לא אדם הוא להנחם · I Samuel 15:29
- 10ע״פ זכור · תו״א עב, ג.
- 11ועמ״ש בד״ה יביאו לבוש מלכות · ראה תו״א צ, א ואילך.
- 12וסוס אשר רכב עליו המלך · Esther 6:8
- 13ובד״ה וקבל היהודים · תו״א צו, ד.
- 14בד״ה אז ישיר משה · תו״א סב, ג.
- 15אז ישיר משה · Exodus 15:1
- 16ובד״ה אשירה · תו״א סג, א.
- 17לא בגבורת הסוס · Psalms 147:10
- 18רוצה ה׳ את יראיו את המיחלים לחסדו · Psalms 147:11
- 19טלא דנטף מעתיקא קדישא · Zohar III, 128b
- 20טלא דנטיף מעתיקא קדישא בשבת · Zohar, Yitro 26:441–27:453
- 21בד״ה לסוסתי · תו״א סג, ד.
- 22סוסין נוקבין . . דוכרין · זח״ב (מו, סע״ב. מז, א). [כ].
- 23סוסין נוקבין וסוסין דוכרין · Zohar, Beshalach 5:63–7:71
- 24אתעדל״ת ואתעדל״ע · זח״א (פח, א. קסד, א. רלה, א. רמד, א). זח״ב (רלב, ב). ת״ז (תס״ט) קי, ב. [כ].
- 25ויאמר משה אכלוהו היום · Exodus 16:25
- 26זה לעומת זה · Ecclesiastes 7:14
- 27לבונ ה זכה שבקטורת · Exodus 30:34
“My beloved,” my sustainer ¶7
7ולכן קרו לי׳ אלקא דאלקייא1 כו׳. כך דמיתיך רעיתי פרנסתי2 שישראל מפרנסין3 ומתפרנסין כו׳ שהוא ענין המשכת חיות ואור א״ס ב״ה בתוך עלמין על ידי התורה ומצות.
Therefore “they call Him the G‑d of gods,” etc. So too, “I have likened you, my beloved”: ra’yasi (“my beloved”) [means] parnasasi (“my sustainer”), for Israel sustain and are sustained, etc. This is the drawing down of life-force and of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, within the worlds through Torah and mitzvos.
Because in kelipah G‑dliness only encompasses from above, it is acknowledged there only from afar: the Talmud says that among the nations He is called “the G‑d of gods.” The text then turns to Israel: “so too, I have likened you, my beloved.” Ra’yasi (“my beloved”) is read as parnasasi (“my sustainer”): through Torah and mitzvos Israel draw life and the Infinite Light into the worlds, and are themselves sustained.
כמו שהמאכל ממשיך חיות מהמוח לשאר האברים כו׳. נמשל לבחינת סוסתי ברכבי פרעה שהוא בחינת מקיף לפי שהתורה ומצות מעלים את האדם העליון כמו סוס כו׳ (ועיין בהרמ״ז [בהרב משה זכות] פ׳ כי תצא) (דער״ה סע״ב [סוף עמוד ב])
[This is] just as food draws life-force from the brain to the rest of the limbs, etc. It is compared to the level of “my mare among Pharaoh’s chariots,” which is the level of the encompassing [light], because Torah and mitzvos raise up the supernal Man like a horse, etc. (See the Ramaz on Parshas Ki Seitzei) (at the end of 275b)
Food enables the life-force in the brain to flow to the rest of the body; in the same way Torah and mitzvos draw G‑d’s light into the worlds. This is likened to “my mare,” an encompassing level, because Torah and mitzvos carry the supernal Man upward like a horse; the text cites the Ramaz, R. Moshe Zacuto, in his glosses on the Zohar.
והנה היכל קה״ק [קדש הקדשים] הוא כו׳ הנהגתו ע״י הסוסים ועיין בסש״ב [בספר של בינונים] פנ״ב גבי ומהו הלבוש כו׳
Now, the chamber of the Holy of Holies is, etc.; it is conducted by means of the horses. And see Sefer Shel Beinonim, chapter 52, at [the words] “And what is the garment, etc.,
The next words state that the chamber of the Holy of Holies is “conducted” by means of the horses. Tanya, chapter 52, asks what “garment” can clothe the Shechinah without being nullified in its light, and answers: G‑d’s will and wisdom, clothed in Torah and mitzvos.
דלעילא לעילא כו׳ בהיכל קה״ק [קדש הקדשים]4 ועיין מ״ש מזה סד״ה את שבתותי תשמרו גבי ומקדשי תיראו ומשם יובן מש״כ [מה שכתוב] שהתומ״צ [שהתורה ומצות] מעלים כו׳ כמו סוס כו׳
far, far above, etc.,” in the chamber of the Holy of Holies. And see what is written about this at the end of the discourse beginning “You shall keep My Shabbosos,” at [the words] “and revere My Sanctuary”; from there one will understand what is written, that Torah and mitzvos raise up, etc., like a horse, etc.
That wisdom, Tanya says, is “far, far above” the revealed world, and the Shechinah is clothed in the chamber of the Holy of Holies of every world. The discourse on “You shall keep My Shabbosos” explains that the Torah is called “My Sanctuary” because the Talmud is drawn from the chamber of the Holy of Holies of Beriah, and this helps explain how Torah and mitzvos raise like a horse.
ועמש״ל [ועיין מה שכתוב לעיל] מענין אותיות התורה בד״ה לריח שמניך כמ״ש אשר יעשה5 אותם האדם וחי בהם פי׳ שעושין ומתקנין בחינת אדם שיתעלה למעלה מעלה לבחינת
And see what is written above on the subject of the letters of the Torah, in the discourse beginning “For the fragrance of your oils.” As it is written, “which the man shall do and live by them”: that is, that they make and rectify the level of Man, so that it may ascend higher and higher, to the level of
The text refers back to an earlier discourse in this book, “For the fragrance of your oils,” on the letters of the Torah. It then reads the verse “which the man shall do and live by them” as saying that the mitzvos make and perfect the supernal Man, raising him higher and higher.
כי לא אדם כו׳ וד״ל [ודי למבין] (ועיין עוד מענין לסוסתי67 ברבות בשה״ש [בשיר השירים] במקומו ובפ׳ בשלח ס״פ כ״ג נשא רפ״ח ובזהר ס״פ ויגש דרי״א ע״ב8 ובפ׳ בשלח דמ״ו סע״ב [סוף עמוד ב]):9
“for He is not a man, etc.” This suffices for one who understands. (See further on the subject of “To my mare” in the Midrash Rabbah: on Shir HaShirim, in its place; on Parshas Beshalach, end of section 23; on Naso, beginning of section 8; and in the Zohar, end of Parshas Vayigash, 211b, and Parshas Beshalach, at the end of 46b.)
The goal of that ascent is the level of “He is not a man”: G‑d as He is beyond the figure of Man. The closing parenthesis lists further sources on “To my mare” in the Midrash Rabbah and the Zohar.
Israel are G‑d’s “beloved” and His “sustainer,” because through Torah and mitzvos they draw life into the worlds; and like a horse they carry the supernal Man beyond itself, to the level of “He is not a man.”
The Kehot note cites Or HaTorah, which explains “and live by them” as the drawing of light and life from Atika Kadisha, of which it is said “for with You is the source of life,” into Z’eir Anpin, which is called Adam, and elsewhere reads “the man” as the Man upon the throne. In the Behar discourse referred to here, the Talmud is drawn from the chamber of the Holy of Holies of Beriah, in which Malchus of Atzilus is clothed.
Marei mekomos
- 1קרו לי׳ אלקא דאלקייא · Menachot 110a:11–13
- 2רעיתי פרנסתי · Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:14
- 3רעיתי פרנסתי שישראל מפרנסין · הב׳ ציונים ע׳ בד״ה לסוסתי הב׳ כאן. וש״נ. [כ].
- 4ומהו הלבוש כו׳ דלעילא לעילא כו׳ בהיכל קה״ק · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 52:6
- 5כמ״ש אשר יעשה . . פי׳ שעושים ומתקנין בחי׳ אדם · Leviticus 18:5
- 6לסוסתי · Shemot Rabbah 23:14
- 7לסוסתי · Zohar, Beshalach 4:52–5:63
- 8ובזהר ס״פ ויגש דרי״א ע״ב · ראה הלשון בסה״מ תרנ״א ע׳ קצז.
- 9ועיין סד״ה את שבתותי תשמרון · לעיל בהר מד, ד.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
In exile, when the soul cannot reach G‑d through understanding, it can still yearn for Him “in the night,” without reason or understanding, from the level of “my soul.” Through Torah and mitzvos a Jew becomes G‑d’s “mare” and His “sustainer,” drawing life into the worlds and raising the supernal Man higher than intellect can reach; and the strength for this comes not from one’s own power but from G‑d’s kindness to “those who fear Him.”
Questions for discussion
- Why does the maamar explain the difference between the visions of Yechezkel and Zechariah by how far the divine light had descended in their times?
- How can a horse, which has no grasp of its rider, carry him higher than he could go himself, and what does this say about the letters of Torah and prayer?
- What does it mean that adam is adameh l’Elyon, and how can the “horse” run above the Man on the throne?
- If the horse’s strength is not its own, where does it come from, and why is this connected with Shabbos and “the dew of Atika Kadisha”?
- In what sense are Israel G‑d’s “sustainers,” and why is this compared to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- Lights and vesselsאורות וכלים
- Divine revelation and the forms that contain and express it. ×2
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×6
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×2
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×1
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×2
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×3
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×2
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- An arousal from aboveאתערותא דלעילא
- Divine initiative, unprompted by us.
- Kelipah (the husk)קליפה
- The forces of concealment that oppose holiness. ×1
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×1
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×1