Likkutei Torah · Parshas V’Zos HaBerachah · Maamar 5
מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית כו׳ ולא שמחת אויבי לי
“A psalm, a song for the dedication of the House…, and You did not let my enemies rejoice over me”
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The big idea
The angels who objected to man’s creation were silenced by the dedication of the Beis HaMikdash, because the human soul, though it descends into a physical body, surpasses the angels: it has no body of its own, its source is higher, and it shares its root with the Torah, so only souls can be nullified into G‑d like a candle into a torch and become a dwelling for the Shechinah below.
The maamar in brief
The maamar reads the “enemies” of Psalm 30 as the angels who said “What is man?” at creation, conceded at Sinai, rejoiced at the Golden Calf, and were silenced by the Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash. Why are souls higher? Angels have bodies of refined air and fire; they occupy space and time, their song is audible and sung at set times, and they can appear to the eye. Souls have no bodies; their song is pure understanding, unceasing, and unheard. The angels objected only to the soul’s descent into a body, but that descent is the purpose: through it G‑d has a dwelling below. The Beis HaMikdash revealed the Shechinah, which gave Israel inner bowing, self-nullification like a candle before a torch; a glimmer of it remains in the synagogue at prayer, and only souls, not angels, can be nullified in this way. The dedication drew down extra lights, as the princes’ twelve offerings did for each tribe. “Psalm” is the angels’ song through a vessel, “song” the souls’ song without one, and both were revealed at the dedication. Finally, dilisani’s three meanings name the soul’s three advantages.
Outline
- The angels’ accusationThe “enemies” of the psalm are the angels who opposed man’s creation and rejoiced at the Calf, silenced by the Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash; man is higher than the angels.¶1
- Angels and souls: song, sight, space and timeSouls sing too, but without sound; angels have bodies of air and fire, so their song is audible, they can be seen, and they sing at fixed times, while souls praise without interruption.¶2–5
- The descent of the soul and the SanctuaryThe angels objected to the soul’s descent into a body, but that descent makes a dwelling for G‑d below; the Shechinah rests in Israel through the physical Sanctuary, and now through the synagogue.¶6
- Two kinds of bowingOuter bowing subdues behavior; inner bowing dissolves the self like a candle into a torch. It came from appearing at the Beis HaMikdash, continues faintly in prayer with ten, and is possible only for souls.¶7–8
- Dedication and the princes’ offeringsDedication is initiation with an added gift, drawing down extra lights; the princes’ identical offerings are repeated twelve times so each tribe draws down its own torch, for all generations and on Chanukah.¶9–10
- Psalm and songMizmor is music through an instrument, the angels’ song through a vessel; shir is the voice, the souls’ song without a vessel; the order of the words shows ascent from below or descent from above.¶10–12
- Dilisani: the soul’s three advantagesExaltation, poverty and drawing water: the soul’s source is higher, it has no body of its own, and it is drawn from Chochmah together with the Torah, so it is fitter than the angels for the Shechinah and the Torah.¶13–15
Key concepts
- self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one’s own sense of self before G‑d; its highest form is the candle whose flame merges into a torch.
- the Shechinah (Divine Presence)שכינה
- G‑d’s presence as it dwells openly in the lower realms; it is Knesses Yisrael, the source of the souls of Israel.
- inner and outer bowingהשתחוואה בבחינת פנימיות וחיצוניות
- Outer bowing subdues the body while the self remains; inner bowing leaves no will but G‑d’s.
- mizmor and shirמזמור ושיר
- Instrumental music and song of the voice: the angels’ song clothed in a vessel and the souls’ song without one.
- a dwelling place among the lower realmsדירה בתחתונים
- The purpose of creation, achieved only when the soul descends into a physical body.
- dedication as initiationחנוכה מלשון חינוך
- A beginning marked by an addition beyond the regular, which draws down extra supernal lights.
For children · ages 9–13
Why a soul in a body is higher than an angel
The big idea
G‑d sent the soul down into a physical body so that it could make a home for Him in this world, something the angels cannot do.
King David wrote a psalm for the dedication of the Beis HaMikdash: “You did not let my enemies rejoice over me.” The maamar says these “enemies” are the angels who asked G‑d, when man was created, “What is man?” The angels sing, and their song can be heard, because they have bodies of fire and air. Souls also sing, but their song is pure understanding, without sound, and they praise G‑d all the time. The angels objected only to the soul coming down into a body, where it can make mistakes. But that is the whole purpose: through the soul in a body, G‑d has a dwelling in this lower world. In the Beis HaMikdash, G‑d’s Presence, the Shechinah, was openly revealed. Jews who came there learned to bow inwardly, to set aside their own will completely before G‑d. The angels cannot bow this way. Even today, when we daven in shul, especially with a minyan, we can feel a glimmer of that bowing. The souls are also closer to the Torah than the angels are, because both come from the same source in G‑d’s wisdom.
The mashal
When a great torch is burning, every small candle brought near it has its light swallowed up in the torch’s light, and they become one. So too, in the Beis HaMikdash, where G‑d’s Presence shone openly, every soul’s own will melted into G‑d like a candle into a torch.
Questions for the Shabbos table
- Why did G‑d want the soul to come down into a body, even though the angels thought it was a mistake?
- What is the difference between bowing with our body and bowing the way a candle is swallowed up in a torch?
- When you daven in shul this week, how can you try to set aside your own wishes before G‑d, even for a moment?
Explanation © likuteitorah.com, CC BY-NC 4.0: retold for children from our translation and explanation, with AI assistance; not yet reviewed by a human editor.
The angels’ accusation ¶1
1מזמור שיר חנוכת1 הבית כו׳ ולא שמחת2 אויבי לי.3 הנה בשעת בריאת האדם קטרגו מלאכי השרת לפני הקב״ה ואמרו מה אנוש4 כי תזכרנו כמ״ש ברבות בראשית פרשה ח׳5 ואח״כ בשעת מתן תורה כשהקדימו
“A psalm, a song for the dedication of the House…,” and “You did not let my enemies rejoice over me.” Now, at the time of the creation of man, the ministering angels brought an accusation before the Holy One, blessed be He, and said, “What is man, that You should remember him?” as is written in Midrash Rabbah on Bereishis, section 8. Afterwards, at the time of the giving of the Torah, when
The maamar opens with Psalm 30, which David composed for the dedication of the Beis HaMikdash, and asks who the “enemies” are whose rejoicing G‑d did not allow. The Midrash relates that when G‑d created man the angels objected, quoting “What is man, that You should remember him?”: they held that this frail being was not worthy of G‑d’s attention.
ישראל נעשה לנשמע הודו6 ואח״כ בשעת חטא העגל שמחו שנמצא כדבריהם שבעוד מ׳ יום אחר מ״ת [מתן תורה] שהיה פב״פ [פנים בפנים] כו׳ הפך לבם כ״כ [כל כך].
Israel put “we will do” before “we will hear,” they conceded. And afterwards, at the time of the sin of the Golden Calf, they rejoiced that it had turned out as they had said: that within forty days after the giving of the Torah, which had been face to face, etc., their heart had turned so far.
At Sinai, when Israel said “we will do” before “we will hear,” committing themselves before knowing what they would be told, the angels admitted they had been wrong. But when, only forty days after G‑d had spoken to them “face to face,” Israel made the Golden Calf, the angels rejoiced that their original objection had been proved right.
אך בשעת מעשה המשכן ערבה שחחתם לפי שמלאכת המשכן מכפר על מעשה העגל שלכן היה זהב במשכן לכפר על הזהב שבעגל
But at the time of the making of the Mishkan their rejoicing grew dark, because the work of the Mishkan atones for the making of the Calf; that is why there was gold in the Mishkan, to atone for the gold of the Calf.
The Mishkan (the portable Sanctuary in the desert) atoned for the Calf, gold for gold, and so the angels’ rejoicing was spoiled. The printed word שחחתם apparently reads שמחתם, “their rejoicing,” and the phrase echoes Isaiah’s “all joy has grown dark (ערבה)”.
ולכן אמר דוד על בנין בהמ״ק [בית המקדש]7 מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית כו ולא שמחת אויבי לי הם המלאכים שקטרגו
Therefore David said concerning the building of the Beis HaMikdash, “A psalm, a song for the dedication of the House…, and You did not let my enemies rejoice over me”: these are the angels who had accused.
So the “enemies” in David’s psalm are not human foes but the accusing angels. The dedication of the House silenced them, because it showed that man, for all his failings, could become a dwelling for G‑d.
והיינו שבנין בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] הוא ענין אחד עם מעשה המשכן (וכה״ג [וכהאי גוונא] הביא בספר ערכי הכינויים שחיבר בעה״מ [בעל המחבר] סדר הדורות בערך אויב ועיין בגמרא בקדושין) (דף ע״ב) מאי את אויבים בשער8 כו׳ ועיין בבראשית רבה פנ״ד.
That is, the building of the Beis HaMikdash is one matter with the making of the Mishkan. (Something similar is brought in the book Arkei HaKinuyim, composed by the author of Seder HaDoros, under the entry “enemy”; and see the Gemara in Kiddushin) (folio 72): “What is [meant by] ‘with enemies in the gate’…”; and see Bereishis Rabbah, section 54.
Although the psalm speaks of the Beis HaMikdash and the angels’ disappointment came at the Mishkan, the two are one theme, so the verse fits. The parenthesis gives parallels where “enemies” is also read as something other than simple foes; the Gemara’s “enemies in the gate,” which the Talmud explains as scholars who argue over Torah and end as friends, is found on Kiddushin 30b, so the printed “folio 72” is apparently a corruption.
ולהבין ענין קטרוג הזה של המלאכים9 שאמרו מה אנוש כו׳ שאמרו המלאכים שהמה במדרגה עליונה יותר מן האדם. והתשובה היתה שהאדם הוא יותר נעלה.10111213
And to understand this accusation of the angels, who said “What is man…”: the angels said that they are on a higher level than man. And the answer was that man is more exalted.
Here the real question of the maamar is set: the angels claimed to stand higher than man, yet G‑d answered that man is more exalted. The rest of the maamar explains in what way the human soul surpasses the angels, and why the angels could still object.
The opening reads “You did not let my enemies rejoice over me” as referring to the angels who opposed the creation of man and rejoiced at the sin of the Calf, and whose rejoicing ended when the Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash were built. It then sets the question: in what sense is man higher than the angels?
The Kehot notes record that this maamar also exists in a transcript in the Siddur with Chassidic discourses, and that it was apparently said at the dedication of the study hall in Liadi. They connect the Midrash Tehillim’s three disputes of the angels (over man, the Mishkan and the Torah) with the Gemara’s account of the angels’ objection at Sinai.
Marei mekomos
- 1מזמור שיר חנוכת · הנחת כ״ק אדהאמ״צ בסידור ערה, ב. הנחה נוספת בסה״מ תקס״ו ע׳ ק. המאמר שבסידור נאמר ג״כ בשנת תקנ״ט — ראה סה״מ תש״ט ע׳ 91. באוה״ת פ׳ פנחס כרך ו ע׳ א׳תתקמז מציין למאמר זה ”ובתורת חנוכת בהמ״ד דלאדי ע״פ מזמור שיר חנוכת”. קטע מהמאמר ראה ד״ה כל שמעשיו מרובים תרל״ג ע׳ רסח.
- 2מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית . . ולא שמחת · Psalms 30:1
- 3ולא שמחת אויבי לי · Psalms 30:2
- 4קטרגו מלאכי השרת לפני הקב״ה ואמרו מה אנוש · Midrash Tehillim 8:2
- 5כמ״ש ברבות בראשית פרשה ח׳ · Bereshit Rabbah 8:5
- 6כשהקדימו ישראל נעשה לנשמע הודו · Shabbat 89a:7
- 7ולכן אמר דוד על בנין בהמ״ק · בסידור עם דא״ח ערה, ב: ”כשהכין דוד בנין בהמ״ק”. וראה באוה״ת נ״ך כרך ב ע׳ תתקלא.
- 8מאי את אויבים בשער · Psalms 127:5
- 9ולהבין ענין קטרוג הזה של המלאכים · קטע מכאן בסה״מ תרנ״ג ע׳ ריח. ובסה״מ תרנ״ד ע׳ רנג. וראה ד״ה בשעה שעלה משה — תשכ״א.
- 10שהאדם הוא יותר נעלה · בסה״מ שם נוסף: כמ״ש במד״ת שם.
- 11
- 12
- 13
Angels and souls: song, sight, space and time ¶2–5
2ולביאור זה צריך להבין ענין מלאכים ונשמות כי הנה מצינו שהמלאכים אומרים שירה1234 ולא מצינו כן בנשמות ובאמת גם הנשמות אומרים שירה567 תמיד
To explain this, one must understand the matter of angels and souls. For we find that the angels sing song, but we do not find this of the souls. In truth, however, the souls too sing song constantly,
To answer, one must know how angels and souls differ. Scripture often describes angels singing, but never souls; the Alter Rebbe says the souls do sing, and constantly.
שהרי יש להם עליות וירידות תמיד מחיל אל חיל וכמ״ש והיה מדי חודש בחדשו89 כו׳ ואח״כ חוזרים לג״ע [לגן עדן] התחתון וחוזרים ומתעלים לג״ע [לגן עדן] העליון כו׳
for they constantly have ascents and descents, “from strength to strength,” as it is written, “And it shall be, from month to month…”; and afterwards they return to the lower Gan Eden, and again ascend to the upper Gan Eden, etc.
Souls in the afterlife are always rising “from strength to strength”: on each New Moon and Shabbos (as Isaiah says) they rise from the lower Gan Eden to the upper Gan Eden and then return. Each such ascent is a form of song.
וידוע דכל הילוך ועלייה היינו ע״י שיר דוקא10 כענין כל בעלי השיר יוצאין בשיר11 ונמשכין בשיר כמבואר בלק״א [בלקוטי אמרים הגדול] הגדול.1213 אלא שלא מצינו מפורש כן במקרא.1415
And it is known that every going and ascent is specifically through shir (song), as in the matter of “All that have a shir go out with a shir and are drawn by a shir,” as is explained in the great Likkutei Amarim. Only, we do not find this stated explicitly in Scripture.
The Mishnah’s law says that animals wearing a shir (a ring or collar) may go out with it on Shabbos and be led by it; Chassidus reads shir as “song,” meaning that every going out and rising is carried by song. The great Likkutei Amarim, a collection of teachings from the Chassidic masters, explains this; the question remaining is only why Scripture never says it outright.
The paragraph argues that souls, like angels, sing, since their constant ascents are made through song, and sets up the question why Scripture mentions only the angels’ song.
A later discourse cited in the Kehot notes suggests that the Mishnah’s “possessors of a shir” are specifically angels, whose ascent is a going out of the limits of a body, while the souls’ need to ascend comes from the limits of their comprehension.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי הנה מצינו שהמלאכים אומרים שירה · קטע מובא באוה״ת בראשית כרך ג תקנו, א.
- 2שהמלאכים אומרים שירה · ע׳ חגיגה (יג, ב) ובתוד״ה מזיעתן, ובחולין (צא, ב). ובס׳ עמק המלך ש׳ קרית ארבע (פ״ה). ובש׳ שבע תיקונים (פי״א). ובחדא״ג חולין (שם ד״ה לא הגיע). וע״ע חגיגה (יב, ב) מלאכי השרת שאומרות שירה בלילה. ובחדא״ג (שם) העיר מע״ז (ג, ב) יושב ושומע שירה מפי חיות. וע״ל ס״פ קדושים (ל, ג) שירה של הנבראים ומלאכים, יעו״ש. ושם באמור רד״ה והניף [לו, א] ב׳ מיני מלאכים, יעו״ש. [כ]. ראה אוה״ת בראשית כרך ג תתקנז, א.
- 3שהמלאכים אומרים שירה · Chagigah 12b
- 4שהמלאכים אומרים שירה · Avodah Zarah 3b
- 5הנשמות אומרים שירה · וע׳ בשה״ק להרח״ו ח״ג ש״ב. ע׳ ת״ז (תכ״ב) סה, ב. דיוקנו של יעקב חקוקה בכסא הכבוד וכ״ה בלקח טוב ויצא (כח, יג). ובמ׳ אגדה (שם). ובב״ר (פע״ח [ג]). ובמדב״ר (רפ״ד). ואיכ״ר (ב, א [ב]). ובתנחומא [במדבר יט] במדבר עה״פ כל בכור זכר. ופדר״א (פל״ה). ובתרג׳ דה״א (כא, טו). וע׳ רש״י חולין (צא, ב). ד״ה בדיוקנו. שם בפי׳ רגמ״ה. וע׳ שבת (קנב, ב) נשמתן של צדיקים גנוזות תחת כסה״כ. וכ״ה אדר״נ (פי״ב). ובזח״ג (כט, ב) אי׳ כל הנשמות ”גזורות”. וכ״ה להלן (קכג, ב) ”גזורות”. ובפרדס לרמ״ק ז״ל ש׳ עשר ולא תשע (פ״ז) ושם אי׳ חצובות. ועיין חולין (שם) שאין מ״ה או׳ שירה למע׳ עד שיאמרו ישראל למטה. וראה ב״ב (עה, ב) עתידי׳ צדיקים שיאמרו לפניהם קדוש, וברש״י שם. [כ].
- 6הנשמות אומרים שירה · Chullin 91b:15
- 7הנשמות אומרים שירה · Shabbat 152b:13
- 8והי׳ מדי חודש בחדשו · ישעי׳ סוס״י סו.
- 9והיה מדי חודש בחדשו · Isaiah 66:23
- 10שו״ה שיר — דוקא · ע׳ תו״א ד״ה ושם אחיו יובל. ובד״ה שה״ש הא׳ פ״ג. [כ].
- 11כל בעלי השיר יוצאין בשיר · Shabbat 51b:8–10
- 12בלק״א הגדול · אפ״ל כוונתו הק׳ מ״ש לבסוף הס׳ בליקוטים חדשים. [כ].
- 13כמבואר בלק״א הגדול · בד״ה באתי לגני תש״ל סעיף ח (נדפס בסה״מ מלוקט ח״ו ע׳ צה) מביא זה, וראה שם בהערה 48 שכאן מבאר (לקמן) שגם עליית הנשמות היא ע״י שיר: ”ואולי יש לומר דזה שארז״ל ”בעלי השיר יוצאין בשיר” ד”בעלי השיר” הם המלאכים [—ראה שם הערה בשולי העמוד] (שנק׳ בשם בהמות וחיות). הוא — כי העלי׳ דמלאכים היא שהם יוצאים מההגבלה דהגוף שמגביל אותם, משא״כ נשמות [שאין להם גוף, כמבואר בלקו״ת ברכה שם] [— כאן]. זה שהם צריכין לעלי׳ הוא לפי שההשגה שלהם מצד עצמה היא בהגבלה. וכמארז״ל הנ״ל שאומר ”יוצאין בשיר” מדבר ביציאה מההגבלה דהגוף [כדוגמת יציאה כפשוטה, שהיא יציאה מהמקום שהי׳ שם (ולא שיוצא מעצמותו)], ועלי׳ זו ד”יוצאין בשיר” היא רק במלאכים (”בעלי השיר”). ולא בנשמות”. עכ״ל שם. מובא גם בד״ה שירו לה׳ שיר חדש — תשל״ה (הנחה בלתי מוגה).
- 14בסידור ערה, ד · ”על ענין המשנה כל בעלי השיר יוצאין בשיר”. וראה בהמ״מ לסה״מ תרל״ג ע׳ רסט.
- 15
3והטעם מפני ששירת המלאכים נשמעת באזני הנביא וכמ״ש ואשמע אחרי קול רעש גדול12 כו׳ בבחי׳ קול ממש וכמ״ש ואשמע את קול כנפיהם3 כקול מים רבים כו׳
The reason is that the song of the angels is heard in the ears of the prophet, as it is written, “And I heard behind me the sound of a great noise…,” in the form of actual sound; and as it is written, “And I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of many waters…”;
The difference is that angelic song is audible: Yechezkel heard it as a real sound, “a great noise” and wings like “many waters.”
ומשמיעים ביראה יחד בקול כו׳ והאופנים ברעש גדול4 כו׳ והיינו לפי שיש להם גופים כמ״ש עושה מלאכיו רוחות.
and “they proclaim in awe, in unison, aloud…,” and “the Ofanim with a great noise…”. That is because they have bodies, as it is written, “He makes His angels winds,
The morning blessing before the Shema describes the angels proclaiming “in unison, aloud” and the Ofanim (a class of angels) “with a great noise.” This is possible because angels have bodies, as the verse calls them “winds” and “fire.”
משרתיו אש לוהט5 דלא קאי על הנשמות שלהם שהנשמות הם בעלי שכל והשגות וכמו נשמת האדם שהיא המשכלת ומשגת ולא שייך לקרוא אותם בשם רוחות ואש לוהט
His ministers flaming fire.” This does not refer to their souls, for the souls are possessed of intellect and comprehension, like the soul of man, which reasons and comprehends, and it would not be fitting to call them by the name “winds” and “flaming fire.”
The Alter Rebbe argues that the verse cannot mean the angels’ souls, since a soul is a thinking, understanding being and would not be called “wind” or “fire.” The words must describe some kind of body.
אלא דקאי על הגופים שלהם וכמ״ש הרמב״ן [הרבי משה בן נחמן]6 שהמלאכים7 יש להם גוף8910 מיסוד הרוח הפשוט ומיסוד האש הפשוט
Rather, it refers to their bodies, as the Ramban writes, that the angels have a body of the simple element of air and of the simple element of fire.
The Ramban writes that angels have bodies made of the simple, spiritual elements of air and fire, not of physical matter. That fits the verse’s “winds” and “flaming fire.”
ולכן המלאכים תופסים מקום שיש מלאך גדול11 מלך ת״ק שנ ויש מלאך בשליש העולם כו׳ והיינו הגוף שלהם גדול כ״כ [כל כך] שהוא בחי׳ מקום.
Therefore the angels occupy space: there is a great angel [the size of] a journey of five hundred years, and there is an angel [that is] a third of the world, etc. That is, their body is so large that it is in the category of space.
Having bodies, angels occupy space: the Gemara describes an angel whose size is a journey of five hundred years and another that is a third of the world. Their body, however refined, is still a measured, spatial thing.
The paragraph explains why angelic song can be heard: angels have bodies of refined air and fire, and so they occupy space and their song takes the form of sound.
The Kehot notes gather opinions on the angels’ bodies: the Iggeres HaKodesh says even the angels of Atzilus have a “body,” the Siddur says every angel has matter and form, rooted in the vessels of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus, and they note that the Rambam’s denial of angelic bodies must refer to physical bodies only, a question left open in Likkutei Sichos.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואשמע אחרי קול רעש גדול · Ezekiel 1:12
- 2
- 3ואשמע את קול כנפיהם · Ezekiel 1:24
- 4ומשמיעים ביראה . . ברעש גדול · ברכת יוצר.
- 5עושה מלאכיו רוחות משרתיו אש לוהט · Psalms 104:4
- 6וכמ״ש הרמב״ן · בסוף שער הגמול. מובא גם בתו״א ד, א. ראה תניא פרק מ. ראה לשון הרמב״ן באוה״ת בראשית כרך ג תקנו, סע״ב.
- 7המלאכים . . לפי שיש להם גופים . . וכמ״ש הרמב״ן · אפילו דאצילות (אגה״ק ס״ך). ראה ע״ח ש״נ פ״ח. וראה ג״כ פרדס שער כד פי״א. פט״ו. וכמש״כ הרמב״ן — (הובא בתו״א ד, ב. לקו״ת צח, א). ומש״כ הרמב״ם בהל׳ יסוה״ת פ״ב, ה״ג (הובא ברמב״ן סוף שער הגמול) ובמו״נ ח״א פמ״ט, עכצ״ל ששולל גוף גשמי. וראה מורה נבוכים ח״ב פ״ו. ובפרדס שער ו, פ״ו. ועדיין צ״ע. — לקו״ש ח״ט ע׳ 405. באוה״ת בראשית כרך ג תקנו, א ומציין לסידור שער הק״ש בד״ה להבין ההפרש בין ק״ש לשמו״ע ”כי כל מלאך יש לו חומר וצורה כמו נפש וגוף, וגם נתבאר ששרש התהוותן הוא מבחי׳ כלים דזו״נ דאצי׳ שנעשי׳ נשמה לע״ס דבי״ע” ע״ש.
- 8המלאכים יש להם גוף · Sefer Etz Chaim 50:9–10
- 9המלאכים יש להם גוף · Pardes Rimmonim 24:15–16
- 10המלאכים יש להם גוף · Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah 2:3
- 11שיש מלאך גדול מהלך ת״ק שנה ויש מלאך בשליש העולם · Chagigah 13a
4ולכן השירה שלהם מתלבשת בחי׳ קול עד שנשמעת לאזני הנביא.1 משא״כ שירת המלאכים אינן נשמעות לפי שאינן בבחי׳ התלבשות הגוף כלל.
Therefore their song is clothed in the form of sound, until it is heard by the ears of the prophet. The song of the angels [apparently: souls], however, is not heard, because they are not in a state of being clothed in a body at all.
Because angels have bodies, their song takes on sound and a prophet can hear it. The second sentence, as printed, speaks of “the song of the angels,” but the argument requires that it apparently read “the song of the souls,” which is not heard because souls have no body.
ולכן אין השירה מתלבשת בבחי׳ קול רק היא בבחי׳ שכל והשגה ולכן לא דיברו הנביאים ממנה.
Therefore their song is not clothed in the form of sound; it is only in the form of intellect and comprehension. That is why the prophets did not speak of it.
The souls’ song is pure understanding and grasp of G‑dliness, not sound. That is why the prophets, who heard sounds from on high, never describe it.
This answers the question of paragraph 2: souls sing, but their song is intellectual and soundless, so Scripture records only the audible song of the angels.
A later discourse cited in the note adds that angels are rooted in the Name Elokim, the vessels, which are measured and limited, while souls are rooted in the Name Havayah, the lights, which are beyond measure.
Marei mekomos
- 1ולכן השירה שלהם . . שנשמעת לאזני הנביא · בד״ה בשעה שעלה תשכ״א מוסיף תוספות ביאור: ”לפי שהמלאכים שרשם משם אלקים בחי׳ הכלים, הרי הכלים הם במדידה והגבלה, משא״כ הנשמות ששרשם משם הוי׳ בחי׳ האורות הרי האורות אינם במדידה והגבלה” ע״ש. ובסה״מ תרנ״ג ותרנ״ד שם.
5וכיוצא בזה מצינו לענין ראיה שהמלאכים נראים ונגלים לעיני בשר זכי הראות כמו באברהם ו ירא והנה שלשה12 כו׳ לפי שיש להם גופים ויכולים להתלבש עד שיתגלו ויתראו משא״כ הנשמות3
Similarly we find regarding sight: the angels are seen and revealed to eyes of flesh whose vision is pure, as with Avraham, “And he saw, and behold, three…,” because they have bodies and can be clothed until they are revealed and become visible; which is not so of the souls.
The same holds for sight: angels can appear to people with pure vision, as the three angels appeared to Avraham as men. Souls cannot, since they have no body to clothe themselves in.
וזהו ענין שאומרים בש״ע [בשמונה עשרה] וקדושים בכל יום יהללוך סלה שמתחלה אומרים סדר קדושה4 של המלאכים איך שאומרים קדוש וברוך5 וימלוך67 ואח״כ אומרים עוד וקדושים בכל יום כו׳
This is the meaning of what we say in the Shemoneh Esreh, “And holy ones praise You every day, selah”: first we say the order of Kedushah of the angels, how they say “Holy,” “Blessed,” and “He shall reign,” and afterwards we say further, “And holy ones every day…,”
The Kedushah of the Amidah first quotes the angels’ praises, “Holy” (Yeshayahu), “Blessed” (Yechezkel) and “He shall reign” (Psalms), and then adds “And holy ones praise You every day, selah.” The Alter Rebbe reads the second phrase as the praise of the souls.
על הנשמות ואומרים כסדר ממטה למעלה תחלה קדושת המלאכים שהם בבחי׳ מקום וזמן שמאחר שהם בבחי׳ מקום מהלך ת״ק שנ ושליש העולם כו׳ הרי הם ג״כ בבחי׳ זמן שהמקום והזמן שניהם הם נבראים בבחינה אחד.
concerning the souls. We say them in order, from below upward: first the Kedushah of the angels, who are within space and time; for since they are within space, [the extent of] a journey of five hundred years and a third of the world, etc., they are also within time, for space and time are both created in a single aspect.
The order goes from lower to higher: first the angels, then the souls. Angels exist in space, and since space and time are created together as one, they exist in time as well.
ולכן יש להם עת קבוע לומר שיר8 כידוע משא״כ הנשמות אין להם בחי׳ זמן ומקום אלא בכל יום תמיד יהללוך וגם סלה בלי הפסק:910
Therefore they have a fixed time to say song, as is known; whereas the souls have no aspect of time and space, but rather “every day” they constantly “praise You,” and also “selah,” without interruption.
So the angels sing only at set times, as the Gemara says. Souls, beyond space and time, praise “every day,” and selah, which the Sages read as “without end,” means their praise never stops.
The paragraph extends the contrast to sight and to time: angels, having bodies, can be seen and sing at fixed times, while souls, without bodies, are invisible and praise G‑d unceasingly, as the Kedushah itself shows.
Or HaTorah notes a difficulty: elsewhere angels are said not to say “He shall reign,” since Malchus is rooted in Asiyah and angels are of Beriah and Yetzirah, yet this maamar lists “He shall reign” in the angels’ Kedushah. The notes also bring a later explanation that angels come from the outer dimension of the vessels, while souls come from their inner dimension, one with the essence of the light.
Marei mekomos
- 1וירא והנה שלשה · Genesis 18:2
- 2ו ירא והנה שלשה · Rashi on Genesis 18:2
- 3להתלבש עד שיתגלו ויתראו משא״כ הנשמות · בסה״מ שם יש כאן ביאור ארוך בענין שרש ההפרש בין נשמות למלאכים הוא מצד שרשן ומקורן ומסיים: ”דמלאכים שרשן מהאור וחיות דחיצונית הכלים שהוא רק בחי׳ הגילוי לבד, ולכן ה״ה באים בבחי׳ התלבשות. משא״כ הנשמות שהם מפנימיות הכלים שמיוחדים ממש עם עצמות האור כנ״ל ה״ה מופשטים מכל בחי׳ חומר וגוף” ע״ש.
- 4קדוש · Isaiah 6:3
- 5וברוך · Ezekiel 3:12
- 6סדר קדושה של המלאכים . . קדוש וברוך וימלוך · באוה״ת פ׳ פנחס כרך ו ע׳ א׳תתקמז כ׳: ”טעם שמלאכים אין אומרים ימלוך משום דמל׳ מקננא בעשי׳ והמלאכים הם בריאה ויצירה. ובתורת חנוכת בהמ״ד דלאדי ע״פ מזמור שיר חנוכת [— הכוונה לכאן] ראיתי כ׳ דמלאכים אומרים ימלוך” עכ״ל.
- 7וימלוך · Psalms 146:10
- 8יש להם עת קבוע לומר שירה · Chullin 91b:13–14
- 9סלה בלי הפסק · Eruvin 4a
- 10וגם סלה בלי הפסק · Eruvin 54a:12–13
The descent of the soul and the Sanctuary ¶6
6ב אך המלאכים שאמרו מה אנוש1 כו׳ עם היות שידעו שמעלת ומדרגת הנשמות היא מאד נעלה ממעלתם ומדרגתם כנ״ל עכ״ז [עם כל זה] הרי הנשמה כמות שהיא היא בלי התלבשות גוף כלל.
2. But the angels who said “What is man…”: although they knew that the stature and level of the souls is very much higher than their own stature and level, as said above, nevertheless, the soul as it is [in itself] is without being clothed in a body at all.
The second section returns to the angels’ accusation. The angels knew the soul is higher than they are, but that is true of the soul in itself, before it enters a body.
אך על ירידתה להתלבש בגוף בעוה״ז אמרו מה אנוש כי מצד הגוף מוכן האדם לחטא וע״כ אמרו שתנתן להם התורה שיש להם ג״כ גוף ונפש והגוף רוחני.
But concerning its descent to be clothed in a body in this world, they said “What is man,” for because of the body man is prone to sin. Therefore they said that the Torah should be given to them, for they too have a body and a soul, and the body is spiritual.
Their objection was to the soul’s descent into a physical body, which makes a person liable to sin. They argued that the Torah belonged with them, who also have body and soul but whose body is spiritual and does not drag them down.
ותשובת הקב״ה היה שנצרך להיות הנשמה שמפנימית העולמות שהיא מצד עצמה מופשטת מחומר גופני לגמרי ושתרד דוקא בגוף גשמי ממש שעי״ז יהיה דירה בתחתונים2345 משא״כ במלאכים.6
And the answer of the Holy One, blessed be He, was that it was necessary that the soul, which is from the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the worlds and which in itself is utterly abstract from bodily matter, should descend specifically into an actual physical body, so that through this there would be a dwelling place among the lower realms; which is not so with the angels.
G‑d’s answer: the whole point is that the soul, drawn from the innermost level of the worlds and itself free of all matter, must come down into a truly physical body. Only in this way does G‑d have a “dwelling place among the lower realms,” which angels, with their refined bodies, cannot provide.
(ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה וייצר7 ה׳ אלקים את האדם עפר8 כו׳ והבהמ״ק [והבית המקדש] נעשה ג״כ מדברים גשמיים והיה בו גילוי9 מבחינה שלמעלה מהשתלשלות ועמ״ש בדבור השני שע״פ מזמור שיר חנוכת)
(And see what is written on this in the discourse beginning “And G‑d, Elokim, formed man, dust…”. And the Beis HaMikdash too was made of physical things, and in it there was a revelation from a level that is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus). And see what is written in the second discourse on “A psalm, a song for the dedication.”)
The parenthesis refers to a discourse in Torah Ohr on the forming of Adam from dust. It adds that the Beis HaMikdash likewise was built of physical materials and yet revealed a level above the whole chain of descending worlds, and refers to a second discourse on this psalm.
והנה כאשר נבנה בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] אז נאמר ולא שמחת כו׳ כי הנה כתיב ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם10 בתוכו לא נאמר
Now, when the Beis HaMikdash was built, then it was said, “And You did not let [my enemies] rejoice….” For it is written, “And they shall make Me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell in their midst”: it does not say “in its midst,”
This is why the building of the Beis HaMikdash silenced the angels. G‑d said “I will dwell in their midst,” not “in its midst”: He dwells in the people, not only in the building.
אלא בתוכם שהשראת השכינה היתה בתוך ישראל עצמם אלא שאעפ״כ [שאף על פי כן] היה צריך לבנות בית מעצים ואבנים כדי שעי״ז יהיה גילוי השכינה בישראל
but “in their midst,” for the resting of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) was within Israel themselves. Yet even so, it was necessary to build a house of wood and stones, so that through this there would be a revelation of the Shechinah in Israel.
The Shechinah rested in Israel themselves, yet a physical house of wood and stone was still needed for that presence to be revealed in them. The building served the people, not the reverse.
וכן עכשיו משחרב בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] נתפשטה הקדושה בכל בהכ״נ [בית הכנסת] ובהמ״ד [ובית המדרש] וכמ״ש ואהי להם למקדש מעט11 כו׳.
And so too now, since the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, the holiness has spread into every synagogue and house of study, as it is written, “And I have been to them a small sanctuary….”
After the Destruction that holiness spread to every synagogue and study hall, which the prophet calls a “small sanctuary.” This prepares the next section on what the resting of the Shechinah is.
The paragraph explains the angels’ objection as aimed at the soul’s descent into a body, and G‑d’s answer that the descent is the purpose, for it makes a dwelling for G‑d below; the physical Beis HaMikdash, and after it the synagogue, express the same idea.
A later discourse cited in the Kehot notes sharpens the point: the limits of the angels’ bodies are not enough, for the dwelling below needs limits of the kind in which an evil inclination is possible. The notes also cite a parallel discussion of how the forming of the human body differed from all other creatures.
Marei mekomos
- 1אמרו מה אנוש · Psalms 8:5
- 2ושתרד דוקא בגוף גשמי ממש שעי״ז יהיה דירה בתחתונים · ”היינו שאינו מספיק המצרים והגבולים של גופות המלאכים כי אם צריך למצרים וגבולים כאלו ששיך בו יצה״ר” — ד״ה בשעה שעלה משה תשכ״א (הנחה).
- 3יהי׳ דירה בתחתונים · תנחומא נשא טז. וראה שם בחקתי ג, ב״ר ספ״ג. במדב״ר פי״ג, ו.
- 4שעי״ז יהיה דירה בתחתונים · Midrash Tanchuma, Nasso 16:1
- 5יהיה דירה בתחתונים · Bamidbar Rabbah 13:6
- 6משא״כ במלאכים · ”שהגוף שלהם הוא דק ורוחני יותר” — בסה״מ תרנ״ג ותרנ״ד שם.
- 7ועמ״ש בד״ה וייצר ה׳ · תו״א ג, ד. בסה״מ תרנ״ג וסה״מ תרנ״ד נעתק הלשון מתו״א בענין שנשתנה יצירת גוף האדם משאר כל הנבראים.
- 8וייצר ה׳ אלקים את האדם עפר · Genesis 2:7
- 9והיה בו גילוי מבחי׳ שלמעלה מהשתלשלות · בסה״מ תרנ״ג וסה״מ תרנ״ד יש כאן ביאור בענין ההפרש בין משכן לבנין שילה.
- 10ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם · Exodus 25:8
- 11ואהי להם למקדש מעט · Ezekiel 11:16
Two kinds of bowing ¶7–8
7ולהבין זה צריך להבין ענין השראת השכינה מה היא והנה אנו אומרים ואין אנו יכולים לעלות ולראות ולהשתחוות לפניך.
To understand this, one must understand what the resting of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) is. Now, we say, “And we are unable to go up and appear and bow down before You.”
To explain how the Beis HaMikdash brought the Shechinah into Israel, the Alter Rebbe starts from a line of the festival Musaf prayer: since the Destruction “we are unable to go up, appear and bow down before You.”
וצריך להבין מהו ולהשתחוות. ולמה אין אנו יכולים בשלמא לעלות ולראות א״א מפני היד כו׳
One must understand what “and bow down” is, and why we are unable. Granted, to go up and appear is impossible because of “the hand…”;
Going up to Jerusalem and appearing in the Temple are plainly impossible now, “because of the hand” that was sent against the Sanctuary, as the same prayer continues. But why should bowing be impossible?
אבל ההשתחואה אפשר להיות בכל מקום לפניו ית׳ כמו ואנחנו כורעים ומשתחוים כו׳. ולמה צריך לזה בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] דוקא.
but bowing can take place in any place before Him, may He be blessed, as in “And we bend the knee and bow down….” Why, then, is the Beis HaMikdash specifically needed for this?
One can bow to G‑d anywhere, as we do daily in the Aleinu prayer, “we bend the knee and bow down.” So why does the prayer say that bowing needs the Beis HaMikdash?
אך הנה יש שני בחינות בהשתחוואה כי הנה ענין ההשתחוואה הוא שמבטל ומכניע א״ע [את עצמו] לפניו ית׳ כמו שמבטל א״ע [את עצמו] לפני המלך ומקבל עליו לעבדו ולשמועו בקולו.
But there are two levels of bowing. For the meaning of bowing is that one nullifies and subdues oneself before Him, may He be blessed, as one nullifies oneself before the king and accepts upon oneself to serve him and to obey his voice.
The answer begins by defining bowing: to set oneself aside and submit to G‑d, as a subject bows to a king and accepts his service and his command. There are, however, two kinds of such submission.
The paragraph asks why the prayer says we cannot bow before G‑d without the Beis HaMikdash, and introduces the answer: there are two levels of bowing.
8והנה יש השתחוואה בבחי׳ חיצוניות שמכניע את הגוף שלא ימרוד אבל עיקר רצון ופנימית הנפש אינה מבוטלת שאעפ״כ [שאף על פי כן] הוא דבר בפ״ע [בפני עצמו] ויש לו רצון אחר ומחשבה אחרת בפ״ע [בפני עצמו] זולת ענין ההכנעה.
Now, there is a bowing on the level of the outer dimension (chitzoniyus), in which one subdues the body so that it will not rebel; but the core of the will and the inner dimension of the soul are not nullified, for even so one is a thing unto oneself and has another will and another thought of one’s own, apart from the matter of submission.
Outer bowing subdues the body and its behavior, but the person remains a separate self with desires and thoughts of his own. He submits, but he is still there.
משא״כ בחי׳ ההשתחוואה בבחי׳ פנימי׳ [פנימיות / פנימית] הוא בחי׳ בטל רצונך מפני1 רצונו שאין לו רצון וחפץ אחר כלל וכמו ברא כרעא כו׳ שהרגל היא בטלה ממש כו׳
Whereas bowing on the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) is the level of “Nullify your will before His will,” in which one has no other will or desire at all, as in “a son is the leg…,” for the leg is utterly nullified, etc.
Inner bowing is the Mishnah’s “Nullify your will before His will”: no will of one’s own remains at all. The Talmudic phrase “a son is the leg of his father” pictures this: a leg has no will of its own and simply goes where the body goes.
והוא השתחוואות הנפש והשתחוואה זו היו מקבלים ישראל ע״י ראיה שלש רגלים בשנה בבהמ״ק [בבית המקדש] ששם היה גילוי שכינה פי׳ שכינה מה ששוכן בתחתונים בבחי׳ גילוי
This is the bowing of the soul. And this bowing Israel would receive through appearing on the three festivals a year in the Beis HaMikdash, where there was a revelation of the Shechinah (Divine Presence); the meaning of “Shechinah” is that which dwells in the lower realms in a revealed manner
This inner bowing Israel received on the three pilgrimage festivals, when they came to “appear” in the Temple where the Shechinah was revealed. The word Shechinah comes from shochen, “dwelling”: G‑d’s presence as it dwells, openly, among the lower realms.
(וקב״ה [וקודשא בריך הוא] קדוש ומובדל כו׳) שעי״ז כל הנשמות מתבטלים כנר בפני האבוקה פי׳ כשדולקת אבוקה גדולה מאד
(while the Holy One, blessed be He, is holy and separate, etc.), through which all the souls are nullified like a candle before a torch. That is: when a very great torch is burning,
The Holy One, blessed be He, as He is in Himself, is holy and set apart; the Shechinah is His presence as revealed below. Before that revelation the souls were nullified like a candle before a torch.
אזי כל נר יחידי הדולק בסמוך לה הולך אורו ונכלל באור האבוקה והיו לאחדים ממש.
then every single candle that burns near it, its light goes and is absorbed into the light of the torch, and they become truly one.
The image: a small flame beside a great torch no longer shows as a separate light; it merges into the torch’s light and they become one. So the soul, in the presence of the revealed Shechinah, merged into its source.
וזהו ולא יראו פני ריקם2 כדרך שבא לראות שהיה ראיה והתגלות פנימית וכתיב פני היינו בחי׳ ממכ״ע [ממלא כל עלמין] וסוכ״ע בחינת יחוד קוב״ה [קודשא בריך הוא] ושכי נתיה ועוד שכל אחד ואחד
This is [the meaning of] “And they shall not appear before Me empty-handed”: in the way that one came to see, for there was a seeing and an inner revelation. And it is written, “My face,” that is, the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin) and the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), the level of the union of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah. Moreover, each and every one
The Sages read the verse “they shall not appear before Me” as also meaning “they shall not see Me”: as one came to see, so one was seen, an inner revelation in both directions. “My face” here means both G‑d’s light that fills all worlds and His light that encompasses them, united as the Holy One and His Shechinah.
מישראל לפום שיעורא דיליה היה מקבל גילוי זה כשהיו עולין לרגל שכולן חייבין בראיה לכך נאמר פני הוי׳ לשון רבים שלכל אחד היה הגילוי לפי ערכו ועיקר הראיה היא ההשתחוואה שהיה משתחווה ויוצא
of Israel would receive this revelation according to his measure when they went up for the festival, for all are obligated in appearing. Therefore it says “the face of G‑d (pnei Havayah)” in the plural, for each one received the revelation according to his level. And the essence of the appearing is the bowing: that one would bow and thereby fulfil [the obligation]
“Faces” is plural because each Jew received the revelation according to his own capacity. The heart of the mitzvah of appearing was the bowing, and by bowing alone one would in principle fulfil the obligation.
(אלא דכתיב ולא יראו פני ריקם) ומשלש רגלים אלו היה מקבל בחי׳ השתחוואה להיות כל השנה בחי׳ ביטול זה כי מכל רגל ויו״ט [ויום טוב] היה נמשך הביטול עד הרגל הבא אחריו.
(except that it is written, “And they shall not appear before Me empty-handed”). And from these three festivals one would receive the quality of bowing so that all year there would be this state of self-nullification, for from each festival and Yom Tov the self-nullification would continue until the next festival after it.
Only the verse’s demand that one not come “empty-handed” adds the offering. The bittul of each festival carried the person through until the next, so that the whole year was lived in that self-nullification.
ומשחרב בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] הגם שאין אנו יכולים להשתחוות עכ״פ [על כל פנים] נתפשטה קדושת הארה זו אפס קצהו במקדש מעט בהכ״נ [בית הכנסת] ובהמ״ד [ובית המדרש]
And since the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, although we are unable to bow, nevertheless the holiness of this illumination, a tiny fraction of it, has spread into the “small sanctuary,” the synagogue and the house of study;
Since the Destruction we cannot bow in the Temple, but a faint glimmer of its holiness has passed to the synagogue and study hall, the “small sanctuary.” This is why the prayer says we are unable to bow: the full inner bowing belonged to the Beis HaMikdash.
והיינו בשעת התפלה שאז האדם מדבק א״ע [את עצמו] לקונו ורוצה לבטל א״ע [את עצמו] נגד המלך מלכו של עולם כל חד לפום
that is, at the time of prayer, when a person cleaves to his Maker and wishes to nullify himself before the King, the King of the world, each one according to
The glimmer is felt in prayer, when a person clings to his Creator and wants to set himself aside before the King of the world, each according to his capacity.
שיעורא דיליה יש בבחי׳ חיצוניות מצד ההכרח שמכריח א״ע [את עצמו] כו׳ ואין תפלתו של אדם נשמעת אלא בבהכ״נ [בבית הכנסת] כו׳ שע״י התפשטות השראת השכינה אשר שם
his measure; [for some] it is on the level of the outer dimension, through the compulsion with which one compels oneself, etc. And a person’s prayer is heard only in the synagogue, etc., because through the spreading of the resting of the Shechinah that is there
For some this is only outer bowing, a matter of forcing oneself. The Talmud’s teaching that prayer is heard only in the synagogue is explained by the Shechinah’s presence spreading there.
(ולכן אכל בי עשרה שכינתא שריא ואומרים דבר שבקדושה כשיש עשרה3 שע״י קיבוץ עשרה שורה כנס״י [כנסת ישראל] דלעילא שהוא בחי׳ כניסות וקיבוץ הנשמות ומקורם) נעשה בחי׳ השתחואה וביטול כנר בפני האבוקה.
(and therefore, “in every [gathering of] ten the Shechinah rests,” and we say a matter of holiness when there are ten; for through the gathering of ten there rests the Knesses Yisrael (Assembly of Israel) above, which is the level of the gathering and assembly of the souls and their source), there comes about a bowing and self-nullification like a candle before a torch.
The Talmudic saying that the Shechinah rests on every gathering of ten, and the law that the Kedushah and similar prayers need ten men, reflect that ten gathered together draw down Knesses Yisrael above, the gathered source of all souls. (The printed אכל apparently reads כל.) Through this presence the person comes to bow and be nullified like the candle before the torch.
והנה ביטול זה הוא בנשמות דוקא שהם מיוחדים ממש כנר באבוקה שנפרד מן הפתילה ונכלל שהרי השכינה היא כנס״י [כנסת ישראל] מקור נש״י [נשמות ישראל] בנים אתם לה׳ אלקיכם4 ברא כרעא דאבוה כו׳
Now this self-nullification is specifically in souls, which are truly united like a candle in a torch, which separates from the wick and is absorbed; for the Shechinah is Knesses Yisrael, the source of the souls of Israel: “You are children to G‑d your G‑d”; “a son is the leg of his father…”.
Only souls can merge like this, as a flame leaves its wick and is absorbed in the torch, because the Shechinah is the very source of the souls. Israel are “children” of G‑d, and like a son who is his father’s leg they are part of Him.
משא״כ המלאכים הם בחי׳ נפרדים שהרי הם מתלבשים בבחי׳ כלים המגבילים וכ״ש [וכל שכן] כשיורדים למטה הרי היו הנפילים כו׳:5
Whereas the angels are in a state of separateness, for they are clothed in limiting vessels; and all the more so when they descend below: behold, “the Nefilim were…”.
Angels, clothed in limiting vessels, stay separate beings. When they come down into this world they can even fall, as the verse about the Nefilim (“the fallen ones”) is read in the Midrash and Zohar.
The paragraph distinguishes outer bowing, which subdues behavior, from inner bowing, which dissolves the self into G‑d, and shows that this inner bowing came from the revealed Shechinah in the Beis HaMikdash, now faintly in the synagogue, and that only souls, not angels, can be nullified in this way.
The Shechinah as Knesses Yisrael, the source of the souls, is Malchus of Atzilus, from which the souls of Israel issue; that is why their nullification in it is a return to their own root, like the candle into the torch, while the angels, who come from the vessels, remain separate.
Marei mekomos
- 1פני הוי׳ · Deuteronomy 16:16
- 2ולא יראו פני ריקם · Exodus 23:15
- 3ואומרים דבר שבקדושה כשיש עשרה · Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 55:1
- 4בנים אתם לה׳ אלקיכם · Deuteronomy 14:1
- 5הרי היו הנפילים · Genesis 6:4
Dedication and the princes’ offerings ¶9–10
9ג והנה כדי להיות השראת השכינה בבהמ״ק [בבית המקדש] ה׳ אמר לשכון12 כו׳ הקדים דוד ושלמה ענין חנוכת הבית.
3. Now, in order for there to be the resting of the Shechinah in the Beis HaMikdash, “G‑d said He would dwell…,” David and Shlomo first carried out the dedication (chanukah) of the House.
The third section explains why a special dedication came first. For G‑d to “dwell” in the Beis HaMikdash, as Shlomo said at its dedication, David and Shlomo first held a chanukas habayis, a dedication of the House.
וענין חנוכה זו הוא מלשון חינוך3 כמו חנוך לנער ע״פ דרכו4 שכשמחנכין אותו ללימוד אין מחנכין אותו בלימוד בלבד שזהו דבר ההוה לו תמיד אלא שמחנכין אותו באיזה תוספת
The meaning of this dedication is from the term chinuch (training), as in “Train a youth according to his way.” When one trains him for study, one does not train him with the study alone, which is a thing that will always be with him, but one trains him with some addition,
Chanukah, dedication, is from the same root as chinuch, training or initiation, as in the verse “Train a youth according to his way.” When one initiates a child into learning, one does not give him only the learning, which will now be his every day.
כמו איזה התקרבות או איזה מתנה וכך הענין בחנוכת בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] ומשכן היה דבר נוסף על התמידים שני כבשים כהלכתם5 שבמשכן התנדבו הנשיאים פר בן בקר כו׳
such as some drawing close or some gift. And so it is with the dedication of the Beis HaMikdash and the Mishkan: there was something added to the daily offerings, “two lambs” as prescribed. For in the Mishkan the princes donated “one young bull…
One adds something extra, some sign of closeness or a gift, to mark the beginning. So too at the dedication of the Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash, there was something beyond the regular daily offering of two lambs: in the Mishkan the princes brought their own special offerings.
ולזבח השלמים6 כו׳ ובבהמ״ק [ובבית המקדש] ויזבח שלמה מאה ועשרים אלף צאן78 כו׳ והוא ענין תוספת אורות עליונים שירדו בגילוי השכינה שלא השכינה בלבד ירדה
and for the peace-offering…”; and in the Beis HaMikdash, “And Shlomo slaughtered a hundred and twenty thousand sheep….” This is the matter of an addition of supernal lights that descended with the revelation of the Shechinah: not the Shechinah alone descended,
At the dedication of the Beis HaMikdash Shlomo offered a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. This extra offering stands for extra supernal lights that came down together with the Shechinah at the start.
but with an addition of supernal lights that descended with it. And see on this at the end of the discourse beginning “This is the dedication of the altar,” and in the discourse beginning “On the twenty-fifth of Kislev.”
The dedication brought down not only the Shechinah that would stay but an additional, higher revelation. The text refers for this to a discourse in Likkutei Torah on Nasso and one in Torah Ohr on Chanukah.
The paragraph explains that the dedication (chanukah) of the Sanctuary was an initiation (chinuch), and like the gift given to a child at the start of learning, its extra offerings drew down extra supernal lights beyond the Shechinah that remained.
The Nasso passage cited in the notes explains that the incense offered at the dedication drew down the encompassing lights (makifim), making possible the regular order of offerings afterwards; that is the “addition” of the dedication.
Marei mekomos
- 1ה׳ אמר לשכון · מ״א ח, יב.
- 2ה׳ אמר לשכון · I Kings 8:12
- 3וענין חנוכה זו הוא מלשון חינוך · ראה תו״א כט, ד. לעיל נשא כט, ב. שער אורה ד״ה בכ״ה בכסלו פל״ז. לקו״ש חכ״ה ע׳ 383 ואילך.
- 4חנוך לנער ע״פ דרכו · Proverbs 22:6
- 5שני כבשים כהלכתם · Numbers 28:3
- 6פר בן בקר כו׳ ולזבח השלמים · Numbers 7:15
- 7ויזבח שלמה מאה ועשרים אלף צאן · מ״א ח, סג.
- 8ויזבח שלמה מאה ועשרים אלף צאן · I Kings 8:63
- 9סד״ה זאת חנוכת המזבח · לעיל פ׳ נשא כט, סע״א.
- 10ובד״ה בכ״ה בכסלו · תו״א כט, ד.
- 11ואומרים דבר שבקדושה כשיש עשרה · שו״ע או״ח רס״י נה.
- 12בנים אתם לה׳ אלקיכם · Deuteronomy 14:1
- 13המלאכים . . כשיורדים למטה הרי היו הנפלים · Zohar I, 23a
Psalm and song ¶10–12
Now, the section of the princes states explicitly in the Torah the offering of each and every prince: “this is the offering of Nachshon,” “this is the offering of Nesanel,” etc.
The Torah’s account of the Mishkan’s dedication lists the offering of each of the twelve princes of the tribes separately, day by day, beginning with Nachshon of Yehudah and Nesanel of Yissachar.
ובכולם כתיב מה היו קרבנותיו עם היות שכולם הקריבו בענין אחד והל״ל [והוה ליה למימר] כן עשה נתנאל כו׳3 וכן עשה כו׳
And for all of them it is written what their offerings were, even though they all offered in the same way. It should have said, “Nesanel did likewise…,” “and likewise did…”.
All twelve offerings were identical, so the Torah could have written the first in full and then said “Nesanel did likewise.” Why does it repeat the same list twelve times?
ולמה צריך לכפול י״ב פעמים את הקרבנות שהיו שוים אלא הענין שנכתב לדורות שגלוי וידוע היה לפניו שעתיד בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] ליחרב
Why was it necessary to repeat twelve times the offerings, which were identical? But the matter is that it was written for the generations, for it was revealed and known before Him that the Beis HaMikdash would in the future be destroyed,
The answer: these verses were written for all generations. G‑d knew the Beis HaMikdash would be destroyed and offerings would cease.
וצריך להיות ונשלמה פרים שפתינו4 וכמארז״ל [וכמאמר רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] כל העוסק בתורת עולה5 כו׳ וכמו שקורין בחנוכה ענין קרבנות הנשיאים67 לפי שבחנוכה היתה ג״כ חנוכת המזבח שהעובדי כוכבים פרצו
and there would have to be “And we will render [for] bulls [the offering of] our lips,” as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Whoever occupies himself with the teaching of the burnt-offering…”; and just as on Chanukah we read the matter of the offerings of the princes, because on Chanukah too there was a dedication of the altar, for the idolaters had made
Then the words of our lips would take the place of bulls, as Hoshea says, and the Sages teach that studying the laws of an offering counts as bringing it. That is also why on Chanukah we read the princes’ offerings: Chanukah too was a dedication of the altar.
י״ג פרצות וכשגברה מלכות בית חשמונאי ונצחום הוצרכו לחינוך לחזור הקדושה ליושנה שבשעת פרצות העובדי כוכבים נסתלקה וע״י קריאת התורה פרשת הנשיאים ממשיכים להיות השראת השכינה כנודע מענין קורא בתורה
thirteen breaches, and when the kingdom of the house of the Hasmoneans prevailed and defeated them, they needed a dedication to restore the holiness to its former state, for at the time of the idolaters’ breaches it had departed. And through the reading of the Torah section of the princes we draw down [that there will] be the resting of the Shechinah, as is known concerning the matter of one who reads the Torah.
The Greeks had made thirteen breaches in the Temple’s lattice wall, and the holiness had left; when the Hasmoneans won they had to rededicate it. Reading the princes’ section draws down the resting of the Shechinah, since reading the Torah draws down what it describes.
ולכן נכפלו הקרבנות י״ב פעמים לכל הי״ב שבטים להמשיך הביטול כנר בפני האבוקה שיש י״ב אבוקות כנגד י״ב שבטים שכל שבט הוא ענין אבוקה בפ״ע [בפני עצמו]
Therefore the offerings were repeated twelve times, for all twelve tribes, to draw down the self-nullification (bittul) like a candle before a torch, for there are twelve torches corresponding to the twelve tribes, each tribe being a torch in its own right.
The twelve repetitions are one for each tribe: each tribe has its own “torch,” its own root above, into which its souls are to be nullified like candles. Each needed its own drawing-down.
(ועד״ז בקי״ס [בקריעת ים סוף] נקרע הים לי״ב גזרים89 בכדי שכל שבט ושבט במסילתו יכוון כל חד לפום שיעורא דיליה כמ״ש בבמ״א וע״ש ברבות פ׳ נשא10 אמרו בקרבנות הנשיאים על קרבן של כל נשיא ענין וכוונה בפני עצמה ע״ש באריכות גדול).
(And similarly, at the splitting of the Sea, the sea was split into twelve parts, so that each and every tribe on its own path might direct [its intention], each according to his measure, as is written elsewhere. And see in Midrash Rabbah, Parshas Nasso: they said concerning the offerings of the princes that each prince’s offering had a meaning and intention of its own; see there at great length.)
In the same way, the Midrash says the Sea split into twelve paths so that each tribe could cross in its own way. And the Midrash on Nasso gives each prince’s identical offering its own distinct meaning and intention.
והנה פי׳ מזמור שיר דהוא כפל לשון. אך הנה יש הפרש בין מזמור לשיר שהזמר והנגון שמזמר בכלי זמר בנבל וכנור11 כו׳ נקרא הניגון ההוא קול זמרה מצד שהוא הקול זמרה היוצא מן הכלי זמר.
Now, the explanation of “A psalm, a song,” which is a doubled expression. But there is a difference between mizmor (psalm) and shir (song): the music and melody that one plays on a musical instrument, on the harp and lyre, etc., that melody is called “the sound of music” (kol zimrah), because it is the sound of music that comes out of the musical instrument.
Now the maamar returns to “A psalm, a song,” which seems to say the same thing twice. Mizmor comes from zemer, instrumental music: the sound that comes out of a harp or lyre.
The paragraph explains why the Torah repeats the princes’ identical offerings twelve times: each tribe needed its own drawing-down of the Shechinah, for all generations and on Chanukah. It then begins to explain “psalm” and “song” as instrumental music and song of the mouth.
Marei mekomos
- 1זה קרבן נחשון · Numbers 7:17
- 2זה קרבן נתנאל · Numbers 7:23
- 3והל״ל כן עשה נתנאל כו׳ · ראה אוה״ת נשא ע׳ רנד ואילך. ובפ׳ במדבר ע׳ לג.
- 4ונשלמה פרים שפתינו · Hosea 14:3
- 5כל העוסק בתורת עולה · Menachot 110a:13–14
- 6וכמו שקורין בחנוכה ענין קרבנות הנשיאים · שו״ע או״ח רס״י תרפד.
- 7שקורין בחנוכה ענין קרבנות הנשיאים · Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 684:1
- 8בקי״ס נקרע הים לי״ב גזרים · ראה תנחומא בשלח י. וש״נ.
- 9בקי״ס נקרע הים לי״ב גזרים · Midrash Tanchuma, Beshalach 10:1
- 10וע״ש ברבות פ׳ נשא · Bamidbar Rabbah 13
- 11שמזמר בכלי זמר בנבל וכנור · ראה גם סידור שער חנוכה רעז, ג. וראה גם באוה״ת בראשית כרך ה תתקו, א. ובכ״מ.
11ושיר הוא בפה הקול היוצא מהפה שאינו מלובש בכלי. וזהו מזמור שיר פי׳ מזמור1 הוא שירת המלאכים העומדים ברומו של עולם שהם מחיצוניות העולמות
And shir is [song] in the mouth: the voice that comes out of the mouth, which is not clothed in an instrument. This is [the meaning of] “A psalm, a song”: mizmor is the song of the angels who stand at the heights of the world, who are from the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of the worlds,
Shir is song of the voice, not clothed in an instrument. So mizmor, instrumental music, stands for the song of the angels, who belong to the outer dimension of the worlds.
שהם בבחי׳ חומר וצורה אור וכלי שהשיר שלהן שמזמרים ומשבחים ומפארים את שם כבוד מלכותו ית׳ בתודה וקול זמרה2 נקרא בחי׳ מזמור מצד שהוא הזמר המלובש בהכלי
who are of matter and form, light and vessel. Their song, in which they sing and praise and glorify the Name of the glory of His kingship, may He be blessed, “with thanksgiving and the sound of music,” is called the level of mizmor, because it is music clothed in the vessel,
Angels are composed of “matter and form,” light and vessel: their song is like music sounding through an instrument, carried by a vessel. The phrase “with thanksgiving and the sound of music” is from Yeshayahu.
שהם בבחי׳ חומר וצורה ולכך לא ימצא בהם ב חי׳ הביטול האמיתי להכלל במקורו כנר בפני האבוקה שהכלי שלהם מעכב ולזאת גם הביטול שלהם נרגש בקול ורעש גדול הכל
for they are of matter and form. Therefore the true self-nullification (bittul), to be absorbed in their source like a candle before a torch, is not found in them, for their vessel holds them back. For this reason their self-nullification too is felt in sound and great noise, all
Because their vessel holds them back, angels cannot reach the complete bittul of a candle absorbed in a torch. That is why their self-nullification is felt as sound and “great noise”: the vessel makes it audible.
מסיבת הכלי ובשיר הוא בחי׳ השיר של הנשמות שבג״ע [שבגן עדן] שיוצאין בשיר ונמשכין בשיר בביטול האמיתי כביטול הנר בפני אבוקה מצד שאינם מלובשים בחומר וכלי כנ״ל ולכך נק׳ השיר שלהם בחי׳ שיר מצד שאינו מלובש בכלי
because of the vessel. And shir is the level of the song of the souls in Gan Eden, who go out with song and are drawn by song in true self-nullification, like the nullification of a candle before a torch, since they are not clothed in matter and vessel, as said above. Therefore their song is called the level of shir, since it is not clothed in a vessel,
Shir, song of the voice alone, is the song of the souls in Gan Eden, who ascend by song in complete self-nullification because they have no vessel. (The printed ובשיר apparently reads ושיר, “and shir.”)
כי אין להם חומריות וכלים כנ״ל (ועמ״ש ע״פ שיר השירים3 וע״פ ובלילה שירה עמי4 בד״ה ויהי מקץ. ועיין בזח״א [בזהר חלק א] ויצא)
for they have no materiality and vessels, as said above. (And see what is written on “The Song of Songs” and on “And at night His song is with me” in the discourse beginning “And it came to pass at the end.” And see Zohar, part 1, Vayeitzei)
Souls have no materiality or vessels. The parenthesis refers to Torah Ohr discourses on the Song of Songs and on “at night His song is with me,” and to the Zohar in Vayeitzei.
(148b), concerning the difference between the song of the Levites and the level of “and Your pious ones shall sing for joy” of the Kohanim, which is a higher level.
The Zohar there contrasts the Levites’ song with the Kohanim’s joyous singing, “Your pious ones shall sing for joy,” a higher level.
ועד״ז יובן מעלת בחי׳ שיר על בחי׳ מזמור. גם בפרדס בעה״כ [בערכי הכינויים] ערך שיר פי׳ כי שיר הוא בחכמה
In the same way the superiority of the level of shir over the level of mizmor will be understood. Also in the Pardes, in [the Gate of] Arkei HaKinuyim, under the entry shir, it explains that shir is in Chochmah (wisdom).
In the same way shir is higher than mizmor. The Pardes of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, in its dictionary of Kabbalistic terms, says that shir is in Chochmah, the level of wisdom.
אך הנה במקדש היה גילוי שכינה מקור הנשמות והמלאכים כמ״ש מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים וגו׳.9
Now, in the Sanctuary there was a revelation of the Shechinah, the source of the souls and of the angels, as it is written, “Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds….”
In the Beis HaMikdash was revealed the Shechinah, G‑d’s kingship, which is the source of both souls and angels; “Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds.”
לכך נאמר בחנוכת הבית מזמור שיר שהיה מתגלה שם שניהם בחינת המזמור של המלאכים והשיר של הנשמות מצד שמקור כולם הוא גילוי שכינה ב״ה שנתגלה במקדש כנ״ל
Therefore it says of the dedication of the House, “A psalm, a song,” for both were revealed there, the level of the mizmor of the angels and the shir of the souls, since the source of them all is the revelation of the Shechinah, blessed be He, which was revealed in the Sanctuary, as said above.
So the psalm of the dedication says both “psalm” and “song”: at the source of both angels and souls, both kinds of song were revealed together.
וכן היה למטה במקדש בשיר של הלוים שנתחלקו לב׳ חלקים מהם היו המשוררים בפה ומהם המזמרים בכלי וכדאיתא פלוגתא בגמרא אם עיקר שירה בפה8 או כלי כו׳ יעו״ש [יעויין שם].
And so it was below, in the Sanctuary, in the song of the Levites, who were divided into two groups: some of them were singers with the mouth and some of them players on instruments; as there is a dispute in the Gemara whether the essence of song is with the mouth or with an instrument, etc.; see there.
This was mirrored in the Levites’ service: some sang with the voice, some played instruments. The Gemara records a dispute over whether the essence of the Temple song is vocal or instrumental.
The paragraph identifies mizmor, music through an instrument, with the angels, whose song passes through a vessel and whose self-nullification is limited and audible, and shir, song of the voice, with the souls, whose self-nullification is complete; the Beis HaMikdash revealed the source of both, and so its psalm says “psalm, song.”
The Zohar passage, brought also in Likkutei Torah, Vaetchanan, sets the Kohanim’s level above the Levites’ song; by the same measure shir stands above mizmor. The Pardes’s placing of shir in Chochmah fits the souls’ root in the inner dimension, above the vessels.
Marei mekomos
- 1וזהו מזמור שיר פי׳ מזמור · ראה ספר השיחות תשמ״ט ח״א ע׳ 394.
- 2בתודה וקול זמרה · Isaiah 51:3
- 3שיר השירים · Song of Songs 1:1
- 4ובלילה שירה עמי · Psalms 42:9
- 5בזח״א ויצא (קמ״ח ב׳) · מובא גם לעיל פ׳ ואתחנן ח, ב.
- 6ועיין בזח״א ויצא) (קמ״ח ב׳) · Zohar, Vayetzei 7:43–8:47
- 7וחסידיך ירננו · Psalms 132:9
- 8אם עיקר שירה בפה או בכלי · Arakhin 11a:2–3
- 9מלכותך מל׳ כל עולמים · Psalms 145:13
12ומ״ש לפעמי׳ [לפעמים] להיפוך שיר מזמור לבני קרח1 כו׳ היינו בהיות המזמור הוא בחיצוניות המלובש בכלי והשיר בפנימית שבלתי כלי
As for what is written sometimes the other way round, “A song, a psalm, of the sons of Korach…”: since the mizmor is in the outer dimension, clothed in a vessel, and the shir in the inner dimension, without a vessel,
Some psalms reverse the order, “A song, a psalm.” Since mizmor is outer and clothed in a vessel, and shir inner and without a vessel, the order shows which way they meet.
ולכך כשמצטרכים להתחבר יחד הוא בב׳ פנים או שהעליון יורד למטה או התחתון מתעלה למעלה ולכך כשנאמר מזמור שיר הוא בחי׳ ההעלאה של המזמור ליכלל בהשיר ולהתחבר בו.
therefore, when they need to join together, it is in two ways: either the higher descends below, or the lower rises above. Therefore, when it says “A psalm, a song,” it is the level of the elevation of the mizmor to be absorbed in the shir and to join with it.
Higher and lower can join in two ways: the higher comes down, or the lower rises up. “A psalm, a song” is the lower, the angels’ mizmor, rising to be absorbed in the higher shir.
ושיר מזמור הוא כשהעליון השיר יורד למטה להתחבר אליו (ובזח״ג [ובזהר חלק ג] ר״פ אחרי) (דנ״ח ע״ב) מאי שיר מזמור2 כו׳ שיר דאיהו כפול כו׳.
And “A song, a psalm” is when the higher, the shir, descends below to join with it. (And in Zohar, part 3, beginning of Parshas Acharei) (folio 58b): “What is ‘A song, a psalm’?… a song that is doubled….”
“A song, a psalm” is the higher shir coming down to the mizmor. The Zohar at the beginning of Acharei asks about “a song, a psalm” and calls it “a song that is doubled.”
וכן מזמור שיר ליום השבת.3 ופי׳ במק״מ [במקדש מלך] שם בשם הרח״ו [הרבי חיים ויטאל] דפי׳ שיר דאיהו כפול היינו יחוד זו״נ [זעיר אנפין ונוקבא] וע״ש ס״פ (דע״ט ב׳)
And so too “A psalm, a song for the Shabbos day.” And the Mikdash Melech there explains in the name of Rabbi Chaim Vital that the meaning of “a song that is doubled” is the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva. And see there, at the end of the parsha (folio 79b),
The Mikdash Melech, a commentary on the Zohar, quotes Rabbi Chaim Vital that the “doubled song” is the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, the divine masculine and feminine. The Zohar also discusses the Shabbos psalm, which opens “A psalm, a song.”
מענין מזמור שיר ליום השבת ובמק״מ [ובמקדש מלך] שם דהמזמור שיר הוא כמ״ש במשנה סוף תמיד ליום שכולו שבת כו׳
concerning “A psalm, a song for the Shabbos day”; and in the Mikdash Melech there, that the “psalm, song” is as it says in the Mishnah at the end of Tamid, “for the day that is entirely Shabbos…,”
The Mikdash Melech links the Shabbos psalm to the Mishnah’s closing words in Tamid, that it is a song for the future, “the day that is entirely Shabbos.”
ואליו מזמרים בחי׳ מזמור שיר והבן ועד״ז הוא ענין מזמור שיר דחנוכת הבית כו׳ גם מזמור הוא לשון זמר והתחלקות כמ״ש וכרמך לא תזמור4
and to Him they sing the level of “a psalm, a song”; and understand this. And in the same way is the matter of “A psalm, a song” of the dedication of the House, etc. Also, mizmor is a term of pruning (zemer) and division, as it is written, “and your vineyard you shall not prune (sizmor),”
Toward that higher Shabbos the lower rises, so it is “A psalm, a song,” and likewise at the dedication of the House. A second meaning: zemer also means pruning, as in “you shall not prune your vineyard.”
שהוא לשון פירוד והתחלקות של הניגון שנחתך לחלקים קטנים בתוך הכלי זמר משא״כ השיר וכמ״כ [וכמו כן] הוא למעלה.5
which is a term of separation and division of the melody, which is cut into small parts within the musical instrument; which is not so with shir. And so too it is above.
Pruning cuts things into pieces, as an instrument breaks the melody into small divided notes; the voice’s shir flows undivided. The same contrast holds above between angels and souls.
The paragraph explains the order “A psalm, a song” as the angels’ mizmor rising to join the souls’ shir, and “A song, a psalm” as the higher descending, with support from the Zohar and its commentators; it adds that mizmor also means division, while shir is undivided.
The Zohar’s “doubled song” and Rabbi Chaim Vital’s reading of it as the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva fit the maamar’s point: mizmor and shir are two levels that must unite, either by ascent from below or by descent from above.
Marei mekomos
- 1שיר מזמור לבני קרח · Psalms 88:1
- 2ובזח״ג ר״פ אחרי) (דנ״ח ע״ב) מאי שיר מזמור · Zohar, Achrei Mot 5:39–6:48
- 3מזמור שיר ליום השבת · Psalms 92:1
- 4וכרמך לא תזמור · Leviticus 25:4
- 5
Dilisani: the soul’s three advantages ¶13–15
13ופי׳ כי דליתני1 שהטעם לכל זה הוא יתרון ומעלות הנשמות על המלאכים ויתרון הזה הוא נרמז במלת דליתני שיש בו ג׳ פירושים.2 הא׳ מלשון התרוממות והתנשאות בבחי׳ למעלה מעלה. והב׳ מלשון דלות ועניות.
And the meaning of “for You have lifted me up (dilisani)”: the reason for all this is the advantage and superiority of the souls over the angels, and this advantage is hinted at in the word dilisani, which has three meanings. The first is from the term of exaltation and elevation, on the level of the very highest. The second is from the term of poverty (dalus) and neediness.
Psalm 30 opens “I will exalt You, G‑d, for You have lifted me up (dilisani).” The Alter Rebbe reads dilisani as hinting at why souls surpass angels, and gives it three meanings: raising up, poverty (dal, poor), and, as the next paragraph says, drawing water.
The paragraph turns to the word dilisani in the psalm and introduces its three meanings as three ways the soul surpasses the angels.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי דליתני · Psalms 30:2
- 2דליתני שיש בו ג׳ פירושים · מובא באוה״ת פ׳ ואתחנן ע׳ שכא.
The third is from the term “he drew, he drew (dalah dalah),” a term of drawing [water]. And all three meanings are true, and they are three advantages that the soul has over the angels.
The third meaning comes from Yisro’s daughters’ account of Moshe: “he drew, he drew (dalah dalah) water for us.” All three readings are true, and each names an advantage of the soul over the angels.
הא׳ מלשון התרוממות והתנשאו ת כי הנשמה היא רמה ונשאה במקורה למעלה שהיא מבחינת פנימית משא״כ המלאכים כו׳ ולזאת השתחוואת הנשמה וביטולה במקורה הוא ביתר שאת כנר בפני האבוקה ממש.
The first, from the term of exaltation and elevation: for the soul is high and exalted in its source above, being from the level of the inner dimension, which is not so of the angels, etc. Therefore the bowing of the soul and its self-nullification in its source are with greater excellence, truly like a candle before a torch.
First, exaltation: the soul’s source is the inner dimension, higher than the angels’. So its bowing and self-nullification in its source are complete, truly a candle merging into a torch.
The paragraph gives the third meaning of dilisani, drawing water, and explains the first advantage: the soul’s source is higher, so its self-nullification is more complete.
Marei mekomos
- 1דלה דלה · Exodus 2:19
15והב׳ מלשון דלות ועניות דהיינו שהנשמה היא ערומה בלי לבוש שאין לה התלבשות גוף וכלי המגביל כלל משא״כ המלאכים שיש להם גופים שהן רוחות ואש לוהט.
The second, from the term of poverty and neediness: that is, the soul is naked, without a garment, for it has no clothing of a body and a limiting vessel at all; which is not so of the angels, who have bodies, which are winds and flaming fire.
The second advantage, from dal, “poor”: the soul is “naked,” with no body or limiting vessel of its own. The angels, by contrast, have bodies, the “winds” and “flaming fire” of the verse discussed at the start.
והג׳ מלשון שאיבה שהנשמות נשאבו ממקור חוצבם מבחינת חכמה ותמלא כדה1 כד מן ים החכמה כ״ד ספרי דאורייתא
The third, from the term of drawing [water]: the souls were drawn from the source from which they were hewn, from the level of Chochmah (wisdom); “and she filled her jug (kadah)”: a jug (kad) from the sea of Chochmah, the twenty-four (kad) books of the Torah.
The third advantage, from dalah, “drawing water”: souls were drawn from their source in Chochmah, the “sea of wisdom.” Rivkah’s “she filled her jug (kad)” is read as a jug drawn from that sea, and kad has the numerical value twenty-four, the number of books of Scripture.
והיינו שיסודתה בהררי קדש2 היא חכמה עילאה מקור התורה שהתורה נשאבה משם כד מן הים וכמ״ש
That is, “its foundation is in the holy mountains,” which is the supernal Chochmah, the source of the Torah, for the Torah was drawn from there, a jug from the sea; and as it is written,
The soul’s foundation is “in the holy mountains,” supernal Chochmah, which is also where the Torah was drawn from. Torah and souls come from the same source.
ותורה שם בישראל3 וכתיב וזאת לפנים בישראל4 ואין זאת אלא תורה5 שהיא מושרשת בנש״י [בנשמות ישראל] במקורם ובפנימיותם ולזאת ראויים הם להשראת השכינה ולקבלת התורה יותר מהמלאכים:
“and He set a Torah in Israel,” and it is written, “And this was formerly in Israel,” and “this” is nothing other than Torah, which is rooted in the souls of Israel, in their source and in their inner dimension (pnimiyus). Therefore they are more fitting than the angels for the resting of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) and for receiving the Torah.
Verses and the Sages’ reading of “this” as Torah show that the Torah is rooted in the innermost core of the souls of Israel. That is why souls, not angels, are fit for the Shechinah to rest among them and to receive the Torah: the answer to the angels’ accusation with which the maamar began.
The closing paragraph gives the second and third advantages of the soul, its freedom from any body of its own and its being drawn, like the Torah, from supernal Chochmah, and concludes that souls are fitter than angels for the Shechinah and the Torah.
The three meanings of dilisani sum up the maamar: the soul’s source is higher than the angels’ (exaltation), it has no body of its own and so its self-nullification is complete (poverty), and it shares its root in Chochmah with the Torah (drawing water).
Marei mekomos
- 1ותמלא כדה · Genesis 24:16
- 2שיסודתה בהררי קדש · Psalms 87:1
- 3ותורה שם בישראל · Psalms 78:5
- 4וזאת לפנים בישראל · Ruth 4:7
- 5ואין זאת אלא תורה · Avodah Zarah 2b:6–7
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
In prayer, and especially in the synagogue and with ten, a person can reach a glimmer of the Beis HaMikdash’s inner bowing: not only to subdue his behavior but to set aside his own will entirely before the King, each according to his measure, like a candle absorbed in a torch.
Questions for discussion
- If the angels knew the soul was higher than they are, what exactly was their objection to man, and how does G‑d’s answer turn their objection into the very reason for man’s creation?
- Why does having a body, even a spiritual one, make the angels’ song audible and bound to time, while the souls’ song is silent and unceasing?
- What is the difference between outer and inner bowing, and what in your own prayer corresponds to each?
- Why were the princes’ identical offerings written out twelve times, and what does that say about each tribe’s, and each person’s, own path?
- How do the three meanings of dilisani together explain why souls, not angels, received the Torah and the Shechinah?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level.
- A dwelling place among the lower realmsדירה בתחתונים
- The purpose of creation: that G‑d be at home in this world. ×1
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×1
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×1
- The Shechinah (Divine Presence)שכינה
- G‑d's presence as it dwells in the world. ×14
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect. ×4
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×3
- The light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin)ממלא כל עלמין
- Divine light that enters each world and gives it life according to its measure.
- The light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin)סובב כל עלמין
- Divine light too great to enter the worlds; it 'surrounds' them and affects them from beyond.
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×9
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×4
- Nukva (the feminine / Malchus)נוקבא
- Malchus as the receiving configuration.
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×2
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×2
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×1