Torah Ohr · Parshas Bereishis · Maamar 11
בעטרה שעטרה לו אמו כי מצות התורה הן…
“With the crown with which his mother crowned him”
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The big idea
The mitzvos, done with lowly physical things, become a crown that draws down G‑d’s will and delight; for now that delight is hidden and brings joy, but in the Time to Come it will be seen and bring true delight.
The maamar in brief
The maamar reads Song of Songs 3:11 phrase by phrase. The “crown” is the 620 commandments, which reach Keser, above the chain of worlds; like gems, prized because inanimate stone shines, the mitzvos draw down Keser because physical matter, refined through them, becomes nullified before G‑d. Following the Mishnah, “the day of his wedding” is the Giving of the Torah, which drew down G‑d’s wisdom and the delight within His will, and “the gladness of his heart” is the Temple. The Alter Rebbe then distinguishes joy from delight: a rich man rejoices over a treasure he cannot see, but delight requires seeing. So the mitzvos now bring joy, since we know G‑d’s delight is in them without grasping it; the Temple and prayer, too, reach only the existence of the light, not its essence. In the Time to Come the delight will be revealed: “and see.” Finally, Malchus is G‑d’s “heart,” circulating life to the worlds and receiving their service back; the sacrifices opened that heart, the Flood generation blocked it (“He was saddened to His heart”), and Noach’s offering reopened it.
Outline
- The crown of mitzvosThe 620 commandments are a crown reaching Keser; like gems, whose worth lies in the marvel of a shining stone, mitzvos done with physical things draw down Keser when matter is refined and nullified.¶1–2
- The wedding and the gladness of heartThe Giving of the Torah drew down G‑d’s wisdom and delight; the Temple is the opening of the heart, while exile is a lovesickness healed by the Torah.¶3
- Joy and delightJoy comes from knowing a hidden good exists, delight only from seeing it; the mitzvos, the Temple and prayer now bring joy, while in the Time to Come G‑d’s delight will be seen.¶4–6
- G‑d’s heart, the Flood and Noach’s offeringMalchus is the heart that gives life to the worlds and receives their service back; sacrifices open it, the Flood generation blocked it, and Noach’s sacrifice reopened it.¶7–8
Key concepts
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: G‑d’s will and delight. The 620 mitzvos (620 is the numerical value of the word keser) draw it down.
- Birur (refinement)בירור
- Elevating physical matter from kelipas nogah by using it for a mitzvah, so that it becomes nullified before G‑d.
- Joy and delightשמחה ותענוג
- Joy is felt over a good one knows exists even when hidden; delight comes only when the good is actually seen.
- Malchus as the heartמלכות — לב
- G‑d’s sovereignty, through which life-force flows to the worlds and to which their service returns, like blood circulating from and back to the heart.
- Mayin nukvin and mayin duchrinמ״ן ומ״ד
- The upward arousal from below and the divine flow downward that answers it; the sacrifices raised the first and drew down the second.
For children · ages 9–13
The crown of mitzvos: joy now, delight later
The big idea
Every mitzvah holds G‑d’s own delight; today we cannot see it, so it brings us joy, and in the Time to Come we will see it.
The maamar explains a verse in the Song of Songs: “With the crown with which his mother crowned him, on the day of his wedding and on the day of the gladness of his heart.” The crown is the mitzvos. A real crown is made of precious stones. A stone is only a lifeless thing, yet when it is polished it shines, and because that is so wonderful, it is placed on the head. Mitzvos are done with ordinary physical things, and when a physical thing is used for a mitzvah, it becomes nullified to G‑d, given over completely to Him. That is a wonder too, so the mitzvos become a crown that reaches Keser, the “Crown,” a level higher than all the worlds. Then the Alter Rebbe teaches that joy and delight are different. Joy can come from knowing that something good is there, even when it is hidden. Delight comes only from seeing it. Today we know that G‑d’s delight is inside every mitzvah, but we cannot see it, so we do the mitzvos with joy. In the Time to Come that delight will be seen.
The mashal
A rich man has a treasure of silver and gold stored far away. He cannot see it, but he knows it is safely there, so he is happy. A father, though, has real delight in his son only when he sees him with his own eyes. So too, we are joyful in the mitzvos now, and we will have delight when G‑d’s delight in them is seen.
Questions for the Shabbos table
- What is the difference between being joyful about something and delighting in it?
- Why does the maamar say that a shining stone is a good picture of a mitzvah done with a physical thing?
- Which mitzvah could you do this week with extra joy, knowing that G‑d’s delight is hidden inside it?
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 crown of mitzvos ¶1–2
1בעטרה שעטרה לו אמו כי מצות התורה הן תרי״ג מצות דאורייתא וז׳ מצות דרבנן שהם תר״ך עמודי אור בחי׳ כתר ועטרה והוא מה שלמעלה מהשתלשלות.
“With the crown with which his mother crowned him”: for the commandments of the Torah are the 613 Biblical commandments and the seven Rabbinic commandments, which are the 620 pillars of light, the level of Keser (the Crown) and a crown; and this is what is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus).
The maamar opens with Song of Songs 3:11, where King Solomon is crowned by his mother. The “crown” is the mitzvos: 613 from the Torah plus the seven Rabbinic ones make 620, the numerical value of the word keser (crown), so the commandments are called 620 “pillars of light.” Keser is the level of G‑d’s will, above the ordered chain of worlds and levels.
והנה עד״מ [על דרך משל] העטרה היא עשויה מאבנים טובות מאירים ומבהיקים מאד והרי גוף האבנים הם רק בחי׳ דומם אלא שמזככים אותם.1
Now, by way of analogy: the crown is made of precious stones that shine and sparkle greatly; yet the substance of the stones themselves is only of the level of the inanimate, except that they are refined.
To show how mitzvos can form such a crown, the Alter Rebbe turns to a real crown. Its jewels glitter, yet in themselves they are only stones, the lowest, inanimate category of creation; they shine only because they have been cut and polished.
The paragraph introduces the verse and identifies the “crown” with the 620 commandments, which reach the level of Keser, above the whole order of worlds; it then begins the analogy of a crown made of inanimate stones that have been refined until they shine.
The same analogy, with the same count of 620 “pillars of light,” is developed in Likkutei Torah, Nasso, where the precious stones set in the king’s crown are compared to the physical mitzvos whose roots reach Keser.
Marei mekomos
- 1
2ולפי שהוא דבר פלא שהדומם כאבן יאיר1 כ״כ [כל כך] ע״כ [על כן] הם יקרים מאד ולכך ניתן לתכשיט על הראש אעפ״י [אף על פי] שהראש מעלתו נכבדת להיות שבו שוכן אור החכמה כו׳
And because it is a wondrous thing that something inanimate, like a stone, should shine so much, therefore they are very precious; and so it is placed as an ornament on the head, even though the head is of honored standing, since in it dwells the light of Chochmah (wisdom), etc.
Why are gems so precious? A candle that gives light is nothing new, but a lifeless stone that gives light is a marvel. That is why a gem sits on the head, even though the head is the noblest part of the body, the seat of the mind: something even higher than the mind rests on it.
וכך המצות נעשים בענינים גשמיים מבחי׳ ק״נ [קליפת נוגה] אלא ע״י הבירור נעשה זה דבר הפלא שהיש גשמי יהיה בטל לכן נעשה מזה עטרה ובחי׳ המשכת הכתר והוא לעילא מן שמשא כו׳:
So too, the commandments are performed with physical things, from the level of kelipas nogah; but through the refinement (birur) this wondrous thing comes about: that the physical “something” becomes nullified. Therefore a crown is made from this, and the level of the drawing down of Keser, which is “above the sun,” etc.
The analogue: mitzvos are done with physical things such as wool, leather and food, which belong to kelipas nogah, the neutral realm that can go either to holiness or to its opposite. When a mitzvah refines that material, the physical, self-standing “something” becomes nullified before G‑d, and this marvel is what draws down Keser. “Above the sun” (an Aramaic phrase) means above nature, in contrast to what is “under the sun.”
The paragraph completes the analogy: just as the marvel of a shining stone makes gems worthy of the head, the marvel of physical matter becoming nullified to G‑d through a mitzvah makes the mitzvos a crown that draws down Keser, a level above nature.
Placing the crown above the head (Chochmah) parallels Keser standing above Chochmah in the order of the Sefiros. The greatest light comes precisely from the lowest material, a recurring Chassidic theme that the lowest things have the highest root.
Marei mekomos
- 1ולפי שהוא דבר פלא שהדומם כאבן יאיר · במאמרי אדה״ז על מארז״ל ע׳ קו מסביר זה ”כי כשהנר מאיר אין זה חידוש כלל, אך כשהאבן שהוא בחי׳ דומם מאיר הוא דבר חידוש גדול”. וראה גם לקו״ת נשא כג, ג.
The wedding and the gladness of heart ¶3
3ביום חתונתו זו מ״ת [מתן תורה]1 כבר מבואר למעלה הטעם שנק׳ ביום חתונתו שהיא המשכת ח״ע [חכמה עילאה] מוחא כו׳
“On the day of his wedding” — this is the Giving of the Torah. It has already been explained above why it is called “the day of his wedding”: that it is the drawing down of supernal Chochmah, the “brain,” etc.
The Mishnah reads the next words of the verse: “the day of his wedding” is the Giving of the Torah. An earlier maamar explained that the Torah draws down supernal Chochmah, G‑d’s own wisdom, called the “brain.”
ובזה מתלבש כח התענוג שהוא פנימי׳ [פנימיות / פנימית] הרצון כנ״ל. ושמחת לבו זה בנין בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] פי׳ פתיחת הלב נק׳ שמחת לבו
And in this is enclothed the power of delight, which is the inner dimension of the will, as mentioned above. “And [on the day of] the gladness of his heart” — this is the building of the Holy Temple. That is, the opening of the heart is called “the gladness of his heart,”
Within that wisdom is clothed G‑d’s delight, which is the innermost core of His will. The Mishnah continues: “the gladness of his heart” is the building of the Holy Temple. Gladness, the Alter Rebbe says, means the heart opening up.
משא״כ בגלות נק׳ חולת אהבה שאין הסיבוב והילוך רוח החיים מהלב אל האברים כדבעי וע״כ [ועל כן] אומרת סמכוני כו׳ ע״י התורה שנק׳ רפואה כנ״ל.2
whereas in exile [she] is called “sick with love,” for the circulation and flow of the spirit of life from the heart to the limbs is not as it should be; and therefore she says, “Sustain me,” etc. — through the Torah, which is called healing, as mentioned above.
In exile the Jewish people, the bride of the Song of Songs, is “sick with love”: like a body whose blood does not circulate properly from the heart to the limbs. So she asks, “Sustain me,” and the remedy is the Torah, which an earlier maamar explained is called healing.
The paragraph moves to the next phrases of the verse, following the Mishnah’s reading: the wedding is the Giving of the Torah, in which G‑d’s wisdom and delight are drawn down, and the gladness of heart is the Temple, when the heart is open; in exile the heart is blocked and the Torah is its cure.
The contrast between an open heart and a blocked circulation prepares the heart-and-limbs analogy that paragraphs 7 and 8 apply to Malchus and the worlds.
Marei mekomos
- 1ביום חתונתו זו מ״ת · Mishnah Ta'anit 4:8
- 2
Joy and delight ¶4–6
4והנה התענוג והשמחה לכאורה ענין א׳ הם אבל באמת ב׳ ענינים המה כי עד״מ [על דרך משל] עשיר שיש לו מטמון
Now, delight and joy seem to be one matter, but in truth they are two matters. For, by way of analogy, a rich man who has a treasure
The Alter Rebbe now distinguishes two feelings that seem alike: delight (taanug) and joy (simchah). He illustrates with a rich man and his treasure.
כסף וזהב באוצרו הוא שמח וטוב לב אעפ״י [אף על פי] שאינו רואה אותו וגם אעפ״י [אף על פי] שהממון רחוק ממנו כמה מאות פרסאות.
of silver and gold in his storehouse is joyful and glad of heart even though he does not see it, and even though the money is several hundred parsaos away from him.
A rich man is happy about his hoard even when he is not looking at it and even when it is hundreds of parsaos away (a parsah is an ancient measure of distance, several kilometers).
אך להיותו יודע שישנם בשלימות בודאי אעפ״י [אף על פי] שמכוסה ונעלם הוא מעיניו עתה ישמח לבו מאד וזהו ענין ומהות השמחה שיכול להיות על הטוב אף כשהוא נעלם ומכוסה מעיניו.
But because he knows that it is certainly there, whole, even though it is covered and hidden from his eyes now, his heart rejoices greatly. And this is the matter and essence of joy: that it can be over the good even when it is hidden and covered from one’s eyes.
What makes him glad is the knowledge that the treasure is surely there and intact. That is the nature of joy: it can be felt over something good that is out of sight.
אבל ענין התענוג והשעשועים אינו אלא דוקא כשרואה הדבר שמתענג ממנו בעיניו ממש כמו שעשוע האב עם בנו הוא דוקא כשרואהו בעיניו
But delight and delectation come only when one sees with one’s very eyes the thing in which one delights — like a father’s delight in his son, which is specifically when he sees him with his eyes;
Delight is different: it needs the thing itself to be seen. A father takes delight in his child when the child is in front of him.
משא״כ מרחוק אינו שייך תענוג רק שמחה ולכן מברכין ברכת הראיה כשרואה אדם החביב לו1 כו׳.
whereas from afar delight does not apply, only joy. And therefore one says the blessing over seeing when one sees a person dear to him, etc.
From a distance there can be joy but not delight. This is why the Sages instituted a blessing when one sees a dear friend after a long absence: the seeing itself brings a new delight.
The paragraph sets out the key distinction of the maamar: joy can come from knowing that a hidden good exists, while delight comes only from actually seeing it.
Marei mekomos
- 1מברכין ברכת הראיה כשרואה אדם החביב לו · Berakhot 58b
5והנמשל יובן בענין שמחה של מצוה דהנה טעמי תורה לא נתגלו עתה שאין עתה הגילוי רק שכך רצונו ית׳.
The analogue will be understood in the matter of the joy of a mitzvah. For the reasons of the Torah have not been revealed now; for now there is no revelation, only that such is His will, blessed be He.
Now the analogy is applied to the joy of doing a mitzvah. At present we do not know the inner reasons of the mitzvos; we do them because this is G‑d’s will.
ולע״ל [ולעתיד לבוא] יתגלו טעמי תורה בחי׳ ענג עליון שיש בכל מצוה אמנם גם עתה ידוע לנו שמלובש ונמשך בהמצוה מבחי׳ תענוג העליון
And in the Time to Come the reasons of the Torah will be revealed — the level of supernal delight that is in every mitzvah. However, even now it is known to us that [something] of the level of the supernal delight is enclothed and drawn down into the mitzvah,
In the Time to Come (the era of Moshiach) those reasons will be revealed, and they are G‑d’s own delight in each mitzvah. Even now we know that this delight is clothed in the mitzvah.
רק שאין מהותו מושג ולכן יכול להיות מזה בחי׳ שמחה גדולה וכמ״ש בשמחה ובטוב לבב מרוב כל.1
only its essence is not grasped; and therefore great joy can come from this, as it is written, “with joy and with gladness of heart, from the abundance of everything.”
We know it is there but cannot grasp what it is, like the rich man with his hidden treasure; that knowledge can bring great joy. Hence the Torah demands service of G‑d “with joy and with gladness of heart.”
כמו שהעשיר שמח מהמטמון אף שאינו רואהו בעיניו כו׳. אך לע״ל [לעתיד לבוא] יתגלה מהות התענוג העליון וזהו ישקני מנשיקות פיהו.2
Just as the rich man rejoices over the treasure even though he does not see it with his eyes, etc. But in the Time to Come the essence of the supernal delight will be revealed; and this is “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.”
In the future, the delight itself will be revealed, and this is the meaning of “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth”: an intimate, direct closeness in place of knowing from afar.
The paragraph applies the analogy: in the present a mitzvah brings joy, because we know without seeing that G‑d’s delight is within it; in the Time to Come that delight will be revealed and experienced directly.
Joy corresponds to knowing that something exists; delight, to perceiving what it is. The same pair, existence versus essence, is used in the next paragraph for the Temple and for prayer.
Marei mekomos
- 1בשמחה ובטוב לבב מרוב כל · Deuteronomy 28:47
- 2ישקני מנשיקות פיהו · Song of Songs 1:2
6ולכן בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] נק׳ שמחת לבו שהיה האור ג״כ מוסתר בארון וכפורת כו׳. וכן תפלה באהוי״ר [באהבה ויראה] הוא ג״כ רק השגת המציאות ולא המהות.
And therefore the Holy Temple is called “the gladness of his heart,” for there too the light was hidden in the Ark and the Kapores (the Ark’s cover), etc. And likewise prayer with love and awe is also only a grasp of the existence, and not of the essence.
This explains why the Temple is called only “the gladness of his heart” and not his delight: even there the divine light was concealed within the Ark and its cover. Likewise, love and awe in prayer reach only the knowledge that G‑d is there, not a perception of what He is; so they bring joy, not delight.
אך ביום חתונתו זו מתן תורה נמשך בחי׳ תענוג אלא שמ״מ [שמכל מקום] עכשיו אין התענוג בגלוי
But “on the day of his wedding” — this is the Giving of the Torah — the level of delight was drawn down; except that, nevertheless, now the delight is not revealed,
At the Giving of the Torah, “the day of his wedding,” G‑d’s delight itself was drawn down into the Torah and mitzvos; yet at present it is not openly revealed.
שמלובש ג״כ בהתלבשות בענינים גשמיים כ״א [כי אם] לע״ל [לעתיד לבוא] יתגלה מתוך הלבושים וע״ז [ועל זה] נאמר וראנה1 בבחי׳ ראי׳ [ראיה] ממש כמ״ש ולא יכנף עוד2 כו׳ והיו עיניך רואות כו׳:
for it too is enclothed in a garment, in physical things; rather, in the Time to Come it will be revealed from within the garments. And about this it is said “and see,” in the sense of actual seeing, as it is written, “And [your Teacher] will no longer hide [Himself],” etc., “and your eyes shall see,” etc.
It is hidden in the physical garments of the mitzvos, and in the future it will shine out of them. That is why the verse says “go out and see”: actual seeing, as Isaiah promises that G‑d will no longer be hidden and “your eyes shall see.”
The paragraph ranks the stages: the Temple and prayer give joy over a hidden light; the Giving of the Torah drew down the delight itself, though it is still clothed in physical mitzvos; in the Time to Come it will be seen openly.
Marei mekomos
- 1וראנה · Song of Songs 3:11
- 2ולא יכנף עוד · Isaiah 30:20
G‑d’s heart, the Flood and Noach’s offering ¶7–8
7ועפ״ז [ועל פי זה] יובן המדרש (בפ׳ בראשית פ׳ כ״ז) ע״פ ויתעצב אל לבו1 אמר רבי ברכיה משל למלך שבנה פלטין ע״י אדריכל ראה אותה
According to this, the Midrash (on Parshas Bereshis, section 27) will be understood, on the verse “and He was saddened to His heart”: Rabbi Berechiah said: A parable of a king who built a palace through an architect; he saw it
The Alter Rebbe now applies the theme of G‑d’s “heart” to a Midrash in Bereshis Rabbah on Genesis 6:6, where G‑d, seeing the corruption before the Flood, “was saddened to His heart.”
ולא ערבה לו על מי יש לו להתכעס לא על אדריכל2 כך ויתעצב אל לבו עכ״ל [עד כאן לשונו].
and it did not please him. With whom should he be angry, if not with the architect? So too, “and He was saddened to His heart.” End of quote.
Rabbi Berechiah’s parable: a king whose palace, built by an architect, displeases him blames the architect. So G‑d was grieved “to His heart”: the heart is, so to speak, the architect of the world.
כי ממש״ל [ממה שכתוב לעיל] בענין וביום שמחת לבו זה בנין בהמ״ק [בית המקדש]3 שמדת מלכותו ית׳ נקראת לב שממנו נמשך החיות לכל האברים
For, according to what was explained above regarding “and on the day of the gladness of his heart — this is the building of the Holy Temple”: that His attribute of Malchus (sovereignty), blessed be He, is called “heart,” from which life-force is drawn to all the limbs,
To explain the parable he recalls paragraph 3: G‑d’s Malchus (sovereignty), the attribute through which He creates and rules the worlds, is called “heart,” because like a heart it sends life to all the limbs.
ואח״כ [ואחר כך] חוזרים הדמים מכל האברים אל הלב כך בחי׳ מלכותך הוא מכ״ע [מלכות כל עולמים]4 שממנה נמשך השפעת החיות לבי״ע [לבריאה יצירה עשיה] והוא בחי׳ ממכ״ע [ממלא כל עלמין]
and afterwards the blood returns from all the limbs to the heart. So too the level of “Your Kingship” is “the kingship of all worlds,” from which the flow of life-force is drawn to [the worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah; and this is the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin).
In a body the blood also returns from the limbs to the heart. Likewise Malchus, “Your Kingship, the kingship of all worlds,” sends life-force to the three lower worlds, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah; this is the light that fills all worlds, which gives life to each according to its measure.
ואח״כ [ואחר כך] עולה האתעדל״ת [האתערותא דלתתא] מבי״ע [מבריאה יצירה עשיה] לבחי׳ מלכות ואתעדל״ת [ואתערותא דלתתא] זו הוא מ״ש ואהבת את הוי״ה אלקיך בכל לבבך5 כו׳
And afterwards the arousal from below rises from Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah to the level of Malchus; and this arousal from below is what is written, “And you shall love Havayah your G‑d with all your heart,” etc.
The return flow is the “arousal from below”: human service rising from those worlds back to Malchus. Its model is loving G‑d “with all your heart,” the human heart answering the divine “heart.”
ולכן בנין בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] שבו מקריבים הקרבנות שהוא ענין העלאת מ״ן [מיין נוקבין] מבירור ק״נ [קליפת נוגה] ונפש הבהמית נק׳ שמחת לבו שהשמחה היא פתיחת הלב שעי״ז המ״ן [המיין נוקבין] נמשך מ״ד [מיין דוכרין] מבחי׳ סוכ״ע [סובב כל עלמין] בממכ״ע [בממלא כל עלמין].
And therefore the building of the Holy Temple, in which the sacrifices are offered — which is the raising of mayin nukvin from the refinement of kelipas nogah and the animal soul — is called “the gladness of his heart”; for gladness is the opening of the heart, through which the mayin nukvin draws down mayin duchrin from the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) into the light that fills all worlds.
The Temple sacrifices were such a return: elevating mayin nukvin (“feminine waters,” the upward striving of the lower) by refining physical animals and the animal soul. That is why the Temple is “the gladness of his heart”: gladness opens the heart, and in response mayin duchrin (“masculine waters,” the divine flow downward) is drawn from the light that encompasses all worlds into the light that fills them.
The paragraph explains why the Temple is called the gladness of G‑d’s “heart”: Malchus is the heart that gives life to the worlds and receives their service back, and the sacrifices, raising the refined physical world, open that heart so that the higher, encompassing light flows into the worlds.
Mayin nukvin and mayin duchrin are Kabbalistic terms for the upward arousal from the recipient and the downward response from the giver. The two-way circulation of the heart models the relationship of Malchus with Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויתעצב אל לבו · Genesis 6:6
- 2ויתעצב אל לבו אמר רבי ברכיה משל למלך שבנה פלטין ע״י אדריכל ראה אותה ולא ערבה לו על מי יש לו להתכעס לא על אדריכל · Bereshit Rabbah 27:4
- 3ושמחת לבו זה בנין בהמ״ק · Mishnah Ta'anit 4:8
- 4מלכותך הוא מכ״ע · Psalms 145:13
- 5ואהבת את הוי״ה אלקיך בכל לבבך · Deuteronomy 6:5
8ולכן ההפוך מזה היה בדור המבול שהיו מכעיסין ובאין. ה״ז [הרי זה] עד״מ [על דרך משל] כמו שיש ח״ו [חס ושלום] קלקול בהאברים המונע סיבוב והילוך הדם מהלב אל האברים ומהאברים אל הלב כו׳ ועי״ז לא נמשך ג״כ מהמוח בהלב ונפסק הקשר כו׳.
And therefore the opposite of this took place in the generation of the Flood, who kept provoking [Him]. This is, by way of analogy, like when there is, G‑d forbid, a damage in the limbs that prevents the circulation and flow of the blood from the heart to the limbs and from the limbs to the heart, etc.; and through this [the flow] from the brain into the heart is not drawn either, and the connection is cut off, etc.
The generation of the Flood did the opposite of the Temple’s service: instead of raising their hearts to G‑d they kept provoking Him. In the analogy, a damaged limb blocks circulation in both directions, and then the brain’s influence no longer reaches the heart either.
וכך הוא ענין ויתעצב אל לבו שלא נמשך האור בגילוי מבחי׳ סוכ״ע [סובב כל עלמין] אל בחי׳ ממכ״ע [ממלא כל עלמין] הוא בחי׳ מלכות כו׳.
And this is the meaning of “and He was saddened to His heart”: that the light was not drawn in revelation from the level of the light that encompasses all worlds to the level of the light that fills all worlds, which is the level of Malchus, etc.
This is the meaning of “He was saddened to His heart”: the higher, encompassing light was no longer drawn openly into Malchus, the light that fills all worlds, since the upward flow from below had stopped.
ולכן בפ׳ נח אחר שהקריב קרבן וכתיב וירח ה׳ את ריח הניחוח1 כתי׳ [כתיב] ויאמר ה׳ אל לבו כו׳ והוא ע״ד [על דרך] מעין שנקרא בנין בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] מקום הקרבנות שמחת לבו כנ״ל:2
And therefore in Parshas Noach, after he offered a sacrifice, and it is written, “And G‑d smelled the pleasing fragrance,” it is written, “And G‑d said to His heart,” etc. And this is in the manner of a likeness of what is called the building of the Holy Temple, the place of the sacrifices, “the gladness of his heart,” as mentioned above.
After the Flood Noach offered a sacrifice, G‑d smelled its pleasing fragrance, and the verse says “G‑d said to His heart” that He would not again curse the earth. Noach’s offering restored the flow and was a small likeness of the Temple, the place of sacrifices, “the gladness of his heart.”
The paragraph completes the reading of the Midrash: the Flood generation blocked the circulation between the worlds and G‑d’s “heart,” while Noach’s sacrifice reopened it, a foretaste of the Temple.
The Kehot note records that the whole section from paragraph 7 (“According to this…”) to here is missing in the manuscript Bukh 35, which has instead a passage on why the Torah is called healing: study as a preventive cure, teshuvah as the cure after damage, and Torah studied for its own sake, which draws new light and heals like teshuvah.
Marei mekomos
- 1וירח ה׳ את ריח הניחוח · Genesis 8:21
- 2ועפ״ז . . שמחת לבו כנ״ל · כל הקטע ליתא בבוך 35 [ובאוה״ת שה״ש כרך ג ע׳ תתקכב בכמה שינויים ע״ש], ובמקומו נמצא קטע דלהלן: עוד י״ל בדרך אפשר [באוה״ת שם — בדרך אחר] שהתורה נק׳ רפואה דהנה כתיב כל המחלה כו׳ לא אשים כו׳ כי אני ה׳ רופאך והקשו אם לא אשים החולי רפואה למה, והתירוץ הוא כמו מלך ישר [באוה״ת שם — או שר] מחזיק אצלו רופא המורה לו הנהגה טובה שלא יבא לידי חולי ר״ל, וזהו נקרא ג״כ בלשון רפואה וזהו הרפואה ע״י התורה, אך אם כבר הגיע הקלקול אזי הרפואה ע״י התשובה, וב׳ הדרכים אמת שיש תורה ויש תורה ע״ד מעיקרא כי קעביד אינש אדעתי׳ דנפשי׳ קעביד היא רק רפואה ע״ד הב׳, אבל יש בחי׳ עוסק בתורה לשמה ואז ממשיך אור חדש ממש, [באוה״ת שם נוסף — כמ״ש ממושבותיכם תביאו כו׳ לכן היא רפואה] לכן רפואה כמו תשובה דכמו שתלמוד מביא לידי מעשה כך ג״כ לידי תשובה, והאור שבתורה מחזירו למוטב, וב׳ הבחי׳ אלו שבתורה נק׳ גשם וטל כמ״ש יערוף כמטר כו׳ ותיזל כטל.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
A person should serve G‑d with great joy in the mitzvos, knowing that G‑d’s own delight is clothed in them even though it is not yet seen; and by refining physical things through mitzvos and loving G‑d “with all your heart,” one raises an arousal from below that opens the flow of divine light into the world.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the maamar say that a gem’s value lies in the marvel of a stone that shines, and how does this explain the power of physical mitzvos?
- What is the difference between joy and delight, and why can the mitzvos now bring only joy?
- Why are both the Temple and prayer with love and awe described as grasping only the existence of the light and not its essence?
- How does the analogy of the heart and the circulation of blood explain “He was saddened to His heart” and G‑d’s response to Noach’s sacrifice?
Key terms in this maamar
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×2
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×1
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×1
- Delightתענוג
- Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×8
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level.
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×1
- Love and aweאהבה ויראה
- The two 'wings' of divine service.
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×2
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×2
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence.
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions.
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one.
- 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 Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×1
- 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.