Torah Ohr · Parshas Bereishis · Maamar 9
יבל הוא היה אבי יושב אהל ומקנה
“Yaval — he was the father of those who dwell in tents”
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The big idea
Every ascent to a higher level comes through “song,” the nullification of one’s existing self, as a seed must rot before it sprouts. Yuval with his harp is that song; Yaval, “father of tent-dwellers and cattle,” is its source, an encompassing light beyond division that can be drawn down even into the lowest things.
The maamar in brief
The maamar reads the verses about Lamech’s sons, Yaval and Yuval, through the Mishnah “all that have a shir go out with the shir,” taking shir as “song.” Song is bittul, the nullification of one’s “something”: nothing rises to a new level unless it first becomes “nothing,” like a seed that must decompose before it grows. Souls and angels ascend from one comprehension to a greater one only by setting aside the first; this is the “pillar” joining the lower and higher Gardens of Eden, and the reason song accompanied the Temple sacrifices. Nullification has grades — a single song of bare self-effacement, and double, triple and quadruple songs blended with love, awe and compassion — illustrated by the pillar’s colors, the four winds and the sun’s daily circuit. Yuval, “the one who conveys,” is this song that carries upward. Yaval is its source: the “tent” G‑d set for the sun, an encompassing light in which everything blends and which, having no above and below, reaches even to “cattle,” as Jacob, who dwelt in tents, drew that lofty level into his shepherding.
Outline
- Song as the way of ascent“All that have song go out with song”: every ascent requires nullifying one’s existing self and comprehension, like a seed that rots before it grows; this is the pillar between the Gardens of Eden and the song at the sacrifices.¶1–2
- Grades of songSingle, double, triple and quadruple song: bare nullification, or nullification blended with love, awe and more, illustrated by the pillar’s colors, the four winds and the sun’s path.¶3
- Yuval: the harp that carries upwardYuval, from “conveying,” is song, which carries the soul upward.¶4
- Yaval: the tent and the cattleThe “tent” is an encompassing light, the source of nullification; being beyond division, it reaches down even to “cattle,” as with Jacob the tent-dweller who became a shepherd.¶5
Key concepts
- Songשיר
- In this maamar, the self-nullification by which a soul or angel leaves its present level and rises to a higher one.
- Nullification of the “something”ביטול היש
- Setting aside one’s existing self and understanding; a new, greater “something” can come only from a state of “nothing.”
- The pillar in the Garden of Edenעמוד שבין ג״ע התחתון לג״ע העליון
- The Zohar’s pillar by which souls rise from the lower to the higher Garden of Eden; here it is the state of nullification itself.
- Single, double, triple and quadruple songשיר פשוט, כפול, משולש, מרובע
- Grades of nullification: bare self-effacement, or self-effacement blended with one, two or more emotions such as love, awe and compassion.
- Encompassing lightמקיף
- Light that surrounds rather than enters, symbolized by the “tent”; it is above division, blends everything, and so can be drawn even to the lowest levels.
For children · ages 9–13
Rising higher through song
The big idea
To grow closer to G‑d we must first set aside what we already are, and this humble setting aside is the “song” that lifts us higher.
The Torah tells of two brothers: Yaval, “the father of those who dwell in tents and keep cattle,” and Yuval, “the father of all who play the harp and the pipe.” The maamar explains them with a teaching of our Sages: “All that have song go out with song.” Here “song” (shir) means bittul, setting ourselves aside before G‑d. Nothing can rise to a new, higher level while it holds on to what it already is. Even souls and angels, to understand G‑d more deeply, must first let go of their earlier understanding. That is why the Levi’im sang when an offering was brought in the Beis HaMikdash: an offering goes up, and going up needs song. Some song is plain humility; some is joined with love of G‑d, or with awe, or with both. Yuval, whose name means “one who carries,” is this song that carries a person upward. Yaval is its source: the “tent,” a light that surrounds everything and is not divided into high and low. Because of this, it can reach even the “cattle,” the plainest things, just as Yaakov, who “dwelt in tents,” brought that holiness into his work as a shepherd.
The mashal
A seed planted in the ground must first rot and stop being a seed. Only then does a new plant grow from it, with many more seeds than before. So too a person must first set aside their old self to grow into something greater.
Questions for the Shabbos table
- Why must something let go of what it already is before it can rise higher?
- What does the seed in the ground teach us about growing in our learning and our Yiddishkeit?
- How can you bring the feeling of davening or learning into an ordinary job this week, the way Yaakov did as a shepherd?
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.
Song as the way of ascent ¶1–2
1יבל הוא12 היה אבי3 יושב אהל ומקנה. ושם אחיו יובל הוא היה אבי כל תופש כנור ועוגב. הנה ארז״ל [אמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] כל בעלי השיר יוצאין בשיר4 כו׳.
“Yaval — he was the father of those who dwell in tents and [keep] cattle. And his brother’s name was Yuval; he was the father of all who handle the harp and the pipe.” Now, our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “All that possess song (shir) go out with song,” etc.
The maamar opens with the verses about Lamech’s sons: Yaval, “father of those who dwell in tents and [keep] cattle,” and his brother Yuval, “father of all who handle the harp and pipe.” It then cites a Mishnah on which animals may go out on Shabbos, “all that have a shir go out with the shir”: in the Mishnah a shir is a chain collar, but the Alter Rebbe reads the word in its other sense, “song.”
פי׳ שכל בחי׳ העלאה ממהות למהות כמו מג״ע [מגן עדן] התחתון לג״ע [לגן עדן] העליון וכדומה הוא ע״י השיר
The meaning: every elevation from one state of being to another — such as from the lower Garden of Eden to the higher Garden of Eden, and the like — is through song,
He explains: every ascent from one level of existence to a higher one — for instance, a soul’s rise from the lower Garden of Eden to the higher Garden of Eden — takes place through “song.”
שהוא בחי׳ בטול היש וכנודע שלא יוכל להתהוות מיש ליש5 אא״כ [אלא אם כן] נעשה היש תחילה בחי׳ אין אז יוכל להתהוות ממנו יש אחר בתוס׳ [בתוספת] ברכה.
which is the level of the nullification of the “something” (bittul hayesh). As is known, a “something” cannot come into being from a “something” unless the “something” first becomes a state of “nothing”; then another “something” can come into being from it, with added blessing.
Song is the nullification of one’s “something” — one’s own existence and self-awareness. A general rule: nothing new comes from a thing while it remains what it is; it must first become “nothing,” and then a new, greater existence can emerge from it.
כמשל הגרעין הנזרע בארץ שצריך להיות נרקב בארץ6 ואח״כ יכול לצמוח מזה הרבה גרעיני׳ [גרעינים].
It is like the seed sown in the ground, which must rot in the ground, and afterward many seeds can grow from it.
A seed planted in the ground illustrates this: it must first decompose and lose its form, and only then can a plant bearing many seeds grow from it.
The paragraph introduces the maamar’s theme: “song” is self-nullification (bittul), and only through such nullification can anything rise to a higher level, as a seed must rot before it grows.
The Alter Rebbe’s discourses on sayings of the Sages add that when the seed rots, the “power of delight” within it — the level of “nothing” — remains and produces the growth; they also give the examples of the fetus formed from a drop and the chick from the egg.
Marei mekomos
- 1יבל הוא הי׳ אבי יושב · הנחת כ״ק אדמו״ר האמצעי בסה״מ תקס״ח כרך א ע׳ תקנג, בהתחלה ”ותלד עדה את יבל”. בתו״א לעמבערג ב, ב הנחה אחרת משנת תקס״ט. ראה במפתח המאמרים משנת הנ״ל. באחד מהכת״י כותרת: על חתונת בנו. ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. המאמר עם ביאורים והגהות באוה״ת כרך ג תקפה, א (מלקו״ת לג״פ מה, א). וביאור שם תקפו, א. הגהות בדף תקפט, א. לכללות מאמר זה ראה ד״ה כל המאריך באחד — מאמרי אדה״ז על מארז״ל ע׳ כב ואילך.
- 2יבל הוא הי׳ · Genesis 4:21
- 3
- 4כל בעלי השיר יוצאין בשיר · Shabbat 51b:8–10
- 5להתהוות מיש ליש · בבוך אדה״ז — יבל אבי יושב: להתהוות דבר יש מיש. ראה ג״כ מאמרי אדה״ז תקס״ז ע׳ נג ואילך. אוה״ת בראשית ט, ב ואילך. המשך וככה תרל״ז פמ״ב ואילך.
- 6להיות נרקב בארץ · באוה״ת בראשית כרך ג תקפה, א ובלקו״ת לג״פ מה, א: להתרקב מקודם. במאמרי אדה״ז על מארז״ל ע׳ כג ”שיתרקב תחלה וישאר כח התענוג שבגרעין בחי׳ אין”, וכתב שם עוד דוגמא מהוולד שנוצר מטפה, ומאפרוח. וראה תו״ח בראשית לד, א שמבאר ב׳ המשלים.
2וכמו״כ [וכמו כן] למעלה בנשמות ומלאכים כדי שיהיה לו עלייה בתוספת השגה צריך מקודם להיות בבחי׳ בטול היש והשגה ראשונה1 שהיה לו
So too above, in souls and angels: in order for one to have an ascent with added comprehension, he must first be in a state of nullification of his “something” and of the first comprehension he had,
The same rule holds for souls and angels above: to rise to a greater comprehension of G‑dliness, one must first set aside one’s own existence and the comprehension one already had.
ואח״כ יוכל לעלות השגה יותר גדולה וזהו בחי׳ עמוד שבין ג״ע [גן עדן] התחתון לג״ע [לגן עדן] העליון23 הוא בחי׳ בטול כנ״ל
and afterward he can rise to a greater comprehension. And this is the level of the pillar between the lower Garden of Eden and the higher Garden of Eden: it is the level of nullification, as mentioned above.
Only then can one attain a greater understanding. This is the meaning of the “pillar” that, in the Zohar, joins the lower and higher Gardens of Eden: the pillar by which souls ascend is the state of nullification.
וזהו כל בעלי השיר יוצאין בהשגתם ונמשכים לעלות למעלה ע״י השיר ולכן בשעת הקרבת הקרבן היה צריך להיות ג״כ שיר4
And this is [the meaning of] “All that possess song go out”: in their comprehension, and are drawn to rise upward through song. Therefore at the time the sacrifice was offered there also had to be song,
So “all that have song go out” — they go beyond their present comprehension — “and are drawn” upward through song. This is why song accompanied the offering of sacrifices in the Temple.
כי ענין הקרבנות הוא העלאה ממטה למעלה אשה ריח ניחוח וצריך לזה ג״כ בחי׳ שיר בחי׳ בטול כנ״ל שיוכל להתעלות:5
for the matter of the sacrifices is an elevation from below to above, “a fire-offering, a pleasing fragrance”; and for this, too, there must be the level of song, the level of nullification, as mentioned above, so that it can be elevated.
A sacrifice is an elevation from below to above (“a fire-offering, a pleasing fragrance”), and elevation requires song, that is, nullification.
Souls and angels rise from one level of comprehension to the next only by nullifying the previous one; this “song” is the pillar between the Gardens of Eden and the reason song accompanied the sacrifices.
Elsewhere in Torah Ohr (Tetzaveh) the Alter Rebbe describes many levels of the Garden of Eden, with a pillar joining each higher and lower level for each righteous person according to his rank, so that they “go from strength to strength” in endless ascents.
Marei mekomos
- 1והשגה ראשונה · בכת״י הנ״ל מהשגה ראשונה.
- 2וזהו בחי׳ עמוד שבין ג״ע התחתון לג״ע העליון · Zohar I, 219a
- 3עמוד שבין ג״ע התחתון לג״ע העליון · Zohar, Vayakhel 24:308–316
- 4בשעת הקרבת הקרבן היה צריך להיות ג״כ שיר · Arakhin 11a
- 5
Grades of song ¶3
Nullification has many levels, and so does song. The Alter Rebbe distinguishes a “single” and a “double” song, recalling that the pillar in the Garden of Eden has three colors: white (Chesed, kindness), red (Gevurah, restraint), and green, which blends them.
יש בחי׳ בטול פשוט נקודה אחת בחי׳ יו״ד ויש בחי׳ בטול שנכלל בזה גם מדות בחי׳ אהבה או יראה וכו׳ וכן בחיצוניות המדות שהן חו״ג [חסד וגבורה] יש התכללות ג״כ חסד שבגבורה
There is a level of simple nullification, a single point, the level of Yud; and there is a level of nullification in which emotive attributes are also included — the level of love or awe, etc. And so too in the outer dimension of the emotive attributes, which are Chesed and Gevurah, there is also integration: Chesed within Gevurah,
The simplest nullification is a single “point,” like the letter Yud: bare self-effacement. A fuller nullification includes an emotion as well, such as love or awe. Even the outward expressions of kindness and restraint can be blended, with kindness contained within severity.
כמו המכה את בנו שהוא בחי׳ גבורה ונכלל בזה בחי׳ חסד ואהבה שמחמת אהבה רצונו להדריכו בדרך הישר ולכן מכה דייקא בנו ולא אחר כי את אשר יאהב יוכיח3.
like one who strikes his son, which is the level of Gevurah, and within it is included the level of Chesed and love: out of love he wishes to guide him in the straight path, and therefore he strikes specifically his son and not another, “for whom He loves He rebukes.”
A father who strikes his son acts with severity, but out of love, to set him on the right path; that is why he strikes his own son and not another’s child. As Proverbs says, “whom He loves He rebukes.”
וכשהבטול הוא בטול פשוט נקרא שיר פשוט וכשיש בזה עוד מדה אחת אהבה או יראה
When the nullification is simple nullification, it is called a single song; and when there is in it one more attribute, love or awe
Bare nullification is a “single song.” Above it is nullification joined with one emotion, love or awe.
(עמ״ש בפי׳ הזהר פ׳ קרח4 ע״פ קרואי מועד)56 נקרא שיר כפול וכשיש התכללות המדות (אהוי״ר [אהבה ויראה] גם שניהם בהבטול) נק׳ שיר משולש ועד״ז יש ג״כ שיר מרובע7
(see what is explained on the Zohar, Parshas Korach, on the verse “called to the assembly”), it is called a double song; and when there is an integration of the attributes (love and awe, both of them together in the nullification), it is called a triple song; and in the same way there is also a quadruple song
Nullification joined with one emotion is a “double song.” When love and awe are both joined in the nullification, it is a “triple song,” and likewise there can be a “quadruple song.” The parenthesis refers to the Alter Rebbe’s explanation of the Zohar on Korach’s men “called to the assembly.”
(עמ״ש בענין תכלת וארגמן ותולעת שני ושש8 משזר שהן התכללות ד׳ בחי׳ יחד אהוי״ר [אהבה ויראה] ורחמנות ובחי׳ שש הוא האהבה מוסתרת כו׳)9
(see what is explained on the matter of the blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool and twisted linen (shesh), which are the integration of four levels together: love, awe and compassion, and the level of shesh is the hidden love, etc.),
The four materials of the Tabernacle’s tapestries — blue, purple and scarlet wool and twisted linen — stand for four blended qualities: love, awe, compassion, and shesh, the hidden love (the innate love every Jewish soul has for G‑d).
for “As the four winds of the heavens I have spread you out,” which is the integration from north to south through the wind that blows from north to south,
The quadruple blending is like Zechariah’s “four winds of heaven”: a wind blowing from north to south blends the qualities of those two directions.
וכן ממזרח למערב כו׳ (ולפעמים יש התכללות כל הד׳ בחי׳ מזרח מערב צפון ודרום ע״י הרוח המנשב כך כו׳)
and likewise from east to west, etc. (and sometimes there is an integration of all four levels — east, west, north and south — through the wind blowing thus, etc.).
A wind from east to west does the same; sometimes a wind blends all four directions together.
וזהו ג״כ ענין הליכת השמש ממזרח למערב הוא ג״כ ענין בטול והוא בחי׳ נפש שבשמש
This is also the matter of the sun’s movement from east to west: it too is a matter of nullification, and it is the level of the soul within the sun,
The sun’s daily path from east to west is also an expression of nullification. It comes from the “soul” of the sun, its awareness of its Creator.
שהוא בחי׳ השגתהומחמת זה גוף השמש הולך תמיד בגשמיות בבחי׳ בטול (כמבואר בענין שמש בגבעון דום13 כו׳ בדרוש דחרבות צורים).1415
which is its comprehension; and because of this the body of the sun moves constantly, physically, in a state of nullification (as explained regarding “Sun, stand still in Givon,” etc., in the discourse on “Knives of flint”).
Because of this awareness the sun’s physical body moves constantly in self-nullification. The Alter Rebbe refers to his discourse on “Knives of flint,” where the sun’s standing still at Givon is explained.
ויש בזה ב׳ דעות בהליכתה אם הוא מצד אהבה ותשוקה או מצד בטול הפשוט. ובאמת יש לפעמים בטול פשוט ולפעמים יש בזה ג״כ בחי׳ אהבה כנ״ל
There are two views about its movement: whether it is out of love and longing or out of simple nullification. In truth, sometimes there is simple nullification and sometimes there is also the level of love in it, as mentioned above
There are two views on what drives the sun’s movement: love and longing, or bare nullification. In truth both occur: sometimes simple nullification, sometimes nullification with love.
(וז״ש [וזהו שכתוב] וזרח השמש1617 כו׳ הולך אל דרום וסובב אל צפון18 כו׳ וכדפי׳ ע״ז בזהר ר״פ ויצא שהוא להיות בחי׳ התכללות ד׳ בחי׳ מזרח ומערב צו״ד [צפון ודרום] כו׳ וזרח ובא הן מזרח ומערב):
(and this is [the meaning of] “And the sun rises,” etc., “goes toward the south and circles toward the north,” etc., as the Zohar explains on this at the beginning of Parshas Vayetzei, that it is so that there be the integration of the four levels — east and west, north and south, etc.; and “rises” and “sets” are east and west).
Ecclesiastes describes the sun rising and setting (east and west) and going south and circling north. The Zohar at the beginning of Vayetzei explains that this circuit blends all four directions — a “quadruple song.”
Nullification, and so “song,” comes in grades: bare self-effacement (a single song) and self-effacement blended with love, awe or more (double, triple, quadruple song), illustrated by blended colors, winds and the sun’s path.
The Tzemach Tzedek (Or HaTorah, Vayakhel) suggests that the “single song” corresponds to yechidah, the soul’s simple will, while a “double song” is love and will drawn through Chochmah and Binah.
Marei mekomos
- 1שיר פשוט ושיר כפול · באוה״ת פ׳ ויקהל ע׳ ב׳קפז מציין ע״ז: ”וי״ל דשיר פשוט זהו כענין בחי׳ יחידה רצון פשוט וכשהאהבה והרצון נמשך ע״י חו״ב נק׳ שיר כפול” עכ״ל. ראה מאמרי אדה״ז על מארז״ל ע׳ כה.
- 2וכנודע שבהעמוד יש ג׳ גוונים · Zohar I, 219a
- 3
- 4בפי׳ הזהר פ׳ קרח · קעו, ב.
- 5קרואי מועד · Numbers 16:2
- 6קרואי מועד · Zohar, Korach 1:5–4:15
- 7שו״ה אחר — וכשהביטול . . ועד״ז יש ג״כ שיר מרובע · מובא באוה״ת בראשית כרך ז תתתג, א.
- 8תכלת וארגמן ותולעת שני ושש · Exodus 25:4
- 9שו״ה התכללות — האהבה מוסתרת כו׳ · בבוך מכתבים סלונים סג, א באוה״ת בראשית כרך ג תקפה, ב (מלקו״ת לג״פ מה, א) נוסף: וי״ל שהוא בחי׳ הביטול כו׳.
- 10כי כארבע רוחות · בהגהת הרה״ח ר׳ אשר נוסף: [וזהו ג״כ ענין].
- 11כי כארבע רוחות · זכרי׳, ב, י.
- 12כי כארבע רוחות השמים פרשתי אתכם · Zechariah 2:10
- 13שמש בגבעון דום · Joshua 10:12
- 14בדרוש דחרבות צורים · בסידור שער המילה ובאוה״ת דרושים לחג השבועות ד״ה תורת ה׳ תמימה ע׳ קט.
- 15חרבות צורים · Joshua 5:2
- 16וזרח השמש · Ecclesiastes 1:5
- 17וזרח השמש · Zohar, Vayetzei 1:1–7
- 18הולך אל דרום וסובב אל צפון · Ecclesiastes 1:6
Yuval: the harp that carries upward ¶4
4וזהו ענין יובל אבי כל תופש כנור1 כו׳ פי׳ יובל לשון הולכה שמוביל וממשיך למעלה ע״י כנור ועוגב בחי׳ שיר כנ״ל שע״י השיר הוא העלייה יוצאין בשיר2 כו׳.
And this is the meaning of “Yuval, the father of all who handle the harp,” etc. The meaning: Yuval is a term of conveying, for he conveys and draws upward through the harp and the pipe, the level of song mentioned above; for through song there is the ascent — “they go out with song,” etc.
Now the verse about Yuval is explained. The name Yuval is related to hovalah, “conveying” (movil, “he carries”): he carries and draws the soul upward through the harp and pipe — through song, nullification. This is the ascent of “they go out with song.”
Yuval, “father of all who handle the harp,” represents song — nullification — which carries the soul upward.
Marei mekomos
- 1יובל אבי כל תופש כנור · Genesis 4:21
- 2יוצאין בשיר · Shabbat 51b:8–10
Yaval: the tent and the cattle ¶5
5ויבל הוא היה אבי יושב אהל1 ומקנה2 כי כתיב לשמש שם אהל בהם3 פי׳ כדי שיהיה להשמש בחי׳ זו שיהיה לה בחי׳ בטול ותשוקה4 הוא ע״י אהל בהם.
“And Yaval was the father of those who dwell in tents and [keep] cattle”: for it is written, “For the sun He set a tent in them.” The meaning: in order that the sun have this quality — that it have nullification and longing — this is through “a tent in them.”
Yaval, the other brother, represents the source of that nullification. The Psalmist says G‑d “set a tent for the sun in them”: the sun’s nullification and longing, described above, come from this “tent.”
אהל הוא בבחי׳ מקיף מלמעלה נמשך הארה זו שתהיה תמיד בבחי׳ בטול5 וזהו בחי׳ יבל לשון ויבל לחמורים6 שהוא ענין בלבול ותערובות
A tent is in the manner of an encompassing [light]: from above this radiance is drawn so that it be constantly in a state of nullification. And this is the level of Yaval, from the term “and he gave fodder (vayavel) to the donkeys,” which is a matter of mixing and blending.
A tent surrounds whatever is within it, so it represents an encompassing light (makif) from above, which keeps the sun constantly in nullification. The name Yaval recalls “he gave fodder (vayavel) to the donkeys” — mixed fodder — and so means blending and mixing.
פי׳ שהיא הארה מבחי׳ מקיף ששם הוא בלי התחלקות ויוכל להתערב הכל שיומשך הארה גם למטה שיוכל להיות אח״כ בחי׳ יובל אבי כל תופש כנור שהוא בחי׳ בטול כנ״ל
The meaning: it is a radiance from the level of the encompassing [light], where there is no division and everything can be blended, so that the radiance be drawn also below, so that afterward there can be the level of “Yuval, the father of all who handle the harp,” which is the level of nullification, as mentioned above.
An encompassing light is above all divisions, so everything can be “blended” in it, and its radiance can reach even below. This makes possible the next stage, Yuval and his harp — the nullification of song.
וזהו אבי יושב אהל ומקנה שבחי׳ אהל הוא בחי׳ מקיף כנ״ל ולכן יוכל להיות גם למקנה להמשיך למטה
And this is [the meaning of] “the father of those who dwell in tents and [keep] cattle”: the level of “tent” is the level of the encompassing [light], as mentioned above, and therefore it can also be for cattle — to draw down below
So Yaval is “father of those who dwell in tents” — the encompassing light — and for that very reason he can also be “father of cattle,” drawing that light down into the lowest things.
(for the encompassing [light] has no above and below, as it is written, “and beneath are the everlasting arms”). Like Jacob, who was a shepherd of sheep — “a rod of fresh poplar,” etc.
An encompassing light has no “above” and “below”; it surrounds everything equally, as in “beneath are the everlasting arms,” so it can reach down too. Jacob is the example: he shepherded flocks using rods of fresh poplar and other woods.
(התכללות חג״ת [חסד גבורה תפארת] ע׳ [עיין] זהר ויצא) שאדם אחר רועה צאן הוא רועה בגשמיות משא״כ יעקב שהיה יושב אהלים המשיך מבחי׳ מקיפים להיות רועה צאן
(the integration of Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes; see the Zohar, Vayetzei). For another man who is a shepherd of sheep is a shepherd in a physical way; but Jacob, who was one who “dwelt in tents,” drew down from the level of the encompassing lights to be a shepherd of sheep.
The Zohar sees these rods as a blend of Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes. An ordinary shepherd tends sheep in a purely physical way; but Jacob, who “dwelt in tents” — connected to the encompassing lights — drew from that lofty level into his shepherding.
וזהו יושב אהל ומקנה כנ״ל10 (ועמ״ש מענין יובל בפ׳ שלח ע״פ מקושש1112 ועיין עוד מענין מקנה בפ׳ ויצא ע״פ ושש שנים בצאנך1314 כו׳ וע״פ ואלה המשפטים1516 כו׳):1718
And this is [the meaning of] “dwell in tents and [keep] cattle,” as mentioned above. (And see what is explained about Yuval in Parshas Shelach, on the verse “gathering [wood],” and see further about “cattle” in Parshas Vayetzei, on the verse “and six years for your flock,” etc., and on the verse “And these are the ordinances,” etc.)
This is “dwell in tents and [keep] cattle.” The closing parenthesis refers to other discourses: on Yuval (Parshas Shelach, on the man “gathering wood”), and on “cattle” (Vayetzei, “six years for your flock,” and Mishpatim, “And these are the ordinances”).
Yaval stands for the encompassing light (the “tent”) that is the source of nullification; because it is beyond division, it can be drawn down even into the lowest things (“cattle”), as Jacob drew the lofty level of the “tents” into his work as a shepherd.
In the Alter Rebbe’s manuscript the maamar ends differently: song is said only over wine, and the sacrifices need song, the level of nullification, to be elevated; wine “gladdens Elokim” because song over wine brings nullification and revelation, uniting Havayah (revelation) with Elokim (concealment).
Marei mekomos
- 1יושב אהל · Genesis 25:27
- 2יבל הוא היה אבי יושב אהל ומקנה · Genesis 4:20
- 3לשמש שם אהל בהם · Psalms 19:5
- 4בטול ותשוקה · ביהל אור ע׳ 64 נוסף: (דהיינו ענין סיבובה בהשתחוואה למערב בבחי׳ ביטול) עכ״ל שם.
- 5בבחי׳ בטול · ביהל אור שם: ”ובעמה״מ שער ששי פרק ס״ה דל״ז ע״א פי׳ וזו״נ דאצילות נתעלו בתוך או״א ומכסים עליהם כמו חופת חתן וכלה ועז״נ לשמש שם אהל בהם ר״ל בהם בתוך או״א עכ״ל”.
- 6ויבל לחמורים · Judges 19:21
- 7ומתחת זרועות עולם · Deuteronomy 33:27
- 8מקל לבנה לח · Genesis 30:37
- 9מקל לבנה לח · Zohar, Vayetzei 31:305–32:310
- 10יושב אהל ומקנה כנ״ל · סיום המאמר בבוך אדה״ז — יבל אבי יושב א, א ”וזהו אין אומרים שירה אלא על היין שנאמר יין המשמח כו׳ אם אנשים משמח כו׳ מכאן כו׳ כי ענין הקרבנות הוא ג״כ העלאה ממטה למעלה הוצרך לזה ג״כ בחי׳ שיר בחי׳ ביטול שיוכל להיות העלאה, וזהו המשמח אלקים כו׳ פי׳ כי הוי׳ הוא בחי׳ גילוי ואלקים הוא בחי׳ הסתר וע״י השיר על היין נעשה בחי׳ ביטול וגילוי לכן הוא משמח בחי׳ אלקים בחי׳ הסתר להיות יחוד הוי׳ באלקים, אשה בעלה משמחה נכנס יין יצא סוד כו׳”.
- 11ועמ״ש . . ע״פ מקושש · לקו״ת שלח מב, ד. ובאוה״ת בראשית כרך ג תקפו, א מעתיק הלשון מהלקו״ת עם תוס׳ ביאור.
- 12מקושש · Numbers 15:32
- 13בפ׳ ויצא ע״פ ושש שנים בצאנך · לקמן כג, ג ואילך.
- 14ושש שנים בצאנך · Genesis 31:41
- 15ע״פ ואלה המשפטים · ראה לקמן עו, ב.
- 16ואלה המשפטים · Exodus 21:1
- 17ע׳ בזהר ויצא · קסא, ב.
- 18
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
To grow in understanding and closeness to G‑d, a person must be ready to set aside his present self and even his previous grasp of G‑dliness, as a seed must rot before it sprouts; this nullification, which may be bare or filled with love and awe, is the “song” that lifts him higher. And like Jacob, who dwelt in tents yet tended flocks, one can bring that lofty level down into ordinary, practical work.
Questions for discussion
- Why must a “something” first become “nothing” before a greater “something” can come from it? How does the seed illustrate this?
- How can giving up a comprehension one already has lead to a greater one? What does this suggest about learning Chassidus?
- What distinguishes a single song from a double, triple or quadruple song, and what does the father who strikes his son teach about blended attributes?
- Why does the sun serve as an example of nullification, and what are the two views of its motion?
- How does the “tent,” an encompassing light, make it possible to reach down to “cattle,” and how did Jacob exemplify this?
Key terms in this maamar
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×2
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×2
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×3
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect. ×1
- Love and aweאהבה ויראה
- The two 'wings' of divine service.
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.