Torah Ohr · Parshas Beshalach · Maamar 8
להבין ענין לחם משנה
“To understand the matter of lechem mishneh”
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The big idea
The two Shabbos loaves are placed one on top of the other according to the revealed Torah and side by side according to the Kabbalah because they mirror two levels: the chain of descent, in which every level stands above the next, and the Shabbos ascent into G‑d’s encompassing essence, before which above and below are equal.
The maamar in brief
Why, according to the revealed Torah, are the two Shabbos loaves one on top of the other, and according to the Kabbalah side by side? The Alter Rebbe begins with Birkas HaMazon. Food lives by the divine word that created it, rooted in Tohu, the world of separate attributes that could not bear one another, while man is rooted in Tikkun, the Name Mah, where opposites unite through bittul. When a person eats and prays with the food’s strength, he raises the sparks of Tohu into Tikkun, and since the lights of Tohu are higher, added light is drawn into Tikkun. This is “bread from the earth” and the blessing of the land, which addresses G‑d directly and thanks Him, conceding the view from above, then blesses, drawing that truth into revelation. The manna, “bread from heaven,” came in Moshe’s merit from Akudim, a unity above bittul; and because Moshe’s root is the hidden essence of Mah, his blessing HaZan speaks of G‑d in the third person. Shabbos rises higher, into the encompassing essence of the Infinite, beyond any source tied to creation; that is why no manna fell on Shabbos. Stacked loaves express the descent of light; loaves side by side express Shabbos, where above and below are equal.
Outline
- The questionsWhy are the Shabbos loaves held one way according to the revealed Torah and another according to the Kabbalah? And in Birkas HaMazon, why does the blessing of the land mention food, while Moshe’s blessing HaZan mentions nothing of the others?¶1–2
- The divine word in foodFood lives by the divine word that created it. Man too was created by a word, yet he needs bread, because eating adds light and life-force to his G‑dly soul.¶3–4
- Tohu and TikkunAnimals and plants are rooted in Tohu, whose attributes were separate points that could not bear one another and shattered; man is rooted in Tikkun, the partzuf of Adam and the Name Mah, where bittul joins opposites.¶5–14
- Why man needs foodEating, and praying with the food’s strength, raises the sparks of Tohu into Tikkun; since the lights of Tohu are higher, this draws added light into man and into the supernal Adam. This is “bread from the earth” and the blessing after food.¶15–18
- Bread from heavenThe manna came in Moshe’s merit from a higher root. Moshe’s level, the essence of Mah, could come down only through G‑d’s essence, “I will be with your mouth,” and the manna stems from Akudim, where the attributes are united at full strength by the revealed Infinite Light.¶19–22
- The two blessingsHaZan, Moshe’s blessing, speaks of G‑d in the hidden third person; the blessing of the land addresses Him directly with hodaah, acknowledging the view from above, followed by blessing, which draws that truth into revelation.¶23–30
- Shabbos and the mannaThe six days are the descent of light through contractions; on Shabbos the lights return into the encompassing essence of the Infinite, above Akudim, and that is why no manna fell on Shabbos.¶31–35
- The two loavesLoaves one on top of the other show the chain of descent, direct light; loaves side by side show returning light and Shabbos, where above and below are equal, as “Remember” and “Keep” were said in one utterance.¶36
Key concepts
- Lechem mishnehלחם משנה
- The two whole loaves of each Shabbos meal, recalling the double portion of manna. According to the revealed Torah they are held one on top of the other, according to the Kabbalah side by side.
- Tohu and Tikkunתהו ותקון
- Tohu is the primordial world of intense, separate attributes that could not tolerate one another and shattered; plants and animals are rooted there. Tikkun is the ordered world of partzufim, in which the attributes are joined through bittul; man is rooted there.
- Inter-inclusionהתכללות
- The inclusion of each attribute in the others, so that opposites such as Chesed and Gevurah work together. In Tikkun it comes through bittul; in Akudim, through the revealed Infinite Light.
- The Name Mahשם מ״ה
- The Name Havayah spelled out with alefs, numerically 45, the value of adam. It is the force of Tikkun and of bittul, the “what” (mah) in Chochmah.
- Refinement (birur)בירור
- Raising the sparks of Tohu found in physical things into the order of Tikkun, as when one eats and then serves G‑d with the food’s strength. It draws down added light from the higher lights of Tohu.
- Akudimעקודים
- The first stage of emanation, in which all the Sefiros are “bound in one vessel” and united at full strength by the revealed Infinite Light. It is the root of the manna, yet it still belongs to the order of the chain of descent.
- Acknowledgment and blessingהודאה וברכה
- Acknowledgment (hodaah) concedes that the truth is as it is before G‑d, without revealing it; blessing (berachah) draws that truth down into open revelation.
- The general encompassing level (makif)מקיף הכללי
- The simple, general power of G‑d’s essence, before which above and below are equal and every detail is included at once. On Shabbos the worlds ascend into it.
The questions ¶1–2
1להבין ענין לחם משנה.12 שיש הפרש בין ע״פ נגלה. ובין ע״פ נסתר. שע״פ נגלה צ״ל זה על גבי זה. וע״פ הנסתר צ״ל זה בצד זה.34
To understand the matter of lechem mishneh (the double bread): for there is a difference between [the practice] according to the revealed [Torah] and according to the hidden [Torah]. According to the revealed [Torah], they must be one on top of the other; and according to the hidden [Torah], they must be one beside the other.
Lechem mishneh, the “double bread,” is the pair of whole loaves over which the blessing is said at the Shabbos meals, recalling the double portion of manna gathered on Friday. The Alter Rebbe notes that the two loaves are held differently according to the revealed Torah (one on top of the other) and according to the hidden Torah, the Kabbalah (one beside the other), and sets out to explain why.
צריך להקדים תחלה מה שנתקן בברכת המזון על הארץ ועל המזון שהטעם מה שחותמין בשתים מבואר בדברי רז״ל ארץ דמפקא מזון.5
We must first preface what was instituted in Birkas HaMazon (the Grace after Meals), “for the land and for the food,” where the reason for concluding with two [things] is explained in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory: “a land that brings forth food.”
Before turning to the loaves, he takes up the close of the second blessing of Birkas HaMazon: “Blessed are You… for the land and for the food.” A blessing is not normally concluded with two subjects; the Talmud answers that here the two are one, “a land that brings forth food.”
The maamar opens with the two ways of holding the Shabbos loaves and, to explain them, first turns to the closing words of the blessing of the land in Birkas HaMazon, “for the land and for the food.”
Marei mekomos
- 1להבין ענין לחם משנה · ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. וראה גם פלח הרמון שמות ע׳ קצב.
- 2לחם משנה · Exodus 16:22
- 3זה בצד זה · פע״ח שער השבת פי״ז מ״ח. ליל שבת פ״ד מ״ב. וראה מאמרי אדה״ז הקצרים ע׳ מ.
- 4זה בצד זה · Pri Etz Chaim, Gate of the Sabbath 17
- 5ארץ דמפקא מזון · Berakhot 49a:8–9
2וצריך להבין למה חותמין במזון כלל. וגם צ״ל מה שמבואר בדברי רז״ל ע״פ ואכלת ושבעת וברכת1 זו ברכת הזן משה תקן.23
And we need to understand why we conclude with “food” at all. And we also need to understand what is explained in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory, on [the verse] “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and you shall bless”: this is the blessing HaZan (“Who nourishes”); Moshe instituted [it].
A second question: if the blessing of the land is about the land, why mention food in it at all? The Alter Rebbe then cites the Talmud’s reading of “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and you shall bless”: “and you shall bless” is the first blessing, HaZan, which Moshe instituted (the Talmud adds: when the manna came down).
“For the land”: this is the blessing of the land; Yehoshua instituted [it]. “The good”: this is the blessing “Who builds Jerusalem,” as it is said, “the good mountain,” etc.
The verse continues “for the good land.” “For the land” is the second blessing, which Yehoshua instituted (when Israel entered the land), and “the good” is the third, “Who builds Jerusalem,” because Jerusalem is called “the good mountain.”
ולמה בברכת הזן אין מזכירים כלל מעין ב׳ ברכות האחרות6 ובברכת הארץ מזכירים ג״כ על אכילת מזון כו׳. וגם מסיימין בה על הארץ ועל המזון:
And why, in the blessing HaZan, do we not mention at all anything resembling the other two blessings, while in the blessing of the land we also mention the eating of food, etc.? And we also conclude it with “for the land and for the food.”
The question is sharpened: the first blessing says nothing of the land or of Jerusalem, yet the blessing of the land also thanks G‑d for the eating of food and even ends “for the land and for the food.” The answer will come from the different roots of the two blessings.
The Alter Rebbe sets out the Talmud’s account of the blessings of Birkas HaMazon and who instituted each, and asks why the blessing of the land includes food while the blessing HaZan includes nothing of the others.
A talk of the Rebbe cited in the Kehot note observes that by the plain halachic reading the blessing of the land is about the land alone, “a land that brings forth food,” whereas Likkutei Torah (Eikev) and the Siddur take “food” in that blessing to mean “bread from the earth,” as this maamar will.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2ברכת הזן משה תקן · Berakhot 48b:2–3
- 3ואכלת ושבעת וברכת זו ברכת הזן משה תקן · Zohar, Eikev 4:61–5:65
- 4על הארץ זו ברכת הארץ · Berakhot 48b:5–6
- 5ההר הטוב · Deuteronomy 3:25
- 6אין מזכירים כלל מעין ב׳ ברכות האחרות · ראה בשו״ע אדה״ז סי׳ קפז סעי׳ ג.
The divine word in food ¶3–4
3אך להבין כל הנ״ל יש להקדים ענין כוונת אכילה ע״פ כי על כל מוצא פי1 ה׳ כו׳. שהפי׳ הוא מוצא פי הוי״ה שבמאכל כו׳ ממאמר תדשא הארץ2 הוא המחיה כו׳.
But to understand all the above, we must preface the matter of the intent in eating, based on [the verse] “But by all that comes forth from the mouth of G‑d,” etc. The meaning is: that which comes forth from the mouth of G‑d that is in the food, etc., from the utterance “Let the earth sprout,” is what gives life, etc.
To answer, the Alter Rebbe first explains the inner purpose of eating. The verse says that man lives not by bread alone but “by all that comes forth from the mouth of G‑d”: the divine word that created the food (“Let the earth sprout” brought forth all vegetation) remains within it, and that word is what gives life.
והיינו בחי׳ נצוץ אלקות שמתלבש בלחם בהשתלשלות רבי רבבות מדרגות. וכמארז״ל אין לך עשב345 כו׳. וגבוה מעל גבוה6 כו׳.
That is, the aspect of a spark of G‑dliness that is enclothed in the bread through a chain of descent (hishtalshelus) of myriads upon myriads of levels. As our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “There is no blade of grass,” etc.; and, “One higher than the high,” etc.
That word is a spark of G‑dliness clothed in the bread after descending through countless levels. The Sages’ saying that every blade of grass has a force above it, and the verse about “one higher than the high,” show that each physical thing hangs from a chain of higher powers.
The inner purpose of eating: what gives life in food is the divine word that created it, a spark of G‑dliness enclothed in it through a long chain of descent.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי על כל מוצא פי ה׳ · Deuteronomy 8:3
- 2תדשא הארץ · Genesis 1:11
- 3אין לך עשב · Zohar I, 251a
- 4אין לך עשב · Zohar, Addenda, Volume I 1:1
- 5אין לך עשב · Bereshit Rabbah 10:6
- 6וגבוה מעל גבוה · Ecclesiastes 5:7
Now, to understand: was not man, too, brought down by the chain of descent from the utterance “Let us make man,” etc.? Then why does man need bread, while bread does not need him?
The difficulty: man was also created by a divine word, “Let us make man,” so he has his own divine life-force. Why then should he depend on bread, which lives by another word, while the bread does not depend on him?
אך הנה פי׳ יחיה האדם3 לא קאי על נפש הבהמית לבדה כי הלא גם בהמה מקבלת חיות מן המאכל אלא קאי על נפש האלקית4 שנתוסף בה אור וחיות מהמאכל וזהו האדם בה׳ הידיעה.
However, the meaning of “man shall live” does not refer to the animal soul alone, for does not an animal, too, receive life-force from food? Rather, it refers to the G‑dly soul, to which light and life-force are added from the food. And this is ha’adam (“the man”), with the definite article hei.
The answer begins here. “Man shall live” does not refer only to the animal soul’s bodily life, which an animal also gets from food, but to the G‑dly soul, which gains added light and life-force through eating; the verse says ha’adam, “the man,” with the definite article, to point to this.
The Alter Rebbe asks why man, himself created by a divine word, needs bread, and begins to answer: eating adds light and life-force to the G‑dly soul, the “man” of the verse.
Marei mekomos
- 1הלא גם האדם נשתלשל ממאמר נעשה אדם · לקו״ת להאריז״ל פ׳ עקב. וראה לקו״ת לכ״ק אדמו״ר הזקן צו יג, ב. בהביאור לד״ה להבין שינוי הברכות תקס״ח. מאמרי אדמו״ר הזקן הנחות הר״פ ז״ל ע׳ צז. ובד״ה באתי לגני תשי״ד.
- 2נעשה אדם · Genesis 1:26
- 3יחיה האדם · Deuteronomy 8:3
- 4אלא קאי על נפש האלקית · ראה לקמן יתרו עד, א. לקו״ת צו יג, סע״ב ואילך. מסעי צו, א.
Tohu and Tikkun ¶5–14
5ויובן בהקדים תחלה שרש ענין תהו ותקון1 כי שרש האדם הוא מבחי׳ תקון כי אדם בגימטריא שם מ״ה2 שהוא שם מ״ה החדש שהוא עיקר התקון. ושרש בהמות וחיות הם מבחי׳ תהו שקדם לתקון.
This will be understood by first prefacing the root of the matter of Tohu and Tikkun (Chaos and Rectification). For the root of man is from the level of Tikkun, since adam (man) is numerically equal to the Name Mah, which is the new Name Mah, the essence of Tikkun. And the root of domestic animals and wild beasts is from the level of Tohu, which preceded Tikkun.
Tohu (Chaos) is the primordial world whose intense lights shattered their vessels; Tikkun (Rectification) is the ordered world that followed. Man belongs to Tikkun: adam (1+4+40) equals 45, the value of the Name Mah, the Name Havayah spelled out with alefs, called “new” because it came forth to rectify; animals derive from Tohu, which came first.
The answer rests on Tohu and Tikkun: man is rooted in Tikkun, the Name Mah, while the animals are rooted in Tohu, which preceded it.
Marei mekomos
- 1שרש ענין תהו ותיקון · בלקו״ת פ׳ צו יג, ב מציין לכאן, דבחי׳ דצ״ח שרשן הוא מבחי׳ עולם התהו והאדם שרשו מבחי׳ עולם התיקון ע״ש. וראה גם באוה״ת פ׳ אמור לז, ג ואילך.
- 2אדם בגימטריא שם מ״ה · נסמן לעיל נב, ב.
The root of the matter is this: it is known that the level of Tohu is the level of points, one beneath the other, without inter-inclusion, each one being an entity unto itself;
In Tohu the Sefiros were single “points,” arranged one beneath another in a single line rather than built into full configurations that interact. Each stood alone as its own entity, with nothing of the others in it.
ומזה נעשה ונמשך ברבוי השתלשלות מעילה לעילה עד שנתהוו דברים גשמיים כמו בהמות וחיות שאנו רואין בחוש שכל מין ומין יש לו טבע בפ״ע. טבע הנשר הוא מבחי׳ רחמנות.
and from this was made and drawn down, through an extended chain of descent (hishtalshelus) from cause to cause, until physical things came into being, such as domestic animals and wild beasts. For we see with our own senses that each and every species has a nature of its own. The nature of the eagle is from the level of compassion.
Descending link by link, that separateness produced physical creatures, and it can be seen: each animal species has its own distinct nature. The eagle, for example, embodies compassion.
Tohu consisted of separate points without inter-inclusion, and this separateness, carried down the chain of descent, appears in the single, distinct natures of the animal species.
Marei mekomos
- 1שבחי׳ תהו הוא בחי׳ נקודות זו תחת זו · ראה ע״ח שער י׳ פ״ה בארוכה נתבאר בתורת חיים בראשית ט, א ואילך. שם פ׳ נח סט, ג ואילך. וראה לעיל נב, א.
- 2נקודות זו תחת זו · Sefer Etz Chaim 10:5
7ושור הוא מגבורות שור נגח כו׳ ואין בהם התכללות כלל והטעם הוא כי ראשית מציאותם הוא מבחי׳ התהו שאין בהם התכללות וכל מדה היא מהות בפ״ע. וכאו״א אינו יכול לסבול חבירו.1
And the ox is from the Gevuros (severities): “a goring ox,” etc. And there is no inter-inclusion in them at all. The reason is that the beginning of their existence is from the level of Tohu, in which there is no inter-inclusion, and each attribute is an entity unto itself. And each one cannot bear its fellow.
The ox embodies severity (the Gevuros), as its goring shows. Neither creature’s nature holds anything of its opposite, because these creatures come from Tohu, where each attribute was a separate entity that could not tolerate another.
The single-natured eagle and ox reflect Tohu, where each attribute stood alone and could not bear its fellow.
Marei mekomos
- 1וכאו״א אינו יכול לסבול חבירו · ראה בהמשך תער״ב ח״א פרק רלז: ”דספי׳ דתהו היו בחי׳ שלימות כאו״א בפ״ע ולא רצו להשפיע אל הספי׳ האחרת ולא לקבל שפעה ממנה כו׳ ושרש סיבת הדבר הוא הישות”. ע״ש בקיצור מפני מה לא רצו להשפיע. וע״ש בפרק רלח.
As it is written, “And he died, and there reigned in his stead”: that is, it was not possible for another Sefirah to come into being except through the absence and nullification of the Sefirah that preceded it.
The kings of Edom listed at the end of Vayishlach, each of whom “died” and was succeeded by another, are in Kabbalah the Sefiros of Tohu. Each could come into being only when the one before it ceased: they could not exist together.
והכל מצד הרגשת הגוף מהותו של כאו״א ומצד תוקף הרגשת עצמותו לא היה יכול לסבול חבירו שהוא הפך מהותו
All this was because of the feeling of the self, the essence, of each one; and because of the strength of the feeling of its own being, it could not bear its fellow, which is the opposite of its essence,
The cause was each one’s intense sense of its own self. Feeling its own being so strongly, it could not tolerate the other, which was its opposite.
כמו חו״ג שהם הפכים לא היה בהן התכללות והיה בהן שבירה. עד שברבוי השתלשלות בעילה אחר עילה נתהוו מהם דברים גשמיים כמו דצח״מ.
as with Chesed (kindness) and Gevurah (restraint), which are opposites: there was no inter-inclusion in them, and there was a shattering in them; until, through an extended chain of descent, cause after cause, physical things came into being from them, such as the inanimate, vegetative, animal and speaking [beings].
Chesed (giving) and Gevurah (restraint) are natural opposites; in Tohu neither held anything of the other, and so the vessels shattered. Descending from cause to cause, these shattered powers became the physical world of inanimate, plant, animal and speaking beings.
The death of the kings of Edom shows Tohu’s inability to tolerate an opposite: Chesed and Gevurah, each feeling only itself, shattered, and from them physical existence descended.
Marei mekomos
- 1וימת וימלך · סוף פ׳ וישלח.
- 2וימת וימלך תחתיו · Genesis 36:33–35
9והכל מפני שלא היה בהם הארת המוחין ולא היה בהם בחי׳ בטול. אבל בחי׳ התקון
All this is because there was no illumination of the intellect (mochin) in them, and there was no quality of self-nullification (bittul) in them. But the level of Tikkun,
Tohu lacked two things: the light of the intellect guiding the emotions, and bittul, the setting aside of self. Tikkun has both, as the next part describes.
שהיא בחי׳ אד״ם בחי׳ פרצוף בחי׳ הארת שם מ״ה החדש1 במילוי אלפי״ן יו״ד לעילא יו״ד לתתא וי״ו באמצעיתא המחבר אותם להיות בהם בחי׳ התכללות.
which is the level of Adam (Man), the level of a partzuf (configuration), the level of the illumination of the new Name Mah, spelled out with alefs: “a yud above, a yud below, a vav in the middle” that joins them, so that there is inter-inclusion in them.
Tikkun is Adam, the human-shaped configuration (partzuf) in which each Sefirah becomes a full structure linked to the others, lit by the new Name Mah, Havayah with its letters spelled out using alefs. The shape of the letter alef, a yud above, a yud below and a vav joining them, pictures the joining of opposites that makes inter-inclusion possible.
Tohu lacked intellect and bittul; Tikkun, the partzuf of Adam lit by the new Name Mah, joins its opposites as the vav of the alef joins its two yuds.
Marei mekomos
- 1שם מ״ה החדש · ראה לקמן קג, ב ובמ״מ לשם.
10ועיקר בחי׳ התכללות הוא מצד בחי׳ הבטול. דהיינו בחי׳ חלישת הגוף הרגשת עצמותו. והיינו מבחי׳ שם מ״ה שבחכמה שהוא ענין הארת המוחין להיות הנהגת המדות ע״פ שכל דוקא.
The essence of inter-inclusion comes from self-nullification (bittul), that is, the weakening of the self, of the feeling of its own being. And this is from the level of the Name Mah in Chochmah (wisdom), which is the illumination of the intellect (mochin), so that the conduct of the emotive attributes (middos) is specifically according to reason.
Inter-inclusion depends on bittul: each attribute must weaken its own sense of self to make room for its opposite. That comes from Mah in Chochmah: when the intellect shines into the emotions, they act by reason rather than by their own raw force.
Inter-inclusion comes from bittul, and bittul comes from the light of Chochmah guiding the emotions by reason.
11וכמ״ש לפי שכלו יהולל איש.1 ומצד בחי׳ כח מ״ה שבחכמה שהוא הבטול בחי׳ אין נעשה בחי׳ התכללות לחבר ב׳ הפכים כמו חו״ג יחד כו׳
As it is written, “A man is praised according to his intellect.” And by virtue of the level of ko’ach mah (“the power of ‘what’”) in Chochmah, which is self-nullification (bittul), the level of ayin (nothingness), inter-inclusion comes about, joining two opposites, such as Chesed and Gevurah, together, etc.
Proverbs praises a person according to his intellect: reason, not raw feeling, should rule. Chochmah is read as ko’ach mah, “the power of ‘what?’”, a self-effacing openness called ayin, and that bittul is what lets two opposites such as Chesed and Gevurah combine.
והיינו מצד השתלשלות אור א״ס בבחי׳ מ״ה שבחכמה בחי׳ בטול הנ״ל כמ״ש עושה שלום במרומיו בין מיכאל וגבריאל מיכאל שר של מים2 כו׳.
That is, by virtue of the descent (hishtalshelus) of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) into the level of Mah in Chochmah, the quality of self-nullification mentioned above. As it is written, “He makes peace in His heights”: between Michael and Gavriel; Michael is the prince of water, etc.
This is because the Infinite Light flows into this self-nullifying level of Chochmah. The Sages read “He makes peace in His heights” as peace between the angels Michael, prince of water, and Gavriel, prince of fire: opposites joined by a higher power.
The praise of intellect in Proverbs and the peace made between Michael and Gavriel illustrate how the bittul of Chochmah, filled with the Infinite Light, joins opposites.
Marei mekomos
- 1לפי שכלו יהולל איש · Proverbs 12:8
- 2עושה שלום במרומיו . . מיכאל שר של מים · Job 25:2
12ולכן אנו רואים בבחי׳ אדם הגשמי שנשתלשל למטה מבחי׳ אדם דלעילא יש בו ג״כ בחי׳ התכללות מב׳ הפכים יחד וחבור והתכללות מחו״ג יחד.
Therefore we see in the level of physical man, who came down by the chain of descent from the level of Adam above, that he too has inter-inclusion of two opposites together, and the joining and inter-inclusion of Chesed and Gevurah together.
Physical man, who descends from the supernal Adam, shows the same quality: a person can hold opposites together, combining kindness and severity.
ולכן אדם הוא פרצוף שלם בבחי׳ התכללות ברבוי קוין מבחי׳ שם מ״ה בחי׳ אדם כנ״ל. וזהו מ״ש בזוהר דא איהו רזא לאכללא שמאלא בימינא.12
Therefore man is a complete partzuf (configuration), in [a state of] inter-inclusion, with many lines, from the level of the Name Mah, the level of Adam, as explained above. And this is what is said in the Zohar: “This is the secret: to include the left in the right.”
Man is a complete partzuf with several lines (right, left and middle), rooted in the Name Mah, which equals adam. The Zohar’s “secret of including the left in the right” means that severity, the left, is folded into kindness, the right.
והיינו מצד הארת שם מ״ה בחי׳ בטול הנ״ל שמאיר במדת חו״ג ויכולים להתכלל ולהתחבר ב׳ הפכים כנ״ל.
That is, by virtue of the illumination of the Name Mah, the quality of self-nullification (bittul) mentioned above, which shines into the attributes of Chesed and Gevurah, so that two opposites can be included [in each other] and joined, as explained above.
This is possible because the bittul of the Name Mah shines into Chesed and Gevurah, so the two opposites can merge.
Man, above and below, is a complete partzuf whose opposites are joined, the Zohar’s “including the left in the right,” through the bittul of the Name Mah.
Marei mekomos
- 1מ״ש בזוהר דא איהו . . לאכללא שמאלא בימינא · Zohar II, 27a
- 2דא איהו רזא לאכללא שמאלא בימינא · Zohar, Korach 7:29–8:37
13והנה ידוע שכל דצ״ח נשתלשלו ברבוי מדרגות בעילה אחר עילה עד שירדו למטה מטה ונתהוו מהם דברים גשמיים ושרשם הוא מבחי׳ התהו1 כנ״ל.
Now, it is known that all the inanimate, vegetative and animal [beings] came down through many levels, cause after cause, until they descended lower and lower and physical things came into being from them; and their root is from the level of Tohu, as explained above.
Everything in the inanimate, plant and animal kingdoms descended level by level until it became physical, and its root is in Tohu.
היינו מבחי׳ מרכבה העליונה פני אריה פני שור2 כו׳. והיינו בהמות מפני שור וחיות מפני אריה ועופות מפני נשר כו׳. וגם כל העשבים יש להם שרש למעלה כמו שכתוב ועשב לעבודת האדם.3
That is, from the level of the supernal Chariot (Merkavah): the face of a lion, the face of an ox, etc. That is, domestic animals [come] from the face of the ox, wild beasts from the face of the lion, and birds from the face of the eagle, etc. And all herbs, too, have a root above, as it is written, “and herbs for the service of man.”
That root is the supernal Chariot of Ezekiel’s vision, whose living creatures had the faces of a lion, an ox, an eagle and a man: domestic animals come from the face of the ox, wild beasts from the lion’s, birds from the eagle’s. Plants too have a root above, and the Alter Rebbe cites the verse “and herbs for the service of man.”
The animal and plant worlds descend from Tohu by way of the faces of the supernal Chariot.
Marei mekomos
- 1והנה ידוע שכל דצ״ח . . מבחי׳ התהו · ראה גם לקו״ת צו יג, ב ושם מציין לכאן.
- 2פני אריה פני שור · Ezekiel 1:10
- 3כמו שכתוב ועשב לעבודת האדם · Psalms 104:14
14והנה אף שבחי׳ מרכבה העליונה היא מבחי׳ תקון ג״כ כי יש להם בחי׳ בטול וכמ״ש וצבא השמים לך משתחוים1 ואומרים קדוש שמורה על הבטול שהוא בחי׳ התקון כנ״ל.
Now, although the level of the supernal Chariot is also from the level of Tikkun, for they have the quality of self-nullification (bittul), as it is written, “And the host of heaven bow down to You,” and they say “Holy,” which indicates self-nullification, which is the level of Tikkun, as explained above;
A qualification: the Chariot itself belongs to Tikkun, since its angels have bittul. They bow before G‑d and proclaim “Holy,” and both express self-nullification.
וגם נאמר בהם ופני נשר לארבעתן2 כו׳ שכאו״א כלול מכל הד׳ פנים. מ״מ ברבוי השתלשלות מבחי׳ שמרים שבהם כמו שמרי האופנים כו׳ נתהוו מהם דברים גשמיים של כל בחי׳ דצ״ח:
and it is also said of them, “and the face of an eagle to the four of them,” etc.: each one is composed of all four faces. Nevertheless, through an extended chain of descent (hishtalshelus), from the level of the dregs in them, such as the dregs of the Ofanim, etc., physical things of all the levels of inanimate, vegetative and animal came into being from them.
Each of the four living creatures had all four faces, so they too have inter-inclusion. Physical beings came, through a long descent, not from the creatures themselves but from their “dregs,” the lowest residue, such as that of the Ofanim.
Although the Chariot belongs to Tikkun, with bittul and faces included in one another, the physical creatures descend only from its dregs.
Marei mekomos
- 1וצבא השמים לך משתחוים · Nehemiah 9:6
- 2ופני נשר לארבעתן · Ezekiel 1:10
Why man needs food ¶15–18
15והנה ע״י אכילת אדם שהוא מבחי׳ התקון בחי׳ שם מ״ה שבו התלבשות אור א״ס כו׳
Now, through the eating of man, who is from the level of Tikkun, the level of the Name Mah, in which the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) is enclothed, etc.,
Man belongs to Tikkun, the level of the Name Mah in which the Infinite Light is clothed. That is why his eating can affect the food he eats.
מתעלה המאכל להיות בבחי׳ התכללות מפני שע״י אכילתו נתחזק כחו וחיותו ויוכל להתפלל בכח האכילה ולמסור נפשו באחד בבחי׳ בטול.
the food is elevated to be in [a state of] inter-inclusion. For through his eating his strength and life-force are reinforced, and he is able to pray with the strength of the eating and to give over his soul at [the word] “One,” with self-nullification (bittul).
The food becomes the eater’s strength, and he uses that strength to pray and to give himself over completely at “One” in the Shema. The food thereby shares in his bittul and is raised into inter-inclusion, the mark of Tikkun.
לכך גם המאכל מתעלה ומתכלל בבחי׳ בטול. וזהו ענין בירור כלים דתהו להעלות בבחי׳ התקון והתכללות כו׳.
Therefore the food, too, is elevated and included in [the state of] self-nullification. And this is the matter of the refinement of the vessels of Tohu: to raise [them] into the level of Tikkun and inter-inclusion, etc.
This is the Kabbalistic “refinement” (birur) of the vessels of Tohu: the sparks that fell into physical things are lifted into the order of Tikkun when they are used in divine service.
When man, rooted in Tikkun, eats and then prays with the strength of the food, the food is raised into his bittul; this is the refinement of the vessels of Tohu.
16והנה מצד ששרש התהו קדם בהשתלשלות לבחי׳ התקון וגם שנתעלו האורות דתהו בבחי׳ עצמות אור א״ס למעלה ממקור מציאותם
Now, since the root of Tohu precedes the level of Tikkun in the chain of descent (hishtalshelus), and also since the lights of Tohu ascended into the level of the very essence of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), above the source of their existence,
Two facts about Tohu matter here. Its root comes before Tikkun in the chain of descent, and when its vessels shattered, its lights withdrew upward into the very essence of the Infinite Light, above their own source.
הנה אחר שנתעלו הכלים דתהו בבחי׳ התקון עי״ז נתוסף אור וחיות יותר גם בבחי׳ התקון להיות המשכת אור מאורות דתהו
then, after the vessels of Tohu have been elevated into the level of Tikkun, through this more light and life-force is added in the level of Tikkun as well, so that there is a drawing down of light from the lights of Tohu.
Therefore, once the fallen vessels of Tohu are raised into Tikkun, they bring Tikkun more light than it has of its own: a drawing down from the lights of Tohu.
כי נתבררו ונתכללו בחי׳ כלים דתהו בבחי׳ התקון ומצד שרש התהו הנה הוא קדם במעלה מבחי׳ התקון וכמ״ש לפני מלך מלך1 כו׳.
For the vessels of Tohu have been refined and included in the level of Tikkun; and as for the root of Tohu, it is prior in rank to the level of Tikkun, as it is written, “before any king reigned,” etc.
Tohu comes before Tikkun in rank, not only in time. The kings of Edom who reigned “before any king reigned over the children of Israel” are read in Kabbalah as the Sefiros of Tohu.
Because the root of Tohu is higher than Tikkun and its lights withdrew into the essence of the Infinite Light, refining its vessels draws additional light from Tohu into Tikkun.
Marei mekomos
- 1לפני מלך מלך · Genesis 36:31
17וגם מצד שנתעלו האורות דתהו למעלה כו׳ הנה ע״י בירור כלים דתהו נמשך תוספת אור גם בבחי׳ התקון מבחי׳ אורות דתהו
And also, since the lights of Tohu ascended on high, etc., through the refinement of the vessels of Tohu an additional light is drawn into the level of Tikkun as well, from the level of the lights of Tohu
Since the lights of Tohu withdrew on high, refining its vessels draws into Tikkun added light from those lights, as they are in G‑d’s essence.
כמו שהם למעלה בבחי׳ עצמותו. ומטעם זה צריך האדם למאכל1 כי האכילה היא צורך גבוה.
as they are above, in the level of His essence. For this reason man needs food: for eating is a need on High.
This answers the question of paragraph 4: man, though rooted in Tikkun, needs food because through it light from the higher lights of Tohu is added. Eating is therefore “a need on High,” serving a divine purpose and not only the body.
This is why man, though created by a divine word, needs bread: refining food rooted in Tohu draws into Tikkun light from the lights of Tohu, which stand above it.
Marei mekomos
- 1ומטעם זה צריך האדם למאכל · ראה לקו״ת מטות פא, ב.
18וכמו״כ באדם דלעילא כמ״ש ועל דמות הכסא1 דמות כמראה אדם כו׳ נמשך בו ג״כ תוספת אור וחיות מבחי׳ אורות דתהו ע״י בירורי כלים דתהו.
Likewise in the Adam above, as it is written, “And upon the likeness of the throne, a likeness like the appearance of a man,” etc.: there is also drawn into him an addition of light and life-force from the level of the lights of Tohu, through the refinements of the vessels of Tohu.
The same holds for the supernal Adam, the human likeness Ezekiel saw upon the throne, that is, the configuration of Tikkun above. Refining the vessels of Tohu below adds light from the lights of Tohu to it as well.
וזהו וברכת את2 הוי״ה אלקיך כו׳ לשון ברכה הוא בחי׳ המשכה שנמשך תוספת אור להוי״ה אלקיך שהוא בבחי׳ התקון מבחי׳ אורות דתהו וזהו האדם בה׳ דקאי על אדם דלעילא.
And this is [the meaning of] “And you shall bless Havayah your G‑d,” etc.: the term “blessing” denotes drawing down, for additional light is drawn to Havayah your G‑d, which is in the level of Tikkun, from the level of the lights of Tohu. And this is ha’adam, with the hei, which refers to the Adam above.
This explains the command “you shall bless Havayah your G‑d” after eating: blessing (berachah) means drawing down, so the blessing draws additional light from Tohu into Havayah, the level of Tikkun. Ha’adam, “the man,” in “man shall live” likewise refers to the supernal Adam.
וזהו פי׳ לחם מן הארץ כי בחי׳ ארץ היא בחי׳ שם ב״ן בחי׳ תהו ולחם מן הארץ היינו בחי׳ בירורים דתהו:
And this is the meaning of “bread from the earth”: for the level of earth is the level of the Name Ban, the level of Tohu; and “bread from the earth” is the level of the refinements of Tohu.
The phrase “bread from the earth” fits this: “earth” is the Name Ban (Havayah spelled out with heis, numerically 52), which belongs to Tohu. Bread from the earth is therefore the refinement of Tohu.
Refining food rooted in Tohu draws added light into the supernal Adam as well; this is the “blessing” of G‑d after eating and the meaning of “bread from the earth.”
Marei mekomos
- 1ועל דמות הכסא · Ezekiel 1:26
- 2וברכת את ה׳ אלקיך · Deuteronomy 8:10
Bread from heaven ¶19–22
19והנה יש עוד בחי׳ לחם שנקרא לחם מן השמים והיינו לחם של המן כמ״ש הנני ממטיר לכם1 לחם מן השמים2 והוא ענין בחי׳ טל טלא דבדולחא.34
Now, there is another level of bread, called “bread from heaven,” namely the bread of the manna, as it is written, “Behold, I will rain down for you bread from heaven.” And it is the matter of the level of dew, tala devedolcha (“the crystal dew”).
There is also “bread from heaven,” the manna, which comes from a higher source. The Zohar calls that source tala devedolcha, “the crystal dew,” a dew that descends from the highest, hidden level.
As it is written, “And the layer of dew went up,” etc. Now, the manna came down in the merit of Moshe, who is Mah in Chochmah (wisdom), that is, the essence of the Name Mah,
The manna appeared beneath a layer of dew, and the Talmud says it fell in Moshe’s merit. Moshe embodies Mah, the bittul in Chochmah, in its very essence.
שהוא למעלה מהארת המוחין שנמשכו במדות לצורך הנהגתם והיינו בחי׳ פנימית כמו שהוא בעצם ולכן נאמר במשה כבד פה7 כו׳.
which is above the illumination of the intellect (mochin) drawn into the emotive attributes (middos) to direct them; that is, the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) as it is in essence. Therefore it is said of Moshe, “heavy of mouth,” etc.
Moshe’s level is higher than the light of the intellect that enters the emotions to guide them; it is the inner dimension as it is in itself. That is why he was “heavy of mouth”: his level did not readily come down into speech.
The manna, “bread from heaven,” comes from a higher source, the crystal dew, and fell in the merit of Moshe, whose root is the essence of Mah, too high to come down readily into speech.
The Zohar (III, 156a), cited in the Kehot note, says that when G‑d told Moshe, “Behold, I will rain down for you bread from heaven,” Moshe rejoiced, for through him the manna would be found for Israel.
Marei mekomos
- 1הנני ממטיר לכם · Exodus 16:4
- 2לחם מן השמים · ראה אוה״ת בשלח ע׳ תקפט ואילך, שמבאר ההפרש בין לחם מן הארץ ללחם מן השמים.
- 3טל טלא דבדולחא · Zohar III, 128b
- 4טל טלא דבדולחא · Zohar, Idra Rabba 24:177–25:188
- 5ותעל שכבת הטל · Exodus 16:14
- 6המן ירד בזכות משה · Taanit 9a:9
- 7נאמר במשה כבד פה · Exodus 4:10
And it is explained in the Zohar that “heavy of mouth” refers to the Oral Torah, and “heavy of tongue” refers to the Written Torah. For the root of Moshe was in the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Abba
The Zohar reads Moshe’s two complaints as referring to the two Torahs: “heavy of mouth” in the Oral Torah, “heavy of tongue” in the Written Torah. Moshe’s root was the inner dimension of Abba (Chochmah) as it is in itself.
כמו שהוא בעצם למעלה מהארת המוחין במדות של התורה כשר פסול טהור כו׳ ולכך אמר כי כבד פה וכבד לשון אנכי.3
as it is in essence, above the illumination of the intellect (mochin) into the attributes (middos) of the Torah: kosher, unfit, pure, etc. Therefore he said, “For I am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue.”
That level is above the light of Chochmah as it enters the Torah’s attributes, its rulings of kosher and unfit, pure and impure. Because his root stood above that descent, Moshe said he was heavy of mouth and tongue.
Moshe’s “heavy mouth and tongue” reflect his root in the inner essence of Chochmah, above the level at which the Torah comes down into its detailed rulings.
Marei mekomos
- 1ומבואר בזהר שכבד פה היינו תושבע״פ · Zohar III, 28a
- 2שרש משה היה בבחי׳ פנימיות אבא · ראה לקו״ש ח״ו ע׳ ...
- 3כי כבד פה וכבד לשון אנכי · Exodus 4:10
21ולכן אמר ג״כ מי אנכי כו׳ וכי אוציא את בנ״י1 כו׳. כלומר כי אוציא את בנ״י לקבל את התורה כי לא היה יכול להשפיל את עצמו למטה להיות נמשך ממנו שרש התורה.
Therefore he also said, “Who am I,” etc., “and that I should bring out the children of Israel,” etc. That is to say: that I should bring out the children of Israel to receive the Torah; for he was not able to lower himself below so that the root of the Torah would be drawn down from him.
Moshe’s reluctance at the burning bush, “Who am I… that I should bring out the children of Israel,” is read the same way. The Exodus was for the sake of receiving the Torah, and Moshe felt unable to lower himself so that the root of the Torah could be drawn down through him.
Moshe’s “Who am I?” expresses the same difficulty: his level was too high to come down and bring the Torah below.
Marei mekomos
- 1מי אנכי כו׳ וכי אוציא את בנ״י · Exodus 3:11
22והשיב לו הקב״ה אנכי אהיה עם פיך1 אנכי מי שאנכי2 הוא עצמות א״ס ב״ה שהוא למעלה מעלה מבחי׳ אבא ומעלה ומטה שוין אצלו ולפניו ית׳ כחשכה כאורה3 ממש
And the Holy One, blessed be He, answered him, “I (Anochi) will be with your mouth.” Anochi, “I, Who I am,” is the essence of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, who is far, far above the level of Abba; above and below are equal to Him, and before Him, may He be blessed, darkness is literally like light.
G‑d’s answer, “I (Anochi) will be with your mouth,” brings in Anochi, read as “I, Who I am”: G‑d’s very essence, far above Abba (Chochmah). For the essence, high and low are the same, as darkness is like light before Him.
ולכן ירד המן בזכות משה כי שרש המן הוא למעלה מאתעדל״ת שבאתעדל״ת אתעדל״ע היינו כי מבחי׳ הבירורים דתהו נמשכו המ״ד מאורות דתהו.
Therefore the manna came down in the merit of Moshe. For the root of the manna is above the arousal from below, whereby “through an arousal from below [comes] an arousal from above”: that is, from the refinements of Tohu the mayin duchrin (masculine waters) are drawn from the lights of Tohu.
This is why the manna came through Moshe. The ordinary pattern is an “arousal from below” that evokes an “arousal from above”: refining Tohu below draws down mayin duchrin, the flow from above, from the lights of Tohu.
אבל שרש המן הוא למעלה והוא אתעדל״ע שלא ע״י אתעדל״ת רק ע״י בחי׳ מי שאנכי כשנמשך בבחי׳ פנימית אבא בחי׳ משה.
But the root of the manna is higher: it is an arousal from above that does not come through an arousal from below, but only through the level of “Who I am,” when it is drawn into the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Abba, the level of Moshe.
The root of the manna is higher: an arousal from above that needs no arousal from below. It comes only from the divine essence, “Who I am,” as it enters the inner dimension of Abba, the level of Moshe.
אנכי אהיה עם פיך עי״ז יכול לירד ולהשפיל למטה ולהיות למטה כמו שהוא למעלה ממש כי שרש המן היה מבחי׳ עקודים שעקוד בכלי א׳ שבחי׳ התכללות שבבחי׳ עקודים אינה
“I will be with your mouth”: through this [he] can descend and lower [himself] below, and be below exactly as he is above. For the root of the manna was from the level of Akudim, which is “bound in one vessel”; for the inter-inclusion in the level of Akudim is not
Through “I will be with your mouth,” Moshe’s level could come down and be below exactly as it is above. The manna is rooted in Akudim, the first of three stages of emanation (Akudim, Nekudim, Berudim), in which all the Sefiros are “bound in one vessel,” and that unity differs from the unity of Tikkun.
כמו התכללות שבבחי׳ התקון ששרשו הוא עולם הברודים שהוא רבוי הכלים בהתחלקות קוין שאופן התכללותם הוא
like the inter-inclusion in the level of Tikkun, whose root is the World of Berudim, which is a multiplicity of vessels divided into lines, the manner of whose inter-inclusion is
Tikkun is rooted in Berudim, the third stage, where there are many vessels arranged in lines. The way they are united is described in the next parts.
ע״י בחי׳ בטול מהארת שם מ״ה שבחכמה שהיא הארת המוחין במדות ע״י התלבשות אור א״ס בחכמה מטעם שע״י הארת המוחין במדות מתכללים גם ב׳ הפכים
through self-nullification (bittul), from the illumination of the Name Mah in Chochmah, which is the illumination of the intellect (mochin) into the emotive attributes (middos), through the enclothement of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) in Chochmah. For through the illumination of the intellect into the emotive attributes even two opposites are included [in each other],
That unity comes through bittul: the light of Chochmah (the Name Mah), in which the Infinite Light is clothed, enters the emotions, and under its guidance even opposites combine.
כמו חו״ג יחד מצד חלישות המדות מהמוח השליט על הלב ומחליש את המדות שלא יהיו נרגשים בתקפם ומהותם.
such as Chesed and Gevurah together, because of the weakening of the attributes by the mind, which rules over the heart and weakens the attributes so that they are not felt in their full strength and essence.
The mind, which rules the heart, tempers the emotions so that they are not felt in their full force. Weakened in this way, Chesed and Gevurah can exist together.
אבל בחי׳ ההתכללות שבבחי׳ עקודים הוא כי אף גם בהיות המדות בתקפם אעפ״כ מתאחדים ומתכללים יחד מצד גלוי אוא״ס בהם בבחי׳ השלימות דוקא ומצד גלוי אוא״ס שבהם לא שייך ב׳ הפכים כלל
But the inter-inclusion in the level of Akudim is such that even when the attributes are in their full strength, they nevertheless unite and are included together, because of the revelation of the Infinite Light in them, specifically in [a state of] perfection. And because of the revelation of the Infinite Light in them, two opposites do not apply at all,
In Akudim, by contrast, the attributes keep their full strength and are still united, because the Infinite Light is revealed in them in its perfection. Where the Infinite is revealed, opposition has no place.
וגם לא בחי׳ התחלקות כי בחי׳ התוקף שלהם אינו מצד תוקף המהות אלא מצד גלוי אוא״ס שהוא שלימותא דכולא4
nor does division. For their strength is not from the strength of [their] essence, but from the revelation of the Infinite Light, which is “the perfection of all.”
Nor is there division into separate parts there. Their strength comes not from their own nature but from the revealed Infinite Light, called “the perfection of all” because it includes everything.
ולכן נק׳ עקוד בכלי א׳ שאינו מצד רבוי הכלים והתחלקות קוין שהוא ענין הבטול והחלישות כנ״ל אלא מצד גלוי אוא״ס ותוקף השלימות שבהם:5
Therefore it is called “bound in one vessel”: it is not through a multiplicity of vessels and a division into lines, which is the matter of self-nullification and weakening, as explained above, but through the revelation of the Infinite Light and the strength of the perfection that is in them.
So “bound in one vessel” describes a unity of revealed, infinite perfection, not the unity of many vessels reached through self-nullification and weakening. This is why what is rooted in Akudim, like the manna, can come down unchanged.
G‑d’s answer to Moshe, “I will be with your mouth,” draws on His essence, for which above and below are equal. So the manna, rooted in Akudim, where the attributes are united at full strength by the revealed Infinite Light rather than by bittul, came down unchanged in Moshe’s merit as an arousal from above.
Marei mekomos
- 1אנכי אהיה עם פיך · Exodus 4:12
- 2אנכי מי שאנכי · נסמן לעיל א, א.
- 3כחשכה כאורה · Psalms 139:12
- 4שלימותא דכולא · עבוה״ק ח״א רפ״ח. וראה לקו״ת פ׳ אמור לח, א.
- 5שו״ה כי — עקודים שעקוד בכלי א׳ · ראה לעיל י, ג וש״נ.
The two blessings ¶23–30
23והנה עם כל זה יובן מה שארז״ל ברכת הזן תקן משה12 כי בברכת הזן נאמר הכל בלשון נסתר כי הוא נותן לחם לכל בשר3 כו׳.
Now, with all this we will understand what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: Moshe instituted the blessing HaZan. For in the blessing HaZan everything is said in the third person (lashon nistar, the “hidden” form), as in “He gives bread to all flesh,” etc.
Now the opening questions can be answered. The blessing HaZan, which Moshe instituted, speaks of G‑d only in the third person (“He gives bread to all flesh”), which Hebrew grammar calls the “hidden” form.
והיינו מפני כי משה הוא בבחי׳ שם מ״ה כמו שהוא בעצם שאינו בבחי׳ גלוי והארת המוחין במדות רק בבחי׳ הבטול כו׳. לכן נאמר הכל לשון נסתר כו׳.
That is because Moshe is in the level of the Name Mah as it is in essence, which is not in [a state of] revelation and illumination of the intellect (mochin) into the emotive attributes (middos), but only in [a state of] self-nullification (bittul), etc. Therefore everything is said in the third person, etc.
This fits Moshe’s root: the essence of Mah, which does not reveal itself in the emotions but remains in bittul. So the blessing he instituted speaks of G‑d as hidden.
Moshe’s blessing HaZan speaks of G‑d in the hidden, third-person form because Moshe’s root is the concealed essence of Mah.
Marei mekomos
- 1ברכת הזן תקן משה · ראה בארוכה בלקו״ת פ׳ עקב יד, א ואילך.
- 2ברכת הזן תקן משה · Berakhot 48b:2–3
- 3הוא נותן לחם לכל בשר · Psalms 136:25
24ובברכת הארץ נאמר לשון נוכח נודה לך כו׳. והיינו מפני שברכת הארץ קאי על לחם מן הארץ דהיינו לחם שע״י בירורי מ״ן ומ״ד שהוא הכל בבחי׳ ממכ״ע.
And in the blessing of the land the second person (lashon nochach) is used: “We thank You,” etc. That is because the blessing of the land refers to bread from the earth, that is, bread [that comes] through the refinements of mayin nukvin and mayin duchrin (feminine and masculine waters), all of which is in the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin).
The blessing of the land, by contrast, addresses G‑d directly, in the second person: “We thank You.” It concerns bread from the earth, sustenance that comes through refinement, the raising of mayin nukvin from below and the drawing down of mayin duchrin from above, all within the light that fills the worlds.
ולכן נאמר בברכת הארץ ועל הכל אנו מודים לך כו׳ לשון הודאה כי ענין הודאה הוא
Therefore it is said in the blessing of the land, “And for everything we thank You,” etc., an expression of hodaah (thanks and acknowledgment). For the matter of hodaah is
So that blessing uses the language of hodaah, “we thank You,” a word that also means to acknowledge or concede.
ע״ד מודים חכמים לר״מ דהיינו ב׳ החולקים זע״ז כשא׳ מבטל דעתו נגד חבירו נק׳ בחי׳ הודאה.
like “the Sages concede (modim) to Rabbi Meir”: that is, when two disagree with each other and one sets aside his opinion before his fellow’s, this is called hodaah (acknowledgment).
Hodaah is like the Talmud’s phrase “the Sages concede to Rabbi Meir”: in a dispute, one side sets aside its own view before the other’s. Thanking G‑d in this sense is a kind of bittul.
The blessing of the land speaks to G‑d directly and uses hodaah, acknowledgment, because it concerns bread from the earth, refined through mayin nukvin and mayin duchrin within the light that fills the worlds.
25וכמו״כ מודים אנחנו לך. כי הנה יש ב׳ דעות וכמ״ש כי אל דעות1 הוי״ה יש דעת שמלמטה למעלה שהגשמיות הוא היש והרוחניות הוא אין כי אינו מושג כו׳.
So too, “We thank You (modim anachnu lach).” For there are two views (de’os), as it is written, “For G‑d is a G‑d of de’os (knowledge).” There is the view from below to above, in which the physical is yesh (something) and the spiritual is ayin (nothing), for it is not grasped, etc.
The Alter Rebbe now explains modim, “we thank,” in the blessing of the land. Chanah’s verse calls G‑d a G‑d of de’os, “knowledges” in the plural, which he reads as two ways of seeing reality; seen from below, the physical seems real (yesh, “something”) and the spiritual seems to be nothing (ayin), because it cannot be perceived.
ומלמעלה למטה הוא בהפוך שהרוחניות הוא היש אמתי מצד שהוא עיקר המהוה והמחיה וכמ״ש להנחיל אוהבי יש2 והגשמיות בטל לאין בתכלית.
And from above to below it is the reverse: the spiritual is the true yesh, since it is the essential [power] that brings into being and gives life, as it is written, “To cause those who love Me to inherit yesh,” and the physical is utterly nullified into nothing.
Seen from above it is the reverse: the spiritual is the true existence, since it creates and sustains everything, and the physical is nothing. The verse “to cause those who love Me to inherit yesh” calls what they inherit, which is spiritual, yesh.
There are two views of reality: from below, the physical is real and the spiritual is nothing; from above, the spiritual is the true reality and the physical is nothing.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי אל דעות ה׳ · I Samuel 2:3
- 2להנחיל אוהבי יש · Proverbs 8:21
26וזהו ענין הודאה1 שאנחנו מודים שהגשמיות בטל והאמת הוא כמו שהוא קמיה. וזו היא מעלת כל העוסק בתורה ומצות רק להעלותן מיש לאין.
And this is the meaning of hodaah: we acknowledge (modim) that the physical is nullified and that the truth is as it is before Him. And this is the virtue of everyone who engages in Torah and mitzvos only to raise them from yesh to ayin.
Hodaah, “acknowledgment,” means accepting the view from above: conceding that the physical is nothing and that the truth is as things are before G‑d. Those who engage in Torah and mitzvos for this purpose raise the physical from yesh to ayin.
ולכן ארז״ל גדולים מעשה צדיקים2 ממעשה שמים וארץ. שמעשה שמים וארץ הוא מאין ליש והוא מסתיר את האין.
Therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Greater are the deeds of the righteous than the making of heaven and earth.” For the making of heaven and earth is from ayin to yesh, and it conceals the ayin.
Hence the Talmud’s saying that the deeds of the righteous are greater than the making of heaven and earth. Creation brought something out of nothing, and the something it made hides the nothing, its divine source.
Acknowledgment means conceding the view from above; the righteous, who raise the physical from yesh to ayin, do something greater than creation, which drew yesh out of ayin and concealed it.
Marei mekomos
- 1וזהו ענין הודאה · Genesis 33:1
- 2גדולים מעשה צדיקים · Ketubot 5a:11
27ומעשה צדיקים העוסקים בתומ״צ עושים מיש אין להיות הכל כמו שהוא קמיה וזהו גדולים כו׳. כי ידוע מארז״ל גמירא משמיא מיהב יהבי1 משקל לא שקלי.
But the deeds of the righteous, who engage in Torah and mitzvos, make ayin out of yesh, so that everything is as it is before Him; and this is [the meaning of] “greater,” etc. For it is known from the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory: “It is a tradition that from Heaven they give; they do not take.”
The righteous make ayin out of yesh, bringing the world back to how it is before G‑d. The Talmud records a tradition that what Heaven gives it does not take back, and the Alter Rebbe applies it to the flow of creation.
והיינו שבחי׳ אור ושפע האלקית הנמשך מאין ליש להיות נמשך בבחי׳ ממכ״ע כח הפועל בנפעל2 לצורך התהוות העולמות וכמ״ש ואתה מחיה3 כו׳ המחדש בטובו כו׳.
That is, the G‑dly light and flow drawn from ayin to yesh, so as to be drawn in the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin), the power of the Maker within the made, for the sake of bringing the worlds into being, as it is written, “And You give life,” etc., “Who in His goodness renews,” etc.
That “giving” is the flow of G‑dly light from ayin to yesh as the light that fills all worlds: the Creator’s power within each created thing, which constantly gives it life and renews creation.
פי׳ אתה אל״ף ותי״ו וה׳ מוצאות הפה. היינו שכל עיקר מציאות ההשתלשלות הוא מבחי׳ אותיות.
The meaning of atah (“You”): alef and tav, and the five (hei) articulations of the mouth. That is, the whole essence of the existence of the chain of descent (hishtalshelus) is from the level of letters.
The word atah, “You,” in “You give life” is read as alef to tav, all the letters, together with hei (five), the five places in the mouth where speech is formed. All of creation exists through letters, G‑d’s “speech.”
Heaven’s flow, which gives and does not take back, is the light that fills all worlds, constantly bringing creation into being through the letters of divine speech.
Marei mekomos
- 1גמירא משמיא מיהב יהבי · Taanit 25a:4
- 2כח הפועל בנפעל · ראה לקמן צו, ג במ״מ.
- 3ואתה מחיה · Nehemiah 9:6
28וכמ״ש בדבר1 ה׳ כו׳ והוא ע״י ה׳ מוצאות הפה ה״ג מנצפ״ך. וזהו מיהב יהבי היינו שיהא נמשך תמיד אור ושפע אלקות מאין ליש להתהוות העולמות. וזהו דעה הא׳ שמלמעלה למטה שיהא נמשך תמיד אור וחיות כו׳.
As it is written, “By the word of G‑d,” etc. And it is through the five articulations of the mouth, the five Gevuros, mem, nun, tzadi, pei, kaf. And this is “they give”: that G‑dly light and flow should constantly be drawn from ayin to yesh, to bring the worlds into being. And this is the first view, from above to below: that light and life-force should constantly be drawn, etc.
“By the word of G‑d the heavens were made”: creation is through speech, formed by the five articulations of the mouth, which are also the five Gevuros, the five final letters (mem, nun, tzadi, pei, kaf). This constant giving from above to below is the first view, in which the divine flow brings the worlds into being.
Creation through the five articulations of divine speech is Heaven’s constant “giving,” the first view, from above to below.
Marei mekomos
- 1בדבר ה׳ · Psalms 33:6
29וזהו מעשה שמים וארץ כו׳. אבל בחי׳ צדיקים גדולה ממעשה שמים וארץ שמהפכים ומבררים ע״י בחי׳ התקון פרצוף אדם בחי׳ יש הגשמי להיות עולה לבחי׳ אין דלעילא שהוא יש האמיתי כו׳.
And this is the making of heaven and earth, etc. But the level of the righteous is greater than the making of heaven and earth, for through the level of Tikkun, the partzuf (configuration) of Adam, they transform and refine the level of the physical yesh, so that it rises to the level of the ayin above, which is the true yesh, etc.
That flow is the making of heaven and earth. The righteous do more: through Tikkun, the partzuf of Adam with its bittul, they transform and refine physical yesh so that it rises to the ayin above, which is the true yesh.
The righteous surpass creation by turning physical yesh back into the ayin above, the true reality.
30וזהו ענין אנחנו מודים לך. וענין ומברכים אותך הוא כי ההפרש בין ברכה להודאה1 כי הודאה הגם שמודים שהאמת הוא כמו שהוא קמיה מ״מ אינו בגלוי ממש.
And this is the meaning of “we thank You.” And the meaning of “and bless You” is this: the difference between blessing and acknowledgment is that in acknowledgment, although we acknowledge that the truth is as it is before Him, nevertheless it is not actually revealed.
The blessing of the land says “we thank You and bless You.” Thanks, hodaah, acknowledges the truth as it is before G‑d, but that truth is not yet openly revealed.
וענין ברכה הוא שתהיה המשכה בגלוי ממש כמו שהוא למעלה כו׳ כי אחרי העלאת מ״ן ממעשה הצדיקים נמשך אח״כ המשכת מ״ד בתוספת גלוי אור מאורות דתהו כו׳. וזהו ומברכין כי ברוך ל׳ המשכה כו׳:
Blessing, however, means that there is a drawing down in actual revelation, as it is above, etc. For after the raising of mayin nukvin (feminine waters) from the deeds of the righteous, there is afterwards a drawing down of mayin duchrin (masculine waters), with an additional revelation of light from the lights of Tohu, etc. And this is “and bless,” for baruch (blessed) is an expression of drawing down, etc.
Blessing goes further and draws that truth down into open revelation. After the deeds of the righteous raise mayin nukvin, mayin duchrin are drawn down, bringing an added revelation of light from the lights of Tohu; baruch, “blessed,” means drawing down.
Thanks acknowledges the truth without revealing it; blessing, which follows the ascent brought about by the righteous, draws down an open revelation of light from the lights of Tohu.
Marei mekomos
- 1ההפרש בין ברכה להודאה · ראה המשך חייב אדם לברך תרל״ח פרק יג.
Shabbos and the manna ¶31–35
31ואחר שנתבאר כל הנ״ל מעתה צריך לבאר ענין השבת. כי הנה כתיב כי ששת ימים עשה כו׳. וביום השביעי שבת1 כו׳. וישבת ביום השביעי2 כו׳.
Now that all the above has been explained, we must now explain the matter of Shabbos. For it is written, “For in six days He made,” etc., “and on the seventh day He rested,” etc.; and, “And He rested on the seventh day,” etc.
Having explained the blessings, the Alter Rebbe turns to Shabbos, the setting of the double bread. He cites the verses about six days of making and the seventh day of rest.
וענין ששת ימים ידוע שהם ו״ק בחי׳ ז״א מדות דאצי׳ שבכל יום נמשכה המשכה מיוחדת מבחי׳ ז״א ע״י בחי׳ מל׳ דאצי׳ היינו ביום א׳ ממדת החסד וביום ב׳ ממדת הגבורה כו׳
The matter of the six days is known: they are the six extremities (vav ketzavos), the level of Z’eir Anpin, the emotive attributes (middos) of Atzilus. On each day a particular drawing down was drawn from the level of Z’eir Anpin through the level of Malchus of Atzilus: on the first day from the attribute of Chesed, on the second day from the attribute of Gevurah, etc.,
The six days correspond to the six emotive attributes of Atzilus, Z’eir Anpin. Each day a particular attribute flowed down through Malchus of Atzilus: Chesed on the first day, Gevurah on the second, and so on.
לצורך התהוות בי״ע בבע״ג והאור משתלשל בצמצומים מעילה אחר עילה בכלים מכלים שונים עד שיוכל להיות בע״ג בתכלית כי רצון המאציל היה להיות לו דירה בתחתוני׳ דוקא.
for the sake of bringing [the worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah into being as limited [existence]. And the light descends by stages through contractions (tzimtzumim), cause after cause, in vessels diverse one from another, until it can be utterly limited. For the will of the Emanator was to have a dwelling place among the lower realms specifically.
This flow brought the lower worlds, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, into being as finite existence. The light came down through contraction after contraction, in ever more varied vessels, until it could become fully finite, because G‑d desired a dwelling place in the lowest realm.
The six days of creation are the six emotive attributes of Atzilus, each drawing light down through Malchus and through many contractions, so that finite worlds could exist as G‑d’s dwelling below.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי ששת ימים עשה כו׳. וביום השביעי שבת · Exodus 31:17
- 2וישבת ביום השביעי · Genesis 2:2
32והענין מובן עד״מ מאדם שרוצה להעלות איזה שכל עמוק על הכתב הנה אור ההשכלה צריך לירד ולהשתלשל דרך צמצומים רבים דרך חו״ב ומחו״ב למדות כו׳ עד כח העשיה שביד המוגבלת באותיות הכתב.
The matter is understood by way of analogy from a person who wishes to set down some deep idea in writing: the light of the concept must descend and be drawn down by stages through many contractions, through Chochmah and Binah, and from Chochmah and Binah to the emotive attributes, etc., down to the power of action in the hand, which is limited to the letters of writing.
An analogy: when a person writes down a deep idea, the concept passes from Chochmah and Binah, the intellect, to the emotions and finally to the hand, where it is confined to written letters. Each stage contracts the idea further.
The analogy of writing illustrates the descent of light through contractions down to finite expression.
33והנה אנו רואים אחר שנח ממלאכתו חוזרים כל האורות וכל הכחות אשר היו נמשכים בהשתלשלות דרך עילה ועלול ויש להם עלייה להיות נכללים בכח השכל ובעצמות הנפש.1
Now, we see that after he rests from his work, all the lights and all the powers that had been drawn down in the chain of descent, by way of cause and effect, return and have an ascent, to be included in the power of the intellect and in the essence of the soul.
When the writer stops working, all the powers that had flowed down to the hand return upward and are absorbed into his intellect and the essence of his soul.
וכך עד״מ ששת ימים עשה בבחי׳ השתלשלות דרך עילה ועלול ברבוי רבבות מדרגות עד עולם השפל הגשמי הזה שהיא היותר תחתון במדרגה.2
So too, by way of analogy, “in six days He made,” in the manner of a chain of descent (hishtalshelus), by way of cause and effect, through many myriads of levels, down to this lowly physical world, which is the lowest in level.
So too with creation: during the six days the light descended through countless levels of cause and effect, down to this physical world, the lowest of all.
As a writer’s powers return inward when he rests, so the light that descended during the six days of creation returns upward.
Marei mekomos
- 1נכללים — השכל ובעצמות הנפש · בהגהת הרה״ח ר׳ אשר: ”כללי, ובכח הכללי”. ”אין שום היכר והפרש . . כח היותר תחתון . . דרגה לכח היותר . . מאחר שהוא כולו . . ולכן אף כח יותר . . יש לו עליי׳ לכח [כללי] כי שם מעלה . . שוין כו׳. וכך עד״מ”.
- 2בשער הספר רשם · ”הועתק מספר תו״א של כ״ק אדמו״ר בליובאוויטש”.
34וביום השביעי כתיב וישבת כו׳ שחוזרים האורות ונכללים בבחי׳ כח הכללי כי שם מעלה ומטה שוין שהוא כח כללי פשוט בתכלית הפשיטות. וזהו ענין מקיף מכל צד בשוה.
And of the seventh day it is written, “And He rested,” etc.: the lights return and are included in the level of the general power, for there above and below are equal, since it is a general power, simple in the utmost simplicity. And this is the matter of makif (encompassing): equally on every side.
On the seventh day “He rested”: the lights return upward and are absorbed into a general, utterly simple power in which above and below are equal. Such a power is makif, encompassing, present equally to every part.
וכמאמר צופה ומביט עד סוף כל הדורות כו׳1 שסובב ומקיף כל פרטי ההשתלשלות ונכללים בו בתכלית ההתכללות וכמו עד״מ אדם המרגיש עצמו בכל פרטי אבריו מראשו ועד רגלו בסקירה אחת.
As it is said, “He looks and gazes to the end of all generations,” etc.: it surrounds and encompasses all the particulars of the chain of descent (hishtalshelus), and they are included in it in utmost inter-inclusion; just as, by way of analogy, a person feels himself in all the particulars of his limbs, from his head to his foot, in a single glance.
The saying “He looks and gazes to the end of all generations” describes this all-encompassing view, in which every detail of creation is included at once. A person likewise feels his whole body, from head to foot, in a single glance.
On Shabbos the lights that descended return into the general, encompassing power, in which above and below are equal and every detail is included at once.
Marei mekomos
- 1צופה ומביט עד סוף כל הדורות כו׳ · נסמן לעיל סב, ד.
And this is the matter of Shabbos: for “on it He rested” is the ascent of the worlds in the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus), and they are included in the simple, general power, in utmost inter-inclusion.
Now Shabbos itself: “on it He rested” means that the worlds ascend inward, into their inner dimension, and are absorbed into the simple, general power described above.
ועיקר ההפרש שבין שבת למן כי במן ההתגלות הוא מבחי׳ מקור השייך להשתלשלות כמו בחינת עקודים שעקוד בכלי א׳ שיש בו מכל פרטי ההשתלשלות הכל
The main difference between Shabbos and the manna is that in the manna the revelation is from the level of a source that pertains to the chain of descent (hishtalshelus), like the level of Akudim, which is “bound in one vessel,” which contains all the particulars of the chain of descent, all
Shabbos and the manna differ in their source. The manna comes from a source that still relates to the chain of descent: Akudim, which holds all the details of creation bound together in one vessel.
בבחי׳ התכללות ואופן בחי׳ התכללותו אשר נכללים בו כל פרטי פרטים שבהשתלשלות הוא מצד שהוא מקור השייך להשתלשלות והוא בעצמו ג״כ מערך ההשתלשלות רק שהוא ראשית המקור שלהם
in [a state of] inter-inclusion. And the manner of its inter-inclusion, in which all the most minute particulars of the chain of descent are included, is due to its being a source that pertains to the chain of descent; it is itself also within the scope of the chain of descent, only it is the very first source of them.
Akudim includes all the particulars because it is their source. It belongs to the same order as the chain of descent and is simply its first beginning.
לכן התגלות שלו הוא ע״ד התגלות הכלל אשר שייך להפרטים אשר נכללים בו (עיין בדרוש דור הפלגה מענין עקודים).2
Therefore its revelation is like the revelation of a general principle, which pertains to the particulars that are included in it. (See the discourse on the Generation of the Dispersion, on the subject of Akudim.)
So the revelation of Akudim is like that of a general principle, which exists in relation to its particulars. The parenthesis refers to the discussion of Akudim in the discourse on the Generation of the Dispersion, in Parshas Noach.
אבל בחי׳ שבת הוא עליית ההשתלשלות לבחי׳ מקיף הכללי לבחי׳ עצמות א״ס (עמ״ש ע״פ שבתותי תשמורו3 שבת עלאה) אשר לא שייך בו לומר שהוא מקור וכלל השייך להשתלשלות מצד
But the level of Shabbos is the ascent of the chain of descent to the level of the general encompassing [light], to the level of the essence of the Infinite One (see what is written on “My Sabbaths you shall keep”: the supernal Shabbos), of which one cannot say that it is a source and general principle pertaining to the chain of descent, because
Shabbos is higher: the chain of descent ascends to the general encompassing level, the essence of the Infinite One, which cannot be called a source or general principle of creation. The parenthesis refers to the discussion of the “supernal Shabbos” on the verse “My Sabbaths you shall keep.”
שהוא בבחי׳ א״ס ויכול להיות רבי רבבות השתלשלות באופנים אחרים. ולכן ההתגלות שלו הוא ג״כ עד״ז שנגלה הארת מקור הכללי הפשוט בתכלית הפשיטות.
it is in the level of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), and there could be myriads upon myriads of chains of descent in other ways. Therefore its revelation, too, is in this manner: the illumination of the general source, simple in the utmost simplicity, is revealed.
The Infinite is not defined by this creation; countless other chains of descent could exist. What is revealed on Shabbos is therefore the light of a general source of utter simplicity, not of a principle bound to its details.
(ומטעם זה עצמו שהוא מקור כללי בתכלית בבחי׳ א״ס מוכרח לומר שגם בחי׳ השתלשלות הנכללים בו היינו מצד השלימות ולא מצד שהוא מקור השייך להם ולא שייך לומר בבחי׳ ההשתלשלות שהם כמו הפרט לגבי הכלל
(For this very reason, that it is an utterly general source in the level of the Infinite One, one must say that the chain of descent included in it is also [included] by virtue of [its] perfection, and not because it is a source pertaining to them; and one cannot say of the chain of descent that it is like the particular in relation to the general,
A parenthetical gloss adds that because this source is infinite, the chain of descent is included in it only as a consequence of its perfection, not because it is their source. The relationship is not that of a general principle to its particulars.
כי כל כלל הוא שייך להפרטים רק מה שנכללים בו ההשתלשלות הוא דבר שממילא מפני שהוא שלימותא דכולא והוא רק בבחי׳ זיו והארה וכמו שבחי׳ האור עצמו הוא ג״כ רק גלוי ממילא מבחי׳ א״ס כו׳. ולכן הוא רק בבחי׳ זיו. מהרי״ל).
for every general principle pertains to its particulars. Rather, the inclusion of the chain of descent in it is something that comes of itself, because it is “the perfection of all,” and it is only in the level of radiance and illumination; just as the level of the light itself is also only a revelation that comes of itself from the level of the Infinite One, etc. Therefore it is only in the level of radiance. Maharil.)
A general principle exists in relation to its particulars, but creation is included in the Infinite only as a by-product of its being “the perfection of all,” at the level of mere radiance, just as the light itself is only a revelation that comes of itself from the Infinite. The gloss is signed “Maharil.”
ומטעם זה לא ירד המן בשבת כי בחי׳ המן שרשו מבחי׳ עקודים כמבואר לעיל ובחי׳ עקודים בערך השתלשלות הוא.
For this reason the manna did not come down on Shabbos. For the root of the manna is from the level of Akudim, as explained above, and the level of Akudim is within the scope of the chain of descent.
This is why no manna fell on Shabbos: the manna is rooted in Akudim, which belongs to the order of the chain of descent.
ולכן שייך בו לומר שהוא עקוד בכלי א׳ מצד שהוא בערך השתלשלות וכל בחי׳ השתלשלות הוא בערך פרט לגבי הכלל כנ״ל ומצד שבשבת
Therefore one can say of it that it is “bound in one vessel,” since it is within the scope of the chain of descent, and all of the chain of descent is like a particular in relation to the general, as explained above. And since on Shabbos
Akudim can be called “bound in one vessel” precisely because it relates to the chain of descent as a general principle relates to its particulars.
העלייה היא לבחי׳ מקיף הכללי הנ״ל אשר שם מעלה ומטה שוין ומקיף הכל בהשוואה אחת כו׳
the ascent is to the level of the general encompassing [light] mentioned above, where above and below are equal and it encompasses everything with one equality, etc.,
On Shabbos, however, the ascent is to the encompassing level where above and below are equal and everything is surrounded alike.
לכך המן שהוא מבחי׳ עקודים לא ירד בשבת מאחר שבחי׳ עקודים היינו מערך ההשתלשלות כנ״ל.
therefore the manna, which is from the level of Akudim, did not come down on Shabbos, since the level of Akudim is within the scope of the chain of descent, as explained above.
So the manna, rooted in Akudim, could not come down on Shabbos: its source is still within the order of the chain of descent, below the level that Shabbos reaches.
Shabbos raises the worlds into the encompassing essence of the Infinite One, above every source related to creation; the manna, rooted in Akudim, which belongs to the chain of descent, therefore did not fall on Shabbos.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי בו שבת · Genesis 2:3
- 2בדרוש דור הפלגה מענין עקודים · ראה לעיל י, ג ואילך.
- 3ע״פ שבתותי תשמורו · לקו״ת בהר מא, א ואילך.
The two loaves ¶36
36ואחר כל זה מובן ענין שתי הלחם שבשבת שע״פ נגלה צריך להניח זו ע״ג זו
After all this, the matter of the two loaves of Shabbos is understood: according to the revealed [Torah], one must place one on top of the other,
Now the opening question is answered. According to the revealed Torah, one loaf is placed on top of the other.
כי בחי׳ נגלה היא בבחינת השתלשלות בחי׳ או״י וכאשר יניח זו ע״ג זו מורה על בחי׳ השתלשלות בדרך עילה ועלול כו׳.
for the level of the revealed is in the level of the chain of descent (hishtalshelus), the level of direct light (or yashar); and when one places one on top of the other, it indicates the chain of descent by way of cause and effect, etc.
The revealed Torah reflects the chain of descent, “direct light” flowing from above to below, from cause to effect; one loaf above the other mirrors that order.
ובחי׳ נסתר הוא בחי׳ או״ח עליית אורות להיות עולות ונכללות בתכלית ההתכללות בבחי׳ מקיף הכללי כנ״ל מטעם זה צריך שיהיו
And the level of the hidden is the level of returning light (or chozer), the ascent of lights, so that they rise and are included in utmost inter-inclusion in the level of the general encompassing [light], as explained above. For this reason they must be
The hidden Torah reflects “returning light,” the ascent of the lights back upward until they are absorbed into the general encompassing level, as on Shabbos.
זו בצד זו שתיהן בשוה שמורים על בחי׳ התכללות אמתי במקיף העליון שמקיף לכל פרטי פרטי ההשתלשלות בשוה כו׳ קמיה מעלה ומטה שוין כו׳ וד״ל.
one beside the other, both equal, which indicate true inter-inclusion in the supernal encompassing [light], which encompasses all the most minute particulars of the chain of descent equally, etc.: before Him, above and below are equal, etc. And this suffices for one who understands.
So according to the Kabbalah the loaves are placed side by side and equal, showing the true inclusion of everything in the supernal encompassing light, before which above and below are equal. “This suffices for one who understands” leaves the rest to the reader’s reflection.
(ועמ״ש לקמן בד״ה זכור ושמור1 שהן זו״נ כי זכור לדכורא ושמור לנוקבא והן ב׳ חלות דלחם משנה. וע״פ סדר ההשתלשלות הרי המלכות מקבלת מז״א והוא למעלה ממנה במדרגה.
(And see what is written further on, in the discourse beginning “Zachor and Shamor,” that they are Z’eir Anpin and Nukva: for zachor (“Remember”) is for the masculine and shamor (“Keep”) is for the feminine; and they are the two loaves of lechem mishneh. According to the order of the chain of descent, Malchus receives from Z’eir Anpin, and he is above her in level.
The parenthesis points to the maamar “Zachor and Shamor,” where the two loaves are Z’eir Anpin, the masculine (“Remember”), and Nukva, the feminine (“Keep”). In the order of the chain of descent Malchus receives from Z’eir Anpin and stands below it.
וזהו כמו שהן באצי׳ אבל מצד עצמות א״ס ב״ה שניהן בדבור א׳ נאמרו כו׳ שכולל לשניהם בשוה וזהו שע״פ הנסתר צ״ל ב׳ חלות דלחם משנה זו בצד זו):
This is as they are in Atzilus. But from the perspective of the essence of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, “both were said in a single utterance,” etc., which includes both of them equally. And this is why, according to the hidden [Torah], the two loaves of lechem mishneh must be one beside the other.)
That order belongs to Atzilus. From the perspective of G‑d’s essence, “Remember” and “Keep” were said in a single utterance, equally, and so according to the hidden Torah the two loaves are placed side by side.
The two customs for the Shabbos loaves mirror two levels: the revealed Torah follows the chain of descent, one above the other, while the hidden Torah reflects the ascent of Shabbos into the encompassing essence, where both are equal and side by side.
Marei mekomos
- 1בד״ה זכור ושמור · ע, ד.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Eat in order to serve: the strength that comes from food should be used to pray and to give oneself over completely at “One” in the Shema, and then the food itself is raised into holiness. More broadly, engage in Torah and mitzvos with the aim of raising the physical from yesh to ayin, acknowledging, as in “we thank You,” that the world as it appears is nothing before G‑d; blessing then draws that truth down into revelation.
Questions for discussion
- Why does man, himself created by a divine word, need bread, while bread does not need man?
- How does the inter-inclusion of Akudim differ from the inter-inclusion of Tikkun, and why could the manna, rooted in Akudim, be below exactly as it is above?
- Why does Moshe’s blessing HaZan speak of G‑d in the third person, while the blessing of the land addresses Him directly?
- What is the difference between acknowledgment and blessing, and how does each relate to the two views of reality, from below and from above?
- If the manna comes from so high a source, why did it not fall on Shabbos?
Key terms in this maamar
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×29
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×8
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×1
- The G‑dly soulנפש האלקית
- The soul that is 'a part of G‑d above'. ×1
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×1
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×1
- The intellect (mochin)מוחין
- Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×7
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d.
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×6
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×11
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level.
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- ×1
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- An arousal from aboveאתערותא דלעילא
- Divine initiative, unprompted by us.
- 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.
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration. ×3
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d.
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1
- 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. ×1
- A dwelling place among the lower realmsדירה בתחתונים
- The purpose of creation: that G‑d be at home in this world.
- Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds.
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail.
- Nukva (the feminine / Malchus)נוקבא
- Malchus as the receiving configuration. ×1
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×1
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×1