Torah Ohr · Parshas Chayei Sarah · Maamar 2
לשון אדמו״ר נ״ע בעצמו
The very words of our master himself
The big idea
The soul's garments, the reward of the mitzvos, are not created anew but refined out of kelipas nogah, and each soul must refine its own through the practical mitzvos. Yet every refinement is completed through a union in Atzilus, so even the simplest mitzvah and the plainest Torah study are rooted in the highest world.
The maamar in brief
This note in the author's own hand works through the Arizal's teaching on the soul's “garments.” Prayer lifts souls out of the kelipos as mayin nukvin, something others can do for them; but the soul descends into a body to perform the practical mitzvos, which refine its own garments, and no one else can do that. Refinement comes from above, through the mayin dechurin of Z'eir Anpin, the five chasadim on which the 248 positive commandments depend and works even without intent, as bread nourishes without a blessing. The garments are the inner tzelem of Imma and the encompassing Chashmal, the good refined from kelipas nogah. They let the soul bear the light of the World to Come; a soul with lacking garments is first repaired in Gehinnom. Gan Eden is in Beriah, but the mitzvos reach a union in Atzilus, so one hour of good deeds here is better than all of the World to Come. So too Torah study: Scripture, Mishnah, Talmud and Kabbalah are all rooted in Atzilus and differ only in how far down they are clothed, and nefesh and neshamah differ only in their intent, not in the plain study itself.
Outline
- HeadingThe note is in the author's own words.¶1
- Garments refined, not created: mitzvos and prayerPrayer raises souls from the kelipos, which others can do; the practical mitzvos refine each soul's own garments, which only it can do. Prayer works on the inner dimension, the mitzvos on the outer.¶2–4
- How refinement works and what the garments areRefinement comes through mayin dechurin, even without intent. The garments are the inner tzelem of Imma and the encompassing Chashmal refined from kelipas nogah; they let the soul bear the light of the World to Come, and a lacking garment is repaired in Gehinnom first.¶5–6
- Why the mitzvos reach AtzilusGan Eden is in Beriah, but every refinement is completed through a union in Atzilus. Atzilus descends on weekdays to do it, and tzitzis, tefillin and the washing of the hands draw their light from Atzilus though they repair lower levels.¶6–7
- Where each part of the Torah isThe kavanos show that Scripture, Mishnah, Talmud and Kabbalah are all rooted in Atzilus and differ only in how far down they are clothed; nefesh and neshamah differ only in their intent, not in the plain study itself.¶8–11
Key concepts
- Garments of the soul (levushim)לבושים
- What the soul wears in the World to Come, made from its Torah and mitzvos. Here they are not new creations but good refined out of the kelipos, and they let the soul bear the light of the World to Come.
- Refinement (birur)בירור
- Sifting good out of the evil it is mixed with and restoring it to holiness; completed only through a union in Atzilus, since “through Chochmah they are refined.”
- Mayin nukvin and mayin dechurinמיין נוקבין ומיין דכורין
- The “feminine waters” that rise from below and arouse a union above, and the “masculine waters” that flow down from above; true refinement comes through the mayin dechurin.
- Kelipas nogahקליפת נוגה
- The “glowing husk” that borders holiness and holds good mixed with evil; its good is refined into the encompassing garment called Chashmal.
- Tzelem and Chashmalצלם, חשמל
- The inner garment of the soul (the tzelem of Imma) and the encompassing garment (Chashmal): one light, one side inner and the other encompassing.
- Union (zivug)זיווג
- The joining of the configurations Z'eir Anpin and Nukva (or Abba and Imma), through which light is drawn down and refinement is completed.
Heading ¶1
The heading tells the reader that what follows is not a listener's transcript of a spoken maamar but a note in the author's own wording (“our master” here is the Alter Rebbe, whose Torah Ohr this is). It is a dense Kabbalistic gloss, built almost entirely from references to the Arizal's writings (Etz Chaim, Pri Etz Chaim, Sha'ar HaGilgulim) and the Zohar.
The title marks this piece as the author's own written note rather than a transcribed discourse, which explains its terse, reference-heavy style.
The Kehot note reports that the Rebbe remarked, in Likkutei Sichos, on how the style and content here differ from the style of Tanya, and described the content of this maamar, in a letter, as “Kabbalah.” A maamar of the Tzemach Tzedek printed later in the Kehot Torah Ohr (139c) is given as the place to understand it.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
לשון אדמו״ר נ״ע בעצמו
How it connects
The note first sends the reader to the Rebbe's own source notes printed earlier in the Kehot edition, which list where the passages cited in this gloss are found.our note
Where the note points
Tziyunim veHe'aros (source notes), by the Rebbeציונים והערות לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״עearlier in the Kehot edition of Torah Ohr
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Likkutei Sichos, by the Rebbeלקוטי שיחותvol. 21, p. 429
Our explanationAccording to the note, the Rebbe comments there on how the style and content of this piece differ from the style of Tanya.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Index of Topics to Torah Ohr (Mafte'ach Inyanim), by the Rebbeמפתח ענינים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״עentry “Levush” (garment): through Torah and mitzvos, prayer, their meaning according to Kabbalah
Our explanationThe Rebbe's index to Torah Ohr gathers the treatment of the soul's “garments” made through Torah, mitzvos and prayer, the subject of this whole note.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Igros Kodesh, letters of the Rebbeאגרות קודשvol. 2, p. 102
Our explanationIn this letter, the note says, the Rebbe remarks that the content of this maamar is “Kabbalah.”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Torah Ohr (a maamar of the Tzemach Tzedek printed in it)תורה אור139c · not yet checked
Our explanationThe note gives a maamar of the Tzemach Tzedek, printed later in the Kehot Torah Ohr, as the place to understand what is explained here.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. בלקו״ש חכ״א ע׳ 429 העיר בענין שינוי סגנון ותוכן כאן לסגנון התניא.
לקמן במפתח ענינים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע ערך ”לבוש” — ע״י תומ״צ, תפלה, ענינם ע״פ קבלה”. באג״ק לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע כרך ב ע׳ קב מציין שמאמר זה תוכנו ”קבלה”.
להבין מה שנתבאר כאן — ראה מאמר כ״ק הצ״צ נדפס לקמן קלט, ג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
Garments refined, not created: mitzvos and prayer ¶2–4
2עיין ע״ח שמ״ט פ״ה נמצא אלו לבושים הנז׳ פ׳ ויחי1 אין פי׳ שנעשו מחדש ע״י תורה ומצות אמנם מתבררים כו׳.
See Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 49, ch. 5: “It turns out that these garments mentioned in Parshas Vayechi [of the Zohar] — the meaning is not that they are made anew through Torah and mitzvos; rather, they are refined,” etc.
The Zohar (Parshas Vayechi) speaks of garments the soul wears in the World to Come, made from its Torah and mitzvos. Etz Chaim clarifies that the mitzvos do not create these garments from nothing: the garments already exist, fallen and mixed with evil, and the mitzvos “refine” (sift) them, separating the good from the bad.
וע׳ שכ״ו ספ״א רק להמשיך אור לתקנם כו׳ דוגמת גלות השכינה כו׳ ומ״ש בשער ל״ט שנר״נ מתבררים ע״י התפלות היינו בעלייתן מן הקליפות להיות מ״נ בנוקבא דז״א
And see Sha'ar 26, end of ch. 1: “[It is] only to draw down light to rectify them,” etc., “like the exile of the Shechinah (Divine Presence),” etc. And what is written in Sha'ar 39, that the nefesh, ruach and neshamah are refined through the prayers, refers to their ascent from the kelipos (husks) to become mayin nukvin (feminine waters) in the Nukva of Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes).
A second passage of Etz Chaim says the mitzvos only draw light down to repair the garments, and likens their fallen state to the exile of the Shechinah. A third (Sha'ar 39) says souls are refined through prayer; the Alter Rebbe explains that this is a different process: the souls' rise out of the kelipos to become mayin nukvin, the “feminine waters” that rise from below and arouse a union above.
אבל ירידתן משם לעוה״ז בגוף החומרי לקיים תומ״צ מעשיות ולא תפלה לבדה דרבנן היא דוגמת גלות השכינה ואינו
But their descent from there into this world, into the material body, to fulfill the Torah and the practical mitzvos — and not for prayer alone, which is rabbinic — is like the exile of the Shechinah, and it is nothing
The soul's descent into a physical body, by contrast, is for the sake of the Torah and the practical mitzvos, not merely for prayer, whose fixed form is rabbinic. That descent is itself a kind of exile, like the exile of the Shechinah.
אלא לברר ולתקן הלבושים שלהם בעצמם ומשום הכי הוא חיוב יותר על הנפש רוח נשמה לברר ולתקן לבושיהם שאי אפשר על ידי אחרים
but to refine and rectify their own garments themselves. And for this reason the obligation upon the nefesh, ruach and neshamah to refine and rectify their garments is greater, for this cannot be done by others
Its only purpose is for each soul to refine its own garments. Since no one else can do this for it, each soul carries a greater obligation to do the mitzvos itself.
(משא״כ להעלות הנר״נ מהקליפות למ״נ לנוקבא דז״א שנעשה ע״י אחרים) כמ״ש בגלגולים פ״א ע״ש. וכפי גודל אותה המצוה או זריזות כו׳ ומעלה אותה עד הנקבה העליונה כו׳.
(which is not so with raising the nefesh, ruach and neshamah from the kelipos as mayin nukvin to the Nukva of Z'eir Anpin, which is done by others), as written in [Sha'ar Ha]Gilgulim, ch. 1; see there. “And according to the greatness of that mitzvah, or [the] alacrity,” etc., “he raises it up to the supernal Female,” etc.
Raising souls out of the kelipos as mayin nukvin can be done by others, as Sha'ar HaGilgulim ch. 1 explains; refining one's own garments cannot. The quoted words add that how high a mitzvah raises depends on its greatness and the alacrity with which it is done, up to “the supernal Female,” the Nukva of Atzilus.
וכ״כ בע״ח של״ט דרוש י״א סי׳ ז׳ או המצוה כו׳ וכ״כ בפע״ח ש״א פ״ו כי ע״י המצות ותפלות כו׳.
And so too is written in Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 39, Derush 11, section 7: “or the mitzvah,” etc. And so too is written in Pri Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 1, ch. 6: “for through the mitzvos and prayers,” etc.
Two more places in the Arizal's writings say that mitzvos, and not only prayers, do this raising. The Alter Rebbe lines up the passages to show the point holds across the sources.
The paragraph separates two effects: prayer lifts souls out of the kelipos, which others can also do for them, while the practical mitzvos refine each soul's own garments, which only that soul can do; that is why the soul comes down into a body.
The idea that Torah and mitzvos form the soul's garments also appears in Tanya (Likkutei Amarim ch. 4–5), where thought, speech and action in Torah and mitzvos are the soul's garments. Here the emphasis is Kabbalistic: the garments are not new creations but fallen good that the mitzvos retrieve.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
פ׳ ויחי
How it connects
The Zohar in Vayechi describes the garments the soul receives in the World to Come from the good deeds it did in this world; the Kehot note locates the passage at 1:224a. Etz Chaim and the Alter Rebbe explain that these garments are refined, not newly made.our note
The source
Zohar I, 224aזח״א רכד, אSefaria (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
זח״א רכד, א.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
3ומש״ש ובפרט מן התפלות כי הם עיקר ושרש כו׳ והיינו כמ״ש בע״ח ש״מ דרוש ג׳ שהתפלה בפנימית והמצוה בחיצוניות אע״פ שיש בהן בחי׳ מוחין כו׳
And what is written there, “and especially from the prayers, for they are the main thing and the root,” etc., is as written in Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 40, Derush 3: that prayer is in the inner dimension (pnimiyus) and the mitzvah in the outer dimension (chitzoniyus), even though they have an aspect of the intellect (mochin), etc.
Pri Etz Chaim adds that refinement comes “especially from the prayers, for they are the main thing and the root.” The Alter Rebbe reads this through Etz Chaim Sha'ar 40: prayer acts on the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the higher levels and a mitzvah on their outer dimension (chitzoniyus), even though mitzvos also reach the intellect (mochin) in some way.
ע״ש והלכך זיוג זו״נ הנעשה ע״י מ״נ מהמצות כמ״ש בטעמי המצות בסוף ההקדמה הוא בחיצוניות במצות מעשיות.
See there. And therefore the union of Z'eir Anpin and Nukva that is brought about by the mayin nukvin from the mitzvos, as written in Ta'amei HaMitzvos at the end of the introduction, is in the outer dimension, through the practical mitzvos.
So the union of Z'eir Anpin and Nukva that the mitzvos' mayin nukvin bring about, as Ta'amei HaMitzvos describes, is an outer union, reached through deeds. Prayer is “root” because it reaches inward; the mitzvos are still indispensable, because they reach the outer vessels from which the soul's garments are made.
The paragraph reconciles the claim that prayer is the “root” of refinement with the role of the mitzvos: prayer works within, the mitzvos work on the outer dimension.
Tanya, Kuntres Acharon 4 draws the same line: Torah study adds light in the inner dimension of the vessels of Atzilus, while the mitzvos add light in the outer vessels, Netzach, Hod and Yesod of Z'eir Anpin, clothed in the physical mitzvos of this world.
4ומ״ש בע״ח של״ט דרוש א׳ וב׳ על ידי תפלה דוקא היינו מ״ן עצמן דנוקבא שנפלו לקליפות בחטא אדה״ר ולא הנשמות שהיו כבר באדה״ר
And what is written in Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 39, Derushim 1 and 2, [that it is] specifically through prayer, refers to the very mayin nukvin of the Nukva that fell into the kelipos through the sin of Adam, and not to the souls that were already within Adam,
Etz Chaim says a certain refinement comes specifically through prayer. The Alter Rebbe limits this to the Nukva's own mayin nukvin that fell into the kelipos through Adam's sin, not the souls that were already part of Adam.
אלא אותן שלא נכללו בו והן בחי׳ בי״ע שלפני החטא כמ״ש בגלגולים פ״ז אבל אותן שנכללו בו מהם ממשיכים רוב בנ״א כמעט כולם כמ״ש פי״ד והיינו ע״י הזיוג שהוא מצות פו״ר כמש״ש פ״ב.
but rather to those that were not included in him; and they are the level of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah as they were before the sin, as written in [Sha'ar Ha]Gilgulim, ch. 7. But from those that were included in him most people, nearly all of them, are drawn down, as written in ch. 14; and that is through the union, which is the mitzvah of being fruitful and multiplying, as written there in ch. 2.
The souls raised by prayer are those that were not included in Adam: the levels of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah as they were before the sin (Sha'ar HaGilgulim ch. 7). Nearly all human souls come from those that were included in Adam, and they are drawn down through the union of husband and wife, the mitzvah of “be fruitful and multiply” (chs. 14 and 2).
The paragraph narrows the statement that refinement is “only through prayer” to one category of fallen souls, and shows that most souls come down through the mitzvah of having children.
How refinement works and what the garments are ¶5–6
5וע״ש אחר ס״פ ל״ה בקשר החברים שכל נשמה בעלייתה מהקליפות צ״ל לפחות מ׳ יום במלכות והיינו שעולה שם למ״נ ע״י מצות הזיוג
And see there, after the end of ch. 35, in the “Bond of the Companions,” that every soul, in its ascent from the kelipos, must be at least forty days in Malchus (sovereignty); that is, it rises there as mayin nukvin through the mitzvah of union.
Sha'ar HaGilgulim, in the passage after ch. 35 about the bond the Arizal's disciples made, says a soul rising out of the kelipos must spend at least forty days in Malchus. The Alter Rebbe explains that there it serves as mayin nukvin, raised through the mitzvah of marital union.
ואף מי שאינו מתכוין למצוה יוכל להמשיך חיות מלמעלה כמ״ש בלק״ת ע״פ כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה1 כו׳.
And even one who does not intend [it] for the sake of the mitzvah can draw down life-force from above, as written in Likkutei Torah [of the Arizal] on the verse “For not by bread alone does [man] live,” etc.
Even someone who does not have the mitzvah in mind can still draw down life-force from above. The Arizal's Likkutei Torah makes the point on the verse “Man does not live by bread alone,” which teaches that what sustains a person is the divine word within the bread.
כמו שהלחם מחי׳ גם כשאוכל בלא ברכה כו׳ ע״ש. הנה תקון וברור הוא ע״י מ״ד דוקא כי בהדכר לבדו יש בו כח לברר
Just as bread gives life even when one eats without a blessing, etc.; see there. Now, rectification and refinement are specifically through mayin dechurin (masculine waters), for only the masculine has in it the power to refine,
Bread nourishes even someone who eats it without a blessing; so too this process works without intent. The Alter Rebbe then states a principle: true repair and refinement come only through mayin dechurin, the “masculine waters” that flow down from above, because only the giving, masculine side has the power to refine.
כמ״ש בפע״ח ש״א פ״ו וכן בירור הלבושים ע״י המצות הוא במ״ד דז״א והיינו המשכת האור דלעילא והן הם ה״ח דז״א שכל רמ״ח מ״ע תלויים בהם כמ״ש בטעמי מצות שם.
as written in Pri Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 1, ch. 6. And likewise the refinement of the garments through the mitzvos is through the mayin dechurin of Z'eir Anpin, that is, the drawing down of the light from above; and these are the five chasadim (kindnesses) of Z'eir Anpin, on which all 248 positive commandments depend, as written in Ta'amei HaMitzvos there.
So the refinement of the garments through mitzvos comes through the mayin dechurin of Z'eir Anpin, light drawn down from above. These are the “five chasadim” (five kindnesses) of Z'eir Anpin, on which all 248 positive commandments depend.
וע׳ ע״ח שכ״ו (בע״ח דפוס שקלאוו שער כ״ה) פ״א ופ״ג שלבושים אלו הם צלם דאימא פנימי המלביש לנר״נ
And see Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 26 (in the Shklov printing of Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 25), chs. 1 and 3, that these garments are the inner tzelem (image) of Imma, which clothes the nefesh, ruach and neshamah;
Etz Chaim identifies the garments: they are the inner tzelem (“image”) of Imma, the configuration of Binah, which clothes a person's nefesh, ruach and neshamah. The Alter Rebbe notes that the Shklov printing numbers this gate differently.
וגם המקיף הנק׳ חשמל2 נתברר ונתקן מק״נ להסמוכה לו וכמ״ש שער מ״ט ספ״ב הטוב שלו נזדכך כו׳ ונתחבר עם החשמל הפנימי כו׳ ע״ש.
and also the encompassing [garment], called Chashmal, was refined and rectified from kelipas nogah, which is adjacent to it, as written in Sha'ar 49, end of ch. 2: “its good was purified,” etc., “and joined with the inner Chashmal,” etc.; see there.
Besides the inner garment there is an encompassing one called Chashmal (a word from Ezekiel's vision), refined out of kelipas nogah, the “glowing husk” that borders holiness and holds good mixed with evil. Etz Chaim says the good of nogah is purified and joins the inner Chashmal.
The paragraph explains how the mitzvos refine: through a flow from above (mayin dechurin), even without intent. It identifies the garments as the inner tzelem of Imma and the encompassing Chashmal refined from kelipas nogah.
The link between the five chasadim and the 248 positive commandments also appears in Tanya, Kuntres Acharon 4, which adds that the 365 prohibitions correspond to the five gevuros.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
כי לא על הלחם לבדו יחיה
How it connects
“Man does not live by bread alone, but by whatever comes forth from the mouth of G‑d does man live.” The Arizal reads it as teaching that the divine word clothed in food is what gives life, which here shows that life-force is drawn down even without intent.our note
The source
Deuteronomy 8:3דברים ח׳:ג׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)2… הוֹלִיכְךָ ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ זֶה אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה בַּמִּדְבָּר לְמַעַן עַנֹּתְךָ לְנַסֹּתְךָ לָדַעַת אֶת־אֲשֶׁר בִּלְבָבְךָ הֲתִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֺתָו אִם־לֹא: 3וַיְעַנְּךָ וַיַּרְעִבֶךָ וַיַּאֲכִלְךָ אֶת־הַמָּן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדַעְתָּ וְלֹא יָדְעוּן אֲבֹתֶיךָ לְמַעַן הוֹדִיעֲךָ כִּי לֹא עַל־הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם כִּי עַל־כׇּל־מוֹצָא פִי־ה׳ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם: 4שִׂמְלָתְךָ לֹא בָלְתָה מֵעָלֶיךָ וְרַגְלְךָ לֹא בָצֵקָה זֶה אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה:
2… thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no. 3And He afflicted thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every thing that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. 4Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 2
On the words
הנק׳ חשמל
How it connects
The note sends the reader to Or HaTorah on Pinchas for a further discussion of the encompassing garment called Chashmal.our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהPinchas, p. 1200
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה אוה״ת פ׳ פנחס ע׳ א׳ר.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
Why the mitzvos reach Atzilus ¶6–7
6וע״ש שמ״ב פ״ד וזאת הבחי׳ נקרא חשמל שהוא צלם הבל דגרמי שבעור כו׳ ע״ש. ומ״ש בשער כ״ו פ״א שצלם הפנימי הוא הבל דגרמי
And see there, Sha'ar 42, ch. 4: “And this level is called Chashmal, which is the tzelem, the havla degarmei (the breath of the bones), which is within the skin,” etc.; see there. And what is written in Sha'ar 26, ch. 1, that the inner tzelem is the havla degarmei
Etz Chaim Sha'ar 42 calls this level Chashmal and identifies it with the tzelem, the havla degarmei, the lingering breath or vitality in the bones, beneath the skin. But Sha'ar 26 calls the inner tzelem havla degarmei as well, which raises the question of how one term names two garments.
והוא חותם ולבוש נה״י דאו״א כמ״ש בפ״ב שם שניהם אור א׳ הם זה פנימי וזה מקיף כמ״ש בפ״ב שם.
and that it is a seal and a garment of the Netzach, Hod and Yesod of Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah), as written in ch. 2 there — both are one light, this one inner and that one encompassing, as written in ch. 2 there.
The inner tzelem is a “seal” and garment formed from the Netzach, Hod and Yesod of Abba and Imma. The answer, from ch. 2 there: both are one light, one side of it inner and the other encompassing.
ועיין ש׳ ל״ט דרוש י״ב וזה לבוש הנק׳ כו׳ וכן כו׳ ולבוש זה כו׳ העלאת מ״נ כו׳
And see Sha'ar 39, Derush 12: “And this garment is called,” etc., “and likewise,” etc., “and this garment,” etc., “the raising of mayin nukvin,” etc.,
Sha'ar 39, Derush 12 also discusses this garment and connects it with the raising of mayin nukvin. The Alter Rebbe quotes only key phrases, each followed by “etc.”
גדול כו׳ וע׳ שער החשמל פ״א ונק׳ ק״נ ונק׳ חשמל כו׳ ור״ל כמש״ש בס״פ כל החשמלים הוא בחי׳ טוב שבק״נ כו׳
“great,” etc. And see Sha'ar HaChashmal, ch. 1: “and it is called kelipas nogah and it is called Chashmal,” etc. This means, as written there at the end of the chapter, [that] all the Chashmals are the level of the good within kelipas nogah, etc.
Sha'ar HaChashmal says the same thing is called both kelipas nogah and Chashmal. The Alter Rebbe explains from the chapter's end that every “Chashmal” is the good within kelipas nogah, the part of nogah that can be refined and joined to holiness.
וע׳ מק״מ בראשית (דף ק״ב סוף ע״ב) שג׳ חשמלים נפלו בנגה ע״י חטא אדה״ר וע׳ שער החשמל פ״א כפי כניסת הכלים דתבונה בפנים כן בחי׳ האור שלה מלובש מבחוץ כו׳
And see the Mikdash Melech on Bereshis (page 102, end of side b), that three Chashmals fell into nogah through the sin of Adam. And see Sha'ar HaChashmal, ch. 1: “According to the entry of the vessels of Tevunah within, so is the level of its light clothed from without,” etc.;
The Mikdash Melech, a commentary on the Zohar, says three Chashmals fell into nogah through Adam's sin, which is why they now need refining. Sha'ar HaChashmal adds that as far as the vessels of Tevunah (the lower part of Binah) enter within, so far does its light clothe from without.
ע״ש שכל התקון הוא לדחות החיצוני׳ ע״י אור הבינה מבפנים ומבחוץ (וקרוב לומר שמבפנים הוא ע״י מצות שבדבור ומבחוץ ע״י מצות מעשיות שהחיצוני׳ נק׳ מקיף לגבי פנימי׳ כמ״ש בע״ח ספ״ג גבי ח״ש).
see there, that the entire rectification is to push away the external forces through the light of Binah (understanding), from within and from without. (And it is plausible to say that “from within” is through the mitzvos of speech, and “from without” through the practical mitzvos, for the outer dimension is called “encompassing” relative to the inner dimension, as written in Etz Chaim, end of ch. 3, regarding ח״ש.)
The whole repair is to drive away the external forces with the light of Binah from inside and from outside. The Alter Rebbe suggests that the inner light comes through the mitzvos of speech and the outer through the mitzvos of action, since the outer dimension is “encompassing” relative to the inner; the abbreviation at the end of the parenthesis is left as the text has it.
והשתא א״ש הא דשכר המצות הוא לבוש לנשמה מאחר שנמשך מאימא שהוא עוה״ב וכמו הלחם
And now it is well understood why the reward of the mitzvos is a garment for the soul: since it is drawn from Imma, which is the World to Come. And it is like the bread
This explains the teaching that the reward of the mitzvos is a garment for the soul: the garment is drawn from Imma, and Imma is the source of the World to Come. The comparison with bread follows.
שעליו יחי׳ האדם אף שגם בו מלובש מוצא פי1 הוי׳ אלא שבלחם ושארי מזונות נמשך מחיצוניות אימא שלמעלה מז״א הנק׳ אדם כמ״ש בכוונות עיוה״כ.2
by which man lives, even though in it too “that which comes forth from the mouth of G‑d” is clothed; except that in bread and other foods [the life-force] is drawn from the outer dimension of Imma, which is above Z'eir Anpin, [the level] called “Adam,” as written in the kavanos of the eve of Yom Kippur.
Bread sustains a person, even though what truly gives life is G‑d's word clothed within it. In food that life comes from the outer dimension of Imma, which stands above Z'eir Anpin, the level called “Adam” (man), as the Arizal's kavanos for the eve of Yom Kippur explain; so what nourishes man comes from a level higher than “man.”
אך באמת הלבוש אינו העוה״ב אלא שעי״ז יוכל לסבול וליהנות מאור אימא שהוא עוה״ב מאחר שמלובש בלבוש נה״י שלה (פנימי ומקיף אור פנימי למזון ומקיף ללבוש)
But in truth the garment is not the World to Come [itself]; rather, through it one is able to bear and to enjoy the light of Imma, which is the World to Come, since it is clothed in the garment of her Netzach, Hod and Yesod (inner and encompassing: the inner light for food, and the encompassing for a garment).
More precisely, the garment is not the World to Come itself but what allows the soul to bear and enjoy the light of Imma, which is the World to Come. It can do so because that light is clothed in Imma's own Netzach, Hod and Yesod: its inner light is like food, its encompassing light like a garment.
דכמו שהעליוני׳ כהמלאכים אינם יכולים לירד למטה לעוה״ז בלי לבוש תחתון כך אין התחתונים יכולים לעלות למעלה בלי לבוש עליון
For just as the higher beings, such as the angels, cannot descend below to this world without a lower garment, so the lower beings cannot ascend above without a higher garment,
The principle behind this: angels cannot come down into this world without a garment from below, and souls cannot rise above without a garment from above. A garment is what makes contact between levels possible.
כמ״ש בזוהר פקודי3 (דף רכ״ט ע״א וע״ב) וכ״כ בהדיא בויקהל (דף ר״י סע״ב) ואלמלי ההוא לבושא לא יכלי למסבל4 כו׳
as written in the Zohar, Pekudei (page 229, sides a and b), and so too is written explicitly in Vayakhel (page 210, end of side b): “And were it not for that garment, they could not bear [it],” etc.
The Zohar in Pekudei and Vayakhel says so outright: without that garment the souls could not bear the light.
ומש״ה מי שלבושיו חסרים לפי שלא תקן כל הרע ע״י המצות צ״ל בגיהנם לתקן הרע תחלה
And for this reason, one whose garments are lacking, because he did not rectify all the evil through the mitzvos, must be in Gehinnom to rectify the evil first,
So a soul whose garments are incomplete, because it did not refine all the evil through mitzvos, must first pass through Gehinnom. Here Gehinnom's purpose is repair: to rectify the evil first, so that the soul can enter.
כמ״ש בזוהר ויחי5 (דף רכ״ד) ובלא״ה א״א להיות כלל בעוה״ב בלבוש חסר כמו שא״א למלאך לירד לעוה״ז בלי לבוש שלם.
as written in the Zohar, Vayechi (page 224). For otherwise it is impossible to be in the World to Come at all with a lacking garment, just as it is impossible for an angel to descend to this world without a complete garment.
The Zohar in Vayechi is cited for this. Without a complete garment a soul could not be in the World to Come at all, just as an angel cannot come down into this world without a complete garment.
ומ״ש הסבא (דף צ״ח ע״ב) ענין התלבשות בנפש וכן התלבשות הנשמה ברוח (דף צ״ט ע״ב)
And what the Saba [of Mishpatim] says (page 98, side b) on the matter of clothing oneself in the nefesh, and likewise on the neshamah clothing itself in the ruach (page 99, side b),
The Saba of Mishpatim, a section of the Zohar, speaks of a soul clothing itself in the nefesh, and of the neshamah clothing itself in the ruach. The Alter Rebbe clarifies what kind of clothing that is.
היינו לירד למטה ממדריגותם כמ״ש בזוהר הרקיע שם (דף פ״ג ע״א) בשם הרח״ו ז״ל. והנה געה״ע הוא מבריאה.6
refers to descending below their levels, as written in Zohar HaRakia there (page 83, side a) in the name of Rabbi Chaim Vital, of blessed memory. Now, the Upper Gan Eden is from Beriah.
Zohar HaRakia, citing Rabbi Chaim Vital, explains that this clothing is for descending below one's own level, which is different from the garments made by mitzvos. Then a new point: the Upper Gan Eden derives from the World of Beriah.
וא״ש הא דתנן יפה שעה78 א׳ כו׳ מפני שהזיוג זו״נ הוא באצי׳ והמצות ממשיכות מ״ד דאצי׳ ושרשן ממו״ס דא״א9 המאיר י״ג חיוורתא דגלגלתא שרש תרי״ג מצות
And [so] it is well understood what we learned [in the Mishnah]: “Better is one hour,” etc. For the union of Z'eir Anpin and Nukva is in Atzilus, and the mitzvos draw down the mayin dechurin of Atzilus, and their root is from the mocha stima'ah (the hidden brain) of Arich Anpin, which illuminates the thirteen “whitenesses” of the Gulgalta (the skull), the root of the 613 mitzvos.
This explains the Mishnah “Better is one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world than all the life of the World to Come.” Gan Eden is in Beriah, but the union of Z'eir Anpin and Nukva is in Atzilus and the mitzvos draw down the mayin dechurin of Atzilus; their root is higher still, the mocha stima'ah (hidden mind) of Arich Anpin, which shines into the thirteen “whitenesses” of the Gulgalta, the root of the 613 mitzvos.
ואף מי שאין לו אלא נפש דעשי׳ ה״ז מעלה מ״ן למל׳ דיצי׳ במצותיו ושם הרוחות של
And even one who has only a nefesh of Asiyah raises mayin nukvin through his mitzvos to the Malchus of Yetzirah; and there the ruchos of
Even a person whose soul is only a nefesh from Asiyah raises mayin nukvin through his mitzvos to the Malchus of Yetzirah.
הצדיקים מעלים המ״נ שלו ושלהם עד מל׳ דבריאה ושם הנשמות של כל הצדיקים מעלים כל המ״נ עד מל׳ דאצי׳ כמ״ש בע״ח של״ט דרוש י״א פ״ז.
the tzaddikim raise his mayin nukvin and theirs up to the Malchus of Beriah; and there the neshamos of all the tzaddikim raise all the mayin nukvin up to the Malchus of Atzilus, as written in Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 39, Derush 11, ch. 7.
There the ruchos (spirit-level souls) of the tzaddikim carry his offering together with theirs up to the Malchus of Beriah, and there the neshamos of all the tzaddikim carry everything up to the Malchus of Atzilus. Even the simplest person's mitzvah is lifted, stage by stage, to Atzilus.
כי אין שום בירור אלא באצי׳ כי היא בחי׳ חכמה דכללות ובחכמה אתברירו10 והבירור הוא ע״י זיווג ואין זיווג להוליד נשמות בבי״ע כמ״ש בשער מ״ד פ״ד ופ״ה.11
For there is no refinement at all except in Atzilus, since it is the level of Chochmah (wisdom) of the whole, and “through Chochmah they are refined”; and refinement is through union, and there is no union to beget souls in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, as written in Sha'ar 44, chs. 4 and 5.
The reason: all refinement takes place only in Atzilus, because Atzilus is the Chochmah of the whole order of worlds, and “through Chochmah they are refined.” Refinement comes through a union, and there is no union that begets souls in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.
The paragraph explains what the soul's garments are and why the reward of the mitzvos takes the form of a garment: it lets the soul bear the light of the World to Come. It then shows why the mitzvos reach higher than the World to Come itself: every refinement, even of the simplest soul's mitzvah, is completed in Atzilus.
The principle that a lower being needs a garment to rise and a higher being needs one to descend underlies the Zohar passages cited. The note on “through Chochmah they are refined” points to Torah Ohr, Bereshis, which explains that refinement, the separation of evil from good, is the work of Chochmah, and that this is why Chochmah is also called “judgment.”
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
מוצא פי הוי׳
How it connects
“By whatever comes forth from the mouth of G‑d does man live”: the divine word clothed in bread is what sustains a person. The Alter Rebbe uses it as a model for how the garment drawn from Imma sustains the soul.our note
The source
Deuteronomy 8:3דברים ח׳:ג׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)2… הוֹלִיכְךָ ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ זֶה אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה בַּמִּדְבָּר לְמַעַן עַנֹּתְךָ לְנַסֹּתְךָ לָדַעַת אֶת־אֲשֶׁר בִּלְבָבְךָ הֲתִשְׁמֹר מִצְוֺתָו אִם־לֹא: 3וַיְעַנְּךָ וַיַּרְעִבֶךָ וַיַּאֲכִלְךָ אֶת־הַמָּן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָדַעְתָּ וְלֹא יָדְעוּן אֲבֹתֶיךָ לְמַעַן הוֹדִיעֲךָ כִּי לֹא עַל־הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם כִּי עַל־כׇּל־מוֹצָא פִי־ה׳ יִחְיֶה הָאָדָם: 4שִׂמְלָתְךָ לֹא בָלְתָה מֵעָלֶיךָ וְרַגְלְךָ לֹא בָצֵקָה זֶה אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה:
2… thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no. 3And He afflicted thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every thing that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. 4Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 2
On the words
וכמו הלחם . . בכוונות עיוה״כ
How it connects
The note sends the reader to the opening of Or HaTorah on Mattos for a further discussion of the comparison with bread and the kavanos of the eve of Yom Kippur.our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהMattos, at the beginning
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה אוה״ת פ׳ מטות בתחלתו.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
כמ״ש בזוהר פקודי
How it connects
The note points to Or HaTorah on Bamidbar for a discussion of the Zohar in Pekudei on the garment a soul needs to ascend.our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהBamidbar, p. 91
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה אוה״ת במדבר ע׳ צא ע״ש.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
ואלמלי ההוא לבושא לא יכלי למסבל
How it connects
The Zohar in Vayakhel (end of 210b), quoted by the text: were it not for that garment, the souls could not bear the light above.our note
The source
Zohar, Vayakhel 24:308–316ספר הזהר, ויקהל כ״ד:ש״ח-שט״זSefaria (opens in a new tab)Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 5
On the words
בזוהר ויחי
How it connects
On the Zohar in Vayechi the note again sends the reader to the Tzemach Tzedek's maamar printed later in the Kehot Torah Ohr, named at the head of this piece as its explanation.our note
Where the note points
Torah Ohr (a maamar of the Tzemach Tzedek printed in it)תורה אור139c · not yet checked
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה לקמן קלט, ג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 6
On the words
געה״ע הוא מבריאה
How it connects
According to the note, that maamar refers back to this passage for the point that the Upper Gan Eden derives from Beriah.our note
Where the note points
Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהShir HaShirim, maamar “Ki Ka'asher HaShamayim,” 48d · not yet checked
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהTetzaveh, p. 1769; vol. 7, p. 2772; Devarim vol. 6, maamar “Lema'an Tira”
Our explanationParallel discussions in Or HaTorah of Gan Eden's place in Beriah, to which the note sends the reader.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בלקו״ת שה״ש ד״ה כי כאשר השמים מח, ד מציין לכאן. ראה אוה״ת תצוה ע׳ א׳תשסט ובכרך ז ע׳ ב׳תשעב. אוה״ת דברים כרך ו בד״ה למען תירא.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 7
On the words
יפה שעה אחת
How it connects
Kehot’s marei makom for these words (its note is below).
Kehot’s note
אבות ד, יז.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 8
On the words
יפה שעה א׳ כו׳
How it connects
“Better is one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world than all the life of the World to Come.” The Alter Rebbe explains it: the mitzvos reach Atzilus, while the World to Come (Gan Eden) is in Beriah.our note
The source
Pirkei Avot 4:17משנה אבות ד׳:י״זSefaria (opens in a new tab)הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, יָפָה שָׁעָה אַחַת בִּתְשׁוּבָה וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, מִכָּל חַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. וְיָפָה שָׁעָה אַחַת שֶׁל קוֹרַת רוּחַ בָּעוֹלָם הַבָּא, מִכָּל חַיֵּי הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה:
He used to say: more precious is one hour in repentance and good deeds in this world, than all the life of the world to come; And more precious is one hour of the tranquility of the world to come, than all the life of this world.
Hebrew: Torat Emet 357 (Public Domain) · English: Mishnah Yomit by Dr. Joshua Kulp (CC-BY) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 9
On the words
והנה געה״ע הוא מבריאה . . ושרשן ממו״ס דא״א
How it connects
The note says this passage is quoted in Or HaTorah on Chukas, which refers from there to the Kuntres Acharon section beginning “To understand what is written in Pri Etz Chaim.”our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהChukas, p. 783
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Tanya (Kuntres Acharon)תניא, קונטרס אחרוןthe section beginning “Lehavin mah shekasuv bePri Etz Chaim”
להבין מה שכתוב בפרי עץ חיים, דבזמן הזה, עיקר הבירור על ידי התפלה דוקא, אף שתלמוד תורה למעלה מהתפלה. הענין הוא: שעל ידי תורה ומצות מוסיפין אור באצילות כו׳, פירוש, אור אין סוף ברוך הוא בכלים דאצילות – על ידי תלמוד תורה – בפנימית, דהיינו המשכות המוחין: ובקיום המצות – בחיצונית הכלים, שהם בחינות נצח הוד יסוד, שבי׳ ספירות ״זעיר אנפין״ שבאצילות, רק שמתלבשים בבריאה יצירה עשיה, בתורה ומצות הגשמיים שבעולם הזה. אבל התפלה, היא המשכת אור אין סוף ברוך הוא לבריאה יצירה עשיה דוקא, לא בדרך התלבשות בלבד, רק האור ממש, לשנות הנבראים מכמות שהם, שיתרפא החולה, וירד הגשם משמים לארץ ויולידה ויצמיחה. מה שאין כן בתורה ומצות, שאין שינוי בקלף התפילין על ידי הנחתן בראש ובזרוע. וגם במצות שעשייתן הוא גמר מצותן, השינוי הוא על ידי אדם, ולא …
Our explanationThis section explains why refinement in our time is mainly through prayer even though Torah study is higher: Torah and mitzvos add light in Atzilus, Torah study in the inner dimension and the mitzvos in the outer vessels (Netzach, Hod and Yesod of Z'eir Anpin). It ties the 248 positive commandments to the five chasadim and all 613 to a single root of “whiteness,” close to what this paragraph says about the root of the mitzvos.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Pri Etz Chaimפרי עץ חייםby Rabbi Chaim Vital, from the Arizal
The Arizal’s kavanos for prayer and the mitzvos.
Kehot’s note
מובא באוה״ת פ׳ חקת ע׳ תשפג ושם מציין לקו״א ד״ה להבין מ״ש בפע״ח.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 10
On the words
ובחכמה אתברירו
How it connects
There the Alter Rebbe explains that throughout the exile the work is refinement, separating evil from good, and that this is done through Chochmah, since “through Chochmah they are refined”; that is why Chochmah is also called “judgment.”our note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אור5d (Bereshis)
והרשעה כולה בעשן תכלה שזה יהיה לימות המשיח. כי בכל משך הגלות הוא עת הבירורים והפרדת הרע והיינו ע״י בחי׳ חכמה דבחכמה אתברירו להפריד הרע מהטוב ולכן נק׳ החכמה דין. שלא כמו שדימו המקובלים הראשונים שהחכ׳ כולה חסד שהרי היא מקור חסד. והחייט המציא שיש בה ג״כ דין ושבחו האר״י ז״ל שכך מבואר בזוהר באדרא כחמרא דשקיט ושכיך על דורדיי׳ כו׳. כי מאחר שיש בירורים להפריד הרע וזהו ע״י גבורות וע״ז נאמר (תהלים צד) אשרי הגבר אשר תיסרנו יה שגם היסורים שהם לתועלת העברת הרע הוא מבחי׳ י״ה וכידוע שהיסורים הם לתועלת הפרדת הרע. כי הקליפות נמשלים לעלוקה שכשמוצצת דם אזי מיד מתה וז״ש (משלי ל) לעלוקה שתי בנות. וזהו ג״כ ענין שעיר המשתלח. וכן וישלח יעקב וגו׳ מנחה לעשו אחיו עזים מאתים כו׳ שבזה שנותן לו חלקו הוא מפרידו. …
And this is the opposite of the intention, for there must be [the fulfillment of] "He will swallow up death forever," that there be "you shall eradicate the evil," as the saying [goes], "and all wickedness will vanish like smoke" — which will be in the days of Mashiach. For the entire duration of the exile is the time of the refinements and of separating the evil; and this is through the level of Chochmah, for "through Chochmah they are refined," to separate the evil from the good. Therefore Chochmah is called judgment — not as the early Kabbalists imagined, that Chochmah is entirely kindness, since it is the source of Chesed. The Chayat innovated that there is judgment in it as well, and the Arizal, of blessed memory, praised him, for so it is explained in the Zohar, in the Idra: "like wine that is still and settled on its lees," etc. For since there are refinements to separate the evil, and this is through gevuros, and of this it is said (Psalms 94), "Fortunate is the man whom You, Yah, chasten" — that the sufferings too, which serve to remove the evil, are from the level of Yah; and as is known, sufferings serve to separate the evil. For the kelipos are likened to a leech, …
Read it hereTorah Ohr, Bereishis, maamar 6לעיל ה, דpage 5d, ¶6
להפרידו מאד אלא עת כך ועת כך כנ״ל.
All this was because he is of the level of the inner dimension, and as soon as he knew of evil he became actually mixed with it; and if so, it is a great war and very hard to separate it, but rather [there is] a time [for] this and a time [for] that, as explained above.
Read it hereKehot’s note
נסמן לעיל ה, ד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 11
How it connects
The Zohar in Pekudei, which the text cites at 229a–b, on the garment a soul needs in order to ascend and stand in the higher world.our note
The source
Zohar, Pekudei 18:155–19:165ספר הזהר, פקודי י״ח:קנ״ה-י״ט:קס״הSefaria (opens in a new tab)
7ואף שממצות מעשיות לא נעשה לבוש אלא לנפש דעשי׳ מ״מ הזיווג הוא באצי׳ כי לכן יורדים בחול כלים דזו״נ דאצי׳ בזו״נ דבי״ע כדי לברר בירורים למטה כל ו׳ ימי המעשה
And although from the practical mitzvos a garment is made only for the nefesh of Asiyah, nevertheless the union is in Atzilus. For this is why on weekdays the vessels of Z'eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus descend into the Z'eir Anpin and Nukva of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah: in order to refine the refinements below, all the six days of work.
Though the practical mitzvos make a garment only for the nefesh of Asiyah, the union they bring about is in Atzilus. That is why on weekdays the vessels of Z'eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus descend into their counterparts in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah: to carry out the refinement below throughout the six working days.
(יורדת כלי זו״נ דאצי׳ לעשי׳ הוא ליתן כח לנפש דעשי׳ להעלות מהקליפות כמ״ש אשר שלט האדם באדם1 כו׳ רק שבסיוע התחתונים במצות שהיא אלקות שבנוגה
(The descent of the vessels of Z'eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus to Asiyah is to give power to the nefesh of Asiyah to raise [sparks] from the kelipos, as it is written, “when man rules over man,” etc.; except that, with the help of the lower beings through the mitzvah, which is the G‑dliness within nogah,
The parenthesis explains: the vessels of Atzilus come down to Asiyah to give the nefesh of Asiyah power to raise sparks out of the kelipos; the verse “a time when man rules over man” is cited for this. The lower beings help through the mitzvah, which is the G‑dliness hidden within nogah.
וזה עולה שלא ע״י נר״נ דאדם אלא ע״י בחי׳ אצי׳ ממש שבבי״ע מעלים עד נוקבא דאצי׳ העליון ולכן ירדה אצי׳ בבי״ע בימי החול וגם ליתן כח לנר״נ דאדם להעלות מקליפות) כמ״ש בע״ח ש״א פ״י.
this rises not through the nefesh, ruach and neshamah of man but through the level of Atzilus itself within Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, [which] raise [it] up to the Nukva of the upper Atzilus; and therefore Atzilus descended into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah on the weekdays; and also to give power to the nefesh, ruach and neshamah of man to raise [sparks] from the kelipos), as written in Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 1, ch. 10.
The raising itself is done not by the person's own nefesh, ruach and neshamah but by the Atzilus that has come down into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, which lifts the offering all the way to the Nukva of the upper Atzilus. That is why Atzilus descends on weekdays, and also to strengthen the person's own soul to lift sparks out of the kelipos.
ובשבת צ״ע בעליות העולמות (ואפשר דר״ל בבריאה יורדין יעקב ורחל בחול) ואפי׳ אוא״ס ב״ה נמשך שם
And on Shabbos, with the ascents of the worlds, this requires study (and perhaps what is meant is that in Beriah, Yaakov and Rachel descend on weekdays); and even the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, is drawn down there,
Shabbos, when the worlds ascend rather than descend, needs further study. In parentheses the Alter Rebbe suggests that in Beriah it is “Yaakov and Rachel” (configurations of Z'eir Anpin and Nukva) that descend on weekdays, and he notes that even the Infinite Light is drawn down there.
כמ״ש בע״ח שמ״ז פ״ג ע״ש (ובגלגולים פ״ב2 שבחי׳ נפש דאצי׳ שבעשי׳ גדולה לאין קץ מנשמה דבריאה שבבריאה)
as written in Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 47, ch. 3; see there. (And [see Sha'ar Ha]Gilgulim, ch. 2, that the level of the nefesh of Atzilus within Asiyah is infinitely greater than the neshamah of Beriah within Beriah.)
Sha'ar HaGilgulim ch. 2 adds that the nefesh-level of Atzilus as it is found in Asiyah is infinitely greater than the neshamah-level of Beriah within Beriah. Whatever comes from Atzilus, however low it appears, outranks everything that belongs to the lower worlds.
וכן מ״ש דציצית ביצירה ותפלין ש״י בבריאה היינו שהתקון נעשה לדחות החצונים מג״ת דיצי׳ וג״ת דבריאה ע״י המשכת האור דאצי׳
And likewise what is written, that tzitzis is in Yetzirah and the tefillin of the hand in Beriah, means that the rectification is brought about to push away the external forces from the three lower [Sefiros] of Yetzirah and the three lower [Sefiros] of Beriah, by drawing down the light of Atzilus;
The Arizal says tzitzis act in Yetzirah and the hand-tefillin in Beriah. The Alter Rebbe explains that this tells us where the repair takes place, driving the external forces away from the three lower Sefiros of those worlds, while the light that does the repair is drawn from Atzilus.
וכמו שבק״ש נעשה זיוג או״א דאצי׳ ונמשך בבריאה ולכך היא בישיבה משא״כ בתפלת י״ח ותדע מנט״י שמתקנים ג״ת דעשי׳ אף שהידים הם חג״ת
just as in the Shema a union of Abba and Imma of Atzilus is brought about and is drawn down into Beriah, and therefore it is [said] sitting, which is not so with the Prayer of Eighteen [Blessings]. And you may know [this] from the washing of the hands, which rectifies the three lower [Sefiros] of Asiyah, even though the hands are Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes.
Similarly, the Shema brings about a union of Abba and Imma of Atzilus that extends into Beriah, which is why it is said sitting, unlike the Shemoneh Esreh. The washing of the hands proves the point: it repairs only the three lower Sefiros of Asiyah, even though the hands themselves correspond to Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes.
וכן הציצית להתעטף הראש עד החזה ותפלין ש״י היא בחי׳ מוחין מקיפים וכולם מתקנים ג״ת לבד דבי״ע
And likewise the tzitzis, [which is] to wrap oneself from the head to the chest, and the tefillin of the hand, which are the level of encompassing intellect (mochin): all of them rectify only the three lower [Sefiros] of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.
So too the tallis, which wraps a person from the head to the chest, and the hand-tefillin, which are “encompassing mochin”: all of them repair only the three lower Sefiros of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.
ואף שהם מצות מעשיות מ״מ ממשיכים מבחי׳ עשי׳ שבאצי׳ שהיא חיצוניות כמ״ש בע״ח ש״מ דרוש ב׳ וציצי׳ קטן הוא בחי׳ עבור של חיצוניות3 והטלית יניקה ותש״י מוחין דגדלות.
And although they are practical mitzvos, nevertheless they draw down from the level of Asiyah within Atzilus, which is the outer dimension, as written in Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 40, Derush 2. And the small tzitzis is the level of ibbur (gestation) of the outer dimension, the tallis [is] yenikah (nursing), and the tefillin of the hand [are] the mochin of gadlus (maturity).
Though these are mitzvos of action, they draw from “Asiyah within Atzilus,” the outer dimension of Atzilus itself. The three correspond to stages of growth: the small tallis to gestation (ibbur), the tallis to nursing (yenikah), and the hand-tefillin to mature intellect (mochin degadlus).
The paragraph shows that although the practical mitzvos repair only low levels, what repairs them is light drawn from Atzilus, and the union they bring about is in Atzilus; the weekday descent of Atzilus into the lower worlds exists for this purpose.
Two scales are at work: where a mitzvah's effect lands (Yetzirah, Beriah, Asiyah) and where its power comes from (Atzilus). The point from Sha'ar HaGilgulim, that a spark of Atzilus in Asiyah outweighs the highest level of Beriah, is what lets the Alter Rebbe say that the lowly practical mitzvah is still an act of Atzilus.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
אשר שלט האדם באדם
How it connects
“A time when man rules over man to his harm.” It is cited for the power given to the nefesh of Asiyah to raise what has fallen into the kelipos.our note
The source
Ecclesiastes 8:9קהלת ח׳:ט׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)8אֵין אָדָם שַׁלִּיט בָּרוּחַ לִכְלוֹא אֶת־הָרוּחַ וְאֵין שִׁלְטוֹן בְּיוֹם הַמָּוֶת וְאֵין מִשְׁלַחַת בַּמִּלְחָמָה וְלֹא־יְמַלֵּט רֶשַׁע אֶת־בְּעָלָיו: 9אֶת־כׇּל־זֶה רָאִיתִי וְנָתוֹן אֶת־לִבִּי לְכׇל־מַעֲשֶׂה אֲשֶׁר נַעֲשָׂה תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ עֵת אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַט הָאָדָם בְּאָדָם לְרַע לוֹ: 10וּבְכֵן רָאִיתִי רְשָׁעִים קְבֻרִים וָבָאוּ וּמִמְּקוֹם קָדוֹשׁ יְהַלֵּכוּ וְיִשְׁתַּכְּחוּ בָעִיר אֲשֶׁר כֵּן־עָשׂוּ גַּם־זֶה הָבֶל:
8… there is no discharge in war; neither shall wickedness deliver him that is given to it. 9All this have I seen, even applied my heart thereto, whatever the work that is done under the sun; what time one man had power over another to his hurt. 10And so I saw the wicked buried, and they entered into their rest; but they that …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
קהלת ח, ט.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
ובגלגולים פ״ב
How it connects
The note says Likkutei Torah there brings the same point, that the nefesh of Atzilus in Asiyah is greater than the neshamah of Beriah, and cites it as chapter 20 of Sha'ar HaGilgulim rather than chapter 2; the passage on Sefaria begins near that column.our note
Where the note points
Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהBamidbar 2b
מבן עשרים. בע״ח שכ״ד פי׳ מארז״ל פ״ט דב״ב ולמכור בנכסי אביו עד שיהי׳ בן עשרים שנה, כי אזי נכנסים בו מקיפי אבא (ע׳ מענין מקיפי אבא סד״ה ושאבתם מים בסידור) וע׳ ד״ה כי תצא שיש בנקודת הלב שלמעלה מהבינה והדעת ב׳ בחינות הא׳ הארת נקודת הלב הב׳ עצמיות נקודת הלב. וי״ל ע״ד מ״ש בד״ה תקעו בחודש שהרצון עליון שלמעלה מהשכל יש בו שני בחינות הא׳ המלובש בחכמה והב׳ גלגלתא דחפיא על מוחא. וזה ג״כ כענין מצות וחוקים בד״ה אם בחקותי. וזהו ג׳ המדרגות הא׳ עשה רצונו כרצונך מבינה נעשה כתר לז״א והוא הרצון שלמטה מהשכל. הב׳ כדי שיעשה רצונך כרצונו רצון העליון המלובש בחכמה שבהשכל יש מלמעלה מהשכל וזהו נשמת כתר דז״א מת״ת דאבא. וב׳ בחי׳ אלו זהו בכל לבבך ובכל נפשך. הג׳ בטל רצונך גלגלתא. בכל מאדך. והנה יו״ד …
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Glosses of the Ramaz (Rabbi Moshe Zacuto)הרמ״זbeginning of Parshas Mishpatim
Our explanationLikkutei Torah, as the note reports, says the same point is also found in the Ramaz at the beginning of Mishpatim.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה לקו״ת במדבר ב, ב שכ״ה גם בהרמ״ז ר״פ משפטים. (בלקו״ת שם מציין לפרק עשרים).
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
וציצי׳ קטן הוא בחי׳ עבור של חיצוניות
How it connects
The note says the Rebbe explains there the Etz Chaim passage on the small tallis as “gestation,” the tallis as “nursing” and the tefillin as mature intellect.our note
Where the note points
Likkutei Sichos, by the Rebbeלקוטי שיחותvol. 33, p. 96, note 16
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ביאור הע״ח ראה בלקו״ש חל״ג ע׳ 96 הערה 16.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
Where each part of the Torah is ¶8–11
8ועוד תדע מכוונות השמות בברכו׳ המצו׳ שהן בת״ת דאצי׳ ולא דבי״ע וכן במקרא שהוא בעשי׳ והכוונ׳ הוא בג׳ שמות ת״ת דז״א דאצי׳. ולתורה ולנביאים בנ״ה דז״א דאצי׳. ולכתובים ליסוד דז״א דאצי׳ ולמשנה שהיא ביצי׳.
And further, you may know [this] from the kavanos of the Names in the blessings over the mitzvos, which are in Tiferes of Atzilus and not of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. And likewise with Scripture, which is in Asiyah, the kavanah is in the three Names of Tiferes of Z'eir Anpin of Atzilus. And for the Torah and for the Prophets, in Netzach and Hod of Z'eir Anpin of Atzilus. And for the Writings, in Yesod of Z'eir Anpin of Atzilus. And for the Mishnah, which is in Yetzirah,
Another proof that mitzvos and Torah study reach Atzilus: the kavanos (meditations on divine Names) for the blessings over mitzvos are directed to Tiferes of Atzilus, not to the lower worlds. Likewise, Scripture is said to be “in Asiyah,” yet its kavanos are in Names of Z'eir Anpin of Atzilus: the Torah and Prophets in Netzach and Hod, the Writings in Yesod; the sentence continues with the Mishnah, said to be “in Yetzirah.”
The paragraph brings the Arizal's kavanos as evidence that what is said to act in a lower world is actually directed to Atzilus.
9והכונ׳ היא בשמות דכלי׳ אמצעי׳ דו״ק דנוק׳ דז״א דאצי׳ ולתלמוד הכונה בשמות דכלים חיצוני׳ דו״ק דנוק׳ דז״א דאצי׳ אף שהתלמוד בבריאה.
the kavanah is in the Names of the middle vessels of the six extremities of the Nukva of Z'eir Anpin of Atzilus; and for the Talmud, the kavanah is in the Names of the outer vessels of the six extremities of the Nukva of Z'eir Anpin of Atzilus, even though the Talmud is in Beriah.
For the Mishnah the kavanah is in Names of the middle vessels of the six emotive Sefiros (the “six extremities”) of the Nukva of Z'eir Anpin of Atzilus; for the Talmud, in the outer vessels of the same. So although the Talmud is said to be “in Beriah,” its kavanah is in Atzilus.
והטעם מובן מ״ש בפע״ח דאיך אפשר1 דתושב״כ בעשי׳ למטה משבע״פ אלא כולם הם באצי׳ רק שהמקרא יורדת עד העשי׳ ומתלבשת שם.
And the reason is understood from what is written in Pri Etz Chaim: how is it possible that the Written Torah is in Asiyah, below the Oral Torah? Rather, all of them are in Atzilus, only Scripture descends as far as Asiyah and is clothed there.
Pri Etz Chaim gives the reason: it cannot be that the Written Torah stands lower, in Asiyah, than the Oral Torah. Rather, all of them are in Atzilus; Scripture simply reaches down as far as Asiyah and clothes itself there.
The paragraph resolves the puzzle of Scripture being “in Asiyah” and the Talmud “in Beriah”: these describe how far down each reaches, not where it is rooted.
Torah Ohr, Yisro (69b) gives the same resolution: Scripture is higher, and “Scripture in Asiyah” means that its flow reaches down to Asiyah, while the Talmud's reaches only to Beriah.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
מ״ש בפע״ח דאיך אפשר
How it connects
the page is on Sefaria, but its text shares nothing with the note (unconfirmed)our note
The source
Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 40תניא, חלק ראשון; ליקוטי אמרים מ׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Where the note points
Tanyaתניאch. 40, in the gloss (56a)
אך כל זמן שלא חזר ולמד דבר זה לשמה, אין לימודו עולה אפילו בי׳ ספירות המאירות בעולם היצירה והעשיה, כי הספירות הן בחינת אלהות, ובהן מתלבש ומתייחד אור אין סוף ברוך הוא ממש, ״ובלא דחילו ורחימו לא יכלא לסלקא ולמיקם קדם ה׳״, כמו שכתוב בתיקונים, רק לימודו עולה להיכלות ומדורין שהן חיצוניות העולמות שבהן עומדים המלאכים; וכמו שכתב הרב חיים ויטאל זכרונו לברכה בשער הנבואה פרק ב׳, שמהתורה שלא בכוונה – נבראים מלאכים בעולם היצירה, ומהמצות בלי כוונה – נבראים מלאכים בעולם העשייה, וכל המלאכים, הם בעלי חומר וצורה. אבל תורה שלא לשמה ממש, כגון להיות תלמיד חכם וכהאי גוונא, אינה עולה כלל למעלה אפילו להיכלות ומדור המלאכים דקדושה, אלא נשארת למטה בעולם הזה הגשמי שהוא מדור הקליפות; הגהה כמו שכתוב בזהר חלק ג׳ דף ל״א ﬠמוד ב׳ ודף קכ״א …
Our explanationTanya ch. 40 discusses how high Torah and mitzvos rise with and without intent, citing Rabbi Chaim Vital that Torah without intent creates angels in Yetzirah and mitzvos without intent in Asiyah; the note points to its gloss for this question of where each part of the Torah is.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Torah Ohrתורה אור69b (Yisro) · not yet checked
Our explanationThere the Alter Rebbe asks the same question, how Scripture can be “in Asiyah” when it is higher, and answers that the flow drawn down through Scripture reaches Asiyah while that of the Talmud reaches only Beriah.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהVayikra 5d
ראשונים כו׳ כמ״ש בב״י. אמנם לפמ״ש א״ש דבתחלת למודו של אדם ישלש השליש במקרא ממש לבדו. דאע״ג שלתלמוד צריך זמן יותר מ״מ יש לו למהר ללמוד המקרא בתחלה ואחר שהגדיל בחכמה יש לו לקיים השליש במקרא בתשב״כ עם מה שילמוד אח״כ מפנימיות התורה והאגדות שזה נכלל הכל בשליש במקרא כנ״ל, (ואפשר דגם לימוד מדרש רבה ושאר המדרשים הוא בכלל השליש במקרא שהרי בפ״ק דברכות דף י״א ע״ב משמע בהדיא בגמ׳ ופרש״י דמדרש הוא קרוב למקרא כו׳ לפי שהם מדרשי מקראות. וכ״מ בנדרים דל״ו סע״ב ואף שבהלכות ת״ת מבואר דמדרש תורה שהוא ספרא וספרי וכה״ג הן בכלל שליש במשנה היינו מפני שהן הלכות וגופי התורה כמו המשנה משא״כ לימוד הרבות שהן אגדות שעל המקרא ומוסר ה׳ אפשר שזה נכלל בשליש במקרא. ולכן אתי שפיר דלעולם ישלש אדם כו׳. והנה ענין לעולם …
Our explanationThis passage discusses dividing one's study into thirds (Scripture, Mishnah, Talmud) and says that, once a person has grown in wisdom, the inner dimension of the Torah and the aggados are included in the third devoted to Scripture.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Sefer HaMaamarim Nach, by the Mitteler Rebbeספר המאמרים נ״ך לאדמו״ר האמצעיmaamar “Mizmor LeSodah,” p. 139
Our explanationThe note says several Chassidic maamarim quote this teaching in the name of Etz Chaim, and gives this maamar as one example.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Etz Chaimעץ חייםby Rabbi Chaim Vital, from the Arizal
The central work of the Arizal’s Kabbalah, in gates (she’arim).
Kehot’s note
שער יז שער הנהגת הלימוד.
תניא פ״מ בהגה״ה [נו, א]. וראה לקמן סט, ב. לקו״ת ויקרא ה, ד.
בכמה מאמרי דא״ח מובא זה בשם ספר ע״ח. ראה ד״ה מזמור לתודה לאדה״א בסה״מ נ״ך ע׳ קלט. ובכ״מ.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
10והמשנה עד היצי׳ לבדה. והתלמוד עד הבריאה לבדה. והקבלה עד האצי׳ לבדה בלי לבוש. דהיינו למי שיודע להפשיטה מלבושיה עד בחי׳ אצי׳ א״נ היא בחי׳ אצי׳ ממש שבעשי׳.
And the Mishnah [descends] as far as Yetzirah only, and the Talmud as far as Beriah only, and the Kabbalah as far as Atzilus only, without a garment. That is, for one who knows how to strip it of its garments up to the level of Atzilus; alternatively, it is the level of Atzilus itself within Asiyah.
Each part of the Torah reaches down only so far: the Mishnah to Yetzirah, the Talmud to Beriah, and the Kabbalah only to Atzilus, with no garment at all. The Alter Rebbe offers two readings of the Kabbalah's place: for one who can strip its images away up to Atzilus; or, alternatively, it is Atzilus itself as it is present within Asiyah.
אך מאחר כי הכוונה בשם מ״ה שהוא שם כלי פנימי דת״ת דז״א דאצי׳ והם אינם מלובשים בעשי׳ כלל מכלל שהן באצי׳ העליון ממש רק שהמקרא מלובשת בעשי׳ וקבלה אינה מלובשת כלל.
But since the kavanah is in the Name Mah, which is the Name of the inner vessel of Tiferes of Z'eir Anpin of Atzilus, and these are not clothed in Asiyah at all, it follows that they are in the upper Atzilus itself; only Scripture is clothed in Asiyah, and Kabbalah is not clothed at all.
The proof that all of them are rooted in Atzilus: the kavanah for Scripture is in the Name Mah (the spelling of Havayah whose letters add up to 45), the Name of the inner vessel of Tiferes of Z'eir Anpin of Atzilus, and those Names are not clothed in Asiyah at all. So Scripture is truly in the upper Atzilus and only clothed in Asiyah, while the Kabbalah is not clothed at all.
The paragraph finishes the picture: every part of the Torah is rooted in Atzilus, and they differ only in how far down they are clothed.
11וכן המשנה והתלמוד הם באצי׳ העליון ומלובשים בבריאה ויצי׳ עליונה כי האדם כלול מכל העולמות ואף שהכוונה בעסק התורה היא בבריאה והתורה עצמה ביצי׳
And likewise the Mishnah and the Talmud are in the upper Atzilus and are clothed in Beriah and upper Yetzirah, for man comprises all the worlds. And although the kavanah in occupying oneself with Torah is in Beriah, and the Torah itself in Yetzirah,
In the same way, the Mishnah and the Talmud are in the upper Atzilus and clothed in Beriah and upper Yetzirah, because a person comprises all the worlds. The Alter Rebbe then takes up the statement that the intent in Torah study is in Beriah and the Torah itself in Yetzirah,
וכן המצוה בלי כוונה בעשי׳ מ״מ התלמוד עצמו הוא ביצי׳ שהוא בחי׳ רוח שבבריאה והמשנה עצמה בלי כוונה ביצי׳ שביצירה והכוונה נשמה לשתיהן כמ״ש בע״ח שער מ״ט פ״ה.
and likewise a mitzvah without kavanah in Asiyah, nevertheless the Talmud itself is in Yetzirah, which is the level of ruach within Beriah, and the Mishnah itself without kavanah is in Yetzirah of Yetzirah, and the kavanah is a neshamah for both of them, as written in Etz Chaim, Sha'ar 49, ch. 5.
and a mitzvah without intent in Asiyah (Etz Chaim Sha'ar 49 ch. 5). He explains: the Talmud itself is in “Yetzirah” in the sense of the ruach-level within Beriah, the Mishnah without intent is in Yetzirah of Yetzirah, and the intent is like a neshamah (soul) for both.
ע״ש היטב הדק דמוכח התם ג״כ כמ״ש שהתלמוד היא בבריאה עליונה אלא דהיינו דוקא כל מי שנשמתו בבריא׳ אבל לנפש דעשי׳ אפשר היא בריאה ממש שבעשי׳ וצ״ע.
See there, examining it very closely, for it is evident there too, as [I have] written, that the Talmud is in upper Beriah; but perhaps this applies specifically to anyone whose soul is in Beriah, whereas for a nefesh of Asiyah it may be actual Beriah within Asiyah. This requires study.
Read closely, that passage also shows that the Talmud is in upper Beriah. One might say this applies only to someone whose soul comes from Beriah, while for a nefesh of Asiyah the Talmud would be only “Beriah within Asiyah”; the Alter Rebbe leaves this as a question.
אך זה אינו שאין לחלק בין נפש לנשמה אלא בכוונה שהנשמה כוונתה עולה למעלה יותר אבל לא בלימוד הפשוט עצמו בפשט התלמוד לבד:
But this is not so, for one cannot distinguish between a nefesh and a neshamah except in the kavanah, the neshamah's kavanah rising higher; but not in the plain study itself, in the plain meaning of the Talmud alone.
He then rejects that answer: nefesh and neshamah differ only in their intent, which rises higher for a neshamah, not in the plain study itself. Simple study of the plain meaning of the Talmud reaches the same place for every Jew.
The paragraph ends by ruling that the level of plain Torah study does not depend on the level of the soul studying; only the intent that accompanies it differs.
Tanya ch. 40, citing Rabbi Chaim Vital, says Torah studied without intent creates angels in Yetzirah and mitzvos without intent create angels in Asiyah; this paragraph refines that picture for the Mishnah and the Talmud.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Each person must do the practical mitzvos himself, because only he can refine his own garments. Even a mitzvah done without intent and the plain study of the Talmud reach Atzilus, and one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come.
Questions for discussion
- Why can others raise a soul out of the kelipos through prayer, but not refine its garments for it?
- In what sense is the reward of the mitzvos a “garment,” and why is the garment not the World to Come itself?
- How can a practical mitzvah repair only the lowest levels and still be an act of Atzilus?
- If Scripture is higher than the Talmud, why is it said to be “in Asiyah” and the Talmud “in Beriah”?
- What does the conclusion, that nefesh and neshamah differ only in intent, mean for a simple person's Torah study?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Shechinah (Divine Presence)שכינה
- G‑d's presence as it dwells in the world. ×2
- Nukva (the feminine / Malchus)נוקבא
- Malchus as the receiving configuration. ×4
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration. ×11
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level.
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect. ×5
- The intellect (mochin)מוחין
- Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×3
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence. ×15
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions. ×2
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one.
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×1
- Kelipah (the husk)קליפה
- The forces of concealment that oppose holiness.
- Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah)אבא ואמא
- The intellectual configurations.
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×1
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×2
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d.
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving.
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment.
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.
- Netzach (victory)נצח
- Perseverance, the drive to overcome.
- Hod (splendor)הוד
- Acknowledgment and yielding.
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×1
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being. ×1