Torah Ohr · Parshas Megillas Esther · Maamar 10
וקבל היהודים את אשר החלו לעשות
“And the Jews Accepted What They Had Begun to Do”
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The big idea
What Israel began at Sinai, drawing the Infinite Light into the vessels of Torah and mitzvos, they completed in Haman’s days, when a year of self-sacrifice brought them to the self-nullification of acknowledgment and a complete acceptance of the Torah.
The maamar in brief
Esther 9:23 says the Jews “accepted what they had begun to do”: a beginning at Sinai, completed under Haman. First the Alter Rebbe asks what the Giving of the Torah added, if Avraham already kept the Torah. Avraham’s love was a self-nullification born of contemplating that all the worlds are only G‑d’s “Name”; the soul can hold such love only as “running and returning,” and Avraham’s lofty soul-root is not everyone’s. The 613 commandments give every Jew that running and returning: they are the King’s limbs, vessels for the Infinite Light. Light shows only through a vessel, as fire needs a wick, and in its root the vessel is higher than the light; hence “we will do and we will hear.” Haman’s “royal garment” and “horse” become Torah and mitzvos drawn down through self-nullification, which lifts a person beyond the sitra achra and transforms it. Sinai only began this drawing down. In Haman’s days Jews who could have saved themselves by abandoning their faith stood ready to die for a whole year, and through that self-sacrifice, an acknowledgment of G‑d beyond understanding, they accepted the Torah completely.
Outline
- Begun at Sinai, completed under HamanThe verse’s “had begun” and “accepted”, and the question: what did the Giving of the Torah add, if Avraham kept the Torah before it was given?¶1
- Avraham’s running and returningAvraham’s love was a self-nullification born of contemplating that the worlds, even sovev, are only G‑d’s “Name”; the soul can hold it only as running and returning, until the Time to Come.¶2–3
- The commandments as vesselsThe 248 and 365 commandments give everyone running and returning; they are the King’s limbs, vessels for the Infinite Light, and light shows only through a vessel, whose root is higher.¶4–8
- Avraham and the TorahAvraham kept the Torah as a vessel for its light, but the mitzvos themselves, from a higher root, were given only at Sinai.¶9
- The garment and the horseThe royal garment is Torah and mitzvos; the horse that draws it down is self-nullification, which first lifts a person beyond the reach of the sitra achra.¶10–12
- Casting down and transformingDrawn down, self-nullification transforms the attributes, as the “mother” cleans her son; it brings salvation, the garment given through Michael, and the righteous proclaimed “holy.”¶13–15
- Complete acceptance through self-sacrificeSinai began the drawing down gradually; in Haman’s days a year of self-sacrifice, the self-nullification of acknowledgment, made the acceptance complete.¶16
Key concepts
- running and returning (ratzo vashov)רצוא ושוב
- The soul’s surge toward G‑d and its return. It was Avraham’s “going and journeying”; through the commandments it is open to all, running in the positive commandments and returning in the negative ones.
- self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one’s own sense of self before G‑d. Here it is the “horse” that draws the light into the mitzvos, lifts a person beyond the sitra achra, and transforms it.
- vessel and lightכלי ואור
- Light shows only through a vessel, as fire only through a wick. The mitzvos done in deed are the vessels, and in their root the vessels are higher than the light.
- ever mahאבר מ״ה
- A play on Avraham’s name: “a limb of mah,” a vessel for Chochmah, the power of mah, which made his soul a chariot for the Torah’s light.
- acknowledgment (hodayah)הודאה
- Unlike blessing, which is revelation, acknowledgment is directed at the Infinite Light itself, beyond all grasp. The name Yehudim comes from it, and it is utter self-nullification.
- self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh)מסירות נפש
- Giving oneself over entirely to G‑d. In Haman’s days it was a whole year’s readiness to die rather than abandon the faith, and it brought the complete acceptance of the Torah.
Begun at Sinai, completed under Haman ¶1
1וקבל היהודים1 את אשר החלו לעשות. פי׳ החלו במתן תורה שאמרו נעשה ונשמע2 ואז היתה עדיין נקרא׳ בשם התחלה.3
“And the Jews accepted what they had begun to do.” The meaning is: they began at the Giving of the Torah, when they said “we will do and we will hear,” and at that time it was still called by the name “beginning.”
The maamar opens with Esther 9:23, “the Jews accepted what they had begun to do.” The Alter Rebbe reads “had begun” as pointing back to Sinai: when Israel said “we will do and we will hear,” they began to accept the Torah, but that acceptance was still only a beginning.
אבל בימי המן וקבל היהודים וגו׳. קבלה גמורה.4 ולהבין זה צריך להבין ענין מתן תורה שניתנה לישראל.
But in the days of Haman, “the Jews accepted,” etc.: a complete acceptance. To understand this, one must understand the matter of the Giving of the Torah, that it was given to Israel.
In the days of Haman, by contrast, the verse says “the Jews accepted”: this was a complete acceptance. To see what was completed then, one must first understand what the Giving of the Torah itself was.
But did not Avraham our father, peace be upon him, fulfill the entire Torah before it was given? So what is the advantage of its being given?
The question behind this: as the Mishnah at the end of Kiddushin says, Avraham kept the entire Torah before it was given. If the Torah could be kept without being given, what did its giving at Sinai add?
The paragraph sets the maamar’s question: why the acceptance at Sinai is called only a beginning and the acceptance in Haman’s days a complete one, and, first, what the Giving of the Torah added if Avraham already kept the Torah.
The Talmud (Shabbos 88a) says that at Sinai the Torah was accepted with the mountain held over Israel, and that the generation accepted it again in the days of Achashverosh. The Kehot notes show how the question was sharpened elsewhere: a transcript in Sefer HaMaamarim 5566 asks how Sinai, where the people’s souls flew out at every utterance, could be only a beginning; the maamar Vekibel HaYehudim of 5687 adds that at Sinai Israel had just seen the signs of the Exodus and the splitting of the Sea; and Or HaTorah asks what connection Purim has with the Giving of the Torah.
Marei mekomos
- 1וקבל היהודים · הנחת אדה״א בסה״מ תקס״ו ע׳ קכ. וביאור שני לדרוש פורים שם ע׳ קנב. ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. באוה״ת מג״א ע׳ קעא המאמר עם הגהות וקיצורים. עוד קיצורים שם ע׳ קעח. לד״ה וקבל שבתו״א שם ע׳ קעט. קפה. ראה פלח הרמון שמות ע׳ שצה. ראה המשך מצה זו תר״מ פרק כו ע׳ קעב.
- 2נעשה ונשמע · Exodus 24:7
- 3נקראת בשם התחלה · בסה״מ תקס״ו ע׳ קכ שואל ”איך יתכן שבשעת מ״ת שעל כל דיבור ודיבור פרחה נשמתן וכו׳ לא תהי׳ רק התחלה”. ובד״ה וקבל היהודים תרפ״ז ע׳ קי (ובסה״מ תשי״א ע׳ קפ) ”דלכאורה הוא דבר נפלא דבמ״ת היו ישראל בתכלית העילוי דגאולה והיו במעמד ומצב משובח ביותר בענין החירות והחופש, וראו כמה אותות ומופתים ביציאת מצרים, ובפרט בקריעת ים סוף”. ע״ש. ובאוה״ת מג״א ע׳ ב׳שמח הקשה איזה שייכות יש לפורים עם מ״ת.
- 4וקבל היהודים . . החלו במ״ת . . וקבל . . קבלה גמורה · Esther 9:23
- 5אאע״ה קיים את כל התורה · משנה סוף קידושין. באוה״ת כאן ע׳ קעא מציין לד״ה וכל העם לעיל סז, ד ”שם הקשה קושיא זו וגם התירוץ הוא ע״ד מה שכתוב כאן ובמ״א תירץ באופן אחר”.
- 6קיים את כל התורה עד שלא ניתנה · Mishnah Kiddushin 4:14
- 7ומה זו מעלת נתינתה · ראה לעיל עג, סע״ג. ובאוה״ת מג״א ע׳ קעב שמציין למאמר הנ״ל.
Avraham’s running and returning ¶2–3
2אך הנה מעלת אברהם אבינו ע״ה שהיה הלוך ונסוע.12 דהיינו שהיה בבחי׳ רצוא ושוב3 בשביל שהיתה מדתו מדת האהבה בבחינת בטול אליו ית׳ כי אברהם אבר מ״ה4 כו׳.
However, the distinction of Avraham our father, peace be upon him, was that he was “going and journeying”; that is, he was in the mode of “running and returning,” because his attribute was the attribute of love, in a state of self-nullification (bittul) toward Him, may He be blessed, for Avraham [is] ever mah (“a limb of mah”), etc.
The answer begins with Avraham. Genesis 12:9 says he went “going and journeying,” which the Alter Rebbe identifies with “running and returning” (Ezekiel 1:14), the soul surging toward G‑d and returning. This came from his attribute of love, a love of self-nullification; his very name, אברהם, contains ever mah (אבר מ״ה), “a limb of mah,” a vessel for Chochmah, which is called koach mah, “the power of ‘what.’”
And this self-nullification comes through contemplation, as it is written, “Let them praise the Name of G‑d,” etc.: the level of a name alone, which is not in the category of His essence and being, etc.
This self-nullification comes from contemplation. Psalm 148 calls on creation to “praise the Name of G‑d”: what creation relates to is only His “Name,” which bears no comparison to His essence and being.
כי הוא דהיינו עצמותו ומהותו ית׳ צוה ונבראו7 שלא שייך עליו ית׳ לומר שברא את העולמות כנ״ל.
For “He” — that is, His essence and being, may He be blessed — “commanded, and they were created”; for it does not apply to Him, may He be blessed, to say that He created the worlds, as mentioned above.
The next words come from Psalms 148:5, “for He commanded, and they were created.” The Alter Rebbe reads “He” as G‑d’s very essence: of the essence one cannot even say that it “created” the worlds.
כי לשון ברא8 משמע שיש כח הפועל בנפעל9 ולא שייך זה אלא בשמותיו ית׳ כמ״ש בראשית ברא אלהים10 הוא שמותיו של11 הקב״ה.
For the term “created” (bara) implies that the power of the maker is in the thing made, and this applies only to His Names, may He be blessed, as it is written, “In the beginning Elokim created”: that is, the Names of the Holy One, blessed be He.
To say that something was “created” implies that the creator’s power is present in what it made. That applies only to G‑d’s Names, which is why the Torah says “In the beginning Elokim created”: Elokim, a Name, is what creates.
אבל עצמותו ומהותו כביכול הוא רק כאלו צוה ונבראו ממילא שאין להם ערך ויחוס כלל אליו ית׳
But [as for] His essence and being, as it were, it is only as though “He commanded, and they were created” of themselves, for they have no comparison or relation to Him, may He be blessed, at all,
Relative to His essence, the worlds come about as though merely at His word, of themselves, since they bear no comparison or relation to Him at all.
כי נשגב שמו לבדו.12 פי׳ אפילו בחינת נשגב. דהיינו בחי׳ סובב כל עלמין אינו אלא בחינת שמו לבדו.
for “exalted is His Name alone.” The meaning is: even the level of “exalted,” that is, the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), is only the level of “His Name alone.”
Psalms 148:13 says “exalted is His Name alone.” The Alter Rebbe reads it: even what is “exalted,” the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), which is beyond the worlds, is still only His “Name” compared with His essence.
Avraham’s “going and journeying” was a running and returning of love born of self-nullification, which comes from contemplating that the worlds, and even the light that transcends them, are only G‑d’s “Name,” nothing next to His essence.
The two verses of Psalm 148 that the paragraph draws on, 148:5 and 148:13, open with the same words, “Let them praise the Name of G‑d.” Torah Ohr (Mishpatim, 79b), to which the Kehot note points, explains that before the world was created there was only G‑d and His Name, and that His Name is not in the category of bringing into being and giving life at all; “exalted” means far removed from the emanated worlds, and only a radiance from His Name gives life to earth and heaven.
Marei mekomos
- 1מעלת אברהם אבינו ע״ה שהיה הלוך ונסוע · ראה לעיל סו, ד ואילך. עג, ד. בסה״מ תרכ״ז (הוצאת תש״ס) ע׳ קסא מציין לכאן.
- 2הלוך ונסוע · Genesis 12:9
- 3
- 4אברהם אבר מ״ה · באוה״ת מג״א ע׳ קעב מציין ללעיל צ, א, שהוא בחי׳ אבר וכלי להתלבשות בחי׳ חכ׳ מ״ה שהחכמה עצמה היא המלובשת בתוך המדות, עכ״ל.
- 5ובטול זה הוא ע״י ההתבוננות · ראה באוה״ת כאן ע׳ קפה מבאר הצ״צ שהתבוננות זו הוא המבואר לעיל בפ׳ וישלח בד״ה ויקח מן הבא בידו ”כשהאהבה באה מהתבוננות כי הוא חייך כו׳, אך כאשר האהבה באה מאשר ישית אל לבו . . בחי׳ זו הב׳ ע״ז נתכוין כאן” [בתו״א].
- 6יהללו את שם ה׳ · Psalms 148:13
- 7צוה ונבראו · Psalms 148:5
- 8כי לשון ברא · ראה לקו״ת בשה״ש יד, ג בד״ה קול דודי ההפרש בין בראת לנברא. ראה באוה״ת כאן ע׳ קעב.
- 9כח הפועל בנפעל · בלקו״ת שלח מז, א: ומ״ש בספרים כח הפועל בנפעל. וראה במ״מ לשם. ראה לעיל מא, ד. סד, א. סו, ג. ראה אוה״ת מג״א ע׳ קעט.
- 10בראשית ברא אלהים · Genesis 1:1
- 11הוא שמותיו של הקדב״ה · באוה״ת מג״א ע׳ קעב יש הג״ה.
- 12כי נשגב שמו לבדו · Psalms 148:13
3ואי לזאת תתבטל אליו ית׳ הנפש בבחי׳ בטול באור א״ס ב״ה ממש שאין כח בנפש להכיל את אור האהבה זו כי אם בבחי׳ רצוא ושוב1 וזו היתה מעלת ומדרגת אברהם הלוך ונסוע.
Accordingly, the soul becomes nullified to Him, may He be blessed, in a state of self-nullification (bittul) in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself; for the soul has no power to contain the light of this love except in the mode of “running and returning.” And this was the distinction and rank of Avraham: “going and journeying.”
Contemplating this, the soul is nullified in the Infinite Light itself. But no soul can hold such love steadily, so it comes as “running and returning,” a surge toward G‑d and a return. This was Avraham’s rank: “going and journeying.”
אך לעתיד לבא כתיב כי עין בעין יראו2 לפי שאז נאמר בבכי יבאו שהבכיה היא
But of the Time to Come it is written, “for eye to eye they shall see,” because of that time it is said, “with weeping they shall come”; for the weeping is
In the Time to Come it will be otherwise. Then “eye to eye they shall see” (Isaiah 52:8), and of that time Jeremiah says, “with weeping they shall come” (Jeremiah 31:9).
מחמת קבלת השמחה הגדולה3 ורוב התענוג המתגלה למעלה מעלה מאשר תוכל הנפש שאת4 שלכן הוא בוכה ומוריד דמעות לפי שאין מעצור בבחי׳ כלי וגבול כנודע:
because of receiving the great joy and the abundance of delight that is revealed, far, far beyond what the soul can bear; and therefore one weeps and sheds tears, because there is no restraint at the level of vessel and limit, as is known.
The weeping will come from joy and delight revealed far beyond what the soul can bear. Since no vessel or limit holds it back, it overflows as tears.
The soul can hold the love born of self-nullification only as running and returning, which was Avraham’s level; in the Time to Come the revelation will be seen “eye to eye,” so great that it brings tears of joy.
Torah Ohr (Yitro, 73c), cited in the notes to paragraph 1, adds that the Chayos of the Chariot are described as “running and returning,” while Avraham’s level, higher than theirs, is called “going and journeying.”
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2כי עין בעין יראו · Isaiah 52:8
- 3שהבכיה היא מחמת קבלת השמחה הגדולה · ראה לעיל כו, א.
- 4בבכי יבואו . . מאשר תוכל הנפש שאת · Jeremiah 31:9
The commandments as vessels ¶4–8
4והנה מעלת אברהם היתה גדולה מאד מצד שרש נשמתו1 ולא כל האדם זוכה לזה. לכך נתנה התורה רמ״ח מ״ע ושס״ה לא תעשה שהן הן בחי׳ רצוא ושוב2.
Now, Avraham’s distinction was very great by virtue of the root of his soul, and not every person merits this. Therefore the Torah was given: 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments, which are the very level of “running and returning.”
Avraham reached this through the lofty root of his soul, which not everyone has. That is why the Torah was given with its 248 positive and 365 negative commandments: they are themselves “running and returning,” open to every person.
רצוא במצות עשה. ושוב במצות לא תעשה. כי המצות הן כלים לאור א״ס ב״ה המלובש בהם.
“Running” is in the positive commandments, and “returning” in the negative commandments. For the mitzvos are vessels for the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is enclothed in them.
The positive commandments are the “running,” and the negative commandments the “returning.” Both are vessels in which the Infinite Light is enclothed.
The commandments give everyone the running and returning that Avraham reached through his soul’s root, for the mitzvos are vessels for the Infinite Light.
Or HaTorah, cited in the Kehot note, explains how high Avraham’s root was: even Adam’s root is from supernal Chochmah, while Avraham’s root is from Keser.
Marei mekomos
- 1מעלת אברהם . . מצד שרש נשמתו · ראה באוה״ת כאן ע׳ קעג ”שזהו הפי׳ שמעלת אברהם היתה גדולה מאד מצד שרש נשמתו היינו אפילו אדה״ר שרשו מחכ״ע ואברהם שרשו מהכתר”.
- 2
As it is written, “G‑d descended upon Mount Sinai.” For the 248 commandments are the 248 limbs of the King. Just as a limb
At Sinai “G‑d descended upon Mount Sinai” (Exodus 19:20): G‑dliness came down into the commandments. The Tikkunei Zohar speaks of the 248 commandments as the 248 “limbs of the King.”
שהוא כלי שבו מלובש החיות מן המוח כך המצות הם כלים ואברים להחיות הנמשך מן החכמה דאורייתא מחכמה נפקת שבה מלובש אור א״ס ב״ה ממש וע״י זה יהיה גילוי אור א״ס ב״ה ממש בנפש האדם.
is a vessel in which the life-force from the brain is enclothed, so the mitzvos are vessels and limbs for the life-force drawn from Chochmah (wisdom), for “the Torah comes forth from Chochmah,” in which the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself is enclothed; and through this there will be a revelation of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself in the soul of man.
A limb is a vessel for the life-force that flows from the brain; so the mitzvos are vessels and limbs for the life-force drawn from Chochmah. The Torah comes from Chochmah, and in it the Infinite Light itself is enclothed, so through the mitzvos the Infinite Light itself is revealed in a person’s soul.
At Sinai G‑d “descended” into the mitzvos, the King’s “limbs”: vessels for the light of Chochmah, in which the Infinite Light itself is enclothed and through which it is revealed in the soul.
Torah Ohr (Yitro, 67d), cited in the notes to paragraph 1, asks how “limbs” can be said of G‑d, who has no bodily form, and answers from the Zohar that each mitzvah draws down one of His Names, the spreading forth of life and influence by which His attributes come about.
Marei mekomos
- 1וירד ה׳ על הר סיני · Exodus 19:20
- 2רמ״ח פקודים הם רמ״ח אברים דמלכא · Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 30 · 74a:5
6וזהו ענין נעשה ונשמע.1 נעשה היא בחי׳ כלי בעשיית המצות בפועל ממש. ונשמע מלשון וישמע שאול2 לשון אסיפה שיתאסף ויתקבץ לתוכן המשכות מאור א״ס ב״ה.
And this is the meaning of “we will do and we will hear.” “We will do” is the level of a vessel, in the doing of the mitzvos in actual deed. And “we will hear” (nishma) is from the expression “and Shaul assembled (vayeshama),” a term of gathering: that into them there be gathered and collected drawings-down from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He.
This is why Israel said “we will do and we will hear” (Exodus 24:7). “We will do” is the vessel: the actual doing of the mitzvos. “We will hear” (nishma) is read like “Shaul assembled (vayeshama) the people” (I Samuel 15:4), a term of gathering: through the deeds, flows of the Infinite Light are gathered into the mitzvos.
כי המשכת אור א״ס ב״ה בתורה ומצות תלוי במעשה המצות וקיומן בפועל ממש כי אין אור בלי כלי כנודע מענין יסוד האש
For the drawing down of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, into Torah and mitzvos depends on the doing of the mitzvos and their fulfillment in actual deed, since there is no light without a vessel, as is known from the matter of the element of fire,
The Infinite Light is drawn into Torah and mitzvos only through actually doing them, because light cannot appear without a vessel. The element of fire illustrates this.
ע״ד משל שהוא הגבה למעלה מכל הד׳ יסודות תחת גלגל הירח ואעפ״כ אינו מאיר בלילה לפי שהאור הבא ממנו אינו מאיר
by way of analogy: it is the highest, above all the four elements beneath the sphere of the moon, and nevertheless it does not shine at night, because the light that comes from it does not shine
Of the four elements held to lie beneath the sphere of the moon (fire, air, water and earth), fire is the highest. Yet elemental fire does not light up the night: its light does not shine by itself.
אלא א״כ3 יש דבר למטה שנאחז בו ודולק כמו פתילה ועצי׳ ואחר שכלו ונשרפו העצי׳ והפתילה מסתלק והיה כלא היה ואינו עולה בשם אור כלל.
unless there is something below that it takes hold of and burns, such as a wick and wood; and after the wood and the wick are consumed and burned up, it departs and is as though it had never been, and does not merit the name “light” at all.
Fire shines only when it takes hold of something below, a wick or wood; when they are consumed it vanishes as if it had never been, and is not called light at all. In the same way the divine light shows only where it has a vessel.
וזהו ולא עם הארץ חסיד.4567 חסיד הוא בעל מדות האהבה והיא היא בחי׳ אור (כי ב׳ פעמים אור8 בגימטריא ואהבת)910 ואי אפשר להיות גילוי אור האהבה
And this is [the meaning of] “nor is an unlearned person a chasid.” A chasid is one who possesses the emotive attributes (middos) of love, and this is the very level of light (for twice or, “light,” equals ve’ahavta, “and you shall love,” in numerical value); and there cannot be a revelation of the light of love
Hence the Mishnah, “nor is an unlearned person a chasid” (Avos 2:5). A chasid is one whose attribute is love, and love is a “light”: ve’ahavta (ואהבת, “and you shall love”) equals 414, twice or (אור, “light”), which is 207.
כי אם שיהיה בחי׳ כלי למטה שיתפעל בו. ובחינת כלי זו הוא ע״י תורה ומצות. משא״כ עם הארץ.
unless there is the level of a vessel below that is affected by it. And this level of a vessel comes through Torah and mitzvos; which is not so with an unlearned person.
The light of love needs a vessel below in which it can take effect, and that vessel is made through Torah and mitzvos. An unlearned person lacks it, so the light of love cannot be revealed in him.
וגם עיקר הגורם להמשכ׳ אוא״ס ב״ה שיהי׳ מתלבש בתורה ומצות ולהיות אנת חכים ולא וכו׳. הוא הוא עיקר התורה ועשיית המצות עצמן שבחי׳ הכלי קדמה לאור בשרשו ומקור חוצבו.
Moreover, the main cause of drawing down the Infinite Light, blessed be He, so that it be enclothed in Torah and mitzvos, and so that there be [the level of] “You are wise, but not,” etc., is none other than the essence of the Torah and of the doing of the mitzvos themselves; for the level of the vessel precedes the light in its root and the source from which it is hewn.
Further, what chiefly draws the Infinite Light into Torah and mitzvos, together with “You are wise, but not [with a knowable wisdom],” a phrase of the Tikkunei Zohar for G‑d’s wisdom beyond any wisdom we know, is the Torah and the doing of the mitzvos themselves. The reason: in their root, vessels precede light, as the next paragraph explains.
Light appears only through a vessel, as fire needs a wick: so the Infinite Light, and the light of love, are drawn down only through the vessel of Torah and mitzvos done in deed. This is the meaning of “we will do and we will hear” and of “nor is an unlearned person a chasid.”
The Guide for the Perplexed (II:30), cited in the Kehot note, explains that the “darkness” of Genesis 1:2 is the element of fire, so called because it does not shine but is only transparent; were it luminous, the whole air would glow like flame at night. The gematria of ve’ahavta comes from the intentions for the Shema in Shaar HaKavanos and Pri Etz Chaim. The next discourse in Torah Ohr (97b) makes the same two points, love as twice “light” and light needing a vessel, and adds a second reason: the root of the vessels is higher than that of the lights, as seen in the shattered vessels of Tohu, whose sparks are higher than the world of Tikkun.
Marei mekomos
- 1נעשה ונשמע · Exodus 24:7
- 2וישמע שאול · I Samuel 15:4
- 3שהאור הבא ממנו אינו מאיר אלא א״כ · ראה מו״נ ח״ב פ״ל. וראה בהנסמן לקמן צז, ב.
- 4ולא עם הארץ חסיד · Zohar III, 33b
- 5ולא עם הארץ חסיד · Pirkei Avot 2:5
- 6ולא עם הארץ חסיד · Zohar, Tzav 20:145–22:156
- 7ולא עם הארץ חסיד · Zohar, Pinchas 30:170–32:178
- 8ב׳ פעמים אור בגימט׳ ואהבת · שער הכוונות כוונת ק״ש. פע״ח שער הק״ש פכ״ג וכ״ה.
- 9ב׳ פעמים אור בגימטריא ואהבת · Pri Etz Chaim, Gate of the Recitation of the Shema 23:6
- 10אור בגימטריא ואהבת · Pri Etz Chaim, Gate of the Recitation of the Shema 25:3
7וכמ״ש במ״א על פסוק ואלה המלכים אשר מלכו בארץ אדום לפני מלך מלך וגו׳.
As is explained elsewhere on the verse, “And these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned,” etc.
That the vessel is higher in its root is explained elsewhere on the verse in Genesis (36:31), “these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned [over the children of Israel].” In Kabbalah these kings are the world of Tohu, whose vessels shattered, and which is higher in its root than the ordered world of Tikkun that came after it.
וכנודע ששרש וחיות המאכל שמדומם צומח חי הוא הגבה למעלה מחיות ונפש החיונית של האדם שלכן המאכל מחיה את האדם ומשיב את נפשו כו׳.
And as is known, the root and life-force of food, from the inanimate, the vegetative and the animal, is higher than the life-force and vital soul of man; which is why food gives life to a person and restores his soul, etc.
Food shows the same pattern. The root and life-force of food, whether mineral, plant or animal, is higher than a person’s own vital soul; that is why food can revive a person and “restore his soul.”
Two illustrations show that what seems lower can be higher in its root: the kings of Edom who reigned “before any king,” and food, which sustains the person who eats it.
The next discourse in Torah Ohr (97b), cited in the notes to paragraph 6, gives this as its second reason why light is drawn down through vessels: the root of the vessels is higher than the lights, as with the 288 sparks of the shattered vessels of Tohu, and from there it goes on to how a person is nourished by food.
8ולכן עיקר המשכת אור א״ס ב״ה תלוי בבחי׳ כלי שע״י מעשה המצות וקיומן בפועל ממש שעושין בחי׳ כלי מזה נמשך האור ומתלבש בהם.
Therefore the main drawing down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, depends on the level of a vessel: through the doing of the mitzvos and their fulfillment in actual deed, by which one makes the level of a vessel, from this the light is drawn down and enclothed in them.
The main drawing down of the Infinite Light therefore depends on the vessel: by actually doing the mitzvos one makes the vessel, and through it the light is drawn down and enclothed in them.
וזהו ג״כ ענין ולא עם הארץ חסיד1 שאי אפשר להיות המשכת אור האהבה מלמעלה כי אם ע״י כלים שהם התורה ומצות.
And this is also the meaning of “nor is an unlearned person a chasid”: there cannot be a drawing down of the light of love from above except through vessels, which are the Torah and the mitzvos.
This is also the meaning of “nor is an unlearned person a chasid”: the light of love comes from above only through vessels, which are the Torah and the mitzvos.
The paragraph draws the conclusion: since the vessel is higher in its root, the Infinite Light is drawn down chiefly through the vessel made by actually doing the mitzvos.
Marei mekomos
- 1ולא עם הארץ חסיד · Pirkei Avot 2:5
Avraham and the Torah ¶9
9ובזה יובן שלפעמים מצינו שנחשב מעלת אברהם גדולה שקיים את כל התורה. וכמ״ש וישמר משמרתי1 וגו׳. ולפעמים מצינו שנחשב לו לגרעון שלא זכה לתורה.
With this one can understand why we sometimes find that Avraham’s distinction is reckoned great in that he fulfilled the entire Torah, as it is written, “and he kept My charge,” etc.; and sometimes we find that it is reckoned to him as a deficiency that he did not merit the Torah.
This resolves a seeming contradiction. Sometimes Avraham is praised for keeping the whole Torah, as in “he kept My charge” (Genesis 26:5); sometimes it is counted as a lack that he did not merit the Torah.
דשניהם אמת כי מצד שרש נשמתו היה הגבה למעלה עד שהיתה נשמתו מרכבה ובחי׳ כלי לאור התורה ואור א״ס ב״ה הנמשך ומתלבש בתורה.
For both are true: by virtue of the root of his soul he was exceedingly high, to the point that his soul was a chariot (merkavah) and the level of a vessel for the light of the Torah and for the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is drawn down and enclothed in the Torah.
Both are true. By his soul’s root he was so lofty that his soul was a “chariot” (merkavah), wholly given over to G‑d’s will, and a vessel for the light of the Torah and the Infinite Light enclothed in it.
כי אברהם אבר מ״ה אבר וכלי. אבל כל המצות עצמן שהם מדרגות עליונות יותר מלפני מלך וגו׳ עדיין לא ניתנו בימי אברהם:
For Avraham [is] ever mah: a limb and a vessel. But all the mitzvos themselves, which are more exalted levels, from “before any king reigned,” etc., had not yet been given in the days of Avraham.
His name says as much: Avraham is ever mah, “a limb” and a vessel. But the mitzvos themselves come from still more exalted levels, from “before any king reigned” (the higher root of the vessels, paragraph 7), and they were not yet given in his days; they were given only at Sinai.
Avraham’s soul made him a vessel and chariot for the Torah’s light, so he could keep the Torah; but the mitzvos themselves, from a higher root, were given only at Sinai, and that is what the Giving of the Torah added.
Torah Ohr (Yitro, 73c), cited in the notes to paragraph 1, puts the difference this way: Avraham kept the Torah “in spirituality,” and the question is what changed when it was given in physical form.
Marei mekomos
- 1וישמר משמרתי · Genesis 26:5
The garment and the horse ¶10–12
But concerning this drawing down it is said, “Let them bring a royal garment” and “a horse that the king has ridden upon,” “and let them clothe the man,” etc.
The maamar now turns to Haman’s advice to the king (Esther 6:8–9): bring royal apparel and a horse the king has ridden, and clothe the man. These words describe the drawing down of the Infinite Light just explained.
והענין כי הנה לבוש מלכות היינו בחי׳ תורה ומצות כמ״ש עוטה אור כשלמה3 ואין אור אלא תורה דאורייתא מחכמה נפקת והוא בחינת לבוש לאור
The explanation: the royal garment is the level of Torah and mitzvos, as it is written, “He wraps Himself in light as in a robe,” and “light” means nothing other than Torah; for the Torah comes forth from Chochmah (wisdom), and it is the level of a garment for the light
The “royal garment” is Torah and mitzvos. Psalms 104:2 says G‑d “wraps Himself in light as in a robe,” and “light” means Torah; the Torah comes forth from Chochmah and serves as a garment for G‑d’s light.
א״ס ב״ה המתלבש בתוכה אנת הוא חכים וכו׳ והמצות נקראין לבושין שבהם מלובש חסד דרועא ימינא כו׳
of the Infinite One, blessed be He, which is enclothed within it: “You are wise,” etc. And the mitzvos are called garments, in which is enclothed “Chesed (kindness), the right arm,” etc.
Within the Torah is enclothed the Infinite One’s own wisdom, “You are wise” (see paragraph 6), a wisdom beyond any wisdom we can know. The mitzvos too are called garments, and in them is enclothed “Chesed, the right arm,” G‑d’s attributes themselves.
והמשכת בחי׳ לבוש זה שיהיה התלבשות אור א״ס ב״ה בתורה ומצות במעשה המצות וקיומן בפועל ממש הוא ע״י בחי׳ סוס וכמ״ש גבי מתן תורה כי תרכב על סוסיך4 מרכבותיך ישועה.
And the drawing down of this level of garment, so that there be an enclothing of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, in Torah and mitzvos, in the doing of the mitzvos and their fulfillment in actual deed, is through the level of the horse; as it is written concerning the Giving of the Torah, “When You ride upon Your horses, Your chariots are salvation.”
This garment, the enclothing of the Infinite Light in Torah and in mitzvos actually done, is drawn down through “the horse.” Habakkuk’s prayer, which speaks of the Giving of the Torah and is read as the haftarah of the second day of Shavuos, says, “When You ride upon Your horses, Your chariots are salvation.”
Haman’s advice, a royal garment and the king’s horse, becomes an image of the Giving of the Torah: the “garment” is Torah and mitzvos, which clothe the Infinite Light, and it is drawn down through the “horse.”
Marei mekomos
- 1יביאו לבוש מלכות · Esther 6:8
- 2והלבישו את האיש · Esther 6:9
- 3עוטה אור כשלמה · Psalms 104:2
- 4כי תרכב על סוסיך · Habakkuk 3:8
11וביאור ענין זה כי הנה סוס הוא1 בגימטריא ב״פ ג״ס והיינו בחי׳ כי גאה גאה2 דהיינו להיות ע״י זה בבחינת בטול אליו ית׳
The explanation of this matter: sus (סוס, “horse”) equals in numerical value twice gimmel-samech (63), and this is the level of “for He is exalted, exalted”; that is, that through this one be in a state of self-nullification (bittul) toward Him, may He be blessed.
Why a horse? The word sus (ס-ו-ס) adds up to 126 (60+6+60), twice 63, written here gimmel-samech (ג״ס, 3+60). The doubling matches the doubled word of the Song at the Sea, “for He is exalted, exalted” (Exodus 15:1), and through it a person comes to self-nullification before G‑d.
כי מצות צריכות כוונה דהיינו רעותא דלבא אם ישים אליו לבו3 כו׳ שאין אור א״ס ב״ה שורה אלא במי שבטל אליו כו׳:
For mitzvos require intention, that is, the desire of the heart: “if he sets his heart to Him,” etc. For the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, rests only upon one who is nullified to Him, etc.
Self-nullification is needed because mitzvos require intention, the “desire of the heart.” The words of Job 34:14, “if he sets his heart to Him,” are read here of a person setting his heart on G‑d, for the Infinite Light rests only on one who is nullified before Him.
The “horse” that draws down the garment is self-nullification: sus is twice 63, like the doubled “exalted” of the Song at the Sea, and the Infinite Light rests in mitzvos done with the heart’s intention and self-nullification.
The number 63 is also that of the Name Havayah spelled out in the form called Sag (ס״ג), the same two letters in the usual order; the Kehot note on the next paragraph connects the horse with Sag.
Marei mekomos
- 1סוס הוא בגימט׳ ב״פ ג״ס · ראה אוה״ת פ׳ וירא צה, ב ביאור ע״ז.
- 2כי גאה גאה · Exodus 15:1
- 3אם ישים אליו לבו · Job 34:14
12והנה ענין הסוס הוא שמוליך הסוס לרוכבו למקום שאין יכול להגיע לשם מצד עצמו.1 ויש בזה ב׳ בחינות שמעלהו הרים גדולים ומורידו בקעות גדולות כך
Now, the matter of the horse is that the horse carries its rider to a place he cannot reach on his own. And there are two aspects to this: it brings him up great mountains and brings him down into great valleys. So too,
A horse carries its rider where he could not go on his own, up great mountains and down into great valleys. Self-nullification likewise has two directions.
הנה יש בבחי׳ בטול זה ב׳ בחינות ממטה למעלה למקום שאין יניקה ואחיזה לסטרא אחרא עלמא דחירות גיאה על גיותניא2 שלא ניתן להם שפע וחיות אם תגביה כנשר3 וגו׳.
in this level of self-nullification (bittul) there are two aspects. From below to above: to a place where the sitra achra (the other side) has no nurture and no hold, the world of freedom, “exalted over the haughty,” where no abundance and life-force is given to them; “though you soar like the eagle,” etc.
The first is upward: it lifts a person to a place where the sitra achra has no nurture or hold, “the world of freedom,” where G‑d is “exalted over the haughty” (an Aramaic phrase echoing the doubled “exalted” of paragraph 11) and they receive no flow of life. Obadiah’s words “though you soar like the eagle” (Obadiah 1:4) go on, “from there I will bring you down”: the haughty cannot hold on at that height.
Like a horse carrying its rider over mountains and valleys, self-nullification carries a person in two directions; the first is upward, to a level where the sitra achra has no hold.
Or HaTorah, cited in the Kehot note, records that Torah Ohr (end of Vayeshev) explains the horse as the animal soul, taken from the Name Ban, whose root is in Sag, and that another place explains it as the letters of prayer and the letters of Torah.
Marei mekomos
- 1ענין הסוס . . לשם מצד עצמו · עיין באוה״ת מגלת אסתר ע׳ קעו שמציין ”ובתורה אור ס״פ וישב פי׳ בחי׳ זו על נפש הבהמית היינו שנלקחה משם ב״ן ושורש ב״ן הוא מס״ג ובמקום אחר פי׳ זה על אותיות התפלה ואותיות התורה” ע״ש.
- 2גיאה על גיותניא · ראה אוה״ת פ׳ וירא (כרך א) צה, ב.
- 3אם תגביה כנשר · Obadiah 1:4
Casting down and transforming ¶13–15
13וזהו שכתוב סוס ורוכבו רמה בים.1 רמה לשון רוממות ולשון השלכה2 ושניהם אמת כי מחמת רוממות נעשה בחי׳ השלכה כו׳
And this is what is written, “The horse and its rider He cast (ramah) into the sea.” Ramah is a term of loftiness and a term of casting, and both are true: because of the loftiness, the level of casting comes about, etc.
This is why Exodus 15:1 says, “the horse and its rider He cast (ramah) into the sea.” Ramah can mean “exalted” and also “cast,” and both are true here: the very exaltation of self-nullification casts down what opposes it.
וממעלה למטה להיות נמשך גילוי בחי׳ בטול זה למטה דאתהפכא סטרא אחרא ואתכפייא כו׳ כי א״א להיות התהפכות המדות ע״י המדות דקדושה עצמן מאחר שהם זה לעומת זה.3
And from above to below: that the revelation of this level of self-nullification (bittul) be drawn down below, so that the sitra achra (the other side) is transformed and subdued, etc. For a transformation of the emotive attributes (middos) cannot come about through the holy emotive attributes themselves, since they are “one opposite the other.”
The second direction is from above to below: the revelation of self-nullification is drawn down so that the sitra achra is transformed and subdued. The holy emotive attributes alone cannot transform their unholy counterparts, for the two stand “one opposite the other,” equal and opposed.
Ramah means both “exalted” and “cast down”: the exaltation of self-nullification casts down the sitra achra, and when drawn down below it transforms the attributes, which the holy attributes alone cannot do.
Or HaTorah, cited in the Kehot note, supports reading ramah as “casting” from Psalms 78:9, “archers casting (romei) the bow,” as Rashi and Metzudas David explain it.
Marei mekomos
- 1סוס ורוכבו רמה בים · Exodus 15:1
- 2רמה . . ולשון השלכה · באוה״ת שם ע׳ קעו: (וכמ״ש בתלים (סי׳ עח, ט) נושקי רומי קשת פירש״י והמצ״ד לשון השלכה).
- 3זה לעומת זה · Ecclesiastes 7:14
As the saying goes, “Not like Avraham, from whom Yishmael issued”; rather, “until a spirit from on high is poured out upon him”: the level of self-nullification (bittul) in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He.
The Sifrei contrasts Avraham and Yitzchak, from whom came Yishmael and Esav, with Yaakov, all of whose children were upright. Here it shows that a holy attribute, such as Avraham’s love, does not by itself transform its opposite; that needs “a spirit from on high poured out” (Isaiah 32:15), self-nullification in the Infinite Light.
And this is alluded to in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory, “Let his mother come and wipe her son clean,” etc.; and as it is written, “If G‑d washes”: do not read im (“if”) but em (“mother”), etc.
The Sages’ parable for the red heifer hints at this: when a maidservant’s son soiled the king’s palace, “let his mother come and clean up” (Bamidbar Rabbah 19:8), as the cow atones for the calf. So too Isaiah 4:4, “If G‑d washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion,” where Pri Etz Chaim reads im (“if”) as em (“mother”).
אם הבנים8 היינו אם ומקור המדות היא בחי׳ התבוננות באור א״ס ב״ה ממש בבחי׳ בטול ושם מתהפכין כל המדות מהפך להפך לפי שהיא בחי׳ מקיף
“The mother of the children,” that is, the mother and source of the emotive attributes (middos), is the level of contemplation of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, in a state of self-nullification; and there all the attributes are transformed from one extreme to its opposite, because it is the level of the encompassing (makif),
The “mother of the children” (Psalms 113:9) is the mother and source of the emotive attributes: contemplation of the Infinite Light itself, with self-nullification. There every attribute can be turned to its opposite, because this contemplation is a level that encompasses (makif) the attributes.
כמו ע״ד משל מחשבה שמקפת וסובלת ב׳ דברים הפכיים ואין שם שליטת בחי׳ זה לעומת זה:9
as, by way of analogy, thought, which encompasses and bears two opposite things; and there the level of “one opposite the other” has no dominion.
Thought illustrates this: the mind can hold two opposite ideas at once, so at that level the rule of “one opposite the other” has no force.
Holy attributes cannot transform their opposites by themselves; that is done by self-nullification in contemplation of the Infinite Light, the “mother” and encompassing source of the attributes, as the mother cleans up after her son.
Pri Etz Chaim (Gate of Shabbos, ch. 3), cited in the Kehot note, brings this reading in the intentions for washing one’s feet in hot water on the eve of Shabbos: one says “If G‑d washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion” and intends in the word im, “do not read im but em,” for that flame comes from the side of Imma, the Mother.
Marei mekomos
- 1לא כאברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל · ספרי דברים לב, ט.
- 2לא כאברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל · Sifrei Devarim 312:1–2
- 3עד יערה עליו רוח ממרום · Isaiah 32:15
- 4תבא אמו ותקנח את בנה · Bamidbar Rabbah 19:4
- 5תבא אמו ותקנח את בנה · Bamidbar Rabbah 19:8
- 6אם רחץ ה׳ א״ת אם אלא אם · Isaiah 4:4
- 7אל תקרא אם אלא אם · Pri Etz Chaim, Gate of the Sabbath 3
- 8אם הבנים · Psalms 113:9
- 9זה לעומת זה · Ecclesiastes 7:14
And this is [the meaning of] “When You ride upon Your horses, Your chariots are salvation”: that the level of salvation is drawn down, “to save from those who judge his soul,” and to transform, etc.
Hence “when You ride upon Your horses, Your chariots are salvation” (Habakkuk 3:8): through the horse of self-nullification, salvation is drawn down, “to save from those who judge his soul” (Psalms 109:31), and to transform.
ועי״ז נותנין הלבוש והסוס על יד איש משרי המלך הפרתמים3 הוא מיכאל כהנא רבא ענף החסד שהוא המלביש את הנשמה בג״ע כו׳.
Through this, the garment and the horse are given “into the hand of one of the king’s noble princes”: this is Michael, the High Priest, a branch of Chesed (kindness), who clothes the soul in Gan Eden, etc.
Through this the garment and the horse are given “into the hand of one of the king’s noble princes” (Esther 6:9). The maamar identifies him as the angel Michael, the “High Priest,” a branch of Chesed, who clothes the soul in Gan Eden.
וקרא לפניו ככה יעשה וגו׳. יובן ע״פ מארז״ל עתידים צדיקים4 שיאמרו לפניהם קדוש כו׳. כי הנה קדוש הוא ענין המשכת קודש העליון בוי״ו המורה על המשכה.
“And proclaim before him, ‘Thus shall be done,’” etc. This will be understood in light of the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, “The righteous are destined to have ‘holy’ said before them,” etc. For kadosh (“holy”) is the drawing down of the supernal kodesh (“holiness”) by means of the vav, which indicates drawing down.
The herald’s call, “Thus shall be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor” (Esther 6:9, 6:11), alludes to the Sages’ saying that in the future “holy” will be said before the righteous, as it is said before the Holy One (Bava Basra 75b). Kadosh (holy) is kodesh, supernal holiness, with an added vav, the letter that signifies drawing down.
ולעתיד לבא תהיינה כל המשכות ממטה למעלה שעיקר הגלוי יהיה למטה. ומלאכי מעלה יקבלו הארה ממטה כו׳.
And in the Time to Come all the drawings-down will be from below to above, for the main revelation will be below, and the angels on high will receive illumination from below, etc.
In the Time to Come all drawing down will be from below upward: the main revelation will be below, and the angels on high will receive light from below. That is why they will proclaim “holy” before the righteous.
The horse of self-nullification brings salvation and transformation; through it the garment is given by Michael, angel of Chesed, and in the Time to Come the angels will proclaim “holy” before the righteous, because the main revelation will be below.
Torah Ohr (Toldos, 18b), to which the Kehot note points, gives the reason: the Torah was not given to the angels, who have no evil inclination to refine; G‑dliness is revealed to them too, and of that it says “the companions hearken to your voice,” but the revelation of “she went down to the spring and filled her jar” is drawn down only below. Therefore the Sages said that in the future the angels will say “holy” before the righteous.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי תרכב על סוסיך מרכבותיך ישועה · Habakkuk 3:8
- 2להושיע משופטי נפשו · Psalms 109:31
- 3הלבוש והסוס על יד איש משרי המלך הפרתמים · Esther 6:9
- 4עתידים צדיקים · Bava Batra 75b
Complete acceptance through self-sacrifice ¶16
Now, the drawing down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, in the manner mentioned above, they began at the Giving of the Torah, for then was the beginning of the drawing down, like the matter of “little by little I will drive them out.”
This drawing down of the Infinite Light began at the Giving of the Torah. It was only a beginning, gradual, like the words “little by little I will drive them out” (Exodus 23:30).
אבל בימי המן וקבל היהודים2 קבלה גמורה בבת אחת כי יהודים נק׳ על שם בחי׳ הודיה. כי יש ברכה והודיה. ברכה היא בחי׳ גלוי מעולם ועד עולם.
But in the days of Haman, “the Jews accepted”: a complete acceptance, all at once. For Yehudim (“Jews”) are so called after the level of hodayah (acknowledgment). For there is blessing and acknowledgment: blessing is the level of revelation, “from world to world.”
In Haman’s days the Jews accepted it completely, all at once. The name Yehudim (Jews) comes from hodayah, “acknowledgment.” There is blessing and there is acknowledgment: blessing is revelation, a drawing down “from world to world.”
אבל הודאה אינו בחינת גלוי לפי שהיא בחינת הודאה באור א״ס ב״ה עצמו אשר אי אפשר לבא לידי גלוי ואינו נתפס בשום מחשבה
But acknowledgment is not the level of revelation, since it is the level of acknowledging the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, which cannot come to revelation and is not grasped by any thought
Acknowledgment is different: it is directed at the Infinite Light itself, which can never come into revelation or be grasped by any thought.
רק בבחי׳ הודאה והיא בחי׳ בטול ממש וזכו אז ישראל למדרגת הבטול הגדול ע״י מסירת הנפש על קדוש השם
except by way of acknowledgment; and this is the level of utter self-nullification (bittul). And at that time Israel merited the rank of the great self-nullification through self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) for the sanctification of G‑d’s Name;
One can only acknowledge it, and acknowledgment is utter self-nullification. In Haman’s time Israel reached this great self-nullification through self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) for the sanctification of G‑d’s Name.
שהרי אם רצו להמיר דתם לא היה המן עושה להם כלום שלא גזר אלא על היהודים
for had they wished to change their faith, Haman would have done nothing to them, since he decreed only against the Jews;
Their self-sacrifice was real: Haman’s decree was only against Jews, so anyone who abandoned his faith would have been spared.
אלא שהם מסרו עצמן למות כל השנה3 כולה ולא עלה להם מחשבת חוץ ח״ו4 וע״י בחינת מסירת נפש זכו לבחי׳ קבלה גמורה שנכנס ונמשך להם בחי׳ אוא״ס ב״ה ממש:
but they gave themselves over to death the entire year, and no thought of [going] outside, G‑d forbid, arose in them. And through the level of self-sacrifice they merited the level of complete acceptance, so that the level of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself entered and was drawn down into them.
Yet for the whole year (the decree was issued in Nisan for the thirteenth of Adar) they were ready to die, and the thought of leaving their faith never arose in them. Through this self-sacrifice they reached complete acceptance: the Infinite Light itself entered them, completing what began at Sinai.
The Giving of the Torah began the drawing down of the Infinite Light gradually; in Haman’s days, through a whole year of self-sacrifice that acknowledged G‑d beyond all understanding, the Jews accepted it completely and at once.
A note in Sefer HaSichos 5749, quoted by the Kehot note, observes that Chassidic discourses do not usually add “G‑d forbid” when they mention something undesirable, perhaps because they rely on the Torah’s opening with beis, the initial of berachah (blessing); yet on this point, that no such thought arose in them, every discourse that mentions it stresses “G‑d forbid.”
Marei mekomos
- 1מעט מעט אגרשנו · Exodus 23:30
- 2וקבל היהודים · Esther 9:23
- 3אלא שהם מסרו עצמן למות כל השנה · ראה ד״ה וקבל היהודים תרפ״ז. תשי״א. ראה גם לקמן קכ, ד. שערי אורה צ, ב. סה״מ עטר״ת ע׳ שו. תרפ״א ע׳ קצא. תש״ח ע׳ 118. ת״ש ע׳ 9. ועוד. — ספר השיחות תשמ״ט כרך א ע׳ 327 הערה 13.
- 4מחשבת חוץ ח״ו · ”להעיר שהדיוק בלשון ”ח״ו” (בנוגע לענין בלתי רצוי) אינו רגיל (כ״כ) בדרושי חסידות [וי״ל הטעם — כיון שסומכים על התחלת התורה באות בי״ת, ר״ת ברכה (ראה לקו״ש חט״ו בתחלתו, וש״נ). שעי״ז נעשית גם שלילת הענינים הבלתי רצויים כו׳] ואעפ״כ, בענין זה — שלא עלה להם מחשבת חוץ — ממשיכים ח״ו, מדגישים הענין ד”ח״ו” בכל המאמרים שבהם נזכר ענין זה” — ספר השיחות תשמ״ט ע׳ 327 הערה 14.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Love and understanding of G‑d are not enough to hold G‑dliness; it is drawn into the soul through the vessel of mitzvos actually done, with the heart’s intention and with self-nullification. And the fullest acceptance of the Torah comes not from what one grasps but from acknowledging G‑d beyond understanding, as the Jews of Haman’s days did, who for a whole year would not even think of abandoning their faith.
Questions for discussion
- If Avraham kept the whole Torah, what did the Giving of the Torah add, according to the maamar?
- Why can light not shine without a vessel, and how does the example of fire make the point?
- How does the horse, which carries its rider up mountains and down into valleys, illustrate the two directions of self-nullification?
- Why can the holy emotive attributes not transform their opposites by themselves, and what can?
- What is the difference between blessing and acknowledgment, and why did the self-sacrifice of Haman’s time bring a complete acceptance rather than a beginning?
Key terms in this maamar
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d.
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting.
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- ×1
- The light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin)סובב כל עלמין
- Divine light too great to enter the worlds; it 'surrounds' them and affects them from beyond. ×1
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Delightתענוג
- Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×1
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×5
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×3
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×5
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×2
- The sitra achra (the other side)סטרא אחרא
- The realm opposed to holiness. ×2
- Self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh)מסירות נפש
- Giving oneself over entirely to G‑d.
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×2
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×1