Torah Ohr · Parshas Megillas Esther · Maamar 11
ביאור על הנ״ל
An Explanation of the Above
Biur · an explanation of maamar 10Kept on this device only. Sign in to save it on every device
The big idea
The mitzvos done in actual deed make vessels whose root, in the World of Tohu, is higher than the light, so they reach beyond what Avraham drew down; this work, begun at Sinai, was completed on Purim, when self-sacrifice, a will above intellect, made the Jews one, and so “accepted” is written in the singular.
The maamar in brief
This maamar explains the one before it, on “And the Jews accepted what they had begun to do.” Avraham kept the Torah before it was given by drawing down the encompassing light through ratzo vashov, yet not receiving the Torah at Sinai is counted a lack in him. The answer lies in “we will do and we will hear”: the mitzvos are vessels, the 248 limbs of the King, and light is drawn down only where it has a vessel, as fire shines only on a wick. Moreover, the vessels come from the World of Tohu and are rooted higher than the lights, and physical mitzvos, done with things that fell in the shattering, reach that root, as Avraham could not. The “horse” of the Giving of the Torah is Binah, the Name Sag: it lifts Z’eir Anpin and Nukva above their level on Shabbos, and descends even into the realm of the kelipos to refine the attributes, as the intellect can contemplate even what it hates. Sinai only began this work. Under Haman’s decree, self-sacrifice, a will above intellect, made the Jews one, so “accepted” is singular, and the kesiv keeps that oneness hidden in every Jew.
Outline
- Avraham and the encompassing lightAvraham drew down the light that encompasses all worlds through ratzo vashov; why not receiving the Torah is still a lack in him will be explained through “we will do and we will hear.”¶1–2
- Light needs a vesselThe mitzvos are vessels, the 248 limbs of Z’eir Anpin; like fire that shines only on a wick, light is drawn only into vessels, so love needs Torah and mitzvos and “we will do” comes first.¶3–8
- The vessels’ higher rootThe vessels come from Tohu and its fallen sparks, higher than the lights of Tikkun; physical mitzvos reach that root, which Avraham’s service could not.¶9–10
- The horse: Binah ascending and descendingThe “horse,” twice Sag, is Binah: it lifts Z’eir Anpin and Nukva on Shabbos to where the kelipos have no hold, and descends to refine the attributes, as intellect can contemplate even what it hates; the mother bird, the Omer and Purim’s robe and horse show the same pattern.¶11–19
- Begun at Sinai, completed on PurimSinai only began the refining of the vessels; under Haman’s decree self-sacrifice completed it, and the singular vekibel, like “Israel encamped,” shows the people as one.¶20–22
- One will above intellectComprehension divides people into levels, but the heart’s desire of self-sacrifice is one in all; the kesiv vekibel keeps that hidden oneness in every Jew, while the keri vekiblu reflects each one’s own vessels.¶23–27
Key concepts
- Lights and vesselsאורות וכלים
- Divine light is revealed only where a vessel holds it; the mitzvos done in deed are the vessels, and without them the light withdraws to its source, like fire without a wick.
- Running and returning (ratzo vashov)רצוא ושוב
- The surge toward G‑d and the return, the way the soul receives light from above the chain of worlds; Avraham drew down the light of the mitzvos in this way.
- Tohu and Tikkunתהו ותקון
- The World of Tohu had great lights in vessels that shattered; its fallen sparks are rooted higher than the lights of Tikkun, so the vessels made from them through the mitzvos draw down more light.
- The horse (Sag, Binah)סוס
- Sus equals twice Sag (63); it is Binah, which carries Z’eir Anpin and Nukva above their level on Shabbos and descends into the realm of the kelipos to refine and transform the attributes.
- The heart’s desireרעותא דלבא
- A simple will above comprehension, shown in the self-sacrifice under Haman’s decree; at this level all Jews are equal, as one.
- Keri and kesivקרי וכתיב
- The read and written forms of a word; in “The Jews established and accepted” the written singular is the hidden self-sacrifice in every Jew, the read plural the revealed, divided receiving.
Avraham and the encompassing light ¶1–2
1ביאור על הנ״ל
An explanation of the above.
This maamar explains the one before it in Torah Ohr, on the verse “And the Jews accepted what they had begun to do.” It takes up that maamar’s themes in turn, Avraham’s keeping of the Torah, “we will do and we will hear” and the “horse,” and then adds why “accepted” is in the singular.
The heading marks this maamar as a further explanation of the one before it.
2הנה ענין קיים אברהם אבינו ע״ה כל התורה1 עד שלא ניתנה2 היינו שהמשיך אור מבחי׳ סוכ״ע שזהו קוטב ויסוד העיקר שבכל התורה ומצות שהוא להמשיך גלוי האור הסוכ״ע.
Now, the matter of Avraham our father, peace be upon him, having fulfilled the whole Torah before it was given means that he drew down light from the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), which is the pivot and the principal foundation in the whole of the Torah and mitzvos: to draw down the revelation of the light that encompasses all worlds.
The Sages teach that Avraham kept the whole Torah before it was given at Sinai. The Alter Rebbe explains what this means: Avraham drew down light from the light that encompasses all worlds, the light too great to enter the worlds, and drawing down that light is the axis of all the Torah and its mitzvos.
וכמבואר בדוכתי טובא. (עמ״ש בפסוק וזאת המצוה34 בפר׳ ואתחנן ובפסוק את שבתותי תשמרו) ולכך היה עבודתו בבחי׳ הלוך ונסוע5 שהוא רצוא ושוב6.7
As is explained in many places. (See what is written on the verse “And this is the mitzvah,” in Parshas Va’eschanan, and on the verse “You shall keep My Shabbosos.”) And therefore his service was in the mode of “going on and journeying,” which is “running and returning” (ratzo vashov).
The parenthesis points to two other maamarim where this is explained. The verse says Avraham went “going on and journeying,” and the Alter Rebbe reads this as ratzo vashov, the “running and returning” of the living creatures in Ezekiel’s vision: a surge toward G‑d and then a return.
כי ההמשכה מבחי׳ זו שלמעלה מההשתלשלות א״א שיהיה נמשך כ״א בדרך רצוא ושוב. ולכן גם עבודת האהבה דאברהם שנמשך מבחי׳ התבוננות דסוכ״ע היה
For the drawing down from this level, which is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), cannot possibly be drawn down except by way of ratzo vashov. And therefore Avraham’s service of love too, which was drawn from contemplation of the light that encompasses all worlds, was
Light from above the chain of descending worlds cannot settle in a fixed vessel, so it can be received only in surges, reaching out and drawing back. Avraham’s love of G‑d, which came from contemplating the encompassing light, worked in the same way.
ע״ד רצוא ושוב שאין כח בנפש להכיל את אור האהבה זו כי אם בבחי׳ רצוא ושוב (ועמ״ש ע״פ טוב לחסות89 ויש התבוננות שהיא כו׳ והלב קטן מהכיל כו׳ ע״ש).
in the manner of ratzo vashov, for the soul has no power to contain the light of this love except in the mode of ratzo vashov. (And see what is written on the verse “It is better to take refuge,” [that] there is a contemplation that is, etc., and the heart is too small to contain [it], etc.; see there.)
The soul cannot hold so intense a love steadily; it can only rush toward it and return. The parenthesis refers to the maamar on “It is better to take refuge in G‑d,” which speaks of a contemplation that the heart is too small to contain.
אך להבין מה שלפעמים נחשב לו לגרעון מה שלא זכה לתורה ומצות שניתן בסיני. זה יובן בביאור ענין פי׳ נעשה ונשמע.1011
But to understand why it is sometimes counted as a deficiency in him that he did not merit the Torah and mitzvos that were given at Sinai: this will be understood through explaining the meaning of “We will do and we will hear.”
Yet sometimes it is counted as a lack in Avraham that he did not receive the Torah and mitzvos given at Sinai. To explain this, the maamar turns to the words Israel said at Sinai, “we will do and we will hear,” and to their order.
והוא כי נעשה פי׳ הכלים ע״ד רמ״ח פקודין אינון רמ״ח אברין דמלכא שהן בחי׳ כלים לגלוי אוא״ס ב״ה12 כמו שהאבר הוא כלי לחיות הנמשך מן הנפש.13
It is this: “we will do” means the vessels, in the manner of “the 248 commandments are the 248 limbs of the King,” which are the level of vessels for the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, just as a limb is a vessel for the life-force drawn from the soul.
The words “we will do” stand for the vessels. Each of the 248 positive commandments is called a “limb of the King”: just as a limb is the vessel through which the soul’s life-force acts, each mitzvah is a vessel through which the Infinite Light is revealed.
Avraham kept the Torah by drawing down the encompassing light through ratzo vashov, the only way such light can be received. Why not receiving the Torah at Sinai is still a lack in him will be explained through “we will do,” the vessels, and “we will hear,” the light.
The Kehot note quotes the Tzemach Tzedek’s Or HaTorah summing up this maamar’s two answers: light is revealed only where there is a vessel to receive it, as fire takes hold only where it has something to hold, and the root of the vessels is higher than the light. The Likkutei Torah passage on Bechukosai cited in the notes compares the mitzvos to a wick without which the flame withdraws, and to an eye or ear without which sight and hearing depart.
Marei mekomos
- 1קיים אברהם אבינו ע״ה כל התורה · Yoma 28b:9–10
- 2כל התורה עד שלא ניתנה · Mishnah Kiddushin 4:14
- 3עמ״ש בפסוק וזאת המצוה · לקו״ת ואתחנן ט, א ואילך.
- 4
- 5הלוך ונסוע · Genesis 12:9
- 6
- 7רצוא ושוב · Zohar, Idra Zuta 1:29–4:37
- 8ע״פ טוב לחסות · לקו״ת שמע״צ צ, ד.
- 9טוב לחסות · Psalms 118:8
- 10ענין פי׳ נעשה ונשמע . . ויובן זה ע״פ שני דרכים · ומובא באוה״ת פ׳ תצוה ע׳ א׳תקצג שכאן נתבאר ”כי גילוי האור תלוי דוקא כשיש כלי לקבל האור וכמשל האש שאינו נאחז אא״כ יש לו כלי במה להתאחז כו׳, ועוד דשרש הכלים יותר גבוהים מהאור והזיו”. וראה גם באוה״ת בראשית כרך ה תתקסט, א ומציין שמכאן ”יובן בתוס׳ ביאור ענין זה שהכלים עצמן מסייעין להיות המשכת האורות” ע״ש.
- 11נעשה ונשמע · Exodus 24:7
- 12שהן בחי׳ כלים לגלוי אוא״ס ב״ה · ראה לקו״ת בחקותי מז, ב.
- 13שו״ה זו — כי אם בבחי׳ רצוא ושוב · ”והיינו כמ״ש בזח״ג (האזינו דרפ״ח ע״ב) ועל האי אקרי כו׳ והחיות רצוא ושוב” — לקו״ת חקת נו, ב.
Light needs a vessel ¶3–8
And “we will hear” means the light that is drawn into the vessel through the fulfillment of this mitzvah. And the fact that they put “we will do” before “we will hear”
The words “we will hear” mean the light that fills the vessel when a mitzvah is done. The Sages praise Israel for saying “we will do” before “we will hear,” and the maamar now explains that order.
היינו לפי שהמצות שהם הכלים הם הגורמים שיבואו האורות ויומשכו ויתפשטו בהכלים ואם לא הכלים לא היו האורות נמשכים כלל.
is because the mitzvos, which are the vessels, are what cause the lights to come and to be drawn down and spread into the vessels; and were it not for the vessels, the lights would not be drawn down at all.
The mitzvos come first because they are the vessels, and without vessels the lights would not be drawn down at all. The doing makes room for the hearing.
ויובן זה ע״פ שני דרכים. הא׳ ע״פ מ״ש כי הוי׳ אלקיך אש אוכלה הוא.2 כי
This can be understood in two ways. The first is according to what is written, “For Havayah your G‑d is a consuming fire.” For,
The first of two explanations rests on the verse “For Havayah your G‑d is a consuming fire.” The analogy of fire that follows shows how light depends on a vessel.
הנה יש ד׳ יסודות ארמ״ע ויסוד האש הוא למעלה מרוח מים עפר כי הוא תחת גלגל הירח. ויש חקירה בין החוקרים במהותו.3
behold, there are four elements, fire, air, water and earth, and the element of fire is above air, water and earth, for it is [directly] beneath the sphere of the moon. And there is a debate among the philosophers concerning its nature.
The science of the time held that there are four elements and that elemental fire is the highest of them, lying just below the sphere of the moon. Philosophers disagreed about what that elemental fire actually is.
“We will do” comes before “we will hear” because the mitzvos are the vessels that bring the light. The first proof begins from fire, the highest of the four elements.
The Kehot note cites the Mitteler Rebbe’s discourses quoting Rambam (Guide II:30) that spiritual elemental fire is nothing but a very fine, dark light, and not even hot air, and the philosophers’ view that it is not actual fire but a fine air. Mayim Rabbim 5636 cites the books of inquiry that elemental fire is not an air a person could live in.
Marei mekomos
- 1שהקדימו נעשה לנשמע · Shabbat 88a:8
- 2כי הוי׳ אלקיך אש אוכלה הוא · Deuteronomy 4:24
- 3ויש חקירה בין החוקרים במהותו · במאמרי אדה״א ויקרא ח״ב ע׳ תע בשם הרמב״ם [מו״נ ח״ב פ״ל] ”דיסוד האש הרוחני אינו אלא אור דק מאד וחשוך גם לא אויר חם”. וראה בהנסמן לשם. ובע׳ תנ כ׳ ”כי הפילוסופים אומרים כי יסוד האש אינו אש ממש רק אויר דק שאי אפשר עליו לומר שהוא אש ממש”. וראה במים רבים תרל״ו פרק קו בשם ספרי המחקר שאש היסודי אינו אויר אשר יחי׳ בו האדם. וראה בספר הערכים-חב״ד כרך ב ערך אויר. באוה״ת חקת ע׳ תתז מציין לכאן.
4והנה הקושיא מפני מה יש חשך בלילה. והתירוץ הוא שאור ואש הנאחז בפתילה ועצים זהו הארה והשפעה מיסוד האש.
Now, the question is: why is there darkness at night? And the answer is that the light and fire that takes hold in a wick and in wood is a glimmer and an outflow from the element of fire.
If elemental fire, a kind of light, is always present above, why is the night dark? The answer is that the flame we see on a wick or on wood is only a glimmer and outflow from the element of fire.
אבל יסוד האש עצמו הוא המקור של האור והאש אינו כלל ע״ד מהות האש שבפתילה ורק אש שבפתילה הוא הארה והמשכה ממנו.
But the element of fire itself is the source of the light and the fire, and it is not at all like the nature of the fire in the wick; only the fire in the wick is a glimmer and a drawing-forth from it.
Elemental fire itself, the source of all light and fire, is nothing like the flame on a wick. The wick’s flame is only a ray drawn from it.
Visible fire is only a ray of elemental fire, which is utterly unlike it. This prepares the point that the source does not shine below by itself.
5ולכן מיסוד האש עצמו אינו נמשך כלל אור והארה כ״א אחר שנמשך האש בפתילה אז הוא מאיר.
Therefore no light or glimmer at all is drawn down from the element of fire itself; only after the fire is drawn into the wick does it shine.
So elemental fire gives no light below by itself; only when fire is drawn into a wick does it shine. That is why the night can be dark although elemental fire is always there.
אמנם אנו רואים מי הוא הגורם שיומשך האש ממקורו האש היסודי זהו הפתילה והעצים שהן
Now, we see what it is that causes the fire to be drawn from its source, the elemental fire: it is the wick and the wood, which are
What draws the fire down from its elemental source is the wick and the wood. They are the cause of the light below.
הכלים שבהן נאחז האור ואז נמשך ומאיר ומתגלה למטה משא״כ בהעדר הפתילה מסתלק האש למקורו האש היסודי מהגילוי אל ההעלם ונעשה חשך למטה.
the vessels in which the light takes hold, and then it is drawn down and shines and is revealed below; whereas in the absence of the wick, the fire withdraws to its source, the elemental fire, from revelation into concealment, and it becomes dark below.
The wick and the wood are vessels in which the light takes hold, and so it shines and is revealed below. Take away the wick, and the fire returns to its source, from revelation into concealment, and below it becomes dark.
The analogy is complete: light appears below only when a vessel holds it; without the vessel it withdraws to its source and darkness remains.
The same image, a flame that withdraws when the wick is gone, appears in the Likkutei Torah passage on Bechukosai cited in the Kehot notes to paragraph 2, there for the mitzvos as vessels of the Infinite Light.
6והנמשל יובן למעלה שיש אור וכלי בע״ס.1 האור הוא גילוי והמשכה מהמאציל העליון ב״ה והכלי הוא בחי׳ ע״ס חו״ב חג״ת כו׳ שהן בחי׳ כלים שבהן נמשך ונאחז האור מאין סוף ברוך הוא.
The parallel [of the analogy] will be understood above: there is light and vessel in the Ten Sefiros. The light is a revelation and drawing-forth from the Supernal Emanator, blessed be He, and the vessel is the level of the Ten Sefiros, Chochmah and Binah, Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes, etc., which are the level of vessels in which the light from the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, is drawn and takes hold.
Now the analogy is applied above. The Ten Sefiros have lights and vessels: the light is a revelation from G‑d, the Supernal Emanator, and the vessels are the Sefiros themselves, Chochmah, Binah, Chesed and the rest, in which the light from the Infinite One is held.
והנה מעשה המצות שנקר׳ רמ״ח אברין זהו היותן בחי׳ כלים דעשר ספירות כנודע וע״כ על ידי קיום המעשה שהוא עשיית רבוי הכלים היינו טפ״ט עולה פ״א.2
Now, the deed of the mitzvos, which are called “248 limbs”: this is because they are the level of vessels of the Ten Sefiros, as is known. Therefore, through the fulfillment of the deed, which is the making of a multitude of vessels, that is: nine times nine comes to eighty-one,
The practical mitzvos are called the “248 limbs” because they are vessels of the Ten Sefiros. Doing them multiplies the vessels, and the maamar begins to count them: nine times nine makes eighty-one.
Like the wick and the flame, the Sefiros have vessels that hold the divine light, and the mitzvos are those vessels. Doing the mitzvos multiplies the vessels, and the count begins with nine times nine.
The Kehot notes send the reader to the Tzemach Tzedek’s Derech Mitzvosecha and Or HaTorah, and to the Rebbe Rashab’s maamar Zachor 5654, on how the deed of the mitzvos multiplies the vessels.
Marei mekomos
- 1שיש אור וכלי בע״ס · ראה אוה״ת דברים כרך ז ע׳ ב׳רלג.
- 2וע״כ ע״י קיום המעשה . . רבוי הכלים · ראה דרך מצותיך ד״ה לרוקע קסו, א. אוה״ת פ׳ תצוה ע׳ א׳תקצה. ד״ה זכור תרנ״ד ע׳ רא.
7ובכל אחד יש ראש תוך סוף עולה רמ״ג וה״ח המגדילין נמצא זהו בחי׳ רבוי הכלים שכל ספירה כלולה מט׳ ומג׳ בחי׳ ראש תוך סוף
and in each one there are head, middle and end, which comes to 243, and the five Chasadim that bring [them] to growth. It follows that this is the multiplicity of vessels: that each Sefirah is comprised of nine, and of three aspects, head, middle and end,
Each of the eighty-one has head, middle and end, which makes 243; with the five Chasadim that bring growth, the total is 248, the number of the limbs. So the many vessels are each Sefirah comprised of nine, and each with its head, middle and end.
וגם הגדלתן ע״י ה״ח והוא תקון והגדלת אברים וכלים דז״א כמ״ש בכהאריז״ל בדרוש עבור יניקה מוחין.
and also their growth through the five Chasadim. And this is the rectification and growth of the limbs and vessels of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes), as is written in the writings of the Arizal, in the discourse on gestation (ibbur), nursing (yenikah) and the intellect (mochin).
The five Chasadim make the vessels grow, and all this is the rectification and growth of the limbs and vessels of Z’eir Anpin. The Arizal describes it in his discourses on the stages by which Z’eir Anpin grows: gestation, nursing and the intellect (mochin).
The count 9 × 9 × 3 + 5 = 248 shows how the 248 mitzvos match the 248 vessels and limbs of Z’eir Anpin, whose rectification and growth the Arizal describes.
In the Arizal’s system Z’eir Anpin develops in stages, like a child: gestation (ibbur), nursing (yenikah) and mature intellect (mochin). The five Chasadim are the forces of kindness through which its vessels grow.
8וזהו פי׳ נעשה והיינו שע״י הצדקה וג״ח מתקנים ועושים בחי׳ חסד דרועא ימינא1 דז״א כו׳. וכן בכל המצות מתקנים בחי׳ כלי פ׳.
And this is the meaning of “we will do”: that through charity and acts of kindness we rectify and make the level of Chesed (kindness), “the right arm” of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes), etc. And so too with all the mitzvos: we rectify the level of such-and-such a vessel.
The words “we will do” mean that each mitzvah builds a particular vessel above. Charity and acts of kindness rectify Chesed, called “the right arm” of Z’eir Anpin, and every other mitzvah likewise rectifies its own vessel.
ועי״ז דוקא ונשמע שיומשכו האורות בכלים והיינו תוספת אור וגלוי מא״ס ב״ה מחמת רבוי הכלים שבהן יומשך ויתאחז האור. משא״כ בהעדר הכלי מסתלק האור למקורו ושרשו במאציל העליון ב״ה.
And through this specifically [comes] “and we will hear”: that the lights will be drawn into the vessels, that is, an addition of light and revelation from the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, because of the multitude of vessels in which the light will be drawn and take hold. Whereas in the absence of the vessel, the light withdraws to its source and root in the Supernal Emanator, blessed be He.
Then comes “we will hear”: lights are drawn into those vessels, and the more vessels there are, the more light and revelation from the Infinite One. Without a vessel the light withdraws to its source in G‑d, the Emanator.
וזהו כי הוי׳ אלקיך אש אוכלה הוא2 כמשל האש שבהעדר הפתילה מסתלק האש לשרשו (ועמ״ש ע״פ הזהר3 בפר׳ בלק ע״פ שחורה אני4 כו׳).
And this is [the meaning of] “For Havayah your G‑d is a consuming fire,” like the analogy of fire, which in the absence of the wick withdraws to its root. (And see what is written on the Zohar in Parshas Balak, on the verse “I am black,” etc.)
This is why G‑d is called “a consuming fire”: like fire that withdraws to its root when there is no wick, divine light that finds no vessel returns to its source. The parenthesis refers to an explanation of the verse “I am black” in connection with the Zohar in Parshas Balak.
ולכן אמרז״ל ולא עם הארץ חסיד.5 פי׳ כי חסיד היינו בחי׳ מדת האהבה שנק׳ חסד.
Therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Nor is an unlearned person (am ha’aretz) pious (chasid).” The meaning is that chasid is the level of the attribute of love, which is called Chesed.
The Mishnah says that an unlearned person cannot be pious (chasid). A chasid is one whose attribute is love, Chesed, and the maamar goes on to explain why such love needs Torah.
Now, ve’ahavta (“and you shall love”) is numerically twice or (“light”). And no light shines or is drawn down except specifically when it has a vessel in which to take hold;
Ve’ahavta (“and you shall love”) has the numerical value 414, twice or (“light,” 207): love is a light. And light shines only when it has a vessel to hold it.
לכן להיות בחי׳ אורות האהבה מתגלים בנפש הוא דוקא ע״י כלים שהן הן התורה ומצות וממילא מובן דעם הארץ שאינו בתורה ומצות א״א לו כלל להיות נמשך בו אור האהבה.
therefore, for the lights of love to be revealed in the soul is specifically through vessels, which are none other than the Torah and mitzvos. And it follows of itself that an unlearned person, who is not [engaged] in Torah and mitzvos, cannot possibly have the light of love drawn into him.
The lights of love are revealed in a soul only through vessels, which are the Torah and mitzvos. So one who is not engaged in Torah and mitzvos has no vessel, and the light of love cannot be drawn into him.
וזהו שהקדימו נעשה לנשמע8 וזהו שכתוב (מלכים ב׳ סי׳ ד׳) אין עוד כלי ויעמוד השמן.9 ואילו היו עוד כלים היה עוד רבוי המשכת האורות כו׳ והוא מטעם הנ״ל.
And this is why they put “we will do” before “we will hear.” And this is what is written (II Kings, chapter 4), “There is not another vessel; and the oil stopped.” Had there been more vessels, there would have been still more drawing down of the lights, etc., and this is for the reason mentioned above.
That is why “we will do” comes first. Elisha’s miracle shows it: the widow’s oil flowed as long as there were vessels, and when there was not another vessel the oil stopped; more vessels would have meant more oil, just as more vessels draw more light.
והדרך השני בפי׳ שהקדימו נעשה לנשמע ולא עם הארץ חסיד הוא מפני שהכלים שרשם גבוהים מן האורות10 ולכך הוא שבהם ועל ידם נמשך ומתגלה האור.11
And the second way of explaining why they put “we will do” before “we will hear,” and “nor is an unlearned person pious,” is that the root of the vessels is higher than the lights; and that is why it is in them and through them that the light is drawn down and revealed.
The second explanation is that the vessels have a higher root than the lights. That is why the light is drawn down and revealed precisely in them and through them.
Each mitzvah builds a vessel, and the light (“we will hear”) fills the vessels; without them the light withdraws like fire without a wick. So love needs Torah and mitzvos, and “we will do” comes first. A second reason follows: the root of the vessels is higher than the light.
The Kehot note quotes the Rebbe Rashab’s maamar “Amar Rabbi Abahu” 5672 for why light needs a vessel: by nature light rises to be absorbed in its source, and only a vessel holds it below. The gematria of ve’ahavta was already given in the previous maamar, which the note cites.
Marei mekomos
- 1חסד דרועא ימינא · Tikkunei Zohar 17a:16–17
- 2כי הוי׳ אלקיך אש אוכלה הוא · Deuteronomy 4:24
- 3ועמ״ש ע״פ הזהר בפ׳ בלק · ראה ביאוה״ז לאדה״א ק, ב.
- 4שחורה אני · Song of Songs 1:5
- 5ולא עם הארץ חסיד · Pirkei Avot 2:5
- 6ואהבת הוא בגימט׳ ב״פ אור · נסמן לעיל צו, ג.
- 7וכל אור אינו מאיר ונמשך כ״א כשיש לו כלי · מובא בד״ה א״ר אבהו תער״ב (בסה״מ תער״ב-עו) ע׳ ז ”והיינו מפני שהאור טבעו לעלות למעלה ולהכלל במקורו, ובכדי שיהי׳ המשכת האור זהו ע״י הכלי דוקא”, ע״ש.
- 8שהקדימו נעשה לנשמע · Shabbat 88a:8
- 9אין עוד כלי ויעמוד השמן · II Kings 4:6
- 10שהכלים שרשם גבוהים מן האורות . . שרש הכלים שהן מעולם התהו הרי הם גבוהים בשרשם מהאור · ראה גם לעיל צד סע״ג שהכלי נעשה מהכאת או״מ באו״פ. מובא באוה״ת ענינים ע׳ קנז. וראה דרך מצותיך קסה, ב ואילך בארוכה. אוה״ת ליוהכ״פ ע׳ ב׳קלח.
- 11
The vessels’ higher root ¶9–10
9והוא כנודע מענין שבירת הכלים דתהו ורפ״ח נצוצין שהם גבוהים יותר מעולם התקון. ולכן האדם ניזון ומקבל חיות מדצ״ח אף שהם למטה ממנו במדרג׳ אלא משום ששרשם מעולם התהו
This is as is known from the matter of the shattering of the vessels of Tohu, and the 288 sparks, which are higher than the World of Tikkun. And therefore man is nourished by and receives life-force from the inanimate, vegetative and animal, although they are beneath him in rank; but [this is] because their root is from the World of Tohu,
The vessels’ higher root is explained by the shattering of the vessels of Tohu (chaos): its vessels broke, and 288 sparks from them fell, sparks that are higher than the World of Tikkun (rectification) that came after. That is why a person is nourished by the inanimate, plants and animals, though they rank below him: their root is in Tohu.
ולכן נפלו למטה יותר עד״מ אבן הנופלת מן החומה1 שכל שתפול מן הגובה ביותר אזי תפול למטה בריחוק יותר.
and therefore they fell lower, by way of analogy, [like] a stone that falls from a wall: the greater the height from which it falls, the farther down it falls.
Because their root is so high, they fell lower, like a stone falling from a wall: the higher it falls from, the farther down it lands. So what is lowest came from the highest place.
The vessels outrank the lights because they come from Tohu, whose sparks fell into the lowest things; this is why lower creatures can nourish a human being, and why what fell lowest came from highest.
The Likkutei Torah passage on Re’eh cited in the note uses the same image of a falling wall: the highest stone falls farthest, so a revelation of G‑dliness that reaches even the place of the kelipos must come from a very high place, from the 288 sparks of Tohu.
Marei mekomos
- 1עד״מ אבן הנופלת מן החומה · ראה לקו״ת ראה כא, ג ובמ״מ לשם.
10והנה כל המצות מעשיות נעשים הכל בדברים שנפלו בשבה״כ כמו תרומות ומעשרות בצומח כו׳. קרבנות בחי כו׳. וגם התפלה והתלמוד תורה הרי הדיבור הוא גשמי וגם נלקח מחיות שאכל וניזון כו׳.
Now, all the practical mitzvos are all done with things that fell in the shattering of the vessels: such as terumos and tithes, with plants, etc.; sacrifices, with animals, etc. And also prayer and the study of Torah: speech is physical, and it is also taken from the life-force of what one ate and was nourished by, etc.
Every practical mitzvah is done with things that fell in the shattering of the vessels: terumah and tithes with produce, sacrifices with animals. Even prayer and Torah study use speech, which is physical and is sustained by the food a person has eaten.
לכן כ״ז הוא תקון הכלים שנשברו ורפ״ח נצוצין הנ״ל להיות נכלל ברמ״ח אברין דמלכא שהוא בחי׳ ז״א שהוא מעולם התקון ועי״ז נמשך האורות בז״א כו׳
Therefore all this is the rectification of the vessels that shattered and of the 288 sparks mentioned above, so that they are included in the 248 limbs of the King, which is the level of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes), which is from the World of Tikkun; and through this the lights are drawn into Z’eir Anpin, etc.
So all the mitzvos repair the shattered vessels and the 288 sparks, raising them into the 248 limbs of the King, Z’eir Anpin, which belongs to the World of Tikkun. Through this the lights are drawn into Z’eir Anpin.
והאורות הם מעולם התקון וא״כ שרש הכלים שהן מעולם התהו הרי הם גבוהים בשרשם מהאור רק שירדו להיות כלים
And the lights are from the World of Tikkun. If so, the root of the vessels, which are from the World of Tohu: they are higher in their root than the light; only, they descended to become vessels.
The lights belong to the World of Tikkun, but the vessels come from Tohu, so in their root the vessels are higher than the light. They only descended in order to serve as vessels.
לכן מ״מ בהם ועל ידם דוקא נמשך האור וכמו שהמאכל מחיה את האדם כו׳ מצד שבשרשו הוא נלקח ממקום גבוה יותר.
Therefore, nevertheless, it is specifically in them and through them that the light is drawn down; just as food gives life to a person, etc., because in its root it is taken from a higher place.
That is why the light is drawn down precisely in and through the vessels. In the same way, food sustains a person because its root comes from a higher place than his own life.
(ועמ״ש ע״פ ראשי המטות12 ג״כ מזה וע״פ כי ביום הזה יכפר)3 והנה אברהם שקיים כל התורה היינו שהמשיך האור הנמשך ע״י המצות המשיך זה ע״י עבודתו ברצוא ושוב כו׳
(And see what is written about this too on the verse “The heads of the tribes,” and on the verse “For on this day He will atone.”) Now, Avraham, who fulfilled the whole Torah, that is, he drew down the light that is drawn down through the mitzvos, drew it down through his service in “running and returning” (ratzo vashov), etc.;
The parenthesis points to two further discussions, on “the heads of the tribes” and on “For on this day He will atone.” Avraham drew down the light that the mitzvos draw down, but he did it through his inner service of ratzo vashov.
אך הכלים הנעשים ע״י עשיית המצות בפועל ממש זה ודאי לא היה יכול לקיים כיון שעדיין לא ניתנה תורה כלל במעשה כו׳
but the vessels that are made through doing the mitzvos in actual deed, this he certainly could not fulfill, since the Torah had not yet been given at all in deed, etc.
What Avraham could not do was make the vessels that come only from doing the mitzvos in actual deed, since the Torah had not yet been given as something to be done.
וכיון שבשרש התקון הכלים גבוה יותר ע״י קיום התומ״צ בפו״מ זהו גבוה יותר ממה שקיים אברהם כו׳ (ועמ״ש בד״ה משה ידבר):45
And since in [its] root the rectification of the vessels is higher, through the fulfillment of the Torah and mitzvos in actual deed, this is higher than what Avraham fulfilled, etc. (And see what is written in the discourse beginning “Moshe would speak.”)
Since in its root the rectification of the vessels is higher, the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos in actual deed reaches higher than what Avraham achieved. This answers why not receiving the Torah at Sinai counts as a lack in him.
The mitzvos use physical things that fell from Tohu, so they repair vessels whose root is higher than the light. Avraham drew down the light but could not make these vessels, so the physical mitzvos given at Sinai reach higher than his service.
This completes the answer to the question raised in paragraph 2. Avraham’s keeping of the Torah was real, but it drew down the light only; the deed itself, done with physical things after Sinai, reaches the higher root of the vessels.
Marei mekomos
- 1ע״פ ראשי המטות · לקו״ת ר״פ מטות פא, ב.
- 2ראשי המטות · Numbers 30:2
- 3כי ביום הזה יכפר · Leviticus 16:30
- 4בד״ה משה ידבר · לעיל סז, ד.
- 5משה ידבר · Exodus 19:19
The horse: Binah ascending and descending ¶11–19
Now, concerning this drawing down it is said of the Giving of the Torah, “When You ride upon Your horses,” etc. Sus (“horse”) is numerically twice the Name Sag (63).
This drawing down through the deed is what the verse says of the Giving of the Torah: “When You ride upon Your horses, Your chariots are salvation.” The word sus (horse) equals 126, twice 63, the value of the Name Sag, one of the spellings-out of the Name Havayah.
וכמארז״ל גבי סוס שרוחו גסה עליו.2 והוא ב׳ בחינות מלמטה למעלה ומלמעלה למטה. ופירוש מלמטה למעלה הוא כענין עליית העולמות בשבת3 כי
And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said of the horse, that its spirit is proud within it. And it is two aspects: from below to above, and from above to below. And the meaning of “from below to above” is like the ascent of the worlds on Shabbos. For,
The Sages say a horse is proud-spirited, and a horse carries its rider where he could not go by himself. This “horse” has two aspects, from below to above and from above to below. “From below to above” is like the ascent of the worlds on Shabbos.
הנה בחול הוא ירידת כלים דזו״נ דאצילות בזו״נ דבי״ע כדי ללקט ניצוצים ולברר בירורים כל ששת ימי המעשה.
behold, on weekdays there is a descent of the vessels of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) and Nukva (the feminine / Malchus) of the World of Atzilus (Emanation) into Z’eir Anpin and Nukva of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, in order to gather sparks and carry out refinements throughout the six days of work.
On weekdays the vessels of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva of Atzilus descend into the corresponding levels of the lower worlds, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. There, through the six working days, they gather sparks and refine what needs refining.
The verse of horses at Sinai alludes to the drawing down through the deed. The “horse,” twice Sag, moves in two directions; the first, from below to above, is like the Shabbos ascent that follows the weekday work of gathering sparks.
Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim, cited in the note, distinguishes two kinds of ascent: the Shabbos ascent, in which the inner part of a lower world rises and clothes the outer part of the higher, and a deeper inclusion, like an embryo within Imma, a complete self-nullification from which new mochin are drawn, as at the Exodus.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי תרכב על סוסיך · Habakkuk 3:8
- 2וכמארז״ל גבי סוס שרוחו גסה עליו · Pesachim 113b
- 3כענין עליית העולמות בשבת · ראה לקו״ת שה״ש מו, ב. הנחת הר״פ ע׳ פג. אוה״ת שה״ש ח״ב ע׳ תלו. המשך מצה זו תר״מ פרק כה.
12ועי״ז בשבת הוא עליית זו״נ שעליה זו היא ע״י בירור נצוצים הנ״ל ששרשם גבוה מז״א שהוא בחי׳ שם מ״ה
And through this, on Shabbos there is the ascent of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) and Nukva (the feminine / Malchus). This ascent is through the refinement of the sparks mentioned above, whose root is higher than Z’eir Anpin, which is the level of the Name Mah (45);
The weekday work leads to the Shabbos ascent of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva. The ascent comes from refining the sparks, whose root is higher than Z’eir Anpin, the level of the Name Mah (45).
כי הם נפלו בשבירה מז״ת דס״ג1 ונפלו בשם ב״ן וכשמתבררים עולים לשרשם בס״ג שהוא למעלה משם מ״ה
for they fell in the shattering from the seven lower [Sefiros] of Sag (63), and they fell into the Name Ban (52); and when they are refined they rise to their root in Sag, which is above the Name Mah.
The sparks fell in the shattering from the seven lower Sefiros of Sag (63) into the Name Ban (52). Once refined they return to their root in Sag, which is above Mah.
ולכן לע״ל כשיושלם כל הבירורים תהיה המל׳ שהיא שם ב״ן עטרת בעלה2 שם מ״ה ע״י שתעלה בבחינת ס״ג.
And therefore in the Time to Come, when all the refinements are completed, Malchus (sovereignty), which is the Name Ban, will be “the crown of her husband,” the Name Mah, by rising to the level of Sag.
So in the Time to Come, when all the refinements are complete, Malchus (the Name Ban) will be “the crown of her husband,” above Z’eir Anpin (the Name Mah), because she will rise to the level of Sag.
The Shabbos ascent comes from refined sparks returning to their root in Sag, above Z’eir Anpin’s Name Mah. When all are refined, Malchus will rise above her “husband” as his crown.
Mah, Ban and Sag are three ways of spelling out the letters of the Name Havayah, whose values come to 45, 52 and 63. Here Mah is Z’eir Anpin and the World of Tikkun, Ban is Malchus, and Sag is Binah, in whose seven lower Sefiros the shattering took place.
Marei mekomos
- 1בשבירה מז״ת דס״ג · ראה לקו״ת ראה לא, ד.
- 2עטרת בעלה · Proverbs 12:4
13וזהו לע״ל ליום שכולו שבת.1 ואמנם מעין זה יש בכל שבת שע״י בירור ניצוצים הנ״ל דשם ב״ן בששת ימי המעשה נעשה עלייה גדולה בשבת לבחי׳ ס״ג.
And this is [the meaning of] the Time to Come, “the day that is entirely Shabbos.” Yet something of this is present every Shabbos: through the refinement of the sparks of the Name Ban mentioned above during the six days of work, a great ascent takes place on Shabbos to the level of Sag.
The Time to Come is called “the day that is entirely Shabbos.” A foretaste of it comes every Shabbos, when the sparks of Ban refined during the six days rise to the level of Sag.
והוא כענין העלייה להיות גילוי אורות דתהו שהיו גדולים מאורות דתקון כו׳
And this is like the ascent [that brings about] a revelation of the lights of Tohu, which were greater than the lights of Tikkun, etc.
That ascent brings a revelation of the lights of Tohu, which were greater than the lights of Tikkun.
(דאף שמבואר לעיל שבתקון נעשה רבוי האורות ע״י רבוי הכלים היינו רבוי דוקא אבל מהות עצם האור היה בתהו גדול יותר שלכך לא הכילום הכלים מגודל תוקף גדולת האור כו׳)
(For although it was explained above that in Tikkun there came to be a multiplicity of lights through the multiplicity of vessels, that is multiplicity specifically; but the very essence of the light was greater in Tohu, which is why the vessels could not contain them, because of the great strength of the greatness of the light, etc.)
This does not contradict what was said above, that Tikkun has more lights because it has more vessels: Tikkun has more of them, but in its essence the light of Tohu was greater. It was so intense that its vessels could not contain it.
וזהו בחי׳ הסוס שמוליך למעלה האדם זו״נ מלמטה למעלה למקום שלא יוכלו לעלות בעצמן היינו למעלה משם מ״ה דז״א.
And this is the level of the horse, which carries the man, Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) and Nukva (the feminine / Malchus), upward from below to above, to a place to which they could not rise by themselves, namely above the Name Mah of Z’eir Anpin.
This is the “horse”: it carries the rider, Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, up to a place they could not reach by themselves, above Z’eir Anpin’s Name Mah.
והוא בס״ג דבינה. ולכן נק׳ בינה בזוהר עלמא דחירות ונק׳ יובלא עלאה וקראתם דרור2 מפני שהוא בחי׳ גבוה מאד שאין לחיצונים יניקה שם כלל
And that is in Sag of Binah. Therefore Binah (understanding) is called in the Zohar “the world of freedom,” and it is called “the supernal Jubilee” [and] “You shall proclaim liberty,” because it is a very high level, where the external forces have no nurture at all
That place is Sag of Binah. So the Zohar calls Binah “the world of freedom” and “the supernal Jubilee,” as in “proclaim liberty,” because it is so high that the external forces, the kelipos, cannot draw any nurture from it.
(שיניקתן רק מזו״נ שהם ז׳ מדות שהיה בהן שבה״כ משא״כ בג״ר כו׳. ומש״ל שבס״ג היה השבירה היינו בז״ת שהם המדות שרש זו״נ כו׳. משא״כ בבינה שהיא ג״ר כו׳)
(for their nurture is only from Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, which are the seven emotive attributes (middos) in which the shattering of the vessels took place, which is not so in the first three [Sefiros], etc. And what was written above, that the shattering was in Sag, means in the seven lower [Sefiros], which are the attributes, the root of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, etc., which is not so in Binah, which is [among] the first three, etc.)
The external forces draw only from Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, the seven emotive attributes in which the shattering took place, and not from the first three Sefiros. When it was said above that the shattering was in Sag, it meant only the seven lower Sefiros of Sag, the root of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, not Binah, which is among the first three.
וענין מלמעלה למטה היינו שזה גופא להיות בירור והתהפכות המדות הוא ע״י המשכה מבינה שהוא בחי׳ ס״ג.
And the meaning of “from above to below” is that this very thing, the refinement and transformation of the attributes, is through a drawing down from Binah, which is the level of Sag.
The other direction, from above to below, means that the refining and transforming of the attributes itself comes through a drawing down from Binah, the level of Sag.
וכמו ספירת העומר שהוא בירור ז׳ מדות3 דנה״ב הוא דוקא ע״י שממשיכים מקיפים דאימא4 שע״ז נאמר וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת5 כו׳. שהבינה נק׳ מחרת השבת כמ״ש במ״א.
Like the Counting of the Omer, which is the refinement of the seven attributes of the animal soul: it is specifically through drawing down the encompassing [lights] of Imma, of which it is said, “And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbos,” etc.; for Binah is called “the morrow of the Shabbos,” as is explained elsewhere.
So in the Counting of the Omer the seven attributes of the animal soul are refined by drawing down the encompassing lights of Imma (Binah). The Omer is counted “from the morrow of the Shabbos,” and that “morrow of the Shabbos” is Binah.
The “horse” of Binah (Sag) lifts Z’eir Anpin and Nukva above their own level on Shabbos, to where the kelipos have no hold; and from above to below, Binah’s light is what refines and transforms the attributes, as in the Counting of the Omer.
Likkutei Torah, Masei, cited in the note, refers to this maamar: to keep the external forces from drawing on the attributes, encompassing lights of Imma are drawn down to protect them, as in “the mother is sitting upon the fledglings” and “let the mother come and clean.” It adds that elsewhere the six extremities of Abba are said to be clothed in those of Imma, which guards the attributes.
Marei mekomos
- 1ליום שכולו שבת · Mishnah Tamid 7:4
- 2וקראתם דרור · Leviticus 25:10
- 3וכמו ספירת העומר שהוא בירור ז׳ מדות · מובא באוה״ת ויקרא כרך ב ע׳ תקכח.
- 4שממשיכים מקיפים דאימא · ראה לקו״ת מסעי צ, ב שבמ״א נתבאר שמתלבשי׳ ו״ק דאבא בו״ק דאימא ובזה נשמרים המדות מיניקת החיצונים, ע״ש.
- 5וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת · Leviticus 23:15
And this is the meaning of “Let his mother come,” specifically, “and clean up,” etc. And likewise Yom Kippur, the forgiveness of sins, “bearing iniquity,” is through “let his mother come,” etc.
Binah’s cleansing role is alluded to in the saying “Let the mother come and clean up” after her child. So too the atonement of Yom Kippur, G‑d “bearing iniquity,” comes through the “mother,” Binah, called Imma.
גם כמ״ש בע״ח שער החשמל פ״א כפי כניסת הכלים דתבונה מבפנים כן בחי׳ האור שלה מלובש מבחוץ2 כו׳.
Also, as is written in Etz Chaim, the Gate of the Chashmal, chapter 1: according to the entry of the vessels of Tevunah within, so the level of her light is clothed outside, etc.
The Arizal’s Etz Chaim, in the Gate of the Chashmal, chapter 1, says the same: as the vessels of Tevunah (the lower aspect of Binah) enter Z’eir Anpin within, so her light is worn outside it as a garment.
Cleansing and atonement come through the “mother,” Binah, whose light enters Z’eir Anpin from within and clothes it from without, as Etz Chaim describes.
In the passage of Etz Chaim the outer garment is called the “skin” of Tevunah, the chashmal, through which the kelipos could not take hold of Z’eir Anpin; when Adam sinned it was withdrawn. Where our text has “her light” (or), Etz Chaim reads “her skin” (‘or), two words that sound alike in Hebrew.
Marei mekomos
- 1תבא אמו דוקא ותקנח · Rashi on Numbers 19:22
- 2כפי כניסת הכלים דתבונה מבפנים כן בחי׳ האור שלה מלובש מבחוץ · Sefer Etz Chaim 41:2
15וע״ש שכל זה התקון הוא כדי לדחות החיצונים מזו״נ שהוא דוקא ע״י המשכת אור הבינה מבפנים ומבחוץ כו׳
And see there that this whole rectification is in order to push the external forces away from Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) and Nukva (the feminine / Malchus), which is specifically through drawing down the light of Binah (understanding) within and without, etc.
Etz Chaim explains there that this whole arrangement exists to push the external forces away from Z’eir Anpin and Nukva. It is done precisely by drawing the light of Binah into them from within and around them from without.
והוא ענין לבוש החשמל1 דבינה שמלביש לזו״נ בשביל שלא יינקו מהן החיצונים הרי כל זה על ידי הבינה.
And this is the garment of the chashmal of Binah, which clothes Z’eir Anpin and Nukva so that the external forces should not draw nurture from them. Thus all this is through Binah.
This is the garment of the chashmal of Binah, which clothes Z’eir Anpin and Nukva so that the external forces cannot draw nurture from them. So the protection comes entirely through Binah.
Binah’s light, inside and as the chashmal garment outside, keeps the external forces from Z’eir Anpin and Nukva; all the protection comes through Binah.
In the Likkutei Torah passage on Acharei cited in the note, the main “garment” is the chashmal: not the chashmal between Atzilus and the lower worlds, which comes from the outer aspect of Binah and lies in nogah, but a higher chashmal that encompasses all.
Marei mekomos
- 1והוא ענין לבוש החשמל · ראה לקו״ת פ׳ אחרי כז, ד. ובפ׳ אמור לו, ג.
16ומזה יובן ענין סוס שמלמעלה למטה היינו שנמשך אפי׳ למטה במקום הקליפות לברר ולהפך המדות לפי שהוא דוקא יכול לדחות החיצונים כו׳
From this the matter of the “horse” from above to below will be understood: that it is drawn down even below, into the place of the kelipos (husks), to refine and transform the emotive attributes (middos), because it specifically is able to push away the external forces, etc.;
This explains the “horse” from above to below: Binah’s light is drawn down even into the realm of the kelipos to refine and transform the emotive attributes. Only it can do this, because only it can push the external forces away.
משא״כ המדות עצמן אין להם כח לירד כ״כ כי מהם יוכלו החיצונים לינק אם לא ע״י סוס שהוא המשכה דבינה המוליכן כ״כ למטה.
whereas the attributes themselves have no power to descend so far, for the external forces could draw nurture from them, unless [it is] through the “horse,” which is the drawing down of Binah (understanding) that carries them so far below.
The attributes themselves cannot descend so far, for the external forces would draw nurture from them. They can go so low only when the “horse,” Binah’s drawing down, carries them.
ויובן זה עד״מ שאנו רואים ההפרש בין השכל למדות שהשכל יש בכחו לסבול דבר שהוא שונאו בתכלי׳ ולהיות מעיין ומתבונן בו כמו שמתבונן בדבר האהוב אצלו. ויוכל לציירו בדמיון מחשבתו אע״פ שישנא אותו בתכלית.
This will be understood by way of analogy, for we see the difference between the intellect and the attributes: the intellect has it in its power to bear a thing that one utterly hates, and to examine and contemplate it just as one contemplates a thing one loves. And one can picture it in the imagination of one’s thought even though one hates it utterly.
An analogy from the human mind: the intellect can bear to think about something it utterly hates, examining it as closely as something it loves. It can picture it in the imagination while hating it completely.
Binah can descend into the realm of the kelipos to transform the attributes, which could not go there alone; the mind’s ability to think about what it hates illustrates why.
17והנה ההתבוננות באיזו דבר הוא המשכה מהשכל והתבונה לאותו הדבר שהשכל מקיף אותו הדבר ואותו הדבר מוקף בשכלו
Now, contemplation of something is a drawing forth from the intellect and understanding to that thing, in that the intellect encompasses that thing and that thing is encompassed in one’s intellect
To contemplate something is for the intellect to reach out to it and encompass it, so that the thing is held within one’s intellect.
ומחשבתו וא״כ כשחושב ומתבונן בדבר השנאוי הרי אותו הדבר ג״כ מוקף בשכלו וא״כ נמשך הכלי להיות מקיף לדבר ההוא.
and thought. If so, when one thinks about and contemplates a hated thing, that thing too is encompassed in one’s intellect; and so the vessel is drawn out to encompass that thing.
When one thinks about something hated, that too is held within one’s intellect and thought; the mind, as a vessel, stretches out to surround it.
נמצא השכל והמחשבה יכולים לירד כ״כ למטה אף גם בדבר שרחוק מאד ממנו עד ששונא אותו ועכ״ז יקיפנו במחשבתו ויתבונן בו. משא״כ בהמדות שאין מדת האהבה יכולה להתפשט בדבר שהוא שונאו.
It follows that the intellect and thought can descend so far down, even into a thing that is very far from oneself, to the point that one hates it, and nevertheless one will encompass it in one’s thought and contemplate it. This is not so with the emotive attributes (middos): the attribute of love cannot extend into a thing that one hates.
So intellect and thought can reach far down, even to something one hates, and still encompass it. Love cannot: the attribute of love cannot extend into something one hates.
Thought can encompass even what it hates, while love cannot reach it; this shows why the intellect, Binah, can descend where the attributes cannot.
18וזהו לפי שהמדות הם המשכה בבחי׳ פנימיות אבל השכל הוא מקיף לכך יכול לירד גם למטה.
This is because the emotive attributes (middos) are a drawing forth in the mode of inwardness, but the intellect is encompassing; therefore it can descend even below.
The reason is that the emotive attributes enter into what they relate to, while the intellect surrounds its object from outside. Because it encompasses rather than enters, the intellect can go down even below.
וכך יובן למעלה דדוקא מבחי׳ בינה יוכל לימשך גם למטה אפילו במקום הקליפות שהרי הקב״ה יודע גם מעשה הרשעים ומתבונן בהם כמו במעשה הצדיקים משא״כ מדת האהבה לא תתפשט ותומשך במקום הרשע כו׳.
And so it will be understood above: that specifically from the level of Binah (understanding) can [light] be drawn even below, even into the place of the kelipos (husks). For the Holy One, blessed be He, knows the deeds of the wicked too and contemplates them as [He does] the deeds of the righteous; whereas the attribute of love will not extend and be drawn into the place of the wicked, etc.
So it is above: only from Binah can light reach even into the place of the kelipos. G‑d knows and considers the deeds of the wicked as He does those of the righteous, but the attribute of love does not extend into the place of the wicked.
(ויובן זה עוד ע״פ מ״ש בענין חטא עה״ד דכתיב הן האדם1 היה כאחד ממנו לדעת טוב ורע וע״י ידיעה זו שידע את עה״ד טוב ורע שהן היכלות דנוגה נתפתה ונמשך אחריהן
(This will be understood further according to what is written concerning the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, as it is written, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil.” Through this knowledge, in that he knew the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, which are the chambers of nogah, he was enticed and drawn after them.
The parenthesis brings the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. After it G‑d said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil”: because Adam knew the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, which are the chambers of nogah (the realm where good and evil are mixed), he was enticed and drawn after them.
וזהו מפני שידיעתו הוא בחי׳ פנימי כי הדעת מקור השש׳ מדות ע״כ ע״י ידיעה וקירוב זה שנתקרב להן נמשך אחריהן כו׳.
And this is because his knowledge is inward, for Daas (knowledge) is the source of the six attributes; therefore, through this knowing and closeness, in that he came close to them, he was drawn after them, etc.
His knowing was inward, since Daas is the source of the six emotive attributes, and so knowing evil brought him close to it and drew him after it.
משא״כ בחי׳ דעה עליונה שהיא בחינת מקיף על הדבר ע״כ הגם שדע׳ זו יודעת הרע היטב לא נמשך מזה יניקה כו׳ וז״ש הן האדם היה כאחד ממנו לדעת כו׳ הוא בכ״ף הדמיון שידיעתו הוא בבחי׳ פנימית והתפעלות משא״כ דעה העליונה כו׳ וע״ש)
This is not so with the level of supernal knowledge, which encompasses the thing; therefore, although this knowledge knows evil well, no nurture is drawn from it, etc. And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing,” etc.: it is with the kaf of comparison, for his knowledge is in the mode of inwardness and emotional arousal, which is not so with supernal knowledge, etc. See there.)
Supernal knowledge surrounds what it knows, so it can know evil well without giving it any nurture. That is why the verse says “like one of us,” with the kaf of comparison: Adam’s knowledge was only like it, for it was inward and stirred his emotions, unlike supernal knowledge.
והנה ע״י ירידת והמשכת בחי׳ סוס מלמעלה למטה לירד ולברר המדות ואתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא בששת ימי המעשה
Now, through the descent and drawing down of the level of the “horse” from above to below, to descend and refine the attributes, and darkness is turned into light during the six days of work,
Through the descent of the “horse” from above to below, the attributes are refined during the six working days, and darkness is turned into light.
והוא ענין מחשבה טובה2 הקב״ה מצרפה למעשה עי״ז לפי ערך נעשה אח״כ העליה מלמטה למעלה בשבת כו׳.
and this is the idea of “A good thought, the Holy One, blessed be He, joins to the deed”; through this, correspondingly, the ascent from below to above then takes place on Shabbos, etc.
This weekday refining is likened to the Sages’ teaching that G‑d joins a good thought to the deed. Through it, in proportion, the ascent from below to above then takes place on Shabbos.
The intellect encompasses, so it can know evil without being drawn to it, as G‑d knows the deeds of the wicked; Adam’s inward knowing drew him into sin. Binah’s descent refines the attributes during the week and leads to the Shabbos ascent.
The kaf of ke’achad (“like one”) marks likeness, not sameness: man’s knowing resembles the supernal knowing but differs from it, for it enters and stirs the emotions, while the supernal knowing stays above what it knows.
Marei mekomos
- 1הן האדם הי׳ כאחד ממנו · Genesis 3:22
- 2מחשבה טובה · Kiddushin 40a:12–13
19וז״ש והאם רובצת על האפרוחים1 כו׳ שלח תשלח את האם2 כו׳. פי׳ והאם רובצת זהו הירידה מלמעלה למטה אם רחץ3 כו׳ א״ת אם
And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “And the mother is sitting upon the fledglings,” etc., “You shall surely send away the mother,” etc. The meaning: “and the mother is sitting” is the descent from above to below, [as in] “If [the L‑rd] washes,” etc.: do not read im (“if”)
The mitzvah of sending away the mother bird shows the same pattern. “The mother is sitting upon the fledglings” is the descent from above to below; as in the verse “If the L‑rd washes away the filth of the daughters of Zion,” where im (“if”) is read em (“mother”), the mother is Binah, who cleanses.
אלא אЦם ועי״ז העלייה מלמטה למעל׳ שלח תשלח את האם כו׳. ועי״ז אח״כ ואת הבנים תקח לך הן תומ״צ להיות הגילוי למטה כמו למעלה.
but em (“mother”). And through this [comes] the ascent from below to above: “You shall surely send away the mother,” etc. And through this, afterwards, “and the children you may take for yourself”: these are the Torah and mitzvos, so that the revelation be below as above.
Then comes the ascent from below to above, “You shall surely send away the mother.” After that, “and the children you may take for yourself”: these are the Torah and mitzvos, so that the revelation is below as it is above.
ולכן נאמר במ״ת כי תרכב על סוסיך4 שהמצות נתלבשו בדברים גשמיים שמק״נ כמש״ל ובהם צ״ל הבירור. ולכן זהו ע״י סוס המוליך מלמעלה למטה ועי״ז אח״כ העלייה מלמטה למעלה
Therefore it is said of the Giving of the Torah, “When You ride upon Your horses”: for the mitzvos are clothed in physical things that are from kelipas nogah, as written above, and it is in them that the refinement must take place. Therefore this is through the “horse” that carries from above to below, and through this, afterwards, [comes] the ascent from below to above.
That is why the verse of horses is said of the Giving of the Torah: the mitzvos are clothed in physical things from kelipas nogah, the husk that holds both good and evil, and these must be refined. So the “horse” must first carry the light from above to below, and only then comes the ascent from below to above.
(ועד״ז היא ספה״ע קודם חג השבועות מ״ת שהוא בירור בכדי שעי״ז יוכל להיות המשכת אלקות בדברים גשמיים כמ״ש במ״א וספרתם לכם56 כו׳. ובירור נה״ב ע״י מקיפים דאימא כנ״ל. וזהו ענין והאם רובצת כו׳.
(And in the same way, the Counting of the Omer before the festival of Shavuos, the Giving of the Torah, is a refinement, so that through it there can be a drawing down of G‑dliness into physical things, as is explained elsewhere on “And you shall count for yourselves,” etc. And the refinement of the animal soul is through the encompassing [lights] of Imma, as mentioned above. And this is the meaning of “And the mother is sitting,” etc.
Likewise the Counting of the Omer before Shavuos, the festival of the Giving of the Torah, is a refinement, so that G‑dliness can be drawn into physical things. The animal soul is refined through the encompassing lights of Imma, and this is “the mother is sitting” upon the fledglings.
ועמ״ש ע״פ מקושש עצים78 בענין ועל יובל ישלח שרשיו9 שיש בחי׳ יובל בחול״ם ויש במלאפו״ם והוא ג״כ בחי׳ מלמעלה למטה ומלמטה למעלה. והיינו ג״כ ב׳ בחינות הנ״ל שבבינה כי בינה נק׳ יובלא דרור1011 כו׳).
And see what is written on the verse of the one “gathering wood,” concerning “and it sends out its roots by the stream (yuval),” that there is the level of yovel with a cholam, and there is [yuval] with a melupum, and this too is the level of from above to below and from below to above. And these too are the two aspects mentioned above that are in Binah (understanding), for Binah is called “the Jubilee of liberty,” etc.)
The parenthesis points to the maamar on the man “gathering wood” on Shabbos. There “and it sends out its roots by the stream (yuval)” is explained: yovel with a cholam and yuval with a melupum are the two directions, from above to below and from below to above; both are in Binah, which is called “the Jubilee of liberty” (yovla deror).
וכן בפורים נאמר לבוש מלכות כו׳ וסוס אשר רכב12 כו׳ לבוש מלכות היינו הלבושים הנעשים ממעשי המצות שהן מבירורי נוגה כנ״ל והוא ע״י וסוס אשר רכב כו׳
And so too on Purim it is said, “royal apparel,” etc., “and the horse that [the king] rode,” etc. “Royal apparel” is the garments made from the deeds of the mitzvos, which are from the refinements of nogah, as mentioned above; and this is through “and the horse that [the king] rode,” etc.
Purim has the same pair: Haman told the king to bring “royal apparel” and “the horse that the king rode.” The royal apparel is the garments made from doing the mitzvos, which come from refining nogah, and they come about through the horse the king rode, Binah’s drawing down.
(גם אשר לבש בו המלך הוא כענין החשמל דבינה המלביש לזו״נ מצדדיהן והנה למטה נעשה מנעל תחת רגליהן וכעין זה הוא בחי׳ וסוס כו׳.
(Also, “which the king has worn” is like the chashmal of Binah, which clothes Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) and Nukva (the feminine / Malchus) from their sides; and below it becomes a shoe beneath their feet. And something like this is the level of “and the horse,” etc.
The garment “which the king has worn” is like the chashmal of Binah, which clothes Z’eir Anpin and Nukva from their sides; below, it becomes a shoe under their feet. The “horse” is something like this as well.
ועמ״ש במ״א ההפרש בין סוס לכרוב שהן ב׳ מיני אותיות מסוכ״ע וממכ״ע ויובן עם הנ״ל דסוס אותיות והמשכות דבינה להקיף גם על דבר השנאוי. והוא בחי׳ אותיות והמשכות דמקיפים בחינת סוכ״ע. וכרוב אותיות דממכ״ע המשכת המדות כו׳.
And see what is written elsewhere on the difference between a horse and a cherub, which are two kinds of letters, from the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) and from the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin). And it will be understood with what was said above: the “horse” is the letters and drawings-forth of Binah, to encompass even a hated thing; and this is the level of the letters and drawings-forth of the encompassing [lights], the level of the light that encompasses all worlds. And the “cherub” is the letters of the light that fills all worlds, the drawing forth of the attributes, etc.
Elsewhere a horse and a cherub are explained as two kinds of letters, from the encompassing light and from the light that fills the worlds. The “horse” is the letters and drawings-forth of Binah, which can encompass even a hated thing, so they belong to the encompassing light; the “cherub” is the letters of the light that fills the worlds, the drawing forth of the attributes.
גם להבין עוד איך הבירור דוקא ע״י בחי׳ וסוס אשר רכב יובן עם מ״ש ע״פ את קרבני13 איך הטעם שהתשובה אינה מועלת רק בעוה״ז משום דדוקא בעוה״ז מאיר ומתגלה בחי׳ סוכ״ע שבו
Also, to understand further how the refinement is specifically through the level of “and the horse that [the king] rode,” it will be understood with what is written on the verse “My offering,” on why teshuvah (return) is effective only in this world: because specifically in this world the level of the light that encompasses all worlds shines and is revealed, in which
The maamar on “My offering” explains why teshuvah is effective only in this world: only here does the level of the light that encompasses all worlds shine and become revealed.
ועל ידו דוקא כח הבירור להיות אתהפכא כו׳ והמשכה וגילוי זה מבחי׳ סוכ״ע ע״י בחי׳ וסוס כו׳ וע׳ עוד מ״ש ע״פ לסוסתי1415 מענין אותיות דוכרן ונוקבן ולכן בבינה הוא שם הוי״ה בניקוד אלהים שהוא נגד ב׳ בחי׳ הנ״ל):
and through which specifically is the power of refinement, so that there be transformation, etc.; and this drawing down and revelation from the level of the light that encompasses all worlds is through the level of “and the horse,” etc. And see further what is written on the verse “To My mare,” concerning masculine and feminine letters; and therefore in Binah there is the Name Havayah with the vowels of Elokim, which corresponds to the two aspects mentioned above.)
Only through that encompassing level is there the power to refine and transform, and its revelation comes through the “horse.” The maamar on “To My mare” explains masculine and feminine letters, and so Binah has the Name Havayah with the vowels of Elokim, corresponding to the two aspects described above.
The mother bird, the Counting of the Omer, and the robe and horse of Purim all show one pattern: Binah’s encompassing light descends to refine the physical, and then the ascent follows. The “horse” carries the light of sovev into this world, where refinement and teshuvah take place.
Torah Ohr’s maamar on “To My mare,” cited in the note, explains that letters are called horses: the intellect rides on them and guides them, yet through them it is carried higher than it could reach on its own.
Marei mekomos
- 1והאם רובצת על האפרוחים · Deuteronomy 22:6
- 2שלח תשלח את האם · Deuteronomy 22:7
- 3אם רחץ · Isaiah 4:4
- 4כי תרכב על סוסיך · Habakkuk 3:8
- 5כמ״ש במ״א וספרתם לכם · לקו״ת במדבר י, א ואילך.
- 6וספרתם לכם · Leviticus 23:15
- 7ועמ״ש ע״פ מקושש עצים · לקו״ת שלח מב, ד.
- 8מקושש עצים · Numbers 15:32
- 9ועל יובל ישלח שרשיו · Jeremiah 17:8
- 10בינה נק׳ יובלא דרור · Zohar III, 108b
- 11בינה נק׳ יובלא דרור · Zohar, Behar 5:16–22
- 12לבוש מלכות כו׳ וסוס אשר רכב · Esther 6:8
- 13את קרבני · Numbers 28:2
- 14מ״ש ע״פ לסוסתי · לעיל בפ׳ יתרו סג, ד.
- 15לסוסתי · Song of Songs 1:9
Begun at Sinai, completed on Purim ¶20–22
20וזהו ענין וקבל היהודים את אשר החלו לעשות1 כי במ״ת רק החלו לעשות. דכבר מבואר למעלה בענין נעשה ונשמע2 שהעיקר הוא ע״י נעשה שהיא בחי׳ תקון ובירור הכלים ועי״ז אח״כ ונשמע גילוי האור כו׳.
And this is the meaning of “And the Jews accepted what they had begun to do”: for at the Giving of the Torah they only began to do. For it was already explained above, concerning “we will do and we will hear,” that the main thing is through “we will do,” which is the level of the rectification and refinement of the vessels, and through this, afterwards, [comes] “and we will hear,” the revelation of the light, etc.
Now the maamar’s verse, “And the Jews accepted what they had begun to do,” can be explained: at Sinai they only began. As explained above, the main thing is “we will do,” the rectifying and refining of the vessels, and through it comes “we will hear,” the revelation of the light.
The maamar returns to its verse: the Giving of the Torah was only the beginning of refining the vessels.
Marei mekomos
- 1וקבל היהודים את אשר החלו לעשות · Esther 9:23
- 2נעשה ונשמע · Exodus 24:7
21ובמ״ת היה רק התחלת תקון הכלים והמשכת האור כענין מעט מעט אגרשנו.1 וכמו שאנו רואים שלא היו שלימות עדיין בישראל וכל ימי השופטים עליות וירידות וגם אח״כ.
And at the Giving of the Torah there was only the beginning of the rectification of the vessels and of the drawing down of the light, as in “Little by little I will drive them out.” As we see, there was not yet completeness in Israel, and all the days of the Judges were ascents and descents, and afterwards too.
At Sinai there was only the beginning of rectifying the vessels and drawing down the light, a gradual start, like the conquest of the land, which was to be “little by little.” Israel was not yet complete: the days of the Judges, and later times too, were ascents and descents.
אבל בימי המן וקבל היהודים2 קבלה גמורה ע״י הבטול הגדול ע״י מסירת נפש נזדככו הכלים בתכלית עד שנמשך האור לתוכן להיות וקבל כו׳
But in the days of Haman, “and the Jews accepted,” a complete acceptance: through the great self-nullification (bittul), through self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh), the vessels were utterly refined, until the light was drawn into them, so that it would be “and [the Jews] accepted,” etc.
In Haman’s time came a complete acceptance: through the great self-nullification of self-sacrifice the vessels were wholly refined, and the light was drawn into them.
Therefore vekibel (“accepted”) is said in the singular. For at the Giving of the Torah it is said, “And Israel encamped there,” in the singular, as though they were all like one man.
This is why vekibel (“accepted”) is singular. At Sinai too the verse says “Israel encamped” in the singular, as if all of them were one man.
The Giving of the Torah began the refining of the vessels; the self-sacrifice of the Jews under Haman’s decree completed it. The singular verb, as at Sinai, shows the people united as one.
Marei mekomos
- 1מעט מעט אגרשנו · Exodus 23:30
- 2וקבל היהודים · Esther 9:23
- 3ולכן נאמר . . ולכן נאמר וקבל לשון יחיד · בדף צח, א קטע מכאן נעתק באוה״ת במדבר ע׳ כא.
- 4ויחן שם ישראל · Exodus 19:2
22ועי״ז זכו למתן תורה כמאמר ברכנו אבינו כולנו כאחד באור פניך שהוא אור קבלת התורה כמו שמפרש כי באור פניך נתת לנו תורת חיים.
And through this they merited the Giving of the Torah, as in the words, “Bless us, our Father, all of us as one, with the light of Your countenance,” which is the light of receiving the Torah, as it explains, “for with the light of Your countenance You gave us a Torah of life.”
Their unity earned them the Torah, as in the prayer “Bless us, our Father, all of us as one, with the light of Your countenance,” which continues, “for with the light of Your countenance You gave us a Torah of life.” The light of the countenance is the light of receiving the Torah.
שגילוי זה הוא כשכולנו כאחד דוקא כי אין התלבשות וגילוי אור א״ס ב״ה שהוא אחד האמת אלא במקום האחדות וההתכללות
For this revelation is specifically when all of us are as one, for there is no enclothing and revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, who is the true One, except in a place of oneness and inter-inclusion;
That light comes only when “all of us are as one.” The Infinite Light, the true One, clothes itself and is revealed only where there is oneness and inter-inclusion.
ולכן בפורים שאז היה הגמר שקבלו מה שהחלו במ״ת לכך נאמר וקבל לשון יחיד כאלו הם1 איש אחד. אך איך יהיה בחי׳ זו.
and therefore on Purim, when the completion took place, that they accepted what they had begun at the Giving of the Torah, it is therefore said vekibel, in the singular, as though they were one man. But how can this level come about?
On Purim the acceptance begun at Sinai was completed, so the verse again uses the singular, as if they were one man. The maamar now asks how such oneness can come about.
The revelation of the One needs oneness among the people: so it was at Sinai, and so on Purim, when the acceptance was completed and the verse speaks of them in the singular.
The Kehot note cites a talk of the Rebbe (12 Adar 5739): the unity of the Giving of the Torah was present on Purim as well, for then too the verse says vekibel, in the singular.
Marei mekomos
- 1כאלו הם כולם כאיש אחד · שענין האחדות שהי׳ במ״ת הי׳ ג״כ בפורים, שהרי אז הי׳ ”וקבל (ל׳ יחיד) היהודים עליהם את אשר החלו לעשות” — ראה שיחת י״ב אדר תשל״ט.
One will above intellect ¶23–27
23והענין דהנה ענין התחלקות המדרגות זהו רק מהחכמה למטה1 כמ״ש נודע בשערים בעלה2 לכל חד לפום מה דמשער בלביה3 דהיינו כל אחד לפי השגתו.
The explanation is that the division of levels is only from Chochmah (wisdom) downward, as it is written, “Her husband is known in the gates (she’arim)”: “to each one according to what he measures (meshaer) in his heart,” that is, each one according to his comprehension.
Division into levels begins only below Chochmah. The Zohar reads “Her husband is known in the gates (she’arim)” as “to each one according to what he measures (meshaer) in his heart”: each knows G‑d according to his own comprehension.
והיינו במדות שנמשכים ונולדים מהשכל א״כ כשאין דעותיהם שוות גם המדות אינם שוות.
And this is in the emotive attributes (middos), which are drawn and born from the intellect: if so, when their minds are not alike, the attributes too are not alike.
The emotive attributes are born from the intellect, so when people’s minds differ, their feelings differ too.
Differences between people come from comprehension, which begins below Chochmah; since the emotions grow from the mind, differing minds make differing hearts.
The Rebbe Rashab’s maamar “HaNosein Sheleg” 5663, quoted in the note, explains that Chochmah becomes divided when it comes into comprehension, since comprehension is a sense of being something, while Chochmah in itself is self-nullification.
Marei mekomos
- 1ענין התחלקות המדרגות זהו רק מהחכמה למטה · בד״ה הנותן שלג תרס״ג (נדפס בסה״מ ליקוט — ב ע׳ עה) כתב ”זהו כשבחי׳ החכמה בא לידי השגה אז הוא בבחי׳ התחלקות, דהשגה הוא בחי׳ יש, אבל חכמה בעצם הוא ביטול”, ע״ש בארוכה.
- 2נודע בשערים בעלה · Proverbs 31:23
- 3לכל חד לפום מה דמשער בלביה · Zohar I, 103b
24וכמו תלמידי שמאי והלל שנתרבו הדעות וההתחלקות זה פוסל וזה מכשיר מחמת שינוי הדעות אף ששמאי והלל לא נחלקו רק בג׳ דברים
Like the disciples of Shammai and Hillel, among whom opinions and divisions multiplied, one disqualifying and the other declaring fit, because of the difference of opinions; although Shammai and Hillel disagreed in only three matters,
The disciples of Shammai and Hillel illustrate this: as they multiplied, so did differing views, one declaring unfit what the other declared fit. Shammai and Hillel themselves disagreed in only three matters.
אבל תלמידיהם נחלקו הרבה זה תופס השכל ששמע מרבו כך וזה כך. ועד״ז בהעבודה מצד השכל המושג נמשך התחלקות המדרגות.
their disciples disagreed a great deal: one grasped the reasoning he had heard from his teacher this way, and the other that way. And in the same way in divine service: from the side of the comprehended intellect, a division of levels comes about.
Each disciple grasped his teacher’s reasoning in his own way, and so disputes multiplied. So too in divine service: when it comes from comprehension, people divide into levels.
אבל בחי׳ רעותא דלבא שהוא הרצון שלמעלה מהשגת השכל לגמרי והיינו ענין המס״נ שהיה בימי הגזירה דהמן שנתדבקו בו ית׳ בבחינת רצון פשוט שלמעלה מהשכל והשגה
But the level of the heart’s desire (re’usa deliba), which is the will that is entirely above intellectual comprehension, namely the self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) in the days of Haman’s decree, when they cleaved to Him, may He be blessed, with a simple will that is above intellect and comprehension:
But the heart’s desire (re’usa deliba) is a will entirely above comprehension. That was the self-sacrifice of the Jews in the days of Haman’s decree, when they cleaved to G‑d with a simple will above intellect.
הנה בבחי׳ זו כולם משתווים בו יחד כאלו אינו אלא רצון אחד מכולם יחד כאיש אחד
at this level all are equal together in it, as though there were only one will of them all together, as one man
At that level all are equal, as though there were a single will in all of them, like one person.
(ועמ״ש ע״פ מים רבים כו׳ פרשה תולדות)1 כי בלמעלה מהחכמה אין שייך שום התחלקות כלל. ולכן נאמר וקבל לשון יחיד.
(and see what is written on the verse “Many waters,” etc., in Parshas Toldos), for above Chochmah (wisdom) no division whatsoever applies. Therefore vekibel is said in the singular.
Above Chochmah there can be no division at all, and that is why vekibel is singular. The parenthesis points to the Torah Ohr maamar on “Many waters” in Parshas Toldos.
והיינו שע״י בחי׳ בטול זה ורעותא דלבא הוא שזכו לגלוי אור א״ס ב״ה דכתיב בו כי לא יראני האדם2 שאינו נתפס בשום שכל אלא רק ברעותא דלבא.3
That is, it is through this level of self-nullification (bittul) and the heart’s desire that they merited the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, of which it is written, “For man shall not see Me,” for it is not grasped by any intellect, but only by the heart’s desire.
Through this self-nullification and heart’s desire they merited the revelation of the Infinite Light. Of that light it is written, “For man shall not see Me”: no intellect can grasp it, only the heart’s desire.
Comprehension divides people, as disputes grew among the disciples of Shammai and Hillel; the simple will of self-sacrifice, above intellect, makes them one, and this brought the revelation of the Infinite Light.
Marei mekomos
- 1ע״פ מים רבים כו׳ פרשה תולדות · לעיל יב, ד. באוה״ת וירא כרך ד תשלח, ב מציין לכאן.
- 2כי לא יראני האדם · Exodus 33:20
- 3
25וזהו וקבל היהודים דוקא שבחי׳ הודאה היא לבחי׳ שלמעלה מהשכל שאינו נתפס בשכל רק ע״י הודאה כו׳.
And this is [why it says] specifically “and the Jews (Yehudim) accepted”: for acknowledgment (hoda’ah) relates to the level that is above intellect, which is not grasped by intellect, only through acknowledgment, etc.
The Jews (Yehudim) are named for hoda’ah, acknowledgment, and that is why the verse says “the Jews accepted.” Acknowledgment relates to what is above intellect: what cannot be grasped can only be acknowledged.
וכמאמר לך טוב להודות ולשמך נאה לזמר כי הזמר היא התפעלות המדות מחמת ההשגה כענין בעלי השיר יוצאין בשיר.1
And as in the words, “To You it is good to give thanks (lehodos), and to Your Name it is fitting to sing”: for song is the arousal of the emotive attributes (middos) because of comprehension, as in “the masters of song go out with song.”
As the closing blessing of Hallel says, “To You it is good to give thanks, and to Your Name it is fitting to sing.” Song is emotion stirred by comprehension; the Mishnah’s words about animals that wear a shir (a collar), “they go out with a shir,” are read here as song, the feelings going out in singing.
וזה שייך לשמך בחי׳ שם והארה אבל לך טוב להודות כי לית מחשבה תפיסא ביה כלל כנ״ל.
And this belongs to “Your Name,” the level of a name and a glimmer; but “to You it is good to give thanks,” for no thought can grasp Him at all, as mentioned above.
Song suits “Your Name,” a name and a glimmer that can be grasped. But to G‑d Himself, “to You,” only thanks and acknowledgment are fitting, for no thought can grasp Him at all.
Acknowledgment (hoda’ah), from which the Yehudim take their name, reaches what is above intellect; song, born of comprehension, reaches only G‑d’s Name.
Marei mekomos
- 1בעלי השיר יוצאין בשיר · Mishnah Shabbat 5:1
26והנה אח״ככתיב קימו וקבלו היהודים1 ושם יש קרי וכתיב הכתיב וקבל והקרי וקבלו. כי הנה בשעת הגזרה שהיה המס״נ בגלוי היה וקבל לשון יחיד.
Now, afterwards it is written, “The Jews established and accepted,” and there, there is a keri and a kesiv: the kesiv (written form) is vekibel and the keri (read form) is vekiblu. For at the time of the decree, when the self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) was revealed, it was vekibel, in the singular.
Later the Megillah says “The Jews established and accepted,” and there the written and read forms differ: written vekibel (singular), read vekiblu (plural). At the time of the decree, when self-sacrifice was out in the open, it was singular.
אבל אח״כ כשעבר הזמן ולא היה המס״נ בגלוי נאמר הקרי וקבלו שמקבל כל אחד לפי השגתו ולפי הכלים שמכין כך הוא ממשיך ולפי ערך זכוך הכלים כו׳.
But afterwards, when the time had passed and the self-sacrifice was not revealed, the keri vekiblu is said: each one receives according to his comprehension, and according to the vessels he prepares, so he draws down, and in proportion to the refinement of the vessels, etc.
Afterwards, when self-sacrifice was no longer revealed, the plural applies: each person receives according to his own comprehension, and draws down light according to the vessels he prepares and how refined they are.
The keri and kesiv of the verse show two stages: the singular of revealed self-sacrifice at the time of the decree, and the plural of ordinary times, when each receives according to his own vessels.
Marei mekomos
- 1קימו וקבלו היהודים · Esther 9:27
27ומ״מ הכתיב וקבל. שהרי מ״מ בכל א׳ יש מס״נ ורעותא דלבא בכח עכ״פ רק שהוא בהעלם אשר מצד בחי׳ זו אין שום התחלקות מדרגות כלל.
Nevertheless, the kesiv is vekibel. For nevertheless, in each one there is self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) and the heart’s desire, in potential at any rate, only that it is hidden; and from the side of this level there is no division of levels at all.
Yet the written form stays singular, because every Jew still has self-sacrifice and the heart’s desire, at least in potential, only hidden. At that level there is no division of levels at all.
וזהו ענין קרי וכתיב1 כי הקרי שקורין זהו הגלוי בקול ודבור. והכתיב הוא אע״פ שאינו בגלוי מ״מ ישנו בו בכח עכ״פ ובבחי׳ זו נאמר קימו וקבל היהודים עליהם ועל זרעם2 כו׳:
And this is the meaning of keri and kesiv: the keri, which is read, is the revealed, in voice and speech; and the kesiv is [what], although it is not revealed, is nevertheless present in him in potential at any rate. And of this level it is said, “The Jews established and accepted (vekibel) upon themselves and upon their descendants,” etc.
The keri, the read form, is what is revealed in voice and speech; the kesiv, the written form, is what is present in potential though not revealed. Of that hidden level the verse says “The Jews established and accepted (vekibel) upon themselves and upon their descendants,” in the singular.
The kesiv, the hidden self-sacrifice present in every Jew, keeps the singular, while the keri reflects the revealed and divided receiving; so the oneness of Purim remains for later generations too.
Iggeres HaKodesh 19, cited in the note, explains keri and kesiv in the same way: the keri follows the understanding revealed to us, while the kesiv is above intellect and understanding; as written, a word has no garment of understanding, and read aloud it has one.
Marei mekomos
- 1וזהו ענין קרי וכתיב · ראה אגה״ק סי׳ יט.
- 2קימו וקבל היהודים עליהם ועל זרעם · Esther 9:27
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
The maamar draws two lessons. Love of G‑d and divine light can settle in a person only through the vessels of Torah and mitzvos done in actual deed, which is why “we will do” comes before “we will hear.” And the self-sacrifice and heart’s desire that made the Jews one under Haman’s decree remain in every Jew, at least in potential, a will above intellect in which all are equal.
Questions for discussion
- If Avraham kept the whole Torah before it was given, why is it a lack in him that he did not receive it at Sinai?
- What does the analogy of elemental fire and the wick show about light and vessels, and what is the second reason the vessels come first?
- Why can the intellect contemplate something it hates while love cannot reach it, and how does this explain Binah’s descent into the realm of the kelipos?
- How do the keri and kesiv of “The Jews established and accepted” describe two stages in the people’s acceptance of the Torah?
Key terms in this maamar
- 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.
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×1
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×3
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being. ×2
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation. ×1
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×2
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×15
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×2
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment.
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence. ×1
- Lights and vesselsאורות וכלים
- Divine revelation and the forms that contain and express it.
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration. ×6
- The intellect (mochin)מוחין
- Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×1
- Nukva (the feminine / Malchus)נוקבא
- Malchus as the receiving configuration.
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×1
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence.
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions.
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one.
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×2
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×15
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives.
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- ×2
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×3
- Kelipah (the husk)קליפה
- The forces of concealment that oppose holiness.
- The light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin)ממלא כל עלמין
- Divine light that enters each world and gives it life according to its measure.
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×1
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting.
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d.
- Self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh)מסירות נפש
- Giving oneself over entirely to G‑d.
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×3
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×5