Torah Ohr · Parshas Megillas Esther · Maamar 9
ובבואה לפני המלך אמר עם הספר וגו׳
“And when she came before the king, he said with the book”
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The big idea
All the ascents and delights of the souls, even the rest of the seventh millennium, are only G‑d’s “Name,” His Malchus; the will of Israel, rising through teshuvah and the mitzvos, comes “before the King” and above that level, to G‑d Himself. That ascent from below calls forth a sifting in the supernal thought, the “book,” which casts evil out, as Haman’s scheme returned upon his own head.
The maamar in brief
The maamar explains Esther 9:25: when Esther came before the king, he ordered with a written decree (sefer) that Haman’s scheme return upon his own head. The six thousand years of this world are descents for the sake of ascents: for souls, through the levels of Gan Eden, each step through the river of fire that erases the former level; for bodies, in the days of Mashiach and the Resurrection; and finally the seventh millennium, a rest beyond all ascents. Yet “do not read shamos (desolations) but shemos (names)”: all of this is only G‑d’s Name, His Malchus. The souls’ delight, which comes through their comprehension, is the reward of “tomorrow”; the mitzvos of “today” are His will, which is above comprehension, so one hour of teshuvah and good deeds is better than all the World to Come. When Knesses Yisrael, the inner point of the heart, rises before the King, a sifting follows in the supernal “book” of thought: evil, raised where it cannot stand, is thrown out, as Haman was raised before his fall. So too in each person: the G‑dly soul rises first through Torah and mitzvos, and then the animal soul can be refined.
Outline
- Six thousand years of rise and fallDescent is for the sake of ascent: the souls rise through the levels of Gan Eden, passing through the river of fire and the “pillar” between worlds; the bodies rise in the days of Mashiach and the Resurrection; the seventh millennium is the final rest.¶1–4
- Not desolations but names“Do not read shamos but shemos”: even that final rest, and all the souls’ delight in the radiance of the Shechinah, belong only to G‑d’s Name, His Malchus, while no thought grasps G‑d Himself.¶5
- Delight and willDelight is the reward of “tomorrow”; the mitzvos of “today” are the Supernal Will, the 620 pillars of light. The will in the depth of the heart rises until it wants G‑d alone, which is why one hour of teshuvah and good deeds surpasses the whole World to Come.¶6–8
- Before the KingEsther’s coming before the king is the ascent of Knesses Yisrael above the level of “King” to G‑d Himself; then “he said with the book.”¶9
- Sifting in thoughtAll service is birur, done through the bittul of Chochmah, koach mah, which lifts things out of the separateness that kingship needs. Sifting happens in thought, the “book”; Israel’s arousal from below calls forth a sifting in the supernal thought that pushes evil out.¶10–12
- Raised up to be cast outEvil is expelled by being raised to a level where it cannot stand, while below it lies like dregs in wine; so Haman was raised before his fall. But this can happen only after Knesses Yisrael has itself risen.¶13–16
- Within each personThe animal soul can be refined only after the G‑dly soul is refined and lifted through Torah and mitzvos, the Supernal Will that binds the soul “in the bundle of life” and raises it to the level of gulgalta.¶17
Key concepts
- Shamos and shemos (desolations and names)שַמות / שֵמות
- The Sages’ reading of Psalms 46:9. The “desolation” of the seventh millennium, the rest that crowns all ascents, is still only G‑d’s “names”: His Malchus, how He is known to the worlds, not His essence.
- Will and delightרצון ותענוג
- Will is the outer side of delight, for one wants what gives pleasure. The souls’ delight in the World to Come comes through their comprehension; the mitzvos are the Supernal Will itself, which is above comprehension, like the skull above the brain.
- Knesses Yisrael, the inner point of the heartכנסת ישראל / נקודת פנימיות הלב
- The will in the depth of the heart, which can rise until it desires nothing but G‑d. Esther coming before the king is its ascent above the level of “King.”
- Sifting (birur)בירור
- Separating good from evil, the purpose of a person’s service in this world. It is done through the bittul of Chochmah, and it happens in thought, as a person accepts the good and pushes away the bad.
- Sefer, the supernal thoughtספר / מחשבה עליונה
- Thought is called “sefer,” a book, because it is made of combinations of letters. When Israel rises, evil is lifted into the supernal thought, where it cannot stand, and is “blotted out of the book of life.”
- The river of fireנהר די נור
- The river in which a soul immerses between one level of Gan Eden and the next; it makes the soul forget its former level so that it can be absorbed in the higher one.
- Gulgalta (the skull)גולגלתא
- The skull that covers the brain: an image for the Supernal Will, which is above intellect and comprehension and encompasses them.
Six thousand years of rise and fall ¶1–4
1ובבואה לפני המלך12 אמר עם הספר וגו׳. הנה ארז״ל שית אלפי שנין3 הוי עלמא וחד חרוב4 שהוא בבחי׳ מנוחה שאין בו עליות וירידות
“And when she came before the king, he said with the book (sefer),” etc. Now, our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “The world exists for six thousand years, and for one [thousand] it is desolate,” which is in the aspect of rest (menuchah), in which there are no ascents and descents;
The maamar opens with Esther 9:25, the Megillah’s summary of how Haman’s plot was overturned: when Esther came before the king, he ordered in writing that Haman’s evil scheme return upon his own head. It then brings the Sages’ teaching that the world as we know it lasts six thousand years and lies “desolate” for the seventh thousand, which the Alter Rebbe calls a state of rest, with no more ascents and descents.
כי כל ימות עוה״ז שית אלפי שנין הן בבחינת ירידות ועליות הן בנשמות הן בגופות שכמה פעמים היו ישראל בשלוה ואח״כ ירדו כו׳.
for all the days of this world, six thousand years, are in the aspect of descents and ascents, both in souls and in bodies; for many times Israel were at peace, and afterwards they descended, etc.
The six thousand years of this world are a time of rises and falls, for souls and for bodies alike. Jewish history shows it: many times Israel lived in tranquility and afterwards fell from it.
The paragraph sets the frame of the maamar: the six thousand years of this world alternate between descents and ascents, while the seventh millennium, “one [thousand] desolate,” is rest beyond rising and falling.
In Sanhedrin 97a a baraisa supports Rav Ketina’s teaching: just as the Sabbatical year releases one year in seven, so the world “releases” one thousand years in seven thousand, and it calls that millennium “a day that is entirely Shabbos.” This is the background for the maamar’s calling the seventh millennium “rest,” and for its speaking below of a shemitah, a cosmic cycle.
Marei mekomos
- 1ובבואה לפני המלך · הנחת אדה״א בספה״מ תקס״ה ע׳ שצח, וביאור נדפס שם ע׳ תה. ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. אוה״ת מג״א ע׳ קפח. מאמר אדה״א נ״ך ע׳ תסה מיוסד על מאמר זה. בלקו״ת בהעלותך לג, ד מציין לד״ה זה בענין שבחי׳ הרצון יש בו התלבשות התענוג.
- 2ובבואה לפני המלך · Esther 9:25
- 3שית אלפי שנין הוי עלמא וחד חרוב · Rosh Hashanah 31a:8–9
- 4וחד חרוב · בבוך תניא-ברוק ובבוך 2065 נוסף אח״כ: פי׳ חד חרוב. בד״ה אלו דברים תרנ״א ע׳ קצד הקשה: ”הלא אלף השביעי הוא יום שכולו שבת ואיך אומרים עליו וחד חרוב, והענין שהכוונה שיהי׳ חרוב מהלבושים דק״נ”. ע״ש. בלקו״ת במדבר ד, ג מציין לכאן.
2והנה ירידה צורך עליי׳ היא ועלייה זו בכללה נחלקת לשתים שהן ארבע. דהיינו שתים לנפשות שהן ג״ע התחתון והעליון. ושתים לגופות שהם ימות המשיח ותחיית המתים.
Now, descent is for the sake of ascent. And this ascent, as a whole, divides into two which are four: that is, two for the souls, which are the lower and the upper Gan Eden, and two for the bodies, which are the days of Mashiach and the Resurrection of the Dead.
A principle: every descent exists for the sake of the ascent that follows it. The ascents fall into two pairs: for the souls, the lower Gan Eden and the upper Gan Eden; and for the bodies, the days of Mashiach and the Resurrection of the Dead.
And of these ascents it is said, “They go from strength to strength,” for there are many kinds of different levels in the ascents of the souls.
Psalms 84:8, “They go from strength to strength,” describes these ascents, because the souls rise through many different levels, not just one.
The paragraph classifies the ascents that the descents of this world lead to: two for the soul and two for the body, with many levels within them.
In the Likkutei Torah passage the Kehot note points to (Bamidbar 18a), the Alter Rebbe brings the Sages’ saying that Torah scholars have no rest, neither in this world nor in the World to Come, “as it is said, ‘They go from strength to strength.’”
Marei mekomos
- 1ילכו מחיל אל חיל · Psalms 84:8
- 2שו״ה ואח״כ — והנה ירידה צורך עלי׳ היא · ראה ד״ה אל תצר במאמרי אדה״א דברים ע׳ סד ואילך.
- 3הגם שלא נזכר בספרים · וכ״ה בלקו״ת במדבר יח, א: אלא שהספרים לא דברו מהם.
And [there are] many kinds of chambers (heichalos): “the house of the women” and “the second house of the women” — the lower Gan Eden and the upper Gan Eden. And there is a river of fire (nehar di-nur) that separates between ascents;
In Esther 2, the maidens brought to the king stayed in “the house of the women,” and after going to the king they moved to “the second house of the women.” The Alter Rebbe reads these as the lower and upper Gan Eden, chambers through which the souls ascend, and says that between one ascent and the next flows the “river of fire” of Daniel 7:10.
כי בעליות הנשמה מבחינה זו לבחינה ומדרגה אחרת למעלה הימנה טובלת בנהר די נור שהוא בחי׳ המבטל ומשכח מעלתו הראשונה להחשיבה כלא וכאין בכדי שתהא בבחי׳ בטול והתכללות בעלייה אחרת שלמעלה הימנה.3
for in the ascents of the soul from this level to another level and rung above it, it immerses in the river of fire, which is the aspect that nullifies [it] and makes [it] forget its former standing, so as to regard it as nothing and as naught, in order that it be in a state of self-nullification (bittul) and inclusion in another ascent, which is above it.
Before rising to a higher level, the soul immerses in the river of fire, which makes it forget its former level and count it as nothing. Only by letting go of what it attained can it be nullified and absorbed into the level above.
The paragraph explains how a soul passes from one level of Gan Eden to the next: an immersion in the river of fire erases its previous attainment, so that it can be included in the higher one.
Marei mekomos
- 1בית הנשים שני · Esther 2:14
- 2ויש נהר די נור המפסיק · נסמן לעיל לא, א.
- 3
4וכמ״ש ובזה הנערה באה אל המלך1 ובזה הוא העמוד2 שבין עולם לעולם שבו ועל ידו נכללות הנשמות להיות בבחי׳ בטול3 כי זה השער לה׳4 כו׳.
As it is written, “And with this the maiden came to the king.” And “with this” is the pillar between one world and another, in which and through which the souls are included, so as to be in a state of self-nullification (bittul); for “this is the gate to G‑d,” etc.
Esther 2:13 says that “with this” the maiden came to the king. The Alter Rebbe reads “this” as the pillar between one world and the next, through which the souls rise and are absorbed in a state of bittul, and links it to Psalms 118:20, “This is the gate to G‑d.”
וכן עד״ז בעליות הגופות לימות המשיח ותחה״מ. אבל וחד חרוב הוא אלף השביעי שבו תכלית השלימות של כל העליות עד שאין עוד עלייה למעלה הימנו
And so too, in the same way, with the ascents of the bodies, to the days of Mashiach and the Resurrection of the Dead. But “and one [thousand] desolate” is the seventh millennium, in which is the ultimate perfection of all the ascents, to the point that there is no further ascent above it;
The bodies ascend in the same way, in the days of Mashiach and at the Resurrection. The seventh millennium, by contrast, is the culmination of all ascents, with no ascent beyond it.
שהוא סוף וקץ לכל המדרגותוהעליות שאפשר להיות לפי מזג ותכונת השמיטה ההיא שית אלפי שנין וחד חרוב ובכל שמיטה ושמיטה לפי מה שהיא כך הוא עליית אלף הז׳ שבה
for it is the end and limit of all the levels and ascents that can be, according to the temperament and nature of that shemitah [cycle]: “six thousand years, and one [thousand] desolate.” And in each and every shemitah, according to what it is, so is the ascent of its seventh millennium,
Each cosmic cycle of six thousand years and one desolate is called a shemitah, and each has its own nature and measure. Its seventh millennium is the furthest ascent that this nature allows, so every shemitah reaches its own culmination.
שהיא תכלית השלימות של כל העליות ונק׳ בחי׳ מנוחה שהיא בחי׳ עלייה שאין למעלה הימנה עוד עלייה וזהו וחד חרוב שהוא בבחינת מנוחה:
which is the ultimate perfection of all the ascents, and it is called the level of rest (menuchah), which is the level of an ascent above which there is no further ascent. And this is “and one [thousand] desolate,” which is in the aspect of rest.
That final ascent, beyond which there is none, is called “rest.” This is the meaning of “one [thousand] desolate”: it is a state of rest.
The paragraph completes the picture: the souls rise through the “pillar” by bittul, the bodies rise in the days of Mashiach and at the Resurrection, and the seventh millennium is the final, restful culmination of all ascents within its cycle.
Marei mekomos
- 1ובזה הנערה באה אל המלך · Esther 2:13
- 2ובזה הוא העמוד · ראה להלן ק, ב.
- 3נכללות הנשמות להיות בבחי׳ ביטול · ראה תו״ח פ׳ חיי שרה ד״ה והאיש משתאה ס״י.
- 4זה השער לה׳ · Psalms 118:20
Not desolations but names ¶5
Now, it is written, “Go, behold the works of G‑d, Who has set shamos (desolations) on the earth,” and our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Do not read shamos, but shemos (names).”
Psalms 46:9 speaks of the works of G‑d, “Who has set shamos (desolations) on the earth.” The Sages read it as shemos, “names,” to teach that a name has an effect.
והענין כי הנה בחי׳ שַמות הוא ענין חד חרוב דהיינו בחינת מנוחה סוף ותכלית כל העליות ואעפ״כ כל זה הוא
The explanation is that the level of shamos (desolations) is the matter of “one [thousand] desolate,” that is, the level of rest, the end and culmination of all the ascents. And even so, all this is
The Alter Rebbe identifies the “desolations” with “one [thousand] desolate,” the rest that is the end and peak of all ascents. Yet even this peak is called only “names.”
רק בחי׳ שֵמות3 שאין זה אלא מבחי׳ שמו מדת מלכותו ית׳ כמאמר יחיד חי העולמים מלך כו׳.
only the level of shemos (names), for this is only from the level of His Name, the attribute of His Malchus (sovereignty), may He be blessed, as in the saying: “Unique, Life of the worlds, King,” etc.
A name is not the essence of the one who bears it; it is how he is called and known. So too, all of this comes only from G‑d’s Name, His attribute of Malchus, His sovereignty over the worlds, as the words “Unique, Life of the worlds, King” express.
כלומר שהוא יחיד ומיוחד לבדו כמו קודם שנברא העולם שאינו בגדר עלמין כלל ומה שהוא חי העולמים
That is to say, He is unique and singular, alone, as [He was] before the world was created, for He is not within the bounds of worlds at all; and as for His being “Life of the worlds,”
G‑d in Himself is unique and alone, just as before creation; worlds are not a category that applies to Him at all. That He is also “Life of the worlds” therefore needs to be explained.
הנה החיות המתפשט בעולמות אינו אלא בבחי׳ מלך ומלכותך מלכות כל עולמים4 כתיב שכל העליות וכל העולמות עד רום המעלות בכל שמיטה ושמיטה וכמה שמיטין ויובלות כו׳
the life-force that spreads through the worlds is only on the level of “King.” And it is written, “Your kingship is a kingship of all worlds”: for all the ascents and all the worlds, up to the very highest of levels, in each and every shemitah, and many shemitos and jubilees, etc.,
The life-force that spreads into the worlds comes only from the level of “King,” as Psalms 145:13 says, “Your kingship is a kingship of all worlds.” All worlds and ascents, in every cosmic cycle and through many cycles and jubilees, fall within that one attribute.
הן הם רק בחי׳ מלכותו ית׳ שמתענגים ונהנין מזיו השכינה5 ובעונג זה יש כמה מדרגות ועליות עד רום המעלות וכל זה הוא
are only the level of His Malchus, may He be blessed, in that they delight in and enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah (Divine Presence); and in this delight there are many levels and ascents, up to the very highest of levels; and all this is
All those ascents are the souls’ delight in the radiance of the Shechinah, the reward of the righteous in the World to Come. That delight has many levels, rising very high, yet it all belongs only to His Malchus.
רק התפשטות זיו כבוד מלכותו ית׳ אבל בו ית׳ בכבודו ובעצמו לית מחשבה תפיסא ביה כלל:
only the spreading forth of the radiance of the glory of His Malchus, may He be blessed. But as for Him, may He be blessed, in His own glory and essence, no thought can grasp Him at all.
All of it is only the radiance of His sovereignty spreading forth. G‑d Himself, in His own essence, no thought can grasp at all.
Through the reading “not shamos but shemos,” the paragraph shows that even the highest rest of the seventh millennium, and all the delights of the souls, belong only to G‑d’s “Name,” His Malchus, and not to His essence.
Marei mekomos
- 1לכו חזו מפעלות אלקים · Psalms 46:9
- 2א״ת שמות אלא שמות · Berakhot 7b:10–11
- 3רק בחי׳ שמות · ע׳ באוה״ת פ׳ דברים ע׳ ל.
- 4ומלכותך מלכות כל עולמים · Psalms 145:13
- 5ונהנין מזיו השכינה · Berakhot 17a:12
Delight and will ¶6–8
6והנה בחי׳ ענג זה בכללו הוא בחי׳ למחר לקבל שכרם ובהיום לעשותם12 הוא בחי׳ התפשטות הרצון שהרצון הוא חיצוניות עונג כנודע3 בחוש שכל דבר שיש בו תענוג לזה נוטה הרצון.
Now, this aspect of delight, as a whole, is the aspect of “tomorrow, to receive their reward”; and in “today, to do them” is the aspect of the spreading forth of the will. For will is the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of delight, as is known from experience: whatever holds delight, toward that the will inclines.
The Sages read “today, to do them” (Deuteronomy 7:11) as “today to do them, and tomorrow to receive their reward.” The souls’ delight just described is the “tomorrow,” the reward; the “today,” the doing of the mitzvos, is a spreading forth of G‑d’s will. Will is the outer side of delight, as experience shows: a person always wants what gives him pleasure.
והיינו התפשטות רצונו וחכמתו ית׳ בתרי״ג מצות דאורייתא וז׳ דרבנן4 שהם תר״ך עמודי אור5 הנמשכים מעונג העליון.
That is, the spreading forth of His will and wisdom, may He be blessed, in the 613 mitzvos of the Torah and the seven of the Rabbis, which are the 620 pillars of light that are drawn from the supernal delight.
G‑d’s will and wisdom spread into the 613 mitzvos of the Torah and the seven rabbinic mitzvos. Together they number 620, the “pillars of light” that come down from the supernal delight; 620 is the numerical value of Keser, the “crown.”
וכל מצות צריכות כוונת הלב6 שהוא נקודת פנימיות הרצון שבלב לדבקה בו ית׳ על ידי מצותיו כמאמר אשר קדשנו במצותיו.
And all mitzvos require the intention of the heart, which is the point of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the will that is in the heart: to cleave to Him, may He be blessed, through His mitzvos, as in the words: “Who has sanctified us with His mitzvos.”
Mitzvos require the heart’s intention, the inner point of will in the heart, whose aim is to cleave to G‑d through His mitzvos. The words of the blessing over a mitzvah, “Who has sanctified us with His mitzvos,” express this bond.
The paragraph distinguishes reward from deed: the delights of the World to Come are the “tomorrow,” while the mitzvos of “today” are G‑d’s will itself, the outer side of His delight, drawn down as 620 pillars of light.
Iggeres HaKodesh 29, to which the Kehot note on paragraph 8 points, likewise calls the Supernal Will the outer dimension and “back” of the supernal delight, and says it is called the Supreme Crown (Keser Elyon), in which are 620 pillars of light.
Marei mekomos
- 1היום לעשותם · Deuteronomy 7:11
- 2למחר לקבל שכרם ובהיום לעשותם · Eruvin 22a:5–6
- 3שהרצון הוא חיצוניות עונג כנודע · ההפרש בין רצון לעונג נתבאר בארוכה במאמרי אדה״א נ״ך ע׳ תפ, ונעתק בסה״מ תרס״ו ע׳ סג ואילך עם הוספות.
- 4בתרי״ג מצות דאורייתא וז׳ דרבנן · פרדס שער ח׳ פ״ג. וראה לעיל י, ב. יא, ג. יט, ד. ובכ״מ.
- 5תר״ך עמודי אור · Pardes Rimmonim 8:5–6
- 6מצות צריכות כוונת הלב · Berakhot 13a:22–25
7והנה כמו שיש בעונג עילוי אחר עילוי עד רום המעלות כך ברצון נקודה פנימית הלב עומקא דלבא הנקרא בשם כנסת ישראל
Now, just as in delight there is elevation after elevation, up to the very highest of levels, so in the will — the inner point of the heart, the depth of the heart (umka d’liba), which is called by the name Knesses Yisrael (the Congregation of Israel),
Just as the souls’ delight rises level upon level, so does the will. The will meant here is the inner point of the heart, the “depth of the heart,” which is called Knesses Yisrael, the Congregation of Israel.
כמ״ש במ״א יש ג״כ עילוי אחר עילוי עד שיהיה גלוי הרצון הנמשך למטה בנפש בעומקא דלבא בבחי׳ מאד מאד עד רום המעלות להיות בבחי׳ מי לי בשמים ועמך לא חפצתי בארץ כלה שארי ולבבי.12
as is explained elsewhere — there is also elevation after elevation, until the revelation of the will that is drawn down below into the soul, in the depth of the heart, is in the state of me’od me’od (“very, very [much]”), up to the very highest of levels, so as to be in the state of “Whom have I in heaven? And with You I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart pine away.”
The will drawn down into the soul can grow until it is me’od me’od, “very, very much,” up to the very highest levels. It reaches the Psalmist’s cry: “Whom have I in heaven? And with You I desire nothing on earth; my flesh and my heart pine away” (Psalms 73:25–26).
The paragraph turns from the ascents of delight to the ascents of will: the inner point of the heart, Knesses Yisrael, can rise until it wants nothing but G‑d.
Marei mekomos
- 1מי לי בשמים . . כלה שארי ולבבי · Psalms 73:25
- 2מי לי בשמים ועמך לא חפצתי בארץ כלה שארי ולבבי · Psalms 73:25–26
“On earth” is the level of “names on the earth”: that this desire should not be [something] mixed in “with You,” but only for Him alone, may He be blessed: “my soul and my heart pine away.”
“On earth” in that verse is read as the “names on the earth” of Psalms 46:9, the realm of Malchus and its delights. “With You I desire nothing on earth” means that the soul’s desire has nothing else mixed in with it alongside G‑d; it is for Him alone, until “my soul and my heart pine away.”
And this is [the meaning of] “Better one hour of teshuvah (return) and good deeds in this world than all the life of the World to Come.” For all the life of the World to Come,
This explains the Mishnah in Avos: “Better one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world than all the life of the World to Come.”
שהם עליות עד אין קץ בבחי׳ עונג עליון להתענג בהוי״ה וליהנות מזיו השכינה שהיא בחי׳ מלך בלבד מבחינת שמות בארץ
which are ascents without end in the level of supernal delight, to delight in Havayah and to enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah (Divine Presence), which is the level of “King” alone, from the level of “names on the earth”;
All the life of the World to Come consists of endless ascents in supernal delight and the enjoyment of the radiance of the Shechinah. The Shechinah is only the level of “King,” the “names on the earth.”
אבל תשובה ומעשים טובים שעיקר התשובה הוא בנקודת פנימיות הלב מעומקא דלבא מפנימיות הלב היא מלובשת במעשים טובים
but teshuvah and good deeds — for the essence of teshuvah is in the point of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the heart, from the depth of the heart, from the inner dimension of the heart — it is clothed in good deeds,
Teshuvah, by contrast, comes from the inner point and depth of the heart, and it is clothed in good deeds.
שהם תרי״ג מצות דאורייתא וז׳ דרבנן שהן הן גלוי רצון העליון ב״ה הוא העולה למעלה מעלה מבחי׳ העונג כי העונג הבא לנשמות הוא ע״י התלבשות בהשגת הנשמה שתהא הנשמה מתענגת לפי השגתה
which are the 613 mitzvos of the Torah and the seven of the Rabbis, which are themselves the revelation of the Supernal Will, blessed be He; it is this that rises higher and higher above the level of delight. For the delight that comes to the souls is through being clothed in the soul’s comprehension, so that the soul delights according to its comprehension;
The good deeds are the 613 Torah mitzvos and the seven rabbinic ones, the revelation of the Supernal Will itself, so they reach above delight. Delight comes to a soul only clothed in its comprehension, so each soul delights according to what it grasps.
but the will is above comprehension, for it is in the level of the gulgalta (skull) that covers over the brain, as is explained elsewhere on the verse “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband.”
Will, though, is above comprehension, like the gulgalta, the skull that covers the brain. The Alter Rebbe refers to his explanation of “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband” (Proverbs 12:4), for which the Kehot note points to Iggeres HaKodesh 29.
The paragraph explains why one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world surpasses all of the World to Come: the World to Come is delight measured by comprehension, within Malchus, while teshuvah and mitzvos reach the Supernal Will, which is above comprehension.
In Iggeres HaKodesh 29 the Alter Rebbe explains that a created soul cannot receive the infinite delight without being nullified, like a candle in a torch, so it can enjoy the radiance only through a garment; this is why every soul must fulfil all 613 mitzvos in thought, speech and action, to complete its garments.
Marei mekomos
- 1שמות בארץ · Psalms 46:9
- 2יפה שעה אחת · אבות ד, יז.
- 3יפה שעה אחת בתשובה ומעשים טובים בעוה״ז מכל חיי עולם הבא · Pirkei Avot 4:17
- 4וכמ״ש במ״א על פסוק אשת חיל עטרת בעלה · ראה אגה״ק סי׳ כט.
- 5אשת חיל עטרת בעלה · Proverbs 12:4
Before the King ¶9
9וזהו ובבואה לפני המלך1 היא עליית כנסת ישראל לפני בחי׳ המלך ולמעלה הימנו בהתעלות הרצון לדבקה בו ית׳ בכבודו ובעצמו למעלה מעלה מבחי׳ שמו ומלכותו. ואזי אמר עם הספר ישוב מחשבתו וגו׳:
And this is [the meaning of] “And when she came before the king”: it is the ascent of Knesses Yisrael (the Congregation of Israel) before the level of “the King,” and above it, through the elevation of the will to cleave to Him, may He be blessed, in His own glory and essence, far above the level of His Name and His Malchus (sovereignty). And then “he said with the book (sefer): his scheme shall return,” etc.
Now the verse is read: “when she came before the king” is the ascent of Knesses Yisrael, the inner will of Israel, to the level of “King” and above it, as the will rises to cleave to G‑d Himself, beyond His Name and His Malchus. Then “he said with the book (sefer)”: the evil scheme returned upon its author’s head.
The paragraph applies all that came before to the verse: Esther’s coming before the king is the ascent of Israel’s will beyond the level of “King,” and it brings about the reversal of Haman’s plot.
Marei mekomos
- 1ובבואה לפני המלך · Esther 9:25
Sifting in thought ¶10–12
The explanation of the matter: all of a person’s service in this world is to sift out the good from the evil, and there is sifting (birur) after sifting, up to the very highest of levels.
The maamar now explains how this ascent overturns evil. A person’s whole service in this world is birur, sifting the good out of the evil, and there are ever higher siftings.
הבירור הוא ע״י חכמה כח מ״ה שהוא בחי׳ הביטול ליבטל וליכלל אליו ית׳ והוא לפני המלך
The sifting is through Chochmah (wisdom), koach mah (the potential of “what”), which is the level of self-nullification (bittul): to be nullified and included in Him, may He be blessed. And this is “before the king,”
Sifting is done through Chochmah, whose letters (חכמה) can be read koach mah, “the potential of ‘what’”: the bittul of one who regards himself as nothing and is absorbed in G‑d. That is “before the king.”
כי בחי׳ מלך הוא בבחי׳ העולם לשון העלם והסתר פנים להיות כמה צמצומים רבים ועצומים שיהיה בחי׳ עם לשון עוממות דברים זרים ונפרדים כו׳.
for the level of “king” is in the level of olam (world), a term related to he’elem (concealment) and the hiding of the Face, there being many contractions (tzimtzumim), numerous and mighty, so that there be the level of am (people), a term related to omemus (dimness): things foreign and separate, etc.
The level of “King” belongs to olam, “world,” a word related to he’elem, concealment: G‑d’s Face is hidden through many great contractions, so that there can be am, a “people,” related to omemus, dimness, meaning beings that feel foreign and separate.
כי אין מלך בלא עם2 ובחי׳ חכמה הוא כח מ״ה דהיינו להעלות מעלמא דפרודא לקשר ולייחד אליו ית׳ בבחי׳ בטול אליו לבדו.
For there is no king without a people. And the level of Chochmah is koach mah: that is, to raise [things] up from the world of separation (alma d’peruda), to bind and unite [them] with Him, may He be blessed, in a state of bittul to Him alone.
“There is no king without a people”: kingship needs subjects who feel separate. Chochmah, koach mah, lifts things out of the “world of separation” and binds them to G‑d in bittul to Him alone.
The paragraph defines birur and the place of Chochmah in it: kingship needs a concealed, separate “people,” while the bittul of Chochmah raises things out of separation to G‑d.
The wordplays carry the argument: olam (world) from he’elem (concealment), am (people) from omemus (dimness), and Chochmah as koach mah. Kingship by its nature needs concealment and separateness, while Chochmah by its nature dissolves them.
Marei mekomos
- 1בירור אחר בירור · נתבאר באוה״ת מג״א ע׳ קפח ואילך.
- 2אין מלך בלא עם · נסמן לעיל ה, א. נג, ד.
11והנה הבירור הוא במחשבה כמו שנראה בחוש בגשמיות שכאשר יפול לאדם איזה ענין הוא חושב ומהרהר בו ואת הטוב יקבל
Now, sifting is in thought, as is seen plainly in physical matters: when some matter comes to a person, he thinks and reflects on it, and the good he accepts,
Sifting takes place in thought, as anyone can observe: when a matter comes up, a person thinks it over and accepts the good in it.
ונקלט במוחו ומחשבתו להיות גומר כך בדעתו שיקום הדבר ויהיה כך בפועל ממש ואת הרע דוחה לחוץ ובחי׳ מחשבה הוא נקרא ספר בחי׳ צירופי אותיות.
and it is absorbed in his mind and his thought, to the point that he concludes thus in his mind that the thing shall come about and be so in actual deed; and the evil he pushes outside. And the level of thought is called sefer (book), the level of combinations of letters.
The good he absorbs into his mind until he resolves that it will actually happen, while the bad he pushes away. Thought is called sefer, “book,” because it is made of combinations of letters.
The paragraph shows that sifting happens in thought, and gives the key to the verse: thought is the “sefer,” the book.
12והנה באתערותא דלתתא בבואה לפני המלך בבחי׳ חכמה ובבחי׳ בירור כנ״ל. אזי אתעדל״ע להיות אמר עם הספר שיהיה בירור בחי׳ חכמה במחשבה העליונה בחי׳ ספר
Now, through an arousal from below — “when she came before the king” in the level of Chochmah (wisdom) and in the level of sifting, as mentioned above — then [comes] an arousal from above, so that there be “he said with the book”: that there be a sifting of the level of Chochmah in the supernal thought, the level of sefer (book),
When the arousal from below takes place, “when she came before the king,” Knesses Yisrael’s ascent through Chochmah and sifting, an arousal from above follows: “he said with the book.” The sifting then takes place in the supernal thought, the “book” of letter-combinations above.
צירופי אותיות שידחה הרע לחוץ ופסולת וסיגים שלוחי הדין והקטרוג המעכבים ומונעים את האדם בעבודת ה׳ מבית ומבחוץ בגשמיות ורוחניות וישוב מחשבתו הרעה על ראשו.1
combinations of letters, so that it push the evil outside, and the waste and dross — the agents of judgment and of accusation that hinder and hold back a person in the service of G‑d, from within and from without, in physical and in spiritual matters — and “his evil scheme shall return upon his own head.”
That supernal sifting pushes the evil outward: the waste and dross, the agents of judgment and accusation that hinder a person in serving G‑d, from within and from without, in physical and in spiritual matters. Then “his evil scheme returns upon his own head,” as happened to Haman.
The paragraph reads the second half of the verse: Israel’s ascent from below calls forth a sifting in G‑d’s supernal thought, which casts out all that hinders a person’s service.
Marei mekomos
- 1וישוב מחשבתו הרעה על ראשו · Esther 9:25
Raised up to be cast out ¶13–16
13ובירורם הוא ע״י העלאתם לבחי׳ מחשבה העליונה דייקא שעלייה זו גורמת להם הירידה והדחיה לחוץ כי
And their sifting is through raising them specifically to the level of supernal thought; for this ascent brings upon them the descent and the expulsion outside. For
These hindering forces are sifted precisely by being raised to the level of supernal thought: the very ascent brings about their descent and expulsion.
הנה בהיותם למטה אין תופסין מקום כלל שממית בידים תתפש1 וגו׳. והם כמשל השמרים שהם ביין.
when they are below, they take up no place at all: “The spider can be grasped with the hands,” etc. And they are like the analogy of the dregs that are in wine.
Down below they take up no place at all, like the spider of Proverbs 30:28 that can be caught by hand; the verse goes on to say, “yet it is in the king’s palaces.” They are like the dregs in wine.
The paragraph states the principle: evil is expelled by being raised to a level where it cannot remain, while below it lies hidden and seems insignificant, like dregs in wine.
Marei mekomos
- 1שממית בידים תתפש · Proverbs 30:28
As it is written, “He pours out from this; but its dregs they shall drain,” etc.: for it is they who are the level of dregs: when they are below, it is well for them so.
Psalms 75:9 speaks of a cup in G‑d’s hand from which He pours, whose dregs all the wicked of the earth will drain. The forces of evil are those dregs, and lying at the bottom suits them.
וזו היא הסיבה שכל הרשעים מגביהים את עצמם קודם מפלתם וכמו שהיה בהמן שגדלו ונשאו על כל השרים וגו׳.
And this is the reason that all the wicked raise themselves up before their downfall, as it was with Haman, “whom [the king] promoted and advanced above all the officials,” etc.
This is why the wicked lift themselves up before their fall, as the Megillah tells of Haman, whom the king promoted and raised above all the officials.
The paragraph illustrates the principle with the dregs of the cup and with Haman: the wicked rise before their fall, because their very rise is what undoes them.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויגר מזה · Psalms 75:9
As it is written, “Pride goes before a fall.” And this is what is written: “Though you soar as high as the eagle,” etc., “from there I will bring you down, says G‑d” — “from there,” specifically:
Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before a fall,” and Obadiah 1:4, “Though you soar as high as the eagle… from there I will bring you down, says G‑d,” make the same point. The Alter Rebbe stresses “from there”: the height itself is the cause of the fall.
שהגבהתם ועלייתם למעלה היא הגורמת השפלתם ומפלתם2 לפי שלא יוכלו לעמוד במקום גבוה ומדרגה העליונה בחי׳ ספר לפיכך ימחו מספר חיים3 כתיב.
for their being raised high and their ascent above is what causes their abasement and their downfall, since they cannot stand in a high place and in the supernal level, the level of sefer (book). Therefore it is written, “Let them be blotted out of the book of life.”
Their rise causes their downfall because they cannot exist in a high place, the level of sefer, the supernal “book.” Therefore Psalms 69:29 says, “Let them be blotted out of the book of life”: it is from the book that they are erased.
משא״כ כשהם למטה אין תופסין מקום כלל כמשל צואה כשהיא בבית הכסא ובאשפה שם מקומה הראוי לה משא״כ כשמכניסין אותה לבית דוחין אותה לחוץ.
Whereas when they are below, they take up no place at all — like the analogy of excrement: when it is in the privy and on the dunghill, that is its proper place; whereas when it is brought into a house, it is pushed outside.
Below, however, they take up no space, like excrement, which in the privy or on the dunghill is in its proper place. Only when it is brought into a house is it thrown out.
The paragraph proves from verses that raising evil high is what brings it down, and gives a stark analogy: refuse is tolerated in its place but is thrown out of a home.
Marei mekomos
- 1אם תגביה כנשר · Obadiah 1:4
- 2לפני שבר גאון . . השפלתם ומפלתם כו׳ · Proverbs 16:18
- 3ימחו מספר חיים · Psalms 69:29
16והנה התעלותם לבחי׳ ספר ומחשבה עליונה הוא אחרי התעלות כנס״י שהוא בחי׳ נקודת פנימיות הלב לבחי׳ ומדרגת לפני המלך
Now, their being raised to the level of sefer (book) and supernal thought comes after the elevation of Knesses Yisrael (the Congregation of Israel), which is the level of the point of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the heart, to the level and rung of “before the king”;
The forces of evil can be raised to the supernal “book” only after Knesses Yisrael, the inner point of the heart, has itself risen to the level of “before the king.”
משא״כ כשהיא למטה וצריכה היא בעצמה להתברר עדיין אי אפשר להיות בירור אחר במדרגת השמרים.
whereas when it is below and itself needs to be sifted, there cannot yet be another sifting, on the level of the dregs.
While that inner point is still below and itself needs sifting, no further sifting of the dregs can take place.
The paragraph sets the order: first Israel’s own ascent, then the expulsion of what opposes it.
Within each person ¶17
17וככה הוא ממש בנפש הבהמית1 שבכל אדם בפרטות אי אפשר להתברר דהיינו להפריד הרע שבה מהטוב ולהפך הטוב שבה מחשוכא לאורה כו׳
And so it is exactly with the animal soul in each person individually: it cannot be sifted — that is, to separate the evil in it from the good, and to transform the good in it from darkness to light, etc.,
The same holds within each individual: the animal soul cannot be sifted, its evil separated from its good and its good turned from darkness to light, until the condition stated next is met.
לסטרא דקדושה אם לא שתתברר תחלה נפש האלהית ותתעלה למעלה מעלה ע״י בירור לבושין דקדושה שהם מחשבה דבור ומעשה המתבררים ע״י עסק התורה ומצותיה שהם התפשטות והשתלשלות רצון העליון ב״ה.
to the side of holiness — unless the G‑dly soul is first sifted and elevated higher and higher, through the sifting of the garments of holiness, which are thought, speech and action, which are sifted through occupation with the Torah and its mitzvos, which are the spreading forth and step-by-step descent (hishtalshelus) of the Supernal Will, blessed be He.
The animal soul can be refined only after the G‑dly soul is itself sifted first and lifted higher, by refining its holy garments of thought, speech and action. Those garments are refined through Torah study and mitzvos, which are the Supernal Will drawn down.
וזהו והיתה נפש אדני צרורה2 בצרור החיים את ה׳ וגו׳ הוא רצון העליון המלביש הנפש ומעלה אותה למעלה מעלה לבחינת גלגלתא כנ״ל. וכמ״ש במ״א ע״פ שאו את ראש3 כל עדת בני ישראל וגו׳ לגלגלתם4 וגו׳:
And this is [the meaning of] “The soul of my lord shall be bound up in the bundle of life with G‑d,” etc.: this is the Supernal Will, which clothes the soul and raises it higher and higher, to the level of gulgalta, as mentioned above. And as is explained elsewhere on the verse “Lift up the head of all the congregation of the Children of Israel,” etc., “by their skulls (legulgelosam),” etc.
Avigail’s blessing to David, “the soul of my lord shall be bound up in the bundle of life with G‑d” (I Samuel 25:29), alludes to this: the Supernal Will clothes the soul and lifts it to the level of gulgalta, the “skull” above intellect. The Alter Rebbe refers to his explanation of “Lift up the head… by their skulls” (Numbers 1:2), which the Kehot note suggests is Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 1a.
The paragraph applies the principle to each person: the animal soul is refined only after the G‑dly soul rises through Torah and mitzvos, the Supernal Will that lifts it to the level of gulgalta.
Marei mekomos
- 1וככה הוא ממש בנפש הבהמית . . א״א להתברר .ֿ. אם לא שתתברר תחלה נה״א · מובא באוה״ת פ׳ בשלח ע׳ תנג ע״ש.
- 2והיתה נפש אדוני צרורה · I Samuel 25:29
- 3וכמ״ש במ״א ע״פ שאו את ראש · אולי הכוונה ללקו״ת פ׳ במדבר א, א ואילך.
- 4שאו את ראש כל עדת בני ישראל וגו׳ לגלגלתם · Numbers 1:2
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Not to aim at spiritual delight or reward, even that of Gan Eden, but to want G‑d Himself from the depth of the heart, as in “with You I desire nothing on earth,” and to express that will in teshuvah and in the mitzvos, which are His will. A person’s own ascent comes first: the G‑dly soul is refined through Torah and mitzvos in thought, speech and action, and then the animal soul, and the hindrances from within and without, can be sifted out and fall away.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the maamar say that even the seventh millennium, the rest beyond all ascents, is only “shemos,” G‑d’s names?
- How does the difference between will and delight explain why one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come?
- Why must the soul forget its former level in the river of fire before it can be included in a higher one?
- Why does raising evil to a high place bring about its downfall, and how do the dregs of the cup and Haman illustrate this?
- Why can the animal soul be refined only after the G‑dly soul has first been refined and lifted?
Key terms in this maamar
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×1
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×1
- The Shechinah (Divine Presence)שכינה
- G‑d's presence as it dwells in the world. ×2
- Delightתענוג
- Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×1
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×11
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect. ×1
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×4
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×3
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×4
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response. ×1
- An arousal from aboveאתערותא דלעילא
- Divine initiative, unprompted by us.
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×1
- The G‑dly soulנפש האלקית
- The soul that is 'a part of G‑d above'.
- 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 Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×1