Torah Ohr · Parshas Mikeitz · Maamar 3
ענין חנוכה
The subject of Chanukah
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The big idea
Love of G‑d has two sources, both from above: the power to kindle it at all (“when Aaron kindles”) and the added love that enlarges it beyond human measure (“when he tends”). A person reaches both through the mitzvos, which, like the oil of a lamp, are dark to the mind yet draw down G‑d Himself.
The maamar in brief
Chanukah is marked with lights, not a feast, because the Greek decree was against the Torah, not against Jewish bodies; and the verse calls a mitzvah a lamp and the Torah light. The mitzvah is like oil: it has no light of its own, yet from it the light of Chochmah, the Oral Torah, is drawn. The Alter Rebbe then asks why the Menorah’s morning lighting is called “tending” and its evening lighting “kindling”. The Menorah is the collective soul of Israel, and its seven lamps are the seven shepherds, among them Aaron, who kindles Israel’s love for G‑d. A person can build love by contemplating G‑d’s kingship over countless worlds; yet all that kingship is only G‑d’s “Name” and His humility, while G‑d, the Singular One, is beyond the worlds. Realizing this, the soul longs to leave the worlds and cleave to Him. Even this longing is G‑d’s gift, “kindling”, given to a soul that is dark like evening; the love from above that enlarges it is “tending”, the morning quality of Abraham’s kindness. Both come through the mitzvos, the King’s limbs: grasping one draws the King Himself.
Outline
- Why Chanukah is kept with lightsThe Greek decree targeted Torah, not bodies, so the commemoration is “a mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah light”; what, then, is the “way of life”?¶1
- The mitzvah as oil; the Menorah’s two lightingsThe mitzvah, like oil, is dark in itself yet feeds the light of Torah wisdom. Why is the morning lighting “tending” and the evening lighting “kindling”? The Menorah is the soul of Israel.¶2
- Aaron and the love from aboveAaron, one of the seven shepherds, kindles Israel’s love; without G‑d’s help no physical person could love Him. The “ordinary fire” is the love gained from contemplating G‑d’s kingship.¶3–4
- One and Singular: kingship as humility“One” is G‑d in relation to the worlds; “Singular” is G‑d beyond them. Life-force, kingship and praise belong only to His Name, and His greatness over the worlds is His humility.¶5–8
- Kindling, tending, and the mitzvosThe soul longs to go beyond the worlds; G‑d gives the power to love (kindling) and enlarges it (tending), and both are reached through the mitzvos, the King’s limbs.¶9
Key concepts
- A mitzvah is a lampנר מצוה
- The mitzvah is compared to the oil of a lamp: it has no light of its own that the mind can grasp, yet the light of Torah comes from it.
- Tending and kindlingבהטיבו ובהעלות
- The two verbs for the Menorah’s morning and evening lighting: kindling is G‑d’s gift of the very power to love; tending is the added love from above that enlarges it.
- Groomsman of the Matronitaשושבינא דמטרוניתא
- The Zohar’s title for Aaron, who prepares the Congregation of Israel for union with G‑d by kindling their love.
- One and Singularאחד ויחיד
- “One” is G‑d’s unity as the worlds are nullified before Him; “Singular” is G‑d as He is in Himself, beyond any relation to worlds.
- The ordinary fireאש של הדיוט
- The love a person produces himself by contemplating G‑d’s kingship, like the fire the priests brought to the altar alongside the fire from heaven.
- The King’s limbsרמ״ח אברין דמלכא
- The 248 positive commandments; grasping one of them draws G‑d Himself to the person, as grasping a king’s limb draws the king.
Why Chanukah is kept with lights ¶1
1ענין חנוכה.1 הנה קבעו הנס בנרות.2 משא״כ בשאר נסים בפסח ביציאת מצרים תאכלו מצות3 בפורים ימי משתה ושמחה4 כנגד הגלות שהיה ג״כ גופני במצרים בחומר ובלבנים5 ובימי המן בקש להשמיד כו׳ ושללם לבוז6
The subject of Chanukah. Now, [the Sages] established [the commemoration of] the miracle with lights. This is not so with the other miracles: on Pesach, [commemorating] the Exodus from Egypt, “you shall eat matzos”; on Purim, “days of feasting and joy” — corresponding to the exile, which was also physical: in Egypt, “with mortar and with bricks”; and in the days of Haman, he sought “to destroy…” and “to take their spoil for plunder.”
The maamar opens by noting that each festival commemorates its miracle in a fitting way. Pesach and Purim are marked with eating and feasting, because those exiles threatened the Jews’ bodies: slavery in Egypt, and Haman’s decree to destroy them and plunder their property.
משא״כ בחנוכה7 שהיו ישראל שרוים על אדמתם ולא גלו מארצם רק גלות התורה8 להשכיחם תורתך ולהעבירם חוקי רצונך לפיכך קבעו בנרות על שם הפסוק (משלי ו) כי נר מצוה ותורה אור9 ודרך10 חיים תוכחות מוסר.
This is not so with Chanukah, when Israel dwelt on their own land and were not exiled from their country; there was only an exile of the Torah, “to make them forget Your Torah and to make them transgress the statutes of Your will.” Therefore [the Sages] established [the commemoration] with lights, on account of the verse (Proverbs 6), “For a mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah is light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.”
The Greek decrees did not drive Israel from its land or threaten their bodies; they aimed at the Torah, to make Jews forget it and abandon its laws. So the rescue is marked with lights, since the verse in Proverbs calls a mitzvah a lamp and the Torah light.
ולהבין ענין פסוק זה וגם סיפא דקרא דכתיב ודרך חיים וגו׳. צריך ביאור איזה דרך חיים הוא מלבד התורה והמצות האמורה למעלה בפסוק.
And [we need] to understand the meaning of this verse, and also the end of the verse, where it is written, “and the way of life…”. It requires explanation: what “way of life” is there besides the Torah and the mitzvos mentioned earlier in the verse?
The Alter Rebbe raises a question on the rest of the verse. If the lamp is the mitzvah and the light is the Torah, what further “way of life” does the verse add?
The paragraph explains why Chanukah is kept with lights rather than with a meal: the Greek oppression was spiritual, aimed at Torah and mitzvos, which the verse calls lamp and light. It then asks what the verse means by the “way of life” it adds.
Kehot’s note cites the Rebbe’s observation that Chanukah also had the military victory, the “mighty delivered into the hands of the weak”; he concludes that the war itself was about the lights, the lamp of the soul and the lamp of the mitzvah.
Marei mekomos
- 1ענין חנוכה · ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. בכמה כת״י מצוין ”שבת חנוכה תק״ס”. ראה ברשימת המאמרים שבסו״ס מאמרי אדה״ז הקצרים ע׳ תרכד הערה 159. לכללות המאמר ראה אוה״ת בראשית כרך ז ע׳ תתתא, ב ואילך. נ״ך כרך א ע׳ תקעו.
- 2קבעו הנס בנרות · והרי בחנוכה הי׳ גם הנס דמסרת גבורים ביד חלשים כו׳ ובלעדו א״א נס הנרות (אבל גם לולא נס הנרות — הי׳ נגאלים מגלות יון ע״י הנס דמסרת) — ועכצ״ל שגם המלחמה היתה בענין הנרות (נר הנשמה ונר המצוה). — (ממכתב כ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע ימי החנוכה תשל״א) לקו״ש ח״ה ע׳ 445. ראה אוה״ת בראשית כרך ה תתקסו, ב. ובכרך ז תתקס, א בהקושיא למה קבעו בנרות הלל והודאה ולא במשתה ושמחה כמו ביו״ט. וראה שם תתתמ, ב. ובד״ה מאי חנוכה תשמ״ז. דהרי עיקר הנס הוא נצחון המלחמה וכנוסח תפלת על הנסים ובפרט לפי הנוסח ”ועל המלחמות”. ראה פלח הרמון בראשית ק, א. בלקו״ת קרח נד, ד מציין לד״ה זה בענין שמעשה המצות נק׳ נר מצוה.
- 3תאכלו מצות · Exodus 12:18
- 4
- 5בחומר ובלבנים · Exodus 1:14
- 6ושללם לבוז · Esther 8:11
- 7שו״ה להשמיד — משא״כ בחנוכה · בבוך 167 נוסף: בגלות יוון.
- 8שו״ה אדמתם — התורה · בבוך 167 הנ״ל נוסף: שרצו.
- 9לפיכך קבעו בנרות על שם הפסוק . . כי נר מצוה ותורה אור · Shabbat 23b
- 10
The mitzvah as oil; the Menorah’s two lightings ¶2
2והענין כי מה שהמשיל המצוה לנר1 והתורה לאור הוא מובן שכמו שהנר נקרא על שם השמן2 כלשון רז״ל נר של שמן נר של שעוה.
The explanation is this. That [the verse] likens the mitzvah to a lamp and the Torah to light is understood: just as the lamp is named after the oil, as in the language of our Sages, of blessed memory, “a lamp of oil, a lamp of wax,”
The verse likens the mitzvah to a lamp, and the Alter Rebbe explains why. In the Sages’ language a lamp is named after its fuel (“a lamp of oil, a lamp of wax”), so “lamp” means the fuel.
הנה אע״פ שהשמן אין בו אור מצד עצמו ואדרבה הוא מכבה את אור הנופל לתוכו מ״מ ממנו
then, although the oil has no light of its own, and on the contrary, it extinguishes a light that falls into it, nevertheless from it
Oil gives no light of itself; pour it on a flame and it puts the flame out. Yet the light depends on it.
ועל ידו נמשך להב שלהבת האור הנאחז בפתילה במעט שמן הנמשך אחר הפתילה שהרי בכלות השמן נכבה האור.
and through it is drawn the blaze of the flame of light that takes hold on the wick, by the little oil that is drawn up after the wick; for indeed, when the oil runs out, the light goes out.
The flame holds on the wick and burns the small amount of oil drawn up the wick. When the oil is gone the flame dies, which shows that the light comes from the oil.
ככה ממש היא המצוה הגם שהוא רצון המלך בלי שום טעם ודעת ואין בה שום השגה מ״מ ממנה
Exactly so is the mitzvah: although it is the will of the King, without any reason or understanding, and there is no comprehension in it at all, nevertheless from it
The mitzvah is like the oil. It is the King’s will, and in itself there is no reason in it that the mind can grasp.
ועל ידה נמשך ונתגלה אור החכמה זו תורה שבע״פ דאורייתא מחכמה נפקת3 והחכמה והבנה בתורה שבעל פה הוא רק
and through it the light of Chochmah is drawn down and revealed. This is the Oral Torah, for “the Torah issues from Chochmah”; and the Chochmah and understanding in the Oral Torah are only
Yet from the mitzvah the light of Chochmah, the wisdom of the Oral Torah, is drawn down. The Zohar says the Torah issues from Chochmah, and the whole purpose of the Oral Torah’s wisdom is to explain the mitzvos.
להבין ולהשיג פי׳ וטעם המצות כל מסכת לפי ענינה. וביאור ענין זה דרך פרט בעבודת ה׳.
to understand and comprehend the explanation and reason of the mitzvos, each tractate according to its subject. And [now for] the explanation of this matter in detail, in the service of G‑d.
Each tractate of the Talmud explains the mitzvos of its own subject; that is the “light” drawn from the “lamp”. The Alter Rebbe now turns to how this works in a person’s service of G‑d.
הנה כתיב (שמות ל) בבקר בבקר בהטיבו את הנרות יקטירנה4 ובהעלות5 אהרן את הנרות בין הערבים יקטירנה6. ולהבין למה גבי בבוקר כתיב בהטיבו7 ובבין הערבים בהעלות.
Now it is written (Exodus 30), “Every morning, when he tends (be-heitivo) the lamps, he shall burn it [the incense]; and when Aaron kindles (be-haalos) the lamps at dusk, he shall burn it.” We need to understand why regarding the morning it says “when he tends,” and regarding dusk “when he kindles.”
In the Torah’s command about the incense, the morning lighting is called hetavah, “tending” or “making good”, and the evening lighting haalaah, “raising up” or “kindling”. The question is why the two times are described with different verbs.
הנה כנסת ישראל מקור נשמות ישראל נקרא׳ בשם מנורה והיא מקשה8 שכל ישראל הם באחדות והיא מתחלקת לשבעה נרות.
Now, the Congregation of Israel, the source of the souls of Israel, is called by the name “Menorah.” It is [made] of one hammered piece, for all Israel are in unity, and it divides into seven lamps.
The Congregation of Israel, the collective source of all Jewish souls, is the Menorah. The Menorah was hammered from a single piece of gold, which shows that all Jews are one; yet it branches into seven lamps.
כי דרך פרט יש ששים רבוא נצוצו׳ כלליי׳ שכל ניצוץ מתחלק לששים רבוא נצוצות פרטיות כמבואר בתניא9 ודרך כלל נכללו בשבעים נפש שירדו אבותינו למצרים.10
For in particular, there are six hundred thousand general sparks, each spark dividing into six hundred thousand particular sparks, as is explained in Tanya; and in general, they are included in the seventy souls with which our forefathers went down to Egypt.
Souls divide into 600,000 general sparks, each subdividing into 600,000 particular ones. More generally they are contained in the seventy souls of Jacob’s family who went down to Egypt.
The paragraph explains the lamp-and-light image: the mitzvah is like oil, dark in itself, yet the source of the light of Torah wisdom. It then opens the question of the Menorah’s morning and evening lighting, and introduces the Menorah as the collective soul of Israel.
Torah Ohr later in Miketz (38b) gives a different emphasis, naming the lamp after the wick, which joins the light to the oil. Both readings keep the point that the light cannot shine without the fuel of the mitzvah.
Marei mekomos
- 1מה שהמשיל המצוה לנר · ראה באוה״ת נ״ך משלי ע׳ תקעו.
- 2שהנר נקרא על שם השמן · מובא באוה״ת נ״ך כרך א ע׳ תקעו. ראה לקמן לח, ב: ענין הנר הוא שקרוי ע״ש הפתילה כי הוא עיקר הנר. — וראה ד״ה ענין חנוכה סה״מ תרמ״ג ע׳ לו שיש בנר ב׳ פי׳ ושניהם הם כוונה אחת. ע״ש.
- 3דאורייתא מחכמה נפקת · Zohar II, 121a
- 4בבקר בבקר בהטיבו את הנרות יקטירנה · Exodus 30:7
- 5שו״ה בהטיבו — ובהעלות · בבוך 167 הנ״ל: וכתיב ובהעלות.
- 6
- 7גבי בבוקר כתיב בהטיבו . . בהעלותך · Song of Songs 5:4
- 8והיא מקשה · Exodus 25:31
- 9כמבואר בתניא · פרק לז. [בבוך 167 הנ״ל: בלק״א].
- 10בשבעים נפש שירדו אבותינו למצרים · Deuteronomy 10:22
Aaron and the love from above ¶3–4
3וכלל מן הכלל נק׳ בשם שבעה נרות דהנה אהרן שושבינא דמטרוניתא12 הוא אהרן כהן לאל עליון3 משבע׳ רועים45 המפרנסים ומשפיעים אלהותו ית׳ בכנסת ישראל שיאירו באור האהבה להתלהט אליו ית׳ בכלות
And the most general [division] of the general is called by the name “seven lamps.” For Aaron, “the groomsman of the Matronita,” is “Aaron the priest of G‑d Most High,” one of the seven shepherds who sustain and bestow His G‑dliness, may He be blessed, upon the Congregation of Israel, so that they shine with the light of love, to blaze up toward Him, may He be blessed, with the expiring
The seventy souls are gathered, most generally, into seven lamps. These correspond to the seven “shepherds” who channel G‑dliness to the Jewish people, and Aaron, called in the Zohar the “groomsman” who brings the bride (the Congregation of Israel) to the King, is one of them. His task is to kindle their love for G‑d so that it blazes up until the soul longs to leave itself.
הנפש כשלהבת העולה מאליה6 ולקיים מצות ואהבת7 שמקבלים עליהם בק״ש שיהי׳ כך באמת לאמתו תקוע בלב כל אחד ואחד מישראל שהאדם מצד עצמו מאחר שהוא מגושם ומלובש בענינים גשמיים לא היה יכול לולי הקב״ה עוזרו.8
of the soul, like a flame that rises of itself; and to fulfill the mitzvah of “You shall love,” which they take upon themselves in the Shema, so that it be so in utmost truth, fixed in the heart of each and every one of Israel. For a person on his own, since he is corporeal and clothed in physical matters, would not be able [to do so] were it not that the Holy One, blessed be He, helps him.
The flame “rising of itself” is the halachic standard for kindling the lamps, applied here to love that becomes self-sustaining. Every Jew accepts the command to love G‑d in the Shema, but a person clothed in a physical body could not truly feel it without G‑d’s help.
The paragraph identifies the seven lamps with the seven shepherds, and above all with Aaron, whose role is to kindle love of G‑d in Israel’s souls. It adds that such love is beyond a physical person’s own power without G‑d’s help.
The Rebbe’s letter cited in the notes discusses why Aaron is counted among the seven shepherds though the Talmud’s list omits him. He finds the source in the Zohar Chadash, which lists Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Adam, Aaron, David and Solomon.
Marei mekomos
- 1אהרן שושבינא דמטרוניתא · Zohar I, 266b
- 2אהרן שושבינא דמטרוניתא · Zohar, Vayikra 47:334–49:342
- 3כהן לאל עליון · Genesis 14:18
- 4אהרן . . משבעה רועים · ראה בלקו״ש ח״כ ע׳ 643 המקור לזה (ממכתב ימי הסליחות ה׳תשי״ט), וז״ל: לשאלתו המקור למש״כ בתו״א (לב, ב). ובלקו״ת בהעלותך (כט, ג) דאהרן הוא מז׳ רועים, דבסוכה (נב, ב) לא נזכר. וכהנ״ל הוא בעוד מקומות בתו״א — כמצוין במפתח. והמקור ע״ז י״ל בשנים: א) בז״ח (בסופו. תיקונים קד, א): קם רע״מ על רגלוי ואמר רעיין קדישין אברהם יצחק ויעקב ואדם קדמאה ואהרן ודוד ושלמה. ועפ״ז מתורץ ג״כ: 1) בתו״א (פב, א) — דאברהם הוא הרועה הראשון ובסוכה — אדה״ר. 2) בתו״א (לג, ג) משמע דגם יצחק בכלל הרועים. ב) בזח״ב (כו, ב): הוא (ל׳ יחיד) אהרן ומשה — לאכללא דא בדא. להעיר מתענית ט, א. וי״ל דלכן בהנ״ל לא נמנה רק א׳ מהם — העיקרי באותו ענין. וק״ל. והנה עוד יש להקשות בזה, והוא העיקר. בתו״א ולקו״ת מפרש ענין הז״ר שמשפיעים אלקות לכנס״י כו׳ ואינו מובן כלל מה ענין שת ומתושלח בזה? והנה הצ״צ עה״פ במיכה (ה, ד) מדייק דשני פי׳ בתיבת והקימונו: א) על אשור. ב) על בנ״י (כפי׳ התרגום) — ובדרך ממילא ינוצח אשור. ועפ״ז נ״ל ליישב כהנ״ל — דבסוכה הוא לפי פי׳ הא׳. ובז״ח ע״פ פי׳ הב׳. ולולא דמסתפינא הייתי אומר לבדוק בדפוסים הראשונים של הז״ח אולי צ״ל במקום אדה״ר — יוסף. וע״ד האושפיזין דחה״ס. אבל עומד לנגד ביאור זה מה שבתו״א (לג, ד) ובסהמ״צ להצ״צ מצות חנוכה מעתיק מסוכה הנ״ל ומפרש ענין הרועים כנ״ל. אבל יעוין שם שמביא מהז״ר רק אברהם יעקב ומשה. ועצ״ע. ואכ״מ.
- 5משבע׳ רועים · Sukkah 52b:13
- 6כשלהבת העולה מאליה · Shabbat 21a:9
- 7ואהבת · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 8לולי הקב״ה עוזרו · Kiddushin 30b
4והעזר הוא אהבה הבאה מלמעלה להמשיכו אליו. וזהו בחי׳ בהעלות ובהטיבו. כי הנה אמרו רז״ל אע״פ שהאש יורד מן1 השמי׳ מצוה להביא מן ההדיוט.2
And the help is a love that comes from above, to draw him to Him. This is the level of “when he kindles” and “when he tends.” For our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Although the fire comes down from heaven, it is a mitzvah to bring [fire] from an ordinary [source].”
G‑d’s help comes as a love sent from above that draws the person to Him; this is what the two verbs, “kindling” and “tending”, refer to. The Sages taught that although fire came down from heaven onto the altar, there is a mitzvah to bring ordinary fire as well.
פי׳ הדיוט3 הוא האהבה שאדם לוקח מחמת העולמות מבחי׳ מלכותו ית׳ שהוא מלך גדול ונורא
Explanation: the “ordinary” [fire] is the love a person acquires on account of the worlds, from the level of His sovereignty, may He be blessed, that He is a great and awesome King
The “ordinary” fire stands for the love a person generates himself, by contemplating G‑d’s sovereignty over the worlds. He is the great and awesome King of them all.
על כל העולמות עליונים ותחתונים וכל צבא השמים4 לך משתחוים ואלף אלפין ורבו רבבן קדמוהי5 כו׳ כמבואר בגמרא6 ובזוהר בביאור ענין רבוי העולמות וגדולתו.
over all the worlds, higher and lower, and “all the host of heaven bow down to You,” and “a thousand thousands [serve Him] and ten thousand times ten thousand [stand] before Him…,” as explained in the Gemara and in the Zohar, in explaining the multitude of the worlds and His greatness.
Contemplating the vast number of worlds and hosts that bow before G‑d, as described in the Talmud and Zohar, brings a person to love Him. This is a love he can reach by his own effort.
The paragraph distinguishes two kinds of love, like the two fires on the altar: love from above, G‑d’s gift, and “ordinary” love that a person builds by contemplating G‑d’s kingship over countless worlds.
The heavenly fire and the fire brought by the priest correspond to an arousal from above and an arousal from below. Likkutei Torah on Shemini Atzeres refers back to this passage for the definition of the “ordinary” fire.
Marei mekomos
- 1אע״פ שהאש יורד מן השמים מצוה להביא מן ההדיוט · Eruvin 63a:15
- 2אע״פ שהאש יורד מן השמי׳ מצוה להביא מן ההדיוט · Mishneh Torah, Daily Offerings and Additional Offerings 2:1
- 3פי׳ הדיוט · בבוך 167 ליתא תי׳ ”הדיוט”.
- 4צבא השמים · Nehemiah 9:6
- 5ואלף אלפין ורבו רבבן קדמוהי · Daniel 7:10
- 6כמבואר בגמרא · Chagigah 12a
One and Singular: kingship as humility ¶5–8
5וע״ד זה תקנו חז״ל לומר בשכמל״ו12 לפני ואהבת. כי הנה אנו אומרים יחיד חי העולמים3 מלך משובח ומפואר עדי עד שמו הגדול כו׳. פי׳ יחיד הוא למעלה מבחי׳ אחד.
Along these lines our Sages, of blessed memory, instituted saying “Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever” before “You shall love.” For we say, “Singular One, life of the worlds, King, praised and glorified forever and ever is His great Name….” Explanation: “Singular” (Yachid) is higher than the level of “One” (Echad).
The Sages instituted the silent line “Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom” before “You shall love” for the same reason: to prompt the love that comes from contemplating G‑d’s kingship. The morning prayer calls G‑d “Singular” (Yachid), which is higher than “One” (Echad).
כי אחד היינו כמאמר רז״ל שהוא אחד בשמים ובארץ4 ובד׳ רוחות העולם כי כל העולמות עליוני׳ אינם תופסים מקום להיות יש ודבר נפרד בפני עצמם וכולא קמי׳ כלא וכאין נגדו חשיבי ממש ואין עוד מלבדו.5
For “One” means, as the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, that He is One in the heavens and on earth and in the four directions of the world; for all the higher worlds occupy no place [of their own], to be an entity and a thing separate in its own right, and “all before Him are as nothing,” and they are truly accounted as naught before Him, and there is nothing else besides Him.
“One” means that G‑d is one throughout heaven, earth and the four directions: the worlds exist, but they are nothing before Him and have no existence of their own. This is the unity of G‑d as it relates to creation.
לכן נקרא אחד והיינו כשמעריכין אותו נגד העולמות. אבל יחיד פי׳ הוא יחיד ומיוחד בפני עצמו והוא לבדו הוא ואינו בגדר העולמות כלל.
Therefore He is called “One,” and this is when He is measured against the worlds. But “Singular” means that He is singular and unique in Himself, He alone, and not within the category of worlds at all.
“One” still describes G‑d in relation to the worlds. “Singular” describes Him as He is in Himself, beyond any relation to worlds at all.
The paragraph links the blessing “Blessed be the name…” to the love born of contemplating G‑d’s kingship, and distinguishes “One”, G‑d’s unity in relation to the worlds, from “Singular”, G‑d as He is, beyond them.
“One” corresponds to the worlds’ self-nullification before G‑d, where they exist but are “as nothing”; “Singular” is beyond the worlds entirely. The next paragraph shows that kingship, life-force and praise all belong only to the “Name”, not to the essence.
Marei mekomos
- 1תקנו חז״ל לומר בשכמל״ו · Pesachim 56a:8–9
- 2תקנו חז״ל לומר בשכמל״ו · Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 61:13–14
- 3יחיד חי העולמים · ראה לקמן מ, ג.
- 4שהוא אחד בשמים ובארץ · Berakhot 13b:18
- 5ואין עוד מלבדו · Deuteronomy 4:35
6וחי העולמים מלך פי׳ שכל חיות העולמות שמחיה את כולם ומהווה את כולם עליונים ותחתונים אינו אלא בשביל שהוא מלך וכולם מקבלים חיות מבחי׳ מלכותו ית׳ בעבור היותו מלך עליהם.
And “life of the worlds, King” means that all the life-force of the worlds, by which He gives life to them all and brings them all into being, higher and lower, is only because He is King, and they all receive life-force from the level of His sovereignty, may He be blessed, because He is King over them.
“Life of the worlds, King” means that G‑d gives the worlds life and existence only as their King. Kingship is a relationship to others, so the life-force of all worlds comes from G‑d’s Malchus, not from His essence.
וכן מה שמשובח ומפואר דהיינו השבח מחמת שמשיגים גדולתו הוא עדי עד כי לגדולתו אין חקר1 ולמעלה יש שבח אחר שבח ועילוי אחר עילוי עד אין קץ ואין תכלית והכל הוא בעבור שמו הגדול
So too, that He is “praised and glorified” — that is, the praise [that comes] because they grasp His greatness — is “forever and ever,” for “His greatness is unsearchable,” and above there is praise after praise and elevation after elevation without end and without limit; and all this is because of “His great Name.”
The creatures’ praise of G‑d, based on how much of His greatness they grasp, never ends, since there is always a higher level to grasp. Yet all of it is praise of “His great Name”, not of Him.
כי להיות נקרא שמו ומלכותו עליהם בלבד הוא ואינו יכול לנגוע לבחי׳ עצמותו ומהותו כלל
For [all this is] only so that His Name and His sovereignty be called upon them; and it cannot touch the level of His essence and being at all,
The purpose of all this is that G‑d’s Name and kingship should rest upon the worlds. None of it reaches His essence.
for “no thought can grasp Him” at all, since He is singular and unique, and “His Name alone is exalted,” as it is written, “Your kingdom is a kingdom of all worlds.”
No thought can grasp G‑d, since He is singular and His Name alone is exalted. So the verse says “Your kingdom is a kingdom of all worlds”: His kingdom relates to the worlds, while He Himself is beyond them.
The paragraph explains the rest of the prayer’s words: the worlds’ life and all their praise come only from G‑d’s kingship and “Name”, which never reach His essence.
This follows the Chabad teaching that Malchus is only an outward radiance of G‑d, like a name or reputation, and that all the worlds are created from it.
Marei mekomos
- 1לגדולתו אין חקר · Psalms 145:3
- 2לית מחשב׳ תפיס׳ בי׳ כלל · Tikkunei Zohar 17a:10–12
- 3ונשגב שמו לבדו · Psalms 148:13
- 4מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים · Psalms 145:13
7וזהו במקום שאתה מוצא גדולתו1 שם אתה מוצא ענותנותו.2 כדכתיב המשפילי לראות3 בשמים ובארץ שאצלו ית׳ נחשב זאת להשפלה ולענוה להחיות רוח שפלים.4
This is [the meaning of] “In the place where you find His greatness, there you find His humility,” as it is written, “Who lowers Himself to look upon the heavens and the earth”: for to Him, may He be blessed, this is accounted a lowering and humility, “to revive the spirit of the lowly.”
The Sages taught that wherever G‑d’s greatness is mentioned, His humility is mentioned too. Even looking upon heaven and earth is, for G‑d, a lowering of Himself, done in order to give life to the lowly.
וכן מה שכתוב סומך נופלים ורופא חולים וזוקף כפופים5 וכל הממלכה נקרא בשם ארץ להיות כארץ הלזו השפלה6 שירדה ממקום כבודה להיות מלך שמו נקרא.7
So too what is written, “He supports the fallen, heals the sick and raises the bowed.” And the whole kingdom is called by the name “earth,” being like this lowly earth, which has descended from its place of glory, so that He be called by the name “King.”
G‑d’s kingdom is called “earth”, the lowest level, because ruling the worlds is a descent from His glory. He lowers Himself so that He may be called King.
The paragraph shows that G‑d’s greatness over the worlds is really His humility: to be King and give life to creatures is a descent for Him.
Malchus is called “earth” because it is the lowest of the Sefiros and the source of the worlds; Likkutei Torah on Bamidbar refers to this maamar for that image.
Marei mekomos
- 1במקום שאתה מוצא גדולתו · נסמן לעיל לא, ד.
- 2במקום שאתה מוצא גדולתו שם אתה מוצא ענותנותו · Megillah 31a:12–13
- 3המשפילי לראות · Psalms 113:6
- 4להחיות רוח שפלים · Isaiah 57:15
- 5וזוקף כפופים · Psalms 145:14
- 6להיות כארץ הלזו השפלה · ראה לקו״ת במדבר ה, ב. אוה״ת פ׳ לך לך תשכה, א.
- 7מלך שמו נקרא · פיוט אדון עולם.
8ולכן זאת יבין כל יציר בשומו אל לבו וירחיב דעתו בגדולתו ית׳ ונפלאות מעשיו ברבוי העולמות עד אין חקר הנה ישכיל שזהו ענותנותו ית׳ ואין ערוך אליו שאינו בגדר עלמין כלל.
Therefore every creature will understand this: when he takes it to heart and broadens his mind in His greatness, may He be blessed, and the wonders of His works in the multitude of the worlds without limit, he will grasp that this is His humility, may He be blessed, and there is no comparison to Him, for He is not within the category of worlds at all.
Anyone who reflects deeply on G‑d’s greatness in the countless worlds will realize that all of it is only His humility. G‑d Himself cannot be compared to it at all, since He is beyond the worlds entirely.
The paragraph draws the conclusion for the person contemplating: the vastness of creation reveals only G‑d’s humility, and He Himself is beyond comparison with the worlds.
Kindling, tending, and the mitzvos ¶9
9והוא השוה ומשוה קטן וגדול ממילא תתלהט ותתלהב נפש ולב לאור באור האהבה בכל נפשך1 ממש לצאת מגדר העולמות
And He is “the One Who is equal and makes equal small and great.” As a result, the soul and heart will blaze and flame up to shine with the light of love, “with all your soul” in truth, to go out of the confines of the worlds,
G‑d treats small and great alike, so the person who realizes that all the worlds are only G‑d’s humility will want to leave their confines altogether. His love will blaze “with all your soul”, a longing to cleave to G‑d beyond all created existence.
כמ״ש מי לי בשמים ועמך לא חפצתי בארץ2 כלה שארי ולבבי.3 וזהו ואהבת את ה׳ אלהיך כי אהבה משרש אבה שהוא מלשון חפץ ורצון.4
as it is written, “Whom do I have in heaven [but You]? And besides You I desire nothing on earth; my flesh and my heart yearn.” This is [the meaning of] “You shall love Havayah your G‑d”: for ahavah (love) is from the root avah, which means desire and will.
The Psalmist’s cry, wanting nothing in heaven or earth but G‑d, expresses this love. The Alter Rebbe then reads “You shall love” through the root of ahavah, avah, which means “to want”.
דהיינו רעותא דלבא שיהי׳ ה׳ אלהיך ולדבקה בו ממש וע״י אתערותא דלתתא זו יחול עליו אור האהבה מלמעלה להגדיל מדורת אש האהבה בלבו יותר מכדי כח אנושי ושרש נשמתו
That is, the will of the heart that Havayah be “your G‑d,” and to cleave to Him in truth. And through this arousal from below, the light of love from above will rest upon him, to enlarge the blaze of the fire of love in his heart beyond the measure of human strength and [of] the root of his soul,
Love, then, is the heart’s desire that Havayah truly be “your G‑d”, and to cleave to Him. When a person awakens this desire from below, a love from above comes to rest on him and makes the fire in his heart greater than any human being, or even his soul’s root, could produce.
שהיא בגדר וגבול ונברא לקרבה אל ה׳ ממש וביטול אליו במציאות ממש ע״י בחינת אהרן כהנא רבא
which is within limit and boundary and created, so as to draw near to G‑d in truth, and [to] self-nullification (bittul) before Him in actual existence, through the level of Aaron the High Priest.
Even the soul’s root is created and limited. The love from above, given through the supernal Aaron, the High Priest, lets a person truly draw near to G‑d and set aside his very existence before Him.
כי ואהבת בגמטריא ב׳ פעמים אור ונקרא׳ בחינה זו בהטיבו שמטוב וחסד עליון משפיע על רוח שפלים5 להטיב ולהגדיל את האהבה שלמטה.14
For ve-ahavta (“you shall love”) equals in numerical value twice or (“light”). And this level is called “when he tends (be-heitivo),” for from the supernal goodness and kindness He bestows upon the spirit of the lowly, to make good and to enlarge the love below.
The numerical value of ve-ahavta (414) is twice that of or, “light” (207), hinting at two lights of love: one from below and one from above. The love from above is “tending” (hetavah), from the word for “good”, since it comes from G‑d’s goodness to the lowly and makes the love below better and greater.
אך הנה באמת גם אתערותא דלתתא כנ״ל אשר יחפוץ האדם לדבקה בו ממש גם זאת
But in truth, the arousal from below too, as [explained] above, that a person should desire to cleave to Him in truth, this too
The Alter Rebbe now adds a further point. Even the arousal from below, the person’s own wish to cleave to G‑d, which was presented above as his own effort, is not really his own.
מתת אלהים היא6 לא לפי כח נפש האדם ומזגו ותכונתו ונקרא׳ בחינת ובהעלות אהרן שאהרן העליון הוא הנותן כח בכנסת ישראל לעורר את האהבה זו.
is a gift of G‑d, not according to the strength of the person’s soul, his temperament and his nature. And this is called the level of “and when Aaron kindles (be-haalos),” for the supernal Aaron is the one who gives strength to the Congregation of Israel to awaken this love.
That wish too is G‑d’s gift, not the product of a person’s temperament or strength. It is called “kindling” (haalaah), because the supernal Aaron gives Israel the power to kindle their own love.
וזהו בין הערבים שהוא מדת ערב ולילה וחשך מצד עצמו שאין בו אור. אבל מדת בוקר שהוא מדת אברהם איש החסד כמ״ש וישכם אברהם בבקר78 הוא בחינת בהטיבו.
This is “at dusk,” which is the attribute of evening, night and darkness, which of itself has no light. But the attribute of morning, which is the attribute of Abraham, the man of kindness, as it is written, “And Abraham rose early in the morning,” is the level of “when he tends.”
Evening stands for the person on his own, dark with no light of himself, so the lighting then is “kindling”: Aaron lights what has no light. Morning is Abraham’s attribute of kindness, and the lighting then is “tending”, the added love that comes from above.
(ועמ״ש לקמן בד״ה רני ושמחי9 בענין רננא ברמשא ושמחה בצפרא) והנה מי זה האדם שיגיע עד הלום שיגיע אליו בחי׳ אהרן העליון. אך הוא ע״י תורה ומצות.
(And see what is written below in the maamar beginning “Sing and rejoice,” on the subject of “song in the evening and joy in the morning.”) Now, who is the person who can reach this far, that the level of the supernal Aaron should reach him? But it is through Torah and mitzvos.
The text refers to a later maamar on “song in the evening and joy in the morning” for a related pairing. It then asks how an ordinary person could reach the point where the supernal Aaron’s help comes to him, and answers: through Torah and mitzvos.
כי נר מצוה שהמצות נמשכין ממקום גבוה מאד נעלה. ולפיכך אין בהם השגה כלל כמשל השמן הנ״ל שאין נכנסים בפנימיות נפשם רק בבחי׳ מקיף עליהם מלמעלה
For “a mitzvah is a lamp,” since the mitzvos are drawn from a very high and exalted place. Therefore there is no comprehension in them at all, like the analogy of the oil above; for they do not enter the inwardness of their soul, but only as something encompassing them from above,
The mitzvos are called a “lamp” because they come from a place so high that the mind cannot grasp it. Like the oil, they do not enter the soul’s understanding but surround it from above.
כמ״ש שום תשים עליך מלך10 כמו מלך המושל על עמו והוא גבוה עליהם והם עושין רצונו בלי טעם ודעת כי מצות המלך היא ולב מלכים אין חקר11 ההשגה שבעבורם נצטוו רק מ״מ הוא
as it is written, “You shall surely set a king over you”: like a king who rules over his people and is high above them, and they do his will without reason or understanding, for it is the command of the king, and “the heart of kings is unsearchable” — the comprehension for whose sake they were commanded. Yet nevertheless it is
The Torah’s command to set a king over oneself shows the relationship: subjects obey the king’s orders without understanding them, since the king’s reasons are beyond them. So too a Jew does the mitzvos as the King’s will, even though he cannot grasp the reasons.
ע״ד משל כאדם שתופס את המלך באחד מאבריו וממשיכו אליו הנה גם חיותו שבקרבו נמשך אחריו כך כתיב וימינו תחבקני.1213
by way of analogy like a person who grasps the king by one of his limbs and draws him to himself: the king’s life-force within him is drawn along after him too. So it is written, “and His right hand embraces me.”
Yet whoever grasps a king by one of his limbs draws the whole king to himself, since the king’s life is in each limb. So a person who does a mitzvah draws G‑d Himself close, as the verse says, “His right hand embraces me”.
כי הנה רמ״ח מ״ע הם רמ״ח אברין דמלכא וע״י המשכת המצות ממילא נמשך אחריו בחי׳ יחודו ית׳ בעצמו ובכבודו בבחינת יחודו כנ״ל:
For the 248 positive commandments are the 248 limbs of the King; and through drawing down the mitzvos, there is drawn after it, as a matter of course, the level of His unity, may He be blessed, Himself and in His glory, in the level of His unity, as [explained] above.
The 248 positive commandments are called the 248 “limbs” of the King. By doing the mitzvos a person draws down G‑d’s own unity, which, as explained, is beyond all the worlds.
The paragraph answers the maamar’s question about “tending” and “kindling”: “kindling” is the power G‑d gives a person to arouse love at all, and “tending” is the added love from above that enlarges it. Both are reached through the mitzvos, which, like oil, are beyond understanding yet draw G‑d Himself to the person.
The gematria of ve-ahavta as twice or comes from the Arizal’s intentions for the Shema, cited by Kehot from Shaar HaKavanos and Pri Etz Chaim. The mitzvos as the King’s 248 limbs explains why a mitzvah, though beyond understanding, connects a person to G‑d’s essence, more than comprehension alone could.
Marei mekomos
- 1בכל נפשך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 2מי לי בשמים ועמך לא חפצתי בארץ · Psalms 73:25
- 3כלה שארי ולבבי · Psalms 73:26
- 4כי אהבה משרש אבה שהוא מלשון חפץ ורצון · בלקו״ת נשא כו, ב מפרש ”והכוונה שיהיה רצון האדם וחפצו ובקשתו בכל לב ונפש להיות גילוי אלקותו ויחודו ית׳ בעולם ונפש” ע״ש. ראה ספר החקירה להצ״צ צב, א בשרש ישע. וראה גם לקו״ת מסעי פח, ד. ואתחנן ט, ב.
- 5רוח שפלים · Isaiah 57:15
- 6מתת אלהים היא · Ecclesiastes 3:13
- 7וישכם אברהם בבקר · Genesis 25:3
- 8וישכם אברהם בבקר · Genesis 22:3
- 9לקמן בד״ה רני ושמחי · לז, א.
- 10שום תשים עליך מלך · Deuteronomy 17:15
- 11ולב מלכים אין חקר · Proverbs 25:3
- 12וימינו תחבקני · Song of Songs 2:6
- 13וימינו תחבקני · Song of Songs 8:3
- 14ואהבת בגימט׳ ב׳ פעמים אור · שער הכוונות כוונת ק״ש. פע״ח שער הק״ש פכ״ג וכ״ה.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Contemplate how G‑d’s greatness over all the worlds is only His humility, until the heart longs for G‑d Himself; know that even this longing is His gift, and reach Him through doing the mitzvos, whose reasons are beyond understanding.
Questions for discussion
- Why does a spiritual decree call for a commemoration with lights rather than with feasting?
- How can oil, which puts out a flame poured on it, be the source of the lamp’s light, and what does this say about mitzvos whose reasons we do not understand?
- What is the difference between “One” and “Singular”, and why does it lead to love that wants to leave the worlds?
- If even the arousal from below is a gift from above, what is left for the person to do?
- How does grasping a king by one limb explain the power of a single mitzvah?
Key terms in this maamar
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×3
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- ×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. ×3
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×1
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×2
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×2
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response. ×2
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×2
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×1