ואלה המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם כי תקנה עבד עברי וגו׳

1“And these are the ordinances that you shall set before them: If you buy a Hebrew servant,” etc. We need to understand this: “before them” implies the plural, while “if you buy” is in the singular; it should have said, “if they buy.”

But the explanation is that “if you buy” refers to Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, and refers back to what precedes it, that is, to what is written, “And these are the ordinances that you shall set.”

It is Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, specifically, who will set the ordinances before them, and this is through “If you buy a Hebrew servant,” etc. For it is written, “And I will give grass in your field for your animals,” which refers to Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, who imparts the level of “grass” “for your animals.”

2The explanation: it is written, “And I will sow the house of Israel with the seed of man and the seed of animal,” [meaning] that there are two levels among the souls of Israel. The first are the souls that are very lofty in stature and level, and they are the ones called “the seed of man,”

for they are the souls drawn from the level of the supernal Man upon the Throne, as mentioned above, as it is written, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” (That is, souls of the World of Atzilus (Emanation), and they are the ones called “children,” whereas souls of the Worlds of Beriah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation) and Asiyah (Action) are called “servants.” And this is [the meaning of] “whether as children or as servants.”)

That is: just as the superiority of man is that he has Daas (knowledge), so these souls have a great Daas of G‑dliness. And Daas does not mean knowing alone, but the level of actual feeling, as will be explained.

And the second is the level of “the seed of animal” (that is, souls of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, which are almost all the souls in our generations; for souls of Atzilus are bnei aliyah, “people of ascent,” who are few, etc., even in the early generations): these are the souls that do not have so much Daas of G‑dliness.

This does not mean that they have no intellect and comprehension of G‑dliness. Rather, although they do have intellect and comprehension, so that they comprehend and grasp the greatness of the Creator, blessed be He, from books and from scholars, with great comprehension and understanding of how the Holy One, blessed be He, gives life to all and brings all into being, and that “His greatness is unsearchable,” etc.,

yet this is not in the manner of Daas and feeling in his soul. Therefore they are called “animal”: for an animal has sight and hearing, etc.,

only it does not have Daas. So it is with these souls: they lack the level of Daas of G‑dliness. For Daas is the level of feeling, when the concept is bound and fixed in one’s soul, as though one feels [it].

For Daas is from the expression “And Adam knew,” etc., which is the quality of bonding and joining. And along these lines it is said, “And from my flesh I will behold G‑d”: “I will behold,” literally, as if seeing, etc. And although it is impossible to see G‑d with the physical eye, nevertheless it is

like the way a person knows and feels his soul within him. For there too, it is impossible to see the essence of the soul, how and what it is; nevertheless he senses it by seeing the life-force of the body,

which comes from the soul. When he sleeps, the life-force withdraws, and when he wakes from his sleep, the revelation of the soul’s light and life-force returns to him. In exactly this way is the level of Daas of G‑dliness that souls of Atzilus have,

as Iyov said, “And from my flesh I will behold,” etc. And although “no thought can grasp Him at all,” meaning that His essence is not comprehended,

yet His existence is known and felt from what we see: that the worlds, which are like a great body, live and endure.

And this life-force in them is from the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, who flows into them at every moment. This concept is grasped by all.

But when it is bound to the soul, so that one is bound [to it] and actually feels it, as if seeing, this is called the level of Daas.

And of this they said, “Who is wise? One who sees what is born”: as if seeing with the very eye the birth and coming into being of something from nothing, etc. And of this it is said, “And G‑d will be seen over them,” etc.

Whereas when this concept and understanding is not in the manner of closeness and actual feeling in the soul, this level is called “the seed of animal,” even though he has great intellect and comprehension of G‑dliness.

And all Israel are also believers, etc., and faith is above Daas. Nevertheless, it is called a “crown” (atarah), which is the level of a makif (that which encompasses), and there must also be the level of Daas.

As it is written, “Know the G‑d of your father,” etc. For it is through Daas that the world does not conceal [G‑dliness] from them at all.

And also, the love that comes from the level of Daas and sensory sight is beyond comparison, etc., and so too the awe; for “hearing is not comparable to seeing.”

(The meaning of “seeing” follows the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, “Look at three things”: “look,” specifically, meaning the manner of seeing with the eye of the intellect. It is like a person who understands with his wisdom and sees that something good or bad will come upon him; even though the time when the thing will come is far off,

because of the gaze of his intellect it is as if he sees it immediately with his eyes, and as if it had already come upon him, and he is very afraid if it is bad, or glad if it is good.

But the level of hearing, that is, the level of contemplation alone, in deep thought, is like one who hears from others that the thing will come: the fear or the joy over it does not fall upon him so much, because the thing is not yet fully revealed.

Even though he contemplates it, it is not as if he sees it with his very eyes, etc. And this is why he said, “Look at three things,” etc.: that his contemplation of G‑dliness should be like a person who understands with his wisdom and sees the thing even though it is far off, etc. For “Who is wise? One who sees what is born,” etc.

Whereas the level of hearing is from the level of Binah (understanding): that is, one understands the unity of G‑d — how “all is one,” and that all the worlds are nullified and utterly nullified, as nothing before Him, and that everything is through the flow of His life-force, blessed be He, while in Him there is no change, etc., as the whole subject of G‑d’s unity is known.

Even though he contemplates it very thoroughly, and the whole depth of his thought is absorbed in it, and faith has become very firmly fixed in his heart, nevertheless it is only in the manner of hearing and understanding alone, and the matter is not fully revealed, as if he sees it with his eyes. Therefore, when he takes his thought off it even for a moment, [his soul] turns to the ways of its desires, etc.

Whereas when the matter of [G‑d’s] unity is in the gaze of Chochmah (wisdom), which is the source of Binah, before the matter comes to contemplation and expansion, etc., it is truly like the sight of the eyes, and it is impossible for him in any way to remove his thought and all the emotive attributes (middos) from the matter of the unity. In all his doings and affairs he cleaves to Him, blessed be He, with a wondrous cleaving, because he sees the King with his eyes.

And this was at the time of the receiving of the Torah: “And all the people saw the sounds” — they saw what is heard. And after they sinned, they were brought down from this level to the level of hearing, which is the level of Binah, and [so] they were able to sin, etc. It follows that Chochmah is the level of seeing,

and Binah is the level of hearing. Now, it is known that Abba (Chochmah) “nests” in Atzilus and Binah in Beriah. Therefore the souls of Beriah do not have the level of seeing, only hearing and understanding; and therefore they are called “the seed of animal.”

Whereas with souls of Atzilus, there the level of Chochmah and seeing is revealed, and they are called “the seed of man,” etc. Now, the intermediate level that connects and unites Chochmah with Binah is Daas. Daas denotes bonding, as it is written, “And Adam knew,” etc.

That is, that he be bound, in the depth of the point of the heart, to the thought of the Binah with which he contemplates. Whereas Binah alone is the matter’s being in thought alone, and it does not touch his very self, that is, his heart, at all.

But when there is the desire of the heart (re’usa deliba), the fervor of his heart and his cleaving to the matter he is thinking about, until he is wholly in the matter, deeply attached with all the senses of his body — this is called Daas. It causes the level of Chochmah to join with Binah;

that is, through the great intensity of the contemplation it brings about that there is, within the Binah, the level of seeing, the seeing of Chochmah, as mentioned above. And therefore the level of “the seed of man” means souls that have the level of Daas, which draws the revelation of Chochmah and seeing into the contemplation, so that one comes to the level of “And from my flesh I will behold G‑d,” literally.

Whereas when he lacks the above-mentioned level of Daas, which draws down the revelation of Chochmah, etc., then he is only at the level of hearing and understanding alone, from the level of Binah, which “nests” in Beriah; and therefore he is called “the seed of animal,” etc.)

And although an animal does not have hearing and understanding either, this is by way of analogy: for an animal, too, has the imaginative faculty. And so intellect and understanding of G‑dliness, when it is only at the level of hearing alone, is

like mere imagination, and it is called the level of “after our likeness.” And of this it is said, “We were like dreamers”: as in a dream, where nothing remains but the imaginative faculty, etc.

(See what is written above in Parshas Vayeshev on this verse. But the level of “Let us make man in our image” is the level of “the seed of man,” the level of seeing, etc. However, the level of Daas that connects Chochmah with Binah is called Higher Daas (Daas Elyon). And there is the level of Lower Daas (Daas Tachton), which is the bond of the intellect (mochin) with the emotive attributes,

and it is the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the emotive attributes. And below, in the explanation of “And I will give grass,” it is explained that through the drawing down of the level of Lower Daas, too, one is called “man.” And see in Likkutei Torah, Parshas Shemos, the discourse beginning “Vayar” (“And he saw”), etc., “Know that,” etc.)

3Now, Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, has great power: he draws down and imparts the level of Daas (knowledge) into the Community of Israel, even into the souls called “the seed of animal,” so that there be in them the level of Daas and feeling of G‑dliness, so as to be [the fulfillment of] “And you shall know this day,” etc.,

“Know the G‑d of your father,” etc. (And he is the one who unites and draws the level of Chochmah (wisdom) to Binah (understanding), so that there be in the contemplation the level of seeing, etc.)

For Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, is called Ra’aya Mehemna (the faithful shepherd), the singular one among the seven shepherds, who shepherds and sustains the souls of Israel by imparting to them the faculty of Daas. This is the meaning of Ra’aya Mehemna: that he sustains the faith.

Therefore he is the first redeemer and the last redeemer. The meaning of “first redeemer” is that he is the one who imparts to them the level of Daas: at the beginning of his speaking he said to them, “And you shall know that I am G‑d,” for before that it is written, “And the people believed.”

And he will also be the last redeemer, so that there be the level of “And the earth shall be full of knowledge,” etc., “For they shall all know Me,” etc.

(That is, that Daas be also at the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin); whereas in the redemption from Egypt, although the level of “And you shall know that I am G‑d” was drawn down, it was at the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin), as explained elsewhere on the verse “And you shall know this day.”) And this is [the meaning of] “And I will give grass in your field for your animals.”

Meaning: “grass” (esev) is the level of Daas, for it is the Name Ayin-Beis [seventy-two] with a shin in the middle of the word. (The Name Ayin-Beis is in Chochmah, and one must say [that it denotes Daas] because Daas draws down the union of Chochmah with Binah, as mentioned above.) It is drawn down “in your field,” the level of “the field of holy apples,” “for your animals”: these are the souls called “the seed of animal.”

And even the supernal angels, the four camps of the Shechinah (Divine Presence), are also called by the name “animals” and “beasts” (behemos and chayos), for they are “the face of a lion,” “the face of an ox,” etc.

For although they have Daas and recognition of G‑dliness and stand in great self-nullification (bittul), they are nevertheless called by the name “animals,” because their comprehension is only of the level of the attribute of His sovereignty, blessed be He, from which their life-force and coming into being are drawn, and up to there their comprehension rises.

But of His being and essence, blessed be He, their thought has no grasp at all. (As explained elsewhere on the verse “Sing and rejoice,” on the matter of “And they shall sing of Your righteousness.”) And the level of Malchus (sovereignty) is called a “name,” like the analogy of a person’s name, which does not touch his being and essence, etc.

Therefore they are called “animals,” for they have no Daas [or] comprehension of His being and essence, blessed be He. And therefore they say “Holy”: that He, blessed be He, is holy and separate from them, etc.

Therefore of them too it is said, “And I will give grass in your field for your animals.” Now, the drawing down of Daas is through saying “Holy.”

For the Holy One, blessed be He, has no need of their song and praise; rather, through their saying “Holy,” the flow of Daas is drawn down to them, etc.

(For kadosh (“holy”) is kodesh (“holiness”) with a vav, which is the drawing down of Supernal Chochmah, the level of seeing. Alternatively, [it is] the drawing down of Keser (the Crown), and this is through Higher Daas, which receives from the level of Keser, as written above in Parshas Toldos on the verse “Many waters,” etc.)

4Now, in [the blessing] Yotzer Or we say, “All of them as one respond,” etc., “Holy,” etc. — “all of them as one,” specifically. And as it is written in the Zohar: they do not sanctify Him above until Israel sanctify Him below, so that all of them sanctify Him together.

The meaning: the three worlds of Beriah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation) and Asiyah (Action) are the ones called the level of “animal,” and it is to there that they draw down the level of Daas (knowledge).

5Now, the three worlds of Beriah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation) and Asiyah (Action) are the three levels of thought, speech and action. For “Israel arose in thought”; even the souls called “the seed of animal” are from the level of thought, which is the World of Beriah.

Whereas the angels are drawn from the level of “the word of G‑d” and “the breath of His mouth,” etc., which is the level of Yetzirah. Therefore the angels cannot say “Holy” to draw the revelation of Daas (knowledge) down to them until Israel first say “Holy.”

For the drawing down must be in order: Daas is drawn into thought, and from thought it is drawn to speech, etc. It is impossible for it to be drawn into speech before it is drawn into thought, just as it is impossible to speak unless one first thinks the combinations of letters one wishes to speak, etc.

6Yet Israel too cannot say “Holy” until the angels say “Holy.” For although, from the standpoint of the root of their souls, they are from the level of thought, which is above the world of the angels,

yet from the standpoint of their being enclothed in bodies, they are at the level of the World of Asiyah (Action), which is far below the angels, who are from the level of Yetzirah (Formation).

If so, they need to receive Daas (knowledge) through the angels, in the way of the drawing down from the level of speech to the level of action, etc. And this is [the meaning of] “And they receive from one another.”

Therefore they sanctify Him together, specifically: “All of them as one respond,” etc. (And this is [the meaning of] “A crown they shall give You, angels,” etc., “and Your people Israel,” etc., “together,” etc., specifically.

And the meaning of “A crown they shall give You” is that through Daas being drawn into their souls, the revelation of Keser (the Crown) is also drawn down to Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes), for Daas is the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of Keser.

Therefore, when Keser is counted, Daas is not counted, etc. And when there is to be a drawing down of Daas, the drawing down must necessarily begin from Keser; and when it is to be drawn down below, it must necessarily first be drawn down above, as written in the kavanah (mystical intention) of Baruch She’amar.)

Now, all this is drawn down through Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, who draws down and imparts the level of Daas from the beginning of all levels to the end of all levels, so that it passes through and is drawn into all the levels of thought, speech and action.

(And see what is written elsewhere on the verse “Lift up your staff,” etc.: that through the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, the desire of the heart (re’usa deliba) was drawn into thought, speech and action. That is, through “Lift up your staff,” [which is] the level of Daas, which rises up to Keser, etc., and draws down from there to thought, speech and action. And see what is written on the verse “And Moshe spoke,” etc., “to the heads of the tribes.”)

7And this is [the meaning of] “And these are the ordinances that you shall set before them.” Mishpat (ordinance) is an expression of going (halichah), as [the Targum] translates the verse “according to the former manner (kamishpat harishon)” as “according to the former way (kehilchesa kadmaysa).”

And the halachos (laws) are an expression of “The ways (halichos) of the world are His”: the level of the ascent of the worlds, elevation after elevation, etc. And this is through Daas (knowledge), which is the recognition and feeling of G‑dliness; therefore it is called by the name “going.”

8Therefore the kelipos (husks) do not have the level of the faculty of Daas (knowledge), as is known from the matter of “Then there came two women, harlots,” etc.,

and this is because they are something (yesh) and an entity, and they lack the level of self-nullification (bittul) from below upward, etc. And this Daas and going is drawn down through the study of the halachos, by delving into them to grasp them well and thoroughly.

This is a revelation of the Daas of the Torah in a person’s thought; through this he merits going through the levels, in comprehending the greatness of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, so that the level of Daas is drawn into him.

(And this is what is said in the Gemara, that Rav Sheshes said, “Rejoice, my soul! For you I have read [Scripture], for you I have learned [Mishnah],” etc. “At first, when a person does [it], he does it ada’ata denafshei (for his own sake).”

The meaning of ada’ata denafshei is that the level of Daas be drawn into his soul, so that his soul be attached and bound to His G‑dliness, blessed be He; and this is drawn down through occupation with the Torah.) “That you shall set”: that is, Moshe will impart the level of Daas.

“Before them” (lifneihem): that is, to their inner dimension (lifnimiyusam). For Daas is specifically the drawing down of the inner dimension (pnimiyus), and through it the revelation of the inner dimension of the emotive attributes (middos) is drawn down, which is the endurance of the emotive attributes. (And see what is written above on the verse “Many waters,” etc.)

Therefore it says in the Zohar: “Moshe, Moshe” — the cantillation has no break; “Avraham, Avraham” — the cantillation has a break. For Avraham is the level of the attribute of love and Chesed (kindness), etc., and there is a break (pesik) and an interruption between the love of Asiyah (Action) and the love of Yetzirah (Formation).

But Moshe, who is the level of the inner dimension — his cantillation has no break, for in the level of the inner dimension there is not so much division, etc.

(Alternatively, lifneihem (“before them”) means to the level of the face (penei) of man. For although they are the level of “animal” — “the face of a lion,” “the face of an ox,” etc. — nevertheless, “and the likeness of their faces was the face of a man”: that is, the level of the Daas of Beriah (Creation). And into the level of their faces he will set and draw down the level of the drawing down of the Daas that is drawn from above.

For this Daas of Beriah is a vessel for the light of the Daas drawn from above, similar to what is written in Parshas Vayakhel: that the lower will, which is born of the intellect, is a vessel for the resting of the higher will, which is above the intellect, etc.

It is further explained in Parshas Miketz, on the verse “And this was formerly (lefanim) in Israel,” that in each one there is an inner dimension and an outer dimension (chitzoniyus), concealed and revealed, etc. And elsewhere the matter of “and their wings were separated” was explained as the manner of division, whereas “and their faces,” etc. — see there.

And therefore “if you buy” is said in the singular. And see what is written on the verse “And the Jews accepted” (vekibel), in the singular. Here, however, he resolved [the question of] “if you buy” being in the singular with a different answer: that it refers to Moshe, etc.

And this is [the meaning of] “Your judgments are a great deep; man and animal You save, O G‑d.” The meaning: “Your judgments,” which are the laws of the Torah, are very lofty; therefore they can be drawn down even very far below, so that through this “man and animal You save,” that is, the level of the face of man that is in the animal, as mentioned above.)

Therefore the drawing down of Daas to the level of “animal” comes specifically through Moshe, since he is from the level of Higher Daas, the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), which is above even the level of the souls called “the seed of man,” who are from the level of Lower Daas, of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin),

for it encompasses and surrounds. (See what is written on the verse “You have captured my heart.” And relative to the encompassing [light], man and animal are equal; as in the Sabbatical year, which is an ascent at the level of sovev kol almin, man and animal are equal, for once [the produce] has ceased for the wild beast from the field, man may not eat [it], etc., as written elsewhere on the verse “You shall keep My Sabbaths.”)