Torah Ohr · Parshas Noach · Maamar 3

ביאור על הנ״ל

An Explanation of the Above

Biur · an explanation of maamar 2

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about 45 min of study
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The big idea

The worries of earning a living come from the animal soul, which is rooted in Tohu, a realm of intense, unbounded light higher than our ordered world; when a busy person turns that force toward G‑d in prayer, it becomes a love “with all your might” that seeks G‑d's very essence, and it is expressed through the mitzvos.

The maamar in brief

The maamar explains the claim of the previous one that a businessman's prayer can reach a lofty level. The soul descends into a body and an animal soul, and into the worries of livelihood, for the sake of an ascent: the animal soul's love is limitless, like the extra force of baalei teshuvah. This is because the animal soul is rooted in Tohu. Reinterpreting the Midrash of creation with “judgment,” the Alter Rebbe explains Gevurah as intensity of light: Tohu is abundant light in few vessels, where each attribute stands alone, while Tikkun has more vessels, gentler light, and attributes that combine. Angels and animals are rooted in Tohu, the human soul in Tikkun; below man is higher, but in the root the animals are higher. Contemplating in prayer how his whole day is spent on a faint ray of G‑d's kingship, a person longs for G‑d's essence. The Flood, the ark, Shabbos and prayer, and the verses “Many waters” and “We have a little sister” are read in this light: love that seeks G‑d Himself, drawn down through the mitzvos, which reach Keser, and the future ascent of Malchus to be a crown.

Outline

HeadingAn explanation of the preceding maamar on the waters of Noach.¶1
The soul's descent and the animal soul's powerThe soul descends into worldly worry to rise through limitless love that comes from the animal soul, rooted in Tohu.¶2
Judgment as intensity: Tohu and TikkunGevurah is not the withholding of light but its intensity; Tohu is abundant light and few vessels, where attributes cannot combine, and Tikkun lets opposites coexist.¶3–4
Souls, angels and animalsThe human soul is from Tikkun and combines all attributes; angels and animals are from Tohu, lower now but higher in their root, so the animal soul's refined love is more intense.¶5–7
Contemplation in prayer and the blessingsReflecting that all sustenance is a faint ray of Malchus kindles longing for G‑d's essence, expressed in “who has sanctified us with His commandments.”¶8–9
The waters of Noach, the ark and ShabbosThe Flood was a purifying light of Tohu; worldly worries are the “waters of Noach”; entering the ark is entering the words of prayer, a lower Shabbos that lifts the week, anticipating the future day that is entirely Shabbos.¶10–17
Many waters cannot extinguish the loveWorldly worries cannot quench the love for G‑d Himself, which scorns even the wisdom of Gan Eden and is drawn down through the mitzvos, which reach Keser.¶18–23
We have a little sisterMalchus rising through the mitzvos becomes one with G‑d's essence: a “little” single point that includes all, which no longer gives outward and whose speech is absorbed within her.¶24–26

Key concepts

Tohu and Tikkunתהו ותקון: Tohu is the first order of divine light, intense and unbounded, with few vessels, in which each attribute stands alone; it shattered. Tikkun is the ordered world that followed, with more vessels and gentler light, in which attributes combine.
Gevurah as intensityגבורה לשון תגבורת: Judgment is not the withholding of G‑d's light but its excess: light too intense for an unworthy recipient to receive.
Love “with all your might”אהבת בכל מאדך: A love without limit, which comes from refining the animal soul, whose root in Tohu gives it a force the G‑dly soul alone lacks.
The waters of Noachמי נח: The flood of worries and thoughts about livelihood, which come from Tohu through the animal soul; like the Flood, they come to purify.
To Him and not to His attributesאליו ולא למדותיו: Love directed to G‑d's essence itself, not to any revealed light or reward, even the spiritual delight of Gan Eden.
620 pillars of lightתר״ך עמודי אור: The 613 Torah and seven Rabbinic mitzvos, equal to Keser; through them a person “embraces” G‑d's essence, as one embraces a person through his body.

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Heading ¶1

1ביאור על הנ״ל1

An explanation of the above.

Explanation

This maamar is a further explanation of the preceding discourse on “For this is as the waters of Noach to Me.” That discourse taught that the prayer of a person busy all day with earning a living can reach a level beyond that of one who studies all day; here the Alter Rebbe explains why, using the Kabbalistic ideas of the worlds of Tohu and Tikkun.

Paragraph 1 in brief

A heading: what follows elaborates the previous maamar.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
ביאור על הנ״ל
How it connects
The note records another transcript (hanachah) of this same discourse, recorded by Rabbi Pinchas, printed with glosses.our note
Where the note points
Sefer Hanachos HaRap, transcripts of the Alter Rebbe's discourses by Rabbi Pinchas (Reizes) of Shklovספר הנחות הר״פ
p. 58 (ע' נח), with glosses
Our explanationSeveral of the following notes compare its wording with ours.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורה
Bereishis, vol. 3, p. 620b (תרכ, ב)
Our explanationThe Tzemach Tzedek's Or HaTorah prints this discourse as well; the note directs the reader to that parallel version.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Likkutei Torah L'Gimmel Parshiyosלקוטי תורה לג׳ פרשיות
(the Or HaTorah version is also printed there)
Our explanationThe version found in Or HaTorah was also printed in this collection of the Alter Rebbe's discourses on three parshiyos, another printing of the same maamar.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
עוד הנחה בספר הנחות הר״פ ע׳ נח עם הגהות וכו׳. אוה״ת בראשית כרך ג תרכ, ב (נדפס גם בלקו״ת לג׳ פרשיות).
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.

The soul's descent and the animal soul's power ¶2

2להבין הענין שתפלת הבעל עסק יהיה במדרגה גבוה1 כו׳. צלה״ב ענין ירידת הנשמה שהיא הניצוץ אלקות בעוה״ז בגוף ונפש הבהמית להיות טרוד תמיד במחשבות ודאגות הפרנסה בהבלי עוה״ז.

[We need] to understand the matter [stated above], that the prayer of a man of business will be on a lofty level, etc. This requires understanding: the matter of the descent of the soul, which is the spark of G‑dliness, into this world, into a body and an animal soul (nefesh habahamis), to be constantly preoccupied with thoughts and worries about livelihood, in the vanities of this world.

Explanation

The previous maamar said that the prayer of a businessman can reach a very high level. To see why, the Alter Rebbe first raises the puzzle behind it: the soul is a spark of G‑dliness, yet it is sent down into a body and an animal soul (the life-force that drives a person's physical needs and desires), where it spends its days worrying about making a living. Why would G‑d arrange such a descent?

וזהו ירידה גדולה. מההכרח לומר שירידה זו היא צורך עלי׳. שלאחר שירדה ונתלבשה בגוף ונפש הבהמית תוכל לעלות למעלה מעלה ע״י אהבת בכל מאדך2 שהוא בלי גבול.

And this is a great descent. It must necessarily be said that this descent is for the sake of an ascent: that after it has descended and been clothed in a body and an animal soul, it can rise higher and higher through the love of “with all your might” (bechol me’odecha), which is without limit.

Explanation

The answer is a basic principle of Chassidus: the soul descends in order to rise higher than it was before. Through its struggle in a body, it can reach the love of G‑d called “with all your might” (from the Shema), which the Alter Rebbe reads as a love “without limit,” beyond the measured love that comes from the G‑dly soul's understanding alone.

כמארז״ל טוב זה מלאך חיים3 מאד זה מה״מ4 כו׳ וזהו דוקא ע״י האהבה הבאה מנפש הבהמית

As our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “‘Good’ — this is the angel of life; ‘very’ (me’od) — this is the angel of death,” etc. And this [comes about] specifically through the love that comes from the animal soul.

Explanation

The Midrash reads the words “very good” at the end of creation as including even the angel of death. The word “very” (me'od) is the same word as “might” in “with all your might”: the very force that opposes holiness, once transformed, becomes the source of limitless love. This comes specifically from the animal soul, with its raw power, when it is turned toward G‑d.

כמו שאנו רואים למטה שכח הבהמה גדול מכח האדם כמו״כ למעלה ארז״ל במקום שבע״ת5 עומדין צדיקים כו׳6

Just as we see below that the strength of an animal is greater than the strength of a human being, so too above: our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “In the place where baalei teshuvah stand, the perfectly righteous [cannot stand],” etc.

Explanation

Two parallels: physically, an ox is stronger than a man; spiritually, the Talmud teaches that those who return to G‑d after sin (baalei teshuvah) stand in a place the perfectly righteous cannot reach. In both cases the lower or more distant thing has the greater power.

והיינו מפני שבחי׳ בע״ת הוא בחילא יתיר ובכח והתגברות גדול והיינו מפני שבחי׳ נפש הבהמית הוא מבחי׳ עולם התהו.7

That is to say, [this is] because the level of baalei teshuvah is with greater force (bechila yatir), with great strength and intensity; and that is because the animal soul is from the level of the World of Tohu.

Explanation

The Aramaic bechila yatir (“with greater force”) expresses the intensity of the penitent's return. That extra force, the Alter Rebbe says, comes from the animal soul's root in the World of Tohu (“Chaos”), the first, unstable order of divine light that preceded our ordered world. The next paragraphs explain what Tohu is.

Paragraph 2 in brief

The paragraph poses the question of why the soul descends into worldly struggle and answers that the animal soul, rooted in Tohu, gives a person a force of love (“with all your might”) that exceeds what the G‑dly soul alone can reach.

Deeper

The same argument appears in the first maamar of this parsha (Torah Ohr, Noach 1:5), where the animal soul is said to be rooted higher than the G‑dly soul, in the “kings who reigned before any king reigned over Israel,” and to have fallen only through the Shattering of the Vessels. That passage also notes that a person draws life from animals and food while they do not need him, a sign of their higher root.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
יהיה במדריגה גבוה
How it connects
Rabbi Pinchas's transcript reads here “can be an elevation higher and higher” instead of “will be on a lofty level,” stressing that the businessman's prayer can ascend beyond its starting point.our note
Where the note points
Sefer Hanachos HaRap, transcripts of the Alter Rebbe's discourses by Rabbi Pinchas (Reizes) of Shklovספר הנחות הר״פ
in its version of this maamar
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
בהנחת הר״פ: יכול להיות הגבה למעלה מעלה.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
בכל מאדך
How it connects
The Shema commands to love G‑d “with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might.” The Alter Rebbe reads “with all your might” (me'odecha) as a love without limit, which the soul can reach only after its descent.our note
The source
Deuteronomy 6:5דברים ו׳:ה׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
4שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל Havayah אֱלֹקֵינוּ Havayah אֶחָד: 5וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכׇל־מְאֹדֶךָ: 6וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם עַל־לְבָבֶךָ:
4HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE. 5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart;
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
3
On the words
טוב זה מלאך חיים
How it connects
The earlier maamar uses the same Midrash: it is precisely through the opposite, the darkness of the animal soul, that one reaches the love “with all your might,” which is truly without limit.our note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אור
above, 9a (ט, א)
דוקא. ונק׳ אהבה זו בחי׳ בכל מאדך שהוא בלי גבול ממש שבאה דוקא מן ההפוך שהוא החשך וכמ״ש טוב זה מלאך חיים (טוב) מאד זה מה״מ שע״י ההפוך והחשך דוקא שהוא בחי׳ נה״ב יכולים לבא לבחי׳ אהבת בכל מאדך שהוא בלי גבול ממש. והיינו לפי שבשרשה למעלה מעלה שורש נה״ב גבוה יותר מבחי׳ נפש האלקית וכמ״ש (בראשי׳ לו) ואלה המל׳ אשר מלכו כו׳ לפני מלך מלך לבנ״י שהוא בחי׳ נפש האלקית רק שע״י שבה״כ נפלו למטה מטה כמ״ש וימלך וימת כו׳ אבל בשרשם הם למעלה מעלה מבחי׳ נפש האלקית. ולזאת גם כמו שנפלו למטה יש להם תגבורת על נפש האלקית מפני ששרשם הוא מבחי׳ מלוכה שהוא בחי׳ התנשאות כו׳. וגם האדם מקבל חיות מבחי׳ בהמות ומאכלים ובלעדם אינו יכול לחיות משא״כ המאכלים אינם צריכים אל האדם. וכל זה מפני שבשרש …
Now, each and every person has toil and the preoccupation of earning a livelihood, occupying himself with the matters of this physical world; and this is the level of the “many waters” mentioned above, which are called “the waters of Noach,” which is the level of naycha d’rucha, because through the level of the “many waters” mentioned above the soul is raised to a higher level than [it had] before its enclothement, etc., when it merely delighted in the radiance of the Shechinah, etc. As our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “One hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come,” because this is the level of the advantage of light [that comes] specifically out of darkness, which is the level of the subjugation of the sitra achra (iskafya) and the transformation of darkness (is’hapcha chashocha), etc. For when one is occupied all day with physical matters, in the preoccupation of earning a livelihood, which are what is called “darkness,” and afterward contemplates in prayer how “there is no blade of grass below that does not have a mazal above,” etc. — these are the mazalos, which channel life-force to this entire world, as it is written …
Our explanationIt adds that the animal soul's root is among the “kings who reigned” of Tohu, higher than the G‑dly soul, and that it fell only through the Shattering of the Vessels.
Read it here
Sefer Hanachos HaRap, transcripts of the Alter Rebbe's discourses by Rabbi Pinchas (Reizes) of Shklovספר הנחות הר״פ
in its version of this maamar
Our explanationThe note records that this passage about the angel of life and the angel of death is not found in Rabbi Pinchas's transcript.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
ראה לעיל ט, א. ענין זה ליתא בהנחת הר״פ.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
4
On the words
טוב זה מלאך חיים מאד זה מה״מ
How it connects
The Midrash expounds the words “and behold, it was very good” at the end of creation: “good” is the angel of life and “very” is the angel of death. The Alter Rebbe uses it to show that the “very” (me'od) — the power that comes from the opposite of holiness — is what makes limitless love possible.our note
The source
Genesis 1:31בראשית א׳:ל״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
30וּלְכׇל־חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ וּלְכׇל־עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּלְכֹל רוֹמֵשׂ עַל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר־בּוֹ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה אֶת־כׇּל־יֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב לְאׇכְלָה וַיְהִי־כֵן: 31וַיַּרְא אֱלֹקִים אֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִנֵּה־טוֹב מְאֹד וַיְהִי־עֶרֶב וַיְהִי־בֹקֶר יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי:
30… is a living soul, [I have given] every green herb for food.’ And it was so. 31And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
5
On the words
במקום שבע״ת עומדים
How it connects
The note directs the reader to a note of the Rebbe on this teaching about the place of baalei teshuvah, printed in that volume and reprinted elsewhere.our note
The source
Kehot cites ברכות לד, א. וראה הערת כ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע בספר המאמרים ה׳תש״ט ע׳ 183. ונעתק בכ״מ.; the words are at Berakhot 34b.
Berakhot 34aברכות ל״ד אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Where the note points
Sefer HaMaamarim 5709, by the Previous Rebbe, with the Rebbe's noteספר המאמרים ה׳תש״ט
p. 183, the Rebbe's note (reprinted in several places)
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
ברכות לד, א. וראה הערת כ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע בספר המאמרים ה׳תש״ט ע׳ 183. ונעתק בכ״מ.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
6
On the words
במקום שבע״ת עומדין צדיקים כו׳
How it connects
Rabbi Abbahu teaches that where baalei teshuvah stand, even the perfectly righteous cannot stand. The Alter Rebbe explains that their advantage is the extra force that comes from overcoming the animal soul.our note
The source
Berakhot 34b:22–23ברכות ל״ד ב:כ״ב-כ״גSefaria (opens in a new tab)
וּפְלִיגָא דְּרַבִּי אֲבָהוּ, דְּאָמַר רַבִּי אֲבָהוּ: מָקוֹם שֶׁבַּעֲלֵי תְשׁוּבָה עוֹמְדִין — צַדִּיקִים גְּמוּרִים אֵינָם עוֹמְדִין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״שָׁלוֹם שָׁלוֹם לָרָחוֹק וְלַקָּרוֹב״. ״לָרָחוֹק״ בְּרֵישָׁא, וַהֲדַר ״לַקָּרוֹב״. וְרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר לְךָ: מַאי ״רָחוֹק״ — שֶׁהָיָה רָחוֹק מִדְּבַר עֲבֵירָה מֵעִיקָּרָא. וּמַאי ״קָרוֹב״ — שֶׁהָיָה קָרוֹב לִדְבַר עֲבֵירָה, וְנִתְרַחֵק מִמֶּנּוּ הַשְׁתָּא.
This is at variance with the opinion of R. Abbahu who said : The place which the penitent occupy, the perfectly righteous are unable to occupy ; as it is said, "Peace, peace to him that is far off and to him that is near" — "to him that is far off [from God]" first, and then "to him that is near." But R. Johanan can reply : What means "To him that is far off"? To him who was far off from transgression from the first ; and what means "To him that is near"? To him that was near transgression and has now removed himself therefrom.
Hebrew: William Davidson, Vocalized Aramaic (CC-BY-NC) · English: Tractate Berakot by A. Cohen, Cambridge University Press, 1921 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
7
On the words
ביאור על הנ״ל
How it connects
Kehot’s note points to where this is explained further: Or HaTorah.
Where the note points
Or HaTorahאור התורה
by the Tzemach Tzedek · Bereishis, vol. 3, p. 620b
The Tzemach Tzedek’s maamarim and notes on the Torah, arranged by parsha; many of them expand the maamarim of Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah.
Find it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Likkutei Torah on Three Parshiyosלקוטי תורה לג׳ פרשיות
by the Tzemach Tzedek (editor)
A separate early collection of the Alter Rebbe’s maamarim on three parshiyos, with the Tzemach Tzedek’s notes.
Find it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
עוד הנחה בספר הנחות הר״פ ע׳ נח עם הגהות וכו׳. אוה״ת בראשית כרך ג תרכ, ב (נדפס גם בלקו״ת לג׳ פרשיות).
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.

Judgment as intensity: Tohu and Tikkun ¶3–4

3ואלה המלכים אשר מלכו1 2 וכו׳. ובחי׳ התהו הוא למעלה מבחי׳ תקון כמ״ש אשר מלכו לפני מלך מלך לבנ״י שהוא בחי׳ התיקון.

“And these are the kings who reigned,” etc. And the level of Tohu is higher than the level of Tikkun, as it is written, “who reigned before any king reigned over the children of Israel,” which is the level of Tikkun.

Explanation

The Torah lists the kings of Edom who reigned and died one after another “before any king reigned over Israel.” In the Kabbalah these kings stand for the Sefiros of the World of Tohu, which were so intense that they could not endure and “died” (shattered). Because they came “before,” their root is higher than that of Tikkun (“rectification”), the ordered world that followed, represented by the kings of Israel.

ולהבין כ״ז הנה איתא במדרש בתחלה עלה במחשבה3 לברוא את העולם במדה״ד4 ראה שאין העולם מתקיים שיתף מדה״ר כו׳.

And to understand all this: behold, it is stated in the Midrash, “At first it arose in [G‑d’s] thought to create the world with the attribute of judgment; He saw that the world could not endure, [so] He joined [to it] the attribute of mercy,” etc.

Explanation

To explain why Tohu is higher yet could not last, the Alter Rebbe brings the Midrash: G‑d first “thought” to create the world with judgment, saw it could not endure, and added mercy. He will read this Midrash as describing Tohu and Tikkun.

ואין הפי׳ כמו שהעולם סוברין5 שמדה״ד הוא בחי׳ צמצום ומניעת ההשפעה. כי הרי בחי׳ גבורה היא אחת ממדותיו ית׳.

Now the meaning is not as people commonly suppose, that the attribute of judgment is the aspect of tzimtzum (contraction) and the withholding of the flow [of beneficence]. For after all, Gevurah is one of His attributes, blessed be He,

Explanation

He first rejects the common reading, that “judgment” simply means holding back G‑d's goodness. That cannot be the whole meaning, because Gevurah (restraint, the source of judgment) is itself one of G‑d's attributes, and as such it too gives life.

כמ״ש (ד״ה א׳ כ״ט) לך ה׳ הגדולה והגבורה6 שהם עשר ספי׳ דאצי׳ המחיי׳ ומהוים מאין ליש.

as it is written (I Chronicles 29), “Yours, O G‑d, is the greatness and the might (hagevurah),” which are the ten Sefiros of Atzilus that give life and bring into being from nothing to something.

Explanation

The verse names “greatness” and “might” (gevurah) among G‑d's attributes; Chassidus reads the list as the Sefiros of Atzilus, the attributes through which G‑d gives life and creates something from nothing. So Gevurah is a creative, life-giving power, not just a limit.

ועוד הנה כתיב (דברים יב) כי הדם הוא הנפש7 שעיקר חיות האדם הוא הדם. ודם נמשך מבחי׳ גבורה מדה״ד.

Moreover, it is written (Deuteronomy 12), “For the blood is the soul”: the main life-force (chayus) of a person is the blood. And blood is drawn from the level of Gevurah, the attribute of judgment.

Explanation

A second proof: the Torah calls blood “the soul,” the core of a person's life, and in the Kabbalah blood (red, warm) is associated with Gevurah. Again, Gevurah is the carrier of life, not its absence.

אלא הפי׳ מדה״ד הוא בחי׳ גבורה לשון תגבורת שכח החיות מאור א״ס בא בהתגברות יותר מבחי׳ החסד שהוא נמשך למטה מטה

Rather, the meaning of “the attribute of judgment” is the level of Gevurah, a term that means intensity (tigboros): the power of the life-force from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) comes with greater intensity than in the level of Chesed, which is drawn down lower and lower

Explanation

So the Alter Rebbe offers his own reading: the word gevurah is related to hisgabrus, “intensity.” In Gevurah, the life-force from the Infinite Light comes with more force than in Chesed (kindness). Chesed reaches far down to every recipient,

אבל הוא בא בבחי׳ קרירות. משא״כ בחי׳ גבורה שבא החיות מאור א״ס בהתגברות רב למאוד.8

but comes in a manner of coolness. This is not so with the level of Gevurah, in which the life-force from the Infinite Light comes with exceedingly great intensity.

Explanation

because it flows gently, in a “cool” and moderate way. Gevurah, by contrast, carries the life-force with an overwhelming intensity.

ע״כ ממילא כשבא בדרך השתלשלות למטה נעשה בחי׳ דין9 מי שאינו ראוי לקבל ההשפעה אינו יכול לקבל מפני שהחיות נמשך בהתגברות רב.

Therefore, as a matter of course, when it comes down by way of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), it becomes the aspect of judgment: one who is not fit to receive the flow cannot receive it, because the life-force is drawn with great intensity.

Explanation

This is how “judgment” results: when such intense light descends through the worlds, a recipient who is not fit for it cannot receive it. Judgment, then, is not stinginess; it is a light too strong for an unworthy vessel.

משא״כ בחי׳ חסד שבא החיות בקרירות יוכל למשוך ולהתפשט למטה מטה אבל בחי׳ גבורה הוא החיות בהתגברות בחי׳ ז׳ מלכים והוא עולם התהו שלכן נק׳ י״ס בעולם התהו בשם מלכים:10

This is not so with the level of Chesed, in which the life-force comes with coolness; it can be drawn and spread lower and lower. But the level of Gevurah is the life-force with intensity, the level of the seven kings, which is the World of Tohu; this is why the ten Sefiros in the World of Tohu are called by the name “kings.”

Explanation

Chesed's gentle flow can spread everywhere; Gevurah's intense flow is the level of the “seven kings” of Tohu. This is why the Kabbalah calls the Sefiros of Tohu “kings”: each was a proud, sovereign power standing on its own, and that intensity is the “judgment” with which the world was first to be created.

Paragraph 3 in brief

The paragraph reinterprets the Midrash about creating the world with judgment: judgment (Gevurah) is not the withholding of light but an excess of intense light, and this intense light is the World of Tohu, the “kings who reigned before any king reigned.”

Deeper

In Tanya, Part II, chapter 5, the Alter Rebbe reads the same Midrash differently: judgment is the concealment that makes the world seem to exist on its own, and mercy is the revelation of G‑dliness through tzaddikim and miracles. Here the emphasis is on judgment as intensity of revelation. The Kehot note also cites the Rebbe's remark (Likkutei Sichos vol. 30) that the Gevurah meant here is the Gevurah of Atzilus.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
ואלה המלכים אשר מלכו
How it connects
The Torah introduces the kings of Edom “who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel.” In Kabbalah these are the Sefiros of Tohu; the Alter Rebbe uses the verse to show that Tohu comes “before,” and is higher than, Tikkun.our note
The source
Genesis 36:31בראשית ל״ו:ל״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
30אַלּוּף דִּשֹׁן אַלּוּף אֵצֶר אַלּוּף דִּישָׁן אֵלֶּה אַלּוּפֵי הַחֹרִי לְאַלֻּפֵיהֶם בְּאֶרֶץ שֵׂעִיר: 31וְאֵלֶּה הַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר מָלְכוּ בְּאֶרֶץ אֱדוֹם לִפְנֵי מְלׇךְ־מֶלֶךְ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: 32וַיִּמְלֹךְ בֶּאֱדוֹם בֶּלַע בֶּן־בְּעוֹר וְשֵׁם עִירוֹ דִּנְהָבָה:
30… the chiefs that came of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir. 31And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel. 32And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
בראשית לו, לא.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
How it connects
Kehot’s note points to I Chronicles 1:43 for these words.
The source
I Chronicles 1:43דברי הימים א א׳:מ״גSefaria (opens in a new tab)
42בְּנֵי־אֵצֶר בִּלְהָן וְזַעֲוָן יַעֲקָן בְּנֵי דִישׁוֹן עוּץ וַאֲרָן: 43וְאֵלֶּה הַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר מָלְכוּ בְּאֶרֶץ אֱדוֹם לִפְנֵי מְלׇךְ־מֶלֶךְ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בֶּלַע בֶּן־בְּעוֹר וְשֵׁם עִירוֹ דִּנְהָבָה: 44וַיָּמׇת בָּלַע וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו יוֹבָב בֶּן־זֶרַח מִבׇּצְרָה:
42The sons of Ezer: Bilhan, and Zaavan, Jaakan. The sons of Dishan: Uz, and Aran. 43Now these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before their reigned any king over the children of Israel: Bela the son of Beor; and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 44And Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
3
On the words
אי׳ במדרש בתחלה עלה במחשבה
How it connects
The Midrash says G‑d first intended to create the world with the attribute of judgment, saw it could not endure, and joined to it the attribute of mercy. The Alter Rebbe reads it as the passage from Tohu to Tikkun.our note
The source
Bereshit Rabbah 12:15בראשית רבה י״ב:ט״וSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Tanya, Sha’ar HaYichud 5:1תניא, חלק שני; שער היחוד והאמונה ה׳:א׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
וְהִנֵּה, עַל זֶה אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: ״בִּתְחִלָּה עָלָה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה לִבְרוֹא אֶת הָעוֹלָם בְּמִדַּת הַדִּין, רָאָה שֶׁאֵין הָעוֹלָם מִתְקַיֵּים – שִׁתֵּף בּוֹ מִדַּת רַחֲמִים״, דְּהַיְינוּ, הִתְגַּלּוּת אֱלֹהוּת עַל יְדֵי צַדִּיקִים וְאוֹתוֹת וּמוֹפְתִים שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה.
Hebrew: Kehot Publication Society (CC-BY-NC) · via Sefaria
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורה
Bereishis, vol. 3, p. 516a (תקטז, א)
Our explanationThe Tzemach Tzedek discusses the same Midrash about creating the world first with judgment and then joining mercy; the note points there as a parallel treatment.
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Tanyaתניא
Part II (Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah), ch. 5
והנה, על זה אמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה: ״בתחלה עלה במחשבה לברוא את העולם במדת הדין, ראה שאין העולם מתקיים – שתף בו מדת רחמים״, דהיינו, התגלות אלהות על ידי צדיקים ואותות ומופתים שבתורה. והנה על זה אמרו בזהר, ד״לעילא, בסטרא דקדושה עילאה, אית ימינא ואית שמאלא״, דהיינו, חסד וגבורה, פירוש, דשתיהן הן מדות אלהות למעלה משכל הנבראים והשגתם, ״דאיהו וגרמוהי חד״ בעולם האצילות. ואף השגת משה רבינו עליו השלום בנבואתו, לא היתה בעולם האצילות, אלא על ידי התלבשותו בעולם הבריאה. ואף גם זאת, לא בשתי מדות אלו – חסד וגבורה, אלא על ידי התלבשותן במדות שלמטה מהן במדרגה, שהן מדות נצח הוד יסוד [כמו שכתוב בשער הנבואה]. רק שמתן שכרם של צדיקים בגן עדן, הוא השגת התפשטות החיות ואור הנמשך משתי מדות אלו חסד וגבורה, והוא – מזון נשמות הצדיקים …
Our explanationIn Tanya the Alter Rebbe explains the same Midrash: mercy was joined to judgment through the revelation of G‑dliness by tzaddikim and by the signs and wonders of the Torah. He adds from the Zohar that above there is “right” and “left,” Chesed and Gevurah, both divine attributes one with G‑d in Atzilus, beyond created understanding.
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Kehot’s note
ב״ר יב, טו. ראה פרש״י בראשית א, א. אוה״ת בראשית כרך ג תקטז, א. תניא ח״ב פ״ה.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
4
On the words
בתחלה עלה במחשבה לברוא את העולם במדה״ד
How it connects
Rashi on the first verse of the Torah cites this teaching to explain why the creation narrative uses the Name Elokim (judgment) and later adds Havayah (mercy).our note
The source
Rashi on Genesis 1:1רש"י על בראשית א׳:א׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
5
On the words
ואין הפי׳ כמו שהעולם סוברין
How it connects
A passage of this maamar, from here on, is quoted in Or HaTorah with the Tzemach Tzedek's glosses, in his discussion of the kings of Edom in Parshas Vayishlach.our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורה
Vayishlach, vol. 2, p. 250b (רנ, ב), with glosses
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Kehot’s note
קטע מובא באוה״ת וישלח כרך ב ע׳ רנ, ב עם הגהות.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
6
On the words
לך ה׳ הגדולה והגבורה
How it connects
David's blessing names greatness and might among G‑d's attributes. The Alter Rebbe cites it to prove that Gevurah is one of G‑d's own life-giving attributes, the Sefiros of Atzilus.our note
The source
I Chronicles 29:11דברי הימים א כ״ט:י״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
10וַיְבָרֶךְ דָּוִיד אֶת־ה׳ לְעֵינֵי כׇּל־הַקָּהָל וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִיד בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹקֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָבִינוּ מֵעוֹלָם וְעַד־עוֹלָם: 11לְךָ ה׳ הַגְּדֻלָּה וְהַגְּבוּרָה וְהַתִּפְאֶרֶת וְהַנֵּצַח וְהַהוֹד כִּי־כֹל בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ לְךָ ה׳ הַמַּמְלָכָה וְהַמִּתְנַשֵּׂא לְכֹל לְרֹאשׁ: 12וְהָעֹשֶׁר וְהַכָּבוֹד מִלְּפָנֶיךָ וְאַתָּה מוֹשֵׁל בַּכֹּל וּבְיָדְךָ כֹּחַ וּגְבוּרָה וּבְיָדְךָ לְגַדֵּל וּלְחַזֵּק לַכֹּל:
10… said: ‘Blessed be Thou, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. 11Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and Thou art exalted as head above all. 12Both riches and honour come of Thee, and Thou rulest over all; and in Thy hand …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
7
How it connects
The Torah forbids eating blood “for the blood is the soul.” The Alter Rebbe uses it to show that blood, associated with Gevurah, is the main carrier of life.our note
The source
Deuteronomy 12:23דברים י״ב:כ״גSefaria (opens in a new tab)
22אַךְ כַּאֲשֶׁר יֵאָכֵל אֶת־הַצְּבִי וְאֶת־הָאַיָּל כֵּן תֹּאכְלֶנּוּ הַטָּמֵא וְהַטָּהוֹר יַחְדָּו יֹאכְלֶנּוּ: 23רַק חֲזַק לְבִלְתִּי אֲכֹל הַדָּם כִּי הַדָּם הוּא הַנָּפֶשׁ וְלֹא־תֹאכַל הַנֶּפֶשׁ עִם־הַבָּשָׂר: 24לֹא תֹּאכְלֶנּוּ עַל־הָאָרֶץ תִּשְׁפְּכֶנּוּ כַּמָּיִם:
22… is eaten, so thou shalt eat thereof; the unclean and the clean may eat thereof alike. 23Only be stedfast in not eating the blood; for the blood is the life; and thou shalt not eat the life with the flesh. 24Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
8
On the words
משא״כ בחי׳ גבורה . . בהתגברות רב למאוד
How it connects
The Rebbe writes there that what this passage says about Gevurah refers to the Gevurah of Atzilus — Gevurah as a divine attribute, before it descends to become judgment.our note
Where the note points
Likkutei Sichos, talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbeלקוטי שיחות
vol. 30, p. 108, in the footnotes
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Kehot’s note
בלקו״ש ח״ל ע׳ 108 כ׳ שמש״כ כאן ”שהכוונה לגבורה דאצילות” ע״ש בשולי הגליון.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
9
On the words
גבורה לשון תגבורת . . למטה נעשה בחי׳ דין
How it connects
Rabbi Pinchas's transcript explains this more fully: because the flow comes with intensity, there are places not fit to receive it, whereas Chesed's cool flow can be received even by one who is unworthy.our note
Where the note points
Sefer Hanachos HaRap, transcripts of the Alter Rebbe's discourses by Rabbi Pinchas (Reizes) of Shklovספר הנחות הר״פ
in its version of this maamar
Our explanationSo when the lights came with intensity, the vessels were too small to hold them, and since each attribute was an abundant revelation of itself, it could not be combined with its opposite, and each stood alone.
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Sefer HaMaamarim 5562ספר המאמרים תקס״ב
p. 4
Our explanationThe note points to a parallel discussion among the Alter Rebbe's discourses of 5562 (1801–02) of Gevurah as intensity that becomes judgment below.
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Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורה
Devarim, p. 2131 (ב'קלא); Devarim, vol. 6, discourse beginning “Tik'u,” section 4
Our explanationAccording to the note, the second place illustrates the idea with the difference between a wild beast and a domestic animal: the wild beast, from Gevurah, has more life and vigor, yet as it descends it becomes a predator that tears and harms — just as intense light becomes judgment below.
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Kehot’s note
בהנחת הר״פ מבואר יותר הענין וז״ל: ”מאחר שבא בתגבורות יש מקום שאין ראוי לקבלם. משא״כ בחי׳ החסד כשבא השפעה בקרירות יכול לקבלם אף שאין ראוי ולכן כשבא השפעה בתגבורות גילוי אורות הי׳ הכלים קטן מהכיל גם מחמת שהי׳ המדה בתגבורות לא הי׳ יכול ליכלל דבר והיפוכו יחד מאחר שכל מדה הי׳ ברבוי אור התגלות מדה ההיא לכן הי׳ כל מדה בפ״ע”.
ראה סה״מ תקס״ב ע׳ ד. אור התורה דברים ע׳ ב׳קלא. דברים כרך ו ד״ה תקעו סעי׳ ד. ושם נתבאר עד״מ ההפרש בין חי׳ ובין בהמה שהחי׳ להיותה מבחי׳ גבורות יש בה חיות יותר וזריזות כו׳ רק מ״מ בהשתלשלות למטה הרי החיות דורסים ומזיקים כו׳, וזהו כענין הנ״ל שמזה נעשה בחי׳ דין למטה כו׳.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
10
On the words
שלכן נק׳ י״ס בעולם התהו בשם מלכים
How it connects
The note points to the Mitteler Rebbe's discussion of why the Sefiros of Tohu are called “kings.”our note
Where the note points
Torah Chaim, by the Mitteler Rebbeתורת חיים
Bereishis, 9a (ט, א)
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Hemshech 5672 (Ayin-Beis), by the Rebbe Rashabהמשך תער״ב
vol. 1, ch. 236
Our explanationThe Rebbe Rashab's long series of discourses of 5672 (1911–12) also treats why the Sefiros of Tohu bear the name “kings”; the note points there as a parallel.
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Kehot’s note
ראה תורת חיים פ׳ בראשית ט, א. המשך תער״ב ח״א פרק רלו.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.

4ועפ״י הקבלה מבואר שבחי׳ התהו הוא רבוי האור ומיעוט כלים.1 ובחי׳ התקון הוא בהיפוך. פירוש רבוי אור שהאור והחיות בא בהתגברות רב

According to the Kabbalah it is explained that the level of Tohu is abundant light and few vessels, and the level of Tikkun is the reverse. “Abundant light” means that the light and the life-force come with great intensity.

Explanation

The Arizal's Kabbalah describes Tohu as “abundant light and few vessels,” and Tikkun as the reverse. The Alter Rebbe explains “abundant light” in the terms he has just set out: light and life-force that come with great intensity.

כי כל הי״ס היו בתגבורת רב כמו בחי׳ חסד הי׳ מדת חסד בהתגברות רב וכן כל הי״ס וגם

For all ten Sefiros were in great intensity: for example, in the level of Chesed, the attribute of Chesed was in great intensity, and so too all ten Sefiros. And also,

Explanation

In Tohu every one of the ten Sefiros had this intensity, not just Gevurah: even Chesed was a Chesed of overwhelming force. The sentence breaks off with “and also,” leading into the next point.

לכן לא היה התכללות המדות להיות כלול חו״ג מפני שכל בחי׳ ומדה היה בכח והתגברות רב.

therefore there was no inter-inclusion of the attributes (middos), [such that each] would be comprised of Chesed and Gevurah, because every level and attribute was with great force and intensity.

Explanation

Because each attribute was so intense, none could make room for another. In a balanced personality or world, kindness contains some restraint and restraint some kindness (“inter-inclusion”); in Tohu that could not happen.

לכן לא היה יכול להתכלל עם הפוכו והיה כל מדה בפני עצמה וזהו שראה שאין העולם מתקיים

Therefore [each] could not be included with its opposite, and each attribute was by itself. And this is [the meaning of] “He saw that the world could not endure,”

Explanation

Each attribute stood alone and could not blend with its opposite. This, says the Alter Rebbe, is the meaning of the Midrash's “He saw that the world could not endure”: a world built of such isolated extremes breaks apart.

כי מזה אינו יכול להיות תקון עולם ולצורך תקון עולם הוצרך להיות בחי׳ תיקון היינו בחי׳ קוין התכללות המדות זה בזה

for from this there cannot be a rectification of the world. And for the sake of the world’s rectification there had to be the level of Tikkun, that is, the level of “lines,” the inter-inclusion of the attributes with one another.

Explanation

A stable world needs Tikkun, which the Kabbalah describes as three “lines” (right, left and center), in which the attributes combine with one another.

והוא בחי׳ רבוי כלים ומיעוט האור2 שהאור וחיות אינו בא בהתגברות רק בחי׳ חסד בקרירות ולזה יוכל להיות התכללות חו״ג שני הפכים

And this is the level of many vessels and little light, where the light and life-force do not come with intensity, but [as] the level of Chesed, with coolness; and therefore there can be an inter-inclusion of Chesed and Gevurah, two opposites.

Explanation

Tikkun has more vessels and less light: the light comes gently, in the “cool” manner of Chesed described above. Precisely because no attribute overwhelms, opposites like kindness and severity can coexist and be combined.

וכמארז״ל (בפ״ה דאבות) להודיע כמה ארך אפים לפניו שכל3 הדורות היו מכעיסין ובאין עד שבא אברהם אבינו כו׳.

As our Sages, of blessed memory, said (in the fifth chapter of Avos): “To make known how great is the patience before Him, for all the generations kept provoking Him, on and on, until Avraham our father came,” etc.

Explanation

The Mishnah in Avos says there were ten generations from Noach to Avraham to show G‑d's patience, since all of them angered Him until Avraham came. The patience itself is the point: it shows anger that does not erupt at once.

שמחמת שאין המדה בא בהתגברות נמשך להיות א״א וסבלנות. ואדרבה יכול להיות שני הפכים בתכלית

For because the attribute does not come with intensity, there comes about forbearance and patience. On the contrary, there can be two utter opposites [together],

Explanation

Patience is possible only because the attribute of judgment does not come with overwhelming force; it is held and balanced. The Alter Rebbe adds that in Tikkun even utter opposites can exist at once.

כמו שמצינו בבנין בהמ״ק שהיתה השמחה גדולה עד מאד כשאמר שלמה שיר השירים4 שלא היתה מיום בריאת העולם.

as we find at the building of the Holy Temple, that there was exceedingly great joy when Shlomo said the Song of Songs, [joy] such as there had not been since the day the world was created.

Explanation

His example is the dedication of the First Temple, a moment of joy unmatched since creation, when (according to tradition) Shlomo composed the Song of Songs.

וכמ״ש (מלכים א ח) כי מלא כבוד ה׳ את בית ה׳. שבא האש מלמעלה היינו בחי׳ גילוי השכינה למטה

And as it is written (I Kings 8), “For the glory of G‑d filled the House of G‑d”: the fire came from above, that is, the level of the revelation of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) below.

Explanation

At the dedication G‑d's glory filled the Temple and fire came down from heaven: a revelation of the Shechinah, G‑d's presence, in the lower world.

נמצא שהי׳ השמחה רבה מאד ועל אותו הפרק נאמר (ירמיה לב) כי על אפי ועל חמתי היתה לי העיר הזאת5 למן היום אשר בנו אותה.

Thus there was very great joy; and concerning that same time it is said (Jeremiah 32), “For this city has been to Me [a cause] of My anger and of My fury from the day that they built it,”

Explanation

Yet the prophet Jeremiah says that the city provoked G‑d's anger and fury “from the day that they built it” — the very same moment of supreme joy.

ממה שלקח בת פרעה כו׳. נמצא שהיו ב׳ הפכים יחד בעת ובזמן אחד והיינו ע״י ששיתף מדת הרחמים ונעשה

because he took Pharaoh’s daughter, etc. Thus there were two opposites together at one time and one moment. And that is because He joined the attribute of mercy, and there came to be

Explanation

The tradition connects that anger with Shlomo's marriage to Pharaoh's daughter, which took place at the time the Temple was completed. So at one and the same moment there was intense joy and intense anger; this, the Alter Rebbe says, was possible only because G‑d “joined the attribute of mercy,”

עולם התקון יכול להיות התכללות המדות זב״ז שמאחר שאין המדה והתגלותה הולך ברבוי ובתגבורת האור א״כ הכלי היתה יכולה להכיל גם ב׳ הבחי׳ יחד.6

the World of Tikkun, [in which] there can be inter-inclusion of the attributes with one another: since the attribute and its revelation do not proceed with abundance and intensity of light, the vessel could therefore contain both aspects together.

Explanation

that is, because the world is built as Tikkun. Since no attribute there reveals itself with overwhelming light, the “vessel” can hold two opposite states together without breaking.

Paragraph 4 in brief

The paragraph defines Tohu as intense light in few vessels, where each attribute stands alone and cannot combine with its opposite, and Tikkun as gentler light in many vessels, where opposites combine — shown by G‑d's patience and by joy and anger coexisting at the Temple's building.

Deeper

The Kehot notes send the reader to the Arizal's Etz Chaim (Shaar HaTikkun, chapter 5; Shaar HaMelachim, chapters 1–2) for the principle of abundant light and few vessels, and to the Mitteler Rebbe's discourses (Maamarei Admur HaEmtzai, Vayikra vol. 2, p. 659), which offer two parables that complete the idea.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
ועפ״י הקבלה מבואר שבחי׳ התהו הוא ריבוי האור ומיעוט כלים
How it connects
According to the note, the Mitteler Rebbe gives two parables there that complete this explanation of Tohu as abundant light and few vessels.our note
Where the note points
Maamarei Admur HaEmtzai, discourses of the Mitteler Rebbeמאמרי אדמו״ר האמצעי
Vayikra, vol. 2, p. 659 (תרנט)
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Etz Chaimעץ חיים
by Rabbi Chaim Vital, from the Arizal
The central work of the Arizal’s Kabbalah, in gates (she’arim).
Kehot’s note
ע״ח שער התיקון פ״ה, שער המלכים פ״א ופרק ב.
וראה במאמרי אדה״א ויקרא ח״ב ע׳ תרנט ב׳ משלים ע״ז.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
והוא בחי׳ רבוי כלים ומיעוט האור
How it connects
The note points ahead to a later maamar in Torah Ohr that also discusses Tikkun as many vessels and little light.our note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אור
below, 114b (קיד, ב) · not yet checked
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Sefer HaMaamarim 5633, by the Rebbe Maharashספר המאמרים תרל״ג
vol. 1, p. 130 (קל)
Our explanationA parallel discussion by the Rebbe Maharash of Tikkun as many vessels and little light; the note points there for further explanation.
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Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורה
Naso, p. 284 (רפד); Pinchas, p. 1213 (א'ריג)
Our explanationThe Tzemach Tzedek discusses the same principle of Tikkun in these two places; the note points there as parallels.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Etz Chaimעץ חיים
by Rabbi Chaim Vital, from the Arizal
The central work of the Arizal’s Kabbalah, in gates (she’arim).
Kehot’s note
ע״ח שער התיקון פ״ה. ראה גם לקמן קיד, ב. וראה בסה״מ תרל״ג כרך א ע׳ קל. אוה״ת פ׳ נשא ע׳ רפד. פ׳ פנחס ע׳ א׳ריג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
3
How it connects
The Mishnah counts ten generations from Noach to Avraham to show how patient G‑d is, for all of them angered Him until Avraham came. The Alter Rebbe cites it as an example of Tikkun, where an attribute such as anger does not come with overwhelming force.our note
The source
Pirkei Avot 5:2משנה אבות ה׳:ב׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
עֲשָׂרָה דוֹרוֹת מֵאָדָם וְעַד נֹחַ, לְהוֹדִיעַ כַּמָּה אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם לְפָנָיו, שֶׁכָּל הַדּוֹרוֹת הָיוּ מַכְעִיסִין וּבָאִין עַד שֶׁהֵבִיא עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת מֵי הַמַּבּוּל. עֲשָׂרָה דוֹרוֹת מִנֹּחַ וְעַד אַבְרָהָם, לְהוֹדִיעַ כַּמָּה אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם לְפָנָיו, שֶׁכָּל הַדּוֹרוֹת הָיוּ מַכְעִיסִין וּבָאִין, עַד שֶׁבָּא אַבְרָהָם וְקִבֵּל עָלָיו שְׂכַר כֻּלָּם:
[There were] ten generations from Adam to Noah, in order to make known what long-suffering is His; for all those generations kept on provoking Him, until He brought upon them the waters of the flood. [There were] ten generations from Noah to Abraham, in order to make known what long-suffering is His; for all those generations kept on provoking Him, until Abraham, came and received the reward of all of them.
Hebrew: Torat Emet 357 (Public Domain) · English: Mishnah Yomit by Dr. Joshua Kulp (CC-BY) · via Sefaria
4
How it connects
The Song of Songs is attributed to Shlomo. The Alter Rebbe mentions its composition at the Temple's building as a sign of joy unmatched since creation.our note
The source
Song of Songs 1:1שיר השירים א׳:א׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
1שִׁיר הַשִּׁירִים אֲשֶׁר לִשְׁלֹמֹה: 2יִשָּׁקֵנִי מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת פִּיהוּ כִּי־טוֹבִים דֹּדֶיךָ מִיָּיִן:
1THE song of songs, which is Solomon’s. 2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— For thy love is better than wine.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
5
How it connects
G‑d tells Jeremiah that Jerusalem has provoked His anger from the day it was built. The Alter Rebbe sets it beside the joy of the dedication to show two opposites at one moment.our note
The source
Jeremiah 32:31ירמיהו ל״ב:ל״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
30כִּי־הָיוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבְנֵי יְהוּדָה אַךְ עֹשִׂים הָרַע בְּעֵינַי מִנְּעֻרֹתֵיהֶם כִּי בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אַךְ מַכְעִסִים אֹתִי בְּמַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵיהֶם נְאֻם־ה׳ 31כִּי עַל־אַפִּי וְעַל־חֲמָתִי הָיְתָה לִּי הָעִיר הַזֹּאת לְמִן־הַיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר בָּנוּ אוֹתָהּ וְעַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה לַהֲסִירָהּ מֵעַל פָּנָי: 32עַל כׇּל־רָעַת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבְנֵי יְהוּדָה אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ לְהַכְעִסֵנִי הֵמָּה מַלְכֵיהֶם שָׂרֵיהֶם כֹּהֲנֵיהֶם וּנְבִיאֵיהֶם וְאִישׁ יְהוּדָה וְיֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם:
30… children of Israel have only provoked Me with the work of their hands, saith the LORD. 31For this city hath been to Me a provocation of Mine anger and of My fury from the day that they built it even unto this day, that I should remove it from before My face; 32because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
6
How it connects
At the dedication of the Temple the cloud of G‑d's glory filled the House so that the priests could not stand to serve. The Alter Rebbe cites it as a revelation of the Shechinah below and a moment of great joy.our note
The source
I Kings 8:11מלכים א ח׳:י״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
10וַיְהִי בְּצֵאת הַכֹּהֲנִים מִן־הַקֹּדֶשׁ וְהֶעָנָן מָלֵא אֶת־בֵּית ה׳ 11וְלֹא־יָכְלוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים לַעֲמֹד לְשָׁרֵת מִפְּנֵי הֶעָנָן כִּי־מָלֵא כְבוֹד־ה׳ אֶת־בֵּית ה׳ 12אָז אָמַר שְׁלֹמֹה ה׳ אָמַר לִשְׁכֹּן בָּעֲרָפֶל:
10… were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. 12Then spoke Solomon: The LORD hath said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria

Souls, angels and animals ¶5–7

5והנה נשמת האדם הוא מבחי׳ אצילות עולם התקון ולכן הנשמה כלולה מכל המדות כמבואר בתניא1

Now the soul of man is from the level of Atzilus, the World of Tikkun; therefore the soul is comprised of all the attributes, as explained in the Tanya.

Explanation

The human (Jewish) soul is rooted in Atzilus, which belongs to the ordered World of Tikkun. That is why a soul contains all the attributes — love, awe, compassion and the rest — together and balanced, as the Tanya explains in its opening chapters.

משא״כ המלאכים שרשם מבחי׳ עולם התהו מחנה מיכאל מחנה גבריאל כל א׳ קו בפ״ע. מחנה מיכאל הוא רק בחי׳ אהבה2 בהתגברות מאד.

This is not so with the angels, whose root is from the level of the World of Tohu: the camp of Michael, the camp of Gavriel, each one a separate line. The camp of Michael is only the level of love, with very great intensity.

Explanation

Angels are different: they are rooted in Tohu, so each camp embodies a single attribute. The camp of the angel Michael is pure love (Chesed), and it is intense.

ומחנה גבריאל הוא רק בחי׳ יראה בהתגברות רב שר של מים שר של אש.3 ומזה נמשך בחי׳ מרכבה פני אריה אל הימין פני שור וכו׳.4

And the camp of Gavriel is only the level of awe, with great intensity: the prince of water, the prince of fire. And from this is drawn the level of the Chariot: “the face of a lion on the right,” “the face of an ox,” etc.

Explanation

Gavriel's camp is pure awe (Gevurah). Michael is called the prince of water (kindness, which flows down) and Gavriel the prince of fire (severity, which rises and burns). The four faces of the Chariot in Ezekiel's vision — the lion on the right, the ox on the left — come from these single-attribute powers.

Paragraph 5 in brief

The paragraph applies Tohu and Tikkun to souls and angels: the soul, from Tikkun, combines all attributes, while angels, from Tohu, each embody one attribute with great intensity.

Deeper

The note on Michael as love points to the Zohar (3:118b) and to Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 70. A manuscript (Ms. 1824) lacks the words from “very” through “the prince of fire,” and reads “as explained in Likkutei Amarim” (the Tanya's first part) for “as explained in the Tanya.”

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
כמבואר בתניא
How it connects
the passage shares nothing with the noteour note
Where the note points
Tanyaתניא
ch. 3 · not yet checked
Our explanationTanya chapter 3 explains that the G‑dly soul consists of ten powers corresponding to the ten Sefiros: the intellect (Chochmah, Binah, Daas) and the emotions (love, awe and the rest). This is what it means that the soul is “comprised of all the attributes.”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Manuscript 1824 of the Alter Rebbe's discoursesכתב יד 1824
its version of this maamar
Our explanationThe manuscript reads “as explained in Likkutei Amarim” (the name of the Tanya's first part) instead of “as explained in the Tanya”; the note adds that Rabbi Pinchas's transcript agrees with the printed text.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Sefer Hanachos HaRap, transcripts of the Alter Rebbe's discourses by Rabbi Pinchas (Reizes) of Shklovספר הנחות הר״פ
its version of this maamar
Our explanationRabbi Pinchas's transcript also reads “as explained in the Tanya,” as in the printed text.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
פ׳ ג. וכ״ה בהנחת הר״פ, אבל בבוך 1824: כמבואר בלק״א.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
מיכאל הוא רק בחי׳ אהבה
How it connects
The Kehot note cites the Zohar for Michael as the angel of the right side, love and kindness. The Alter Rebbe uses it to show that each angel embodies one attribute alone.our note
The source
Zohar III, 118bזח״ג קיח, בSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 70 · 125b:1תקו״ז תיקון עSefaria (opens in a new tab)
רְשִׁימוּ דִלְהוֹן חִוָּור, וַוי לוֹן לְאִלֵּין דְּמַכְחִישִׁין דִּיּוֹקְנֵיהוֹן לְעִילָא, כְּאִלּוּ מַכְחִישִׁין סִדְרֵי בְרֵאשִׁית, וּכְאִלּוּ מְמַעֲטִין אֶת הַדְּמוּת, דְּאִיהוּ שִׁיעוּר קוֹמָה דִלְעִילָא, דְּאִלֵּין דְּשִׁרְטוּטֵיהוֹן אֲרִיכִין, וְקוֹמָה דִלְהוֹן וְאֵבָרִים דִּלְהוֹן, צְרִיכִין לְמֶהֱוֵי מָארֵי דְחֶסֶד, אֲרִיכִין דְּרוּגְזָא, מָארֵי דִרְחִימוּ, הַהוּא דְאִתְּמַר בֵּקהּ (ישעיה מא ח) זֶרַע אַבְרָהָם אוֹהֲבִי.
Hebrew: Tikkunei Zohar - Vocalized (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
ראה זח״ג קיח, ב. ת״ז תי׳ ע׳.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
3
On the words
שו״ה מאד — שר של . . אש
How it connects
The words from “very” through “the prince of water, the prince of fire” are missing in this manuscript.our note
Where the note points
Manuscript 1824 of the Alter Rebbe's discoursesכתב יד 1824
its version of this maamar
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
בבוך 1824 ליתא.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
4
How it connects
In Ezekiel's vision of the Chariot, each creature has the face of a man, a lion on the right, an ox on the left and an eagle. The Alter Rebbe traces these faces to the single-attribute angelic camps rooted in Tohu.our note
The source
Ezekiel 1:10יחזקאל א׳:י׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
9חֹבְרֹת אִשָּׁה אֶל־אֲחוֹתָהּ כַּנְפֵיהֶם לֹא־יִסַּבּוּ בְלֶכְתָּן אִישׁ אֶל־עֵבֶר פָּנָיו יֵלֵכוּ: 10וּדְמוּת פְּנֵיהֶם פְּנֵי אָדָם וּפְנֵי אַרְיֵה אֶל־הַיָּמִין לְאַרְבַּעְתָּם וּפְנֵי־שׁוֹר מֵהַשְּׂמֹאול לְאַרְבַּעְתָּן וּפְנֵי־נֶשֶׁר לְאַרְבַּעְתָּן: 11וּפְנֵיהֶם וְכַנְפֵיהֶם פְּרֻדוֹת מִלְמָעְלָה לְאִישׁ שְׁתַּיִם חֹבְרוֹת אִישׁ וּשְׁתַּיִם מְכַסּוֹת אֵת גְּוִיֹּתֵיהֶנָה:
9… joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 10As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man; and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four had also the face of an eagle. 11Thus were their faces; and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria

6והנה בנשמת האדם ארז״ל ג׳ שותפין באדם1 הקב״ה נותן בו נשמה. וחיות נפש הבהמות ועופות2 הם מבחי׳ פני ארי׳ פני שור כו׳

Now concerning the soul of man, our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “There are three partners in a person… the Holy One, blessed be He, puts a soul into him.” And the life-force of the soul of animals and birds is from the level of “the face of a lion,” “the face of an ox,” etc.,

Explanation

The Talmud teaches that a person has three partners in his making — father, mother and G‑d — and that G‑d contributes the soul. Animals and birds, by contrast, get their life from the faces of the lion and the ox in the divine Chariot described just above.

ומקורם מעולם התהו ולזה נאמר על האדם אחור וקדם צרתני3 שמצד בחי׳ התקון בהשתלשלות בחי׳ אדם הוא במדרגה גבוה יותר.

and their source is from the World of Tohu. And therefore it is said of man, “Behind and before You have formed me”: from the standpoint of the level of Tikkun, in the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), the level of man is on a higher rank.

Explanation

Since the animals' life comes from those angelic powers, their source is Tohu. This explains the verse “Behind and before You formed me,” which the Sages read as saying man was created both last and first: in the ordered chain of worlds (Tikkun), man stands higher than the animals.

שבחי׳ הבהמות נפלו למטה מטה מאד מאד משא״כ במקורם הם במדרגה גבוה יותר שהם מבחי׳ עולם התהו לפני מלך מלך4 כו׳ כנודע.

For the animals fell very, very far down, whereas in their source they are on a higher rank, for they are from the level of the World of Tohu, “before any king reigned,” etc., as is known.

Explanation

The animals fell very low, yet their root in Tohu is higher than man's. This is the foundation for the next paragraph: the animal soul's love, when elevated, has a power the G‑dly soul lacks.

Paragraph 6 in brief

The paragraph compares man and animal: in the ordered chain of Tikkun man is higher, but in their root in Tohu the animals are higher, which is why man is formed both “behind and before.”

Deeper

In Likkutei Torah (Shir HaShirim 28c) the Alter Rebbe applies the same teaching to sacrifices: an animal too has “three partners,” but its soul comes from the face of the ox in the Chariot, and through the offering its life-force rises and is included in its root in the holy Chayos that carry the Throne.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
ג׳ שותפין באדם
How it connects
The Talmud teaches that there are three partners in a person: father, mother and the Holy One, blessed be He, who gives the soul. The Alter Rebbe uses it to distinguish the human soul from the life of animals.our note
The source
Niddah 31a:9נדה ל״א א:ט׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: שְׁלֹשָׁה שׁוּתָּפִין יֵשׁ בָּאָדָם — הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, וְאָבִיו, וְאִמּוֹ. אָבִיו מַזְרִיעַ הַלּוֹבֶן, שֶׁמִּמֶּנּוּ עֲצָמוֹת, וְגִידִים, וְצִפׇּרְנַיִם, וּמוֹחַ שֶׁבְּרֹאשׁוֹ, וְלוֹבֶן שֶׁבָּעַיִן. אִמּוֹ מַזְרַעַת אוֹדֶם, שֶׁמִּמֶּנּוּ עוֹר, וּבָשָׂר, וּשְׂעָרוֹת, וְשָׁחוֹר שֶׁבָּעַיִן. וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא נוֹתֵן בּוֹ רוּחַ, וּנְשָׁמָה, וּקְלַסְתֵּר פָּנִים, וּרְאִיַּית הָעַיִן, וּשְׁמִיעַת הָאוֹזֶן, וְדִבּוּר פֶּה, וְהִלּוּךְ רַגְלַיִם, וּבִינָה, וְהַשְׂכֵּל.
Hebrew: William Davidson, Vocalized Aramaic (CC-BY-NC) · via Sefaria
Kiddushin 30b:21קידושין ל׳ ב:כ״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
וְכֵן בְּדִין, שֶׁשְּׁלָשְׁתָּן שׁוּתָּפִין בּוֹ. תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: שְׁלֹשָׁה שׁוּתָּפִין הֵן בָּאָדָם: הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, וְאָבִיו, וְאִמּוֹ. בִּזְמַן שֶׁאָדָם מְכַבֵּד אֶת אָבִיו וְאֶת אִמּוֹ אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא: מַעֲלֶה אֲנִי עֲלֵיהֶם כְּאִילּוּ דַּרְתִּי בֵּינֵיהֶם, וְכִבְּדוּנִי.
Hebrew: William Davidson, Vocalized Aramaic (CC-BY-NC) · via Sefaria
Where the note points
Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורה
Shir HaShirim 28c (כח, ג)
לחמי לאשי שהקרבנות שמקריבים חלב ודם מן הבהמה נק׳ בחי׳ לחם אצלו ית׳ כו׳ והוא פלאי. אך הנה ארז״ל ג׳ שותפין יש באדם כו׳. והנה כמ״כ הוא בבהמה רק שבאדם הקב״ה נותן בו נשמה שנשמתו היא חלק אלוה ממעל ובבהמה הנפש היא מבחינת פני שור שבמרכבה וע״י הקרבן עולה החיות של הנפש ונכלל בשרשו בחיות הקדש והחיות נושאות את הכסא ועל דמות הכסא דמות כמראה אדם כו׳. וכולם מתנשאים ומתעלים ומתרוממים ע״י הקרבן בעילוי אחר עילוי עד רום המעלות עד אור א״ס ב״ה ממש כדי להיות ריח ניחול לשון נחות דרגא דהיינו להיות בחי׳ המשכה מלמעלה למטה התהוות שם הוי׳ צמצום והתפשטות כו׳ ולהיות גם למטה גילוי אור א״ס ב״ה. והיינו ע״י הכהן המקריב שהוא איש החסד המעלה את נה״ב של הבהמה ע״ג המזבח ליכלל בשרשה בחיות הקדש שבמרכבה ומשם …
Our explanationThere the Alter Rebbe says that the three partners exist in an animal as well, but in man G‑d gives a soul that is truly “a part of G‑d above,” while an animal's soul comes from the face of the ox in the Chariot. Through a sacrifice, the animal's life-force rises and is included in its root.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
Sefer HaMaamarim 5632, by the Rebbe Maharashספר המאמרים תרל״ב
vol. 2, pp. 471 and 478 (תעא, תעח)
Our explanationAccording to the note, the Rebbe Maharash explains there how the three are partners, and that this partnership comes from the free choice that father and mother have.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim, maamar 21בלקו״ת שה״ש כח, ג
page 28c, ¶19
כנ״ל במשל ולכן באמת אמר ישעיה ואראה את ה׳ והיינו בבחינת אספשא״מ כו׳.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
נדה לא, א. קידושין ל, ב. בלקו״ת שה״ש כח, ג שכ״ה גם בבהמה רק שבאדם הקב״ה נותן בו נשמה שהיא חלק אלוקה ממש. ובסה״מ תרל״ב ח״ב ע׳ תעא וע׳ תעח מבאר, איך הם שותפים. ומבאר שזהו מצד בחירה שיש באו״א.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
וחיות נפש הבהמות ועופות
How it connects
The manuscript reads “whereas the life-force of the animal soul and birds,” making the contrast with the human soul explicit.our note
Where the note points
Manuscript 1824 of the Alter Rebbe's discoursesכתב יד 1824
its version of this maamar
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
בבוך 1824: משא״כ חיות נפש הבהמית ועופות.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
3
On the words
אחור וקדם צרתני
How it connects
The Psalmist says, “Behind and before You formed me.” The Alter Rebbe reads it as man's double rank: higher than the animals in the order of Tikkun, lower than them in their root in Tohu.our note
The source
Psalms 139:5תהילים קל״ט:ה׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
4כִּי אֵין מִלָּה בִּלְשׁוֹנִי הֵן ה׳ יָדַעְתָּ כֻלָּהּ: 5אָחוֹר וָקֶדֶם צַרְתָּנִי וַתָּשֶׁת עָלַי כַּפֶּכָה: 6פְּלִיאָה דַעַת מִמֶּנִּי נִשְׂגְּבָה לֹא־אוּכַל לָהּ:
4For there is not a word in my tongue, But, lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether. 5Thou hast hemmed me in behind and before, And laid Thy hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; Too high, I cannot attain unto it.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
תהלים קלט, ה.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
4
On the words
לפני מלך מלך
How it connects
The kings of Edom reigned “before any king reigned over the children of Israel.” The Alter Rebbe uses the phrase again to place the animals' root in Tohu, before Tikkun.our note
The source
Genesis 36:31בראשית ל״ו:ל״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
30אַלּוּף דִּשֹׁן אַלּוּף אֵצֶר אַלּוּף דִּישָׁן אֵלֶּה אַלּוּפֵי הַחֹרִי לְאַלֻּפֵיהֶם בְּאֶרֶץ שֵׂעִיר: 31וְאֵלֶּה הַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר מָלְכוּ בְּאֶרֶץ אֱדוֹם לִפְנֵי מְלׇךְ־מֶלֶךְ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: 32וַיִּמְלֹךְ בֶּאֱדוֹם בֶּלַע בֶּן־בְּעוֹר וְשֵׁם עִירוֹ דִּנְהָבָה:
30… the chiefs that came of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir. 31And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any king over the children of Israel. 32And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.

7ואי לזאת האהבה הבאה מצד נפש הבהמית הוא למעלה מעלה בחי׳ בכל מאדך שלמעלה מהכלי מפני שהוא בחילא יתיר שבאה בהתגברות רב ששרש נפש הבהמית הוא מבחי׳ התהו כנ״ל.

Accordingly, the love that comes from the side of the animal soul (nefesh habahamis) is higher and higher, the level of “with all your might,” which is above the vessel, because it is with greater force (bechila yatir), coming with great intensity; for the root of the animal soul is from the level of Tohu, as [explained] above.

Explanation

Now the conclusion: since the animal soul is rooted in Tohu, the love it produces when turned to G‑d is the love “with all your might,” a love that is “above the vessel,” that is, beyond the limits of the soul's understanding and feeling. It has the extra force of Tohu's intensity.

רק שנפלה בשבה״כ למטה מטה מאד בעבודה גשמית להיות נפרדים אבל כשנברר ועולה למעלה בתפלה אזי הוא בהתגברות רב אהבת בכל מאדך

Only, it fell through the Shattering of the Vessels very far down, into physical service, to be separate [beings]; but when it is refined and rises up in prayer, then it is with great intensity: the love of “with all your might.”

Explanation

In the Shattering of the Vessels, Tohu's lights fell into the lowest levels, which is why the animal soul is now absorbed in physical pursuits and feels itself separate from G‑d. But when it is refined in prayer and its energy is turned upward, its original intensity returns as boundless love.

וכמארז״ל והאי דלא אמינא לך1 באורתא דלא אכלי בישרא דתורא כו׳ נמצא שמאכל הבשר נותן כח ותוספ׳ מוחין באדם וכמ״ש ויין ישמח לבב אנוש.2 3

And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “And the reason I did not tell you [this] in the evening is that we had not eaten ox meat,” etc. Thus eating meat gives strength and additional intellect (mochin) to a person; and as it is written, “And wine gladdens the heart of man.”

Explanation

Evidence that the animal realm strengthens a person: a Talmudic sage explained he had not given a certain ruling the night before because he had not yet eaten beef, implying that meat strengthens the mind. Likewise wine gladdens the heart. Food from the animal and plant world, rooted higher, adds to a person's intellect and feeling.

Paragraph 7 in brief

The paragraph concludes that the animal soul, once refined in prayer, brings to divine service the limitless intensity of Tohu, the love “with all your might,” and shows from meat and wine that what is lower can strengthen what is higher.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
והאי דלא אמינא לך
How it connects
Rava explains that he had not stated a ruling the evening before because he had not yet eaten ox meat. The Alter Rebbe uses it to show that meat adds strength and intellect to a person.our note
The source
Bava Kamma 72a:1–4בבא קמא ע״ב א:א׳-ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
דְּלָא אֲכַלִי בִּשְׂרָא דְתוֹרָא. וְאֶלָּא מַאי שְׁנָא רֵישָׁא וּמַאי שְׁנָא סֵיפָא? אֲמַר לֵקהּ: רֵישָׁא קָרֵינָא בֵּקהּ ״וּטְבָחוֹ״ כּוּלּוֹ בְּאִיסּוּרָא, סֵיפָא לָא קָרֵינָא בַּקהּ ״וּטְבָחוֹ״ כּוּלּוֹ בְּאִיסּוּרָא. הַשּׁוֹחֵט וְנִמְצֵאת טְרֵיפָה וְכוּ׳. אֲמַר לֵקהּ רַב חֲבִיבִי מָחוֹזְנָאָה לְרַב אָשֵׁי: שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ, אֵינָהּ לִשְׁחִיטָה אֶלָּא לְבַסּוֹף.
Hey you!
Hebrew: William Davidson, Vocalized Aramaic (CC-BY-NC) · English: Sefaria Community Translation (CC0) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
ב״ק עב, א.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
ויין ישמח לבב אנוש
How it connects
The Psalmist praises wine that gladdens the heart of man. It is another example of a lower thing strengthening a person.our note
The source
Psalms 104:15תהילים ק״ד:ט״וSefaria (opens in a new tab)
14מַצְמִיחַ חָצִיר לַבְּהֵמָה וְעֵשֶׂב לַעֲבֹדַת הָאָדָם לְהוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן־הָאָרֶץ: 15וְיַיִן יְשַׂמַּח לְבַב־אֱנוֹשׁ לְהַצְהִיל פָּנִים מִשָּׁמֶן וְלֶחֶם לְבַב־אֱנוֹשׁ יִסְעָד: 16יִשְׂבְּעוּ עֲצֵי ה׳ אַרְזֵי לְבָנוֹן אֲשֶׁר נָטָע:
14… cattle, And herb for the service of man; To bring forth bread out of the earth, 15And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, Making the face brighter than oil, And bread that stayeth man's heart. 16The trees of the LORD have their fill, The cedars of Lebanon, which He hath planted;
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
תהלים קד, טו.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
3
How it connects
Kehot’s note points to Daniel 7:5 for these words.
The source
Daniel 7:5דניאל ז׳:ה׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
4… דִּי־נְשַׁר לַהּ חָזֵה הֲוֵית עַד דִּי־מְּרִיטוּ גַפַּהּ וּנְטִילַת מִן־אַרְעָא וְעַל־רַגְלַיִן כֶּאֱנָשׁ הֳקִימַת וּלְבַב אֱנָשׁ יְהִיב לַהּ: 5וַאֲרוּ חֵיוָה אׇחֳרִי תִנְיָנָה דָּמְיָה לְדֹב וְלִשְׂטַר־חַד הֳקִמַת וּתְלָת עִלְעִין בְּפֻמַּהּ בֵּין שִׁנַּהּ וְכֵן אָמְרִין לַהּ קוּמִי אֲכֻלִי בְּשַׂר שַׂגִּיא: 6בָּאתַר דְּנָה חָזֵה הֲוֵית וַאֲרוּ אׇחֳרִי כִּנְמַר וְלַהּ גַּפִּין אַרְבַּע דִּי־עוֹף עַל־[גַּבַּהּ] (גביה) וְאַרְבְּעָה רֵאשִׁין לְחֵיוְתָא …
4… made stand upon two feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it. 5And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was said thus unto it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the sides of …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria

Contemplation in prayer and the blessings ¶8–9

8ועכ״ז למטה האדם במדרגה גבוה יותר מהם ואין ערוך כו׳ אבל בשרשם הם למעלה מבחי׳ האדם שהם מעולם התהו. ועפ״י הקבלה נק׳ יתרון האור מתוך החשך דוקא.

And nevertheless, below, man is on a higher level than they, and there is no comparison, etc.; but in their root they are higher than the level of man, for they are from the World of Tohu. And according to the Kabbalah this is called “the advantage of light [that comes] from darkness” specifically.

Explanation

In the present order man is far above animals; but in their root, in Tohu, they are higher. The Kabbalah calls this “the advantage of light that comes from darkness”: the greatest light comes precisely from transforming the darkness.

והיינו ע״י ההתבוננות בתפלה איך שטרוד כל היום ורודף אחר פרנסתו מזון ולחם שחיותן הוא מהמזלות

That is, through contemplation in prayer: how he is preoccupied all day long, running after his livelihood, food and bread, whose life-force (chayus) is from the constellations (mazalos),

Explanation

How does a person reach this in practice? By reflecting during prayer on his own day: how he spends it chasing a living, food and bread, and on where that food draws its life.

כמארז״ל אין לך עשב1 למטה שאין לו מזל2 כו׳ והמזלות נמשכים מבחי׳ הע׳ שרים והשרים מקבלים משמרי האופנים והאופנים מקבלים מבחי׳ מלכות כמ״ש מלכותך מכ״ע.3

as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “You have no blade of grass below that does not have a constellation,” etc. And the constellations are drawn from the level of the seventy princes, and the princes receive from the guardians of the Ofanim, and the Ofanim receive from the level of Malchus (sovereignty), as it is written, “Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds.”

Explanation

The Midrash teaches that every blade of grass has a mazal, a celestial force above it that makes it grow. The Alter Rebbe traces the chain: the constellations get their power from the seventy angelic princes of the nations, those from the Ofanim (a class of angels), and the Ofanim from G‑d's Malchus, His kingship over the worlds. All the sustenance a person chases is at the far end of this long chain.

אבל לגבי מהותו ועצמותו אין ערוך שהוא רק בחי׳ זיו והארה בלבד וזהו ענין מאמר ר׳ עקיבא4 אם לעוברי רצונו כך לעושי רצונו עאכו״כ.5

But in relation to His essence and being there is no comparison, for it is only the level of a ray and a glimmer alone. And this is the matter of the saying of Rabbi Akiva: “If so for those who transgress His will, then for those who do His will, how much more so!”

Explanation

And all of Malchus, next to G‑d's own essence, is only a faint ray. This explains Rabbi Akiva's words: if G‑d grants so much good even to those who transgress His will (through this outer ray), how much more will He give those who do His will.

ששם הוא התענוג עד אין קץ וכמ״ש הודו על ארץ ושמים6 שבחי׳ ארץ ושמים ממלא וסובב הם רק בחי׳ הוד וזיו משא״כ לבני ישראל עם קרובו7 לבחי׳ מהותו ועצמותו ית׳.

For there is the delight without end. And as it is written, “His splendor is over earth and heaven”: the level of earth and heaven, [the light that] fills [all worlds] and [the light that] encompasses [them] (memalei and sovev), is only the level of splendor and radiance; this is not so with “the children of Israel, the people close to Him,” [close] to the level of His essence and being, blessed be He.

Explanation

For those who do His will receive the endless delight of His essence itself. The Psalm says G‑d's “splendor” is on earth and heaven, meaning the whole divine light that fills and surrounds the worlds is only His outer splendor; but Israel is “the people close to Him,” close to His very essence.

מזה תתלהב נפשו בהתגברות בחילא יתיר בתשוקה וחפיצה לדבקה בו ית׳ וכמ״ש מי לי בשמים ועמך לא חפצתי8 כו׳.9

From this his soul will be kindled with intensity, with greater force (bechila yatir), in longing and desire to cleave to Him, blessed be He; and as it is written, “Whom do I have in heaven? And with You I desire nothing,” etc.

Explanation

Reflecting on this contrast, the person's soul is set aflame with intense longing to cleave to G‑d Himself, not to anything He gives. This is the Psalmist's cry: “Whom do I have in heaven? And with You I desire nothing” — nothing but You.

Paragraph 8 in brief

The paragraph shows how the businessman's prayer works: contemplating how his whole day is spent on what is only a faint ray of G‑d's kingship, he comes to long with Tohu-like intensity for G‑d's essence itself.

Deeper

The phrase “the advantage of light from darkness” (Ecclesiastes 2:13) is a key Chassidic theme: transforming darkness into light yields a greater light than light alone. The chain from Malchus to the grass parallels the description in an earlier maamar of Torah Ohr (Bereshit 10:6) of Malchus as the “heart” from which life-force flows to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
אין לך עשב
How it connects
the passage shares nothing with the noteour note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אור
above, 8d (ח, ד) · not yet checked
And therefore the Holy Temple is called “the gladness of his heart,” for there too the light was hidden in the Ark and the Kapores (the Ark’s cover), etc. And likewise prayer with love and awe is also only a grasp of the existence, and not of the essence.
Our explanationThe note says the source of this Midrash was given there. That passage describes G‑d's Malchus as the “heart” from which life-force flows to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and to which the arousal from below rises back, the same chain of Malchus and the lower worlds described here.
Read it here
Kehot’s note
נסמן לעיל ח, ד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
אין לך עשב למטה שאין לו מזל
How it connects
The Midrash teaches that every blade of grass has a mazal in the heavens that strikes it and tells it to grow. The Alter Rebbe uses it to trace a person's sustenance up a long chain of intermediaries.our note
The source
Bereshit Rabbah 10:6בראשית רבה י׳:ו׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
בר סירא אמר: אלוה העלה סמים מן הארץ, בהם הרופא מרפא את המכה, ובהם הרוקח מרקח את המרקחת. אמר רבי סימון: אין לך כל עשב ועשב, שאין לו מזל ברקיע, שמכה אותו ואומר לו גדל, הדא הוא דכתיב (שם לח): הידעת חקות שמים אם תשים משטרו בארץ וגו'. לשון שוטר (שם י). התקשר מעדנות כימה, או מושכות כסיל תפתח. רבי חנינא בר פפא ור' סימון אמר: כימה מעדנת את הפירות, וכסיל מושך בין קשר לקשר. הדא הוא דכתיב (שם): התוציא מזרות בעתו ועיש על בניה תנחם. רבי תנחום בר חייא ור' סימון אמרו: מזל הוא, שהוא ממזר את הפירות:
Bar Sira said: God produced drugs from the earth with which the physician heals the wound, and with which the pharmacist mixes his compounds.38:4. Rabbi Simon said: There is not a single blade of grass that does not have a constellation in the firmament that strikes it and says to it: ‘Grow.’ That is what is written: “Do you know the rules of the heavens? Will you establish its dominion [mishtaro] on earth?” (Job 38:33). It is an expression of being in charge [shoter]. “Will you tie the chains of the Pleiades, or untie the reins of Orion?” (Job 38:31) – Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa and Rabbi Simon said: Pleiades renders fruits delicate and Orion draws it out from knot to knot. That is what is …
Hebrew: Daat Bereshit Rabbah (Public Domain) · English: The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah, 2022 (CC-BY) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
3
On the words
מלכותך מכ״ע
How it connects
“Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds.” The Alter Rebbe cites it for Malchus as the source of life for all the worlds.our note
The source
Psalms 145:13תהילים קמ״ה:י״גSefaria (opens in a new tab)
12לְהוֹדִיעַ לִבְנֵי הָאָדָם גְּבוּרֹתָיו וּכְבוֹד הֲדַר מַלְכוּתוֹ: 13מַלְכוּתְךָ מַלְכוּת כׇּל־עֹלָמִים וּמֶמְשַׁלְתְּךָ בְּכׇל־דּוֹר וָדֹר: 14סוֹמֵךְ ה׳ לְכׇל־הַנֹּפְלִים וְזוֹקֵף לְכׇל־הַכְּפוּפִים:
12… the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glory of the majesty of His kingdom. 13Thy kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, And Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. 14The LORD upholdeth all that fall, And raiseth up all those that are bowed down.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
תהלים קמה, יג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
4
On the words
מאמר ר׳ עקיבא
How it connects
The note points ahead to two later maamarim of Torah Ohr that also explain Rabbi Akiva's saying.our note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אור
below, the beginning of Parshas Beshalach and the beginning of Parshas Tetzaveh · not yet checked
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Torah Chaim, by the Mitteler Rebbeתורת חיים
Shemos, p. 346 (שמו)
Our explanationThe Mitteler Rebbe discusses Rabbi Akiva's saying there; the note points to it as a parallel explanation.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
סוף מכות. ראה לקמן ר״פ בשלח ור״פ תצוה. תו״ח שמות ע׳ שמו.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
5
On the words
אם לעוברי רצונו כך לעושי רצונו עאכו״כ
How it connects
At the end of Makkos, Rabbi Akiva comforts his colleagues: if G‑d grants such good to those who transgress His will, how much more to those who do His will. The Alter Rebbe reads it as the contrast between the outer ray of G‑d's light and His essence.our note
The source
Makkot 24b:1–2מכות כ״ד ב:א׳-ב׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
בָּאֵשׁ, וְלֹא נִבְכֶּה?! אָמַר לָהֶן: לְכָךְ אֲנִי מְצַחֵק, וּמָה לְעוֹבְרֵי רְצוֹנוֹ כָּךְ, לְעוֹשֵׂי רְצוֹנוֹ עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה. שׁוּב פַּעַם אַחַת הָיוּ עוֹלִין לִירוּשָׁלַיִם, כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִגִּיעוּ לְהַר הַצּוֹפִים קָרְעוּ בִּגְדֵיהֶם, כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִגִּיעוּ לְהַר הַבַּיִת רָאוּ שׁוּעָל שֶׁיָּצָא מִבֵּית קׇדְשֵׁי הַקֳּדָשִׁים, הִתְחִילוּ הֵן בּוֹכִין וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא מְצַחֵק. אָמְרוּ לוֹ: מִפְּנֵי מָה אַתָּה מְצַחֵק? אָמַר לָהֶם: מִפְּנֵי מָה אַתֶּם בּוֹכִים? אָמְרוּ לוֹ: מָקוֹם שֶׁכָּתוּב בּוֹ ״וְהַזָּר הַקָּרֵב יוּמָת״, וְעַכְשָׁיו שׁוּעָלִים הִלְּכוּ בּוֹ, וְלֹא נִבְכֶּה?!
in fire, and we should not cry!? He responded to them, that is why I am laughing. If this is what happens to those who transgress His will, how much so to those who fulfill His will! Another time, they were ascending to Jerusalem, .When they came to Har haTzofim, they tore their clothes. When they reached the Temple Mount, they saw a fox emerging from the place of the Holy of Holies. They started to cry, but Rabbi Akiva was laughing. The other sages said to him, Why are you laughing? He said to them, Why do you weep? They replied The place about which was written (Numbers 1,51) "and the non-Kohen that draws near shall be put to death", is now a haunt of foxes and we should not weep!?
Hebrew: William Davidson, Vocalized Aramaic (CC-BY-NC) · English: Sefaria Community Translation (CC0) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
6
On the words
הודו על ארץ ושמים
How it connects
“His splendor is over earth and heaven.” The Alter Rebbe reads “splendor” as the outer radiance that fills and encompasses the worlds.our note
The source
Psalms 148:13תהילים קמ״ח:י״גSefaria (opens in a new tab)
12בַּחוּרִים וְגַם־בְּתוּלוֹת זְקֵנִים עִם־נְעָרִים: 13יְהַלְלוּ אֶת־שֵׁם ה׳ כִּי־נִשְׂגָּב שְׁמוֹ לְבַדּוֹ הוֹדוֹ עַל־אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם: 14וַיָּרֶם קֶרֶן לְעַמּוֹ תְּהִלָּה לְכׇל־חֲסִידָיו לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַם קְרֹבוֹ הַלְלוּ־קָהּ:
12Both young men and maidens, Old men and children; 13Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. 14And He hath lifted up a horn for His people, A praise for all His saints, …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
תהלים קמח, יג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
7
On the words
לבני ישראל עם קרובו
How it connects
The next verse speaks of “the children of Israel, the people close to Him.” The Alter Rebbe reads it as Israel's closeness to G‑d's essence, beyond His outer splendor.our note
The source
Psalms 148:14תהילים קמ״ח:י״דSefaria (opens in a new tab)
13יְהַלְלוּ אֶת־שֵׁם ה׳ כִּי־נִשְׂגָּב שְׁמוֹ לְבַדּוֹ הוֹדוֹ עַל־אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם: 14וַיָּרֶם קֶרֶן לְעַמּוֹ תְּהִלָּה לְכׇל־חֲסִידָיו לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַם קְרֹבוֹ הַלְלוּ־קָהּ:
13… the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. 14And He hath lifted up a horn for His people, A praise for all His saints, Even for the children of Israel, a people near unto Him. Hallelujah.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
8
On the words
מי לי בשמים ועמך לא חפצתי
How it connects
The Psalmist declares that he wants nothing in heaven or on earth but G‑d. The Alter Rebbe uses it for the love that seeks G‑d Himself.our note
The source
Psalms 73:25תהילים ע״ג:כ״הSefaria (opens in a new tab)
24בַּעֲצָתְךָ תַנְחֵנִי וְאַחַר כָּבוֹד תִּקָּחֵנִי: 25מִי־לִי בַשָּׁמָיִם וְעִמְּךָ לֹא־חָפַצְתִּי בָאָרֶץ: 26כָּלָה שְׁאֵרִי וּלְבָבִי צוּר־לְבָבִי וְחֶלְקִי אֱלֹקִים לְעוֹלָם:
24Thou wilt guide me with Thy counsel, And afterward receive me with glory. 25Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And beside Thee I desire none upon earth. 26My flesh and my heart faileth; But God is the rock of my heart and my …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
9
How it connects
Koheles sees that wisdom excels folly “as light excels darkness.” Chassidus reads it as the special light that comes from darkness itself, applied here to the love that comes from the animal soul.our note
The source
Ecclesiastes 2:13קהלת ב׳:י״גSefaria (opens in a new tab)
12וּפָנִיתִי אֲנִי לִרְאוֹת חׇכְמָה וְהוֹלֵלוֹת וְסִכְלוּת כִּי מֶה הָאָדָם שֶׁיָּבוֹא אַחֲרֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵת אֲשֶׁר־כְּבָר עָשׂוּהוּ: 13וְרָאִיתִי אָנִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ יִתְרוֹן לַחׇכְמָה מִן־הַסִּכְלוּת כִּיתְרוֹן הָאוֹר מִן־הַחֹשֶׁךְ: 14הֶחָכָם עֵינָיו בְּרֹאשׁוֹ וְהַכְּסִיל בַּחֹשֶׁךְ הוֹלֵךְ וְיָדַעְתִּי גַם־אָנִי שֶׁמִּקְרֶה אֶחָד יִקְרֶה אֶת־כֻּלָּם:
12… can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done. 13Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. 14The wise man, his eyes are in his head; But the fool walketh in darkness. And …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria

9וזהו ברוך אתה מלך העולם אשר קדשנו במצותיו כו׳ שמה שנשפע ונמשך למטה להיות ממלא וסובב הוא בחי׳ מלך העולם ומלכותו בכל משלה1.

And this is [the meaning of] “Blessed are You… King of the world, who has sanctified us with His commandments,” etc.: that which is bestowed and drawn down below, to be [the light that] fills and [the light that] encompasses [all worlds] (memalei and sovev), is the level of “King of the world,” and “His kingship rules over all.”

Explanation

The Alter Rebbe applies this to the wording of every blessing over a mitzvah. “King of the world” refers to the light G‑d sends into and around the worlds, His kingship over them, as the verse says, “His kingship rules over all.”

אבל אהבת ותשוקת נש״י לדבקה בו ית׳ במהותו ועצמותו אשר קדשנו אשר הוא בחי׳ תענוג העליון עד אין קץ לשון באשרי2 כו׳. קדשנו במצותיו כו׳ שע״י המצות הם ממשיכים מענג העליון כמו טלית וכו׳.

But the love and longing of the souls of Israel to cleave to Him, blessed be He, in His essence and being, [is] “who (asher) has sanctified us”; for asher is the level of the supernal delight without end, a term [as in] “In my happiness (be’oshri),” etc. “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” etc.: for through the mitzvos they draw down from the supernal delight, as, for example, tallis, etc.

Explanation

But “who has sanctified us” (asher kiddeshanu) expresses the love of the Jewish soul for G‑d's essence. The Alter Rebbe reads asher as related to osher, “happiness,” as in Leah's “be'oshri,” and so as G‑d's endless inner delight. Through the mitzvos, such as tallis, Israel draws down from that supernal delight, beyond the level of “King of the world.”

Paragraph 9 in brief

The paragraph reads the blessing formula as the same contrast: “King of the world” is G‑d's outer light in the worlds, while “who has sanctified us with His commandments” is the bond with His essence and delight drawn down through the mitzvos.

Marei mekomos

1
How it connects
“G‑d has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingship rules over all.” The Alter Rebbe uses it for “King of the world,” G‑d's rule over creation.our note
The source
Psalms 103:19תהילים ק״ג:י״טSefaria (opens in a new tab)
18לְשֹׁמְרֵי בְרִיתוֹ וּלְזֹכְרֵי פִקֻּדָיו לַעֲשׂוֹתָם: 19ה׳ בַּשָּׁמַיִם הֵכִין כִּסְאוֹ וּמַלְכוּתוֹ בַּכֹּל מָשָׁלָה: 20בָּרְכוּ ה׳ מַלְאָכָיו גִּבֹּרֵי כֹחַ עֹשֵׂי דְבָרוֹ לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקוֹל דְּבָרוֹ:
18To such as keep His covenant, And to those that remember His precepts to do them. 19The LORD hath established His throne in the heavens; And His kingdom ruleth over all. 20Bless the LORD, ye angels of His, Ye mighty in strength, that fulfil His word, Hearkening …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
2
On the words
לשון באשרי
How it connects
At the birth of Asher, Leah says “In my happiness (be'oshri), for daughters will call me happy.” The Alter Rebbe uses it to read asher in the blessing as delight.our note
The source
Genesis 30:13בראשית ל׳:י״גSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
בראשית ל, יג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.

The waters of Noach, the ark and Shabbos ¶10–17

10וזהו כי מי נח זאת לי1 כי שעבוד הפרנסה כנז״ל הוא בחי׳ מי נח כמו שהי׳ במבול שאין הפי׳ שהי׳ המבול להעביר הרשעים מן העולם.

And this is [the meaning of] “For this is as the waters of Noach to Me”: for the servitude of livelihood, as mentioned above, is the level of “the waters of Noach,” as it was in the Flood. For the meaning is not that the Flood was to remove the wicked from the world,

Explanation

Now the maamar returns to its verse: G‑d calls the exile “the waters of Noach.” The Alter Rebbe says the burden of earning a living is also “the waters of Noach,” like the Flood. But first he asks what the Flood was for, since its purpose was not simply to wipe out the wicked,

כי לזה לא הי׳ נצרך המבול מים כי ברגע אחת הי׳ נעשה.

for that the Flood of water would not have been needed, since it could have been done in a single moment.

Explanation

because G‑d could have done that instantly; a year-long flood of water was not needed for destruction alone.

Paragraph 10 in brief

The paragraph links the struggle for a livelihood to “the waters of Noach” and raises the question of what the Flood was really for.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
כי מי נח זאת לי
How it connects
G‑d promises: as I swore that the waters of Noach would never again cover the earth, so I swear not to be angry with you. The maamar's theme verse, here read as the waters of worldly preoccupation.our note
The source
Isaiah 54:9ישעיהו נ״ד:ט׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
8בְּשֶׁצֶף קֶצֶף הִסְתַּרְתִּי פָנַי רֶגַע מִמֵּךְ וּבְחֶסֶד עוֹלָם רִחַמְתִּיךְ אָמַר גֹּאֲלֵךְ Havayah 9כִּי־מֵי נֹחַ זֹאת לִי אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי מֵעֲבֹר מֵי־נֹחַ עוֹד עַל־הָאָרֶץ כֵּן נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי מִקְּצֹף עָלַיִךְ וּמִגְּעׇר־בָּךְ: 10כִּי הֶהָרִים יָמוּשׁוּ וְהַגְּבָעוֹת תְּמוּטֶינָה וְחַסְדִּי מֵאִתֵּךְ לֹא־יָמוּשׁ וּבְרִית שְׁלוֹמִי לֹא תָמוּט אָמַר מְרַחֲמֵךְ ה׳
8… moment; But with everlasting kindness will I have compassion on thee, Saith the LORD thy Redeemer. 9For this is as the waters of Noah unto Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. 10For the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
ישעי׳ נד, ט.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.

11וכמ״ש בפרעה ותכחד1 כו׳. רק המבול הי׳ כדי לטהר העולם כי בתחלה ותמלא הארץ חמס2 כו׳.

As it is written regarding Pharaoh, “And you would have been cut off,” etc. Rather, the Flood was in order to purify the world, for at first “the earth was filled with violence,” etc.,

Explanation

Proof that G‑d can destroy instantly: He told Pharaoh He could have struck him and he would have been “cut off from the earth” at once. So the Flood had another purpose: to purify a world that had become “filled with violence.”

שהם המשיכו קליפות כו׳. שלזה הי׳ צריך לטהר העולם ע״י בחי׳ מים המטהרים והוא בחי׳ גשם גבורות גשמים שהוא מבחי׳ התהו שכשנמשך הגשמים בסדר והדרג׳ הוא בחי׳ חסד ומצמיח זרעים כו׳.

for they drew down kelipos (husks), etc. Therefore the world had to be purified through the level of purifying waters; and this is the level of rain, “the mighty powers of rain,” which is from the level of Tohu. For when the rains are drawn down in order and gradation, this is the level of Chesed, and it makes seeds grow, etc.

Explanation

The sins of that generation drew down kelipos, forces of concealment, so the world needed cleansing by water, as a mikveh purifies. The Alter Rebbe connects this to rain, called in the prayers gevuros geshamim, “the mighty powers of rain.” Ordinary rain, falling in measured order, is Chesed and makes things grow.

משא״כ המבול שהיו יורדים בגבורה היינו בהתגברות רב ובכח גדול שהוא מבחי׳ עולם התהו חסד דתהו לטהר הארץ הוצרך להיות הארה מבחי׳ עולם התהו שלמעלה מבחי׳ תקון רק שהי׳ הארה רבה ועצומה בהתגברות רב מבחי׳ התהו.

This is not so with the Flood, [whose waters] came down with Gevurah, that is, with great intensity and with great force, which is from the level of the World of Tohu, the Chesed of Tohu. To purify the earth there needed to be an illumination from the level of the World of Tohu, which is higher than the level of Tikkun; only it was a great and mighty illumination, with great intensity, from the level of Tohu.

Explanation

The Flood fell with Gevurah, meaning with overwhelming intensity: it was the Chesed of Tohu, kindness in Tohu's unbounded form. Only such a light, higher than Tikkun, could purify the earth; its sheer intensity is what made it destructive to those unfit to receive it.

Paragraph 11 in brief

The paragraph explains the Flood as a purification: a flood of Tohu-intensity light, the Chesed of Tohu, beyond the measured light of Tikkun that normally sustains the world.

Deeper

This applies the earlier principle that “judgment” is intense light that the unworthy cannot receive: the Flood's destruction was a by-product of a light of kindness too strong for its recipients.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
וכמ״ש בפרעה ותכחד
How it connects
G‑d tells Pharaoh that He could have struck him and his people with pestilence and he would have been cut off from the earth. The Alter Rebbe uses it to show that destroying the wicked needs no flood.our note
The source
Exodus 9:15שמות ט׳:ט״וSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
שמות ט, טו.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
ותמלא הארץ חמס
How it connects
Before the Flood “the earth was filled with violence.” The Alter Rebbe explains that this drew down kelipos, which the Flood came to purify.our note
The source
Genesis 6:11בראשית ו׳:י״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
10וַיּוֹלֶד נֹחַ שְׁלֹשָׁה בָנִים אֶת־שֵׁם אֶת־חָם וְאֶת־יָפֶת: 11וַתִּשָּׁחֵת הָאָרֶץ לִפְנֵי הָאֱלֹקִים וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ חָמָס: 12וַיַּרְא אֱלֹקִים אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וְהִנֵּה נִשְׁחָתָה כִּי־הִשְׁחִית כׇּל־בָּשָׂר אֶת־דַּרְכּוֹ עַל־הָאָרֶץ:
10And Noah begot three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.

12ולזה וימח את כל היקום1 שלא היו ראוים לקבל. וזהו ויכסו ההרים חמש עשרה אמה2 כו׳

Therefore “He wiped out all existence,” for they were not fit to receive [it]. And this is [the meaning of] “And the mountains were covered… fifteen cubits,” etc.

Explanation

So the Flood “wiped out all existence” not as punishment for its own sake but because they could not receive such intense light. And the waters rose fifteen cubits above the mountains.

פי׳ הרים הוא בחי׳ תקון התכללות המדות כאברהם שקראו הר3 כו׳. והטרדות ומחשבות עוה״ז מנפש הבהמית הם ג״כ מבחי׳ עולם התהו ונק׳ מי נח כו׳:4

“Mountains” means the level of Tikkun, the inter-inclusion of the attributes (middos), as [in the case of] Avraham, who called it “mountain,” etc. And the preoccupations and thoughts of this world, [which come] from the animal soul, are also from the level of the World of Tohu, and are called “the waters of Noach,” etc.

Explanation

“Mountains” stand for Tikkun, the blending of attributes, as the Talmud says Avraham called the Temple site a “mountain”; the Flood's Tohu-waters rose above Tikkun. In a person, the worries and thoughts of this world that come from the animal soul are likewise from Tohu, and they are the “waters of Noach” in his life.

Paragraph 12 in brief

The paragraph reads the Flood's details as Tohu overflowing Tikkun and identifies the animal soul's worldly preoccupations as a personal “waters of Noach.”

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
וימח את כל היקום
How it connects
The Flood wiped out every living thing on the earth. The Alter Rebbe explains that they could not receive the Flood's intense light.our note
The source
Genesis 7:23בראשית ז׳:כ״גSefaria (opens in a new tab)
22כֹּל אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁמַת־רוּחַ חַיִּים בְּאַפָּיו מִכֹּל אֲשֶׁר בֶּחָרָבָה מֵתוּ: 23וַיִּמַח אֶת־כׇּל־הַיְקוּם אֲשֶׁר עַל־פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה מֵאָדָם עַד־בְּהֵמָה עַד־רֶמֶשׂ וְעַד־עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וַיִּמָּחוּ מִן־הָאָרֶץ וַיִּשָּׁאֶר אַךְ־נֹחַ וַאֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ בַּתֵּבָה: 24וַיִּגְבְּרוּ הַמַּיִם עַל־הָאָרֶץ חֲמִשִּׁים וּמְאַת יוֹם:
22… nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, whatsoever was in the dry land, died. 23And He blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping thing, and fowl of the heaven; and they were blotted out from the earth; and Noah only was left, and they that were with him in the ark. 24And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
2
On the words
ויכסו ההרים חמש עשרה אמה
How it connects
The waters rose fifteen cubits and covered the mountains. The Alter Rebbe reads the mountains as Tikkun, which the Tohu-waters rose above.our note
The source
Genesis 7:20בראשית ז׳:כ׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
19וְהַמַּיִם גָּבְרוּ מְאֹד מְאֹד עַל־הָאָרֶץ וַיְכֻסּוּ כׇּל־הֶהָרִים הַגְּבֹהִים אֲשֶׁר־תַּחַת כׇּל־הַשָּׁמָיִם: 20חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה מִלְמַעְלָה גָּבְרוּ הַמָּיִם וַיְכֻסּוּ הֶהָרִים: 21וַיִּגְוַע כׇּל־בָּשָׂר הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל־הָאָרֶץ בָּעוֹף וּבַבְּהֵמָה וּבַחַיָּה וּבְכׇל־הַשֶּׁרֶץ הַשֹּׁרֵץ עַל־הָאָרֶץ וְכֹל הָאָדָם:
19… upon the earth; and all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered. 20Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. 21And all flesh perished that moved upon the earth, both fowl, and cattle, and beast, and …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
3
On the words
כאברהם שקראו הר
How it connects
The Talmud says Avraham called the Temple site a mountain (“on the mountain G‑d will be seen”). The Alter Rebbe uses it to link “mountain” with Avraham and Tikkun.our note
The source
Pesachim 88a:4פסחים פ״ח א:ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
אֶלָּא, לֹא כְּאַבְרָהָם שֶׁכָּתוּב בּוֹ ״הַר״, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״אֲשֶׁר יֵאָמֵר הַיּוֹם בְּהַר ה׳ יֵרָאֶה״, וְלֹא כְּיִצְחָק שֶׁכָּתוּב בּוֹ ״שָׂדֶה״, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיֵּצֵא יִצְחָק לָשׂוּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶה״, אֶלָּא כְּיַעֲקֹב שֶׁקְּרָאוֹ ״בַּיִת״, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַיִּקְרָא אֶת שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא בֵּית אֵל״.
Hebrew: William Davidson, Vocalized Aramaic (CC-BY-NC) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
פסחים פח, א.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
4
On the words
ותמלא . . וימח . . ויכסו
How it connects
The words here quote Genesis 6:11; the passage is shown below.
The source
Genesis 6:11בראשית ו׳:י״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
10וַיּוֹלֶד נֹחַ שְׁלֹשָׁה בָנִים אֶת־שֵׁם אֶת־חָם וְאֶת־יָפֶת: 11וַתִּשָּׁחֵת הָאָרֶץ לִפְנֵי הָאֱלֹקִים וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ חָמָס: 12וַיַּרְא אֱלֹקִים אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וְהִנֵּה נִשְׁחָתָה כִּי־הִשְׁחִית כׇּל־בָּשָׂר אֶת־דַּרְכּוֹ עַל־הָאָרֶץ:
10And Noah begot three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
בראשית ו, יא. ז, כג. יט, כ.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.

13וזהו ויאמר ה׳ לנח בא אתה1 וכל ביתך אל התבה. תבה הוא בחי׳ צירופי אותיות

And this is [the meaning of] “And G‑d said to Noach, ‘Come, you and all your household, into the ark (teivah).’” Teivah is the level of combinations of letters,

Explanation

G‑d tells Noach to enter the teivah, the ark. The Hebrew teivah also means “word,” so the Alter Rebbe reads it as the words and letter-combinations of prayer and Torah, the refuge from the flood of worldly worry.

כי נח הוא בחי׳ שבת כתרגומו וישבת ונח2 כו׳. ואין הפי׳ שביתה בעצם רק כאדם ששובת ממלאכתו.

for Noach is the level of Shabbos, as its Targum [renders] “and He ceased” (vayishbos) as “and He rested” (venach), etc. But the meaning is not cessation in essence, only like a person who rests from his work.

Explanation

The name Noach means “rest,” and the Targum translates G‑d's resting on the seventh day with the same root, so Noach is the level of Shabbos. This rest is not stopping altogether, but like a worker who rests from his labor: a rest that follows effort.

Paragraph 13 in brief

The paragraph reads “Come into the ark” as entering the words of prayer, and identifies Noach with Shabbos, the rest that follows work.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
ויאמר ה׳ לנח בא אתה
How it connects
G‑d commands Noach to enter the ark with his household. The Alter Rebbe reads the ark (teivah) as the words of prayer.our note
The source
Genesis 7:1בראשית ז׳:א׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
1וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ לְנֹחַ בֹּא־אַתָּה וְכׇל־בֵּיתְךָ אֶל־הַתֵּבָה כִּי־אֹתְךָ רָאִיתִי צַדִּיק לְפָנַי בַּדּוֹר הַזֶּה: 2מִכֹּל הַבְּהֵמָה הַטְּהוֹרָה תִּקַּח־לְךָ שִׁבְעָה שִׁבְעָה אִישׁ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וּמִן־הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא טְהֹרָה הִוא שְׁנַיִם אִישׁ וְאִשְׁתּוֹ:
1And the LORD said unto Noah: ‘Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation. 2Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, each with his mate; …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
בראשית ז, א.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
כתרגומו וישבת ונח
How it connects
On the seventh day G‑d “ceased” from all His work. The Alter Rebbe cites the Targum on this verse, which renders it with the root of Noach (rest).our note
The source
Genesis 2:2בראשית ב׳:ב׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
בראשית ב, ב ועוד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.

14וכמ״ש ונוח בחמשה עשר1 2 כו׳ שביתה אחר מלחמה כו׳ בחי׳ נח נייחא דרוחא ויש ב׳ בחינות נח ב׳ בחי׳ שבת שבת תתאה ושבת עלאה יום שכולו שבת. ובחי׳ תפלה נק׳ ג״כ בחי׳ נח בחי׳ שבת.

And as it is written, “And they rested on the fifteenth,” etc.: rest after war, etc., the level of nach, rest of the spirit (nayecha d’rucha). And there are two levels of nach, two levels of Shabbos: the lower Shabbos and the higher Shabbos, “the day that is entirely Shabbos.” And the level of prayer is also called the level of nach, the level of Shabbos.

Explanation

The Jews of Shushan “rested on the fifteenth” after their war: rest after struggle, a calm of the spirit. There are two such “rests”: the lower Shabbos, our weekly Shabbos, and the higher Shabbos, the “day that is entirely Shabbos” of the future. Prayer, too, is a “rest” and a Shabbos, where the week's work is lifted up.

Paragraph 14 in brief

The paragraph defines Noach as rest after struggle, distinguishes a lower and a higher Shabbos, and places prayer in this category.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
ונוח בחמשה עשר
How it connects
The words here quote Esther 9:17; the passage is shown below.
The source
Kehot cites אסתר ט, יז.; the words are at Esther 9:18.
Esther 9:17אסתר ט׳:י״זSefaria (opens in a new tab)
16… בִּמְדִינוֹת הַמֶּלֶךְ נִקְהֲלוּ וְעָמֹד עַל־נַפְשָׁם וְנוֹחַ מֵאֹיְבֵיהֶם וְהָרוֹג בְּשֹׂנְאֵיהֶם חֲמִשָּׁה וְשִׁבְעִים אָלֶף וּבַבִּזָּה לֹא שָׁלְחוּ אֶת־יָדָם: 17בְּיוֹם־שְׁלוֹשָׁה עָשָׂר לְחֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר וְנוֹחַ בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר בּוֹ וְעָשֹׂה אֹתוֹ יוֹם מִשְׁתֶּה וְשִׂמְחָה: 18וְהַיְּהוּדִים אֲשֶׁר־בְּשׁוּשָׁן נִקְהֲלוּ בִּשְׁלוֹשָׁה עָשָׂר בּוֹ וּבְאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר בּוֹ וְנוֹחַ בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בּוֹ וְעָשֹׂה אֹתוֹ יוֹם מִשְׁתֶּה וְשִׂמְחָה:
16… them that hated them seventy and five thousand—but on the spoil they laid not their hand—. 17on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 18But the Jews that were in Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
אסתר ט, יז.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
ונוח בחמשה עשר
How it connects
The Jews of Shushan fought on the thirteenth and fourteenth and rested on the fifteenth. The Alter Rebbe uses it for rest that follows battle.our note
The source
Esther 9:18אסתר ט׳:י״חSefaria (opens in a new tab)
17בְּיוֹם־שְׁלוֹשָׁה עָשָׂר לְחֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר וְנוֹחַ בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר בּוֹ וְעָשֹׂה אֹתוֹ יוֹם מִשְׁתֶּה וְשִׂמְחָה: 18וְהַיְּהוּדִים אֲשֶׁר־בְּשׁוּשָׁן נִקְהֲלוּ בִּשְׁלוֹשָׁה עָשָׂר בּוֹ וּבְאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר בּוֹ וְנוֹחַ בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר בּוֹ וְעָשֹׂה אֹתוֹ יוֹם מִשְׁתֶּה וְשִׂמְחָה: 19עַל־כֵּן הַיְּהוּדִים הַפְּרָזִים הַיֹּשְׁבִים בְּעָרֵי הַפְּרָזוֹת עֹשִׂים אֵת יוֹם אַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר לְחֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר שִׂמְחָה וּמִשְׁתֶּה וְיוֹם …
17… fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 18But the Jews that were in Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness and they ate. 19Therefore do the Jews of the villages, that dwell in the unwalled towns, make the fourteenth …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.

15וכל תפלות החול מתעלים בשבת כי בשבת הוא עליות העולמות שכל ששת ימי המעשה הוא בירורי רפ״ח נצוצין בחי׳ מל׳ שיורדת בבי״ע ורגלי׳ יורדות1 כו׳. ויש בזה עתים שונים כמו חצות לילה.

And all the weekday prayers are elevated on Shabbos, for on Shabbos is the ascent of the worlds. For all six days of work are the refinements of the 288 sparks, the level of Malchus (sovereignty) that descends into [the worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, “her feet descend,” etc. And in this there are various times, such as midnight.

Explanation

Weekday prayers are fully lifted on Shabbos, when all the worlds ascend. In the Kabbalah, 288 sparks of holiness fell in the Shattering of the Vessels, and during the six workdays Malchus descends into the lower worlds to refine and gather them, as Proverbs says “her feet descend.” This refining has particular times, such as midnight, the time of the Tikkun Chatzos prayer.

Paragraph 15 in brief

The paragraph explains why weekday prayers ascend on Shabbos: the six days are the work of refining the fallen sparks, and Shabbos is the ascent that follows.

Deeper

The number 288 (רפ"ח) is the Kabbalah's count of the sparks that fell in the Shattering of the Vessels. The verse “her feet descend to death” (Proverbs 5:5) is applied in Kabbalah to Malchus descending into the lower worlds.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
ורגלי׳ יורדות
How it connects
“Her feet descend to death.” In Kabbalah this describes Malchus descending into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah to refine the sparks.our note
The source
Proverbs 5:5משלי ה׳:ה׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
4וְאַחֲרִיתָהּ מָרָה כַלַּעֲנָה חַדָּה כְּחֶרֶב פִּיּוֹת: 5רַגְלֶיהָ יֹרְדוֹת מָוֶת שְׁאוֹל צְעָדֶיהָ יִתְמֹכוּ: 6אֹרַח חַיִּים פֶּן־תְּפַלֵּס נָעוּ מַעְגְּלֹתֶיהָ לֹא תֵדָע:
4But her end is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5Her feet go down to death; Her steps take hold on the nether-world; 6Lest she should walk the even path of life, Her ways wander, but she knoweth it not.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.

16וכל ו׳ ימי המעשה הוא בחי׳ השפעות ויאמר אלקים1 יהי אור כו׳ יהי רקיע.2 ובשבת מתעלים בי״ע בבחי׳ אצי׳ בחי׳ תקון

And all six days of work are the level of the influences of “And G‑d said, ‘Let there be light,’” etc., “Let there be a firmament.” And on Shabbos, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah are elevated into the level of the World of Atzilus (Emanation), the level of Tikkun,

Explanation

The six days correspond to the creative sayings, “Let there be light,” “Let there be a firmament,” through which divine influence flows out into the worlds. On Shabbos the flow reverses: Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah rise into Atzilus, which is the World of Tikkun.

כי איהו וחיוהי חד3 [איהו] וגרמוהי חד פי׳ חיוהי אורות וגרמוהי כלים הכל חד בהון

for “He and His life-force are one, He and His causations are one”; meaning, “His life-force” is the lights and “His causations” are the vessels: all is one in them.

Explanation

The Tikkunei Zohar says of Atzilus that G‑d is one with His “life-force” and with His “causations.” The Alter Rebbe explains these as the lights and the vessels: in Atzilus both are wholly one with G‑d.

וכמ״ש לך ה׳ הגדולה והגבורה4 שבבחי׳ אצי׳ בחי׳ גדולה וגבורה הם בבחי׳ לך ומיוחדים בתכלית בחי׳ תקון.

And as it is written, “Yours, O G‑d, is the greatness and the might”: in the level of Atzilus, the levels of greatness and might are in the level of “Yours,” and are utterly united, the level of Tikkun.

Explanation

The verse “Yours, O G‑d, is the greatness and the might” shows this: in Atzilus even the opposites Chesed (greatness) and Gevurah (might) belong to “Yours,” wholly united with G‑d and with each other, which is the essence of Tikkun.

Paragraph 16 in brief

The paragraph explains Shabbos as the lower worlds' ascent into Atzilus, where lights and vessels, and even opposite attributes, are one with G‑d.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
ויאמר אלקים יהי אור
How it connects
The first of the creative sayings. The Alter Rebbe uses the sayings for the outward flow of the six workdays.our note
The source
Genesis 1:3בראשית א׳:ג׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
2וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ אֱלֹקִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם: 3וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹקִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי־אוֹר: 4וַיַּרְא אֱלֹקִים אֶת־הָאוֹר כִּי־טוֹב וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱלֹקִים בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְ:
2… face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. 3And God said: ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
2
On the words
יהי רקיע
How it connects
The saying that created the firmament, another example of the weekday influences.our note
The source
Genesis 1:6בראשית א׳:ו׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
5וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹקִים לָאוֹר יוֹם וְלַחֹשֶׁךְ קָרָא לָיְלָה וַיְהִי־עֶרֶב וַיְהִי־בֹקֶר יוֹם אֶחָד: 6וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹקִים יְהִי רָקִיעַ בְּתוֹךְ הַמָּיִם וִיהִי מַבְדִּיל בֵּין מַיִם לָמָיִם: 7וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹקִים אֶת־הָרָקִיעַ וַיַּבְדֵּל בֵּין הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מִתַּחַת לָרָקִיעַ וּבֵין הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר מֵעַל לָרָקִיעַ וַיְהִי־כֵן:
5… and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. 6And God said: ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’ 7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
3
On the words
איהו וחיוהי חד
How it connects
The introduction to Tikkunei Zohar says of the Sefiros of Atzilus that He, His life-force and His causations are one in them. The Alter Rebbe reads these as lights and vessels united in Atzilus.our note
The source
Tikkunei Zohar 3b:9–10תקוני הזהר ג׳ ב:ט׳-י׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
דְּעִִּשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת דַּאֲצִילוּת מַלְכָּא בְּהוֹן, אִיהוּ וְגַרְמֵיהּ חַד בְּהוֹן, אִיהוּ וְחַיּיוָי חַד בְּהוֹן, מַה דְּלַאו הָכִי בְּעִִשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת דִּבְּרִיאָה, דְלַאו אִינוּן וְחַיֵּיהוֹן חַד, לַאו אִינוּן וְגַרְמֵיהוֹן חַד. וְעִלַּת עַל כֹּלָּא הוּא נָהִיר (נ"א נחית) בְּעִִשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת דַּאֲצִילוּת, וּבְעִִשֶׂר סְפִירוֹת דִּבְּרִיאָה, וְנָהִיר בְּעִִשֶׂר כִּתּוֹת דְּמַלְאָכַיָּא, וּבְעִִשֶׂר גַּלְגַּלֵּי דִרְקִיעָא, וְלָא אִשְׁתַּנִּי בְכָל אֲתַר.
Hebrew: Tikkunei Zohar - Vocalized (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
ת״ז בהקדמה (ג, ב).
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
4
On the words
לך ה׳ הגדולה והגבורה
How it connects
David's blessing, cited again: greatness and might belong to “Yours.” Here it shows the union of Chesed and Gevurah in Atzilus.our note
The source
I Chronicles 29:11דברי הימים א כ״ט:י״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
10וַיְבָרֶךְ דָּוִיד אֶת־ה׳ לְעֵינֵי כׇּל־הַקָּהָל וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִיד בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹקֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָבִינוּ מֵעוֹלָם וְעַד־עוֹלָם: 11לְךָ ה׳ הַגְּדֻלָּה וְהַגְּבוּרָה וְהַתִּפְאֶרֶת וְהַנֵּצַח וְהַהוֹד כִּי־כֹל בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ לְךָ ה׳ הַמַּמְלָכָה וְהַמִּתְנַשֵּׂא לְכֹל לְרֹאשׁ: 12וְהָעֹשֶׁר וְהַכָּבוֹד מִלְּפָנֶיךָ וְאַתָּה מוֹשֵׁל בַּכֹּל וּבְיָדְךָ כֹּחַ וּגְבוּרָה וּבְיָדְךָ לְגַדֵּל וּלְחַזֵּק לַכֹּל:
10… said: ‘Blessed be Thou, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. 11Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and Thou art exalted as head above all. 12Both riches and honour come of Thee, and Thou rulest over all; and in Thy hand …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.

17וכמו״כ בתפלה ג״כ כל המעשה אשר יעשה בכל יום במזון או אפי׳ ת״ת מתעלה בתפלה ע״י אהבת בכל מאדך.

So too in prayer: all the activity that one does every day, with food or even [with] Torah study, is elevated in prayer through the love of “with all your might.”

Explanation

Prayer works like Shabbos: everything a person did during the day, eating or even studying Torah, is lifted up in prayer through the boundless love “with all your might.”

וזהו שבת תתאה שמתעלים בי״ע בבחי׳ אצי׳. אך לע״ל יהיה יום שכולו שבת פי׳ שיתעלה בחי׳ אצי׳ למעלה מעלה ולא

And this is the lower Shabbos, in which Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah are elevated into the level of Atzilus. But in the Time to Come there will be “the day that is entirely Shabbos,” meaning that the level of Atzilus will be elevated higher and higher, and not

Explanation

This is the “lower Shabbos,” lifting the lower worlds into Atzilus. The future “day that is entirely Shabbos” will be greater: Atzilus itself will rise higher and higher,

כמו עתה שאחר שבת נצרך להיות חול היינו שבחי׳ אצי׳ מברר בי״ע ולע״ל יתעלה בחי׳ אצי׳ ולא יהי׳ נצרך עוד לברר בי״ע

as now, when after Shabbos there must be a weekday, that is, the level of Atzilus refines Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah; but in the Time to Come the level of Atzilus will be elevated, and it will no longer be necessary to refine Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah,

Explanation

and the cycle of weekday and Shabbos will end. Today every Shabbos is followed by a weekday, because Atzilus must keep refining the lower worlds; in the future that refining will be complete and no longer needed.

כי רוח הטומאה אעביר1 ויבולע המות2 כו׳ אשת חיל עט״ב3 ונקבה תסובב גבר וכמבואר במ״א וד״ל:

for “I will remove the spirit of impurity,” and “He will swallow up death,” etc.; “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband,” and “A female shall surround a male,” as explained elsewhere; and this will suffice for one who understands.

Explanation

For then G‑d will “remove the spirit of impurity” and “swallow up death” forever. Malchus (the “woman of valor”) will become “the crown of her husband,” rising above Z'eir Anpin, and “a female shall surround a male.” The Alter Rebbe leaves the details to another place.

Paragraph 17 in brief

The paragraph applies Shabbos to prayer, the lower Shabbos that lifts the day's work, and contrasts it with the future higher Shabbos, when all refinement is finished and Malchus rises to become a crown.

Deeper

“A woman of valor is the crown of her husband” and “a female shall surround a male” are Kabbalistic images of the future ascent of Malchus (the receiver, the “feminine”) above Z'eir Anpin (the giver), so that what now receives will then be the source. The maamar returns to this idea at its end.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
רוח הטומאה אעביר
How it connects
G‑d promises to remove the spirit of impurity from the land. The Alter Rebbe cites it for the future, when refinement will no longer be needed.our note
The source
Zechariah 13:2זכריה י״ג:ב׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
1בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה מָקוֹר נִפְתָּח לְבֵית דָּוִיד וּלְיֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם לְחַטַּאת וּלְנִדָּה: 2וְהָיָה בַיּוֹם הַהוּא נְאֻם ה׳ צְבָאוֹת אַכְרִית אֶת־שְׁמוֹת הָעֲצַבִּים מִן־הָאָרֶץ וְלֹא יִזָּכְרוּ עוֹד וְגַם אֶת־הַנְּבִיאִים וְאֶת־רוּחַ הַטֻּמְאָה אַעֲבִיר מִן־הָאָרֶץ: 3וְהָיָה כִּי־יִנָּבֵא אִישׁ עוֹד וְאָמְרוּ אֵלָיו אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ יֹלְדָיו לֹא תִחְיֶה כִּי שֶׁקֶר דִּבַּרְתָּ בְּשֵׁם ה׳ …
1… To the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, For purification and for sprinkling. 2And it shall come to pass in that day, Saith the LORD of hosts, That I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, And they shall no more be remembered; And also I will cause the prophets And the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. 3And it shall come to pass that, when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
2
On the words
ויבולע המות
How it connects
“He will swallow up death forever.” Another promise of the end of evil in the future.our note
The source
Isaiah 25:8ישעיהו כ״ה:ח׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
7וּבִלַּע בָּהָר הַזֶּה פְּנֵי־הַלּוֹט הַלּוֹט עַל־כׇּל־הָעַמִּים וְהַמַּסֵּכָה הַנְּסוּכָה עַל־כׇּל־הַגּוֹיִם: 8בִּלַּע הַמָּוֶת לָנֶצַח וּמָחָה אֲדֹ־נָי ה׳ דִּמְעָה מֵעַל כׇּל־פָּנִים וְחֶרְפַּת עַמּוֹ יָסִיר מֵעַל כׇּל־הָאָרֶץ כִּי ה׳ דִּבֵּר: 9וְאָמַר בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא הִנֵּה אֱלֹקֵינוּ זֶה קִוִּינוּ לוֹ וְיוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ זֶה ה׳ קִוִּינוּ לוֹ נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בִּישׁוּעָתוֹ:
7… covering that is cast over all peoples, And the veil that is spread over all nations. 8He will swallow up death for ever; And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; And the reproach of His people will He take away from off all the earth; For the LORD hath spoken it. 9And it shall be said in that day: ‘Lo, this is our God, For whom we …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
3
On the words
אשת חיל עט״ב
How it connects
“A woman of valor is the crown of her husband.” In Kabbalah, the future ascent of Malchus above Z'eir Anpin.our note
The source
Proverbs 12:4משלי י״ב:ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
3לֹא־יִכּוֹן אָדָם בְּרֶשַׁע וְשֹׁרֶשׁ צַדִּיקִים בַּל־יִמּוֹט: 4אֵשֶׁת־חַיִל עֲטֶרֶת בַּעְלָהּ וּכְרָקָב בְּעַצְמוֹתָיו מְבִישָׁה: 5מַחְשְׁבוֹת צַדִּיקִים מִשְׁפָּט תַּחְבֻּלוֹת רְשָׁעִים מִרְמָה:
3A man shall not be established by wickedness; But the root of the righteous shall never be moved. 4A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband; But she that doeth shamefully is as rottenness in his bones. 5The thoughts of the righteous are right; But the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.

Many waters cannot extinguish the love ¶18–23

18וזהו פי׳ הפסוק מים רבים1 הם טרדות עוה״ז שהם מבחי׳ עולם התהו2 ונהרות הם המחשבות שנמשכו כמי נהר דניידי ואזלי

And this is the explanation of the verse: “Many waters” are the preoccupations of this world, which are from the level of the World of Tohu; “and rivers” are the thoughts, which flow like the waters of a river that move along and go,

Explanation

The Alter Rebbe now reads a verse from the Song of Songs: “Many waters cannot extinguish the love, and rivers cannot drown it.” The “many waters” are the preoccupations of worldly life, rooted in Tohu, the same “waters of Noach” described above; the “rivers” are the stream of thoughts those worries set flowing, which keep running on without pause.

כי בבחי׳ התהו יש ג״כ ב׳ בחי׳ מים ונהרות לא יוכלו לכבות את האהבה הבאה מכח נפש האלקית בהתגברות ועמך לא חפצתי3 וכו׳:4

for in the level of Tohu there are also two levels, waters and rivers; [yet they] “cannot extinguish the love” that comes from the power of the G‑dly soul (nefesh ha’Elokis) with intensity: “and with You I desire nothing,” etc.

Explanation

Tohu itself has these two levels, the waters and the rivers. Yet they cannot put out the love that the soul's divine power brings with intensity, the love that says to G‑d “with You I desire nothing” — nothing but G‑d Himself.

Paragraph 18 in brief

The paragraph reads “Many waters cannot extinguish the love” as saying that the worries and racing thoughts of making a living, however powerful, cannot quench the soul's intense love for G‑d Himself.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
מים רבים
How it connects
“Many waters cannot extinguish the love, nor can rivers drown it.” The Alter Rebbe reads the waters and rivers as worldly worries and the thoughts they set in motion, which cannot quench the soul's love.our note
The source
Song of Songs 8:7שיר השירים ח׳:ז׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
6שִׂימֵנִי כַחוֹתָם עַל־לִבֶּךָ כַּחוֹתָם עַל־זְרוֹעֶךָ כִּי־עַזָּה כַמָּוֶת אַהֲבָה קָשָׁה כִשְׁאוֹל קִנְאָה רְשָׁפֶיהָ רִשְׁפֵּי אֵשׁ שַׁלְהֶבֶתְיָה: 7מַיִם רַבִּים לֹא יוּכְלוּ לְכַבּוֹת אֶת־הָאַהֲבָה וּנְהָרוֹת לֹא יִשְׁטְפוּהָ אִם־יִתֵּן אִישׁ אֶת־כׇּל־הוֹן בֵּיתוֹ בָּאַהֲבָה בּוֹז יָבוּזוּ לוֹ: 8אָחוֹת לָנוּ קְטַנָּה וְשָׁדַיִם אֵין לָהּ מַה־נַּעֲשֶׂה לַאֲחֹתֵנוּ בַּיּוֹם שֶׁיְּדֻבַּר־בָּהּ:
6… as the grave; The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, A very flame of the LORD. 7Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can the floods drown it; If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned. 8We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts; What shall we do for our …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
2
On the words
שהם מבחי׳ עולם התהו
How it connects
The Mitteler Rebbe's discourses on Noach discuss worldly preoccupations as rooted in Tohu; the note points there as a parallel.our note
Where the note points
Torah Chaim, by the Mitteler Rebbeתורת חיים
Noach, 61a (סא, א)
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורה
Noach, vol. 3, p. 609b (תרט, ב)
Our explanationThe Tzemach Tzedek's discourses on Noach also treat the “waters” of worldly concern as coming from Tohu; the note points there as a parallel.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
ראה תו״ח נח סא, א. אוה״ת נח כרך ג תרט, ב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
3
On the words
ועמך לא חפצתי
How it connects
“And with You I desire nothing on earth.” The Alter Rebbe uses it for the love that wants G‑d Himself.our note
The source
Psalms 73:25תהילים ע״ג:כ״הSefaria (opens in a new tab)
24בַּעֲצָתְךָ תַנְחֵנִי וְאַחַר כָּבוֹד תִּקָּחֵנִי: 25מִי־לִי בַשָּׁמָיִם וְעִמְּךָ לֹא־חָפַצְתִּי בָאָרֶץ: 26כָּלָה שְׁאֵרִי וּלְבָבִי צוּר־לְבָבִי וְחֶלְקִי אֱלֹקִים לְעוֹלָם:
24Thou wilt guide me with Thy counsel, And afterward receive me with glory. 25Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And beside Thee I desire none upon earth. 26My flesh and my heart faileth; But God is the rock of my heart and my …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
4
On the words
בדעת חדרים . . יקר ונעים
How it connects
The words here quote Proverbs 24:4; the passage is shown below.
The source
Proverbs 24:4משלי כ״ד:ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
3בְּחׇכְמָה יִבָּנֶה בָּיִת וּבִתְבוּנָה יִתְכּוֹנָן: 4וּבְדַעַת חֲדָרִים יִמָּלְאוּ כׇּל־הוֹן יָקָר וְנָעִים: 5גֶּבֶר־חָכָם בַּעוֹז וְאִישׁ־דַּעַת מְאַמֶּץ־כֹּחַ:
3Through wisdom is a house builded; And by understanding it is established; 4And by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious and pleasant riches. 5A wise man is strong; Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
משלי כד, ד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.

19אם יתן איש את כל הון ביתו באהבה בוז יבוזו לו.1 פי׳ ביתו הוא בחי׳ חכ׳ בחכמה יבנה בית.2

“If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love, he would be utterly scorned.” Meaning: “his house” is the level of Chochmah (wisdom), [as in] “With wisdom a house is built.”

Explanation

The next verse of the Song says that if a man gave all the wealth of his house for love, he would be scorned. The Alter Rebbe interprets each word: “his house” is Chochmah (wisdom), because Proverbs says a house is built with wisdom.

הון ביתו הוא פנימיות כמ״ש בדעת חדרים ימלאו כל הון יקר ונעים3 והוא בחינת טעמי התורה והוא בחינת ג״ע העליון ותחתון ואורייתא מחכמה נפקת.4 5

“The wealth of his house” is the inner dimension (pnimiyus), as it is written, “And with knowledge the chambers are filled with all precious and pleasant wealth”; and this is the level of the reasons of the Torah, and this is the level of the higher and lower Gan Eden; and “the Torah issues from Chochmah.”

Explanation

“The wealth of his house” is the inner treasure of wisdom: the reasons of the Torah, which the souls enjoy in the Garden of Eden, lower and higher, as reward. The Torah comes from Chochmah, so its reasons are the “wealth” of the “house” of wisdom.

Paragraph 19 in brief

The paragraph defines “all the wealth of his house” as the inner wisdom of the Torah's reasons, the delight of Gan Eden, preparing to say why even this is “scorned” next to love.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
אם יתן איש את כל הון ביתו באהבה בוז יבוזו לו
How it connects
The end of the verse: if a man gave all the wealth of his house for love, he would be utterly scorned. The Alter Rebbe reads “the wealth of his house” as the inner wisdom of the Torah.our note
The source
Song of Songs 8:7שיר השירים ח׳:ז׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
6שִׂימֵנִי כַחוֹתָם עַל־לִבֶּךָ כַּחוֹתָם עַל־זְרוֹעֶךָ כִּי־עַזָּה כַמָּוֶת אַהֲבָה קָשָׁה כִשְׁאוֹל קִנְאָה רְשָׁפֶיהָ רִשְׁפֵּי אֵשׁ שַׁלְהֶבֶתְיָה: 7מַיִם רַבִּים לֹא יוּכְלוּ לְכַבּוֹת אֶת־הָאַהֲבָה וּנְהָרוֹת לֹא יִשְׁטְפוּהָ אִם־יִתֵּן אִישׁ אֶת־כׇּל־הוֹן בֵּיתוֹ בָּאַהֲבָה בּוֹז יָבוּזוּ לוֹ: 8אָחוֹת לָנוּ קְטַנָּה וְשָׁדַיִם אֵין לָהּ מַה־נַּעֲשֶׂה לַאֲחֹתֵנוּ בַּיּוֹם שֶׁיְּדֻבַּר־בָּהּ:
6… as the grave; The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, A very flame of the LORD. 7Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can the floods drown it; If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned. 8We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts; What shall we do for our …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
2
On the words
בחכמה יבנה בית
How it connects
“With wisdom a house is built.” It identifies “house” with Chochmah.our note
The source
Proverbs 24:3משלי כ״ד:ג׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
2כִּי־שֹׁד יֶהְגֶּה לִבָּם וְעָמָל שִׂפְתֵיהֶם תְּדַבֵּרְנָה: 3בְּחׇכְמָה יִבָּנֶה בָּיִת וּבִתְבוּנָה יִתְכּוֹנָן: 4וּבְדַעַת חֲדָרִים יִמָּלְאוּ כׇּל־הוֹן יָקָר וְנָעִים:
2For their heart studieth destruction, And their lips talk of mischief. 3Through wisdom is a house builded; And by understanding it is established; 4And by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious and pleasant riches.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
3
On the words
בדעת חדרים ימלאו כל הון יקר ונעים
How it connects
“With knowledge the chambers are filled with all precious and pleasant wealth.” It identifies the “wealth” with the inner content of wisdom.our note
The source
Proverbs 24:4משלי כ״ד:ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
3בְּחׇכְמָה יִבָּנֶה בָּיִת וּבִתְבוּנָה יִתְכּוֹנָן: 4וּבְדַעַת חֲדָרִים יִמָּלְאוּ כׇּל־הוֹן יָקָר וְנָעִים: 5גֶּבֶר־חָכָם בַּעוֹז וְאִישׁ־דַּעַת מְאַמֶּץ־כֹּחַ:
3Through wisdom is a house builded; And by understanding it is established; 4And by knowledge are the chambers filled With all precious and pleasant riches. 5A wise man is strong; Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
4
On the words
ואורייתא מחכמה נפקת
How it connects
The Zohar teaches that the Torah issues from supernal Chochmah. The Alter Rebbe uses it to link the Torah's reasons with Chochmah, the “house.”our note
The source
Zohar II, 121aזח״ב קכא, אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
זח״ב קכא, א. וראה שם פה, א.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
5
On the words
ואורייתא מחכמה נפקת
How it connects
The Kehot note also points to this Zohar passage for the same teaching, that the Torah comes from Chochmah.our note
The source
Zohar, Yitro 21:378–22:389ספר הזהר, יתרו כ״א:שע״ח-כ״ב:שפ״טSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.

20ואם יתן איש בחי׳ איש מלחמה1 שלהיות בחינת חכמה להיות נהנין מזיו השכינה בבחי׳ השגה הוא רק בחי׳ זיו והארה בלבד והוא

“If a man would give” — the level of “a man of war”: for [the ability] to have the level of Chochmah, to delight in the radiance of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) in the manner of comprehension, is only the level of a ray and a glimmer alone; and it is

Explanation

The word “man” (ish) in the verse recalls “G‑d is a man of war.” Understanding G‑d through wisdom, the delight of the souls in Gan Eden who “enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah,” is only a ray of His light.

ע״י בחי׳ איש מלחמה הוא רבוי הצמצומים עד שיוכל להיות בחינת חכמה זיו השכינה אבל בחי׳ אהבה הנ״ל ועמך לא חפצתי2 כו׳.

through the level of “a man of war,” which is the many contractions (tzimtzumim), until there can be the level of Chochmah, the radiance of the Shechinah. But the level of the love mentioned above [is] “and with You I desire nothing,” etc.:

Explanation

That ray comes to them through “a man of war,” that is, through many contractions (tzimtzumim) that reduce the light until created minds can grasp it as wisdom. The love described above is different: “with You I desire nothing.”

שלא ע״מ לקבל פרס3 היינו עוה״ב ג״ע העליון וכו׳ כ״א ועמך למהותו ועצמותו ית׳ אליו ולא למדותיו.4 5

not for the sake of receiving a reward, that is, the World to Come, the higher Gan Eden, etc., but rather “with You,” to His essence and being, blessed be He: to Him and not to His attributes.

Explanation

This love seeks no reward, not even the spiritual reward of the World to Come or the higher Gan Eden, but G‑d's essence alone. In the classic phrase: to Him, and not to His attributes.

Paragraph 20 in brief

The paragraph explains why even the wisdom of Gan Eden is “scorned” next to this love: wisdom is a light filtered through contractions, while the love seeks G‑d Himself without any reward.

Deeper

The phrase “to Him and not to His attributes” is cited in Pardes Rimonim in the name of the Sifrei, as the Kehot note records. The Alter Rebbe uses it to distinguish love for G‑d's essence from love for any revealed attribute or light.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
איש מלחמה
How it connects
“G‑d is a man of war.” The Alter Rebbe reads the “man” of the Song's verse as this level, the many contractions of light.our note
The source
Exodus 15:3שמות ט״ו:ג׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
2עׇזִּי וְזִמְרָת קָהּ וַיְהִי־לִי לִישׁוּעָה זֶה אֵלִי וְאַנְוֵהוּ אֱלֹקֵי אָבִי וַאֲרֹמְמֶנְהוּ: 3Havayah אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה Havayah שְׁמוֹ: 4מַרְכְּבֹת פַּרְעֹה וְחֵילוֹ יָרָה בַיָּם וּמִבְחַר שָׁלִשָׁיו טֻבְּעוּ בְיַם־סוּף:
2… is my God, and I will glorify Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him. 3The LORD is a man of war, The LORD is His name. 4Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath He cast into the sea, And his chosen captains are …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
2
On the words
ועמך לא חפצתי
How it connects
“And with You I desire nothing.” The love for G‑d alone, above any reward.our note
The source
Psalms 73:25תהילים ע״ג:כ״הSefaria (opens in a new tab)
24בַּעֲצָתְךָ תַנְחֵנִי וְאַחַר כָּבוֹד תִּקָּחֵנִי: 25מִי־לִי בַשָּׁמָיִם וְעִמְּךָ לֹא־חָפַצְתִּי בָאָרֶץ: 26כָּלָה שְׁאֵרִי וּלְבָבִי צוּר־לְבָבִי וְחֶלְקִי אֱלֹקִים לְעוֹלָם:
24Thou wilt guide me with Thy counsel, And afterward receive me with glory. 25Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And beside Thee I desire none upon earth. 26My flesh and my heart faileth; But God is the rock of my heart and my …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
תהלים עג, כה.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
3
On the words
שלא ע״מ לקבל פרס
How it connects
Antigonos of Socho teaches to serve not like servants who serve their master in order to receive a reward. The Alter Rebbe applies it even to the spiritual reward of Gan Eden.our note
The source
Pirkei Avot 1:3משנה אבות א׳:ג׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
אַנְטִיגְנוֹס אִישׁ סוֹכוֹ קִבֵּל מִשִּׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק. הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אַל תִּהְיוּ כַעֲבָדִים הַמְשַׁמְּשִׁין אֶת הָרַב עַל מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס, אֶלָּא הֱווּ כַעֲבָדִים הַמְשַׁמְּשִׁין אֶת הָרַב שֶׁלֹּא עַל מְנָת לְקַבֵּל פְּרָס, וִיהִי מוֹרָא שָׁמַיִם עֲלֵיכֶם:
Antigonus a man of Socho received [the oral tradition] from Shimon the Righteous. He used to say: do not be like servants who serve the master in the expectation of receiving a reward, but be like servants who serve the master without the expectation of receiving a reward, and let the fear of Heaven be upon you.
Hebrew: Torat Emet 357 (Public Domain) · English: Mishnah Yomit by Dr. Joshua Kulp (CC-BY) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
4
On the words
אליו ולא למדותיו
How it connects
Kehot’s marei makom for these words (its note is below).
Kehot’s note
פרדס שער לב פ״ב בשם הספרי.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
5
On the words
אליו ולא למדותיו
How it connects
Pardes Rimonim cites the Sifrei that prayer is directed to G‑d and not to His attributes. The Alter Rebbe applies it to love directed to G‑d's essence.our note
The source
Pardes Rimmonim 32:2פרדס רמונים ל״ב:ב׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.

21ואיך יוכל למשוך בחי׳ מהותו ועצמותו. הוא ע״י המצות כי תרי״ג מצות דאורייתא וז׳ מצות דרבנן הם תר״ך1 עמודי אור גימט׳ כתר.2

And how can one draw down the level of His essence and being? It is through the mitzvos: for the 613 mitzvos of the Torah and the seven mitzvos of the Rabbis are 620 pillars of light, the numerical value of Keser (the Crown).

Explanation

How can a person reach G‑d's essence, which is beyond all light? Through the mitzvos. The 613 commandments of the Torah plus the seven Rabbinic commandments total 620, the numerical value of Keser (כתר = 20+400+200), the “crown” above wisdom. So the mitzvos are called “620 pillars of light.”

שכמו שהעמוד הוא מלמעלה למטה כמו״כ המצות הם מבחי׳ גלגלתא בחי׳ כתר הממוצע בין מאציל לנאצלי׳ כי איך יכול למשוך ממהותו ועצמותו ית׳ למטה הוא ע״י המצות רמ״ח אברין דמלכא

For just as a pillar [extends] from above to below, so too the mitzvos are from the level of Gulgalta, the level of Keser, the intermediary between the Emanator and the emanated. For how can one draw down from His essence and being, blessed be He, below? It is through the mitzvos, “the 248 limbs of the King,”

Explanation

A pillar reaches from top to bottom; so the mitzvos stretch from Keser (called Gulgalta, the “skull” of the highest configuration), which stands between G‑d and all that emanates from Him, down to our world. The mitzvos are called “the King's limbs.”

וכמ״ש וימינו תחבקני3 כמשל החובק את האדם מחמת אהבת פנימיותו שהוא חכם ביותר וכדומה רק שאינו יכול לתפוס אותו כ״א

and as it is written, “And His right hand embraces me” — like the analogy of one who embraces a person out of love for his inner self, because he is exceedingly wise and the like; only he cannot grasp him except

Explanation

The verse “His right hand embraces me” is explained by a parable: a person loves a great sage for his inner self, his wisdom, but he cannot hug the wisdom directly. He can only embrace the sage's body,

ע״י הגוף ואבריו כמו כן כביכול ע״י המצות רמ״ח פקודין יכולים להמשיך מהו״ע שהם רצונו ית׳.

through the body and its limbs. So too, as it were, through the mitzvos, the 248 commandments, one can draw down His essence and being, for they are His will, blessed be He.

Explanation

and by embracing the body he embraces the whole person. So too, the mitzvos are G‑d's will, His “limbs”; by doing them we “embrace” G‑d's very essence, which cannot be grasped in any other way.

Paragraph 21 in brief

The paragraph explains how the love for G‑d's essence finds expression: through the mitzvos, which come from Keser and are G‑d's will, so that doing them is like embracing the King through His limbs.

Deeper

The Kehot note cites Pardes Rimonim (Shaar 8, ch. 3) for the count of 620 mitzvos equal to Keser.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
תרי״ג מצות . . וז׳ מצות . . תר״ך
How it connects
Kehot’s marei makom for these words (its note is below).
Kehot’s note
פרדס ש״ח פ״ג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
תרי״ג מצות דאורייתא וז׳ מצות דרבנן הם תר״ך עמודי אור גימט׳ כתר
How it connects
Pardes Rimonim counts the 613 Torah commandments and the seven Rabbinic ones as 620, equal to Keser. The Alter Rebbe uses it to show that the mitzvos reach up to Keser.our note
The source
Pardes Rimmonim 8:5–6פרדס רמונים ח׳:ה׳-ו׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
אחר שנתעסקנו בפרקים הקודמים בענין הכתר, נבוא בפרק זה לבאר שני הנאצלים ממנו והם חכמה ובינה. ובענין מהותם אם הם דין או רחמים נחלקו המפרשים. יש מש"כ כי החכמה בערך הכתר יש בה קצת דין ובערך בינה היא רחמים, וענין זה נבאר בו לפנים. ויש שכתב שהיא רחמים פשוטים והדין הוא מבינה ולמטה. וי"מ שכתבו הפך ואמרו שהבינה רחמים והחכמה דין והיא סברא זרה תכלית הזרות. וז"ל כשעלה הרצון והמחשבה להבראות העולם אותו הרצון והחפץ הוא גלוי הדבר ואותו הרצון כנוהו המקובלים בלשון מחשבה וכשנאצלה אותה המחשבה נתפרסמה עוקץ של יו"ד משם העצם ואותו האור המתנוצץ לכתר נצוצות במנין כת"ר והם ניצוצות לבנים בתכלית הלובן ובזה האור מתנוצצים כל המאורות והוא כולל …
Hebrew: Pardes Rimonim (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
3
On the words
וימינו תחבקני
How it connects
“His left hand is under my head, and His right hand embraces me.” The Alter Rebbe reads the embrace as the mitzvos, through which the soul embraces G‑d.our note
The source
Song of Songs 2:6שיר השירים ב׳:ו׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
5סַמְּכוּנִי בָּאֲשִׁישׁוֹת רַפְּדוּנִי בַּתַּפּוּחִים כִּי־חוֹלַת אַהֲבָה אָנִי: 6שְׂמֹאלוֹ תַּחַת לְרֹאשִׁי וִימִינוֹ תְּחַבְּקֵנִי: 7הִשְׁבַּעְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם בִּצְבָאוֹת אוֹ בְּאַיְלוֹת הַשָּׂדֶה אִם־תָּעִירוּ וְאִם־תְּעוֹרְרוּ אֶת־הָאַהֲבָה עַד שֶׁתֶּחְפָּץ:
5’Stay ye me with dainties, refresh me with apples; For I am love-sick.’ 6Let his left hand be under my head, And his right hand embrace me. 7’I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles, and by the hinds of the …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
שה״ש ב, ו.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.

22וזהו לאשתאבא בגופא דמלכא1 הוא בחי׳ המצות וזהו שאנו אומרים בק״ש שמע ישראל2 הוי״ה אלקינו יחוד או״א תרין ריעין3 4 כו׳ ה׳ אחד יחוד זו״נ.

And this is [the meaning of] “to be absorbed in the body of the King”: this is the level of the mitzvos. And this is what we say in the Shema: “Hear, O Israel, G‑d is our G‑d” — the union of Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah), “two companions,” etc.; “G‑d is One” — the union of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) and Nukva (the feminine / Malchus).

Explanation

The Zohar speaks of the soul being “absorbed in the body of the King”; this, says the Alter Rebbe, is the mitzvos. He contrasts them with the unions described in the Shema: “G‑d is our G‑d” is the union of Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah), “two companions” who never part; “G‑d is One” is the union of Z'eir Anpin and Nukva, the emotive attributes and Malchus.

בשכמל״ו יחודא תתאה וזהו הכל בחי׳ יחוד היינו כשנמשך למטה והיו לאחדים משא״כ מעשה המצות והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך היום.5

“Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever” — the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah). And all this is the level of union, that is, when it is drawn below and they become one. This is not so with the performance of the mitzvos: “And these words which I (anochi) command you today shall be.”

Explanation

“Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom” is the lower unity, G‑d's oneness within the world. All these are unions of divine levels as they come down into the worlds. The mitzvos are something more: the next verse says “these words which I command you,”

אנכי הוא בחי׳ כתר6 ע״י ודברת בם7 כי בחי׳ הדבור בתורה הוא ג״כ מ״ע.

Anochi is the level of Keser (the Crown), through “and you shall speak of them”; for speech in Torah is also a positive commandment.

Explanation

and “I” (Anochi) refers to Keser, above all the levels that unite. The mitzvos reach there; and even speaking words of Torah (“you shall speak of them”) is itself a positive commandment, and so also connects to Keser.

Paragraph 22 in brief

The paragraph contrasts the unions of the Shema, which join divine levels within the order of the worlds, with the mitzvos, which reach Keser, the “I” of “which I command you.”

Deeper

The Kehot note on “two companions” also points to Pardes Rimonim (Shaar Mahus VeHanhagah, ch. 14) and to Meorei Or, and ahead to Torah Ohr, Yisro, which distinguishes an outer union of Abba and Imma that never ceases, to sustain the worlds, from an inner union that brings new souls.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
לאשתאבא בגופא דמלכא
How it connects
The Zohar speaks of the soul's being absorbed into the body of the King. The Alter Rebbe identifies this with the mitzvos.our note
The source
Zohar I, 217bזח״א ריז, בSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
זח״א ריז, ב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
שמע ישראל
How it connects
The Shema. The Alter Rebbe reads its phrases as the unions of the divine configurations.our note
The source
Deuteronomy 6:4דברים ו׳:ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
3… אֲשֶׁר יִיטַב לְךָ וַאֲשֶׁר תִּרְבּוּן מְאֹד כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר ה׳ אֱלֹקֵי אֲבֹתֶיךָ לָךְ אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ: 4שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל Havayah אֱלֹקֵינוּ Havayah אֶחָד: 5וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכׇל־מְאֹדֶךָ:
3… LORD, the God of thy fathers, hath promised unto thee—a land flowing with milk and honey. 4HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE. 5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
דברים ו, ד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
3
On the words
או״א תרין ריעין
How it connects
The Zohar calls Abba and Imma “two companions” who never part. The Alter Rebbe applies it to the first phrase of the Shema.our note
The source
Zohar II, 56aזח״ב נו, אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Zohar III, 4aזח״ג ד, אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אור
below, 72c (עב, ג)
הן הם המרכבה הנה ההעלאות וההמשכה יותר גבוה שהוא לחדש הנשמות. וכנודע שיש שני מיני זיווגים באו״א חיצוניים זיווגייהו תדיר תרין רעין דלא מתפרשין שהוא לקיום העולמות משא״כ לחדש הנשמות שהוא זיווג פנימי הוא ע״י נשמות הצדיקים דוקא. והנה בתורה
Our explanationThere the Alter Rebbe explains that Abba and Imma have two kinds of union: an outer one, “two companions who never part,” which is constant and sustains the worlds, and an inner one, which brings new souls and comes only through the souls of tzaddikim.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
Torah Ohr, Yisro, maamar 8לקמן עב, ג
page 72c, ¶10
או״א הם גבוהים ביותר מז״א. מ״מ בשרשן המדות גבוהים ביותר. וכנראה בחוש שהבהמה היא יותר חזקה בטבע מן האדם שהוא בעל שכל לפי שהמדות יש להם כח יותר מן השכל.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
זח״ב נו, א. זח״ג ד, א. ראה פרדס שער מהות והנהגה פי״ד, מאו״א אות ר׳ סי׳ לא. ראה לקמן עב, ג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
4
On the words
או״א תרין ריעין
How it connects
Another Zohar passage, cited in the Kehot note, on Abba and Imma as “two companions.”our note
The source
Zohar, Beshalach 18:262–19:274ספר הזהר, בשלח י״ח:רס״ב-י״ט:ער״דSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
5
On the words
והיו הדברים האלה אשר אנכי מצוך היום
How it connects
The verse after the Shema speaks of the words that “I command you.” The Alter Rebbe reads “I” (Anochi) as Keser.our note
The source
Deuteronomy 6:6דברים ו׳:ו׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
5וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכׇל־מְאֹדֶךָ: 6וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם עַל־לְבָבֶךָ: 7וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשׇׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ:
5… thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; 7and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
6
On the words
וזהו שאנו אומרים . . אנכי הוא בחי׳ כתר
How it connects
The Tzemach Tzedek discusses there the Shema and the verse “which I command you,” with Anochi as Keser; the note points there as a parallel.our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורה
Vaeschanan, p. 184 (קפד)
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Sefer HaChakirah, by the Tzemach Tzedekספר החקירה
55b (נה, ב)
Our explanationThe note points to a parallel discussion in the Tzemach Tzedek's philosophical work.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
ראה אוה״ת פ׳ ואתחנן ע׳ קפד. ובספר החקירה נה, ב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
7
On the words
ודברת בם
How it connects
“And you shall speak of them.” The Alter Rebbe notes that speaking words of Torah is itself a positive mitzvah.our note
The source
Deuteronomy 6:7דברים ו׳:ז׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
6וְהָיוּ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם עַל־לְבָבֶךָ: 7וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשׇׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ: 8וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת עַל־יָדֶךָ וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ:
6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; 7and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.

23וזהו אם יתן איש את כל הון ביתו1 בחינת ג״ע העליון ותחתון בחי׳ חכמה טעמי התורה בוז יבוזו לו

And this is [the meaning of] “If a man would give all the wealth of his house” — the level of the higher and lower Gan Eden, the level of Chochmah, the reasons of the Torah — “he would be utterly scorned,”

Explanation

Summing up the verse: “all the wealth of his house” is the higher and lower Gan Eden, the wisdom of the Torah's reasons. To exchange love for this would be “scorned,”

שהוא רק בחי׳ זיו והארה בלבד אבל באהבה ועמך לא חפצתי2 כו׳. שהוא אליו ולא למדותיו למהותו ועצמותו ית׳:

for it is only the level of a ray and a glimmer alone; but “for love” — “and with You I desire nothing,” etc. — which is to Him and not to His attributes, to His essence and being, blessed be He.

Explanation

because that wisdom is only a ray of G‑d's light. True love says “with You I desire nothing”: it is directed to G‑d Himself, not to His attributes, to His very essence.

Paragraph 23 in brief

The paragraph completes the reading of the verse: all the spiritual riches of Gan Eden are nothing next to love for G‑d's essence.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
אם יתן איש את כל הון ביתו
How it connects
The verse is read again as a whole: all the “wealth” of wisdom is scorned next to love.our note
The source
Song of Songs 8:7שיר השירים ח׳:ז׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
6שִׂימֵנִי כַחוֹתָם עַל־לִבֶּךָ כַּחוֹתָם עַל־זְרוֹעֶךָ כִּי־עַזָּה כַמָּוֶת אַהֲבָה קָשָׁה כִשְׁאוֹל קִנְאָה רְשָׁפֶיהָ רִשְׁפֵּי אֵשׁ שַׁלְהֶבֶתְיָה: 7מַיִם רַבִּים לֹא יוּכְלוּ לְכַבּוֹת אֶת־הָאַהֲבָה וּנְהָרוֹת לֹא יִשְׁטְפוּהָ אִם־יִתֵּן אִישׁ אֶת־כׇּל־הוֹן בֵּיתוֹ בָּאַהֲבָה בּוֹז יָבוּזוּ לוֹ: 8אָחוֹת לָנוּ קְטַנָּה וְשָׁדַיִם אֵין לָהּ מַה־נַּעֲשֶׂה לַאֲחֹתֵנוּ בַּיּוֹם שֶׁיְּדֻבַּר־בָּהּ:
6… as the grave; The flashes thereof are flashes of fire, A very flame of the LORD. 7Many waters cannot quench love, Neither can the floods drown it; If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned. 8We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts; What shall we do for our …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
2
On the words
ועמך לא חפצתי
How it connects
The love that desires only G‑d.our note
The source
Psalms 73:25תהילים ע״ג:כ״הSefaria (opens in a new tab)
24בַּעֲצָתְךָ תַנְחֵנִי וְאַחַר כָּבוֹד תִּקָּחֵנִי: 25מִי־לִי בַשָּׁמָיִם וְעִמְּךָ לֹא־חָפַצְתִּי בָאָרֶץ: 26כָּלָה שְׁאֵרִי וּלְבָבִי צוּר־לְבָבִי וְחֶלְקִי אֱלֹקִים לְעוֹלָם:
24Thou wilt guide me with Thy counsel, And afterward receive me with glory. 25Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And beside Thee I desire none upon earth. 26My flesh and my heart faileth; But God is the rock of my heart and my …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.

We have a little sister ¶24–26

24וזהו אחות לנו קטנה.1 פי׳ כי עתה נקרא זה דודי2 כו׳ אבל כשמתעלה למעלה מעלה ע״י המצות במהותו ועצמותו נק׳ אחותי לשון ולא מאחין איחוי אלכסנדרי.

And this is [the meaning of] “We have a little sister.” Meaning: for now she is called “this is my beloved,” etc.; but when she is elevated higher and higher through the mitzvos, into His essence and being, she is called “my sister” (achosi), a term [as in] “and they do not join (me’achin)” and “the joining (ichuy) of Alexandria.”

Explanation

The next verse, “We have a little sister,” refers to the Jewish soul and to Malchus, the Shechinah. Now she is called “this is my beloved,” a relationship between two. When she rises through the mitzvos into G‑d's essence she is called “my sister” (achosi), which the Alter Rebbe connects to the Talmudic words for “joining” (me'achin, ichuy).

שהיו לאחדים ממש אשת חיל3 עט״ב ושם נק׳ בחי׳ קטנה נקודה חדא.4 כי כשמקבלת מבחינת חכמה נק׳ רבה אמונתך5

For they become truly one, “a woman of valor is the crown of her husband,” and there she is called the level of “little,” a single point. For when she receives from the level of Chochmah, [this is] called “great is Your faithfulness,”

Explanation

Then she is truly one with Him, as “a woman of valor is the crown of her husband”: Malchus rises to become a crown. There she is called “little,” a single point. When she receives from Chochmah, she is called “great”:

וכמארז״ל אימתי גדול6 כשהוא בעיר אלקינו7 8 היינו שיש השפעות והמשכות רבים משא״כ כשיתעלה בחי׳ מל׳ למעלה מעלה להיות עט״ב אז היא בחי׳ נקודה חדא

and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “When is He great? When He is in the city of our G‑d,” that is, when there are many influences and flows; this is not so when the level of Malchus will be elevated higher and higher, to be “the crown of her husband”: then she is the level of a single point.

Explanation

as the Zohar reads “great is G‑d… in the city of our G‑d,” G‑d is called “great” when Malchus (“the city”) is full of many flows of influence. But when Malchus rises to be the crown, she contracts into a single point.

(וע׳ ברע״מ פ׳ תרומה דף קנ״ח ע״א ואיהי עטרה על רישיה מסטרא דסגולתא)9 וכידוע שנקודה אחת עליונה10 כולל כל בחי׳ התחתונה כמארז״ל רגלי החיות11 כנגד כולם שוקי החיות כו׳:

(And see the Ra’aya Mehemna, Parshas Terumah, folio 158a: “And she is a crown on His head, from the side of the segolta.”) And as is known, a single higher point includes all the levels of the lower, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “The feet of the Chayos correspond to all of them; the legs of the Chayos,” etc.

Explanation

The Zohar (Ra'aya Mehemna) describes Malchus as a crown on the head, from the side of the segolta. A higher point, though small, contains everything below it, as the Talmud says the feet of the Chayos (the angels of the Chariot) are equal to everything beneath them. So the “little” point includes all.

Paragraph 24 in brief

The paragraph reads “We have a little sister” as Malchus rising through the mitzvos to become one with G‑d's essence: there she is a “little” single point, yet one that contains everything.

Deeper

The Kehot note on “a single higher point” cites the Siddur (Shaar HaMitzvos, on “Sheshes yamim”) for the principle that the “smallness” of a higher level becomes “greatness” for the lower one, and the Tzemach Tzedek's Biurei HaZohar. Likkutei Torah, Balak, refers back to this passage.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
אחות לנו קטנה
How it connects
“We have a little sister, and she has no breasts.” The Alter Rebbe reads it as Malchus when she rises to G‑d's essence.our note
The source
Song of Songs 8:8שיר השירים ח׳:ח׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
7מַיִם רַבִּים לֹא יוּכְלוּ לְכַבּוֹת אֶת־הָאַהֲבָה וּנְהָרוֹת לֹא יִשְׁטְפוּהָ אִם־יִתֵּן אִישׁ אֶת־כׇּל־הוֹן בֵּיתוֹ בָּאַהֲבָה בּוֹז יָבוּזוּ לוֹ: 8אָחוֹת לָנוּ קְטַנָּה וְשָׁדַיִם אֵין לָהּ מַה־נַּעֲשֶׂה לַאֲחֹתֵנוּ בַּיּוֹם שֶׁיְּדֻבַּר־בָּהּ: 9אִם־חוֹמָה הִיא נִבְנֶה עָלֶיהָ טִירַת כָּסֶף וְאִם־דֶּלֶת הִיא נָצוּר עָלֶיהָ לוּחַ אָרֶז:
7… man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned. 8We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts; What shall we do for our sister In the day when she shall be spoken for? 9If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret of silver; And if …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedek, with his glossesאור התורה
Vayikra, p. 308 (שח), glosses of the Tzemach Tzedek
Our explanationThe Tzemach Tzedek's glosses on this passage appear there. According to the next note (10:23), the version there lacks the words “a single point.”
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Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורה
Balak 69a (סט, א)
ופי׳ ענין החשמל כו׳ ע״ש ועיין מענין חול היש בזח״ב (דרכ״ה סע״ב) ובתקוני ז״ח דט״ו ע״ב] וזהו שאו מרום עיניכם וראו מי ברא אלה המוציא במספר צבאם. פי׳ מי אלה הוא שם אלקים שעי״ז נמשך להיות המוציא במספר צבאם אך הנה ע״י שהא רת הקו בוקע המסך עי״ז יוכל להיות נעשה שיהיה מספר זה בבחי׳ אין מספר ממש בלי גבול [והגם שבגשמיות לא ימצא זה רק שחול הים לא יספר מרוב אבל לא שיהיה אין מספר ממש אבל למעלה יהי׳ בחי׳ אין מספר ממש]: ב והנה כל המשכות בחי׳ א״ס בין בבחי׳ יחו״ת דהיינו שיהיה בחי׳ אין מספר כו׳. ובין בבחי׳ יחו״ע שנק׳ עפר יעקב שלמעלה מגדר מספר הוא נמשך הכל ע״י ירידת הנשמה בגוף וזהו ענין הירידה צורך עלייה. וביאור זה צ״ל תחלה שרש ענין ויחד לבבנו ב׳ לבבות …
Our explanationThe Likkutei Torah passage refers back to this maamar. It discusses how the drawing-down of the Infinite, both in the lower unity (numbers becoming “without number”) and in the higher unity, comes through the soul's descent into a body, a descent for the sake of ascent — the theme of this maamar.
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Kehot’s note
שה״ש ח, ח. וראה באור התורה ויקרא ע׳ שח הגהות מכ״ק אדמו״ר הצ״צ. בלקו״ת בלק סט, א מציין לכאן.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
זה דודי
How it connects
“This is my beloved and this is my friend.” The present relationship of Malchus to G‑d.our note
The source
Song of Songs 5:16שיר השירים ה׳:ט״זSefaria (opens in a new tab)
15שׁוֹקָיו עַמּוּדֵי שֵׁשׁ מְיֻסָּדִים עַל־אַדְנֵי־פָז מַרְאֵהוּ כַּלְּבָנוֹן בָּחוּר כָּאֲרָזִים: 16חִכּוֹ מַמְתַקִּים וְכֻלּוֹ מַחֲמַדִּים זֶה דוֹדִי וְזֶה רֵעִי בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם:
15… marble, Set upon sockets of fine gold; His aspect is like Lebanon, Excellent as the cedars. 16His mouth is most sweet; Yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.’
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
3
On the words
אשת חיל
How it connects
“A woman of valor is the crown of her husband.” The ascent of Malchus to become a crown.our note
The source
Proverbs 12:4משלי י״ב:ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
3לֹא־יִכּוֹן אָדָם בְּרֶשַׁע וְשֹׁרֶשׁ צַדִּיקִים בַּל־יִמּוֹט: 4אֵשֶׁת־חַיִל עֲטֶרֶת בַּעְלָהּ וּכְרָקָב בְּעַצְמוֹתָיו מְבִישָׁה: 5מַחְשְׁבוֹת צַדִּיקִים מִשְׁפָּט תַּחְבֻּלוֹת רְשָׁעִים מִרְמָה:
3A man shall not be established by wickedness; But the root of the righteous shall never be moved. 4A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband; But she that doeth shamefully is as rottenness in his bones. 5The thoughts of the righteous are right; But the counsels of the wicked are deceit.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
משלי יב, ד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
4
On the words
נקודה חדא
How it connects
The note records a textual variant: in the Or HaTorah version, the words “a single point” are missing here.our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורה
Vayikra, p. 308 (as above)
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)
Kehot’s note
באור התורה שם אין תי׳ אלו.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
5
On the words
רבה אמונתך
How it connects
“Great is Your faithfulness.” Malchus (faith) is “great” when she receives from Chochmah.our note
The source
Lamentations 3:23איכה ג׳:כ״גSefaria (opens in a new tab)
22חַסְדֵי Havayah כִּי לֹא־תָמְנוּ כִּי לֹא־כָלוּ רַחֲמָיו: 23חֲדָשִׁים לַבְּקָרִים רַבָּה אֱמוּנָתֶךָ: 24חֶלְקִי Havayah אָמְרָה נַפְשִׁי עַל־כֵּן אוֹחִיל לוֹ:
22Surely the LORD’S mercies are not consumed, Surely His compassions fail not. 23They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness. 24’The LORD is my portion’, saith my soul; ‘Therefore will I hope in Him.’
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
6
On the words
אימתי גדול
How it connects
Another Zohar passage cited by Kehot with the same teaching.our note
The source
Zohar II, 235bזח״ב רלה, בSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Zohar III, 5aזח״ג ה, אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אור
below, 47a (מז, א); 56b; 94b; 115b
הגפן ע״י דריכה ומן הרגליות וכו׳ כנ״ל אזי נעשה בחי׳ עירה עיר ה׳ שהוא בחי׳ עיר אלהינו כמו שאמרו רז״ל אימתי נקרא גדול כשהוא בעיר אלהינו וגו׳. ולשרקה בני אתונו. הנה שורקה היא זמורה רכה וילדה שענביה מועטים עדיין ומעט יין היוצא ממנה נק׳ שורקה נקודת שור״ק כי הנה גפן הוא בחינת סגו״ל וגם כל נקודת גЧפЧן הוא סגו״ל וכדכתי׳ גפן ממצרים תסיע וגו׳ כסו הרים צלה פי׳ צלה בחי׳ צל כמ״ש ה׳ צלך דהיינו ישת חשך סתרו והוא העולה למעלה ומכסה על בחי׳ הרים שהם האבות. והנה האבות הם שלשה בחינת סגו״ל. וזהו בחי׳ גפן. אבל שורקה הוא בחי׳ נקודת השורק והשור״ק יש בו ג״כ ג׳ נקודות שבסגו״ל אלא שהם זה למטה מזה. כך הנה שכשהאדם הוא בבחי׳ התקרבות והתלהבות בכח ג׳ נקודות ממטה למעלה ומלמעלה למטה והממוצע וכו׳ …
Our explanationIn Vayechi the same saying explains the “city of G‑d”: when a person's service rises in stages, Malchus becomes “the city of our G‑d,” and then G‑d is called “great.” The other places cited use the saying as well.
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Kehot’s note
זח״ב רלה, ב. זח״ג ה, א. זהר חדש תשא (מד, א) חקת (נא, ד). ראה לקמן מז, א. נו, ב. צד, ב. קטו, ב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
7
On the words
אימתי גדול כשהוא בעיר אלקינו
How it connects
The Zohar asks when G‑d is called great and answers: when He is in the city of our G‑d, that is, united with Malchus. The Alter Rebbe reads it as Malchus full of flows.our note
The source
Zohar, Pekudei 27:275–29:285ספר הזהר, פקודי כ״ז:ער״ה-כ״ט:רפ״הSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
8
On the words
כשהוא בעיר אלקינו
How it connects
“Great is G‑d and much praised in the city of our G‑d.” The verse the Zohar expounds.our note
The source
Psalms 48:2תהילים מ״ח:ב׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
1שִׁיר מִזְמוֹר לִבְנֵי־קֹרַח: 2גָּדוֹל ה׳ וּמְהֻלָּל מְאֹד בְּעִיר אֱלֹקֵינוּ הַר־קׇדְשׁוֹ: 3יְפֵה נוֹף מְשׂוֹשׂ כׇּל־הָאָרֶץ הַר־צִיּוֹן יַרְכְּתֵי צָפוֹן קִרְיַת מֶלֶךְ רָב:
1A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah. 2Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain, 3Fair in situation, the joy of the whole earth; Even mount Zion, the uttermost parts of …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
9
On the words
ואיהי עטרה על רישיה מסטרא דסגולתא
How it connects
The Ra'aya Mehemna in Parshas Terumah, cited by the text itself, describes Malchus as a crown on the head. The Alter Rebbe uses it for the future ascent of Malchus.our note
The source
Zohar, Terumah 57:602–58:611ספר הזהר, תרומה נ״ז:תר״ב-נ״ח:תרי״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
10
On the words
שנקודה אחת עליונה
How it connects
According to the note, it explains there that the “smallness” of a higher level becomes “greatness” for the lower, which clarifies how a single higher point can include everything below.our note
Where the note points
Siddur im Dach, with the Alter Rebbe's explanationsסידור עם דא״ח
Shaar HaMitzvos, explanation of “Sheshes yamim”
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Biurei HaZohar, by the Tzemach Tzedekביאורי הזהר
Balak, p. 502 (תקב)
Our explanationThe Tzemach Tzedek's explanations of the Zohar discuss this principle; the note points there as a parallel.
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Kehot’s note
ע׳ בסידור שער המצות בביאור ע״פ ששת ימים דבחי׳ קטנות בעליון נעשה גדלות לתחתון. וראה ביאורי הזהר לכ״ק אדמו״ר הצ״צ פ׳ בלק ע׳ תקב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
11
On the words
רגלי החיות
How it connects
The Talmud says the feet of the Chayos are equal to all the levels below. The Alter Rebbe uses it to show that a higher point contains all that is below it.our note
The source
Chagigah 13a:4חגיגה י״ג א:ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
לְמַעְלָה מֵהֶן — חַיּוֹת הַקֹּדֶשׁ. רַגְלֵי הַחַיּוֹת כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּם, קַרְסוּלֵי הַחַיּוֹת כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן, שׁוֹקֵי הַחַיּוֹת כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן, רְכוּבֵּי הַחַיּוֹת כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן, יַרְכֵי הַחַיּוֹת כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן, גּוּפֵי הַחַיּוֹת כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן, צַוְּארֵי הַחַיּוֹת כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן, רָאשֵׁי הַחַיּוֹת כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן, קַרְנֵי הַחַיּוֹת כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן. לְמַעְלָה מֵהֶן — כִּסֵּא כָּבוֹד. רַגְלֵי כִּסֵּא הַכָּבוֹד כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן, כִּסֵּא הַכָּבוֹד כְּנֶגֶד כּוּלָּן, מֶלֶךְ אֵל חַי וְקַיָּם רָם וְנִשָּׂא שׁוֹכֵן עֲלֵיהֶם, וְאַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ: ״אֶעֱלֶה עַל בָּמֳתֵי עָב אֶדַּמֶּה לְעֶלְיוֹן״ — …
Above them are the holy chayot. The feet of the chayot are equal to them all. The lower legs of the chayot are equal to them all. The upper legs of the chayot are equal to them all. The thighs of the chayot are equal to them all. The bodies of the chayot are equal to them all. The necks of the chayot are equal to them all. The heads of the chayot are equal to them all. The horns of the chayot are equal to them all. Above them is the Throne of Glory. The legs of the Throne of Glory are equal to them all. The Throne of Glory [itself] is equal to them all. The king, living and existing G-d, [who is] high and uplifted dwells upon them. And you said, "'I shall ascend on the heights of dense earth …
Hebrew: William Davidson, Vocalized Aramaic (CC-BY-NC) · English: Sefaria Community Translation (CC0) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
חגיגה יג, א.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.

25ושדים אין לה.1 פי׳ שעתה נמשך ונשפע למטה בהיכלות דבי״ע ומלכותו בכל משלה2 משא״כ למעלה איידי דטריד למיבלע לא פליט3 אינו נמשך ונשפע כלל:

“And she has no breasts.” Meaning: for now [the flow] is drawn and bestowed below, into the chambers of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and “His kingship rules over all”; this is not so above: “since it is busy swallowing, it does not emit” — it is not drawn and bestowed at all.

Explanation

“She has no breasts”: breasts give milk, so they stand for bestowing influence. Now Malchus nourishes the worlds, sending life into the chambers of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. But when she rises above, she is wholly absorbed in receiving from G‑d's essence and gives nothing out — as the Talmudic idiom says, “busy swallowing, it does not emit.”

Paragraph 25 in brief

The paragraph reads “she has no breasts” as the state of Malchus above: so absorbed in G‑d that she no longer gives out influence to the worlds.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
ושדים אין לה
How it connects
“And she has no breasts.” Read as Malchus above, which does not bestow outward.our note
The source
Song of Songs 8:8שיר השירים ח׳:ח׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
7מַיִם רַבִּים לֹא יוּכְלוּ לְכַבּוֹת אֶת־הָאַהֲבָה וּנְהָרוֹת לֹא יִשְׁטְפוּהָ אִם־יִתֵּן אִישׁ אֶת־כׇּל־הוֹן בֵּיתוֹ בָּאַהֲבָה בּוֹז יָבוּזוּ לוֹ: 8אָחוֹת לָנוּ קְטַנָּה וְשָׁדַיִם אֵין לָהּ מַה־נַּעֲשֶׂה לַאֲחֹתֵנוּ בַּיּוֹם שֶׁיְּדֻבַּר־בָּהּ: 9אִם־חוֹמָה הִיא נִבְנֶה עָלֶיהָ טִירַת כָּסֶף וְאִם־דֶּלֶת הִיא נָצוּר עָלֶיהָ לוּחַ אָרֶז:
7… man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned. 8We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts; What shall we do for our sister In the day when she shall be spoken for? 9If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret of silver; And if …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
2
On the words
ומלכותו בכל משלה
How it connects
“His kingship rules over all.” Malchus as it now gives life to the worlds.our note
The source
Psalms 103:19תהילים ק״ג:י״טSefaria (opens in a new tab)
18לְשֹׁמְרֵי בְרִיתוֹ וּלְזֹכְרֵי פִקֻּדָיו לַעֲשׂוֹתָם: 19ה׳ בַּשָּׁמַיִם הֵכִין כִּסְאוֹ וּמַלְכוּתוֹ בַּכֹּל מָשָׁלָה: 20בָּרְכוּ ה׳ מַלְאָכָיו גִּבֹּרֵי כֹחַ עֹשֵׂי דְבָרוֹ לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקוֹל דְּבָרוֹ:
18To such as keep His covenant, And to those that remember His precepts to do them. 19The LORD hath established His throne in the heavens; And His kingdom ruleth over all. 20Bless the LORD, ye angels of His, Ye mighty in strength, that fulfil His word, Hearkening …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
3
On the words
איידי דטריד למיבלע לא פליט
How it connects
A Talmudic principle: something busy absorbing does not release. Chassidus applies it to a level so absorbed in receiving that it does not give out.our note
The source
Chullin 108b:4–6חולין ק״ח ב:ד׳-ו׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
אלא לעולם קסבר רב חלב נמי אסור והכא במאי עסקינן כגון שנפל לתוך יורה רותחת דמבלע בלע מפלט לא פלט סוף סוף כי נייח הדר פליט כשקדם וסילקו גופא חצי זית בשר וחצי זית חלב שבשלן זה עם זה אמר רב לוקה על אכילתו ואינו לוקה על בשולו מה נפשך אי מצטרפין אבשול נמי לילקי אי לא מצטרפין אאכילה נמי לא לילקי
Hebrew: Wikisource Talmud Bavli (CC-BY-SA) · via Sefaria
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אור
below, 28a (כח, א); 109c (קט, ג)
ולהשפיע לזולתו שזהו בחי׳ יש. וכיון שעיקר העלאה זו הוא בחי׳ הבטול ע״כ הוא הפוך ההשפעה ונק׳ אלם (וכענין איידי דטריד למיבלע כו׳ עמ״ש ע״פ התוספתא דבשלח )(ד׳ נ״א) בענין אגלידו מיא כו׳ ועמ״ש בטעם שהמסעות היו מ״ב וסה״ע הוא מ״ט ימים כי בסה״ע שהוא המשכות יש בכל מדה בחי׳ גילוי מל׳ דחסד כו׳ משא״כ במסעות העלאות הפוך הגילוי כו׳ ע״ש. כי הנה הדבור שבאדם אינו צריך לו רק בשביל לדבר לזולתו אבל כשהוא בפ״ע א״צ לדבר. וכך יובן למעלה בנמצאים הרוחניים ענין בחי׳ הדבור שבהם (כמו שמצינו בגמ׳ שתי רוחות מספרות כו׳) הוא בחי׳ כח ההשפעה לזולתו מעילה לעלול וזהו כשהעילה הוא מהות בפ״ע אז יכול להשפיע להעלול שלו אבל בהיותו דבוק בעילתו וטרוד לקבל שפע לעצמו אז הוא בבחי׳ בטול לעילתו ואין בו כח להשפיע לזולתו מצד עוצם …
Our explanationIn Vayeshev the same idiom explains why a level that rises in self-nullification is called “mute”: speech exists only to give to another, and a being cleaving to its source and busy receiving has no power to give out.
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Torah Ohr, Vayeishev, maamar 2לקמן כח, א
page 28a, ¶16
שהם מעלים הנצוצים שנפלו שם בשבה״כ שיתעלו באחדות ה׳:
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Kehot’s note
ראה חולין קח, ב. הלשון מובא כמה פעמים בדא״ח. ראה לקמן כח, א. קט, ג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.

26מה נעשה לאחותינו1 ביום שידובר בה פי׳ כי למטה וידבר ה׳ כו׳ דבר מלך שלטון2

“What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for?” Meaning: for below, [it is] “And G‑d spoke,” etc., “the word of a king is authority,”

Explanation

The verse continues: “What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for?” Below, G‑d's speech rules and creates: “And G‑d spoke,” and “the word of a king is authority.” Malchus is associated with speech,

היינו שבחי׳ הדבור פרצוף בפ״ע מנהיג וממשיך לזולתו משא״כ למעלה שידובר בה בחי׳ נפעל שהדבור אינו בפ״ע רק בה שאינו נמשך למטה:3

that is, the level of speech is a configuration (partzuf) by itself, which leads and draws down to others; this is not so above, “that she is spoken for,” a passive level, in which the speech is not by itself but only “in her,” for it is not drawn down below.

Explanation

and here speech is a “configuration” (partzuf) of its own that guides the worlds and gives to others. Above, the verse says she is “spoken for,” passive: speech does not stand on its own but is absorbed within her, and it is not drawn down. The maamar ends with this image of Malchus wholly united with G‑d.

Paragraph 26 in brief

The paragraph completes the reading of the verse: below, Malchus is active speech that rules the worlds; above, she is “spoken for,” her speech absorbed in her union with G‑d.

Deeper

The Kehot note records that the section from here to the end is quoted in Sefer HaMaamarim 5666, and cites Sefer HaErchim–Chabad that “above” here refers to Malchus of Atzilus as a Sefirah by itself, whose speech is not separate and not drawn down.

Marei mekomos

1
On the words
מה נעשה לאחותינו
How it connects
“What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for?” Read as Malchus above, whose speech is passive.our note
The source
Song of Songs 8:8שיר השירים ח׳:ח׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
7מַיִם רַבִּים לֹא יוּכְלוּ לְכַבּוֹת אֶת־הָאַהֲבָה וּנְהָרוֹת לֹא יִשְׁטְפוּהָ אִם־יִתֵּן אִישׁ אֶת־כׇּל־הוֹן בֵּיתוֹ בָּאַהֲבָה בּוֹז יָבוּזוּ לוֹ: 8אָחוֹת לָנוּ קְטַנָּה וְשָׁדַיִם אֵין לָהּ מַה־נַּעֲשֶׂה לַאֲחֹתֵנוּ בַּיּוֹם שֶׁיְּדֻבַּר־בָּהּ: 9אִם־חוֹמָה הִיא נִבְנֶה עָלֶיהָ טִירַת כָּסֶף וְאִם־דֶּלֶת הִיא נָצוּר עָלֶיהָ לוּחַ אָרֶז:
7… man would give all the substance of his house for love, He would utterly be contemned. 8We have a little sister, And she hath no breasts; What shall we do for our sister In the day when she shall be spoken for? 9If she be a wall, We will build upon her a turret of silver; And if …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Where the note points
Sefer HaMaamarim 5666, by the Rebbe Rashabספר המאמרים תרס״ו
p. 450 (תנ)
Our explanationThe passage from here to the end of the maamar is quoted there. The Rebbe Rashab adds that it can be explained like “he said it four times to himself,” referring to the maamar “Lehavin mah shekasuv b'Otzros Chaim,” end of section 3.
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Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורה
Vayikra, additions (the maamar “Lehavin mah shekasuv b'Otzros Chaim”) · not yet checked
Our explanationThe maamar the Rebbe Rashab refers to is printed in the additions to Likkutei Torah on Vayikra.
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Sefer HaErchim–Chabadספר הערכים-חב״ד
Maareches Osiyos, os Daled, supplements, col. 705, note 113
Our explanationIt explains that “this is not so above” in Torah Ohr refers to Malchus as it is in Atzilus, as a Sefirah by itself: the speech of Malchus of Atzilus is not separate but only within her, and is not drawn down below.
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Kehot’s note
שה״ש ח, ח. מכאן עד סיום המאמר מובא בסה״מ תרס״ו ע׳ תנ ושם מציין ע״ז ”(וי״ל ע״ד אמרה ד״פ בינו לבין עצמו כו׳ בד״ה להבין מ״ש באוצ״ח ססעי׳ ג)”. והוא הנדפס בלקו״ת ויקרא בהוספות. וראה בספר הערכים-חב״ד מערכת אותיות אות ד במילואים טור תשה להערה 113 שכ׳ שהכוונה בתי׳ ”משא״כ למעלה” שבתו״א היא לבחי׳ המלכות כמו שהיא באצילות (היינו, לבחי׳ המל׳ דאצי׳ כמו שהיא ספירה בפ״ע), שהדבור דבחינת המלכות דאצי׳ אינו בפ״ע רק בה, שאינו נמשך למטה ע״ש.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
2
On the words
דבר מלך שלטון
How it connects
“The word of a king is authority.” Speech as the power of rule, as Malchus acts below.our note
The source
Ecclesiastes 8:4קהלת ח׳:ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)
3אַל־תִּבָּהֵל מִפָּנָיו תֵּלֵךְ אַל־תַּעֲמֹד בְּדָבָר רָע כִּי כׇּל־אֲשֶׁר יַחְפֹּץ יַעֲשֶׂה: 4בַּאֲשֶׁר דְּבַר־מֶלֶךְ שִׁלְטוֹן וּמִי יֹאמַר־לוֹ מַה־תַּעֲשֶׂה: 5שׁוֹמֵר מִצְוָה לֹא יֵדַע דָּבָר רָע וְעֵת וּמִשְׁפָּט יֵדַע לֵב חָכָם:
3… out of his presence; stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. 4Forasmuch as the king’s word hath power; and who may say unto him: ‘What doest thou?’ 5Whoso keepeth the commandment shall know no evil thing; And a wise man’s heart discerneth time and judgment.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
3
On the words
שהדבור אינו בפ״ע רק בה שאינו נמשך למטה
How it connects
This line — that speech above is not separate but only within her — is quoted there.our note
Where the note points
Hemshech 5672 (Ayin-Beis), by the Rebbe Rashabהמשך תער״ב
ch. 389 (vol. 2, p. 800); see also vol. 3, p. 1445
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Kehot’s note
מובא בהמשך תער״ב פרק שפט (כרך ב ע׳ תת). וראה שם כרך ג ע׳ א׳תמה.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.

Finished the maamar?

Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.

Next: maamar 4ויאמר ה׳ הן עם אחד ושפה א׳ לכלם…

In one’s avodah

A person immersed all day in business should use his prayer to reflect on how all the sustenance he chases is only a faint ray of G‑d's kingship. This stirs the raw energy of the animal soul into an intense love that wants G‑d alone, “with all your might,” lifts up all the day's activity, and finds its expression in the mitzvos.

Questions for discussion

Why does the maamar say that Gevurah is not the withholding of light but its intensity, and how does this explain why the world could not endure with judgment alone?
In what sense are animals, and the animal soul, higher than man in their root while lower in the present order?
How can reflecting on the chain of intermediaries behind one's daily bread lead to love for G‑d's essence rather than to discouragement?
Why is even the delight of Gan Eden “utterly scorned” next to the love that says “with You I desire nothing”?
What does the parable of embracing a wise man through his body teach about the role of the mitzvos?

Key terms in this maamar

The animal soulנפש הבהמית: The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×7
Teshuvah (return)תשובה: Returning to G‑d; not only repentance.
The Sefirosספירות: The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום: The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds. ×1
Gevurah (restraint)גבורה: Measure, limitation and judgment. ×9
The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות: The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×1
Life-forceחיות: The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×11
The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף: G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
Chesed (kindness)חסד: Expansive giving. ×7
The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות: The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×2
The emotive attributes (middos)מדות: Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×5
The Shechinah (Divine Presence)שכינה: G‑d's presence as it dwells in the world. ×3
The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה: ×1
The intellect (mochin)מוחין: Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×1
Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות: Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1
The light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin)ממלא כל עלמין: Divine light that enters each world and gives it life according to its measure.
The light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin)סובב כל עלמין: Divine light too great to enter the worlds; it 'surrounds' them and affects them from beyond.
Delightתענוג: Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×2
The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה: The first world of separate existence.
The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה: The world of the angels and emotions.
The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה: The lowest world, including our physical one.
Lights and vesselsאורות וכלים: Divine revelation and the forms that contain and express it.
The G‑dly soulנפש האלקית: The soul that is 'a part of G‑d above'. ×1
Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה: The first flash of insight. ×6
The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות: The innermost core of a level. ×1
Keser (the Crown)כתר: The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×3
Willרצון: Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect.
Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah)אבא ואמא: The intellectual configurations.
Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א: The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration.
Nukva (the feminine / Malchus)נוקבא: Malchus as the receiving configuration.
The lower unity (yichuda tata'ah)יחודא תתאה: G‑d is present within the world's existence. ×1
Daas (knowledge)דעת: Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×1
Hod (splendor)הוד: Acknowledgment and yielding. ×1

ביאור על הנ״ל

The big idea

The maamar in brief

Outline

Key concepts

Heading ¶1

The soul's descent and the animal soul's power ¶2

Judgment as intensity: Tohu and Tikkun ¶3–4

Souls, angels and animals ¶5–7

Contemplation in prayer and the blessings ¶8–9

The waters of Noach, the ark and Shabbos ¶10–17

Many waters cannot extinguish the love ¶18–23

We have a little sister ¶24–26

Finished the maamar?

In one’s avodah

Questions for discussion

Key terms in this maamar

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