Torah Ohr · Parshas Shemos · Maamar 4
זה שמי לעולם וזה זכרי לדר דר
“This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance from generation to generation”
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The big idea
The words of the Scribes, like the prohibitive commandments, come from a level too high to be held in a vessel or in writing: ayeh, “Where is the scribe?”, the source in Chochmah above the Written Torah, the “book.” This is why the Oral Torah stayed oral, and why the rabbinic blessings over the mitzvos, which draw down an encompassing light, are “sweet upon me” more than the mitzvos themselves.
The maamar in brief
The Tikkunei Zohar links the 365 prohibitive commandments to the yud-hei of the Name Havayah and the 248 positive commandments to its vav-hei. Why are the prohibitions higher, and why was the Oral Torah not written? The answer is “Where (ayeh) is the scribe?”: ayeh, aleph with yud-hei, is the scribe above the book, the source in Chochmah of the Written Torah. The positive commandments come from Z’eir Anpin, where lights rest in vessels, so they are done by action and could be written; the light of the prohibitive commandments has no vessel and is reached only by negating its opposite. The words of the Scribes are fences of the same kind, rooted in the scribe, so they stayed oral; even the Written Torah leaves its loftiest matters unwritten. The maamar then explains why the words of the Scribes are “sweet upon me” more than the wine of the Torah. Love that has a reason stays within Chochmah; the hidden love of self-sacrifice, beyond reason, is brought out by the mitzvos and revealed on Shabbos. The rabbinic blessings over the mitzvos draw down an encompassing light, “upon me,” through running and returning.
Outline
- The scribe above the bookThe Tikkunei Zohar ties the prohibitive commandments to yud-hei and the positive ones to vav-hei. Why are the prohibitions higher, and why was the Oral Torah not written? The answer begins with ayeh, aleph and yud-hei, the scribe above the Written Torah.¶1–2
- Positive and prohibitive commandmentsThe positive commandments come from the vessels of Z’eir Anpin, so they can be done and written; the light of the prohibitive commandments has no vessel and is reached only by negation, “in a land not sown.”¶3–4
- Why the Oral Torah stayed oralThe words of the Scribes are fences, like prohibitions, rooted in the scribe above the book, so they could only be spoken; speech, too, is drawn from Chochmah.¶5
- What the Written Torah leaves unwrittenG‑d’s speech to Moshe is the flow from the Infinite into Chochmah, Moshe’s speech to Israel its flow downward; for lofty matters such as the warning of the locusts, only the lower stage was written.¶6–9
- Love with a reason and love beyond itTo explain “sweet upon me,” the maamar contrasts love because “He is your life,” which stays within Chochmah, with self-sacrifice that comes from the Infinite One beyond reason, present in every Jew.¶10–12
- The wine of the Torah and ShabbosThe mitzvos, the wine of the Torah, carry the supernal will and bring the hidden love out; on Shabbos, when the Sefiros rise back to G‑d’s own Being, that love is revealed as well.¶13–16
- The blessings: “sweet upon me”The rabbinic blessings over the mitzvos draw down an encompassing light, above the inner light of the mitzvah itself, and so are sweet “upon me.”¶17–19
- The words of the blessing“Blessed are You … who has sanctified us with His commandments” traces a descent and an ascent, running and returning, matched in a person by “Fortunate is the man who fears G‑d … he desires His commandments greatly.”¶20–23
Key concepts
- “Where is the scribe?”איה סופר
- Ayeh, aleph with yud-hei, names the hidden source in Chochmah that “writes” the Written Torah, the book. The prohibitive commandments and the words of the Scribes come from it.
- Prohibitive and positive commandmentsמצות לא תעשה ומצות עשה
- The 248 positive commandments come from vav-hei, Z’eir Anpin, where the lights have vessels; the 365 prohibitive commandments come from yud-hei, a light without a vessel, reached only by negating its opposite.
- The words of the Scribesדברי סופרים
- The rabbinic enactments, fences around the Torah. Rooted in the scribe above the book, they could not be written down and remained oral.
- The hidden loveאהבה מסותרת
- The love beyond reason present in every Jew, a readiness for self-sacrifice that wants only to be one with the One. The mitzvos bring it into the open, and Shabbos reveals it.
- The wine of the Torahיינה של תורה
- The keeping of the mitzvos, in which the supernal will is enclothed. As wine brings out a secret, it brings out the hidden love.
- Inner and encompassing lightאור פנימי ואור מקיף
- The mitzvah itself draws down an inner light that enters the vessels; the blessing over it draws down an encompassing light too high to enter them.
- Running and returning (ratzo vashov)רצוא ושוב
- The two movements of every flow from above, withdrawal and expansion, which the blessing and a person’s own service must both have.
The scribe above the book ¶1–2
“This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance from generation to generation.” It is stated in the Tikkunei Zohar: shemi (“My Name”) with yud-hei [is] 365; zichri (“My remembrance”) with vav-hei [is] 248.
The maamar opens with G‑d’s words to Moshe at the burning bush: “This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance from generation to generation.” The Tikkunei Zohar reads it by numerical value: shemi (“My Name,” 350) plus yud-hei (15) makes 365, the number of prohibitive commandments, and zichri (“My remembrance,” 237) plus vav-hei (11) makes 248, the number of positive commandments.
וצ״ל מפני מה שרש מל״ת גבוה יותר6 משרש המ״ע שהל״ת נמשכי׳ מבחי׳ י״ה דהוי׳ והמ״ע נמשכים מבחי׳ ו״ה דהוי״ה.
We need to understand why the root of the prohibitive commandments is higher than the root of the positive commandments, in that the prohibitive commandments are drawn from the level of the yud-hei of Havayah, while the positive commandments are drawn from the level of the vav-hei of Havayah.
So the 365 prohibitive commandments are tied to yud-hei, the first half of the Name Havayah, and the 248 positive commandments to vav-hei, its second half. Since yud-hei stands higher in the Name, the first question is why the prohibitions should have the higher root.
גם י״ל מפני מה לא ניתנה תושבע״פ ג״כ בכתב. הענין הוא דכתיב איה סופר7 וגו׳.
We also need to understand why the Oral Torah was not also given in writing. The explanation is that it is written, “Where (ayeh) is the scribe?” etc.
A second question: why was the Oral Torah not also given in writing, like the Written Torah? The answer starts from Yeshayahu’s words “Where (ayeh) is the scribe (sofer)?”, which the maamar reads not as a question but as the name of a level.
ונת׳ במ״א8 הפי׳ דבחי׳ אי״ה עצמו הוא הסופר (והוא בחי׳ איה מקום כבודו) כי איתא בס״י9 בג׳ דברים ברא הקב״ה את העולם בסופר וספר וספור.10
And it has been explained elsewhere that the meaning is that the level of ayeh (“where”) itself is the scribe (and this is the level of “Where is the place of His glory?”); for it is stated in Sefer Yetzirah that with three things the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world: with sofer (scribe), sefer (book) and sippur (telling).
Ayeh, “where,” names a level so hidden that one can only ask where it is, as the angels ask in the Kedushah, “Where is the place of His glory?” That hidden level is itself “the scribe.” Sefer Yetzirah says the world was created with three things, sofer, sefer and sippur: the scribe, the book and the telling.
והנה תושב״כ נק׳ ספר ובחי׳ סופר שלמעלה מבחי׳ ספר הוא בחי׳ אי״ה שהוא א׳ י״ה כי מקור ושרש י״ה דשם הוי״ה נמשך מבחי׳ האל״ף שהוא בחי׳ חכמה דאצילות
Now, the Written Torah is called sefer (book), and the level of sofer (scribe), which is above the level of sefer, is the level of ayeh, which is aleph yud-hei. For the source and root of the yud-hei of the Name Havayah is drawn from the level of the aleph, which is the level of Chochmah (wisdom) of the World of Atzilus (Emanation)
The Written Torah is the sefer, the book, and above the book stands the scribe who writes it. That scribe is ayeh, whose letters are aleph followed by yud-hei: the aleph stands for Chochmah of Atzilus, the source from which the yud-hei of the Name Havayah is drawn.
(ר״ל11 מקור ושרש החכמה כמ״ש במ״א בכוונת א׳ דאחד דק״ש שהוא בחי׳ מזל נוצר12 דמשם יונק אבא או ר״ל חכמה סתימאה) כמ״ש אאלפך חכמה.13
(that is to say, the source and root of Chochmah, as explained elsewhere on the kavanah of the aleph of echad (“One”) in the Shema, that it is the level of mazal notzer, from which Abba draws its nourishment; or it means the hidden Chochmah (chochmah stima’ah)), as it is written, “I will teach you (a’alefcha) wisdom.”
The parenthesis refines this: the aleph is really the source and root of Chochmah, which elsewhere is identified with mazal notzer, one of the thirteen “adornments of the beard” (tikkunei dikna) in the Kabbalah, from which Abba (Chochmah) draws its flow; or else it is the hidden Chochmah. The proof is Iyov’s “a’alefcha chochmah,” where the verb for teaching shares the letters of aleph; according to Sefer HaArachim, cited in the Kehot note, this proof goes back to the statement before the parenthesis, that the aleph is Chochmah.
ועוד שבאות אל״ף נכללו בו ג׳ אותיות דשם הוי׳ ב״ה כנודע מהאריז״ל14 שתמונת האל״ף בתושב״כ הוא י׳ ו׳ י׳ ובתפילין י׳ ו׳ ד׳.
Moreover, the letter aleph includes three letters of the Name Havayah, blessed be He, as is known from the Arizal: that the form of the aleph in the Written Torah is yud, vav, yud, and in tefillin, yud, vav, dalet.
Another reason the aleph stands for the source of the Name: its shape is built from letters of the Name Havayah. As known from the Arizal, in a Torah scroll the aleph is drawn as a yud above, a slanted vav, and a yud below (10 + 6 + 10 = 26, the numerical value of Havayah); in tefillin its lower part is drawn as a dalet.
מפני שבתושב״כ מלובש אור אבא דאצי׳ כי אורייתא מח״ע נפקת והיינו מבחי׳ יסוד אבא לכך נכתב גם הקוץ התחתון של האל״ף כתמונת י׳ רמז לחכמה דאצי׳ שהוא בחי׳ י׳ דשם הוי׳ כנודע.
[This is] because the light of Abba of Atzilus is enclothed in the Written Torah, for “the Torah comes forth from supernal Chochmah,” that is, from the level of the Yesod (foundation) of Abba. Therefore the lower tip of the aleph is also written in the form of a yud, alluding to the Chochmah of Atzilus, which is the level of the yud of the Name Havayah, as is known.
The aleph of the Torah scroll ends below in a yud because the Written Torah carries the light of Abba, Chochmah of Atzilus: “the Torah comes forth from supernal Chochmah,” through the Yesod of Abba, the channel by which Chochmah gives forth. The yud is the letter of the Name that stands for Chochmah.
אבל בתפילין נכתב קוץ התחתון של האל״ף בתמונת ד׳ שהוא בחי׳ מחשבה עילאה שהוא בחי׳ לאה שהוא עד״מ כמו הד׳ שיש בו התפשטות לאורך ורוחב.15
But in tefillin the lower tip of the aleph is written in the form of a dalet, which is the level of supernal thought (machshavah ila’ah), which is the level of Leah; this is, by way of analogy, like the dalet, which has extension in length and in breadth.
In tefillin the lower part of the aleph is a dalet, which stands for supernal thought, called Leah. The dalet’s two strokes, one across and one down, picture spreading out in length and breadth, as thought spreads out what it has received.
The paragraph asks why the prohibitive commandments are rooted in yud-hei, above the positive commandments in vav-hei, and why the Oral Torah was not written, and begins the answer with “Where is the scribe?”: ayeh, aleph with yud-hei, is the scribe above the book, the source in Chochmah from which the Name’s letters and the Written Torah are drawn.
According to the Kehot note, a transcript of this maamar is printed in Sefer HaMaamarim 5565, and Or HaTorah has it with glosses and abridgments. Likkutei Torah, Pekudei, refers back to this maamar, reading ayeh as yud-hei, which are Chochmah and Binah, with the aleph (pele, “wonder”) as Keser.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2זה שמי לעולם · הנחת הר״מ בן אדה״ז בסה״מ תקס״ה ע׳ רי. ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. המאמר עם הגהות וקיצורים באוה״ת כרך ח ע׳ ב׳תתנא. ראה מאמרי אדה״א נ״ך ע׳ נה ובמ״מ לשם שמיוסד על ד״ה זה (הנחת כ״ק אדה״א בסה״מ תקס״ה ע׳ רי). בלקו״ת פקודי ה, א מציין לד״ה זה בענין איה היינו י״ה הם חו״ב והאלף פלא זהו בחי׳ הכתר.
- 3זה שמי לעלם · Exodus 3:15
- 4איתא בת״ז · Zohar I, 24a
- 5איתא בת״ז שמי עם י״ה שס״ה זכרי עם ו״ה רמ״ח · Tikkunei Zohar 5a:4
- 6מפני מה שרש מל״ת גבוה יותר · ראה ד״ה מאי מברך ה׳ת״ש.
- 7אי׳ ספר · Isaiah 33:18
- 8ונת׳ במ״א · לקמן נג, ב.
- 9איתא בס״י · פ״א מ״א. ראה לקו״ת סוכות פ, ב. סה״מ תרנ״ז ע׳ קנז.
- 10בג׳ דברים ברא הקב״ה את העולם בסופר וספר וספור · Sefer Yetzirah 1:1
- 11האל״ף — (ר״ל · באוה״ת כרך ז ע׳ ב׳תתנב: (נראה דר״ל.
- 12במ״א — בחי׳ מזל נוצר · ראה בספר הערכים מערכת אותיות אות אלף טור קל הערה 309.
- 13אאלפך חכמה · Job 33:33
- 14כנודע מהאריז״ל · ראה לקמן נט, א. באוה״ת שמות כרך ח ע׳ ב׳תרנד ליתא תי׳ ”מהאריז״ל”.
- 15אורייתא מחכמה עילאה נפקת · Zohar II, 85a
And this is [the meaning of] “Where is the scribe?”: that is, the source of the Written Torah, which is called the supernal sefer (book), as it is written in the Zohar, “There is a book and there is a book,”
Now the verse “Where is the scribe?” is applied. The Written Torah is called the supernal book, and the Zohar speaks of two books, “There is a book and there is a book”: a book above and a book below.
הוא בחי׳ אי״ה א׳ עם י״ה שהאל״ף הוא מקור לי״ה כנ״ל שהוא הסופר את הספר דהיינו שהוא מקור התושב״כ שנמשכי׳ הימנו:
is the level of ayeh, aleph with yud-hei, for the aleph is the source of the yud-hei, as [explained] above. It is the one that writes (sofer) the book; that is, it is the source of the Written Torah, which is drawn from it.
The source of that book is ayeh: aleph joined to yud-hei, the aleph being the source of the yud-hei. Ayeh is therefore “the scribe” who writes the book, the source from which the Written Torah is drawn.
Ayeh, “where,” names the scribe who stands above the book: the aleph, Chochmah, from which the yud-hei of the Name and the whole Written Torah are drawn.
Marei mekomos
- 1כמ״ש בזהר אית ספר ואית ספר · Zohar II, 70a
Positive and prohibitive commandments ¶3–4
3דהנה כללות התושב״כ הוא מדבר בענין קיום מצות עשה. שנמשכים מבחי׳ ו״ה שהוא בחי׳ ז״א דאצי׳ שהאורות מחולקים בתוך הכלים שהן רמ״ח אברים דז״א שמשם נמשכים רמ״ח מ״ע
For the Written Torah as a whole speaks about the fulfillment of the positive commandments, which are drawn from the level of vav-hei, which is the level of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) of Atzilus, where the lights are divided within the vessels, which are the 248 limbs of Z’eir Anpin, from which the 248 positive commandments are drawn.
As a whole, the Written Torah speaks of fulfilling positive commandments, and these come from vav-hei, the level of Z’eir Anpin of Atzilus. There the lights are divided among vessels, as a body’s life is divided among its limbs, and the 248 “limbs” of Z’eir Anpin are the source of the 248 positive commandments.
ולכך המקיים מ״ע ממשיך עליו אור עליון דז״א1 ולכך ניתנה התורה בכתב להיות האורות דז״א מתלבשים בכלים ממש לכך נתלבשה חכמת התורה ג״כ בכתב כו׳ באותיות ותגין כו׳
And therefore one who fulfills a positive commandment draws upon himself the supernal light of Z’eir Anpin. And therefore the Torah was given in writing: since the lights of Z’eir Anpin are enclothed in actual vessels, the wisdom of the Torah was therefore also enclothed in writing, etc., in letters and crowns (tagin), etc.
Doing a positive commandment therefore draws the light of Z’eir Anpin onto the person. And because in Z’eir Anpin the lights are enclothed in real vessels, the Torah’s wisdom could also be enclothed in writing, in letters and their crowns (tagin).
אמנם שרש הל״ת אף שהן ג״כ בתושב״כ מ״מ הן למעלה ממדרגת המ״ע אלא שהם נמשכים מבחי׳ י״ה.
However, the root of the prohibitive commandments: although they too are in the Written Torah, nevertheless they are above the rank of the positive commandments; rather, they are drawn from the level of yud-hei.
The prohibitive commandments are also written in the Written Torah, yet their root is higher: they come from yud-hei.
מפני ששרש הל״ת הוא מבחי׳ ומדרגה גבוה שאינו יכול להתלבש בתוך כלים כמו המ״ע שהתפילין והאתרוג הם כלים להאור כו׳
[This is] because the root of the prohibitive commandments is from a high level and rank that cannot be enclothed within vessels, as with the positive commandments, where the tefillin and the esrog are vessels for the light, etc.
Their root is too high to be enclothed in vessels. A positive commandment does have a vessel for its light: the tefillin or the esrog is a physical object through which the light comes.
משא״כ הל״ת שאין לאותו האור כלי שיוכל לשכון בו בבחי׳ הן ע״י מעשה רק ע״י לאו ושלילה הוא מושג שאין יכולים להכיר מהותו
Not so the prohibitive commandments: that light has no vessel in which it could dwell in the mode of “yes,” through action. Only through “no” and negation is it grasped, [as something] whose essence one cannot recognize,
The light of the prohibitive commandments has no such vessel; it cannot come through a “yes,” an action. It is grasped only through a “no,” the way something whose essence cannot be known is grasped only by saying what it is not.
רק לשלול ההפוך כמו לא תאכל חלב ודם לפי שזהו מנגד לקדושת האור לפי שהיא מבחי׳ סט״א.
but can only negate its opposite. For example, “You shall not eat fat and blood”: because this opposes the holiness of the light, since it is from the level of the sitra achra (the other side).
So the prohibition of eating forbidden fat and blood asks not for an act but for refraining. These things oppose the holiness of that light because they come from the sitra achra, and setting them aside is how the light is reached.
The positive commandments, rooted in the vessels of Z’eir Anpin, could be enclothed in action and in writing; the prohibitive commandments come from a light too high for any vessel, reached only by negating its opposite.
Marei mekomos
- 1המקיים מ״ע ממשיך עליו אור עליון דז״א · ראה אגה״ת פ״א.
4וע״י שלילת ההפוך נמשך גלוי האור אבל א״א להמשיכו ע״י מעשה כמו ע״י תפילין וציצית
And through negating the opposite, the revelation of the light is drawn down; but it is impossible to draw it down through action, as through tefillin and tzitzis,
Negating the opposite does draw down a revelation of that light, but it cannot be drawn through an act such as putting on tefillin or wearing tzitzis.
ע״ד האורות הנמשכים ע״י מ״ע לפי שמעלת האורות הנמשכים ע״י ל״ת גדולים וגבוהים יותר מהנמשכים ע״י מ״ע וא״א לעשות להם כלים בבחי׳ הן רק ע״י לאו שקדם להן
in the manner of the lights drawn down through the positive commandments. For the lights drawn down through the prohibitive commandments are greater and higher in stature than those drawn down through the positive commandments, and it is impossible to make vessels for them in the mode of “yes,” but only through a “no” that comes before the “yes,”
Action is the way of the lights drawn through positive commandments. The lights drawn through prohibitive commandments are greater and higher, so no vessel of “yes” can be made for them; they come only through a “no” that comes before the “yes.”
דהיינו ע״י שלילת ההפוך. וזהו בארץ לא זרועה1 וזהו שהל״ת נמשכים מבחינת י״ה שלמעלה מו״ה:
that is, through negating the opposite. And this is [the meaning of] “in a land not sown.” And this is [why] the prohibitive commandments are drawn from the level of yud-hei, which is above vav-hei.
That “no” is the negation of the opposite. This, the Alter Rebbe says, is Yirmeyahu’s “in a land not sown,” a level known only through a “not,” and it is why the prohibitive commandments are drawn from yud-hei, above vav-hei.
Because the light of the prohibitive commandments cannot be held by a vessel of action, it is drawn down only by negating its opposite, and this is why they are rooted in yud-hei, above vav-hei.
In Likkutei Torah on “I am black, yet comely,” which the maamar mentions below, the same phrase “a land not sown” describes the future revelation of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), which the soul can hold only by way of negation, drawn down through keeping the prohibitive commandments.
Marei mekomos
- 1בארץ לא זרועה · Jeremiah 2:2
Why the Oral Torah stayed oral ¶5
Now, all the words of the Scribes (divrei soferim) are entirely in this manner of the prohibitive commandments, for the words of the Scribes are to make a fence for the Torah: “Make a safeguard for My safeguard,” etc.
All the rabbinic enactments, “the words of the Scribes,” work like the prohibitive commandments, because their purpose is to make a fence around the Torah, as the Talmud reads “Keep My safeguard” to mean “make a safeguard for My safeguard.” A fence is a “no”: it keeps a person away from what is forbidden.
לכך נקרא דברי סופרים ששרשם מבחי׳ סופר שהוא בחי׳ אי״ה סופר שהוא ענין א׳ י״ה כנ״ל שהל״ת נמשכים מי״ה.
Therefore they are called “the words of the Scribes (soferim)”: for their root is from the level of sofer (scribe), which is the level of “Where (ayeh) is the scribe,” which is the matter of aleph yud-hei, as [explained] above, that the prohibitive commandments are drawn from yud-hei.
That is why they are called the words of the soferim: their root is sofer, “Where is the scribe?”, aleph yud-hei, the same root from which the prohibitive commandments come.
וכמו״כ כל ד״ס נמשכים משם לכן הם למעלה מתושב״כ שנק׳ ספר דרמ״ח מ״ע נמשכים מו״ה שהם מתלבשים בכלים.
And likewise all the words of the Scribes are drawn from there. Therefore they are above the Written Torah, which is called sefer (book), for the 248 positive commandments are drawn from vav-hei, which are enclothed in vessels.
Coming from there, the words of the Scribes stand above the Written Torah, the “book,” whose 248 positive commandments come from vav-hei and are enclothed in vessels.
משא״כ ד״ס הם מבחי׳ שלמעלה מזו לכן לא היה באפשר להתלבש במעשה הכתב אלא בעל פה דוקא
Not so the words of the Scribes: they are from a level above this; therefore it was not possible for them to be enclothed in the act of writing, but only orally, specifically.
Because the words of the Scribes come from a level above vessels, they could not be enclothed in writing and had to remain oral. This answers the maamar’s second question, why the Oral Torah was not written down.
כי אבא יסד ברתא3 שבחי׳ הדבור נמשך מן הח״ע שהוא בחי׳ איה סופר כנ״ל (וע׳ מ״ש ע״פ שחורה אני4 ונאוה5 מענין זה):
For “Abba founded the daughter”: the level of speech is drawn from supernal Chochmah (wisdom), which is the level of “Where is the scribe,” as [explained] above. (And see what is written on the verse “I am black, yet comely” on this matter.)
Speech itself comes from supernal Chochmah, as in the saying “Abba founded the daughter”: Chochmah (Abba) is the foundation of Malchus, the level of speech (the daughter). So the spoken word is drawn straight from “Where is the scribe?”; the parenthesis refers to a fuller discussion on the verse “I am black, yet comely.”
The words of the Scribes are fences, like prohibitions, and so share the prohibitive commandments’ root in the scribe above the book; this is why the Oral Torah stayed oral, since speech is drawn straight from Chochmah.
The Torah Ohr passage the Kehot note gives for “Abba founded the daughter” explains that just as Chochmah comes from nothing into something, not by gradual descent, so Malchus, the level of letters and speech, is founded directly in Chochmah and also comes from “nothing.”
Marei mekomos
- 1לעשות סייג לתורה · Pirkei Avot 1:1
- 2עשו משמרת למשמרתי · Yevamot 21a:12–13
- 3אבא יסד ברתא · נסמן לעיל ד, ג.
- 4ע״פ שחורה אני · אולי הכוונה ללקו״ת שה״ש ז, א.
- 5
What the Written Torah leaves unwritten ¶6–9
6והנה גם בתושב״כ עצמה ימצאו ענינים אשר לא נכתבו מצד מעלתן הרמה. דהיינו שלפעמים נאמר וידבר ה׳ אל משה לאמר כך וכך. שנתפרש ונכתב בתורה הצווי והאמירה של הקב״ה למשה בענין מצוה ההיא.
Now, even in the Written Torah itself there are matters that were not written, because of their lofty stature. That is: sometimes it says, “And G‑d spoke to Moshe, saying,” such and such, so that the command and the saying of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moshe regarding that mitzvah is spelled out and written in the Torah.
Even within the Written Torah some things were left unwritten because they are so lofty. Often the Torah does record G‑d’s own command to Moshe about a mitzvah, in the familiar words “And G‑d spoke to Moshe, saying.”
A further point begins: the Written Torah itself sometimes leaves things unwritten because of their height, starting from the usual case, where G‑d’s command to Moshe is written out.
7ולפעמים לא נכתב רק הצווי של משה לישראל בענין מצוה ההיא ולא נכתב הצווי של הקב״ה אליו
And sometimes only Moshe’s command to Israel regarding that mitzvah is written, and the command of the Holy One, blessed be He, to him is not written,
Sometimes the Torah records only Moshe’s command to Israel about a mitzvah, and not G‑d’s command to Moshe.
וכמו כל משנה תורה שאמר משה לישראל כמה מצות אשר לא נתפרשו היכן צוהו הש״י ע״ז.
as in all of Mishneh Torah (Deuteronomy), where Moshe told Israel a number of mitzvos about which it is not spelled out where G‑d, blessed be He, commanded him concerning this.
Much of Deuteronomy (Mishneh Torah) is like this: Moshe teaches Israel mitzvos, and the Torah never says where G‑d commanded him about them.
The opposite case: only Moshe’s instruction to Israel is written, as throughout Deuteronomy, while G‑d’s command to him is not recorded.
And there are many [cases] like this in the Torah. We need to understand why the command of the Holy One, blessed be He, was not written. But the explanation is that Moshe is the level of the Yesod (foundation) of Abba,
Such cases are common, and the question is why G‑d’s command was left unwritten. The answer begins with Moshe’s level: he is the Yesod of Abba, the channel through which Chochmah gives forth.
ולכן זכה שתנתן התורה על ידו דאורייתא מח״ע נפקת.2 ופי׳ ויאמר או וידבר ה׳ אל משה.
and therefore he merited that the Torah be given through him, for “the Torah comes forth from supernal Chochmah.” And the meaning of “And G‑d said” or “And G‑d spoke to Moshe”
This is why the Torah was given through Moshe, since “the Torah comes forth from supernal Chochmah.” Accordingly, the words “And G‑d said” or “And G‑d spoke to Moshe” have an inner meaning, given next.
הוא בחי׳ הדבור וההמשכה מן המאציל אור א״ס ב״ה ליסוד אבא ח״ע בענין המצוה ההיא או ההגדה ההיא.
is the level of the speech and the drawing forth from the Emanator, the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, to the Yesod of Abba, supernal Chochmah (wisdom), regarding that mitzvah or that account.
They describe the speech and flow from the Emanator, the Infinite Light, into the Yesod of Abba, supernal Chochmah, about a particular mitzvah or teaching. G‑d speaking to Moshe is the flow from the Infinite into Chochmah.
Moshe is the Yesod of Abba, the outlet of Chochmah, so G‑d’s speaking to Moshe is the flow from the Infinite Light into Chochmah; this prepares the explanation of why that speaking is sometimes not written.
Marei mekomos
- 1משה הוא בחי׳ יסוד אבא · מאו״א מ, נה. ראה לקמן קיב, ב.
- 2דאורייתא מח״ע נפקת · Zohar, Yitro 21:378–22:389
9וענין וידבר משה אל בנ״י הוא ההמשכה שנמשך מיסוד אבא גילוי ענין ההוא לישראל. ולכך יש איזו ענינים גבוהים מאד.
And the matter of “And Moshe spoke to the children of Israel” is the drawing forth by which the revelation of that matter is drawn from the Yesod (foundation) of Abba to Israel. And therefore there are some matters that are very lofty,
“And Moshe spoke to the children of Israel” is the second stage: the flow from the Yesod of Abba, Moshe, by which the matter is revealed to Israel. Because the flow has two stages, some matters are too lofty for the first stage to be written.
שלא היה יכול להתלבש בכתב ענין ההמשכה מאור א״ס ב״ה בח״ע בענין ההוא רק נכתב ההמשכה והגלוי מיסוד אבא למטה שזהו ענין וידבר משה כו׳.
for which the drawing forth from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, into supernal Chochmah (wisdom) regarding that matter could not be enclothed in writing; only the drawing forth and the revelation from the Yesod of Abba downward was written, which is the matter of “And Moshe spoke,” etc.
For such very lofty matters, the first stage, the flow from the Infinite Light into supernal Chochmah, could not be enclothed in writing. Only the second stage was written, the flow from the Yesod of Abba downward: “And Moshe spoke.”
וכמו בענין הארבה שהתרה משה את פרעה כי אם מאן אתה1 כו׳ הנני מביא מחר ארבה כו׳ ולא נאמר הצווי של הקב״ה בענין ההתראה.
As in the matter of the locusts, when Moshe warned Pharaoh, “For if you refuse,” etc., “behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts,” etc.; and the command of the Holy One, blessed be He, regarding the warning is not stated.
An example is the plague of locusts. Moshe warns Pharaoh, “For if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your border,” yet the Torah never records G‑d commanding him to give that warning.
והיינו להיות ששרש הארבה גבוה מאד כידוע בענין וארבה את זרעו2 ואתן לו את יצחק כו׳
That is, because the root of the locust (arbeh) is very lofty, as is known regarding “And I multiplied (va’arbeh) his seed, and I gave him Yitzchak,” etc.
The reason is that the root of the locust is very high. The word arbeh, “locust,” is spelled like va’arbeh, “and I multiplied,” in the verse about G‑d multiplying Avraham’s seed and giving him Yitzchak.
(צ״ע דאח״כ נכתב הצווי של הקב״ה בענין הארבה נטה את ידך3 וצ״ל דבענין ההתראה לפרעה לא היה יכול להיות נכתב)
(This requires further study, since afterward the command of the Holy One, blessed be He, regarding the locusts is written: “Stretch out your hand.” And one must say that regarding the warning to Pharaoh it could not be written.)
A parenthesis notes a difficulty: a little later the Torah does record G‑d’s command about the locusts, “Stretch out your hand.” It answers that it was only the warning to Pharaoh that could not be written.
ויש ענינים שיוכל להיות נכתב הצווי של הקב״ה למשה ולא נכתב הצווי של משה לישראל בענין ההוא רק שממילא מובן שמסתמא אמר משה לישראל מאחר שנכתב שאמר השי״ת למשה כו׳:
And there are matters where the command of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moshe could be written, and Moshe’s command to Israel regarding that matter is not written; only it is understood of itself that Moshe presumably told Israel, since it is written that G‑d, blessed be He, told Moshe, etc.
The reverse also happens: G‑d’s command to Moshe is written, but Moshe’s passing it on to Israel is not. It is simply understood that Moshe told them, since the Torah says G‑d told him.
G‑d’s speech to Moshe and Moshe’s speech to Israel are two stages of one flow, from the Infinite through Chochmah to Israel; when a matter is very lofty, as with the warning of the locusts, only the lower stage could be written.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי אם מאן אתה · Exodus 10:4
- 2וארבה את זרעו · Joshua 24:3
- 3נטה את ידך · Exodus 10:12
Love with a reason and love beyond it ¶10–12
10להבין מארז״ל ע״פ כי טובים דודיך מיין. ערבים עלי12 דברי סופרים יותר מיינה של תורה.3 וי״ל לשון עלי והל״ל לי.
[We need] to understand the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, on the verse “For your love is better than wine”: “The words of the Scribes are sweet upon me (arevim alai) more than the wine of the Torah.” And we need to understand the expression alai (“upon me”); it should have said li (“to me”).
A new section opens with the Sages’ teaching on “For your love is better than wine”: “The words of the Scribes are sweet upon me, more than the wine of the Torah.” The maamar asks why they said alai, “upon me,” and not li, “to me.”
הנה כתיב לאהבה את4 ה׳ אלקיך כי הוא חייך. פי׳ כי הוא חייך. היינו נתינת טעם.
Now, it is written, “To love Havayah your G‑d, for He is your life.” The meaning of “for He is your life” is that it gives a reason.
To answer, the maamar first looks at the verse “To love Havayah your G‑d … for He is your life.” The words “for He is your life” give a reason for the love.
The second half of the maamar opens by asking why the Sages say the words of the Scribes are sweet “upon me” and not “to me,” and begins its answer with the verse “for He is your life,” which gives a reason for loving G‑d.
Marei mekomos
- 1להבין — ערבים עלי · הנחה אחרת בסה״מ תקס״ה ע׳ רב. הנחה אחרת ובאריכות יותר במאמרי אדה״ז כתובים ח״ב ע׳ קכג. ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. ראה מאמרי אדה״א נביאים ע׳ נה.
- 2כי טובים דודיך מיין, ערבים עלי ד״ס · Song of Songs 1:2
- 3ערבים עלי דברי סופרים יותר מיינה של תורה · Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:8–9
- 4לאהבה את ה׳ · Deuteronomy 30:20
11וכנודע דכי משמש בארבע לשונות.12 וכאן הוא משמש בלשון דהא. שהוא נתינת טעם לאהבה את ה׳ אלקיך מפני שהוא חייך.
As is known, ki serves in four senses, and here it serves in the sense of dehai (“because”): it gives a reason for loving Havayah your G‑d — because He is your life.
As the Talmud says, the word ki has four meanings; here it means “because.” The verse gives the reason to love G‑d: because He is your life.
שהמאציל העליון ב״ה הוא מקור החיים ומקור התענוגים כמ״ש כי עמך מקור חיים34 וגו׳ וממך הכל5 כתיב שממנו נמשכו כל החיים והתענוגים הנמצאים בארבעה עולמות אבי״ע והוא ית׳ הוא חיי החיים.
For the supernal Emanator, blessed be He, is the source of life and the source of delights, as it is written, “For with You is the source of life,” etc.; and it is written, “Everything is from You”: from Him are drawn all the life and delights found in the four worlds of Atzilus (Emanation), Beriah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation) and Asiyah (Action), and He, may He be blessed, is the Life of life.
The Emanator is the source of all life and all delight, as the verses say, “For with You is the source of life” and “Everything is from You.” All the life and pleasure in the four worlds, Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, comes from Him, so He is the Life of all life.
“For He is your life” gives a reason to love G‑d: He is the source of all life and delight in every world.
Marei mekomos
- 1דכי משמש בארבע לשונות · ראש השנה ג, א.
- 2דכי משמש בארבע לשונות · Rosh Hashanah 3a:2–3
- 3כי עמך מקור חיים · Psalms 35:10
- 4כי עמך מקור חיים · Psalms 36:10
- 5וממך הכל · I Chronicles 29:14
12ואי לזאת כשיתבונן האדם בזה יומשך מזה לאהבה את ה׳ שכמו שאוהב האדם לחיי נפשו כך יאהוב את ה׳ שהוא חיי החיים כולם וחיי נפשו בפרט.
Accordingly, when a person contemplates this, he will be drawn by it to love G‑d: just as a person loves the life of his soul, so will he love G‑d, who is the Life of all life, and the life of his own soul in particular.
Contemplating this, a person comes to love G‑d: as everyone loves his own life, so he will love G‑d, the Life of all life and of his own soul in particular.
אך אהבה זו שנמשכה מן הטעם כי הוא חייך לא נק׳ עדיין מס״נ הנא׳ בפסוק בכל נפשך ובכל מאדך1 מאחר שנמשכ׳ מן הטעם כי הוא חייך ונודע שבחי׳ טנת״א הוא בבחי׳ הנאצלי׳ טעמים בחכמה2 כו׳.
But this love, which is drawn from the reason “for He is your life,” is not yet called the self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) stated in the verse “with all your soul and with all your might,” since it is drawn from the reason “for He is your life.” And it is known that the level of ta’amim, nekudos, tagin and osiyos (cantillation notes, vowels, crowns and letters) is in the level of the emanated [realms]: ta’amim (“reasons”) in Chochmah (wisdom), etc.
Yet love born of a reason is not yet the self-sacrifice of “with all your soul and with all your might.” A reason belongs to Chochmah: of the four parts of the Torah’s text (cantillation notes, vowels, crowns and letters), the ta’amim, a word that also means “reasons,” are placed in Chochmah, which is one of the emanated levels.
אבל המאציל א״ס ב״ה מרומם ונשגב אף מגדר החכמה כמ״ש כולם בחכמה עשית3 שהחכמה נחשבת לעשיי׳ גשמית קמיה ית׳.
But the Emanator, the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, is exalted and transcendent even beyond the bounds of Chochmah, as it is written, “You made them all with wisdom”: for Chochmah is considered physical action (asiyah) before Him, may He be blessed.
The Emanator, the Infinite One, is beyond even Chochmah. “You made them all with wisdom” counts Chochmah among the things He made: before Him, even wisdom is like physical action.
ומזה נמשך בחי׳ מסירת נפש (שיש בכח בכל א׳ מישראל מחמת שמלובש בנשמתו הארה מבחי׳ א״ס ב״ה שלמעלה מן החכמה והטעם כו׳)
And from this is drawn the level of self-sacrifice (which is present in potential in every one of Israel, because there is enclothed in his soul a radiance from the level of the Infinite One, blessed be He, which is above Chochmah and reason, etc.):
From this level beyond Chochmah comes the capacity for self-sacrifice. Every Jew has it at least in potential, because a ray of the Infinite One, which is above Chochmah and reason, is enclothed in his soul.
למסור נפשו באחד בלי טעם ודעת כלל רק מצד אהבה הפשוטה לה׳ המרומם לבדו ואין ערוך אליו כלל וכמ״ש אני הוי״ה לא שניתי4 כו׳
to give over his soul to the One, without any reason or knowledge at all, but only out of a simple love for G‑d, who alone is exalted and to whom there is no comparison at all; as it is written, “I, Havayah, have not changed,” etc.
This self-sacrifice means giving oneself over to the One with no reason at all, out of simple love for G‑d, who alone is exalted beyond any comparison. The verse “I, Havayah, have not changed” expresses that He is beyond all change.
בין קודם שנברא העולם ובין אחר שנברא העולם אין בו שום שינוי והתפעלות כלל וענין אהבה זו היינו שאינו רוצה להיות נפרד מיחודו ית׳
Whether before the world was created or after the world was created, there is no change or being affected in Him at all. And the nature of this love is that one does not want to be separated from His unity, may He be blessed,
Creating the world made no change in Him whatsoever. The love that answers to this level is the wish never to be separated from His unity.
אלא למהוי אחד באחד ממש והיינו ענין בכל נפשך ובכל מאדך למסור נפשו ממש למעלה מן הטעם והדעת והוא ההתקשרות במהותו ועצמותו ית׳ שלמעלה מעלה מבחי׳ טנת״א כנ״ל:
but rather “to be one with the One,” truly. And this is the meaning of “with all your soul and with all your might”: to actually give over his soul, above reason and knowledge; and this is the bond with His very Being and Essence, may He be blessed, which is far, far above the level of ta’amim, nekudos, tagin and osiyos, as [explained] above.
Its aim is to be truly “one with the One,” and this is “with all your soul and with all your might”: giving oneself over beyond reason. It binds the soul to G‑d’s very Being, far above the level of ta’amim, the realm of reasons.
Love that rests on a reason (“for He is your life”) stays at the level of Chochmah; the self-sacrifice of “with all your soul” comes from the Infinite One beyond Chochmah, a simple love present in every Jew that wants only to be one with Him.
The Kehot note on “ta’amim in Chochmah” observes that ta’amim are sometimes placed in Keser and sometimes in Chochmah. It cites Or HaTorah’s explanation that there are two kinds of reason: one grasped by the intellect, like the Talmud’s “What is Rabbi Meir’s reason?”, which is ta’amim in Chochmah, and one above intellect, called “the hidden reason” (ta’am hakamus).
Marei mekomos
- 1בכל נפשך ובכל מאדך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 2טעמים בחכמה · Numbers 11:3
- 3כולם בחכמה עשית · Psalms 104:24
- 4אני הוי״ה לא שניתי · Malachi 3:6
The wine of the Torah and Shabbos ¶13–16
13והנה אהבה ומס״נ זו יש בכל א׳ מישראל בכח אלא שהיא בבחי׳ העלם והסתר. וכדי להוציאה מההעלם אל הגלוי הוא ע״י בחינת יינה של תורה דוקא.
Now, this love and self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) is present in potential in every one of Israel, only it is in a state of hiddenness and concealment. And bringing it out from hiddenness into revelation is through the level of “the wine of the Torah,” specifically.
This love and readiness for self-sacrifice exist in every Jew in potential, but hidden. They come into the open only through “the wine of the Torah.”
כמארז״ל נכנס יין יצא סוד1 והסוד הגנוז בנפש היא האהבה מסותרת הנ״ל וע״י שיכנס בנפשו בחי׳ יינה של תורה
As our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Wine enters, the secret comes out.” And the secret hidden away in the soul is the hidden love mentioned above. And when the level of the wine of the Torah enters his soul,
As the Sages say, “Wine enters, the secret comes out.” The secret hidden in the soul is this hidden love, and the wine that brings it out is the wine of the Torah entering the soul.
שהוא בחי׳ קיום התומ״צ שעי״ז נמשך התגלות האהבה המסותרת שתצא האהבה אל הגלוי בלב כנס״י שיהיו בוערים באהבה פשוטה למהוי אחד באחד.
which is the level of fulfilling the Torah and the mitzvos, through this the revelation of the hidden love is drawn forth, so that the love comes out into revelation in the heart of the Congregation of Israel (Knesses Yisrael), so that they burn with a simple love “to be one with the One.”
The wine of the Torah is the keeping of the Torah and its mitzvos. Through it the hidden love is revealed in the heart of Knesses Yisrael, so that they burn with a simple love, wanting to be one with the One.
The hidden love in every Jew is brought into the open by the wine of the Torah, the keeping of Torah and mitzvos, just as “wine enters, the secret comes out.”
With the Talmud the Kehot note lists the Zohar on Shemini (3:39a), which says the same in its own Aramaic words: “wine reveals secrets.”
Marei mekomos
- 1נכנס יין יצא סוד · Eruvin 65a:19–20
14והנה בשבת מתגלה ג״כ בחי׳ האהבה מסותרת בבחי׳ גלוי.1 והענין דהנה כתיב ששת ימים עשה2 ה׳ את השמים וכו׳ וביום השביעי שבת.
Now, on Shabbos too the level of the hidden love is revealed, openly. The explanation: it is written, “Six days G‑d made the heavens,” etc., “and on the seventh day He rested.”
On Shabbos too the hidden love comes into the open. To explain why, the maamar turns to the verse “Six days G‑d made the heavens,” and so on, “and on the seventh day He rested.”
כי בעשרה מאמרות שהם ע״ס נברא העולם.34 ובראשית נמי מאמר הוא56 דהיינו שגם החכמה דאצי׳ ראשית האצי׳ הוא ג״כ בחי׳ מאמר לבד לגבי מהו״ע ית׳ וכנ״ל בענין כלם בחכמה עשית.
For the world was created with ten utterances, which are the ten Sefiros. And “‘In the beginning’ is also an utterance”: that is, even the Chochmah (wisdom) of Atzilus (Emanation), the beginning of Atzilus, is also only a level of utterance relative to His Being and Essence, may He be blessed, as [explained] above on “You made them all with wisdom.”
The world was created through ten utterances, which are the ten Sefiros, and the Talmud counts “In the beginning” as an utterance too. So even Chochmah of Atzilus, the first of all levels, is only an “utterance” compared with G‑d’s own Being, as “You made them all with wisdom” showed above.
Shabbos also reveals the hidden love; to explain this, the maamar recalls that all ten Sefiros, even Chochmah, are only “utterances” of creation compared with G‑d’s own Being.
In the Torah Ohr passage the Kehot note gives (Vayakhel), the extra soul of Shabbos is explained as a love and will for G‑d above intellect, newly born in Knesses Yisrael on Shabbos, unlike the weekday love that comes from contemplation: “there is will and there is will,” a lower will born of the intellect and a supernal will far above Chochmah.
Marei mekomos
- 1והנה בשבת מתגלה ג״כ בחי׳ האהבה מסותרת בבחי׳ גילוי · ראה ג״כ לקו״ת שה״ש ה, ד. לקמן פז, ד. דאית רצון ואית רצון דזהו ענין הנשמה היתירה שמתגלה בשבת. ועג״כ באוה״ת דרושים לר״ה ע׳ א׳תלט.
- 2ששת ימים עשה ה׳ את השמים וכו׳ וביום השביעי שבת · Exodus 31:17
- 3בעשרה מאמרות . . נברא העולם · אבות ה, א.
- 4בעשרה מאמרות שהם ע״ס נברא העולם · Pirkei Avot 5:1
- 5ובראשית נמי מאמר הוא · Rosh Hashanah 32a:19–20
- 6ובראשית נמי מאמר הוא · Megillah 21b:10–11
15ובשי״ב נשפלו החכמה והמדות עליונות שהם הע״מ לברוא העולם כמו עד״מ האדם העושה איזה מלאכה שכותב או מצייר איזה ציור
And during the six days of Creation the supernal Chochmah (wisdom) and emotive attributes (middos), which are the ten utterances, were lowered to create the world. As, by way of analogy, a person who does some work, who writes or draws some picture:
During the six days of Creation the supernal Chochmah and emotive attributes, the ten utterances, were lowered in order to create. The maamar compares this to a person who writes or draws.
אזי משפיל שכלו ומחשבתו לעיין באותו הציור והכתב וכשגמר מחשבתו חוזרים שכלו ומחשבתו למהותן ועצמותן.
he then lowers his intellect and thought to look into that picture and writing; and when he has finished his thought, his intellect and thought return to their own being and essence.
While working, he lowers his mind and thought into the picture or the writing; when he finishes, his mind and thought return to their own state.
כך עד״מ למעלה בשי״ב נשפלו הע״ס עליונות להיות בריאת העולם על ידיהן ובשבת שבת וינפש1 שנתעלו החכמה ומדות למהו״ע ית׳ המרומם ונשגב לבדו בבחי׳ אין ערוך כו׳ מקור התענוגים.
So too, by way of analogy, above: during the six days of Creation the supernal ten Sefiros were lowered, so that the creation of the world would come about through them; and on Shabbos, “He rested and was refreshed”: Chochmah and the middos were raised up to His Being and Essence, may He be blessed, who alone is exalted and transcendent, at the level of “There is none to compare,” etc., the source of delights.
So above: during the six days the ten Sefiros lowered themselves so as to create through them, and on Shabbos “He rested and was refreshed”: Chochmah and the middos rose back up into G‑d’s own Being, beyond all comparison, the source of all delight.
Like an artist whose mind descends into his work and then returns to itself, the Sefiros descend during the six days of Creation and on Shabbos rise back into G‑d’s own Being, the source of delight.
Marei mekomos
- 1שבת וינפש · Exodus 31:17
16ולכן מתגלה בשבת בחי׳ אהבה מסותרת שהיא מבחי׳ זו למעלה מבחי׳ חכמה ובחי׳ טעמים כו׳ כנ״ל.
Therefore on Shabbos the level of the hidden love is revealed, for it is from this level, above the level of Chochmah (wisdom) and the level of reasons, etc., as [explained] above.
That is why the hidden love is revealed on Shabbos: it comes from the very level, above Chochmah and reasons, to which the Sefiros return on Shabbos.
וכ״ז בא ע״י שנכנס בנפש האדם בחי׳ יינה של תורה היינו קיום המצות שבהם מלובש רצון העליון שהוא למעלה מבחי׳ חכמה כנודע
And all this comes about through the level of the wine of the Torah entering a person’s soul, that is, the fulfillment of the mitzvos, in which the supernal will is enclothed, which is above the level of Chochmah, as is known.
All this comes about through the wine of the Torah entering the soul, which means keeping the mitzvos, for the supernal will, which is above Chochmah, is enclothed in them.
וע״י גילוי רצה״ע יתעורר באדם גלוי האהבה מסותרת שהיא בחי׳ אהבה ורצון שלמעלה מן החכמה והטעם וזהו ענין נכנס יין יצא סוד:1
And through the revelation of the supernal will, the revelation of the hidden love will be aroused in a person, which is a level of love and will that is above Chochmah and reason. And this is the meaning of “Wine enters, the secret comes out.”
When the supernal will is revealed through the mitzvos, it awakens in the person the hidden love, itself a love and will above Chochmah and reason. This is “Wine enters, the secret comes out.”
Shabbos reveals the hidden love because that love belongs to the level above Chochmah, and the mitzvos, which carry G‑d’s will from above Chochmah, are the wine that brings it out.
Marei mekomos
- 1נכנס יין יצא סוד · Eruvin 65a:19–20
The blessings: “sweet upon me” ¶17–19
17ועתה יובן ענין ערבים עלי ד״ס יותר מיינה של תורה. עלי דוקא והיינו כי המצות עצמן נק׳ יינה של תורה כנ״ל. והנה הברכות1 שמברכים על המצות הם מד״ס.23
Now the meaning of “The words of the Scribes are sweet upon me more than the wine of the Torah” will be understood — “upon me” specifically. That is: the mitzvos themselves are called “the wine of the Torah,” as [explained] above; and the blessings recited over the mitzvos are from the words of the Scribes.
Now the Sages’ saying can be understood, with its stress on “upon me.” The mitzvos themselves are the wine of the Torah, and the blessings said over the mitzvos are rabbinic, from the words of the Scribes.
The blessings over the mitzvos are rabbinic, “words of the Scribes,” and the maamar now uses this to explain why they are sweeter than the mitzvos themselves, the wine of the Torah.
The Kehot note adds that the blessings over the mitzvos are one of the seven rabbinic mitzvos.
Marei mekomos
- 1והנה הברכות · קטע מכאן מובא בד״ה חייב אדם לברך תרל״ח פרק ג בהוספות ושינויים.
- 2הברכות שמברכים . . הם מד״ס · מז׳ מצות דרבנן — וסימנם נ״ע בשמח״ה. ראה סה״מ ת״ש ע׳ 50 בהערה.
- 3שמברכים על המצות הם מד״ס · Berakhot 15a
18והם למעלה מקיום המצות עצמן כמ״ש בע״ח1 שע״י עצם המצוה נמשך בחי׳ האו״פ המתלבש בתוך הכלים ממש וע״י הברכה שעל המצוה ממשיכים בחי׳ האור מקיף2 שהוא למעלה מבחי׳ האו״פ שלכך א״י להתלבש בתוך הכלי
And they are above the fulfillment of the mitzvos themselves, as is written in Etz Chaim: through the mitzvah itself the level of the inner light (Or Pnimi) is drawn down, which is enclothed within the actual vessels; and through the blessing over the mitzvah one draws down the level of the encompassing light (Or Makif), which is above the level of the inner light, and for this reason it cannot be enclothed within the vessel.
The blessings rank above the mitzvah itself. As written in Etz Chaim, the Arizal’s teachings, the act of the mitzvah draws down an inner light (Or Pnimi) that enters the vessels, while the blessing over it draws down an encompassing light (Or Makif), too high to enter any vessel.
And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Over all the mitzvos one recites a blessing oveir la’asiyasan (before doing them).” The word oveir denotes something encompassing, as in oveir lasocher (“current with the merchant”).
This is hinted in the Sages’ rule that a blessing is said over a mitzvah “oveir la’asiyasan,” before doing it. Oveir literally means “passing over,” and the maamar reads it as encompassing, as in the silver Avraham paid, “current with the merchant” (oveir lasocher).
The rabbinic blessing over a mitzvah draws down an encompassing light, higher than the inner light drawn by the mitzvah itself, and the word oveir in the Sages’ rule hints at this.
In the Likkutei Torah parallel the Kehot note gives (Masei), the passage asks why the Sages said oveir and then had to prove that it means “before,” instead of simply saying “before doing them,” and answers that the blessing is an encompassing light over the act of the mitzvah, which raises the act up.
Marei mekomos
- 1כמ״ש בע״ח · ראה פע״ח שער ספירת העומר ספ״ג.
- 2וע״י הברכה שעל המצוה ממשיכים בחי׳ האור מקיף · Pri Etz Chaim, Gate of the Omer Count 3:6
- 3כל המצות מברך עליהן עובר לעשייתן · Pesachim 7b:9–10
- 4לשון עובר הוא ענין מקיף · ראה גם לקו״ת פ׳ מסעי צב, ג.
- 5עובר לסוחר · חיי שרה כג, טז.
- 6עובר לסוחר · Genesis 23:16
19וזהו ענין ערבים עלי ד״ס ולא אמר לי. כי פי׳ עלי היינו לומר שההמשכה ע״י הברכה הוא בבחי׳ מקיף
And this is the meaning of “The words of the Scribes are sweet upon me (alai),” and it did not say li (“to me”): for the meaning of alai is to say that the drawing down through the blessing is in the mode of the encompassing [light],
This is why the Sages said “sweet upon me” and not “to me”: “upon” means that what the blessing draws down is encompassing, resting above the person rather than entering within.
וזהו עלי ולכך ערבים יותר מיינה של תורה שהם רק בחי׳ או״פ כו׳ ונועם ה׳ והעריבות הנמשך ע״י הברכה שהוא מד״ס הוא מבחי׳ מקיף וזהו ערבים עלי.
and this is alai (“upon me”). And therefore they are sweeter than the wine of the Torah, which is only the level of the inner light, etc. And “the pleasantness of G‑d” and the sweetness drawn down through the blessing, which is from the words of the Scribes, is from the level of the encompassing [light]; and this is “sweet upon me.”
That is why the words of the Scribes are sweeter than the wine of the Torah, the mitzvos, which bring only inner light. The pleasantness and sweetness drawn down by the rabbinic blessing come from the encompassing level: “sweet upon me.”
“Sweet upon me” means that the blessing, one of the words of the Scribes, draws an encompassing light “upon” the person, higher and sweeter than the inner light of the mitzvah itself.
The words of the blessing ¶20–23
20ופי׳ וענין ל׳ הברכה בא״י אמ״ה אקב״ו היינו ברוך הוא המשכ׳ מבחי׳ ראש ומקור כל ברכה מקור החיים שלמעלה מהשתלשלות.
And the meaning and substance of the wording of the blessing, “Blessed are You, Havayah, our G‑d, King of the world, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us,” is this: Baruch (“blessed”) is a drawing down from the level of the head and source of all blessing, the source of life, which is above the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus).
Now the wording of the blessing, “Blessed are You, Havayah, our G‑d, King of the world, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us,” is explained phrase by phrase. Baruch, “blessed,” is a drawing down from the head and source of all blessing, the source of life, which is above the chain of worlds.
ונמשך ברכה והמשכה זו אל בחי׳ אתה הוא בחי׳ עלמא דאתגליא שיהיה בחי׳ הוי״ה שהוא כללות ההשתלשלות יו״ד צמצום ה״א התפשטות ו׳ המשכה ה׳ התפשטות.
And this blessing and drawing down is drawn to the level of Atah (“You”), which is the level of the revealed world (alma de’isgalya), that there be the level of Havayah, which is the whole of the chain of descent: the yud, tzimtzum (contraction); the hei, expansion; the vav, drawing down; the hei, expansion.
This flow is drawn to Atah, “You,” addressed as one who is present, which stands for the revealed world, so that it becomes Havayah, the whole chain of worlds in four letters: yud, contraction; hei, expansion; vav, drawing down; and the final hei, expansion.
The blessing’s words trace a flow from above the chain of worlds: “Blessed” draws it from the source of all blessing, “You” brings it into the revealed world, and “Havayah” is the whole chain through which it descends.
21וז״ש ברכת הוי״ה1 היא תעשיר ובאברהם כתיב והיה ברכה2 שהברכה היא בחי׳ הוי״ה ואח״כ אומרים אמ״ה שיומשך השפע למטה עד גם בבחי׳ מלך העולם שהיא בחי׳ מל׳ דאצי׳ שהיא בחי׳ תחתונה שבאצי׳ כנודע.
And this is what is written, “The blessing of Havayah, it makes rich”; and of Avraham it is written, “And be a blessing”: for the blessing is the level of Havayah. And afterward we say “our G‑d, King of the world,” so that the flow (shefa) be drawn downward, even to the level of “King of the world,” which is the level of Malchus (sovereignty) of Atzilus (Emanation), which is the lowest level in Atzilus, as is known.
So it says, “The blessing of Havayah, it makes rich,” and Avraham is told, “And be a blessing”: blessing is the level of Havayah. Then come the words “our G‑d, King of the world,” drawing the flow further down to Malchus of Atzilus, the lowest level of Atzilus.
אשר הוא בחי׳ תענוג העליון כמה שכתוב באשרי כי אשרוני בנות.3 בכדי לקדשנו במצותיו הקב״ה מניח תפילין4 כו׳ שהם מבחי׳ מהו״ע ית׳.
Asher (“who”) is the level of the supernal delight, as it is written, “In my happiness (be’oshri), for daughters have called me happy.” In order “to sanctify us with His commandments”: the Holy One, blessed be He, puts on tefillin, etc., which are from the level of His Being and Essence, may He be blessed.
Asher, “who,” is read as delight, like Leah’s words when she named Asher, “In my happiness (be’oshri), for daughters have called me happy.” That delight is “to sanctify us with His commandments,” which come from G‑d’s own Being, as the Talmud says that the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself puts on tefillin.
The rest of the blessing continues the descent, “our G‑d, King of the world” bringing the flow down to Malchus, while “who has sanctified us with His commandments” reaches up to the supernal delight and G‑d’s own Being, from which the mitzvos come.
In the Torah Ohr passage the Kehot note gives (Miketz), “the Holy One, blessed be He, puts on tefillin” shows that G‑d Himself is enclothed in the Torah and mitzvos, and “who has sanctified us with His commandments” is read to mean that the 248 mitzvos are the “limbs of the King,” one with the Infinite Light as a limb is one with the life within it.
Marei mekomos
- 1ברכת ה׳ היא תעשיר · Proverbs 10:22
- 2והיה ברכה · Genesis 12:2
- 3באשרי כי אשרוני בנות · Genesis 30:13
- 4הקב״ה מניח תפילין · Berakhot 6a:17–18
22ונמצא יש בהברכה בחי׳ רו״ש תחלה הוא השוב להמשיך השפע למטה עד בחי׳ מלך העולם ואח״כ הרצוא קדשנו במצותיו במהו״ע להמשיך משם למטה.
It follows that in the blessing there is the level of running and returning (ratzo vashov). First is the returning: to draw the flow down to the level of “King of the world.” And afterward the running: “who has sanctified us with His commandments,” into His Being and Essence, to draw down from there below.
So the blessing contains ratzo vashov, running and returning. First comes the “returning,” drawing the flow down to “King of the world”; then the “running,” “who has sanctified us with His commandments,” reaching into G‑d’s own Being in order to draw down from there.
And this is what is written, “Fortunate is the man who fears G‑d”: first the level of distance, that he is afraid to approach the holy — “Who am I, that I have come this far?”
The verse “Fortunate is the man who fears G‑d” shows the same order in a person. First comes distance: he is afraid to approach the holy, thinking, “Who am I, that I have come this far?”
The blessing moves in both directions, a descent to “King of the world” and an ascent into G‑d’s own Being; a person’s service follows the same pattern, beginning with awe that keeps its distance.
Marei mekomos
- 1אשרי איש ירא את ה׳ . . במצותיו חפץ מאד · Psalms 112:1
- 2מי אנכי כי באתי עד הלום · II Samuel 7:18
And afterward, “he desires His commandments greatly”: that is, it is true that I am not worthy of this, but nevertheless “he desires His commandments greatly.” And the reason there must be running and returning
Then comes “he desires His commandments greatly”: true, I am not worthy of this, and yet he greatly desires His mitzvos. The maamar now asks why there must be both running and returning.
כי כל המשכה מלמעלה צ״ל ע״י מטי ולא מטי תחלה בחי׳ הסתלקות שהוא ענין לא מטי ואח״כ התפשטות בחי׳ מטי.
is that every drawing down from above must come through “reaching and not reaching” (mati velo mati): first the level of withdrawal, which is the matter of “not reaching,” and afterward expansion, the level of “reaching.”
Every flow from above comes through “reaching and not reaching” (mati velo mati): first a withdrawal, the “not reaching,” and then an expansion, the “reaching.”
ולכן צ״ל אתעדל״ת ג״כ בחי׳ רו״ש וזהו ענין ערבים עלי ד״ס ששרש דברי חז״ל נמשך מבחי׳ סופר בחי׳ איה סופר
And therefore the arousal from below must also be [in] the mode of running and returning. And this is the meaning of “The words of the Scribes are sweet upon me”: for the root of the words of our Sages, of blessed memory, is drawn from the level of sofer (scribe), the level of “Where is the scribe?”
So the arousal from below, our own service, must also have running and returning. This explains “The words of the Scribes are sweet upon me”: the Sages’ words come from sofer, “Where is the scribe?”
שהוא למעלה מבחי׳ יינה של תורה שתושב״כ נק׳ ספר כו׳ וכמש״ל. ועמ״ש מענין ברכת המצות בפסוק ועשית בגדי קדש23 ע״ש:
which is above the level of the wine of the Torah, for the Written Torah is called sefer (book), etc., as explained above. And see what is written on the blessings over the mitzvos on the verse “And you shall make holy garments”; see there.
The scribe stands above the wine of the Torah, since the Written Torah is only the “book,” as explained at the start. For more on the blessings over the mitzvos, the maamar refers to the explanation of the verse “And you shall make holy garments.”
Since every flow from above comes by withdrawal and then expansion, our service too must run and return; the blessings, words of the Scribes rooted in “Where is the scribe?”, bring the encompassing sweetness that is “upon me.”
Marei mekomos
- 1במצותיו חפץ מאד · Psalms 112:1
- 2ועמ״ש . . בפסוק ועשית בגדי קדש · לקמן פב, ד.
- 3ועשית בגדי קדש · Exodus 28:2
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Every Jew carries a hidden love for G‑d that is beyond reason; keeping the mitzvos, the wine of the Torah, brings it into the open, and Shabbos reveals it too. A person’s service should run and return as the blessing does, as in “Fortunate is the man who fears G‑d”: first awe that keeps its distance, “Who am I, that I have come this far?”, and then, though he knows he is not worthy, “he desires His commandments greatly.”
Questions for discussion
- Why can the light of the prohibitive commandments be reached only by negating its opposite, and how does that explain why the Oral Torah was not written down?
- What is the difference between loving G‑d “because He is your life” and the self-sacrifice of “with all your soul”?
- How do the mitzvos, “the wine of the Torah,” bring out the hidden love, and why does Shabbos reveal it too?
- Why is the blessing over a mitzvah, a rabbinic enactment, “sweet upon me” more than the mitzvah itself?
- How do awe that keeps its distance and longing for the mitzvos fit together in “Fortunate is the man who fears G‑d … he desires His commandments greatly”?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being. ×3
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- ×8
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×17
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×1
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×5
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration. ×4
- The sitra achra (the other side)סטרא אחרא
- The realm opposed to holiness.
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- 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.
- Delightתענוג
- Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×1
- Self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh)מסירות נפש
- Giving oneself over entirely to G‑d.
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×2
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×2
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×2
- Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds. ×1
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds.
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×2