מי יתנך כאח לי וגו׳

1“Would that you were like a brother to me,” etc. This is the plea of the Congregation of Israel (Knesses Yisrael) to the Holy One, blessed be He, concerning the time of the exile. For when the Holy Temple stood, Israel were called brothers to the Omnipresent, as it is written, “For the sake of my brothers and my friends,” etc.

And afterwards it is written, “For the sake of the House of Havayah our G‑d.” That is to say: when are they called brothers? When the Holy Temple stands. Therefore she now pleads, “Would that you were like a brother to me,” etc.

The explanation is this. Of the cherubim that were in the Holy Temple it is written, “and their faces, each toward his brother.” Now, it is written, “And you shall make two cherubim,” etc., “one cherub from the end on this side,” etc.

The matter of the cherubim will be understood through what our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Chagigah 13b): “The face of a cherub is the face of a man” — “a large face and a small face” (apei ravrevei ve’apei zutrei).

For it is written, “And upon the likeness of the throne, a likeness like the appearance of a man.” This needs to be understood, for He has no bodily likeness. But the matter is that the Torah is called “man” (adam), as it is written, “This is the Torah: man,” and it is written, “And this is the Torah of man.”

2The explanation is this. Our Sages, of blessed memory, said that the entire Torah is the Names of the Holy One, blessed be He; and in the Zohar the Ten Sefiros are called “the mystery of the holy Name” (raza dishma kadisha).

The matter is, by way of analogy, like the name of a person who is called, for example, Avraham or Yaakov. This does not touch his being and essence; for a person’s essence and being is his intellect and his emotive attributes (middos), which belong to him even when he is by himself,

whereas his name he does not need when he is by himself; it is only his outer dimension (chitzoniyus), through which he turns to one who calls him by his name.

So too, relative to the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He: even the higher Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah), and needless to say the supernal emotive attributes, bear no comparison at all to His being and essence, may He be blessed; for His being and essence, may He be blessed, is exalted and uplifted beyond the bounds of the level of Chochmah. And the coming into being of the Ten Sefiros is called “the mystery of the holy Name,” for it is only a mere glimmer (he’arah), which does not touch the essence.

3Now, it is written, “Havayah, with Chochmah.” That is, the revelation of this glimmer, which is the level of the Name Havayah — as it is written, “I am Havayah, that is My Name” — is in the level of Chochmah; and through Chochmah the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, is drawn into all the nine Sefiros,

as the reason is explained in the Tanya (chapter 35, in the gloss). Therefore Chochmah is called “Man” (Adam), and is called Adam HaRishon (the first man), and in the Zohar it is called Adam Kadmaah (the primordial man), for it is written, “The beginning: Chochmah” (as explained above, in Parshas Yisro, in the discourse beginning “To understand the matter of the Patriarchs”).

For it is, by way of analogy, like the spreading forth and drawing down of light and life-force from the soul into the body: the revelation of the life-force as a whole, which is drawn from the soul, shines and is enclothed in the brain (mochin) in the head,

and through the brain a glimmer is afterwards drawn to each limb, according to the temperament and character proper to it, as explained in the Tanya (chapter 51).

It follows that the brain (mochin) is the life-force of the person in its general and collective expression. So it is, by way of analogy, above: the revelation of the light from the Infinite One, blessed be He, in its general and collective expression, is drawn into and enclothed in Chochmah, and through Chochmah the light is drawn into and enclothed in all the nine Sefiros.

(From this one will understand what was written above, in Parshas Yisro, in the discourse beginning “Remember”: that “He and His life-forces are one” refers to the enclothing of the Infinite Light in the level of Chochmah, whereas their enclothing in the emotive attributes is called “He and His vessels are one.”)

And therefore the Torah, which “comes forth from Chochmah,” is called “man” (adam). (And see what is written on the Zohar at the beginning of Parshas Toldos, 134b, and in the book Hadras Melech, page 79b.)

The 248 positive commandments are the 248 limbs, and the 365 prohibitions are the 365 sinews. And “Study is great, for it leads to deed,” for from the brain the light is drawn to every limb, as mentioned above. And this is [the meaning of] “The Torah is bound up with the Holy One, blessed be He.”

Now, this level of “man” is called “the great man” (adam hagadol) and “the large face” (apei ravrevei), for the higher Chochmah is the level of the Infinite One (Ein Sof),

as it is written, “And of His understanding there is no searching,” for He is the Knower and He is the Knowledge, etc. (And see Reishis Chochmah, chapter 1 of Sha’ar HaYirah, that “great” denotes the greatness of the spreading forth of the light in the level of the Infinite, etc.)

4But this is the Torah as it is above. For there to be a drawing down from the level of the higher Chochmah, to be enclothed in the Torah of the World of Beriah (which is the Torah before us, for “Talmud is in Beriah,” etc.), it must be through a tzimtzum (contraction).

This is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “He contracted His Shechinah (Divine Presence) between the poles of the Ark.” For since “the voice spoke” to Moshe from there, this was through His having contracted, etc.

This level is called “cherub,” “the small face” (apei zutrei), the level of “the small man” (adam hakatan) — as in the analogy of a child, in whom the revelation in his mind (mochin) is more contracted than in a grown man (adam hagadol).

And this is “one cherub from the end on this side”: a drawing down from above to below (as it is written, “From the end of the heavens is its going forth,” etc.; and the “sun” is the level of Torah — see the Zohar, Terumah, 137), to be the source and root for the drawing down of the light into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.

And [the second] “one cherub from the end on this side” is that, in order for this descent to come about, it is through an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata) in the recital of the Shema: to give over one’s soul in “One” and in “And you shall love.”

That is, through “Hear, O Israel”: to contemplate how Havayah is One — “I, Havayah, have not changed” — only that He spoke and the world came to be,

for “He commanded and they were created,” etc., and “All before Him is considered as nothing.” Therefore, through this contemplation one will come to self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh), to be [in the state of] “And besides You I desire nothing.”

Therefore Knesses Yisrael is called kallah (bride), a term related to kelos hanefesh, the soul’s expiring [in longing], from below upward. And this is the level of the cherub “from the end on this side”: to ascend from Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah to be included in the Infinite Light, “to gaze upon the glory of the King.”

And this is “Our eyes are lifted up to G‑d” (and for Nukva it is called “shamor” (“keep”); see what is written above in the discourse beginning “Remember the day,” etc.). And through this, “as water [reflects] the face,” there is drawn from above as well “the eyes of Havayah your G‑d are upon it,” etc.

And this is “And you shall make two cherubim,” etc. (See what is written on [the verse] “The Song of Songs” on the meaning of groom and bride, and on “You have captured my heart”; and see the Zohar, Parshas Balak, page 187, the matter of “she made herself small,” etc.) “From the cover you shall make the cherubim”: [the cover] is the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), which encompasses both of them equally

(as was written above, that the Infinite Light, blessed be He, is exceedingly high above, even above the level of the higher Chochmah, and all the more so above the level of the cherubim and the small face. And see what is written on [the verse] “For over [all] the glory, a canopy”: the matter of two levels of glory, and the canopy, the encompassing [light] above them. And this is the matter of the two cherubim and the cover).

5Now, it is written, “And the cherubim shall spread their wings upward,” etc. And it is stated in the Zohar, Parshas Acharei (page 59a), and in Vayechi (end of page 228b): “Three times a day,” etc., “they raise their wings of their own accord,” etc.

And the Ramaz (Rabbi Moshe Zacuto) explains there that this means at the time of the three daily prayers: at the time of each of the three prayers mentioned, they ascend from Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah upward, into Atzilus.

And this is “they raise their wings”: it is through the arousal of the love and awe that are in Israel, for love and awe are called “wings” (gadpin), “and it flies upward.” (See what the Ramaz writes in Parshas Acharei there on the matter of “with their wings”; and see the Zohar, Parshas Balak, page 204b:

“The first light,” etc., “supernal wings”; and the first light is “abundant in kindness” (rav chesed). In the service of G‑d, it is the great love (ahavah rabbah) that is above intellect.

And see what was written above, in Parshas Yisro, on the matter of “The Patriarchs are the chariot.”) And this is the matter of the cherubim “sheltering with their wings over the cover,” in which were the Tablets and the Torah. Then they are called “the great man” (adam hagadol) and “the large face” (apei ravrevei), since they ascend to Atzilus, where “He and His life-forces and His vessels are one within them.”

Therefore tefillah (prayer) is a term for joining, as in “With joinings… I have been joined” (naftulei… niftalti); and in the language of the Mishnah, “one who joins (hatofel) an earthenware vessel.” For they are joined with their source in the World of Atzilus.

So too in the service of G‑d: it is the binding and cleaving of the soul to its root (as written in the discourse beginning “My dove”). Therefore the cherubim have wings, to fly upward to Atzilus, etc.; and through this, “their faces, each toward his brother,” for there they are united face to face,

as at the Giving of the Torah, of which it is written, “Face to face G‑d spoke” (see this matter in the discourse beginning “And I was beside Him as a nursling”). Therefore they are called brothers. And this is “For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now speak peace.”

“Peace” means the joining and binding of the two cherubim, etc. (And see what the Ramaz writes in Parshas Acharei on the Zohar, page 59b:

“Now, they are called brothers,” etc.: that is, Knesses Yisrael receives mochin from the supernal Chochmah and Binah, which are the level of “the great man,” as mentioned above, not through being enclothed in the level of the cherub and Z’eir Anpin, etc.

And see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 35, chapter 2, “the sixth level,” etc.) Therefore there were then, in Israel, great sages, and prophecy and the holy spirit (ruach hakodesh).

6But since the Holy Temple was destroyed and the cherubim were hidden away (for the glimmer from Atzilus that is called “the small face” (apei zutrei), which used to shine below, in Asiyah itself, withdrew to its root and source in Atzilus; and this is what is said in the Gemara (Rosh HaShanah 31a), “and from cherub to cherub,” etc.),

therefore this is the plea of Knesses Yisrael, “Would that you were like a brother to me,” as it was in the time of the Holy Temple, when they were in the state of brothers, and also “their faces, each toward his brother.”

And this comes about through occupation with Torah, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Since the Holy Temple was destroyed, the Holy One, blessed be He, has only the four cubits of halachah.”

(See Tanya, chapter 53; and see what was written above in the discourse beginning “Sing and rejoice,” on the meaning of “He did not cease to cherish her until He called her ‘My sister.’”) And this is “nursing at my mother’s breasts”: the level of the Oral Torah, which is the level of the revelation of His very wisdom and will, may He be blessed.

(If so, the person who comprehends the halachah grasps and comprehends His very wisdom, may He be blessed, for He is the Knower and He is the Knowledge, etc.

Therefore, through this, they are called “brothers,” for both receive from one source, from the level of the supernal Chochmah and Binah: just as Z’eir Anpin receives mochin from Abba and Imma, so the one who occupies himself with Torah grasps the level of His Chochmah and Binah, may He be blessed.)

This is why the Torah is called milk, as it is written, “Come, buy,” etc., “wine and milk.” For, by way of analogy, a child at birth is utterly small,

and through nursing on his mother’s milk his limbs grow, and the mochin of nursing (yenikah) are also completed in him, which is why he begins to speak and to walk, etc.

7So too the souls: before they come into this world, they were first in the state of gestation (ibbur), in the level of Malchus, the lower Imma. And this is “As G‑d lives, before Whom I stood.” And the descent of the soul from there into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, to be enclothed in a body, is called “birth.”

And this is “Today I have given birth to you.” And the Torah that one studies in this world is called milk, for it makes the 248 limbs of the soul grow; these are the nine Sefiros, nine times nine, etc., as is written on [the verse] “Chachlili,” etc.

Therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Fortunate is he who comes here with his learning in his hand”: for through this the soul comes into a state of growth far higher in degree than it was at first, in its descent, which is called “birth,”

for through his having nursed from his mother’s breasts, which is the level of “with his learning in his hand,” great growth takes place in it, etc. (And see what is written on [the verse] “On Mount Sinai” on the meaning of “with his learning in his hand.”)

8But we need to understand how it can apply above, to the Holy One, blessed be He, to be “like a brother” who nurses, as it were, from a person’s occupation with Torah below.

But the matter is as it is written, “Shepherd (ro’eh) of Israel,” and it is written, “My sister, my companion (rayasi),” meaning “my sustainer” (parnasasi): “Israel sustain their Father in heaven.” For just as the effect of bread is to join the soul with the body,

so “sustenance” above is to draw the revelation of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, into the Ten Sefiros of Atzilus, which are called “bodies.” For even the higher Chochmah bears no comparison at all to the Infinite One, blessed be He; and that [the light] be drawn and enclothed in them comes about through occupation with Torah below.

9And this is the meaning of what is written, “Behold, this is our G‑d; we hoped (kivinu) for Him.” The meaning is that we drew Him down in the manner of lines (kavin): that is, the enclothing of the light in the Ten Sefiros, which are divided into three lines — “Chesed is the right arm,” etc. —

and corresponding to them are three levels: Torah, service (avodah) and acts of kindness (gemilus chassadim). In the time to come all the drawings-down will be revealed; therefore “And it will be said on that day, ‘Behold,’” etc.

But the reason it says specifically “nursing at my mother’s breasts,” which is the level of the Oral Torah, is that the Written Torah is called “the instruction of your father,” and the Oral Torah is called “the teaching of your mother” (as explained in the discourse beginning “On the eighth day, an assembly”),

for in the Written Torah everything is merely by allusion. And just as the father sows a drop, etc., while the main growth of the child is in the mother’s womb,

so the revelation of the particulars of the laws in their full clarity is in the Oral Torah. And this is [the meaning of] “the Torah” — the Written Torah — “comes forth from Chochmah,” which is called Abba (Father),

while the Oral Torah is the level of Binah, which is called Imma (Mother). Now, the main revelation of the delight of intellect is in Binah, when one understands the matter in its full clarity,

as is written in the Zohar on [the verse] “And the Levite, he (hu), shall serve” (and in Etz Chaim, that the revelation of Atik is in Binah; and see what is written in Parshas Lech Lecha regarding the hei of Avraham, and in Parshas Va’eira on [the verse] “Therefore say”): “This is Atik,” etc.

And this is why it says specifically “nursing at my mother’s breasts” (for milk gladdens the child and delights him). Through this a revelation of delight is drawn from Him, may He be blessed, into Gan Eden, that they may enjoy the radiance, etc.; and “the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to delight with the righteous in Gan Eden.” And all this is through occupation with Torah.

As our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Whoever studies laws every day is assured that he is destined for the World to Come.” This is explained at length in Iggeres HaKodesh, in the discourse beginning “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband.”

10“I would find you outside” refers to businesspeople. Although they cannot occupy themselves with Torah constantly, so as to be in the state of “nursing at my mother’s breasts” through the four cubits of halachah, nevertheless it is said of them that, nevertheless, “I would find you outside” too.

(So that they too are in the state of “like a brother to me,” etc., as [explained] below.) The explanation: we find that the term “acquirer” (koneh) is also said of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, “Acquirer of heaven and earth.”

And our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, acquired five acquisitions.” For it is written, “Six days G‑d made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested.”

11And every Shabbos is called “the seventh day”: “a Shabbos to Havayah.” Seemingly, how can the Shabbosos of now be called “the seventh day,”

when myriads of days have already passed from the day the world was created until these Shabbosos? How can Shabbos be called “the seventh day”?

But [the answer is] that the six days are six supernal attributes, in which and through which the worlds came into being: the first day, “Let there be light,” is the level of Chesed, etc. And afterwards, on the day of Shabbos, is their ascent to their root and source, exceedingly high above.

12So too it is every single Shabbos: during the six workdays the attributes descend into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah to refine, etc.,

and afterwards, on the day of Shabbos, is their ascent and the ascent of the worlds. The ascent is specifically on the seventh day and through the seventh attribute, which is the level of Malchus

(see Pri Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 1, chapter 7: for the ascent must begin from below, just as when one raises a building, one raises it from below, and through this the whole of it rises of itself, etc.; and further, because “their end is wedged in their beginning” — “I am first and I am last,” etc.).

And this is “And the heavens were completed (vayechulu),” etc., a term related to “My soul yearned (kalsah),” “Come, my beloved, to greet the bride (kallah),” etc., “Come, O bride,” etc. Therefore in the blessing Me’ein Sheva on Shabbos eve we say, “Acquirer of heaven and earth.”

For the ascent of the worlds on Shabbos, when all that was refined during the six workdays rises to be included above on Shabbos, is like the analogy of a purchase: the buyer first gives money to the seller, and through this he afterwards receives the object he is buying into his possession.

So too, through the descent of the supernal attributes during the six workdays to refine sparks — through this there comes about on Shabbos a drawing-down and an ascent from “the mountains of separation” to the private domain (reshus hayachid) of the Only One of the world.

And this is the matter of the acquisition of the Holy One, blessed be He. Along these lines, too, is the matter of the exile of Israel in Egypt and in Babylon: through it the sparks that fell there are elevated, and these are the very souls of Rabbi Akiva, Rabbi Meir [and] Ovadiah (and see what was written above, in Parshas Beshalach, [on] “When Pharaoh sent”).

In the same way it is said in the Shema, “And you shall gather in your grain,” etc.: to gather it into the level of “One” and “And you shall love.” That is, one engages in commerce to support himself and his household, which is a descent;

but through this an ascent afterwards comes about, when he prays with the strength of the food and says “One” and “And you shall love,” and [comes] to self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) in “One.” Therefore prayer is called “the continual burnt-offering” (olas tamid): the ascent of the sparks upward, etc. And all the weekday prayers are elevated in the Shabbos prayer.

13And this is what is said, “I would find you outside”: businesspeople, too, will find Him outside, since through their dealings the sparks are elevated into “One.” And all Israel fulfill this, for it is the law of the Gemara that the first paragraph of the Shema requires intention (kavanah), and according to all opinions the first verse requires intention.

This is the matter of self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) in “One.” And every Jew has this level: even though he does not have self-sacrifice in actuality, he has self-sacrifice in potential, for even the lowest of the low is capable of self-sacrifice, etc.

And through this all his dealings are elevated to G‑d, Who is One. If so, this commerce and business are akin to, and along the lines of, His being called, may He be blessed, “Acquirer of heaven and earth”

(and therefore he is in the state of “like a brother to me”; and see what is written on [the verse] “And Yaakov dwelt,” on the meaning of “And from there you will seek,” etc., “and you will find,” etc.).

Indeed, on the contrary, of them it is said, “I would kiss you”: the level of kisses, which is “the cleaving of spirit to spirit,” through the prayers of the businessman,

which is the level of subjugation (iskafya) and of “the advantage of light out of darkness”; it arouses and draws down from a very high place (see what is written in Parshas Noach, in the discourse beginning “Many waters,” etc.),

a level whose revelation is only in the manner of kisses — as in the analogy of kisses, where, because of the intensity of the love, which one cannot express in speech, it is enclothed in the breath of the kisses, etc.

(See what is written in the discourse beginning “The Song of Songs,” on the meaning of “Let him kiss me,” etc. The explanation is that the state of “like a brother to me” that comes through “nursing at my mother’s breasts” means that their nursing is from one root, namely from the Torah, which is the level of Chochmah and Binah, etc., which are called Abba and Imma.

However, through the businesspeople’s subjugation (iskafya) and their nullification (bittul) of “something” into “nothing,” “the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, is elevated above”: the light is drawn from the level of “nothing” (ayin), which is the source of the Torah, as it is written, “And wisdom, from nothing (ayin) is it found,” etc., and this revelation is drawn into Z’eir Anpin, etc.

If so, they are in the state of “like a brother to me,” for both receive from one root, and that root is higher than the level of “his mother’s breasts,” etc.: it is the level of Keser, which is above Chochmah and Binah. And this is the matter of Zevulun preceding Yissachar.

Now, it is written, “And Lavan kissed his sons”: these are the tribes, who are also called sons of the Supernal Whiteness (Loven HaElyon), for “grandchildren are like children,” etc. So too, the state of “like a brother to me” is possible in their receiving from the level of “nothing” (ayin), the source of Chochmah and Binah, which are called Abba and Imma, etc.

And see something similar in the Pardes, Sha’ar 5, chapter 3, in the name of the Beis Yosef: “and Malchus comes forth,” etc., “and for this reason Avraham said,” etc. And see what was written above in the explanation of the matter of “Your brothers shall acknowledge you,” etc., and the matter of “your father’s sons,” etc.)

“I would lead you, I would bring you into my mother’s house”: this is the level of Torah, for the businessman, too, must set times for Torah.

For although their main service is through deed — in the manner of subjugation (iskafya), and in the deed of charity — nevertheless the drawing-down must be in order: it is enclothed first in thought and speech, and afterwards in deed.

And thought and speech — this is the level of the businessmen’s set times for Torah. (And the main revelation of kisses is through setting times for Torah; see Tanya, chapter 45.)

Therefore, of those devoted to Torah it is said, “nursing at my mother’s breasts,” which is an expression of constancy, for it is written, “And you shall meditate in it day and night.”

And of businesspeople, who have only set times, it is said, “I would lead you, I would bring you into my mother’s house.” (One may further explain “I would lead you” in another way: since the root of their drawing-down is from a level above Chochmah and Binah, as mentioned above, therefore it says, “I would lead you,” etc.,

“into,” etc.: that he draws down from a higher level to the level of “my mother,” etc. And this is “you would teach me”: for from so high a place it is impossible to be anything but a recipient, as in “And My words that I have put in your mouth,” etc.) “I would give you to drink of the spiced wine.”

Now, wine “gladdens Elokim.” And wine is the level of “the wine of the Torah,” which is the level of Binah, the level of the Oral Torah. And its gladdening Elokim means this:

Elokim is the attribute of tzimtzum (contraction), so that there be concealment and hiding; and by drawing down from the level of Binah, which is the level of joy, one brings about the revelation of the concealed, etc., so that it will not hide and conceal.

14And this is “I would give you to drink of wine.” But “spiced wine” means that it has a good fragrance in it. For fragrance has its root in a high place: it is the level of the encompassing [light] (makif), and it is above the level of food, for food is for the body,

whereas fragrance, our Sages, of blessed memory, said, is something the soul enjoys and not the body. This is because it is the level of the supernal delight, which is not grasped and enclothed in vessels.

Now, this is the advantage and superiority of the businessman’s setting times for Torah, which is the level of subjugation (iskafya), over those who dwell in the tents [of Torah]. Therefore their Torah study is called “spiced wine,” for fragrance comes specifically from something sharp and sour, etc.

(And see on the matter of fragrance, on [the verse] “See, the fragrance of my son.”) For this wine, although it is a drink, which is the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus), also has fragrance and the level of the encompassing [light] (makif), etc.

And one who cannot study at all, and [cannot] set times for Torah — of him too it is said, “of the juice of my pomegranates,” along the lines of our Sages’ saying on the verse “Your temple (rakasech) is like a slice of pomegranate”: that even the empty ones (reikanin) among you are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate.

For “empty ones” does not mean sinners and rebels, G‑d forbid, but only that they have no Torah in them, yet they are full of mitzvos and proper conduct (derech eretz).

And the mitzvos, too, arouse a revelation of the supernal delight, as is known from the matter of “the fragrance of your garments,” etc., for “their beginning is wedged in their end.”

Therefore it is called “the juice of my pomegranates,” which also restores the soul. (Therefore pomegranates hung on the robe (me’il), for the robe is the level of “a robe of righteousness (tzedakah),” etc., as is written elsewhere on [the verse] “I will greatly rejoice,” etc., “He has wrapped me in a robe of righteousness”; see there.)