Torah Ohr · Parshas Toldos · Maamar 4
ויחפרו עבדי יצחק בנחל כו׳
“And Yitzchak’s servants dug in the valley… a well that princes dug”
The big idea
The G‑dliness a person draws down in the morning through the Shema, prayer and Torah study goes “underground” during a day of worldly business; mitzvos done with a humbled heart bring it up again as a well of living water, all the sweeter for having passed through the earth of the body.
The maamar in brief
The Talmud teaches that the Perat is the original river of Eden and that every spring is fed from it underground. Why, then, is a well called “living water” if its water is really the river’s? The Alter Rebbe answers with the river that goes out from Eden to water the garden, the Torah. Accepting G‑d’s kingship in the Shema draws G‑dliness down, and it finds its place in the Torah studied right after prayer. But a working day covers it over: the body’s concerns and one’s limited understanding push the morning’s awareness out of mind. For this G‑d gave the practical mitzvos, holy in their own root and effective without special intentions. The one intention asked is to reflect how far one is from G‑d and to be humbled, while still wanting to come close. Then the mitzvah brings the hidden river up through the “earth” of the body, and like well water refined by passing through soil it becomes living water, sweet to the one who is hungry for G‑d. This is why the Arizal rejoiced so much in mitzvos, and this is the “well that princes dug.”
Outline
- The river beneath every springThe Perat is the original river; all springs are fed from it underground, so a little digging finds living water.¶1
- The river from Eden: accepting G‑d’s unityWhy call a well “living” if it comes from a river? The river of Eden is the acceptance of G‑d’s kingship in the Shema, which needs a place to rest.¶2
- Torah, the day, and the mitzvosG‑d’s unity rests in the Torah; the day hides it; the mitzvos, holy in themselves and done with a broken heart, bring it up again like water through earth.¶3
- The living well in practiceRelying on the morning’s commitment, a person does mitzvos all day, and the little he does is sweet to him.¶4–5
- The Arizal’s joy and the hungry soulJoy in mitzvos born of humility; to the hungry every bitter thing is sweet; this is “a well that princes dug.”¶6
Key concepts
- A well of living waterבאר מים חיים
- Spring water fed from a hidden river and refined by passing through the earth; the image of a mitzvah done in the middle of a worldly day.
- A river goes out from Edenנהר יוצא מעדן
- The drawing down of G‑dliness from G‑d Himself (“Eden”), brought about by accepting His kingship in the Shema and prayer.
- The gardenגן
- Numerically 53, the fifty-three portions of the Torah: the place where G‑d’s unity rests.
- Accepting the yoke of the kingship of Heavenקבלת עול מלכות שמים
- The complete faith and acceptance of G‑d’s unity and rule, above all in the Shema; the first step of divine service.
- Mitzvos do not require intentionמצות אין צריכות כוונה
- The mitzvos are holy in their own root and draw down G‑dliness by themselves, not by virtue of the doer’s spiritual state.
- Humilityענוה / שפלות
- Feeling how far one is from G‑d and seeing others as closer to Him; the source of the Arizal’s joy in the mitzvos.
The river beneath every spring ¶1
1ויחפרו עבדי יצחק בנחל כו׳. באר חפרוה שרים1 וגו׳. דהנה איתא בגמ׳ ע״פ והנהר הרביעי הוא פרת2 הוא דמעיקרא3 שממנו נפרדו לארבעה ראשים דהיינו ג׳ יצאו ממנו והרביעי
“And Yitzchak’s servants dug in the valley,” etc. “A well that princes dug,” etc. For behold, it is stated in the Gemara on [the verse] “And the fourth river, it is Perat”: “It is the one from the beginning,” from which [the river] parted into four heads; that is, three went out from it, and the fourth
The maamar opens with two verses about wells: Yitzchak’s servants digging in the valley and finding living water (Genesis 26:19), and the Song of the Well sung by Israel in the desert. To explain them it turns to a Talmudic teaching on the four rivers that flow out of Eden, the fourth of which is the Perat (Euphrates): the Perat is “the one from the beginning,” the original river from which the others branched off.
הוא בעצמו ואמרו כל הנהרות למטה מפרת וכל מעיינות שבעולם נובעים מסולמא דפרת פי׳ מתחת לקרקע נוקב והולך עד שבחפירה מועטת ימצא באר מים חיים4.
is [Perat] itself. And they said: All the rivers are lower than Perat, and all the springs in the world well up from the ladder of Perat. Meaning: beneath the ground it bores its way onward, until with a little digging one finds a well of living water.
The Talmud adds that all rivers lie lower than the Perat and that every spring in the world is fed from it along an underground “ladder.” The Alter Rebbe reads this as a picture: the Perat’s water runs beneath the earth, so that wherever one digs a little, one strikes a well of “living water,” fresh spring water.
The maamar sets up its central image: every well of living water is really fed from a great river (the Perat) flowing beneath the ground, and a little digging brings it up.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
באר חפרוה שרים
How it connects
From the Song of the Well that Israel sang in the desert. The maamar returns to this verse at its close.our note
The source
Numbers 21:18במדבר כ״א:י״חSefaria (opens in a new tab)17אָז יָשִׁיר יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת עֲלִי בְאֵר עֱנוּ־לָהּ: 18בְּאֵר חֲפָרוּהָ שָׂרִים כָּרוּהָ נְדִיבֵי הָעָם בִּמְחֹקֵק בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָם וּמִמִּדְבָּר מַתָּנָה: 19וּמִמַּתָּנָה נַחֲלִיאֵל וּמִנַּחֲלִיאֵל בָּמוֹת:
17Then sang Israel this song: Spring up, O well—sing ye unto it— 18The well, which the princes digged, Which the nobles of the people delved, With the sceptre, and with their staves. And from the wilderness to Mattanah; 19and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth;
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
והנהר הרביעי הוא פרת
How it connects
The verse naming the fourth of the rivers that go out from Eden, which the Talmud expounds.our note
The source
Genesis 2:14בראשית ב׳:י״דSefaria (opens in a new tab)13וְשֵׁם־הַנָּהָר הַשֵּׁנִי גִּיחוֹן הוּא הַסּוֹבֵב אֵת כׇּל־אֶרֶץ כּוּשׁ: 14וְשֵׁם הַנָּהָר הַשְּׁלִישִׁי חִדֶּקֶל הוּא הַהֹלֵךְ קִדְמַת אַשּׁוּר וְהַנָּהָר הָרְבִיעִי הוּא פְרָת: 15וַיִּקַּח ה׳ אֱלֹקִים אֶת־הָאָדָם וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְגַן־עֵדֶן לְעׇבְדָהּ וּלְשׇׁמְרָהּ:
13… the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush. 14And the name of the third river is Tigris; that is it which goeth toward the east of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to …
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
הוא דמעיקרא
How it connects
The Talmud explains “it is Perat” as “it is the one from the beginning,” and teaches that all rivers are lower than the Perat and all springs are fed from it.our note
The source
Bekhorot 55b:2–4בכורות נ״ה ב:ב׳-ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)וְהָא כְּתִיב: ״וְהַנָּהָר הָרְבִיעִי הוּא פְרָת״! אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק, וְאִיתֵּימָא רַב אַחָא בַּר יַעֲקֹב: הוּא פְּרָת דְּמֵעִיקָּרָא. תַּנְיָא, רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: ״יוּבַל״ שְׁמוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְהָיָה כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל מַיִם וְעַל יוּבַל יְשַׁלַּח שׇׁרָשָׁיו״, וְלָמָּה נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ ״פְּרָת״? שֶׁמֵּימָיו פָּרִים וְרָבִים.
Hebrew: William Davidson, Vocalized Aramaic (CC-BY-NC) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 4
How it connects
Yitzchak’s servants dig in the valley and find a well of living water. The maamar will read their digging as the work of serving G‑d through the body.our note
The source
Genesis 26:19בראשית כ״ו:י״טSefaria (opens in a new tab)18… חָפְרוּ בִּימֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיו וַיְסַתְּמוּם פְּלִשְׁתִּים אַחֲרֵי מוֹת אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקְרָא לָהֶן שֵׁמוֹת כַּשֵּׁמֹת אֲשֶׁר־קָרָא לָהֶן אָבִיו: 19וַיַּחְפְּרוּ עַבְדֵי־יִצְחָק בַּנָּחַל וַיִּמְצְאוּ־שָׁם בְּאֵר מַיִם חַיִּים: 20וַיָּרִיבוּ רֹעֵי גְרָר עִם־רֹעֵי יִצְחָק לֵאמֹר לָנוּ הַמָּיִם וַיִּקְרָא שֵׁם־הַבְּאֵר עֵשֶׂק כִּי הִתְעַשְּׂקוּ עִמּוֹ:
18… Abraham; and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. 19And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of living water. 20And the herdmen of Gerar strove with Isaac’s herdmen, saying: ‘The water is ours.’ And he …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
The river from Eden: accepting G‑d’s unity ¶2
2ולכאורה תמוה מפני מה יקרא באר מים חיים כיון שעיקר נביעתו הוא מנהר פרת. והענין דהנה כתיב ונהר יוצא מעדן להשקות את הגן1 כו׳
At first glance it is puzzling: why should it be called a well of living water, since the essence of its welling up is from the river Perat? The explanation is this. Behold, it is written, “And a river goes out from Eden to water the garden,” etc.
The question: if a well’s water really comes from the Perat, why is it called “living water,” as if it were a source of its own? To answer, the Alter Rebbe turns to the river that goes out from Eden to water the garden, the source of all four rivers.
ג״ן סדרי דאורייתא פי׳ כידוע שבתחלה צריך לקבל עומ״ש בשלימות דהיינו להאמין באמונה שלימה באחדות ה׳
“The garden” (gan): the fifty-three orders of the Torah. Meaning: as is known, at first one must accept the yoke of the kingship of Heaven completely, that is, believe with complete faith in the unity of G‑d,
The Zohar reads the letters of gan (“garden,” גן, numerically 53) as the fifty-three weekly portions of the Torah. The explanation begins from the first step of divine service: accepting the “yoke of the kingship of Heaven” (kabbalas ol), a complete faith that G‑d is one.
שהוא המהווה כל העולמות וכולא קמיה כלא חשיב וכולא חד כו׳ וכאשר יתבונן האדם בק״ש וישים ללבו היטיב ענין האחדות ויקבל עליו באמת עול מל׳
that He brings all the worlds into being, and all before Him is considered as nothing, and all is one, etc. And when a person contemplates during the Shema and sets his heart well upon the matter of [G‑d’s] unity, and truly accepts upon himself the yoke of [His] kingship —
That faith has content: G‑d brings every world into being, all of creation is as nothing before Him, and all is one with Him. A person takes this on especially in the Shema, when he dwells on G‑d’s unity and sincerely accepts G‑d as King.
כי יעקב חבל נחלתו2 חפצם לדבקה בו בכל לבבם ומאמינים באחד וחפצים בו אבל אין מקום שישרה בו בחי׳ אחד לאחר שקבל עליו.
for “Yaakov is the lot of His inheritance”: their desire is to cleave to Him with all their heart, and they believe in the One and desire Him — yet there is no place in which the level of “One” may rest within him after he has accepted [it] upon himself.
The verse “Yaakov is the lot of His inheritance” describes every Jew: deep down each one wants to cleave to G‑d and believes in Him. But the paragraph ends on a problem: having accepted G‑d’s unity in the Shema, where can that “One” actually settle and stay within a person?
The paragraph asks why well water is called “living” if it comes from a river, and begins the answer with the river of Eden: the acceptance of G‑d’s unity in the Shema, which needs a place to rest.
The phrase “all before Him is considered as nothing” is the Zohar’s formula for G‑d’s unity, the theme the Alter Rebbe develops in Tanya’s Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah; here it is the content of the acceptance of G‑d’s kingship in the Shema.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
ונהר יוצא מעדן להשקות את הגן
How it connects
The river that goes out from Eden to water the garden and then divides into four heads. The maamar reads it as the drawing down of G‑dliness into the Torah.our note
The source
Genesis 2:10בראשית ב׳:י׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)9וַיַּצְמַח ה׳ אֱלֹקִים מִן־הָאֲדָמָה כׇּל־עֵץ נֶחְמָד לְמַרְאֶה וְטוֹב לְמַאֲכָל וְעֵץ הַחַיִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַגָּן וְעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע: 10וְנָהָר יֹצֵא מֵעֵדֶן לְהַשְׁקוֹת אֶת־הַגָּן וּמִשָּׁם יִפָּרֵד וְהָיָה לְאַרְבָּעָה רָאשִׁים: 11שֵׁם הָאֶחָד פִּישׁוֹן הוּא הַסֹּבֵב אֵת כׇּל־אֶרֶץ הַחֲוִילָה אֲשֶׁר־שָׁם הַזָּהָב:
9… in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four heads. 11The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasseth the whole land 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.
- 2
On the words
כי יעקב חבל נחלתו
How it connects
Israel is G‑d’s own portion. The Alter Rebbe takes it to mean that every Jew inwardly desires to cleave to G‑d.our note
The source
Deuteronomy 32:9דברים ל״ב:ט׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)8בְּהַנְחֵל עֶלְיוֹן גּוֹיִם בְּהַפְרִידוֹ בְּנֵי אָדָם יַצֵּב גְּבֻלֹת עַמִּים לְמִסְפַּר בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: 9כִּי חֵלֶק Havayah עַמּוֹ יַעֲקֹב חֶבֶל נַחֲלָתוֹ: 10יִמְצָאֵהוּ בְּאֶרֶץ מִדְבָּר וּבְתֹהוּ יְלֵל יְשִׁמֹן יְסֹבְבֶנְהוּ יְבוֹנְנֵהוּ יִצְּרֶנְהוּ כְּאִישׁוֹן עֵינוֹ:
8… He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. 9For the portion of the LORD is His people, Jacob the lot of His inheritance. 10He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, a howling wilderness; He compassed …
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.
Torah, the day, and the mitzvos ¶3
3ואין לו מקום אלא בתורה שהיינו שמיד אחר קבלת מ״ש ילמוד בעיון מחשבתו ושכלו ודבורו בתורה שבע״פ וקודם למודו יתבונן באחדות ה׳ כו׳
And it has no place except in the Torah. That is: immediately after accepting the kingship of Heaven, he should study the Oral Torah in depth, with his thought, his intellect and his speech; and before his study he should contemplate the unity of G‑d, etc.
The answer to the problem: G‑d’s unity finds its place only in the Torah. So right after accepting G‑d’s kingship (in the Shema and prayer), one should study the Oral Torah in depth, preceded by a moment of contemplating G‑d’s unity.
ועי״ז יגרום לו העסק בתורה בכל עומק מחשבתו ולבבו וכו׳ וזהו נק׳ ונהר יוצא מעדן1 פי׳ מעדן מעם הקב״ה שנק׳ עדן ונהר הוא לשון המשכה
And through this, engagement in Torah with all the depth of his thought and his heart, etc., will come about for him. And this is called “And a river goes out from Eden.” Meaning: “from Eden” — from the Holy One, blessed be He, who is called “Eden”; and “river” is a term for drawing down.
That contemplation makes his Torah study wholehearted and deep. This is the “river that goes out from Eden”: Eden is G‑d Himself, and “river” means a drawing down, a flow of G‑dliness from its source.
פי׳ כאשר יומשך אלהות מלמעל׳ למטה בקבל׳ מ״ש המשכה זאת משקה את הגן היא התורה שהיא ד׳ אמות של הלכה במקום קדשי קדשים אורייתא היכלא דמלכא שבה שורה אחדות ה׳ כו׳
Meaning: when G‑dliness is drawn down from above to below through the acceptance of the kingship of Heaven, this drawing-down waters the garden, which is the Torah, which is “the four cubits of halachah,” in the place of the Holy of Holies — “the Torah is the King’s palace” — in which the unity of G‑d rests, etc.
The G‑dliness drawn down through accepting G‑d’s kingship “waters the garden,” the Torah. The Talmud calls halachah G‑d’s “four cubits,” His place in the world, like the Holy of Holies, and the Zohar calls the Torah “the King’s palace”: it is the place where G‑d’s unity dwells.
כאשר יתקיים בו בחי׳ נהר יוצא מעדן בתפלתו ושעור למודו מיד אחר התפלה אבל אח״כ צריך לעסוק בכל מחשבתו כו׳
When the level of “a river goes out from Eden” is fulfilled in him in his prayer and in his set study immediately after prayer — but afterwards he must occupy all his thought, etc.,
This “river from Eden” is present during prayer and the study session that follows it. But the day goes on, and a person must turn his whole mind to other things.
בעניני עולם השפל ושוכח כל התבוננותו בקבלת מ״ש מפני גשמיות גופו על מעוט דעת שלו ויתרחק מאד מבחינה שהיה לו דעת בתפלתו ועבודתו בתורה כו׳
with the affairs of the lowly world, and he forgets all his contemplation in accepting the kingship of Heaven because of the physicality of his body, on account of his meager understanding (daas), and he becomes very distant from the state in which he had understanding in his prayer and his service in Torah, etc. —
Busy with the affairs of this lowly world, he forgets the contemplation of the morning. The body’s physicality and his limited daas (the ability to hold an idea firmly in mind) leave him far from the awareness he had in prayer and study.
לכך נתן לנו מצות לעשותם כל היום כי ענין המצות מעשיות הם הגבה למעלה מעלה בפנימיותם2 ושרשם
therefore He gave us mitzvos to perform all day. For the matter of the practical mitzvos is that they are lofty, exceedingly high in their inner dimension (pnimiyus) and their root,
For this G‑d gave us mitzvos, practical commandments to be done throughout the day. In their inner dimension and root they are very high, higher than the level a person reaches through his own understanding.
אך3 שנתלבשו בכמה לבושים בהשתלשלות העולמות כו׳ ומ״מ רומזים על מדרגה הגבוה שבשרש׳ כמו מצות4 ציצי׳ שענינה למעלה בעולמות עליונים ונתלבשה מצותה בשמונה חוטין של צמר וה׳ קשרים כו׳
only they have been clothed in many garments in the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), etc. Nevertheless, they allude to the lofty level that is in their root: for example, the mitzvah of tzitzis, whose meaning is on high in the supernal worlds, and its mitzvah has been clothed in eight threads of wool and five knots, etc.
They come down through many “garments,” the chain of descending worlds, until they take physical form; yet the physical form still points to its lofty root. Tzitzis are the example: a mitzvah whose meaning is in the highest worlds is clothed in eight woollen threads and five knots.
ולכן המצות לא תצטרך להם עבודת האדם לתקנם ולכוון אל אמתתם כי מצות א״צ כוונה לפי שהן בעצמם מתוקנים ונשתלשלו ממעלה למטה כו׳ והעושה המצוה המשכת אלהות שגורם אינה מצד עבודתו רק מחמת המצות עצמן כו׳.
Therefore the mitzvos do not need a person’s service to rectify them and to aim at their true essence, for “mitzvos do not require intention,” since they themselves are rectified and have descended step by step from above to below, etc. And [for] one who performs the mitzvah, the drawing-down of G‑dliness that he brings about is not by virtue of his service, but only because of the mitzvos themselves, etc.
So a mitzvah does not depend on a person’s effort to perfect it or to grasp its inner meaning: as the halachic principle says, “mitzvos do not require intention” to count as done. The mitzvos come “ready-made” from above, so the G‑dliness they draw down comes from the mitzvah itself, not from the doer’s spiritual state.
משא״כ בתורה ותפלה שהיא עבודת הלב תלויה דוקא בכוונת האדם כו׳ ועיקר הכוונה הצריכה בעשיי׳ המצות הוא שיתבונן בתחילה איך שהוא מאד רחוק5 מה׳
This is not so with Torah and prayer, which is the service of the heart: it depends specifically on the person’s intention, etc. And the main intention needed in performing the mitzvos is that he first contemplate how very far he is from G‑d,
Torah study and prayer (“the service of the heart”) are different: their effect depends on the person’s intention. Even so, there is an intention that matters in doing mitzvos: to begin by reflecting how very far one is from G‑d.
ע״י טרדתו כל היום בהבלי חפצי העוה״ז וגשמיות חומרו ועוונותיו מסך מבדיל לבלתי התקרב אל ה׳ אפי׳ מעט ויתבונן
through his being taken up all day with the vanities of the concerns of this world, and the physicality of his material nature, and his sins — a separating screen, [keeping him] from drawing near to G‑d even a little. And he should contemplate
What distances him: being taken up all day with worldly vanities, his physical nature, and his sins, which form a “screen” between him and G‑d.
בזה היטב הדק וישבור לבו בהתבוננ׳ זה ויכנע לבבו מפני שמ״מ חפץ הוא להתקרב אל ה׳ בתורתו כו׳ ויכוון במצוה6 שנזדמנה לידו בעשותו אותה.
this thoroughly and minutely, and break his heart with this contemplation, and his heart will be humbled — because nevertheless he does desire to draw near to G‑d through His Torah, etc. And he should have [this] intention in a mitzvah that comes to his hand, while performing it.
He should dwell on this until his heart breaks and is humbled, precisely because he still wants to come close to G‑d through the Torah. With that feeling he does whatever mitzvah comes his way.
שהוא כמו באר מ״ח שנובע מתחת הקרקע מנהר א׳ שאע״פ שהנהר אינו נק׳ מ״ח אבל המים היוצאים ממנו ונוקב והולך עובי עפר הקרקע נק׳ מים חיים מפני שמתברר ומתלבן ע״י דחקם לצאת בעפר החומרי
For this is like a well of living water that wells up from beneath the ground from a river: although the river is not called “living water,” the water that comes out of it and bores its way through the thickness of the ground’s earth is called “living water,” because it is refined and purified by being pressed to come out through the material earth.
Now the image returns. The river itself is not called “living water,” but the water that pushes up through the thick earth is, because passing through the earth refines and purifies it. This answers the question of paragraph 2: it is the passage through the earth that makes the well “living.”
וכן ממש עשיית המצוות כשהי׳ לו בתחלה בתפלתו ועבודתו בחי׳ נהר יוצא מעדן7 הנ״ל רק שנכסה ונעלם בתוכו ע״י גשמיות תשוקת גופו כל היום.891011121314151617181920
And exactly so is the performance of the mitzvos: at first, in his prayer and service, he had the level of “a river goes out from Eden” mentioned above, only it became covered and hidden within him through the physicality of his body’s longing all day.
So too with mitzvos: the “river from Eden” a person had in the morning is not lost; it has gone underground, covered by the body’s desires through the day. The mitzvah is the well through which it rises again.
The heart of the maamar: the G‑dliness drawn down in prayer and Torah study (the river) goes “underground” during a day of worldly affairs, and the mitzvos, which are holy in themselves and done with a humbled heart, bring it up again as a well of living water.
The mitzvos here stand above the person’s own service, holy by their root and not by his intention; the Kehot note points to a later maamar in Torah Ohr (Beshalach) that places the mitzvos above the “arousal from below.” The one intention asked of him is not insight into the mitzvah but a broken heart, which matches the note’s citation from Or HaTorah: the mitzvah is a well of living water precisely because it passed through the “thick earth” of a day spent in business.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
ונהר יוצא מעדן
How it connects
The Kehot note places this verse on this paragraph. Here “Eden” is the Holy One, blessed be He, and the river is the G‑dliness drawn down into the Torah.our note
The source
Genesis 2:10בראשית ב׳:י׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)9וַיַּצְמַח ה׳ אֱלֹקִים מִן־הָאֲדָמָה כׇּל־עֵץ נֶחְמָד לְמַרְאֶה וְטוֹב לְמַאֲכָל וְעֵץ הַחַיִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַגָּן וְעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע: 10וְנָהָר יֹצֵא מֵעֵדֶן לְהַשְׁקוֹת אֶת־הַגָּן וּמִשָּׁם יִפָּרֵד וְהָיָה לְאַרְבָּעָה רָאשִׁים: 11שֵׁם הָאֶחָד פִּישׁוֹן הוּא הַסֹּבֵב אֵת כׇּל־אֶרֶץ הַחֲוִילָה אֲשֶׁר־שָׁם הַזָּהָב:
9… in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four heads. 11The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasseth the whole land of …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
בראשית ב, י.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
למעלה מעלה בפנימיותם
How it connects
The note says that the later maamar explains that the mitzvos in their essence stand on a level above the “arousal from below,” which explains why here they are called exceedingly high in their inner dimension.our note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אורlater, Parshas Beshalach, 64c · not yet checked
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהDerushim for Rosh Hashanah, p. 1305
Our explanationAccording to the note, Or HaTorah refers to this passage on the principle that “mitzvos do not require intention.”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Torah Ohr, Beshalach, maamar 5לקמן פ׳ בשלח סד, גpage 64c, ¶17
שהם רוב מאד כגלדי בצלים גבוה מעל גבוה כו׳ אבל השמחה של מצוה היא בבחי׳ עצמותו ממש שהוא מרוב כל למעלה מהשתלשלות כל העולמות.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ע׳ לקמן פ׳ בשלח סד, ג. שענין המצות בעצם הוא בחי׳ שלמעלה מאתעדל״ת, וע׳ באוה״ת דרושים לר״ה ע׳ א׳שה שמציין לכאן בענין מצות אין צריכים כוונה.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
לעשותם כי ענין המצות — אך
How it connects
The manuscript has a fuller reading here: “for the matter of the practical mitzvos is that they are exceedingly high, their inner dimension and root, to which they allude; only they have been clothed…”our note
Where the note points
Manuscript of the Alter Rebbe’s maamarim (Bavuch 1064)כתב יד (בבוך 1064)108a
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בבוך 1064 קח, א נוסף: כי ענין המצות מעשיות הוא שהם למעלה מעלה פנימיותם ושרשם למה רומזים: אך שנתלבשו.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
כמו מצות ציצית
How it connects
According to the note, Likkutei Torah refers back to this passage when it discusses the practical mitzvos and the “desire of the heart” (re’usa deliba).our note
Where the note points
Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהParshas Chukas, 64a · not yet checked
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
לקו״ת פ׳ חקת סד, א מציין לכאן בענין המצות מעשיות ברעותא דליבא.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 5
On the words
ועיקר הכוונה . . איך שהוא מאד רחוק
How it connects
This passage on the main intention in doing mitzvos, reflecting how far one is from G‑d, is quoted there.our note
Where the note points
Hemshech 5672 (Ayin-Beis)המשך תער״בvol. 2, p. 1013
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
מובא בהמשך תער״ב ח״ב ע׳ א׳יג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 6
On the words
ויכוון במצוה . . שנובעת מנהר הנ״ל
How it connects
As the note quotes it, Or HaTorah draws the lesson: the mitzvah is called a well of living water precisely because it has passed through the thick earth, the body’s physical dealings in business all day; when afterwards, with that strength, he does the mitzvah, it becomes a well of living water.our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהParshas Vayetzei, vol. 1, 203b
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה אוה״ת פ׳ ויצא כרך א רג, ב: הרי מובן שמה שהמצוה נק׳ באר מ״ח זהו דוקא לפי שעברו דרך עובי עפר הקרקע דהיינו גשמיות עסקי גופו כל היום במו״מ כשמ״מ אח״כ בכח זה עושה המצוה נעשה בחי׳ באר מ״ח. עכ״ל.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 7
On the words
כשהי׳ לו בתחלה . . בחי׳ נהר יוצא מעדן
How it connects
There this line is glossed: it may be the “drop of mayin nukvin” (the upward-reaching feminine waters) that refines, i.e. the morning’s inspiration becomes the force that refines the day.our note
Where the note points
Hemshech 5672 (Ayin-Beis)המשך תער״בvol. 2, p. 1013
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בהמשך תער״ב ח״ב ע׳ א׳יג מציין ע״ז: י״ל שזהו טפת מ״ד המברר כו׳.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 8
On the words
והוא ע״י הכתר שהוא הממוצע
How it connects
no such note in this maamarour note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהShemos, p. 82
Our explanationThis note is on the words “through Keser, which is the intermediary,” which belong to the passage just before this maamar. The note points to a parallel discussion in Or HaTorah, where the Tzemach Tzedek also refers to Likkutei Torah.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהParshas Tzav, maamar “Vehayah or halevanah,” ch. 3 · not yet checked
Our explanationThe Tzemach Tzedek’s pointer (cited in Or HaTorah) to a Likkutei Torah maamar that also treats Keser as the intermediary between levels.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Torah Ohrתורה אורlater, 22d (Vayetzei) · not yet checked
And this is what is written, “And of all that You give me,” in the future, that is, all the ascents that there will be without end, “I will tithe, tithe it”: there will be many tithes, for each ascent a level of tithe of its own, and always “I will tithe, tithe it,” until it reaches “to You,” to the level of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself.
Our explanationThe later passage explains that Keser is the intermediary between an upper and a lower world, the end of the higher level and the source of the lower. Keser is “silence,” that is, self-nullification (bittul), and only through such bittul can a world rise to the level above it.
Read it hereTorah Ohr, Vayeitzei, maamar 2לקמן כב, דpage 22d, ¶20
עלמין שורה ומתגלה בבחי׳ אותיות הללו והאותיות תהיינה בבחי׳ משכן ומכון לשבתו ית׳.
therefore it will have the power and ability to be a “house of Elokim”: that this level of Elokim, which is the Infinite Light, blessed be He, that is within the worlds, will rest and be revealed in these letters, and the letters will be a dwelling and an established place for His abode, may He be blessed.
Read it hereKehot’s note
ראה אוה״ת שמות ע׳ פב. ושם ציין הצ״צ ללקו״ת פ׳ צו בד״ה והיה אור הלבנה פ״ג.
נסמן לקמן כב, ד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 9
On the words
ונאם הגבר הוקם ע״ל
How it connects
The words here quote II Samuel 23:1; the passage is shown below.
The source
II Samuel 23:1שמואל ב כ״ג:א׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)1וְאֵלֶּה דִּבְרֵי דָוִד הָאַחֲרֹנִים נְאֻם דָּוִד בֶּן־יִשַׁי וּנְאֻם הַגֶּבֶר הֻקַם עָל מְשִׁיחַ אֱלֹקֵי יַעֲקֹב וּנְעִים זְמִרוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל: 2רוּחַ ה׳ דִּבֶּר־בִּי וּמִלָּתוֹ עַל־לְשׁוֹנִי:
1Now these are the last words of David: The saying of David the son of Jesse, And the saying of the man raised on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet singer of Israel: 2The spirit of the LORD spoke by me, And His word was upon my tongue.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
שמואל-ב כג, א.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 10
On the words
שהיו מתים ק׳ אנשים בכל יום
How it connects
Kehot’s marei makom for these words (its note is below).
Kehot’s note
במדבר רבה פ׳ יח, כא. תנחומא ס״פ קרח.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 11
On the words
שע״י המאה ברכות פסקו מלמות
How it connects
This note is on the words about the hundred daily blessings stopping the deaths, which belong to the passage just before this maamar.our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהParshas Eikev, pp. 588, 594
Our explanationIt points to Or HaTorah on Eikev, where the Tzemach Tzedek discusses the same theme.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ע׳ אוה״ת פ׳ עקב ע׳ תקפח. תקצד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 12
On the words
ויחפרו עבדי יצחק
How it connects
The note sends the reader to the Rebbe’s source notes given earlier in the volume for the maamar that opens with this verse.our note
Where the note points
Tziyunim VeHa’aros (source notes), by the Rebbeציונים והערות לכ״ק אדמו״רabove, in the source notes
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 13
On the words
ויחפרו עבדי יצחק בנחל
How it connects
The words here quote Genesis 26:19; the passage is shown below.
The source
Genesis 26:19בראשית כ״ו:י״טSefaria (opens in a new tab)18… חָפְרוּ בִּימֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיו וַיְסַתְּמוּם פְּלִשְׁתִּים אַחֲרֵי מוֹת אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקְרָא לָהֶן שֵׁמוֹת כַּשֵּׁמֹת אֲשֶׁר־קָרָא לָהֶן אָבִיו: 19וַיַּחְפְּרוּ עַבְדֵי־יִצְחָק בַּנָּחַל וַיִּמְצְאוּ־שָׁם בְּאֵר מַיִם חַיִּים: 20וַיָּרִיבוּ רֹעֵי גְרָר עִם־רֹעֵי יִצְחָק לֵאמֹר לָנוּ הַמָּיִם וַיִּקְרָא שֵׁם־הַבְּאֵר עֵשֶׂק כִּי הִתְעַשְּׂקוּ עִמּוֹ:
18… Abraham; and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. 19And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of living water. 20And the herdmen of Gerar strove with Isaac’s herdmen, saying: ‘The water is ours.’ And he …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
בראשית כו, יט.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 14
On the words
באר חפרוה שרים
How it connects
The words here quote Numbers 21:18; the passage is shown below.
The source
Numbers 21:18במדבר כ״א:י״חSefaria (opens in a new tab)17אָז יָשִׁיר יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת עֲלִי בְאֵר עֱנוּ־לָהּ: 18בְּאֵר חֲפָרוּהָ שָׂרִים כָּרוּהָ נְדִיבֵי הָעָם בִּמְחֹקֵק בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָם וּמִמִּדְבָּר מַתָּנָה: 19וּמִמַּתָּנָה נַחֲלִיאֵל וּמִנַּחֲלִיאֵל בָּמוֹת:
17Then sang Israel this song: Spring up, O well—sing ye unto it— 18The well, which the princes digged, Which the nobles of the people delved, With the sceptre, and with their staves. And from the wilderness to Mattanah; 19and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth;
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
במדבר כא, יח.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 15
On the words
איתא בגמרא ע״פ והנהר הרביעי
How it connects
That passage uses the same verse, “and from there it parted and became four heads,” for the four camps of the Shechinah, each dividing into three, like the twelve tribes in four banners.our note
The source
Bekhorot 55b:2–4בכורות נ״ה ב:ב׳-ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)וְהָא כְּתִיב: ״וְהַנָּהָר הָרְבִיעִי הוּא פְרָת״! אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק, וְאִיתֵּימָא רַב אַחָא בַּר יַעֲקֹב: הוּא פְּרָת דְּמֵעִיקָּרָא. תַּנְיָא, רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: ״יוּבַל״ שְׁמוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְהָיָה כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל מַיִם וְעַל יוּבַל יְשַׁלַּח שׇׁרָשָׁיו״, וְלָמָּה נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ ״פְּרָת״? שֶׁמֵּימָיו פָּרִים וְרָבִים.
Hebrew: William Davidson, Vocalized Aramaic (CC-BY-NC) · via Sefaria
Where the note points
Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהParshas Tzav, 17a
ולהיות שענין קי״ס הוא התחברות הבריאה עם האצי׳ ממש בלי פרסא ומסך המפסיק כו׳ לכן נקרע הים לי״ב קרעים כי הנה השבטים הם בבריאה ושם הם י״ב בחי׳ בכלל. וכן המלאכים דבריאה הן י״ב בקר והים עליהם מלמעלה. עם היותן דרך כלל ארבע מחנות שכינה מיכאל גבריאל רפאל אוריאל. וכמ״ש ומשם יפרד והיה לארבעה ראשים. מ״מ כל א׳ מתחלק לשלש כמו י״ב שבטים שהיו ד׳ דגלים וכל דגל יש בו ג׳ שבטים. והוא כמו ביד יש ג׳ פרקין וכן ברגל (וכמ״ש בזהר פ׳ ויחי דרמ״א ע״א). והנה הגם שהשבטים עצמן הם בבריאה מ״מ שרשן ומקורן י״ב גבולי אלכסון דז״א דאצי׳ (וכמ״ש במ״א סד״ה והנה אנחנו מאלמים אלומים ובביאור ע״פ יהודה אתה). ולכן קי״ס שהוא חיבור ועליית הבריאה באצילות ה״ז התחברות ועליית הי״ב שבטים דבריאה בי״ב גבולי אלכסון דז״א דאצי׳ (ועמ״ש …
Our explanationIt shows the Alter Rebbe’s other use of the four rivers that go out from Eden.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Ner Mitzvah VeTorah Or, maamarim of the Mitteler Rebbeמאמרי אדמו״ר האמצעי בספר נר מצוה ותורה אור83b
Our explanationA parallel discussion of the Talmud’s teaching on the fourth river, the Perat, in the maamarim of the Mitteler Rebbe.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Torah Ohr, Tetzaveh, maamar 3ותו״א פג, בpage 83b, ¶7
והאותות והמופתים שלא הי׳ יכול לסבול שיהיה איזה דבר גדול מבלעדו. וככה הוא בכל אדם שלא יוכל לסבול מי שיהיה גדול ממנו בעיני אלהים ואדם כו׳. ועכ״פ שלא יהיה הוא קטן ושפל. לכן מיפה עצמו במלבושי כבוד כו׳.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בכורות נה, ב. ראה לקו״ת פ׳ צו יז, א. ובמאמרי אדה״א בס׳ נר מצוה ותו״א פג, ב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 16
On the words
מסולמא דפרת
How it connects
Likkutei Torah quotes the Talmud with the same reading, “from the ladder (sulma) of Perat.” The note records that the Vilna Talmud reads “the ladders (sulmei) of Perat,” and that Rashi explains that the waters flow beneath the ground and rise in the mountains like a ladder.our note
Where the note points
Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהParshas Chukas, 62b · not yet checked
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהParshas Chukas, p. 860
Our explanationOr HaTorah has the Vilna reading, “sulmei (the ladders) of Perat.”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
וכ״ה בלקו״ת פ׳ חקת סב, ב. אבל הגי׳ בש״ס ווילנא: סולמי דפרת (וכ״ה באוה״ת פ׳ חקת ע׳ תתס). ורש״י פי׳ ”מקלחין תחת הקרקע ועולין בהרים כמו סולם”. ובשיטה מקובצת שם גורס ברש״י ”דפרת מראש פרת מקלחין”.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 17
On the words
ולכאורה תמוה מפני מה יקרא . . שעיקר נביעתו הוא מנהר פרת
How it connects
The note points there for two views of how water comes into rivers, background to the maamar’s question of how a well can be “living” if it is fed from a river.our note
Where the note points
Sefer HaMaamarim 5661ספר המאמרים תרס״אp. 215
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה בסה״מ תרס״א ע׳ רטו ב׳ דיעות איך המים באים לנהרות.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 18
On the words
ג״ן סדרי דאורייתא
How it connects
Glosses on the Zohar, cited for a related Zohar passage on gan as the fifty-three portions of the Torah.our note
Where the note points
Nitzotzei Orot, glosses on the Zoharניצוצי אורותon Zohar 2:206b
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Likkutei Sichos, talks of the Rebbeלקוטי שיחותvol. 19, p. 298, and note 3 there
Our explanationA talk that discusses the reading of gan as the fifty-three portions of the Torah.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
זח״א (מהנ״ע) קד, ב. וראה נצו״א לזח״ב רו, ב. לקו״ש חי״ט ע׳ 298 ובהערה 3 שם.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 19
On the words
כי יעקב חבל נחלתו
How it connects
The words here quote Deuteronomy 32:9; the passage is shown below.
The source
Deuteronomy 32:9דברים ל״ב:ט׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)8בְּהַנְחֵל עֶלְיוֹן גּוֹיִם בְּהַפְרִידוֹ בְּנֵי אָדָם יַצֵּב גְּבֻלֹת עַמִּים לְמִסְפַּר בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל: 9כִּי חֵלֶק Havayah עַמּוֹ יַעֲקֹב חֶבֶל נַחֲלָתוֹ: 10יִמְצָאֵהוּ בְּאֶרֶץ מִדְבָּר וּבְתֹהוּ יְלֵל יְשִׁמֹן יְסֹבְבֶנְהוּ יְבוֹנְנֵהוּ יִצְּרֶנְהוּ כְּאִישׁוֹן עֵינוֹ:
8… He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. 9For the portion of the LORD is His people, Jacob the lot of His inheritance. 10He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, a howling wilderness; He compassed …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
דברים לב, ט.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 20
On the words
שו״ה כו׳ — ומ״מ רומזים . . שבשרש׳
How it connects
The words “Nevertheless, they allude to the lofty level that is in their root” are missing in this manuscript.our note
Where the note points
Manuscript of the Alter Rebbe’s maamarim (1064)כתב יד 1064Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בכת״י 1064 ליתא.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
The living well in practice ¶4–5
4וכשעושה המצוה שנובעת מנהר הנ״ל פי׳ מפני שזוכר שכבר קבל ע״ע מ״ש בכל לבבו ולכך עושה מצותיו ליכנס בעול מלכותו אע״פ שעכשיו אין לו בחי׳ נהר הנ״ל סומך לבו על שכבר גמר בלבו לעבוד ה׳ באמת זהו
And when he performs the mitzvah that wells up from the river mentioned above — meaning, because he remembers that he has already accepted upon himself the kingship of Heaven with all his heart, and therefore he performs his mitzvos to enter under the yoke of His kingship; even though now he does not have the level of the river mentioned above, he relies in his heart on having already resolved in his heart to serve G‑d in truth — this is
Now the living well in practice. By midday the morning’s “river” is no longer felt, but the person remembers that he has already accepted G‑d’s kingship with all his heart. He relies on that decision and does his mitzvos as an act of submitting to G‑d’s rule.
כמו באר מ״ח מפני שמאד ערב לו זאת המעט בעבודת ה׳ מפני שהתבונן שמאד מאד רחוק הוא מה׳.
like a well of living water, because this small measure in the service of G‑d is very pleasant to him, since he has contemplated that he is very, very far from G‑d.
This is the “well of living water”: because he has reflected how very far he is from G‑d, even this small bit of service tastes sweet to him.
A mitzvah done in the middle of a worldly day, drawing on the morning’s commitment and a sense of one’s distance from G‑d, is the well of living water.
5ועושה המצוה הוא ע״ד הנ״ל שמאד מתוק וערב לו לעשות המצוה כו׳ כמו הבאר כשחופרין בקרקע ומוצאים מים הם מ״ח מפני שעברו עובי העפר כן עשיית המצות עשייתו אותה נובעת מנהר הנ״ל כו׳.
And [when] he performs the mitzvah in the manner described above, [so] that it is very sweet and pleasant to him to perform the mitzvah, etc. — like the well: when one digs in the ground and finds water, it is living water because it has passed through the thickness of the earth; so too the performance of the mitzvos: his performance of it wells up from the river mentioned above, etc.
Doing the mitzvah this way makes it sweet. Just as water found by digging is “living” because it has passed through the earth, so the mitzvah done after a day of worldly struggle carries the morning’s river up through the “earth” of the body, and that is what makes it fresh and sweet.
The paragraph restates the parable: the sweetness of the mitzvah comes from its having passed through the earth.
The Arizal’s joy and the hungry soul ¶6
6וזהו שהיה האריז״ל שמח מאד בעשיית המצות ולכך זכה לרה״ק1 ולא שמח בעבודתו כו׳ כי המצות בפני עצמם קדושתם כו׳
And this is [why] the Arizal rejoiced greatly in performing the mitzvos, and therefore merited the holy spirit (ruach hakodesh), and did not rejoice in his [own] service, etc.; for the mitzvos in themselves, their holiness [is their own], etc.,
This is why the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria) rejoiced so much in doing mitzvos, and why he merited ruach hakodesh, the holy spirit. His joy was not in his own spiritual work but in the mitzvos, whose holiness is their own, as explained above.
כנ״ל ועשיותה באמהתבוננות שפלות התקרבותו אל ה׳ שזו היא מדת ענוה באמת שנאמר על מרע״ה2 כי עיקר השפלו׳ בפני כל אדם שאמרו א״א להיו׳ כ״א עד״ז שרואה בחבירו שהוא יותר קרוב לה׳ כו׳
as [explained] above. And his doing it came from contemplating the lowliness of his closeness to G‑d. For this is the true trait of humility that is said of Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him; for the essence of lowliness before every person — which, they said, is impossible except in this way — is that he sees in his fellow that he is closer to G‑d, etc.
His joy grew out of his sense of how little he had come close to G‑d. That is true humility, the humility the Torah ascribes to Moshe: to feel lowly before every person, which is possible only by seeing in each one someone closer to G‑d than oneself.
וזהו נפש שבעה3 תבוס נופת שאפילו הדבש מר לו אבל נפש רעבה כל מר מתוק
And this is [the meaning of] “A sated soul tramples honeycomb” — even honey is bitter to it — “but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”
The verse in Proverbs describes the two states: to the sated even honey is bitter, but to the hungry even the bitter is sweet.
פי׳ באר מ״ח הנ״ל ע״י חפירותו בעפר גופו כשיוצא מעט מים מתוקים ערבים לו מאד מפני שגופו רעבה בעבודת ה׳ וזהו באר חפרוה שרים:45
Meaning: the well of living water mentioned above — through his digging in the earth of his body, when a little water comes out, it is sweet and very pleasant to him, because his body is hungry in the service of G‑d. And this is “A well that princes dug.”
So too the living well: when a person has “dug” through the earth of his body and a little water comes up, it is very sweet to him, because he is hungry for the service of G‑d. And this is the verse the maamar opened with: “A well that princes dug.”
The maamar closes with the Arizal as the model: joy in the mitzvos that grows from humility, the “hungry soul” for which even a little service is sweet, which is the meaning of “a well that princes dug.”
The Kehot notes point to Tanya, chapters 26 and 31, where true joy in G‑d follows a broken heart over one’s distance from Him; they also link the Arizal’s ruach hakodesh to joy through the Jerusalem Talmud on Simchas Beis HaSho’evah.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
ולכך זכה לרוה״ק
How it connects
Cited in the note on the connection between joy and ruach hakodesh.our note
Where the note points
Likkutei Amarim, by the Maggid of Mezritchלקוטי אמרים להרב המגידmaamar “VeSukkah tihyeh”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Likkutei Sichos, talks of the Rebbeלקוטי שיחותvol. 9, p. 252; vol. 24, p. 639
Our explanationTalks cited in the note on the connection between joy and ruach hakodesh.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Maamarei Admur HaEmtzai, by the Mitteler Rebbeמאמרי אדמו״ר האמצעיBamidbar, vol. 3, p. 1280
Our explanationThe note says the sources on this theme are gathered at length there.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
השייכות לרוה״ק — ראה ירושלמי סוכה רפ״ה וע׳ בלקו״א להה״מ ד״ה וסוכה תהי׳. לקו״ש ח״ט ע׳ 252. לקו״ש חכ״ד ע׳ 639. ועוד. נסמן בארוכה במאמרי אדה״א במדבר ח״ג ע׳ א׳רפ.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
שנאמר על מרע״ה
How it connects
“And the man Moshe was very humble, more than any man on the face of the earth,” the verse that describes Moshe’s humility.our note
The source
Numbers 12:3במדבר י״ב:ג׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)2וַיֹּאמְרוּ הֲרַק אַךְ־בְּמֹשֶׁה דִּבֶּר ה׳ הֲלֹא גַּם־בָּנוּ דִבֵּר וַיִּשְׁמַע ה׳ 3וְהָאִישׁ מֹשֶׁה עָנָו מְאֹד מִכֹּל הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר עַל־פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה: 4וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ פִּתְאֹם אֶל־מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל־אַהֲרֹן וְאֶל־מִרְיָם צְאוּ שְׁלׇשְׁתְּכֶם אֶל־אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וַיֵּצְאוּ שְׁלׇשְׁתָּם:
2… spoken only with Moses? hath He not spoken also with us?’ And the LORD heard it.— 3Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men that were upon the face of the earth.— 4And the LORD spoke suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam: ‘Come out ye …
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
נפש שבעה
How it connects
“A sated soul tramples honeycomb, but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.” The Alter Rebbe applies it to one who is hungry for G‑d’s service.our note
The source
Proverbs 27:7משלי כ״ז:ז׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)6נֶאֱמָנִים פִּצְעֵי אוֹהֵב וְנַעְתָּרוֹת נְשִׁיקוֹת שׂוֹנֵא: 7נֶפֶשׁ שְׂבֵעָה תָּבוּס נֹפֶת וְנֶפֶשׁ רְעֵבָה כׇּל־מַר מָתוֹק: 8כְּצִפּוֹר נוֹדֶדֶת מִן־קִנָּהּ כֵּן־אִישׁ נוֹדֵד מִמְּקוֹמוֹ:
6Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are importunate. 7The full soul loatheth a honeycomb; But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. 8As a bird that wandereth from her nest, So is a man that wandereth from his place.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
משלי כז, ז.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
באר חפרוה שרים
How it connects
The verse from the Song of the Well that opened the maamar, now read as the well dug through the earth of the body.our note
The source
Numbers 21:18במדבר כ״א:י״חSefaria (opens in a new tab)17אָז יָשִׁיר יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת עֲלִי בְאֵר עֱנוּ־לָהּ: 18בְּאֵר חֲפָרוּהָ שָׂרִים כָּרוּהָ נְדִיבֵי הָעָם בִּמְחֹקֵק בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָם וּמִמִּדְבָּר מַתָּנָה: 19וּמִמַּתָּנָה נַחֲלִיאֵל וּמִנַּחֲלִיאֵל בָּמוֹת:
17Then sang Israel this song: Spring up, O well—sing ye unto it— 18The well, which the princes digged, Which the nobles of the people delved, With the sceptre, and with their staves. And from the wilderness to Mattanah; 19and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth;
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
וזהו שהי׳ האריז״ל
How it connects
Chapter 26 teaches that the evil inclination cannot be overcome with sadness and heaviness, only with alacrity that comes from joy; bitterness over one’s sins has value only for the true joy in G‑d that follows it.our note
The source
Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 26תניא, חלק ראשון; ליקוטי אמרים כ״וSefaria (opens in a new tab)Where the note points
TanyaתניאPart I, chs. 26 and 31
ברם, כגון דא צריך לאודועי כלל גדול: כי כמו שנצחון לנצח דבר גשמי, כגון: שני אנשים המתאבקים זה עם זה להפיל זה את זה, הנה, אם האחד הוא בעצלות וכבדות – ינוצח בקל ויפול גם אם הוא גבור יותר מחבירו, ככה ממש בנצחון היצר, אי אפשר לנצחו בעצלות וכבדות – הנמשכות מעצבות וטמטום הלב כאבן, כי אם, בזריזות – הנמשכת משמחה ופתיחת הלב, וטהרתו מכל נדנוד דאגה ועצב בעולם. ומה שכתוב: ״בכל עצב יהיה מותר״, פירוש, שיהיה איזה יתרון ומעלה מזה, הנה אדרבה, מלשון זה משמע, שהעצב מצד עצמו אין בו מעלה, רק, שיגיע ויבא ממנו איזה יתרון, והיינו – השמחה האמיתית בה׳ אלהיו, הבאה אחר העצב האמיתי לעתים מזומנים על עונותיו במר נפשו ולב נשבר, שעל ידי זה, נשברה רוח הטומאה וסטרא אחרא ומחיצה של ברזל המפסקת בינו לאביו …
Our explanationThis is the joy with which the Arizal did the mitzvos.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה שעהמ״צ (להאריז״ל) בתחלתו. וראה תניא פכ״ו. לא.
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.
In one’s avodah
Begin the day by accepting G‑d’s kingship in the Shema and studying Torah right after prayer. Through the busy day, do each mitzvah that comes your way relying on that morning commitment, first reflecting how far worldly concerns and sins have taken you from G‑d. Then even a small act of service becomes sweet, and the joy in the mitzvos grows out of humility.
Questions for discussion
- Why does passing through the earth make well water “living” rather than detract from it, and what is the “earth” in a person’s day?
- Why does G‑d’s unity, accepted in the Shema, find its place only in the Torah?
- If “mitzvos do not require intention,” what intention does the maamar still ask for, and why that one?
- How can a sense of one’s distance from G‑d produce joy rather than sadness?
- What does it mean to see in every other person someone closer to G‑d than oneself?
Key terms in this maamar
- Accepting the yoke (kabbalas ol)קבלת עול
- Submission to G‑d's will beyond understanding.
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- ×1
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×2
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level.
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×1