Torah Ohr · Parshas Vayechi · Maamar 1
יהודה אתה יודוך אחיך וגו׳
“Yehudah, you — your brothers shall acknowledge you”
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The big idea
Yehudah is acknowledgment (hoda’ah): a self-nullification before G‑d that is higher than love and awe, expressed in the bowing and silence of the Shemoneh Esreh. It becomes revealed, “you,” only after the work of his brothers Reuven, Shimon and Levi: love, awe and the Torah, which correspond to the prayers that come before the Shemoneh Esreh.
The maamar in brief
Yaakov blesses Yehudah, whose name means acknowledgment, “your brothers shall acknowledge you.” Leah gave that name only after Reuven, Shimon and Levi were born, and in the soul too the brothers come first. Reuven is “seeing”: contemplating G‑d’s greatness until mere knowledge becomes felt love, which is why Pesukei deZimra precedes the Shema. This love is the longing of a baal teshuvah, a soul that has descended into the limits of a body and longs to return, and its bitterness draws an answering love from above. Shimon is “hearing” from afar: humility and awe, the second paragraph of the Shema. Levi, “joining,” is the Torah, praised in Emes VeYatziv, through which the Infinite Light descends of its own accord to a person who feels unworthy to rise. All three remain within the light that fills the worlds. Yehudah is bittul in the light that encompasses them, the bowing of the Shemoneh Esreh, and the brothers make it revealed. This bittul lets a person deal with worldly needs “at the nape,” not with the face. Torah study and kindness, “your father’s sons,” empower the whole process.
Outline
- The name YehudahYehudah is acknowledgment rooted above time; it depends on the brothers born before him, beginning with Reuven, seeing, which draws forth love.¶1
- Reuven: seeing and loveContemplating G‑d’s greatness in Pesukei deZimra and Yotzer Or turns knowledge into seeing and gives birth to the love of the Shema.¶2–3
- Love as returnLove with both inclinations is the love of a baal teshuvah; the soul’s bitterness at its descent draws an answering love from above, until its fire is absorbed in the Infinite Light.¶4–6
- Shimon and LeviShimon is hearing from afar, awe and humility, the second paragraph of the Shema; Levi, joining, is expressed in Emes VeYatziv.¶7–8
- Levi: the TorahThrough the Torah the Infinite Light descends of its own accord, so that a person who cannot rise can still draw it down upon his soul.¶9–10
- Yehudah: bittul in prayerThe three brothers belong to the light that fills the worlds; Yehudah’s bittul belongs to the light that encompasses them, and the brothers make it revealed in the Shemoneh Esreh. A parenthesis distinguishes this acknowledgment from the lower kind.¶11–12
- “Your hand on the nape of your enemies”Revealed bittul in prayer lets a person handle worldly needs “at the nape,” so that an impression of prayer remains and darkness is turned into light.¶13–14
- “Your father’s sons shall bow down to you”Torah study and acts of kindness, the offspring of G‑d’s wisdom and compassion, draw down and reveal Yehudah’s acknowledgment.¶15
Key concepts
- Acknowledgment (hoda’ah)הודאה
- The quality of Yehudah: in its higher form, self-nullification before G‑d that is above love and awe, expressed in the bowings of the Shemoneh Esreh.
- Seeing and hearingראיה ושמיעה
- Reuven and Shimon: seeing is from close by and gives birth to love; hearing is from afar and gives birth to awe.
- Running and returning (ratzo and shov)רצוא ושוב
- The soul’s movement toward G‑d in love and its stepping back in humble awe, corresponding to the first and second paragraphs of the Shema.
- The light that fills all worlds and the light that encompasses all worldsממלא כל עלמין וסובב כל עלמין
- Love, awe and the Torah’s descent belong to the light that enters the worlds; Yehudah’s bittul reaches the light that surrounds them, before which all is equal.
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Not only repair of sin but the return of every soul from the limits of the body to its source, whose bitterness makes love stronger.
- Face and napeפנים ועורף
- Doing something with heart and soul, or reluctantly with one’s back turned; worldly needs are to be handled only “at the nape.”
The name Yehudah ¶1
1יהודה אתה1 יודוך אחיך2 וגו׳. הנה יהודה3 נקרא ע״ש הפעם אודה4 והוא בחי׳ הודי׳ שבכללות נש״י מודים אנחנו לך5 ואנחנו כורעים ומשתחוים ומודים.
“Yehudah, you — your brothers shall acknowledge you,” etc. Now, Yehudah is named after “This time I will acknowledge (odeh),” and this is the quality of acknowledgment (hoda’ah) in the souls of Israel as a whole: “We acknowledge You,” and “we bend the knee, bow down and acknowledge.”
The maamar opens with Yaakov’s blessing to Yehudah, whose name the Torah ties to Leah’s words at his birth, “This time I will acknowledge.” The Alter Rebbe identifies this with hoda’ah, the acknowledgment present in every Jewish soul, as expressed in prayer: “We acknowledge You” (Modim) in the Amidah, and “we bend the knee, bow down and acknowledge” in Aleinu.
אלא שלמטה לפי שהוא תחת הזמן נק׳ הפעם אודה שלא כל העתים שוות. אבל למעלה במקור חוצב6 נשמותיהם הוא למעלה מן הזמן ושם נק׳ יהודה כי היו״ד מורה על ההוה כמו ככה יעשה איוב.7
Only, below, since it is subject to time, it is called “This time (hapa’am) I will acknowledge,” for not all times are alike. But above, in the source from which their souls are hewn, it is above time, and there it is called Yehudah, for the yud indicates the present, as in “Thus Iyov would do (ya’aseh).”
Below, in this world, the soul’s acknowledgment is bound to time: “this time” implies that one moment differs from another. In the soul’s source above, which is beyond time, the name is Yehudah, whose opening yud marks an ongoing present, like the verse that says Iyov would bring offerings continually: “Thus Iyov would do.”
And the meaning of the word would be like yodeh [“he acknowledges”], with the addition of a hei: Yehudah. (And in Nechemiah 11, Yehudah is written with a segol under the dalet.)
Read this way, the name Yehudah is the verb yodeh, “he acknowledges,” with an added hei: an acknowledgment that never stops. The parenthesis adds support from Nechemiah 11, where the same letters are vocalized as a verb, with a segol under the dalet.
And the matter of “This time I will acknowledge” is [that it comes] after the birth and revelation of the levels of Reuven, Shimon and Levi, for they are the very ones that bring about this quality of acknowledgment.
Leah said “This time I will acknowledge” only after Reuven, Shimon and Levi had been born. In the same way, the full acknowledgment of Yehudah appears in the soul only after the qualities those three brothers stand for have been born and revealed, because they are what bring it about.
וזהו יודוך אחיך. וביאור ענין זה הנה ראובן הוא ע״ש ראו בן בחי׳ ראיה ובחי׳ ראיה זו היא הגורמת המשכת בחי׳ האהבה.15
And this is [the meaning of] “your brothers shall acknowledge you.” The explanation of this matter: Reuven is named after “See, a son” (re’u ben), the level of seeing (re’iyah); and this level of seeing is what brings about the drawing forth of the level of love.
This is why the verse says “your brothers shall acknowledge you”: the brothers are the cause of Yehudah’s acknowledgment. The explanation begins with Reuven, whose name is read as re’u ben, “see, a son”; Reuven stands for seeing, and seeing is what draws forth love.
כמ״ש פני אריה אל הימין1617 אריה אותיות ראיה18 וכן היה דגל מחנה ראובן תימנה19 כי ענין ראיה הוא ענין התקרבות דרך חיבה כמ״ש כבכורה בתאנה בראשיתה ראיתי אבותיכם20 כו׳.21
As it is written, “The face of a lion on the right”: aryeh (lion) has the letters of re’iyah (seeing). And likewise the banner of the camp of Reuven was to the south. For seeing is a matter of drawing close out of affection, as it is written, “Like the first ripe fig on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers,” etc.
Two signs link Reuven and seeing with the right side: the lion (aryeh) on the right in Yechezkel’s vision of the Chariot has the letters of re’iyah, “seeing,” and Reuven’s camp in the wilderness lay to the south, which is the right. Seeing brings closeness and affection, as when G‑d says He “saw” Israel’s forefathers with the delight one feels at the first ripe fig.
The paragraph reads Yehudah’s name as constant acknowledgment rooted above time, and shows that this acknowledgment depends on the three brothers born before him, beginning with Reuven, the quality of seeing that draws forth love.
According to the Kehot note, this maamar was said in 5566 (1805–06) in Liadi; one manuscript records it under Parshas Vayechi 5567. The note adds that two maamarim in Maamarei Admur HaEmtzai with the same opening words are built on this one, and that a maamar of winter 5738 points out an allusion in the fact that Torah Ohr begins this parsha with the verse “Yehudah, you.”
Marei mekomos
- 1יהודה אתה · המאמר הוא משנת תקס״ו — ראה ברשימת המאמרים בסה״מ שם הערה 7. ובכת״י 2067 יא, ב נרשם: פ׳ ויחי תקס״ז. ובבוך 2223 נה, א: שנת תקסו לפ״ק בלאדי. הנחת ר׳ משה בן אדה״ז בסה״מ תקס״ו ח״א. ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. הגהות וביאורי וקיצורי הצ״צ אוה״ת בראשית כרך ה תתקצז, א ואילך. תתרה, ב. כרך ו תתשלח. ד״ה זה: ראה בסה״מ תרפ״ח. בסה״מ חורף תשל״ח (נדפס בלקו״ש ח״כ ע׳ 347). וראה שם בסיום המאמר הרמז בזה שהתחלת הסדרה בתו״א היא בהפסוק יהודא אתה. ד״ה יהודא אתה תשמ״ו. ד״ה יהודא אתה במאמרי אדה״א בראשית ע׳ תצז וע׳ תקל מיוסדים על מאמר זה. ראה סה״מ פר״ת ע׳ ריז.
- 2יהודה אתה יודוך אחיך · Genesis 49:8
- 3הנה יהודה נק׳ · ראה במילואים ליהל אור ע׳ תרלד. ועיין מענין הודאה בסידור בד״ה מזמור לתודה. ובדרוש ל״ג בעומר. וראה גם בלקו״ת פ׳ עקב בדרוש ברהמ״ז בענין ברכת הארץ שמתחלת בהודאה נודה לך. ובלקוטי שיחות לפ׳ וישב ח״ו ע׳ 195 הערה 77.
- 4הפעם אודה · Genesis 29:35
- 5מודים אנחנו לך · Weekday Siddur Chabad, Shacharit, The Amidah 29
- 6שו״ה נק׳ הפעם — חוצב · בבוך 633 ליתא תי׳ זו.
- 7ככה יעשה איוב · Job 1:5
- 8שו״ה יהודה — ויהי׳ פי׳ · בבוך 414: [פי׳.
- 9(ובנחמי׳ יא) נכתב יהודה בסגול · וכ״ה בשערי אורה כ, ב. מציין לפסוק זה. אבל במאמרי אדה״א בראשית ע׳ תצז ובעוד מקומות (ראה במ״מ לאדה״א שם) מצויין: ”בד״ה תי׳ יהודה בחולם”. ע״ש. להעיר שבהנחת ר׳ משה בן אדה״ז בסה״מ תקס״ו ע׳ רה ליתא כל הענין.
- 10שו״ה ההוה — נכתב בתוס׳ . . הדל״ת) · בבוך 414. 633 ליתא.
- 11(ובנחמי׳ י״א) נכתב יהודה בסגול תחת הדל״ת · בבוך 1824: בתוסף ה׳ יהודה. וכ״ה במאמרי אדה״א בראשית ע׳ תצז ושם ”והוא מ״ש בד״ה תיבת יהודה בחולם על הוי״ו”. וראה בהנסמן לשם.
- 12שו״ה אודה — הם הגורמים לבחי׳ · בבוך 633: הם ממשיכים בחי׳.
- 13שו״ה הגורמים — לבחי׳ · בבוך 414 ליתא.
- 14שו״ה יהודה · בבוך 414: יהודה].
- 15ראובן . . האהבה · ראה ד״ה יהודה אתה תרפ״ח. ספר המאמרים תש״ח ע׳ 155.
- 16פני ארי׳ אל הימין · Ezekiel 1:10
- 17
- 18אריה אותיות ראיה · Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 70 · 121b:1
- 19דגל מחנה ראובן תימנה · Numbers 2:10
- 20כבכורה בתאנה בראשיתה ראיתי אבותיכם · Hosea 9:10
- 21
Reuven: seeing and love ¶2–3
And this is [the meaning of] “For G‑d has seen,” etc., “for now my husband will love me,” etc. And this drawing forth in the Congregation of Israel (Knesses Yisrael) is
Leah named Reuven saying, “For G‑d has seen my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” The Alter Rebbe reads this as the pattern of Reuven, in which G‑d’s “seeing” draws forth love, and now asks what this drawing forth is within the Congregation of Israel, the collective soul of the Jewish people.
בחי׳ לאסתכלא ביקרא דמלכא לעורר את האהבה עד שתחפץ לדבקה בו ית׳ ועד״ז נתקנו פסוד״ז ויוצר אור קודם ק״ש כדי שיבוא לקיום ואהבת בק״ש.
the level of “gazing at the glory of the King,” to arouse love until it desires to cleave to Him, blessed be He. And in this way the Verses of Praise (Pesukei deZimra) and [the blessing] Yotzer Or were instituted before the Shema, so that one should come to the fulfillment of “And you shall love” in the Shema.
In the soul, Reuven is “gazing at the glory of the King”: contemplating G‑d’s greatness until love is aroused and one wants to cleave to Him. This is why the Verses of Praise and the blessing Yotzer Or, which describe G‑d’s greatness, come before the Shema, whose first paragraph commands “And you shall love.”
כי עיקר הכוונה בספור שבחו של מקום הוא כי לא די בידיעה לבדה לפי שהיא בחי׳ העלם ואפי׳ גנבא אפום מחתרתא2 וכו׳
For the main purpose of recounting the praise of the Omnipresent is that knowledge alone is not enough, since it is a state of concealment; and even “a thief at the mouth of the tunnel,” etc.
Merely knowing that G‑d exists does not produce love, because such knowledge stays hidden and does not move the heart. The proof is the saying about the thief who calls on G‑d for help at the mouth of the tunnel he has dug: he knows G‑d, yet his knowledge does not change what he does.
ולא יבוא לקיום ואהבת כ״א כשיצא מההעלם אל הגלוי ומבחי׳ ידיעה לבחי׳ ראיה ממש שהוא בחי׳ גילוי לאסתכלא דוקא והיינו ע״י שירבה לספר בשבחיו יתברך ולהעמיק דעתו איך שמלכותך מלכות כל עולמים.3
And he will not come to the fulfillment of “And you shall love” unless he goes out from concealment into revelation, and from the level of knowing to the level of actual seeing, which is the level of revelation — specifically “to gaze.” That is, by speaking at length of His praises, blessed be He, and deepening his mind [in] how “Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds”:
Love comes only when knowledge becomes “seeing,” a vision vivid enough to be felt, which is what “gazing” means. One reaches it by dwelling at length on G‑d’s praises and contemplating deeply how His kingship extends over all the worlds.
אלף אלפים ורבו רבבן4 כו׳ והוא לבדו ית׳ הוא יחיד ומיוחד כמו קודם שנברא העולם. כמאמר יחיד חי העולמים מלך5 כו׳.678
“A thousand thousands, and myriads of myriads,” etc.; and He alone, blessed be He, is single and unique, just as before the world was created, as in the words, “Single One, Life of the worlds, King,” etc.
The contemplation takes in the countless multitudes of angels and worlds, “a thousand thousands, and myriads of myriads,” and sees that G‑d alone remains single and unique, exactly as before the world was created. This is the meaning of the phrase in the Verses of Praise, “Single One, Life of the worlds, King.”
The paragraph explains Reuven, “seeing,” as contemplation of G‑d’s greatness that turns hidden knowledge into felt love, which is why the praises before the Shema are said first.
Knowing and seeing differ not in content but in how present the truth is: what the thief only “knows” becomes, through contemplation, something the person “sees,” and only then does it give birth to love. The Kehot note on the thief cites the Ein Yaakov’s version of the Talmud and refers to an explanation in Maamarei Admur HaEmtzai.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי ראה ה׳ וגו׳ כי עתה · Genesis 29:32
- 2גנבא אפום מחתרתא · Berakhot 63a
- 3מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים · Psalms 145:13
- 4אלף אלפים ורבו רבבן · Daniel 7:10
- 5יחיד חי העולמים מלך · Weekday Siddur Chabad, Shacharit, Pesukei Dezimra 2
- 6
- 7
- 8
The true meaning of the name “Single” (yachid) is that He alone is. And the meaning of “One” (echad) is that the level of the aleph is drawn into the ches and the dalet, which are the seven heavens and the earth, etc.,
The Alter Rebbe distinguishes two words for G‑d’s oneness. Yachid, “single,” means that He alone exists; echad, “one,” describes the world as united with Him: the aleph, whose value is one, is drawn into the ches (eight: the seven heavens and the earth) and the dalet (four), which tradition reads as the four directions.
שיהיו בטלים ליחודו ית׳ שהחיות של שמים וארץ עולה ונכלל במקורו וכך עולה אפילו החיות של הרוחניות
so that they be nullified to His unity, blessed be He: the life-force of heaven and earth rises and is absorbed into its source; and in this way even the life-force of the spiritual [realms] rises,
In echad, all of creation is nullified to G‑d’s unity: its life-force rises and is absorbed back into its source. The same is true of the spiritual realms, whose life-force also rises and is absorbed in Him.
כמ״ש לך ה׳ הגדולה וכו׳ (ועיין מזה על פסוק וארא אל אברהם) ורק בשכמל״ו שלהיות עולמות נפרדים הם רק מבחי׳ מלכותו ית׳.
as it is written, “Yours, G‑d, is the greatness,” etc. (and see about this on the verse “And I appeared to Avraham”). And only in “Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever” [is it said] that the existence of separate worlds is only from the level of His Malchus (sovereignty), blessed be He.
The verse “Yours, G‑d, is the greatness… for all that is in heaven and on earth” expresses this nullification. Only in the words said after the first verse of the Shema, “Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever,” is there room for separate worlds, and even they exist only through G‑d’s kingship (Malchus); the parenthesis refers to a discussion of this on the verse “And I appeared to Avraham.”
וכשיאריך בענין זה בעומק בינתו בבחי׳ גילוי במוחו ולא בידיעה לבדה אזי מוליד מזה אהבה בהתגלות לבו להיות נכספה
And when he dwells at length on this matter in the depth of his understanding, in a revealed way in his mind and not as knowledge alone, then from this he gives birth to love revealed in his heart, so as to “long”
When a person contemplates this deeply, with an understanding that becomes vivid in his mind rather than remaining mere knowledge, it gives birth to love revealed in his heart. That love is described in the psalm’s word “longs.”
וגם כלתה נפשי3 וגו׳ ויבא לקיום ואהבת את ה׳ אלקיך ממש דהיינו לדבקה בו בא״ס ב״ה ממש וכמ״ש מי לי בשמים4 כו׳:5
“and even pine, my soul,” etc.; and he will come to the actual fulfillment of “And you shall love Havayah your G‑d” — that is, to cleave to Him, to the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, Himself; as it is written, “Whom do I have in heaven,” etc.
The verse continues, “and even pines, my soul”: love so intense that the soul wastes away with longing. This is the true fulfillment of “And you shall love Havayah your G‑d”: to cleave to the Infinite One Himself, as in “Whom do I have in heaven [but You]?”
Contemplating that G‑d alone is real and that all worlds are nullified to Him, until this is vivid in the mind and not mere knowledge, gives birth to revealed love, the fulfillment of “And you shall love.”
The paragraph sets out three levels: yachid, G‑d as He alone is; echad, the world standing nullified to Him; and “Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom,” the level at which separate worlds come into being through Malchus. Dwelling on this until it is vivid in the mind, and not mere knowledge, is what gives birth to love. The Kehot notes record that manuscripts 414 and 633 lack the opening definition of yachid.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואמתות שם יחיד הוא שהוא לבדו הוא · בבוך 414. 633 ליתא.
- 2ואמתות שם יחיד . . וענין אחד · ראה לקמן נה, ב. ובמאמרי אדה״א בראשית ע׳ תק.
- 3נכספה וגם כלתה נפשי · Psalms 84:3
- 4מי לי בשמים · Psalms 73:25
- 5לך ה׳ הגדולה · I Chronicles 29:11
Love as return ¶4–6
4והנה כתיב בכל לבבך1 ואמרו רז״ל בשני יצריך דהיינו שתהא האהבה בבחי׳ בעל תשובה כי התשובה אינו דוקא במי שיש בידו2 עבירות ח״ו.3
Now, it is written, “with all your heart,” and our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “with both your inclinations.” That is, the love should be at the level of a baal teshuvah (one who returns); for teshuvah (return) is not specifically for one who has sins in his hand, G‑d forbid.
The word for “your heart” in this verse, levavcha, has a doubled letter bet, which the Sages read as “with both your inclinations,” the good and the evil. This means the love should be like that of a baal teshuvah, and teshuvah here is not limited to someone who has sinned.
אלא אפי׳ בכל אדם כי ענין תשובה הוא להשיב את הנשמה למקורה ושרשה שהיתה כלולה במאצילה ב״ה וצרורה בצרור החיים4 את ה׳ ממש וירדה
Rather, [it applies] even to every person; for the meaning of teshuvah is to return the soul to its source and root, where it was included in its Emanator, blessed be He, and “bound in the bond of life with G‑d” Himself; and it descended
Teshuvah, literally “return,” applies to every person, because it means returning the soul to its root. Before its descent the soul was included in its Emanator and “bound in the bond of life” with G‑d Himself.
ממקום כבודה ונתלבשה בעוה״ז הגשמי שאפילו כל השגות הרוחניים שמשגת בהתלבשותה בתוך הגוף הם נופלים תחת בחינת זמן ומקום5
from its place of glory and was clothed in this physical world, so that even all the spiritual perceptions that it grasps while clothed within the body fall under the category of time and space.
The soul came down from that lofty place and was clothed in this physical world. Now even its spiritual understanding, gained while in the body, is limited by time and space.
וצריך להשיבה ע״י ויצעקו אל6 ה׳ בצר להם כי צר לו המקום7 שהוא בחי׳ מצר וגבול ועל זה נאמר אשר הוצאתי אתכם8 מארץ מצרים מבחי׳ מצר כו׳
And it must be returned through “They cried out to G‑d in their distress (tzar),” for “the place is too narrow (tzar) for him,” which is the level of constriction (meitzar) and limit. And of this it is said, “who brought you out of the land of Egypt (Mitzrayim)” — from the level of constriction (meitzar), etc.
The soul is brought back by crying out to G‑d from this constriction, as in “They cried out to G‑d in their distress.” The narrowness (meitzar) of limited existence is the inner meaning of Egypt (Mitzrayim), from which G‑d brought us out.
שע״י המרירות אשר יהיה לו על ההיפוך תגדל האהבה לה׳ ביתר שאת להתכלל באוא״ס ב״ה כיתרון האור הבא מן החשך.910
For through the bitterness he will feel over the opposite [state], the love for G‑d will grow with surpassing strength, to be absorbed in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He — like the advantage of light that comes from darkness.
The bitterness a person feels at being so far from G‑d makes his love stronger, so that he longs to be absorbed in the Infinite Light. Light that comes out of darkness shines more strongly than light that never knew darkness.
Love “with both your inclinations” is the love of a baal teshuvah, and it belongs to every soul, since every soul has descended from its source into the limits of a body and must return.
Teshuvah is defined here not as repair of sin but as the soul’s return from the limits of time and space to its source, so that every person is in this sense a baal teshuvah, and the distance itself becomes the fuel of a greater love. The Kehot note sends the reader to Likkutei Torah, Balak and Shabbos Shuvah, for this wider meaning of teshuvah.
Marei mekomos
- 1בכל לבבך וארז״ל בשני יצריך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 2שו״ה האהבה — כי התשובה . . במי שיש בידו · בבוך 414: כי בחי׳ בעל תשובה אינה: במי שיש.
- 3כי התשובה אינו דוקא במי שיש בידו עבירות ח״ו · ראה לקו״ת בלק עה, ב. שבת שובה סו, ג. לקו״ש ליקוט אלול תשל״ט הערה 12.
- 4צרורה בצרור החיים · I Samuel 25:29
- 5שו״ה בהתלבשותה — זמן ומקום · בבוך 414: מקום וזמן.
- 6ויצעקו אל ה׳ בצר להם · Psalms 107:6
- 7צר לו המקום · Isaiah 49:20
- 8אשר הוצאתי אתכם מאמ״צ · Numbers 15:41
- 9כיתרון האור הבא מן החשך · Ecclesiastes 2:13
- 10שו״ה לה׳ — · בבוך 414 נוסף: ממש.
5וע״ז אמרז״ל במקום שבע״ת1 כו׳.2 וכדאי׳ בזהר3 דמשכין ליה בחילא יתיר4 להיות גילוי אור א״ס ב״ה ממש על נפשו עד שגם חיות הגוף ונפש הבהמית וכחותיהם יתהפכו וישובו אל ה׳ ואתהפכא5 חשוכא לנהורא.
And of this our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “In the place where baalei teshuvah (those who return) stand,” etc. And as is brought in the Zohar, that “they draw it with greater force”: so that there be a revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself upon his soul, until even the life-force of the body and the animal soul, and their faculties, are transformed and return to G‑d, and “darkness is transformed into light.”
This love is what the Sages meant in saying that baalei teshuvah stand in a place where even the completely righteous cannot stand, and the Zohar explains that those who return draw the light “with greater force.” Their longing draws the Infinite Light itself down upon the soul so strongly that even the body’s life-force, the animal soul and its faculties are transformed and return to G‑d. This is “darkness transformed into light”: what opposed holiness is not only held back but changed into holiness.
The paragraph grounds the strength of the baal teshuvah’s love in the Sages and the Zohar: it draws down the Infinite Light with greater force and transforms even the body and the animal soul.
The Kehot notes connect this with two earlier passages in Torah Ohr (22c and 26d). The second quotes the same Zohar phrase and ties it to the struggle between holiness and its opposite, whose aim is that the opposing side be refined and absorbed into holiness.
Marei mekomos
- 1במקום שבע״ת · Berakhot 34b:22–23
- 2במקום שבע״ת כו׳ · נסמן לעיל כב, ג.
- 3וכדאי׳ בזהר · ח״א קכט, ב. קצט, ב. ראה לעיל כו, ד. ועוד.
- 4דמשכין ליה בחילא יתיר · Zohar, Chayei Sara 16:121–17:127
- 5שו״ה ונפש הבהמית — ואתהפכא · בבוך 633: להתהפכא.
6וזהו כי ראה1 ה׳ בעניי פי׳ שע״י עניי ומרודי הוא מרירות הנפש שבאתעדל״ת נמשך להיות אתעדל״ע וכמים הפנים2 כו׳
And this is [the meaning of] “For G‑d has seen my affliction.” The explanation: through “my affliction and my wandering,” which is the bitterness of the soul — [that is,] through an arousal from below, an arousal from above is drawn forth; and “as in water, face [answers] face,” etc.:
Leah’s words “G‑d has seen my affliction” are read as the soul’s bitterness over its distance from G‑d, “my affliction and my wandering.” This bitterness is an arousal from below, and it calls forth a matching arousal from above, as a face is answered by its reflection in water.
יתרון האור בבחי׳ ראיה מלמעלמ״ט כי יאהבני בבחי׳ אישי דהיינו כמ״ש ביום ההוא תקראי לי אישי.3
the advantage of light, at the level of seeing from above to below: “for he will love me” at the level of Ishi (“my husband”), that is, as it is written, “On that day you will call Me Ishi.”
The answer from above is the “advantage of light” that comes out of darkness, a seeing from above to below. Then “he will love me” as Ishi, “my husband,” the name by which G‑d says He will be called “on that day.”
ופי׳ אישי אש שלי ממש והיינו התשוקה שממטה למעלה בחי׳ ואל אישך תשוקתך4 שהוא הוא האש שלי תהיה בבחי׳ התכללות באוא״ס ב״ה ממש עד שהוא הוא יהיה אישי אש שלי ממש
And the meaning of Ishi is truly eish sheli, “my fire.” That is, the longing from below to above, the level of “and your longing shall be for your husband (ishech)” — which is precisely “my fire” — should be in the manner of absorption in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself, until He Himself will be Ishi, truly “my fire.”
Ishi is read as eish sheli, “my fire”: the soul’s fiery longing upward, as in “your longing shall be for your husband (ishech).” That longing should end in absorption in the Infinite Light, until G‑d Himself becomes the soul’s fire.
כי וימינו תחבקני בבחי׳ חבוק והתכללות להיות גילוי אוא״ס ב״ה ממש על נפשי בתשוקה זו:5
For “and His right hand embraces me,” in the manner of embrace and absorption, so that there be a revelation of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself upon my soul through this longing.
This is “His right hand embraces me”: G‑d’s right hand, His kindness, embraces the soul and takes it in. Through this longing the Infinite Light itself is revealed upon the soul.
Reuven’s verse is read as a full cycle: the soul’s bitter longing from below draws an answering love from above, until its fire is absorbed in the Infinite Light.
The wordplay of ishi and eish, “fire,” presents love as a flame rising upward, while “His right hand embraces me” describes the answer from above that receives the flame. Together they are the meeting of the arousal from below and the arousal from above.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי ראה ה׳ בעניי · Genesis 29:32
- 2וכמים הפנים · Proverbs 27:19
- 3ביום ההוא תקראי לי אישי · Hosea 2:18
- 4ואל אישך תשוקתך · Genesis 3:16
- 5
Shimon and Levi ¶7–8
7והנה זהו ענין ראובן שהוא ענין בחי׳ פ׳ ראשונה שבק״ש1 שהוא בחי׳ רצוא. ופ׳ שניה שבק״ש2 היא בחי׳ שמעון והיה אם שמוע תשמעו שהיא בחי׳ שוב כי ראיה היא מקרוב והיינו בחינת אהבה שמחמת הקירוב.
Now, this is the matter of Reuven, which is the matter of the first paragraph of the Shema, which is the level of ratzo (running forth). And the second paragraph of the Shema is the level of Shimon — “And it will be, if you will surely listen (shamoa tishme’u)” — which is the level of shov (returning). For seeing is from close by, and that is the level of love that comes from closeness.
Reuven corresponds to the first paragraph of the Shema, with its command to love, and to ratzo, the soul’s running toward G‑d. Shimon, named for G‑d’s “hearing,” corresponds to the second paragraph, “And it will be, if you will surely listen,” and to shov, returning; seeing happens from close by, so it produces love born of closeness.
אבל שמיעה היא מרחוק והיא הגורמת בחינת יראה וכמ״ש ה׳ שמעתי שמעך יראתי3 כי היראה היא באה מחמת בחי׳ הריחוק הנמשך מבחי׳ שמאל דוחה.
But hearing is from afar, and it is what brings about the level of awe, as it is written, “G‑d, I have heard the report of You (shim’acha); I was afraid.” For awe comes because of the level of distance that is drawn from the level of “the left pushes away.”
Hearing reaches a person from far away, and it brings awe, as the prophet Chavakuk says, “I have heard the report of You; I was afraid.” Awe comes from a sense of distance, the quality called “the left pushes away.”
כי לפי שהוא דוחה ומשפיל עצמו לומר לנפשו מי הוא אשר ערב לבו לגשת4 כו׳ אזי תפול עליו יראה ופחד בלבו
For since he pushes himself away and humbles himself, saying to his soul, “Who is he whose heart would dare to approach,” etc., then awe and dread fall upon him in his heart.
When a person pushes himself away and humbles himself, asking who he is to dare approach Him, awe and dread fall upon his heart.
וכמ״ש וירא העם וינועו5 ויעמדו מרחוק6 שבשביל וינועו שנפל עליהם אימה ופחד ולפיכך ויעמדו מרחוק בבחי׳ שמיעה וכענין אם רץ לבך שוב לאחד.78
As it is written, “The people saw, and they trembled, and they stood from afar”: because of “they trembled,” for terror and dread fell upon them, therefore “they stood from afar,” at the level of hearing. And it is like the matter of “If your heart runs, return to the One.”
At the giving of the Torah the people trembled with fear and therefore stood at a distance, a stance of hearing rather than seeing. This is the “return” in “If your heart runs, return to the One”: after running toward G‑d, the soul steps back in humility.
Reuven and Shimon are the first two paragraphs of the Shema: seeing, love and closeness (ratzo), and hearing, awe and distance (shov).
The Kehot note quotes Maamarei Admur HaEmtzai: this shov is a stance of distance, in which a person lowers himself greatly and stands far off, the quality of “the left pushes away.” Another note points to Or HaTorah, which asks how the Shema can be only a preparation for the Shemoneh Esreh, and answers that the Shema unites Chochmah and Binah to sustain the worlds, while the Shemoneh Esreh unites Tiferes and Malchus to bring forth new souls.
Marei mekomos
- 1ראובן שהוא ענין בחי׳ פ׳ ראשונה שבק״ש · ראה באוה״ת פ׳ כי תשא ע׳ א׳תתפו שמכאן משמע דק״ש הוא רק הכנה לשמ״ע, והרי ק״ש מדאורייתא וגם יחוד חו״ב ושמו״ע יחוד ת״ת ומל׳ ע״ש שמפרש דק״ש הוא יחוד חו״ב בשביל להחיות העולמות בלי התחדשות, אבל יחוד ת״ת ומל׳ הוא להוליד נשמות חדשות ע״ש בארוכה. וראה גם באוה״ת דברים כרך ה ע׳ ב׳נג.
- 2פ׳ ראשונה שבק״ש . . ופ׳ שני׳ שבק״ש · ראה בסה״מ תרל״ג ח״א ע׳ קמג.
- 3ה׳ שמעתי שמעך יראתי · Habakkuk 3:2
- 4מי הוא אשר ערב לבו לגשת · Jeremiah 30:21
- 5וירא העם וינועו · Exodus 20:18
- 6וירא העם וינועו ויעמדו מרחוק · Exodus 20:15
- 7אם רץ לבך שוב לאחד · ספר יצירה פ״א מ״ח. ”והענין של בחי׳ השוב הזה הוא בחי׳ הריחוק שמתרחק ומשפיל א״ע מאד, והוא בחי׳ שמאל דוחה דהיינו שמדחה א״ע ומשפיל א״ע ביותר להיות עומד בריחוק מקום דוקא” — מאמרי אדה״א בראשית ע׳ תקד. וראה שם ע׳ תקמד. וכ״ה באוה״ת ויחי תתשלט, א, אבל בבוך 414: שוב כו׳.
- 8אם רץ לבך שוב לאחד · Sefer Yetzirah 1:8
8וזהו ענין פ׳ שניה שבק״ש שהוא בחי׳ יראה כמ״ש השמרו לכם פן יפתה1 כו׳. וז״ש כי שמע2 ה׳ כי שנואה אנכי וכענין נבזה בעיניו נמאס34 דהיינו שע״י אתעדל״ת מה שנחשב בעיניו לשנואה
And this is the matter of the second paragraph of the Shema, which is the level of awe, as it is written, “Take heed, lest [your heart] be seduced,” etc. And this is what is written, “For G‑d has heard that I am hated,” and like the matter of “Despised in his own eyes, rejected.” That is, through an arousal from below — that he is regarded in his own eyes as “hated”
The second paragraph of the Shema is the paragraph of awe, with warnings such as “Take heed, lest your heart be seduced.” Leah named Shimon saying, “G‑d has heard that I am hated,” and the phrase “despised in his own eyes” is read here as a person who is lowly in his own eyes; this self-abasement is the arousal from below.
ע״י שמאל דוחה נמשך להיות אתעדל״ע כי שמע ה׳ בחי׳ שמיעה מרחוק כדי להמשיך בחי׳ יראה מלמעלה
through “the left pushes away” — there comes to be an arousal from above: “For G‑d has heard,” the level of hearing from afar, in order to draw down the level of awe from above.
By pushing himself away, the quality of “the left pushes away,” a person draws forth an answering arousal from above: “G‑d has heard,” a hearing from afar. In this way awe is drawn down to him from above.
(ובזה יובן5 ענין שמע והא״ש שהן חו״ג והשמות מ״ב וע״ב אלא שהוא התכללות כי שמע חסד אהבה ראובן וכלול גם כן מגבורה בחי׳ ראה בעניי הנ״ל וכן והא״ש יראה כלול מאהבה) (עיין ביאור זה ע״פ אלה מסעי6 וע״פ ויחי).7
(And with this one will understand the matter of Shema and VeHayah, which are Chesed (kindness) and Gevurah (restraint), and the Names Mem-Beis (42) and Ayin-Beis (72); only that there is an interinclusion: for Shema is Chesed, love, Reuven, and it also contains Gevurah, the level of “He has seen my affliction” mentioned above; and likewise VeHayah, awe, contains love.) (See the explanation of this on [the verse] “These are the journeys” (Eileh Masei) and on [the verse] “And he lived” (Vayechi).)
This parenthesis, which the Kehot note calls an addition of the Tzemach Tzedek, explains that the two paragraphs of the Shema correspond to Chesed and Gevurah and to the Divine Names of 42 and 72, yet each contains the other: the first, love, includes the “affliction” G‑d saw, and the second, awe, includes love. The note says it is unclear which maamar on Vayechi the closing reference means.
והנה אחר ק״ש אומרים אמת ויציב וכו׳ ונחמד ונעים ונורא וכו׳ הדבר הזה עלינו והיינו בחי׳ לוי ילוה אישי אלי.8
Now, after the Shema we say, “True and firm,” etc., “and beloved and pleasant and awesome,” etc., “is this thing upon us”; and this is the level of Levi: “my husband will be joined to me.”
After the Shema we say the blessing that begins “True and firm” (Emes VeYatziv), which calls “this thing” beloved, pleasant and awesome. This corresponds to Levi, named when Leah said, “my husband will be joined to me.”
והוא ענין ימינא ושמאלא ובינייהו כלה9 כי שמאלו תחת לראשי10 בחי׳ שמאל דוחה הוא שגורמת להיות נשיאות ראש וכו׳ וימינו תחבקני ימין מקרבת להתכלל כו׳.
And this is the matter of “Right and left, and between them the bride.” For “His left hand is under my head” — the level of “the left pushes away” — is what brings about the lifting of the head, etc.; “and His right hand embraces me” — the right draws near, to be absorbed, etc.
Levi’s “joining” is the bride standing between right and left, in the words of the Friday-night hymn Azamer Bishvachin. “His left hand is under my head”: the left that pushes away, humility, is what raises the head; “His right hand embraces me”: the right draws near, so that the soul is absorbed.
Shimon is awe, drawn from above by a person’s self-abasement; Levi is the joining of right and left, expressed in Emes VeYatziv after the Shema.
The parenthesis refines the scheme of the brothers: love and awe are never wholly separate, for each contains something of the other. The left hand that pushes away and the right hand that draws near both serve the union, and that union is the meaning of Levi, “joining.”
Marei mekomos
- 1השמרו לכם פן יפתה · Deuteronomy 11:16
- 2כי שמע ה׳ כי שנואה אנכי · Genesis 29:33
- 3נבזה בעיניו נמאס · Psalms 16:4
- 4נבזה בעיניו נמאס · Psalms 15:4
- 5(ובזה יובן . . כלול מאהבה . . וש״פ ויחי) · קטע זה ליתא בבוך 414. 633. 1824 (מאמרי אדה״ז). הוספת הצ״צ.
- 6ע״פ אלה מסעי · לקו״ת שם צ, א. ובאוה״ת שם.
- 7ע״פ ויחי · צ״ע לאיזה מאמר הכוונה.
- 8ילוה אישי אלי · Genesis 29:34
- 9ימינא ושמאלא ובינייהו כלה · פיוט אזמר לשבחין (זמירות ליל שבת).
- 10שמאלו תחת לראשי · Song of Songs 2:6
Levi: the Torah ¶9–10
9ובחי׳ ילוה אישי היינו מה שאומרים באמוי״צ הדבר הזה היא התורה ששרשה מאד נעלה אלא שנתלבשה בדברים גשמיים שלכן נמשלה התורה למים1 שיורדים ממקום גבוה2 וכו׳.
And the level of “my husband will be joined” is what we say in “True and firm” (Emes VeYatziv): “this thing” — that is the Torah, whose root is very exalted, only it has been clothed in physical matters; therefore the Torah is compared to water, which descends from a high place, etc.
Levi’s “joining” is what Emes VeYatziv says about “this thing,” which is the Torah. The Torah’s root is very high, but it has been clothed in physical matters, which is why it is compared to water, which flows down from a high place to a low one.
וזאת ישיב אל לבו אמת הוא שאין אני ראוי מצד עצמי לעלות ולהתכלל באור ה׳ ולהשיב את הנפש ממטה למעלה לייחדה במאצילה ב״ה כי מי יעלה בהר3 ה׳ כו׳
And this he should take to heart: It is true that I am not worthy, of myself, to ascend and be absorbed in the light of G‑d, and to return the soul from below to above, to unite it with its Emanator, blessed be He — for “Who shall ascend the mountain of G‑d?” etc.
A person should admit to himself that, on his own merits, he is not worthy to rise and be absorbed in G‑d’s light, returning his soul to its source. As the psalm asks, “Who shall ascend the mountain of G‑d?”
אבל מ״מ הרי אא״ס ב״ה מצד עצמו ממילא ומאיליו נמשך גם למטה ששורה ומתגלה בתורה
But nevertheless, behold: the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, from its own side, as a matter of course and of its own accord, is drawn down below as well, so that it rests and is revealed in the Torah.
Even so, the Infinite Light descends below of its own accord and rests in the Torah. This descent depends not on a person’s worthiness but on G‑d Himself.
והרי מתגלה יחוד זה העליון למטה כמו למעלה ואי לזאת ע״י עסק התורה יכול להמשיך אא״ס ב״ה ממש למטה על נפשו
And thus this supernal unity is revealed below as above; and therefore, through occupation in Torah, he can draw the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, down below upon his soul.
Because the Torah carries this supernal unity down, it is revealed below as it is above. By occupying himself with Torah, a person can therefore draw the Infinite Light itself down upon his own soul.
וזהו אם רץ לבך שוב לאחד שגם למטה בבחי׳ שוב נמשך בחי׳ אחד וזהו ילוה אישי אלי שיורד ונמשך אא״ס ב״ה מלמעלה למטה.
And this is “If your heart runs, return to the One”: that also below, in the level of “return,” the level of “One” is drawn down. And this is “my husband will be joined to me”: that the Infinite Light, blessed be He, descends and is drawn down from above to below.
This is the meaning of “return to the One”: even in the stance of stepping back (shov), the One is drawn down. It is also Levi’s “my husband will be joined to me”: the Infinite Light comes down from above and joins the soul.
Levi is the Torah, through which the Infinite Light descends of its own accord, so that even a person who feels unworthy to ascend can draw it down upon his soul.
Reuven and Shimon begin with the soul’s own movement, rising in love or stepping back in awe, which then draws an answer from above; Levi is the Infinite Light coming down of its own accord through the Torah, even to one who feels unworthy to rise. The Kehot note points to Torah Ohr, Toldos, where the Torah, compared to water, has a hidden “spring” and revealed “rivers” that reach each person according to his grasp.
Marei mekomos
- 1שלכן נמשלה התורה למים · ראה לעיל יז, ד.
- 2נמשלה התורה למים שיורדים ממקום גבוה · Taanit 7a:15–16
- 3מי יעלה בהר ה׳ · Psalms 24:3
10וזהו פי׳ אמוי״צ כו׳ שמאריכין לאשר ולקיים את הדבר הזה עלינו ועל אבותינו כו׳ על הראשונים כו׳
And this is the explanation of “True and firm,” etc.: that we dwell at length on affirming and upholding “this thing” “upon us and upon our fathers,” etc., “upon the earlier [generations],” etc.,
The blessing Emes VeYatziv dwells at length on affirming “this thing,” the Torah, as binding upon us, upon our fathers and upon the earlier generations.
וממשיכים מלמעלה אמת ויציב ונכון וכו׳ ונחמד ונעים כו׳ להיות המשכת אור א״ס ב״ה שורה ומתגלה באור תורה:
and we draw down from above “True and firm and established,” etc., “and beloved and pleasant,” etc., so that the drawing forth of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, will rest and be revealed in the light of Torah.
With its many words of praise, “true and firm and established… beloved and pleasant,” we draw down the Infinite Light from above, so that it rests and is revealed in the light of Torah.
The many affirmations of Emes VeYatziv are a drawing down of the Infinite Light into the Torah, the level of Levi.
Yehudah: bittul in prayer ¶11–12
11אך הנה כל ג׳ בחי׳1 הנ״ל עדיין הם בבחי׳ ממכ״ע שהם בחי׳ המשכות מאא״ס ב״ה לבחינת ממכ״ע שבחי׳ ראובן היא לעורר את האהבה להיות נכספה
However, all three levels mentioned above are still at the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin), for they are drawings forth from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, into the level of the light that fills all worlds. For the level of Reuven is to arouse love, so as to “long”
All three levels, Reuven, Shimon and Levi, still belong to the light that fills all worlds, the light that enters each world according to its measure. Reuven’s love, for example, is a longing.
וגם כלתה כו׳ ולהיות משתוקק׳ להתכלל ולהתייחד במאצילה ב״ה מכלל שהיא עדיין אינה כלולה ומיוחדת2 באא״ס ב״ה הסוכ״ע
“and even pine,” etc., and to yearn to be absorbed and united in its Emanator, blessed be He — from which it follows that it is not yet absorbed and united in the Infinite Light, blessed be He, which encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin)
To long and yearn to be absorbed in G‑d implies that one is not yet absorbed and united with the Infinite Light that encompasses all worlds.
(בשמים ממעל ועל הארץ מתחת הכל בשוה ורוחניות וגשמיות כולא קמיה כלא ממש חשיבי)3 ועד״ז שאר הבחי׳ אלא שהן בחי׳ המשכות להיות ממכ״ע כו׳.
(“in the heavens above and on the earth below,” all is equal, and spiritual and physical alike “are all considered before Him as truly nothing”). And so too the other levels, except that they are drawings forth to be the light that fills all worlds, etc.
Before the light that encompasses all worlds, heaven and earth are equal, and spiritual and physical alike are as nothing. Shimon and Levi, too, are drawings forth into the light that fills the worlds.
אבל בחי׳ יהודה שהוא בחי׳ הודאה4 הוא בחי׳ בטול והתכללות באא״ס ב״ה ממש הסוכ״ע והן הן בחינות השתחואות שבתפלת שמ״ע.
But the level of Yehudah, which is the level of acknowledgment, is the level of self-nullification (bittul) and absorption in the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, which encompasses all worlds; and these are precisely the levels of the bowings in the Shemoneh Esreh prayer.
Yehudah’s acknowledgment is different: it is self-nullification, absorption in the Infinite Light itself, the light that encompasses all worlds. It is expressed in the bowings of the Shemoneh Esreh.
Reuven, Shimon and Levi remain within the light that fills the worlds, while Yehudah’s acknowledgment is absorption in the light that encompasses them, expressed in the bowings of the Shemoneh Esreh.
Longing implies a lover who is still separate from what he longs for; Yehudah’s acknowledgment is the state in which that separateness is set aside. The Kehot notes record that the parenthesis about heaven and earth stands in a different place in several manuscripts.
Marei mekomos
- 1אך הנה כל ג׳ בחי׳ · ראה אוה״ת פ׳ יתרו ע׳ תתקצא.
- 2מכלל שהיא עדיין אינה כלולה ומיוחדת · ראה באוה״ת ויקרא כרך א ע׳ רכג.
- 3(בשמים . . כלא ממש חשיבי) · קטע זה נמצא כאן גם באוה״ת ויחי תתשלט, ב. אבל בבוך 414. 633. 1824 (מאמרי אדה״ז) נמצא לקמן קודם תי׳ ”והן הן בחינות”. בבוך 633 הקטע: ועד״ז שאר הבחי׳ . . ממש הסוכ״ע: נרשם בצד הגליון — בכת״י הסופר עצמו — אבל באוה״ת כרך ו תתשלט, ב כמו בהנדפס.
- 4אבל בחי׳ יהודה שהוא בחי׳ הודאה · ראה לקו״ש חל״ה ע׳ 196 הערה 36.
Therefore prayer is in a whisper and in silence, at the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), far, far above the level of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), which is not in the category of drawing forth and bestowal at all, etc.
This is why the Shemoneh Esreh is said in a whisper and in silence: it belongs to the light that encompasses all worlds, far above the chain of descending worlds, beyond any flow of influence from one level to the next.
ואינה עולה בשם אהבה כלל רק בחי׳ ביטול במציאות ממש לגמרי והיינו בחי׳ השתפכות אל חיק אביה ממש להיות כאין ואפס ממש שע״ז מרמז ענין ההשתחואה
And it does not go by the name “love” at all, but only the level of the nullification of [one’s] very existence, completely; that is, the level of pouring out into her Father’s very bosom, to be truly as naught and nothing. And to this the bowing alludes,
Such prayer is not even called love; it is complete self-nullification, the soul pouring itself out into its Father’s bosom until it is as nothing. The bowings allude to this.
כמו שמשתחוה לפני המלך שמבטל א״ע כו׳ רק שכדי להיות בחי׳ זו שהוא בחי׳ יהודה בבחי׳ אתה
as one bows before the king, nullifying himself, etc. Only, in order that this level, which is the level of Yehudah, be in the mode of “you” (atah),
One who bows before a king sets himself aside before him. For this bittul of Yehudah to be “you” (atah), addressed in the second person, something more is needed.
דהיינו להיות בגילוי כאילו הוא לנוכח2 צ״ל יודוך אחיך3 שצריך להקדים תחילה בחי׳ ראובן ושמעון ולוי4 שבהם ועל ידם יומשך גילוי בחי׳ הודאה זו
that is, to be revealed, as though He were face to face [with him], there must be “your brothers shall acknowledge you”: one must first set before [it] the levels of Reuven, Shimon and Levi, in which and through which the revelation of this level of acknowledgment will be drawn forth.
“You” means that G‑d is revealed, as if He stood face to face with the person. For that, the levels of Reuven, Shimon and Levi must come first, and through them this acknowledgment becomes revealed; that is “your brothers shall acknowledge you.”
כי בלי קדימת בחי׳ ראובן שמעון ולוי לא נמשך בחי׳ יהודה שהוא בחינת ביטול והתכללות כו׳ בבחי׳ גילוי אלא בבחי׳ העלם ומקיף.
For without first [having] the levels of Reuven, Shimon and Levi, the level of Yehudah — which is the level of self-nullification (bittul) and absorption, etc. — is not drawn forth in a revealed way, but only in a hidden and encompassing (makif) way.
Without the three brothers, Yehudah’s bittul would remain hidden and encompassing (makif), touching the person only from beyond rather than in his conscious awareness.
ולכן א״א להתחיל תפילת ש״ע בלי קדימת פסוד״ז ויוצר אור וק״ש כו׳ (ובמנחה שמתפללין רק תפילת ש״ע היינו מפני שכבר הקדימו בשחרית ק״ש וברכותיה. ובערבית צריך לחזור להתחיל ק״ש וברכותיה קודם התפלה).5
Therefore it is impossible to begin the Shemoneh Esreh prayer without first [saying] Pesukei deZimra, Yotzer Or and the Shema, etc. (And at Minchah, when only the Shemoneh Esreh prayer is said, that is because the Shema and its blessings were already said beforehand at Shacharis. And at Maariv one must begin again with the Shema and its blessings before the prayer.)
This is why the Shemoneh Esreh cannot begin without Pesukei deZimra, Yotzer Or and the Shema before it. At Minchah it stands alone because the Shema was said in the morning, while at Maariv the Shema and its blessings are said again first.
וזהו ענין נעוץ תחלתן בסופן6 והמ״י (וע׳ במ״א ע״פ ולשרקה7 בני אתונו דמשמע דשור״ק שהוא הודאה הוא למטה מסגו״ל שהוא בחי׳ אהוי״ר כו׳.
And this is the matter of “their beginning is wedged in their end,” and the discerning will understand. (And see elsewhere, on “and to the choice vine (soreikah) his donkey’s foal,” from which it is implied that the shuruk, which is acknowledgment, is lower than the segol, which is the level of love and awe, etc.
Yehudah’s bittul, the highest level, is revealed only at the end of the order of prayer, in the Shemoneh Esreh, after the stages that lead up to it; this is “their beginning is wedged in their end.” A parenthesis then raises a difficulty from another discourse, which places the shuruk vowel, acknowledgment, below the segol vowel, love and awe.
וזהו לכאורה הפך ממ״ש כאן דיהודה שהוא הודאה הוא למעלה מראובן שמעון ולוי שהם סגו״ל. ובאמת לק״מ דהודאה היא למטה מאהוי״ר אבל הודאה דיהודה זהו בחי׳ בטול שלמעלה מאהוי״ר וזה בחי׳ דוד אם לא שויתי ודוממתי8
And this seemingly contradicts what is said here, that Yehudah, which is acknowledgment, is higher than Reuven, Shimon and Levi, which are the segol. But in truth there is no difficulty at all: acknowledgment is lower than love and awe, but the acknowledgment of Yehudah is the level of self-nullification that is above love and awe. And this is the level of David: “Surely I have stilled and silenced [my soul],”
The answer is that ordinary acknowledgment is indeed below love and awe, but Yehudah’s acknowledgment is a self-nullification above them. This is David’s “I have stilled and silenced my soul.”
וכמ״ש ואחר האש קול דממה דקה הרי שהדממה והביטול הוא למעלה מהאש שהיא אהבה כי תמן קאתי מלכא910 אבל גבי אש כתיב לא באש הוי״ה אלא שהאש הוא להוי״ה כמ״ש במ״א.
as it is written, “And after the fire, a still, small voice.” Thus the stillness and the self-nullification are higher than the fire, which is love, for “there the King comes”; whereas regarding fire it is written, “Havayah is not in the fire” — rather, the fire is for Havayah, as is explained elsewhere.
When G‑d showed Himself to Eliyahu, He was “not in the fire” but in the “still, small voice,” of which the Tikkunei Zohar says “there the King comes.” Silence and bittul are therefore higher than fire, which is love; the fire reaches toward Havayah but is not where He is found.
ועוד דזהו שאמר כאן יהודה אתה שיהיה יהודה בבחי׳ אתה דהיינו בבחי׳ גילוי כו׳ ולפעמים אינו בגילוי כ״א רק בהעלם ואז היא הודאה שלמטה מאהוי״ר. אבל כשההודאה בבחי׳ גילוי זהו בחי׳ ביטול ממש):11
Moreover, this is what is said here, “Yehudah, you”: that Yehudah be in the mode of “you,” that is, in a revealed way, etc. Sometimes it is not revealed but only hidden, and then it is the acknowledgment that is below love and awe. But when the acknowledgment is revealed, that is the level of true self-nullification.)
A second answer: “Yehudah, you” means acknowledgment that is revealed. When acknowledgment stays hidden it is the lower kind, below love and awe; when it is revealed, it is true self-nullification.
The silence and bowing of the Shemoneh Esreh express Yehudah’s bittul, which becomes revealed only after the preparation of Reuven, Shimon and Levi; a parenthesis reconciles this with a discourse that places acknowledgment below love and awe.
Two kinds of acknowledgment emerge: one that ranks below love and awe, and the revealed bittul of Yehudah, which is above them, like the still, small voice beyond the fire. The Kehot notes record that the parenthesis on the shuruk and segol is missing in the manuscript, and that Or HaTorah, quoting this passage, adds that the bittul should be real in one’s mind, as if the King of kings were actually facing him.
Marei mekomos
- 1בלחש ובחשאי · ע׳ מענין בחשאי בלקו״ת בד״ה האזינו הראשון ספ״ד.
- 2שכדי להיות בחי׳ זו שהוא בחי׳ יהודה . . כאילו הוא לנוכח · קטע מכאן מובא באוה״ת פ׳ שמות כרך ח ע׳ ג׳נה עם הגהות ושם מוסיף: ”(ר״ל שיהי׳ הביטול במוחו באמת כאלו המלך מ״ה הקב״ה הוא לנוכח ממש)”.
- 3שו״ה כאילו — יודוך אחיך · בבוך 633 נוסף: דהיינו.
- 4ראובן שמעון ולוי · באוה״ת חנוכה כרך ה תתקלח, ב מבאר ”שהן ק״ש אמת ויציב”.
- 5(ובמנחה . . קודם התפלה) · וכ״ה בבוך 633 ובלי מוסגר. באוה״ת בראשית כרך ו תתשלט, ב. אבל בבוך 1824 נמצא קטע זה לקמן אחר תי׳ ”וזהו ענין נעוץ תחלתן בסופן והמ״י”.
- 6נעוץ תחלתן בסופן · Sefer Yetzirah 1:7
- 7וע׳ במ״א ע״פ ולשרקה · ראה לקמן מז, א.
- 8אם לא שויתי ודוממתי · Psalms 131:2
- 9ואחר האש קול דממה דקה . . תמן קאתי מלכא · I Kings 19:12
- 10תמן קאתי מלכא · Tikkunei Zohar 3b:2–3
- 11(וע׳ במ״א . . ביטול ממש) · בכת״י ליתא.
“Your hand on the nape of your enemies” ¶13–14
13והנה עי״ז ידך בעורף אויביך.1 אויביך הם עניני העולם וצרכי הגוף הגשמי. הגם שאדם צריך להם מ״מ צריכין להיות בבחי׳ עורף ולא פנים
Now, through this, “your hand [shall be] on the nape of your enemies.” “Your enemies” are the affairs of the world and the needs of the physical body: although a person needs them, nevertheless they must be at the level of the nape and not the face
Yehudah’s acknowledgment in prayer gives a person the power of the next words of the verse, “your hand on the nape of your enemies.” The “enemies” are worldly affairs and bodily needs: a person needs them, but should deal with them with the back of his neck, so to speak, and not with his face.
(בחי׳ פנים היינו שעושה הדבר בלב ונפש ובחי׳ עורף היינו בחי׳ אחוריים כמאן דשדי בתר כתפי׳2 בע״כ וכאלו כפאו וכו׳).34
(the level of the face means that he does the thing with heart and soul, and the level of the nape means the level of the back, like one who throws [something] behind his shoulder, against his will, and “as though compelled,” etc.).
Doing something “with the face” means doing it with heart and soul; doing it “with the nape” means doing it with one’s back turned, reluctantly, like a person tossing something over his shoulder, as if under compulsion.
And “your hand” is on the nape of your enemies: do not read yadcha (“your hand”) but yudecha (“your yuds”). And it is the level of “Your hand” itself, for “Your right hand is extended to receive those who return”; it is the level of the right
Read as yudecha, “your yuds,” the word “your hand” points to G‑d’s own hand, the right hand that is stretched out to receive those who return to Him. It is the side of the right.
וחסד שנתפשט למטה מטה וכענין וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה7 אשר עשה ה׳ במצרים כי הנה הירידה הגדולה הזאת שהוא בבחי׳ אחוריים וכאלו כפאו.
and of Chesed (kindness) that has spread down to the very lowest; and like the matter of “Israel saw the great hand that G‑d had wrought in Egypt.” For behold, this great descent, which is at the level of the back and “as though compelled” —
This is G‑d’s kindness (Chesed) reaching down to the very lowest places, like the “great hand” Israel saw in Egypt. A person’s great descent into worldly needs, made as if under compulsion, also comes from G‑d’s hand.
מי גרם להמשיך את האדם להיות מוכרח לזה ודאי מאת ה׳ ומידו היתה זאת כדי לאתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא שיתפלל בכח האכילה וכו׳
who caused a person to be drawn into being forced to this? Surely this was from G‑d and from His hand, in order to transform darkness into light: that he should pray with the strength of the eating, etc.,
It was G‑d Himself who brought a person to need these things, so that darkness be turned into light: for example, so that he pray with the strength he gains from eating.
וכיוצא בזה רק שצריך שלא יומשך בבחי׳ פנימיות אלא בבחי׳ עורף ובחינת עורף זה יוכלל בבחי׳ ידך יודי״ך.
and the like. Only, he must not be drawn [into it] at the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus), but at the level of the nape; and this level of the nape will be included in the level of “your hand,” yudecha.
The condition is that he not be drawn into these matters inwardly but deal with them only “at the nape.” Then even this “nape” is included in G‑d’s hand, yudecha.
Yehudah’s acknowledgment lets a person handle worldly needs “at the nape” and not with the face, so that even they are included in G‑d’s outstretched hand and darkness is turned into light.
The Kehot note links the nape to Tanya, chapter 22, where “the back” (achorayim) is like a gift thrown reluctantly over the shoulder to an enemy. Here the same image serves holiness: the person gives the world only his back, and G‑d’s hand, His kindness reaching down, turns even that into light.
Marei mekomos
- 1ידך בעורף אויביך · Genesis 49:8
- 2כמאן דשדי בתר כתפי׳ · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 22:5
- 3(בחי׳ פנים . . וכאלו כפאו וכו׳) · בכת״י ליתא. ונמצא באוה׳ת ויחי תתשמ, א.
- 4וכאלו כפאו וכו׳ · Nedarim 20b
- 5א״ת ידך אלא יודי״ך · ת״ז בהקדמה.
- 6א״ת ידך אלא יודי״ך · Tikkunei Zohar 7b:2
- 7וירא ישראל את היד הגדולה · Exodus 14:31
14והוא בחי׳ ידך של יהודה כו׳ לפי שהוא בחי׳ הודאה וביטול בבחי׳ סוכ״ע1 השוה ומשוה כו׳ גם חשך לא יחשיך וכחשיכה כאורה2 גשמיות ורוחניות שוין
And this is the level of “your hand” of Yehudah, etc., because it is the level of acknowledgment and self-nullification (bittul) at the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), [which] “is equal and makes equal,” etc.: “even darkness does not darken” and “darkness is as light” — physical and spiritual are equal.
Yehudah’s “hand” is his acknowledgment and bittul at the level of the light that encompasses all worlds, before which everything is equal. There “even darkness does not darken” and “darkness is as light,” and physical and spiritual are the same.
שהרי כולם בחכ׳ עשית שהחכמה היא עשיה גשמיות וא״כ גם האכילה ושארי ענינים הגשמיים הם לפניו ית׳ כמו רוחניות של חכמה מאחר שגם החכמה היא גשמיות וכו׳.
For behold, “You made them all with Chochmah (wisdom)” — meaning that Chochmah is “making” (asiyah), physicality. And if so, eating and the other physical matters too are, before Him, blessed be He, like the spirituality of Chochmah, since Chochmah too is physicality, etc.
“You made them all with wisdom” is read to mean that even Chochmah is only “making,” something physical, relative to G‑d. If so, eating and other physical matters are, before Him, like the spirituality of wisdom.
וזאת היא מעלת יהודה אתה היינו בחי׳ הודאה בגילוי שבתפלה שתהי׳ ידך בעורף אויביך בשעה שעוסק בעורף אויביך
And this is the virtue of “Yehudah, you,” that is, the level of revealed acknowledgment in prayer: that “your hand” will be “on the nape of your enemies” at the time when he is occupied with “the nape of your enemies,”
This is the virtue of “Yehudah, you,” revealed acknowledgment in prayer: it makes “your hand” rest “on the nape of your enemies” even while a person is busy with worldly matters.
ואזי חולפת ועוברת ממנו האהבה מ״מ נשאר רשימו וכו׳ אך היינו דוקא בבחי׳ עורף ולא פנים:3
and then, [although] the love passes and departs from him, nevertheless an impression (reshimu) remains, etc. But this is specifically at the level of the nape, and not the face.
Then, even though the love felt in prayer fades, an impression (reshimu) of it remains. This works only if worldly matters are dealt with “at the nape,” not with the face.
Because Yehudah’s bittul reaches the level at which physical and spiritual are equal, its revealed form in prayer leaves an impression that stays with a person in worldly affairs, as long as they are handled “at the nape.”
The Kehot note records that Or HaTorah on the Siddur asks how this can be called Yehudah, acknowledgment, since acknowledgment is what one says of what one cannot grasp. In this maamar, Yehudah’s acknowledgment is bittul before the light that encompasses all worlds, where physical and spiritual are equal.
Marei mekomos
- 1לפי שהוא בחי׳ הודאה וביטול בבחי׳ סוכ״ע · באוה״ת סדור ע׳ רנא הקשה איך זה נק׳ יהודה דההודאה היא כשאינו משיגו ע״ש.
- 2גם חשך לא יחשיך וכחשיכה כאורה · Psalms 139:12
- 3כולם בחכמה עשית · Psalms 104:24
“Your father’s sons shall bow down to you” ¶15
15אך עיקר הגורם לכל מעלת בחי׳ זו להיות יהודה אתה והגורם להיות יודוך אחיך ע״ז נאמר ישתחוו לך בני אביך כי
But the main cause of the whole virtue of this level — that there be “Yehudah, you” — and the cause that there be “your brothers shall acknowledge you”: of this it is said, “your father’s sons shall bow down to you.” For
The root cause of both “Yehudah, you” and “your brothers shall acknowledge you” is given in the last words of the same verse: “your father’s sons shall bow down to you.”
הנה ההשתחוואה1 הוא בחי׳ המשכה וזהו ענין ההשתחוואו׳ שבשמ״ע שהן הן המשכות (ע׳ ר״פ2 וישב והנה השמש וכו׳ משתחוי׳ לי)
behold, bowing is the level of drawing down; and this is the matter of the bowings in the Shemoneh Esreh, which are precisely drawings down (see the beginning of Parshas Vayeshev, [on] “and behold, the sun,” etc., “were bowing to me”).
Bowing is a drawing down, so the bowings of the Shemoneh Esreh draw down from above. The parenthesis refers to the beginning of Parshas Vayeshev, on Yosef’s dream of the sun, moon and stars bowing to him.
ובחי׳ אביך היינו בחי׳ כרחם אב על בנים3 אבינו אב הרחמן שהרחמנות הוא בחי׳ אב ותולדות הרחמנות הוא בחי׳ צדקה וחסד להחיו׳ רוח שפלים4 שכל העושה חסד במדה״ר לרחם על עניים ויתומים ה״ז בבחי׳ בני אביך.
And the level of “your father” is the level of “as a father has compassion on [his] children,” “our Father, the merciful Father”: for compassion is the level of a father, and the offspring of compassion are the level of charity and kindness, “to revive the spirit of the lowly.” For whoever does kindness with the attribute of compassion, to have mercy on the poor and the orphans, is at the level of “your father’s sons.”
“Your father” is G‑d’s compassion, “as a father has compassion on his children.” Compassion gives rise to charity and kindness, so whoever helps the poor and the orphans out of compassion is one of “your father’s sons.”
גם בחי׳ אביך היא התורה דאורייתא מחכמה נפקת5 שהוא בחי׳ אב וכמ״ש שמע בני מוסר אביך6 זו תושב״כ7 וכו׳ ובני אביך הם העוסקים בתורה
Also, the level of “your father” is the Torah, for “the Torah comes forth from Chochmah (wisdom),” which is the level of “father”; as it is written, “Hear, my son, the instruction of your father” — this is the Written Torah, etc. And “your father’s sons” are those who occupy themselves with Torah.
“Your father” is also the Torah, which comes from Chochmah, called “father,” and “the instruction of your father” is the Written Torah. So those who study Torah are also “your father’s sons.”
וזהו וישתחוו לך בני אביך8 שבני אביך הם העוסקים בתורה ובגמ״ח הם הם ישתחוו לך וימשיכו אותך להיות נעוץ
And this is “and your father’s sons shall bow down to you”: for “your father’s sons,” those who occupy themselves with Torah and with acts of kindness — they are the ones who “shall bow down to you” and draw you down, so as to be “wedged”
Those who study Torah and do acts of kindness are the ones who “bow down to you”: they draw Yehudah’s bittul down.
תחב״ס שהתורה והגמ״ח הם הנותנים כח בנפש לעורר את האוי״ר עד שתהי׳ בחי׳ הודאה וביטול וע״י כן יודוך אחיך להיות יהודה אתה כנ״ל:
“their beginning in their end”; for the Torah and acts of kindness are what give strength to the soul to arouse love and awe, until there is the level of acknowledgment and self-nullification (bittul); and through this “your brothers shall acknowledge you,” so that there be “Yehudah, you,” as explained above.
Torah and kindness give the soul the strength to arouse love and awe, until these culminate in acknowledgment and bittul. Through them “your brothers shall acknowledge you,” and Yehudah’s acknowledgment becomes revealed, “Yehudah, you.”
The paragraph closes the verse: Torah study and acts of kindness, the “sons” of G‑d’s wisdom and compassion, are what draw down and reveal Yehudah’s acknowledgment.
The two meanings of “your father,” compassion and Chochmah, correspond to the two practices, kindness and Torah, that power the whole sequence of love, awe and bittul. The Kehot notes trace “the Torah comes forth from Chochmah” to the Zohar, and the reading of “the instruction of your father” as the Written Torah to Iggeres HaKodesh 29, which bases it on the Zohar.
Marei mekomos
- 1אך עיקר הגורם לכל . . כי הנה ההשתחוואה · בבוך 633: אך עיקר השתחוואה הוא בחי׳ המשכה וזהו ענין ההשתחוואה: שבשמו״ע.
- 2(ע׳ ר״פ . . ליל) · בכת״י ובאוה״ת ויחי תתשמ, ב (שנדפס מגוכתי״ק הצ״צ קודם הדפסת התו״א) ליתא.
- 3כרחם אב על בנים · Psalms 103:13
- 4רוח שפלים · Isaiah 57:15
- 5דאורייתא מחכמה נפקת · Zohar II, 121a
- 6שמע בני מוסר אביך · Proverbs 1:8
- 7מוסר אביך זו תושב״כ · Zohar II, 276b
- 8ישתחוו לך בני אביך · Genesis 49:8
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Before the Shemoneh Esreh, use Pesukei deZimra, the Shema and its blessings to contemplate G‑d’s greatness until knowledge becomes felt love and awe, and to take the Torah to heart; then, in the Shemoneh Esreh, bow in true self-nullification, as if the King stood before you. Afterward, attend to eating and worldly needs only “at the nape,” without giving them your heart, so that the impression of prayer remains; and strengthen the whole process through Torah study and acts of kindness.
Questions for discussion
- Why does knowledge that G‑d exists not, on its own, give birth to love, and what turns knowing into “seeing”?
- In what sense is every person a baal teshuvah, even one who has not sinned?
- How do Reuven, Shimon and Levi correspond to the parts of the morning prayers, and why must they come before the Shemoneh Esreh?
- How does the maamar distinguish the acknowledgment that is below love and awe from Yehudah’s acknowledgment that is above them?
- What does it mean to deal with worldly needs “at the nape” and not with the face, and what remains of prayer when one does?
Key terms in this maamar
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×3
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×3
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×1
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- An arousal from aboveאתערותא דלעילא
- Divine initiative, unprompted by us.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×4
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×1
- The light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin)ממלא כל עלמין
- Divine light that enters each world and gives it life according to its measure.
- The light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin)סובב כל עלמין
- Divine light too great to enter the worlds; it 'surrounds' them and affects them from beyond.
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×6
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×1
- Love and aweאהבה ויראה
- The two 'wings' of divine service.
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×1
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×4
- The reshimu (impression)רשימו
- The trace left after the tzimtzum. ×1
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one. ×1