Torah Ohr · Parshas Vayechi · Maamar 3
אסרי לגפן עירה ולשורקה בני אתונו
“Binding his foal to the vine, and the son of his she-donkey to the choice vine”
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The big idea
The days of Mashiach are not a time of reward but the perfection of the deed, when even the animals of the offerings will be raised into the Infinite Light. That perfection grows out of our service in exile, where humility and a broken heart press out the soul’s hidden love like wine, and the joy of a mitzvah and the bitterness of return wash the soul’s garments.
The maamar in brief
The maamar reads Yaakov’s blessing to Yehudah, “Binding his foal to the vine… he washed his garment in wine,” as describing the days of Mashiach. Those days are not yet the World to Come but the culmination of “Today, to do them,” when the mitzvos, above all the offerings, will be fulfilled “according to the command of Your will.” Why should animal offerings surpass prayer, the soul’s ascent? The answer begins with the vine: the Jewish people carry a hidden love for G‑d, pressed out like wine through humility and a broken heart, as the white wine of joy and the red wine of bitterness and return. Because the mitzvos are G‑d’s will, above even Chochmah, they draw down the holiness of the Infinite Light itself; so Israel “sanctify Your Name.” With joy, they weave garments for the soul: joy clothes its “body,” and the struggle of return clothes its “head.” In exile this service raises only the soul; in the days of Mashiach, when adam is complete, even the animals will be elevated. Then the wild “foal” becomes “the city of G‑d” and the “she-donkey” becomes a “son,” the fruit of the “washing in wine” of the exile.
Outline
- The verse and the days of MashiachThe verse describes the days of Mashiach, which are the culmination of “Today, to do them”: the time when the mitzvos, and above all the offerings, will be fulfilled “according to the command of Your will,” as they could not be after Eden or in exile.¶1–4
- The question and the vineWhy should animal offerings rank above prayer, in which a person lifts up his own soul? The Jewish people are a vine whose hidden love is pressed out like wine, through humility and a broken heart, in two kinds: the gladdening white wine of joy and the red wine of bitterness.¶5–8
- Who sanctify Your NameThe praise of the “holy ones” reaches only G‑d’s Name, the source of all worlds, hidden and revealed. The mitzvos, which are G‑d’s will, above even Chochmah, draw down the holiness of the Infinite Light itself, which is why Israel “sanctify Your Name” and one hour of good deeds surpasses the World to Come.¶9–15
- The garments of the soulMitzvos make garments for the soul only when done with joy. The bitterness of return must come first, so that delight follows a real longing. The two wines make two garments: joy clothes the soul’s “body,” and the baal teshuvah’s ascent from below clothes its “head and face.”¶16–23
- The perfection of manIn exile the mitzvos raise only the soul. When the level of adam is completed in the days of Mashiach (Adam, David, Mashiach), the offerings will raise even the animals, which prayer cannot do; this answers the opening question.¶24–26
- Foal, city and sonEach phrase of the verse is explained: osri as the yud of Chochmah binding to the vine, iroh as the wild “foal” that becomes “the city of G‑d,” sorekah as the humble shuruk through which the “she-donkey” becomes a “son.” All of this comes through the washing in wine already done in the exile.¶27–30
Key concepts
- “Today, to do them”היום לעשותם
- This world as the time of doing the mitzvos rather than receiving their reward. The days of Mashiach are its culmination, not yet the World to Come.
- “According to the command of Your will”כמצות רצונך
- The actual offerings, which will be restored in the days of Mashiach. Prayer in exile corresponds to them but is not truly the same.
- Hidden loveאהבה מסותרת
- The love for G‑d hidden in the Jewish soul like wine in the grape, brought out through humility (the low-lying vines) and a broken heart (the winepress).
- White wine and red wineיין לבן ויין אדום
- Two kinds of love: the gladdening joy of a mitzvah, which is delight in G‑d, and the intoxicating bitterness of one who reckons with his distance from G‑d and longs to return.
- His Name and His essenceשמו ואור אין סוף עצמו
- All worlds, hidden and revealed, come from G‑d’s Name alone; the mitzvos, being His will, draw down the holiness of the Infinite Light itself.
- Garments of the soulלבושים לנפש
- Formed by mitzvos done with joy: one for the soul’s “body,” its emotions, and a higher one for its “head and face,” its sight and hearing, formed by the struggle of return.
- The level of adamבחינת אדם
- The full stature of man, lost when Adam was driven from Eden and completed only with Mashiach, when the mitzvos and the offerings will be fulfilled perfectly.
- Segol and shurukסגול ושורק
- Two postures of the soul shown by vowel points: segol is closeness and enthusiasm; shuruk, the same three dots one below the other, is humble acknowledgment of distance, through which one becomes a “son.”
The verse and the days of Mashiach ¶1–4
1אסרי לגפן עירה12 ולשורקה בני אתונו. כבס ביין לבושו וגו׳. הנה מקרא זה נאמר לימות המשיח3 דקאי אדלעיל מני׳ לא יסור שבט מיהודה וגו׳.
“Binding his foal to the vine, and the son of his she-donkey to the choice vine; he washed his garment in wine,” etc. Now this verse is said about the days of Mashiach, since it continues from [the verse] before it: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah,” etc.,
The maamar opens with part of Yaakov’s blessing to Yehudah, which speaks of a vine, a choice vine, wine and garments. The Alter Rebbe first establishes that the verse describes the days of Mashiach, because it continues the verse before it, about the scepter that will not depart from Judah.
“until Shiloh comes, and to him will be the gathering of peoples”; and then there will also be “Binding his foal to the vine.”
That earlier verse ends “until Shiloh comes,” and “Shiloh” is understood as Mashiach, to whom the peoples will gather. The image of binding a foal to the vine therefore describes what will happen in his days, and the rest of the maamar explains its words one by one.
The paragraph quotes the verse the maamar will explain and establishes that it speaks of the days of Mashiach.
The Kehot note records that this maamar dates from 5564 (1803–04) and that several maamarim of Likkutei Torah refer back to it. It also points to Targum Onkelos and Rashi, who read “until Shiloh comes” as referring to Mashiach, which is why the next verse can be read as a description of his days.
Marei mekomos
- 1אסרי לגפן עירה · ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. אוה״ת כרך ה תתרז, א. המאמר עם הגהות בכרך ו תתשכח, ב. תתשלו, ב. ובכרך ז תתתסח, ב. פלח הרמון בראשית קכה, א. המאמר הוא משנת תקס״ד. ראה ברשימת המאמרים שם ע׳ שמה הערה 21. בענין המבואר בהמאמר מעלת מדרי׳ הצדיקים ומעלת עבודת הבע״ת ואהבה רבה ואהבה בתענוגים — ראה בקונטרס העבודה בסופו מכתב מד׳ שבט תרצ״א, מכ״ק אדמו״ר מהוריי״צ זצוקללה״ה. בלקו״ת בלק עד, א. נצבים נ, א. שה״ש יז, ב. כ, ד. לז, ג. מציין לד״ה זה.
- 2אסרי לגפן עירה · Genesis 49:11
- 3מקרא זה נאמר לימות המשיח · ראה תרגום אונקלוס ורש״י ע״פ עד כי יבא שילה.
- 4עד כי יבא שילה · Rashi on Genesis 49:10–12
- 5עד כי יבא שילה ולו יקהת עמים · Genesis 49:10
2וביאור הענין הנה אמרז״ל אין בין1 עולם הזה לימות המשיח אלא שעבוד בלבד2 כי ימות המשיח אינו עוה״ב שלאחר התחיה.
The explanation of the matter: our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “There is no difference between this world and the days of Mashiach except subjugation alone.” For the days of Mashiach are not the World to Come that follows the Resurrection,
The Sages taught that the days of Mashiach will differ from our world only in that Israel will no longer be subjugated. From this the Alter Rebbe infers that the days of Mashiach are not yet the World to Come, the era that follows the Resurrection of the Dead.
which is [the time of] the giving of the reward of the righteous. Rather, the days of Mashiach are at the level of “Today, to do them,” and not to receive their reward.
That later era is when the righteous receive their reward. The days of Mashiach still belong to “Today, to do them,” which the Sages read as “today to do them, and tomorrow to receive their reward”: they are a time of doing the mitzvos, not of being rewarded for them.
The paragraph defines the days of Mashiach as a time of doing the mitzvos, not of receiving their reward, and so distinguishes them from the World to Come after the Resurrection.
The Kehot note gives the Talmudic sources of the teaching, Berachos 34b and Sanhedrin 91b, and a parallel in the Zohar. In the Talmud this is the view of Shmuel, and other teachings there disagree with it.
Marei mekomos
- 1אין בין עוה״ז לימות המשיח אלא שעבוד בלבד · Berakhot 34b:20–21
- 2אין בין עולם הזה לימות המשיח אלא שעבוד בלבד · Zohar, Toldot 4:30–9:73
- 3היום לעשותם · Deuteronomy 7:11
- 4היום לעשותם ולא לקבל שכרן · Eruvin 22a:5–6
3ועיקר היום לעשותם ותכלית השלימות של המעשה1 יהיה בימות המשיח. וכמו שהיה עיקר עבודת האדם בג״ע לעבדה ולשמרה.2
And the main [fulfillment] of “Today, to do them,” and the ultimate perfection of the deed, will be in the days of Mashiach. Just as the main service of Adam in the Garden of Eden was “to work it and to guard it”:
Since the days of Mashiach are the culmination of “Today, to do them,” the complete fulfillment of the mitzvos in deed belongs to that era. The Alter Rebbe compares this to Adam in the Garden of Eden, whose whole task was “to work it and to guard it.”
לעבדה זו3 מצות עשה. ולשמרה זו מצות ל״ת.4 שהי׳ אז בחי׳ היום לעשותם בתכלית השלימות אלא שאח״כ ויגרש את האדם5 וגו׳.
“to work it” — these are the positive commandments; “and to guard it” — these are the prohibitions. For then there was the level of “Today, to do them” in ultimate perfection; except that afterwards, “He drove out the man,” etc.
Following the Zohar and other sources, “to work it” means doing the positive mitzvos and “to guard it” means keeping the prohibitions. Adam in Eden thus stood at the perfect level of “Today, to do them,” until he was driven out of the Garden.
ואח״כ נכנסו אבותינו לארץ ג״כ בשביל קיום מעשה המצות שכמה מצות התלוים בארץ דוקא6 כמעט ארבע הידות7 ואחר כך גלו משם
Afterwards our forefathers entered the Land, also for the sake of fulfilling the mitzvos in deed, for many mitzvos depend specifically on the Land, almost four-fifths [of them]; and afterwards they were exiled from there,
A second opportunity came when the Jewish people entered the Land of Israel, since a great many mitzvos, by the text’s reckoning almost four-fifths of them, can be fulfilled only there. But this too was cut short by the exile.
ולא נתקיימו בידם עד ימות המשיח שיהיה במהרה בימינו שאז יהי׳ בחי׳ היום לעשותם בתכלית השלימות.
and [the mitzvos] were not fulfilled in their hands until the days of Mashiach, may it come speedily in our days, when there will be the level of “Today, to do them” in ultimate perfection.
Since then those mitzvos have not been fully kept, and they will be only in the days of Mashiach. Only then will “Today, to do them” reach its complete perfection.
The paragraph shows that the perfect fulfillment of the mitzvos in deed was twice interrupted, in Eden and in the Land of Israel, and will be achieved only in the days of Mashiach.
The Kehot note also lists Targum Yonasan, the Shelah, Yalkut Reuveni and Or HaChaim for this reading of “to work it and to guard it,” and Ramban at the end of Parshas Acharei for the mitzvos that depend on the Land. Targum Yonasan renders the verse “to labor in the Torah and to keep its commandments.”
Marei mekomos
- 1ועיקר היום לעשותם ותכלית השלימות של המעשה יהי׳ בימות המשיח · בקובץ ליובאַוויטש שנה ב׳ חוברת ד׳ מציין על זה כ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע בע׳ 58 בהערה 8 ”ראה ד״ה וככה תרל״ז (תורת שמואל שער רביעי) פרק יז ואילך. וכן משמע גם ברמב״ם הל׳ תשובה סוף פ״ט וסוף הלכות מלכים, אבל הרמב״ם לשיטתו דאין בין עולם הזה לימוה״מ אלא שיעבוד מלכיות בלבד דפליגא על מרז״ל דשבת (קנא, ב)”.
- 2לעבדה ולשמרה · Genesis 2:15
- 3לעבדה זו מ״ע, ולשמרה זו מל״ת · Zohar I, 27a
- 4לעבדה זו מצות עשה. ולשמרה זו מצות ל״ת · Or HaChaim on Genesis 2:15
- 5ויגרש את האדם · Genesis 3:24
- 6שכמה מצוות התלוים בארץ דוקא · ראה רמב״ן ס״פ אחרי יח, כד. לקו״ת שלח לו, ג. מאמרי אדה״א דברים ח״א ע׳ ה.
- 7כמעט ארבע הידות · ראה מאמרי אדה״א קונטרסים ע׳ רסו הערה פ״ז.
4והנה אנו אומרים ושם נעשה לפניך את קרבנות חובותינו וכו׳ כמצות רצונך כו׳. שעיקר המעשה היא עבודת הקרבנות שאין אנו יכולים לקיים בגלות אלא שבגלות נתקנה התפלה כנגד הקרבנות. ועדיין אין זה כמצות רצונך ממש:1
Now we say, “And there we will offer before You our obligatory offerings, etc., according to the command of Your will,” etc. For the main deed is the service of the offerings, which we cannot fulfill in exile; rather, in exile prayer was instituted corresponding to the offerings. And this is still not truly “according to the command of Your will.”
The Alter Rebbe quotes the Musaf prayer, in which we ask to return to the Holy Temple and bring the offerings there “according to the command of Your will.” Since the offerings cannot be brought in exile, prayer was instituted to correspond to them; yet the wording of the prayer itself implies that only the actual offerings are truly “according to the command of Your will.”
The paragraph establishes that the offerings are the heart of the deed, and that prayer, which replaces them in exile, does not yet fully match “the command of Your will.”
Marei mekomos
- 1דלכאורה התפלה במעלה העליונה יותר . . ולמה יהי׳ הקרבנות במעלה העליונה . . כמצות רצונך · באוה״ת שמות כרך ז ע׳ ב׳תשפו מבאר ”י״ל התירוץ שע״י הקרבנות יש שני הדברים היינו העלאת נפש הבהמה גשמיות לשרשה וגם נה״ב שבאדם מתעלה ג״כ עי״ז לשרשה במרכבה”, ע״ש.
The question and the vine ¶5–8
5ולהבין זה דלכאורה התפלה במעלה העליונה יותר מהקרבנות שהתפלה היא נשיאת נפש האדם בספור שבחיו של מקום ברוך שאמר והיה העולם וכל הללויה וכו׳
To understand this: for seemingly prayer is of a higher rank than the offerings, since prayer is the lifting up of a person’s soul in recounting the praises of the Omnipresent: “Blessed is He who spoke and the world came to be,” and all the Halleluyah [psalms], etc.,
This raises a difficulty. Prayer seems loftier than the offerings, because in prayer a person lifts up his own soul as he recounts G‑d’s praises, beginning with “Blessed is He who spoke” and the Halleluyah psalms of the morning service.
until one reaches “And you shall love… with all your soul,” etc. The offerings, by contrast, are with an animal’s soul: “And on the Shabbos day, two lambs.”
The ascent of prayer reaches its height at the Shema’s “And you shall love… with all your soul,” where a person gives over his very soul. An offering, by contrast, involves only the soul of an animal, such as the two lambs brought on Shabbos.
ולמה יהיו הקרבנות במעלה העליונה כל כך שיקראו כמצות רצונך ושזה יהי׳ תכלית השלימות של ימות המשיח יותר מהתפלה שבגלות.
Why, then, should the offerings be of so high a rank that they are called “according to the command of Your will,” and that this should be the ultimate perfection of the days of Mashiach, more than the prayer of the exile?
If so, why are the offerings alone called “according to the command of Your will,” and why should their return be the perfection of the days of Mashiach, above the prayer of the exile? This is the question the maamar sets out to answer.
Now it is written, “You transplanted a vine from Egypt,” for the Congregation of Israel is likened to a vine, on which grapes grow, from which the wine comes out through treading in the winepress.
The Alter Rebbe begins his answer with the image of the vine. The Jewish people are compared to a vine, whose grapes yield their wine only when they are trodden in the winepress.
The paragraph asks why the animal offerings rank above the soul’s ascent in prayer, and introduces the analogy of the vine and its wine that will answer the question.
The maamar returns to this question near its end, where it explains that in the days of Mashiach even the animals of the offerings will be included and elevated in the Infinite Light, something the soul cannot accomplish in exile.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואהבת בכל נפשך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 2
- 3וביום השבת שני כבשים · פינחס כח, ט.
- 4גפן ממצרים תסיע · Psalms 80:9
- 5שכנס״י נמשלו לגפן · Chullin 92a:11–12
6והנה עיקר היין המשובח יוצא מהענבי׳ הסמוכי׳ לקרקע כמו שאמרו לגבי נסכים לא היו מביאין מן הדליות אלא מן הרגליות12 ששם יוצא יין משובח יותר.
Now the choicest wine comes chiefly from the grapes near the ground, as [the Sages] said concerning the libations: they would not bring [wine] from the trellised vines (daliyos) but from the low-lying vines (ragliyos), for from there the choicer wine comes out.
The finest wine comes from the grapes nearest the ground: the Mishnah rules that wine for the Temple libations was brought from low-lying vines and not from vines raised on trellises. In the next paragraph this detail becomes the image of humility.
והנה היין נתחלק לכמה מינים יש יין המשמח ויש יין המשכר יש יין אדום ויש יין לבן וכך ככל המשל הזה נמשלו כנס״י שיש בהם אהבה מסותרת למקום כו׳.
Now wine divides into several kinds: there is wine that gladdens and there is wine that intoxicates; there is red wine and there is white wine. And just so, in every detail of this analogy, the Congregation of Israel is likened [to it], for they have within them a hidden love for the Omnipresent, etc.
Wine also comes in different kinds: wine that gladdens and wine that intoxicates, red and white. Each of these corresponds to something in the Jewish people, who all carry a hidden love for G‑d that must be brought out, just as wine is hidden in the grape.
The paragraph develops the analogy: like wine, the hidden love for G‑d in the Jewish people comes in several kinds, and the best of it comes from what is lowest.
Marei mekomos
- 1לא היו מביאין מן הדליות אלא מן הרגליות · באוה״ת כאן ע׳ תתשכט מציין: ”ספ״ח [מ״ו] דמנחות במשנה”. ובגמ׳ מנחות (הוא פ״ט) פו, סע״ב במשנה.
- 2לא היו מביאין מן הדליות אלא מן הרגליות · Menachot 86b:12
In order to bring it out from concealment into revelation, one must be at the level of “low-lying vines” (ragliyos), that is, to be at the level of “Let my soul be as dust to all.”
To bring this hidden love into the open, a person must be like the low-lying vines whose grapes rest on the ground. This means the humility of the prayer “Let my soul be as dust to all.”
And also treading in the winepress: to have a broken and crushed heart. Through this the wine comes out, which is the level of the hidden love that had been concealed,
He must also be trodden as in the winepress, that is, have a broken and crushed heart. Through this the wine flows: the love that lay hidden in the soul comes out into the open.
כי על יין אמרו נכנס יין יצא סוד456 והיינו לפי שהיין היה ג״כ מתחלה בהעלם בענבים ואח״כ נתגלה ויצא לחוץ.
for of wine they said, “Wine enters, a secret comes out.” This is because the wine, too, was at first concealed in the grapes, and afterwards it was revealed and came outside.
The Alter Rebbe supports the image with the Talmudic saying “Wine enters, a secret comes out.” Wine brings out what is hidden because it was itself hidden inside the grape before it was pressed out.
The paragraph explains how the hidden love is brought out: through humility, like grapes near the ground, and through a broken heart, like grapes trodden in the winepress.
Marei mekomos
- 1נפשי כעפר לכל תהיה · Berakhot 17a:4
- 2לב נשבר ונדכה · ראה לקו״ת ר״ה סב, א. אוה״ת חקת ע׳ תתל.
- 3לב נשבר ונדכה · Psalms 51:19
- 4נכנס יין יצא סוד · נסמן לעיל מד, ב.
- 5נכנס יין יצא סוד · Eruvin 65a:19–20
- 6נכנס יין יצא סוד · Sanhedrin 38a:3–4
8והנה באהבה יש ב׳ בחי׳. יש מתפעל להיות שמחת ה׳ בלבו היא בחינת יין המשמח ובחי׳ יין לבן מבחי׳ חמר חיווריין עתיק כו׳.
Now in love there are two levels. There is one who is stirred so that joy in G‑d is in his heart; this is the level of “wine that gladdens” and the level of white wine, from the level of “ancient white wine” (chamar chivaryan atik), etc.
Love for G‑d takes two forms. The first is a joy in G‑d that fills the heart; it is the “wine that gladdens” and the white wine, drawn from “ancient white wine,” which the maamar later identifies with the supernal delight.
ויש מתפעל להיות לו מרירות הלב מפני היותו ממארי דחושבנא מכל מחשבותיו ודבוריו ומעשיו אשר לא לה׳ המה ולצעוק אל ה׳ ולדבקה בו הוא בחי׳ יין אדום ויין המשכר וכו׳.
And there is one who is stirred to have bitterness of heart, because he is one of the “masters of reckoning” (marei d’chushbana) over all his thoughts, words and deeds that are not for G‑d, and [is stirred] to cry out to G‑d and to cleave to Him; this is the level of red wine and intoxicating wine, etc.
The second is the bitterness of heart felt by one who makes an honest reckoning of all his thoughts, words and deeds that were not for G‑d, and is moved to cry out to Him and cleave to Him. This is the red wine and the intoxicating wine.
The paragraph distinguishes two kinds of love for G‑d: a gladdening joy, like white wine, and a bitter longing born of self-reckoning, like red, intoxicating wine.
Later in the maamar these two kinds of wine become two garments of the soul: the joy of a mitzvah clothes the soul’s “body,” its emotions of love and awe, while the red wine of bitterness and return produces a garment for its “head and face,” its sight and hearing.
Who sanctify Your Name ¶9–15
9והנה אנו אומרים בשבת וינוחו בו ישראל1 מקדשי שמך.2 ולכאורה אינו מובן הלא הוא ית׳ מאליו קדוש וכתיב כי קדוש אני וקדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם.3
Now on Shabbos we say, “And may Israel, who sanctify Your Name, rest on it.” Seemingly this is not understood: is He, may He be blessed, not holy of Himself? And it is written, “For I am holy,” and My holiness is above your holiness.
On Shabbos we say in the Amidah that Israel are those “who sanctify Your Name.” This seems puzzling, since G‑d is holy in Himself, and the Midrash on “For I am holy” teaches that His holiness is above ours.
ואיך יהיה תלוי קדושתו ית׳ בישראל דייקא שיקראו הם המקדישים שמו. אך הענין דהנה אנו אומרים אתה קדוש ושמך קדוש וקדושים בכל יום יהללוך סלה.
How, then, can His holiness, may He be blessed, depend specifically on Israel, so that they should be called the ones who sanctify His Name? But the point is this: we say, “You are holy and Your Name is holy, and holy ones praise You every day, selah.”
How, then, can His holiness depend on Israel, so that they are called the ones who sanctify Him? The Alter Rebbe begins his answer from another line of the prayers: “You are holy and Your Name is holy, and holy ones praise You every day, selah.”
פי׳ קדושים בכל יום כו׳ כמאמר המחדש בטובו בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית שבכל יום ויום מתהווה מאין ליש כל מעשה בראשית.
The meaning of “holy ones… every day,” etc., is as in the saying, “Who in His goodness renews each day, continually, the work of creation”: on each and every day the whole work of creation comes into being from nothing to something.
The words “every day” point to G‑d’s daily renewal of creation, as the morning blessing says, “Who in His goodness renews each day, continually, the work of creation.” Each day the whole of creation comes into being anew from nothing.
The paragraph asks how Israel can be said to sanctify G‑d’s Name if He is holy in Himself, and begins the answer from the daily praise of the “holy ones,” who see creation renewed from nothing.
Marei mekomos
- 1וינוחו בו ישראל · ראה הערת כ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע באוה״ת פ׳ שמות ע׳ לא. באוה״ת תצוה כרך ח ע׳ ג׳סח: ”שבהם וע״י נתעלה בחי׳ שמן בקדושת אור א״ס עצמו”.
- 2וינוחו בו ישראל מקדשי שמך · באוה״ת פ׳ תבוא ע׳ תתשח יש הגה״ה לכאן.
- 3כי קדוש אני וקדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם · Leviticus 19:2
10וכשהם משיגים כל יום התהוותם וחיותם מבחי׳ קדוש ומובדל כי עליו ית׳ נאמר אדון הנפלאות
And when they apprehend, each day, their coming into being and their life-force from the level of the holy and separate — for of Him, may He be blessed, it is said, “Master of wonders,”
The “holy ones” perceive each day that their existence and life-force come from a level that is holy, that is, utterly separate and beyond them. For G‑d is called “Master of wonders,” a phrase from the prayers.
פי׳ למעלה מעלה מבחי׳ נפלאות כמ״ש עושה פלא.1 שבחי׳ הפלא הוא כעשיה גשמיות אצלו ית׳.
meaning, far, far above the level of wonders, as it is written, “He makes wonder” (oseh fele), for the level of wonder is, to Him, may He be blessed, like physical making (asiyah).
“Master” means that He is far above wonders themselves; the verse says He “makes wonder,” so wonder is only something He makes. What is wondrous to us is, for Him, like a mere physical act of making.
כי ענין הפלא היא פליאת ההתהוו׳ יש מאין וראשית ההתהוו׳ הוא בחכמה כמ״ש והחכמה מאין תמצא.2
For the meaning of wonder is the wondrousness of coming into being, something from nothing; and the beginning of coming into being is in Chochmah (wisdom), as it is written, “And Chochmah is found from nothing (ayin).”
The wonder is creation itself: something coming into being from nothing. Creation begins with Chochmah, the first point of wisdom, which the verse describes as emerging “from nothing (ayin).”
The paragraph explains that G‑d, the “Master of wonders,” is far above even the wonder of creating something from nothing, which begins with Chochmah.
The maamar later contrasts this with the mitzvos, which are G‑d’s will and stand far above Chochmah, so that the holiness drawn down through them comes from the “Master of wonders” Himself.
Marei mekomos
- 1כמ״ש עושה פלא · Exodus 15:11
- 2והחכמה מאין תמצא · Job 28:12
11וכתיב כולם בחכמה עשית שהחכמה נחשבת אצלו כעשיה גשמית שהיא בחי׳ סוף דרגין משכל ודבור ומחשבה ומעשה וכך החכמה נחשבת אצלו שהוא ית׳ למעלה מן החכמה ומרומם עד אין קץ.
And it is written, “You made them all with Chochmah (wisdom),” for Chochmah is considered, to Him, like physical making (asiyah), which is the last of the levels — of intellect, speech, thought and action. Just so is Chochmah considered to Him, for He, may He be blessed, is above Chochmah and exalted without end.
The verse “You made them all with Chochmah” treats Chochmah itself as a kind of making (asiyah), the lowest of the faculties of intellect, speech, thought and action. So too, before G‑d, Chochmah is like mere physical action, since He is infinitely above it.
ולכן הם יהללוך סלה תמיד בעילוי אחר עילוי בלי הפסק וכל זה בבחי׳ ושמך קדוש כי הודו של שמו על ארץ ושמים.1
Therefore they “praise You, selah,” continually, [rising] from one elevation to the next without pause. And all this is at the level of “and Your Name is holy,” for the splendor of His Name is “over earth and heaven.”
This is why the “holy ones” praise Him endlessly, rising from level to level without pause: however high they reach, He remains beyond them. Yet all their praise reaches only “Your Name is holy,” His Name, whose splendor is over earth and heaven.
As it is written, “For with Yah, G‑d is the Rock of worlds.” That is, “with Yah” is His Name Havayah, for the [letters] heh-vav-heh are also yud-heh, since the vav draws out the yud, etc.
The verse “For with Yah, G‑d is the Rock of worlds” is brought to show that the worlds depend on G‑d’s Name. The Alter Rebbe explains that “Yah” here stands for the whole Name Havayah, since the vav is only an extension of the yud, so the remaining letters too are a form of yud and heh.
The paragraph shows that the praise of the “holy ones” reaches only G‑d’s Name, since even Chochmah is like mere action to Him, and begins to explain the Name through which the worlds were made.
The next paragraph takes up this verse: the World to Come was created with the yud and this world with the heh, and these correspond to the hidden worlds and the revealed worlds.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי הודו של שמו על ארץ ושמים · Psalms 148:13
- 2בי״ה ה׳ צור עולמים · Isaiah 26:4
- 3כולם בחכ׳ עשית · Psalms 104:24
12וביו״ד נברא העוה״ב כנ״ל היינו עלמין סתימין דלא אתגליין עין לא ראתה1 אלהים זולתך ובה״א נברא עוה״ז2 היינו עלמין דאתגליין מה
And with the yud the World to Come was created, as mentioned above; that is, the hidden worlds (almin sesimin) that are not revealed: “No eye has seen, O G‑d, but You.” And with the heh this world was created; that is, the revealed worlds (almin d’isgalyan), that which
The Alter Rebbe continues with the verse about “Yah”: as the Talmud teaches, the World to Come was created with the yud and this world with the heh. He identifies the World to Come with the “hidden worlds,” beyond all perception, of which it is said, “No eye has seen, O G‑d, but You,” and this world with the “revealed worlds.”
שהוא מושג ונתפס בהשגת הנבראים ואפי׳ ג״ע העליון נק׳ עלמא דאתגלי׳ לגבי בחי׳ זו שהוא שם שהרי צדיקי׳ נהנים כו׳ אלא שלגבי עוה״ז השפל הגשמי נק׳ עוה״ב ג״ע העליון.
is apprehended and grasped by the comprehension of created beings. Even the Higher Garden of Eden is called a “revealed world” (alma d’isgalya) in relation to this level, since it is there that “the righteous enjoy,” etc.; only in relation to this lowly, physical world is the Higher Garden of Eden called the World to Come.
A “revealed world” is any level that created beings can grasp. In this sense even the Higher Garden of Eden counts as revealed, since there the righteous enjoy the radiance of the Divine Presence; it is called the “World to Come” only in comparison with our lowly physical world.
אבל לגבי עולמות עליוני׳ נקרא בשם עוה״ז ועלמא דאתגליא מאחר שיש שם הנאה ותענוג הנשמות
But in relation to the higher worlds it is called by the name “this world” and “revealed world,” since there is enjoyment and delight of the souls there,
Compared with the higher worlds, the Higher Garden of Eden is itself “this world,” a revealed world, because the souls there experience enjoyment and delight. Wherever something is perceived and enjoyed, it belongs to the revealed.
משא״כ בחי׳ עלמין סתימין הוא מה שאינו מושג ונתפס כלל עין לא ראתה וכו׳ וכל בחי׳ הללו הם מבחינת שמו והודו של שמו כו׳.
whereas the level of the hidden worlds is that which is not apprehended or grasped at all: “No eye has seen,” etc. And all these levels are from the level of His Name and the splendor of His Name, etc.
The hidden worlds, by contrast, cannot be grasped at all, and of them it is said, “No eye has seen.” Yet both the hidden and the revealed worlds come only from G‑d’s Name and the splendor of His Name, not from His essence.
אבל בא״ס ב״ה עצמו לא שייך כלל זה שהוא קדוש ומובדל מגדר עלמין לגמרי ולא שייך אפילו בחי׳ עלמין סתימין כו׳ ובחינת עלמין סתימין הם כעשיות גשמיות אצלו ית׳.
But to the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, Himself, this does not apply at all, for He is holy and entirely separate from the category of worlds, and not even the level of the hidden worlds applies [to Him], etc. The level of the hidden worlds is like physical acts of making to Him, may He be blessed.
G‑d Himself, the Infinite One, is entirely beyond the category of worlds, even the hidden ones. To Him even the hidden worlds are like mere physical acts of making, just as was said of Chochmah above.
The paragraph explains the yud and the heh as the hidden and the revealed worlds, and shows that both, even the loftiest, derive only from G‑d’s Name, while He Himself is beyond all worlds.
The terms are relative: the same Higher Garden of Eden is “the World to Come” when seen from below and “this world” when seen from above. Only the Infinite One stands outside the whole scale.
Marei mekomos
- 1עין לא ראתה אלקים זולתך · Isaiah 64:3
- 2וביו״ד נברא העוה״ב . . ובה״א נברא עוה״ז · Menachot 29b:13–14
13וכמאמר אדון הנפלאות. וכמ״ש עושה פלא.1 ומה שקדושים בכל יום יהללוך סלה הוא בבחי׳ ושמך קדוש בלבד והיינו כי משם נמשך קדושתם ומהללים להתכלל ולהבטל במקורם.
As in the saying, “Master of wonders,” and as it is written, “He makes wonder.” And that “holy ones praise You every day, selah,” is only at the level of “and Your Name is holy”; that is, from there their holiness is drawn, and they praise in order to be absorbed and nullified in their source.
The praise of the “holy ones” reaches only the level of “Your Name is holy,” because that is the source from which their own holiness is drawn. Their praise is a longing to rise and be absorbed and nullified in that source.
אבל ישראל הם מקדשי שמך2 כי הנה באתעדל״ת תלוי3 אתעדל״ע45 להיות התלבשות א״ס ב״ה בחכמה וחסד להחיות ולהוות עלמין סתימין ועלמין דאתגליין והיינו אק״ב ממש הקב״ה מניח תפילין6 כו׳.
But Israel are those “who sanctify Your Name,” for on an arousal from below depends the arousal from above: that the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, be enclothed in Chochmah (wisdom) and Chesed (kindness), to give life to and bring into being the hidden worlds and the revealed worlds. And this is “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” literally: “The Holy One, blessed be He, puts on tefillin,” etc.
Israel, however, are called the ones “who sanctify Your Name,” because their deeds below arouse a response from above: the Infinite One Himself is enclothed in Chochmah and Chesed to give life to all the worlds, hidden and revealed. This is the meaning of “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” and of the Sages’ statement that the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself puts on tefillin.
The paragraph contrasts the praise of the “holy ones,” which rises only to G‑d’s Name, with Israel’s mitzvos, which draw the Infinite One Himself down into the worlds.
Marei mekomos
- 1עושה פלא · Exodus 15:11
- 2ישראל הם מקדשי שמך · ראה אוה״ת פ׳ שמות ע׳ ג. לא.
- 3באתעדל״ת תלוי אתדל״ע · ראה זהר לך פח, א. ויצא קסד, א. ויחי רלה, א. רמד, א. מאמר אדה״א דברים ח״א ע׳ קצח. וש״נ.
- 4באתעדל״ת תלוי אתעדל״ע · Zohar, Vayechi 53:517–528
- 5באתעדל״ת תלוי אתעדל״ע · Zohar, Vayechi 69:714–723
- 6הקב״ה מניח תפילין · Berakhot 6a:17–18
14וע״י הנחת תפלין למטה מתעורר קדושה העליונ׳ שלמעל׳ להיות שורה ומתלבש בתוך עלמין. וקדושה זו היא מבחי׳ אוא״ס ב״ה בעצמו ובכבודו שלמעלה מגדר עלמין בחי׳ אתה קדוש
Through putting on tefillin below, the supernal holiness above is aroused to rest upon and be enclothed within worlds. And this holiness is from the level of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, in its very self and glory, which is above the category of worlds: the level of “You are holy,”
When a Jew puts on tefillin below, the supernal holiness is aroused to rest upon and enter the worlds. This holiness comes from the Infinite Light itself, which is beyond all worlds: the level of “You are holy,” not only “Your Name is holy.”
שהוא אדון הנפלאות למעלה מעלה מבחינת פליאות חכמה שמאין תמצא1 כי המצות הן הן רצונו ית׳ ובחי׳ מדרגת הרצון הוא הגבה למעלה מאד מבחי׳ חכמה.
which is “Master of wonders,” far, far above the level of the wonders of Chochmah (wisdom), which “is found from nothing”; for the mitzvos are His very will, may He be blessed, and the level of will is exceedingly high, far above the level of Chochmah.
It stems from the “Master of wonders,” far above even the wonder of Chochmah, which comes into being from nothing. The reason is that the mitzvos are G‑d’s very will, and will is far higher than wisdom.
The paragraph explains that the mitzvos draw down a holiness from beyond all worlds, because they are G‑d’s will, which is higher than Chochmah.
Marei mekomos
- 1שמאין תמצא · Job 28:12
15ולכן הם מקדישי׳ ומרוממים שמך שבהם ועל ידם נתעלה בחי׳ שמו בקדושת אור א״ס ב״ה עצמו.
Therefore they sanctify and exalt Your Name, for in them and through them the level of His Name is elevated into the holiness of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself.
This is why Israel are said to sanctify and exalt G‑d’s Name: through them and their mitzvos, the level of His Name is lifted into the holiness of the Infinite Light itself. They do not add holiness to G‑d; they bring His own holiness into the level of His Name, which relates to the worlds.
וזהו יפה שעה אחת בתשובה ומע״ט1 בעוה״ז מכל חיי עוה״ב2 שהם מבחינת שמו ית׳ בלבד. אבל ע״י המע״ט ממשיכים קדושת אור א״ס ב״ה בעצמו כנ״ל:
This is [the meaning of] “Better is one hour of teshuvah (return) and good deeds in this world than all the life of the World to Come,” which is only from the level of His Name, may He be blessed; but through good deeds one draws down the holiness of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, as explained above.
This explains the Mishnah’s teaching that one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come. The World to Come is a revelation from the level of G‑d’s Name alone, while good deeds draw down the holiness of the Infinite Light itself.
The paragraph answers the question about “who sanctify Your Name”: through the mitzvos Israel raise G‑d’s Name into the holiness of His essence, which is why good deeds in this world surpass the World to Come.
Marei mekomos
- 1יפה שעה אחת בתשובה ומע״ט · אבות ד, יז.
- 2יפה שעה אחת בתשובה ומע״ט בעוה״ז מכל חיי עוה״ב · Pirkei Avot 4:17
The garments of the soul ¶16–23
16והנה מן המצות נעשה לבושים1 לנפש כמ״ש בזוהר2 ע״פ ואברהם זקן בא בימים3 באינון יומין עילאין דאינון לבושין4 כנ״ל.
Now from the mitzvos garments are made for the soul, as is stated in the Zohar on the verse “And Avraham was old, come into days”: “with those supernal days, which are garments,” as mentioned above.
The mitzvos also make garments for the soul. The Zohar reads “Avraham was old, come into days” as saying that he came with his “supernal days”: the days of a person’s life become garments for his soul.
והיינו לפי שע״י המצות ממשיך אור מקיף מבחי׳ סובב כל עלמין לכן נעשה לבוש לנשמתו שתהיה נפשו צרורה בצרור החיים5 את6 ה׳ וכו׳.
This is because through the mitzvos one draws down an encompassing light (Or Makif) from the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin); therefore it becomes a garment for his soul, so that his soul be “bound up in the bond of life with G‑d,” etc.
The reason is that a mitzvah draws down an encompassing light from the level of sovev kol almin, the light that surrounds all worlds. Like a garment, this light surrounds the soul, so that it is “bound up in the bond of life with G‑d.”
אך הנה אמרו אפילו פושעי ישראל מלאים מצות7 כרמון ומ״מ אין ממשיכין כלום.8 אלא הענין הוא שהמשכת קדושה העליונה הוא ע״י שמחה של מצוה דוקא וכדכתיב תחת אשר לא עבדת9 את ה׳ אלקיך בשמחה.
But [the Sages] said that even the transgressors of Israel are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate, and nevertheless they draw down nothing. Rather, the point is that the drawing down of the supernal holiness comes specifically through the joy of a mitzvah, as it is written, “Because you did not serve G‑d your G‑d with joy.”
But the Sages said that even the transgressors of Israel are as full of mitzvos as a pomegranate is full of seeds, and still they draw down nothing. The Alter Rebbe therefore concludes that the supernal holiness is drawn down specifically through the joy of a mitzvah, citing the rebuke “Because you did not serve G‑d your G‑d with joy.”
The paragraph explains that the mitzvos form garments for the soul by drawing down an encompassing light, and that this happens only when they are done with joy.
Marei mekomos
- 1והנה מן המצות נעשה לבושים · באוה״ת פ׳ תבוא ע׳ תתשח מציין לכאן. ולד״ה תורה צוה (שנדפס בסה״מ תקס״ו ע׳ שסז ועם הגהות באוה״ת ברכה ע׳ א׳תתנו). ”עיין בד״ה תורה צוה שלא נדפס בלקו״ת, לבוש מלכות עמ״ש ע״פ ויעבור שנתעטף כש״ץ”.
- 2כמ״ש בזוהר · ח״א רכד, א. ראה לעיל טז, א ובמ״מ לשם.
- 3ואברהם זקן בא בימים · Genesis 24:1
- 4באינון יומין עילאין דאינון לבושין · Zohar, Vayechi 32:294–303
- 5נפשו צרורה בצרור החיים · באוה״ת פ׳ תבא שם ”בצרור החיים בארצות החיים ארץ עילאה בינה ששם מאיר החיים מע״ק שהם חיי ז״א חיי עולם ועמ״ש ע״פ ועשית בגדי קודש”.
- 6צרורה בצרור החיים את ה׳ · I Samuel 25:29
- 7פושעי ישראל מלאים מצות · Eruvin 19a:9
- 8ומ״מ אין ממשיכין כלום · ראה גם לקו״ת שלח לט, א. שה״ש יז, ב. באוה״ת תבוא ע׳ תתשח ”כי המצות צ״ל עבדת בשמחה עבודת עבד עול מצות” ע״ש בארוכה.
- 9תחת אשר לא עבדת · Deuteronomy 28:47
17והשמחה היא מצד התבוננות מזה עצמו איך שהמצות הם בחינת אור א״ס ב״ה עצמו בחי׳ אדון הנפלאות וכו׳.
And the joy comes from contemplating this very thing: how the mitzvos are the level of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself, the level of “Master of wonders,” etc.
The joy of a mitzvah comes from contemplating what a mitzvah is: the Infinite Light itself, the “Master of wonders,” beyond all the worlds. Understanding this is what makes the heart rejoice.
ולזה ישמח לבו בקיום המצות אשר קדשנו במצותיו ממש והוא בחי׳ חמר חווריין עתיק שהוא בחי׳ ענג העליון להתענג על ה׳ ממש.
Because of this his heart will rejoice in fulfilling the mitzvos, [for He] “has sanctified us with His commandments,” literally. This is the level of “ancient white wine” (chamar chivaryan atik), which is the level of the supernal delight: to delight in G‑d, truly.
Such joy is the “ancient white wine” mentioned earlier, which the Alter Rebbe now identifies as the supernal delight: a delight in G‑d Himself. In fulfilling the mitzvos the person feels that G‑d “has sanctified us with His commandments” in the most literal sense.
אך צריך לעורר מתחלה בנפשו בחי׳ יין אדום ויין המשכר שהוא בחי׳ גבורות קדושות כדי לאתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא ומרירו למיתקא שאז יתענגו על ה׳ בתענוג המשכת אוא״ס ב״ה
But first he must arouse in his soul the level of red wine and intoxicating wine, which is the level of holy gevuros (restraints), in order to transform darkness into light and bitterness into sweetness; for then they will delight in G‑d with the delight of drawing down the Infinite Light, blessed be He.
Before this joy, however, a person must first arouse the red, intoxicating wine: the holy gevuros, a bitterness over his distance from G‑d. This turns darkness into light and bitterness into sweetness, so that the delight of drawing down the Infinite Light becomes complete.
כי התענוג הוא שייך אחר מילוי הרצון שכשנתמלא רצונו וחפצו מה שהיה חושק ומתאוה אז יתענג
For delight belongs after the fulfillment of the will: when his will and desire are fulfilled, that which he was longing and yearning for, then he delights,
The reason lies in a principle of the soul: delight comes when a desire is fulfilled. One delights in attaining what one has longed and yearned for.
משא״כ אם לא היה לו תשוקה כ״כ אין התענוג אצלו כ״כ גם בהיות אצלו הדבר ההוא ולכן צריך לעורר תחלה בחינת גבורות על הירידה אשר רחוק מה׳ בתכלית.
whereas if he did not have so great a longing, his delight is not so great, even when he has that thing. Therefore one must first arouse the level of gevuros over the descent, [in] that he is utterly far from G‑d.
Without a strong longing, even having the thing brings little delight. Therefore a person must first feel the pain of having descended so far from G‑d, so that the joy of the mitzvah, when it comes, fulfills a real longing.
The paragraph explains that the joy of a mitzvah comes from contemplating that it is G‑d’s own light, and that this delight is complete only when it is preceded by a bitter longing over one’s distance from Him.
This joins the two kinds of wine described earlier: the red wine of bitterness must come first and the white wine of joy follows, just as delight in general follows the fulfillment of a longing.
18ובפרט כאשר יהי׳ ממארי דחושבנא מן המעשים ודבורים והמחשבות אשר לא לה׳ המה. וישוב אל1 ה׳ וירחמהו וכמאמר אלהי עולם ברחמיך הרבים כו׳
And especially so when he is one of the “masters of reckoning” over the deeds, words and thoughts that are not for G‑d. “And let him return to G‑d, and He will have compassion on him,” and as in the saying, “Eternal G‑d, in Your abundant compassion,” etc.,
The bitterness is deepest in one who takes stock of all his deeds, words and thoughts that were not for G‑d. He then returns to G‑d, who “will have compassion on him,” as we pray, “Eternal G‑d, in Your abundant compassion.”
וכמ״ש במ״א ואזי תהי׳ שמחת הנפש בקיום המצות ביתר שאת כי כל שתגדל התשוק׳ והצמאון מחמת ריחוק מקום מצד הגוף כך תגדל שמחת הנפש מצד המשכ׳ אוא״ס ב״ה בקיום המצות והתענגו על ה׳ במילוי רצונה וחפצה
as explained elsewhere. And then the soul’s joy in fulfilling the mitzvos will be “with surpassing eminence,” for the more the longing and thirst grow because of the distance caused by the body, so much the more will the soul’s joy grow from drawing down the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, in fulfilling the mitzvos, and [from] its delight in G‑d in the fulfillment of its will and desire.
Afterwards his joy in the mitzvos is all the greater: the deeper the thirst caused by the body’s distance from G‑d, the greater the soul’s joy at drawing down the Infinite Light through a mitzvah. The soul delights in G‑d because its own will and desire have been fulfilled.
וז״ש זאת נחמתי בעניי2 כי אמרתך חייתני וכמאמר כי הם חיינו ואורך ימינו כו׳ ואין לערב שמחת הנפש בעצבון הגוף3 וכו׳.
This is [the meaning of] what is written, “This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life,” and as in the saying, “For they are our life and the length of our days,” etc. And one must not mix the joy of the soul with the sadness of the body, etc.
This is the meaning of “This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life”: G‑d’s word in the mitzvos is the soul’s life, as we say in the prayers, “they are our life and the length of our days.” The bitterness belongs to the body, and it must not be mixed into the soul’s joy.
אך כדי להוציא בחי׳ יין הנ״ל צריך לשית עצות בנפשו להיות בבחינת ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה4 מן הרגליות וכו׳. ועל ידי דריכה ברגלים בגת שהיא בחינת לב נשבר ונדכה5 כו׳.
But to bring out the level of wine mentioned above, one must take counsel in his soul to be at the level of “And let my soul be as dust to all,” [as with wine] from the low-lying vines (ragliyos), etc., and through treading with the feet in the winepress, which is the level of a broken and crushed heart, etc.
To bring out this wine at all, a person must work on himself to reach the humility of “Let my soul be as dust to all,” like the low-lying vines. He also needs the treading in the winepress, which is a broken and crushed heart.
The paragraph explains that self-reckoning and return deepen the soul’s thirst, so that its joy in the mitzvos becomes greater, while the body’s sadness is kept apart from the soul’s joy.
Marei mekomos
- 1וישוב אל ה׳ וירחמהו · Isaiah 55:7
- 2זאת נחמתי בעניי · Psalms 119:50
- 3ואין לערב שמחת הנפש בעצבון הגוף · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 31:13
- 4ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה · Berakhot 17a:4
- 5לב נשבר ונדכה · Psalms 51:19
19והנה כנגד ב׳ בחינות יין הנ״ל כך נמשך ב׳ בחינת לבושין. וזהו כבס ביין לבושו1 שיהיו לבושי המצות מכובסים עד״מ כמו בגד המכובס מן הלכלוך כך הנה אפי׳ פושעי ישראל2 מלאים מצות3 כו׳.
Now corresponding to the two levels of wine mentioned above, two levels of garments are drawn down. This is [the meaning of] “he washed his garment in wine”: that the garments of the mitzvos be washed, by way of analogy, like a garment washed of dirt. So too, even the transgressors of Israel are full of mitzvos, etc.
The two kinds of wine produce two kinds of garments, and this is the meaning of “he washed his garment in wine.” The garments formed by the mitzvos must be washed clean, like a garment washed of dirt; for even the transgressors of Israel are full of mitzvos, yet, as the next paragraph explains, their garments remain soiled.
The paragraph introduces two kinds of garments, corresponding to the two kinds of wine, and reads “he washed his garment in wine” as the cleansing of the garments made by the mitzvos.
Marei mekomos
- 1כבס ביין לבושו · Genesis 49:11
- 2שו״ה עד״מ — כך הנה אפי׳ פושעי ישראל · התוכן מובא באוה״ת חנוכה ע׳ שכב, א.
- 3אפי׳ פושעי ישראל מלאים מצות · Eruvin 19a:9
20ואעפ״כ את פושעי׳ נמנו שלבושי המצות שלהם הם מלובשי׳ בלבושים צואים שלהם משא״כ ע״י בחי׳ יין ושמחה של מצוה נעשה בחי׳ כבוס לבוש והתפשטות מלבושי׳ שבנוגה להתענג על ה׳ לבדו.
And nevertheless they were “counted with the transgressors,” for the garments of their mitzvos are clothed in their soiled garments. Whereas through the level of wine and the joy of a mitzvah, there comes about the level of washing the garment, and the stripping off of the garments that are in Nogah, to delight in G‑d alone.
Even with all their mitzvos, such people are “counted with the transgressors,” because the garments of their mitzvos are wrapped in their own soiled garments. The wine of joy in a mitzvah washes the garment and strips away the garments of Nogah, the realm where good and evil are mixed, so that the person delights in G‑d alone.
וע״י בחי׳ דם ענבים1 הוא בחי׳ יין אדום שהוא ענין התגברות הנפש לאהפכא חשוכא לנהורא2 והמרירות על ריחוקו מאור פני ה׳ ונק׳ דם לפי שצריך יגיעת הנפש ויגיעת בשר בנפשו דמו.
And through the level of “the blood of grapes,” which is the level of red wine, that is, the soul’s overcoming [of itself] to transform darkness into light, and the bitterness over its distance from the light of G‑d’s countenance. It is called “blood” because it requires toil of the soul and toil of the flesh, with his soul, his blood.
“The blood of grapes,” from the end of the verse, is the red wine: the soul’s struggle to turn darkness into light, and its bitterness over being far from the light of G‑d’s face. It is called “blood” because it demands toil of soul and body, as though giving one’s very life.
אך מ״מ נק׳ דם ענבים בחי׳ יין שצ״ל ע״י בחי׳ שמחה שהיא בחי׳ התבוננות מצד גדולת ה׳ א״ס ב״ה וישוב אל3 ה׳ וירחמהו.4
Yet nevertheless it is called “the blood of grapes,” the level of wine, for it must come through the level of joy, which is the level of contemplating the greatness of G‑d, the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He: “And let him return to G‑d, and He will have compassion on him.”
Yet it is still called the blood of grapes, a kind of wine, because it too must come with joy, through contemplating the infinite greatness of G‑d. The verse “And let him return to G‑d, and He will have compassion on him” describes this return, which the next paragraph explains.
The paragraph explains how the two kinds of wine cleanse the soul’s garments: joy in a mitzvah strips off the soiled garments of Nogah, and the “blood of grapes,” the bitter struggle of return, is also a kind of wine, because it too must come with joy.
Marei mekomos
- 1דם ענבים · Genesis 49:11
- 2שהוא ענין התגברות הנפש לאהפכא חשוכא לנהורא · ראה אוה״ת וישלח כרך ה תתפא, א.
- 3וישוב אל ה׳ וירחמהו · Isaiah 55:7
- 4את פושעים נמנו · Isaiah 53:12
“And He will have compassion on him,” specifically: that is, on the spark of G‑dliness within him, how it has descended astonishingly, lower and lower, as explained elsewhere. And through this there comes about the level of “his robe” (suso).
“He will have compassion on him” refers specifically to the spark of G‑dliness within the person, which has fallen so astonishingly low. Through this compassion comes the level the verse calls suso, “his robe.”
פי׳ סותו מלשון מסוה345 הוא כסוי הראש והפנים שיש ב׳ בחינות לבושין6 לבוש הגוף ע״ד משל ולבוש הראש והפנים ע״ד משל.
Explanation: suso is related to the word masveh (veil), which is a covering of the head and face. For there are two levels of garments: a garment of the body, by way of analogy, and a garment of the head and face, by way of analogy.
The Alter Rebbe reads suso as related to masveh, the veil Moshe placed over his face, so it is a covering for the head and face. A soul thus has two kinds of garments, so to speak: one for its “body” and one for its “head and face.”
The paragraph interprets “his robe” (suso) as a covering for the head and face, introducing a second, higher garment of the soul alongside the garment of the body.
The Kehot note records that Ibn Ezra and Chizkuni also connect suso with masveh, and that Or HaTorah says Or HaChaim explains it this way, while Rashi and Radak explain it as a kind of garment.
Marei mekomos
- 1סותו · Rashi on Genesis 49:11
- 2סותו · Radak on Genesis 49:11
- 3פי׳ סותו מלשון מסוה · Exodus 34:33
- 4סותו מלשון מסוה · Ibn Ezra on Genesis 49:11
- 5סותו מלשון מסוה · Chizkuni, Genesis 49:11
- 6שיש ב׳ בחינות לבושין · באוה״ת וישלח רמג, א. תצוה ע׳ א׳תר מציין לכאן.
22והנה ע״י בחי׳ יין המשמח נמשך בחי׳ לבוש לבחי׳ הגוף של הנפש שהוא בחי׳ לבושי מדות הנפש אהבה ויראה כו׳
Now through the level of “wine that gladdens,” there is drawn down the level of a garment for the level of the soul’s body, which is the level of the garments of the soul’s emotive attributes (middos), love and awe, etc.;
The “wine that gladdens,” the joy of a mitzvah, produces a garment for the soul’s “body,” which is its emotions. These are the garments of the soul’s love and awe.
אבל ע״י בחי׳ דם ענבים נמשך לבוש לבחי׳ הראש והפנים של הנפש והוא בחי׳ ראיה ושמיעה.
but through the level of “the blood of grapes,” a garment is drawn down for the level of the soul’s head and face, which is the level of sight and hearing.
The “blood of grapes,” the bitter struggle of return, produces a higher garment for the soul’s “head and face,” its sight and hearing. The next paragraph explains why this garment is higher.
The paragraph matches the two wines to the soul’s two garments: joy clothes its emotions, while the struggle of return clothes its higher faculties of sight and hearing.
As it is written, “They looked to Him and became radiant,” etc. But is it possible to gaze at the Shechinah (Divine Presence), etc.? Rather, this means “to gaze at the glory of the King,” etc.
The verse “They looked to Him and became radiant” speaks of seeing G‑d, a faculty of the “head and face.” Since no one can literally gaze at the Shechinah, the Alter Rebbe explains it as gazing at “the glory of the King.”
והענין כמאמר רז״ל במקום שבע״ת עומדים23 כו׳ כי צדיקים גמורים ע״י שמחה של מצוה והתענגם על ה׳ ממשיכים ענג העליון מלמעלה למטה
The point is as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “In the place where baalei teshuvah (those who return) stand,” etc. For the perfectly righteous, through the joy of a mitzvah and their delight in G‑d, draw down the supernal delight from above to below,
The Sages taught that baalei teshuvah stand in a place where even the perfectly righteous cannot stand. The perfectly righteous serve through the joy of a mitzvah and their delight in G‑d, and so they draw the supernal delight down from above to below.
אבל הבעל תשובה ע״י התגברותו על הרע שבנפשו במסירת נפש היא בבחי׳ הסתלקות מלמטה למעלה כדרך הגבורות ורשפי אש4 כו׳. ולכן נעשה לבוש לנשמתו ג״כ למעלה על בחי׳ ראש הנ״ל:
whereas the baal teshuvah, through overcoming the evil in his soul with self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh), is at the level of ascent from below to above, in the manner of the gevuros and “flashes of fire,” etc. Therefore a garment is made for his soul also above, upon the level of the head mentioned above.
The baal teshuvah, however, overcomes the evil in his soul with self-sacrifice; his service is an ascent from below to above, like the gevuros and the “flashes of fire” that surge upward. Therefore his soul receives a garment higher up as well, for its “head.”
The paragraph explains why the struggle of return earns the higher garment: the righteous draw delight down from above, while the baal teshuvah rises from below with self-sacrifice, and so is clothed even at the level of the head.
Marei mekomos
- 1הביטו אליו ונהרו · Psalms 34:6
- 2במקום שבע״ת עומדים · נסמן לעיל כב, ג.
- 3במקום שבע״ת עומדים · Berakhot 34b:22–23
- 4רשפי אש · Song of Songs 8:6
The perfection of man ¶24–26
24והנה זהו כל עבודתנו בקיום המצות1 בזמן הזה להמשיך לנפש שתתעלה בעילוי אחר עילוי לאור באור א״ס ב״ה ותהיה הנפש צרורה2 כו׳.
Now this is all of our service in fulfilling the mitzvos at this time: to draw down [light] to the soul, so that it rise from elevation to elevation, to be illumined with the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, and that the soul be “bound up,” etc.
In our time, the whole purpose of keeping the mitzvos is to raise the soul from level to level, so that it shines with the Infinite Light and is “bound up in the bond of life.” Our service now benefits mainly the soul itself.
אבל תכלית השלימות של ימות המשיח בקיום המצות ומעשה הקרבנות שיהיו הקרבנות כבשים ופרים וכו׳ ג״כ נכללים ומתעלים בעילוי אחר עילוי באור א״ס ב״ה.
But the ultimate perfection of the days of Mashiach, in fulfilling the mitzvos and in the deed of the offerings, is that the offerings, lambs and bulls, etc., will also be included and elevated, from elevation to elevation, in the Infinite Light, blessed be He.
In the days of Mashiach, however, the perfection of the mitzvos and of the offerings will be that the animals themselves, the lambs and bulls of the offerings, will also be included and elevated in the Infinite Light. This is something prayer cannot achieve.
אך בזמן הגלות אי אפשר לנפש האדם להעלותם ולקשרם במקורם מאחר שהיא מקושרת בעצמה למטה.
But in the time of exile it is impossible for the human soul to elevate them and bind them to their source, since it is itself bound below.
In exile a person cannot raise the animals and bind them to their source, because his own soul is itself still bound below.
אבל לימות המשיח שיקויים ונגלה כבוד3 ה׳ וראו כל בשר וגו׳. שנשמות ישראל יהיו במעלה אז יהיה זמן קיום המעש׳ והעלאת ניצוצות שנפלו אפילו הבהמות.4
But in the days of Mashiach, when there will be fulfilled, “And the glory of G‑d will be revealed, and all flesh will see,” etc., for the souls of Israel will be on high, then will be the time of fulfilling the deed and of elevating the sparks that have fallen, even the animals.
In the days of Mashiach, when “the glory of G‑d will be revealed and all flesh will see,” the souls of Israel will stand on a high level. Then will come the true time of the deed, when even the sparks of holiness that fell into the animals will be raised.
The paragraph answers the opening question: in exile the mitzvos elevate only the soul, but in the days of Mashiach the offerings will raise even the animals to the Infinite Light.
Marei mekomos
- 1והנה זהו כל עבודתינו בקיום המצות · קטע מכאן מובא בסה״מ תרל״ג כרך א ע׳ קפג עם איזה הוספות.
- 2תהיה הנפש צרורה · בתרל״ג כרך א ע׳ קפג מוסיף כ״ק אדמו״ר מהר״ש ”וע׳ מענין צרורה כו׳ את הוי׳ בד״ה אם בחוקתי תלכו (כ״ו)” — סה״מ תרכ״ו (הוצאת תשמ״ט) ע׳ צה.
- 3ונגלה כבוד ה׳ · Isaiah 40:5
- 4והעלאת ניצוצות שנפלו אפילו הבהמות · בסה״מ תרל״ג שם ע׳ קפג נמצא הגה״ה ”שיוכלו להעלותם ולא ע״י שיוכללו בבחי׳ מדבר כמו ע״י אכילת אדם שם מ״ה, כ״א שיתעלו הם עצמם ע״י קיום המצות שיהי׳ אז כמצות רצונך כו׳”.
So it was at the beginning of the world’s creation: before the first man (Adam HaRishon) was created, it is said, “And there was no man (adam) to work the ground,” etc.
The same pattern appeared at the creation of the world. Before Adam was created, the Torah says, “There was no man to work the ground”: the world lacked someone to serve in it.
ואח״כ נעשה אדם ויניחהו בג״ע לעבדה ולשמרה.2 אלא שאח״כ3 ויגרש את האדם45 וגו׳ כלומר שלא הי׳ בבחי׳ אדם והוצרך לילך ולתקן נפשו.
Afterwards man was made, “and He placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it.” But afterwards, “He drove out the man,” etc.; that is to say, he was not at the level of adam, and he had to go and rectify his soul.
Man was then made and placed in Eden “to work it and to guard it,” but after the sin he was driven out. This shows that he was not yet truly at the level of adam, “man,” and he had to go out and repair his soul.
The paragraph traces the pattern back to Adam: created to serve in Eden, he fell short of the full level of “man” and was sent out to repair his soul.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואדם אין לעבוד · Genesis 2:5
- 2לעבדה ולשמרה · Genesis 2:15
- 3לעבדה ולשמרה. אלא שאח״כ · בסה״מ תרל״ג ע׳ קפד: ואם לא חטא עה״ד הי׳ אז שלימות המעשה אלא שע״י חטא עה״ד כתי׳: אח״כ.
- 4ויגרש את האדם · בסה״מ תרל״ג ע׳ קפד נוסף: כמארז״ל במד״ר שדן אותו בשילוחין ובגירושין: ארוכה.
- 5ויגרש את האדם · Genesis 3:24
26ושלימות בחי׳ אדם הוא בזמן המשיח שנאמר עליו הנה ישכיל עבדי1 ירום ונשא וגבה מאד מא״ד הוא אותיות אד״ם.2
And the perfection of the level of adam will be in the time of Mashiach, of whom it is said, “Behold, My servant will prosper; he will be exalted and lifted up, and very (me’od) high.” Me’od (mem-alef-dalet) has the letters of adam (alef-dalet-mem).
The full level of adam, “man,” will be reached only in the time of Mashiach, of whom Isaiah says, “Behold, My servant will prosper; he will be exalted and lifted up, and very high.” The word me’od, “very,” has the same letters as adam.
וכן ראשי תיבות אד״ם אד״ם דו״ד משי״ח שבזמן ימות המשיח נשלם בחינת אדם ואזי הוא זמן היום לעשותם זמן קיום המצות בשלימות3 שיהיה הקרבת קרבנות כמצות רצונך.45
Likewise the initials of adam are Adam, David, Mashiach. For in the time of the days of Mashiach the level of adam is completed, and then is the time of “Today, to do them,” the time of fulfilling the mitzvos in perfection, when there will be the bringing of offerings “according to the command of Your will.”
The letters of adam also stand for Adam, David and Mashiach, showing that what began with Adam is completed with Mashiach. Then will be the true time of “Today, to do them,” when the mitzvos are fulfilled perfectly and the offerings are brought “according to the command of Your will.”
משא״כ בזמן הגלות אין עשיית המצו׳ כרצונך ממש אלא לעילוי הנפש שיתקן בחי׳ אדם שלא יהיה ואדם אין לעבד.
Whereas in the time of exile the doing of the mitzvos is not truly “according to Your will,” but [is] for the elevation of the soul, that it may rectify the level of adam, so that it not be “and there was no man to work.”
In exile, by contrast, the mitzvos are not yet done truly “according to Your will.” Their effect now is to raise the soul and repair the level of adam, so that the world will no longer be in the state of “there was no man to work.”
אבל עיקר העבודה לעבדה ולשמרה הוא בימות המשיח דוקא. והתפלה שהיא בחי׳ נשיאת הנפש הוא כנגד הקרבנות
But the main service of “to work it and to guard it” is specifically in the days of Mashiach. And prayer, which is the level of the lifting up of the soul, corresponds to the offerings,
The essential service of “to work it and to guard it” belongs to the days of Mashiach. Prayer, the lifting up of the soul, was instituted to correspond to the offerings.
but it is not truly at the level of offerings, for there [in the offerings] is the level of the ascent of all the worlds in general, even the soul of the animal, which goes down below to the earth.
But prayer is not an actual offering, because an offering raises all the worlds together, including even the soul of an animal, which goes down below to the earth. This answers the question posed at the start of the maamar.
The paragraph completes the answer to the opening question: only in the days of Mashiach, when the level of adam is perfected, will the offerings be brought “according to the command of Your will,” raising even the animal, which prayer in exile cannot do.
For the reading of adam as Adam, David, Mashiach, the Kehot note points to Sefer HaGilgulim, end of chapter 1. The Kehot note also observes that the words “according to the command of Your will” are the wording of the Musaf prayer.
Marei mekomos
- 1הנה ישכיל עבדי · Isaiah 52:13
- 2מא״ד הוא אותיות אד״ם · Bereshit Rabbah 8:5
- 3שבזמן ימות המשיח . . זמן קיום המצות בשלימות · ראה גם תו״ח ויחי צה, א ואילך. אוה״ת ויחי כרך ו תתשכח, ב ואילך. המשך וככה תרל״ז פי״ז ואילך.
- 4כמצות רצונך · לשון תפלת מוסף.
- 5שיהי׳ הקרבת קרבנות כמצות רצונך · באוה״ת ויקרא כרך ב ע׳ תקעד מציין ע״ז: ”ובזה יובן מ״ש בתו״א פ׳ ויחי בד״ה אוסרי לגפן בענין כמצות רצונך דהיינו הקרבנות ממש משא״כ בתפלה שכנגד הקרבנות כו׳ ע״ש והיינו כי אף שהתפלה הוא בירור נה״ב שבאדם מ״מ נה״ב שבאדם הוא הנפש השכלית ממש וכבר נת׳ שהביטול שבבהמה ממש שרשה ממדריגות עליונות שלמעלה מהשכל כו׳ וזהו נמשך ע״י הקרבן ממש” עכ״ל, ע״ש.
- 6נפש הבהמה היורדת למטה לארץ · Ecclesiastes 3:21
- 7ר״ת אדם . . משיח · ראה ספר הגלגולים ספ״א. ראה גם סה״מ תקס״ז ע׳ לט. מאמרי אדה״א פרשיות ח״ב ע׳ תקפט. ביאוה״ז לאדה״א קב, א. מאמרי אדה״א ויקרא ע׳ קצז. ספר החקירה ע, א. סה״מ תרל״ד ע׳ רסז. המשך וככה תרל״ז פרק כ.
Foal, city and son ¶27–30
27והנה על בחינת גפן ויין הנ״ל נאמר אסרי לגפן עירה1 פי׳ שבימות המשיח שיושלם בחי׳ אדם אז יהיו כלל ישראל מתעלים במעלה העליונה שיהיה בבחי׳ גפן ויין המשמח בשמחה של מצוה
Now concerning the level of the vine and wine mentioned above, it is said, “Binding his foal to the vine.” This means that in the days of Mashiach, when the level of adam will be completed, then the whole of Israel will be elevated to the highest rank, so that they will be at the level of the vine and of the “wine that gladdens,” with the joy of a mitzvah;
The Alter Rebbe now applies the vine and its wine to the verse. In the days of Mashiach, when the level of adam is perfected, all of Israel will rise to the level of the vine and of the “wine that gladdens,” the joy of a mitzvah.
וגם יהי׳ אוסרי אוסר יו״ד שבחי׳ יו״ד היא בחי׳ חכ׳ עילאה הוא אוסר ומקשר לבחי׳ גפן
and there will also be osri (“binding”), [that is,] oser (“binds”) [and] yud: for the level of the yud, which is the level of supernal Chochmah (wisdom), binds and connects to the level of the vine.
He reads osri, “binding,” as oser (“binds”) and yud: the yud, which stands for supernal Chochmah, is what binds and connects to the vine, the Jewish people in their joy.
(וענין החכמה הוא בחי׳ בטול שצ״ל בהשמח׳ עמ״ש ע״פ ולא נחם אלקי׳ דרך ארץ פלשתים2 וע״פ ביום השמע״צ).3 ועי״ז יהי׳ בבחי׳ עירה.
(The matter of Chochmah is the level of self-nullification (bittul), which must be present in the joy; see what is explained on the verse “And G‑d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines,” and on the verse “On the eighth day, an assembly.”) And through this they will be at the level of iroh (“his foal”).
In a parenthetical note, the Alter Rebbe explains that Chochmah means self-nullification (bittul), which must accompany joy, and refers to his explanations of two other verses. Through this binding Israel will reach the level of iroh, explained next.
כי הנה עירה סובל ב׳ פירושים לשון עיר פרא אדם ובחי׳ עיר אלהים. וביאור הדבר כי עיר פרא אדם יולד4 כתי׳.
For iroh bears two interpretations: the sense of ayir (foal), as in “a wild donkey’s foal, man,” and the level of ir (city), “the city of G‑d.” The explanation of the matter: it is written, “A man is born a wild donkey’s foal.”
The word iroh can mean either “his foal” (ayir), recalling Job’s “a man is born a wild donkey’s foal,” or “his city” (ir), as in “the city of G‑d.” The Alter Rebbe explains how one becomes the other.
פי׳ יולד היינו כשהמדו׳ אצלו כתולדתו וטבעו שלא נהפכו אצלו לעמוד כנגד טבעו כי זהו עבודת האדם לעמוד נגד טבעו הקשה מפני אהבת ה׳ ויראתו.
“Is born” means: when his emotive attributes (middos) are as at his birth and by his nature, not having been transformed in him to stand against his nature; for this is man’s service, to stand against his hard nature out of love of G‑d and awe of Him.
“Is born” describes a person whose character traits are still as they were at birth, following his nature. Real service of G‑d means standing against one’s hard nature out of love and awe of G‑d.
משא״כ כשהטבע מסייע אין זו עבודה תמה ונקרא עיר פרא אדם אבל כשהוא מקושר בבחי׳ גפן בחי׳ יין היוצא מן הגפן ע״י דריכה ומן הרגליות וכו׳
Whereas when nature assists, this is not wholehearted service, and he is called “a wild donkey’s foal, man.” But when he is bound to the level of the vine, the level of wine that comes out of the vine through treading and from the low-lying vines, etc.,
When a person’s nature happens to help him, his service is not complete, and he is still “a wild donkey’s foal.” But when he is bound to the vine, the wine pressed out through humility and a broken heart, as explained earlier, he is transformed.
כנ״ל אזי נעשה בחי׳ עירה עיר ה׳ שהוא בחי׳ עיר אלהינו כמו שאמרו רז״ל אימתי נקרא גדול כשהוא בעיר5 אלהינו6 וגו׳.
as mentioned above, then he becomes the level of iroh, the city of G‑d, which is the level of “the city of our G‑d,” as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “When is He called great? When He is in the city of our G‑d,” etc.
He then becomes iroh in its second sense, “his city”: the city of G‑d. The Sages teach that G‑d is called great when He is “in the city of our G‑d,” so a person who becomes that city is where G‑d is called great.
The paragraph interprets “Binding his foal to the vine”: in the days of Mashiach supernal Chochmah, the yud, will be bound to Israel’s joy, and the untamed “foal” of human nature will become “the city of G‑d.”
The Kehot note gives the Zohar as the source of “When is He called great? When He is in the city of our G‑d,” together with further passages in Zohar Chadash. The two verses named in the Alter Rebbe’s parenthesis open maamarim of their own on Chochmah as bittul within joy.
Marei mekomos
- 1אסרי לגפן עירה · Genesis 49:11
- 2ולא נחם אלקי׳ דרך ארץ פלשתים · Exodus 13:17
- 3ביום השמע״צ · Numbers 29:35
- 4עיר פרא אדם יולד · Job 11:12
- 5אימתי נקרא גדול כשהוא בעיר אלקינו · Zohar III, 5a
- 6בעיר אלהינו · Psalms 48:2
28ולשרקה בני אתונו.1 הנה שורקה היא זמורה רכה וילדה שענביה מועטים עדיין ומעט יין היוצא ממנה נק׳ שורקה נקודת שור״ק כי
“And the son of his she-donkey to the choice vine (sorekah).” Now sorekah is a soft, young shoot whose grapes are still few, and little wine comes out of it; it is called sorekah, [from] the vowel shuruk. For
The Alter Rebbe turns to the next phrase, “the son of his she-donkey to the choice vine.” A sorekah is a young, tender shoot with few grapes and little wine, and he connects its name with the vowel shuruk.
the vine (gefen) is the level of segol, and also all the vowels of gefen are segol; as it is written, “You transplanted a vine from Egypt,” etc., “The mountains were covered with its shade.”
The full-grown vine, gefen, corresponds to the vowel segol, since both vowels of the word gefen are segol. The psalm about the vine from Egypt continues, “The mountains were covered with its shade.”
Explanation: “its shade” is the level of shade, as it is written, “G‑d is your shade,” that is, “He made darkness His hiding place”; and this is what rises above and covers the level of “mountains,” which are the Patriarchs.
The vine’s “shade” is the level of “G‑d is your shade,” that is, “He made darkness His hiding place”: a concealed level of G‑dliness. This shade rises higher than the “mountains,” the Patriarchs, and covers them.
The paragraph begins to explain “the choice vine” (sorekah): the mature vine corresponds to the vowel segol and to the Patriarchs, while the young sorekah corresponds to the vowel shuruk.
Segol is three dots in a triangle; the shuruk meant here is three dots one beneath the other, the sign now usually called kubutz, which older and Kabbalistic usage calls shuruk. The next paragraph uses this difference to describe two states of the soul.
Marei mekomos
- 1ולשרקה בני אתונו · Genesis 49:11
- 2גפן ממצרים תסיע · Psalms 80:9
- 3כסו הרים צלה · Psalms 80:11
- 4ה׳ צלך · שם קכא, ה.
- 5ה׳ צלך · Psalms 121:5
- 6ישת חשך סתרו · Psalms 18:12
29והנה האבות הם שלשה בחינת סגו״ל. וזהו בחי׳ גפן. אבל שורקה הוא בחי׳ נקודת השורק והשור״ק יש בו ג״כ ג׳ נקודות1 שבסגו״ל אלא שהם זה למטה מזה.
Now the Patriarchs are three, the level of segol, and this is the level of the vine (gefen). But sorekah is the level of the vowel shuruk; and the shuruk also has the three dots of the segol, except that they are one below the other.
The three Patriarchs correspond to segol, the vowel of three dots, and so to the vine, gefen, whose vowels are segol. The sorekah corresponds to shuruk, which also has three dots, but placed one below the other.
כך הנה שכשהאדם הוא בבחי׳ התקרבות והתלהבות בכח ג׳ נקודות ממטה למעלה ומלמעלה למטה והממוצע וכו׳ וכמ״ש במ״א אזי נקרא בחי׳ סגו״ל.
So it is that when a person is at the level of drawing near and of fiery enthusiasm, by the power of the three points, from below to above, from above to below, and the intermediate, etc., as explained elsewhere, then he is called the level of segol.
A person who is close to G‑d and burning with enthusiasm is like segol. Like the Patriarchs, he serves with all three movements: from below to above, from above to below, and the middle path between them.
אבל כשהוא בבחינת ריחוק מקום אלא שהוא2 בבחי׳ הודאה כלומר שיודע שהוא רחוק3 מה׳ ונעשה כפוף ומודה ואין ערב לבו לגשת4 מפני ביטולו נקרא בחינת שור״ק ושלש נקודות זו למטה מזו.
But when he is at the level of distance, except that he is at the level of acknowledgment, that is, he knows that he is far from G‑d, and becomes bowed and acknowledging, and his heart does not venture to approach because of his self-nullification (bittul), he is called the level of shuruk, three dots one below the other.
A person who feels far from G‑d but acknowledges it, bowing in humility and not daring to approach because of his self-nullification, is like shuruk: the same three dots, but each one lower than the one before.
כלומר שמשפיל עצמו מטה מטה להיות רחוק בעיניו להגיע לזה באומרו מי אנכי וכו׳ וע״י זה נעשה מבחי׳ אתונו בחי׳ בני בחי׳ בן וכמ״ש בנים אתם5 וגו׳ להיות כמו ברא כרעא דאבוה.6
That is to say, he lowers himself further and further, so that in his own eyes he is far from attaining this, saying, “Who am I,” etc. And through this, from the level of “his she-donkey” there comes to be the level of “the son of,” the level of a son, as it is written, “You are children,” etc.: to be like “a son is his father’s leg.”
He lowers himself further and further, feeling that closeness to G‑d is far beyond him and asking, “Who am I?” Precisely through this, “his she-donkey” becomes “the son of”: he reaches the level of “You are children” of G‑d, like “a son is his father’s leg.”
The paragraph contrasts two kinds of service, segol and shuruk, closeness and enthusiasm on one hand and humble acknowledgment of distance on the other, and shows that through the second the “she-donkey” becomes a “son.”
Marei mekomos
- 1והשור״ק — יש בו ג״כ ג׳ נקודות · ראה אוה״ת יתרו ע׳ שכט.
- 2אלא שהוא בבחינת הודאה · ראה אוה״ת נ״ך ע׳ שכט.
- 3כלומר שיודע שהוא רחוק · בלקו״ת מסעי צ, ד מציין לכאן.
- 4ערב לבו לגשת · Jeremiah 30:21
- 5בנים אתם · Deuteronomy 14:1
- 6ברא כרעא דאבוה · נסמן לעיל א, ב. ראה לקמן עח, ב.
30והנה התהפכות בחינות אלו נעשו ע״י כבס ביין1 וגו׳ כבס לשון עבר שתכלית השלימות של ימות המשיח ושלימות בחינת אדם להיות בחי׳ עירה ובחי׳ בן הוא
Now the transformation of these levels comes about through “he washed in wine,” etc. Kibbes (“washed”) is in the past tense: for the ultimate perfection of the days of Mashiach, and the perfection of the level of adam, to be at the level of iroh and the level of a son, comes
The transformation of the “foal” into a “city” and of the “she-donkey” into a “son” comes through “he washed in wine.” The word kibbes, “washed,” is in the past tense: the perfection of the days of Mashiach depends on a washing that has already been done.
ע״י שכבר כבס ביין הגלות שע״י עבודתנו בזמן הגלות לעורר את האהבה ושמחה של מצוה אתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא והוא תכלית של ימות המשיח כנ״ל:
through his having already washed in the wine of the exile: through our service in the time of exile, to arouse the love and the joy of a mitzvah, darkness is transformed into light, and this is the ultimate purpose of the days of Mashiach, as explained above.
That washing happens now, in the exile: by arousing love for G‑d and the joy of a mitzvah, our service turns darkness into light. This is the purpose fulfilled in the days of Mashiach, as explained throughout the maamar.
The maamar concludes that the perfection of the days of Mashiach is the fruit of our service in exile, the “washing in wine” already done, which turns darkness into light.
This closes the circle opened at the start: the days of Mashiach are the time of “Today, to do them,” yet what will be revealed then is built from the love and the joy of the mitzvos that we arouse now.
Marei mekomos
- 1כבס ביין · Genesis 49:11
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
The maamar asks for bitterness and joy together, in the right order. First a person makes an honest reckoning of his thoughts, words and deeds that were not for G‑d, with humility (“Let my soul be as dust to all”) and a broken heart. Then he contemplates that each mitzvah is G‑d’s own will, which draws down His Infinite Light, and rejoices and delights in G‑d. The deeper the longing, the greater the joy; and the sadness, which belongs to the body, must not be mixed into the soul’s joy. Mitzvos done this way wash the soul’s garments now, in exile, and prepare the perfection of the days of Mashiach.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the maamar insist that the days of Mashiach are a time of “doing” rather than of reward?
- If prayer lifts up a person’s own soul, why are animal offerings called “according to the command of Your will”?
- How can Israel be said to “sanctify” G‑d’s Name if He is holy in Himself?
- Why must the bitterness of the “red wine” come before the joy of the “white wine,” and how is it kept from turning into sadness?
- What distinguishes serving G‑d as segol from serving as shuruk, and why does the humble shuruk make one a “son”?
Key terms in this maamar
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×1
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×10
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- Delightתענוג
- Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×4
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×1
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- ×1
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×2
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×2
- 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. ×1
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×1
- Love and aweאהבה ויראה
- The two 'wings' of divine service. ×1
- The Shechinah (Divine Presence)שכינה
- G‑d's presence as it dwells in the world. ×1
- Self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh)מסירות נפש
- Giving oneself over entirely to G‑d.
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d.
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one. ×2