Torah Ohr · Parshas Vayeishev · Maamar 2
והנה אנחנו מאלמים אלמים כו׳
“And Behold, We Were Binding Sheaves”
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The big idea
Refining the scattered sparks of the shattered vessels takes two stages: the brothers’ work from below, which binds the fragments into one and nullifies them before G‑d, and Yosef’s light from above, which completes their inclusion in G‑dliness.
The maamar in brief
The maamar reads Yosef’s dream of the sheaves through the Kabbalah of the shattering of the vessels. The vessels of Tohu broke into fragments, and the light left them, like letters of a word pulled apart. Their fragments became the multiplicity of souls, angels and divine sparks, more divided the lower they fell. The 288 sparks of Atzilus have splintered into countless fragments in Asiyah, which is why the exile is so long. The Jewish people’s task is to reunite them in G‑d’s oneness, “one nation in the land.” The brothers’ binding of sheaves is this first refinement: they gather scattered sparks and raise them as mayin nukvin into Malchus of Atzilus, in a self-nullification so complete that it is “mute” (illem, echoing alumim), like a fetus in the womb. This is still only the lower unity. A second refinement, mayin duchrin from the Name Mah through Chochmah, must come from above, and that is Yosef, rooted in Yesod of Atzilus. The bowing of the sheaves is the brothers’ self-nullification that draws his light down, while Yaakov’s bowing drew encompassing light to Yosef. The brothers hated him because they mistook their root in Z’eir Anpin for their actual level in Beriah.
Outline
- The shattering as separationThe kings of Tohu fall; shattering means fragmentation, like letters pulled apart, and it produces the multiplicity of creation, greater the lower it falls.¶1–5
- The river that dividesThe river of Eden stays one in Atzilus and divides from Beriah down; angels, souls and the 288 sparks multiply at every level.¶6–11
- Why the exile is so longThe 288 sparks of Atzilus have broken into countless fragments below, so their refinement takes a very long time.¶12
- Making the many one“You made them all with wisdom”: Chochmah reunites the fragments, and Israel makes oneness even in the lowest world.¶13–16
- Binding sheaves: the first refinementThe brothers raise sparks as mayin nukvin into Malchus of Atzilus; such self-nullification is “mute,” like a fetus in the womb.¶17–22
- The second refinement from aboveMayin duchrin, the Name Mah through Chochmah, must complete the refinement, as G‑d-given love and awe complete human love and awe; this is Yosef’s level.¶23–27
- The sheaves bowYosef shares the first refinement but alone brings the second; bowing is both self-nullification and drawing down, which explains both dreams.¶28–33
- The brothers’ mistakeThe brothers thought their root in Z’eir Anpin made them Yosef’s equals, but they stand in Beriah, and he in Yesod of Atzilus.¶34–35
Key concepts
- The shattering of the vesselsשבירת הכלים
- The breaking of the vessels of Tohu, understood here as their separation into many fragments, from which the multiplicity of creation comes.
- The 288 sparksרפ״ח ניצוצין
- The sparks of light that fell with the broken vessels, counted as 288 in Atzilus and splintered into countless fragments below.
- Refinementבירור
- Extracting holy sparks from the lower worlds and raising them back to G‑dliness, done in two stages.
- Mayin nukvin (feminine waters)מיין נוקבין
- The arousal and ascent from below; here the refined sparks raised in self-nullification into Malchus of Atzilus.
- Mayin duchrin (masculine waters)מיין דוכרין
- The flow from above that answers the ascent, the light of the Name Mah through Chochmah; here Yosef’s level.
- Gestationעיבור
- The state of total absorption in one’s source, without independent existence or the power to give, like a fetus; the state of the rising sparks.
- The lower and higher unityיחודא תתאה ויחודא עילאה
- The lower unity is a creature’s self-nullification; the higher is true unity with G‑d, into which the lower must be absorbed.
The shattering as separation ¶1–5
1והנה אנחנו מאלמים אלמים12 כו׳. כתיב אלה המלכים אשר מלכו3 כו׳ שהן ז׳ מלכין קדמאין דתהו שנפלו בשבה״כ4 למטה לשם ב״ן דאצי׳ מקור דבי״ע ומשם ירדו בבי״ע וזהו ענין מיתת המלכים כידוע.5
“And behold, we were binding sheaves,” etc.. It is written, “These are the kings who reigned,” etc.: these are the seven primordial kings of Tohu, who fell in the shattering of the vessels down to the Name Ban of Atzilus, the source of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and from there they descended into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. This is the matter of “the death of the kings,” as is known.
The maamar opens with Yosef’s first dream, in which he and his brothers bind sheaves in the field, and immediately turns to the list of Edomite kings who “reigned and died”, which the Kabbalah reads as the seven kings of Tohu, the primordial world whose vessels could not hold their light and shattered. Their fall was to the Name Ban (the feminine, receiving aspect, identified with Malchus) of Atzilus, the source from which the three lower worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah draw, and from there they descended into those worlds; this descent is what the Kabbalah calls “the death of the kings.”
The paragraph sets the stage: the maamar’s verse about binding sheaves will be read against the background of the shattering of the vessels of Tohu and their fall into the lower worlds.
The seven kings of Edom (Genesis 36:31–39), whose reigns are each followed by “and he died,” are the Arizal’s image for the seven emotive Sefiros of Tohu. Only the eighth king, Hadar, is not said to have died, which the Arizal reads as the beginning of the world of Tikkun.
Marei mekomos
- 1והנה אנחנו מאלמים אלומים · ב׳ הנחות אחרות — בסה״מ תקס״ה ע׳ צט. וראה במאמרי אדה״ז הקצרים ע׳ יח. ובמגדל עוז ע׳ שפט שרבינו הזקן למד ענין זה מהרה״ק אברהם בן הה״מ ז״ל. באוה״ת בראשית כרך ו תתרפב, א המאמר עם הגהות אחרות נדפס מגוכתי״ק כ״ק הצ״צ שנכתבו כנראה בחיי כ״ק אדה״א או קודם לזה. ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. ראה הנחות — תרט״ז ד״ה והנה אנחנו שמבאר הענינים של המאמר. ראה ד״ה פדה בשלום תשל״ה.
- 2והנה אנחנו מאלמים אלומים · Genesis 37:7
- 3אלה המלכים אשר מלכו · Genesis 36:31
- 4שהן ז׳ מלכין קדמאין דתהו שנפלו בשבה״כ · ראה לקמן קי, ד. ביאוה״ז להצ״צ כרך א ע׳ רפא.
- 5ומשם . . כידוע · באוה״ת שם ליתא.
2והנה בשבה״כ נפלו כמה בחי׳ דהיינו הן בחי׳ נשמות והן בחי׳ מלאכים והן בחי׳ כחות אלקיים עצמם כולם נשברו ונפלו למטה בבי״ע והכחות אלקים נפילתן היינו שירדו להחיות בי״ע כו׳.
Now, in the shattering of the vessels a number of levels fell: namely, the level of souls, the level of angels, and the level of the G‑dly powers themselves. All of them were shattered and fell down into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah; and the fall of the G‑dly powers means that they descended to give life to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and so on.
Three kinds of things fell in the shattering: the roots of souls, the roots of angels, and G‑dly powers themselves. For the G‑dly powers, “falling” does not mean they became unholy; it means they came down to be the life-force of the lower worlds.
ופי׳ וענין השבירה של הכלים ושל הנצוצות כו׳. הוא ענין התפרדותן לחלקים רבים כמו עד״מ תיבת ברוך כשאותיותי׳ מצורפות בתיבה זו מתלבש בהן השכלה שהוא ענין הברכה1
The explanation and meaning of the shattering of the vessels and of the sparks is that they separated into many pieces. By way of analogy: the word ברוך (“blessed”): when its letters are joined together in this word, an idea is enclothed in them, namely the idea of blessing;
The Alter Rebbe now defines what “shattering” means: not destruction but separation into many pieces. His analogy is the Hebrew word ברוך (“blessed”): as long as its letters stand together, they carry the idea of blessing.
אבל כשיתפרדו הד׳ אותיות אלו זמ״ז להיות הבי״ת בפ״ע וכן הרי״ש וכו׳ אזי לא ימצא בהן התלבשות השכלה זאת כלל.2
but when these four letters separate from one another, so that the ב stands by itself, and likewise the ר, and so on, then this enclothed idea will not be found in them at all.
Once the four letters are pulled apart, each letter on its own no longer carries that idea at all. So too, when the vessels fell apart, the light they had held could no longer rest in them.
The shattering of the vessels is defined as fragmentation: pieces that once formed a meaningful whole fall apart, and the meaning, the light, no longer rests in them.
A maamar of the Rebbe from 5735 (cited in the Kehot notes) adds two points: “blessing” (ברכה) here also means drawing down, and even after the letters separate, some impression of their having been together remains, because holiness never entirely leaves its place.
Marei mekomos
- 1שהוא ענין הברכה · בד״ה פדה בשלום תשל״ה (הנחה בלתי מוגהה) מוסיף ”היינו ברכה לשון המשכה”.
- 2אזי לא ימצא בהן התלבשות השכלה זאת כלל · בד״ה פדה בשלום תשל״ה מוסיף: ”היינו שאין השכלה זו בגילוי, אבל בטח שנשאר איזה רושם מזה שהיו אותיות אלו ביחד, שהרי קדושה לא זזה ממקומה”.
3ועד״ז הוא שבה״כ דתהו שנתפרדו הכלים לחלקים רבים מפורדים זמ״ז עד שנסתלק מהם האור שהי׳ מתלבש בתוכן קודם פירוד זה.
In the same way is the shattering of the vessels of Tohu: the vessels separated into many pieces, divided from one another, until the light that had been enclothed within them before this separation departed from them.
The analogy is applied: the vessels of Tohu broke into many separate pieces, and because they were no longer a whole, the light that had filled them withdrew.
ומצד זה ירדו במדרגה בבחי׳ בי״ע ונתהוו מזה עולמות הנפרדים ברואים רבים מינים ממינים שונים כמ״ש היש מספר1 כו׳.
Because of this they descended in level to the plane of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and from this came into being the worlds of separation: many creatures, species upon species of different kinds, as it is written, “Is there any number [to His troops],” etc..
Having lost their light, the fragments sank to the level of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and out of them came the “worlds of separation”: a vast multitude of distinct creatures and species. The verse “Is there any number to His troops?” expresses that countless multitude.
The fragmentation of Tohu is the origin of the multiplicity of the created worlds: the many separate creatures are the scattered pieces of the broken vessels.
Marei mekomos
- 1היש מספר · Job 25:3
4והנה עצמות המאציל ב״ה הוא יחיד ומיוחד בתכלית היחוד כנודע ולזאת כדי שיתהוו בחי׳ הנבראים
Now, the Essence of the Emanator, blessed be He, is singular and unique in the ultimate unity, as is known. Therefore, in order that created beings should come into being,
G‑d’s own Essence, here called “the Emanator,” is absolutely one. That raises the question of how many separate creatures could ever come from Him.
שהם בבחי׳ רבוי גדול ובבחי׳ פירוד שהם בחי׳ יש ודבר בפ״ע שזהו ממש המנגד אל אמתות אחדותו ב״ה שאין עוד מלבדו.1
which are in a state of great multiplicity and in a state of separateness, that is, in the state of something, an entity in its own right, which is the very opposite of the truth of His unity, blessed be He, that “there is nothing else besides Him”,
Created beings are many and each feels itself a separate “something” in its own right. That is the very opposite of the truth of G‑d’s unity, expressed in the verse “there is nothing else besides Him.”
הוצרך להיות ע״י שבה״כ שמחמת שנתפרדו לחלקים קטנים רבים מאד עי״ז נעשה בחי׳ הרבוי של הנבראים וגם ע״י פירוד זה נעשה כל נברא מהות בפ״ע שכל מלאך מובדל מחבירו כו׳.
it had to come about through the shattering of the vessels: because they separated into very many small pieces, the multiplicity of created beings came about through this; and also through this separation each creature became an entity of its own, so that each angel is set apart from its fellow, and so on.
The answer is that it had to come through the shattering. Because the vessels broke into countless small pieces, creation became many, and because the pieces were separated, each creature became its own distinct entity, so that even each angel is distinct from every other.
The paragraph explains why the shattering was necessary: a world of many separate beings, the opposite of G‑d’s oneness, could only come from vessels that broke apart.
Marei mekomos
- 1שאין עוד מלבדו · Deuteronomy 4:35
5והנה כאשר ירדו הכלים והנצוצות מאת פניו ית׳ לפי גודל הירידה כך נעשה בהם הפירוד והרבוי.
Now, when the vessels and the sparks descended from before Him, may He be blessed, the separateness and multiplicity that came about in them was according to the extent of the descent.
The degree of separateness depends on how far down the fragments fell: the further from G‑d, the more fragmented and multiplied.
וכל שעדיין לא ירדו כ״כ אזי לא הי׳ הפירוד כ״כ כי כל הקרוב קרוב יותר אליו ית׳ יש בו יותר
Whatever had not yet descended so far did not have as much separateness, for whatever is closer to Him, may He be blessed, has more
Fragments that did not fall so far are less divided, because closeness to G‑d brings more self-nullification and oneness.
הבטול והאחדות וכל שנתרחקו יותר אזי נעשה בהן יותר הפירוד והרבוי ונמצא כשנפלו למטה בעשייה נעשה הפירוד והרבוי ביותר.
self-nullification and oneness; and the further they became distant, the more separateness and multiplicity came about in them. It follows that when they fell down into Asiyah, the separateness and multiplicity became greatest of all.
The further something is from G‑d, the more it is divided and multiplied. So in Asiyah, the lowest world, fragmentation and multiplicity are at their greatest.
This paragraph states the rule that runs through the maamar: separateness grows with distance from G‑d, reaching its peak in the lowest world.
The river that divides ¶6–11
This is what is written, “And a river goes out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides,” etc.. The river that is drawn from Eden, which is Chochmah of Atzilus,
The verse “A river goes out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides” illustrates the rule. The river flowing from Eden is Chochmah of Atzilus, the divine wisdom that is the source of the flow.
בהיותה נמשכת והולכת דרך כל עולם האצי׳ עד הגן הוא בחי׳ מל׳ דאצילות הוא הכל נהר אחד עדיין מושלל מגדר ההתחלקות בתכלי׳.
as it is drawn and travels through the whole World of Atzilus until [it reaches] the garden, which is the level of Malchus of Atzilus, is all one river, still entirely beyond the bounds of division.
As long as the river flows through Atzilus down to the “garden,” which is Malchus of Atzilus, it is still one undivided river.
כי באצי׳ איהו וגרמוהי חד שהן בבחי׳ ביטול אמיתי למאצילן ומיוחדין עמו בתכלית היחוד שהוא הפוך הפירוד והרבוי כו׳.
For in Atzilus “He and His causations are one”: they are in a state of true self-nullification to the One who emanates them, and are united with Him in the ultimate unity, which is the opposite of separateness and multiplicity, and so on.
The reason is that in Atzilus the Sefiros are one with G‑d, as the Zohar’s phrase “He and His causations are one” says. They are wholly nullified to Him and united with Him, the opposite of separateness.
The river of Eden is the model of the flow of divine light: in Atzilus it remains one, because everything there is united with G‑d.
“His causations” (גרמוהי) are the vessels of the Sefiros of Atzilus. Their unity with G‑d is what makes Atzilus the “world of oneness”, as against the “worlds of separation” below.
Marei mekomos
- 1ונהר יוצא מעדן · Genesis 2:10
7וכיון שמגיע הנהר בראש הבריאה אזי כתיב ומשם יפרד והיה לד׳ ראשים. ואף שלא נתוסף בו מים עכ״ז נתפרד והיו לד׳ חלקים.
And once the river reaches the head of Beriah, then it is written, “and from there it divides and becomes four heads”. Although no water was added to it, it nevertheless divided and became four parts.
When the river reaches the top of Beriah, the first world of separate existence, the verse says “from there it divides and becomes four heads.” Nothing was added to it, yet it became four: the division comes from the lower world, not from the river itself.
והן ד׳ מחנות שכינה פני ארי׳ אל הימין פני שור1 כו׳. אך הם חלקים כוללים עדיין שכל חלק מהם כולל כמה פרטים רבים.
These are the four camps of the Shechinah: “the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox,” etc.. But these are still general parts, each of which includes many particulars.
The four heads are the four camps of the Shechinah, the four faces of Ezekiel’s chariot (lion, ox, eagle and man). But these are still broad divisions, each containing many details.
At the threshold of Beriah the single flow first divides, into four general parts.
In the Kabbalah the four camps of the Shechinah are led by the angels Michael, Gavriel, Uriel and Refael, corresponding to the four faces of the chariot; the next paragraph continues with Michael and Gavriel.
Marei mekomos
- 1פני ארי׳ אל הימין פני שור · Ezekiel 1:10
8ובירידת המדרגה עוד נתחלק מבחי׳ מיכאל שהוא בחי׳ פני אריה לקפ״ו אלף בחינות מחולקות שהן מחנה מיכאל.
And as the level descends further, the level of Michael, which is the level of the face of the lion, divided into 186,000 separate aspects, which are the camp of Michael.
As the flow descends further, each general camp divides again: Michael, the face of the lion, becomes 186,000 separate aspects, the angels of his camp.
וכן מבחי׳ גבריאל שהוא בחי׳ פני שור נתחלק לחלקים רבים שהם כל פרטי המלאכים דמחנה גבריאל כו׳ וכ״ז הוא עדיין בעולם הבריאה וביצירה מתחלק עוד לפרטים יותר שהן הרוחות דיצירה.
So too the level of Gavriel, which is the level of the face of the ox, divided into many parts, which are all the individual angels of the camp of Gavriel, and so on. All this is still in the World of Beriah; in Yetzirah it divides further into more particulars, which are the ruchos of Yetzirah.
Gavriel, the face of the ox, likewise divides into all the individual angels of his camp. That is still in Beriah; in Yetzirah the division grows finer still, into the ruchos (spirits) of Yetzirah.
ובעשיה מתחלק עוד לחלקים רבים ביותר שהם הנפשות דעשיה והכל הוא מבחי׳ שבה״כ שמתפררים בפירור אחר פירור ורבוי אחר רבוי כנ״ל.
And in Asiyah it divides further into the greatest number of parts, which are the nefashos of Asiyah. All of it comes from the shattering of the vessels, as they crumble fragment after fragment, multiplicity after multiplicity, as explained above.
In Asiyah the division is finest of all, into the nefashos (souls or life-forces) of Asiyah. All this is the continuing effect of the shattering: fragment after fragment, multiplicity after multiplicity.
אך המלאכים הם אשר כבר נתקנו בבחי׳ עולם התקון וזהו הנק׳ ואשר משרתיו כולם עומדים כו׳. ובחי׳ יוצר משרתי׳ הם המתבררי׳ בכ״י כו׳:
But the angels are those that have already been rectified in the level of the World of Tikkun; this is what is called “and those who serve Him all stand,” etc.. And the level of “He forms His servants” are those who are refined every day, and so on.
Yet the angels themselves are already rectified, part of the World of Tikkun; these are the angels described in the prayers as “those who serve Him all stand” in the heights. The angels of “He forms His servants” are those still being refined every day.
The angels show the rule in detail: one camp becomes thousands, and thousands become more in each lower world, all as a consequence of the shattering.
The two phrases come from the Yotzer blessing before the morning Shema, which speaks of G‑d as the one who forms His servants and of the servants who all stand in the heights. The Alter Rebbe distinguishes the angels that stand permanently, already rectified, from those formed anew as sparks are refined each day.
9והנה כמו שהוא במלאכים כך עד״ז נמצא בנשמות שע״י רבוי ירידת המדרגות בהשתלשלות העולמות מתפררים לחלקים קטנים מאד ברבוי אחר רבוי כו׳
Now, just as it is with the angels, so in the same way it is found with the souls: through the many levels of descent in the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) they crumble into very small pieces, multiplicity after multiplicity, and so on.
Souls follow the same rule as angels: descending through the chain of worlds, they break into ever smaller parts.
כי ד׳ דגלי מדבר הם מספר שרשי הנשמות בעולם הבריאה ונשמת יהודה כוללת כל הנשמות שבמחנה יהודה
For the four banners of the wilderness are the number of the roots of the souls in the World of Beriah; and the soul of Yehudah includes all the souls in the camp of Yehudah,
The four banners of the Israelite camp in the wilderness correspond to the four root-categories of souls in Beriah. Yehudah’s soul contains all the souls of his camp.
ואח״כ נתחלק להרבה נשמות פרטיים שבדגל מחנה יהודה וכן בשאר הדגלים והשבטים עד שנעשו ס״ר בעולם הבריא׳.
and afterwards it divided into many individual souls in the banner of the camp of Yehudah, and likewise in the other banners and tribes, until they became six hundred thousand in the World of Beriah.
From there it divides into the individual souls of Yehudah’s banner, and so with the other banners and tribes, until in Beriah they number 600,000.
כי התורה מדברת הכל בעולם הבריאה אבל ביצירה נתרבו החלקים יותר במספר גדול הם בבחי׳ הרוח דיציר׳.
For the Torah speaks entirely of the World of Beriah; but in Yetzirah the parts multiplied further into a great number, and they are on the level of the ruach of Yetzirah.
The Torah’s account, with its numbered camps and tribes, describes souls as they are in Beriah. In Yetzirah they multiply further, into the ruach-level of souls.
The paragraph maps the descent of souls onto the camps of the wilderness: four banners, twelve tribes, 600,000 souls in Beriah, and many more below.
10ובעשי׳ המספר של הנפשות דעשייה הוא גדול יותר מכולן. אך הס״ר נשמות הם שכבר נתקנו ונתבררו1 משבה״כ ונכללו בעולם התקון.
And in Asiyah the number of the nefashos of Asiyah is greater than all of them. But the six hundred thousand souls are those that have already been rectified and refined from the shattering of the vessels and included in the World of Tikkun.
In Asiyah, the number of nefesh-level souls is greatest of all. But the 600,000 root souls have already been rectified and refined from the shattering and belong to the World of Tikkun.
וכמו שנמצא ענין השבירה שהוא בחי׳ הרבוי והפירוד בנשמות ומלאכי׳ כנ״ל כך ימצא בכחות האלקיים ממש שנתחלקו לחלקים רבים מאד ונתפזרו לבי״ע כו׳
And just as the shattering, which is multiplicity and separateness, is found in the souls and angels, as explained above, so it is found in the G‑dly powers themselves: they divided into very many parts and were scattered into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and so on.
The same fragmentation found in souls and angels applies to the G‑dly powers themselves: they too broke into countless parts scattered through Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.
וכל מה שירדו יותר בירידת המדרגה נתרבה יותר הפירוד דהיינו שכל חלק וכל נצוץ נתחלק עוד לנצוצות וחלקים רבים ע״ד הנ״ל במלאכי׳ ונשמות כי
And the further they descended in level, the more the separateness increased; that is, each part and each spark divided further into many sparks and parts, in the manner explained above regarding angels and souls. For
And the further they fell, the more each part and spark divided into further sparks, just as with angels and souls.
it is known on the verse “and the spirit of G‑d hovered (merachefes)”: merachefes [spells] “288 (רפ״ח) died (מת),” that is, 288 sparks that fell from the World of Tohu together with the vessels that were shattered.
This is based on the Arizal’s reading of “the spirit of G‑d hovered (merachefes)”: the letters of merachefes spell “288 died”, the 288 sparks that fell from Tohu together with the broken vessels.
After souls and angels, the paragraph applies the rule to the divine sparks themselves, which the Arizal numbers at 288.
In Etz Chaim the 288 sparks are the portion of light that stayed within the broken vessels to keep them minimally alive, so that they could later be rectified.
Marei mekomos
- 1הס״ר נשמות הם שכבר נתקנו ונתבררו · ראה בארוכה בביאור הצ״צ על פ׳ ח״ש נדפס לעיל בהוספות. לקו״ש ח״י ע׳ 119 הערה 29.
- 2כי הנה ידוע ע״פ ורוח אלקים מרחפת · מאמרי אדה״ז פרשיות בראשית ע׳ א. וראה מאמרי אדה״א בראשית ע׳ נו.
- 3ורוח אלקים מרחפת · Genesis 1:2
- 4רפ״ח מת · ראה ע״ח שער רפ״ח ניצוצין פ״א. ראה גם בה״ז בלק קט, ד. סה״מ תקס״ה ע׳ קד. מאמרי אדה״א בראשית ע׳ נו. מאמרי אדה״ז — פרשיות פ׳ בראשית ע׳ ה. סה״מ תרל״ב ח״ב ע׳ שעו. סה״מ אעת״ר ע׳ קפב. ועוד.
- 5רפ״ח מת · Sefer Etz Chaim 18:2
11ומספר רפ״ח הוא בחי׳ הפירוד של הנצוצין שנפלו כמו שהיו עדיין באצילות1 שזהו ראשית ירידתן שאז נתפרדו למספר רפ״ח וזהו רפ״ח מת2 כו׳.3
The number 288 is the separation of the sparks that fell as they still were in Atzilus, which is the beginning of their descent, when they separated into the number 288; this is “288 died,” and so on.
The number 288 describes the sparks at the first stage of their fall, while they were still in Atzilus; that first division into 288 is what “288 died” refers to.
אבל אח״כ כשנפלו מאצי׳ לעולם הבריאה אזי כל נצוץ מרפ״ח נצוצים הנ״ל שבאצי׳ נתחלק שם בבריאה לחלקים רבים מאד וכשנפלו מבריאה ליצירה
But afterwards, when they fell from Atzilus to the World of Beriah, each spark of the 288 sparks in Atzilus mentioned above divided there in Beriah into very many parts; and when they fell from Beriah to Yetzirah,
When they fell from Atzilus into Beriah, each of the 288 divided into very many parts there, and they divided again when they fell to Yetzirah.
אזי נתחלקו עוד לחלקים ונצוצים קטנים וכן מיצי׳ לעשיה נתחלקו ונתפרדו עוד ביותר לאלפים ורבבות.4
they divided further into small parts and sparks; and likewise from Yetzirah to Asiyah they divided and separated still further, into thousands and myriads.
From Yetzirah to Asiyah they divided further still, into thousands and tens of thousands of tiny sparks.
The 288 sparks are counted as they are in Atzilus; below, each breaks into countless smaller sparks, which prepares the question of the next paragraph about the length of the exile.
Marei mekomos
- 1כמו שהיו עדיין באצילות · ראה לקו״ש חט״ו ע׳ 524.
- 2וזהו רפ״ח מת · Sefer Etz Chaim 18:2
- 3וזהו רפ״ח מת כו׳ · באוה״ת גוכתי״ק הצ״צ: ”וזהו מת רפ״ח כו׳”. וכ״ה הלשון בלקו״ת מטות פב, ד. וכ״ה בע״ח שער רפ״ח ניצוצין פ״א. וראה בהנסמן למאמרי אדה״ז — פרשיות פ׳ בראשית ע׳ א.
- 4כי הנה ידוע · קטע מכאן מובא בסה״מ תרל״ד ע׳ קמה.
Why the exile is so long ¶12
12ובזה יובן מה שנמשך הגלות כ״כ הרבה יותר מן י״ז מאות שנה וידוע שהכוונה הכל לברר הרפ״ח ניצוצים וכשיוגמרו הברורי׳ יבא משיח בב״א.
Through this we will understand why the exile has lasted so long, far more than seventeen hundred years. It is known that the whole intent is to refine the 288 sparks, and when the refinements are completed, Mashiach will come, speedily in our days.
The teaching about the 288 sparks and their fragmentation answers a real question: why has the exile lasted so long, already more than 1,700 years when this was said? The whole purpose of the exile is to refine the 288 sparks, and once that is done Mashiach will come.
וא״כ הוא תמוה וכי אפשר שלא נתברר עדיין רפ״ח נצוצים במשך רב כזה אשר דור הולך ודור בא1 וכל א׳ מישראל מברר חלקו שצריך
If so, this is puzzling: is it possible that the 288 sparks have still not been refined over such a long time, in which “a generation goes and a generation comes,” and every Jew refines the portion he needs
The question is sharpened: 288 is a small number, and over many generations every Jew has been refining the sparks that belong to his portion.
לברר ומה גם שמספרן של ישראל שצריכי׳ לברר הרפ״ח הם ס״ר כיוצאי מצרים והרי עתה ב״ה ישראל רבים יותר ממספר זה2 יוסף ה׳ עליהם כו׳
to refine? All the more so, since the number of Jews who must refine the 288 is six hundred thousand, like those who went out of Egypt, and now, thank G‑d, the Jews are more than this number, may G‑d add to them, etc.;
The workers are many: 600,000 souls, the number who left Egypt, and in the Alter Rebbe’s time the Jewish people had already grown beyond that number.
וכ״ש בזמן הקדמוני׳ שהי׳ נמצא כפרים שהיו בהם יותר מס״ר כמ״ש בגמ׳ כפר שחליים3 כו׳.
and all the more so in ancient times, when there were villages that had more than six hundred thousand [in them], as the Gemara says about the village of Shechalayim, etc.
In Talmudic times, the Gemara reports, single villages held more than 600,000 people. With so many workers over so long a time, how could 288 sparks still be unrefined?
אלא שהוא משום שלמטה בעשייה נתפרדו הניצוצי׳ לאלפים ורבבות אין מספר ומספר רפ״ח הוא באצי׳ ושם הם ג״כ מספר ס״ר נשמות כלליי׳ שהם צריכים לברר רפ״ח חלקים גדולים הן הניצוצות שבאצי׳.
But [the answer] is that below, in Asiyah, the sparks separated into thousands and myriads without number. The number 288 is in Atzilus, and there, too, is the number of six hundred thousand general souls, which must refine 288 large parts, namely the sparks in Atzilus.
The answer: 288 is the count of the sparks in Atzilus, where 600,000 general souls stand against 288 large parts. Down in Asiyah those 288 have broken into countless tiny fragments.
וכמו שלמטה נתרבה מספר הנשמות כנ״ל כך נתרבו מאד הניצוצים לאלפי אלפים חלקים קטנים ולכך נמשך הגלות שעדיין לא נשלם כל הבירורים כו׳ וכשיושלם הבירור יבא הגואל בב״א:4
And just as below the number of souls multiplied, as explained above, so the sparks multiplied greatly into thousands upon thousands of small parts. Therefore the exile has lasted long, for all the refinements have not yet been completed, etc.; and when the refinement is completed, the redeemer will come, speedily in our days.
The number of souls grew as they descended, and the sparks grew far more, into millions of tiny fragments. That is why the work takes so long, and when it is complete the redeemer will come.
The multiplication of sparks in the lower worlds explains the length of the exile: the task is not 288 refinements but countless fragments of them.
The parallel between 600,000 general souls and 288 general sparks at the level of Atzilus mirrors the rule of the maamar: at each level down, both souls and sparks multiply.
Marei mekomos
- 1דור הולך ודור בא · Ecclesiastes 1:4
- 2שו״ה ס״ר — ממספר זה · באוה״ת שם גוכתי״ק הצ״צ נוסף: שאף במדינת פולין ימצא יותר מס״ר.
- 3בגמרא כפר שחליים · Gittin 57a:12
- 4יוסף ה׳ עליהם · Deuteronomy 1:11
Making the many one ¶13–16
Now, it is written, “How many are Your works, Havayah! You made them all with wisdom.” This means: the multiplicity that came about through the shattering of the vessels, as explained above, in the creatures of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah,
Psalm 104’s words “How many are Your works” are read as describing the multiplicity that came from the shattering, found in all the created beings of the three lower worlds.
ובפרט בעשי׳ הרבוי והפירוד גדול יות׳ שכל א׳ מובדל מחבירו ובבחי׳ יש ונפרד וזהו מה רבו מעשיך ה׳ כו׳.
and especially in Asiyah, where the multiplicity and separateness are greater, for each one is set apart from its fellow and is in a state of a separate something. This is “How many are Your works, Havayah,” etc.
Multiplicity is greatest in Asiyah, where every creature is separate from every other and feels itself an independent existence. That is the sense of “How many are Your works.”
The first half of the verse describes the multiplicity produced by the shattering; the next paragraph reads the second half as its repair.
Marei mekomos
- 1מה רבו מעשיך · Psalms 104:24
14וכולם בחכ׳ עשית עשית הוא ל׳ תיקון שע״י החכ׳ הם מתתקנים בבחי׳ עולם התיקון דהיינו
“You made them all with wisdom”: “made” (עשית) is a term of rectification: through Chochmah they are rectified on the level of the World of Tikkun; that is,
The word “made” (עשית) is read as meaning “rectified,” as in making something fit. Through Chochmah the fragments are brought into the World of Tikkun, the ordered world that follows Tohu.
שע״י החכ׳ מגיע ונמשך בהם הביטול להיו׳ בטלים ונכללים אליו ית׳ ולהיו׳ מתחברין יחד עי״ז ולא יהיו מפורדים1 וזהו עבודת הישראל.2
through Chochmah self-nullification reaches them and is drawn into them, so that they become nullified and included in Him, may He be blessed, and through this become joined together and are no longer separate. And this is the service of the Jewish people.
Chochmah is the level of self-nullification; when it reaches the fragments they set aside their separateness, become included in G‑d, and are joined to one another again. Bringing this about is the service of the Jewish people.
The second half of the verse describes the repair: Chochmah brings self-nullification into the fragments and so reunites them, and this is the Jewish people’s task.
In Chassidus, Chochmah is called koach mah, “the potential of what is,” a state of self-nullification. That is why it, and no other level, can undo the separateness of the broken vessels.
Marei mekomos
- 1שו״ה יחד — מפורדים · באוה״ת גוכתי״ק נוסף הגה״ה מכ״ק הצ״צ: (ועמש״ל פ׳ וישלח בענין יש לי רב ויש לי כו׳ ע״ש). וזהו.
- 2ולא יהיו נפרדים · באוה״ת גוכתי״ק שם נוסף: ועמש״ל פ׳ וישלח בענין יש לי רב ויש לי כל ע״ש. [כוונה לבוך הנ״ל — וחסר שם עד וישב].
15וזאת תורת האדם12 לברר בירורין ולהעלותן מבחי׳ הפירוד לאחדות ה׳ וזהו אתה אחד ושמך אחד ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ.3
“And this is the teaching of man”: to refine what must be refined and raise it from separateness to the oneness of G‑d. This is “You are One, and Your Name is One, and who is like Your people Israel, one nation in the land.”
The phrase “this is the teaching of man” is read as defining a person’s task: to refine the fragments and raise them from separateness to G‑d’s oneness. The Shabbos Minchah prayer, “You are One and Your Name is One, and who is like Your people Israel, one nation in the land,” is brought to show this.
פי׳ אתה היינו מהו״ע ית׳ שהוא יחיד ומיוחד ב״ה. ושמך הוא בחי׳ הזיו והאור המתפשט ממנו הנק׳ אא״ס ב״ה הוא ג״כ אחד בתכלית.
The meaning: “You” is His Essence, may He be blessed, who is singular and unique, blessed be He. “Your Name” is the radiance and light that spreads forth from Him, called the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He; it too is utterly one.
“You” refers to G‑d’s own Essence, absolutely one. “Your Name” refers to the light and radiance that spreads from Him, the Infinite Light, which is also perfectly one.
The purpose of man is to bring separated fragments back into G‑d’s oneness, and the prayer “You are One” describes three levels of that oneness: His Essence, His light, and Israel.
A name is not the person himself but what allows others to relate to him; likewise “Your Name” is the light that goes out from G‑d, as distinct from “You,” His Essence.
Marei mekomos
- 1וזאת תורת האדם . . שיתעלו באחדות ה׳ · ראה תו״ח פרשתנו סו, א ואילך. לקו״ש ח״י ע׳ 119.
- 2וזאת תורת האדם · II Samuel 7:19
- 3ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ · I Chronicles 17:21
16ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ12 דהיינו שהם עושים בחי׳ אחד אפי׳ בארץ שעם היות שבארץ הוא הפירוד היותר גדול כנ״ל שעיקר הפירוד והרבוי הוא בעשיי׳ אעפ״כ הישראל
“And who is like Your people Israel, one nation in the land”: that is, they make oneness even in the land [below]. For although in the land [below] there is the greatest separateness, as explained above, since separateness and multiplicity are mainly in Asiyah, nevertheless the Jewish people,
“One nation in the land” is read as “those who make oneness in the land.” Asiyah, the physical world, is the place of the greatest separateness, and yet the Jewish people make oneness even there.
ע״י עבודתן ותורתן הם עושים שם ג״כ אחד שהם מעלים הנצוצים שנפלו שם בשבה״כ שיתעלו באחדות ה׳:
through their service and their Torah, make oneness there too, for they raise the sparks that fell there in the shattering of the vessels so that they are elevated into the oneness of G‑d.
They do it through their divine service and Torah study, which raise the sparks that fell into this world in the shattering and bring them back into G‑d’s oneness.
Israel is “one in the land” because it creates oneness in the lowest and most divided world by raising its sparks.
Marei mekomos
- 1ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ · דברי הימים-א יז, כא.
- 2ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ · I Chronicles 17:21
Binding sheaves: the first refinement ¶17–22
And this is “And behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field.” For this was also the service of the tribes, Reuven and Shimon, etc.:
The opening verse is now explained: “we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field” describes the service of the tribes, Yosef’s brothers.
שהיו מבררים הנצוצין שנפלו בבחי׳ פירוד בשבה״כ והיו מעלי׳ אותן בבחי׳ מ״ן להתכלל במל׳ דאצי׳ ועי״ז היו מתחברים שם יחד והיו לאחדים שהרי נכללו באחדות ה׳ בבחי׳ מדת מלכותו ית׳.2
they would refine the sparks that fell into a state of separateness in the shattering of the vessels and raise them as mayin nukvin (feminine waters) to be included in Malchus of Atzilus. Through this they were joined together there and became one, since they were included in the oneness of G‑d, in the attribute of His sovereignty, may He be blessed.
The brothers refined sparks scattered by the shattering and raised them as mayin nukvin, the “feminine waters” that rise from below, into Malchus of Atzilus. There the sparks were joined together and became one, included in G‑d’s oneness in His attribute of sovereignty.
The brothers’ sheaf-binding is the service of refining scattered sparks and raising them up to Malchus of Atzilus as mayin nukvin.
Mayin nukvin (“feminine waters”) is the Kabbalistic term for the arousal rising from below, which calls forth a descent from above, mayin duchrin (“masculine waters”). Both terms play a central role in the rest of the maamar.
Marei mekomos
- 1והנה אנחנו מאלמים אלומים בתוך השדה · Genesis 37:7
- 2וזהו . . עבודת השבטים · לקמן מה, ד. קיז, ג מציין לכאן.
18וזהו פי׳ מאלמים אלומים. עד״מ כמו שקושרין העמרים שמקבצין כמה שבולים רבים מאד ומחברין אותן וקושרין אותן באגודה אחת
And this is the meaning of “binding sheaves.” By way of analogy, it is like binding the sheaves: one gathers a great many stalks, joins them and binds them into a single bundle,
“Binding sheaves” is explained through the farmer’s work: gathering many loose stalks, joining them together, and tying them into one bundle.
וזהו הנק׳ אלומה כידוע והרי מתחלה היו השבולים מפורדים זמ״ז וע״י קשירה זו היו לאחדים.
and this is what is called a sheaf, as is known. At first the stalks were separate from one another, and through this binding they became one.
That bundle is a sheaf. The stalks were separate at first, and binding makes them one.
כמו״כ ממש הוא ענין הבירורים1 והעלאת הנצוצות הנ״ל כשמעלין אותן מטורי דפרודי להתכלל בבחי׳ מ״ן באחדות ה׳ שנמצא נעשו ונכללו בבחי׳ אחד ממש ממה שהיו בתחלה בבחי׳ פירוד ורבוי כנ״ל.
Exactly so is the matter of the refinements and the raising of the sparks mentioned above: when they are raised from “the mountains of separation” to be included, as mayin nukvin, in the oneness of G‑d, it follows that they have become, and been included as, truly one, from what they were at first, in a state of separateness and multiplicity, as explained above.
Refining sparks works the same way. Sparks scattered in “the mountains of separation” (the Zohar’s term for the fragmented lower worlds) are raised as mayin nukvin into G‑d’s oneness, so what was many and scattered becomes truly one.
The image of a sheaf, many stalks bound into one, captures exactly what refining the sparks means: turning scattered multiplicity back into unity.
The notes quote a maamar of the Rebbe (Vayigash Elav Yehudah, 5736): the brothers’ refinement is from below upward, the refinement of the Name Ban, and achieves only the nullification of the ego. Hence a second refinement, from above downward, the refinement of the Name Mah, was needed through Yosef. This is developed later in the maamar.
Marei mekomos
- 1ענין הבירורים · ראה ביאוה״ז לכ״ק אדה״א ר״פ חקת. דרך מצותיך מצות איסור עבודת בעלי מומין. בד״ה ויגש אליו יהודה תשל״ו (נדפס בסה״מ מלוקט ח״ד ע׳ קיז) דכאן מבאר ”שהניצוצות שנתבררו ע״י השבטים הוצרכו להתברר בירור שני ע״י יוסף כי הבירור שע״י השבטים הוא בירור בדרך מלמטה למעלה (בירור דב״ן). דבירור זה הוא רק ביטול היש, ולכן הוצרכו להתברר בירור שני ע״י יוסף, בירור בדרך מלמעלה למטה (בירור דמ״ה). ועי״ז הם (הניצוצות) נכללים באלקות, ומבואר בתו״א [לקמן כח, ג] שכדי שתהי׳ המשכה דשם מ״ה, הוא ע״י העלאת מ״ן דשם ב״ן, וזהו מ״ש ותשתחוינה לאלומתי, העלאת מ״ן דהשבטים בבחי׳ ביטול (השתחואה), שעי״ז עוררו המשכת שם מ״ה להיות בירור שני” ע״ש בארוכה. ובסה״מ הקצרים: ”וזהו מאלמים אלומים כמו קיבוץ שבולת רבים לעשות מהם אגודה א׳ כו׳, והעלאת מ״ן של השבטים להעלות ליחודו ית׳ לא״ס ב״ה הוא צריך שיתעלו דרך מדרגת יוסף לפי שהן מעלמא דנוקבא ויוסף מעלמא דדכורא וד״ל”.
19וזהו מאלמים אלומים היינו העלאת הנצוצות בבחי׳ מ״ן בתוך השדה הוא בחי׳ חקל תפוחין שהיא מל׳ דאצי׳ שלשם נכלל המ״ן כנודע.
And this is “binding sheaves,” namely the raising of the sparks as mayin nukvin, “in the midst of the field,” which is the level of “the field of holy apples,” which is Malchus of Atzilus, where the mayin nukvin is included, as is known.
“In the midst of the field” means “the field of holy apples,” a Zohar name for Malchus of Atzilus, which is where the rising mayin nukvin is gathered.
ועוד זאת מה שנק׳ העלאת מ״ן בלשון מאלמים אלומים. מלשון אלם שאינו יכול לדבר.
Furthermore, the reason the raising of mayin nukvin is called by the term “binding sheaves” (me’almim alumim) is from the term illem, a mute who cannot speak.
There is a second reason for the word me’almim: it echoes illem, a mute, one who cannot speak.
הואיל וענין העלאת מ״ן הוא בחי׳ בטול1 היש שנתבטל ממש להכלל בה׳ הרי אז הוא בבחי׳ אלם שאינו יכול לדבר ולהשפיע לזולתו שזהו בחי׳ יש.
Since the raising of mayin nukvin is the nullification of one’s sense of being something, becoming truly nullified so as to be included in G‑d, it is then in the state of a mute who cannot speak and give to another, [for giving to another] is the state of a something.
Raising mayin nukvin means giving up one’s sense of self to be included in G‑d. In that state one is like a mute, unable to speak or to give to others, since giving presupposes a self that has something to give.
וכיון שעיקר העלאה זו הוא בחי׳ הבטול ע״כ הוא הפוך ההשפעה ונק׳ אלם (וכענין איידי דטריד למיבלע2 כו׳ עמ״ש ע״פ התוספתא דבשלח3 )(ד׳ נ״א) בענין אגלידו מיא כו׳
And since the essence of this raising is self-nullification, it is therefore the opposite of giving [to others], and it is called “mute.” (This is like the idea “since he is busy swallowing,” etc.; see what is explained on the Tosefta in Beshalach (p. 51) on the matter of “the waters froze,” etc.
Ascent in self-nullification is the opposite of giving outward, so it is called “mute.” The parenthesis compares the Talmudic principle that something busy swallowing does not expel, and points to another discussion, on the Zohar’s Tosefta in Beshalach, about waters that froze.
ועמ״ש בטעם שהמסעות4 היו מ״ב וסה״ע הוא מ״ט ימים כי בסה״ע שהוא המשכות יש בכל מדה בחי׳ גילוי מל׳ דחסד כו׳ משא״כ במסעות העלאות הפוך הגילוי כו׳ ע״ש.
And see what is explained on the reason that the journeys were forty-two while the Counting of the Omer is forty-nine days: for in the Counting of the Omer, which is drawings-down, in each attribute there is the level of revelation, Malchus of Chesed, etc., whereas the journeys are ascents, the opposite of revelation, etc.; see there.)
The parenthesis also refers to an explanation of why the Israelites’ journeys numbered 42 while the Omer counts 49 days. The Omer is a drawing down, so each of its attributes includes revelation, while the journeys were ascents, the opposite of revelation.
כי הנה הדבור שבאדם אינו צריך לו רק בשביל לדבר לזולתו אבל כשהוא בפ״ע א״צ לדבר.
For speech in a person is needed only in order to speak to another; but when he is by himself, he does not need to speak.
The analogy from human speech: a person needs to speak only to communicate with someone else. Alone, he has no need to speak.
וכך יובן למעלה בנמצאים הרוחניים ענין בחי׳ הדבור שבהם (כמו שמצינו בגמ׳ שתי רוחות מספרות5 כו׳)
And so it will be understood above, in spiritual beings, that the level of speech in them (as we find in the Gemara, “two spirits were conversing,” etc.)
The same holds for spiritual beings, which the Talmud says can speak to one another (in the story of two spirits conversing).
הוא בחי׳ כח ההשפעה לזולתו מעילה לעלול וזהו כשהעילה הוא מהות בפ״ע אז יכול להשפיע להעלול שלו
is the power to give to another, from cause to effect. This is when the cause is an entity in its own right: then it can give to its effect.
In spiritual beings, “speech” is the power to give to what is below, from cause to effect. A cause can give to its effect only when it stands as an entity in its own right.
אבל בהיותו דבוק בעילתו וטרוד לקבל שפע לעצמו אז הוא בבחי׳ בטול לעילתו ואין בו כח להשפיע לזולתו מצד עוצם ביטולו כו׳.
But when it is attached to its own cause and occupied with receiving flow for itself, it is then in a state of self-nullification to its cause, and it has no power to give to another because of the intensity of its self-nullification, etc.
When it is clinging to its own source and absorbed in receiving from it, it is nullified to that source, and its very self-nullification leaves it no power to give to anything below.
Sheaf-binding (me’almim) also means being mute (illem): a spark rising in total self-nullification cannot “speak,” that is, give to others, just as a being clinging to its source has no strength to flow outward.
The principle “since it is busy swallowing, it does not expel” (Chullin 108b) describes a thing absorbed in taking in, which therefore gives nothing out. The Alter Rebbe uses it to explain the “muteness” of what rises in self-nullification.
Marei mekomos
- 1מאלמים אלומים מלשון אלם . . בחי׳ בטול · בסה״מ תרכ״ז (הוצאת תש״ס) ע׳ ב. המשך תער״ב ח״ב ע׳ א׳סז. סה״מ תרכ״ז ע׳ צד מביא קטע מכאן. ומציין לכאן.
- 2איידי דטריד למיבלע · Chullin 108b
- 3ועמ״ש ע״פ התוספתא דבשלח · ביאוה״ז לכ״ק אדה״א מד, א ואילך.
- 4ועמ״ש בטעם שהמסעות היו מ״ב · לקו״ת מסעי פט, ד.
- 5שתי רוחות מספרות · Berakhot 18b:7–8
20ובחי׳ בטול זה שדבוק בעילתו הוא עד״מ העובר כשהוא בבטן אמו שאינו מהות בפ״ע רק אוכל ממה שאמו אוכלת1 כו׳2 אלא לאחר הלידה נעשה יש בפ״ע עד שיכול אח״כ לדבר לזולתו כו׳.
And this self-nullification, of being attached to its cause, is by way of analogy like the fetus while it is in its mother’s womb: it is not an entity in its own right, but “eats what its mother eats,” etc. Only after birth does it become a something in its own right, until afterwards it can speak to another, etc.
The self-nullification of a being clinging to its source is compared to a fetus: in the womb it has no independent existence and “eats what its mother eats,” as the Talmud says. Only after birth does it become its own self, and later it learns to speak to others.
The fetus is the analogy for self-nullification: bound up in its source, without separate existence, and without speech until it is born.
Marei mekomos
- 1רק אוכל ממה שאמו אוכלת · Niddah 30b:18
- 2שו״ה אוכלות כו׳ · באוה״ת מגוכתי״ק הצ״צ נוסף: ואינו מהות בפ״ע.
21ועד״ז יובן בענין הבירורי׳ שעולים בבחי׳ מ״ן ונכללים בבחי׳ עבור ביסוד דנוק׳ דהיינו שמתחלה היו בבחי׳ יש ודבר בפ״ע והי׳ יכול להשפיע לזולתו
The fetus analogy is now applied to the refined sparks. When they rise as mayin nukvin they enter a state the Kabbalah calls “gestation” (ibbur) within the Yesod of Nukva, the receiving configuration of Malchus. Before rising, each was an independent “something” able to give to others.
אבל כשנכלל בבחי׳ מ״ן שהוא בחי׳ בטול לאוא״ס ב״ה ודבוק בו בתכלית ה״ז בחי׳ עבור שאז אינו מהות בפ״ע
but when it is included as mayin nukvin, which is the state of self-nullification to the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, and is utterly attached to Him, this is the state of gestation, when it is not an entity in its own right,
Once it is included as mayin nukvin, it is wholly nullified to and attached to the Infinite Light. That is gestation: it no longer exists as an entity of its own.
רק אוכל ממה שאמו אוכלת1 ולפיכך נק׳ אז אלומים מלשון אלמים שאינו יכול לדבר ולהשפיע לזולתו מצד עוצם הביטול כמשל העובר כו׳
but only “eats what its mother eats.” Therefore they are then called alumim (sheaves), from the term illemim (mutes), who cannot speak and give to another because of the intensity of the self-nullification, as in the analogy of the fetus, etc.;
Like a fetus it only “eats what its mother eats.” That is why the sparks are called alumim (sheaves), from illemim (mutes): their self-nullification is so complete that they cannot “speak,” that is, give to others.
משא״כ קודם העלאה זו ועבור זה הי׳ בבחי׳ יש לדבר ולהשפיע כו׳ אלא שע״י העלאה זו נעשה בחי׳ אלמים.
whereas before this raising and this gestation it was in the state of something, able to speak and give, etc. But through this raising it became the state of illemim (mutes).
Before this ascent they could give; it is the ascent itself that makes them “mute.”
The rising sparks are like a fetus in the womb: absorbed in their source, with no independent existence and no power to give, and that is why they are called “mute” sheaves.
Marei mekomos
- 1רק אוכל ממה שאמו אוכלת · Niddah 30b:18
22ועד״ז יובן שיש ג״כ עבור שני לאחר הלידה כמ״ש בע״ח1 והיינו בשביל המשכת מוחין דגדלות צריך לבא מתחלה בבחי׳ הבטול בתכלית וזהו העבור שני דהיינו שלאחר שהיו לו מוחין והי׳ יכול להשפיע לזולתו.
In the same way it will be understood that there is also a second gestation after birth, as is written in Etz Chaim. That is: in order to draw down the mature intellect (mochin degadlus), one must first come into the state of utter self-nullification. This is the second gestation: after he already had intellect and could give to another,
The Kabbalah (in Etz Chaim, as the Kehot note points out) speaks of a second gestation after birth. Before a higher, mature intellect (mochin degadlus) can be received, one who already has intellect and can give to others must first return to total self-nullification.
עתה מתכלל בבחי׳ עבור בתכלית הבטול (ונעשה בחי׳ אלם כנ״ל) כדי שע״י בטול זה יומשך לו אח״כ מוחין דגדלות מא״ס ב״ה.
he is now included in the state of gestation, in utter self-nullification (and becomes mute, as explained above), so that through this self-nullification mature intellect may afterwards be drawn to him from the Infinite One, blessed be He.
This renewed state of utter nullification makes him “mute” again, and it is what allows mature intellect to be drawn to him from the Infinite One.
והנה כ״ז הי׳ עבודת השבטי׳ שהן בעולם הבריאה (לבד מיוסף שהוא מאצי׳ כדלקמן אי״ה) והם מרכבה לבחי׳ מל׳ דאצי׳
Now, all this was the service of the tribes, who are in the World of Beriah (apart from Yosef, who is from Atzilus, as will be explained below, G‑d willing), and they are a chariot for Malchus of Atzilus.
The raising of mayin nukvin described so far was the service of the tribes, whose souls are rooted in Beriah and serve as a “chariot” (a vehicle wholly subordinate to what rides on it) for Malchus of Atzilus. Yosef is the exception: his root is in Atzilus, as the maamar will explain.
והוא כענין י״ב בקר שהיו בים של שלמה2 שהן י״ב בחי׳ שבראש הבריאה והים עומד עליהם הוא בחי׳ מל׳ דאצי׳.
This is like the twelve oxen in Shlomo’s Sea: they are the twelve levels at the head of Beriah, and the Sea standing on them is the level of Malchus of Atzilus.
Shlomo’s great basin, “the Sea,” stood on twelve oxen. The oxen are the twelve levels at the head of Beriah (the tribes), and the Sea resting on them is Malchus of Atzilus.
ולזאת עיקר עבודתם והעלאת מ״ן מהבירורים שביררו בבי״ע היה מגיע עד המל׳ דאצי׳ ולשם הי׳ נכלל בבחי׳ מ״ן.3
Therefore the essence of their service, and the raising of mayin nukvin from the refinements they refined in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, reached as far as Malchus of Atzilus, and there it was included as mayin nukvin.
That is why the tribes’ service of raising the refined sparks from the three lower worlds reached as far as Malchus of Atzilus, and no higher; there the sparks were absorbed as mayin nukvin.
The paragraph identifies the brothers’ sheaf-binding as a service rooted in Beriah that reaches up to Malchus of Atzilus, prepared for by a “second gestation” of self-nullification.
The idea of a second gestation teaches that every real growth to a higher level requires a return to self-nullification first, even after one has already become a “giver.”
Marei mekomos
- 1עבור שני לאחר הלידה כמ״ש בע״ח · שער העיבור פ״א.
- 2כענין י״ב בקר שהיו בים של שלמה · ראה לקמן קג, א.
- 3שו״ה לו — מא״ס ב״ה · באוה״ת שם נוסף: (וגם דמיון לבחי׳ אלמים הנ״ל הוא מ״ש במ״א בענין שהי׳ משה כבד פה לפי שהי׳ בבחי׳ ביטול ונחנו מ״ה לא יכול להיו׳ יש להשפיע וכעין זה ה״ע בקושי התירו לדבר דברי תורה בשבת מצד הביטול שלמעלה מהשפעה).
The second refinement from above ¶23–27
23וזהו מאלמים אלומים בתוך השדה כנ״ל. אמנם ידוע שהמ״ן אע״פ שכבר נכלל בבחי׳ מל׳ עדיין הוא צריך בירור שני ע״י המ״ד.
And this is “binding sheaves in the midst of the field,” as explained above. However, it is known that the mayin nukvin, although it has already been included in Malchus, still needs a second refinement through the mayin duchrin (masculine waters).
The opening verse is recalled. But the mayin nukvin that has reached Malchus still needs a second refinement, which comes from above, through the mayin duchrin (“masculine waters”), the flow from above that answers the arousal from below.
והוא שנמשך מ״ד דז״א לברר המ״ן דנוק׳ וזהו ענין יחוד זו״נ. והענין כי אע״פ שנתבררו הנצוצות ונכללו בבחי׳ מ״ן שהוא בחי׳ בטול לאלקות כנ״ל עכ״ז א״א להם להתייחד ממש באלקותו ית׳
That is, the mayin duchrin of Z’eir Anpin is drawn down to refine the mayin nukvin of Nukva, and this is the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva. The explanation: although the sparks have been refined and included as mayin nukvin, which is self-nullification to G‑dliness, as explained above, they nevertheless cannot truly become one with His G‑dliness,
The mayin duchrin of Z’eir Anpin comes down to refine the mayin nukvin of Nukva; this is the union of Z’eir Anpin and Nukva. However nullified they are, the sparks cannot yet truly unite with G‑dliness on their own.
(כמו שהיו קודם שבה״כ שהיו בחי׳ אלקות ממש מי״ס דתהו) עד שיומשך עליהם גילוי שם מ״ה דאצי׳ ועי״ז יתבררו בירור שני והוא העיקר.
(as they were before the shattering of the vessels, when they were actual G‑dliness, from the ten Sefiros of Tohu), until the revelation of the Name Mah of Atzilus is drawn down upon them; through this they are refined with a second refinement, and this is the main one.
Before the shattering, the sparks were part of the ten Sefiros of Tohu and were actual G‑dliness. To return to that state they need the revelation of the Name Mah of Atzilus, the principle of Tikkun, to be drawn upon them; that second refinement is the essential one.
יען בחכ׳ דוקא אתברירו1 שהוא בחינת המ״ד כי הבירור הראשון הי׳ רק שיהי׳ בהם בחי׳ בטול היש
For “they are refined specifically through Chochmah,” which is the level of the mayin duchrin; for the first refinement was only that they should have in them the nullification of their sense of being something,
The saying “they are refined specifically through Chochmah” shows that the decisive refinement comes through Chochmah, the level of the mayin duchrin. The first refinement achieved only the nullification of their sense of self.
וזהו רחוק עדיין מאלהות מאד דאיהו וגרמוהי חד שהם בבחי׳ בטול אמיתי אלא ע״י שנמשך בהן בחי׳ מ״ד שהוא הארת שם מ״ה לבררם אז נכללו בבטול אמיתי באלקו׳.
and this is still very far from G‑dliness, where “He and His causations are one,” being in true self-nullification. Only when the mayin duchrin, which is the illumination of the Name Mah, is drawn into them to refine them are they included in true self-nullification in G‑dliness.
Self-nullification of that kind is still very far from Atzilus, where “He and His causations are one” in true nullification. Only when the light of the Name Mah comes into them are they included in true nullification within G‑dliness.
The paragraph introduces the second refinement: after the sparks rise from below, a flow from above (the Name Mah, Chochmah) must refine them again so that they become actually one with G‑d.
In the Arizal’s system the Name Ban (52) stands for the broken world of Tohu and the receiving side, and the Name Mah (45) for the new light of Tikkun that repairs it. The maamar maps these onto mayin nukvin and mayin duchrin, the first and second refinements.
Marei mekomos
- 1בחכמה דוקא אתברירו · נסמן לעיל טז, ד.
24וכמשל באדם שמברר בירורים ע״י שאוכל ושותה ואח״כ מתפלל באהוי״ר ע״י כח זה שאכל ושתה שנמצא נכללו החיות של המאכלים והמשקים שנפלו בשבה״כ בבחי׳ האוי״ר שלו ועכ״ז הוא עדיין רחוק ממהו׳ אחד האמת
It is like a person who refines refinements by eating and drinking and afterwards prays with love and awe through the strength of what he ate and drank, so that the life-force of the food and drink, which fell in the shattering of the vessels, is included in his love and awe. Nevertheless, this is still far from the essence of the true One,
The two refinements have a parallel in a person’s service. When someone eats and drinks and then prays with love and awe through the strength the food gave him, the life-force in the food (which fell in the shattering) is included in his love and awe. Yet this love and awe of a created being is still far from the true One.
אלא כשע״י העלאת מ״ן דאוי״ר שלו נמשכו לו דו״ר מלמעלה מאת ה׳ שתפול עליו אימה כו׳ אז יוכללו באוי״ר זו שנמשכי׳ מלמעלה מבחי׳ אלקות ממש ועד״ז הוא בירור שני דמ״ד.
until, through the raising of the mayin nukvin of his love and awe, love and awe are drawn down to him from above, from G‑d, so that “dread falls upon him,” etc. Then they are included in this love and awe that is drawn from above, from actual G‑dliness. In the same way is the second refinement of the mayin duchrin.
When his own love and awe rise as mayin nukvin, a love and awe from above, from G‑d, are drawn down on him, the “dread” that falls upon a person from G‑d. Only then are the refined sparks included in a love and awe that are actual G‑dliness; this is the second refinement, through mayin duchrin.
Eating and then praying refines the food’s sparks into human love and awe (the first refinement); G‑d-given love and awe from above complete the refinement (the second).
25ואפי׳ ר״ע שיצתה נשמתו באחד1 עכ״ז הרי מס״נ של הנברא רחוק עדיין מאלקות אלא שנמשך עליו הארה מבחי׳ אחד האמת ואז נכלל מס״נ שלו בבחי׳ אחד ממש.
Even Rabbi Akiva, whose soul departed with “One”: nevertheless, the self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) of a created being is still far from G‑dliness, except that an illumination from the level of the true One was drawn upon him, and then his self-sacrifice was included in the level of actual oneness.
Even Rabbi Akiva, who gave his life with the word “One” of the Shema on his lips, was a created being, and a created being’s self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh) is still far from G‑dliness. It became included in real oneness only because light from the true One was drawn upon him.
וזהו ענין למהוי אב״א2 שבחי׳ א׳ דיחו״ת בטול היש נכלל ביחו״ע בטול אמיתי כו׳.
This is the meaning of “to be one with the One”: the “one” of the lower unity (yichuda tata’ah), the nullification of one’s sense of being something, is included in the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah), true self-nullification, etc.
The Zohar’s phrase “to be one with the One” describes this: the “one” of the lower unity (the created being’s nullification of self) is included in the higher unity (true nullification, where nothing exists besides G‑d).
Even the highest human self-sacrifice is the “lower” oneness; it becomes true oneness only when a light from above includes it in the “higher” oneness.
Marei mekomos
- 1ר״ע שיצתה נשמתו באחד · Berakhot 61b:9
- 2למהוי אב״א · Zohar II, 135a
26ובחי׳ מ״ד זה הנמשך לברר המ״ן דנוק׳ זהו מדרגת יוסף הצדיק שהוא בחי׳ ונהר יצא מעדן להשקות את הגן1 שהגן הוא בחי׳ מל׳ ועד שם נמשך בחי׳ נהר הנביעה מאא״ס ב״ה
And this level of mayin duchrin that is drawn down to refine the mayin nukvin of Nukva is the level of Yosef the tzaddik, who is the level of “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden.” The garden is the level of Malchus, and the flowing river from the Infinite Light, blessed be He, is drawn as far as there;
This descending mayin duchrin is the level of Yosef the tzaddik, who corresponds to “a river went out of Eden to water the garden.” The garden is Malchus of Atzilus, and the river, a flow from the Infinite Light, reaches as far as the garden.
והוא בחי׳ הארת הקו״ח ושם מסתיים ואינו נמשך בבי״ע לכך הם עלמא דפרודא ומשם יפרד כו׳.
it is the illumination of the kav and the thread (chut), and there it ends and is not drawn into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. That is why they are a world of separation, and “from there it divides,” etc.
This flow is the illumination of the kav and chut, the “line and thread” of light drawn from the Infinite Light. It ends at Malchus of Atzilus and does not flow on into the three lower worlds, which is why those are “a world of separation,” as in “from there it divides.”
אלא שיוסף הוא צדיק שמקשר וממשיך הארת אא״ס בבי״ע והיינו ע״י שהנבראים נכללים בבחי׳ מ״ן בהמל׳ דאצי׳ כנ״ל ויוסף ממשיך הארת אא״ס ב״ה במל׳
But Yosef is a tzaddik who connects and draws the illumination of the Infinite Light into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. That is: the created beings are included as mayin nukvin in Malchus of Atzilus, as explained above, and Yosef draws the illumination of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, into Malchus
Yosef, however, is the tzaddik who connects the worlds and draws the Infinite Light down even into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. He does this through the created beings who have been included as mayin nukvin in Malchus of Atzilus: Yosef draws the light into Malchus.
לברר את המ״ן בירור שני שיהיו נכללים באלקותו ממש כנ״ל והארה זו היא בחי׳ הארת הקו וחוט דאא״ס וזהו בחי׳ ונהר יצא להשקות כו׳ כנ״ל.
to refine the mayin nukvin with a second refinement, so that they are included in His actual G‑dliness, as explained above. This illumination is the illumination of the kav and thread of the Infinite Light, and this is “And a river went out to water,” etc., as explained above.
That light refines the mayin nukvin a second time, so that it becomes included in actual G‑dliness. It is the light of the kav and chut, the river that goes out to water the garden.
Yosef is the channel of the “river of Eden,” the Infinite Light that normally stops at Malchus of Atzilus; through him it reaches the sparks raised from below and completes their refinement.
Yosef is identified in the Kabbalah with Yesod, the Sefirah that connects the higher Sefiros to Malchus; that is why he is the one who “waters the garden.”
Marei mekomos
- 1ונהר יצא מעדן להשקות את הגן · Genesis 2:10
27ונמצא מדרגת הבירור דיוסף הוא למעלה מעלה מהבירור של השבטים שבירור של השבטים הוא שמעלים מ״ן במל׳ דאצי׳ ועדיין לא נהפך לאלהות ממש עד שיוסף ממשיך המ״ד
It follows that the level of Yosef’s refinement is far higher than the refinement of the tribes. For the refinement of the tribes is that they raise mayin nukvin into Malchus of Atzilus, and it has not yet been transformed into actual G‑dliness until Yosef draws down the mayin duchrin,
Yosef’s refinement is therefore far higher than the tribes’. They raise mayin nukvin to Malchus of Atzilus, but what they raise is not yet transformed into actual G‑dliness until Yosef draws down the mayin duchrin.
שהוא הארת אא״ס שמלובש בחכמה שזהו ונהר יצא מעדן כו׳ ובחכמה אתברירו בירור ב׳ ואזי נכלל המ״ן באלקות ממש שהיא התכללות יחו״ת ביחו״ע כנ״ל.
which is the illumination of the Infinite Light enclothed in Chochmah; this is “And a river went out of Eden,” etc. “Through Chochmah they are refined” with the second refinement, and then the mayin nukvin is included in actual G‑dliness, which is the inclusion of the lower unity in the higher unity, as explained above.
The mayin duchrin is the Infinite Light clothed in Chochmah, the “river from Eden.” Through Chochmah the second refinement takes place, and the mayin nukvin is included in actual G‑dliness: the lower unity is absorbed into the higher unity.
This paragraph concludes the comparison: the tribes’ refinement brings the sparks up, and Yosef’s brings G‑dliness down into them and completes their unity with G‑d.
The sheaves bow ¶28–33
28והיינו מ״ש והנה אנחנו מאלמים אלומים בתוך השדה שהוא הבירורים מבי״ע להעלותן בבחי׳ מ״ן במל׳ כנ״ל.
This is what is written, “And behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field”: these are the refinements from Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, to raise them as mayin nukvin into Malchus, as explained above.
The dream’s first image, “we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field,” is the first refinement: the brothers raise the sparks from the lower worlds as mayin nukvin into Malchus.
ויוסף עצמו בירר בירור זה הראשון ג״כ אף ששרשו משם מ״ה דאצי׳ שהוא בחי׳ המ״ד1 אעפ״כ מאחר שנתלבש למטה בגוף היה צריך לברר בירור זה התחתון ג״כ כשאר אחיו
And Yosef himself also refined this first refinement: although his root is from the Name Mah of Atzilus, which is the level of the mayin duchrin, nevertheless, since he was enclothed below in a body, he also had to refine this lower refinement, like the rest of his brothers.
Yosef also took part in this first refinement. His root is in the Name Mah of Atzilus, the source of the mayin duchrin, but because his soul was clothed in a physical body he, too, had to do the lower work like his brothers.
וזהו והנה אנחנו מאלמים כו׳ שכולנו שוים בזה להעלות מ״ן במל׳. אלא שלאחר בירור זה
This is “And behold, we were binding…”: all of us are equal in this, in raising mayin nukvin into Malchus. But after this refinement,
That is why the dream says “we” were binding sheaves: in raising mayin nukvin all the brothers, Yosef included, are equal. But the dream goes on.
והנה קמה אלומתי2 כו׳ שנמצא בו מעלה יתירה מצד שרשו בשם מ״ה דאצי׳ שעי״ז מדרגתו הוא להוריד מ״ד לברר בירור שני את המ״ן שכבר העלו במל׳.
“and behold, my sheaf arose,” etc., for he has an additional advantage because of his root in the Name Mah of Atzilus; through this his level is to bring down mayin duchrin, to refine with a second refinement the mayin nukvin that they had already raised into Malchus.
“And behold, my sheaf arose”: after that shared work Yosef has an extra dimension, from his root in the Name Mah, which lets him bring down the mayin duchrin that gives the second refinement to what the brothers raised.
Both parts of Yosef’s dream are now explained: all the brothers share the first refinement, but only Yosef’s sheaf “rises” to bring about the second.
Marei mekomos
- 1ששרשו משם מ״ה דאצי׳ שהוא בחי׳ המ״ד · אוה״ת שמות ע׳ יד מציין לכאן.
- 2והנה קמה אלומתי · Genesis 37:7
29ובירור זה אין בכח שאר השבטים שהן בבריאה כו׳ שלמטה מטה מאצי׳. וזהו תסובנה אלומותיכם ותשתחוין לאלומתי1 בבחי׳ בטול ממש
And this refinement is not in the power of the other tribes, who are in Beriah, etc., far below Atzilus. And this is “your sheaves came around and bowed down to my sheaf,” in actual self-nullification.
The other tribes, rooted in Beriah far below Atzilus, cannot bring about the second refinement. That is why in the dream their sheaves surround Yosef’s and bow to it: they nullify themselves before him.
כי בלעדי המ״ד דיוסף לא נכלל המ״ן שלהם באלקות ממש רק שע״י המ״ד דיוסף שמבררם בירור ב׳ שיוכללו בביטול אמיתי דמ״ה
For without Yosef’s mayin duchrin their mayin nukvin would not be included in actual G‑dliness; only through Yosef’s mayin duchrin, which refines them with the second refinement so that they are included in the true self-nullification of Mah,
Without Yosef’s mayin duchrin, what the brothers raised would never be included in actual G‑dliness. Only his second refinement brings it into the true self-nullification of the Name Mah.
וזהו ותשתחוין כו׳ ואז הוא שנכללו באלקות כנ״ל (ועמ״ש בענין ב׳ בירורים אלו ע״פ ואלה שמות):2
and this is “and they bowed down,” etc.: then they are included in G‑dliness, as explained above. (And see what is explained on these two refinements on the verse “And these are the names.”)
The brothers’ bowing is the moment their work is included in G‑dliness. The parenthesis refers to a fuller discussion of the two refinements in the maamar on “And these are the names” (the opening of Shemos).
The bowing of the brothers’ sheaves means that their refinement is completed only through Yosef’s.
Marei mekomos
- 1תסובנה אלומותיכם ותשתחוין לאלומתי · Genesis 37:7
- 2ע״פ ואלה שמות · ראה לקמן מט, ג. באוה״ת בראשית כרך ו תתרפד, א במקום מראה מקום זה נמצא ”ע״פ הזהר וישב דקפ״א אך אל הפרוכת כו׳ ובשאר דוכתי”.
30והנה להבין ביאור ענין ותשתחוין לאלומתי. גם ענין החלום השני השמש והירח כו׳ משתחוים לי1 שהדברים מגיעים ליעקב וכמ״ש ואביו שמר2 כו׳.
Now, to understand the explanation of “and they bowed down to my sheaf,” and also the matter of the second dream, “the sun and the moon… bowing down to me,” for the words reach Yaakov, as it is written, “and his father kept [the matter],” etc.:
Two questions about bowing are raised: the brothers’ sheaves bowing to Yosef’s, and the second dream, where the sun and moon bow to him. The second dream concerns Yaakov, which is why the verse says his father “kept the matter” in mind.
איך יתכן שיעקב שהוא למעלה במדרגה מיוסף כי הוא בחי׳ גוף ויוסף בחי׳ ברית ואע״ג דגוף וברית כחדא מ״מ הוא גבוה כו׳ א״כ איך ישתחוה ליוסף וזה תמוה.
How is it possible that Yaakov, who is higher in level than Yosef, for he is the level of the body [Tiferes] and Yosef the level of the covenant [Yesod], and although “body and covenant are counted as one,” nevertheless he is higher, etc., if so, how would he bow down to Yosef? This is puzzling.
How could Yaakov bow to Yosef? Kabbalistically, Yaakov is Tiferes, “the body” of the Sefiros, and Yosef is Yesod, “the covenant.” Although “body and covenant count as one,” the body is still higher, so Yaakov’s bowing seems impossible.
אך הענין כי השתחוואה כוללת ב׳ בחי׳.3 הא׳ בחי׳ בטול שבטל ומשתחוה כו׳ כמו וצבא השמים לך משתחוים45 שהם מתבטלים כו׳. הב׳ הוא ענין המשכה שמרכין ראשו וממשיכו למטה.
But the matter is that bowing includes two aspects. The first is self-nullification: one is nullified and bows down, etc., as in “and the host of heaven bow down to You,” for they are nullified, etc. The second is drawing down: one bends his head and draws [it] downward.
The answer: bowing has two sides. It is self-nullification, as when “the host of heaven bow down to You,” and it is also drawing down: bending the head downward draws something down below.
The paragraph raises the question of why the higher (Yaakov) would bow to the lower (Yosef) and answers that bowing means not only submission but also drawing down.
Marei mekomos
- 1החלום השני השמש והירח כו׳ משתחוים לי · Genesis 37:9
- 2ואביו שמר · Genesis 37:11
- 3השתחוואה כוללת ב׳ בחי׳ · ראה לקמן בד״ה יביאו לבוש מלכות, צא, א. ובאוה״ת פ׳ תרומה ד״ה ועשו לי מקדש ע׳ א׳תכח. סה״מ תרל״ב ע׳ עד.
- 4וצבא השמים לך משתחוים · נחמי׳ טו, ו.
- 5וצבא השמים לך משתחוים · Nehemiah 9:6
31ובאמת הא בהא תליא שע״י הבטול גורם ההמשכה כו׳. וכן ידוע ג״כ מהשתחוואה שבש״ע באמרו בא״י שהוא בחי׳ בטול וגם המשכה ע״י שמרכין ראשו וממשיך מבחי׳ ברוך בבחי׳ אתה כמבואר בפע״ח.1
And in truth one depends on the other, for through the self-nullification one brings about the drawing down, etc. This is also known from the bowing in the Shemoneh Esreh when one says “Blessed are You, Havayah”: it is self-nullification and also drawing down, by bending one’s head and drawing from the level of “Blessed” into the level of “You,” as explained in Pri Etz Chaim.
The two aspects depend on each other: self-nullification is what draws the light down. The Arizal’s writings (Pri Etz Chaim) explain this in the bowing of the Amidah at “Blessed are You, Havayah”: one nullifies oneself and, by bending the head, draws the light from the hidden level of “Blessed” into the revealed level of “You.”
Self-nullification and drawing down go together, as the bowing of the Amidah shows.
Chassidus reads baruch (“blessed”) as related to hamshachah, drawing down, as in havrachah, grafting a plant. The bow of the Amidah draws the transcendent into “You,” G‑d as addressed and revealed.
Marei mekomos
- 1ברוך בבחי׳ אתה כמבואר בפע״ח · ראה שער העמידה.
32ועד״ז יובן ענין ותשתחוין לאלומתי. כי הנה השבטים כשהעלו מ״ן במלכות וצריכים לעורר המשכת מ״ד דאצילות שעי״ז עיקר הבירור.
In the same way the matter of “and they bowed down to my sheaf” will be understood. For when the tribes raised mayin nukvin into Malchus, they needed to arouse the drawing down of the mayin duchrin of Atzilus, through which the main refinement comes about.
Now the brothers’ bowing is explained. Once they had raised mayin nukvin into Malchus, they needed to arouse the flow of mayin duchrin from Atzilus, which gives the main refinement.
ובאמת אין המ״ד נמשך אלא לאחר שיש העלאת מ״ן כי לית ברכתא שריא באתר ריקניא1 רק כשיש כלי אז שורה האור והמ״ן הוא כלי להמ״ד.
And in truth the mayin duchrin is drawn down only after there is a raising of mayin nukvin, for “blessing does not rest in an empty place”: only when there is a vessel does the light rest, and the mayin nukvin is the vessel for the mayin duchrin.
Mayin duchrin only comes after mayin nukvin has risen, because, as the Zohar says, “blessing does not rest in an empty place.” Light rests only where there is a vessel, and the mayin nukvin is the vessel for the mayin duchrin.
לכן כדי לעורר המשכת מ״ד דיוסף היה צ״ל תחלה העלאת מ״ן דהשבטים בבחינת בטול לעורר המשכה זו. גם יובן זה ממשל גשמי בזיוג זכר ונקבה שאין קישוי אלא לדעת.2
Therefore, to arouse the drawing down of Yosef’s mayin duchrin, there first had to be the raising of the tribes’ mayin nukvin, in self-nullification, to arouse this drawing down. This will also be understood from a physical analogy, in the union of male and female, that “there is no arousal except with intent.”
So the brothers’ raising of mayin nukvin in self-nullification had to come first, to call down Yosef’s mayin duchrin. The Alter Rebbe points to a parallel in the physical union of man and woman, citing the Talmud that arousal depends on conscious intent.
The brothers’ bowing is their raising of mayin nukvin in self-nullification, which forms the vessel that calls down Yosef’s mayin duchrin.
Marei mekomos
- 1לית ברכתא שריא באתר ריקניא · Zohar II, 155a
- 2שאין קישוי אלא לדעת · Yevamot 53b:11–13
33וכשהנקבה עורכת שולחנה אז נתעורר תאות הזכר כו׳. וזהו והנה תסובינה אלומותיכם שעשו הכלי והעלאת מ״ן ותשתחוין לאלומתי.
And when the female sets her table, then the desire of the male is aroused, etc. And this is “and behold, your sheaves came around,” for they made the vessel and the raising of mayin nukvin, “and they bowed down to my sheaf.”
The analogy continues in the Talmud’s discreet language: when the woman “sets her table,” the man’s desire is awakened. So too, the brothers’ sheaves “came around,” forming the vessel through their mayin nukvin, and bowed to Yosef’s sheaf.
ובהשתחואה זו עשו ב׳ בחי׳ א׳ הבטול שלהם לאור א״ס הב׳ שעי״ז עשו ג״כ ההמשכה שיומשך המ״ד
And in this bowing they did two things: first, their self-nullification to the Infinite Light; second, that through this they also brought about the drawing down, so that the mayin duchrin would be drawn down,
Their bowing had both aspects: self-nullification to the Infinite Light, and, through it, the drawing down of the mayin duchrin.
דהיינו שיומשך הארת הא״ס בבחי׳ יוסף והמשכה זו שעשו הם היינו שיומשך בחי׳ האו״פ ביוסף. ואמנם השתחואה דיעקב היה רק ענין המשכה לבדה שהמשיך בחי׳ המקיף ליוסף כו׳.
that is, that the illumination of the Infinite One be drawn into the level of Yosef; and this drawing down that they brought about was that the inner light be drawn into Yosef. Yaakov’s bowing, however, was only a drawing down alone, for he drew the encompassing [light] to Yosef, etc.
What they drew down was the Infinite light into Yosef, and specifically the inner light (or pnimi), light that enters and becomes part of him. Yaakov’s bowing, by contrast, was only a drawing down, and what he drew to Yosef was the encompassing light (makif), which stays above and beyond.
This answers both questions: the brothers’ bowing is self-nullification that draws inner light into Yosef, and Yaakov’s bowing is a pure drawing down of encompassing light, so it does not imply that Yaakov is lower.
The distinction between inner light (or pnimi) and encompassing light (or makif) runs through Chassidus: inner light is absorbed according to the recipient’s capacity, while encompassing light affects it from beyond. Yaakov, as the higher level, could give Yosef only what surpasses him.
The brothers’ mistake ¶34–35
34והנה סבת שנאת השבטים ליוסף על חלומותיו כו׳ הוא לפי שהם טעו בדבר א׳. בהיות
Now, the reason for the tribes’ hatred of Yosef because of his dreams, etc., is that they erred in one thing. For
Why did the brothers hate Yosef for his dreams? Because they made one mistake.
כי ידוע בענין ששם עלו שבטים שבטי1 י״ה כו׳. שיש בחי׳ י״ב גבולי אלכסון2 בז״א דאצילות ונק׳ שבטי י״ה שנמשכים מאו״א.
it is known regarding “there the tribes went up, the tribes of Yah,” etc., that there are twelve diagonal boundaries in Z’eir Anpin of Atzilus, and they are called “the tribes of Yah” because they are drawn from Abba and Imma.
The verse “there the tribes went up, the tribes of Yah” refers, in the Kabbalah, to the twelve “diagonal boundaries” (the twelve combinations of the six directions) in Z’eir Anpin of Atzilus. They are called “tribes of Yah” because they come from Abba and Imma, Chochmah and Binah, which the two letters of the Name Yah represent.
The brothers’ hatred is traced to a mistake about their own spiritual root, which the Kabbalah places in the twelve boundaries of Z’eir Anpin.
Marei mekomos
- 1ששם עלו שבטים שבטי י״ה · Psalms 122:4
- 2שיש בחי׳ י״ב גבולי אלכסון · בלקו״ת צו יז, א. שמע״צ פ, ד מציין לכאן.
35ולזאת סברו השבטים שלמטה ששרשן משם וא״כ הם במדרגה אחת עם יוסף שכולן שרשן מז״א דאצילות וא״כ אין צריכים לו בשביל המשכת המ״ד
Therefore the tribes below thought that their root is from there, and if so they are on one level with Yosef, since all of them have their root in Z’eir Anpin of Atzilus; and if so, they do not need him for drawing down the mayin duchrin,
The brothers reasoned that since their souls come from the twelve boundaries of Z’eir Anpin, they stood on the same level as Yosef, and so did not need him to draw down mayin duchrin.
שהרי כמוהו כמוהם משרש א׳ מבחי׳ ז״א שמשם המשכת המ״ד. אבל טעו בזה כי אמת ששרשם1 מז״א כנ״ל אבל הם בעצמם למטה בבריאה.
since he and they are alike, from one root in Z’eir Anpin, from which the mayin duchrin is drawn. But they erred in this: it is true that their root is from Z’eir Anpin, as explained above, but they themselves are below, in Beriah.
They thought themselves his equals, from the same root in Z’eir Anpin that is the source of the mayin duchrin. Their mistake: their root is indeed there, but they themselves are down in Beriah.
וכנ״ל בענין בחי׳ י״ב בקר שהים עומד עליהם מלמעלה הילכך הם רק המעלים מ״ן למלכות.
And as explained above regarding the twelve oxen, with the Sea standing upon them from above, therefore they are only those who raise mayin nukvin to Malchus.
As with the twelve oxen that carry the Sea above them, they can only raise mayin nukvin to Malchus.
משא״כ יוסף שלמטה הוא עצמו מבחי׳ יסוד דאצילות ממש ולפיכך הוא דוקא הממשיך מ״ד והם צריכים לו כמו שכתוב והנה תסובינה אלומותיכם2 כו׳ כנ״ל:3
Whereas Yosef, [even] below, is himself from the level of Yesod of Atzilus itself, and therefore he specifically is the one who draws down mayin duchrin, and they need him, as it is written, “and behold, your sheaves came around,” etc., as explained above.
Yosef, even down here, is himself from Yesod of Atzilus, so he alone draws down mayin duchrin, and they need him, as the dream said: “your sheaves came around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
The maamar closes by resolving the brothers’ error: a shared root does not mean a shared level; they stand in Beriah, while Yosef stands in Atzilus, and so their work depends on his.
Marei mekomos
- 1שו״ה ששרשם · באוה״ת מגוכתי״ק הצ״צ נ׳: שרש שרשם . . אבל הם נשפלו למטה בבריאה.
- 2והנה תסובינה אלומותיכם · Genesis 37:7
- 3אלומותיכם כו׳ כנ״ל · באוה״ת שם נמצא קיצור ואח״כ מעתיק מד״ה ואני נתתי לך שכם אחד מפ׳ ויחי תקס״ג ע״ש. הקיצור. השבה״כ ענין בחי׳ פירוד ופירור הכלי לחלקי׳ רבים ועי״ז מסתלק האור וההשכלה, ושבירה זו הי׳ בנשמו׳ וניצוצו׳ לכן כל מה שירדו למטה נעשה הרבוי יותר. ועבודתינו לברר ולהעלות מטורי דפרודא לבחי׳ אחדו׳ גוי אחד בארץ, וזהו מאלמי׳ אלומין, מהרבה שבולי׳ נעשה אלומה א׳, גם ל׳ אדם מצד הביטול כו׳. וכ״ז הוא העלא׳ מ״ן ביטול היש ועדיין צריך בירור שני ע״י מ״ד לשיתהפך לאלקו׳ ממש וזה הי׳ עבודת יוסף וזהו והנה קמה אלומתי כו׳ וענין ותשתחוין כי השתחוא׳ ביטול וגם עי״ז המשכה מאוא״ס להתלבש במ״ד דיוסף, והשתחוא׳ דיעקב המשכה לבד. ומה שהשבטי׳ שנאו אותו לפי שסברו ששרשם ג״כ מי״ב ג״א דז״א א״כ כמוהו כמוהם וא״צ לו בשביל המ״ד ג״כ אבל האמת שהם י״ב בקר דבריא׳ והוא מיסוד ז״א וזה הי׳ החלומות כנ״ל.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
A person refines the sparks in food and the world by eating for the sake of G‑d and then praying with love and awe drawn from that strength. But one’s own love and awe, even self-sacrifice, remain the “lower unity” until an awe from above is drawn down upon them; one’s service from below makes the vessel, in self-nullification, for that gift from above.
Questions for discussion
- How does the analogy of the letters of ברוך explain what “shattering” means, and why does separation cause the light to depart?
- Why does the multiplication of the 288 sparks explain the length of the exile?
- In what sense is the self-nullification of the rising sparks “mute,” and how does the analogy of the fetus clarify it?
- What is the difference between the first refinement (the brothers’) and the second (Yosef’s), and how does the example of eating and prayer illustrate it?
- How do the two aspects of bowing resolve the difficulty of Yaakov bowing to Yosef?
Key terms in this maamar
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×7
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence. ×11
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions. ×4
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one. ×3
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×4
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×3
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×2
- The Shechinah (Divine Presence)שכינה
- G‑d's presence as it dwells in the world. ×1
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×1
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×1
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×2
- Nukva (the feminine / Malchus)נוקבא
- Malchus as the receiving configuration.
- The intellect (mochin)מוחין
- Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×3
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
- Love and aweאהבה ויראה
- The two 'wings' of divine service.
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×2
- Self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh)מסירות נפש
- Giving oneself over entirely to G‑d.
- The lower unity (yichuda tata'ah)יחודא תתאה
- G‑d is present within the world's existence.
- The higher unity (yichuda ila'ah)יחודא עילאה
- The world is nothing next to G‑d.
- The kav (line of light)קו
- The thin ray of light drawn into the space left after the tzimtzum. ×2
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.
- Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah)אבא ואמא
- The intellectual configurations.
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration. ×5
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×2