Torah Ohr · Parshas Vayeitzei · Maamar 1
ושבתי בשלום אל בית אבי והיה הוי׳ לי…
“And I Shall Return in Peace to My Father’s House”
Kept on this device only. Sign in to save it on every device
The big idea
Yaakov’s descent to Charan is the descent of divine light into a world that seems separate from G‑d; by raising its “stones,” the letters of creation, and drawing supernal wisdom into Torah and mitzvos, that darkness is turned into light, and this brings about a future delight so great that even the Name Havayah will be like a mere “Elokim” beside it.
The maamar in brief
The maamar asks how the stone of Yaakov’s pillar relates to the Name Havayah, and why the verse joins a feminine noun to a masculine verb. Yaakov is “yud-heel”: he draws supernal Chochmah, the yud, down to the lowest level, Charan, where the divine voice is hidden and creation feels separate. The stones he gathered are the letters of divine speech that give life to creation; he raised them into a single yud, lifting them to Chochmah and even to sovev. Then he set the stone up as a pillar, the vav, drawing Chochmah into Torah and mitzvos, and poured oil on it, so that supernal wisdom is revealed in the Torah’s physical laws with the awe of Sinai. The purpose of this descent is the refining and transforming of darkness, especially through teshuvah, which, like a talking bird, delights G‑d because it is unexpected. Charan then becomes rinah, joyous song: the delight of Yitzchak, “laughter,” to be revealed in the future. Through two kinds of peace, ascent and descent, this delight will be revealed; relative to it Havayah will be like Elokim, and the stone, Malchus, will become its house.
Outline
- The questionsWhy the stone depends on Havayah becoming Elokim, why the verse mixes genders, and what the many stones are.¶1–2
- Yaakov: the yud reaching the heelYaakov draws supernal Chochmah from Be’er Sheva down to Charan; the descent produces a world of separateness that he wishes to raise.¶3–6
- Stones are lettersLetters build words as stones build houses, and are inanimate relative to what they carry; creation lives from the divine letters, even the countless hosts from a single letter.¶7–9
- Many stones into one yudThe combinations of letters create separate beings; Yaakov gathers them into the yud, raising them to supernal Chochmah, where all is one.¶10–12
- The pillar and the oilThe pillar is the vav, Chochmah drawn into Torah and mitzvos; the oil is its revelation there with the awe of Sinai; first the letters must be raised to sovev.¶13–16
- My father’s house: Yitzchak’s laughter“My father” is Yitzchak, future laughter; delight comes from novelty, and the transformation of darkness through teshuvah turns Charan into rinah.¶17–21
- The future revelationWhen impurity is removed, creation will go from something to nothing, and the infinite delight of the seventh day will be revealed.¶22–24
- Peace, and Havayah becoming ElokimPeace joins opposites; its two kinds reveal the delight above the chain of worlds, relative to which Havayah is like Elokim, and the stone becomes its house.¶25–29
- SummaryThe Alter Rebbe’s own three-point summary, with a parallel from the Exodus and chametz and matzah.¶30
Key concepts
- Yud-akev (the yud and the heel)יו״ד עקב
- The reading of Yaakov’s name as the yud of supernal Chochmah drawn down to the “heel,” the lowest levels of creation.
- Stones as lettersאבנים נקראו אותיות
- In Sefer Yetzirah letters are called stones: they build words as stones build houses, and are lifeless compared to the meaning they carry. The stones Yaakov gathered are the letters of divine speech.
- Charan and rinahחרן ורנה
- Charan, from “my throat is parched,” is the world where the divine voice is hidden; when darkness is transformed, its ches becomes a hei and Charan becomes rinah, joyous song.
- Subjugation and transformationאתכפיא ואתהפכא
- Subduing the bad emotions and turning darkness into light; the purpose of the descent, and the source of the supernal delight.
- Delight (taanug) and Yitzchakתענוג, יצחק
- Yitzchak means “he will laugh”: the supernal delight that the work of refinement will reveal in the future, like the delight of something unexpected.
- Two kinds of peaceב׳ בחי׳ שלום
- Peace “to the far,” the lower world rising, and peace “to the near,” G‑dliness descending into Torah and mitzvos; peace joins opposites.
- Havayah and Elokimהוי׳ ואלקים
- Like sun and shield: Elokim conceals Havayah so that a finite world can exist. In the future, relative to the delight above both, Havayah itself will be like Elokim.
For children · ages 9–13
The stones that became one
The big idea
When we bring the scattered things of the world back to G‑d and turn even darkness into light, we give G‑d a delight that will be fully seen in the Time to Come.
On his way to Charan, Yaakov took stones from the place and put them at his head; in the morning there was one stone, and he set it up as a pillar and poured oil on it. The maamar explains that the stones are letters. As stones build a house, letters build words, and G‑d created the world with the letters of His word. Charan is the lowest place, where G‑d’s voice is so hidden that the world seems to stand on its own. Yaakov gathered the many letters into one, the small letter yud, which stands for G‑d’s wisdom, where everything is one. Then he set the stone up as a pillar, like the letter vav, a yud that reaches down. This is the Torah, which comes from G‑d’s wisdom and reaches down into the laws of daily life. The oil shows that the same wisdom shines in those laws, so we learn them with awe, as at Mount Sinai. The purpose of it all is teshuvah, returning to G‑d: taking strong feelings, like anger or wanting worldly things, and turning them toward G‑d. Then Charan becomes rinah, joyful song, and Yaakov returns “in peace to my father’s house.”
The mashal
No one is amazed when a person speaks, because people always speak. But if a bird were to speak, everyone would be delighted, because it is new and unexpected. In the same way, when the darkness of this world is turned into light, it brings G‑d a special delight.
Questions for the Shabbos table
- Why does turning darkness into light bring G‑d more delight than light that was always there?
- What do the many stones that became one stone teach us about the letters of G‑d’s word?
- This week, when you feel angry or want something too much, how can you turn that strong feeling toward G‑d and toward good?
Explanation © likuteitorah.com, CC BY-NC 4.0: retold for children from our translation and explanation, with AI assistance; not yet reviewed by a human editor.
The questions ¶1–2
The maamar opens with Yaakov’s vow as he sets out for Charan: if G‑d brings him back in peace, then Havayah will be Elokim to him, and the stone he set up as a pillar will become a house of Elokim. Havayah is the Name of G‑d that brings all things into being and transcends them; Elokim is the Name associated with concealment and limitation.
וצריך להבין השייכות של האבן4 עם שם הוי׳ שכשהוי׳ יהיה לאלקים אז דוקא יהיה האבן בית אלקים כו׳.
Now, we need to understand the connection of the stone with the Name Havayah: that specifically when Havayah will be Elokim, then the stone will be a house of Elokim, etc.
The first question: what does the stone have to do with the Name Havayah? The verse makes the stone’s becoming a “house of Elokim” depend on Havayah first becoming Elokim, and the link between the two is not obvious.
גם צריך להבין כי לשון האבן הזאת הוא לשון נקיבה ומלת יהי׳ הוא לשון זכר.
We also need to understand [why] the phrase “this stone” (ha’even hazos) is in the feminine form, while the word “will be” (yihyeh) is in the masculine form.
The second question is grammatical. In Hebrew “stone” (even) is feminine, and “this” (hazos) agrees with it, yet the verb that follows, “will be” (yihyeh), is masculine. The maamar will treat the stone as the level of Malchus, the receiver, which in the time to come will become a vessel for a higher revelation.
The maamar sets out Yaakov’s vow and asks two questions about it: how the stone relates to the Name Havayah, and why the verse joins a feminine noun to a masculine verb.
The Kehot notes record that the Mitteler Rebbe’s transcript of this maamar begins instead with “And Yaakov made a vow,” and that the Tzemach Tzedek noted it was said on the same Shabbos as the maamar “Shishim Heimah” printed in Likkutei Torah on Shir HaShirim.
Marei mekomos
- 1ושבתי בשלום · הנחת כ״א אדה״א בסה״מ תקס״ח ח״ב ע׳ תרכו מתחיל וידר יעקב נדר (וכן הוא ההתחלה בתו״ח). עוד הנחה בסה״מ הנחות הר״פ ע׳ סז. באוה״ת ויצא כרך א קצג, ב מציין הצ״צ שד״ה זה וד״ה ששים המה הנדפס בלקו״ת שה״ש נאמרו בשבת א׳. ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. קיצורים באוה״ת כרך ה תתנד, ב. נדפסו במ״מ לדף כא, ד. לכללות מאמר זה ראה ד״ה ושבתי בשלום תשל״ח (נדפס בסה״מ מלוקט ח״ב ע׳ קנז). ד״ה זה תשמ״ז.
- 2ושבתי בשלום · Genesis 28:21
- 3והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה יהיה בית אלקים · Genesis 28:22
- 4וצריך להבין השייכות של האבן וכו׳ · בסה״מ תקס״ח ובתו״ח נמצאים עוד קושיות: ”אור אבא שהוא אור הראשון דאצי׳ יונק מן בחי׳ מזל השמיני דא״א והוא מזל ונוצר חסד ונק׳ בשם מזל העליון”. — סה״מ תקס״ה כרך ב ע׳ תתקמב. וראה בלקו״ת אמור לט, א. לשון יניקה, ומהו ההגדלה. ובסה״מ תקס״ה שם.
2ולהבין את כל הנ״ל צריך להקדים ולבאר מ״ש לעיל מניה ויפגע במקום1 ויקח מאבני המקום וישם מראשותיו וגו׳ וישם אותה מצבה2 כו׳
To understand all the above, we must first preface and explain what is written just before it: “And he came upon the place… and he took from the stones of the place and placed [them] at his head,” etc., “and he set it up as a pillar,” etc.
To answer, the maamar goes back to the verses just before the vow: Yaakov came upon “the place,” took some of its stones and put them at his head, and in the morning set up the stone as a pillar.
וצריך להבין ענין האבנים מה הן. וגם מה שהיו תחלה אבנים הרבה כמ״ש ויקח מאבני המקום וגו׳.
And we need to understand the matter of the stones, what they are; and also why at first there were many stones, as it is written, “And he took from the stones of the place,” etc.
Two more questions: what the stones represent, and why the verse speaks of many stones at first, when later there is only one.
The maamar turns to the story of the stones at Beis El, asking what the stones are and why they were first many and then one.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויפגע במקום · Genesis 28:11
- 2וישם אותה מצבה · Genesis 28:18
Yaakov: the yud reaching the heel ¶3–6
And Yaakov made of them one stone, etc. But now, at the beginning of the parsha it is written, “And Yaakov went out from Be’er Sheva and went toward Charan.”
The Midrashic tradition that the many stones became one is taken as known. Before explaining it, the maamar turns to the parsha’s first verse, Yaakov’s journey from Be’er Sheva to Charan.
פי׳ יעקב הוא בחי׳ יו״ד עקב2 שהוא בחי׳ המשכת חכמה עילאה שהוא בחי׳ י׳ למטה מטה גם בבחי׳ עקביים.
The explanation: Yaakov is the level of yud-akev (a yud [and] a heel), which is the drawing down of supernal Chochmah, which is the level of the yud, down to the very lowest, even into the level of the heels.
The name Yaakov (יעקב) is read as yud plus akev, “heel.” The yud, the smallest letter, stands for Chochmah, the first point of divine wisdom; Yaakov’s role is to draw that wisdom down to the “heel,” the lowest level of existence.
The name Yaakov is decoded as “yud-heel”: the drawing of supernal Chochmah into the lowest levels.
The Kehot notes trace the reading yud-akev to Etz Chaim (Sha’ar Seder HaAtzilus, ch. 2) and to the Kabbalistic lexicons Pardes Rimonim and Kehilas Yaakov. Torah Ohr on Vayeshev applies it in every world: the yud, the beginning of thought, extends to the “heel,” which is speech.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2יעקב הוא בחי׳ יו״ד עקב · ע״ח שער סדר האצי׳ פ״ב. וראה פרדס שער עה״כ ערך יעקב. וערך עקב. קהלת יעקב ערך ישראל. ובכ״מ. ראה לקמן כז, ב. כט, א. לקו״ת בלק סח, ב. ר״ה סא, ד. אוה״ת וישב תתצד, ב. תצא ע׳ תתעו ואילך.
4וזהו ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה1 שבחי׳ יעקב הוא הממשיך מבחי׳ באר שבע שהוא למעלה מעלה איהו וחיוהי וגרמוהי חד עד השתלשלות למטה מטה למדרגה היותר תחתונה שהוא בחי׳ חרן וכאשר יבואר לקמן בעז״ה.
And this is [the meaning of] “And Yaakov went out from Be’er Sheva and went toward Charan”: the level of Yaakov is what draws down from the level of Be’er Sheva, which is at the very highest, [where] “He and His life-forces and His vessels are one,” through the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) to the very lowest, to the lowest rung, which is the level of Charan, as will be explained below, with G‑d’s help.
Be’er Sheva stands for the highest level, where, in the phrase of the Tikkunei Zohar, G‑d, His life-forces and His vessels are all one, with no separateness at all. Charan stands for the lowest rung of the chain of worlds. Yaakov’s journey between them is the drawing of divine light from the top of the chain to its bottom; the maamar promises to explain Charan later (paragraph 20).
Yaakov’s journey from Be’er Sheva to Charan is read as the path of divine light from perfect unity down to the lowest rung of creation.
Marei mekomos
- 1
5וכמ״ש צוה ישועות יעקב.1 ישועות הם ש״ע נהורין עילאין234 ובחי׳ יעקב מחבר וממשיך אותן למטה בבחי׳ עקביים ג״כ.
As it is written, “Command the salvations (yeshuos) of Yaakov.” Yeshuos are the three hundred and seventy (shin-ayin) supernal lights, and the level of Yaakov joins them and draws them down below, into the level of the heels as well.
A verse from Psalms calls on G‑d to “command the salvations of Yaakov.” The word yeshuos (ישועות) is read as containing shin-ayin, 370, the number of the supernal lights spoken of in the Zohar; Yaakov’s role is to join these lights and draw them down to the lowest “heels.”
וגם ישועות הוא מלשון שעה כמ״ש וישע ה׳ אל הבל5 וגו׳ שהוא בחי׳ ירידת והמשכת אורו ית׳ למטה מטה כו׳.
Yeshuos is also from the term “turning” (she’iyah), as it is written, “And G‑d turned (vayisha) to Hevel,” etc., which is the descent and drawing down of His light, blessed be He, to the very lowest, etc.
A second reading: yeshuos is related to vayisha, “He turned toward,” as in G‑d turning toward Hevel’s offering. Either way, the word describes G‑d’s light descending toward what is below.
אך בהשתלשלות אור ה׳ כ״כ בצמצומים רבים עד שבא גם למטה בבחי׳ חרן נעשה עלמא דפרודא לגמרי וכמ״ש ונהר יוצא מעדן6 שהוא בחי׳ חכמה עילאה להשקות את הגן כו׳.
However, as the light of G‑d descends so far, through many contractions (tzimtzumim), until it comes down even to the level of Charan, it becomes a world of utter separateness, as it is written, “And a river goes out from Eden,” which is the level of supernal Chochmah, “to water the garden,” etc.
The problem is that when the light descends so far, through many contractions, until it reaches “Charan,” the result is a world of separateness, where things feel apart from G‑d. The verse about the river that goes out from Eden is brought to show this: Eden is supernal Chochmah, and the river flows down from it to water the garden.
The verse “command the salvations of Yaakov” shows Yaakov drawing the highest lights downward; but the further light descends, the more the world it produces feels separate from G‑d.
The Kehot notes point to the Zohar (1:4b, 3:133b) and Etz Chaim (Sha’ar HaZivugim, ch. 2) for the 370 lights, and note that Torah Chaim reads “375 lights.” Iggeres HaKodesh 3 in Tanya gives the same reading of yeshuos, from vayisha, as the 370 lights.
Marei mekomos
- 1צוה ישועות יעקב · Psalms 44:5
- 2ש״ע נהורין עילאין · Zohar I, 4b
- 3ש״ע נהורין עילאין · Zohar, Idra Rabba 15:134–17:147
- 4ש״ע נהורין עילאין · Sefer Etz Chaim 15:2
- 5וישע ה׳ אל הבל · Genesis 4:4
- 6ונהר יוצא מעדן · Genesis 2:10
6ומשם יפרד1 שכשנמשך משם בהשתלשלות רבות וצמצומים רבים נעשים בחי׳ נפרדים בתכלית. ויעקב אע״ה רצה להעלותם למעלה מעלה שיהי׳ גם למטה בחי׳ יחוד ובטול ממש כמו שהוא למעלה חיוהי וגרמוהי חד כו׳.2
“And from there it divides”: when it is drawn from there through many stages of descent and many contractions, they become utterly separate beings. And Yaakov our father, peace be upon him, wished to raise them up to the very highest, so that below too there would be true unity and self-nullification (bittul), just as it is above, [where] “His life-forces and His vessels are one,” etc.
The verse continues, “and from there it divides”: after many stages of descent and contraction, the light produces beings that are utterly separate. Yaakov wanted to lift them back up, so that even below there would be the same unity and self-nullification found above, where G‑d’s powers and vessels are one with Him.
The descent of light ends in separate beings, and Yaakov’s task is to raise them so that the lower world, too, becomes one with G‑d.
Marei mekomos
- 1ומשם יפרד · Genesis 2:10
- 2שו״ה הגן כו׳ — בהשתלשלות רבות וצמצומים רבים · בבוך 1824: בהשתלשלות וצמצומים רבים.
Stones are letters ¶7–9
7ולזאת נאמר ויקח מאבני המקום כו׳. כי הנה נודע שאבנים נקראו אותיות וכמ״ש בס״י שני אבנים1 בונות שתי בתים שלש אבנים בונות ששה בתים כו׳
Therefore it says, “And he took from the stones of the place,” etc. For it is known that letters are called “stones,” as it says in Sefer Yetzirah, “Two stones build two houses; three stones build six houses,” etc.
This is why the verse says Yaakov took “stones”: in Kabbalah the letters are called stones. Sefer Yetzirah counts the permutations of letters as houses built from stones: two letters make two combinations, three make six.
להיות כמו שמאבנים הרבה נעשה בית אחד שיכולים לדור בתוכו כמו״כ מאותיות הרבה נעשו תיבות שבהם התלבשו׳ השכל וגם
For just as from many stones one house is made, in which one can dwell, so from many letters words are made, in which the intellect is enclothed; and also,
The first likeness: many stones become one house to live in, and many letters become words, which house an idea.
כמו שהאבנים הם בחי׳ דומם שהוא מדרגה היותר תחתונה מכל הד׳ יסודות דצח״מ כמו כן האותיות לגבי השכל המלובש בהם הם בחי׳ דומם בתכלי׳ שאינם מערך השכל כלל.
just as stones are of the inanimate level, which is the lowest rung of all four foundations, inanimate, vegetative, animal and speaking, so too the letters, relative to the intellect enclothed in them, are utterly of the inanimate level, for they bear no comparison to the intellect at all.
The second likeness: stone is “inanimate,” the lowest of the four categories of creation (inanimate, vegetative, animal and human). Letters, too, are lifeless compared with the idea they carry; they have nothing of the intellect in them.
נמצא מובן מכל הנ״ל שאבנים נקראו אותיות וכמו״כ הוא למעלה. דהנה כתיב בדבר ה׳ שמים נעשו2 כו׳.
It follows, as is understood from all the above, that letters are called “stones.” And so it is above, for it is written, “By the word of G‑d the heavens were made,” etc.
So letters are fittingly called stones, and the same is true above: the heavens were made by “the word of G‑d,” that is, by divine letters.
The stones Yaakov took are letters: like stones they build “houses,” and like stones they are inanimate compared to what they contain.
The Kehot note gives Sefer Yetzirah 4:16 according to the Arizal’s version of the text.
Marei mekomos
- 1כמ״ש בס״י שני אבנים · פ״ד מט״ז עפ״י נוסח האריז״ל. ראה לקמן כט, א. לקו״ת במדבר ח, ב.
- 2בדבר ה׳ שמים נעשו · Psalms 33:6
And as it is written, “Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds.” The explanation: the life-force of all the worlds, which are worlds without end, as it is written, “Is there any number to His troops?”
The verse “Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds” teaches that the countless worlds, as numerous as G‑d’s hosts in Job’s words, all draw their life from one source.
הנה עכ״ז מקור ושרש חיותם אינו אלא מבחי׳ מלכותו שהוא בחי׳ דבר ה׳ כו׳ המחיה ומהוה אותם מאין ליש תמיד. להיות שהם נבראים בע״ג שיש גבול להשגתן ומהארץ לרקיע מהלך ת״ק שנה כו׳.
nevertheless, the source and root of their life-force is only from the level of His Malchus (sovereignty), which is the level of the word of G‑d, etc., which gives them life and brings them into being from nothing to something constantly. [This is] because they are created beings with limits, whose comprehension has a limit, and “from the earth to the firmament is a journey of five hundred years,” etc.
That source is only Malchus, G‑d’s “kingship,” which is His word, constantly bringing the worlds into being from nothing. They can receive only from this level because they are limited, as the Talmudic saying about the distance from earth to the firmament illustrates.
All the endless worlds get their life only from Malchus, the divine word, because they are finite and cannot receive from anything higher.
Marei mekomos
- 1מלכותך מלכות כל עולמים · Psalms 145:13
- 2היש מספר לגדודיו · Job 25:3
9ואינם כלל בערך לגבי אור ה׳ שהוא בבחי׳ א״ס המתגלה בעולמות עליונים. ולזאת אין יכולים לקבל חיותם
And they bear no comparison at all to the light of G‑d, which is on the level of the Infinite (Ein Sof), revealed in the higher worlds. Therefore they cannot receive their life-force
The created worlds bear no comparison to G‑d’s infinite light as it shines in the higher worlds, so they cannot receive their life directly from it.
רק מבחי׳ דבר ה׳ שהם אותיות שנבראו בהם שמים וארץ כו׳ שהם בחי׳ דומם לגבי אור א״ס ב״ה
except from the level of the word of G‑d, which is the letters with which heaven and earth were created, etc., which are of the inanimate level relative to the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He.
They receive it only through the divine word, the letters by which heaven and earth were made, and those letters are like inanimate stone compared to the Infinite Light.
וכמ״ש קדוש ה׳ צבאות וכמארז״ל1 אות הוא בצבאות שלו23 ואף שהם אלף אלפין כמ״ש אלף אלפין ישמשונה4 ורבו רבבן קדמוהי וגו׳ וכמ״ש היש מספר לגדודיו.5
As it is written, “Holy is G‑d of Hosts (Tzevaos),” and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “He is a sign (os) among His hosts.” And although they are a thousand thousands, as it is written, “A thousand thousands served Him, and myriad myriads stood before Him,” etc., and as it is written, “Is there any number to His troops?”
The Name “G‑d of Hosts” (Tzevaos) is read by the Sages as “He is an os among His hosts”; os means both “sign” and “letter.” Though the hosts are thousands upon thousands, as Daniel saw, the phrase implies that all of them live from a single letter.
עכ״ז מאחר שהם בעלי גבול חיותם אינו אלא מבחי׳ אות א׳ בלבד שהוא בחי׳ דומם לגמרי לגבי שם הוי׳ שהוא בבחי׳ א״ס כו׳ כנ״ל.6
nevertheless, since they are limited, their life-force is only from the level of a single letter alone, which is entirely of the inanimate level relative to the Name Havayah, which is on the level of the Infinite, etc., as mentioned above.
Because the hosts are finite, their life comes from just one letter, which is inanimate compared to the Name Havayah, the infinite.
Even the countless heavenly hosts live from only one letter of the divine word, because anything finite can receive only from a source that is itself “inanimate” relative to the Infinite.
The Kehot note records that manuscript Buch 1824 reads “as stated in the Zohar” instead of “as our Sages said,” pointing to the introduction of the Tikkunei Zohar.
Marei mekomos
- 1וכמארז״ל · בבוך 1824: וכמ״ש בזהר. — ת״ז בהקדמה יב, ב.
- 2אות הוא בצבאות שלו · Chagigah 16a
- 3אות הוא בצבאות שלו · Tikkunei Zohar 12b
- 4אלף אלפין ישמשונה · Daniel 7:10
- 5היש מספר לגדודיו · Job 25:3
- 6קדוש ה׳ צבאות · Isaiah 6:3
Many stones into one yud ¶10–12
10והנה השתלשלות כל העולמות ברבוי רבבות מדרגות תלוי הכל לפי אופן צירופי האותיות1 שבבחינת דבר ה׳ להתהוות נבראים פרטיים בעלי גבול ונפרדים כו׳.
Now, the chain of descent of all the worlds, through myriads upon myriads of rungs, all depends on the manner of the combinations of the letters in the level of the word of G‑d, so that particular created beings come into being, limited and separate, etc.
Every distinct creature, on every rung, is the product of a particular combination of divine letters; how the letters are arranged determines what comes into being.
ויעקב אע״ה רצה להעלותם למעלה. לזאת ויקח מאבני המקום2 שהם אותיות הרבה ועשה מהן אבן אחת
And Yaakov our father, peace be upon him, wished to raise them up above. Therefore, “he took from the stones of the place,” which are many letters, and made of them one stone,
Yaakov wanted to lift these creatures back up, so he “took from the stones of the place,” the many letters, and made them into one.
שהוא אות היו״ד שזהו וישם מראשותיו כו׳ שכמו שלמטה באדם יש שכל ומדות והאותיות הם המלבישים לבחי׳ שכל ומדות שמתלבשים בהם.
which is the letter yud; this is [the meaning of] “and he placed [them] at his head,” etc. For just as below, in a person, there are intellect and emotive attributes (middos), and the letters are what clothe the intellect and emotive attributes that are enclothed in them,
The one stone is the letter yud, and it is placed “at his head,” the place of intellect. The maamar explains through a person: he has intellect and emotions, and letters (words) are what clothe them.
כמו״כ למעלה יש בחי׳ חב״ד וז״ת רק שם הוא חכים ולא בחכמה ידיעא מבין ולא בבינה ידיעא ולאו מכל מדות אלין ששם הוא בבחי׳ יחוד ובטול בתכלית.
so too above there are the levels of Chochmah, Binah and Daas and the seven lower [Sefiros]; only, there He is “wise, but not with a known wisdom; understanding, but not with a known understanding,” and not of any of these attributes, for there it is in a state of utter unity and self-nullification.
Above too there are intellect (Chochmah, Binah, Daas) and seven emotive Sefiros, but there they are wholly one with G‑d. As the prayer of Eliyahu in the Tikkunei Zohar puts it, He is wise, but not with a wisdom that can be known.
Creation depends on combinations of letters, and Yaakov gathered the many letters into the single yud, lifting them to the level where all is one with G‑d.
Marei mekomos
- 1השתלשלות כל העולמות . . צירופי האותיות שבבחי׳ דבר ה׳ · ראה תניא ח״ב פ׳
- 2ויקח מאבני המקום · Genesis 28:11
11וכמ״ש לך ה׳ הגדולה כו׳ וחיוהי וגרמוהי חד כו׳. ובחי׳ דבר ה׳ הם האותיות שבהם מתלבשים חב״ד ומדות שהם ע״ס עליונות.
As it is written, “Yours, G‑d, is the greatness,” etc., and “His life-forces and His vessels are one,” etc. And the level of the word of G‑d is the letters, in which Chochmah, Binah and Daas and the emotive attributes are enclothed, which are the ten supernal Sefiros.
The verse “Yours, G‑d, is the greatness…” lists the Sefiros, and the Zohar phrase adds that they are one with Him. The divine word is the letters, and in them the ten supernal Sefiros are clothed.
ובחי׳ אות היו״ד שהיא נקודה קטנה מרמז על היות שבו מתלבש בחי׳ חכמה שהוא בחי׳ אין ובטול בתכלית.1
And the level of the letter yud, which is a small point, alludes to the fact that the level of Chochmah, which is the level of nothingness (ayin) and utter self-nullification, is enclothed in it.
The yud is only a point. Its smallness suits Chochmah, which is called “nothing” (ayin): the first flash of wisdom before it takes any shape, a state of complete self-nullification.
The letters clothe the ten Sefiros, and the tiny yud clothes Chochmah, the level of nothingness and complete self-nullification.
Marei mekomos
- 1לך ה׳ הגדולה · I Chronicles 29:11
And the letter hei, which is a spreading out in length and breadth, alludes to its being a garment for the level of Binah, etc.
The hei is wide and extends in both length and breadth, so it suits Binah, where the point of wisdom is expanded and developed.
וכמו״כ שאר האותיות שבהם מתלבשים בחי׳ מדות העליונות. וזהו שיעקב עשה מכל האבנים אבן אחת שהוא אות היו״ד להעלותן לבחי׳ חכמה עילאה.
And likewise the other letters, in which the levels of the supernal emotive attributes are enclothed. And this is [why] Yaakov made of all the stones one stone, which is the letter yud: to raise them up to the level of supernal Chochmah.
The other letters clothe the emotive attributes. Gathering all the stones into one yud means raising all the letters to supernal Chochmah, where they are nullified before G‑d.
The shapes of the letters match the levels they clothe, and gathering them into a yud lifts them all to supernal Chochmah.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואות הה״א · ענין זה ליתא בהנחת הר״פ.
The pillar and the oil ¶13–16
13ואזי אח״כ וישם אותה מצבה1 הוא בחי׳ אות הוא״ו שעשה והמשיך מבחי׳ י׳ לבחי׳ ו׳ להיות התלבשות בחי׳ חכמה עילאה למטה בבחי׳ תומ״צ וכנודע תמונת אות הוא״ו שעל ראשו נקודת היו״ד2
And then, afterward, “and he set it up as a pillar” is the level of the letter vav: he made and drew [it] from the level of the yud to the level of the vav, so that supernal Chochmah would be enclothed below in Torah and mitzvos. As is known, the form of the letter vav has the point of the yud at its head,
After the ascent comes the descent. Setting the stone up as an upright pillar is the vav, a vertical line: Yaakov drew the yud down into a vav, so that supernal Chochmah would be clothed in Torah and mitzvos below. The vav is drawn with a yud-like point at its head.
ואח״כ הולך ומתמשך למטה כמו כן אורייתא מחכמה עילאה נפקת ונמשך ומתפשט למטה בדברים גשמיים כו׳.
and afterward it goes on and extends downward. So too, “the Torah comes forth from supernal Chochmah,” and is drawn down and spreads below into physical things, etc.
The line of the vav then extends downward. So too the Torah, which the Zohar says “comes forth from supernal Chochmah,” comes down and clothes itself in physical matters.
The pillar is the letter vav, the yud extended downward: supernal Chochmah drawn down into the Torah and its mitzvos in the physical world.
Marei mekomos
- 1וישם אותה מצבה · Genesis 28:18
- 2אות הוא״ו שעל ראשו נקודת היו״ד · ראה לעיל טו, ד. לקו״ת תצא כט, ג.
And this is [the meaning of] “and he poured oil on its top.” The explanation: oil is the level of supernal Chochmah, as it is written, “oil of holy anointing.”
Pouring oil on the pillar is the next step. Oil stands for supernal Chochmah; the verse about the “oil of holy anointing” is brought to show oil as a symbol of holiness drawn from above.
להיות גלוי בחי׳ חכמה עילאה ממש למטה בבחי׳ מצבה הנ״ל שהוא בחי׳ תורה ומצות שמלובשים למטה בדברים גשמיים המחליף פרה בחמור כו׳ כשר פסול כו׳ עכ״ז יהיה בהם גילוי בחי׳ חכמה עילאה ממש כמו שהוא למעלה.
[This is] so that there be a revelation of supernal Chochmah itself below, in the level of the pillar mentioned above, which is the level of Torah and mitzvos, which are enclothed below in physical things, “one who exchanges a cow for a donkey,” etc., kosher [and] unfit, etc.; nevertheless there will be in them a revelation of supernal Chochmah itself, just as it is above.
The aim is that supernal Chochmah itself be revealed in the pillar, that is, in Torah and mitzvos, even though they deal with physical matters: laws about trading a cow for a donkey, about what is kosher and what is unfit. Even there, divine wisdom should be as revealed as it is above.
The oil poured on the pillar is supernal Chochmah revealed within the Torah’s most earthly laws.
The Kehot notes connect oil with wisdom through the Talmud’s remark that olive oil is common in Tekoa, and so wisdom is found there. Or HaTorah on Vayakhel adds that the goal is not the ascent (setting up the pillar) but the drawing down (pouring the oil).
Marei mekomos
- 1ויצק שמן על ראשה · Genesis 28:18
- 2פי׳ שמן הוא בחי׳ חכמה עילאה · Menachot 85b:13–14
- 3שמן משחת קודש · Exodus 30:25
15וכמארז״ל מה להלן באימה וביראה1 אף כאן באימה וביראה. פי׳ מה להלן בשעת מתן תורה על הר סיני שהיו באימה וביראה שאז הי׳ בחי׳ גילוי בתכלית ששמעו מפי עצמות המאציל אנכי ה׳ אלקיך כו׳.
And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Just as there [it was] in dread and awe, so here [it must be] in dread and awe.” The explanation: “just as there,” at the time of the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, they were in dread and awe, for then there was a revelation in the utmost degree, for they heard from the mouth of the Essence of the Emanator, “I am G‑d, your G‑d,” etc.
The Sages taught that Torah must be studied with the same dread and awe as at Sinai. At Sinai the revelation was total: Israel heard “I am G‑d your G‑d” from G‑d’s very Essence, and so they were filled with awe.
אף כאן היינו אף כמו שהתורה מלובשת למטה בדברים גשמיים יהי׳ ע״י גילוי חכמה עילאה ממש כמו שהי׳ אז וכמ״ש ואשים דברי בפיך2 כו׳.3
“So here”: that is, even as the Torah is enclothed below in physical things, it shall be through a revelation of supernal Chochmah itself, just as it was then, as it is written, “And I have placed My words in your mouth,” etc.
“So here” means that even now, when the Torah is clothed in physical matters, it should carry the same revelation of supernal Chochmah as then. The verse “I have placed My words in your mouth” expresses this: G‑d’s own words are in the mouth of the one who learns.
The awe of Sinai is to be present in every study of Torah, because the same supernal wisdom is revealed in it now as then.
The Kehot note records that this whole passage is missing from the Hanachos HaRap transcript, and points to parallels in Boneh Yerushalayim and the Alter Rebbe’s short maamarim.
Marei mekomos
- 1וכמארז״ל מה להלן באימה וביראה · Berakhot 22a:4
- 2ואשים דברי בפיך · Isaiah 51:16
- 3אנכי ה׳ אלקיך · Exodus 20:2
16ולהיות גילוי כזה למטה הוצרך יעקב מתחלה להעלותן למעלה מעלה לבחי׳ סוכ״ע. וכמ״ש וירימה מצבה1 להיות כי נעוץ סופן בתחלתן ועי״ז נעוץ תחלתן בסופן כו׳ שמדרגה היותר גבוה יותר יכולה לירד ולהתפשט מטה מטה כידוע:2
And for there to be such a revelation below, Yaakov first needed to raise them up to the very highest, to the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin). As it is written, “and he raised it up as a pillar”: for “their end is wedged in their beginning,” and through this “their beginning is wedged in their end,” etc., for the higher a rung is, the more it is able to descend and spread lower and lower, as is known.
To bring such revelation down, Yaakov first had to raise the letters to sovev, the light that transcends all worlds, just as the verse later says “he raised it up as a pillar.” The principle, from Sefer Yetzirah, is that the end is bound up with the beginning: what is lowest is rooted in what is highest, and the higher a level is, the further down it can reach.
Ascent comes before descent: only by first raising the letters to the highest level could Yaakov draw revelation all the way down.
Torah Ohr on Bereshis, cited in the note, applies the same principle: through direct light and returning light the foot becomes the head, which is why Israel, the “feet,” are called “first.”
Marei mekomos
- 1וירימה מצבה · Genesis 31:45
- 2נעוץ סופן בתחלתן . . כידוע · ראה אוה״ת ואתחנן ע׳ פט. וראה לעיל א, ב.
My father’s house: Yitzchak’s laughter ¶17–21
17וזהו ושבתי בשלום אל בית אבי והי׳ הוי׳ לי לאלקים. שכל זה יהיה ע״י העלאות והמשכות שממטה למעלה ומלמעלה למטה שהוא בחי׳ וישם מראשתיו כו׳
And this is [the meaning of] “And I shall return in peace to my father’s house, and Havayah will be Elokim to me”: all this will come about through elevations and drawings-down, from below upward and from above downward, which is the level of “and he placed [them] at his head,” etc.,
Now the maamar returns to the vow. Everything described so far, the raising of the letters and the drawing down, both belong to it: “placed at his head” is the ascent from below upward.
ואח״כ ויצק עליה שמן כו׳ כנ״ל כי הנה אבי1 קאי על יצחק וכמ״ש כי אתה אבינו2 שלע״ל יאמרו על יצחק כי אתה אבינו כו׳.
and afterward, “and he poured oil on it,” etc., as mentioned above. For “my father” refers to Yitzchak, as it is written, “For You are our father,” for in the time to come they will say of Yitzchak, “For you are our father,” etc.
Pouring the oil is the descent from above downward. “My father” means Yitzchak: the Talmud relates that in the future Israel will say to Yitzchak, in the words of Isaiah, “For you are our father.”
The vow is about ascent and descent together, and “my father’s house” is Yitzchak, whom Israel will call “our father” in the future.
The Kehot notes point to Or HaTorah on Terumah and Ki Sisa for this reading of “my father’s house” as Yitzchak.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי הנה אבי · ראה אוה״ת תרומה ע׳ א׳תקכו. וראה גם באוה״ת כי תשא ע׳ א׳תתפז.
- 2כי אתה אבינו · Isaiah 63:16
Now, Yitzchak is from the term tzechok (laughter) and delight, as it is written, “[G‑d] has made laughter for me,” etc., “whoever hears will laugh (yitzchak) with me.”
The name Yitzchak comes from tzechok, laughter, as Sarah said at his birth: G‑d has made laughter for me; all who hear will laugh with me. Laughter expresses delight.
והוא לשון עתיד שיתגלה בחי׳ התענוג העליון2 שלמעלה והוא ע״י בחי׳ הבירורי׳ שלמטה בבחי׳ אתכפיא ואתהפכא מחשוכא לנהורא ע״י העלאות והמשכות כנ״ל.
And it is in the future tense, [meaning] that the supernal delight above will be revealed; and this comes through the refinements (beirurim) below, in the manner of subjugation (iskafya) and transformation (is’hapcha) of darkness into light, through the elevations and drawings-down mentioned above.
Yitzchak is also a future-tense verb, “he will laugh.” So it points to a supernal delight that will be revealed in the future, brought about by the work of refining the world below: subduing evil and turning darkness into light.
Yitzchak means future laughter: the supernal delight that the work of refinement will reveal.
A later maamar quoted in the Kehot note cites this passage and links it with the Midrash that G‑d “will rejoice” in the deeds of the righteous in the future. Or HaTorah on Ki Sisa raises a question here: the third redemption is said to come in Yaakov’s merit, yet here it is linked to Yitzchak.
Marei mekomos
- 1צחק עשה לי · Genesis 21:6
- 2לשון עתיד שיתגלה בחי׳ התענוג העליון · ע׳ אוה״ת ויחי שצט, ב. וראה באוה״ת פ׳ כי תשא ע׳ א׳תתפז שצ״ע שהרי גאולה שלישית בזכות יעקב, וכאן כ׳ שבזכות יצחק ע״ש. בד״ה כל שמעשיו מרובין תרנ״ג ע׳ ריז: ”מבואר בת״א פ׳ ויצא דהוא בחי׳ צחוק ותענוג עליון שיתגלו לע״ל, וכמארז״ל במד״ר ר״פ אחרי, שמח אינו אומר אלא ישמח ה׳ במעשיו עתיד הקב״ה לשמוח במעשיהן של צדיקים. שלע״ל דוקא יהי׳ גילוי השמחה מבחי׳ הבירורים דעכשיו בבחי׳ אתכפיא ואתהפכא”. ע״ש.
19וכמו התענוג והצחוק שלמטה שאינו אלא מאיזו שינוי והתחדשות כמו למשל צפור המדברת1 וכדומה שאין דרכה וטבעה לדבר משא״כ מאדם המדבר אין מקבלים תענוג כלל לפי שדרכו בתמידות לדבר. וכמו״כ ממש למעלה.
Like delight and laughter below, which come only from some change and novelty, for example a talking bird and the like, whose way and nature is not to speak; whereas from a person who speaks one receives no delight at all, since it is his constant way to speak. And exactly so above.
Delight comes from what is new. A talking bird delights us because speech is not its nature; a person who speaks delights no one, because speaking is normal for him. The same is true above: what delights G‑d is what is unexpected.
הנה בחי׳ יעקב הוא י׳ עקב שהוא בחי׳ ירידת והשתלשלות אלקות עד למטה מטה גם בבחי׳ עקביי׳ שהם עולמות הנפרדים לגמרי ובעלי גבול כו׳.
Now, the level of Yaakov is yud-akev, which is the descent and chain-descent of G‑dliness down to the very lowest, even into the level of the heels, which are the utterly separate and limited worlds, etc.
Yaakov, the yud reaching the heel, is G‑dliness descending all the way to the lowest, limited worlds, which seem entirely separate from Him.
Delight comes from novelty, and Yaakov’s descent into the lowest worlds sets up the unexpected transformation that will delight G‑d.
The parable of the talking bird goes back to the Maggid of Mezritch’s Or Torah, as the Kehot note shows, and recurs across Chabad literature, for example to explain why the service of souls in bodies moves G‑d more than the angels’ praise.
Marei mekomos
- 1צפור המדברת · או״ת להה״מ (הוצאת קה״ת) פג, א. פו, ד. ועוד. ראה לקמן כה, ד. לקו״ת במדבר יט, ד. שלח מח, ד. שה״ש לז, א. תו״ח תולדות קנב, א. ויצא קסו, א. וישלח קצ, ג. שער האמונה עט, א. סה״מ תרכ״ז ע׳ שצ. סה״מ תער״ב ח״ב ע׳ תתקה. סה״מ תרמ״ג ע׳ קלג.
20וכמ״ש ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה1 שנמשך ונשתלשל בהשתלשלות וצמצומים כ״כ להתהוות יש מאין בעלי גבול ועלמין דפרודי
As it is written, “And Yaakov went out from Be’er Sheva and went toward Charan”: [G‑dliness] was drawn down and descended through the chain of descent and contractions so far, so that limited beings and worlds of separateness would come into being, something from nothing,
Yaakov’s journey to Charan is again read as the descent of G‑dliness, through so many contractions that limited, separate worlds come into being from nothing.
which are separate created beings, which are something (yesh) and separate unto themselves; [this] is called Charan (חרן), and it is from the term “my throat is parched (nichar),” etc.
These separate beings, which feel they exist on their own, are called Charan (חרן), a word the maamar links to nichar, “parched,” in the Psalm “my throat is parched.”
והיינו שהחיות אלקות הנמשך ומתלבש בהם שנק׳ בחי׳ גרון שהוא קול כנודע4 מכוסה ומוסתר בהם לגמרי עד
That is, the divine life-force that is drawn down and enclothed in them, which is called the level of the throat, which is voice, as is known, is covered and hidden in them completely, until
The divine life-force in creatures is called “throat,” because the throat produces voice, the divine speech that creates them. In these worlds that voice is completely covered and hidden.
שהם עלמין דפרודי וחשך לגמרי כאלו הם יש ונפרד בפ״ע ואזי נק׳ חרן לשון נחר גרוני כו׳. וכמ״ש נאלמתי דומיה5 כו׳.
they are worlds of separateness and utter darkness, as if they were something separate unto themselves; and then it is called Charan, from the term “my throat is parched,” etc. And as it is written, “I was mute with silence,” etc.
So the worlds become separate and dark, as if they existed on their own. This is the “parched throat,” and the silence of “I was mute with silence”: the divine voice cannot be heard.
Charan is the lowest world, where the creative divine voice is so hidden that creation seems to stand on its own, a “parched throat.”
The Kehot note gives Rashi’s reading of nichar as “dried out,” and points to the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah on Vayeshev and to Or HaTorah on Va’era.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה · Genesis 28:10
- 2נחר גרוני · Psalms 69:4
- 3נחר גרוני · Rashi on Psalms 69:4
- 4שנק׳ בחי׳ גרון שהוא קול כנודע · ראה ביאוה״ז להצ״צ כרך ב ע׳ תשסז.
- 5נאלמתי דומי׳ · Psalms 39:3
21והנה תכלית המכוון בירידת והשתלשלות אור ה׳ כ״כ למקום חשך ועלמין דפרודי. היינו בכדי שיהי׳ אתכפיא ואתהפכא מחשוכא לנהורא כו׳
Now, the ultimate purpose of the descent and chain-descent of the light of G‑d so far, to a place of darkness and worlds of separateness, is so that there be subjugation and transformation of darkness into light, etc.:
Why did G‑d’s light descend so far, into darkness and separateness? So that darkness could be subdued and turned into light (iskafya and is’hapcha, subjugation and transformation).
להפוך את כל המדות רעות שהם האהבה ורשפי אש של הבלי עולם או הכעס כו׳
to transform all the bad emotive attributes (middos), which are the love and fiery flames for the vanities of the world, or anger, etc.,
In a person this means the bad emotions: burning love for the vanities of the world, anger and the like.
להפכם שיהיו רק לה׳ לבדו ולהיות בבחי׳ בטול הרצון לה׳ לבד ולא בבחי׳ יש ונפרד בפ״ע כו׳.
to transform them so that they be for G‑d alone, and to be in a state of self-nullification of the will to G‑d alone, and not in a state of being something separate unto itself, etc.
These are to be transformed so that they are directed to G‑d alone, and so that a person gives up his own will before G‑d instead of feeling himself a separate self.
ונק׳ בחי׳ זאת בחי׳ תשובה שהוא בחילא יתיר כו׳ דהיינו המדות רעות שהם ברשפי אש להפכם ולהשיבם לה׳ לבד כנ״ל
And this level is called teshuvah (return), which is “with greater strength,” etc.; that is, [taking] the bad attributes that are in fiery flames, to transform them and return them to G‑d alone, as mentioned above.
This transformation is called teshuvah, which works “with greater strength”: taking the very fire of the bad emotions and turning it back to G‑d.
(וזהו במקום שבעלי תשובה עומדין1 צדיקי׳ גמורים אין יכולים לעמוד). ועי״ז נעשה תענוג גדול למעלה והוא מבחי׳ אתכפיא ואתהפכא מחשוכא לנהורא שלמטה.
(And this is [the meaning of] “In the place where penitents stand, the completely righteous cannot stand.”) And through this a great delight is brought about above, and it comes from the subjugation and transformation of darkness into light below.
That is why penitents stand where even the completely righteous cannot. And this transformation causes great delight above.
וזהו יפה שעה אחת בתשובה23 כו׳ להיות שע״י בחי׳ תשובה דוקא נעשה התענוג למעלה כ״כ שהוא ממש כמשל צפור המדברת כנ״ל
And this is [the meaning of] “One hour in teshuvah is more beautiful,” etc.: for specifically through teshuvah such delight is brought about above, exactly like the parable of the talking bird mentioned above;
The Mishnah says one hour of teshuvah in this world is more beautiful than all the life of the World to Come. Teshuvah causes delight above just like the talking bird: something unexpected.
ואזי נעשה מבחי׳ חר״ן רנ״ה וכנודע על ענין חמץ ומצה שמאות החי״ת של חמ״ץ נעשה ה״א כמ״ש בזהר פ׳ פנחס4 ע״פ גער חי״ת קנה5 כו׳ ונעשה בחי׳ מצה.
and then from the level of Charan (חרן) is made rinah (רנה, joyous song). As is known concerning chametz and matzah: from the letter ches of chametz (חמץ) a hei is made, as it says in the Zohar, Parshas Pinchas, on the verse “Rebuke the chayas (ches) of the reed,” etc., and it becomes the level of matzah (מצה).
Then Charan (חרן) becomes rinah (רנה), joyous song: the ches turns into a hei. The same happens with chametz (חמץ) and matzah (מצה), whose letters differ only in ches and hei; the Zohar reads “rebuke the beast (chayas) of the reed” as rebuking the ches.
So too, from Charan is made rinah, as it is written, “When the wicked perish there is joyous song (rinah)”; which is the delight that is brought about above from the subjugation and transformation, as mentioned above.
The verse “when the wicked perish there is joyous song” shows that rinah comes when evil is overcome. This rinah is the delight above that comes from subduing and transforming darkness.
The purpose of the descent is to transform darkness into light, especially through teshuvah, which turns Charan into rinah and brings the greatest delight above.
The Kehot note records that the parenthesis about penitents also appears in the manuscript of the Alter Rebbe’s maamarim, and points to a note of the Rebbe on the Talmudic statement. The word-play works because ches (ח) and hei (ה) differ only by a small gap in the left leg.
Marei mekomos
- 1במקום שבעלי תשובה עומדין · Berakhot 34b:22–23
- 2יפה שעה אחת בתשובה · אבות ד, יז.
- 3יפה שעה אחת בתשובה · Pirkei Avot 4:17
- 4כמ״ש בזהר פ׳ פנחס · רנא, ב ואילך. מכאן ואילך בהנחת הר״פ בקיצור.
- 5גער חי״ת קנה · Psalms 68:31
- 6באבוד רשעים רנה · Proverbs 11:10
- 7(וזהו . . לעמוד) · מוסגר זה נמצא גם בכת״י מאמרי אדה״ז. הענין נמצא בהנחות הר״פ, אבל שם בלי מוסגר.
The future revelation ¶22–24
22והנה בחי׳ התענוג הזה יתגלה לעתיד דוקא שאז ואת רוח הטומאה אעביר1 כו׳ שלא יהיה עוד בחי׳ חשך ובירורי׳ כמו שהוא עתה בעליות וירידות אלא כמ״ש בחריש ובקציר תשבות2 כמבואר במ״א.
Now, this delight will be revealed specifically in the time to come, for then “I will remove the spirit of impurity,” etc., so that there will no longer be darkness and refinements as there are now, in ascents and descents; rather, as it is written, “In plowing and in harvest you shall rest,” as explained elsewhere.
This delight will be fully revealed only in the future, when G‑d removes the spirit of impurity from the earth. Then there will be no darkness to refine and no ups and downs; the work of “plowing and harvest,” the refining, will cease, and there will be rest.
The delight produced by refinement will be revealed in the future, when there is no more evil to refine.
The Likkutei Torah passage cited in the note explains that in the future no “plowing” (breaking up evil) will be needed, since the spirit of impurity will be gone.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואת רוח הטומאה אעביר · Zechariah 13:2
- 2בחריש ובקציר תשבות . . כמ״ש במ״א · Exodus 34:21
23ויהיה בחי׳ גילוי אור ה׳ למטה בבחי׳ יחוד וביטול בתכלית כמו שהוא למעלה בעולמות עליונים דאיהו וחיוהי וגרמוהי חד כו׳ שעתה הוא מאין ליש כו׳ משא״כ לעתיד יהיה מיש לאין בבחי׳ ביטול ואתהפכא כו׳.
And there will be a revelation of the light of G‑d below in a state of utter unity and self-nullification, just as it is above in the higher worlds, where “He and His life-forces and His vessels are one,” etc. For now it is from nothing to something, etc., whereas in the time to come it will be from something to nothing, in a state of self-nullification and transformation, etc.
In the future, G‑d’s light will be revealed below with the same unity found in the higher worlds. Now creation runs “from nothing to something,” producing beings that feel real on their own; then it will run “from something to nothing,” as creation recognizes its nullity before G‑d and is transformed.
The future reverses the direction of creation: instead of nothing becoming something, something will be nullified before G‑d.
24ואזי יתגלה בחי׳ ענג העליון שהוא בבחי׳ א״ס והוא בחי׳ יום הז׳ יום שכולו שבת ומנוחה לחיי העולמים שהוא בחי׳ גילוי ענג העליון כנודע שנעשה מהבירורים שלמטה בשיתא אלפי שנין כו׳.
And then the supernal delight, which is on the level of the Infinite (Ein Sof), will be revealed; and this is the level of the seventh day, “the day that is entirely Shabbos and rest for life everlasting,” which is the revelation of the supernal delight, as is known, which comes about from the refinements below during the six thousand years, etc.
Then the supernal delight, which is infinite, will be revealed. This is the “seventh day,” the era that is all Shabbos and rest; it is the fruit of the work of refinement during the six thousand years of the world.
וזהו ושבתי כו׳ אל בית אבי1 שהוא בחי׳ חזרה והשבה של בחי׳ יעקב מבחי׳ חר״ן כנ״ל לבחי׳ רנה שנק׳ בית אבי שהוא בחי׳ יצחק שהוא בחי׳ הצחוק והתענוג העליון שיתגלה לעתיד מבחי׳ אתכפיא ואתהפכא הנ״ל:
And this is [the meaning of] “And I shall return,” etc., “to my father’s house”: it is the return and restoration of the level of Yaakov from the level of Charan, as mentioned above, to the level of rinah, which is called “my father’s house,” which is the level of Yitzchak, which is the supernal laughter and delight that will be revealed in the time to come from the subjugation and transformation mentioned above.
This is Yaakov’s return “to my father’s house”: coming back from Charan, the hidden divine voice, to rinah, the song of delight, which is the level of Yitzchak, the laughter to be revealed in the future.
The future delight is the “seventh day,” and Yaakov’s return to his father’s house is the turning of Charan into rinah, Yitzchak’s laughter.
Marei mekomos
- 1ושבתי כו׳ אל בית אבי · Genesis 28:21
Peace, and Havayah becoming Elokim ¶25–29
25וזהו שיאמרו לעתיד על יצחק דוקא כי אתה אבינו להיות כי זהו תכלית המכוון בירידת והשתלשלות העולמות כדי שעי״ז יהיה צחוק ותענוג למעלה כנ״ל.
And this is why in the time to come they will say specifically of Yitzchak, “For you are our father”: because this is the ultimate purpose of the descent and chain-descent of the worlds, so that through it there will be laughter and delight above, as mentioned above.
Why will Israel call Yitzchak, of all the Patriarchs, “our father” in the future? Because the whole purpose of the descent of the worlds is the laughter and delight above, and Yitzchak is that laughter.
וזהו ושבתי בשלום כו׳. כי בחי׳ ענג הנ״ל שיתגלה לעתיד הוא דוקא ע״י בחי׳ העלאות והמשכות שהם בחי׳ הבירורים למטה בבחי׳ אתכפייא ואתהפכא כנ״ל שנקרא בחי׳ שלום.
And this is [the meaning of] “And I shall return in peace,” etc. For the delight mentioned above, which will be revealed in the time to come, comes specifically through elevations and drawings-down, which are the refinements below in the manner of subjugation and transformation, as mentioned above; [and this] is called the level of peace (shalom).
Now the word “in peace” is explained. The future delight comes through the two movements of ascent and descent, the refining of the world by subduing and transforming evil, and this joining of the two is called “peace.”
For peace is what joins two opposites, as it is written, “He makes peace in His heights”: for Michael is the prince of water and Gavriel is the prince of fire, etc.
Peace unites opposites. The verse “He makes peace in His heights” is explained by the Midrash: Michael, the angel of water, and Gavriel, the angel of fire, stand together in heaven, and G‑d makes peace between them.
Yitzchak is “our father” because delight is the goal of creation, and “peace” is the union of opposites, ascent and descent, that brings that delight.
Torah Ohr on Beshalach, cited in the note, explains that opposites like water and fire, Chesed and Gevurah, can join only through the bittul of Chochmah, which is also why a human being can combine opposing traits.
Marei mekomos
- 1עושה שלום במרומיו · Job 25:2
- 2שמיכאל שר של מים · Bamidbar Rabbah 12:8
26והנה כתיב שלום שלום לרחוק ולקרוב1 והיינו ב׳ בחי׳ שלום2 שלום מלמטה למעלה והיינו לרחוק שנעשה קרוב שהוא בחי׳ העלאה ממטה למעלה.
Now, it is written, “Peace, peace, to the far and to the near.” That is, [there are] two levels of peace: peace from below upward, that is, “to the far” who becomes near, which is the elevation from below upward;
Isaiah says “peace, peace” twice, so there are two kinds of peace. The first is peace “to the far”: the one who is far, the lower world, is brought near, rising from below upward.
ושלום מלמעלה למטה היינו בחי׳ ירידת והמשכת אלקות למטה בבחי׳ תורה ומצות כמבואר לעיל במ״ש ויצק שמן כו׳.
and peace from above downward, that is, the descent and drawing down of G‑dliness below into Torah and mitzvos, as explained above on the verse “And he poured oil,” etc.
The second is peace “to the near”: G‑dliness descends from above into Torah and mitzvos, as with the oil Yaakov poured on the pillar.
The doubled “peace” in Isaiah is the two movements of the maamar: the lower world rising, and G‑dliness descending into Torah and mitzvos.
Marei mekomos
- 1שלום שלום לרחוק ולקרוב · Isaiah 57:19
- 2ב׳ בחי׳ שלום · ראה ד״ה פדה בשלום תשל״ח (סה״מ מלוקט ח״ב ע׳ יא) הערה 96.
27וע״י ב׳ בחי׳ שלום הנ״ל שהם בחי׳ אתהפכא מחשוכא לנהורא שלא יהיו בבחי׳ עלמין דפרודי רק בבחי׳ יחוד וביטול כמו שהוא למעלה בעולמות עליוני׳ ממש
And through the two levels of peace mentioned above, which are the transformation of darkness into light, so that they will not be in the state of worlds of separateness but only in a state of unity and self-nullification, exactly as it is above in the higher worlds,
Through these two kinds of peace, darkness is turned into light, and the lower worlds stop being worlds of separateness and become one with G‑d, as the higher worlds are.
ואזי אשוב אל1 בית אבי שיתגלה ממילא בחי׳ הענג העליון שהוא בבחי׳ א״ס ממש למעלה מעלה מהשתלשלות העולמות במדרגות רבות מעלה ומטה וחשך ואור.
then “I shall return to my father’s house”: the supernal delight, which is truly on the level of the Infinite (Ein Sof), far above the chain of descending worlds with its many rungs, above and below, darkness and light, will be revealed of itself.
Then “I shall return to my father’s house”: the supernal delight will be revealed of itself. It is infinite, far above the whole chain of worlds with its distinctions of high and low, dark and light.
משא״כ לגבי עצמותו ומהותו ית׳ קטן וגדול שוים ממש בלי שינוי וכחשכה כאורה2 ממש.
Whereas relative to His essence and being, blessed be He, small and great are truly equal, without change, and “darkness is exactly like light.”
For G‑d’s own essence those distinctions do not exist at all: small and great are the same, and darkness is like light, as the Psalm says.
When the two kinds of peace unite the worlds with G‑d, the infinite delight is revealed, a level for which high and low, dark and light, are all the same.
Marei mekomos
- 1שו״ה בעולמות — ואזי אשוב אל · בבוך 1824: ואזי אז יבא אל.
- 2וכחשכה כאורה · Psalms 139:12
28ואז והיה הוי׳ לי לאלקים כו׳. כי הנה כתיב כי שמש ומגן1 הוי׳ אלקים שכמו שהמגן הוא נרתק להשמש ומכסה ומסתיר על אור השמש כמו״כ
And then, “Havayah will be Elokim to me,” etc. For it is written, “For a sun and a shield is Havayah Elokim”: just as the shield is a sheath for the sun, covering and concealing the light of the sun, so too
Now the vow’s central phrase, “Havayah will be Elokim to me.” The Psalm pairs “sun” with Havayah and “shield” with Elokim: as a shield covers the sun, sheathing its light.
שם אלקים הוא בחי׳ נרתק לשם2 הוי׳ ומכסה ומסתיר עליו להיות נבראים בעלי גבול ונפרדים בפ״ע משא״כ שם הוי׳ הוא בחי׳ המשכת אור ה׳ למטה כו׳.3
the Name Elokim is a sheath for the Name Havayah, covering and concealing it, so that there may be created beings that are limited and separate unto themselves; whereas the Name Havayah is the drawing down of the light of G‑d below, etc.
So Elokim conceals Havayah, so that limited, separate creatures can exist without being overwhelmed. Havayah, by contrast, is the drawing down of G‑d’s light.
Elokim is the sheath that conceals Havayah’s light, making a finite world possible.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי שמש ומגן הוי׳ אלקים · Psalms 84:12
- 2בחי׳ נרתק לשם הוי׳ · ראה ד״ה קדושים תהיו תרנ״ז אות ג.
- 3שו״ה ממש — ואז והיה · בבוך 1824: ואזי אז יהי׳.
29והנה כ״ז הוא בבחי׳ השתלשלות מעלה ומטה וחשך ואור אבל לעתיד שיתגלה בחי׳ ענג העליון שהוא למעלה מעלה מבחי׳ ההשתלשלות והוא למעלה מעלה מבחי׳ שם1 הוי׳ ושם אלקים
Now, all this is within the chain of descending worlds, above and below, darkness and light. But in the time to come, when the supernal delight will be revealed, which is far above the chain of descending worlds and far above the Name Havayah and the Name Elokim,
All of this, sun and shield, revelation and concealment, belongs to the chain of worlds. The future delight is far above the whole chain, above even the Names Havayah and Elokim.
ואזי מה שעתה הוא בחי׳ שם הוי׳ יהיה אז בחי׳ אלקים לגבי בחי׳ ענג העליון הנ״ל
then what is now the level of the Name Havayah will then be the level of Elokim relative to the supernal delight mentioned above.
So relative to that delight, even Havayah, today the Name of revelation, will be like Elokim, a mere covering. This is the meaning of “Havayah will be Elokim to me.”
ואזי והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה2 כנ״ל יהיה בית אלקים שיהיה בית וכלי לבחי׳ אלקים דלעתיד שהוא בחי׳ הוי׳ עתה.
And then “this stone which I have set up as a pillar,” as mentioned above, “will be a house of Elokim”: it will be a house and vessel for the level of Elokim of the time to come, which is the level of Havayah now.
The stone, the lowest level, will then be a “house of Elokim”: a vessel for what will then be called Elokim, which is Havayah as we know it now. This answers the first question: the stone becomes a house once Havayah becomes “Elokim.”
וכל אשר תתן לי הוא לשון עתיד היינו כל עליות שיהיו לעתיד הכל עשר אעשרנו לך בבחי׳ מעשר כנודע וד״ל:
“And all that You will give me” is in the future tense; that is, all the ascents that there will be in the time to come, all of them, “I will surely give a tenth of it to You,” in the manner of a tithe, as is known; and this is enough for one who understands.
Yaakov’s vow ends “all that You will give me I will tithe to You.” “Will give” is future: the endless ascents of the future, which will also be given back to G‑d as a tithe. The maamar ends with “this is enough for one who understands.”
In the future the delight above both Names will make Havayah itself a mere “Elokim,” and the stone will become a vessel for it; this resolves the vow’s opening question.
A maamar cited in the Kehot note quotes Torah Chaim’s version: that Havayah will be revealed as openly as the Name Elokim is now.
Marei mekomos
- 1אבל לעתיד . . בחי׳ שם הוי״ה יהי׳ אז בחי׳ אלקים · ראה ד״ה ושבתי בשלום תשל״ח (סה״מ מלוקט ח״ב ע׳ קעז) הערה 205 שמציין לתו״ח כו, ד ושם: ”שהוי׳ יהי׳ בגילוי כמו שם אלקים”.
- 2והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה · Genesis 28:22
Summary ¶30
30קיצור1 (א) הנה יעקב המשיך היו״ד ח״ע לבחי׳ עקביי׳ וזהו ענין יציאת יעקב מבאר שבע יסוד אי׳ לבחי׳ חרן כדי להעלות בירורי נוגה
Summary. (a) Yaakov drew the yud, supernal Chochmah, down to the level of the heels. And this is the matter of Yaakov’s going out from Be’er Sheva, the Yesod of Imma, to the level of Charan, in order to elevate the refinements of nogah;
A summary in three points. (a) Yaakov drew the yud, supernal Chochmah, down to the heels. Be’er Sheva is identified with Yesod of Imma, the channel of Binah, and Yaakov went down to Charan to raise up the sparks trapped in nogah, the mixed realm of good and evil that can be refined.
והיינו מה שלקח מאבני המקום שהם בחי׳ אותיות דבר ה׳ המלובשים בדצ״ח ועשה מהם אבן אחת הוא בחי׳ יו״ד שזהו וישם מראשותיו2 (ע׳ זהר ח״א דע״ב ופ׳ ויצא קנ״א ופ׳ ויחי רל״א ובמ״ש ע״פ אבן ישראל)34
that is, his taking from the stones of the place, which are the letters of the word of G‑d enclothed in the inanimate, vegetative and animal, and making of them one stone, which is the level of the yud; this is “and he placed [them] at his head” (see Zohar, Part I, 72b, and Parshas Vayetzei, 151, and Parshas Vayechi, 231, and what is explained on the verse “the stone of Israel”).
The stones are the letters of G‑d’s word, clothed in the inanimate, vegetative and animal. Yaakov gathered them into one yud, “at his head.” The parenthesis points to places in the Zohar and to a discussion of “the stone of Israel.”
ואח״כ וישם אותה מצבה המשכת בחי׳ ו׳ שנמשך מהיו״ד והוא ענין אורייתא מח״נ ויצק עליה שמן להיות מה להלן באימה ויראה אף כאן באימה ויראה:5
And afterward, “and he set it up as a pillar”: the drawing down of the level of the vav, which extends from the yud; and this is the matter of “the Torah comes forth from supernal Chochmah.” “And he poured oil on it,” so that “just as there [it was] in dread and awe, so here in dread and awe.”
The pillar is the vav that extends from the yud, the Torah coming forth from supernal Chochmah. The oil is the revelation of Chochmah in Torah, so that it is studied with the awe of Sinai.
(ב) ועי״ז ושבתי בשלום אל בית אבי בחי׳ יצחק כי אתה אבינו6 והוא הצחוק והתענוג שיהיה לע״ל מבירורים אלו והיינו ע״י אתכפיא ואתהפכא נתברר מבחי׳ חר״ן ונהפך החי״ת לה״א להיות רנ״ה בחי׳ תענוג
(b) And through this, “I shall return in peace to my father’s house,” the level of Yitzchak, “For you are our father”; and this is the laughter and delight that there will be in the time to come from these refinements. That is, through subjugation and transformation, [it] is refined from the level of Charan (חרן), and the ches turns into a hei, to become rinah (רנה), the level of delight.
(b) The result is the return to “my father’s house,” Yitzchak, the future laughter and delight born of these refinements: Charan (חרן) is refined, its ches becomes a hei, and it becomes rinah (רנה), delight.
(ועד״ז בענין יצ״מ מיצר הגרון ע״ד בחי׳ חרן נחר גרוני7 כו׳ וימררו חיי אבותינו וכשנעשה יצ״מ הוא בחי׳ מצה משא״כ חמץ כענין ההפרש בין חרן לרנה):
(And similarly in the matter of the Exodus from Egypt (Mitzrayim): from the strait of the throat (meitzar hagaron), in the manner of the level of Charan, “my throat is parched,” etc., “and they embittered the lives of our fathers”; and when the Exodus from Egypt takes place, it is the level of matzah, as opposed to chametz, like the difference between Charan and rinah.)
The same is true of the Exodus. Mitzrayim is read as meitzar hagaron, the narrow strait of the throat, like the parched throat of Charan, when the Egyptians embittered our ancestors’ lives. Leaving Egypt is matzah, as against chametz, just as rinah is to Charan.
(ג) וגילוי ענג זה ע״י ב׳ בחי׳ שלום לרחוק ולקרוב8 ואז שם הוי׳ יהיה רק בבחי׳ אלקי׳ לגבי גילוי ההוא ולפיכך האבן הזאת שהיא בחי׳ המל׳ המקבלת משם הוי׳ יהיה בחי׳ בית אלקים
(c) And the revelation of this delight is through the two levels of peace, “to the far and to the near”; and then the Name Havayah will be only on the level of Elokim relative to that revelation. Therefore “this stone,” which is the level of Malchus that receives from the Name Havayah, will be the level of “a house of Elokim.”
(c) This delight is revealed through the two kinds of peace, to the far and to the near. Then Havayah is like Elokim relative to it, and the stone, Malchus, which receives from Havayah, becomes a “house of Elokim.”
(וגם י״ל כיון דלע״ל יאמרו ליצחק כי אתה אבינו ע״כ שייך בחי׳ זו בשם אלקים וז״ש צחוק עשה לי אלקים):9
(It may also be said: since in the time to come they will say to Yitzchak, “For you are our father,” this level is therefore connected with the Name Elokim; and this is [the meaning of] “Elokim has made laughter for me.”)
A further suggestion: because Israel will say “you are our father” to Yitzchak, the future level is linked to the Name Elokim, as in Sarah’s words, “Elokim has made laughter for me.”
The summary retraces the maamar: the yud drawn down and the stones raised, the pillar and oil, Charan becoming rinah, and the two kinds of peace that make the stone a house for Havayah.
The Tzemach Tzedek’s own summaries of this maamar, quoted in the Kehot note from Or HaTorah, add that the raising reaches sovev through the yud, “the vessel of bittul,” and that the future ascents go on, one after another, until they reach G‑d Himself.
Marei mekomos
- 1קיצור · בבוך 1824 ליתא. באוה״ת כרך ה תתנד, ב קיצורים אחרים: קיצור. (א) פי׳ צוה ישועות יעקב המשכ׳ ש״ע נהורין שלמעלה מהשתלשלות ע״י ויקח מאבני המקום והעלה אותן לבחי׳ סוכ״ע ע״י היו״ד הנ״ל כלי הביטול, ואח״כ ושוי יתי׳ קמא שהוא כמ״ש קמה אלומתי וגם נצבה עלי׳ אחר עלי׳ לבחי׳ י״ג ת״ד שהן בחי׳ יודי״ן ווי״ן וכו׳ וכ״ז העלא׳. (ב) ואח״כ בחי׳ המשכה ויצוק שמן להיות מה להלן כו׳, וכ״ז ביציאה מבאר שבע לבחי׳ חרן בחי׳ נפרדים ניחר גרוני, נאלמתי דומי׳ וכשמברר שם נעשה רנה בחי׳ יצחק. (ג) ועלי׳ והמשכה זו ע״י בחי׳ שלום ואז יהי׳ הוי׳ נחשב בבחי׳ אלקים והאבן והאותיות יהיו כלים שיהי׳ בהן גילוי שם הוי׳ שנק׳ אז אלקים, ועוד יהי׳ עילוי אחר עילוי בחי׳ עשר אעשרנו עד שיגיע לבחי׳ לך ממש.
- 2וישם מראשותיו · Genesis 28:11
- 3ובמ״ש ע״פ אבן ישראל · ראה אוה״ת בראשית.
- 4אבן ישראל · Genesis 49:24
- 5מה להלן באימה ויראה אף כאן באימה ויראה · Berakhot 22a:4
- 6כי אתה אבינו · Isaiah 63:16
- 7נחר גרוני · Psalms 69:4
- 8לרחוק ולקרוב · Isaiah 57:19
- 9צחוק עשה לי אלקים · Genesis 21:6
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
A person’s bad emotions, the burning love for worldly things and anger, are not simply to be suppressed but turned around and directed to G‑d alone; this teshuvah, done in the darkness of this world, brings G‑d a delight that even the perfectly righteous cannot. Torah, even in its most earthly laws, is to be learned with the awe of Sinai, as the revelation of G‑d’s own wisdom.
Questions for discussion
- Why must Yaakov first raise the stones to the highest level before he can draw supernal wisdom down into them?
- How does the parable of the talking bird explain why the service of teshuvah causes greater delight above than the service of the righteous?
- In what sense are letters “inanimate” relative to the ideas they carry, and what does this say about the world’s relation to the divine word?
- What does it mean that in the future creation will go “from something to nothing,” and how does this relate to Havayah becoming “Elokim”?
- How do the two kinds of peace, “to the far and to the near,” correspond to the pillar and the oil?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being. ×13
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×15
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×11
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×11
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×3
- Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds.
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×2
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×7
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×2
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion.
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
- 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.
- Delightתענוג
- Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×12
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×1
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×4
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×1