Torah Ohr · Parshas Vayeitzei · Maamar 2
ביאור על הנ״ל
An Explanation of the Above
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The big idea
Yaakov, whose name joins the yud to the heel, draws the Infinite Light that is above all worlds down to the lowest level: by raising lifeless “stones,” the letters and the self-effacing Chochmah of the soul, and by descending to Charan to transform its darkness, he makes even the lowest into a “house of Elokim,” so much so that in the future even Havayah as it fills the worlds will seem only a concealment, Elokim.
The maamar in brief
The maamar asks two questions about Yaakov’s vow: how Havayah can become “Elokim,” and how a stone can become a “house of Elokim.” It answers through the figure of Yaakov, yud-akev, through whom the 370 supernal lights and the Infinite Light above the chain of worlds reach every Jewish soul. The stones Yaakov took are letters, lifeless beside the meaning they carry, as all creation is less than a letter before G‑d; because they are lifeless, they can be raised highest, to the encompassing light. Only the yud, the vessel of self-nullifying Chochmah, has this power, and the pillar and the oil describe further stages: the ascent to the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy and the drawing down of supernal wisdom into the Torah, which should be studied with the awe of Sinai. Yaakov’s descent to Charan, the blocked “throat” where the kelipos draw nourishment, is for the sake of transformation, turning Charan into rinah, song, and bringing the laughter of Yitzchak. In the future, when evil is transformed, the Infinite Light itself will be revealed; the raised stone will be a dwelling for G‑d, and each endless ascent will pass through a “tithe,” the self-nullification of Keser.
Outline
- The questions and Yaakov’s nameHow can Havayah become Elokim, and a stone a house of Elokim? Yaakov is “salvations”: through him the 370 lights and all divine flows come down.¶1–2
- The light above the chain of worldsThe worlds live from a contracted ray; through Yaakov the Infinite Light itself, above all worlds, shines on every Jewish soul.¶3
- Stones are lettersLetters house meaning as stones house a person, and are lifeless beside it; all creation is one letter before G‑d. Being lifeless, letters can rise to the encompassing light, as the end of a circle joins its beginning.¶4–5
- The yud, the pillar and the oilOnly the yud, vessel of self-nullifying Chochmah, is raised; the pillar is a further ascent to the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy (yuds and vavs). A gloss explains why the vav here is higher than the yud, and the oil as a flow from the hidden mind into the laws of the Oral Torah.¶6–9
- Torah study with the awe of SinaiThe goal is the oil: supernal Chochmah drawn into the Torah, even its laws about worldly matters. Knowing this, one studies with the awe of Sinai, for before the Infinite Light nothing is hidden.¶10–12
- From Be’er Sheva to Charan, and the laughter of YitzchakYaakov descends from the source of the self-nullifying attributes to Charan, the choked throat where the flow is blocked, as in exile and in self-centered study, in order to transform it: Charan becomes rinah, and the joy of Yitzchak will be revealed with Mashiach.¶13–16
- Peace, and the fulfillment of the vowThe return comes through peace, which joins opposites. In the future the Infinite Light itself will be revealed, so Havayah in the worlds will be as Elokim, and the raised letters will become a house of Elokim.¶17–20
- The endless tithesEvery future ascent needs a remnant of the previous level as an arousal from below, the “tithe.” A parenthetical note explains this as Keser, the silent self-nullification between levels, doubled because Keser has two partzufim.¶21–22
Key concepts
- Yaakov as yud-akevיעקב — יו״ד עקב
- Yaakov’s name split into yud (the highest point) and akev (heel): he draws the light that is above all worlds down to the very lowest level.
- The 370 lightsש״ע נהורין
- Supernal lights, hinted in the letters ש״ע of yeshuos, “salvations,” which are revealed through Yaakov.
- Letters as stonesאבנים הן אותיות
- Following Sefer Yetzirah, letters are “stones”: they house meaning as stones house a person, and they are lifeless beside it; for that very reason they can be raised highest.
- Chochmah as koach mahחכמה — כ״ח מ״ה
- Chochmah read as “the power of ‘what’”: the self-effacing core of the mind and soul, the only vessel in which the Infinite Light rests.
- Yuds and vavsיודי״ן ווי״ן
- In the Kabbalistic image of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, the source-point of each hair is a yud and the extended hair a vav; the maamar maps Yaakov’s stone “at his head” and “as a pillar” onto these.
- Charan and rinahחרן — רנה
- Charan, the “parched throat” where the divine flow is blocked and the kelipos draw nourishment, is transformed into rinah, song, as the ches opens into a hei.
- Subjugation and transformationאתכפיא ואתהפכא
- Subduing the sitra achra and then turning its darkness into light; this brings the “laughter” of Yitzchak and is the purpose of the descent.
- Havayah and Elokimהוי׳ ואלקים
- Havayah is the inner light that gives life; Elokim is the concealment that shields it. In the future, even Havayah as it fills the worlds will be only “Elokim” beside the revealed Infinite Light.
- The tithe as Keserמעשר — כתר
- The remnant of each level that triggers the next ascent; it is the Keser, a tenth of the ten Sefiros, whose silent self-nullification lets a world rise to the one above.
For children · ages 9–13
A stone that becomes a house of G‑d
The big idea
Something that feels it is nothing before G‑d, like a letter or a stone, can be lifted the highest and become a home for G‑d’s light.
Yaakov promised that “this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be a house of G‑d.” How can a plain stone become a home for G‑d? The maamar explains that the stones are letters. A letter has no life of its own; it only carries the meaning inside it, as a house of stone holds the person who lives there. The whole world, made from the letters of G‑d’s Ten Sayings, is less than one letter before G‑d. Because a letter has no self, it can be lifted the highest, as the two ends of a circle meet. Yaakov took only some of the stones: the letter yud, which stands for Chochmah, wisdom that feels it is nothing before G‑d. Then he poured oil on the stone. The oil is G‑d’s own wisdom flowing into the Torah, even into its laws about trading a cow for a donkey. So we should learn Torah with awe, as at Mount Sinai. Yaakov also went down to Charan, a “throat” that is blocked, in order to change it. Charan becomes rinah, joyful song, and in the time of Mashiach that joy will be seen by all.
The mashal
A seed planted in the ground must first fall apart and become as if it were nothing. Only then does it sprout, and what grows is far more than the seed that was planted. In the same way, every step upward begins by setting oneself aside before G‑d.
Questions for the Shabbos table
- Why can something that feels it is nothing, like a letter or a seed, be lifted higher than something that feels important?
- Yaakov put the stone at his head, set it up as a pillar and poured oil on it. What does the oil teach us about the Torah we learn?
- This week, before you learn Torah, how can you remember that it is G‑d’s own wisdom, as it was at Mount Sinai?
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 and Yaakov’s name ¶1–2
This heading marks the maamar as a further explanation of the discourse just before it in Torah Ohr on Parshas Vayeitzei. It takes up the same verses about Yaakov’s journey and the stone he set up, and explores them more deeply.
A heading: what follows is an explanation of the previous maamar on Vayeitzei.
According to the Kehot note, a transcript of this maamar by the Mitteler Rebbe survives, as does a shorter manuscript version with variants, and the Or HaTorah has glosses that seem to belong to it; later in Torah Ohr the Alter Rebbe refers back to this discourse.
Marei mekomos
- 1ביאור על הנ״ל · הנחת כ״ק אדמו״ר האמצעי נדפס בסה״מ תקס״ח ע׳ תרלד. המאמר בקיצור בבוך 2057 נה, א — הכת״י דומה לגוכתי״ק מהרי״ל [?] אחי כ״ק אדה״ז [או שהוא כתי״ק מהצ״צ שכתב בצעירותו] — בשינויים. אוה״ת ויצא כרך ז תתתכד, ב נמצא הגהות (כנראה שהם הגהות וביאורים לכאן). לקמן קי, א מציין לד״ה זה.
Yaakov’s vow at Beis El reads simply, “Havayah will be my G‑d.” The maamar reads it as a request that the Name Havayah, G‑d as He transcends the world, come to be at the level of Elokim, G‑d as He is present within nature; and that the stone Yaakov set up become a dwelling for G‑d. Both parts of the verse need explaining.
וכדי להבין3 איך תהיה האבן במדרגה גדולה כ״כ [כל כך] להיות מכון ומשכן להשראת קדושה עליונה עד שיהיה חל שם שמים על האבן שתהיה נק׳ בשם בית אלקים.
And in order to understand how the stone could be at so great a level as to be a foundation and a dwelling for the resting of supernal holiness, to the point that the Name of Heaven would rest upon the stone, so that it would be called by the name “house of Elokim,”
The second question: a stone is the lowest, most lifeless kind of matter. How could it become a place where supernal holiness rests, so that it is called by G‑d’s Name, “house of Elokim”?
we must understand the meaning of the whole portion, “And Yaakov went out,” etc. The matter [is this]: it is written, “Command the salvations of Yaakov.” The level of Yaakov is called “salvations” (yeshuos).
To answer, the Alter Rebbe turns to the whole parsha, starting from “And Yaakov went out.” He introduces a verse from Tehillim, “Command the salvations of Yaakov,” which links the name Yaakov with the word yeshuos, salvations.
וביאור מלת ישועות הנה שרש התיבה הוא ש״ע [ש״ע (370)] ושאר אותיות הם נוספות בתיבה כלומר שע״י בחינת יעקב מתגלין ש״ע [ש״ע (370)] נהורין6 עילאין
And the explanation of the word yeshuos: the root of the word is ש״ע [whose numerical value is 370], and the remaining letters are additions to the word. That is to say, through the level of Yaakov the 370 supernal lights (shin-ayin nehorin ila’in) are revealed.
The word ישועות is read as a root, ש״ע, with added letters. ש״ע has the numerical value 370, recalling the Kabbalistic teaching of 370 supernal lights. So “the salvations of Yaakov” means that Yaakov is the channel through which these lofty lights are revealed.
וגם ש״ע הוא מלשון וישע ה׳ אל הבל7 שהוא לשון הפנה דהיינו שכל פינות והמשכות עליונות פונות ונמשכות ע״י בחי׳ יעקב יו״ד עקב.
And also, ש״ע is from the expression “And G‑d turned to Hevel,” which is an expression of turning [toward]. That is, all supernal turnings and drawings-down turn and are drawn down through the level of Yaakov, [which is] yud-akev (a yud [and] a heel).
A second reading of ש״ע: in “And G‑d turned (vayisha) to Hevel and his offering,” the same letters mean turning toward, attending to. All of G‑d’s “turnings” toward the world, His flows of light downward, pass through Yaakov. The name Yaakov is split into yud (the first letter) and akev (heel): the yud, the highest point, reaches down into the heel, the lowest part.
The paragraph poses the maamar’s two questions (how Havayah becomes Elokim, and how a stone becomes a house of G‑d) and begins the answer: Yaakov, whose name joins the yud to the heel, is the one through whom the 370 supernal lights and all divine flows are drawn down.
The Kehot notes point to later works that discuss the 370 lights and cite Etz Chaim and Shemoneh She’arim for them, and to a discourse of the Mitteler Rebbe explaining the link between vayisha and yeshuos. The pun makes Yaakov both a “revealer of lights” and a “turning” of G‑d’s face toward below.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2והיה הוי״ה לי לאלקים והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה יהיה בית אלקים · Genesis 28:21–22
- 3שו״ה אלקים — וכדי להבין · עד כב, א שו״ה והיינו — כמ״ש בס״י — ליתא בבוך 2057 ושם: הנה נודע שהאותיות נק׳ אבנים: כמ״ש בס״י.
- 4ויצא יעקב · Genesis 28:10
- 5צוה ישועות יעקב · Psalms 44:5
- 6ש״ע נהורין · ראה בסה״מ תרל״ב ח״ב ע׳ תסד שמציין לספר ע״ח ושמונה שערים.
- 7וישע ה׳ אל הבל · Genesis 4:4
The light above the chain of worlds ¶3
3וענין נהורין והמשכות הללו היינו גילוי ההארות והמשכות מאור א״ס עצמו שכשמו כן הוא אין לו סוף כו׳.
And the meaning of these lights and drawings-down is the revelation of the illuminations and drawings-down from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) itself, which, as its name is, so it is: it has no end, etc.
The “lights” and “drawings-down” are revelations of the Infinite Light itself. Its name, Ein Sof, “without end,” describes exactly what it is: boundless.
ואינו בגדר עלמין כלל וכולא קמיה כלא ממש חשיב ולית מחשב׳ תפיסא ביה ואין ערוך אליו כו׳.
And it is not within the bounds of worlds at all; “all before Him is considered as truly nothing,” and “no thought can grasp Him,” and there is nothing comparable to Him, etc.
The Infinite Light does not belong to the category of worlds at all. Compared with it, everything is as nothing, no thought can grasp it, and nothing bears any comparison to it.
כי מלכותך מלכות כ״ע [כל עלמין]1 והודו וזיוו על ארץ ושמים כו׳ זיו והארה בעלמא המתלבש׳ ומתפשטת בתוך עלמין להוות׳ [להוותם]
For “Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds,” and “His glory” and His radiance “is over earth and heaven,” etc.: merely a radiance and illumination, which is clothed and spreads within the worlds to bring them into being
What does fill the worlds is only a ray of G‑d’s light. G‑d’s “kingship,” His relationship to the worlds as their King, is called a mere “glory” and “radiance” over earth and heaven: a glow, not the source itself. The Alter Rebbe adds the word “radiance” to the verse to make this point.
ולהחיותם להיות חיים וקיימים מאין ליש בבחי׳ העלם והסתר אור א״ס ב״ה עצמו שלא יבטלו העולמות במציאות ויחזרו להיות אין ואפס כמו שהיו
and to give them life, so that they be living and existing, from nothingness into being, in a manner of concealment and hiding of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, so that the worlds would not be nullified out of existence and return to being nothing and naught, as they were [before];
This ray gives the worlds life and brings them into being from nothing. It must come in a concealed way: were the Infinite Light itself revealed, the worlds would be nullified and return to nothing, as they were before creation.
דהיינו ע״י כמה צמצומים והתלבשות שונות בירידת המדרגות כדרך וסדר ההשתלשלות אבל אור א״ס ב״ה בעצמו ובכבודו רם ונשא כו׳ והוא למעלה מעלה מבחינת ההשתלשלות
that is, through many contractions (tzimtzumim) and various enclothements in the descent of the levels, according to the way and order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus). But the Infinite Light, blessed be He, in Its essence and Its glory, is exalted and uplifted, etc., and is far, far above the level of hishtalshelus.
The concealment happens through many contractions (tzimtzumim) and garments, level after level down the chain of worlds. The Infinite Light as it is in itself remains exalted far above this whole chain.
וע״י בחי׳ יעקב יו״ד עקב2 נמשך אא״ס [אור אין סוף] ב״ה שלמעלה מבחי׳ ההשתלשלות שיאיר למטה בגילוי הנפש אלקות שבכל א׳ מישראל להיות גילוי אור א״ס ב״ה ממש על נפשו.3
And through the level of Yaakov, yud-akev, the Infinite Light, blessed be He, which is above the level of hishtalshelus, is drawn down, so that it shines below, in a revelation to the G‑dly soul that is in each and every Jew, so that there is a revelation of the very Infinite Light, blessed be He, upon his soul.
Here is Yaakov’s unique role: through him, the light that transcends the chain of worlds is drawn down to shine openly on the G‑dly soul of every Jew. This is Yaakov as yud-akev: the highest reaching the lowest.
The paragraph distinguishes the contracted radiance that sustains the worlds from the Infinite Light itself, which is above the whole chain of worlds, and says that through Yaakov that transcendent light is revealed to every Jewish soul.
The Kehot note refers to an earlier maamar in Torah Ohr (Toldos) where Yaakov as yud-akev is discussed, and to the Or HaTorah, which adds that Yaakov is the “middle bar” (Tiferes) through which light reaches Malchus. The contrast of a “ray” (ziv) with the Infinite Light “in its essence and glory” is a recurring distinction in the Alter Rebbe’s teaching.
Marei mekomos
- 1מלכותך מלכות כ״ע · Psalms 145:13
- 2יעקב יו״ד עקב · נסמן לעיל כא, א. באוה״ת שם נוסף ”כי יעקב בריח התיכון, ודהע״ה אמר פנה אלי וחנני דהיינו לבחי׳ מל׳, והיינו ע״י יעקב ת״ת”.
- 3
Stones are letters ¶4–5
4והיינו ע״י שלקח מאבני המקום וישם1 מראשותיו. אבנים הן אותיות כמ״ש בס״י [בספר יצירה] שני אבנים2 בונות שתי בתים.
And this is through his having taken “of the stones of the place, and he put [them] at his head.” Stones are letters, as it is stated in Sefer Yetzirah: “Two stones build two houses.”
Yaakov draws down the transcendent light by taking “the stones of the place” and putting them at his head. Following Sefer Yetzirah, which calls letters “stones” (two letters make two combinations, “two stones build two houses”), the stones are letters.
והטעם שנקראו אותיות בשם אבנים הוא כי כמו שע״י כמה אבנים נבנה בית לשבת אדם כו׳
And the reason that letters are called by the name “stones” is that, just as through a number of stones a house is built for a person to dwell in, etc.,
The first reason letters are called stones is that stones are put together to build a house for a person to live in.
כך ע״י כמה צירופי אותיות נעשי׳ [נעשית / נעשים] תיבות ומכמה צירופי תיבות נעשה ענין שלם שמתוכו מובן ומושג איזה השכלה והשגה
so through a number of combinations of letters words are made, and from a number of combinations of words a complete subject is made, from within which some concept and comprehension is understood and grasped.
In the same way, letters are combined into words, and words into a whole passage, and through that passage an idea can be understood.
And the intellect rests and is clothed in these letters, just as “with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house,” through combinations of stones. And there is yet another reason:
The idea “lives” in the letters as a person lives in a house built of stones; the Alter Rebbe borrows the phrase “the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house” from Yeshayahu. He then gives a second reason.
כמו שהאבנים הם דומם ואין להם ערך ויחוס לאדם הדר בבית שנבנה מהאבנים כך האותיות הן בחי׳ דומם לגבי השכל השורה ומתלבש בהם ואין להם ערך ויחוס אליו
just as the stones are inanimate and have no comparison or relation to the person who lives in the house built of the stones, so the letters are at the level of the inanimate relative to the intellect that rests and is clothed in them, and have no comparison or relation to it.
Stones are lifeless, and they have nothing in common with the living person who dwells among them. In the same way letters are, so to speak, lifeless compared with the idea they carry; they bear no comparison to it.
ולכן בטלים הם לגבי השכל (ועמ״ש בפ׳ בראשית בד״ה להבין בתוספת ביאור ענין וייצר) ולכן נק׳ הוי׳ צבאות אות הוא בצבא דילי׳ [דיליה]5 שכל9
Therefore they are nullified relative to the intellect. (And see what is written in Parshas Bereishis, in the discourse beginning “To understand, with an additional explanation of the matter of ‘And He formed.’”) And therefore He is called “Havayah Tzevakos” [Havayah of hosts]: “He is a sign (os) among His host,” for all
Because letters are nothing next to the idea, they are wholly subordinate to it. The parenthesis sends the reader to a maamar in Parshas Bereishis on “And He formed.” This explains the Name “Havayah Tzevakos”: the Talmud’s phrase “He is a sign (os) in His host” is read with os meaning “letter.”
העולמות והברואי׳ [והברואים] נתהוו מבחי׳ אותיות שבעשרה מאמרות שנברא בהם העולם יהי אור יהי רקיע כו׳.
the worlds and the creatures came into being from the level of the letters of the Ten Utterances with which the world was created: “Let there be light,” “Let there be a firmament,” etc.
All worlds and creatures came into being from the letters of the Ten Utterances of creation, such as “Let there be light.” So every created thing is, at root, letters of G‑d’s speech.
וכל צבא השמים העליונים אלף אלפין ורבוא רבבן6 ולגדודיו אין מספר7 הם בטלים לגבי אור א״ס ב״ה כבטול האותיות שהן בחי׳ דומם לגבי השכל מאחר שהם בחי׳ גבול ת״ק שנה כו׳
And all the host of the upper heavens, “a thousand thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand,” and “to His troops there is no number,” are nullified relative to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, like the nullification of the letters, which are at the level of the inanimate, relative to the intellect. Since they are at the level of limitation, [a span of] five hundred years, etc.,
Even the vast heavenly hosts, described in Daniel as thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads, are nullified before the Infinite Light the way letters are nothing next to the idea. They are finite, limited even in measure, like the “five hundred years” used to describe the distances between the heavens.
ונבראים ומחודשים מאין ליש הרי אין ערוך אליו ית׳ וכנודע ענין הערך במספר8 שמספר א׳ לגבי אלף אלפים כו׳ יש לו איזה ערך ויחוס
and are created and brought into being anew from nothingness into being, there is no comparison [between them and] Him, may He be blessed. And as is known regarding comparison in number: the number one, relative to a thousand thousands, etc., has some comparison and relation;
Since they are finite and created from nothing, there is no comparison between them and G‑d. The example of numbers makes this sharper: even one next to millions is still a fraction of it, and so it bears some relation.
משא״כ אליו ית׳ שהוא א״ס ב״ה אין ערוך כלל ולכן נק׳ אות הוא בצבא דילי׳ [דיליה] שכל הצבאות אינן אלא בחי׳ אות א׳ לגבי אור א״ס ב״ה.
which is not so with Him, may He be blessed, who is the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He: there is no comparison at all. And therefore it is said, “He is an os among His host,” for all the hosts are nothing but a single letter (os) relative to the Infinite Light, blessed be He.
But between any finite thing and the Infinite there is no ratio at all. That is why the Sages say “He is an os among His host”: all the hosts together are no more than one letter before the Infinite Light.
The paragraph explains why the “stones” Yaakov took are letters: letters house meaning as stones house a person, and like stones they are lifeless next to what dwells in them. So too all creation, made of the letters of the Ten Utterances, is less than a single letter before the Infinite Light.
The Kehot note records a question from the Or HaTorah: even the creative letters are “inanimate” relative to supernal Chochmah, and creatures are further still, so the gap between creation and the Infinite is far greater than that between letters and intellect; how then can the one serve as an analogy for the other? The note sends the reader to the Or HaTorah for the answer and to the Mitteler Rebbe’s Torah Chaim. Letters, being “lifeless,” also prepare for the next paragraph, where just this quality lets them rise highest.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2כמ״ש בס״י שני אבנים · פ״ד מט״ז. וראה גם לקמן ל, א. נ, א. נו, ב. לקו״ת במדבר ח, ב.
- 3וכתפארת אדם לשבת בית · Isaiah 44:13
- 4ועוד טעם אחר · תי׳ אלו ליתא בבוך 2057.
- 5אות הוא בצבא דילי׳ · Chagigah 16a:3–4
- 6אלף אלפין ורבוא רבבן · Daniel 7:10
- 7ולגדודיו אין מספר · Job 25:3
- 8וכנודע ענין הערך במספר · ראה באוה״ת בראשית כרך ז תתתכד, ב, שצ״ע דאף המהוה הנבראים שהוא אותיות דע״מ הם דומם לגבי חכמה עילאה, וכש״כ הנבראים מהאותיות כו׳, וא״כ איך דימה ביטול הנברא לא״ס ב״ה כמו ביטול האותיות לגבי השכל דהרי אין ערוך יותר לאין קץ, וראה שם התירוץ, ומציין לעיין בתו״ח ויצא כג, ג ואילך.
- 9בד״ה להבין בתוס׳ ביאור ענין וייצר · לעיל ד, א.
5והנה באבני המקום שהם בחי׳ אותיות כתיב וישם מראשותיו1 שהגביה והעלה אותם למעלה מעלה מבחי׳ ההשתלשל׳ [ההשתלשלות] דהיינו לבחי׳ סוכ״ע
Now, concerning “the stones of the place,” which are the level of letters, it is written, “and he put [them] at his head”: that he raised and elevated them far, far above the level of hishtalshelus, that is, to the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin).
“He put them at his head” means Yaakov raised the letters, the lowest level, far above the whole chain of worlds, to the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev), which transcends every level.
כי לפי שהאותיות הן בחי׳ דומם לכך יש להם כח ויכולת לעלות למעלה מעלה כנודע שנעוץ תחלתן בסופן דייקא וסוכ״ע הוא כמשל העיגול שממטה נעשה מעלה. וכמ״ש ומתחת זרועות עולם.2
For since the letters are at the level of the inanimate, they therefore have the power and ability to rise far, far above, as is known, that “their beginning is wedged in their end,” specifically; and sovev kol almin is like the analogy of the circle, in which what is below becomes above. And as it is written, “and beneath are the arms of the world.”
Precisely because letters are “lifeless” and have no sense of self, they can rise highest. Sefer Yetzirah teaches that the end is bound up with the beginning, and the encompassing light is like a circle, where the lowest point is as close to the source as the highest. The verse “and beneath are the arms of the world” is read the same way: the eternal “arms” reach to what is lowest.
The paragraph explains “he put them at his head” as lifting the lowly letters above the whole chain of worlds to the encompassing light, possible because the lowest, having no self, is joined to the highest, like the ends of a circle.
The image of a circle, in which there is no above or below, is the standard way Chassidus describes sovev kol almin, as against memalei kol almin, which is compared to a line with higher and lower levels.
Marei mekomos
- 1וישם מראשותיו · Genesis 28:11
- 2ומתחת זרועות עולם · Deuteronomy 33:27
The yud, the pillar and the oil ¶6–9
Now, it is written, “He took of the stones of the place,” and not “all the stones,” because not all the letters have this power,
The verse says Yaakov took “of the stones,” some of them, not all. The Alter Rebbe reads this as a hint that not every letter can be raised to the highest level.
אלא אות היו״ד שהוא בחי׳ כלי לחכמה וחכמה הוא כח מ״ה [מה] בחי׳ בטול ולכך שורה שם ומתגלה אור א״ס ב״ה הסוכ״ע כי הוי׳ בחכמה2 כו׳ ואין אור א״ס ב״ה שורה ומתגלה אלא במי שבטל כו׳.
but only the letter yud, which is the level of a vessel for Chochmah (wisdom); and Chochmah is koach mah (the power of “what”), the level of self-nullification (bittul). Therefore the Infinite Light, blessed be He, the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), rests and is revealed there, for “Havayah, with Chochmah,” etc.; and the Infinite Light, blessed be He, rests and is revealed only in one who is nullified, etc.
Only the yud can. The yud, the smallest letter, a mere point, is the “vessel” for Chochmah; and Chochmah is read as koach mah, “the power of ‘what,’” a mind that sees itself as nothing. The Infinite Light rests only where there is such self-nullification, as the verse “Havayah founded the earth with Chochmah” implies.
וזהו האבן אשר שם מראשותיו (ועמ״ש3 ע״פ מאמר הרע״מ [הרעיא מהימנא] פ׳ כי תשא בענין אבנא למשקל בה דא י׳) ואח״כ וישם אותה מצבה4 וכתרגומו ושוי יתה קמא5 שהוא
And this is “the stone that he had put at his head.” (And see what is written on the saying of the Ra’aya Mehemna in Parshas Ki Sisa concerning “a stone to weigh with: this is yud.”) And afterward, “and he set it up as a pillar,” and as the Targum renders it, “and he placed it standing,” which is
So “the stone he put at his head” is the yud, as the Ra’aya Mehemna says, “a stone to weigh with: this is yud.” Then Yaakov raised the stone into a standing pillar; Targum Onkelos renders this “he placed it standing.”
כמ״ש קמה אלמתיוגם נצבה שמה שהיתה האבן מונחת למטה בארץ אח״כ הקים אותה והגביה אותה עוד ממטה למעלה6
as it is written, “my sheaf arose and also stood upright.” That is, whereas the stone had been lying below on the ground, afterward he stood it up and raised it further, from below upward.
The same word is used in Yosef’s dream: “my sheaf arose and also stood upright.” The stone first lay on the ground and then was stood upright, a further raising from below to above.
והיינו עליי׳ [עלייה] אחר עליי׳ [עלייה] לבחי׳ ומקורות י״ג מדות רחמים עליונים שהן בחי׳ יודי״ן ווי״ן78 כי מקום יניקת השערה והגומא שלה הוא בחי׳ י׳ והשערה עצמה שהיא המשכה היא בחי׳ ו׳
And this is ascent after ascent, to the level and the sources of the thirteen supernal attributes of mercy, which are the level of yuds [and] vavs; for the place where the hair draws its nourishment, and its follicle, is the level of yud, and the hair itself, which is a drawing-down, is the level of vav.
This second raising reaches the source of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. In Kabbalah these are pictured as the thirteen “arrangements” (tikkunim) of the supernal beard, and each hair has two parts: the follicle, a contracted point where it draws its nourishment, which is a yud, and the hair itself, a line that carries the flow downward, which is a vav.
וזהו וישם מראשותיו וישם אתה מצבה שמתחלה כאשר שם מראשותיו היא בחי׳ יו״ד ואח״כ נעשה מצבה הוא בחי׳ וא״ו וכל בחי׳ הללו הם בחי׳ העלאה ממטה למעלה
And this is “and he put [them] at his head … and he set it up as a pillar”: at first, when he put it at his head, it is the level of yud; and afterward, when it becomes a pillar, it is the level of vav. And all these levels are levels of elevation from below upward.
So the two stages of the verse correspond to these two letters: the stone at his head is the yud, and the stone set up as a pillar is the vav. Both stages are ascents from below upward.
והיינו התעלות חכמה שבנפש לאור א״ס ב״ה השורה ומתגלה בה כי הנפש היא בחי׳ נברא ומחודש מאין ליש בבחי׳ אותיו׳ [אותיות] כו׳
That is, the ascent of the Chochmah in the soul to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, which rests and is revealed in it; for the soul is at the level of a being created and brought into being anew from nothingness into being, at the level of letters, etc.
In a person, this is the raising of the Chochmah of the soul to the Infinite Light that rests in it. The soul itself is a created being, made “from nothing” through divine letters, which is why it can be compared to the stones.
וצריך להעלות׳ ממטה למעלה לאור א״ס ב״ה הסוכ״ע וישוב אל9 ה׳ וירחמהו מבחי׳ י״ג מדות הרחמים והעלאה זו היא בבחי׳ חכמה דוקא כ״ח מ״ה [מה]:10
And one must raise it from below upward, to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, the light that encompasses all worlds: “and let him return to G‑d, and He will have mercy on him,” from the level of the thirteen attributes of mercy. And this elevation is specifically through the level of Chochmah, koach mah.
The soul must be lifted to the encompassing light, as Yeshayahu says, “Let him return to G‑d, and He will have mercy on him”: mercy from the level of the Thirteen Attributes. This ascent comes specifically through Chochmah, koach mah, the self-effacing core of the soul.
The paragraph explains that only the yud, the vessel of self-nullifying Chochmah, can be raised to the encompassing light, and reads Yaakov’s two acts, putting the stone at his head and then setting it up as a pillar, as two ascents, yud and vav, toward the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy; in the soul, this is Chochmah rising to the Infinite Light.
The Kehot notes point to other places (Torah Ohr, Vayechi; Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim) that explain the thirteen tikkunim as yuds and vavs: the yud is the light contracted within the skin that can only emerge through the follicle, and the vav is the extended hair. The Likkutei Torah passage cites the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah on Toldos, and the Or HaTorah records the teaching there that the word se’ar (hair) has the letters of eser (ten), a yud, which then becomes a vav.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2הוי׳ בחכמה · Proverbs 3:19
- 3ועמ״ש . . בענין אבא למשקל דא י׳ · ראה ביאוה״ז להצ״צ כרך א ע׳ רפא.
- 4וישם אותה מצבה · Genesis 28:18
- 5ושוי יתה קמא · Onkelos Genesis 28:18
- 6והגביה אותה עוד ממטה למעלה · ראה ד״ה אתה אחד תשל״ב (סה״מ מלוקט ח״א) הערה 65.
- 7לבחי׳ ומקורות . . בחי׳ יודי״ן ווי״ן · ראה לקמן מח, ד. מובא באוה״ת בראשית שעד, א. ובד״ה למען דעת תרס״ט ע׳ מה. ראה גם לקו״ת פ׳ נצבים נג, א ”שהשערות הן בחי׳ ווין והאור שבתוך השערה הוא בחי׳ יו״ד כמ״ש בלק״ת [=להאריז״ל] ר״פ תולדות”.
- 8בחי׳ יודי״ן ווי״ן · בבוך 284 קלז, ב נוסף: לפי שהן הארות עליונים מאין עליונים דרך יניקתם כו׳ כמ״ש במ״א והשערות הן בחי׳ יודין ווין: כי מקום יניקתם. באוה״ת שה״ש ע׳ רכה ובהמשך תרס״ו ע׳ תי מביא זה בשם לקו״ת להאריז״ל פ׳ תולדות דשער הוא אותיות עשר שהוא בחי׳ י׳ ואח״כ נעשית וי״ו.
- 9וישוב אל ה׳ וירחמהו · Isaiah 55:7
- 10קמה אלמתי · Genesis 37:7
7הגה״ה [הגהה]
Gloss.
A gloss (hagahah) follows: a note set apart from the main text, answering a difficulty raised by what was just said.
This heading introduces a gloss on the yud and vav just discussed.
8לכאורה אינו מובן כי היודי״ן שבת״ד [שבתיקוני דיקנא] הוא גבוה מהוי״ו כמ״ש לעיל כי מקום יניקת השערה והגומא שלה הוא בחי׳ יו״ד דהיינו מקום יניקתה ממו״ס [ממוחא סתימאה] שהוא הגבה מאד נעלה מהשערות עצמן שהן בחי׳1 ו׳.
At first glance this is not understood, for the yuds in the tikkunim (arrangements) of the beard are higher than the vavs, as stated above: the place where the hair draws nourishment, and its follicle, is the level of yud, that is, the place where it draws nourishment from the Mocha Stima’ah (the Hidden Mind), which is exceedingly higher and more exalted than the hairs themselves, which are the level of vav.
The difficulty: in the beard’s tikkunim the yud, the follicle through which the hair draws from the Mocha Stima’ah, the “hidden mind” of the highest level, is far higher than the vav, the hair that extends out from it. So a move from yud to vav should be a descent, not a further ascent.
The gloss states the problem: the yud outranks the vav, yet the text called the move from “at his head” (yud) to “pillar” (vav) a further ascent.
The Kehot note refers to a later discourse (“Kol Hamaarich B’Echad,” 5678) where the relation of the yuds and vavs of the tikkunim is explained at length.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי היודי״ן שבת״ד הוא גבוה מהוי״ו . . מהשערות עצמן שהן בחי׳ ו׳ · מבואר בד״ה כל המאריך באחד תרע״ח ע׳ שפח.
9והרי בחי׳ וישם אתה מצבה משמע שהוא עלייה אחר עלייה למעלה מבחי׳ מראשותיו שהוא בחי׳ יו״ד. וזהו תרתי דסתרי.
Yet the level of “and he set it up as a pillar” implies that it is ascent after ascent, higher than the level of “at his head,” which is the level of yud. And this is two [statements] that contradict each other.
Yet the plain order of the verse makes the pillar, the vav, an ascent beyond “at his head,” the yud. The two claims seem to contradict each other.
אך פי׳ מראשותיו הוא בחי׳ חכמה דאצילות ואח״כ וישם אתה מצבה שנעשית בחי׳ ו׳ הוא בחי׳ אבא יונק ממזלא1 שבחי׳ השערות דת״ד [דתיקוני דיקנא] שהן ווי״ן גבוה מהיו״ד דח״ע [דחכמה עילאה].
But the explanation is: “at his head” is the level of the Chochmah of Atzilus; and afterward, “and he set it up as a pillar,” when it becomes the level of vav, is the level of Abba, who draws nourishment from the Mazla; for the level of the hairs of the tikkunim of the beard, which are vavs, is higher than the yud of Chochmah Ila’ah (supernal Chochmah).
The answer: the two letters belong to different levels. The yud of “at his head” is the Chochmah of Atzilus, while the vav of the pillar is Abba (Chochmah) as it draws nourishment from the Mazla, one of the tikkunim of the beard. Those hairs, though only vavs, stand higher than the yud of supernal Chochmah, so the vav of the higher level surpasses the yud of the lower one.
אח״כ ויצק שמן על ראשה2 היינו המשכה ממו״ס [ממוחא סתימאה] ממש לתוך המזלות כו׳ ומזה ממש נמשך הגלוי למטה בהלכו׳ שבתורה שבע״פ [שבעל פה] ששרשן מנימין דמו״ס [דמוחא סתימאה] וע״ז נאמר סלסלה ותרוממך3 כו׳:
Afterward, “and he poured oil upon its top”: that is, a drawing-down from the Mocha Stima’ah itself into the mazalos, etc. And from this itself the revelation is drawn down below, into the laws of the Oral Torah, whose root is in the strands of the Mocha Stima’ah. And of this it is said, “Exalt her, and she will uplift you,” etc.
The oil Yaakov poured on the top of the pillar is a flow from the Mocha Stima’ah itself into the mazalos. From there it comes down into the laws of the Oral Torah, which are rooted in the strands of the hidden mind; hence “Exalt her (the Torah), and she will uplift you.”
The gloss resolves the difficulty by placing the yud and the vav at different levels: the vav of the beard’s tikkunim, from which Abba draws, is higher than the yud of Chochmah; the oil is a still higher flow from the hidden mind, which comes down into the laws of the Oral Torah.
That Abba draws from the Mazla is taught in the Zohar and in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar HaKelalim, as the Kehot note shows. The same passage in Torah Ohr, Vayechi, speaks of Abba drawing from the eighth mazal, Notzer.
Marei mekomos
- 1אבא יונק ממזלא · Zohar III, 289b
- 2ויצק שמן על ראשה · Genesis 28:18
- 3סלסלה ותרוממך · Proverbs 4:8
Torah study with the awe of Sinai ¶10–12
10אך אין זה תכלית המכוון רק שאח״כ ויצק שמן על ראשה שמן היינו המשכת חכמה עילאה שהיא התורה ורצונו ית׳ שנמשכו ע״י בחי׳ יעקב יו״ד עקב
However, this is not the ultimate intent; rather, [the intent is] that afterward “he poured oil upon its top.” Oil is the drawing-down of Chochmah Ila’ah (supernal Chochmah), which is the Torah and His will, may He be blessed, which are drawn down through the level of Yaakov, yud-akev,
Returning to the main text: the raising of the stone is not the goal. The goal is the oil, a drawing down of supernal Chochmah, which is the Torah and G‑d’s will, and this comes through Yaakov, yud-akev, the one who brings the highest down to the lowest.
כמ״ש ויקם עדות ביעקב1 ותורה שם בישראל להיות בעסק התורה שלמטה בגשמיות המחליף פרה בחמור כו׳
as it is written, “He established a testimony in Yaakov and set a Torah in Israel”: that in the study of the Torah below, in physical matters, [as in] “one who exchanges a cow for a donkey,” etc.,
“He established a testimony in Yaakov and set a Torah in Israel”: the Torah was given through Yaakov. Its purpose is that even when studying laws about physical matters, such as the case of someone who trades a cow for a donkey, a person should find G‑d’s wisdom there.
גילוי המשכת חכמה עילאה2 שכל פרטי הלכות שנפרדו הם יסודתם בהררי קדש3 עליון חכמה עילאה שכך חייבה חכמתו ורצונו ית׳.
there should be a revelation of the drawing-down of Chochmah Ila’ah; for all the details of the laws, which have become separate, have “their foundation in the mountains of holiness” above, in Chochmah Ila’ah, for so His wisdom and will, may He be blessed, determined.
Every detailed law, though it seems to stand apart as a matter of this world, is rooted in supernal Chochmah, “the mountains of holiness.” Each ruling is what G‑d’s wisdom and will determined.
The paragraph states the aim of the whole process: the oil poured on the stone, supernal Chochmah drawn down through Yaakov into the Torah, so that even laws about worldly matters reveal G‑d’s wisdom.
According to the Kehot note, the passage from “there should be a revelation” to “Chochmah Ila’ah” is missing in one manuscript.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויקם עדות ביעקב · Psalms 78:5
- 2שו״ה כו׳ גילוי — שכל פרטי . . חכמה עילאה · בבוך 633 ליתא.
- 3יסודתם בהררי קדש · Psalms 87:1
11ואי לזאת יהי׳ [יהיה] עסק התורה ג״כ עד״ז להמשיך חכמה עילא׳ [עילאה] בנפשו ועי״ז נעשה אתכפייא סט״א [סטרא אחרא] ואתהפכא כו׳.
Therefore the study of Torah must also be in this manner: to draw Chochmah Ila’ah into one’s soul. And through this the sitra achra (the other side) is subdued (iskafya) and transformed (is’hapcha), etc.
So Torah study should be done with this awareness: drawing G‑d’s supernal wisdom into one’s own soul. That is what subdues the sitra achra (iskafya) and even transforms it (is’hapcha).
ולכן ארז״ל [אמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] מה להלן באימה וביראה אף כאן באימה כו׳ שתפול על האדם אימה ופחד בעסקו בתורה כמו בשעת קבלתו בהר סיני.
Therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Just as there [it was] with dread and with awe, so here [it must be] with dread,” etc.: that dread and fear should fall upon a person when he occupies himself with the Torah, as at the time it was received at Mount Sinai.
This is why the Sages taught that just as the Torah was received at Sinai with dread and awe, so it must be studied with dread and awe. A person should feel the same fear when he studies as Israel felt when they received the Torah.
The paragraph draws the practical conclusion: Torah study should draw supernal wisdom into the soul, and so it should be studied with the awe of Sinai.
Now, there at Mount Sinai, “all the people saw the sounds and the flames,” etc.; “face to face G‑d spoke with you,” etc.
At Sinai the awe was natural: the people saw the thunder and the flames, and G‑d spoke to them “face to face.”
והאיך ימשיך כל אדם יראה זו עליו בכל זמן אלא כאשר ישים האדם אל לבו שהתורה שהוא לומד היא המשכת חכמה עילאה ושם שורה ומתגלה אור
And how can every person draw this awe upon himself at all times? Only when a person takes to heart that the Torah he studies is the drawing-down of Chochmah Ila’ah, and there rests and is revealed the Infinite Light,
How can a person feel that awe every day, without the thunder and lightning? By taking to heart that the Torah he learns is G‑d’s own wisdom drawn down, and that the Infinite Light rests in it.
א״ס ב״ה שלמעלה מעלה מגדר ההשתלשלות וקמיה כחשיכה כאורה4 מעלה ומטה רוחניות וגשמיות שוין א״כ אין כאן הסתר פנים כלל ע״כ מה להלן כו׳ הכל שוה.
blessed be He, which is far, far above the bounds of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus); and before Him “darkness is as light”: above and below, spiritual and physical, are equal. If so, there is no hiding of the Face here at all. Therefore, “just as there,” etc.: all is equal.
That light is above the whole chain of worlds, and to it “darkness is as light”: higher and lower, spiritual and physical, are all the same. So there is no concealment in Torah study; G‑d is as present as at Sinai, and the awe of Sinai applies now too.
The paragraph explains how the awe of Sinai is possible at every moment of study: the Infinite Light in the Torah is beyond all levels, so for it there is no difference between Sinai and today.
Marei mekomos
- 1ראו את הקולות · Exodus 20:18
- 2כל העם ראו את הקולות ואת הלפידים · Exodus 20:15
- 3פנים בפנים · Deuteronomy 5:4
- 4כחשיכה כאורה · Psalms 139:12
From Be’er Sheva to Charan, and the laughter of Yitzchak ¶13–16
13והנה להבין תכלית ירידת יעקב יו״ד עקב להיות הש״ע [הש״ע (370)] נהורין בגילוי למטה וליקח מאבני המקום1 להעלותם למעלה ולהמשיך אח״כ בחי׳ שמן הוא בחי׳ חכמה עילאה מלמעלה למטה.
Now, [we need] to understand the purpose of the descent of Yaakov, yud-akev: that the 370 lights be revealed below, and to take “of the stones of the place” to raise them upward, and afterward to draw down the level of oil, which is the level of Chochmah Ila’ah, from above to below.
The maamar now asks why Yaakov had to descend at all: to reveal the 370 lights below, to raise the “stones,” and then to draw down the “oil” of supernal Chochmah.
וירידה זו הוא מ״ש ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע.2 באר הוא מקור ומעיין הנובע ז׳ מדות3 עליונות לך ה׳ הגדולה והגבורה4 כו׳ שהן בחי׳ לך בחי׳ ביטול.
And this descent is what is written, “And Yaakov went out from Be’er Sheva.” Be’er (well) is the source and flowing spring of the seven (sheva) supernal attributes, “Yours, G‑d, are the greatness and the might,” etc., which are the level of “Yours,” the level of self-nullification (bittul).
The descent is Yaakov’s leaving Be’er Sheva, read as “the well of seven”: the source of the seven supernal emotive attributes listed in “Yours, G‑d, are the greatness and the might.” Because they are all “Yours,” they are wholly given over to G‑d, a state of bittul.
וילך חרנה חר״ן (ע״ה [עליו השלום])5 בגימ׳ [בגימטריא] גרו״ן רק בחי׳ גרו״ן היינו כשהקול יוצא כדרכו6 בלי עכוב ובלי מונע
“And he went toward Charan.” Charan (חר״ן), with the kollel, is numerically equal to garon (גרו״ן, throat). But the level of garon is when the voice goes out in its normal way, without hindrance and without obstruction;
He went to Charan. The letters of Charan (חרן) add up, counting the word itself as one, to the value of garon (גרון), “throat.” The throat is where the voice passes out freely and without obstruction.
אבל חר״ן אותיות נחר7 היינו מ״ש יגעתי בקראי8 נחר גרוני. והיינו כשגובר בו יסוד האש9 כי הקול כלול אש רוח ומים.
whereas charan has the letters of nichar, as it is written, “I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched (nichar).” And this is when the element of fire prevails in it; for the voice is composed of fire, air and water.
But Charan also has the letters of nichar, “parched,” as in “my throat is parched.” This is the throat when the element of fire overwhelms it; the voice is made of three elements, fire, air and water.
רוח הוא עיקר התפשטות הבל הלב ומים היינו לחלוחית הריאה ואש הוא המחלק את הקול להיות ההפסק להתחלק בה׳ מוצאות הפה כלי הדבור.
Air is the essential extension of the breath of the heart; water is the moisture of the lung; and fire is what divides the voice, making the pause so that it divides into the five articulations of the mouth, the organs of speech.
Air is the breath rising from the heart, water is the moisture of the lungs, and fire is what cuts the voice into separate sounds, the five groups of letters formed by the organs of speech.
The paragraph begins explaining Yaakov’s descent: from Be’er Sheva, the source of the self-nullifying supernal attributes, to Charan, a “throat” whose flow of voice is blocked by an excess of fire.
The Kehot notes mention that the link between Charan and nichar is drawn from the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah on Vayeitzei, and that the Yahel Or links the voice going out freely to the Zohar in Parshas Vaera on Moshe as “voice.” Several manuscript variants of the opening lines are also recorded.
Marei mekomos
- 1שו״ה ירידת יעקב — הש״ע נהורין בגילוי למטה וליקח מאבני המקום · בבוך 633: ”גילוי ש״ע נהרין למטה ולקחת מאבני המקום.
- 2ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה · Genesis 28:10
- 3שו״ה מבאר — שבע באר הוא מקור ומעיין הנובע ז׳ מדות · בבוך 633 תי׳ ”שבע” ליתא שם ואח״כ כ׳ ”באר הוא חכ״ע מעין ומקור שבע מדות”.
- 4לך ה׳ הגדולה והגבורה · I Chronicles 29:11
- 5שו״ה הגדולה — חר״ן (ע״ה) בגימט׳ גרו״ן · בבוך 633 חר״ן בגימט׳ עם הכולל גרון.
- 6כשהקול יוצא כדרכו · ביהל אור לקאפ׳ קמט ע׳ תקפו מציין ע״ז: ע׳ זח״ב פ׳ וארא דכ״ה ע״ב משה קלא.
- 7חרן אותיות נחר · לקמן נח, ג מציין לקו״ת להאריז״ל ר״פ ויצא ששניהם בגימטריא אחת. ובאוה״ת בראשית כרך א קעה, א מציין ללקו״ת פ׳ וישב ע״פ ויהי אחר הדברים האלה, וכ״ה באוה״ת וארא ע׳ קעח. למה שנתבאר כאן ראה אוה״ת וארא ע׳ קעח. סה״מ תרל״ב כרך ב ע׳ תצא. תרל״ג כרך א ע׳ לא ואילך. יהל אור ע׳ תקפו.
- 8יגעתי בקראי · Psalms 69:4
- 9כשגובר בו יסוד האש · ראה אוה״ת וארא ע׳ קעח. במדבר ע׳ כג.
And when the element of fire prevails excessively, it is what interrupts the voice, until it cannot go out in the continuous passage of its normal way.
Fire in moderation divides the voice into letters; in excess it chokes the voice altogether, so that it cannot flow out in its normal, continuous way.
וכך הוא בחי׳ חרן היינו בחי׳ המפסיק את הקול שהוא ההמשכה מחיות ואור א״ס ב״ה שלא להיות ההמשכה כדרכה בקדושה דוקא
And so is the level of Charan: that is, the level of what interrupts the voice, which is the drawing-down of the life-force (chayus) and light of the Infinite One, blessed be He, so that the drawing-down is not in its normal way, in holiness alone,
Charan is that choking of the voice. Spiritually, the “voice” is the flow of life-force and light from the Infinite One into the worlds, and in Charan that flow no longer runs in its proper channel, purely within holiness.
אלא שיש גם לקליפות וס״א [וסטרא אחרא] יניקה ואחיזה בהמשכה זו ואזי נק׳ בבחי׳ נאלמתי דומיה2 שנפסק הקול וההמשכה ונעשה בחי׳ נפרד ובחי׳ זו הוא בין בהנהגת העולמות
but rather the kelipos (husks) and the sitra achra also have nourishment and a hold in this drawing-down. And then it is called by the level of “I was mute with silence,” for the voice and the drawing-down are interrupted, and there comes to be the level of separateness. And this level is both in the conduct of the worlds,
Instead the kelipos and the sitra achra, the forces that oppose holiness, draw nourishment from it. This is the state of “I was mute with silence”: the flow is cut off, and what remains feels itself separate from G‑d. It shows up on two planes, first in how the worlds are run.
שהוא ענין גלות ישראל ושעבוד מצרים ובבל מחמת תגבורת האש ותוקף הדין ובין בכל נפש מישראל בעבודת ה׳ שעסק התורה שלו הוא בבחי׳ נפרד
which is the matter of the exile of Israel and the subjugation of Egypt and Babylon, because of the intensity of the fire and the strength of judgment; and in every Jewish soul, in the service of G‑d, when his study of Torah is in a state of separateness
In the running of the worlds, it appears in the exile of the Jewish people and their subjugation in Egypt and Babylon, which the maamar traces to an excess of fire, that is, of severe judgment. It shows up also in the individual Jew, whose Torah study can be done with a sense of self, apart from G‑d.
ולא בבחי׳ ביטול לאור א״ס ב״ה להיות גילוי חכמתו כו׳ מחמת תגבורת האש וחמימות שמצד גופו ונפש הבהמית אשר נמשך אחריהם.3
and not in a state of self-nullification (bittul) to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, so as to be a revelation of His wisdom, etc., because of the intensity of the fire and heat that come from his body and the animal soul, after which he is drawn.
Such study lacks the self-nullification that lets G‑d’s wisdom be revealed in it. The cause is again “fire”: the heat and passion of the body and the animal soul, which the person follows.
אך הנה תכלית ירידה זו של בחי׳ יעקב מאגרא רמה מבאר שבע מקו׳ מדות העליונות שהן ביטול אליו ית׳ לך ה׳ הגדולה כו׳ לבירא עמיקתא מקום החרן המפסיק ומעכב את קול ההמשכה להיות בחי׳ נפרד.4
But the purpose of this descent of the level of Yaakov “from a lofty peak,” from Be’er Sheva, the source of the supernal attributes, which are self-nullification to Him, may He be blessed (“Yours, G‑d, is the greatness,” etc.), “to a deep pit,” the place of Charan, which interrupts and holds back the voice of the drawing-down so that it becomes the level of separateness,
Yet Yaakov’s descent had a purpose. He went “from a lofty peak to a deep pit”: from Be’er Sheva, the source of the supernal attributes that are all “Yours,” down to Charan, where the flow is blocked and separateness reigns.
הוא כדי להיות אתכפיא ואתהפכא ואזי נעשה מחרן רנה כי החי״ת נפסק ונעשה ה״א. כמ״ש בזהר ע״פ גער חית קנה56 שמחמץ נעשה מצה.
is in order that there be subjugation (iskafya) and transformation (is’hapcha); and then from Charan (חרן) is made rinah (רנה, joyous song), for the ches is broken open and becomes a hei, as it is stated in the Zohar on the verse “Rebuke the beast (chayas) of the reeds,” that from chametz (חמץ) is made matzah (מצה).
The purpose is to subdue and then transform the darkness. When that happens, Charan (חרן) becomes rinah (רנה), joyful song: the closed ches (ח) opens into a hei (ה). The Zohar makes the same point about chametz (חמץ) becoming matzah (מצה), where likewise a ches becomes a hei.
The paragraph explains Charan as the blocked flow of divine life, where separateness and the kelipos take hold, in exile and in a Jew’s own study, and states that Yaakov descended there in order to transform it, turning Charan into rinah, song.
The letters ches and hei differ by a small gap: the hei is open at the top-left, the ches closed. Turning a ches into a hei is thus a small change with a great effect, which is how Chassidus pictures the transformation (is’hapcha) of darkness into light. According to one manuscript variant recorded in the notes, the text cites the Idra Rabba here instead of the Zohar on Pinchas.
Marei mekomos
- 1המפסיק את הקול · ביהל אור שם: וע׳ זהר שם דכ״ו תחלת ע״א.
- 2נאלמתי דומי׳ · Psalms 39:3
- 3ובין בכל נפש . . אשר נמשך אחריהם · מובא באוה״ת במדבר ע׳ כד.
- 4שו״ה מקום החרן — להיות בחי׳ נפרד · בבוך 633 נוסף ולא בבחי׳ ביטול לאוא״ס ב״ה.
- 5כמ״ש בזהר ע״פ גער חית קנה · פ׳ פנחס רנא, ב. בבוך 1824: כמ״ש באד״ר.
- 6גער חית קנה · Psalms 68:31
15וזהו ושבתי בשלום1 אל בית אבי ושבתי מחר״ן. אל בית אבי זהו בחי׳ יצחק ויצחק נק׳ ע״ש צחק עשה לי2 אלקים
And this is “and I shall return in peace to my father’s house”: “and I shall return” from Charan. “To my father’s house”: this is the level of Yitzchak; and Yitzchak is so called on account of “G‑d has made laughter (tzechok) for me,”
Yaakov’s vow, “I shall return in peace to my father’s house,” is read as the return from Charan. “My father’s house” is Yitzchak, whose name comes from Sarah’s words, “G‑d has made laughter for me.”
והוא בחי׳ רנ״ה שנעשה מחר״ן וכתיב כל השומע יצחק לי יצחק הוא לשון עתיד דהיינו בביאת המשיח ב״ב [במהרה בימינו] שאז אהפוך אל עמים3 וגו׳ דכד אתכפייא ואתהפכא
and it is the level of rinah, which is made from Charan. And it is written, “whoever hears will laugh (yitzchak) for me”: yitzchak is in the future tense, that is, at the coming of Mashiach, speedily in our days, for then “I will transform the peoples,” etc.; for when [the sitra achra] is subdued and transformed,
Yitzchak, laughter, is the same as rinah, the song made from Charan. Sarah also said “whoever hears will laugh for me,” and yitzchak there is future tense: the laughter belongs to the days of Mashiach, when, as Tzefaniah says, G‑d will transform the peoples to call on His Name, and the sitra achra will be subdued and transformed.
אזי נעשה בחי׳ צחוק וחדוה כמו עד״מ צחוק המלך והשרי׳ מענין התהפכות דבר רחוק וזר כמו מצפור מדברת שזהו דבר חידוש משא״כ מאדם המדבר שדרכו בכך לא שייך צחוק.
then there comes to be the level of laughter and joy; as, by way of analogy, the laughter of the king and the ministers at the transformation of something remote and strange, as from a bird that speaks, which is a novelty; whereas with a man who speaks, whose way is to do so, laughter does not apply.
Transformation brings laughter because laughter comes from surprise. A king and his ministers would laugh with delight at a bird that talks, since that is a wonder, but not at a man who talks, since that is expected. So too, darkness turned into light gives a unique delight above.
The paragraph reads “I shall return … to my father’s house” as the return from Charan to Yitzchak, the laughter and joy that come when darkness is transformed, a laughter that will be fully revealed in the days of Mashiach.
The analogy of the talking bird appears also in the previous maamar in Torah Ohr, where the delight of teshuvah is compared to the wonder of a bird that speaks.
Marei mekomos
- 1ושבתי בשלום · Genesis 28:21
- 2צחק עשה לי · Genesis 21:6
- 3אהפוך אל עמים · Zephaniah 3:9
16ולכן ארז״ל [אמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] במקום שבע״ת [שבעלי תשובה] עומדין1 כו׳ משום דאתהפכא חשוכא כו׳. וגם ארז״ל [אמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] אם ישראל עושין תשובה2 נגאלין כו׳ שזהו תכלית ביאת המשיח להיו׳ [להיות] הצחוק והחדוה כד אתכפייא סט״א [סטרא אחרא] ואתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא.
Therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “In the place where baalei teshuvah (returnees) stand,” etc., because darkness is transformed, etc. And our Sages, of blessed memory, also said, “If Israel do teshuvah, they are redeemed,” etc.; for this is the purpose of the coming of Mashiach: that there be the laughter and joy, when the sitra achra is subdued and darkness is transformed into light.
This is why the Sages say that where baalei teshuvah stand, even the completely righteous cannot stand: in teshuvah darkness itself is turned into light, which brings the greatest delight. And redemption depends on teshuvah, because the whole purpose of Mashiach’s coming is this joy of darkness turned to light.
וזהו מארז״ל [מאמר רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] שלעתיד יאמרו על יצחק3 כי אתה אבינו4 שתכלית ירידת הנשמה בגוף בעוה״ז ותכלית ירידת ישראל בגלות ושעבוד ודוחק פרנסה הוא כדי שיעלו ויבאו ויגיעו לבחי׳ יצחק הוא הצחוק והחדוה כו׳:
And this is [the meaning of] the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, that in the future they will say to Yitzchak, “For you are our father”; for the purpose of the descent of the soul into the body in this world, and the purpose of the descent of Israel into exile and subjugation and the pressure of earning a livelihood, is so that they will ascend and come and reach the level of Yitzchak, which is laughter and joy, etc.
The Talmud relates that in the future Israel will say to Yitzchak, “You are our father.” The soul’s descent into a body, and Israel’s descent into exile and the struggle to earn a living, are all for the sake of reaching Yitzchak: the laughter and joy of transformation.
The paragraph ties the idea of transformation to the Sages’ teachings on teshuvah and redemption, and shows that every descent, of the soul and of Israel in exile, aims at the joy of Yitzchak.
The Kehot note refers to the previous maamar (Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei, 21c), where teshuvah is described as turning the fiery bad traits back to G‑d, making Charan into rinah, as chametz becomes matzah; that delight, it says, will be revealed only in the future.
Marei mekomos
- 1במקום שבע״ת עומדין · ראה לעיל כא, ג.
- 2אם ישראל עושין תשובה · Sanhedrin 97b:14–15
- 3שלעתיד יאמרו על יצחק · Shabbat 89b:2
- 4כי אתה אבינו · Isaiah 63:16
Peace, and the fulfillment of the vow ¶17–20
17אך כיצד ישוב מבחי׳ חרן לבחי׳ יצחק הנ״ל הנה לזה אמר הכתוב בשלום כי שלום הוא המחבר ומקשר ב׳ הפכים
But how does one return from the level of Charan to the level of Yitzchak mentioned above? For this the verse says, “in peace”; for peace is what joins and binds two opposites,
How does one get from Charan, blocked separateness, back to Yitzchak, joy? The verse answers: “in peace.” Peace is what joins two opposites into one.
כמ״ש עושה שלום במרומיו בין מיכאל1 כו׳2 שלום שלום לרחוק3 שנעשה קרוב כו׳ ובשלום ב׳4 שלום ממטה למעלה וממעלה למטה כמ״ש במ״א.5
as it is written, “He makes peace in His heights,” between Michael, etc.; “Peace, peace to the far and to the near”: to the far one who becomes near, etc. And beshalom (in peace) is two [kinds of] peace, from below upward and from above downward, as explained elsewhere.
The Midrash explains that G‑d “makes peace in His heights” between the angel Michael (water, kindness) and the angel Gavriel (fire, severity). Likewise “peace, peace to the far and to the near” means peace to the one who was far and has come near, that is, the baal teshuvah. The doubled word, and the letter ב (two) in beshalom, point to two kinds of peace, from below upward and from above downward.
The paragraph explains that the return from Charan to Yitzchak comes through peace, which unites opposites: from below upward and from above downward.
The Or HaTorah’s version of this passage completes the phrase as “between Michael and Gavriel” and makes explicit that the ב of beshalom means “two.” The Kehot note also points to the Tzemach Tzedek’s Biurei HaZohar at the start of Lech Lecha.
Marei mekomos
- 1עושה שלום במרומיו בין מיכאל · Job 25:2
- 2בין מיכאל כו׳ · באוה״ת צו ע׳ כב נוסף: וגבריאל.
- 3שלום שלום לרחוק · Isaiah 57:19
- 4ובשלום ב׳ · שם נוסף היינו: ב׳.
- 5אך כיצד . . כמ״ש במ״א · מובא באוה״ת פ׳ צו ע׳ כב.
18והנה כשיתגלה הצחוק העליון לעתיד כד אתכפיא ואתהפכא דהיינו שלא יהיה שליטה ויניקה לקליפות וסט״א [וסטרא אחרא] כלל וכמ״ש ואת רוח הטומאה1 אעביר מן הארץ.
Now, when the supernal laughter is revealed in the future, when [the sitra achra] is subdued and transformed, that is, when the kelipos and the sitra achra will have no dominion or nourishment at all, as it is written, “And I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth,”
In the future the “supernal laughter” will be revealed, when evil is fully subdued and transformed and the kelipos have no hold at all, as Zechariah says, “I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth.”
אזי יזדכך חומריות העולם וגסותו שלא יהיה בבחי׳ יש ודבר נפרד בפ״ע [בפני עצמו] רק הכל יוכלל בבחי׳ אין
then the materiality and coarseness of the world will be refined, so that it will not be at the level of something (yesh), a thing separate unto itself; rather, all will be included in the level of nothing (ayin).
Then the world’s coarseness will be refined. It will no longer feel itself as yesh, a separate “something”; everything will be absorbed into ayin, the G‑dly “nothing” from which it came.
כי זהו תכלית בריאת העולמות מאין ליש כדי לאהפכא מבחי׳ יש לבחי׳ אין ואזי והיה הוי׳ לי לאלקים.
For this is the purpose of the creation of the worlds from nothing into something: in order to transform [them] from the level of yesh to the level of ayin. And then, “Havayah will be to me as Elokim.”
That is the purpose of creating something from nothing: so that the “something” be turned back into “nothing,” consciously nullified to G‑d. And that is the fulfillment of Yaakov’s request, “Havayah will be to me as Elokim.”
כי הנה אלקי׳ היינו ההעלם והצמצו׳ להיות העולמות נבראים מאין ליש והוי״ה היינו בחינת פנימיות אור א״ס ב״ה המחי׳ [המחיה] ומהוה כו׳
For Elokim is the concealment and the contraction (tzimtzum), so that the worlds are created from nothing into something; and Havayah is the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, which gives life and brings into being, etc.
To explain: Elokim is G‑d’s concealment and contraction, which lets the worlds exist as “something”; Havayah is the inner Infinite Light that actually gives them life and being.
וכמ״ש כי שמש ומגן2 הוי״ה אלקים שאלקי׳ נעשה בחי׳ מגן לשם הוי״ה שהוא בבחי׳ השמש כו׳.
As it is written, “For a sun and a shield is Havayah Elokim”: Elokim becomes the level of a shield for the Name Havayah, which is at the level of the sun, etc.
“A sun and a shield is Havayah Elokim”: Havayah is like the sun, and Elokim is the shield that screens it so that creatures can bear it.
אך כל זה הוא בבחינת ההשתלשלות וירידת המדרגות שהוא בבחי׳ זיו והארה שמאור א״ס ב״ה להוות ולהחיות נבראים כסדר ירידת השתלשלות המדרגות מדרגה אחר מדרגה.
But all this is in the realm of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) and the descent of the levels, which is at the level of a radiance and illumination from the Infinite Light, blessed be He, to bring created beings into being and give them life according to the order of the descending chain of levels, level after level;
But this whole arrangement of Havayah hidden by Elokim belongs to the chain of worlds, where only a ray of the Infinite Light gives life to creatures step by step down the levels.
שמדרגות עליונים מקבלים אור היותר עליון ורוחני כו׳ וכל מה שלמטה מטה מתצמצם ומתלבש כו׳.
for the upper levels receive the most sublime and spiritual light, etc., and whatever is lower and lower is contracted and clothed, etc.
Higher levels receive a finer, more spiritual light; the lower the level, the more the light is contracted and clothed.
אבל לע״ל [לעתיד לבוא] כשיתגלה הצחוק העליון שהוא מבחי׳ אתהפכא כו׳ יהיה גילוי אא״ס [אור אין סוף] ב״ה בעצמו ובכבודו שלמעלה מעלה מבחינת השתלשלות
But in the time to come, when the supernal laughter is revealed, which is from the level of transformation, etc., there will be a revelation of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, in Its essence and Its glory, which is far, far above the level of hishtalshelus.
In the future, with the laughter of transformation, the Infinite Light as it is in itself, beyond the whole chain of worlds, will be revealed.
For “eye to eye they will see,” etc.; “and all flesh will see,” etc.; “and they will enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the dust, from before the terror of G‑d,” etc.
The prophets describe this: “eye to eye they will see,” “all flesh will see” together, and people will hide in caves “from before the terror of G‑d.” The revelation will be direct and overwhelming.
The paragraph explains the future fulfillment of “Havayah will be to me as Elokim”: when evil is transformed, the world will be absorbed into G‑dliness and the Infinite Light as it is in itself, beyond the chain of worlds, will be revealed.
The pairing of Havayah as “sun” and Elokim as “shield” is a key idea of the Alter Rebbe’s teaching: the Name Elokim conceals so that creation can exist. Here the future is described as a revelation so great that even Havayah as it shines in the worlds will seem only a “shield.”
Marei mekomos
- 1ואת רוח הטומאה · Zechariah 13:2
- 2כי שמש ומגן ה׳ אלקים · Psalms 84:12
- 3עין בעין יראו · Isaiah 52:8
- 4וראו כל בשר · Isaiah 40:5
- 5עין בעין יראו . . וראו כל בשר . . ובאו במערות צורים · Isaiah 52:10
- 6ובאו במערות צורים ובמחילות עפר מפני פחד ה׳ · Isaiah 2:19
19ואז יהי׳ [יהיה] בחי׳ הוי״ה שהוא אור א״ס ב״ה הנמשך ומתפשט להתלבש בתוך עלמין בסדר ההשתלשלות.
And then the level of Havayah, which is the Infinite Light, blessed be He, that is drawn down and spreads to be clothed within the worlds in the order of hishtalshelus,
Then the Name Havayah, the Infinite Light as it flows down and is clothed in the worlds, will itself be seen as Elokim.
נחשב בחי׳ אלקים דהיינו בחי׳ צמצום שבאמת אין זה אלא זיו והארה מצומצמת לגבי אור א״ס ב״ה בעצמו ובכבודו שלפניו מעלה ומטה שוין וכחשיכה כאורה.1
will be considered the level of Elokim, that is, the level of contraction; for in truth it is nothing but a contracted radiance and illumination compared to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, in Its essence and Its glory, before which above and below are equal, and “darkness is as light.”
In that revelation Havayah will count as Elokim, a contraction. Compared with the Infinite Light in itself, before which above and below are the same and “darkness is as light,” even Havayah as it is in the worlds is only a contracted glow. This is the deeper meaning of “Havayah will be to me as Elokim.”
The paragraph explains the maamar’s opening question: in the future Havayah will become, relatively, “Elokim,” because the revelation of the Infinite Light itself will make even the light that fills the worlds look like concealment.
Marei mekomos
- 1וכחשיכה כאורה · Psalms 139:12
20והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה1 הוא בחינת יו״ד כלי החכמה שמבחי׳ אותיות בחי׳ דומם דהיינו בחי׳ התהוות מאין ליש רק לפי אשר שמתי מצבה שהגבהתי והעליתי כו׳
“And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar”: this is the level of yud, the vessel of Chochmah, which is from the level of letters, the level of the inanimate, that is, the level of coming into being from nothing into something. But since “I have set [it] up as a pillar,” for I raised and elevated [it], etc.,
Now the second question is answered. “This stone” is the yud, the vessel of Chochmah, a letter, lifeless and created from nothing. But Yaakov raised it as a pillar, lifting it up.
לכך יהי׳ [יהיה] לה כח ויכולת להיות בית אלקים שיהיה בחי׳ אלקים זה שהוא אוא״ס [אור אין סוף] ב״ה שבתוך עלמין שורה ומתגלה בבחי׳ אותיות הללו והאותיות תהיינה בבחי׳ משכן ומכון לשבתו ית׳.
therefore it will have the power and ability to be a “house of Elokim”: that this level of Elokim, which is the Infinite Light, blessed be He, that is within the worlds, will rest and be revealed in these letters, and the letters will be a dwelling and an established place for His abode, may He be blessed.
Because of that, it gained the power to become a “house of Elokim”: the divine light within the worlds, which will then be called Elokim, will rest and be revealed in these letters, and the letters will become a dwelling for G‑d.
The paragraph answers how a stone can become a house of G‑d: the lowly letter, raised up through self-nullification, becomes a dwelling for the divine light in the worlds.
Marei mekomos
- 1והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה · Genesis 28:22
The endless tithes ¶21–22
21וכל זה הוא ע״י בחי׳ יעקב יו״ד עקב צוה ישועות יעקב1 גילוי הש״ע [הש״ע (370)] נהורין שבהן וע״י נזכה לכל בחי׳ האלו. וכל אשר תתן לי2 עשר אעשרנו לך.
And all this is through the level of Yaakov, yud-akev: “Command the salvations of Yaakov,” the revelation of the 370 lights that are in them; and through this we will merit all these levels. “And of all that You give me, I will tithe, tithe it (aser a’asrenu) to You.”
All this comes through Yaakov, whose “salvations” reveal the 370 lights. Then the maamar turns to the end of Yaakov’s vow, “of all that You give me I will tithe, tithe it,” where the Hebrew doubles the verb.
הענין הוא כי הנה נודע שיהיה עילוי אחר עילוי לאין קץ ימות המשיח ותחה״מ [ותחיית המתים] כמה שמיטין ויובלות כו׳ וכל עילוי גדול מחבירו.
The matter is this: it is known that there will be elevation after elevation without end, [in] the days of Mashiach and the Resurrection of the Dead, many Shemitah cycles and Jubilees, etc., and each elevation greater than the other.
It is known that the future will bring endless ascents, the days of Mashiach, the Resurrection, and cycle after cycle beyond, each higher than the one before.
אך קודם העילוי שאחר העילוי צריך להיו׳ [להיות] נשאר מעילוי הראשון בבחי׳ אתעדל״ת [אתערותא דלתתא] לאתעדל״ע [לאתערותא דלעילא] שבעילוי הב׳ ואתעדל״ת [ואתערותא דלתתא] זו הנשארת מן העילוי הראשון נק׳ בחי׳ מעשר.3
But before the elevation that comes after [each] elevation, there must remain from the first elevation [something] in the manner of an arousal from below, for the arousal from above that is in the second elevation; and this arousal from below that remains from the first elevation is called the level of maaser (the tithe).
Each new ascent needs a trigger from below. Something of the earlier level must remain to serve as an “arousal from below” that draws the next “arousal from above.” That remnant is called maaser, the tithe.
The paragraph begins to explain the tithe of Yaakov’s vow: in the endless ascents of the future, each level leaves a remnant, a “tithe,” that becomes the arousal from below for the next ascent.
The Kehot note records that the Or HaTorah on Megillas Esther quotes this and adds an example: moving from “back to back” to “face to face” is an ascent, and it needs an arousal from the first level, the point beneath Yesod, which is the Keser of Malchus; that is the tithe.
Marei mekomos
- 1צוה ישועות יעקב · Psalms 44:5
- 2וכל אשר תתן לי · Genesis 28:22
- 3צריך להיות נשאר . . נק׳ בחי׳ מעשר · מובא באוה״ת מגלת אסתר ע׳ פ ד״ה ויקח המן סעי׳ ב ומוסיף: ”היינו עד״מ מבחי׳ אב״א לבוא לבחי׳ פב״פ זהו ודאי עילוי אחר עילוי, וצ״ל אתעדל״ת מעילוי הראשון והוא מה שנעשית בחי׳ נקודה תחת היסוד ונקודה זו זהו ענין כתר מל׳ . . וזהו ענין המעשר”.
22וז״ש [וזהו שכתוב] וכל אשר תתן לי1 לעתיד דהיינו כל העליות שיהיה עד אין קץ עשר אעשרנו ויהי׳ [ויהיה] הרבה מעשרות לכל עילוי בחי׳ מעשר בפ״ע [בפני עצמו] ותמיד עשר אעשרנו עד שיגיע לך לבחי׳ אור א״ס ב״ה עצמו
And this is what is written, “And of all that You give me,” in the future, that is, all the ascents that there will be without end, “I will tithe, tithe it”: there will be many tithes, for each ascent a level of tithe of its own, and always “I will tithe, tithe it,” until it reaches “to You,” to the level of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself.
“All that You give me” refers to the endless ascents of the future. The doubled “I will tithe, tithe it” means many tithes, one for each ascent, going on until the ascent reaches “to You,” the Infinite Light itself.
וכמו שהוא ית׳ א״ס כך יהיו עליות עד א״ס והכל ע״י בחי׳ יעקב יו״ד עקב כו׳
And just as He, may He be blessed, is infinite, so there will be ascents without end; and all is through the level of Yaakov, yud-akev, etc.,
Since G‑d is infinite, the ascents toward Him never end. All of them come about through Yaakov, the yud reaching down to the heel.
כנ״ל וד״ל [ודי למבין]:(ובענין מ״ש בפי׳ עשר אעשרנו ואתעדל״ת [ואתערותא דלתתא] זו כו׳ נק׳ בחי׳ מעשר כו׳. נראה כי הכתר הוא הממוצע2 בין עולם העליון לעולם התחתון3 שהוא סוף בחי׳ עליונה ומקור וראש לבחי׳ תחתונה
as [explained] above; and this suffices for one who understands. (And regarding what was said in explaining “I will tithe, tithe it,” that this arousal from below, etc., is called the level of the tithe, etc.: it appears that Keser (the Crown) is the intermediary between an upper world and a lower world, for it is the end of the upper level and the source and head of the lower level,
The main text closes here, and a parenthetical note follows, explaining why the remnant that triggers each ascent is called a “tithe.” The key is Keser, the Crown: it is the point where two worlds meet, the lowest level of the higher world and the head of the lower one.
כמו מלכות דאצי׳ כתר לבריאה ומלכות דבריאה כתר ליצירה כו׳. ולכן הנה להיות עליית העולמות שיתעלה העשייה בקדוש׳ [בקדושה / בקדושת] היצירה ממש הוא ע״י אמצעות הכתר דעשייה שהוא בחי׳ מעשר מע״ס [מעשר ספירות] דעשיי׳ [דעשייה].
as Malchus (sovereignty) of Atzilus is Keser to Beriah, and Malchus of Beriah is Keser to Yetzirah, etc. And therefore, for the ascent of the worlds, so that Asiyah be elevated into the very holiness of Yetzirah, it is through the medium of the Keser of Asiyah, which is the level of a tithe of the ten Sefiros of Asiyah.
For example, Malchus, the last Sefirah of Atzilus, becomes the Keser, the first Sefirah, of Beriah, and so on down. So when Asiyah rises into Yetzirah, it does so through its own Keser, and Keser, being one of ten Sefiros, is a “tenth,” a tithe, of Asiyah.
והענין כי כתר הוא לשון שתיקה כמו כתר לי זעיר.4 ושתיקה הוא בחינת בטול וע״ז נאמר יונת אלם5 כו׳. והוא בחינת בעמדם תרפינה כנפיהן.6
The explanation is that keser is an expression of silence, as in “Wait (kaser) for me a little.” And silence is the level of self-nullification (bittul), and of this it is said, “the silent dove,” etc. And it is the level of “when they stood, they let down their wings.”
Why Keser? The word keser is linked to silence, as in the verse “Wait (kaser) for me a little.” Silence expresses self-nullification, like “the silent dove,” and like the angels in Yechezkel’s vision who “let down their wings” when they stood still.
וע״י בטול זה יוכל להתעלות אח״כ ליצירה כי א״א להיות עליי׳ [עלייה] ממהות למהות כי אם שיוכלל תחלה בבחי׳ אין ממש וזהו ענין העמוד שבין ג״ע [גן עדן] התחתון לג״ע [לגן עדן] העליון כו׳
And through this self-nullification it is able afterward to rise to Yetzirah; for it is impossible for there to be an ascent from one essence to another essence unless it is first absorbed into the level of actual nothing (ayin). And this is the matter of the pillar that is between the lower Gan Eden and the upper Gan Eden, etc.
Only through such self-nullification can a level rise to the next one. A thing cannot pass from one definite state to another unless it first dissolves into “nothing.” This is also why, between the lower and upper Gan Eden, there is a “pillar” through which souls pass.
וכמו צמיחת התבואה מזרע הנזרע בארץ הוא ע״י שמתחלה מתבטל מהות הזרע ונעשה בחי׳ אין רק שנשאר כחו בכח הצומח ועי״ז אח״כ נעשה הגידול נפלא יותר מהיש שהי׳ [שהיה] תחלה כו׳.
And [it is] like the sprouting of grain from a seed sown in the earth, which comes about through the essence of the seed first being nullified and becoming the level of nothing, except that its power remains in the power of growth; and through this, afterward, the growth becomes more wondrous than the something that was at first, etc.
The analogy is a seed: it must first rot in the ground and lose its form, keeping only its power to grow; only then does it sprout into something far greater than the seed it was.
ועד״ז עליי׳ [עלייה] יצירה בבריאה צ״ל תחלה בבחינת בטול ואין והוא בחי׳ כתר דיצירה כו׳ וזהו ענין אשר שם שמות בארץ78 בחי׳ וחד חרוב ומה שהוא בבחי׳ אלף השביעי ולא בבחי׳ עשירית היינו
And similarly, the ascent of Yetzirah into Beriah must first be in the level of self-nullification and nothingness, and this is the level of the Keser of Yetzirah, etc. And this is the matter of “Who has made desolations in the earth,” the level of “and one [thousand years] desolate”; and that it is at the level of the seventh thousand and not at the level of a tenth, this is
So too Yetzirah can rise into Beriah only through self-nullification, which is its Keser. The same idea explains “Who has made desolations in the earth” and the teaching that of the world’s seven thousand years, one will be “desolate”: a time of nothingness before a higher state. But why is it the seventh thousand, a seventh, and not a tenth, as a tithe would be?
כי היכל ק״ק [קדש הקדשים] שהוא היכל השביעי כולל ג״ר [ג׳ ראשונות] אבל עיקר העליי׳ [העלייה] ע״י הכתר כו׳. וע״ד זה יש עליות אין קץ.
because the Heichal (chamber) of the Holy of Holies, which is the seventh heichal, includes the first three [Sefiros]; but the main ascent is through Keser, etc. And in this manner there are ascents without end.
Because the seventh chamber, the Holy of Holies, contains within it the first three Sefiros; still, the main ascent comes through Keser. This pattern, nullification then ascent, repeats without end.
ומ״ש עשר אעשרנו ב׳ עישורין היינו כי הכתר כלול מב׳ פרצופין עתיק וא״א כו׳ שהוא בחי׳ תחתונה שבמאציל ושרש הנאצלים כו׳ וב׳ בחי׳ אלו יחד נק׳ חומש כמ״ש ונתתם חמישית לפרעה910 כמ״ש במ״א):11
And what it says, “I will tithe, tithe it,” two tithes, is because Keser is composed of two partzufim (configurations), Atik and Arich Anpin, etc., being the lowest level of the Emanator and the root of the emanated beings, etc.; and these two levels together are called a fifth, as it is written, “and you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh,” as explained elsewhere.)
The doubled “tithe, tithe” means two tithes because Keser has two partzufim, Atik and Arich Anpin: Atik is the lowest level of the Emanator, G‑d Himself, and Arich Anpin is the root of what He emanates. Two tenths make a fifth, which is why the Torah speaks of giving “a fifth to Pharaoh.”
The paragraph completes the reading of Yaakov’s vow: endless future ascents, each one reached through a “tithe,” and a parenthetical note explains that tithe as Keser, the silent self-nullification through which every level rises to the next, doubled because Keser has two parts.
The idea that Keser is both the end of the higher world and the head of the lower is found in Etz Chaim, as the Kehot note shows, and is developed in Iggeres HaKodesh 20. The Or HaTorah reconciles the two meanings of keser, “surrounding” and “silence”: “a fence for wisdom is silence,” so Keser is the encompassing fence around Chochmah and is itself silence. According to the notes, one manuscript lacks this whole parenthetical note, and another places it before “However, this is not the ultimate intent.”
Marei mekomos
- 1וכל אשר תתן לי · Genesis 28:22
- 2הכתר הוא הממוצע · ע״ח שער מ״א פ״ג. ראה ביאוה״ז להצ״צ כרך א ע׳ ערה. אגה״ק ס״כ (קל, ב) ובליקוט פירושים חיטריק שם. וראה בד״ה וילך תרס״ו ע׳ קסה ואילך. ובאוה״ת פ׳ יתרו ע׳ תתלט. ראה לעיל יט, ד.
- 3הכתר הוא הממוצע בין עולם העליון לעולם התחתון · Sefer Etz Chaim 41:3
- 4כתר לי זעיר · Job 36:2
- 5יונת אלם · Psalms 56:1
- 6בעמדם תרפינה כנפיהן · Ezekiel 1:24
- 7אשר שם שמות בארץ · Psalms 44:9
- 8אשר שם שמות בארץ · Psalms 46:9
- 9ונתתם חמישית לפרעה · בראשית מז, מד.
- 10ונתתם חמישית לפרעה · Genesis 47:24
- 11(ובענין מ״ש . . כמ״ש במ״א) · בבוך 1824 ליתא כל הקטע. בבוך 17 יג, א נמצא קטע זה קודם ד״ה אך אין זה.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Torah study should be the drawing of G‑d’s own wisdom into one’s soul, done with self-nullification (koach mah) and with the awe felt at Sinai, since before the Infinite Light nothing is hidden. The heat of the body and the animal soul, which makes study self-centered, is not to be escaped but transformed, turning Charan into song. And every step upward begins with bittul: only by first becoming “nothing,” like a seed in the ground, can a person rise to a higher level.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the maamar say that letters, and stones, can be raised higher than anything else precisely because they are lifeless? How does this relate to the image of the circle?
- What is the difference between the “ray” of divine light that sustains the worlds and the Infinite Light “in its essence and glory,” and how does Yaakov bridge the two?
- How can a person feel the awe of Sinai in ordinary Torah study, according to the maamar?
- Why must Yaakov descend to Charan at all? What does the transformation of Charan into rinah teach about exile and about personal struggle?
- In what sense will Havayah become “Elokim” in the future, and why does every future ascent need a “tithe”?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being. ×3
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×11
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×8
- The G‑dly soulנפש האלקית
- The soul that is 'a part of G‑d above'.
- 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.
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×13
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×3
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×1
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect.
- The sitra achra (the other side)סטרא אחרא
- The realm opposed to holiness.
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×4
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×1
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×1
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×1
- Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds. ×1
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×1
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×9
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×3
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence. ×3
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions. ×5
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one.
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×2
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×1
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion. ×1