וללבן שתי בנות וגו׳

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The maamar in the Rebbe’s light

The Rebbe returns to this maamar for its map of two worlds: Leah, the hidden world of thought (עלמא דאתכסיא), and Rachel, the revealed world of speech (עלמא דאתגליא). In a letter (Likkutei Sichos vol. 10) he insists that Leah here means the letters of thought (אותיות המחשבה), which Yaakov surely grasped, and in his maamar V’Hashem Amar HaMechaseh 5737 he reads the „ב׳ ארצות” (“two lands”) as the two movements of all service: Torah study drawing down, the mitzvos of speech and action raising up. Twice he names this discourse for the difference between the Land of Israel and the lands abroad after the destruction: at Yud-Tes Kislev 5718, that the Land fell deeper and its work is harder; on 12 Sivan 5720, that its hiddenness touches only revelation, while it remains the source of blessing for the world. In sichos of Ki Savo 5732 and Shabbos Bereishis 5712 he shows Lavan’s whiteness as a Chesed that comes only from above, hidden in the physical Lavan until his pursuit revealed it, and in a sicha of Vaera he carries Moshe’s „כבד פה” (“heavy mouth”) to its height, the bittul (ביטול) through which the Shechinah spoke. Perhaps (biur b’derech efshar) the thread is that a light is measured by how far down it reaches.

Paragraph by paragraph

1. ¶1

   The Rebbe explains

   In his maamar for Shabbos Vayeira, 20 Cheshvan 5737, the Rebbe Rashab’s birthday, the Rebbe ties Avraham’s two services, “the way of Havayah” and “righteousness and justice,” to the Rebbe Rashab’s psalm of the previous year (Psalm 116): „אתהלך לפני הוי׳ בארצות החיים” (“I will walk before Havayah in the lands of the living”).

   Citing Torah Ohr, he says the plural “lands” means two lands, „עלמא דאתכסיא ועלמא דאתגליא” (the hidden world and the revealed world), and that these are the two movements of drawing down from above and raising up from below. He offers two ways to map them: either the hidden world is the ascent („דעלי׳ למעלה הו״ע של התעלמות”, rising upward is a kind of concealment) and the revealed world the descent; or, following this paragraph’s Leah (thought) and Rachel (speech), the hidden world is Torah study, „שעיקר ענינה הוא הבנה והשגה” (whose core is understanding) and which draws down from above, and the revealed world is the mitzvos done in speech and action, which raise up from below.

   The Alter Rebbeוזהו ענין בארצות החיים. ב׳ ארצות. שבזמן שבהמ״ק היה קיים היו שני הבחינות מאירים בא״י

   The Rebbeומבואר בתו״א שהם (בכלל) ב׳ ארצות, עלמא דאתכסיא ועלמא דאתגליא, דב׳ ארצות אלו הם המשכה מלמעלה למטה והעלאה מלמטה למעלה

   Sefer HaMaamarim 5737 (old edition; this maamar edited by the Rebbe, per the publisher’s note on p. 62), vol. תשל״ז, p. 68 (sec. 7); the same text, edited, in Sefer HaMaamarim Melukat vol. 1, p. ריא, where note 4 cites “ויצא כב, ד” · ש״פ וירא, כ״ף מרחשון ה׳תשל״ז

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2. ¶1

   A question the Rebbe raises

   In a letter excerpted among the Vayeitzei additions of Likkutei Sichos vol. 10, the Rebbe takes up an apparent contradiction: Torah Ohr here says „יעקב השיג ודאי בעלמ׳ דאתכסי׳” (that Yaakov surely grasped the hidden world), while the parallel discourse in Torah Chaim says „דלא השיג כלל” (he did not grasp it at all).

   The Rebbe calls the question „לפלא גדול” (very surprising), since each discourse says on the spot what it means: Torah Ohr speaks of Leah as the letters of thought (אותיות המחשבה), which Yaakov certainly grasped, while Torah Chaim speaks of „שרש לאה” (Leah’s root), the inner dimension of Binah, hidden from all thought. He adds that Or HaTorah on this verse does not raise the question of grasping at all, and that the two discourses’ different readings of „כי שנואה לאה” (“Leah was hated”) have a parallel in a disagreement between the Talmud (Bava Basra 123a) and the Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah, start of ch. 71).

   The Alter Rebbeולהבין מ״ש כי שנואה לאה כו׳. הרי יעקב השיג ודאי בעלמ׳ דאתכסי׳

   The Rebbeבתו״א רד״ה וללבן ב׳ בנות דיעקב השיג ודאי בעדאתכ״ס ובתו״ח שם דלא השיג כלל — לפלא גדול שהרי מפורש על אתר

   Likkutei Sichos, vol. י, p. 214 (Vayeitzei additions, from a letter; Kehot note 23:5 cites the same page) · from a letter of the Rebbe, printed undated among the Vayeitzei additions

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3. ¶1

   Background from the RebbeThe Rebbe says this in more than one place

   At a farbrengen on Shabbos Balak 5716, asking why the spreading of Chassidus began outside the Land of Israel (the Baal Shem Tov was prevented from going there; the Alter Rebbe set out and then said he must remain abroad), the Rebbe recalls that the Alter Rebbe said, and also wrote in his Torah Ohr, that some things are found abroad that are not in the Land.

   The Rebbe says that the Alter Rebbe both said and wrote in his Torah Ohr that there are things outside the Land that are not in the Land of Israel; so all the Rebbeim lived abroad, and the wellsprings (המעיינות) were revealed there first and spread from there into the Land. He does not say which passage he means; the editors’ note points to this discourse with the Tzemach Tzedek’s glosses. Perhaps (biur b’derech efshar) it is the line that after the destruction Rachel, the revealed world, „גלתה עמהם” (went into exile with Israel), where the work of refinement is done, while only hidden Leah stays in the Land („נשאר מאיר בא״י בחי׳ לאה”); the Tzemach Tzedek’s handwritten version (Kehot note 22:58) says outright that Rachel is then “specifically abroad.”

   The Alter Rebbeשגלו ישראל וגלתה עמהם השכינה. שהיא בחי׳ רחל שהיא בבחי׳ גלות בע׳ שרי׳

   The Rebbeוכן אמר, וגם כתב בספרו תורה־אור, שישנם כמה ענינים בחוץ־לארץ שאינם בארץ ישראל

   Toras Menachem (Hisvaaduyos), vol. יז (תשט״ז ג), p. 92 (the editors’ note 123 cites Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 22d end ff., with the Tzemach Tzedek’s glosses in Or HaTorah 216b ff.) · ש״פ בלק, י״ד תמוז, ה׳תשט״ז (בלתי מוגה)

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4. ¶1

   Background from the RebbeThe Rebbe says this in more than one place

   At the Yud-Tes Kislev farbrengen of 5718, speaking of the Land of Israel in exile, the Rebbe warns against thinking that because it is a time of exile one may give up on anything there.

   In exile, he says, the Land of Israel has fallen deeper than the lands abroad, as a stone from the top of a wall falls further than one from its middle or bottom. Yet this very state places „אחריות גדולה יותר” (a greater responsibility) on those there: even the Land’s material and physical matters „יש להתייגע באותה מדה של יגיעה שמתייגעים בכל עניני תומ״צ” (call for the same toil as Torah and mitzvos), though this is harder than working with the things abroad that stand to be refined, “as the Alter Rebbe explains in dibbur hamaschil Velalavan shtei banos, the difference between the lands abroad and the Land of Israel after the destruction.”

   The Alter Rebbeוהעבודה היא בדרך בירורים כו׳ (וכמ״ש ע״פ במדבר סיני) ומ״מ נשאר מאיר בא״י בחי׳ לאה

   The Rebbeכפי שמבאר רבינו הזקן בד״ה וללבן שני בנות, החילוק שבין חוץ־לארץ לארץ ישראל לאחרי החורבן

   Toras Menachem (Hisvaaduyos), vol. כא (תשח״י א), p. 231–232 (sec. לג (33), which begins on p. 231; the editors’ note 171 cites Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 22d ff.) · י״ט כסלו, ה׳תשח״י (בלתי מוגה)

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5. ¶1

   Background from the RebbeThe Rebbe says this in more than one place

   At a farbrengen on 12 Sivan 5720, explaining why the Previous Rebbe began Chabad’s work in the Land of Israel with deeds, founding Kfar Chabad, the Rebbe says that the order of blessing in the world begins in the Land, “the gate of heaven,” and from there reaches the whole world.

   In this, he says, there is no difference between the time of the Temple and the exile; the difference is only one of concealment and revelation, as this discourse explains: „בזמן הגלות הנה האור האלקי שבארץ ישראל הוא בתכלית ההעלם” (in exile the G‑dly light in the Land of Israel is utterly hidden), so much so that abroad there can be a higher revelation than in the Land. But this does not touch the order of blessing: since the Land „קידשה לשעתה וקידשה לעתיד לבוא” (was sanctified for its time and for the time to come), even in exile it remains „מקור ההשפעה בכל העולם” (the source of blessing for the whole world).

   The Alter Rebbeאך לפי שהוא עלמא דאתכסיא והעלם לכך אין הגילוי אלקות עכשיו בא״י מערך הגילוי שהי׳ בזמן בהמ״ק קיים

   The Rebbeוכמבואר בד״ה וללבן שתי בנות, שבזמן הגלות הנה האור האלקי שבארץ ישראל הוא בתכלית ההעלם, ועד כדי כך, שבחוץ לארץ יכול להיות גילוי נעלה יותר

   Toras Menachem (Hisvaaduyos), vol. כח (תש״כ ב), p. 142–143 (sec. 4; the editors’ note 22 cites Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 22d, note 23 Or HaTorah 217a); the same talk in Yiddish in Sichos Kodesh 5720, p. 324 · י״ב סיון, ה׳תש״כ (בלתי מוגה)

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6. ¶1

   Background from the Rebbe

   In a sicha of Shabbos Ki Savo 5732 on the Bikkurim declaration (“An Aramean sought to destroy my father”), the Rebbe asks why the farmer recalls specifically Lavan and Egypt, and why Rashi calls them „חסדי המקום” (“the kindnesses of the Omnipresent”).

   Explaining it “in the inner dimension,” he quotes the end of this paragraph and the start of the next almost word for word: Lavan of holiness is „לובן העליון מקור החסדים” (the supernal whiteness, the source of kindness), of whom it says „וישכם לבן בבקר” (“Lavan rose early in the morning”), for every day the supernal Chesed grows strong and flows, and Yaakov „הלך לדרכו” (“went on his way”) to draw it far below. So both Yaakov’s going down to Lavan and his leaving, like the descent to Egypt and the Exodus, were Chesed, a drawing from above to below; that is why the reading of the Bikkurim passage, which draws the soul’s root down into the soul in the body, recalls them. In a note he adds, citing the Tzemach Tzedek’s Or HaTorah (end of Vayeitzei), that this supernal whiteness shines also in Elul, as the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy (י״ג מדה״ר), which ties the Bikkurim passage to that month.

   The Alter Rebbeועל לבן כתיב וישכם לבן בבקר שבכ״י מתגבר ונמשך אור החסד עליון

   The Rebbeכי שניהם (בשני עניניהם: הירידה לשם והיציאה) היו בבחי׳ חסד והמשכה מלמעלה למטה

   Likkutei Sichos, vol. יד, p. 96–97 (Ki Savo 1, the sicha beginning p. 93; sec. ד, „בפנימיות הענין", opens on p. 96; the quote and note 25, citing Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 23a and 24b, are on p. 97) · ש״פ תבא תשל״ב

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7. ¶1

   Background from the Rebbe

   In a sicha of Shabbos Bereishis 5712 on the custom of announcing „ויעקב הלך לדרכו” (“and Yaakov went on his way”) at the end of Tishrei, the Rebbe asks why the verse comes only after Lavan’s pursuit and parting, and explains, following the Maggid, that Lavan chased Yaakov to hand over “letters of Torah,” sparks of holiness, still left with him.

   There were two kinds of sparks at Lavan’s: those Yaakov could refine by his own willed work over twenty years, and loftier ones he could not, because their source, the supernal whiteness (לובן העליון) „נשפל בלבן גשמי” (“that was lowered into a physical Lavan”) (he quotes these words), cannot be drawn down by human effort, only „בדרך אתעדל״ע” (by an arousal from above). Only when Lavan pursued him was the supernal whiteness hidden in the physical Lavan revealed to Yaakov.

   The Alter Rebbeרק שלמטה נשפל בלבן גשמי ומ״מ כתיב כלו הפך לבן טהור הוא

   The Rebbeדי בחי׳ פון לובן העליון [וואָס איז „נשפל” געוואָרן „בלבן גשמי”] קען ניט נמשך ווערן דורך עבודת האדם ואתעדל״ת, נאָר דוקא דורך אתעדל״ע

   Likkutei Sichos, vol. טו, p. 262 (the sicha begins p. 259; note 28 cites Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 23a) · שבת בראשית תשי״ב

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8. ¶1

   Background from the Rebbe

   In a maamar for the second day of Rosh Hashanah 5719, on the beauty that the joy of a mitzvah brings into one’s service, the Rebbe turns to „ורחל היתה יפת תואר ויפת מראה” (“Rachel was of beautiful form and beautiful appearance”) and explains why that beauty belongs to Rachel specifically; he goes on to read the two beauties as the positive and negative mitzvos.

   He answers in this paragraph’s terms: though Leah, the world of thought and the hidden world, is the elder, „ויאהב יעקב את רחל” (Yaakov loved Rachel), because Yaakov is „בריח התיכון המבריח מן הקצה אל הקצה” (the middle bar that runs from end to end), and Rachel, the revealed world, is the one through whom the drawing down reaches lowest. He adds the reason in his own words: it reaches down to this world, where the purpose of creation, „דירה בתחתונים” (a dwelling for G‑d in the lowest realm), is completed.

   The Alter Rebbeוזהו ויאהב (יעקב) גם את רחל מלאה שכל תשוקתו היה להיות גילוי אור א״ס ב״ה למטה

   The Rebbeולכן אהב את רחל להיותה עלמא דאתגלייא, שעל ידה נעשית ההמשכה למטה ביותר, ועד לעוה״ז, שבו נשלמת הכוונה דדירה בתחתונים

   Toras Menachem (Hisvaaduyos), vol. כד (תשי״ט א), p. 6–7 (sec. 2; the editors’ note 39 cites Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 22d end ff.) · יום ב׳ דראש השנה, ה׳תשי״ט (בלתי מוגה)

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9. ¶2

   Background from the Rebbe

   In a sicha on „ראה נתתיך אלקים לפרעה” (“See, I have made you a G‑d to Pharaoh”) (from talks of Shabbos Vaera 5729 and 5715), the Rebbe asks why this came right after Moshe’s complaint „אני ערל שפתים” (“I am of uncircumcised lips”), and why from then on Moshe himself spoke to Pharaoh.

   He starts from this paragraph’s point, citing it: Moshe was „כבד פה וכבד לשון” (“heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue”) because of his bittul to G‑dliness, so absorbed that he could not give out to others. „ערל שפתים” (“Uncircumcised lips”) is then a still greater bittul: heavy speech still speaks, with difficulty, while closed lips do not speak at all. That „ביטול בתכלית” (total bittul) was the preparation for “I have made you a G‑d to Pharaoh”: through it „שכינה מדברת מתוך גרונו של משה” (the Shechinah spoke from Moshe’s throat), with the power needed to break Pharaoh.

   The Alter Rebbeולכן יצא ממנו משה שהיה כבד פה וכבד לשון דהיינו שלגודל התקשרותו בבחי׳ בטול ונחנו מה

   The Rebbeאַז דאָס וואָס משה איז געווען „כבד פה וכבד לשון” האָט זיך עס גענומען מצד זיין ביטול צו אלקות

   Likkutei Sichos, vol. טז, p. 76 (Vaera 3; the sicha begins p. 69 and sec. ט on p. 75; the quote and note 60, citing Torah Ohr 23a end, are on p. 76) · ש״פ וארא תשכ״ט, תשט״ו

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Short quotes only, with the place of each so it can be read in full. The Rebbe’s sichos, letters and maamarim are published by Kehot and by Vaad Hanochos B’Lahak (lahak.org).