Torah Ohr · Parshas Vayigash · Maamar 1
ויגש אליו יהודה ויאמר בי אדוני וגו׳
“And Yehudah approached him”
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The big idea
What is lowest in the present order, the earth and Yehudah who receives, is rooted highest, first in G‑d’s thought, and its self-nullification comes from that root, the selflessness of thought itself. The wooden Mishkan followed today’s order, the giver above the receiver; the stone Beis HaMikdash foreshadowed the future, when Malchus will become “the crown of her husband” and Yehudah will rise above Yosef.
The maamar in brief
The maamar asks why the Mishkan was built mainly of wood, with earth only as its floor, while the Beis HaMikdash was built of stone and earth, with cedar beams only as supports. Of the four kingdoms, inanimate, vegetative, animal and speaking, the inanimate ranks lowest, yet the earth brings forth all growth. The reason is that what is last in deed is first in thought: in creation the heavens came first, but in G‑d’s thought the earth preceded everything. Its lowliness, trodden under every foot, reflects the self-nullification of thought itself, chashav mah. The Mishkan, a temporary dwelling, followed the present order: earth below, wooden walls above, curtains and skins over all. The Beis HaMikdash, a permanent dwelling and a foretaste of the future, was of stone, because then Malchus, the “earth,” will be “the crown of her husband.” Yosef, “addition,” is the growing cedar, Z’eir Anpin; Yehudah, “acknowledgment,” is the self-nullified earth, Malchus. Now Yehudah approaches Yosef to receive; in the future they will be one and Yehudah will rise higher, as Ezekiel’s two sticks and David’s kingship foretell. Yeravam, lacking this humility, refused to follow David.
Outline
- The question: wood and stoneWhy was the Mishkan built mainly of wood, with earth only underfoot, while the Beis HaMikdash was built of stone and earth, with wood only as support?¶1
- Last in deed, first in thoughtThe earth ranks lowest of the four kingdoms yet brings forth all growth, because in G‑d’s thought it came first, though in the act of creation the heavens did.¶2–3
- The Mishkan and the present orderThe temporary Mishkan followed the order of the worlds as they now descend: earth for its floor, cedar walls above, curtains and skins over all; the Beis HaMikdash, G‑d’s permanent home, foreshadowed the future.¶4–6
- The Beis HaMikdash and the future orderThe Beis HaMikdash was of stone because Malchus, the “earth,” will become the crown; the earth’s self-nullification comes from its root in thought, which is why wood in the Temple was a fault and why the bowing of prayer is “inanimate.”¶7–8
- Yosef and YehudahYosef, the growing cedar, is Z’eir Anpin; Yehudah, the self-nullified earth, is Malchus. Now Yehudah approaches Yosef to receive, but in the future Malchus, founded on Chochmah, will rise above.¶9–12
- The two sticks, Yeravam and the spiesEzekiel’s two sticks foretell the union of Yosef and Yehudah under David; Yeravam and the spies, lacking humility, could not accept the rise of the “earth.”¶13–15
Key concepts
- Inanimate, vegetative, animal and speaking (domem, tzomeach, chai, medaber)דומם צומח חי מדבר
- The four kingdoms present in every world. In the present order each ranks above the one before it, but the inanimate earth has the highest root.
- Last in deed, first in thoughtסוף מעשה במחשבה תחלה
- What is completed last was intended first. The earth, last in creation, was first in G‑d’s thought, while the heavens, first in creation, were last in thought.
- Temporary and permanent dwellingדירת עראי / דירת קבע
- The Mishkan was G‑d’s temporary dwelling and followed the present order; the Beis HaMikdash was His permanent dwelling and a foretaste of the future.
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one’s own sense of self. The earth, trodden underfoot, embodies it, and it ranks above the love and awe of the emotions.
- Chashav mah and koach mahחשב מ״ה / כח מ״ה
- Plays on machshavah (thought) and Chochmah (wisdom): both contain mah, “what,” the self-effacement of Moshe’s “And what are we?”
- A woman of valor is the crown of her husbandאשת חיל עטרת בעלה
- Malchus, the receiver, will in the Time to Come rise to be a crown above Z’eir Anpin, the giver.
- Abba founded the Daughterאבא יסד ברתא
- Malchus (“lower awe”) is founded on Chochmah (“higher awe”); in the future it will rise into that source.
The question: wood and stone ¶1
1ויגש אליו יהודה1 ויאמר בי2 אדוני וגו׳. הנה כתיב קורות בתינו ארזים3 וגו׳. והנה י״ל ההפרש בין המשכן לבית עולמים4 שהמשכן הי׳ מארזים
“And Yehudah approached him and said, ‘Please (bi), my lord,’” etc. Now, it is written, “The beams of our houses are cedars,” etc. Now, one must understand the difference between the Mishkan and the Eternal House (Beis Olamim): that the Mishkan was of cedars,
The maamar opens with the verse in which Yehudah steps forward to plead for Binyamin before Yosef, whom the brothers do not yet recognize, and sets beside it a verse from Song of Songs about houses whose beams are cedar. Its question is what distinguishes the Mishkan, the portable sanctuary of the desert, from the Beis HaMikdash, the permanent “Eternal House” in Jerusalem, beginning with the fact that the Mishkan was made of wood.
כמ״ש עצי שטים עומדים5 והמכסה הי׳ מיריעות עזים ועורות אילים ועורות תחשים כו׳ והבהמ״ק הי׳ מאבנים ועפר דוקא6
as it is written, “acacia wood, standing,” and the covering was of curtains of goats’ [hair] and of rams’ skins and tachash skins, etc.; while the Beis HaMikdash was of stones and earth specifically
The verse “acacia wood, standing” describes the upright boards that formed the Mishkan’s walls; the maamar calls them “cedars,” and the Sages count the acacia among the kinds of cedar. Over the walls lay curtains of goat hair and coverings of rams’ and tachash skins, whereas the Beis HaMikdash was built of stone and earth.
(שאסור לעשות בו עץ בולט7 ואכסדראות של עץ89 כמ״ש הרמב״ם10 פ״א מהל׳ בית הבחירה וע׳ בס׳ החינוך מצוה תצ״ב) רק שהיו כלונסאות של ארז1112 בתקרת האולם כו׳
(for it is forbidden to make in it protruding wood or porticoes of wood, as the Rambam writes in chapter 1 of the Laws of the Chosen House; and see Sefer HaChinuch, mitzvah 492), except that there were cedar beams in the ceiling of the Ulam (the Hall), etc.
In a parenthesis the Alter Rebbe notes that the law forbids building the Beis HaMikdash with protruding wood or wooden porticoes, as the Rambam rules and as the Sefer HaChinuch discusses. The only wood in it was a set of cedar beams in the ceiling of the Ulam, the entrance hall in front of the Sanctuary.
וצ״ל זה מפני מה במשכן היו הארזים עיקר בבנין והעפר הי׳ רק בקרקע המשכן למטה.13
And this must be understood: why in the Mishkan were the cedars the main part of the structure, and the earth only in the floor of the Mishkan, below?
The maamar’s question is this: why was wood the main material of the Mishkan, while earth appeared only as the ground beneath it?
ובמקדש נהפוך הוא שהיו האבנים והעפר העיקר שאפי׳ הגג הי׳ מהן ולא היו עצים רק כלונסאות של ארז הנ״ל שהיו טפלים לעיקר הבנין.14
And in the Mikdash it was the reverse: the stones and the earth were the main part, so that even the roof was of them, and there was no wood except the cedar beams mentioned above, which were secondary to the main structure.
In the Beis HaMikdash the proportions were reversed. Stone and earth formed the whole building, even the roof, and the cedar beams were merely an accessory to the stone structure.
The paragraph poses the maamar’s question: the Mishkan was built mainly of wood, with earth only underfoot, while the Beis HaMikdash was built of stone and earth, with wood only as a secondary support.
The Kehot notes record two other transcripts of this maamar in Sefer HaMaamarim 5565, one of which begins with “The beams of our houses are cedars,” a verse that, as the Tzemach Tzedek observes, the Targum seems to apply to the Temple of Shlomo. In that transcript, the point that the Mishkan had earth only in its floor is supported by the verse “and of the earth that is on the floor of the Mishkan”; the Rebbe’s maamar “Vayigash” 5746 asks how this proves the point, since that verse belongs to the law of the sotah waters, which applied in the Beis HaMikdash as well. The notes add that the Ra’avad agrees with the Rambam’s ruling against wood in the Beis HaMikdash, as the Kesef Mishneh shows.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויגש אליו יהודה · ב׳ הנחות אחרות בסה״מ תקס״ה ע׳ קמב ואחד מתחיל ”קורות בתינו ארזים”. ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. וראה אודות מאמר זה רשימת המאמרים שבסה״מ תקס״ז הערה *14. קיצורים נדפסו באוה״ת בראשית כרך ה תתקפה, ב. כרך ו תתשח, א. חלק מהמאמר נעתק בסה״מ תרכ״ט (הוצאת תשנ״ב) ע׳ כב ואילך עם הוספות. לכללות מאמר זה ראה ד״ה ויגש תשמ״ו.
- 2
- 3קורות בתינו ארזים · Song of Songs 1:17
- 4ההפרש בין המשכן לבית עולמים · ראה אוה״ת זכור ע׳ א׳תשפא. שה״ש ע׳ קעה. סה״מ תרכ״ט ע׳ יח. מכאן ואילך בסה״מ תרמ״ד ע׳ ריב עם הגהות. בלקו״ת נשא כד, ב. בלק עד, ד מציין לכאן.
- 5עצי שטים עומדים · Exodus 26:15
- 6והבהמ״ק הי׳ מאבנים ועפר דוקא · ראה לקו״ש ח״ו ע׳ 23 הערה 67 למה הוצרך להיות (לכתחילה) מאבנים דוקא ע״ש. ראה לקו״ת ברכה צט, ד בענין משכן שילה. לקו״ש ח״ד ע׳ 1260. לקו״ש לש״פ מסעי חכ״ח. ודלא כהמשכן שרק קרקע המשכן הי׳ מעפר, דומם, אבל כותלי המשכן היו מצומח, והמכסה שעל המשכן (היריעות) הי׳ מחי — ד״ה ודוד עבדי תשל״ב (סה״מ מלוקט ח״ו ע׳ עז).
- 7עץ בולט · ראה לקו״ש לש״פ מסעי חכ״ח ע׳ 222 הערה 21 בשם ספר הר המורי׳ שמפרש דעץ בולט היינו בולט מן הכותל לאויר. וראה בסידור עם דא״ח ע׳ רא, ג. ובלקו״ת ברכה צט, ד שהאיסור הוא דוקא בבולט ולא בשוקע.
- 8שאסור לעשות בו עץ בולט ואכסדראות של עץ · Mishneh Torah, The Chosen Temple 1:9–10
- 9עץ בולט ואכסדראות של עץ · Sefer HaChinukh 492:2
- 10כמ״ש הרמב״ם · וגם הראב״ד ס״ל כן — ראה כס״מ שם (לקו״ש ח״ו שם הערה 48).
- 11כלונסאות של ארז · ראה לקו״ש שם הערה 62.
- 12כלונסאות של ארז · Mishnah Middot 3:8
- 13והעפר הי׳ רק בקרקע המשכן למטה · בסה״מ תקס״ה ע׳ קמב מביא זה ע״פ הפסוק נשא ה, טז ”וכמ״ש ומעפר אשר בקרקע המשכן”, וע״ז הקשה בד״ה ויגש תשמ״ו דלכאורה צ״ל דהרי פסוק זה הוא דין בדיני מי סוטה שנאמר לא רק במשכן אלא גם במקדש ע״ש.
- 14שהיו טפלים לעיקר הבנין · ראה מדות פ״ג מ״ח (כפי גירסת רוב המפרשים). כסף משנה להרמב״ם הל׳ ביהב״ח פ״א ה״ט. מפרשי המשנה שם בפ״א מ״ו. ועוד (לקו״ש ח״ו שם הערה 63). בסה״מ תרמ״ד ע׳ ריב נמצא כאן הוספה.
Last in deed, first in thought ¶2–3
2והענין כי הנה ידוע שיש בכל עולם ד׳ בחי׳ דצח״מ והדומם הוא למטה במדרגה מצומח והצומח למטה מן החי כו׳
The explanation is that, as is known, in every world there are four levels: inanimate, vegetative, animal and speaking (domem, tzomeach, chai, medaber). The inanimate is lower in rank than the vegetative, and the vegetative is lower than the animal, etc.
The answer starts from a well-known division of creation into four kingdoms: the inanimate (minerals and earth), the vegetative (plants), the animal, and the speaking (the human being). Each ranks above the one before it.
והעילוי שבכולם הוא בחי׳ המדבר ולכאורה תמוה דא״כ מפני מה הארץ דוקא תוציא צמחה1 שהצומח יהי׳ גדל ונולד ונמשך מעפר הארץ הלא הצומח הוא למעלה מהדומם שהוא העפר.
And the most elevated of them all is the level of the speaker. At first glance this is puzzling: if so, why is it specifically the earth that “brings forth its growth,” so that the vegetative grows, is born and is drawn forth from the dust of the earth? Is not the vegetative above the inanimate, which is the dust?
The human being, who speaks, is the highest of all. This raises a puzzle: if plants rank above earth, why do they grow out of the earth, the lower level, so that “the earth brings forth its growth”?
אך הענין דלא ראי זה כראי זה שאע״פ שהדומם למטה במדרגה מן הצומח עכ״ז יש בו מעלה יתירה מצד שרשו שלמעלה מבחי׳ צומח וחי כו׳.
But the explanation is that the quality of the one is not like the quality of the other: although the inanimate is lower in rank than the vegetative, it nevertheless has an added superiority by virtue of its root, which is above the level of the vegetative and the animal, etc.
The answer is that each level has its own advantage. The inanimate is lower in its revealed rank, yet its root stands higher than the roots of plant and animal life.
For the dispute of the Tannaim in the Gemara (Chagigah 12a) is well known: one says the heavens preceded the earth, as it is written, “In the beginning [G‑d] created,” etc.,
To explain this root, the maamar cites a dispute recorded in the Talmud, in tractate Chagigah, over whether the heavens or the earth were created first. One view relies on the Torah’s first verse, which names the heavens before the earth.
את השמים ואת הארץ6 וח״א ארץ קדמה כמ״ש ביום עשות7 כו׳ ארץ ושמים ואלו ואלו דא״ח שבמחשבה ארץ קדמה לשמים וכשברא ברא השמים תחלה.8
“the heavens and the earth.” And the other says the earth preceded, as it is written, “On the day [G‑d] made,” etc., “earth and heavens.” And both these and those are the words of the living G‑d: in thought the earth preceded the heavens, and when He created, He created the heavens first.
The other view relies on a verse that names the earth first. Using the Talmud’s phrase for two opinions that are both true, “these and those are the words of the living G‑d,” the maamar accepts both: in G‑d’s thought the earth came first, while in the act of creation the heavens came first.
The paragraph raises the puzzle that the lowly earth gives rise to the higher plant life, and begins to resolve it with the dispute over whether the heavens or the earth came first: in thought the earth, in deed the heavens.
A Kehot note records that in the transcript printed in Sefer HaMaamarim 5565, the verse “In the beginning” is not cited. Another note observes that Torah Chaim puts the point that the heavens were created first somewhat differently.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2מחלוקת התנאים · ראה בלקו״ש ח״ו ע׳ 78 ובהערה 60.
- 3בגמרא (חגיגה יב) · ע״א. ראה לקו״ת צו יג, ד. ראה כז, ב. שמע״צ עט, ד. סה״מ תקס״ח ח״ב ע׳ שכג. אוה״ת בראשית כרך ג תפז, א. סה״מ תרכ״ז (הוצאת תש״ס) ע׳ כג.
- 4חד אמר שמים קדמו · ראה גם לקמן פט, א. סה״מ תרכ״ט ע׳ כג וע׳ שצח. ובלקו״ש ח״ו ע׳ 76 ואילך.
- 5בראשית ברא · Genesis 1:1
- 6
- 7ביום עשות · Genesis 2:4
- 8וכשברא ברא השמים תחילה · בד״ה כי המצוה הזאת תרס״ו. ובתו״ח כאן באו״א קצת. — וראה בלקו״ש שם.
The explanation is that “last in deed is first in thought.” That is: because the earth is last in deed, therefore its root in thought is in the level of the beginning of thought,
“Last in deed, first in thought” is a line from the Shabbos hymn Lecha Dodi: what is completed last was intended first. The earth, the last stage of creation in deed, therefore has its root at the very beginning of G‑d’s thought.
אבל השמים שהם תחלת המעשה הם אחרוני׳ במחשבה כי זהו הכלל שהסוף מעשה עולה תחלה במחשבה3 ולכך הצומח למעלה מהדומם
whereas the heavens, which are first in deed, are last in thought. For this is the rule: what is last in deed arises first in thought. And therefore the vegetative is above the inanimate,
The heavens, which came first in deed, were last in thought. In the order of deed the higher comes first, and so the vegetative ranks above the inanimate.
וכן החי למעלה מהצומח כו׳ שזהו כפי סדר ההשתלשלות דדצח״מ בעולמות שבחי׳ הדומם ועפר הארץ הוא בחי׳ סוף מעשה וצומח וחי למעלה ממנו במדרגה
and likewise the animal is above the vegetative, etc., for this follows the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) of inanimate, vegetative, animal and speaking in the worlds, in which the level of the inanimate and the dust of the earth is the level of “last in deed,” and the vegetative and the animal are above it in rank.
The animal ranks above the vegetative as well. In the order in which the four kingdoms descend through the worlds, the inanimate dust of the earth is the final stage.
והוא ענין שמים קדמו לארץ. ומ״מ מצד שרשן במחשבה הקדומה הרי ארץ דוקא קדמה לכולם במחשבה.
And this is the meaning of “the heavens preceded the earth.” Nevertheless, from the aspect of their root in the Primordial Thought, it is specifically the earth that preceded them all in thought.
The descending order of the worlds is what “the heavens preceded the earth” means. In the Primordial Thought, however, the earth preceded all the other levels.
לכן דוקא בה יש הכח והיכולת להוציא צמחה4 מצד שרשה הנעלה ולכן הצומח והחי והמדבר כולם מקבלים ממנה כו׳:
Therefore it is specifically in it that there is the power and the ability to “bring forth its growth,” by virtue of its exalted root; and therefore the vegetative, the animal and the speaking all receive from it, etc.
Because of its exalted root, the earth alone has the power to bring forth growth, and plants, animals and human beings all draw their sustenance from it. This answers the puzzle raised in paragraph 2.
The paragraph explains the principle “last in deed, first in thought”: the earth, last in the order of creation, was first in G‑d’s thought, and this hidden root gives it the power to produce the growth that sustains all higher life.
A Kehot note quotes Likkutei Sichos: because the earth arose first in thought, it has the distinction and the power to make things grow from nothing into something, which the heavens lack. Another note cites Sefer HaMaamarim 5644, which explains that what is last in deed is first in thought because the main intent is fulfilled only at the end, as is seen in every physical act of giving.
Marei mekomos
- 1סוף מעשה במחשבה תחלה · פיוט לכה דודי.
- 2הארץ . . בבחי׳ תחלת המחשבה · בלקו״ש ח״ו שם הערה 50 ”דמצד זה שהארץ עלתה במחשבה תחלה, יש בה (עילוי וחשיבות —) הכח להצמיח מאין ליש (שאינו בשמים)”.
- 3עולה תחלה במחשבה · ובסה״מ תרמ״ד ע׳ ריב: היינו לפי שעיקר המכוון נגמר בסוף, וכמו שאנו רואים למטה בגשמי׳ בכל השפעה שעיקר המכוון נשלם בסוף, ע״ש בארוכה.
- 4לכן דוקא בה יש הכח והיכולת להוציא צמחה · ראה אגה״ק סי׳ כ (קלב, א). אוה״ת ויקרא כרך ב ע׳ תמד.
The Mishkan and the present order ¶4–6
Now, in the Mishkan the ultimate perfection was not yet present, for it was only a temporary dwelling of the Holy One, blessed be He.
The Mishkan had not yet reached the ultimate perfection: it was only a temporary dwelling for G‑d, carried from place to place through the desert.
כמ״ש ואהיה מתהלך באהל3 ובמשכן כו׳. לכך נעשה כפי אופן סדר השתלשלות העולמות איך שנבראו כסדרן שבזה שמים קדמו לארץ.
As it is written, “And I have been moving about in a tent and in a Mishkan,” etc. Therefore it was made according to the pattern of the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), the way they were created in their sequence, in which the heavens preceded the earth.
G‑d’s words to King David through the prophet Nasan, “I have been moving about in a tent and in a Mishkan,” describe that temporary dwelling. Because it was temporary, the Mishkan was built according to the present order of the worlds, in which the heavens precede the earth.
Since the Mishkan was only G‑d’s temporary dwelling, it was built according to the present order of creation, in which the higher comes first.
Marei mekomos
- 1דירת עראי · Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:16
- 2דירת עראי · Zohar, Pekudei 40:380–390
- 3ואהיה מתהלך באהל · II Samuel 7:6
5ולכן כותלי המשכן היו מקרשים שהן בחי׳ צומח. ורק קרקע המשכן הי׳ מעפר. שזהו כמו שהוא בהשתלשלות שהצומח למעלה מן הדומם
Therefore the walls of the Mishkan were of boards, which are the level of the vegetative, and only the floor of the Mishkan was of earth. For this is as it is in the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), where the vegetative is above the inanimate.
The Mishkan’s walls were boards of wood, from the vegetative kingdom, and only its floor was earth. This matches the present order, in which the vegetative ranks above the inanimate.
ולכן נעשו הקרשים מארזים שהארז גדל בגובה מאד שזהו בחי׳ העליונה שבצומח כו׳ למעלה מעלה מבחי׳ הדומם שאין בו תוספת וגידול כלל.
And therefore the boards were made of cedars, for the cedar grows very tall, which is the highest level within the vegetative, etc., far, far above the level of the inanimate, which has no addition or growth at all.
The boards were of cedar, which grows exceptionally tall and so represents the highest form of the vegetative. The inanimate, by contrast, never adds to itself or grows at all.
The Mishkan’s wooden walls rising over a floor of earth mirrored the present order, in which what grows ranks above what is inanimate.
6והמכסה על המשכן היה מיריעות ומעורות אילים ותחשים כו׳ שהוא בחינת החי שלמעלה במדרגה גם מבחי׳ הצומח.
And the covering over the Mishkan was of curtains and of rams’ and tachash skins, etc., which is the level of the animal, which is higher in rank even than the level of the vegetative.
The Mishkan’s coverings were curtains and animal skins, from the animal kingdom, which ranks higher still than the vegetative.
לפיכך היריעות שהם בחי׳ המקיפים שהיו פרושי׳ על כותלי המשכן היו מבחי׳ חי שהוא למעל׳ מבחי׳ צומח שממנו נעשו כותלי המשכן.
Therefore the curtains, which are the level of the makifim (the encompassing) and were spread over the walls of the Mishkan, were from the level of the animal, which is above the level of the vegetative, from which the walls of the Mishkan were made.
The curtains spread over the walls are called makifim, “encompassing” elements, the term Chassidus uses for what surrounds and transcends. Fittingly, they came from the animal kingdom, the level above the vegetative boards they covered.
נמצא שכ״ז נעש׳ כפי סדר מעלת ומדרגת ההשתלשלות בהשתלשלותן ובריאותן מלמעלמ״ט שהוא בחי׳ שמים קדמו כו׳. אבל במקדש היה נמצא בו תכלית השלימות כי היה דירת קבע1 של הקב״ה
It follows that all this was made according to the order of rank and level of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), as they descend and are created from above to below, which is the level of “the heavens preceded,” etc. But in the Mikdash the ultimate perfection was present, for it was a permanent dwelling of the Holy One, blessed be He.
The Mishkan was thus arranged like the worlds themselves, from the top down: animal over vegetative over inanimate, the order of “the heavens preceded.” The Beis HaMikdash, by contrast, was G‑d’s permanent dwelling and reached the ultimate perfection.
כמ״ש זאת מנוחתי עדי עד2 שהי׳ מעין עוה״ב מה שיהי׳ באלף השביעי כשיהי׳ מנוחה לחיי העולמים שאז תתעלה הארץ עליונה שהיא בחי׳ מל׳ דאצי׳ להיות למעלה מכולם.
As it is written, “This is My resting place forever,” for it was a foretaste of the World to Come, of what will be in the seventh millennium, when there will be “rest for life everlasting”; for then the supernal earth, which is the level of Malchus (sovereignty) of the World of Atzilus (Emanation), will be elevated to be above them all.
The verse “This is My resting place forever,” said of Zion, marks the Beis HaMikdash as permanent, a foretaste of the seventh millennium, the era of complete rest. Then the “supernal earth,” Malchus of Atzilus, the last of the divine attributes, will be raised above all the others.
The Mishkan’s layers of earth, wood and skins followed the present order of the worlds, while the Beis HaMikdash, G‑d’s permanent home, foreshadowed the future, when Malchus, the “earth,” will rise above all.
A Kehot note quotes Likkutei Sichos: the Mishkan was a temporary dwelling and the Beis HaMikdash a permanent one because a revelation drawn only from above does not penetrate inwardly to the same degree, and an arousal from above that is not followed at once by service from below does not endure. Another note cites Hemshech Mayim Rabbim 5636, which asks how a building of stones and lime can be called a “rest” and an inheritance for the living G‑d.
Marei mekomos
- 1במקדש — כי הי׳ דירת קבע · באוה״ת פ׳ ויגש כרך ב שנ, א. באוה״ת נ״ך כרך א ע׳ לה פי׳ קבע ע״ד אהל בל יצען הנזכר בלקו״ת סד״ה שובה ישראל עד דרוש השני. ע״ש בארוכה. ראה גם אוה״ת בלק ע׳ א׳לז. ובלקו״ש לפ׳ שמות ח״ו ע׳ 21 הערה 66 כ׳: ”וזהו גם הטעם מה שהמשכן הי׳ דירת עראי של הקב״ה וביהמ״ק דירת קבע, כי כשהגילוי נמשך רק מלמעלה, אינו חודר בפנימיות כ״כ (ולהעיר מלקו״ת ויקרא (ב, ג-ד), שאתערותא דלעילא מצד עצמה — כשאין אחרי׳ מיד עבודה מלמטלמ״ע — אין לה קיום)”. ראה ד״ה ודוד עבדי תשל״ב הנ״ל.
- 2זאת מנוחתי עדי עד · Psalms 132:14
The Beis HaMikdash and the future order ¶7–8
7וכמ״ש אשת חיל עט״ב1 שתהי׳ עטרת לע״ל לז״א דאצילות. והיינו מצד שרשה שעלתה במחשבה הקדומה תחלה ארץ קדמה לשמים.
And as it is written, “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband”: in the Time to Come she will be a crown to Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) of Atzilus. And this is by virtue of her root, which arose first in the Primordial Thought: “the earth preceded the heavens.”
In the language of Kabbalah, the “woman of valor” is Malchus, the receiving attribute, and her “husband” is Z’eir Anpin, the emotive attributes that now give to her; in the Time to Come she will be a crown above him. This reversal comes from her root, which preceded everything in the Primordial Thought.
לכן אף בבהמ״ק שהי׳ מעין עוה״ב נעשה עיקר הבית מאבנים ועפר שהם בחי׳ דומם שאף הגג והמעזיבה שהיא בחי׳ המקיף נעשה מאבנים ועפר
Therefore, even in the Beis HaMikdash, which was a foretaste of the World to Come, the main part of the House was made of stones and earth, which are the level of the inanimate, so that even the roof and the roof-plaster (ma’azivah), which is the level of the makif (the encompassing), were made of stones and earth,
Because the Beis HaMikdash foreshadowed that future, it was built mainly of stone and earth, the inanimate. Even its roof and the plaster layer on top, which surround the building from above like a makif, were of stone and earth.
ולא מארזים שהוא כפי מה שיהיה לע״ל שבחי׳ ארץ קדמה א״ח עט״ב מצד שרשה כו׳
and not of cedars. This is in keeping with what will be in the Time to Come, when the level of “the earth preceded” [will be] “a woman of valor, the crown of her husband,” by virtue of her root, etc.
The roof was not made of cedar, because the Beis HaMikdash reflected the future order, in which the “earth,” rooted first in thought, becomes the crown.
רק שכלונסאות של ארז שהיה בהתקרה הם היו בחי׳ תמכין לבד לעיקר התקרה הנעשה מבחי׳ דומם וכענין תמכין דאורייתא. (ועמ״ש במ״א ע״פ מחר חדש2 במ״ש יהונתן לדוד ואנכי אהיה לך למשנה כו׳):3
Only, the cedar beams that were in the ceiling were merely the level of supports (tamchin) for the main ceiling, which was made from the level of the inanimate, like the concept of “the supporters of the Torah” (tamchin de’Oraisa). (And see what is written elsewhere, on the verse “Tomorrow is the New Moon,” on what Yehonasan said to David, “and I will be second to you,” etc.)
The few cedar beams in the ceiling only supported the stone roof, like “the supporters of the Torah,” a term for what upholds the Torah without being the Torah itself. The parenthesis points to another discourse, on Yehonasan’s words to David, “and I will be second to you,” in which the heir of King Shaul accepts second place to David of the tribe of Yehudah.
The Beis HaMikdash, a foretaste of the future, was built of stone and earth because in the Time to Come Malchus, the “earth,” will become the crown; its cedar beams served only as supports.
The cross-reference to Yehonasan and David appears again in paragraph 13, among the discourses on the future union of Yosef and Yehudah.
Marei mekomos
- 1אשת חיל עט״ב · Proverbs 12:4
- 2מחר חדש · I Samuel 20:18
- 3
8והנה נראה בעליל ג״כ בחי׳ זו שיש בהארץ מעלה יתירה והוא בחי׳ הבטול שיש בה שהיא מדרס תחת כפות רגלי הכל1 משא״כ הצומח שגדלים בגובה והתנשאות כו׳.
Now, this quality too is plainly visible: the earth has an added superiority, namely the self-nullification (bittul) that is in it, for it is trodden beneath the soles of everyone’s feet; which is not so with the vegetative, which grows in height and elevation, etc.
The earth’s advantage can be seen with the eyes: it lies beneath everyone’s feet, a picture of complete self-nullification. Plants, by contrast, grow upward and stand tall.
ובטול זה נמשך מצד שרשה הנעלה במחשבה שהמחשבה היא בחי׳ חשב מ״ה שהוא תכלית הבטול כמ״ש מרע״ה ונחנו מ״ה.2
And this self-nullification is drawn from its exalted root in thought, for thought (machshavah) is the level of chashav mah, which is the ultimate self-nullification, as Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, said, “And what (mah) are we?”
The earth’s self-nullification comes from its root in thought. The letters of machshavah, “thought” (מחשבה), can be read as chashav mah (חשב מה), the “what?” of utter self-effacement, the same mah with which Moshe and Aharon said of themselves, “And what are we?”
ומשם נמשך ומתלבש בחי׳ הבטול בארץ ומצד זה תתעלה לע״ל להיות עט״ב לכן היה בהמ״ק מאבנים דוקא
And from there the quality of self-nullification is drawn down and enclothed in the earth, and because of this it will be elevated in the Time to Come to be “the crown of her husband.” Therefore the Beis HaMikdash was of stones specifically.
The self-nullification of thought flows down and is clothed in the earth, and because of it the earth will be raised in the future to be a crown. It is also why the Beis HaMikdash had to be built of stone.
(וכמ״ש ג״כ במ״א ע״פ מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית34 דלכך אמרו בגמרא על כורש שהחמיץ במה שחזר וצוה לערב בחי׳ צומח בבהמ״ק נדבכין די אבן גלל5 תלתא ונדבך די אע חדת כו׳ כי צ״ל כולו באבנים דוקא מטעם הנ״ל.7
(As is also written elsewhere, on the verse “A psalm, a song for the dedication of the House”: this is why they said in the Gemara about Koresh (Cyrus) that he soured, in that he went back and commanded to mix the level of the vegetative into the Beis HaMikdash, “three rows of great stones and a row of new wood,” etc. For it had to be entirely of stones specifically, for the reason stated above.
The parenthesis cites a discourse on the psalm for the dedication of the House. The Gemara says that Koresh (Cyrus), who permitted the building of the Second Temple, later “soured,” and the discourse explains the fault: he ordered a row of wood laid among the rows of stone, mixing the vegetative into a building that had to be entirely of stone.
ובתפלה הוא בחי׳ השתחואות שבשמ״ע קול דממה דקה.6 בחי׳ דומם ואותיות התפלה הם בחינת דומם)
And in prayer, this is the level of the bowings in the Shemoneh Esreh, “a still, small voice” (kol demamah dakah), the level of the inanimate (domem); and the letters of prayer are the level of the inanimate.)
The same holds in prayer: the bowing in the Shemoneh Esreh, a prayer said in “a still, small voice,” belongs to the inanimate level of self-nullification, and so do the letters of prayer. The Hebrew for “still,” demamah, shares its root with domem, “inanimate.”
משא״כ בהמשכן שנעשה כפי סדר ההשתלשלות דעכשיו שבחי׳ צומח למעלה מהדומם שמים קדמו כו׳ לכן היו הכותלי׳ מעצי שטים והעפר היה בקרקע המשכן וכנ״ל:
This is not so with the Mishkan, which was made according to the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) as it is now, in which the level of the vegetative is above the inanimate, “the heavens preceded,” etc. Therefore the walls were of acacia wood, and the earth was in the floor of the Mishkan, as stated above.
The Mishkan, by contrast, followed the present order, in which the vegetative ranks above the inanimate, so its walls were of wood and only its floor was earth.
The earth’s lowliness under every foot reveals its root in the self-nullification of divine thought; this is why the Beis HaMikdash, like the bowing of prayer, belongs to the inanimate, while the Mishkan followed the present order.
A Kehot note identifies the discourse on “A psalm, a song for the dedication of the House” as probably the maamar of that title from 5565, said before this one on Friday night of Shabbos Parshas Vayigash, “on the dedication of the House”; the maamar “The beams of our houses” is marked as said on that same dedication, in Parshas Vayechi. Another note points to the Midrash’s image of dust as something that is trodden, which the commentary Matnos Kehunah explains: everyone treads on it.
Marei mekomos
- 1שהיא מדרס תחת כפות רגלי הכל · Bereshit Rabbah 41:9
- 2ונחנו מ״ה · Exodus 16:7
- 3ע״פ מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית · כנראה הכוונה לד״ה זה משנת תקס״ה שנאמר קודם מאמר זה ורשום עליו ליל ש״ק פ׳ ויגש על חנוכת הבית — ונדפס שם ע׳ קלב ואילך. ועל ד״ה קורות בתינו רשום: ”על חנוכת הבית הנ״ל פ׳ ויחי”. וראה לקו״ת ברכה צט, ד. סידור עם דא״ח כא רע״ג.
- 4מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית · Psalms 30:1
- 5נדבכין די אבן גלל · Ezra 6:4
- 6קול דממה דקה · I Kings 19:12
- 7אמרו בגמ׳ על כורש · Rosh Hashanah 4a:4
Yosef and Yehudah ¶9–12
9והנה זהו ג״כ ענין יוסף ויהודה. שהוא ג״כ בחי׳ ומדרגת שמים וארץ ובחי׳ צומח ודומם כו׳.
Now, this is also the matter of Yosef and Yehudah, which is likewise the level and rank of the heavens and the earth, and the level of the vegetative and the inanimate, etc.
The same contrast, between the heavens and the earth, between what grows and what is inanimate, also describes Yosef and Yehudah.
כי יוסף לשון תוספת ורבוי1 שמתוסף והולך בהגדלה והגבהה למעלה והוא ענין בחי׳ צומח ובפרט בחי׳ הארז שגדל והולך למעלה מעלה ברום המעלות.
For “Yosef” is a term of addition (tosefes) and increase, of what keeps on adding, growing larger and rising higher. This is the matter of the level of the vegetative, and in particular the level of the cedar, which keeps on growing higher and higher, to the loftiest heights.
The name Yosef means “addition”: he is the one who keeps increasing and rising, like the vegetative, and above all like the cedar that keeps on growing taller.
וכמ״ש צדיק כתמר יפרח כארז בלבנון ישגה2 (והיינו בחי׳ ז״א דאצי׳ שנק׳ צומח לגבי המל׳ שנק׳ דומם כמ״ש במ״א באריכות3 שהמדות יש בהם צמיחה וגידול אבל האותיות הן בחי׳ דומם כו׳ ובמדות יש בחי׳ קטנות וגדלות.
As it is written, “The tzaddik will flourish like a palm tree; like a cedar in Lebanon he will grow tall.” (That is, the level of Z’eir Anpin of Atzilus, which is called “vegetative” in relation to Malchus, which is called “inanimate,” as is written elsewhere at length: that the emotive attributes (middos) have sprouting and growth, but the letters are the level of the inanimate, etc. And in the emotive attributes there are the levels of smallness (katnus) and greatness (gadlus).
The verse compares the tzaddik to a palm and a cedar, and Yosef is known as “the tzaddik.” The parenthesis explains that Z’eir Anpin, the divine emotions, is “vegetative” because emotions develop and grow, while Malchus, expressed in letters and speech, is “inanimate”; the emotions also have an immature and a mature stage, “smallness” and “greatness.”
וזהו בחי׳ עץ ארז ואזוב4 שהאזוב הוא בחי׳ הקטנות5 והארז בחי׳ הגדלות כו׳. וז״ש כארז בלבנון ישגה כו׳ ויוסף בפרט הוא בחי׳ יסוד שעולה עד הדעת ודעת עולה עד הכתר כו׳. וכשמבריח מעלה מעלה נק׳ ארז בלבנון כו׳)
And this is the level of “cedar wood and hyssop”: the hyssop is the level of smallness and the cedar the level of greatness, etc. And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “like a cedar in Lebanon he will grow tall,” etc. And Yosef in particular is the level of Yesod (foundation), which rises up to Daas (knowledge), and Daas rises up to Keser (the Crown), etc. And when it extends higher and higher, it is called “a cedar in Lebanon,” etc.)
Hyssop, a lowly plant, stands for the immature stage of the emotions, and cedar for their mature stage. Yosef corresponds to Yesod, the attribute that unites and transmits, which rises to Daas and through Daas to Keser; when it rises that high it is called “a cedar in Lebanon.”
ויהודה הוא בחי׳ ארץ מל׳ דאצילות שהיא בחי׳ הדומם דאצי׳. ולכן יהודה ל׳ הודאה ובטול שהדומם יש בו בחי׳ הבטול ביותר כנ״ל:
And Yehudah is the level of “earth,” Malchus of Atzilus, which is the level of the inanimate of Atzilus. Therefore “Yehudah” is a term of acknowledgment (hoda’ah) and self-nullification, for the inanimate has the quality of self-nullification most of all, as stated above.
Yehudah is Malchus of Atzilus, the “earth,” the inanimate of that world. His name comes from hoda’ah, acknowledgment and yielding, the self-nullification that the inanimate has most of all.
Yosef and Yehudah embody the two levels: Yosef, “addition,” is the growing cedar, Z’eir Anpin and Yesod; Yehudah, “acknowledgment,” is the self-nullified earth, Malchus.
A Kehot note records that in the Tzemach Tzedek’s handwritten notebook (the “Buch” of Vayeshev), the verse “The tzaddik will flourish like a palm tree” is not cited. Other notes point to Likkutei Torah, Chukas, for the longer discussion of the emotions as “vegetative” and the letters as “inanimate,” and of hyssop as the level of smallness.
Marei mekomos
- 1יוסף לשון תוספת ורבוי · עי׳ לעיל לא, א.
- 2צדיק כתמר יפרח כארז בלבנון ישגה · Psalms 92:13
- 3לגבי המל׳ שנק׳ דומם כמ״ש במ״א באריכות · ראה לקו״ת פ׳ חקת נז, ד ואילך.
- 4עץ ארז ואזוב · Numbers 19:6
- 5שהאזוב הוא בחי׳ הקטנות · מאו״א א, נד. לקו״ת חקת ס, ד.
10והנה בסדר ההשתלשלות עתה יוסף הוא למעלה מיהודה שהרי המל׳ מקבלת שפעה וחיותה מן הז״א
Now, in the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) as it is now, Yosef is above Yehudah, for Malchus receives her flow and her life-force from Z’eir Anpin.
In the present order Yosef ranks above Yehudah, since Malchus receives all its flow and life-force from Z’eir Anpin.
ולכן יוסף היה המלך במצרים שהוא בחי׳ צומח בחי׳ גידול והתנשאות והוא היה המשביר והמשפיע לכולם.
And therefore Yosef was the king in Egypt, for he is the level of the vegetative, the level of growth and elevation; and he was the provider of grain and the one who bestowed upon all.
Yosef ruled in Egypt because he is the growing, rising level, and he supplied grain and sustenance to everyone, his brothers included.
In the present order the giver ranks above the receiver, so Yosef, who is Z’eir Anpin, ruled and sustained everyone.
11ויהודה הוא המקבל. וז״ש ויגש אליו יהודה ויאמר בי אדני.1 פי׳ שבו יומשך השפע מיוסף הצדיק2 וכמבואר בזוהר דויגש3 היינו תקרובתא עלמא בעלמא.4
And Yehudah is the recipient. And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “And Yehudah approached him and said, ‘In me (bi), my lord.’” This means that in him the flow from Yosef the tzaddik will be drawn down. And as is explained in the Zohar, “vayigash” (he approached) means “the drawing near of world to world.”
Yehudah, as Malchus, is the one who receives. The words bi adoni, usually understood as “please, my lord,” are read literally, “in me, my lord”: in Yehudah the flow from Yosef will be drawn down. The Zohar explains “he approached” as the drawing near of one world to another.
דהיינו עלמא תתאה בחי׳ מל׳ מתייחדת ונגשת לגבי עלמא עלאה בחי׳ ז״א לקבל השפע כו׳.
That is, the lower world, the level of Malchus, unites with and approaches the upper world, the level of Z’eir Anpin, to receive the flow, etc.
The “lower world,” Malchus, unites with and draws near to the “upper world,” Z’eir Anpin, in order to receive its flow.
וזהו ע״ד שהיה במשכן הצומח למעלה מהדומם כנ״ל. אבל לע״ל יתעלה יהודה להיות למעלה מבחי׳ יוסף כמ״ש א״ח עט״ב מצד שרשו שעלה במחשבה תחלה כנ״ל.
And this is like what was in the Mishkan, where the vegetative was above the inanimate, as stated above. But in the Time to Come Yehudah will be elevated to be above the level of Yosef, as it is written, “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband,” by virtue of his root, which arose first in thought, as stated above.
The order of the Mishkan, with the giver above the receiver, is the present order. In the Time to Come it will be reversed and Yehudah will rise above Yosef, as the “woman of valor” becomes her husband’s crown, because his root arose first in thought.
כי הנה מחשבה הוא חשב מ״ה דהיינו תכלית הבטול שהוא בחי׳ חכ׳ דאצי׳ כח מ״ה.5
For thought (machshavah) is chashav mah, that is, the ultimate self-nullification, which is the level of Chochmah (wisdom) of Atzilus, koach mah (the power of “what”).
Thought is chashav mah, complete self-nullification, which is Chochmah of Atzilus. The word Chochmah (חכמה) is read as koach mah (כח מה), “the power of ‘what’”: wisdom begins in a mind that regards itself as nothing.
Yehudah approaching Yosef is Malchus drawing near to Z’eir Anpin to receive, the present order; in the future the receiver will rise above the giver, because its root is in the self-nullification of Chochmah.
A Kehot note cites the Rebbe’s maamar “VeDavid Avdi” 5732, which asks why the text says the flow will be drawn “in him”: since Yehudah was the one making the request of Yosef, one would expect him to ask that Yosef draw the flow down to him.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויגש אליו יהודה ויאמר בי אדני · Genesis 44:18
- 2ויאמר בי אדוני פי׳ שבו יומשך השפע מיוסף הצדיק · בד״ה ודוד עבדי תשל״ב מדייק בתי׳ שבו דלכאורה כיון שיהודה ביקש זה מיוסף הרי היה צריך לבקשו שהוא (יוסף) ימשיך השפע אליו, ע״ש באריכות. וראה שם הערה 29 והערה 33.
- 3וכמבואר בזהר דויגש · רו, א.
- 4ויגש היינו תקרובתא עלמא בעלמא · Zohar, Vayigash 2:15–3:26
- 5
12והנה אבא יסד ברתא1 כי ח״ע נק׳ ירא׳ עלאה. וח״ת שהיא המל׳ היא יראה תתא׳ וזהו אבא יסד ברתא שמבחי׳ יראה עלא׳ דחכ׳ נמשכ׳ המל׳ יראה תתאה.
Now, “Abba (the Father) founded the Daughter.” For the higher Chochmah is called “higher awe” (yirah ila’ah), and the lower Chochmah, which is Malchus, is “lower awe” (yirah tata’ah). And this is “Abba founded the Daughter”: from the level of the higher awe of Chochmah, Malchus, the lower awe, is drawn forth.
“Abba founded the Daughter” is a saying of the Zohar: Abba, the Father, is Chochmah, and the Daughter is Malchus. Since Chochmah is called “higher awe” and Malchus “lower awe,” the saying means that Malchus is drawn from Chochmah and founded upon it.
ולע״ל תתעלה בחי׳ יראה תתאה ביראה עלאה מקורה ע״כ תהי׳ אז עט״ב כי הבטול הוא למעלה במדרגה מאהוי״ר דמדות הנמשכי׳ מבחי׳ חו״ג דז״א.
And in the Time to Come the level of lower awe will be elevated into the higher awe, its source; therefore she will then be “the crown of her husband.” For self-nullification is higher in rank than the love and awe of the emotive attributes, which are drawn from the level of Chesed (kindness) and Gevurah (restraint) of Z’eir Anpin.
In the future, Malchus will rise into its source, the higher awe, and so become the crown. Self-nullification ranks above love and awe, which are emotions drawn from Chesed and Gevurah, the kindness and restraint of Z’eir Anpin.
ולכך גם עכשיו יש בהארץ בחי׳ הבטול יותר וכנ״ל. ובחי׳ בטול דיראה עלאה היא בחינת ומדרגת משרע״ה ונחנו מה2 כו׳
And therefore even now the earth has more of the quality of self-nullification, as stated above. And the level of the self-nullification of higher awe is the level and rank of Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him: “And what are we?” etc.
The earth, rooted in Chochmah, has more self-nullification even now. The self-nullification of higher awe is the level of Moshe Rabbeinu, who said, “And what are we?”
(וע׳ לקמן ע״פ יהודה אתה34 ומ״ש ע״פ מאמר הזהר פ׳ אמור5 ע״פ וגם אמנה אחותי בת אבי6 כו׳ מענין בחכמה יסד ארץ כונן שמים בתבונה.7 ועמש״ל פ׳ בראשית ד״ה להבין הטעם שנשתנה יצירת):8
(And see below, on the verse “Yehudah, you…,” and what is written on the statement of the Zohar in Parshas Emor, on the verse “And indeed she is my sister, the daughter of my father,” etc., on the matter of “With Chochmah He founded the earth; He established the heavens with understanding (tevunah).” And see what is written above in Parshas Bereishis, in the discourse beginning “To understand the reason why the formation of … was different.”)
The parenthesis points to three related discourses: one later in Torah Ohr, on “Yehudah, you”; one on a passage of the Zohar in Parshas Emor about Avraham’s words concerning Sarah, “she is my sister, the daughter of my father,” and the verse “With Chochmah He founded the earth”; and one in Parshas Bereishis on why the human body was formed differently from other creatures.
Malchus is founded on Chochmah, “higher awe”; in the future it will rise to its source and crown Z’eir Anpin, because the self-nullification it receives from Chochmah ranks above the emotions of love and awe.
The verse “With Chochmah He founded the earth,” cited in the parenthesis, says the same as “Abba founded the Daughter”: the “earth,” Malchus, is founded by Chochmah. A Kehot note identifies the discourse on the Zohar in Parshas Emor as the one printed in the Mitteler Rebbe’s Biurei HaZohar.
Marei mekomos
- 1אבא יסד ברתא · Zohar III, 248a
- 2ונחנו מה · Exodus 16:7
- 3לקמן ע״פ יהודה אתה · מה, ב.
- 4יהודה אתה · Genesis 49:8
- 5ע״פ מאמר הזהר פ׳ אמור · ביאורי הזהר לאדה״א ע, ב.
- 6וגם אמנה אחותי בת אבי · Genesis 20:12
- 7בחכמה יסד ארץ כונן שמים בתבונה · Proverbs 3:19
- 8ועמש״ל . . להבין הטעם שנשתנה יצירת · לעיל ג, ד ואילך.
The two sticks, Yeravam and the spies ¶13–15
13וזהו מ״ש בהפטרה1 דפ׳ ויגש קח לך עץ אחד וכתוב עליו ליהודה כו׳ ולקח עץ אחד וכתוב עליו ליוסף עץ אפרים כו׳ וקרב אותם אחד אל אחד2 כו׳
And this is [the meaning of] what is written in the Haftorah of Parshas Vayigash: “Take for yourself one stick (etz) and write upon it, ‘For Yehudah,’” etc., “and take one stick and write upon it, ‘For Yosef, the stick of Ephraim,’” etc., “and bring them near, one to the other,” etc.
The Haftorah of Parshas Vayigash, from Ezekiel, describes two sticks, one inscribed for Yehudah and the other for Yosef, “the stick of Ephraim,” which the prophet is told to bring together.
“Behold, I am taking the stick of Yosef,” etc., “and I will place them upon it, with the stick of Yehudah,” etc., up to “And My servant David will be king over them.”
G‑d declares that He will take the stick of Yosef and place it with the stick of Yehudah, and the prophecy goes on to the reign of “My servant David,” a king of the tribe of Yehudah, over the reunited people.
פי׳ כי עתה יוסף הוא למעלה מיהודה שהוא נמשל לארז אשר גדל בגובה ומתוסף והולך.
The explanation: now, Yosef is above Yehudah, for he is likened to the cedar, which grows tall and keeps on increasing.
At present Yosef is above Yehudah, like the cedar that keeps on growing taller.
כך יוסף אליו שייכים עשרת השבטים. כמ״ש שם ושבטי ישראל חביריו נמצא הוא מרובה בשבטים יותר מיהודה.
So too Yosef: to him belong the ten tribes, as it is written there, “and the tribes of Israel, his companions.” It follows that he is more abundant in tribes than Yehudah.
Yosef’s greatness shows in numbers: the verse calls the tribes of Israel “his companions,” so the ten tribes belong to him and he has more tribes than Yehudah.
שע״ש זה נק׳ יוסף כי הוא הדעת עליון כו׳. אך לעתיד לבא כשיתחברו שניהם יוסף ויהודה ביחד בתכלית היחוד האמיתי
For it is on account of this that he is called Yosef, for he is the supernal Daas, etc. But in the Time to Come, when the two of them, Yosef and Yehudah, will be joined together in the ultimate true unity,
Yosef’s name, “addition,” reflects his increase, for he is the supernal Daas. In the Time to Come, however, Yosef and Yehudah will be joined in complete and true unity.
דהיינו מ״ש ויגש אליו יהודה וכמ״ש (איוב מ״א)6 אחד באחד יגשו7 וזה יהיה לע״ל אז יתעלה יהודה למעלה מיוסף כנ״ל ע״פ א״ח עט״ב.
which is [the meaning of] what is written, “And Yehudah approached him,” and as it is written (Job 41), “One with another they approach” — and this will be in the Time to Come — then Yehudah will be elevated above Yosef, as stated above on “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband.”
The future union of Yosef and Yehudah is the inner meaning of “And Yehudah approached him” and of the verse in Job, “One with another they approach.” In it Yehudah will rise above Yosef, as the “woman of valor” becomes her husband’s crown.
ולכן אז ועבדי דוד מלך על כל ישראל. וז״ש ולא יכול יוסף להתאפק8 כו׳ בהתודע יוסף אל אחיו דהיינו שנתחברו יוסף ויהודה בתכלית החבור והיחוד למיהוי אחד באחד כו׳.
And therefore then “My servant David [will be] king over all Israel.” And this is [the meaning of] what is written, “And Yosef could not restrain himself,” etc., “when Yosef made himself known to his brothers”: that is, Yosef and Yehudah were joined in the ultimate bond and unity, to be one with one, etc.
The prophecy therefore ends with David, of the tribe of Yehudah, as king over all Israel. When Yosef could no longer restrain himself and revealed himself to his brothers, Yosef and Yehudah were joined in complete unity.
(וע׳ ע״פ והיה מספר בנ״י910 כו׳ בענין ונקבצו בני יהודה ובני ישראל יחדו ושמו להם ראש אחד11 כו׳. וע׳ בדרוש ברכת הזמון12 בענין שדהע״ה יברך על כוס יין המשומר שלע״ל כו׳ וע׳ ע״פ מחר חדש בענין יהונתן ודוד:)13
(And see on the verse “And the number of the Children of Israel shall be,” etc., on the matter of “And the children of Yehudah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and they shall appoint for themselves one head,” etc. And see the discourse on Birkas HaZimun, on the matter that King David, peace be upon him, will recite the blessing over the cup of the preserved wine in the Time to Come, etc. And see on the verse “Tomorrow is the New Moon,” on the matter of Yehonasan and David.)
The parenthesis points to three related discourses: on the prophecy that the children of Yehudah and the children of Israel will gather together under one head; on the teaching that in the Time to Come King David will recite the blessing over the cup of the preserved wine; and on Yehonasan and David.
ובכל הנ״ל יובן ויבואר מ״ש בלקוטי הש״ס מהאר״י ז״ל בביאור מארז״ל בחלק (דק״ב סע״א) שתפשו הקב״ה לירבעם בן נבט14 ואמר לו חזור בך15 כו׳ א״ל מי בראש א״ל בן ישי בראש א״ל אי הכי לא בעינא.
And through all the above will be understood and explained what is written in Likkutei HaShas of the Arizal, of blessed memory, in explanation of the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, in [the chapter] Chelek (folio 102, end of side a): that the Holy One, blessed be He, seized Yeravam ben Nevat and said to him, “Repent,” etc. He said to Him, “Who will be at the head?” He said to him, “The son of Yishai will be at the head.” He said to Him, “If so, I do not want [it].”
The Arizal’s Likkutei HaShas explains a passage of the Talmud: G‑d took hold of Yeravam ben Nevat, the first king of the tribes that broke away from the house of David, and urged him to repent. When Yeravam heard that David, the son of Yishai, would be at the head, he refused.
שהוא ממש הענין הנ״ל שהקב״ה רצה שירבעם יחזור בתשובה ואז יאיר בו מבחי׳ ומדרגת יוסף בחי׳ עץ אפרים כו׳.16
This is exactly the matter stated above: the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted Yeravam to do teshuvah (return), and then there would shine in him from the level and rank of Yosef, the level of “the stick of Ephraim,” etc.
Yeravam’s story fits the maamar’s theme: had he repented, the level of Yosef, “the stick of Ephraim,” would have shone in him, for Yeravam came from the tribe of Ephraim.
Ezekiel’s prophecy of the two sticks shows the present order, Yosef above Yehudah, giving way in the future to their complete union under the kingship of David; Yeravam’s refusal to accept David at the head illustrates the same theme.
A Kehot note cites Sefer HaSichos 5752, which explains the link between “My servant David” and “And Yehudah approached him” and refers to the Zohar on this verse. Another note points to the Rebbe’s maamar “VeDavid Avdi” 5732, whose whole subject is the joining of Yehudah and Yosef.
Marei mekomos
- 1וזהו מ״ש בהפטרה · ראה ד״ה ויגש תשמ״ו. לקו״ש חט״ו ע׳ 413.
- 2וקרב אותם אחד אל אחד · Ezekiel 37:17
- 3הנה אני לוקח את עץ יוסף · Ezekiel 37:19
- 4בהפטרה דפ׳ ויגש . . ועבדי דוד מלך עליהם · Ezekiel 37:16
- 5ועבדי דוד מלך עליהם · Ezekiel 37:24
- 6איוב מ״א · פסוק ח.
- 7
- 8ולא יכול יוסף להתאפק · Genesis 45:1
- 9ע״פ והי׳ מספר בנ״י · לקו״ת במדבר ו, ג.
- 10והיה מספר בנ״י · Hosea 2:1
- 11ונקבצו בני יהודה ובני ישראל יחדו ושמו להם ראש אחד · Hosea 2:2
- 12בדרוש ברכת הזימון · סידור שער ברהמ״ז קב ב. ובאוה״ת פ׳ עקב הגהות ע״ז.
- 13ע״פ מחר חדש בענין יהונתן ודוד · לק״ת ברכה צז, א. וראה אוה״ת בראשית ו, ב. ואילך.
- 14שתפשו הקב״ה לירבעם בן נבט · ראה אוה״ת פ׳ שלח ע׳ תנ.
- 15שתפשו הקב״ה לירבעם בן נבט ואמר לו חזור בך · Sanhedrin 102a:17
- 16כי — יוסף נמשל לארז · ראה משיחת ש״פ בשלח סה״ש תשמ״ט הערה 27.
And this is [the meaning of] “I and you and the son of Yishai will stroll in Gan Eden”: that the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, will shine in them with a great illumination. And this is “I” (Ani), etc.
In the Talmud’s account G‑d tells Yeravam, “I and you and the son of Yishai will stroll in Gan Eden.” The maamar explains that the Infinite One would shine in all three with a great light; its closing words, “And this is ‘I,’ etc.,” point to a further meaning in G‑d’s “I” that is not spelled out here.
א״ל מי בראש כי הוא רצה כמו שהיה עכשיו שבחינת ומדרגת יוסף הוא למעלה מבחי׳ יהודה לכך רצה הוא להיות בראש לגבי דוד
He said to Him, “Who will be at the head?” For he wanted [it to be] as it is now, when the level and rank of Yosef is above the level of Yehudah; therefore he wanted to be at the head in relation to David.
Yeravam asked who would lead because he wanted the present order to remain, in which Yosef, the root of his own tribe, stands above Yehudah; so he wanted to be at the head, above David.
אבל הקב״ה אמר לו שלע״ל יתעלה יהודה לכן בן ישי בראש כו׳ א״ל אי הכי לא בעינא שלא היה בו בחי׳ בטול ושפלות זה.
But the Holy One, blessed be He, told him that in the Time to Come Yehudah will be elevated; therefore “the son of Yishai will be at the head,” etc. He said to Him, “If so, I do not want [it],” for he did not have this quality of self-nullification and lowliness.
G‑d answered that in the Time to Come Yehudah will rise, so David, the son of Yishai, will lead. Yeravam refused, because he lacked the self-nullification and lowliness that would let him accept Yehudah’s rise.
Yeravam wanted the present order, Yosef above Yehudah, to remain; G‑d’s answer that David would lead reflects the future order, and Yeravam’s refusal came from a lack of humility.
Marei mekomos
- 1אני ואתה ובן ישי נטייל בג״ע · Sanhedrin 102a:17
15וזשארז״ל גסות הרוח שבירבעם טרדתו1 כו׳. ומעין זה נתבאר ג״כ במ״א בענין המרגלים2 שלא היה בהם ג״כ שפלות זו לגבי
And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “The arrogance that was in Yeravam drove him away,” etc. And something similar is also explained elsewhere concerning the spies, that they too did not have this lowliness in relation to
The Sages say that Yeravam’s arrogance drove him from the world. Elsewhere the same is explained of the spies whom Moshe sent to scout the Land: they too lacked lowliness toward the “supernal earth.”
בחי׳ ארץ העליונה שדימו בעצמם שא״צ לזה להיותן מעלמא דדכורא כולם אנשים3 כו׳. אבל יוסף הצדיק ויהודה יתחברו לע״ל בתכלית היחוד למיהוי אחד באחד כנ״ל:
the level of the supernal earth, for they imagined that they had no need for this, since they were from the masculine world (alma dedechura), “all of them men,” etc. But Yosef the tzaddik and Yehudah will be joined in the Time to Come in the ultimate unity, to be one with one, as stated above.
The spies felt no need for the Land, the “earth” that is Malchus, because they were rooted in the “masculine world,” the giving side; the Torah calls them “all of them men.” Yosef the tzaddik and Yehudah, by contrast, will be fully united in the Time to Come.
Like Yeravam, the spies lacked humility toward the “earth,” Malchus; but Yosef and Yehudah will be fully united in the future.
In Kabbalah “masculine” stands for the giver and “feminine” for the receiver. The spies, rooted in the giving side, saw no value in the receiving “earth,” the very level the maamar shows will rise highest.
Marei mekomos
- 1גסות הרוח שבירבעם טרדתו · Sanhedrin 101b:13
- 2במ״א בענין המרגלים · ראה אוה״ת שלח ע׳ תנ ואילך.
- 3כולם אנשים · Numbers 13:3
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
The maamar draws its lesson from the earth, trodden under everyone’s feet yet first in G‑d’s thought: the deepest level is self-nullification and lowliness. In prayer this is the bowing of the Shemoneh Esreh and its “still, small voice,” the inanimate level, and the letters of prayer themselves. Yeravam’s arrogance, which kept him from accepting David at the head, and the spies’ sense that they had no need for the “earth,” show what is lost without this humility.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the earth, the lowest of the four kingdoms, have the power to bring forth growth, and what does “last in deed, first in thought” mean?
- How did the materials of the Mishkan and of the Beis HaMikdash reflect two different orders of creation?
- What does the earth’s being trodden under everyone’s feet have to do with Moshe’s words “And what are we?”
- Why will Yehudah, the receiver, rise above Yosef, the giver, in the Time to Come?
- What did Yeravam and the spies lack, and how does the maamar connect it to the “earth”?
Key terms in this maamar
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×6
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- ×5
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds.
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×2
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration. ×5
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d.
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×3
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×1
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×3
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×1
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation.
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×1
- Love and aweאהבה ויראה
- The two 'wings' of divine service.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving.
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment.
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×1
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.