Torah Ohr · Parshas Vayishlach · Maamar 4
ויקם בלילה הוא ויקח את שתי נשיו כו׳…
And He Rose Up That Night
Kept on this device only. Sign in to save it on every device
The big idea
Yaakov, the level of Tiferes that joins opposites, sought to unite the encompassing light of Tohu with the inner light of Tikkun. In divine service this means a ratzo of fiery love that is always matched by an equal shov into Torah and mitzvos, like water mixed into wine.
The maamar in brief
The maamar reads Yaakov’s crossing of the Yabbok, whose letters stand for the union of blessing and holiness, as crossing the “river” of Binah, through which every flow descends. The Patriarchs’ root lies beyond that river, in Keser. Seeking the encompassing light of Tohu that precedes Atzilus, Yaakov crossed over and raised there all he had rectified, yet stayed behind alone to refine Eisav, still in the shattering. Why? Yaakov is Tiferes, the middle line that joins Chesed and Gevurah, so he sought to join two further opposites: the encompassing light of Tohu and the inner light of Tikkun. In divine service these are ratzo, a love so fierce it longs to leave the body, and shov, the settled arousal that draws G‑dliness into Torah and mitzvos. Tohu was ratzo alone, so its lights left their vessels. Ben Azzai, rooted in Tohu, gazed and died; Rabbi Akiva, whose ratzo and shov were blended, entered and left the Pardes in peace and became the source of the Oral Torah. Yaakov’s aim is ratzo always matched by shov, like the water he mixed into the wine; this makes him the perfection of the Patriarchs.
Outline
- Crossing the YabbokThe Yabbok is the union of blessing and holiness, the river of Binah. The Patriarchs’ root lies beyond it, in Keser; Yaakov crossed it toward the encompassing light of Tohu, raised there all he had rectified, and stayed behind to refine Eisav, still in the shattering.¶1–2
- Joining two oppositesYaakov is Tiferes, the middle line that joins Chesed and Gevurah and reveals the Infinite Light; so he sought to join the encompassing light of Tohu with the inner light of Tikkun.¶3
- Ratzo and shovOne love burns like fiery flashes and longs to leave the body; another settles in the heart and draws G‑dliness down into Torah and mitzvos. Tohu was ratzo, so its lights left their vessels; Tikkun is shov: “against your will you live.”¶4–5
- The four who entered the PardesBen Azzai, rooted in Tohu, would not return to shov, and he gazed and died. Rabbi Akiva’s ratzo and shov were blended in the middle line, so he entered and left in peace and became the source of the Oral Torah, which also unites the opposites.¶6–7
- Water in the wineYaakov’s aim is that ratzo always be matched by shov, as when he poured water into the wine; this makes him the perfection of the Patriarchs, unlike Avraham’s unblended Chesed and Yitzchak’s Gevurah.¶8–9
Key concepts
- Yabbokיב״ק
- Read as the initials of yichud berachah u-kedushah, the union of blessing and holiness: the river of Binah, through which every flow and union of the supernal lights is drawn down.
- Tohu and Tikkunתהו ותקון
- Tohu, which precedes Atzilus, is encompassing light that its vessels could not hold; Tikkun is the ordered world in which light settles within vessels.
- Ratzo and shovרצוא ושוב
- Running and returning: the soul’s longing to leave the body and cleave to G‑d, and its return to draw G‑dliness down through Torah and mitzvos.
- Love like fiery flashesהאהבה ברשפי אש
- Ahavah rabbah, a love too intense for the heart to contain, which strains to leave the body as a flame strains to leave the wick.
- The middle lineקו האמצעי
- Tiferes, which joins right and left, Chesed and Gevurah; the quality of Yaakov, and of Rabbi Akiva, whose ratzo and shov were in the right blend.
- Mayin nukvin and mayin duchrinמ״ן ומ״ד
- The “feminine waters” that rise from below and the “masculine waters” drawn down from above; in Rabbi Akiva they were his entering in ratzo and his leaving in shov.
For children · ages 9–13
Running and returning
The big idea
Our love for G‑d may run upward like fire, but it should always return to bring G‑dliness into the world through Torah and mitzvos.
The maamar begins with Yaakov rising at night and crossing the river Yabbok. Chassidus teaches that Yaakov is the level of Tiferes, which means beauty. A picture is beautiful when several colors are blended, and in the same way Tiferes joins two opposites, kindness and strictness. So Yaakov wanted to join two more opposites in serving G‑d. The first is ratzo, “running”: a love of G‑d like flashes of fire, so strong that the soul longs to leave the body and cling to Him. The second is shov, “returning”: a calmer feeling that settles in the heart and brings G‑dliness down into this world through Torah and mitzvos. The world of Tohu, which means chaos, was all running, so its lights burst out of their vessels. The world of Tikkun, which means repair, is returning: the soul stays in the body to do mitzvos. Four great Sages entered the Pardes, the Torah’s deepest secrets, and only Rabbi Akiva entered in peace and left in peace, because his running was matched by an equal returning. That is why the Oral Torah came through him. Yaakov is called the perfection of the Patriarchs because he always blended the two.
The mashal
The verse says of Yaakov, “And he brought him wine,” and the Zohar explains that he poured water into the wine. Wine is fiery and rises upward, like the running love of ratzo; water is the calm returning of shov. Yaakov mixed them so that neither would stand alone, and so every running should be matched by a returning.
Questions for the Shabbos table
- What is the difference between ratzo, running, and shov, returning, and why do we need both?
- Why did Yaakov pour water into the wine, and what does each one stand for?
- After a moment when you feel close to G‑d, like a heartfelt prayer, how can you bring that feeling into a mitzvah this week?
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.
Crossing the Yabbok ¶1–2
“And he rose up that night, and he took his two wives,” etc., “and he crossed the ford of the Yabbok; and he took them and brought them across the stream,” etc.
The maamar opens with the verses describing Yaakov’s night crossing of the Yabbok stream with his family, on the eve of his meeting with Eisav. The Alter Rebbe will read each step of the crossing as a stage in Yaakov’s spiritual ascent.
פי׳ יב״ק [יחוד ברכה וקדושה] הוא יחוד ברכה וקדושה.4 והענין דהנה כתיב בעבר הנהר ישבו אבותיכם5 מעולם6 ופי׳ הנהר הוא בחי׳ בינה7 כמ״ש ונהר יצא מעדן8 כו׳
The meaning [of the name] Yabbok (יב״ק) is [the initials of] yichud berachah u-kedushah, the union of blessing and holiness. The matter is as follows. It is written, “Your fathers dwelt of old beyond the river”; and the meaning of “the river” is the level of Binah (understanding), as it is written, “And a river went out of Eden,” etc.
The letters of Yabbok are read as the initials of three words, “union, blessing, holiness.” Joshua’s words that the forefathers dwelt “beyond the river” are then brought in, and the river is identified with Binah, the Sefirah from which all flow issues, like the river that goes out of Eden.
ושרש האבות הוא מעבר הנהר היינו מבחי׳ הכתר שהוא למעלה מהנהר הנ״ל רק שמשם נמשכו האבות ונשפלו למטה בעבר השני של הנהר בז״א דאצילות9
The root of the Patriarchs is from beyond the river, that is, from the level of Keser (the Crown), which is above the river mentioned above; only that from there the Patriarchs were drawn down and brought low, below, to the other side of the river, into Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) of Atzilus.
The Patriarchs are rooted “beyond the river,” in Keser, the level above Binah and above intellect altogether. From there they descended to the near side of the river, to Z’eir Anpin, the emotive attributes of Atzilus, which is where the Patriarchs are usually placed.
(וע׳ בזהר פ׳ אמור10 מ״ש ע״פ זה)11 ויעקב שרצה שימשיך לו המקיף דתהו הנ״ל שלפני אצילות הוצרך מתחלה לעבור את הנהר הנ״ל וזהו ויעבר את מעבר יבק
(And see in the Zohar, Parshas Emor, what is said on this [verse].) And Yaakov, who wished to draw down to himself the encompassing [light] (makif) of Tohu mentioned above, which is before Atzilus, needed first to cross the river mentioned above. And this is “and he crossed the ford of the Yabbok,”
Yaakov wanted to draw down the encompassing light of Tohu, the world that preceded Atzilus and whose lights were too great for any vessel. To reach it he first had to pass beyond Binah, the river, and this is the inner meaning of his crossing the ford of the Yabbok.
כי בחינת יחוד ברכה וקדושה הוא הכל בחי׳ נהר הנ״ל שעל ידו נמשכו כל השפעות ויחוד אורות עליונים כמ״ש ונהר יצא מעדן להשקות את הגן כו׳.
for the level of the union of blessing and holiness is entirely the level of the river mentioned above, through which all the flows of influence and the union of the supernal lights are drawn down, as it is written, “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden,” etc.
The union of blessing and holiness that the name Yabbok spells is itself the function of the river, Binah: through it all divine influence is channeled and the higher lights are joined. Crossing the Yabbok therefore means rising past the whole system of channeled flow.
The paragraph interprets Yaakov’s crossing of the Yabbok as an ascent beyond Binah, the “river,” toward the Patriarchs’ root in Keser, so that he can reach the encompassing light of Tohu that precedes Atzilus.
The Zohar in Parshas Emor reads “beyond the river” as the Patriarchs being drawn out of the supernal river. The Kehot note cites the Tzemach Tzedek’s Derech Mitzvosecha, which identifies “beyond the river” with the encompassing lights above Chochmah and Binah of Atzilus, above the whole chain of descent.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויקם בלילה · הנחה אחרת בסה״מ תקס״ה ע׳ צ. צד.
- 2ויקם בלילה הוא · Genesis 32:23
- 3ויקחם ויעברם את הנחל · Genesis 32:24
- 4יחוד ברכה וקדושה · ראה לקו״ת ברכה צג, ד.
- 5בעבר הנהר ישבו אבותיכם · Joshua 2:24
- 6בעבר הנהר ישבו אבותיכם מעולם · Joshua 24:2
- 7ופי׳ הנהר הוא בחי׳ בינה · פ׳ אמור צח, ב. ראה לקמן עה, ד.
- 8ונהר יצא מעדן · Genesis 2:10
- 9ושרש האבות הוא מעבר הנהר . . ונשפלו . . בז״א דאצילות · וכ״כ בדרך מצותיך פב, ב ”אבל עבר הנהר היינו מה שלמעלה מחו״ב דאצילות והוא בחי׳ המקיפים שלמעלה מהשתלשלות” ע״ש. ראה סה״מ תרל״ט ח״א בהנחת כ״ק מהורש״ב ע׳ קעז.
- 10וע׳ בזהר פ׳ אמור · צח, ב: ”בעבר הנהר ישבו ואפיק לון מגו נהרא עילאה כל הנהר ההוא דאשתמודע”. ע״כ. מובא גם לקמן עה, ד ובמ״מ. וראה הלשון באוה״ת נ״ך כרך א ע׳ ה ע״פ זה וז״ל: ”וא״כ מפרשו על ונהר יוצא מעדן בינה דאצי׳”. בענין עבר הנהר ברוב הדרושים מציין הצ״צ ללקו״ת פ׳ בחוקותי דרוש הראשון מה, א.
- 11וע׳ בזהר פ׳ אמור מ״ש ע״פ זה · Zohar, Emor 35:171–38:188
2וכשעבר את הנהר והגיע לבחי׳ שלמעלה מהנהר הנ״ל אז לא רחוק הוא מן המקיף דתהו הנ״ל שלפני האצילות וזהו ויעבר את אשר לו1 כל מה שתיקן העלה הכל לשם.
And when he had crossed the river and reached the level that is above the river mentioned above, he was then not far from the encompassing [light] of Tohu mentioned above, which is before Atzilus. And this is “and he brought across what was his”: everything that he had rectified, he raised it all up there.
Having passed beyond Binah, Yaakov stood close to the encompassing light of Tohu. “He brought across what was his” means he raised up to that level everything he had already rectified.
אך הוא בעצמו נשאר למטה עדיין כמ״ש ויותר יעקב לבדו23 כי רצה לברר את עשו שהוא עדיין בשבירה כמו שהודיעוהו המלאכים כו׳ והוא ענין ויאבק איש עמו כנודע:
But he himself still remained below, as it is written, “And Yaakov was left alone,” for he wished to refine Eisav, who was still in the state of the shattering, as the angels had informed him, etc. And this is the matter of “and a man wrestled with him,” as is known.
Yaakov himself stayed behind, “alone,” because Eisav was still in the shattered state of Tohu, as the messengers had reported that Eisav was coming with four hundred men. His remaining below to refine Eisav is the inner meaning of the night-long wrestling with the “man,” understood as Eisav’s angel.
The paragraph shows that Yaakov raised all he had rectified toward the encompassing light of Tohu, but stayed below himself in order to refine Eisav, who was still broken; this is the struggle with the angel.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויעבר את אשר לו · Genesis 32:24
- 2ויותר יעקב לבדו · Genesis 32:25
- 3
Joining two opposites ¶3
3ולהבין כללות ענין כוונת יעקב בהמשכת המקיף דתהו לעולם התקון וגם יובן זה בעבודת ה׳
To understand the general matter of Yaakov’s intention in drawing the encompassing [light] of Tohu into the World of Tikkun (rectification), and so that this will also be understood in the service of G‑d:
The Alter Rebbe now asks why Yaakov wanted to bring the encompassing light of Tohu into the ordered World of Tikkun, and promises to explain it in terms of a person’s own service of G‑d.
הנה ידוע דיעקב הוא בחי׳1 ת״ת [תפארת] שמחבר ב׳ הפכים שהן חו״ג [חסד וגבורה] כי ע״י התכללות ב׳ הפכים יחד הוא עיקר הת״ת [התפארת]
Yaakov embodies Tiferes, which harmonizes Chesed (giving) and Gevurah (restraint). Its beauty lies precisely in holding these two opposites together.
(כמו בגוונים כשמורכבים ב׳ וג׳ גוונים יחד הוא עיקר היופי) והמשכת והתגלות אוא״ס [אור אין סוף] בקו האמצעי כו׳
(as with colors: when two or three colors are combined together, that is the essence of beauty), and [it is] the drawing down and revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) in the middle line, etc.
Beauty in colors, too, comes from combining several shades rather than one alone. Tiferes is also the “middle line” of the Sefiros, the central column through which the Infinite Light is drawn down and revealed.
לכך רצה ג״כ לחבר ולייחד ג״כ המקיף דתהו עם האו״פ [האור פנימי] דתקון שהם ג״כ ב׳ הפכים שיתחברו יחד ואז יהיה גילוי אוא״ס [אור אין סוף] (ועיין בזהר פ׳ תרומה דקע״ה ע״ב ע״פ והבריח התיכון ושם דף קע״ו ע״א):234
Therefore he also wished to join and unite the encompassing [light] of Tohu with the inner light (or pnimi) of Tikkun, which are also two opposites, so that they would be joined together; and then there would be a revelation of the Infinite Light. (And see in the Zohar, Parshas Terumah, page 175b, on [the verse] “And the middle bar,” and there, page 176a.)
Since uniting opposites is Yaakov’s very nature, he sought to unite another pair of opposites: the encompassing light of Tohu and the inner light of Tikkun. Their union would bring a revelation of the Infinite Light itself, as the Zohar explains on the middle bar of the Tabernacle.
The paragraph grounds Yaakov’s goal in his identity as Tiferes, the middle line that unites opposites; just as he joins Chesed and Gevurah, he seeks to join the encompassing light of Tohu with the inner light of Tikkun.
The middle bar of the Tabernacle, which ran “from end to end,” is read in the Zohar as the middle line, Yaakov, who joins the two sides. The Kehot note points to the Tzemach Tzedek’s Or HaTorah, where the meaning of the “bar” is explained.
Marei mekomos
- 1דיעקב הוא בחי׳ תפארת · זהר חדש תשא (מד, ב). נתבאר באוה״ת ויחי תתקצג, ב.
- 2בזהר פ׳ תרומה . . קע״ו ע״א · ראה באוה״ת תרומה ע׳ א׳תתקלב שמפרש פי׳ ”בריח”. וראה שם ע׳ א׳תתקיז וע׳ א׳תתקיח ואילך. וענין ”מן הקצה אל הקצה” באוה״ת ויחי שפה, ב.
- 3ושם דף קע״ו ע״א · Zohar, Sifra DiTzniuta 1:2–2:13
- 4
Ratzo and shov ¶4–5
4וביאור הדברים הנה יש ב׳ בחי׳ בעבודת ה׳. הא׳ האהבה ברשפי אש בתגבורת מאד לצאת מן הגוף וליפרד מן הפתילה כו׳
The explanation of the matter: there are two levels in the service of G‑d. The first is love like fiery flashes, with very great intensity, to leave the body and to separate from the wick, etc.
The first mode of service is a fiery love so intense that the soul longs to leave the body, like a flame that leaps upward as if to break away from the wick.
והוא בחי׳ אה״ר [אהבה רבה] שאין כלי הלב מכילה אותה כי לא יכיל הלב ההתפעלות העצומה. לכן לא יוכל לעמוד בכלי גופו וחפץ לצאת מנרתקה חומר הגוף.
This is the level of ahavah rabbah (great love), which the vessel of the heart cannot contain, for the heart cannot contain the immense excitement. Therefore [the soul] cannot remain in the vessel of its body, and it desires to leave its sheath, the matter of the body.
This “great love” overflows the heart; the emotion is too vast for the heart to hold. The soul then wants to leave its bodily “sheath” altogether.
והב׳ בחי׳ התפעלות המתיישב בכלי הלב ועיקר ענינה הוא בחי׳ המשכת אלקות מלמעלמ״ט [מלמעלה למטה] דוקא בכלים מכלים שונים1 בתומ״צ [בתורה ומצות]. וזהו ענין רצוא ושוב.
The second is the level of an arousal that settles within the vessel of the heart, and its main point is the drawing down of G‑dliness from above to below, specifically into vessels, “vessels of diverse kinds,” in Torah and mitzvos. And this is the matter of ratzo and shov (running and returning).
The second mode is an emotion that settles within the heart and is directed toward drawing G‑dliness down into the world, into the varied “vessels” of Torah and mitzvos. The two modes together are ratzo, the soul’s running upward, and shov, its return to act below.
The paragraph defines the two modes of divine service, ratzo (a love that strains to leave the body) and shov (a settled emotion that brings G‑dliness down through Torah and mitzvos).
The terms ratzo and shov come from Yechezkel’s vision of the chayos, which “ran and returned” (Ezekiel 1:14); in Chassidus they describe the soul’s longing to rise and its commitment to return and serve within the body.
Marei mekomos
- 1
5והנה בחי׳ עולם התהו הנ״ל היה בבחי׳ רצוא לכן נסתלקו האורות מן הכלים כמו האה״ר [האהבה רבה] ליפרד מן הפתילה והכלים כו׳.
Now, the level of the World of Tohu mentioned above was in the mode of ratzo (running); therefore the lights departed from the vessels, like the great love [that seeks] to separate from the wick and the vessels, etc.
The World of Tohu was all ratzo: its lights surged upward and would not stay inside their vessels, just as the great love of the soul strains to leave the body. That is why the vessels of Tohu shattered.
אבל התקון הוא בחי׳ שוב והוא בחי׳ תומ״צ [תורה ומצות] ובע״כ [ובעל כרחך] אתה חי12 להיות בתוך הגוף להמשיך אא״ס [אור אין סוף] בכלים מכלים שונים3.
But Tikkun is the mode of shov (returning), which is the level of Torah and mitzvos; and “against your will you live,” to be within the body, in order to draw down the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) into vessels, “vessels of diverse kinds.”
Tikkun is shov: light that stays within vessels, which in a person’s life means Torah and mitzvos. The Mishnah’s “against your will you live” expresses that the soul must remain in the body so as to draw the Infinite Light into the varied vessels of the mitzvos.
The paragraph maps the two modes of service onto the two worlds: Tohu is ratzo, whose lights fled their vessels, and Tikkun is shov, embodied in Torah and mitzvos performed within the body.
Marei mekomos
- 1ובע״כ אתה חי · אבות ד, כב.
- 2ובע״כ אתה חי · Pirkei Avot 4:22
- 3
The four who entered the Pardes ¶6–7
6וזה היה ההפרש ג״כ באותן ד׳ שנכנסו לפרדס1 בן עזאי הציץ ומת. וב״ז [ובן זומא] הציץ ונפגע. רק ר״ע [רבי עקיבא] נכנס בשלום2 ויצא בשלום.3
And this was also the difference among those four who entered the Pardes: Ben Azzai gazed and died; and Ben Zoma gazed and was harmed; only Rabbi Akiva entered in peace and left in peace.
The Talmud tells of four sages who “entered the Pardes,” the orchard of mystical ascent. Ben Azzai died, Ben Zoma was harmed, and only Rabbi Akiva entered and left in peace.
כי בן עזאי היה בבחי׳ רצוא דאה״ר [דאהבה רבה] הנ״ל בבחי׳ כלות הנפש ולא רצה להיות נשפל בבחי׳ שוב לכך לא רצה לישא אשה ואמר אפשר לעולם שיתקיים ע״י אחרים4
For Ben Azzai was in the mode of the ratzo of the great love mentioned above, in the mode of the soul’s expiring (klos hanefesh), and he did not wish to be brought low into the mode of shov. Therefore he did not wish to marry a wife, and he said, “It is possible for the world to be sustained through others.”
Ben Azzai’s service was pure ratzo, a longing so strong that his soul was ready to expire in G‑d. He did not want to descend into shov, which is why he never married, saying the world could be populated by others.
לכן הציץ ומת שנסתלק לגמרי מן הכלי כנ״ל כי עזה כמות5 אהבה כו׳ אכן אין זה דרך התורה שהיא בבחי׳ תקון כי לשבת יצרה6 ובע״כ [ובעל כרחך] אתה חי7
Therefore he gazed and died, for he departed entirely from the vessel, as mentioned above, for “love is fierce as death,” etc. However, this is not the way of the Torah, which is in the mode of Tikkun, for “He formed it to be inhabited,” and “against your will you live.”
His soul therefore left the body entirely, for love can be as strong as death. But the Torah’s way is Tikkun: G‑d formed the world to be inhabited, and the soul must go on living in the body.
לכן ר״ע [רבי עקיבא] שהיה מבחי׳ תקון נכנס בשלום ויצא בשלום שהיה המ״ן [המיין נוקבין] ומ״ד [ומיין דוכרין] שלו דהיינו בחי׳ הרצוא ושוב במדה ומזיגה נכונה8 שלפ״ע [שלפי ערך] הרצוא כן היה השוב אח״כ.
Therefore Rabbi Akiva, who was from the level of Tikkun, entered in peace and left in peace, for his mayin nukvin and mayin duchrin (feminine and masculine waters), that is, the ratzo and shov, were in the right measure and blend: according to the ratzo, so was the shov afterwards.
Rabbi Akiva, rooted in Tikkun, balanced his ascent and his descent, his “feminine waters” (the upward yearning) and “masculine waters” (the flow drawn down). The strength of his return matched the strength of his running, and so he left in peace.
The paragraph illustrates ratzo and shov through the four who entered the Pardes: Ben Azzai’s unbalanced ratzo led to his death, while Rabbi Akiva’s ratzo was matched by an equal shov.
Mayin nukvin (feminine waters) is the Kabbalistic term for the upward-reaching arousal of the recipient, and mayin duchrin (masculine waters) for the flow it draws from above. The Kehot note points out that “Rabbi Akiva entered in peace” follows the reading of the Ein Yaakov and the Jerusalem Talmud.
Marei mekomos
- 1ד׳ שנכנסו לפרדס · Chagigah 14b:8
- 2רק ר״ע נכנס בשלום · כגירסת העין יעקב שם. ירושלמי שם פ״ב ה״א.
- 3רק ר״ע נכנס בשלום ויצא בשלום · Jerusalem Talmud Chagigah 2:1
- 4אפשר לעולם שיתקיים ע״י אחרים · Yevamot 63b:18
- 5עזה כמות האהבה · Song of Songs 8:6
- 6כי לשבת יצרה · Isaiah 45:18
- 7ובע״כ אתה חי · Pirkei Avot 4:22
- 8היינו בחי׳ הרצוא ושוב במדה ומזיגה נכונה · ראה באוה״ת אחרי כרך ב ע׳ תקמא: ”ששרש נשמת ר״ע היתה במעלה ומדרגה גדולה לקבל הגילוי”. וראה במאמרי אדה״ז — ענינים ע׳ תו: ”ר״ע יצא בשלום מפני שירידתו היתה בקו האמצעי”.
7וזהו נכנס בשלום כו׳ הוא בחי׳ קו האמצעי המייחד ומחבר את הב׳ קוין ימין ושמאל שהם בחי׳ רו״ש [רצוא ושוב] לכך היה העלאת מ״ן [מיין נוקבין] שלו
And this is “entered in peace,” etc.: it is the level of the middle line, which unites and joins the two lines, right and left, which are the levels of ratzo and shov. Therefore his raising of mayin nukvin,
“In peace” signals the middle line, which unites the right and left lines of the Sefiros. Here right and left stand for ratzo and shov, so Rabbi Akiva’s peace means his ascent and return were joined.
שהוא ענין שנכנס לפרדס במדה ומזיגה נכונה בבחי׳ רו״ש [רצוא ושוב] ונכנס בשלום בבחי׳ מ״ן [מיין נוקבין] ויצא בשלום בבחי׳ המשכת מ״ד [מיין דוכרין] בחי׳ שוב.
which is the matter of his entering the Pardes, was in the right measure and blend, in the mode of ratzo and shov: he entered in peace, in the mode of mayin nukvin, and left in peace, in the mode of drawing down mayin duchrin, the mode of shov.
His entering the Pardes was his raising of “feminine waters,” the upward yearning, and his leaving was the drawing down of “masculine waters,” the return. Both were in right measure, so he entered and left in peace.
(ועמ״ש פ׳ ויצא גבי בשלום ב׳ בחי׳ שלום ע״ש בד״ה והיה) משא״כ בן עזאי ששרשו היה מבחי׳ תהו ששם הוא בחי׳ שני קוין כנ״ל בענין ויחץ כו׳
(And see what is written in Parshas Vayeitzei concerning “in peace,” two levels of peace; see there, in the discourse beginning “Vehayah.”) This is not so with Ben Azzai, whose root was from the level of Tohu, where there is the level of two lines, as mentioned above in connection with “And he divided,” etc.
The Alter Rebbe refers to his discourse in Parshas Vayeitzei on two kinds of peace. Ben Azzai, by contrast, was rooted in Tohu, where the two lines stand apart, as explained in an earlier maamar on Yaakov dividing his people into two camps.
לשני מחנות1 לכך לא הי׳ [היה] התחברות הרו״ש [הרצוא ושוב] במזיגה נכונה והציץ ומת כו׳ התגברות הרצוא כו׳
“into two camps.” Therefore there was no joining of ratzo and shov in the right blend, and he gazed and died, etc., [through] the overpowering of the ratzo, etc.
Because in Tohu the lines are divided, Ben Azzai’s ratzo and shov were not blended. His ratzo overpowered him, and he died.
ולכן היה ר״ע [רבי עקיבא] מקור כל התורה שבע״פ [שבעל פה]2 כי סתם משנה ר״מ [רבי מאיר]3 וסתם ספרא ר׳ [רבי] יהודה כו׳ וכולהו אליבא דר״ע [דרבי עקיבא].
And therefore Rabbi Akiva was the source of the whole Oral Torah, for an anonymous Mishnah is Rabbi Meir, and an anonymous Sifra is Rabbi Yehudah, etc., and all of them follow Rabbi Akiva.
The Talmud says an anonymous Mishnah follows Rabbi Meir, an anonymous Sifra follows Rabbi Yehudah, and all of them follow Rabbi Akiva, their teacher. Rabbi Akiva is thus the source of the whole Oral Torah.
והוא לפי שהתורה ג״כ היא מבחי׳ התקון ויש בה התכללות ב׳ ההפכים דרו״ש [דרצוא ושוב] כמ״ש מימינו אש דת למו4 כו׳ לכן היה גילוי התורה ע״י ר״ע [רבי עקיבא] שהיה בו בחי׳ זו כנ״ל:
This is because the Torah, too, is from the level of Tikkun, and in it is the inclusion of the two opposites of ratzo and shov, as it is written, “From His right hand, a fiery law for them,” etc. Therefore the revelation of the Torah was through Rabbi Akiva, who had this quality, as mentioned above.
The Torah itself belongs to Tikkun and unites opposites: it was given as “a fiery law” from G‑d’s right hand, fire (Gevurah) and right (Chesed) together. It was fitting, then, that it be revealed through Rabbi Akiva, whose soul unites ratzo and shov.
The paragraph identifies Rabbi Akiva’s balance with the middle line of Tikkun, contrasts it with Ben Azzai’s root in divided Tohu, and explains why the Oral Torah, itself a union of opposites, came through Rabbi Akiva.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויחץ כו׳ לשני מחנות · Genesis 32:8
- 2ולכן הי׳ ר״ע מקור כל התורה שבע״פ · ראה לקו״ש חכ״ב ע׳ 140.
- 3סתם משנה ר״מ · Sanhedrin 86a:3–4
- 4מימינו אש דת למו · Deuteronomy 33:2
Water in the wine ¶8–9
8ועתה יובן ענין כוונת יעקב לייחד ולחבר המקיף דתהו עם האו״כ [האורות וכלים] דתקון היינו שיהיה תמיד רו״ש [רצוא ושוב] במזיגה אחת שלפ״ע [שלפי ערך] הרצוא כן השוב דהיינו שיהיה האה״ר [האהבה רבה] ברשפי אש ליפרד מן הפתילה כו׳.
Now Yaakov’s intention to unite and join the encompassing [light] of Tohu with the lights and vessels of Tikkun will be understood: that is, that there always be ratzo and shov in a single blend, so that according to the ratzo, so is the shov; that is, that there be great love like fiery flashes, to separate from the wick, etc.
Yaakov’s aim, uniting Tohu’s encompassing light with Tikkun’s lights and vessels, now becomes clear in terms of service: a constant ratzo and shov in one blend. The soul must have a fiery love that strains to leave the body.
ואעפ״כ [ואף על פי כן] יהיה אח״כ בחי׳ שוב לאחד. ובע״כ [ובעל כרחך] אתה חי1 להמשיך אא״ס [אור אין סוף] למטה דוקא בתומ״צ [בתורה ומצות]2 (כמ״ש בתניא פ׳ נג).3
And even so, there will afterwards be the mode of shov, to unify: “against your will you live,” in order to draw the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) down below specifically through Torah and mitzvos (as is written in Tanya, chapter 53).
Yet that love must be followed by an equally strong return, living in the body in order to draw the Infinite Light down through Torah and mitzvos. The Alter Rebbe refers to Tanya chapter 53, which describes how the Infinite Light rests on and is drawn down through Torah and mitzvos.
וה״ז [והרי זה] יחוד והתחברות המקיף דתהו עם כלים דתקון. וז״ש [וזהו שכתוב] ביעקב ויבא לו יין. ופי׳ בזוהר דארמי מיא לגו חמרא.4
And this is the union and joining of the encompassing [light] of Tohu with the vessels of Tikkun. And this is what is said of Yaakov, “And he brought him wine.” And the Zohar explains that he poured water into the wine.
Such balanced service is the union of Tohu’s encompassing light with Tikkun’s vessels. It is hinted in the verse where Yaakov brings wine to his father, which the Zohar says means he mixed water into the wine.
כי יין הוא בחי׳ רצוא גבורות ורשפי אש ממטה למעלה. ויעקב ארמי מיא בחי׳ שוב.
For wine is the level of ratzo, Gevuros and fiery flashes [rising] from below upward; and Yaakov poured water, the level of shov.
Wine, which heats and excites, stands for ratzo and the fiery Gevuros rising upward. Water, which descends, stands for shov, and Yaakov’s mixing them is the blend of the two.
The paragraph applies the model to Yaakov: his goal is a service in which intense ratzo is always matched by shov into Torah and mitzvos, symbolized by the water he mixed into the wine.
Marei mekomos
- 1ובע״כ אתה חי · Pirkei Avot 4:22
- 2להמשיך אא״ס למטה דוקא בתומ״צ · ראה ד״ה כתוב באוה״ח בסה״מ אתהלך לאזניא (ס״ע לג), ובארוכה ד״ה וכל הלבבות באוה״ת אחרי (כךר ב ע׳ תקלח). ד״ה אחרי מות תרמ״ט. לקו״ש ח״ג ע׳ 988 ואילך. לקו״ש חכ״ב ע׳ 140.
- 3כמ״ש בתניא פ׳ נג · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 53:3
- 4ופי׳ בזוהר דארמי מיא לגו חמרא · Zohar, Balak 6:78–86
9ולכן ויבא לו יין1 כו׳ הוא בתרי טעמי שהוא התכללות הרו״ש [הרצוא ושוב] מים ויין כו׳ ולכן איתא דיעקב הוא שלימו דאבהן2 כי לא כאברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל.34
Therefore “and he brought him wine,” etc., is with two cantillation notes, which is the inclusion of ratzo and shov, water and wine, etc. And therefore it is stated that Yaakov is the perfection of the Patriarchs, for [he was] not like Avraham, from whom Yishmael came forth.
The words “and he brought him wine” carry two cantillation notes, which the Alter Rebbe reads as the two elements, water and wine, shov and ratzo, joined together. This is why Yaakov is called the perfection of the Patriarchs: unlike Avraham, no unworthy offspring such as Yishmael came from him.
מפני שהיה אברהם מדת החסד הפשוט בלא מזיגה לכך נתפשט יותר מדאי עד שאמר לו ישמעאל5 כו׳
Because Avraham was the attribute of simple Chesed (kindness), without blending, he therefore spread out excessively, to the point that he said, “If only Yishmael,” etc.
Avraham embodied Chesed in its pure form, unmixed with restraint. Unchecked kindness spread too far, to the point that he pleaded “If only Yishmael might live before You,” extending his love even to a son who was not fit to continue his path.
ויצחק היה בבחי׳ גבורה כו׳ אבל יעקב הוא שלימו דאבהן התכללות ההפכים רצוא ושוב כנ״ל:6
And Yitzchak was in the mode of Gevurah (restraint), etc. But Yaakov is the perfection of the Patriarchs, the inclusion of the opposites, ratzo and shov, as mentioned above.
Yitzchak embodied Gevurah, restraint, which on its own is also one-sided. Yaakov combines the opposites, ratzo and shov, and so completes and perfects the Patriarchs.
The paragraph explains why Yaakov is “the perfection of the Patriarchs”: Avraham’s unblended Chesed and Yitzchak’s Gevurah were each one-sided, while Yaakov unites the opposites, as the water mixed into wine shows.
The discourse in Toldos to which the Kehot note refers describes Avraham as drawing G‑dliness down from above and Yitzchak, the digger of wells, as revealing it from below upward, ratzo and shov in the Patriarchs themselves.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויבא לו יין · Genesis 27:25
- 2דיעקב הוא שלימו דאבהן · Zohar I, 171b
- 3לא כאברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל · ספרי דברים לב, ט.
- 4לא כאברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל · Sifrei Devarim 312:1–2
- 5עד שאמר לו ישמעאל · Genesis 17:18
- 6ופי׳ בזהר · Zohar III, 189a
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
A person’s love of G‑d should burn like fiery flashes, longing to leave the body and cleave to Him; yet it must always be followed by an equal shov: to live on in the body, “against your will you live,” and draw G‑dliness down through Torah and mitzvos. A ratzo that refuses to return, like Ben Azzai’s, is not the way of the Torah; the Torah’s way is Rabbi Akiva’s, entering in peace and leaving in peace.
Questions for discussion
- Why did Yaakov have to cross the “river,” Binah, to reach the encompassing light of Tohu, and why did he himself stay behind?
- How does Yaakov’s quality as Tiferes, which joins opposites, explain his wish to unite the encompassing light of Tohu with the inner light of Tikkun?
- What distinguishes a love that the heart cannot contain from an arousal that settles in the heart, and why does the Torah require both?
- Why was Ben Azzai’s ratzo not the way of the Torah, and why did Rabbi Akiva’s entering and leaving in peace make him the source of the Oral Torah?
- What does Yaakov’s pouring water into the wine teach about the balance of ratzo and shov, and why does it make him the perfection of the Patriarchs?
Key terms in this maamar
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×1
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×1
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration. ×1
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×3
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×1
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×1
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Lights and vesselsאורות וכלים
- Divine revelation and the forms that contain and express it.
- The kav (line of light)קו
- The thin ray of light drawn into the space left after the tzimtzum. ×2
- The general and collective expression (klalus)כללות
- That which encompasses the particulars as one: their general and collective expression (the klal, as against the prat). Never “sum”, “sum total”, “totality” or “general principle”, as if the particulars were added up (וכללותן היא מצות הצדקה is “their general and collective expression is the mitzvah of charity”). Render by sense: “their general and collective expression”, “that which encompasses them all”, “X in general”, “X as a whole”. Keep התכללות as “inclusion” / “inter-inclusion”. ×1