Torah Ohr · Parshas Yisro · Maamar 9
להבין ביאור ענין האבות הן הן המרכבה
“To understand the explanation of ‘The Patriarchs are themselves the Chariot’”
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The big idea
The Patriarchs, Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Atzilus, are a Chariot because G‑d’s emotive attributes are rooted above the intellect from which they are born: raised up, they lift even Chochmah and bring the Infinite Light into it. In the same way the mitzvos, done in physical deed, form the Keser that will be revealed at the Resurrection, when elevation and drawing down will be one, as “Remember” and “Keep” were said in a single utterance.
The maamar in brief
The maamar asks why the Patriarchs, rooted in Atzilus, are called a Chariot, a term that suits the Chayos of Yechezkel’s vision, which come from Tohu and are nullified like a horse beneath its rider. The Chayos carry the “man” on the Throne: three lines, Chesed flowing down, Gevurah withdrawing up and a middle line joining them, can merge only through a light of bittul from beyond both, and the Chayos lift the “man” to draw it down. Likewise Z’eir Anpin, the emotive attributes, is rooted above Chochmah and Binah though born from them, as natural love is rooted beyond intellect; once refined, “the son surpasses the father.” So the Patriarchs raise Chochmah and bring the Infinite Light into it, with Yaakov and Israel as the uniting middle line. The maamar then explains “Remember” and “Keep”: elevation and drawing down, Shabbos night and day, will be one when Keser is revealed at the Resurrection, a revelation built from mitzvos done in physical deed. Finally it reads “the chariot of G‑d… thousands of shinan” through Metatron, the light cherub, and the union of thought and speech.
Outline
- The questionWhy are the Patriarchs, rooted in Atzilus, called a Chariot like the Chayos, who come from Tohu and are nullified before the Throne like a horse before its rider?¶1
- The Chayos and the “man”“Man” is three lines joined into one, the Name Mah. Their joining needs a light of bittul from beyond both opposite movements, and the Chayos draw it down by lifting the “man”; so the face of a man is in all of them.¶2–4
- Emotions rooted above intellectZ’eir Anpin hangs upon Atika, above Chochmah and Binah. Natural love, once refined, surpasses intellectual love, so the Patriarchs raise Chochmah, the higher “man,” and draw the Infinite Light into it through the souls of the tzaddikim.¶5–9
- The three lines and Israel“As if you had made Me” and “Hear, O Israel”: Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov are the right, left and middle lines. Yaakov and Israel join them, rooted in the letters of thought, whose source is the emotions.¶10–12
- “Remember” and “Keep”Drawing down and elevation, Shabbos day and night, were said in a single utterance at Sinai. To explain, the maamar turns to the reward of the Torah and mitzvos.¶13–14
- Gan Eden and the ResurrectionGan Eden is from the light that fills all worlds; the Resurrection reveals Keser, the encompassing light, formed from the mitzvos done in deed, in which all Israel share. Hence the long exile, until every soul has fulfilled the mitzvos in deed.¶15–19
- Two crowns and the Shabbos analogy“We will hear” and “we will do” are elevation and drawing down. Like a craftsman who rests and then surveys his work, Shabbos night withdraws and Shabbos day draws down; at the Resurrection, Keser will make them one.¶20–22
- The chariot of G‑d and the light cherubIn “Ado-nai is among them,” Malchus and the Chayos include each other. Every revelation needs a Chariot; Metatron, the light cherub, raises Z’eir Anpin of Beriah through the eighteen blessings and through speech, which unites Yetzirah and Asiyah.¶23–29
Key concepts
- The Chariotמרכבה
- A vehicle wholly given over to its rider. The Chayos of Yechezkel’s vision carry the Throne and the “man” upon it; the Sages say the Patriarchs are themselves the Chariot.
- The three linesג׳ קווין
- Right (Chesed, flowing down), left (Gevurah, withdrawing up) and middle (Tiferes, joining them). Their merging into one structure is called “man” (adam).
- The Name Mahשם מ״ה
- The Name Havayah spelled out to total 45, the value of adam. Mah, “what,” denotes bittul, which alone lets the three lines merge.
- Great love and eternal loveאהבה רבה ואהבת עולם
- Natural love and awe (“great love”) stem from a root above intellect; intellectual love (“eternal love”) refines them, but once refined the natural love surpasses it.
- The power of the sonיפה כח הבן מכח האב
- The emotions, the “son” of Chochmah and Binah, are rooted higher than their “parents,” and when raised they lift even Chochmah.
- Elevation and drawing downהעלאה והמשכה
- The two movements of “Keep” and “Remember,” of Shabbos night and day, and of “we will hear” and “we will do.” At the Resurrection they will be one.
- Keser, the encompassing lightכתר, סובב כל עלמין
- The light too great to enter the worlds, holding 620 pillars of light formed from the mitzvos done in physical deed; it will be revealed at the Resurrection, when body and soul are equal.
- The light cherubכרוב קל
- Metatron, who conducts the worlds on weekdays as the six attributes of Yetzirah. Through him, and through speech, Z’eir Anpin of Beriah is raised to the eighteen thousand worlds of Atzilus.
The question ¶1
1להבין ביאור ענין האבות הן הן המרכבה.12 בשלמא פני אריה פני שור3 כו׳ שהם מרכבה לפי שהם משבה״כ שנפלו בבריאה ועיקרם מלפני מלך מלך4 כו׳
To understand the explanation of the matter of “The Patriarchs are themselves the Chariot.” Granted, “the face of a lion, the face of an ox,” etc., are a Chariot, because they are from the breaking of the vessels that fell into the World of Beriah (Creation), and their essential [source] is from “before a king reigned,” etc.,
The maamar opens with the Sages’ saying that “the Patriarchs are themselves the Chariot”: Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov were so given over to G‑d that they were like a chariot, wholly subject to its rider. For the Chayos of Yechezkel’s vision, the angels with the faces of a lion and an ox, being a Chariot is understandable, since they come from the shattered vessels that fell into Beriah, and their source is in the time “before a king reigned.”
דהיינו מעולם התהו לכך יש להם כח זה להעלות ולנשאות את הכסא והמה בבחי׳ מרכבה לפי שהם בטלים כסוס לגבי רוכבו מפני שהם נבראים ובזה נושאים ג״כ וכמשל הסוס שנושא את רוכבו כו׳.
that is, from the World of Tohu (Chaos). Therefore they have this power to raise up and carry the Throne. And they are at the level of a Chariot because they are nullified, like a horse before its rider, since they are created beings; and in this way they also carry [it], as in the analogy of the horse that carries its rider, etc.
The kings who reigned “before a king reigned” stand, in Kabbalah, for the World of Tohu, whose great lights shattered their vessels; that root gives the Chayos the strength to lift and carry the Divine Throne. They are a Chariot also because, as created beings, they are wholly nullified before their “rider,” as a horse is before the one who rides it.
אבל האבות עיקרן ושרשן באצי׳ דאיהו וחיוהי חד איהו וגרמוהי חד למה נקראו בבחי׳ מרכבה.5
But the Patriarchs, whose essence and root are in the World of Atzilus (Emanation), where “He and His life-forces are one, He and His organs are one”: why are they called the level of a Chariot?
Here is the question. The Patriarchs are rooted in Atzilus, the world in which G‑d’s lights and vessels are one with Him; why should souls rooted so high be called a Chariot, a term that fits beings who carry something above themselves?
אך הענין בהקדים להבין ענין מרכבת החיות פני אריה פני שור כו׳ שהם נושאים הכסא ודמות מראה אדם שעליו מלמעלה6.
But the explanation [is understood] by first understanding the matter of the Chariot of the Chayos, “the face of a lion, the face of an ox,” etc., which carry the Throne and “the likeness of the appearance of a man” that is upon it, from above.
Before answering, the maamar first explains the Chariot of the Chayos: the four Chayos carry the Throne, and above the Throne is “the likeness of the appearance of a man.” Understanding why the Chayos carry this “man” will show what it means for the Patriarchs to be a Chariot.
The maamar asks why the Patriarchs, rooted in Atzilus, are called a Chariot, when the term seems to fit only the Chayos, who come from the shattered vessels of Tohu and are nullified like a horse before its rider. To answer, it will first explain how the Chayos carry the “man” on the Throne.
Later expositions sharpen the question. Hemshech Mayim Rabbim, quoted in the Kehot note, points out that the Patriarchs are themselves called “man,” since “the great man among the giants” refers to Avraham, and “man” belongs to the world of Tikkun, while the beasts that carry the man on the Throne are rooted in Tohu.
Marei mekomos
- 1להבין . . האבות הן הן המרכבה · הנחת כ״ק אדה״א בסה״מ תקס״ט ע׳ קסג. ובאחד מהכת״י רשום ”ביאור שני לדרוש דשבועות”. באוה״ת פ׳ וארא ע׳ רכב. ובפ׳ בהעלותך ע׳ שמא וביהל אור ע׳ תלט [כנראה הכוונה לכאן] מציין ”ביאור על פסוק זכור את יום השבת”. מאמר זה הובא ונתבאר בד״ה פדה בשלום תרל״ב (נדפס לראשונה בקונטרס בפ״ע בשנת תשכ״ה) ע׳ יב. ובהמשך מים רבים תרל״ו פרקים קיד-טו. ובדרושי חתונה להמהר״ש ע׳ קצט. סה״מ תרס״ג (הוצאת תשנ״ד) ע׳ קלב. סה״מ עזר״ת ע׳ צו.
- 2האבות הן הן המרכבה · Bereshit Rabbah 47:6
- 3פני אריה פני שור · Ezekiel 1:10
- 4מלפני מלך מלך · Genesis 36:31
- 5למה נקראו בבחי׳ מרכבה · Zohar I, 22a
- 6
The Chayos and the “man” ¶2–4
2והענין כי הנה אדם נק׳ התכללות ג׳ קווין1 תמונת א יו״ד בראשו ויו״ד בסופו וקו באמצע.2 וכללות הג׳ קווין והתחברותן נק׳ בשם אדם שהוא שם מ״ה.
The explanation is that “man” (adam) is the term for the inter-inclusion of three lines, [as in] the form of [the letter] alef: a yud at its top, a yud at its bottom, and a line in the middle. And the totality of the three lines and their joining together is called by the name “man,” which is the Name Mah.
“Man” (adam) in Kabbalah means a structure of three lines, right, left and middle, woven into one. The letter alef pictures it: an upper yud, a lower yud, and a line joining them. The Name Mah is the Name Havayah spelled out so that its letters total 45, the numerical value of adam.
וצריך להבין הלא שם מ״ה הוא בחי׳ בטול והתכללות במקורו ואיך יתכן לקרותו בשם אדם בתמונת ג׳ קווין.3 אך באמת הא בהא תליא4 שלהיות התכללות הג׳ קווין והתחברותן צ״ל מבחי׳ בטול.
But we need to understand: is not the Name Mah the level of self-nullification (bittul) and inclusion in its source? So how can it be called by the name “man,” in the form of three lines? But in truth, the one depends on the other: for there to be the inter-inclusion of the three lines and their joining together, it must come from the level of bittul.
Mah means “what,” the word of one who sees himself as nothing, so the Name Mah stands for self-nullification and dissolving into one’s source; how then can it name a structured, three-line “man”? The answer is that the two depend on each other: opposite lines can merge only when they are permeated by bittul.
“Man” is the joining of three lines into one, as in the shape of the alef, and it is the Name Mah (45). Though Mah denotes self-nullification, the two belong together, for lines can merge only through bittul.
Likkutei Torah on Shir HaShirim, citing this passage, adds that adam has the letters of me’od, “very,” the boundless level: to make the “man” truly integrated, light must be drawn from that limitless level, through “with all your me’od” in the Shema.
Marei mekomos
- 1התכללות ג׳ קוין · וכ״ה באוה״ת פ׳ שמות ע׳ מד, ובסה״מ תרל״ב ע׳ יב. והעיר באוה״ת שם כ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע: ”בכ״מ רגיל: שני קוין, וצ״ע”.
- 2וקו באמצע · אלא שהתדמותם היא רק לענין ההתחברות דקו האמצעי — מים רבים תרל״ו פרק קיד, ראה שם עוד.
- 3בתמונת ג׳ קווין · במים רבים תרל״ו פרק קיד נוסף: המורה התפשטות בחי׳ מציאות שלכאורה זהו היפך בחי׳ הביטול.
- 4וצ״ל הלא שם מ״ה . . אך באמת הא בהא תליא · ראה לקו״ת שה״ש לא, א.
Chesed, which the Tikkunei Zohar calls “the right arm,” is giving that flows downward, like water running from high to low. Gevurah is the opposite movement: light withdrawing upward, holding back from giving.
וכמו ועבד הלוי הוא.3 והקו הוא המחברן. ונודע כי להיות דבר מחבר שני הפכים.
As in “And the Levite, he shall do the service.” And the [middle] line is what joins them. Now, it is known that for something to join two opposites,
The verse “the Levite, he shall do the service” is cited as an example of Gevurah, the upward movement. The middle line, Tiferes, joins the two opposite movements, and the maamar now explains what makes such a joining possible.
צ״ל הארה והמשכה מבחי׳ עליונה4 ששם בטלים אלו השני הפכים5 ואין שם דבר והפכו כלל שאין שם שום המשכה ולא שום הסתלקות כי ההמשכה וההסתלקות שייך בחיות המרכבה והחיות רצוא ושוב6
there must be an illumination and drawing down from a higher level, where these two opposites are nullified and there is no thing and its opposite there at all, for there is neither any drawing down nor any withdrawal there. For drawing down and withdrawal pertain to the Chayos of the Chariot, and “the Chayos run and return,”
Two opposites can be united only by a light from a level higher than both, where neither exists as a separate force. Drawing down and withdrawing belong to the Chayos, whom Yechezkel saw “running and returning,” always moving up and down.
אבל שם למעלה הכל בבחי׳ בטול ממש בלי שום הסתלקות ולא שום המשכה ומשם נמשך הארה לבחי׳ אדם להיות התכללות הג׳ קווין והתחברותן והיינו ע״י חיות המרכבה.7
but there, above, everything is in a state of actual self-nullification (bittul), without any withdrawal and without any drawing down. And from there an illumination is drawn down to the level of “man,” so that there will be the inter-inclusion of the three lines and their joining together; and this is through the Chayos of the Chariot.
Above the Chayos is a level of pure bittul, with neither movement. Its light is what lets the three lines merge into one “man,” and it reaches the “man” through the Chayos of the Chariot.
כי כל ענין עבודת החיות הוא כדי להמשיך ולעשות בחי׳ אדם זה שיהי׳ בבחי׳ התכללות ולא יהיו ענפין מתפרדין8 וע״כ הם נושאים אותו למעלה להמשיך משם בחינת בטול והתכללות.
For the whole purpose of the service of the Chayos is to draw down and make this level of “man,” so that it will be in a state of inter-inclusion and the branches will not be separated; and therefore they carry it upward, to draw down from there the level of bittul and inter-inclusion.
This is the Chayos’ whole purpose: to draw that light down so that the “man” is truly integrated and its lines do not split into separate branches. They therefore lift the “man” upward, to bring down from on high the bittul that makes integration possible.
Chesed flows down and Gevurah withdraws up, and only a light from beyond both, a level of pure bittul, can join them. The Chayos, who themselves run and return, carry the “man” upward in order to draw that light down into it.
Iggeres HaKodesh 12 uses the same images: Chesed is water flowing from high to low, Gevurah is fire rising upward, and G‑d “makes peace between them” by revealing a great light from the Infinite Light, which is not an attribute at all. Likkutei Torah on Matos ties this to the Name Mah: true inclusion of the vessels comes through the light of bittul drawn from it.
Marei mekomos
- 1חסד דרועא ימינא · ת״ז בהקדמה בד״ה פתח אליהו.
- 2חסד דרועא ימינא · Tikkunei Zohar 17a:16–17
- 3ועבד הלוי הוא · Numbers 18:23
- 4מחבר שני הפכים . . מבחי׳ עליונה · ראה אגה״ק סי׳ יב.
- 5ששם בטלים אלו השני הפכים · ראה לקו״ת מטות פז, ב. אוה״ת פ׳ וארא ע׳ קנ.
- 6והחיות רצוא ושוב · Ezekiel 1:14
- 7ע״י חיות המרכבה · ע׳ באוה״ת פ׳ עקב ע׳ תקנ.
- 8ולא יהיו ענפין מתפרדין · מובא באוה״ת פ׳ משפטים ע׳ א׳קא.
4וזהו ודמות פניהם פני אדם כי מלבד שיש בד׳ חיות פני אדם פרצוף בפ״ע.
And this is [the meaning of] “And the likeness of their faces: the face of a man.” For besides there being among the four Chayos the face of a man, a configuration (partzuf) of its own,
Yechezkel saw four faces on each of the Chayos, one of them the face of a man. Besides that one face, the maamar says, the whole Chariot is shaped by the “man” it carries.
הנה גם בכללותן נמשך פרצוף אדם שכל או״א כלול מבחי׳ אדם ג״כ. והיינו לפי שכל עיקר מגמתם ופנימיותם להמשיך בחינת אדם בחינת התחברות הג׳ קווין והתכללותן:1
in their totality as well a configuration of a man is drawn [into them], so that each one is also comprised of the level of man. And this is because their whole main aim and their inner dimension (pnimiyus) is to draw down the level of man, the level of the joining together of the three lines and their inter-inclusion.
Each of the Chayos, even the lion, the ox and the eagle, contains something of the “man,” because their whole inner aim is to bring that integrated structure of three joined lines into being. So the words “the likeness of their faces: the face of a man” describe all of them.
The verse “the likeness of their faces: the face of a man” shows that the “man” is drawn into all the Chayos, since their inner purpose is to bring the integrated “man” into being.
Marei mekomos
- 1וזהו ודמות פניהם . . הג׳ קוין והתכללותן · Ezekiel 1:10
Emotions rooted above intellect ¶5–9
Now we will come to the explanation of “The Patriarchs are themselves the Chariot.” For the Patriarchs are Chesed (kindness), Gevurah (restraint) and Tiferes (beauty) of the World of Atzilus (Emanation). So what is [the meaning of] their being a Chariot?
Now the maamar returns to its question. The Patriarchs correspond to Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes of Atzilus, kindness, restraint and the harmony of both; what sense is there in calling them a Chariot?
But it is explained in the Idra Zuta that “Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah) issue from the hidden brain (mocha setima’ah), and Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) is bound to and hangs upon Atika (the Ancient One).” And the explanation of this will be understood by way of an analogy, “from my flesh [I behold G‑d].”
The Idra Zuta, a part of the Zohar, teaches that Abba and Imma, Chochmah and Binah, issue from the “hidden brain,” while Z’eir Anpin, the emotive attributes, is attached directly to Atika, the Ancient One, a higher level still. To make this clear, the maamar turns to an analogy from human experience, as in Job’s words, “from my flesh I behold G‑d.”
כי הנה השכל הוא נולד מן המשכיל שלמעלה מן השכל ששם לא נודע גילוי השכל וטעמו של דבר כלל.
For the intellect is born from the maskil, which is above the intellect, where the revelation of the intellect and the reason for a thing are not known at all.
In a person, an idea is born from a source above intellect, the maskil, where no idea or reason is yet revealed.
אבל מ״מ הוא נק׳ משכיל מקור השכל אבל ז״א בעתיקא אחיד ותליא שהמדות נלקחו ממקום עליון יותר כי הגם שהמדות נולדו ונתגלו מן השכל ולפי שכלו כך תהיינה מדותיו.5
Nevertheless, it is called maskil, the source of the intellect. But “Z’eir Anpin is bound to and hangs upon Atika”: the emotive attributes (middos) were taken from a still higher place. For even though the emotive attributes are born and revealed from the intellect, and according to a person’s intellect so will his emotive attributes be,
Still, that source counts as part of intellect: it is its wellspring. The emotions, however, come from a higher place, even though they are born from the intellect and follow it, as a person feels according to what he understands.
The Idra Zuta teaches that Chochmah and Binah issue from a hidden source, while Z’eir Anpin, the emotions, hangs directly upon Atika, a higher level. As in a person, the emotions are born from intellect, yet their root lies above it.
Likkutei Torah on Chukas quotes this Idra Zuta passage with the Arizal’s explanation: Abba and Imma receive from the Chochmah within Keser through the mazla, whereas Z’eir Anpin receives from higher, from the Keser of Arich Anpin itself, so that in this respect Z’eir Anpin is sometimes superior to Abba and Imma.
Marei mekomos
- 1האבות הן הן המרכבה · Bereshit Rabbah 47:6
- 2שהאבות הם חסד גבו׳ ת״ת דאצי׳ · ראה באוה״ת פ׳ שמיני ע׳ לג.
- 3מבואר באד״ז · Zohar III, 292a
- 4מבשרי · Job 19:26
- 5אבל עיקר המדות בשרשן נלקחו ממקום עליון יותר · ”ולכן יכול להיות הגדלה במדות יותר מהמוחין” — ד״ה ראה אנכי עטר״ת ע׳ תריד.
Binah is called “the mother of the children,” and Chochmah the father, because the emotions are born from them. But the maamar limits this: intellect only brings the emotions out of concealment into revelation; it does not create their essence.
אבל עיקר המדות בשרשן נלקחו ממקום עליון יותר. וכנודע שיש אהוי״ר טבעיים. ויש אהוי״ר שכליי׳.
But the essence of the emotive attributes, in their root, was taken from a higher place. As is known, there are natural love and awe, and there are intellectual love and awe.
The essence of the emotions comes from a higher place. This is shown by the two kinds of love and awe: natural ones, which a person has without reasoning, and intellectual ones, which grow out of contemplation.
Chochmah and Binah are the parents of the emotions only in that they bring them into revelation; the emotions’ essence comes from higher, as natural love and awe, which do not stem from intellect, show.
The Rebbe Rashab draws a consequence, in a maamar the Kehot note cites: because the emotions’ root is higher, they can grow more than the intellect.
Marei mekomos
- 1ובינה נק׳ אם הבנים · Zohar I, 219a
- 2ובינה נק׳ אם הבנים · Zohar, Yitro 22:389–400
- 3אם הבנים · Psalms 113:9
- 4ובינה נק׳ אם הבנים · Pardes Rimmonim 23:1:148
7והנה דו״ר טבעיים נק׳ בשם אהבה רבה. ודו״ר שכליים נק׳ בשם אהבת עולם. אלא שמפני שהדו״ר טבעיים מתלבשים בזלעו״ז מוכרח להיות המשכת דו״ר שכליים.
Now, natural awe and love (dechilu u’rechimu) are called by the name “great love” (ahavah rabbah), and intellectual awe and love are called by the name “eternal love” (ahavas olam). Only, because natural awe and love become clothed in [the realm of] “one opposite the other” (zeh le’umas zeh), there must be a drawing down of intellectual awe and love.
Natural love and awe are called “great love” (ahavah rabbah), and intellectual love and awe “eternal love” (ahavas olam). Because natural feelings can also be invested in their unholy counterpart, “one opposite the other,” intellectual love and awe must be drawn in to guide them.
For “through Chochmah (wisdom) they are refined.” But once they are refined, it is called “great love,” for “the power of the son is greater than the power of the father.”
Emotions are refined through Chochmah, a principle explained earlier in Torah Ohr. Once refined, natural love is again “great love,” higher than the intellectual love that refined it, as in the Talmudic phrase “the power of the son is greater than the power of the father.”
Natural love, “great love,” can be misdirected, so intellect must refine it; but once refined, it surpasses the intellectual love that refined it, as a son can surpass his father.
The Rebbe Rashab, in a maamar the Kehot note quotes, links this to the Idra Zuta: Abba receives from the mazal of Notzer and Imma from the mazal of Nakeh, while Z’eir Anpin is rooted in Atik above them, which is why the Patriarchs, Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes, are the Chariot that raises even Abba and Imma.
Marei mekomos
- 1בחכמה אתברירו · נסמן לעיל ה, ד.
- 2יפה כח הבן מכח האב · Shevuot 48a:14–16
As is known, from Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah) only the intellect (mochin) of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) was drawn, but the drawing down of the drop is from the essence, etc. And the reason they were drawn down to be natural,
As is known in Kabbalah, Abba and Imma give Z’eir Anpin only its intellect (mochin); the “drop” from which it is formed comes from the essence, a higher level. The maamar now asks why emotions with so high a root become “natural” ones.
למטה מן הדעת הגם שמקורן ושרשן הוא למעלה הוא כנודע עד״מ מנפילת החומה שהאבן או הלבינה שיותר גבוהה היא יורדת יותר למטה.
below Daas (knowledge), even though their source and root is above, is as is known from the analogy of a falling wall: the stone or brick that is higher falls further down.
Natural emotions lie below conscious understanding even though their root is higher. Just as when a wall collapses the highest stones land farthest away, what comes from the highest place descends the lowest.
וכן האבוקה שאורה גדול מאד מבהקת ומאירה גם למטה במקום החשך. ומכל זה מובן איך שהז״א שהוא בחינת מדותיו ית׳ הוא בשרשו למעלה מבחי׳ או״א
And likewise a torch whose light is very great shines and gives light even below, in the place of darkness. From all this it is understood how Z’eir Anpin, which is the level of His emotive attributes (middos), may He be blessed, is in its root above the level of Abba and Imma,
Likewise a torch of great light shines even into the distant darkness. So Z’eir Anpin, G‑d’s emotive attributes, is rooted above Abba and Imma, Chochmah and Binah.
אלא שנמשך למטה (וע׳ מ״ש ע״פ שימני כחותם23 בענין רצועות דתש״ר שע״ז נאמר כחותם על לבך ע״ש) ולכך האבות4 שהן חג״ת הם בחי׳ מרכבה להעלות את האדם הוא בחי׳ חכמה כנודע שיש ב׳ בחי׳ אדם.5
only it was drawn down below. (See what is explained on [the verse] “Place me as a seal,” on the subject of the straps of the head-tefillin, about which it is said, “as a seal upon your heart”; see there.) Therefore the Patriarchs, who are Chesed (kindness), Gevurah (restraint) and Tiferes (beauty), are the level of a Chariot to raise up the “man,” which is the level of Chochmah (wisdom), as it is known that there are two levels of “man.”
It is only drawn down lower. The parenthesis refers to the maamar on “Place me as a seal upon your heart,” about the straps of the head-tefillin that hang down toward the heart and are rooted higher than they seem. Because the attributes are rooted so high, the Patriarchs, Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes, can be a Chariot that raises the “man” of Chochmah.
The first “man” is in Chochmah, and the lower “man” is Z’eir Anpin. And this is [the meaning of] “What is His name, and what is His son’s name?” “What is His name” is Chochmah, and “what is His son’s name” is Z’eir Anpin.
There are two levels of “man”: the higher is Chochmah and the lower is Z’eir Anpin. The maamar reads the verse “What is His name, and what is His son’s name?” this way: “What (mah) is His name” is Chochmah, and “His son’s name” is Z’eir Anpin.
Like a falling wall or a great torch, what comes from the highest place reaches lowest: Z’eir Anpin is rooted above Chochmah and Binah, only drawn down. Hence the Patriarchs, its Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes, can be a Chariot that raises the higher “man,” Chochmah.
Or HaTorah, quoted in the Kehot note, reads “What is His name” as the supernal man, whose number is Mah (45) and who is Chochmah, koach mah, and “His son’s name” as “My firstborn son, Israel”; the Zohar on Balak likewise reads “His son’s name” as Israel.
Marei mekomos
- 1וכנודע שמאו״א . . אבל המשכת הטפה היא מעצמיות · ”והיינו מהכתר דהיינו מא״א ועתיק” — אוה״ת פ׳ תזריע כרך א ע׳ סט.
- 2ע״פ שימני כחותם · לקו״ת שה״ש מו, ד. אוה״ת שה״ש כרך ב ע׳ תשכט.
- 3שימני כחותם · Song of Songs 8:6
- 4ולכך האבות . . מקדימים לומר שמע ישראל · מובא באוה״ת שמות כרך ח ע׳ ג׳א.
- 5שיש ב׳ בחי׳ אדם · ראה אוה״ת פ׳ ואתחנן ע׳ קפד.
- 6אדם הראשון הוא בחכמה ואדם תתאה הוא ז״א · בספר החקירה נה, א. בסה״מ תרל״ה ח״ב ע׳ תב מציין שזהו כדעת הרמ״ז והמק״מ בזח״ב פ׳ ויקהל קצז, א.
- 7מה שמו ומה שם בנו · Proverbs 30:4
- 8מה שמו ומה שם בנו · Zohar, Balak 6:122–131
- 9מה שמו חכמה · ”ויש לפרש דבחי׳ מה שמו היינו אדם עילאה, גימטריא מה והוא חכמה כח מה זהו בשביל ומה שם בנו בני בכורי ישראל” — אוה״ת משפטים ע׳ א׳רעט. וראה באוה״ת בראשית כרך ד פ׳ חיי שרה דף תשעח, א, שכ״ה גם בזח״ג קצא, ב. וכ״ה באוה״ת האזינו ע׳ א׳תרנז.
9והנה כשמתעלות המדות נעשה יפה כח הבן ומעלה גם בחי׳ חכמה להמשיך התלבשות אוא״ס בחכמה להיות גלוי אנת הוא חכים1
Now, when the emotive attributes (middos) are elevated, there comes about [the state in which] “the power of the son is greater,” and it raises up even the level of Chochmah (wisdom), to draw down the enclothement of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) in Chochmah, so that there will be the revelation of “You are wise”;
When the emotions are refined and raised, the son surpasses the father: the attributes lift even Chochmah, so that the Infinite Light becomes clothed in it. Then Chochmah becomes a revelation of G‑d as the Tikkunei Zohar addresses Him, “You are wise.”
כי א״ס בעצמו לאו דאית ליה מכל מדות אלין כלל. רק המשכת אוא״ס להיות בחכמה תלוי בהמשכת והעלאת נשמות הצדיקים.
for the Infinite One (Ein Sof) Himself “has none of these attributes at all.” Rather, the drawing down of the Infinite Light to be in Chochmah depends on the drawing down and elevation of the souls of the tzaddikim.
G‑d’s own essence has none of these attributes; wisdom does not define Him. The Infinite Light enters Chochmah only through the souls of the tzaddikim, whose service draws it down and raises the attributes up.
Raised by the souls of the tzaddikim, the emotions lift even Chochmah, so that the Infinite Light, which in itself has no attributes, is revealed in it.
Elijah’s prayer in the Tikkunei Zohar says, “You are wise, but not with a known wisdom,” and that G‑d has “none of these attributes at all”: wisdom is a garment G‑d enters, not His essence.
Marei mekomos
- 1אנת הוא חכים · Tikkunei Zohar 17b:3–4
The three lines and Israel ¶10–12
10וכמארז״ל ע״פ ועשיתם אתם1 מעלה אני עליכם כאלו עשאוני.2 וכנודע ביחוד ק״ש שלהיות הוי׳ אלקינו הוא יחוד או״א מקדימים לומר שמע ישראל3 כי ישראל הוא המיחד. לפי שאברהם חסד דרועא ימינא4 הוא קו ימין שמלמעלה למטה.
As our Sages, of blessed memory, said on [the verse] “And you shall do them”: “I account it to you as if you had made Me.” And as is known about the unification of the Shema: in order for there to be “Havayah is our G‑d,” which is the union of Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah), we first say “Hear, O Israel,” for Israel is the one who unifies. For Avraham is Chesed (kindness), “the right arm,” the right line, which is from above to below,
The Sages read “And you shall do them” as a making, so that keeping the mitzvos is “as if you had made Me”: human service, as it were, builds the divine. Likewise in the Shema, “Havayah is our G‑d” unites Abba and Imma, Chochmah and Binah, but first we say “Hear, O Israel,” because Israel brings about that union. The maamar now shows how, beginning with Avraham, who is Chesed, the right line flowing downward.
The Sages’ “as if you had made Me” and the Shema’s “Hear, O Israel” before “Havayah is our G‑d” both show that souls below bring about the union above. The maamar begins to show this through the Patriarchs as the three lines.
The Zohar on Bechukosai reads “and you shall do them” as making the holy Name above, “as if you had made Me,” as David is said to have “made a name.” The Kehot note adds from Hemshech Mayim Rabbim that this “making” is the building of the partzufim.
Marei mekomos
- 1ועשיתם אתם · Vayikra Rabbah 35:7
- 2ועשיתם אתם מעלה אני עליכם כאילו עשאוני · Leviticus 26:3
- 3שמע ישראל · Deuteronomy 6:4
- 4חסד דרועא ימינא · Tikkunei Zohar 17a:16–17
11ויצחק קו שמאל ממטה למעל׳ פחד יצחק. ויעקב הוא1 י׳ עקב בחור שבאבות המחברם אלקי אבי אברהם2 ופחד יצחק היה לי.
and Yitzchak is the left line, from below to above: “the Fear of Yitzchak.” And Yaakov is yud-akev (heel), “the choicest of the Patriarchs,” who joins them: “The G‑d of my father Avraham and the Fear of Yitzchak was with me.”
Yitzchak is the left line, Gevurah, rising from below upward, and Scripture calls G‑d “the Fear of Yitzchak.” Yaakov’s name is read as yud and akev, “heel,” and he is the choicest of the Patriarchs because he joins the other two, as he says, “The G‑d of my father Avraham and the Fear of Yitzchak was with me.”
And the meaning of “was with me” is that it was drawn down to me, below. Therefore [the Sages] said, “Yaakov did not die,” for his root is from the level of self-nullification (bittul) that is drawn down to join two opposites.
“Was with me” means that both qualities were drawn down to Yaakov below. That is why the Sages could say “Yaakov did not die”: his root is the level of bittul, drawn down to join two opposites.
Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov are the right, left and middle lines. Yaakov joins the other two by drawing down from the level of bittul, which is why “Yaakov did not die.”
Torah Ohr on Toldos, to which the Kehot note refers, calls Yaakov the level of inter-inclusion, the bar that runs from end to end, who could draw down even the Fear of Yitzchak below. The Zohar pictures Yaakov’s passing with Avraham at his right, Yitzchak at his left and the Shechinah before him.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויעקב הוא י׳ עקב בחור שבאבות · נסמן לעיל יז, ג. ע״כ נמצא במים רבים שם.
- 2אלקי אבי אברהם · Genesis 31:42
- 3יעקב לא מת · Taanit 5b:9
- 4יעקב לא מת · Zohar, Vayechi 77:800–79:811
12וכן ישראל הוא ג״כ קו הממוצע. ובו ועל ידו נמשך להיות יחוד או״א עילאין. ומה שאמרו ישראל עלו במחשבה12 בלבד דהיינו באותיות המחשבה. ונק׳ איהו וגרמוהי חד.
Likewise, Israel is also the middle line, and in him and through him there is drawn down the union of the supernal Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah). And what [the Sages] said, that Israel “arose in thought” alone, means in the letters of thought; and this is called “He and His organs are one.”
Israel, like Yaakov, is the middle line, and through it the supernal Abba and Imma, Chochmah and Binah, are united, as in the Shema. The Midrash says that Israel “arose in thought” before the world was made; the maamar specifies that this means the letters of thought, a level so united with G‑d that it is called “He and His organs are one.”
That is, the emotive attributes (middos) are the source of the letters of thought, for otiyos (letters) is from the language of drawing down, [as in] “And He came (ve’asa) from the holy myriads,” [and] “Morning comes (asa).”
The emotive attributes are the source of the letters of thought, for otiyos, “letters,” is related to the word for coming, as in “He came (ve’asa) from the holy myriads” and “Morning comes (asa).” Letters are how something comes forth and is drawn down.
וההמשכה היא במדות וכן האותיות לא נולדו ונתגלו בשכל והבנה עד שתבאנה לידי גילוי במדות כנודע:
And the drawing down is in the emotive attributes. Likewise, the letters are not born and revealed in intellect and understanding until they come to be revealed in the emotive attributes, as is known.
Drawing down belongs to the emotions: thought does not take the form of letters through intellect alone, only when the idea comes to be felt in the emotions. So Israel, the middle line of the emotive attributes, is rooted in the letters of thought.
Israel, like Yaakov, is the middle line that unites Abba and Imma. Israel “arose in thought,” in the letters of thought, whose source is the emotions, since drawing down belongs to them.
Marei mekomos
- 1ישראל עלו במחשבה · ב״ר בתחלתו.
- 2ישראל עלו במחשבה · Bereshit Rabbah 1:4
- 3ואתה מרבבות קדש · Deuteronomy 33:2
- 4אתא בקר · Isaiah 21:12
“Remember” and “Keep” ¶13–14
Now we will explain the matter of “ ‘Remember’ and ‘Keep’ were said in a single utterance.” “Remember” (zachor) is for the masculine (dechar), the level of drawing down; and “Keep” (shamor) is for Nukva (the feminine / Malchus), the level of elevation.
The Talmud teaches that “Remember the Shabbos day” and “Keep the Shabbos day,” worded differently in the two tellings of the Ten Commandments, were said at once, in a single utterance. In Kabbalistic terms “Remember” belongs to the masculine, drawing down, and “Keep” to the feminine, Nukva, elevation.
וכנודע שיש שבת דמעלי שבתא2 ושבת דיממא. שבת דמעלי שבתא היא בחי׳ העלאה שזהו ענין מזמור שיר ליום השבת3 וברכו ומזמור לדוד הכל בבחי׳ העלאה.4
As is known, there is the Shabbos of the night (de-ma’alei shabbata) and the Shabbos of the day (de-yemama). The Shabbos of the night is the level of elevation; this is [the meaning of] “A psalm, a song for the Shabbos day,” and Barchu, and “A psalm of David”: all of it is in the mode of elevation.
Shabbos has two aspects, the night and the day. Friday night is a time of elevation, when the worlds rise toward their source, and the prayers of that evening, the psalm for the Shabbos day, Barchu and the psalm of David, all express this rising.
The maamar turns to “Remember” and “Keep,” said as one: “Remember” is drawing down and “Keep” is elevation, and on Shabbos they appear as the night (elevation) and the day (drawing down).
Marei mekomos
- 1זכור ושמור בדבור אחד נאמרו · Rosh Hashanah 27a:2–3
- 2שיש שבת דמעלי שבתא · ע׳ בסידור שער השבת קעג, א ד״ה ר״ש הוי אמר.
- 3מזמור שיר ליום השבת · Psalms 92:1
- 4ומעתה נבא לביאור · בסה״מ תרל״ב ע׳ יג נמצא כאן ביאור בענין התכללות ע״ש.
14ושבת דיממא היא בחי׳ המשכה. ולכן בלילה מזמרין אזמר בשבחין. וביום אסדר לסעודתא. וכל אלו העלאות והמשכות נאמרו בדבור א׳ במ״ת.
And the Shabbos of the day is the level of drawing down. Therefore at night we sing “Azamer bishvachin” (I will sing with praises), and by day “Asader lis’udasa” (I will arrange the meal). And all these elevations and drawings-down were said in a single utterance at the Giving of the Torah.
Shabbos day is a time of drawing down. So the hymns of the Shabbos meals differ: at night one sings “Azamer bishvachin,” and by day “Asader lis’udasa,” matching the elevation of the night and the drawing down of the day. All these, rising and descending, were said together at Sinai.
וביאור הענין בהקדים ענין התורה והמצות. מתחלה צריך להבין ענין עוה״ב שהוא ג״ע ותח״ה1 ומבואר במפרשים2 וברמב״ן3 בשער הגמול שעיקר השכר עוה״ב הוא בתח״ה שמעלת תח״ה היא יתירה מג״ע העליון.
The explanation of this [comes] by first [explaining] the matter of the Torah and the mitzvos. First we need to understand the matter of the World to Come, which is Gan Eden and the Resurrection of the Dead. It is explained in the commentators, and by the Ramban in Shaar HaGemul, that the main reward, [that of] the World to Come, is at the Resurrection of the Dead, for the superiority of the Resurrection of the Dead exceeds [that of] the upper Gan Eden.
To explain this, the maamar first clarifies what the Torah and mitzvos achieve, beginning with the reward of the World to Come. That reward has two stages, Gan Eden for souls and the Resurrection of the Dead, and the Ramban in Shaar HaGemul holds that the main reward is at the Resurrection, greater even than the upper Gan Eden.
Shabbos night and day embody elevation and drawing down, given at Sinai in one utterance. To explain this, the maamar turns to the reward of the mitzvos and the view that the Resurrection of the Dead surpasses even the upper Gan Eden.
In a reply cited in the Kehot note, the Rebbe lists the commentators who hold this view and those who differ, and writes that whatever room there once was for dispute, since the Arizal was accepted as the final authority in the secrets of the Torah, the matter follows his view.
Marei mekomos
- 1עוה״ב שהוא ג״ע ותח״ה · ע׳ דרך מצותיך טו, ב. ד״ה וככה תרל״ז פ״ה ואילך. ד״ה זה היום תרס״ו. המשך תער״ב ח״ב ע׳ תשעט ואילך. סה״מ תרע״ח ע׳ תטו ואילך. ד״ה אני לדודי תרצ״ב. סה״מ תרח״ץ ע׳ ריב. סה״מ ת״ש ד״ה כי ישאלך בנך ע׳ מד ואילך. נתבאר בד״ה להבין ענין תחיית המתים תשמ״ו (סה״מ מלוקט ח״ג ע׳ לד) ליד הערה 12.
- 2ומבואר במפרשים · בתשובות וביאורים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע סי׳ ח ע׳ 28 (אג״ק ח״ב ע׳ צב. לקו״ש חט״ז ע׳ 516) מציין על זה וז״ל: ראה מפרשי המשנה סנהדרין ר״פ חלק, רס״ג בס׳ האמונות והדעות סוף מאמר תחה״מ, נ״כ הרמב״ם הל׳ תשובה פ״ח-ט ועוד, וכבר השיב לאלו החולקים על הדעה המובאת בפנים — בס׳ עבודת הקודש ח״ב פמ״א-מג, הובא בקיצור בשל״ה בהקדמה חלק בית דוד. והנה בימים ההם הי׳ מקום לדעות מחולקות בענינים האלו אבל אחרי אשר נגלה דבר ה׳ אל (ל׳ הרח״ו בהקדמתו לשער ההקדמות) ”עיר וקדיש מן שמיא נחית הרב הגדול האלקי החסיד מו״ר כמהר״ר יצחק לוריא אשכנזי זלה״ה מלא תורה כרמון במקרא במשנה בתלמוד בפלפול במדרשים והגדות במעשה בראשית במעשה מרכבה”, וקבלוהו כל ישראל עליהם לפוסק אחרון בכל עניני סתרי תורה וסודותי׳ — אין מקום כלל למחלוקות והלכה כדברי האריז״ל, עכ״ל ע״ש בארוכה. ובדרך מצותיך יד, ב ואילך. לקו״ש חי״ז ע׳ 344 הערה 10.
- 3וברמב״ן · על גיליון בת״א דפוס ראשון מחסיד: ע׳ לקו״ת צו ט״ו ד׳ ד״ה והנה ארז״ל.
Gan Eden and the Resurrection ¶15–19
15והנה בג״ע יושבין נשמות הצדיקים בלא גופות. ובג״ע העליון שם מקום הצדיקים הגדולים וכולם מופשטים מגופם.
Now, in Gan Eden the souls of the tzaddikim sit without bodies; and in the upper Gan Eden is the place of the great tzaddikim, and all of them are divested of their bodies.
Gan Eden is the realm of souls without bodies; in the upper Gan Eden the greatest tzaddikim dwell, wholly freed of their bodies.
כי הגוף א״א ליהנות בזיו ותענוג גדול כזה שאינו יכול לקבלו. ותח״ה הוא שיעמדו בגופיהם.1
For the body cannot enjoy such radiance and such great delight, since it cannot receive it. And the Resurrection of the Dead is that they will rise up in their bodies.
The body cannot take in the radiance and delight of Gan Eden. Yet at the Resurrection the souls will return to their bodies, which raises the question that follows.
ואיך יזכו לתענוג עליון יותר מתענוג הנשמה שבג״ע. וגם הנה אמרו על אחר מוטב דלידייניה וליתי לעלמא דאתי2 הוא ג״ע.
So how will they merit a delight higher than the delight of the soul that is in Gan Eden? Moreover, they said about Acher, “Better that he be judged and come to the World to Come,” which is Gan Eden;
How can life in a body bring a delight greater than the soul’s delight in Gan Eden? The Talmud’s account of Acher, the sage who left the path, adds to the question: Rabbi Meir said it would be better for him to be judged and enter the World to Come, meaning Gan Eden.
שכל יסורי גיהנם כדאי בשביל שתתענג הנשמה בג״ע. וא״א לה לקבל התענוג עד שתתמרק בכמה יסורים.
for all the sufferings of Gehinnom are worthwhile so that the soul may delight in Gan Eden, and it cannot receive the delight until it has been cleansed through many sufferings.
This implies that Gan Eden is worth all the sufferings of Gehinnom, since the soul cannot receive its delight until it is cleansed. Gan Eden, then, seems a very great reward.
And about the Resurrection of the Dead they said, “All Israel have a share in the World to Come,” meaning that they will rise at the Resurrection of the Dead, except those whom the Sages enumerated, who will not rise.
Yet of the Resurrection the Mishnah says, “All Israel have a share in the World to Come,” meaning that all will rise apart from the few the Sages list. A reward given almost to all seems lesser than Gan Eden, which must be earned; the maamar will show that it is in fact higher.
Two difficulties: the body cannot bear the delight of Gan Eden, so how can the Resurrection be higher? And Gan Eden requires purification first, while the Resurrection is promised to almost all Israel.
Iggeres HaKodesh 17 explains that all the souls now in the upper Gan Eden will return to their bodies at the Resurrection to enjoy the radiance of the Shechinah, because the light revealed then will come from the level that encompasses all worlds.
Marei mekomos
- 1ותח״ה הוא שיעמדו בגופיהם · ראה אגה״ק סי׳ יז.
- 2מוטב דלידייני׳ וליתי לעלמא דאתי · Chagigah 15b:3
- 3כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעוה״ב · Sanhedrin 90a:15
- 4שיקומו בתח״ה · ראה בד״ה וככה תרל״ז פ״ט ואילך.
16אך הענין הוא כי נודע שיש ב׳ בחי׳ בגילוי אור א״ס ב״ה. הא׳ בחינת ממכ״ע. והב׳ בחי׳ סוכ״ע.
But the explanation is, as is known, that there are two levels in the revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He: the first, the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin); and the second, the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin).
The answer rests on the two modes of G‑d’s light: the light that fills all worlds, which enters each world according to its capacity, and the light that encompasses all worlds, which is too great to enter them and affects them from beyond.
והנה ג״ע הוא מבחי׳ ממכ״ע. ביו״ד נברא העוה״ב1 שראשיתו מחכמה. וכשנמשך לבינה אזי מתגלה תענוג עוה״ב וג״ע אלא שג״ע העליון הוא מבינה דבינה.
Now, Gan Eden is from the level of the light that fills all worlds. “With [the letter] yud the World to Come was created,” whose beginning is from Chochmah (wisdom); and when it is drawn down into Binah (understanding), then the delight of the World to Come and Gan Eden is revealed. Only, the upper Gan Eden is from the Binah of Binah,
Gan Eden belongs to the first mode. The Talmud says the World to Come was created with the letter yud, which stands for Chochmah; its delight is revealed when drawn into Binah, and the upper Gan Eden is the Binah within Binah.
Gan Eden comes from the light that fills all worlds, through Chochmah and Binah; the upper Gan Eden is from the Binah of Binah.
Iggeres HaKodesh 17 likewise cites “with the yud the World to Come was created” for Gan Eden and identifies it with supernal Chochmah, which descends through all the worlds.
Marei mekomos
- 1ביו״ד נברא העוה״ב · Menachot 29b:13–14
17וג״ע התחתון הוא מבינה דמלכות לכך אין תענוג זה מתגלה אלא לנשמות. אבל לע״ל בתח״ה יתגלה בחי׳ סוכ״ע.1 ושם הנשמה והגוף הם שוין.
and the lower Gan Eden is from the Binah (understanding) of Malchus (sovereignty). Therefore this delight is revealed only to souls. But in the Time to Come, at the Resurrection of the Dead, the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) will be revealed, and there the soul and the body are equal.
The lower Gan Eden comes from the Binah of Malchus, so its delight too reaches only souls. At the Resurrection, however, the encompassing light will be revealed, and before it soul and body are equal, since it transcends both.
וגילוי זה הוא ע״י המצות אשר יעשה האדם. כי תר״ך מצות הם תר״ך עמודי אור23 שבכתר שהוא סוכ״ע והכתר נעשה ממצות המלובשים בעשייה גשמיית דוקא.
And this revelation comes through the mitzvos that a person does. For the 620 mitzvos are the 620 pillars of light in Keser (the Crown), which is the light that encompasses all worlds; and the Keser is made from mitzvos that are clothed specifically in physical action.
This revelation comes about through the mitzvos people do. The 620 mitzvos, the 613 of the Torah and seven of the Sages, are the “620 pillars of light” in Keser, the crown that encompasses all worlds, and that Keser is made of mitzvos done in physical action.
כמו עד״מ כתר מלכות שעושין אותו מאבנים טובות שהן בחי׳ דומם ונעשה כתר על ראשו למעלה.
As, by way of analogy, a royal crown: it is made of precious stones, which are at the level of the inanimate, and it becomes a crown upon [the king’s] head, above.
A royal crown, too, is made of precious stones, inanimate matter, yet it sits on the king’s head, above. So the lowest, physical deeds form the highest crown.
At the Resurrection the encompassing light, Keser, will be revealed, before which body and soul are equal; it is formed from the 620 mitzvos done in physical deed, as a crown is made of stones.
Iggeres HaKodesh 17 connects the Sages’ “with their crowns on their heads” to this encompassing light: a crown, Keser, is a surrounding (makif) light.
Marei mekomos
- 1לע״ל בתח״ה יתגלה בחי׳ סוכ״ע · ראה אגה״ק סי׳ יז.
- 2תר״ך מצות הם תר״ך עמודי אור · פרדס שער ח׳ פ״ג.
- 3תר״ך עמודי אור · Pardes Rimmonim 8:5–6
18ובבחי׳ זו אפי׳ פושעי ישראל1 מלאים מצות כרמון. ולכן כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעוה״ב2 בתחית המתים חוץ מאותם שמנו חכמים.
And at this level, even the transgressors of Israel are “full of mitzvos like a pomegranate.” Therefore all Israel have a share in the World to Come, at the Resurrection of the Dead, except for those whom the Sages enumerated.
Because Keser is formed from mitzvos done in deed, even the sinners of Israel, who are “full of mitzvos like a pomegranate,” have a part in it. That is why all Israel share in the Resurrection, apart from those the Sages exclude.
ומתן שכרן של צדיקים לנשמות שהוא בג״ע הוא רק לפי שעה עד שיתגלה בחי׳ סוכ״ע.
And the giving of the reward of the tzaddikim to the souls, which is in Gan Eden, is only temporary, until the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) is revealed.
The reward of the tzaddikim in Gan Eden, given to souls without bodies, is only temporary, until the encompassing light is revealed at the Resurrection.
Since Keser is made of mitzvos done in deed, even sinners, who are full of mitzvos, share in the Resurrection; Gan Eden is only a temporary reward before it.
Torah Ohr on Terumah, to which the Kehot note refers, explains the related saying “even the empty ones among you are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate”: “empty” means lacking Torah study, not sinners, and their mitzvos too arouse the supernal delight.
Marei mekomos
- 1פושעי ישראל · Eruvin 19a:7–8
- 2כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעוה״ב · Sanhedrin 90a:15
19ולכן אריכת הגלות בזמן הזה לפי שכל נפש מישראל צריכה לקיים כל תרי״ג מצות בפו״מ כדי שיתגלה אור הכתר.
And therefore the exile is so long in the present time: because every soul of Israel must fulfill all 613 mitzvos in actual deed, so that the light of Keser (the Crown) will be revealed.
This is why the exile is so long: every Jewish soul must fulfill all 613 mitzvos in actual deed, so that the light of Keser can be revealed through them.
וזהו ענין מ״ת אנכי הוא הארת הכתר וניתן זה במ״ת שיהיה הכח בידם להמשיך בחי׳ הכתר על ידי מעשה התחתונים.
And this is the matter of the Giving of the Torah: “I” (Anochi) is the illumination of Keser, and this was given at the Giving of the Torah, so that they would have the power in their hands to draw down the level of Keser through the deeds of those below.
At Sinai G‑d opened with “I (Anochi),” which the maamar identifies with the light of Keser. The giving of the Torah gave Israel the power to draw that light down through their deeds below.
כי עם היות ששרש המצות עצמן בכתר1 אינו יכול להמשיך מי שאינו ראוי לכך כגון קטן ואשה שפטורים שכל שאינו מחוייב בדבר אינו ממשיך כלום וכ״ש העכו״ם.
For although the root of the mitzvos themselves is in Keser, one who is not fit for it cannot draw [it] down, such as a minor or a woman, who are exempt; for whoever is not obligated in a matter draws down nothing, and all the more so the idolaters.
The mitzvos are rooted in Keser, but only one who is commanded draws down their light: a minor, or a woman in a mitzvah from which she is exempt, does not draw it down through that mitzvah, echoing the halachic principle that whoever is not obligated in a matter cannot fulfill it for others. All the more so, idolaters, who are not commanded in these mitzvos at all, draw nothing down through them.
The exile lasts until every soul has done all the mitzvos in deed, for the power given at Sinai to draw down Keser works only through a commanded deed.
Marei mekomos
- 1עם היות ששרש המצות עצמן בכתר · ראה ד״ה כי ישאלך בנך עטר״ת ע׳ שנד.
Two crowns and the Shabbos analogy ¶20–22
20וגם בנעשה ונשמע נמשכו ב׳ כתרים1 לכאו״א רק שבחטא העגל נטלו מהם. כמ״ש ויתנצלו בני ישראל2 את עדים. עדים הוא הארת הכתר.
Also, at “We will do and we will hear,” two crowns were drawn down to each and every one, only that through the sin of the Golden Calf they were taken from them, as it is written, “And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments.” “Their ornaments” is the illumination of Keser (the Crown).
The Talmud relates that when Israel said “We will do” before “we will hear,” angels tied two crowns on each of them, and after the Golden Calf the crowns were removed, as the verse says they stripped off their ornaments. The maamar identifies these ornaments with the light of Keser.
וב׳ כתרים אלו הא׳ בבחי׳ העלאה בחינת נשמע שכל מי שרוצה לשמוע איזה דבר הוא מבטל כל חושיו וכל מחשבותיו רק לשמוע.
And of these two crowns, the first is in the mode of elevation, the level of “we will hear”: for whoever wants to hear something nullifies all his senses and all his thoughts, only to hear.
The two crowns match elevation and drawing down. “We will hear” is elevation: one who truly wants to listen silences all his senses and thoughts.
ונמצא שהחושים והמחשבות מתעלים בעילוי הדבר שרוצה לשמוע. והמשכה היא בחינת נעשה כלומר נעשה ונמשיך ממעלה למטה:
It follows that the senses and the thoughts are raised up into the loftiness of the thing he wants to hear. And drawing down is the level of “we will do,” meaning, “we will do” and draw down from above to below.
In listening, the senses and thoughts are lifted into the loftiness of what is heard. “We will do” is the opposite movement: through action we draw down from above to below.
The two crowns of “We will do and we will hear” are elevation, in hearing, where the listener sets himself aside and is raised, and drawing down, in doing.
Marei mekomos
- 1בנעשה ונשמע נמשכו ב׳ כתרים · Shabbat 88a:7–8
- 2ויתנצלו בני ישראל · Exodus 33:6
21וזהו זכור ושמור בדבור1 א׳ נאמרו. כי זכור לדכר ושמור לנוקבא. זכור בחי׳ המשכה ושמור בחי׳ העלאה כנ״ל.
And this is [the meaning of] “ ‘Remember’ and ‘Keep’ were said in a single utterance.” For “Remember” is for the masculine and “Keep” is for Nukva (the feminine / Malchus): “Remember” is the level of drawing down and “Keep” the level of elevation, as explained above.
Now the maamar returns to “Remember” and “Keep,” said as one. “Remember” is the masculine, drawing down, and “Keep” the feminine, elevation.
והיינו כמו עד״מ מי שהוא בעל שכל גדול ומוריד ומצמצם שכלו באיזה מעשה כגון ציור או כתיבה
That is, by way of analogy, like one who possesses a great intellect and lowers and contracts his intellect into some deed, such as drawing or writing:
An analogy: a person of great intellect contracts his mind into some practical work, such as drawing or writing.
הנה כשגומר מלאכתו ושובת ונח הרי השכל חוזר למקורו ואח״כ כשחוזר ורואה בעין שכלו הגדול את כל מעשהו והנה ישר לפניו נעשה בחינת חזרת המשכה.
when he finishes his work and ceases and rests, the intellect returns to its source; and afterward, when he looks again with the eye of his great intellect at all his work, and behold, it is right in his sight, there comes about [the level of] a renewed drawing down.
When he finishes and rests, his mind withdraws from the work back to its source, an elevation. Then, when he looks over the finished work with his full intellect and finds it right, his mind is drawn into it again, a renewed drawing down.
כך שבת דמעלי שבתא היא בחינת שביתא ונייחא כי ששת ימים עשה ה׳ וביום השביעי שבת.2
So too, the Shabbos of the night is the level of cessation and rest, for “in six days G‑d made, and on the seventh day He ceased.”
Shabbos night is like that rest: G‑d made the world in six days and on the seventh He ceased, as His creative power withdrew to its source.
“Remember” and “Keep” are drawing down and elevation, like a craftsman whose mind withdraws to its source when he rests and returns as he surveys his work; Shabbos night is the withdrawal.
Marei mekomos
- 1זכור ושמור בדבור א׳ נאמרו · Rosh Hashanah 27a:2–3
- 2וביום השביעי שבת · Exodus 31:17
22וכתיב ויכלו השמים.1 ויכל אלקים.2 שחזר למקורו ואח״כ ויברך אלקים את יום השביעי.3 שהיא בחינת חזרת ההמשכה.
And it is written, “And the heavens were completed,” “And G‑d completed,” meaning that it returned to its source; and afterward, “And G‑d blessed the seventh day,” which is the level of the renewed drawing down.
Scripture first says “the heavens were completed” and “G‑d completed,” the creative power withdrawing into its source, and then “G‑d blessed the seventh day,” its renewed drawing down. These match the night and the day of Shabbos.
ולכן נק׳ סעודתא דע״ק שמתגלה ענג עליון מלמעלה למטה. וכל זה בזה״ז שיש העלאות והמשכות עליות וירידות.
Therefore it is called “the meal of Atika Kadisha (the Holy Ancient One),” for a supernal delight is revealed from above to below. And all this is in the present time, when there are elevations and drawings-down, ascents and descents.
That is why the Shabbos-day meal is called “the meal of Atika Kadisha,” the Holy Ancient One: supernal delight is drawn down then. In the present era, rising and descending alternate in this way.
But in the Time to Come, that is, at the Resurrection of the Dead, there will be “a day that is entirely Shabbos and rest for life everlasting,” and there will no longer be ascents and descents,
In the future, at the Resurrection, there will be “a day that is entirely Shabbos and rest for life everlasting,” no longer alternating between ascent and descent.
כי יתגלה בחי׳ כתר סוכ״ע שאין שם בחי׳ מעלה ומטה לכן שם הכל בדבור א׳.
for the level of Keser (the Crown), the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), will be revealed, where there is no above and below; therefore there everything is in a single utterance.
The light of Keser, which encompasses all worlds, has no above and below. When it is revealed, elevation and drawing down will be one, as “Remember” and “Keep” were said in a single utterance.
והראה להם הקב״ה זה במ״ת שע״י המצות יזכו לזה שהתורה והמצות נלקחו ממקום עליון כזה וכח זה ניתן להם כנ״ל:
And the Holy One, blessed be He, showed them this at the Giving of the Torah: that through the mitzvos they will merit this, since the Torah and the mitzvos were taken from so lofty a place, and this power was given to them, as explained above.
At Sinai, by saying them as one, G‑d showed Israel that this future state would be reached through the mitzvos, since the Torah and mitzvos come from that lofty place and the power to reach it was given to them.
Shabbos night and day are withdrawal and renewed drawing down; at the Resurrection, Keser will make them one, as “Remember” and “Keep” were said as one at Sinai, showing that the mitzvos lead there.
The Mishnah’s phrase “a day that is entirely Shabbos” describes the psalm for the Shabbos day, which the Levites sang as “a song for the Time to Come,” the same psalm the maamar counted among the elevations of Shabbos night.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויכולו השמים · Genesis 2:1
- 2ויכל אלקים · Genesis 2:2
- 3ויברך אלקים את יום השביעי · Genesis 2:3
- 4יהי׳ יום שכולו שבת · ראה יהל אור במילואים ע׳ תרלב.
- 5יום שכולו שבת ומנוחה לחיי העולמים · Mishnah Tamid 7:4
The chariot of G‑d and the light cherub ¶23–29
23ועתה נבאר רכב אלקים רבותים1 אלפי שנאן אדנ״י בם ברפ״ה. והענין כי דגש מורה על התחלה וכאן לא שייך התחלת דבר כי האלפי שנאן הם פני אריה פני שור כו׳
Now we will explain “The chariot of G‑d is twice ten thousand, thousands of shinan; Ado-nai is among them (bam),” [the beis] with a rafeh. The explanation is that a dagesh indicates a beginning, but here the beginning of something does not apply, for the “thousands of shinan” are “the face of a lion, the face of an ox,” etc.,
The verse “The chariot of G‑d is twice ten thousand, thousands of shinan; Ado-nai is among them” is read through its grammar: the beis of bam, “among them,” is soft, without a dagesh. A dagesh marks a beginning, and here there is no beginning, for the “thousands of shinan” are the Chayos of the Chariot.
שהתהוותם הוא מבחי׳ אדנ״י מל׳ דאצי׳ שהם נבראים ואדנ״י בם שנכללה בם מאחר שהם מעלים אותה. נמצא שאין כאן ראש וסוף שנעשה בחי׳ התכללות.
whose coming into being is from the level of Ado-nai, Malchus (sovereignty) of the World of Atzilus (Emanation), since they are created beings; and “Ado-nai is among them,” for it is included in them, since they raise it up. It follows that there is no beginning and end here, for there comes about [a state of] inter-inclusion.
The Chayos come into being from Ado-nai, Malchus of Atzilus, so Ado-nai is their source; yet “Ado-nai is among them,” included in them, because they raise it up. Source and product thus contain each other, with no beginning and end, and so there is no dagesh.
In “Ado-nai is among them,” the soft beis shows that the Chayos and Malchus of Atzilus include each other: Malchus brings them into being and they raise it, so there is no beginning and end.
Marei mekomos
- 1רכב אלקים רבותים · Psalms 68:18
Therefore a revelation of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) is not found anywhere except with the Chariot, as it is written, “And G‑d went up from upon Avraham,” meaning that the Chariot withdrew.
Because the Shechinah is revealed only when included in a Chariot, every revelation comes with one. When G‑d “went up from upon Avraham,” the Chariot withdrew, for Avraham himself was the Chariot.
So too with Yaakov: “This is the camp of G‑d”; and so too with Moshe: “He heard the voice from between the two cherubim,” which are Metatron and Sandalphon.
So too Yaakov saw angels and said, “This is the camp of G‑d,” and Moshe heard the voice from between the two cherubim on the Ark, which the maamar identifies as the angels Metatron and Sandalphon.
The Shechinah is revealed only through a Chariot: the Patriarchs, Yaakov’s camp of angels, and the cherubim from between which Moshe heard the voice.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויעל אלקים מעל אברהם · Genesis 17:22
- 2ויעל אלקים מעל אברהם · Bereshit Rabbah 47:6
- 3מחנה אלקים זה · Genesis 32:3
- 4וישמע את הקול . . מט״ט וסנד״ל · Numbers 7:89
25וכן ישעיה ויחזקאל ראו את המרכבה כי א״א להיות גילוי שכינה מבלעדי מרכבה שכלולה בהם אלא שלפעמים מתלבשת במרכבה זו ולפעמים במרכבה זו.
Likewise, Yeshayahu and Yechezkel saw the Chariot, for there cannot be a revelation of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) without a Chariot in which it is included; only that sometimes it clothes itself in this Chariot and sometimes in that Chariot.
Yeshayahu and Yechezkel both saw the Chariot, because the Shechinah cannot be revealed without one. Sometimes it is clothed in one Chariot and sometimes in another.
ומה שארז״ל אלפי שנאן. א״ת שנאן אלא שאינן1 שהקב״ה רוכב על כרוב קל שלו ושאט בי״ח אלף עולמות.
And as for what our Sages, of blessed memory, said on “thousands of shinan”: “Do not read shinan but she’einan (who are not)”: that the Holy One, blessed be He, rides upon His light cherub and roams through eighteen thousand worlds.
The Talmud reads “thousands of shinan” as she’einan, “who are not,” and says that G‑d rides His light cherub and roams through eighteen thousand worlds. The maamar now explains this “light cherub” and the number eighteen thousand.
פי׳ וביאור הענין כי הנה נודע דח״י ברכאן שבשחרית הם ב׳ טיתי״ן דמט״ט. ט׳ ממעלה למטה.
The meaning and explanation of this: it is known that the eighteen blessings of the morning (shacharis) are the two letters tes of Metatron: nine from above to below
The key is the eighteen blessings of the morning, which correspond to the two letters tes (nine) in the name Metatron: one nine descending from above and, as the next words say, one ascending from below.
Every revelation of the Shechinah is through a Chariot. The Talmud’s “light cherub,” on which G‑d rides through eighteen thousand worlds, is explained through the eighteen blessings of the morning and the two tes’s of Metatron.
Marei mekomos
- 1א״ת שנאן אלא שאינן · Avodah Zarah 3b:13
26וט׳ ממטה למעלה. כי מט״ט נק׳ עבדו זקן ביתו12 המושל בכל אשר לו3 שכל הנהגת העולמות על ידו בימות החול והם ו״ק דיצי׳ ונק׳ כרוב קל. כי ב׳ כרובים הם מט״ט וסנד״ל שהם יצירה ועשיה.
and nine from below to above. For Metatron is called “his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had,” since the whole conduct of the worlds is through him on the weekdays; and these are the six extremities (vav ketzavos) of the World of Yetzirah (Formation), and he is called the “light cherub.” For the two cherubim are Metatron and Sandalphon, who are Yetzirah and the World of Asiyah (Action).
The second tes of Metatron is the nine that rise from below. Metatron is called by the verse’s words for Avraham’s servant, “the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had,” because he conducts the worlds on the weekdays as the six emotive attributes of Yetzirah. Of the two cherubim, Metatron is Yetzirah and Sandalphon is Asiyah, and Metatron is the “light cherub.”
Metatron, “the elder of his house, who ruled over all,” conducts the worlds on weekdays as the six attributes of Yetzirah; he and Sandalphon are the two cherubim, Yetzirah and Asiyah.
The Zohar (Midrash HaNe’elam) reads “Avraham said to his servant” as Metatron, “the servant of the Omnipresent”; “the elder of his house” as the first of G‑d’s creations; and “who ruled over all that he had” as the dominion G‑d gave him over all His hosts.
Marei mekomos
- 1מט״ט נק׳ עבדו זקן ביתו · Zohar I, 126b
- 2עבדו זקן ביתו · Zohar, Chayei Sara 19:155–161
- 3עבדו זקן ביתו המושל בכל אשר לו · Genesis 24:2
And the “light cherub” is Metatron alone, who is at the level of “light,” since he has not yet become clothed in the level of the World of Asiyah (Action); and through him the Holy One, blessed be He, is elevated,
Metatron alone, not yet joined with Sandalphon and Asiyah, is “light.” Through him the Holy One, blessed be He, is raised up.
שהוא ז״א דבריאה לי״ח אלף עולמות שהן בבחי׳ אצי׳ ששם הוא בחי׳ ח״י אלף. ט׳ מלמעלה למטה.
who is Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) of the World of Beriah (Creation), to the eighteen thousand worlds, which are at the level of the World of Atzilus (Emanation), for there it is the level of eighteen thousand: nine from above to below
Here “the Holy One, blessed be He” means Z’eir Anpin of Beriah, which through Metatron is raised to the eighteen thousand worlds of Atzilus. Eighteen is two nines, one descending from above and, as the next paragraph says, one ascending from below.
Through Metatron, the “light cherub,” Z’eir Anpin of Beriah is raised into the eighteen thousand worlds of Atzilus.
Or HaTorah, cited in the Kehot note, gives another reading of this passage: the ascent of Z’eir Anpin of Atzilus into nine Sefiros far above Atzilus.
Marei mekomos
- 1ועל ידו מתעל׳ הקב״ה . . וט׳ ממטה למעלה · מובא באוה״ת במדבר ע׳ נ ושם מבאר שלפי פי׳ עמק המלך ”הוא עלי׳ ז״א דאצי׳ בט״ס שלמעלה מעלה מאצי׳”, ע״ש.
28וט׳ ממטה למעלה כי בחי׳ אדם הוא ט״ס. דטפ״ט הוא פ״א. וג״פ פ״א רמ״ג וה״ח בגי׳ רמ״ח שהם איברים דאדם.
and nine from below to above. For the level of “man” is nine Sefiros; nine times nine is eighty-one; three times eighty-one is 243, and [with] the five chassadim (kindnesses) the numerical value is 248, which are the limbs of “man.”
The nine ascending from below are the “man”: a full structure of nine Sefiros, each containing nine, makes eighty-one. Three times eighty-one is 243, and the five chassadim bring the total to 248, the number of limbs of a human body.
וב״פ ט׳ הם ח״י ובבחי׳ אצי׳ נק׳ ח״י אלף. וכן ח״י ברכאן דשחרית הן ביצירה.
And twice nine is eighteen, and at the level of the World of Atzilus (Emanation) it is called eighteen thousand. Likewise, the eighteen blessings of the morning are in the World of Yetzirah (Formation),
Twice nine, descending and ascending, is eighteen; at the level of Atzilus it is called eighteen thousand. The eighteen blessings of the morning are this eighteen in Yetzirah.
The “man” is nine Sefiros of nine, which with the five chassadim make 248 limbs; twice nine is the eighteen thousand worlds of Atzilus, and in Yetzirah the eighteen blessings of the morning.
29וח״י ברכאן דצלותא הן באצילות. והענין כי צ״ל יחוד מט״ט וסנד״ל ולכן שני הכרובים היו פניהם איש אל אחיו.
and the eighteen blessings of the prayer (tzelosa) are in the World of Atzilus (Emanation). The explanation is that there must be a union of Metatron and Sandalphon; therefore the two cherubim had “their faces one toward the other.”
The eighteen blessings of the Amidah prayer are in Atzilus. The point is that Metatron and Sandalphon, Yetzirah and Asiyah, must be united, which is why the two cherubim faced each other.
ובבחי׳ דבור הגם שהוא ביצירה יש בו יחוד יצי׳ ועשי׳ דהרי הרהור לאו כדבור דמי עד שיוציא בשפתיו משום דעקימת שפתיו הוי מעשה לפי שיוצא הדבור דרך ה׳ מוצאות גשמיים אחה״ע מן הגרון כו׳
And in the level of speech, although it is in the World of Yetzirah (Formation), there is a union of Yetzirah and Asiyah (Action). For “thought is not considered like speech” until one utters [it] with one’s lips, because “the moving of one’s lips counts as a deed,” since speech comes out through the five physical points of articulation: alef, ches, hei, ayin from the throat, etc.
Speech is in Yetzirah, yet it unites Yetzirah with Asiyah. In halachah a thought is not like speech until it is said aloud, for moving the lips counts as an action, since speech comes out through the five physical organs of articulation, beginning with the throat.
והרי נעשה יחוד אותיות המחשבה עם אותיות הדבור שאותיות המחשבה הם עצמם יוצאים לידי גילוי באותיות הדבור והמחברן הוא הקול שהוא רוחניות
And thus there comes about a union of the letters of thought with the letters of speech, for the letters of thought themselves come out into revelation in the letters of speech; and what joins them is the voice, which is spiritual.
In speech the letters of thought are themselves revealed as spoken letters, and the voice, which is spiritual, joins the two.
ולכן מט״ט שהוא כרוב קל שלו הוא המעלה על ידי בחינת הדבור כי בבחי׳ הדבור נעשה יחוד מט״ט וסנד״ל:
Therefore Metatron, who is His “light cherub,” is the one who elevates, through the level of speech; for in the level of speech the union of Metatron and Sandalphon comes about.
So Metatron, the “light cherub,” is the one who elevates through speech, for in speech Metatron and Sandalphon, Yetzirah and Asiyah, are united.
Speech unites thought and action, Yetzirah and Asiyah, through the spiritual voice; so Metatron, the light cherub, elevates through speech, where he and Sandalphon are united.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Every soul must fulfill all 613 mitzvos in actual deed, for the Keser that will be revealed at the Resurrection is made from mitzvos done physically, as a crown is made of stones; that is why the exile lasts until this is done. And the service of the soul raises its natural love and awe, refined through understanding, above the intellect that refined them, drawing the Infinite Light into Chochmah.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the maamar find it puzzling that the Patriarchs are called a Chariot, and how does the idea that the emotions are rooted above intellect answer it?
- Why can two opposites, like Chesed and Gevurah, be joined only by a light from a level above both?
- How do the falling wall and the great torch show that what is rooted highest descends lowest?
- Why is the reward of the Resurrection higher than Gan Eden, and what do physical mitzvos have to do with it?
- How do “Remember” and “Keep,” Shabbos night and day, and “we will hear” and “we will do” express the same two movements?
Key terms in this maamar
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence. ×2
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×1
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×3
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×1
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level.
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.
- Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah)אבא ואמא
- The intellectual configurations.
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration. ×7
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×9
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×6
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×9
- Love and aweאהבה ויראה
- The two 'wings' of divine service.
- The intellect (mochin)מוחין
- Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×1
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×1
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being. ×1
- Nukva (the feminine / Malchus)נוקבא
- Malchus as the receiving configuration. ×1
- Delightתענוג
- Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×6
- The light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin)ממלא כל עלמין
- Divine light that enters each world and gives it life according to its measure.
- The light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin)סובב כל עלמין
- Divine light too great to enter the worlds; it 'surrounds' them and affects them from beyond.
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×2
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×10
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- ×3
- The Shechinah (Divine Presence)שכינה
- G‑d's presence as it dwells in the world. ×2
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions. ×3
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one. ×2
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×6
- The kav (line of light)קו
- The thin ray of light drawn into the space left after the tzimtzum. ×5
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×5