Glossary · Torah Ohr · Likkutei Torah
Re’iyah and shmiah
ראיה ושמיעה
Seeing and hearing (re’iyah and shmiah)
Two modes of grasping G‑dliness: seeing, from Chochmah, a close grasp that brings love and cannot be set aside; and hearing, from Binah, understanding from afar through letters, which lapses once the mind turns away.
Where it’s explained
- Torah Ohr, Vayeira 2, ¶20Seeing is drawn from Chochmah, the right line, and hearing from Binah, the left (Reuven and Shimon). So seeing goes from above to below and reaches lower, to physical things, while hearing goes from below upward, as letters rise into the ear; “I will go down and see” as against “the cry that has come.”
הראיה נמשך מבחי׳ חכמה קו הימין ושמיעה מבינה קו השמאל
- Torah Ohr, Mishpatim 1, ¶2Hearing is Binah: one may understand G‑d’s unity deeply, yet it is only hearing and understanding, so the moment he turns his mind away he follows his desires. When the unity is beheld by Chochmah, the source of Binah, it is like seeing with the eyes and cannot be set aside. At Sinai “all the people saw”; after the sin they were lowered to hearing. Souls of Atzilus have seeing; souls of Beriah, where Binah dwells, only hearing.
הוא ממש כמו ראיית העינים ואי אפשר לו בשום אופן להסיר מחשבתו וכל המדות מענין האחדות
- Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres 8, ¶1On a festival the King, who usually sits in his inner chambers, shows Himself, and seeing His face brings love; hearing of the king from afar brings awe, not love. In Temple times Israel received this seeing on the pilgrimage festivals: “all your males shall appear.”
וראייה זו היא גורמת האהבה וכמשל אהבת המלך שהיא באה מחמת ראיית פניו
- Likkutei Torah, Tzav 12, ¶10In Gan Eden the flow comes only through letters, which conceal, so it is only a radiance; in the Future, “I will show him wonders,” the revelation will be actual seeing, which is above hearing and understanding through letters: “hearing is not like seeing.”
אראנו דייקא בבחי׳ ראיה ממש שלמעלה מבחי׳ שמיעה והבנה שהיא ע״י אותיות
- Likkutei Torah, Vaeschanan 1, ¶14The arousal from above from this level cannot be grasped in thought; it is caught only by seeing, the gaze of the heart (“your eyes are doves”), a mere radiance like a flash of lightning in the mind, beyond what its grasp can contain.
ואינו נתפס כ״א בבחי׳ ראיה והסתכלות הלב
Stated differently
What hearing from afar brings: awe and not love, or a lower love
משא״כ ע״י שמיעה מרחוק הנה לשמע המלך נופל בחי׳ יראה ולא אהבהSeeing the King’s face brings love; hearing of the king from afar brings awe, not love.
אבל שמיעה היא מרחוק והיא הגורמת בחינת יראהSeeing is from close by and is love (Reuven, the first paragraph of the Shema, ratzo); hearing is from afar and causes awe (Shimon, the second paragraph, shov).
והאהבה הנמשך מבחי׳ ראיה היא בבחי׳ ביטול והיא למעלה מבחי׳ אהבה הנמשכת מבחי׳ שמיעה שהיא מרחוק והיא בחי׳ רשפי אשThe Torah, Chochmah, is seeing, and the love drawn from seeing is in bittul; it is above the love drawn from hearing, which is from afar and is fiery flashes.
Discussed by
The Mitteler Rebbe · Imrei Binah, p. 202–203
Having said that closeness (seeing) brings awe and distance brings love, the Mitteler Rebbe cites the opposite teaching, that hearing from afar brings awe (‘I heard and feared’) and love comes from closeness, and resolves it: the one speaks of love and awe that come from the giver, the other of those that come from the receiver.
ובמ״א מבואר להיפך ממש דחו״ב הן ראיה ושמיעה, דהינו ראיה דחכמה מקרוב והשגה דבינה נק׳ שמיעה מרחוק
Which of the two stands for the hidden: seeing, above understanding, or hearing from afar, to which seeing and comprehension withdraw
וזה היה בזמן קבלת התורה וכל העם רואים את הקולות רואים את הנשמע ולאחר שחטאו הוריד׳ מבחי׳ זו לבחי׳ שמיעה שהיא בחי׳ בינהSeeing is Chochmah, the source of Binah, before the matter comes to contemplation; hearing is Binah, understanding. At Sinai they were at seeing; after the sin they were brought down to hearing.
מה שהיה בבחי׳ שמיעה מרחוק שהוא בחי׳ ההעלם בא לידי גילוי וראיה ומה שהיה בבחי׳ ראיה והשגה נסתלק למקורו לבחי׳ ההעלם בחינת שמיעהAt Sinai the hidden itself was revealed: what had been hearing from afar, the hidden, came to revelation and seeing, and what had been seeing and comprehension withdrew to its source, the hidden, which is hearing.
Whether seeing is the inner essence of Chochmah or an outward power that does not enter within
כי גופה של חכמה ופנימיותה הוא ענין בחינת ראיהSeeing is Chochmah, a grasp of the essence; the body and inwardness of Chochmah is seeing, so prophecy is called seeing, while knowledge and feeling are a grasp from afar, only the back of Chochmah.
כי הראיה היא בחינת חיצוניות משא״כ שארי כחות כמו כח החכמה או כח המדותSeeing is an outward power, unlike the power of Chochmah or the emotions; it sees from outside without entering within. The eyes are from Chochmah, but from its Netzach and Hod clothed in physicality, not Chochmah itself.
Further in Chassidus
The Mitteler Rebbe · Shaarei Orah, p. 80
The Mitteler Rebbe explains why ‘hearing is not like seeing’: even deep understanding misses the thing as it truly is, while Chochmah’s close seeing grasps the light as it is and yields total bittul (yirah ila’ah, yirah being the letters of re’iyah).שהשמיעה גם שמשיג ומבין היטב בעומק הדבר אינו מכוין לאמתית הדבר כמו שהוא ממש רק כשרואה בעיניו דוקא
The Tzemach Tzedek · Or HaTorah, Shemos vol. 5, p. א׳תשה
The Tzemach Tzedek equates seeing and hearing with Chochmah and Binah and distinguishes the soul’s own hearing and seeing (Shema; the wise man who sees the new thing come from nothing) from a higher seeing granted from above, as at Sinai, where they ‘saw what is heard’.ואח״כ נמשך ראיה ושמיעה מלמעלה בחי׳ ראיה עליונה איך שלמעלה היש ולמטה אין כו׳ וזהו ענין עינים לראות ואזנים לשמוע הנמשך מלמעלה
The Rebbe Rashab · Sefer HaMaamarim 5672 (Hemshech Ayin-Beis), vol. 4 (new ed.), p. א׳רפו
The Rashab shows that seeing can be practiced even below, by training oneself to see the bittul of physical heaven and earth to G‑dliness, and that the bittul it brings is essential, unlike the mere submission that comprehension brings.דבהשגה והתבוננות, הביטול הוא בבחי׳ הכנעה לבד, אבל ע״י הראי׳ הביטול הוא בעצם מהות
Short quotes, © their publishers; each page opened by a second AI reader.
Main sources
Torah Ohr, Mishpatim 1, ¶2Torah Ohr, Vayeira 2, ¶20Torah Ohr, Vayechi 1, ¶7Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres 8, ¶1Likkutei Torah, Tzav 12, ¶10Likkutei Torah, Vaeschanan 1, ¶14Likkutei Torah, Chukas 8, ¶15
Where it appears
In 191 paragraphs of 127 maamarim.
- Likkutei Torah, Behar 2 ¶9 ¶16
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 5 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 8 ¶13 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 10 ¶25
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 2 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Matos 5 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 1 ¶6 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 3 ¶6 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 5 ¶1 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 9 ¶1 ¶2 ¶5 ¶21
- Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 3 ¶3 ¶11 ¶12
- Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres 5 ¶1 ¶28
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 16 ¶7 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 19 ¶12
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 33 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, V’Zos HaBerachah 5 ¶5 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, V’Zos HaBerachah 6 ¶3 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 4 ¶2 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 6 ¶20 ¶25 ¶26
- Torah Ohr, Mishpatim 1 ¶2 ¶3
- Torah Ohr, Shemos 2 ¶8
- Torah Ohr, Vayakhel 2 ¶1
- Torah Ohr, Vayeira 2 ¶3 ¶19 ¶20
- Likkutei Torah, Emor 1 ¶3 ¶12
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 12 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Bechukosai 6 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Devarim 1 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 3 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Korach 1 ¶32
- Likkutei Torah, Masei 3 ¶24 ¶26
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 5 ¶11 ¶25
- Likkutei Torah, Pinchas 2 ¶6 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 1 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 8 ¶4 ¶48
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 42 ¶5 ¶12
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 3 ¶2 ¶4
- Torah Ohr, Bereishis 1 ¶13
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 4 ¶22
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 15 ¶14 ¶15 ¶17 ¶19
- Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 1 ¶9 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Savo 1 ¶10 ¶12
- Likkutei Torah, Nasso 5 ¶13
- Torah Ohr, Tetzaveh 2 ¶10 ¶11
- Torah Ohr, Va’eira 1 ¶13
- Torah Ohr, Vayechi 1 ¶1 ¶2 ¶6 ¶7 ¶8
- Torah Ohr, Vayechi 2 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 1 ¶14 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 1 ¶6
- Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 1 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 20 ¶12 ¶13 ¶15 ¶16
- Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 3 ¶22
- Likkutei Torah, Behaaloscha 6 ¶24 ¶31
- Likkutei Torah, Masei 5 ¶23
- Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim 3 ¶17
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 4 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 2 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 10 ¶11
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 12 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 4 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 5 ¶14
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 27 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 30 ¶7
- Likkutei Torah, Sukkos 1 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Sukkos 4 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, V’Zos HaBerachah 2 ¶16
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 11 ¶5 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Vayikra 1 ¶18
- Torah Ohr, Shemos 1 ¶27 ¶28 ¶33
- Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 3 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 10 ¶13
- Likkutei Torah, Beshalach 1 ¶19 ¶23 ¶24 ¶26 ¶27
- Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 3 ¶25
- Likkutei Torah, Haazinu 4 ¶3 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Kedoshim 1 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Pinchas 1 ¶5
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 3 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Shelach 14 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 31 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Tzav 12 ¶10 ¶11
- Torah Ohr, Noach 4 ¶6 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Pekudei 1 ¶2
- Torah Ohr, Vayechi 4 ¶15 ¶21
- Likkutei Torah, Ki Seitzei 7 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres 8 ¶1 ¶2 ¶3 ¶8 ¶13 ¶15
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 28 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Tzav 9 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Vayikra 3 ¶10
- Torah Ohr, Ki Sisa 2 ¶7
- Torah Ohr, Mishpatim 4 ¶11
- Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei 4 ¶9
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 19 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 21 ¶10
- Likkutei Torah, Emor 6 ¶31
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 25 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Va’eschanan 5 ¶10
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 12 ¶32 ¶33 ¶39
- Torah Ohr, Shemos 3 ¶6 ¶10
- Torah Ohr, Vayechi 5 ¶15
- Torah Ohr, Yisro 7 ¶38 ¶39
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 11 ¶8
- Likkutei Torah, Bechukosai 2 ¶34
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 10 ¶16
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 32 ¶32
- Torah Ohr, Mikeitz 11 ¶23
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 29 ¶18
- Likkutei Torah, V’Zos HaBerachah 1 ¶5
- Torah Ohr, Lech Lecha 4 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 7 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, Acharei 2 ¶2
- Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 18 ¶8 ¶29
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 6 ¶2
- Torah Ohr, Chayei Sarah 4 ¶3
- Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 5 ¶7
- Torah Ohr, Parshas Zachor 1 ¶18
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 15 ¶12
- Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 6 ¶13
- Torah Ohr, Beshalach 2 ¶14
- Likkutei Torah, Re’eh 2 ¶3
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 1 ¶12
- Torah Ohr, Vayechi 3 ¶22
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 26 ¶22
- Torah Ohr, Bereishis 11 ¶4
- Likkutei Torah, Yom Kippur 3 ¶31
- Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 13 ¶3 ¶19
- Likkutei Torah, Chukas 7 ¶1
- Likkutei Torah, Tzav 1 ¶12
- Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres 7 ¶4
Written with AI from the paragraphs of Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah, each entry checked by a second AI reader and every Hebrew quote checked by code; not yet reviewed by a person. Our English: CC BY-NC 4.0.