LikuteiTorah.comThe Chassidishe Parsha
Sign in

Likkutei Torah · Parshas Acharei · Maamar 4

ביאור הדברים ע״פ כי ביום הזה יכפר הנ״ל,…

An explanation of the words on “For on this day He shall make atonement”

Biur · an explanation of maamar 3
  • 23 paragraphs · 90 sections
  • about 50 min of study
  • 90 sources

Begin the maamar Download PDFPDF · 574 KB

Your progress 0 of 90 sections

Kept on this device only. Sign in to save it on every device

The big idea

The Kohen Gadol’s white linen (bad) garments on Yom Kippur express G‑d “alone” (badad): the simple, essential light above every vessel, like white, which is no dye but the thing itself. From there, above all the inner and encompassing lights that Torah and mitzvos draw down, comes the atonement that fills every flaw.

The maamar in brief

Why does the Kohen Gadol serve on Yom Kippur in white linen? Linen (bad) grows one stalk to a seed, a sign of singleness drawn from the World of Oneness, and badad, “alone,” is G‑d as before creation. White is no dye but the thing itself, as the lights before the vessels are simple, without the forms of Chesed or Gevurah that the vessels give them. Torah and mitzvos draw down inner light from Mocha Stima’ah and encompassing light from the Gulgalta of Arich Anpin. The Torah is called a “garment white as snow” because the beard of Arich Anpin, rooted above Abba and Imma, becomes their garment, just as words, parables and the beard itself are garments rooted higher than what they clothe. Opposite holiness, craving and honor are the inner and encompassing levels of Nogah. On Yom Kippur Atika Kadisha, the source of delights, is revealed and fills every flaw in Torah and mitzvos. Cravings can be raised up by prayer from the depths; pride must be wiped away. The atonement comes from the One with no known Name, “exalted above exalted,” the Holy of Holies, which the linen garments draw down.

Outline

  1. Linen and whiteThe Kohen Gadol’s Yom Kippur garments are of bad, linen, which grows singly from the World of Oneness, and white, which is no dye but the thing itself, like the lights before the vessels give them form; the vessels, in the image of man, exist so that light can reach the finite worlds.¶1–5
  2. Torah, mitzvos and the garmentTorah draws inner light from Mocha Stima’ah and mitzvos encompassing light from the Gulgalta; the Torah’s “garment white as snow” is the beard of Arich Anpin, which, like words, a parable and the beard that grows at twenty, is a garment rooted higher than what it clothes.¶6–13
  3. Nogah, opposite holinessCraving is the inner level and pride the encompassing level of Nogah, the yesh opposed to the self-nullification on which holiness and the mitzvos, called tzedakah, are founded.¶14
  4. Atika Kadisha and the essence of delightYom Kippur reveals Atika Kadisha, the source of delights above will and wisdom, which fills every flaw; the white linen garments express the essence of delight, and bad, from the four hundred worlds of yearning, “passes beyond” the encompassing lights.¶15–18
  5. Two kinds of purificationPride and haughtiness, the encompassing levels of Nogah, are wiped away by the atonement, as the blood of the sacrifices arouses the Gevuros against them; cravings, which became the body’s life-force, are raised up by prayer from the depths, as the fats were consumed by the fire from above.¶19–20
  6. Exalted above exaltedAbove the vessels, inner and encompassing light do not apply; G‑d alone, beyond even sovev kol almin, is the Holy of Holies, and the Kohen Gadol’s linen garments draw down from there the light that fills every flaw.¶21–23

Key concepts

Bad (linen)בד
Linen, which grows one stalk to a seed; it stands for singleness, the World of Oneness, and G‑d “alone” (badad).
Whiteלבן
Not a dye added to a thing but the thing’s own nature; an image of the simple light before it enters vessels, and of the essence of delight.
Lights and vesselsאורות וכלים
Divine light is simple in itself; the vessels give it the forms of the Sefiros, like dye on a plain cloth, so that it can reach the finite worlds.
Inner and encompassing lightאור פנימי ואור מקיף
Light that enters a vessel and light that surrounds it from above; the Torah draws the first from Mocha Stima’ah, the mitzvos the second from the Gulgalta of Arich Anpin.
The tikkunim of the beard (tikkunei dikna)תיקוני דיקנא
The thirteen features of the beard of Arich Anpin, rooted in Mocha Stima’ah, which descend to become garments for Abba and Imma: the Torah’s “garment white as snow.”
Nogahנוגה
The kelipah opposite holiness, whose inner level is physical craving and whose encompassing level is pride; it is yesh, the opposite of self-nullification.
Atika Kadishaעתיקא קדישא
The level above the Gulgalta and Mocha Stima’ah, the source of delights, revealed on Yom Kippur to fill every flaw.
Exalted above exaltedגאה על גאה
The Infinite One beyond even sovev kol almin, with no relation to worlds at all: G‑d “alone,” the Holy of Holies.

Skip to the text

Linen and white ¶1–5

1ביאור הדברים ע״פ כי ביום הזה יכפר הנ״ל, הנה נקדים ענין בגדי לבן דכה״ג [דכהן גדול] שעבודת יוהכ״פ [יום הכפורים] הוא בבגדי לבן.

An explanation of the words on the verse “For on this day He shall make atonement,” mentioned above. Now, let us first introduce the matter of the white garments of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest), for the service of Yom Kippur is in white garments.

Explanation

The maamar presents itself as an explanation (biur) on Leviticus 16:30, “For on this day He shall make atonement for you,” the verse discussed earlier in Likkutei Torah. It begins with a preliminary topic: on Yom Kippur the Kohen Gadol performed the central service of the day in white garments rather than in his golden ones.

והנה הן היו מפשתן דייקא וכמ״ש כתנת בד קדש ילבש ומכנסי בד כו׳. בגדי קדש הם.

Now, they were of flax specifically, as it is written, “He shall put on a holy linen (bad) tunic, and linen breeches,” etc. “They are holy garments.”

Explanation

These white garments were made of flax, as the Torah prescribes for Yom Kippur: a holy linen (bad) tunic and linen breeches, which “are holy garments.” The word bad, linen, becomes the key to the whole maamar.

Paragraph 1 in brief

The maamar opens with the Kohen Gadol’s white linen garments on Yom Kippur, which the Torah calls “holy garments,” as its way into the verse “For on this day He shall make atonement.”

Deeper

According to the Kehot note, this maamar was said in 5570 (1809–10). The Mitteler Rebbe later delivered a maamar founded on it, printed in Maamarei Admur HaEmtzaei, Vayikra, vol. 2, p. 515, which the notes quote more than once below.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ביאור . . כי ביום הזה יכפר · מאמר משנת תק״ע — ראה רשימת המאמרים בסה״מ תקס״ט ע׳ שמג. במאמרי אדה״א ויקרא-ב ע׳ תקטו שמיוסד על זה המאמר.
  2. 2
    Leviticus 16:30
  3. 3
    שעבודת יוהכ״פ בבגדי לבן · Yoma 32b:5–6
  4. 4
    כתנת בד קדש · Leviticus 16:4
  5. 5
    בגדי קדש הם · Zohar, Vayechi 17:120–19:134
  6. 6
    בגדי קדש הם · Zohar, Pekudei 40:353–363

2וע׳ [ועיין] בזהר פ׳ ויחי דרי״ז א׳ ובפ׳ פקודי דף רל״ט א׳ ובגמרא בזבחים דף י״ח ב׳ דאמר קרא בד דבר העולה מן הקרקע בד בבד.

And see in the Zohar, Parshas Vayechi, page 217a, and in Parshas Pekudei, page 239a, and in the Gemara, in Zevachim, page 18b: the verse says bad, [meaning] “a thing that grows from the ground singly (bad bevad).”

Explanation

The Alter Rebbe points to two passages of the Zohar on the priestly garments and to the Talmud, which proves that the bad of the priestly garments is flax: it is “a thing that grows from the ground singly” (bad bevad). The word bad thus carries the sense of “one alone.”

ופרש״י [ופירש רש״י / ופירוש רש״י] שם קנה יחידי מכל גרעין ואין ב׳ קנים עולים מגזע אחד, משא״כ בשאר כל מיני צמחה כמו חטים ודגן שכמה שבלים עולין מחטה אחת.

And Rashi explains there: a single stalk from each seed, and two stalks do not come up from one stem; which is not so with all other kinds of plants, such as wheat and grain, where several ears come up from one kernel of wheat.

Explanation

Rashi explains the Talmud’s words: each flax seed sends up a single stalk, and two never grow from one root, whereas wheat and other grains send up several ears from a single kernel. Flax is a plant of singleness.

והענין לפי שבחי׳ בד היינו שנמשך מעולם האחדות, ועד״ז [ועל דרך זה] יובן ענין קרבן קין דכתיב ויבא קין מפרי האדמה מנחה לה׳ וארז״ל [ואמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] זרע פשתן היה.

And the explanation is that the level of bad means that it is drawn from the World of Oneness. And in the same way one can understand the matter of Kayin’s offering, as it is written, “And Kayin brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to Havayah,” and our Sages, of blessed memory, said: it was flax seed.

Explanation

The inner reason is that bad, singleness, is drawn from the “World of Oneness,” a level where there is no multiplicity. The same idea explains why Kayin’s offering “of the fruit of the ground” was, as the Sages say, flax seed.

והיינו לפי שהוא בחי׳ בד (ועיין בלק״ת [בלקוטי תורה (להאריז״ל)] פ׳ קדושים באזהרת שעטנז והנה קין העלה כו׳ ובזח״ב [ובזהר חלק ב׳] תצוה קפ״א ב׳ ובזח״ג [ובזהר חלק ג] קדושים פ״ז [פרק ז׳] א׳).

And this is because it is the level of bad. (And see the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, Parshas Kedoshim, on the prohibition of shaatnez: “Now, Kayin brought up,” etc.; and the Zohar, Part II, Tetzaveh, 181b; and the Zohar, Part III, Kedoshim, 87a.)

Explanation

Kayin offered flax because flax is the level of bad. The parenthesis sends the reader to the Arizal’s comments on the prohibition of shaatnez (wool and linen woven together) and to two passages of the Zohar, one of which says that Kayin’s offering was flax and Hevel’s was wool.

ולכן היה הכה״ג [הכהן גדול] צ״ל [צריך להיות / צריך לומר / צריך להבין] לבוש ביוהכ״פ [ביום הכפורים] בעבודת היום בבגדי בד דייקא כי אז הוא נכנס לפני ולפנים בעולם האחדות לכפר על כל פשעי בנ״י [בני ישראל] וכמ״ש ונסלח כו׳ והיינו בבגדי פשתן דוקא.

Therefore, on Yom Kippur, in the service of the day, the Kohen Gadol had to be clothed in linen (bad) garments specifically, for then he enters the innermost sanctum, into the World of Oneness, to atone for all the transgressions of the children of Israel, as it is written, “And it shall be forgiven,” etc.; and this is in garments of flax specifically.

Explanation

This is why the Kohen Gadol wore linen specifically for the service of the day: on Yom Kippur he entered the innermost sanctum, and with it the World of Oneness, to win atonement for all Israel. The forgiveness the verse speaks of (“And it shall be forgiven”) comes from that place of oneness.

וזהו ענין הוי׳ בדד ינחנו. פי׳ בדד הוא בחי׳ לבדו כמו קודם שנברא העולם וכמ״ש במ״א

And this is the meaning of “Havayah alone (badad) guided him.” That is, badad is the level of “He alone” (levado), as before the world was created, as is explained elsewhere

Explanation

The verse “Havayah alone (badad) guided him” uses a word close to bad: badad means “alone.” It describes G‑d as He alone, as He was before the world was created, when nothing existed besides Him.

(ועמ״ש סד״ה וארא אל אברהם בענין בחי׳ יחיד וסד״ה להבין הענין שתפלת הבעל עסק כו׳ יחוד או״א [אבא ואימא] כו׳ משא״כ למעלה מעלה בחי׳ אנכי כו׳ וע׳ [ועיין] בסש״ב [בספר של בינונים] ח״ב [חלק ב׳] פ״ט בהג״ה [בהגהה].

(And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “And I appeared to Avraham,” on the level of Yachid (the Single One); and at the end of the discourse beginning “To understand the matter that the prayer of a businessman,” etc.: the union of Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah), etc., whereas far, far higher is the level of Anochi (“I”), etc. And see Sefer Shel Beinonim (Tanya), Part II, chapter 9, in the gloss.

Explanation

A parenthesis of further reading: the end of the Torah Ohr discourse “And I appeared to Avraham,” on the level called Yachid (the Single One); another discourse, which contrasts the union of Abba and Imma with the far higher level called Anochi (“I”); and a gloss in Tanya, Part II, chapter 9.

וע׳ [ועיין] עוד מענין בד בלק״ת [בלקוטי תורה (להאריז״ל)] פ׳ צו גבי מדו בד ובע״ח [ובעץ חיים] שער א״א [אריך אנפין] פ״ה ועיין בר״ח [בראשית חכמה] שער התשובה פ״ג [פרק ג׳] ובמא״א אות ב׳ ס״ד ועיין מ״ש במ״א גבי עד הגל).

And see further on the matter of bad in the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, Parshas Tzav, on “his linen (bad) garment,” and in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Arich Anpin, chapter 5; and see Reishis Chochmah, Sha’ar HaTeshuvah, chapter 3, and Me’orei Or, the letter beis, §64; and see what is written elsewhere concerning “the mound is witness”).

Explanation

More references on bad: the Arizal on “his linen garment” (Leviticus 6:3), the chapter of Etz Chaim on Arich Anpin, the Reishis Chochmah and the Me’orei Or. The last, “the mound is witness,” comes from the covenant between Yaakov and Lavan, whose name means “white”; the Kehot note suggests it refers to a discourse in the Siddur that explains the supernal White.

ולכך הן בגדי לבן, כי בחי׳ הלובן אינו כשאר הגוונים. כי הוא בחי׳ עצמיות של הדבר ואין כאן דבר נוסף רק עצם הדבר לבד.

And therefore they are white garments, for the aspect of whiteness is not like the other colors. For it is the level of the thing’s own essence, and there is nothing added here, only the essence of the thing alone.

Explanation

Now comes the reason for white. Whiteness is not a color like the others: a white garment shows the material itself, with nothing added to it.

משא״כ שאר הגוונים שהם צבע שצובעים בו אדום ירוק. שהצבע אדום הוא דבר נוסף על עצם הדבר שהיה לבן עד״מ [על דרך משל] ועכשיו ע״י הצבע נעשה אדום,

Whereas the other colors are a dye with which [things] are dyed, red [or] green. For the red dye is something added onto the essence of the thing, which was, for example, white, and now through the dye has become red;

Explanation

Other colors are dyes applied to a material. Red is something added to a thing that was, for example, white, and has now been made red.

ונמצא זהו הרכבה על עצם הדבר משא״כ גוון לבן שהוא עצמי ואינו צבע ומה שמכבסים בגדי פשתן בלשון אשכנז (בלייחט לאייווענט) היינו רק שע״י זה יתוסף ויתגלה עצם הלבנונית

so it turns out that this is a compound upon the essence of the thing. Whereas the color white is essential and is not a dye. And the laundering of linen garments, called in the language of Ashkenaz (bleicht leivent, “bleaching linen”), is only so that through it the essence of the whiteness will be enhanced and revealed.

Explanation

A dyed color is therefore a compound, something laid over the thing itself, while white is the thing’s own nature and not a dye. Even bleaching linen adds nothing new; it only brings out and reveals the whiteness the material already has.

והנמשל מזה כי הנה ידוע ענין אורות וכלים שקודם שנאצלו הכלים לא שייך לומר על שפע אור א״ס [אין סוף] שהוא קרוב לחסד יותר מחכמה.

And the analogue of this: it is known, regarding lights and vessels, that before the vessels were emanated, it cannot be said of the flow of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) that it is closer to Chesed (kindness) than to Chochmah (wisdom).

Explanation

Here the analogy is applied. Before the vessels of the Sefiros were emanated, the flow of the Infinite Light had no particular character: one could not say it was closer to Chesed (kindness) than to Chochmah (wisdom).

כי לאו מכל מדות אלין איהו כלל. רק אחר שהכלי הגביל את האור נעשה התמונה בהאור להיות אור החסד או אור הגבורה שאז נק׳ הספירה

For “He is not of any of these attributes at all.” Only after the vessel has limited the light is the form made in the light, to be the light of Chesed or the light of Gevurah (restraint), for then the Sefirah is called

Explanation

As the Tikkunei Zohar says of G‑d, “He is not of any of these attributes at all.” Only when a vessel limits the light does the light take on a form, as the light of Chesed or of Gevurah (restraint), and only then is that Sefirah called by its name.

בשם זה דוקא משא״כ האורות בעצמן הן בחי׳ בלי מה בלי מהות כו׳ שהאור מעין המאור למעלה מעלה ממהות מדות ואפילו ממהות חב״ד [חכמה בינה ודעת] כו׳ כנודע.

by this name specifically. Whereas the lights in themselves are the level of “without what” (beli mah), without a defined nature, etc.; for the light is akin to the Luminary, far, far above the defined nature of the attributes (middos), and even above the defined nature of Chochmah, Binah and Daas, etc., as is known.

Explanation

The lights in themselves are “without what” (beli mah), the term Sefer Yetzirah uses for the Sefiros: they have no definable nature. The light is akin to its source, the Luminary, and so it is far above the defined character of the emotive attributes, and even of Chochmah, Binah and Daas.

Paragraph 2 in brief

Linen (bad) grows one stalk to a seed and so stands for singleness, the World of Oneness that the Kohen Gadol enters on Yom Kippur. White, unlike every dyed color, is the material itself, just as the lights before the vessels are simple and without form.

Deeper

The Kehot notes bring the Mitteler Rebbe’s refinement: even colors a thing is born with, like the red of blood or of the scarlet thread, or gold, which appears green, are still something added to the substance, whereas the whiteness of a sheep’s wool is not called a color at all. In Ateres Rosh he adds that red holds many mixtures leaning toward other colors, while white has no such compounds.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    Zevachim 18b:16
  2. 2
    כמו חטים ודגן · ההפרש מבואר בביאה״ז להצ״צ-א ע׳ רצד.
  3. 3
    שנמשך מעולם האחדות · ראה לקו״ש-טו ע׳ 25 הערה 43.
  4. 4
    ענין קרבן קין · ראה לקו״ש חט״ו ע׳ 25.
  5. 5
    ענין קרבן קין · Zohar, Kedoshim 18:118–19:127
  6. 6
    ויבא קין מפרי האדמה · Genesis 4:3
  7. 7
    ויבא קין מפרי האדמה מנחה לה׳ · Zohar, Tetzaveh 3:38–5:48
  8. 8
    וארז״ל זרע פשתן הי׳ · Bava Metzia 25a:14–16
  9. 9
    זרע פשתן היה · Midrash Tanchuma, Bereshit 9:1
  10. 10
    זרע פשתן היה · Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 21:5
  11. 11
    ולכן הי׳ הכה״ג צ״ל לבוש · מכאן מובא באוה״ת סוכות ע׳ א׳תשיז.
  12. 12
    בעבודת היום · במאמרי אדה״א דברים-ג ע׳ א׳קלט מבאר מעשה הקטרת בבגדי לבן. עטרת ראש לז, ב.
  13. 13
    הוי׳ בדד ינחנו · Deuteronomy 32:12
  14. 14
    סד״ה וארא אל אברהם · תו״א נו, א.
  15. 15
    Leviticus 6:3
  16. 16
    מ״ש במ״א גבי עד הגל · אולי הכוונה לסידור דף דש, ד דשם מבאר ענין לבן העליון. וד״ה זה מצויין גם באוה״ת נ״ך-ב ע׳ א׳מג ושם הכוונה להדרוש שבסידור.
  17. 17
    עד הגל · Genesis 31:52
  18. 18
    משא״כ שאר הגוונים שהם צבע שצובעים בו אדום ירוק · ”יש דברים שנולדו בגוון אדום או ירוק כמו חוט השני שנתהווה בגוון אדום או הדם שהוויתו במראה אדום או הזהב שהוויתו במראה ירוק, וגם אם יחתוך אותו לחלקים קטנים ביותר ימצא בכולן גוון האדום או הירוק להיותן טבעיים בתחלת הוויתן ותולדותן וא״כ לכאורה אין הפרש כלל בין מראה אדום למראה לבן בזה, אך מ״מ יש הפרש גדול כי הגם שהאדמימות של הדם נולד עם הדם מתחלת הוויתו, מ״מ אין האדמימות עיקר מהות עצם הדם רק שנולד עמו יחד, אבל הוא דבר נוסף על עצמו, וגם שנכנס בתוך כל חלקי הקטנים בטבע התולדה מ״מ הוא דבר נוסף על כל החלקים . . משא״כ מראה צמר כבש לבן אינו נק׳ מראה וגוון להיות נוסף על עצם הצמר . . כי הלבנונית אינו דבר בפ״ע” — מאמרי אדה״א ויקרא-ב ע׳ תקטו. וראה גם סה״מ תקס״ג-ב ע׳ תקלג. סה״מ תרס״ו ע׳ שעג ואילך. וראה בארוכה בעטרת ראש שער יוהכ״פ ע׳ 64 ושם מבאר שבמראה אדום יש כמה רבוי מזיגות הרכבות שנוטים למראה אחרת כמו מראה הזהב שהוא אדום ונוטה לירוק וכו׳, אבל במראה לבן לא ימצא בו הרכבות שינוי אופנים ע״ש.
  19. 19
    גוון לבן שהוא עצמי · ראה תו״א כד, ב. אוה״ת דרושים לסוכות ע׳ א׳תשיז. לקו״ש ח״ט ע׳ 17.
  20. 20
    ויתגלה עצם הלבנונית · באוה״ת סוכות ע׳ א׳תשיז נוסף ביאור ”שיש בו מכבר ע״י שמסירים את דבר המחשיך ע״י כיבוס וזריחת החמה כידוע”.
  21. 21
    לאו מכל מדות אלין · ת״ז בהקדמה.
  22. 22
    לאו מכל מדות אלין איהו כלל · Tikkunei Zohar 17b:5–7
  23. 23
    בלי מה · Sefer Yetzirah 1:2
  24. 24
    בלי מה בלי מהות · ספר יצירה פ״א מ״ב.
  25. 25
    שהאור מעין המאור . . כנודע · ראה אגה״ק סי׳ כ.
  26. 26
    ונסלח גו׳ · Numbers 15:26

3וזהו ענין ההפרש שבין גוון לבן לשאר הגוונים. שבחי׳ לבן שהוא גוון עצמי ואין כאן דבר זולת עצם המהות זה הוא למעלה בחי׳ האורות

And this is the meaning of the difference between the color white and the other colors. For the aspect of white, which is an essential color, where there is nothing other than the essence itself, is, above, the level of the lights

Explanation

This is what the difference between white and the other colors teaches. White, the essential color, where there is nothing but the substance itself, corresponds above to the lights as they are in themselves.

כמו שהם בעצמן קודם שנתלבשו בכלים שע״ז [שעל זה] מורה המראה לבן שההארה והגילוי הוא אור א״ס [אין סוף] ממש פשוט בתכלית הפשיטות,

as they are in themselves, before they were enclothed in vessels. To this the white appearance points: that the illumination and revelation is the very Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), simple in utter simplicity.

Explanation

The lights in themselves are the lights before they enter vessels. The white appearance shows that the illumination is the Infinite Light itself, utterly simple, without form or division.

אבל כשהאורות מתלבשים בכלים ונעשה בחי׳ אור בכלי החסד או בכלי הגבורה שהכלי מגבלת האור הפשוט ועושה בו תמונה

But when the lights are enclothed in vessels and become the level of light in the vessel of Chesed (kindness) or in the vessel of Gevurah (restraint), the vessel limits the simple light and makes a form in it,

Explanation

When the lights enter vessels, they become light within the vessel of Chesed (kindness) or of Gevurah (restraint). The vessel limits the simple light and gives it a form.

כמו הגוון והצבע ירוק או אדום הנעשה על דבר הפשוט כו׳ שנצבע אותו הדבר הפשוט. להיות ירוק סומק כו׳ אש ומים חו״ג [חסד וגבורה] כו׳

like the color and dye, green or red, that is made upon a simple thing, etc., with which that simple thing is dyed, to be green [or] red (sumak), etc.: fire and water, Chesed and Gevurah, etc.

Explanation

This is like green or red dye applied to a plain material, coloring it. So the one simple light takes on contrasting forms, like fire and water, which stand for Gevurah and Chesed.

(ועמ״ש במ״א ע״פ אם בחקתי תלכו בענין ההפרש שבין אותיות החקיקה שהם מיניה וביה ובין אותיות הכתב שהדיו הוא דבר נוסף כו׳, דלכאורה זהו קרוב להפרש המבואר כאן בין לבן לשאר הגוונים ממש):

(And see what is written elsewhere on the verse “If you walk in My statutes,” on the difference between engraved letters, which are of the thing itself and within it, and written letters, where the ink is something added, etc.; for apparently this is truly close to the difference explained here between white and the other colors.)

Explanation

The Alter Rebbe adds a cross-reference to his discourse on “If you walk in My statutes,” which contrasts engraved letters, part of the material itself, with written letters, where the ink is an addition. He observes that this seems to be the very difference drawn here between white and the other colors.

Paragraph 3 in brief

White and the other colors mirror the lights and the vessels: the light in itself is simple, like white, and the vessel gives it a form, like dye laid on a plain material.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    Leviticus 26:3

4והנה התלבשות האורות בכלים הוא כדי שעי״ז יומשך מהאור התהוות העולמות ובעלי גבול וזהו רבות עשית כו׳ נפלאותיך ומחשבותיך אלינו כו׳

Now, the enclothing of the lights in vessels is so that through this the coming into being of the worlds and of limited beings may be drawn from the light. And this is [the meaning of] “Many have You made,” etc., “Your wonders and Your thoughts toward us,” etc.

Explanation

Why do the lights enter vessels at all? So that finite worlds and limited beings can come into being from the light. The Alter Rebbe finds this in Psalms 40:6, “Many have You made... Your wonders and Your thoughts toward us.”

פי׳ שכדי שיומשך מהאורות דע״ס [דעשר ספירות] שהם בחינת נפלאותיך ומחשבותיך אלינו דהיינו בבי״ע [בבריאה יצירה עשיה] עצמו מספר רבוא רבבות הצמצומים והיינו בחי׳ הכלים כו׳ וכלים מכלים שונים כו׳.

That is: in order that there be drawn from the lights of the Ten Sefiros, which are the level of “Your wonders and Your thoughts,” “toward us,” that is, into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah themselves, [You made] the number of tens of thousands of myriads of contractions (tzimtzumim); and this is the level of the vessels, etc., “and vessels differing one from another,” etc.

Explanation

“Your wonders and Your thoughts” are the lights of the Ten Sefiros, and “toward us” means into the lower worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. To bring them there, G‑d made “many”: countless contractions, which are the vessels, each different from the next, “vessels differing one from another,” in the words of the Book of Esther.

Paragraph 4 in brief

The vessels, the many contractions of the light, exist so that the Divine light can reach the finite worlds; this is how the Alter Rebbe reads “Many have You made... Your wonders and Your thoughts toward us.”

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    Psalms 40:6
  2. 2
    וכלים מכלים שונים · Esther 1:7

5ודרך כלל הכלים הוא ציור אדם כמ״ש בצלמנו כדמותינו והיינו חב״ד [חכמה בינה ודעת] חג״ת [חסד גבורה תפארת] נה״י [נצח הוד יסוד]. ונה״י [ונצח הוד יסוד] מתלבשים בעשייה עד שעי״ז נמשך מחכמה דאצי׳ [דאצילות]

And in general, the vessels are the form of a man, as it is written, “In Our image, after Our likeness”: that is, Chochmah, Binah and Daas; Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes; Netzach, Hod and Yesod. And Netzach, Hod and Yesod are enclothed in the World of Asiyah (Action), until through this [light] is drawn from the Chochmah of Atzilus (Emanation)

Explanation

In general the vessels take the form of a human figure, as in “In Our image, after Our likeness”: the Sefiros in three tiers, Chochmah, Binah and Daas; Chesed, Gevurah and Tiferes; Netzach, Hod and Yesod. The lowest tier is enclothed in the World of Asiyah, and through it light even from the Chochmah of Atzilus reaches down.

להתלבש ג״כ בעשייה וכמארז״ל [וכמאמר רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] טפה זו מה תהא עליה חכם כו׳ והיינו ע״י רבבות צמצומים כנ״ל וכ״ז [וכל זה] אינו אלא לפי שהאור החכמה נתלבש בגוון וכלי.

to be enclothed in Asiyah as well, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “This drop, what will become of it? A wise man,” etc. And this is through myriads of contractions, as mentioned above. And all this is only because the light of Chochmah was enclothed in a color and a vessel.

Explanation

So the Chochmah of Atzilus comes to be enclothed even in Asiyah, as the Talmud says that the angel appointed over conception brings each drop before G‑d and asks what will become of it, a wise man or a fool. Wisdom in a physical person is the end of myriads of contractions, and it is possible only because the light of Chochmah was clothed in a “color” and a vessel.

משא״כ האור כמו שהוא פשוט כו׳ וזהו ענין בגדי לבן כנ״ל. ולכן לענין אבל לא אסרו אלא כלים חדשים לבנים בלבד. (וע׳ [ועיין] בלק״ת [בלקוטי תורה (להאריז״ל)] פ׳ ויחי):

Whereas the light, as it is, is simple, etc. And this is the matter of the white garments, as mentioned above. And therefore, regarding a mourner, they forbade only new white garments. (And see the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal, Parshas Vayechi.)

Explanation

The light as it is in itself is simple, and that is what the white garments express. This is also why, in the ruling the Alter Rebbe cites, a mourner is forbidden to wear freshly pressed garments only when they are new and white: the Tzemach Tzedek, quoted in the Kehot notes, explains that pressing (gihutz) is forbidden in mourning only for white garments, since pressing brings their essential whiteness from concealment into revelation, while other colors are only dyes.

Paragraph 5 in brief

The vessels form the image of man, through which even the Chochmah of Atzilus reaches Asiyah by countless contractions; but the light in itself is simple, which is what the white garments express, and why a mourner is restricted only in new white garments.

Deeper

The Kehot note identifies the closing reference as the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah on Parshas Vayechi, in its section of Ta’amei HaMitzvos (the reasons for the commandments).

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    טפה זו מה תהא עלי׳ · Niddah 16b:12
  2. 2
    ולכן לענין אבל . . לבנים בלבד · ”ולכן באבל אסור גיהוץ רק בבגדים לבנים שע״י הגיהוץ נתגלה עצם המראה הלובן מהעלם אל הגילוי, משא״כ בשאר צבעים אין איסור הגיהוץ כי הם רק גוונים ולא עצם כמו גוון לבן” — אוה״ת שה״ש-א ע׳ קסב.
  3. 3
    לא אסרו אלא כלים חדשים לבנים בלבד · Moed Katan 23a:8
  4. 4
    ועי׳ בלקו״ת פ׳ ויחי · להאריז״ל. בטעמי המצות שם.
  5. 5
    Genesis 1:26

Torah, mitzvos and the garment ¶6–13

6ב והנה להבין ענין בגדי בד קודש לכה״ג [לכהן גדול] ביום הכפורים דייקא יום הסליחה. יש להקדים ענין הידוע שע״י קיום התורה ומצות ממשיכים אורות פנימים ואורות מקיפים, כי

2. Now, to understand the matter of the holy linen (bad) garments of the Kohen Gadol on Yom HaKippurim specifically, the day of forgiveness, we must first introduce the known matter that through fulfilling the Torah and mitzvos one draws down inner lights and encompassing lights. For

Explanation

Chapter 2 asks why the Kohen Gadol needs holy linen garments precisely on Yom Kippur, the day of forgiveness. It starts from a known principle: through Torah and mitzvos a person draws down two kinds of light, inner lights, which enter and fill a vessel, and encompassing lights, which remain above it and affect it from beyond.

הנה אורייתא מחכמה נפקת ושרשה ממו״ס [ממוחא סתימאה] דא״א [דאריך אנפין] שהיא נק׳ בחי׳ אור פנימי כמ״ש בע״ח [בעץ חיים] שער א״א [אריך אנפין] פ״ד מו״ס [מוחא סתימאה] דא״א [דאריך אנפין] הנק׳ חכמה

“the Torah issues from Chochmah (wisdom),” and its root is from Mocha Stima’ah (the hidden brain) of Arich Anpin, which is called the level of inner light (or pnimi), as is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Arich Anpin, chapter 4: “The Mocha Stima’ah of Arich Anpin, which is called Chochmah,

Explanation

The Torah, in the Zohar’s words, “issues from Chochmah,” and its root is in Mocha Stima’ah, the “hidden brain” of Arich Anpin, the configuration of Keser; this is inner light. The Alter Rebbe quotes Etz Chaim to this effect.

והוא סוד אור פנימי והמצות הן נמשכות מגולגלתא דא״א [דאריך אנפין] שהוא בחי׳ אור מקיף (כמ״ש בע״ח [בעץ חיים] שם ובפרק ג׳ ועיין בע״ח [בעץ חיים] שכ״ב ספ״ו).

is the secret of inner light.” And the mitzvos are drawn from the Gulgalta (skull) of Arich Anpin, which is the level of encompassing light (or makif) (as is written in Etz Chaim there, and in chapter 3; and see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 22, at the end of chapter 6).

Explanation

Etz Chaim says that this Mocha Stima’ah, called Chochmah, is the secret of inner light, while the Gulgalta (skull) of Arich Anpin, from which the mitzvos are drawn, is encompassing light. A Kehot note says that the reference to Sha’ar 22, end of chapter 6, should read the end of chapter 1, which in our editions is in Sha’ar 23.

ואע״ג [ואף על גב] שעל התורה נאמר לבושיה כתלג חיוור הרי שהתורה היא ג״כ בחי׳ לבוש ומקיף. הענין

And although of the Torah it is said, “His garment was white as snow,” which shows that the Torah too is the level of a garment and an encompassing [light], the explanation is

Explanation

A difficulty: of the Torah it is said, “His garment was white as snow,” words from Daniel’s vision of the Ancient of Days. That would make the Torah a garment, an encompassing light, rather than an inner one.

כי לבושיה כתלג חיוור קאי על י״ג ת״ד [תיקוני דיקנא] שהם נעשים לבושים וחופפים על או״א [אבא ואימא] שלכך נק׳ או״א [אבא ואימא] דאצי׳ [דאצילות] הנסתרות לה׳ וכנודע דהנסתרות היינו י״ה שהם או״א [אבא ואימא] ומה שנק׳ נסתרות היינו לפי

that “His garment was white as snow” refers to the thirteen tikkunim of the beard (tikkunei dikna), which become garments and hover over Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah). That is why Abba and Imma of Atzilus (Emanation) are called “The hidden things belong to Havayah,” as is known that “the hidden things” are Yud-Hei, which are Abba and Imma; and they are called “hidden” because

Explanation

The answer: these words refer to the thirteen tikkunim (features) of the beard of Arich Anpin, which become garments over Abba and Imma, the Chochmah and Binah of Atzilus. That is why Abba and Imma are called “the hidden things” of Deuteronomy 29:28: they are the letters Yud-Hei of the Name, “hidden” because they are covered.

שהם מחופים ומכוסים בדיקנא דאריך, ואע״פ [ואף על פי] שהדיקנא היא נמשכה ממו״ס [ממוחא סתימאה] [והרמ״ז [והרב משה זכות] בפ׳ בראשית דף ח׳ כ׳ [כתב] בשם הפע״ח [הפרי עץ חיים] שהדיקנא מאירה ומתכוננת מג׳ מוחין חב״ד [חכמה בינה ודעת] היושבין לעילא בגולגלתא כו׳

they are covered and concealed by the beard of Arich [Anpin]. And although the beard is drawn from Mocha Stima’ah [and the Ramaz, on Parshas Bereshis, page 8, writes in the name of the Pri Etz Chaim that the beard shines and is formed from the three mochin, Chochmah, Binah and Daas, that rest above, in the Gulgalta, etc.,

Explanation

What covers them is the beard of Arich Anpin. Yet the beard is drawn from Mocha Stima’ah, and the Ramaz, citing the Pri Etz Chaim, says it shines from the three mochin that rest in the Gulgalta, all of which are above Abba and Imma.

אשר כ״ז [כל זה] הוא למעלה מאו״א [מאבא ואימא] דאצילות]. אך עכ״ז [עם כל זה] השפלתה הוא יותר למטה להיות ג״כ לבוש לאו״א [לאבא ואימא] דאצילות.

all of which is above Abba and Imma of Atzilus], nevertheless its lowering goes further down, to be a garment for Abba and Imma of Atzilus as well.

Explanation

Even so, the beard descends lower, to serve also as a garment for Abba and Imma of Atzilus. A higher level becoming the garment of a lower one is the key to what follows.

Paragraph 6 in brief

The Torah draws down inner light from Mocha Stima’ah and the mitzvos encompassing light from the Gulgalta; the verse that calls the Torah a “garment white as snow” refers to the beard of Arich Anpin, which, though rooted above Abba and Imma, descends to cover them.

Deeper

Etz Chaim (Sha’ar Arich Anpin, chapter 4) describes three “heads” in Arich Anpin: the Gulgalta, called Keser, the great encompassing light; the Avira, a lesser encompassing light; and the Mocha Stima’ah, the inner light. This is the basis for pairing the mitzvos with the Gulgalta and the Torah with Mocha Stima’ah. The Kehot note gives the Ramaz’s source as the Pri Etz Chaim, Sha’ar HaSelichos, chapter 5.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    אורייתא מחכמה נפקת · Zohar II, 121a
  2. 2
    והוא סוד אור פנימי · Sefer Etz Chaim 13:4
  3. 3
    ע״ח שכ״ב ספ״ו · צ״ל ספ״א לפננו שכ״ג. [כ].
  4. 4
    לבושיה כתלג חיוור · Daniel 7:9
  5. 5
    הנסתרות לה׳ · Deuteronomy 28:29
  6. 6
    הנסתרות לה׳ · Deuteronomy 29:28
  7. 7
    ואע״פ שהדיקנא היא נמשכה ממו״ס · במאמרי אדה״א ויקרא-ב ע׳ תפו מבאר הקושיא ”הלא בחי׳ הדיקנא גבוה למעלה מבחי׳ ה׳ אלקינו ואיך יהי׳ בחי׳ לבוש להם”. וראה שם ע׳ תקיט הקושיא בארוכה.
  8. 8
    בשם הפע״ח · ע׳ ש׳ הסליחות (פ״ה). [כ].
  9. 9
    הנסתרות דהיינו י״ה · ע״ל ר״פ פקודי רפ״ב (ג, ב) וש״נ [כ].
  10. 10
    הלבוש — עד״מ האותיות המלבישים את השכל · ראה ד״ה וספרתם תרס״ו ע׳ רטז דכאן משמע שגם האורות הן ע״י פרסא ושם מפרש באופן אחר, ע״ש. קטע מכאן בסה״מ תרל״ח ע׳ י.

7ופי׳ וענין הלבוש היינו כמו עד״מ [על דרך משל] האותיות המלבישים את השכל שאע״פ [שאף על פי] שע״י האותיות מתגלה השכל שהרב מסביר לתלמידו השכל ע״י האותיות היינו פשוטו של השכל

And the meaning and substance of the garment is like, for example, the letters that clothe the idea: although through the letters the idea is revealed, for the teacher explains the idea to his student through letters, this is the plain sense of the idea;

Explanation

What is a “garment”? It is like the words that clothe an idea. Through words a teacher conveys an idea to his student, but what comes across is its plain, surface sense.

אבל פנימי׳ [פנימיות / פנימית] ועומק השכל אינו מתגלה ממש בהאותיות כ״א [כי אם] מוסתר ונעלם בהם בבחי׳ הסתר והעלם.

but the inner dimension and depth of the idea is not actually revealed in the letters; rather, it is hidden and concealed in them, in a state of hiddenness and concealment.

Explanation

The inner depth of the idea is not truly revealed in the words; it remains hidden within them. A garment conveys and conceals at once.

Paragraph 7 in brief

A garment is like the words that carry an idea: they reveal its surface while keeping its depth hidden within them.

8ולכן ארז״ל [אמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] דלא קאים אינש אדעתי׳ [אדעתיה] דרביה עד ארבעין שנין והיינו מפני שעומק השכל של השפעת הרב היה עדיין בבחי׳ הסתר והעלם ממנו

Therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said that a person does not grasp his teacher’s mind until forty years. And this is because the depth of the idea that the teacher imparted was still in a state of hiddenness and concealment from him.

Explanation

This is why the Sages say that a person does not grasp his teacher’s mind until forty years have passed: the depth of what the teacher imparted was still hidden from the student.

אלא שאעפ״כ [שאף על פי כן] אחר ארבעים שנין קאים לפי שמ״מ [שמכל מקום] היה דעתיה דרבי׳ [דרביה] בבחי׳ מקיף עליו שמוסתר ומלובש בתוך האותיות שקבל מרבו בבחי׳ הסתר והעלם.

Yet even so, after forty years he does grasp it, because in any case his teacher’s mind was upon him in the manner of an encompassing [light] (makif), hidden and clothed within the letters he received from his teacher, in a state of hiddenness and concealment.

Explanation

Yet after forty years he does grasp it, because the teacher’s mind was there all along, “encompassing” the student, hidden and clothed in the words he received. The words held more than the student could take in at the time.

Paragraph 8 in brief

The forty years it takes to grasp a teacher’s mind show that the depth was present from the start, hidden in the teacher’s words and encompassing the student, until it could be revealed.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    דלא קאים אינש אדעתי׳ דרבי׳ · Avodah Zarah 5b:2

9ואחר מ׳ שנין נמשך מהעלם אל הגילוי. נמצא מובן מזה שהאותיות שהם לבושים היינו שמסתירים שהפנימי׳ [שהפנימיות / שהפנימית] לא יתגלה רק החיצונית נמשך ומתגלה.

And after forty years it is drawn from concealment into revelation. It follows, then, that the letters, being garments, are what conceal, so that the inner dimension is not revealed; only the outer dimension is drawn down and revealed.

Explanation

After forty years, what was hidden comes into the open. This shows that letters, as garments, conceal: the inner content is not revealed, only the outer.

ויובן זה עוד ג״כ מענין מארז״ל [מאמר רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] בסנהדרין דל״ה הטעם שאין דנין בע״ש [בערב שבת] וגומרין באחד בשבת משום דמינשי טעמייהו ואע״ג [ואף על גב] דשני סופרי הדיינים עומדים לפניהם וכותבין דברי המזכין ודברי המחייבין, פרש״י [פירש רש״י / פירוש רש״י] דמ״מ [דמכל מקום] לבא דאינשי לא כתבי כו׳

This can be understood further from the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, in Sanhedrin, page 35: the reason that one does not judge on Erev Shabbos and conclude on the first day of the week is that “their reasons would be forgotten.” And although the two scribes of the judges stand before them and write down the words of those who acquit and the words of those who convict, Rashi explains that nevertheless “people’s hearts they do not write,” etc.,

Explanation

The Talmud gives another example. A capital case is not begun on Erev Shabbos and concluded on Sunday, because the judges’ reasoning would be forgotten in between; even though two court scribes write down the arguments for acquittal and for conviction, Rashi explains that what is in a person’s heart is not written down.

ונשכח מלבו ישובו לטעמו כו׳, והיינו לפי שפנימית הסברא אינו מתגלה כלל מתוך האותיות כ״א [כי אם] מוסתר ונעלם.

“and the settled understanding of his reasoning is forgotten from his heart,” etc. And this is because the inner dimension of the reasoning is not revealed at all from the letters; rather, it is hidden and concealed.

Explanation

Even when the outline of an argument is remembered, its settled understanding is lost and cannot be restored from the written notes. The inner reasoning is not revealed through the letters at all; it remains hidden in them.

Paragraph 9 in brief

Written words, like garments, carry only the outside of an idea; its inner reasoning stays hidden, as the Talmud’s ruling about judges and their scribes shows.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    Sanhedrin 35a:11

10ועד״ז [ועל דרך זה] גם המשל מלביש השכל אלא שהוא לבוש המעלים יותר מהאותיות. וזהו ענין לבושיה כתלג כמו השלג שנקפא המים ונעשה שלג ואח״כ [ואחר כך] חוזר ונמס והיה למים.

In the same way, a parable (mashal), too, clothes the idea, except that it is a garment that conceals more than the letters. And this is the meaning of “His garment like snow”: like snow, where the water froze and became snow, and afterwards it melts again and becomes water.

Explanation

A parable (mashal) clothes an idea even more than words do, and so conceals more. This is the sense of “His garment like snow”: snow is water that has frozen, and later it melts back into water.

כך הלבוש מעלים על פנימי׳ [פנימיות / פנימית] החכמה שאינו מתגלה להמקבל כ״א [כי אם] עומד עליו מלמעלה בבחי׳ הסתר ומקיף

So the garment conceals the inner dimension of the wisdom, so that it is not revealed to the recipient, but rather stands over him from above in a state of hiddenness and encompassing (makif),

Explanation

So too the garment hides the inner content of wisdom: it does not reach the recipient but stands over him from above, hidden and encompassing.

אלא שזהו בשעת ההשפעה, אמנם אח״כ [אחר כך] יו כל להיות נמשך גם הפנימית מההעלם אל הגילוי.

except that this is at the time of the imparting; afterwards, however, the inner dimension too can be drawn from concealment into revelation.

Explanation

That is only at the moment of teaching. Later the inner content too can come out of concealment into revelation, as the snow melts back into water.

Paragraph 10 in brief

A parable is a thicker garment than words; like snow, frozen water that will melt again, it holds the inner wisdom hidden at first and lets it be revealed later.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    לבושיה כתלג · Daniel 7:9

11וכמשל התלמיד דאחר מ׳ שנין קאים אדעתיה דרביה כנ״ל. וזהו ענין שהשלג היה אח״כ [אחר כך] למים כו׳ כבראשונה [ועמ״ש בפ׳ שלח לך בד״ה ויאמרו כו׳ טובה הארץ בענין עגולים ויושר].

As in the example of the student, who after forty years grasps his teacher’s mind, as mentioned above. And this is [the meaning of] the snow afterwards becoming water, etc., as at first [and see what is written in Parshas Shelach Lecha, in the discourse beginning “And they said,” etc., “The land is good,” on the matter of circles and line (igulim veyosher)].

Explanation

This is like the student who grasps his teacher’s mind after forty years: the snow becomes water again, as it was at first. The bracket refers to a discourse in Parshas Shelach on the Kabbalistic concepts of “circles and line” (igulim veyosher).

וזהו ענין שי״ג ת״ד [תיקוני דיקנא] נק׳ לבושיה כתלג חיוור שהם נעשים ג״כ לבושי׳ [לבושין / לבושים] לאו״א [לאבא ואימא] דאצילות. כי הנה אע״פ [אף על פי] שהלבוש הוא נשפל להיות נמוך יותר מהשכל

And this is why the thirteen tikkunim of the beard are called “His garment was white as snow”: because they too become garments for Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah) of Atzilus. For although the garment is lowered to be beneath the intellect,

Explanation

This is why the thirteen tikkunim of the beard are called “His garment white as snow”: they too become garments, for Abba and Imma of Atzilus. A garment is lower than the intellect it clothes.

אבל באמת שרשו מלמעלה מהשכל המלובש בו, וכמ״ש במ״א מענין שלמה ששבח גודל חכמתו היה מ״ש וידבר שלשת אלפים משל [עיין מזה ר״פ לך לך בד״ה הנה אברם כו׳ ע״ש [עיין שם].

in truth its root is above the intellect enclothed in it, as is explained elsewhere concerning Shlomo, that the praise of the greatness of his wisdom was what is written, “And he spoke three thousand parables” [see on this at the beginning of Parshas Lech Lecha, in the discourse beginning “Behold, Avram,” etc.; see there;

Explanation

Yet in truth a garment’s root is higher than the intellect within it. Shlomo’s wisdom was praised precisely for his three thousand parables, as the Torah Ohr discourse on Lech Lecha explains: only a great sage can bring his wisdom down into things far below it.

Paragraph 11 in brief

The garment, though lower than the intellect it clothes, is rooted above it, as Shlomo’s greatness lay in his three thousand parables; so the beard can be a garment for Abba and Imma.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    לבושיה כתלג חיוור · Daniel 7:9
  2. 2
    וידבר שלשת אלפים משל · מ״א ה, יב.
  3. 3
    וידבר שלשת אלפים משל · I Kings 5:12
  4. 4
    ר״פ לך לך · תו״א יא, ג.
  5. 5
    משל — בד״ה הנה אברם · תו״א יא, ג.

12ובד״ה והבדילה הפרוכת ובפ׳ מקץ בביאור על מארז״ל [מאמר רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] מזוזה מימין ונ״ח משמאל]. ולכך הדיקנא דאריך ששרשה ממו״ס [ממוחא סתימאה] שהיא למעלה מאו״א [מאבא ואימא] דאצי׳ [דאצילות] היא דוקא שנעשית לבוש לאו״א [לאבא ואימא] כו׳,

and in the discourse beginning “And the curtain shall separate,” and in Parshas Miketz, in the explanation of the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, “The mezuzah on the right and the Chanukah lamp on the left”]. And therefore it is specifically the beard of Arich [Anpin], whose root is from Mocha Stima’ah, which is above Abba and Imma of Atzilus, that becomes a garment for Abba and Imma, etc.,

Explanation

The bracket lists further discourses on this theme: Torah Ohr’s “And the curtain shall separate,” and one in Miketz on the Sages’ rule that the mezuzah is on the right and the Chanukah lamp on the left. The conclusion: precisely because the beard of Arich Anpin is rooted in Mocha Stima’ah, above Abba and Imma, it can become their garment.

וכמו בגשמיות הזקן מתחיל לצמוח אחר עשרים שנה לפי שאז מאירים המוחין דגדלות וכמארז״ל [וכמאמר רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] ולמכור בנכסי אביו עד שיהיה בן עשרים שנה וכמ״ש במ״א.

just as, physically, the beard begins to grow after twenty years, because then the mature intellect (mochin degadlus) shines, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “and to sell his father’s property, until he is twenty years old,” as is explained elsewhere.

Explanation

A physical parallel: the beard begins to grow only after twenty years, when the mature intellect (mochin degadlus) shines. The Sages likewise say that a young man may sell his father’s property only once he is twenty.

נמצא שערות הדיקנא אף שהן בחי׳ שערות לבד עכ״ז [עם כל זה] הרי הן באין ונמשכין ממוחין דגדלות שלמעלה מהמוחין שיש לו בתחלה קודם עשרים שנה.

It follows that the hairs of the beard, although they are only the level of hairs, nevertheless come and are drawn from the mature intellect, which is above the intellect he has at first, before twenty years.

Explanation

So the hairs of the beard, though they are only hairs, come from the mature intellect, which is higher than the intellect a person has before twenty. Something outward and lowly is rooted in something higher.

Paragraph 12 in brief

The beard, though only hair, grows from the mature intellect that comes at twenty; so the beard of Arich Anpin, rooted in Mocha Stima’ah above Abba and Imma, becomes their garment.

Deeper

A Kehot note points to the Mitteler Rebbe’s question why the beard does not grow even in a boy of twelve or thirteen whose wisdom is great.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    ובד״ה והבדילה הפרוכת · תו״א יב, ד.
  2. 2
    ובפ׳ מקץ · תו״א מג, ב.
  3. 3
    אחר עשרים שנה לפי שאז מאירים המוחין דגדלות · ראה במאמרי אדה״א ויקרא-ב ע׳ תקכד למה לא יצמחו גם בנער בן י״ב וי״ג שנה אם מוח חכמתו רבה.
  4. 4
    ולמכור בנכסי אביו · Bava Batra 156a:3–4
  5. 5
    שיהי׳ — וכמ״ש במ״א · Numbers 2:1

13ולכן ג״כ הסריס אין לו זקן לפי שאין בו כח ההולדה והיינו לפי שלהיות ההולדה וההשפעה הוא נמשך מהתחזקות המוחין והסריס שחסר בו כח זה אין לו זקן.

And therefore, too, a eunuch (saris) has no beard, because he does not have the power of begetting. That is: begetting and imparting come from a strengthening of the intellect (mochin), and the eunuch, who lacks this power, has no beard.

Explanation

The same link between the beard and the mature intellect explains why a eunuch (saris) has no beard: he lacks the power to beget. Begetting and imparting to another come from a strengthening of the intellect, and where that power is missing, the beard does not grow.

וכן נשים שדעתן קלות אין להם זקן כו׳. וזהו ענין שהתורה ששרשה ממו״ס [ממוחא סתימאה] נק׳ ג״כ לבושיה דהיינו בחי׳ הדיקנא שהיא לבוש לאו״א [לאבא ואימא] אבל מ״מ [מכל מקום] בשרש התורה במו״ס [במוחא סתימאה] היא בחי׳ או״פ [אור פנימי].

And likewise women, “whose minds are light,” have no beard, etc. And this is why the Torah, whose root is from Mocha Stima’ah, is also called “His garment”: that is, the level of the beard, which is a garment for Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah). But nevertheless, at the root of the Torah, in Mocha Stima’ah, it is the level of inner light (or pnimi).

Explanation

The Alter Rebbe adds, using the Talmud’s expression “whose minds are light,” that women likewise have no beard, keeping to the same analogy between the beard and the strengthening of the intellect. The conclusion: the Torah is called “His garment” in the sense of the beard, a garment for Abba and Imma, yet at its root in Mocha Stima’ah it is inner light, which answers the question raised in paragraph 6.

Paragraph 13 in brief

The beard depends on the strengthening of the intellect, which is why the Torah, rooted in Mocha Stima’ah, can be called a “garment” at the level of the beard while remaining inner light at its root.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    הסריס אין לו זקן · Yevamot 80b:4
  2. 2
    נשים שדעתן קלות · Shabbat 33b:6

Nogah, opposite holiness ¶14

14והנה זה לעומת זה התאוה והכבוד הם פנימיים ומקיפים דנוגה כי התאוה להיות בסובאי יין וזוללי בשר זהו מזון ואו״פ [ואור פנימי] דנוגה.

Now, “one opposite the other”: craving and honor are the inner and encompassing [levels] of Nogah. For the craving to be “among guzzlers of wine and gluttons of meat” is the food and inner light of Nogah.

Explanation

Opposite holiness stands its counterpart, as in “G‑d has made the one opposite the other.” In Nogah, the kelipah (husk) in which good and evil are mixed, physical cravings such as overindulgence in wine and meat are its “inner” light and food: they enter a person and become part of him.

והכבוד וגסות הרוח בלבישת בגדי כבוד זהו מקיפים דנוגה והוא זלעו״ז [זה לעומת זה] נגד הפנימיים ומקיפים דקדושה [ועמ״ש בד״ה זאת חנוכת המזבח כו׳

And honor and haughtiness of spirit, in wearing garments of honor, are the encompassing [levels] of Nogah. And this is “one opposite the other,” against the inner and encompassing [lights] of holiness [and see what is written in the discourse beginning “This is the dedication of the altar,” etc.,

Explanation

Pride and the pursuit of honor, as in wearing showy garments, are the “encompassing” levels of Nogah: they surround a person’s sense of self rather than entering him. These are the counterpart of the inner and encompassing lights of holiness; the bracket refers to the discourse “This is the dedication of the altar” on “Give honor to Havayah.”

בענין הבו לה׳ כבוד] הנמשכים ע״י תורה ומצות שיסוד הקדושה הוא בחי׳ ביטול לאור א״ס [אין סוף] ב״ה והמצות הם בחי׳ המשכה מלמעלה למטה שלכך נק׳ כל המצות ע״ש [עיין שם] צדקה.

on the matter of “Give honor to Havayah”], which are drawn down through Torah and mitzvos. For the foundation of holiness is the level of self-nullification (bittul) to the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He; and the mitzvos are the level of drawing down from above to below, which is why all the mitzvos are called by the name of tzedakah (charity):

Explanation

The inner and encompassing lights of holiness are drawn down through Torah and mitzvos. Holiness is founded on self-nullification (bittul) before the Infinite Light, and the mitzvos draw G‑dliness down from above to below, which is why they are all called tzedakah, charity, a giving from above.

צדקת פרזונו בישראל. משמיא מיהב יהבי כו׳ בחי׳ או״י [אור ישר] וגם בחי׳ או״ח [אור חוזר] הוא ביטול עצמותו שמואס בחיי עוה״ז [עולם הזה].

“the righteous deeds (tzidkos) of His open towns in Israel”; “from Heaven they give,” etc. [This is] the level of direct light (or yashar). And the level of returning light (or chozer), too, is the nullification of one’s very self, despising the life of this world.

Explanation

Two sayings illustrate this giving: “the righteous deeds (tzidkos) of His open towns in Israel,” and the Talmud’s “from Heaven they give.” This downward flow is direct light (or yashar), while returning light (or chozer), the ascent from below, is the nullification of one’s very self, to the point of disdain for the life of this world.

משא״כ בחי׳ נוגה שהוא בחי׳ יש הפך הביטול וזהו התאוה והכבוד, ואצ״ל [ואין צריך לומר] דבר איסור גמור ח״ו [חס ושלום] שהם פנימים ומקיפים דג״ק [דג׳ קליפות] הטמאות שלמטה מטה מנוגה כו׳:

Whereas the level of Nogah is the level of yesh (self-existence), the opposite of self-nullification; and this is craving and honor. And needless to say [this is so of] something entirely forbidden, G‑d forbid: these are the inner and encompassing [levels] of the three impure kelipos, which are far, far below Nogah, etc.

Explanation

Nogah, by contrast, is yesh, a sense of independent existence, the opposite of bittul, and its forms are craving and honor. Things that are entirely forbidden belong to the three impure kelipos, which are far lower than Nogah.

Paragraph 14 in brief

Holiness, whose inner and encompassing lights come through Torah and mitzvos, rests on self-nullification; opposite it, the craving for physical indulgence is the inner level of Nogah and the pursuit of honor its encompassing level, both expressions of yesh.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    זה לעומת זה · Ecclesiastes 7:14
  2. 2
    בסובאי יין וזוללי בשר · Proverbs 23:20
  3. 3
    משמיא מיהב יהבי · Taanit 25a:4
  4. 4
    צדקת פזרונו בישראל · Judges 5:11

Atika Kadisha and the essence of delight ¶15–18

15ג והנה ענין יום הכפורים יום התשובה להיות מחילת עוונות הוא ע״י התגלות והמשכת הארה גדולה ועצומה מאור א״ס [אין סוף] ב״ה מה שלמעלה מעלה אפילו ממקיפים ופנימיים הנמשכים ע״י תורה ומצות שעי״ז מתמלאים הפגמים שבתורה ומצות.

3. Now, the matter of Yom HaKippurim, the day of teshuvah (return), that there be forgiveness of sins, is through the revelation and drawing down of a great and tremendous illumination from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, from what is far, far above even the encompassing and inner [lights] drawn down through Torah and mitzvos; and through this the flaws in Torah and mitzvos are filled.

Explanation

Chapter 3 turns to the heart of the matter. Yom Kippur brings forgiveness of sins through a tremendous illumination from the Infinite Light, from a level far above even the inner and encompassing lights drawn down by Torah and mitzvos, and that higher light fills in the flaws in one’s Torah and mitzvos.

Paragraph 15 in brief

Forgiveness on Yom Kippur comes from a light higher than anything drawn down through Torah and mitzvos, and so it can repair the flaws in them.

16וענין הארה עצומה זו היינו כי הנה מבואר למעלה דהמקיפים ופנימיים נמשכים מגלגלתא ומוחא דא״א [דאריך אנפין] וזהו ענין ההמשכה שע״י התורה ומצות

And the matter of this tremendous illumination is as follows. It was explained above that the encompassing and inner [lights] are drawn from the Gulgalta (skull) and the Mocha (brain) of Arich Anpin, and this is the drawing down that comes through the Torah and mitzvos.

Explanation

As explained above, the inner and encompassing lights drawn down by Torah and mitzvos come from the Mocha (brain) and the Gulgalta (skull) of Arich Anpin.

אך ביוהכ״פ [ביום הכפורים] יום התשובה הוא התגלות עתיקא קדישא סתימא דכל סתימין שלמעלה מבחי׳ גלגלתא וכתר דא״א [דאריך אנפין].

But on Yom Kippur, the day of teshuvah (return), there is the revelation of Atika Kadisha, “the most hidden of all hidden,” which is above the level of the Gulgalta and Keser (the Crown) of Arich Anpin.

Explanation

On Yom Kippur, the day of teshuvah, something higher is revealed: Atika Kadisha, “the Holy Ancient One,” called “the most hidden of all hidden,” which is above the Gulgalta and Keser of Arich Anpin.

ונק׳ מקור התענוגים וכמ״ש בזהר פ׳ אמור דק״א א׳ כתיב כי עמך הסליחה וכתיב כי עמך מקור חיים.

And it is called the source of delights (taanugim), as is written in the Zohar, Parshas Emor, page 101a: it is written, “For with You is forgiveness,” and it is written, “For with You is the source of life.”

Explanation

Atika Kadisha is called the source of delights. The Zohar on Emor brings two verses together, “For with You is forgiveness” and “For with You is the source of life,” and the Alter Rebbe reads the pairing to mean that forgiveness comes from “the source of life.”

פי׳ מקור חיים הוא מקור התענוגים שלמעלה מבחי׳ גלגלתא ומו״ס [ומוחא סתימאה] שהוא בחי׳ הרצון עליון והחכמה עילאה.

That is: “the source of life” is the source of delights, which is above the level of the Gulgalta and Mocha Stima’ah, which are the level of the supernal will and the supernal Chochmah (wisdom).

Explanation

“The source of life” is the source of delights, higher than the Gulgalta, which is the supernal will, and higher than Mocha Stima’ah, the supernal Chochmah.

כי רק הארה מבחי׳ התענוג נמשך ומתלבש בהרצון והוא פנימית הרצון כו׳ (ועמ״ש ע״פ ואהיה אצלו אמון).

For only a glimmer of the level of delight is drawn and enclothed in the will, and it is the inner dimension of the will, etc. (And see what is written on the verse “And I was beside Him as a nursling.”)

Explanation

Delight is deeper than will: only a glimmer of it enters the will, as the will’s inner dimension, the reason one wants anything at all. The parenthesis refers to the discourse on “And I was beside Him as a nursling.”

ולכן בהגלות בחי׳ עצמות התענוג עליון ע״ק [עתיקא קדישא] הוא ממלא כל הפגמים שבמקיפים ופנימיים דגלגלתא ומו״ס [ומוחא סתימאה], וע״ז [ועל זה]

Therefore, when the level of the very essence of the supernal delight, Atika Kadisha, is revealed, it fills all the flaws in the encompassing and inner [lights] of the Gulgalta and Mocha Stima’ah. And of this

Explanation

When the very essence of the supernal delight, Atika Kadisha, is revealed, it fills every flaw in the inner and encompassing lights of the Gulgalta and Mocha Stima’ah, since it is higher than both.

ארז״ל [אמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] במקום שבעלי תשובה עומדין אין צדיקים גמורים יכולים לעמוד. ועיין בזהר ויקרא די״ו ע״א מאן ישוב, ישוב ע״ק [עתיקא קדישא] לאתגלייא כו׳.

our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “In the place where baalei teshuvah (those who return) stand, the completely righteous cannot stand.” And see in the Zohar, Vayikra, page 16a: “Who is it that ‘will return’? Atika Kadisha will return to be revealed,” etc.

Explanation

This is why baalei teshuvah stand where even the completely righteous cannot: their return reaches a level above the Torah and mitzvos through which the righteous serve. The Zohar reads the words “He will return” as Atika Kadisha returning to be revealed.

Paragraph 16 in brief

Yom Kippur reveals Atika Kadisha, the source of delights, above the will and wisdom from which Torah and mitzvos draw their light; its revelation fills every flaw, which is why baalei teshuvah stand higher than the completely righteous.

Deeper

In the Zohar passage cited (Vayikra 16a), when deeds below are made fitting, Atika Kadisha is revealed and light returns to Z’eir Anpin: “Who is it that ‘will return’? Atika Kadisha will return to be revealed,” and all of this is called teshuvah.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    וכמ״ש בזהר פ׳ אמור דק״א א׳ · נעתק ביהל אור ע׳ קלז. וראה גם לקמן פ׳ נשא כט, ג. ראה גם אוה״ת ויקרא-ג ע׳ תתקיח.
  2. 2
    כי עמך הסליחה · Psalms 130:4
  3. 3
    כי עמך מקור חיים · שם לו, י.
  4. 4
    כי עמך הסליחה וכתיב כי עמך מקור חיים · Zohar, Emor 40:228–234
  5. 5
    כי עמך מקור חיים · Psalms 36:10
  6. 6
    ואהיה אצלו אמון · Proverbs 8:30
  7. 7
    במקום שבעלי תשובה · Berakhot 34b:22–23
  8. 8
    Zohar, Vayikra 35:257–37:268

17וזהו ענין יוהכ״פ [יום הכפורים] ולכן הכהן גדול שעל ידו נמשך המשכה עליונה זו נאמר בו בד קדש ילבש.

And this is the matter of Yom Kippur. And therefore of the Kohen Gadol, through whom this supernal drawing down comes, it is said, “Holy linen (bad) he shall put on.”

Explanation

This is the inner meaning of Yom Kippur, and it is why the Kohen Gadol, through whom this supreme light is drawn down, is told, “Holy linen (bad) he shall put on.”

והם בגדי לבן שהוא גוון עצמי היינו גילוי עצמיות התענוג שהוא פשוט דהיינו שהוא למעלה מבחי׳ התענוג שמתצמצם להיות מלובש בחכמה, וכמ״ש במ״א

And these are white garments, [white] being an essential color: that is, the revelation of the very essence of delight, which is simple; that is, it is above the level of the delight that contracts itself to be enclothed in Chochmah (wisdom), as is explained elsewhere

Explanation

The garments are white, the essential color, which stands for the revelation of the very essence of delight, simple and undivided. This is higher than the delight that contracts itself to enter Chochmah.

כי מקור התענוג הוא בחי׳ עצמותו ית׳ ואינו עד״מ [על דרך משל] התענוג שלמטה באדם שהתענוג הוא מאיזו דבר שחוץ ממנו

that the source of delight is the level of His very essence, may He be blessed. It is not like, for example, the delight below in a human being, where the delight is from some thing outside him,

Explanation

The source of delight is G‑d’s very essence. A human being’s delight, by contrast, comes from something outside him.

כמו מלמידת חכמה או איזה מאכל משא״כ בו ית׳ שאין לך דבר שחוץ ממנו ובחי׳ התענוג שבו היינו שהוא עצמו בחי׳ תענוג.

such as from learning wisdom or some food. Whereas with Him, may He be blessed, there is nothing outside Him, and the level of delight in Him is that He Himself is the level of delight.

Explanation

People take pleasure in learning wisdom or in food, things outside themselves. With G‑d there is nothing outside Him, so His delight is not in anything: He Himself is delight.

אלא שנמשך ע״י צמצום ומתלבש אח״כ [אחר כך] בחכמה ולכן בחי׳ בגדי בד קדש זהו גילוי עצמיות התענוג שאז הוא פשוט שאינו מורכב ומלובש עדיין בשום דבר כו׳ עד״מ [על דרך משל].

Only, it is drawn down through tzimtzum (contraction) and afterwards enclothed in Chochmah. Therefore the level of the holy linen (bad) garments is the revelation of the very essence of delight, which then is simple, not yet compounded with or clothed in anything, etc., by way of analogy.

Explanation

Only through a contraction does this delight descend and enter Chochmah. The holy linen garments express the revelation of the essence of delight before it is compounded with or clothed in anything, as white is before any dye.

Paragraph 17 in brief

The Kohen Gadol’s white linen garments express the revelation of G‑d’s essential delight, which is G‑d Himself and is simple like white, before it contracts into Chochmah.

Deeper

A Kehot note records the Tzemach Tzedek’s observation that this passage implies that white is in Keser, as also in Torah Ohr’s discourse on “Lavan rose early in the morning.”

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    בד קדש ילבש · Leviticus 16:4
  2. 2
    והם בגדי לבן שהוא גוון עצמי · ראה באוה״ת ויקרא-ב ע׳ תקכח שכתב שכאן משמע שלבן הוא בכתר. וכ״ה בתו״א כד, ב.

18ועוד זאת כמ״ש הלק״ת [הלקוטי תורה (להאריז״ל)] בד נמשך מת׳ עלמין דכסופין שהם בחי׳ אורות שפע הענג העליון הנמשכים מע״ק [מעתיקא קדישא] כו׳.

Furthermore, as the Likkutei Torah of the Arizal writes, bad is drawn from the four hundred “worlds of yearning” (almin dechisufin), which are the level of lights, the flow of the supernal delight drawn from Atika Kadisha, etc.

Explanation

The Arizal’s Likkutei Torah adds that bad is drawn from the four hundred “worlds of yearning,” lights that are the flow of supernal delight from Atika Kadisha.

ונק׳ עובר לסוחר שהוא מבחינה שלמעלה מהכתר וגלגלתא שהוא בחי׳ מקיף לשון סחור והמשכה זו הוא מלמעלה יותר מהמקיפים הנ״ל.

And it is called “passing to the merchant” (over lasocher), for it is from a level above Keser (the Crown) and Gulgalta, which is the level of makif (encompassing), [socher] being the language of sechor, “around”; and this drawing down is from higher than the encompassing [lights] mentioned above.

Explanation

This is called over lasocher, from the verse about the four hundred shekels Avraham paid, “passing to the merchant.” The Alter Rebbe reads socher as sechor, “around,” the encompassing Keser and Gulgalta, and over as passing beyond it: this light is higher than those encompassing lights.

(וכמ״ש במ״א בד״ה וישלח יעקב הנ״ל). והכה״ג [והכהן גדול] שלובש בגדי בד קדש אשר הבגדים הם המקיפים היינו שמבחי׳ בד קדש שלמעלה מהמקיפים יומשך להיות בחי׳ מקיף

(As is explained elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “And Yaakov sent,” mentioned above.) And the Kohen Gadol, who wears the holy linen (bad) garments, the garments being the encompassing [lights]: that is, from the level of holy bad, which is above the encompassing [lights], there is to be drawn down [light] to be the level of makif,

Explanation

The parenthesis refers to the discourse “And Yaakov sent.” The Kohen Gadol’s garments are encompassing lights; by wearing holy bad, which is above the encompassing lights, he draws from that higher level a new encompassing light.

דהיינו מה שמשם ממש נמשך למלאות כל הפגמים שבמקיפים ופנימיים דקדושה כנ״ל וזהו כענין עובר לסוחר שעוברים ונמשכים בבחי׳ סוחר שהוא בחי׳ מקיף כנ״ל. וזהו ענין ויעבור דיג״מ [די״ג מדות] הרחמים.

that is, what is drawn from there itself to fill all the flaws in the encompassing and inner [lights] of holiness, as mentioned above. And this is like “passing to the merchant”: they pass and are drawn into the level of socher, which is the level of makif, as mentioned above. And this is the meaning of “And He passed” (vaya’avor) of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy.

Explanation

From that very level comes the light that fills every flaw in the inner and encompassing lights of holiness: it “passes” into the level of socher, the encompassing. This is also the “And He passed” that opens the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy.

Paragraph 18 in brief

Bad comes from the four hundred worlds of yearning, the supernal delight of Atika Kadisha above Keser; the Kohen Gadol’s linen garments bring that light down as a new encompassing light that fills every flaw.

Deeper

Etz Chaim (Sha’ar Arich Anpin, chapter 5), to which the Alter Rebbe pointed earlier on the matter of bad, says that from the whiteness of the skull of Arich Anpin the righteous inherit four hundred worlds of yearning, and reads “four hundred shekels of silver, passing to the merchant” as the Keser, the skull that surrounds the head, since the Targum of “around” is sechor.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    עלמין דכסופין · Sefer Etz Chaim 13:5
  2. 2
    ויעבור · Exodus 34:6
  3. 3
    עובר לסוחר · Genesis 23:16

Two kinds of purification ¶19–20

19והנה פי׳ יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם היינו מהמקיפים דנוגה כמו מהכבוד וגסות שמהם ליכא בירור והעלאה כ״א [כי אם] להיות מחיתי כעב פשעיך וכענן חטאתיך כו׳,

Now, the meaning of “He shall make atonement for you, to purify you” refers to [purifying] from the encompassing [levels] of Nogah, such as honor and haughtiness, from which there is no refinement (birur) and elevation, but only that they be [as in] “I have wiped away your transgressions like a thick cloud, and your sins like a cloud,” etc.;

Explanation

“He shall make atonement for you, to purify you” refers to the encompassing levels of Nogah, such as pride and haughtiness. These cannot be refined and raised up; they can only be erased, as in “I have wiped away your transgressions like a thick cloud.”

משא״כ מבחי׳ הפנימיים דקליפה כמו התאוה בסובאי יין וזוללי בשר מאחר שנעשה מזה חיות פנימי בגוף

whereas from the level of the inner [levels] of kelipah (the husk), such as the craving “among guzzlers of wine and gluttons of meat,” since an inner life-force (chayus) in the body was made from this,

Explanation

The inner levels of kelipah are different. A craving such as overindulgence in wine and meat becomes part of the body’s inner life-force.

הנה יוכל להתעלות אח״כ [אחר כך] כשמתפלל בעומקא דליבא כו׳, וע״ז [ועל זה] נאמר מכל חטאתיכם תטהרו אתם לא כן מהמקיפים.

it can be elevated afterwards, when one prays from the depth of the heart, etc. And of this it is said, “From all your sins you shall become pure”: you [yourselves]. Not so from the encompassing [levels].

Explanation

Because it has become part of a person, it can later be raised up when he prays from the depth of his heart. This is the sense of “From all your sins you shall become pure”: you yourselves can purify these; not so the encompassing levels, for which “He shall make atonement.”

Paragraph 19 in brief

The verse distinguishes two kinds of impurity: the encompassing levels of Nogah, pride and arrogance, cannot be refined and are erased by G‑d’s atonement, while bodily cravings, having become part of a person’s life-force, can be raised up through his own prayer from the depth of the heart.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    יכפר עליכם לטהר אתכם · Leviticus 16:30
  2. 2
    מחיתי כעב פשעיך · Isaiah 44:22
  3. 3
    בסובאי יין וזוללי בשר · Proverbs 23:20

20ועד״ז [ועל דרך זה] היה ג״כ בקרבנות ב׳ דברים זריקת הדם והקטרת אימורים. הקטרת אימורים החלב עם היותו

In the same way, there were also two things in the offerings: the sprinkling of the blood and the burning of the sacrificial portions (eimurim). The burning of the sacrificial portions: the fat, though it is

Explanation

The same two paths appear in the sacrifices: the sprinkling of the blood and the burning of the sacrificial portions (eimurim), the fats, on the altar.

אסור להדיוט עולה ונכלל באלקות ע״י אש שלמעלה שהיה יורד בדמות אריה אור י״ה מבחי׳ שם מ״ה [שם מ״ה] כו׳ וזהו ענין בירורי הפנימיים ע״י התשובה.

forbidden to an ordinary person, rises and is absorbed into G‑dliness through the fire from above, which would descend in the form of a lion (aryeh), the light (or) of Yah, from the level of the Name Mah, etc. And this is the refinement (birur) of the inner [levels] through teshuvah (return).

Explanation

The fat, though forbidden to an ordinary person, went up and was absorbed into G‑dliness through the fire from above, which descended in the form of a lion: aryeh, read as or Yah, “the light of Yah,” from the level of the Name Mah. This is the refinement of the inner levels through teshuvah: what was lowly is raised up.

וזריקת הדם הוא בחי׳ התעוררות גבורות עליונות ממקור הגבורות דתהו להיות עי״ז כלייה להמקיפים דנוגה כו׳.

And the sprinkling of the blood is the level of the arousal of the supernal Gevuros (powers of restraint) from the source of the Gevuros of Tohu, so that through this there will be annihilation of the encompassing [levels] of Nogah, etc.

Explanation

The sprinkling of the blood arouses the supernal Gevuros, powers of severity, from their source in the world of Tohu (chaos), and these annihilate the encompassing levels of Nogah. Those levels are not refined but destroyed.

וזהו כי ביום הזה יכפר. מאן דלית ליה שם ידיע והוא למעלה מבחי׳ סוכ״ע [סובב כל עלמין] וממכ״ע [וממלא כל עלמין]. והיינו ע״י ממעמקים קראתיך כו׳:

And this is “For on this day He shall make atonement”: the One who has no known Name, who is above the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) and the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin). And this is through “From the depths I called You,” etc.

Explanation

This is “For on this day He shall make atonement,” with “He” left unnamed: the One who has no known Name, above both sovev kol almin and memalei kol almin. It is reached through “From the depths I called You,” a cry from the depth of the heart.

Paragraph 20 in brief

The two parts of a sacrifice mirror the two kinds of purification: the burning of the fats raises up the inner levels through teshuvah, and the sprinkling of the blood annihilates the encompassing levels of Nogah, all from the One beyond every Name.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    כי ביום הזה יכפר · Leviticus 16:30
  2. 2
    ממעמקים קראתיך · Psalms 130:1

Exalted above exalted ¶21–23

21ולתוספות ביאור. בענין הארה עצומה זו שלמעלה ממקיפים ופנימיים דגלגלתא ומו״ס [ומוחא סתימאה]. הענין הוא כי הנה למעלה מהתהוות הכלים אין שייך בחי׳ א״פ [אור פנימי] וא״מ [ואור מקיף] כלל.

For further explanation of this tremendous illumination, which is above the encompassing and inner [lights] of the Gulgalta and Mocha Stima’ah: the point is that above the coming into being of the vessels, the levels of inner light (or pnimi) and encompassing light (or makif) do not apply at all.

Explanation

To explain further how this illumination is above the inner and encompassing lights of the Gulgalta and Mocha Stima’ah: above the level where vessels come into being, the very categories of inner light and encompassing light do not apply.

ששייכות ענין א״פ [אור פנימי] וגם אור מקיף הוא רק כשנתהוו בחי׳ הכלים אז שייך ענין א״פ [אור פנימי] המלובש בהכלי.

For the relevance of inner light, and also of encompassing light, is only when the vessels have come into being; then the matter of inner light, enclothed in the vessel, applies,

Explanation

These categories are defined only in relation to vessels. Inner light is light enclothed within a vessel.

Paragraph 21 in brief

Inner and encompassing light are both defined by their relation to vessels, so a light above the coming into being of the vessels is neither.

22ואור מקיף שהוא מקיף על הא״פ [האור פנימי] והכלי. משא״כ בלמעלה מהתהוות הכלים כו׳ אין שייך שם כלל בחי׳ א״פ [אור פנימי] וא״מ [ואור מקיף]. וכמ״ש במ״א בפי׳ כי גאה גאה.

and of encompassing light, which encompasses the inner light and the vessel. Whereas above the coming into being of the vessels, etc., the levels of inner light and encompassing light do not apply there at all. As is explained elsewhere on the meaning of “For He is exalted, exalted (ga’oh ga’ah).”

Explanation

Encompassing light is defined as what surrounds the inner light and the vessel; above the vessels, neither term applies. The Alter Rebbe refers to his explanation of “For He is exalted, exalted” from the Song at the Sea.

פי׳ גאה הוא מלשון התנשאות מה שלמעלה מן הכלים שאינו יכול להתלבש בשום כלי כלל כ״א [כי אם] מאיר בבחי׳ מקיף מלמעלה והוא בחי׳ סוכ״ע [סובב כל עלמין].

That is: ga’ah is a term of being uplifted: what is above the vessels, which cannot be enclothed in any vessel at all but rather shines as a makif (encompassing) from above; and this is the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin).

Explanation

The first ga’ah, “exalted,” means what is lifted above the vessels: it cannot enter any vessel and shines on them from above as an encompassing light. This is sovev kol almin, the light that encompasses all worlds.

אבל אעפ״כ [אף על פי כן] מאחר שנק׳ סוכ״ע [סובב כל עלמין] הרי יש לו שייכות לבחי׳ עלמין דהיינו בחי׳ אור מקיף שיש לו שייכות עם הכלים

Yet even so, since it is called “encompassing all worlds,” it has a relation to the level of worlds: that is, the level of encompassing light, which has a relation to the vessels.

Explanation

Yet sovev is still called “encompassing worlds,” so it remains related to the worlds and to the vessels it surrounds.

אבל א״ס [אין סוף] ב״ה הוא גאה על גאה שהוא רם ומתנשא על המקיף והפנימי סוכ״ע [סובב כל עלמין] וממכ״ע [וממלא כל עלמין] כו׳ ואינו בגדר עלמין כלל.

But the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, is “exalted above exalted”: He is high and uplifted above the encompassing and the inner, sovev kol almin and memalei kol almin, etc., and is not within the bounds of worlds at all.

Explanation

The Infinite One Himself is “exalted above exalted”: above both the encompassing and the inner, sovev and memalei, and not within the category of worlds at all. The doubled word points to this second, higher exaltation.

Paragraph 22 in brief

The doubled “exalted, exalted” distinguishes two levels: sovev kol almin, exalted above the vessels yet still related to worlds, and the Infinite One Himself, exalted even above that and beyond any relation to worlds.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    כי גאה גאה · Exodus 15:1

23וזהו בחינת אתה הוא ה׳ לבדך. לבדך דייקא שאין שייך לומר סובב לבחי׳ עלמין כו׳.

And this is the level of “You are Havayah, You alone.” “You alone” precisely: for one cannot say [of Him] “encompassing” with respect to the level of worlds, etc.

Explanation

This is the level of “You are Havayah, You alone.” “Alone” is precise: of this level one cannot even say that it “encompasses” the worlds.

וע״ז [ועל זה] נאמר ה׳ בדד ינחנו בבחי׳ הוא לבדו הוא כמו קודם שנברא העולם כו׳. מה שאין לו שייכות לבחי׳ עלמין וכלים לא בבחי׳ א״פ [אור פנימי] ולא בבחי׳ א״מ [אור מקיף].

And of this it is said, “Havayah alone (badad) guided him”: in the manner of “He is alone,” as before the world was created, etc.; that which has no relation to the level of worlds and vessels, neither as inner light nor as encompassing light.

Explanation

So too “Havayah alone (badad) guided him” describes G‑d as He alone, as before the world was created: with no relation to worlds or vessels, neither as inner light nor as encompassing light. This brings back the badad of paragraph 2.

לכן הכה״ג [הכהן גדול] צ״ל [צריך להיות / צריך לומר / צריך להבין] ג״כ לבוש בגדי בד קדש להמשיך מבחי׳ בד קדש בחי׳ בגדי כהן מקיפים עליונים, וזהו ג״כ הענין שביוהכ״פ [שביום הכפורים] נכנס הכה״ג [הכהן גדול] לפני ולפנים לבית קדש הקדשים.

Therefore the Kohen Gadol must also be clothed in holy linen (bad) garments, to draw down from the level of holy bad the level of the priestly garments, supernal encompassing [lights]. And this, too, is why on Yom Kippur the Kohen Gadol enters the innermost sanctum, into the House of the Holy of Holies.

Explanation

That is why the Kohen Gadol wears holy linen (bad) garments: to draw down from the level of holy bad, the level of “alone,” the priestly garments as supernal encompassing lights. It is also why on Yom Kippur he enters the innermost sanctum, the Holy of Holies.

אשר סוכ״ע [סובב כל עלמין] נק׳ קדש ומובדל שאינו מתלבש כו׳ אכן קדש הקדשים הוא מה שלמעלה מבחי׳ סוכ״ע [סובב כל עלמין] כו׳ וע״י גילוי מבחי׳ זו מתמלאים כל הפגמים שבמקיפים ופנימיים דקדושה כו׳:

For sovev kol almin is called “holy” (kodesh) and set apart, since it is not enclothed, etc.; but the Holy of Holies is what is above the level of sovev kol almin, etc. And through a revelation from this level, all the flaws in the encompassing and inner [lights] of holiness are filled, etc.

Explanation

Sovev kol almin is called “holy” (kodesh), set apart, because it does not enter the worlds; the Holy of Holies is what is above even sovev. A revelation from that level fills every flaw in the inner and encompassing lights of holiness, and this is the atonement of Yom Kippur.

Paragraph 23 in brief

G‑d “alone,” beyond even the light that encompasses the worlds, is the level of bad; the Kohen Gadol’s linen garments and his entry into the Holy of Holies draw a revelation from there, which fills every flaw, and this is the atonement of Yom Kippur.

Marei mekomos

  1. 1
    אתה הוא ה׳ לבדך · Nehemiah 9:6
  2. 2
    ה׳ בדד ינחנו · Deuteronomy 32:12

Finished the maamar?

Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.

Next: Parshas Kedoshim2 maamarim

Download PDFPDF · 574 KB

In one’s avodah

The maamar draws two paths of teshuvah. Physical cravings, such as indulgence in food and drink, have become part of a person’s life-force, and he can raise them up afterwards when he prays from the depth of his heart: “you shall become pure,” you yourselves. Pride and the pursuit of honor cannot be refined; they must be wiped away, and this comes from the atonement of the day itself, drawn down through “From the depths I called You.” Holiness itself is founded on self-nullification before G‑d.

Questions for discussion

  1. Why does flax’s “growing singly” make linen the right garment for entering the Holy of Holies?
  2. In what sense is white not a color, and how does that illustrate the lights before the vessels?
  3. How can a garment be lower than what it clothes and yet rooted above it? Consider a parable, a teacher’s words and the beard.
  4. Why can bodily cravings be raised up through prayer, while pride can only be wiped away?
  5. What is the difference between the first “exalted,” sovev kol almin, and the Infinite One, “exalted above exalted”?

Key terms in this maamar

The Name Havayahהוי׳
The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah)אבא ואמא
The intellectual configurations.
Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
The first flash of insight. ×10
Binah (understanding)בינה
Developing and grasping an insight in detail.
Lights and vesselsאורות וכלים
Divine revelation and the forms that contain and express it. ×1
The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
Chesed (kindness)חסד
Expansive giving. ×3
The Sefirosספירות
The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
Measure, limitation and judgment. ×2
The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×2
Daas (knowledge)דעת
Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion.
The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
The first world of separate existence.
The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
The world of the angels and emotions.
The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
The lowest world, including our physical one.
Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.
Netzach (victory)נצח
Perseverance, the drive to overcome.
Hod (splendor)הוד
Acknowledgment and yielding.
Yesod (foundation)יסוד
The channel that connects and transmits. ×1
The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×2
The intellect (mochin)מוחין
Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×5
The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
The innermost core of a level.
The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
The external, expressive aspect.
Kelipah (the husk)קליפה
The forces of concealment that oppose holiness. ×1
Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×3
Teshuvah (return)תשובה
Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×5
Keser (the Crown)כתר
The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×2
Willרצון
Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×3
Delightתענוג
Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×10
Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds. ×1
Life-forceחיות
The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×1
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.
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 Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
G‑d's own boundless essence.

Language

EnglishEspañolFrançaisעבריתPortuguêsРусский

Text size

Theme

How I learn

Calendar

Show

Abbreviations

Tap an abbreviation, or turn on Written out. A Kindle has no hover, so Written out is how to read them there.

Print

The browser’s Print (Ctrl+P, ⌘P) follows the same choices.

PDF

CompleteHebrew, translation, explanations and notes · PDF · 574 KBText onlyThe Hebrew and the translation · PDF · 213 KB

EPUB

For your e-readerThe Hebrew, translation, explanations and notes · EPUB · 224 KB

For Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo and other e-readers. A Kindle takes it through Amazon’s Send to Kindle.

The whole books, ready to print

Language

EnglishEspañolFrançaisעבריתPortuguêsРусский

Send us a suggestion

Corrections, ideas, questions. Leave your email so we can answer.

We send it by email to the editor, with the page you’re on. Nothing is published.

Contents

Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורה

Parshas Achareiאחרי מות

  1. 1כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם לטהר…For on this day He shall make atonement for you
  2. 2כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם לטהר…For on This Day He Shall Atone for You
  3. 3ביאור הדברים בענין לטהר תטהרוAn Explanation of “To Purify … You Shall Be Purified”
  4. 4ביאור הדברים ע״פ כי ביום הזה…An explanation of the words on “For on this day He shall make atonement”
    1. Linen and white ¶1–5
    2. Torah, mitzvos and the garment ¶6–13
    3. Nogah, opposite holiness ¶14
    4. Atika Kadisha and the essence of delight ¶15–18
    5. Two kinds of purification ¶19–20
    6. Exalted above exalted ¶21–23
    1. 1
    2. 2
    3. 3
    4. 4
    5. 5
    6. 6
    7. 7
    8. 8
    9. 9
    10. 10
    11. 11
    12. 12
    13. 13
    14. 14
    15. 15
    16. 16
    17. 17
    18. 18
    19. 19
    20. 20
    21. 21
    22. 22
    23. 23