Likkutei Torah · Parshas Bamidbar · Maamar 10
ביאור מעט ע״פ וארשתיך לי
A brief explanation of “And I will betroth you to Me”
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The big idea
Our present bond with G‑d through the letters of Torah, prayer and mitzvos is a betrothal from the “courts,” the level of Z’eir Anpin, where right and left allow change. The future betrothal is “to Me” (li), from Atika and supernal Chochmah, where there is no left, and so it is “forever.”
The maamar in brief
The maamar explains “And I will betroth you to Me forever” through the image of a King’s courts and His house. Following the Zohar and the Kabbalists, the “courts of Havayah” are the emotive Sefiros (or Malchus and Yesod, or the worlds of Yetzirah and Beriah), while the house, where the King lives permanently, is Chochmah. In prayer, Pesukei deZimra and the Shema are the courts and the Shemoneh Esreh is the house. In the soul, speech and thought are courts, and letters that reveal their wisdom are the house. One who attends only to the words of Torah and prayer is a bride, betrothed through the encompassing letters; one who absorbs their meaning reaches marriage. The Midrash teaches that whatever G‑d calls li never moves: li is Atika, where there is no left and no change, as Shmuel told Shaul. The mitzvos already sanctify us at the level of Malchus; “Sanctify us with Your commandments” asks for the level drawn from Arich Anpin. In the Future Z’eir Anpin will rise to Atika, the betrothal will be eternal and revealed in the world itself, and “you shall know Havayah.”
Outline
- The King’s courts and His houseThe “courts of Havayah” are the seven lower Sefiros, which receive the Infinite Light only through Chochmah, the King’s permanent house. The two courts are read as Malchus and Yesod, or Yetzirah and Beriah, and mapped onto Pesukei deZimra, the Shema and the Shemoneh Esreh.¶1–5
- Courts and house in the soul and in divine serviceSpeech and thought are outer and inner courts, since letters hide the intellect; the house is letters that reveal Chochmah. Attention to the words alone is betrothal through encompassing letters; understanding absorbed within is marriage.¶6–8
- Whatever is “to Me” never movesThe Midrash says that whatever is called li is permanent. David’s kingship could not be taken away because it came from above the level of adam, from Atika, where there is no left and no change.¶9–11
- “Sanctify us with Your commandments”Li is Atika, revealed in Binah. The mitzvos already sanctify us at the level of Malchus; we pray for the higher level, the drawing down of Arich Anpin and the Infinite Light into Z’eir Anpin, the 248 limbs of the King, which will be revealed in the Future.¶12–13
- A betrothal foreverThe present betrothal comes from Z’eir Anpin, where right and left allow descent; the future one comes from Atika, so it is forever. Sources on ahavas olam and ahavah rabbah are reconciled, and the eternal bond is drawn down through the soul’s yearning for G‑d’s essence and revealed in the world itself.¶14–15
- Li as supernal ChochmahThe Ramaz reads li as supernal Chochmah, the four yuds of the Name AB. In the Future the Congregation of Israel will receive from Chochmah itself, Yisrael Saba, through our Torah study and mitzvos now, and the betrothal will lead to knowing Havayah.¶16
Key concepts
- Courts and houseחצרות ובית
- A court is where the King may pass but does not live; the house is where He dwells permanently. The courts are the emotive Sefiros and letters that conceal; the house is Chochmah and letters that reveal it.
- Li, “to Me”לי
- Whatever G‑d calls li is permanent. The maamar identifies li with Atika, where there is no left, and also with supernal Chochmah, whose four yuds equal li in numerical value.
- No left in Atikaלית שמאלא בהאי עתיקא
- At the level of Atika there is only kindness, no severity; so nothing given from there can change, unlike the level of adam (Z’eir Anpin), where right and left apply.
- Betrothal and marriageקדושין ונשואין
- Betrothal binds from outside, like the ring, and corresponds to the encompassing letters of Torah and prayer; marriage is the inward bond, when understanding of the Torah and G‑d’s exaltedness is absorbed into the soul.
- Ahavas olam and ahavah rabbahאהבת עולם ואהבה רבה
- Ahavah rabbah is in Z’eir Anpin. Ahavas olam of Malchus, the lower world, is below it; ahavas olam of Binah, the upper world, and the eternal love of “to Me forever,” are above it.
- Expiry of the soulכלות הנפש
- The yearning of “my heart and my flesh sing out” toward G‑d’s very essence, far above the courts; through it the eternal betrothal “to Me” is drawn down.
The King’s courts and His house ¶1–5
This heading introduces a short biur, a further explanation, of the discourse just before it in Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar, which opens with Hosea’s words “And I will betroth you to Me forever,” where G‑d’s bond with the Jewish people is called a betrothal. Before reaching the betrothal itself, the biur builds an image of a King’s courts and His house.
The title announces a brief elaboration on Hosea’s verse of betrothal, and in particular on the words “to Me.”
Marei mekomos
- 1וארשתיך לי · Hosea 2:21
2בפרדס בעה״כ [בערכי הכינויים] ערך חצרות הביא מ״ש בזהר ס״פ ויחי (דרמ״ח ע״ב) ע״פ כלתה נפשי1 לחצרות ה׳, ובתי בראי אינון אקרון חצרות2 ה׳
In the Pardes, in Erchei HaKinuyim, under the entry “Chatzeros” (courts), he cites what is written in the Zohar at the end of Parshas Vayechi (folio 248b) on [the verse] “My soul pines for the courts of Havayah”: “And the outer houses (batei bara’ei) are what are called ‘the courts of Havayah.’”
The Pardes (Pardes Rimonim), Rabbi Moshe Cordovero’s classic work of Kabbalah, has a lexicon of Kabbalistic terms, Erchei HaKinuyim. Under “courts” it quotes the Zohar on Psalm 84: the “outer houses” are what the verse calls “the courts of Havayah.”
ועפ״ז [ועל פי זה] פי׳ שהם הז״ת [הז׳ תחתונות] דאצי׳ כי כמו שהחצר בית שער לבית כן הז״ת [הז׳ תחתונות] הם בית שער לג׳ ספירות העליונות.3
On this basis the Pardes explains that these courts are the seven lower Sefiros of Atzilus, the emotive attributes. Just as one passes through a court to reach a house, which is hidden and private, the seven lower Sefiros are the entrance (“gatehouse”) to the three upper Sefiros, the levels of intellect hidden above them.
The maamar opens by defining its central image: the “courts of Havayah” for which the psalmist longs are the seven emotive Sefiros of Atzilus, which stand before the three higher Sefiros as a court stands before a house.
The Zohar there distinguishes lower abodes from higher ones, and calls the “outer houses” “the courts of Havayah” because they stand in love and yearning toward Nukva (Malchus). The Pardes stresses that the house is hidden and private while the court is open, so the courts are the more revealed levels.
Marei mekomos
- 1כלתה נפשי ללחצרות ה׳ · Psalms 84:3
- 2ובתי בראי אינון אקרון חצרות ה׳ · Zohar, Vayechi 77:800–79:811
- 3כי כמו שהחצר בית שער לבית כן הז״ת הם בית שער לג׳ ספירות העליונות · Pardes Rimmonim 23:8:91
3ועמש״ל [ועיין מה שכתוב לעיל] ע״פ ויושט המלך לאסתר1.2 נת׳ [נתבאר] החילוק בין חצר לבית שאין המלך דר בקביעות בחצר כמו בבית.
And see what is written above on [the verse] “And the king extended to Esther.” [There] the difference between a court and a house was explained: that the king does not dwell permanently in the court as [he does] in the house.
The maamar points back to Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther, on “And the king extended to Esther,” which explained that a king does not live permanently in his court as he does in his house. There the Alter Rebbe says that even the inner court, where Esther could only “touch the tip of the scepter,” counts as “wilderness” beside the King’s house, where she afterwards wept and pleaded for her people.
וזה י״ל [יש לומר] ג״כ בענין ז״ת [ז׳ תחתונות] לגבי ג״ר [ג׳ ראשונות] והוא כמ״ש בע״ח [בעץ חיים] הובא בסש״ב [בספר של בינונים] פל״ה3 שאור א״ס ב״ה אינו מתייחד אפילו בעולם האצילות אלא ע״י התלבשותו תחלה בספירת חכמה4 כו׳
And this can also be said of the seven lower [Sefiros] in relation to the first three [Sefiros]. This is as is written in Etz Chaim, cited in Sefer Shel Beinonim (Tanya), chapter 35: that the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, does not unite even in the World of Atzilus except by first enclothing itself in the Sefirah of Chochmah (wisdom), etc.
The same distinction applies to the Sefiros: the seven lower Sefiros stand to the first three as a court stands to the house. The basis is a statement of Etz Chaim, the Arizal’s teachings as recorded by Rabbi Chaim Vital, quoted in Tanya chapter 35: the Infinite Light unites with Atzilus only by first enclothing itself in Chochmah.
נמצא עיקר השראת והתגלות אור א״ס הוא בחכמה עילאה ונק׳ איהו וחיוהי חד וע״י החכמה נמשך ומתלבש במדות ונק׳ איהו וגרמוהי.
It follows that the main indwelling and revelation of the Infinite Light is in supernal Chochmah, and [this] is called “He and His life-forces are one”; and through Chochmah it is drawn down and enclothed in the emotive attributes (middos), and [this] is called “He and His vessels” (ihu vegarmohi).
So the Infinite Light dwells and is revealed chiefly in supernal Chochmah, the level the Tikkunei Zohar calls “He and His life-forces are one.” From Chochmah it passes into the emotive attributes, “He and His vessels,” which receive the King only by way of Chochmah, as a court that is not His home.
Paragraph 3 grounds the image of court and house: the King “lives” in Chochmah, where the Infinite Light first rests, while the emotive attributes receive Him only through Chochmah, like courts outside the house.
Tanya’s gloss there gives the reason, as the Alter Rebbe heard it from his teacher: Ein Sof is the true One, “He alone and there is nothing besides Him,” and that is the level of Chochmah. That is why Chochmah, and not the emotive attributes, is the Infinite Light’s first and permanent “home” in Atzilus.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2ועמש״ל ע״פ ויושט המלך לאסתר · תו״א צד, ג.
- 3כמ״ש בע״ח הובא בסש״ב פל״ה · ראה בליקוט פי׳ שם.
- 4שאור א״ס ב״ה אינו מתייחד אפילו בעולם האצילות אלא ע״י התלבשותו תחלה בספירת חכמה · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 35:7
4וזהו דאורייתא דמחכמה נפקת נק׳ היכלא עילאה דקב״ה [דקודשא בריך הוא]12 שהמלך דר בו בקביעות ואו״א [ואבא ואימא] הם תרין ריעין3 דלא מתפרשין.
And this is [why] the Torah, which “comes forth from Chochmah,” is called “the supernal palace (heichala ila’ah) of the Holy One, blessed be He,” in which the King dwells permanently; and Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah) are “two companions who never part.”
This is why the Torah, which “comes forth from Chochmah,” is called the supernal palace of the Holy One, blessed be He: a palace is where the King lives permanently. Abba and Imma, the configurations of Chochmah and Binah, are “two companions who never part,” a constant union that suits a permanent dwelling.
אבל הז״ת [הז׳ תחתונות] נק׳ חצרות. ופי׳ חצר החיצונה וחצר הפנימית4 י״ל [יש לומר] לפ״ז [לפי זה] שהן חיצונית הכלים דז״א ופנימית הכלים וכעין מ״ש בלקוטי הש״ס [הששה סדרים] להאריז״ל [להאר״י זכרונו לברכה] ד״ח ע״א דע כי הנצח וההוד נקראים בתי בראי אבל פנימיותם עצמם נק׳ גוואי,
But the seven lower [Sefiros] are called “courts.” And the meaning of the outer court and the inner court, it can be said according to this, is that they are the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of the vessels of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) and the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the vessels; somewhat like what is written in Likkutei HaShas of the Arizal, folio 8a: “Know that Netzach and Hod are called ‘the outer houses’ (batei bara’ei), but their own inner dimension is called ‘the inner [houses]’ (gava’ei).”
The seven lower Sefiros, by contrast, are only “courts.” The text suggests that the outer and inner courts are the outer and inner dimensions of the vessels of Z’eir Anpin, and compares the Arizal’s Likkutei HaShas (his comments on the Talmud): Netzach and Hod are called “outer houses,” while their own inner dimension is called “inner [houses].”
The text then brings the Zohar on Lech Lecha, on “he shall dwell in Your courts”: the plural “courts” are two, and they are linked to Zion and Jerusalem, which the Mikdash Melech, a commentary on the Zohar, identifies as Yesod and Malchus.
וי״ל [ויש לומר] דב׳ בחי׳ אלו הן חצר החיצונה וחצר הפנימית והוא כמבואר במ״א ע״פ כרוב אחד מקצה מזה9 הוא ז״א דאצילות שהוא ירידת אור א״ס מלמעלה למטה
And it can be said that these two levels are the outer court and the inner court. This is as is explained elsewhere on [the verse] “One cherub at the end, on this side”: [this] is Z’eir Anpin of Atzilus, which is the descent of the Infinite Light from above to below;
Yesod and Malchus, then, can be the two courts, inner and outer. The text links this to another discussion of the two cherubs on the cover of the Ark: the one cherub is Z’eir Anpin of Atzilus, the Infinite Light coming down from above.
והמל׳ הוא מקור בי״ע ושרשם שבאצילות כו׳ לכן המל׳ נק׳ חצר החיצונה שהוא מקור הנבראים.
Malchus, its partner, is the source within Atzilus of the lower worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. Because Malchus is the source of the created beings, it is the outer court.
אבל יסוד ז״א הוא בחי׳ חצר הפנימית הפונה10 קדים כו׳ (וכה״ג [וכהאי גוונא] פי׳ במאורי אור אות ח׳ סי׳ נ׳).
But Yesod of Z’eir Anpin is the level of the inner court “that faces east,” etc. (And something like this is explained in Meorei Or, letter ches, section 50.)
Yesod of Z’eir Anpin belongs to the light descending from above, so it is the inner court, the one Ezekiel describes as “facing east.” The text notes that Meorei Or, a lexicon of Kabbalistic terms, explains it in a similar way.
וזהו כלתה נפשי לחצרות11 ה׳ ועמ״ש במ״א ע״פ כי תשמע בקול כו׳ לעשות הישר12 כו׳ דחצר החיצונה הוא פסוד״ז [פסוקי דזמרה] וחצר הפנימית היא ק״ש [קריאת שמע]
And this is [the meaning of] “My soul pines for the courts of Havayah.” And see what is written elsewhere on [the verse] “When you listen to the voice,” etc., “to do what is right,” etc.: that the outer court is Pesukei deZimra (the Verses of Praise) and the inner court is the Shema,
This is why the psalmist longs for “courts” in the plural. Another discourse applies the two courts to the morning prayers: the outer court is Pesukei deZimra, the psalms of praise that open the morning service, and the inner court is the Shema.
כי בפסוד״ז [בפסוקי דזמרה] נזכר גדולתו ית׳ ממה שהוא מחיה עולמות ומלאכים כמ״ש הללו את13 ה׳ מן השמים כו׳ כל מלאכיו14 כו׳ הללוהו ברקיע עוזו15 כו׳ אשר מקור חיותן נק׳ חצר החיצונה.
for in Pesukei deZimra His greatness, may He be blessed, is spoken of in terms of His giving life to worlds and angels, as it is written, “Praise Havayah from the heavens,” etc., “all His angels,” etc., “Praise Him in the firmament of His strength,” etc.; and the source of their life-force is called the outer court.
Pesukei deZimra praises G‑d for giving life to the worlds and the angels, as in the psalms quoted. The source of that life-force, G‑d as He gives life to creation, is the outer court.
אבל ק״ש [קריאת שמע] שבה נאמר16 קבלת עול מלכות שמים ועול מצות17 זהו בחי׳ חצר הפנימית הפונה קדים שהתורה נק׳ משל הקדמוני18 קדמונו של עולם1920 כו׳ ועמ״ש מענין זה ג״כ בד״ה ויקהל משה.
But the Shema, in which is recited the acceptance of the yoke of the kingship of Heaven and the yoke of the mitzvos, is the level of the inner court “that faces east (kadim)”; for the Torah is called “the parable of the Ancient One (hakadmoni),” the One Who precedes the world (kadmono shel olam), etc. And see what is written on this matter also in the discourse beginning “And Moshe assembled.”
The Shema, in which one accepts the yoke of Heaven’s kingship and then the yoke of the mitzvos, is the inner court “facing east” (kadim). The word recalls the Torah’s title “the parable of the Ancient One” (kadmoni), G‑d Who precedes the world, so the Shema relates to the Torah, which is before the world, not to the world’s life-force.
ובזהר פ׳ נח (דע״ה ב׳) לפי׳ המק״מ [המקדש מלך] שם משמע דחצר הפנימית הוא עולם הבריאה וחצר החיצונה הוא עולם היצירה.
And in the Zohar, Parshas Noach (folio 75b), according to the explanation of the Mikdash Melech there, the implication is that the inner court is the World of Beriah (Creation) and the outer court is the World of Yetzirah (Formation).
A second reading comes from the Zohar on Noach, as the Mikdash Melech commentary explains it. There the inner court is the World of Beriah and the outer court the World of Yetzirah, both below Atzilus.
וכן בזהר פ׳ חיי שרה (דקכ״ט ע״ב) ע״פ ישכון חצריך משמע דחצר נק׳ עולם היצירה כמ״ש במק״מ [במקדש מלך] וזהו ענין פסוד״ז [פסוקי דזמרה] שהוא תפלת היצירה.21
And so too in the Zohar, Parshas Chayei Sarah (folio 129b), on [the verse] “he shall dwell in Your courts,” the implication is that the World of Yetzirah is called “court,” as is written in the Mikdash Melech. And this is the matter of Pesukei deZimra, which is the prayer of Yetzirah.
The Zohar on Chayei Sarah likewise places the “courts” in Yetzirah, the world of the angels. This fits Pesukei deZimra, full of the angels’ praise, which, as the Kehot notes show, Pri Etz Chaim and Mishnas Chassidim call the prayer of Yetzirah.
ולפ״ז [ולפי זה] ק״ש [קריאת שמע] שנקרא חצר הפנימית היינו עולם הבריאה. ובית זהו תפלת שמו״ע [שמונה עשרה] שהוא בחי׳ אצילו ת והיינו כי אצי׳ הוא בחי׳ חכמה דכללות העולמות וזהו בחכמה יבנה בית22 כו׳.
Accordingly, the Shema, which is called the inner court, is the World of Beriah. And the “house” is the prayer of the Shemoneh Esreh, which is the level of Atzilus. That is, Atzilus is the level of Chochmah of the worlds as a whole (klalus); and this is [the meaning of] “With wisdom a house is built,” etc.
On this reading the Shema, the inner court, is Beriah, and the Shemoneh Esreh is the “house” itself, Atzilus. Atzilus is the Chochmah of all the worlds as a whole, so “With wisdom a house is built” fits: the King’s house is built of Chochmah. The Zohar on Lech Lecha cited above brings this same verse for “the goodness of Your house.”
Paragraph 4 gives two readings of the outer and inner courts, within Atzilus (Malchus and Yesod, or the outer and inner vessels of Z’eir Anpin) and in the worlds below it (Yetzirah and Beriah), and maps them onto the morning prayers: Pesukei deZimra and the Shema are the courts, the Shemoneh Esreh is the King’s house.
The prayer climbs from the courts into the house: Pesukei deZimra corresponds to Yetzirah, the Shema to Beriah, and the Shemoneh Esreh to Atzilus, the level of Chochmah where the King dwells permanently. The notes trace the identification of Pesukei deZimra with Yetzirah to Pri Etz Chaim and Mishnas Chassidim.
Marei mekomos
- 1נק׳ היכלא עילאה דקב״ה · זח״ב (ר, א).
- 2היכלא עילאה דקב״ה · Zohar, Vayakhel 7:98–10:107
- 3ואו״א הם תרין רעין · Zohar III, 4a
- 4חצר הפנימית · Zohar, Noach 43:361–44:373
- 5ישכון חצריך · Psalms 65:5
- 6ישכון חצריך · Zohar, Chayei Sara 16:121–17:127
- 7ישכון חצריך נתבאר דחצירך הם ציון וירושלים · Zohar, Lech Lecha 35:415–429
- 8ציון וירושלים · Zohar, Vayechi 21:171–23:182
- 9כרוב אחד מקצה מזה · Exodus 25:19
- 10חצר הפנימית הפונה · Ezekiel 46:1
- 11
- 12כי תשמע בקול כו׳ לעשות הישר · Deuteronomy 13:19
- 13הללו את ה׳ מן השמים כו׳ כל מלאכיו · Psalms 148:1–2
- 14הללו את ה׳ . . כל מלאכיו · Psalms 148:1
- 15הללוהו ברקיע עוזו · Psalms 150:1
- 16ק״ש שבה נאמר קבעומ״ש · ברכות פ״א, מ״ב.
- 17קבלת עול מלכות שמים ועול מצות · Mishnah Berakhot 2:2
- 18שהתו׳ נק׳ משל הקדמוני · ראה רש״י שמואל-א כד, יד. משפטים כא, יג. אוה״ת וארא ע׳ קנב.
- 19משל הקדמוני קדמונו של עולם · Rashi on I Samuel 24:14
- 20משל הקדמוני קדמונו של עולם · Rashi on Exodus 21:16
- 21פסוד״ז שהוא תפלת היצירה · פע״ח ש׳ עולם היצירה. מ״ח תפלת היצירה.
- 22בחכמה יבנה בית · Proverbs 24:3
5ואף גם לפי׳ זה אינו סותר למשנ״ת [למה שנתבאר] לעיל דחצרות ה׳ הן בעולם האצילות כי באצילות עצמו יש ג״כ אבי״ע [אצילות בריאה יצירה עשיה] אשר הכתר או החכמה נק׳ אצילות שבאצילות ובינה וז״א ונוק׳ [ונוקבא] נק׳ בי״ע שבאצילות ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה להבין מ״ש בהגדה מצה זו כו׳
And even according to this explanation, it does not contradict what was explained above, that “the courts of Havayah” are in the World of Atzilus. For in Atzilus itself there are also Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah: Keser (the Crown) or Chochmah is called Atzilus of Atzilus, and Binah, Z’eir Anpin and Nukva are called Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah of Atzilus. And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “To understand what is said in the Haggadah, ‘This matzah,’” etc.
The second reading, which places the courts in Beriah and Yetzirah, does not contradict the first, which placed them in Atzilus. Atzilus itself contains all four worlds: its Keser or Chochmah is “Atzilus of Atzilus,” and its Binah, Z’eir Anpin and Nukva are “Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah of Atzilus.” The text’s discourse on the Haggadah’s “This matzah” says more on this.
ולכן שייך חצרות בבי״ע ממש וגם באצילות כו׳, ובר״ח [ובראשית חכמה] שער הקדושה פ״ב [פרק ב׳] פי׳ בכוונת הזהר ס״פ נח הנ״ל ששער החצר הפנימית12 הוא אור האצילות שביום השבת הוא נפתח3 כו׳
Therefore [the term] “courts” applies to Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah proper, and also to Atzilus, etc. And in Reishis Chochmah, Shaar HaKedushah, chapter 2, he explains the intent of the Zohar at the end of Parshas Noach mentioned above: that “the gate of the inner court” is the light of Atzilus, which is opened on the Shabbos day, etc.
So “courts” exist both in the lower worlds proper and within Atzilus. Reishis Chochmah, Rabbi Eliyahu de Vidas’s classic of ethics and Kabbalah, explains the Zohar on Noach in this way: Ezekiel’s gate of the inner court, closed on weekdays and opened on Shabbos, is the light of Atzilus.
ועיין בפע״ח [בפרי עץ חיים] שער השבת פכ״ד שבשבת מאיר א״פ [אור פנימי] עצמו של אצילות בבריאה,4
And see Pri Etz Chaim, Shaar HaShabbos, chapter 24: that on Shabbos the inner light (or pnimi) of Atzilus itself shines in Beriah.
Pri Etz Chaim, the Arizal’s teachings on prayer, Shabbos and the festivals, likewise teaches that on Shabbos the inner light of Atzilus itself shines into Beriah. On weekdays, it explains, each world receives only the outer aspect of the world above it.
ועיין מזה בהרמ״ז [בהרב משה זכות] ר״פ וארא (בדף כ״ג ע״ב) שבבריאה יש ב׳ בחינות א׳ הוא האור שבעצם יקרא בשם בריאה והב׳ הוא אור אימא דאצילות המאיר בה והיינו פנימיות ותוכיות הבריאה שמאיר ביום השבת עכ״ל [עד כאן לשונו]:
And see about this in the Ramaz at the beginning of Parshas Va’era (on folio 23b): that in Beriah there are two levels: the first is the light in its essence, which is called by the name Beriah; and the second is the light of Imma of Atzilus that shines in it, and that is the inner dimension and innermost core of Beriah, which shines on the Shabbos day. End of quote.
The Ramaz (Rabbi Moshe Zacuto), in his commentary on the Zohar, distinguishes two lights in Beriah: its own essential light, which is what is properly called Beriah, and the light of Imma (Binah) of Atzilus that shines within it as its inner core. That inner core shines on Shabbos, which is why the gate of the inner court opens then.
Paragraph 5 reconciles the two readings: Atzilus contains its own Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, and on Shabbos the light of Atzilus shines into Beriah, so “courts” apply on both levels.
Pri Etz Chaim describes the weekday order, in which each world receives only the outer aspect of the world above it, and contrasts it with Shabbos, when the inner light of each world shines into the one below. The opening of Ezekiel’s gate on Shabbos is this inner light of Atzilus entering Beriah.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2ששער החצר הפנימית · Zohar, Noach 43:361–44:373
- 3ששער החצר הפנימית הוא אור האצילות שביום השבת הוא נפתח · Reshit Chokhmah, Gate of Holiness 2:19
- 4שבשבת מאיר א״פ עצמו של אצילות בבריאה · Pri Etz Chaim, Gate of the Sabbath 24:6
Courts and house in the soul and in divine service ¶6–8
6ב והנה לקרב אל השכל ענין חצר החיצונה וחצר הפנימית ובית המלך והוא ע״ד הנז׳ [הנזכר] לעיל כי האותיות נקראו אבנים וצירופיהם נק׳ חצרות ובתים.
2. Now, to bring closer to the intellect the matter of the outer court, the inner court and the King’s house: it is along the lines mentioned above, that the letters are called “stones,” and their combinations are called “courts” and “houses.”
Section 2 makes the image of courts and house easier to grasp through the human soul. Letters are called “stones,” and their combinations, the words built from them, are called “courts” and “houses,” as in Sefer Yetzirah, where “two stones build two houses.”
וידוע שיש אותיות הדבור ואותיות המחשבה, שאותיות הדבור יוצאים מהעלם אל הגילוי לחוץ לזולתו ונעשה בחי׳ בפ״ע [בפני עצמו] וזהו ענין חצר החיצונה
And it is known that there are letters of speech and letters of thought: the letters of speech go out from concealment into revelation, outward, to another, and become a separate entity; and this is the matter of the outer court.
A person has two kinds of letters: letters of speech and letters of thought. Speech leaves its hidden source, goes outward to another person and becomes something separate from the speaker; that is the outer court.
משא״כ אותיות המחשבה שהן בבחי׳ העלם והמחשבה היא מתאחדת עם הנפש המשכלת תמיד בלי פירוד ע״כ היא הנק׳ חצר הפנימית.
Whereas the letters of thought are in a state of concealment, and thought is united with the intellective soul constantly, without separation; therefore it is what is called the inner court.
Thought, though also made of letters, stays hidden inside and is always united with the thinking soul, so it is the inner court.
The analogy from the soul: speech, which leaves the person, is the outer court; thought, which never separates from the soul, is the inner court.
And see what is written in the discourse beginning “Who has counted the dust of Yaakov,” concerning thought and speech: that they are the levels of Beriah and Yetzirah, etc.; see there.
The text refers to its discourse on “Who has counted the dust of Yaakov,” where thought and speech are linked to the worlds of Beriah and Yetzirah. This matches the second reading above, in which the inner and outer courts are Beriah and Yetzirah.
אך בחי׳ בית המלך שהוא ג״כ מאבנים ואותיות אלא שהמלך דר בו בקביעות משא״כ בחצר.
But [as for] the level of the King’s house, which is also of stones and letters, except that the King dwells in it permanently, which is not so in the court:
If both thought and speech are only courts, what is the King’s house? It too is built of “stones” and letters; the difference is that the King dwells in it permanently, which is not so in a court.
הענין כמו עד״מ למטה האותיות הם מעלימים על השכל ואין עצמיות השכל מתגלה מתוך האותיות.
the matter is as in an analogy here below: the letters conceal the intellect, and the essence of the intellect is not revealed from within the letters.
The answer begins from ordinary experience: letters carry an idea but also hide it. The essence of the intellect does not show through the letters that express it.
Paragraph 7 sets up the key question: the King’s house is also made of letters, so what makes it His dwelling? The answer starts from the fact that ordinary letters conceal the intellect they carry.
Marei mekomos
- 1מי מנה עפר יעקב · Numbers 23:10
8ולפעמים שאין החכמה מתגלה כלל מתוך האותיות כמו מי שלומד בספר ומבין האותיות ואינו מבין הפשט ובאמת אפילו אותיות המחשבה אין עצמיות החכמה מתגלה בהן כלל.
And sometimes the wisdom is not revealed at all from within the letters, as with one who studies a book and understands the letters but does not understand the plain meaning. And in truth, even in the letters of thought the essence of the wisdom is not revealed at all.
Sometimes the idea does not come through the letters at all, as when a reader can read the words of a book but does not grasp their plain meaning. Even the letters of thought, the inner court, do not reveal the essence of the wisdom they carry.
ולכן בריאה שהיא מחשבה היא בחינת בריאה יש מאין וכמ״ש בד״ה את שבתותי תשמרו בפי׳ בורא קדושים ישתבח שמך כו׳.
Therefore Beriah (Creation), which is thought, is the level of creation of something from nothing, as is explained in the discourse beginning “You shall keep My Shabbosos,” on the meaning of “Creator of holy beings; may Your Name be praised,” etc.
Since the essence of Chochmah stays hidden even in the letters of thought, Beriah, the world that corresponds to thought, comes into being as “something from nothing,” a new existence whose divine source is not seen. The text refers to its discourse on “You shall keep My Shabbosos,” which explains the phrase “Creator of holy beings” from the morning prayers.
ולכן נק׳ בחי׳ האותיות למעלה בחינת חצר שאין המלך דר בו משא״כ בחי׳ בית המלך שהמלך דר בו בקביעות זהו בחי׳ האותיות שנמשך בהן גילוי עצמיות החכמה עילאה שלא יהיו האותיות מעלימים ומסתירים
Therefore the level of the letters above is called the level of a court, in which the King does not dwell; whereas the level of the King’s house, in which the King dwells permanently, is the level of the letters into which the revelation of the essence of supernal Chochmah (wisdom) is drawn, so that the letters do not conceal and hide
So letters “above” that hide the wisdom within them are a “court,” where the King does not live. The King’s “house” is made of letters into which the essence of supernal Chochmah is drawn and revealed, so that the letters no longer hide it.
(ועמ״ש בענין קי״ס [קריעת ים סוף] בד״ה הנה ים סוף גבי והניף ידו על הנהר1 כו׳ ועמ״ש ע״פ אם בחקותי תלכו2 בענין אותיות החקיקה ואותיות הכתיבה כו׳ ע״ש), וכמ״כ [וכמו כן] עד״ז בעבודת ה׳ יש בחי׳ ישכון חצריך ובחי׳ נשבעה בטוב ביתך3
(and see what is written about the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds in the discourse beginning “Behold, the Sea of Reeds,” on “And He will wave His hand over the River,” etc.; and see what is written on [the verse] “If you walk in My statutes,” about engraved letters and written letters, etc.; see there). And likewise, in the same way, in the service of G‑d there is the level of “he shall dwell in Your courts” and the level of “we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,”
The parenthesis points to related discussions: one on the Splitting of the Sea, and one on “If you walk in My statutes (bechukosai),” which in Likkutei Torah, Bechukosai, reads the word as chakikah, “engraving”: the letters engraved in the Tablets were part of the stone itself, while letters written in ink stay separate from the parchment. The same two levels then appear in a person’s service of G‑d, in the two phrases of Psalm 65: “he shall dwell in Your courts” and “we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house.”
דהיינו מי שהוא עוסק בתורה ותפלה ומכוין את לבו לאותיות שבהם לבדם זהו בחי׳ ישכון חצריך אף שהוא בחי׳ חצר הפנימית.
that is: one who engages in Torah and prayer and directs his heart to their letters alone, this is the level of “he shall dwell in Your courts,” even though it is the level of the inner court.
One who prays and learns Torah while attending only to the words themselves is at the level of the “courts.” Prayer and Torah are the inner court, yet he still receives only from the letters and not from the meaning they hold.
אבל מי שמעמיק דעתו ושכלו להבין פירוש המלות שבתפלה עד מקום שידו מגעת וכן בעיון שכלו בעסק התורה זהו בחי׳ נשבעה בטוב ביתך דאורייתא היכלא עילאה דקוב״ה [דקודשא בריך הוא].
But one who deepens his mind and his intellect to understand the meaning of the words of the prayer, as far as his hand reaches, and likewise in the contemplation of his intellect in the study of Torah, this is the level of “we shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,” for the Torah is “the supernal palace of the Holy One, blessed be He.”
One who uses his mind to understand the meaning of the words of prayer, as far as he is able, and who studies Torah with deep thought, reaches “the goodness of Your house.” The Torah is the King’s palace, so grasping its meaning brings a person into the house where the King dwells.
וזהו ענין כלתה נפשי לחצרות4 ה׳ שנק׳ כלה וארוסה לבד לפי שמקבלת רק מבחי׳ חצרות שהם האותיות לבד.
And this is the matter of “My soul pines (kalsah) for the courts of Havayah”: it is called a bride (kallah), one only betrothed, because it receives only from the level of courts, which are the letters alone.
The verse “My soul pines for the courts” is now read with a pun: kalsah, “pines,” recalls kallah, “bride.” A soul that receives only from the courts, the letters alone, is a bride who is betrothed but not yet married.
וזהו ענין קדושין (וכנז׳ [וכנזכר] לעיל בפנים) שקדושין ומאמר ענין אחד הוא.
And this is the matter of kiddushin, betrothal (as mentioned above, in the main discourse): that kiddushin and ma’amar (“utterance”) are one matter.
This explains kiddushin, betrothal, which the main discourse also discussed. In halachah, ma’amar, literally “saying,” is the betrothal a levir gives his brother’s widow before yibum, and it works like kiddushin; the main discourse (Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar, “And I will betroth you to Me forever”) links it to “You have made G‑d declare (he’emarta) this day,” the “saying” that Torah study brings about in G‑d.
ומאמר היינו אותיות התורה כו׳ שהם בחי׳ מקיפים כמו טבעת קידושין כו׳
And ma’amar means the letters of the Torah, etc., which are the level of encompassing [lights] (makifim), like the ring of kiddushin, etc.
Ma’amar, then, is the letters of the Torah. These are makifim, “encompassing” lights that surround a person rather than entering him, like the ring of kiddushin, which is handed to the bride from outside; the main discourse also calls the ring an encompassing light.
אבל בחי׳ עיון התורה שנקלט בנפשו השגת התורה שהיא טפת חכמה עילאה וכן בתפלה להיות נקלט רוממות ה׳ אל תוך תוכו ופנימיותו בקרב איש ולב עמוק5 זהו נקרא בחי׳ נשואין שהוא בחי׳ פנימיות כו׳:
But the level of the contemplative study of Torah, in which the comprehension of the Torah, which is a drop of supernal Chochmah, is absorbed into one’s soul, and likewise in prayer, that the exaltedness of G‑d be absorbed into his innermost core and inwardness, “within a man, and a deep heart”: this is called the level of nisuin (marriage), which is the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus), etc.
Contemplative Torah study is different: its comprehension, a “drop” of supernal Chochmah, is absorbed into the soul, and in prayer G‑d’s exaltedness is absorbed into the depths of the heart. That inward bond is nisuin, full marriage, while betrothal is the outer bond of the letters.
Paragraph 8 completes the analogy: letters that hide their meaning are the courts, and letters that reveal Chochmah are the house. In divine service, attending to the words alone is “courts” and betrothal, while understanding absorbed within is “house” and marriage.
The two stages of Jewish marriage serve as the model: kiddushin binds through an object given from outside, like the encompassing letters, while nisuin unites from within, like comprehension absorbed into the soul. This sets up the question that follows: what kind of betrothal is “to Me forever”?
Marei mekomos
- 1והניף ידו על הנהר · Isaiah 11:15
- 2אם בחקותי תלכו · Leviticus 26:3
- 3ישכון חצריך ובחי׳ נשבעה בטוב ביתך · Psalms 65:5
- 4כלתה נפשי לחצרות ה׳ · Psalms 84:3
- 5בקרב איש ולב עמוק · Psalms 64:7
Whatever is “to Me” never moves ¶9–11
9ג אך להבין מ״ש וארשתיך לי1 הנה יובן בהקדים פי׳ מ״ש במדרש שוחר טוב פרשה י״ט ע״פ מלא קרנך שמן ולך אשלחך אל ישי2 כו׳
3. But to understand what is written, “And I will betroth you to Me”: it will be understood by first explaining what is said in Midrash Shocher Tov, section 19, on [the verse] “Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Yishai,” etc.:
Section 3 turns to “And I will betroth you to Me” itself. It begins with Midrash Shocher Tov (the Midrash on Psalms) on G‑d’s command to Shmuel to anoint David, a verse that ends “for I have seen among his sons a king for Me (li)”: wherever Scripture says li, “to Me” or “for Me,” that thing never moves, in this world or the next.
כל מקום שנאמר לי3 אינו זז4 לא בעוה״ז ולא בעוה״ב [בעולם הבא] וכ״ה ג״כ במדרש רבה פ׳ ויקרא פרשה ב׳ אינו זז לעולם כו׳.
“Wherever ‘to Me’ (li) is said, it never moves, neither in this world nor in the World to Come.” And so it is also in Midrash Rabbah, Parshas Vayikra, section 2: “it never moves, forever,” etc.
Vayikra Rabbah teaches the same, listing what Scripture calls li: the priests, the Levites, Israel, the Land, Jerusalem and the kingship of David’s house, among others. In Likkutei Torah, Sh’lach, the Alter Rebbe brings these Midrashim to explain li rosh, “a head for Me,” and refers back to this discussion.
Paragraph 9 introduces the principle that unlocks “to Me”: whatever G‑d calls li is permanent and never moves.
Marei mekomos
- 1וארשתיך לי · Hosea 2:21
- 2מלא קרנך שמן ולך אשלחך אל ישי · I Samuel 16:1
- 3כל מקום שנאמר לי · ראה לקמן פ׳ שלח נ, ב. באוה״ת שה״ש ע׳ תקיג מציין לכאן.
- 4כל מקום שנאמר לי אינו זז · Vayikra Rabbah 2:2
10ומבואר במ״א בפ׳ יתרו בביאור ע״פ זכור את יום השבת,1 בענין מאמר שמואל לשאול וגם נצח ישראל2 לא ישקר ולא ינחם כי לא אדם הוא להנחם,
And it is explained elsewhere, in Parshas Yisro, in the explanation on [the verse] “Remember the Shabbos day,” concerning Shmuel’s words to Shaul, “And also the Eternal One of Israel will not lie and will not change His mind, for He is not a man that He should change His mind,”
The principle is tied to an explanation given elsewhere, on “Remember the Shabbos day” in Parshas Yisro, of Shmuel’s words to Shaul after Shaul lost the kingship: G‑d “will not lie and will not change His mind, for He is not a man (adam) that He should change His mind.”
שזהו תשובה על שביקש שאול ממנו שתשוב לו המלוכה.
that this was the answer to Shaul’s request of him that the kingship be returned to him.
According to that explanation, Shmuel said this in answer to Shaul’s plea that the kingship be given back to him: what G‑d has given to David He will not take back.
Paragraph 10 brings Shmuel’s reply to Shaul as the key to why a kingship given “to Me” cannot be withdrawn.
Marei mekomos
- 1זכור את יום השבת · Exodus 20:8
- 2וגם נצח ישראל · I Samuel 15:29
11והשיב לו שמואל שמאחר שכבר ניתנה לדוד אי אפשר להעביר המלוכה ממנו כי מלכות בית דוד נלקחה ממקום עליון
Shmuel answered him that since it had already been given to David, it was impossible to take the kingship away from him; for the kingship of the House of David was taken from a lofty place,
Once the kingship had been given to David it could not be taken from him, because David’s kingship was drawn from a higher source than Shaul’s.
שהיא מבחי׳ כי לא אדם הוא להנחם1 ולא כמלכות שאול שנלקחה מבחי׳ אדם כו׳ מבחי׳ חכמה ובבחי׳ אדם שייך ימינא ושמאלא ונמשך ההשפעה לפי מעשה התחתונים וע״כ יש שינויים כו׳
which is from the level of “for He is not a man (adam) that He should change His mind,” and not like the kingship of Shaul, which was taken from the level of adam (“man”), etc., from the level of Chochmah. And at the level of adam, right and left apply, and the flow of influence is drawn down according to the deeds of the lower beings; therefore there are changes, etc.
David’s kingship came from the level described as “not a man (adam),” while Shaul’s came from the level of adam, which is Chochmah. At the level of adam there is right and left, kindness and severity, and the divine flow responds to people’s deeds, so it can change; that is how Shaul’s kingship could be lost.
אבל למעלה מבחי׳ אדם לית שמאלא בהאי עתיקא23 לפי שהוא המתנשא מימות עולם4 רם ונשא כו׳ וזהו ענין רמה קרני,56 ותרם כראים קרני7 כו׳.
But above the level of adam, “there is no left in this Atika (the Ancient One),” because He is “the One exalted from the days of old,” “high and exalted,” etc. And this is the matter of “my horn is exalted,” and “You have raised my horn like a re’em’s,” etc.
Above adam is Atika, the “Ancient One,” the innermost level of Keser, above all the Sefiros; the Zohar says that in it there is no left, only right. It is G‑d “exalted from the days of old” (words of the blessings before the Shema), beyond all change. The Talmud reads Chanah’s “my horn is exalted” to teach that David and Shlomo, anointed from a horn, had lasting kingship, while Shaul and Yehu, anointed from a flask, did not.
Paragraph 11 explains the permanence of “to Me”: David’s kingship is rooted in Atika, above the level of adam, where right and left, and therefore change, apply.
In the Idra Rabba, “there is no left in this hidden Atika; all is right.” The Idra Zuta passage cited in the notes adds that this holy Atika is one, all in joy, and never changes from compassion; that unchanging quality is what makes whatever is “to Me” permanent.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי לא אדם הוא להנחם · I Samuel 15:29
- 2לית שמאלא בהאי עתיקא · Zohar III, 129a
- 3לית שמאלא בהאי עתיקא · Zohar, Idra Zuta 4:37–10:49
- 4המתנשא מימות עולם · ברכת יוצר.
- 5רמה קרני · I Samuel 2:1
- 6רמה קרני · Megillah 14a:18
- 7ותרם כראם קרני · Psalms 92:11
“Sanctify us with Your commandments” ¶12–13
12וזהו פי׳ וענין המדרש דכ״מ [דכל מקום] שנאמר לי אינו זז לעולם1 והיינו לפי שהוא מבחינת דלית שמאלא כו׳ וע״כ לא אדם הוא להנחם2 ואין שייך שינוי.
And this is the meaning and the matter of the Midrash that wherever “to Me” (li) is said, it never moves, forever: that is, because it is from the level of “there is no left,” etc.; and therefore “He is not a man that He should change His mind,” and change does not apply.
This is the meaning of the Midrash that whatever is called li never moves. Li comes from the level where “there is no left,” so G‑d “is not a man that He should change His mind,” and change has no place there.
וא״כ מובן מזה דפי׳ לי הוא בחי׳ עתיקא וכן בפרדס בעה״כ [בערכי הכינויים] ערך לי פי׳ לי לעצמי שאינו מושג3
If so, it is understood from this that the meaning of li is the level of Atika. And so too in the Pardes, in Erchei HaKinuyim, under the entry “Li,” he explains li as “to Myself,” meaning that it is not grasped.
It follows that li denotes the level of Atika, the “Ancient One.” The Pardes, in its lexicon, likewise explains li as “to Myself,” a level that cannot be grasped.
ואע״ג [ואף על גב] דפי׳ דהיינו בבחי׳ בינה לא תברא דבינה נק׳ ג״כ עתיקא לפעמים כמ״ש בזהר ס״פ קרח הוא דא עתיקא שהתגלות עתיק הוא בבינה כו׳
And although he explains that this is at the level of Binah (understanding), this is no refutation, for Binah is also sometimes called Atika, as is written in the Zohar at the end of Parshas Korach, “‘Hu’ (He): this is Atika”; for the revelation of Atik is in Binah, etc.
The Pardes places li in Binah, but that is no contradiction, because Binah is also sometimes called Atika. The Zohar on Korach reads the word hu, “He,” as Atika, and the revelation of Atik takes place in Binah.
וע׳ בע״ח [בעץ חיים] שער תיקון נוקבא ספ״ב [סוף פרק ב׳] הטעם שנק׳ בינה הוא4 כו׳. ועפ״ז [ועל פי זה] יובן ג״כ ענין מ״ש וארשתיך לי5 דיהיו הקדושין לי ממש.
And see Etz Chaim, Shaar Tikkun Nukva, end of chapter 2, [for] the reason why Binah is called “Hu,” etc. And according to this, the matter of what is written, “And I will betroth you to Me,” will also be understood: that the betrothal will be truly “to Me.”
Etz Chaim explains why Binah is called hu: hu always denotes Keser, and Binah (Imma) is Keser for Z’eir Anpin. With this, “I will betroth you to Me (li)” means that the betrothal will be truly “to Me,” from the level of Atika.
והענין כי הנה אנו אומרים אשר קדשנו במצותיו והוא ג״כ לשון אירוסין וקדושין (כמ״ש הרד״א [הרב דוד אבודרהם] גבי ברכת נטילת ידים) וא״כ מהו שאנו מבקשים קדשנו במצותיך כו׳ לשון להבא. והלא כבר קדשנו במצותיו.
The matter is this: we say, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” and this too is an expression of erusin and kiddushin (betrothal) (as Rabbi David Abudarham writes regarding the blessing over washing the hands). If so, what is [the meaning of] our request, “Sanctify us with Your commandments,” etc., in the future tense? Has He not already sanctified us with His commandments?
The blessing over a mitzvah, “Who has sanctified us (kideshanu) with His commandments,” uses the language of betrothal (kiddushin), as Rabbi David Abudarham, the classic commentator on the prayers, notes. So why do we pray on Shabbos and the festivals, “Sanctify us with Your commandments,” as if it had not yet happened?
אך הענין דהנה מבואר במ״א בביאור ע״פ והיה לכם לציצית גבי וזכרתם את כל מצות דהמצות הן נק׳ מצות המלך6 דהיינו שהן בבחי׳ מל׳ דאצילות
But the matter is this: it is explained elsewhere, in the explanation on [the verse] “And it shall be for you as tzitzis,” regarding “and you shall remember all the commandments,” that the mitzvos are called “the commandments of the King,” that is, they are at the level of Malchus (sovereignty) of Atzilus (Emanation);
The answer begins from Likkutei Torah, Sh’lach, on “And it shall be for you as tzitzis.” There the mitzvos are called “the commandments of the King” because, as they reach us, they are in Malchus of Atzilus, the King’s sovereignty, while the Torah is in Z’eir Anpin.
אך שרשן הוא בז״א וע״י אתעדל״ת [אתערותא דלתתא] של האדם ממשיך להיות המצוה אברין דמלכא דז״א ועוד שממשיכים ג״כ מא״א [מאריך אנפין] בז״א כו׳ ע״ש.
but their root is in Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes), and through a person’s arousal from below (isarusa dilesata) he draws [it] down so that the mitzvah becomes “the limbs of the King” of Z’eir Anpin; and moreover, that one also draws down from Arich Anpin into Z’eir Anpin, etc.; see there.
Their root, though, is in Z’eir Anpin, and a person’s own initiative (the arousal from below) draws down light so that each mitzvah becomes one of “the limbs of the King” (a phrase of the Tikkunei Zohar), the King being Z’eir Anpin. Beyond this, through the mitzvos one also draws down from Arich Anpin (“the Long Countenance”), the outer level of Keser, the divine will, into Z’eir Anpin.
עוד נתבאר זה במ״א בענין ההפרש שבין זכירה ראשונה שאמר וזכרתם את כל מצות הוי׳ לזכירה שניה שאמר למען תזכרו78 כו׳ מצותי.
This was further explained elsewhere, concerning the difference between the first remembering, where it says, “And you shall remember all the commandments of Havayah,” and the second remembering, where it says, “So that you shall remember,” etc., “My commandments.”
The same two levels appear in the tzitzis passage itself, which speaks of remembering twice: first “all the commandments of Havayah,” then “so that you remember … My commandments.”
דזהו ג״כ ב׳ בחי׳ הנ״ל שבמצות אך מ״מ מבואר משם הטעם שנק׳ בחי׳ הב׳ מצותי ממש שלמעלה משם הוי׳ לפי שהוא המשכת אור א״ס בעצמו בז״א
For these too are the two levels in the mitzvos mentioned above. But nevertheless, it is explained there why the second level is called truly “My commandments,” which is above the Name Havayah: because it is the drawing down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) itself into Z’eir Anpin,
The second, “My commandments,” is higher than the Name Havayah. It draws the Infinite Light itself into Z’eir Anpin.
דהיינו שממשיך מבחי׳ חיה יחידה שלמעלה מהכלים וזהו אני הוי׳ שאני הוא בחי׳ הכתר והוא נמשך להיות הוי׳ והוא בחי׳ מצותי ממש.
that is, one draws down from the level of chayah and yechidah, which is above the vessels. And this is [the meaning of] “I am Havayah”: “I” (Ani) is the level of Keser (the Crown), and it is drawn down to become Havayah; and this is the level of truly “My commandments.”
This comes from chayah and yechidah, the two highest of the soul’s five levels, which stay above its vessels and only encompass it. “I am Havayah” expresses it: “I” (Ani) is Keser, which is drawn down to become Havayah, and that is “My commandments” in the fullest sense.
And see what is written in the explanation on [the verse] “And G‑d spoke,” of the Ten Commandments, on this matter: that the root of the mitzvos is the drawing down of Arich Anpin
The text refers to its explanation on the Ten Commandments (“And G‑d spoke”), which shows that the root of the mitzvos is the drawing down of Arich Anpin. There, in Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar, the Alter Rebbe begins from the awe at Sinai that the soul could not contain within, which stayed in its mazal, the encompassing levels of chayah and yechidah.
(ועיין מזה בביאור ע״פ ראיתי והנה מנורת זהב11 ועיין מזה באגה״ק [באגרת הקודש] בסופו ד״ה להבין מ״ש בפע״ח [בפרי עץ חיים]).
(and see about this in the explanation on [the verse] “I have seen, and behold, a menorah of gold”; and see about this in Iggeres HaKodesh, at its end, in the passage beginning “To understand what is written in Pri Etz Chaim”).
Two further references treat the same theme: the explanation on Zechariah’s vision of the golden menorah, and the passage near the end of Iggeres HaKodesh, the Alter Rebbe’s letters printed in Tanya, that begins “To understand what is written in Pri Etz Chaim.”
ועד״ז י״ל [יש לומר] מה שאנו מבקשים קדשנו במצותיך אע״פ [אף על פי] שאנו אומרים אשר קדשנו במצותיו שכבר קדשנו.
And along these lines it can be explained why we ask, “Sanctify us with Your commandments,” even though we say, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” [meaning] that He has already sanctified us.
Now the question can be answered: we have already been sanctified, yet we still ask, “Sanctify us with Your commandments.”
כי מה שכבר קדשנו היינו כמו שנמשכו המצות למטה בבחי׳ מל׳ דאצילות המקבלת מז״א. אבל מה שאנו מבקשים קדשנו במצותיך היינו בחי׳ רמ״ח אברים דמלכא.121314
For that He has already sanctified us refers to the mitzvos as they were drawn down below, at the level of Malchus of Atzilus, which receives from Z’eir Anpin. But what we ask, “Sanctify us with Your commandments,” is the level of the 248 limbs of the King.
The sanctification we already have is the mitzvos as they reached below, in Malchus of Atzilus, which receives from Z’eir Anpin. What we ask for is the higher level, the mitzvos as “the 248 limbs of the King” themselves.
Paragraph 12 identifies li with Atika and applies it to the mitzvos: the betrothal we already have through the mitzvos is at the level of Malchus, while the betrothal we pray for (“Sanctify us”) draws the highest levels, Arich Anpin and the Infinite Light itself, into the mitzvos.
Etz Chaim’s reason fits the Zohar’s reading: hu always denotes Keser, and Imma is Keser for Z’eir Anpin as Arich Anpin is Keser for Abba and Imma, so Binah too can be called Atika. For the mitzvos as the King’s 248 limbs, the Kehot notes refer to the Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 30.
Marei mekomos
- 1שנאמר לי אינו זז לעולם · Vayikra Rabbah 2:2
- 2לא אדם הוא להנחם · I Samuel 15:29
- 3פי׳ לי לעצמי שאינו מושג · Pardes Rimmonim 23:12:18
- 4הטעם שנק׳ בינה הוא · Sefer Etz Chaim 34:2:27
- 5וארשתיך לי · Hosea 2:21
- 6המצות הן נק׳ מצות המלך · ראה הערת כ״ק אדמו״ר בס׳ המאמרים ת״ש, ע׳ 48.
- 7וזכרתם . . למען תזכרו · Numbers 15:39
- 8למען תזכרו · Numbers 15:40
- 9בביאור ע״פ וידבר · לקמן יז, ב.
- 10וידבר אלקים · Exodus 20:1
- 11ראיתי והנה מנורת זהב · Zechariah 4:2
- 12רמ״ח אברים דמלכא · ראה ת״ז ת״ל.
- 13בביאוה״ז ע״פ והי׳ לכם לציצית · לקמן פ׳ שלח מו, א.
- 14
13ועיקר המשכה זו היינו המשכת א״א בז״א וכמו האבר שממשיך החיות מהנפש ממש לתוכו כמו העין ממשיך גילוי כח הראיה כו׳
And the essence of this drawing down is the drawing down of Arich Anpin into Z’eir Anpin; just as a limb draws the life-force from the soul itself into itself, as the eye draws down the revelation of the power of sight, etc.
The heart of this drawing down is Arich Anpin entering Z’eir Anpin. It is like a limb that draws the soul’s own life into itself, as the eye draws in the power of sight.
ולע״ל [ולעתיד לבוא] שנאמר וארשתיך לי.1 היינו ז״א כשיהיה מתעלה בבחי׳ ומדרגת א״א ממש, לכן נק׳ לי.
And in the Time to Come, of which it is said, “And I will betroth you to Me”: that is, when Z’eir Anpin will be elevated to the level and rank of Arich Anpin itself; therefore it is called “to Me” (li).
In the Time to Come, when “I will betroth you to Me” is fulfilled, Z’eir Anpin will rise to the level of Arich Anpin itself. That is why it is called li.
והיינו מ״ש במ״א בד״ה והיה מספר בנ״י [בני ישראל]2 אשר לא ימד ולא יספר3 דמספר היינו בחי׳ המצות שנתנו במספר.
And this is what is written elsewhere, in the discourse beginning “And the number of the children of Israel shall be … which cannot be measured or counted”: that “number” is the level of the mitzvos, which were given in a number,
This matches the discourse on “And the number of the children of Israel … which cannot be measured or counted.” There, in Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar, “number” stands for the mitzvos, 613 of the Torah and 7 of the Sages, given in a fixed number so that they could be drawn down into the souls of Israel.
שלע״ל [שלעתיד לבוא] יתעלו בבחי׳ ולתבונתו אין מספר4 כו׳ שהוא ענין התגלות א״א שהוא בחי׳ אין סוף.
and that in the Time to Come they will be elevated to the level of “and His understanding is beyond number,” etc., which is the matter of the revelation of Arich Anpin, which is the level of Ein Sof (without end).
In the Time to Come the mitzvos will rise to the level of “His understanding is beyond number,” the revelation of Arich Anpin, which has no end (ein sof); that discourse adds that this comes through teshuvah.
(ועמ״ש מזה ג״כ בביאור ע״פ מי מנה עפר יעקב ומספר את רובע ישראל).5 וע״ז אנו מבקשים קדשנו במצותיך כו׳,
(And see what is written about this also in the explanation on [the verse] “Who has counted the dust of Yaakov, or numbered a fourth of Israel.”) And for this we ask, “Sanctify us with Your commandments,” etc.;
The text refers to another explanation, on “Who has counted the dust of Yaakov,” for the same theme of number and the countless. This higher level is what we ask for when we say, “Sanctify us with Your commandments.”
וזהו ג״כ בקשת כנס״י [כנסת ישראל] ישקני מנשיקות פיהו6 ופי׳ בזהר תרומה דקמ״ו סע״ב [סוף עמוד ב] מאן ישקני ההוא דסתים כו׳ ובמה בההוא רתיכא עילאה עיין מק״מ [מקדש מלך] שם.7
and this is also the request of the Congregation of Israel, “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth.” And it is explained in the Zohar, Terumah, end of folio 146b: “Who will kiss me? That One Who is hidden,” etc. “And with what? With that supernal chariot.” See the Mikdash Melech there.
It is also the plea of the Congregation of Israel, “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth.” The Zohar explains that the One who kisses is “the One who is hidden” above, and that He does so through “that supernal chariot,” which it calls Yaakov, the level of Z’eir Anpin.
Paragraph 13 explains that the future betrothal “to Me” means Z’eir Anpin rising to Arich Anpin, the limitless level; this is what we pray for in “Sanctify us with Your commandments” and in “Let Him kiss me.”
In the Zohar the hidden One “kisses” by way of “that supernal chariot,” Yaakov, the level of Z’eir Anpin: the kiss is the hidden, limitless level reaching into Z’eir Anpin, which is the drawing down of Arich Anpin into Z’eir Anpin described here.
Marei mekomos
- 1וארשתיך לי · Hosea 2:21
- 2בד״ה והי׳ מספר בנ״י · ראה המאמר דלעיל.
- 3והיה מספר בנ״י אשר לא ימד ולא יספר · Hosea 2:1
- 4ולתבונתו אין מספר · Psalms 147:5
- 5מי מנה עפר יעקב ומספר את רובע ישראל · Numbers 23:10
- 6ישקני מנשיקות פיהו · Song of Songs 1:2
- 7
A betrothal forever ¶14–15
This is why the betrothal is “forever.” The betrothal of the present comes from the “supernal Adam,” Z’eir Anpin, where there are kindness and severity, right and left, and so there can be descent.
אכן לע״ל [לעתיד לבוא] שיהיה התעלות ז״א בבחי׳ עתיקא ממש וזהו לי ועי״ז הוא לעולם כי לית שמאלא2 כו׳
but in the Time to Come there will be the elevation of Z’eir Anpin to the level of Atika itself, and this is “to Me,” and through this it is “forever,” for “there is no left,” etc.,
In the Time to Come Z’eir Anpin will rise to Atika itself, which is li, “to Me.” Since in Atika “there is no left,” the bond will be forever.
ולא אדם הוא להנחם3 כנ״ל ועמ״ש סד״ה וידעת היום והשבות4 מענין זה שכשהיום יש עליות וירידות לפי שהוא מבחינת ממכ״ע [ממלא כל עלמין] אבל לעתיד שיהיה גילוי סוכ״ע כו׳,
and “He is not a man that He should change His mind,” as mentioned above. And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “Know this day, and take [to heart],” on this matter: that today there are ascents and descents, because it is from the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin); but in the Future there will be the revelation of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), etc.
G‑d “is not a man that He should change His mind.” The text refers to the end of its discourse on “Know this day and take it to heart”: now there are ascents and descents, because everything is drawn from the light that fills all worlds, which adapts itself to each world’s measure, but in the Future the light that encompasses all worlds, beyond measure and change, will be revealed.
And see Tanna DeBei Eliyahu, Part I, at the beginning of chapter 6, on [the verse] “With an everlasting love (ahavas olam) I have loved you”: the implication is that it is higher than the level of great love (ahavah rabbah),
Tanna DeBei Eliyahu, a Midrash that tradition ascribes to the teaching of Eliyahu the prophet, comments on “With an everlasting love I have loved you.” It implies that this ahavas olam, “everlasting love,” is higher than “great love” (ahavah rabbah).
כמש״ש [כמה שכתוב שם] אהבה רבה אהבתיך לא נאמר אלא אהבת עולם אהבתיך שמא תאמר אהבת הקב״ה שלש שנים7 או אהבת עשר שנים או אהבת מאה שנים8 לכך נאמר אהבת עולם אהבתיך עכ״ל [עד כאן לשונו],
as is written there: “It does not say, ‘With a great love I have loved you,’ but ‘With an everlasting love I have loved you.’ Lest you say, the love of the Holy One, blessed be He, is for three years, or a love of ten years, or a love of a hundred years, therefore it says, ‘With an everlasting love I have loved you.’” End of quote.
The verse did not say “with a great love,” the Midrash explains, lest one think G‑d’s love lasts three years, or ten, or a hundred; it says “with an everlasting love.” Olam here means eternity.
והיינו על דרך המבואר כאן בפי׳ וארשתיך לי לעולם שבחינה זו גבוה מאהבה רבה שהיא בז״א9
And this is along the lines of what is explained here on the meaning of “And I will betroth you to Me forever”: that this level is higher than ahavah rabbah, which is in Z’eir Anpin.
This matches the present explanation of “I will betroth you to Me forever”: the eternal level is higher than ahavah rabbah, which is in Z’eir Anpin.
ועיין במא״א [במאורי אור] אות10 א׳ סעיף ל״ז ובסש״ב [ובספר של בינונים] פרק מ״ג דאהבה רבה גבוה מבחינת אהבת עולם,11 ויש ליישב12 דהנה יש ב׳ בחינת עולם מל׳ ובינה שהן שורש עוה״ז ועוה״ב [ועולם הבא]
And see Meorei Or, letter aleph, section 37, and Sefer Shel Beinonim (Tanya), chapter 43, that ahavah rabbah is higher than the level of ahavas olam. This can be reconciled: there are two levels of olam (“world”), Malchus and Binah, which are the root of this world and of the World to Come
Meorei Or and Tanya chapter 43 seem to say the opposite: that ahavah rabbah is higher than ahavas olam. The answer is that olam, “world,” has two levels: Malchus, the root of this world, and Binah, the root of the World to Come.
(כמ״ש בזח״א [בזהר חלק א] פ׳ בראשית ל״ד א׳ ויגש דר״י ע״א ויצא קנ״ח ב׳ ור״פ וארא ק״ב א׳ ובפרדס ערך עולם הבא)
(as is written in the Zohar, Part I, Parshas Bereishis, 34a; Vayigash, folio 210a; Vayetzei, 158b; and at the beginning of Parshas Va’era, 102a; and in the Pardes, under the entry “the World to Come”);
The text lists places in the Zohar and the Pardes that speak of these two “worlds.” (Folio 102a of Part I of the Zohar is in Parshas Vayera.)
ואהבה רבה הוא בז״א כמ״ש במא״א [במאורי אור] שם ובפרדס ערך אהבה וא״כ אהבת עולם שבמל׳ שהיא עלמא תתאה13 היא למטה מאהבה רבה שבתפארת
and ahavah rabbah is in Z’eir Anpin, as is written in Meorei Or there and in the Pardes under the entry “Ahavah” (love). If so, the ahavas olam that is in Malchus, which is the lower world (alma tata’ah), is below the ahavah rabbah that is in Tiferes (beauty);
Ahavah rabbah is in Z’eir Anpin, in Tiferes. So the ahavas olam of Malchus, the “lower world,” is below it, and that is the love that Meorei Or and Tanya rank lower.
אבל אהבת עולם עלמא עילאה1415 דבינה היא למעלה מאהבה רבה וגם כי התגלות עתיק הוא בבינה והוא בחינת אהבה בתענוגים16
but the ahavas olam of the upper world (alma ila’ah), of Binah, is above ahavah rabbah; and also because the revelation of Atik is in Binah, and that is the level of “love in delights” (ahavah betaanugim).
The ahavas olam of Binah, the “upper world,” is above ahavah rabbah, also because Atik is revealed in Binah; that higher love is “love in delights” (ahavah betaanugim).
It can also be said further, according to what is written in the discourse beginning “His eyes are red with wine,” on the meaning and matter of the ahavas olam that is below the level of ahavah rabbah:
A second answer comes from the discourse on “His eyes are red with wine,” which explains why the ahavas olam discussed there is below ahavah rabbah. In Torah Ohr, Vayechi, the Alter Rebbe calls that love one “taken from the worlds,” born of contemplating how G‑d brings the worlds into being, and places love in delights above both.
דהיינו לפי שנמשכת מבחינת עולם משא״כ פי׳ לי לעולם לשון נצחיות ועמ״ש ע״פ שובה ישראל עד19 זהו ענין אהבת עולם שלמעלה מאהבה רבה.
that is, because it is drawn from the level of olam (“world”); whereas the meaning of “to Me forever (le’olam)” is an expression of eternity. And see what is written on [the verse] “Return, O Israel, unto …”: this is the matter of the ahavas olam that is above ahavah rabbah.
That lower ahavas olam is drawn from the level of “world,” a created realm, while olam in “to Me forever (le’olam)” means eternity. The text also points to its discourse on “Return, O Israel,” where ahavas olam is the love above ahavah rabbah.
Paragraph 14 explains “forever”: the present bond comes from Z’eir Anpin, where right and left allow change, but the future bond comes from Atika, where there is no left. It then reconciles sources that rank ahavas olam above or below ahavah rabbah, by distinguishing the “world” of Malchus from that of Binah, and “world” from “eternity.”
The Kehot notes quote Or HaTorah: in Z’eir Anpin there are Chesed and Gevurah, so love can change and be interrupted, while in Arich Anpin “there is no left in this Atika.” Read this way, the ahavas olam of Tanna DeBei Eliyahu is a love without change, while the ahavas olam that the Arizal places in Malchus is the lower “world.”
Marei mekomos
- 1וארשתיך לי · Hosea 2:21
- 2לית שמאלא · Zohar, Idra Rabba 6:25–7:37
- 3ולא אדם הוא להנחם · I Samuel 15:29
- 4וידעת היום והשבות · Deuteronomy 4:39
- 5ועיין בתד״א ח״א רפ״ו · ראה אוה״ת שה״ש ע׳ סט, עוד ביאור ע״ז. נ״ך ע׳ שסט. יהל אור ע׳ תיח. תורת שמואל — תרכ״ו ע׳ רמה. מים רבים — תרל״ו סעי׳ נו ואילך.
- 6ואהבת עולם אהבתיך · Jeremiah 31:3
- 7אהבה רבה אהבתיך לא נאמר אלא אהבת עולם אהבתיך שמא תאמר אהבת הקב״ה שלש שנים או אהבת עשר שנים או אהבת מאה שנים · Tanna DeBei Eliyahu Rabbah 6:1
- 8אהבת מאה שנים · באוה״ת שה״ש ע׳ עד מציין ע״ז: (אם הי׳ נאמר אהבה רבה הייתי אומר כך, ישועות יעקב). ראה מים רבים — תרל״ו סעי׳ נו ואילך.
- 9מאהבה רבה שהיא בז״א · והיינו כי בז״א יש חו״ג לכן יש שינוי והפסק באהבה וחסד מדת הגבורה כו׳ משא״כ בא״א לית שמאלא בהאי עתיקא — אוה״ת שה״ש ע׳ עד.
- 10ועיין במא״א אות א׳ סעיף לז ובסש״ב פמ״ג · ראה יהל אור קו, מח (ע׳ תיח). ובליקוט פירושים לתניא שם.
- 11דאהבה רבה גבוה מבחינת אהבת עולם · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 43:6
- 12ויש ליישב · לכאורה יש להקשות על כהאריז״ל דפי׳ אה״ע במ׳ ולמטה מאהבה רבה שהיא בז״א והרי בתד״א אומר להיפך, ולפי׳ התד״א באה״ר עדיין יוכל להיות שינויים משא״כ אה״ע הוא בחי׳ שאין בה שינויים דהיינו ההפרש בין ז״א שיש בו חו״ג ע״כ מאה״ר יכול להיות שינוי, אבל בע״ק לית שמאלא ולכן שם אין שינויים וזהו אהבת עולם — אוה״ת נ״ך ע׳ שסט. ”נ.ב. ע׳ במג״א [במגן אבות ברדיטשוב תרס״ב] ד״ה משכני [שה״ש סא, א] וי״ל כי ב׳ תירוצים תלוי זב״ז אם עולם ל׳ נצחי. (ועו״ע? וא״ע?) גבוה והמג״א לא העיר מכאן”. [כ].
- 13עלמא תתאה · Zohar, Bereshit 39:395–40:406
- 14עלמא עילאה · Zohar, Vayigash 10:99–11:108
- 15עלמא עילאה · Zohar, Vayetzei 24:244–25:254
- 16אהבה בתענוגים · Song of Songs 7:7
- 17בד״ה חכלילי עינים · תו״א מז, ג. וראה באוה״ת ויחי שסח, ב.
- 18חכלילי עינים מיין · Genesis 49:12
- 19שובה ישראל עד · Hosea 14:2
15ומזה יובן הא דבעינן בקדושין שיאמר לי1 דבעינן כדכתיב וארשתיך לי23 כו׳. ועיין בזהר גדול ח״א [חלק א׳] דט״ו ע״א פי׳ ג״כ וארשתיך לי בגין דינקא לימינא כו׳
From this will be understood why for kiddushin (betrothal) we require that he say “to me” (li): because we require [it to be] as it is written, “And I will betroth you to Me,” etc. And see the large [edition of the] Zohar, Part I, folio 15a, which also explains “And I will betroth you to Me”: “because she nurses from the right,” etc.
This explains a law of betrothal: the groom must say “to me” (li), as in “You are betrothed to me,” because betrothal below follows “I will betroth you to Me.” The text also cites the large edition of the Zohar, which reads this verse “because she nurses from the right.”
ושרש הענין היינו שתקבל מבחי׳ דלית שמאלא בהאי עתיקא וזהו טוב לחסות בה׳4 מבטוח באדם5 כמ״ש במ״א6 דר״ל [דרוצה לומר] מבחינת אדם העליון כו׳
And the root of the matter is that she should receive from the level of “there is no left in this Atika.” And this is [the meaning of] “It is better to take refuge in Havayah than to trust in man (adam),” as is explained elsewhere, that it means: than the level of the supernal Adam, etc.
The root of this is that the bride, the Congregation of Israel, should receive from Atika, where “there is no left.” That is the meaning of “It is better to take refuge in Havayah than to trust in man (adam).” In Likkutei Torah, Shemini Atzeres, the Alter Rebbe reads b’adam, with its definite vowel, as “the known man,” the supernal Adam, Z’eir Anpin, and “Havayah” as the encompassing light of Arich Anpin, which is eternal and does not move.
(ועיין עוד ברע״מ [ברעיא מהימנא] פ׳ תצא דרע״ז ע״א ובהרמ״ז [ובהרב משה זכות] שם ועמ״ש בפ׳ תצא ע״פ כי ההרים ימושו כו׳ וברית שלומי לא תמוט7 כו׳)
(And see further the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Teitzei, folio 277a, and the Ramaz there; and see what is written in Parshas Teitzei on [the verse] “For the mountains may move away,” etc., “but My covenant of peace shall not be shaken,” etc.)
The parenthesis adds the Raaya Mehemna (“the Faithful Shepherd,” a section of the Zohar) on Teitzei, which says that the final redemption will come “with great compassion,” and that afterwards “he may not send her away all his days,” as in “I will betroth you to Me forever.” It also points to a discourse on Isaiah’s “For the mountains may move away … but My covenant of peace shall not be shaken,” a covenant that never moves.
והנה בחי׳ זו נמשך ע״י לבי ובשרי ירננו אל8 כו׳ שהוא בחי׳ הכלות אל מהותו ועצמותו ית׳ שלמעלה מעלה מבחי׳ חצרות ה׳ שעי״ז נמשך וארשתיך לי כו׳ וזהו ענין במקום שבע״ת [שבעלי תשובה] עומדים9 כו׳ וזהו ענין ורב טוב לבית ישראל.10
Now, this level is drawn down through “my heart and my flesh sing out to,” etc., which is the level of expiring (kelos) toward His being and essence, may He be blessed, which is far, far above the level of “the courts of Havayah”; and through this, “And I will betroth you to Me” is drawn down, etc. And this is the matter of “In the place where baalei teshuvah (penitents) stand,” etc.; and this is the matter of “and the great goodness to the house of Israel.”
This highest bond is drawn down through “my heart and my flesh sing out” to G‑d, the second half of the very verse that opened the maamar. It is kelos (from the same root as kalsah, “pines”), the soul’s yearning to the point of expiry toward G‑d’s very being, far above the “courts”; through it the betrothal “to Me” is drawn down, the level of baalei teshuvah, who stand where even the perfectly righteous cannot, and of “the great goodness to the house of Israel.”
וגם פי׳ וארשתיך לי לעולם שיהיה הגילוי למטה ממש ולא יהי׳ [יהיה] העולם מסתיר והיינו לפי שיהי׳ [שיהיה] הגילוי מבחי׳ המגביהי לשבת11 ע״כ הוא המשפילי כו׳ שיהי׳ [שיהיה] הגילוי לעולם ממש למטה.
And also, the meaning of “And I will betroth you to Me forever (le’olam)” is that the revelation will be actually below, and the world will not conceal. That is, because the revelation will be from the level of “Who dwells on high,” therefore He is “Who lowers [Himself],” etc., so that the revelation will be in the world (la’olam) itself, below.
Le’olam also means “to the world”: the revelation will reach the world below itself, and the world will no longer conceal it. Because it comes from G‑d as He “dwells on high,” beyond the world, He can also “lower Himself” and appear within the world.
וזהו ענין אהבת עולם אהבתנו כו׳ חמלה גדולה ויתרה כו׳ היינו בחינת וארשתיך לי ממש לעולם:
And this is the matter of “With an everlasting love You have loved us,” etc., “great and abundant compassion,” etc.: that is, the level of truly “And I will betroth you to Me forever.”
This is the blessing before the morning Shema, “With an everlasting love (ahavas olam) You have loved us … great and abundant compassion.” It expresses the truly eternal betrothal, “to Me forever.”
Paragraph 15 draws out the consequences: betrothal requires “to me” because it mirrors G‑d’s betrothal from Atika; this bond is reached through the soul’s yearning to expiry toward G‑d’s essence, and in the Future it will be revealed in the world itself.
The verse that opened the maamar now divides in two: “My soul pines for the courts of Havayah” is the betrothal through the letters, while “my heart and my flesh sing out to the living G‑d” is the yearning for G‑d’s very essence, which brings the eternal betrothal “to Me.”
Marei mekomos
- 1דבעינן בקדושין שיאמר לי · Kiddushin 5b:14
- 2וארשתיך לי · Hosea 2:21
- 3וארשתיך לי · Zohar, Ki Teitzei 1:24–3:33
- 4טוב לחסות בה׳ · Psalms 118:9
- 5טוב לחסות בה׳ מבטוח באדם · Psalms 118:8
- 6כמ״ש במ״א · לקמן דרושים לשמע״צ צא, א.
- 7כי ההרים ימושו כו׳ וברית שלומי לא תמוט · Isaiah 54:10
- 8לבי ובשרי ירננו אל · Psalms 84:3
- 9במקום שבע״ת עומדים · Berakhot 34b:22–23
- 10ורב טוב לבית ישראל · Isaiah 63:7
- 11המגביהי לשבת · Psalms 113:5–6
Li as supernal Chochmah ¶16
16ד והרמ״ז [והרב משה זכות] פ׳ תרומה (דקל״ד ע״ב) ע״פ ויקחו לי תרומה1 פי׳ לי היינו חכמה עילאה שהוא נשמת כל העולמות כו׳
4. And the Ramaz, on Parshas Terumah (folio 134b), on [the verse] “And let them take for Me (li) an offering,” explains that li is supernal Chochmah (wisdom), which is the soul of all the worlds, etc.;
Section 4 adds the Ramaz’s explanation of li in “Let them take for Me (li) an offering”: li is supernal Chochmah, the soul of all the worlds.
ולכן כל מקום שנאמר לי קיים לעולם כו׳ והוא שם ע״ב [שם ע״ב] שעיקרו2 ד׳ יודי״ן גימטריא לי, ועמ״ש מענין ד׳ יודי״ן אלו בביאור ע״פ ומספר את רובע ישראל.3
and therefore wherever li is said, it endures forever, etc.; and it is the Name of seventy-two (AB), whose essence is four yuds, the numerical value of li. And see what is written about these four yuds in the explanation on [the verse] “or numbered a fourth of Israel.”
That is why whatever is li lasts forever. Chochmah is also the Name of seventy-two (AB), the Name Havayah spelled out with yuds, whose core is four yuds; four times ten is forty, the numerical value of li (lamed, thirty, and yud, ten).
ויש לפרש לפ״ז [לפי זה] ענין וארשתיך לי4 ע״ד מ״ש האריז״ל [האר״י זכרונו לברכה] בפי׳ הפסוק5 ביום ההוא6 יהיה שלעתיד יהיו זו״נ [זעיר אנפין ונוקבא] שהם ו״ה במדרגת או״א [אבא ואימא] ממש הנק׳ י״ה וזהו בחי׳ יהיה
And according to this, the matter of “And I will betroth you to Me” can be interpreted along the lines of what the Arizal says in explaining the verse “On that day shall be (yihyeh)”: that in the Future, Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, which are vav-hei, will be at the rank of Abba and Imma themselves, which are called yud-hei; and this is the level of yihyeh.
The Arizal explains the verse “On that day Havayah shall be One”: in the Future, Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, the letters vav-hei of the Name, will rise to the rank of Abba and Imma, the letters yud-hei. Yihyeh, “shall be,” is spelled yud-hei yud-hei: the lower pair will become like the upper pair. In Likkutei Torah, Tzav, the Alter Rebbe cites this teaching: in the Future the ten Sefiros will shine permanently in the Congregation of Israel, “a tent that shall not be moved.”
נמצא כנס״י [כנסת ישראל] שהיא בחינת ה׳ תתאה. תקבל מבחי׳ יו״ד שהוא חכמה עילאה ממש (ועמ״ש בפ׳ חיי שרה סד״ה יגלה לן טעמיה).
It follows that the Congregation of Israel, which is the level of the lower hei, will receive from the level of yud, which is supernal Chochmah itself (and see what is written in Parshas Chayei Sarah, at the end of the discourse beginning “Let Him reveal to us its reason”).
So the Congregation of Israel, the lower hei, will receive from the yud, supernal Chochmah itself. This too is the betrothal “to Me,” since li is Chochmah.
והיינו כי פי׳ כנס״י [כנסת ישראל] היינו שמקבלת מישראל דלעילא וישראל היינו לי ראש אך יש בחי׳ ישראל זוטא וישראל סבא וכמ״ש סד״ה ואלה שמות בנ״י [בני ישראל] דישראל זוטא היינו המשכת ח״ע [חכמה עילאה] שנמשך ומתפשט בהמדות
That is, the meaning of “the Congregation of Israel” is that it receives from Yisrael above, and Yisrael is li rosh (“a head for Me”). But there is the level of Yisrael Zuta (the lesser Israel) and Yisrael Saba (the elder Israel), as is written at the end of the discourse beginning “And these are the names of the children of Israel”: that Yisrael Zuta is the drawing down of supernal Chochmah as it is drawn and spreads into the emotive attributes (middos);
Knesses Yisrael, “the Congregation of Israel,” receives from “Yisrael above,” and the letters of Yisrael (yud, shin, reish, alef, lamed) spell li rosh, “a head for Me.” There are two levels: Yisrael Zuta, the “lesser Israel,” which is Chochmah as it spreads into the emotive attributes, and Yisrael Saba, the “elder Israel.”
אך לעתיד יהיה גילוי עצמיות חכמה עילאה עדן העליון כו׳ ישראל סבא לי ראש ממש
but in the Future there will be the revelation of the essence of supernal Chochmah, the supernal Eden, etc., Yisrael Saba, li rosh itself.
In the Future the essence of supernal Chochmah, “the supernal Eden,” will be revealed: that is Yisrael Saba, li rosh in the fullest sense.
ועמ״ש מזה בביאור ע״פ אני7 ה׳ אלקיכם דפרשה ציצית ועמש״ש [ועיין מה שכתוב שם] מענין מ״ש בתורת ה׳ חפצו ובתורתו יהגה8 שבחינת תורת ה׳ הוא תורה שלמעלה שיתגלה לע״ל [לעתיד לבוא]
And see what is written about this in the explanation on [the verse] “I am Havayah your G‑d” of the passage of tzitzis; and see what is written there about the matter of “his desire is in the Torah of Havayah, and in his Torah he meditates”: that the level of “the Torah of Havayah” is the Torah above, which will be revealed in the Time to Come,
The text points to its explanation of “I am Havayah your G‑d” in the tzitzis passage, in Likkutei Torah, Sh’lach: in the Future even the Name Havayah will be like the Name Elokim beside the light of the Infinite above it that will then be revealed. That discourse also reads “the Torah of Havayah” in Psalm 1 as the higher Torah to be revealed in the Future.
והיינו ע״י עסק התורה שלפנינו שהיא כלי לגילוי זה וכן עד״ז במצות שיש ב׳ בחי׳ חסד כו׳ ע״ש
and that is through the study of the Torah that is before us, which is a vessel for this revelation; and so too, along these lines, in the mitzvos, in which there are two levels of Chesed (kindness), etc.; see there.
That higher Torah is revealed through our present study, which serves as its vessel, and the mitzvos likewise have two levels of Chesed.
וזהו ענין קדשנו במצותיך ותן חלקנו בתורתך. בתורתך היא תורת ה׳ שיתגלה לע״ל [לעתיד לבוא] ע״י עסק התורה עכשיו ועז״נ [ועל זה נאמר] וארשתיך לי כו׳ וידעת את9 ה׳:10
And this is the matter of “Sanctify us with Your commandments, and grant our portion in Your Torah.” “In Your Torah”: this is “the Torah of Havayah,” which will be revealed in the Time to Come through the study of Torah now. And of this it is said, “And I will betroth you to Me,” etc., “and you shall know Havayah.”
So we pray, “Sanctify us with Your commandments, and grant our portion in Your Torah”: “Your Torah” is the Torah of Havayah, which our study now will bring to light in the Future. Of this the verse says, “I will betroth you to Me … and you shall know Havayah”: the betrothal leads to knowing G‑d.
Paragraph 16 offers another reading: li is supernal Chochmah (the four yuds of the Name AB), and in the Future the Congregation of Israel will receive from Chochmah itself. This comes through our Torah study and mitzvos now, and leads to “you shall know Havayah.”
Two readings of li now stand side by side: Atika earlier, and supernal Chochmah, “Yisrael Saba,” here. In both, the future betrothal means that the receiver, Z’eir Anpin and Nukva, rises to the rank of its higher source.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויקחו לי תרומה · Exodus 25:2
- 2והרמ״ז פ׳ תרומה . . שם ע״ב שעיקרו יודי״ן · ראה אוה״ת שה״ש ע׳ תקיג.
- 3ומספר את רובע ישראל · Numbers 23:10
- 4וארשתיך לי · Hosea 2:21
- 5מ״ש האריז״ל בפי׳ הפסוק · נתבאר לשונו באוה״ת פ׳ ואתחנן ע׳ פח. וראה גם לעיל פ׳ צו יא, ג.
- 6ביום ההוא יהי׳ · Zechariah 14:9
- 7בביאור ע״פ אני ה׳ אלקיכם · לקמן פ׳ שלח מט, ב.
- 8בתורת ה׳ חפצו ובתורתו יהגה · Psalms 1:2
- 9וידעת את ה׳ · Hosea 2:22
- 10אני ה׳ אלקיכם · Numbers 15:41
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
Each Rosh Chodesh the names of those learning here are brought to the Ohel. Add your name, and mark what you learn so it is counted.
In one’s avodah
In prayer and Torah study, do not stay with the words alone, the “courts”: deepen the mind to understand the meaning of the prayers as far as one can, and contemplate the Torah, so that its wisdom and G‑d’s exaltedness are absorbed into one’s innermost self, the “house” and the “marriage.” Beyond this, the yearning of “my heart and my flesh sing out” toward G‑d Himself, the level of baalei teshuvah, draws down the eternal betrothal “to Me.”
Questions for discussion
- Why are both speech and thought only “courts,” and what turns letters into the King’s “house”?
- How does the maamar distinguish betrothal from marriage in a person’s prayer and Torah study?
- Why does whatever G‑d calls li never change, and how does the story of Shaul and David show it?
- If the blessing says G‑d “has sanctified us with His commandments,” why do we still pray, “Sanctify us with Your commandments”?
- How does the maamar reconcile Tanna DeBei Eliyahu with Tanya on whether ahavas olam is higher or lower than ahavah rabbah?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×14
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation. ×1
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×15
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×2
- “He and His vessels” (ihu vegarmohi)איהו וגרמוהי
- From the Tikkunei Zohar: in Atzilus the Light and the vessels are one. Always “vessels”, never “organs”, “causations” or “bones”. Its companion איהו וחיוהי is “He and His life-forces”. Not מגרמיה (“of itself”). ×1
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah)אבא ואמא
- The intellectual configurations.
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect.
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×2
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration.
- Netzach (victory)נצח
- Perseverance, the drive to overcome. ×2
- Hod (splendor)הוד
- Acknowledgment and yielding. ×1
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×2
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×3
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence. ×9
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions. ×4
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one.
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×1
- The general and collective expression (klalus)כללות
- That which encompasses the particulars as one: their general and collective expression (the klal, as against the prat). Never “sum”, “sum total”, “totality” or “general principle”, as if the particulars were added up (וכללותן היא מצות הצדקה is “their general and collective expression is the mitzvah of charity”). Render by sense: “their general and collective expression”, “that which encompasses them all”, “X in general”, “X as a whole”. Keep התכללות as “inclusion” / “inter-inclusion”. ×1
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×2
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×8
- Nukva (the feminine / Malchus)נוקבא
- Malchus as the receiving configuration. ×1
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence. ×1
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×1
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment.
- The light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin)ממלא כל עלמין
- Divine light that enters each world and gives it life according to its measure.
- The light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin)סובב כל עלמין
- Divine light too great to enter the worlds; it 'surrounds' them and affects them from beyond.
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion. ×1
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×1