Likkutei Torah · Parshas Bamidbar · Maamar 14
מעט תוס׳ ביאור על ענין וספרתם לכם כו׳ חמשים יום
A little additional explanation on the matter of “And you shall count for yourselves… fifty days”
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The big idea
The fiftieth gate of Binah stands between Chochmah, ayin, and Binah, yesh, and like Keser it has two aspects. Its lower aspect, which includes all forty-nine gates, we draw down day by day through the count; its upper aspect, the lowest level of the Emanator, is revealed of itself on Shavuos as a gift.
The maamar in brief
This short addition takes up the words “you shall count fifty days.” The maamar above said that the count draws down the fiftieth gate little by little; elsewhere it was explained that the fiftieth gate is beyond our power to draw and comes of itself on Shavuos once the forty-nine days are complete. Sources are weighed that suggest the count does bring an illumination of the fiftieth gate, and the question is first left open. The answer begins with the Sages’ words on Moshe’s hidden grave: those above saw it below, and those below saw it above. The Maggid explained that Moshe attained the fiftieth gate only at his passing, and that this gate is the intermediary between Chochmah, ayin, and Binah, yesh. Like Keser, an intermediary has two aspects: the root that includes everything below it, and the lowest level of what is above it. The count draws the lower aspect, as the mitzvos draw “your holiness”; the upper, “My holiness,” comes of itself on Shavuos as a gift. After reconciling this with the name “Supreme Keser,” the maamar explains the count from barley, rooted in Binah, to wheat, which is Chochmah.
Outline
- Does the count draw the fiftieth gate?The maamar above read “count fifty days” as the count drawing down the fiftieth gate; elsewhere it was read as the fiftieth day coming of itself, uncounted, after the forty-nine. Along the lines of the Ramaz, the seven weeks would be the forty-nine gates alone, and Shavuos would reveal the fiftieth. Yet “from the morrow of the Shabbos,” read as the level above Shabbos, which is Binah, together with the Pardes, Pri Etz Chaim and another discourse, suggests that the count also draws an illumination of the fiftieth gate; the question is left for examination.¶1–2
- Moshe’s hidden grave: between ayin and yeshIf the count draws the fiftieth gate, “fifty days” and “Today is two days” are more precise, and this need not contradict the other reading. The Sages said that to those above Moshe’s grave seemed below, and to those below it seemed above. The Maggid explained that Moshe attained the fiftieth gate only at his passing; the gate joins Chochmah, ayin, to Binah, yesh, so from ayin it seems lower, and from yesh it seems to be ayin itself.¶3
- The two aspects of every intermediaryThe fiftieth gate is also called the Supreme Keser, and Keser, the intermediary between the Emanator and the emanated, includes both: the lowest level of the Emanator and the root of all the emanated. Every Keser has these two aspects, like the Keser of Z’eir Anpin formed from the Tiferes of Imma. So too the fiftieth gate: its lower aspect includes all forty-nine gates as one; its upper aspect, Anochi, which no thought grasps, is not their root at all. This is why it is said that we cannot draw the fiftieth gate.¶4–8
- “Your holiness” and “My holiness”What we draw by an arousal from below, through the mitzvos, is the lower aspect of Keser, “your holiness,” “who has sanctified us with His commandments”; the lowest level of the Emanator, “My holiness,” comes from above as a gift. So the count draws only the lower aspect of the fiftieth gate, day by day, and after “Today is forty-nine days” its upper aspect is revealed of itself on Shavuos. A question remains: how is the gate an intermediary between Chochmah and Binah?¶9–10
- Supreme Keser and gate of Binah; from barley to wheatIf the Tikkunim and Etz Chaim call the gate the Supreme Keser, how is it also a gate of Binah, and below Chochmah? The Ramaz reads it as the Keser of Z’eir Anpin; and even on the plain reading, Emek HaMelech and the Arizal’s explanation of the Idra place ayin, Chochmah, above Arich, which is Binah. So the count runs from barley, the soul’s measured comprehension rooted in Binah, to wheat, the hidden Daas of Chochmah, through the fiftieth gate between them; and the forty-nine words of “May G‑d be gracious to us” and the forty-nine letters of “Let them rejoice” allude to what it draws to the forty-nine gates, to unite them with their Emanator.¶11–12
Key concepts
- The fiftieth gateשער החמשים
- The level that joins the forty-nine gates of Binah to what is above Binah and unites them with their Emanator. Moshe attained it only at his passing; it is also called the Supreme Keser.
- Ayin and yeshאין ויש
- Chochmah is ayin, “nothing,” beyond definition; Binah is yesh, “something,” grasped and defined. The fiftieth gate stands between them, so it looks lower from above and higher from below.
- The two aspects of Keserבחי׳ תחתונה שבמאציל / שרש הנאצלים
- An intermediary includes both sides: the lowest level of the Emanator, which no thought grasps, and the root of all the emanated, which includes them all as one. Every Keser, and the fiftieth gate too, has these two aspects.
- “My holiness is above your holiness”קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם
- What we draw by the mitzvos, “your holiness,” is the root of the emanated; the Emanator’s own level, “My holiness,” is beyond our reach and is given from above as a gift, as the upper aspect of the fiftieth gate is on Shavuos.
- From barley to wheatשעורה / חטה
- Barley, se’orah, read as shiur hei, “a measure of five,” is the soul’s comprehension according to its measure, rooted in Binah; wheat is the hidden Daas above comprehension, the level of Chochmah. The count between them draws the fiftieth gate, which stands between the two.
Does the count draw the fiftieth gate? ¶1–2
1מעט תוס׳ [תוספת] ביאור1 על ענין וספרתם לכם2 כו׳ חמשים יום. הנה עפמש״ל [על פי מה שכתוב לעיל] כי ענין ספירת העומר הכל הוא המשכת בחי׳ ומדריגת שער החמשים הכולל ומיוחד במקורו רק שנמשך מעט מעט כו׳ עד כדי לחבר ולקשר ענפין דמתפרדין כו׳ ע״ש
A little additional explanation on the matter of “And you shall count for yourselves,” etc., “fifty days.” Now, according to what was written above, the matter of the Counting of the Omer is entirely the drawing down of the level and rank of the fiftieth gate, which is all-inclusive and united in its source; only, it is drawn down little by little, etc., until it joins and binds “the branches that separate,” etc.; see there.
A short addition to the preceding Biur on counting “fifty days.” According to that Biur, the whole count draws down the fiftieth gate, which includes all the others and is one with its source, little by little, until it binds the separated “branches” back to their source. The Kehot note says this addition is also printed in the Tzemach Tzedek’s Or HaTorah on Emor, and again, with added glosses and abridgments, in Or HaTorah on Bamidbar.
עפ״ז [על פי זה] מדויק מאד מ״ש תספרו חמשים יום.3 לומר שספירה זו היא המשכת שער החמשים ממש.
According to this, what is written, “you shall count fifty days,” is very precise: to say that this count is the drawing down of the fiftieth gate itself.
In that Biur the Alter Rebbe explains that the fifty gates of Binah are “branches that separate,” while in their source, in Arich Anpin, they are included as one. On this reading “you shall count fifty days” is exact: the counting itself draws down the fiftieth gate.
אך במ״א נת׳ [נתבאר] פי׳ תספרו חמשים יום בע״א [באופן אחר] דהיינו שיום החמשים שהוא שער החמשים אין בנו כח להמשיך
But elsewhere the meaning of “you shall count fifty days” was explained differently: namely, that the fiftieth day, which is the fiftieth gate, we do not have the power to draw down;
Elsewhere, however, the verse was explained differently: the fiftieth day, which is the fiftieth gate, is beyond our power to draw down.
לכן אין בו ספירה רק מ״מ הוא נמשך מאיליו וממילא והיינו דוקא ע״י שכבר נעשה שלימות ההמשכה במ״ט4 ימים
therefore it has no count; but nevertheless it is drawn down of itself and automatically, and this is specifically because the drawing down has already been completed in the forty-nine days;
That is why the fiftieth day is not counted. It comes of itself, but only because the drawing down was completed in the forty-nine days.
ולכן נאמר תספרו חמשים יום וקרוב לזה פי׳ הרמ״ז [הרב משה זכות] בפ׳ בראשית (דף ח׳ ע״א) ד״ה אזדמנת למהוי.5
and therefore it is said, “you shall count fifty days.” And close to this the Ramaz explained, on Parshas Bereishis (folio 8a), in the passage beginning “is prepared to be.”
So the verse can still say “count fifty days,” since our forty-nine bring the fiftieth. The Ramaz, Rabbi Moshe Zacuto, a seventeenth-century Kabbalist who wrote glosses on the Zohar, explains it similarly on the Zohar’s passage about the night before Shavuos, when the bride (the Shechinah) “is prepared to be” under the wedding canopy with her husband the next day, and the companions stay up all night to adorn her with Torah.
וי״ל [ויש לומר] דמה שנת׳ [שנתבאר] שם הוא ע״ד שכתב הרמ״ז [הרב משה זכות] שם ובפ׳ אמור דצ״ו שחג שבועות נק׳ ע״ש [על שם] שבו מתגלים המ״ט בחי׳ הכלולים בשער הנ׳.
And it may be said that what was explained there is along the lines of what the Ramaz wrote there, and in Parshas Emor, folio 96: that the Festival of Shavuos (Weeks) is so called because in it the forty-nine levels that are included in the fiftieth gate are revealed.
That explanation follows the Ramaz, who says Shavuos, “Weeks,” is so named because on it the forty-nine levels included within the fiftieth gate are revealed.
אבל השבעה שבועות דספירת העומר הם מ״ט שע״ב ממש ולא בחי׳ שער החמשים (וכ״מ [וכן משמע] בזח״ב [בזהר חלק ב׳] תצוה קפ״ג א׳. ובפרדס שער השערים פ״ה.6 וכ״מ [וכן משמע] ממש״ל [ממה שכתוב לעיל] פ׳ יתרו בד״ה מראיהם ומעשיהם).
But the seven weeks of the Counting of the Omer are the forty-nine gates of Binah (understanding) themselves, and not the level of the fiftieth gate (and so it is implied in the Zohar, Part II, Tetzaveh, 183a; and in the Pardes, Shaar HaShearim, chapter 5; and so it is implied by what was written above, Parshas Yisro, in the discourse beginning “Their appearance and their workings”).
On this view the seven weeks of the count are the forty-nine gates of Binah themselves, not the fiftieth gate. The text cites the Zohar on Tetzaveh, which says that each of the seven lower “weeks” is sanctified by seven upper days, forty-nine in all, while the fiftieth day stands over the forty-nine; the Pardes Rimonim of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero; and a discourse in Parshas Yisro.
אמנם לפמש״כ [לפי מה שכתוב] משמע לכאורה דבספה״ע [דבספירת העומר] שבע שבתות7 לבד מה שממשיכים בחי׳ מ״ט שערי בינה עוד ממשיכים ג״כ עליהם הארת שער החמשים ג״כ
However, according to what is written [here], it seemingly follows that in the Counting of the Omer, the “seven Shabbosos” (weeks), besides drawing down the level of the forty-nine gates of Binah, we further draw down upon them also an illumination of the fiftieth gate as well;
But what was written in this Biur seems to imply more: that during the count of the “seven Shabbosos,” as the verse calls the seven weeks, besides the forty-nine gates an illumination of the fiftieth gate is also drawn down upon them.
וזהו ענין וספרתם לכם ממחרת השבת דהיינו מבחי׳ שלמעלה מהשבת שהוא הבינה כמ״ש לעיל בפ׳אמור בד״ה וספרתם לכם ובד״ה והניף הכהן את העומר.
and this is the matter of “And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbos,” that is, from the level that is above Shabbos, which is Binah, as is written above in Parshas Emor, in the discourse beginning “And you shall count for yourselves,” and in the discourse beginning “And the kohen shall wave the Omer.”
This is hinted in “from the morrow of the Shabbos.” In its plain sense the “Shabbos” here is the first day of Pesach, but the maamar reads it as a level: the count is drawn from what is above Shabbos, which is Binah. In Likkutei Torah, Emor, in the discourse “And you shall count for yourselves,” the Alter Rebbe notes that the verse says “the morrow of the Shabbos” and not “the morrow of the festival” because this is above the level of Shabbos (Likkutei Torah, Emor 3:17).
The addition weighs two readings of “count fifty days”: that the count itself draws the fiftieth gate, or that we draw only the forty-nine and the fiftieth comes of itself; it suggests that an illumination of the fiftieth gate is drawn during the count.
Marei mekomos
- 1מעט תוס׳ ביאור · נדפס ג״כ באוה״ת אמור-ג ע׳ תתעג. עם תוספת הגהות וקיצורים באוה״ת במדבר ע׳ ריב.
- 2וספרתם לכם · Leviticus 23:15
- 3תספרו חמשים יום · Leviticus 23:16
- 4והיינו דוקא ע״י שכבר נעשה שלימות ההמשכה במ״ט · ראה בסה״מ — מלוקט כרך-ג ע׳ קטו הערה 17.
- 5אזדמנת למהוי · Zohar, Introduction 13:123–14:132
- 6ובפרדס שער השערים פ״ה · Pardes Rimmonim 13:5–6
- 7שבע שבתות · Zohar, Tetzaveh 7:64–9:73
2ולדברי הפרדס שער השערים פ״ה שער החמשים היא בינה בעצמה1 ומ״ט שערי בינה הם בשבעת ימי הבנין וע״ש בעה״כ [בערכי הכינויים] ערך יובל וערך שבת.
And according to the words of the Pardes, Shaar HaShearim, chapter 5, the fiftieth gate is Binah itself, and the forty-nine gates of Binah are in the seven days of building; and see there, in Erchei HaKinuyim, the entry “Yovel” and the entry “Shabbos.”
According to the Pardes, the fiftieth gate is Binah itself, while the forty-nine gates of Binah are in the seven “days of building,” the seven lower Sefiros. The Pardes’s lexicon of Kabbalistic names, under “Jubilee” and “Shabbos,” is cited too.
וכיון שבספה״ע [שבספירת העומר] ממשיכים ז״ת [ז׳ תחתונות] דאימא ה״ז [הרי זה] הארת שער החמשים ובשבועות נמשך ומתגלה עצמיות שער החמשים. וגם עפמ״ש [על פי מה שכתוב] בפע״ח [בפרי עץ חיים] שכ״ב רפ״א שבספה״ע [שבספירת העומר] ממשיכים ג״כ המוחין דגדלות דאו״א [דאבא ואימא].2
And since in the Counting of the Omer we draw down the seven lower [Sefiros] of Imma, this is an illumination of the fiftieth gate, and on Shavuos the very essence of the fiftieth gate is drawn down and revealed. And also according to what is written in Pri Etz Chaim, Shaar 22, at the beginning of chapter 1, that in the Counting of the Omer we also draw down the mochin of gadlus (mature intellect) of Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah).
Since the count draws down the seven lower Sefiros of Imma (Binah), it is an illumination of the fiftieth gate, and on Shavuos its very essence is revealed. Pri Etz Chaim, Rabbi Chaim Vital’s record of the Arizal’s teachings on prayer and the mitzvos, likewise says that the count draws down the mature mochin (gadlus) of Abba and Imma.
וגם עפמ״ש [על פי מה שכתוב] במ״א בענין ברכת הזימון גבי יין המשומר בענביו3 משי״ב [מששת ימי בראשית] שבספה״ע [שבספירת העומר] ממשיכים ו״ק [ו׳ קצוות] דאבא שמתלבשים בו״ק [בו׳ קצוות] דבינה. א״כ עפ״ז [על פי זה] אפשר לומר שזהו ג״כ הארת שער החמשים. ומ״מ צ״ע [צריך עיון].
And also according to what is written elsewhere, on the matter of the zimun blessing, concerning “the wine preserved in its grapes since the six days of Creation”: that in the Counting of the Omer we draw down the six extremities (vav ketzavos) of Abba, which are enclothed in the six extremities of Binah. If so, according to this one can say that this, too, is an illumination of the fiftieth gate. Nevertheless, this requires examination.
Another discourse, on the zimun (the invitation to say Grace after Meals together) and “the wine preserved in its grapes,” says the count draws down the six extremities of Abba, enclothed in those of Binah. That too could be an illumination of the fiftieth gate, though the Alter Rebbe leaves the question open for further study.
Several sources support the view that the count already draws an illumination of the fiftieth gate, with its essence revealed on Shavuos, though the question is left open.
Marei mekomos
- 1ולדברי הפרדס שער השערים פ״ה שער החמשים היא בינה בעצמה · Pardes Rimmonim 13:6–7
- 2עפמ״ש בפע״ח שכ״ב רפ״א שבספה״ע ממשיכים ג״כ המוחין דגדלות דאו״א · Pri Etz Chaim, Gate of the Omer Count 1
- 3יין המשומר בענביו · Berakhot 34b:24–25
Moshe’s hidden grave: between ayin and yesh ¶3
3והנה אם נאמר כן יהיה מדויק יותר ענין תספרו חמשים יום וכן מה שאומרים היום שני ימים שלשה ימים ולא יום שני יום שלישי כו׳ וכנ״ל,
Now, if we say so, the matter of “you shall count fifty days” will be more precise; and likewise what we say, “Today is two days,” “three days,” and not “the second day,” “the third day,” etc., as mentioned above.
If the count does draw down an illumination of the fiftieth gate, the verse’s “count fifty days” is more exact, and so is the wording of the count: “Today is two days,” a whole that grows, rather than “the second day.”
ואין זה סותר למ״ש במ״א ששער החמשים אין בנו כח להמשיך אלא שנמשך ממילא בחג השבועות כו׳.
And this does not contradict what is written elsewhere, that the fiftieth gate we do not have the power to draw down, but rather it is drawn down automatically on the Festival of Shavuos, etc.
This need not contradict the other explanation, that we cannot draw down the fiftieth gate and it comes of itself on Shavuos. To reconcile the two, the Alter Rebbe first brings a teaching of the Sages.
ויש להקדים מה שארז״ל [שאמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] ספ״ק [סוף פרק קמא] דסוטה ע״פ ולא ידע איש את קבורתו לאותם שעמדו למעלה נדמה להם למטה ולאותם שעמדו למטה נדמה להם למעלה.1 וביאר זה המגיד2 נ״ע [נשמתו עדן].
And we must preface what our Sages, of blessed memory, said at the end of the first chapter of Sotah, on the verse “And no man knows his burial place”: to those who stood above, it appeared to them below; and to those who stood below, it appeared to them above. And the Maggid, whose soul is in Eden, explained this.
The Talmud relates that those sent to find Moshe’s grave saw it below when they stood above, and above when they stood below, fulfilling “no man knows his burial place.” The Maggid of Mezritch, the Alter Rebbe’s teacher, explained this; the Kehot note points also to the Alter Rebbe’s maamarim of 5565 and to the Tzemach Tzedek’s Yahel Or.
כי הנה מרע״ה [משה רבינו עליו השלום] השיג בחייו מ״ט שע״ב אבל שער החמשים לא אתייהב למשה כמ״ש בגמ׳ [בגמרא] ובתיקונים (סוף תיקון כ״ב)3 וגדולים צדיקים במיתתם4 יותר מבחייהם שאז השיג שער החמשים
For Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him, attained in his lifetime the forty-nine gates of Binah (understanding), but the fiftieth gate “was not given to Moshe,” as is written in the Gemara and in the Tikkunim (end of Tikkun 22); and “the righteous are greater in their death than in their life,” for then he attained the fiftieth gate.
In his lifetime Moshe attained forty-nine of the fifty gates of understanding; the fiftieth was not given to him, as the Gemara and the Tikkunei Zohar say. But the righteous are greater after their passing, and at his passing Moshe attained the fiftieth gate.
וזהו ענין ולא ידע איש את קבורתו5 וכמ״ש בזהר פ׳ יתרו (דפ״ט ע״א)6 מה ע״ק [עתיקא קדישא] טמירא מכל טמירין7 כו׳ ע״ש.
And this is the matter of “And no man knows his burial place,” and as is written in the Zohar, Parshas Yisro (folio 89a): “Just as Atika Kadisha is the most hidden of all hidden,” etc.; see there.
That is why his burial place cannot be known: it belongs to the fiftieth gate. The Zohar on Yisro says that Moshe passed away at the time of Minchah on Shabbos, the hour of the will of Atika Kadisha (the innermost level of Keser), and his soul was hidden in it; just as Atika Kadisha is hidden of all hidden, so no man knows his burial place.
אמנם פי׳ לעליונים נדמה להם למטה כו׳ היינו כי שער החמשים דבינה הוא הממוצע בין חכמה לבינה
However, the meaning of “to those above it appeared below,” etc., is that the fiftieth gate of Binah is the intermediary between Chochmah (wisdom) and Binah;
The Maggid’s explanation: the fiftieth gate of Binah stands between Chochmah and Binah.
כי חכמה היא בחי׳ אין ובינה נק׳ יש והממוצע ביניהם המחברם הוא שער החמשים ולכן לעליונים היינו לגבי בחי׳ אין ממש נדמה למטה
for Chochmah is the level of ayin (nothing), and Binah is called yesh (something), and the intermediary between them, which joins them, is the fiftieth gate. Therefore “to those above,” that is, in relation to the level of ayin itself, it appeared below;
Chochmah is ayin, “nothing,” beyond definition, while Binah is yesh, “something,” grasped and defined. The fiftieth gate joins them, so from the standpoint of ayin it looks lower.
כי השער החמשים כיון שהוא הממוצע בין אין ליש א״כ הוא למטה מבחי׳ אין ולגבי תחתונים בחי׳ יש והשגה נדמה שהוא למעלה דהיינו שהוא בחי׳ אין ממש.89
for since the fiftieth gate is the intermediary between ayin and yesh, it is then below the level of ayin; and in relation to those below, the level of yesh and comprehension, it appears to be above, that is, to be the level of ayin itself.
Because it lies between ayin and yesh, from above it seems below ayin, while from below, from the standpoint of yesh and comprehension, it seems to be ayin itself. That is the grave seen below from above and above from below.
The double view of Moshe’s grave illustrates the fiftieth gate: as the bridge between Chochmah (ayin) and Binah (yesh), it looks low from above and lofty from below.
Marei mekomos
- 1לאותם שעמדו למעלה נדמה להם למטה ולאותם שעמדו למטה נדמה להם למעלה · Sotah 14a:1
- 2וביאר זה המגיד · ראה גם סה״מ תקס״ה ח״א ע׳ קפד. אוה״ת יהל אור ע׳ תב. וראה לקו״ש חי״ד ע׳ 451.
- 3לא אתייהב למשה כמ״ש בגמ׳ ובתיקונים (סוף תיקון כ״ב) · Tikkunei Zohar 68b:5
- 4וגדולים צדיקים במיתתם · Chullin 7b:10
- 5ולא ידע איש את קבורתו · Deuteronomy 34:6
- 6בזהר פ׳ יתרו (דפ״ט ע״א) · ראה גם אוה״ת שמות ע׳ טז.
- 7מה ע״ק טמירא מכל טמירין · Zohar, Yitro 27:464–475
- 8כמ״ש בגמרא · Rosh Hashanah 21b
- 9
The two aspects of every intermediary ¶4–8
4ועכ״פ [ועל כל פנים] לפ״ז [לפי זה] מבואר ששער החמשים הוא בחי׳ ממוצע בין אין ויש, וכן לפמ״ש [לפי מה שכתוב] בת״ז [בתיקוני זהר] ובע״ח [ובעץ חיים] שם דשער החמשים הוא כתר עליון הרי נודע ג״כ דהכתר הוא הממוצע בין המאציל לנאצלים כמ״ש בע״ח [בעץ חיים] (שמ״א פ״ג [פרק ג׳])
At any rate, according to this it is explained that the fiftieth gate is the level of an intermediary between ayin and yesh. And likewise, according to what is written in the Tikkunei Zohar and in Etz Chaim there, that the fiftieth gate is the Supreme Keser (Keser Elyon), it is also known that Keser is the intermediary between the Emanator and the emanated, as is written in Etz Chaim (Shaar 41, chapter 3).
So the fiftieth gate is a middle level between ayin and yesh. The Tikkunei Zohar and Etz Chaim (Rabbi Chaim Vital’s record of the Arizal’s Kabbalah) also call it the Supreme Keser, and Keser is known to be the intermediary between the Emanator, G‑d Himself, and the emanated Sefiros.
ועמ״ש בביאור ע״פ אני ה׳ אלקיכם דפ׳ ציצית בפי׳ היש הוי׳ בקרבנו אם אין1 (וע׳ באדר״ז [באדרא זוטא] דף רפ״ח ע״ב).
And see what is written in the explanation on the verse “I am Havayah your G‑d” of the section of tzitzis, on the meaning of “Is Havayah in our midst, or not (ayin)?” (and see the Idra Zuta, folio 288b).
The Alter Rebbe refers to his explanation, in a discourse on the section of tzitzis, of the verse “Is Havayah in our midst, or not (ayin)?”: there (Likkutei Torah, Shelach 17:13), following the Zohar (3:129a), he reads it as asking whether the light drawn from Havayah comes from yesh, Chochmah and Binah, which can be grasped, or from Ayin, which no thought grasps. The Idra Zuta passage cited here (3:288b) describes Atika Kadisha as “hidden of all hidden, separate and set apart from all, and not separate, for all cleaves to Him.”
והנה מבואר בע״ח [בעץ חיים] שם שהממוצע כלול מב׳ הבחינות שהוא ממוצע ביניהם דהיינו שיש בכתר ב׳ בחי׳ הבחי׳ הא׳ הוא בחי׳ תחתונ שבמאציל והבחי׳ הב׳ הוא שרש כל הנאצלים דהיינו שכולל כולם כאחד כו׳.
Now, it is explained in Etz Chaim there that the intermediary is comprised of the two levels between which it mediates: that is, in Keser there are two aspects. The first aspect is the lowest level of the Emanator, and the second aspect is the root of all the emanated, that is, it includes them all as one, etc.
As Etz Chaim explains, an intermediary contains both sides that it connects. So Keser has two aspects: the lowest level of the Emanator, and the root of all the emanated, which includes them all as one.
The fiftieth gate is likened to Keser, the intermediary between the Emanator and the emanated, which has two aspects: the lowest level of the Emanator and the root of the emanated.
Marei mekomos
- 1היש הוי׳ בקרבנו אם אין · Exodus 17:7
5ועד״ז ג״כ בכל בחי׳ כתר יש ב׳ בחי׳ אלו כמו בכתר דז״א שנעשה מת״ת [מתפארת] דאימא יש ג״כ ב׳ בחי׳ אלו
And along these lines, in every level of Keser there are these two aspects; as in the Keser of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes), which is formed from the Tiferes (beauty) of Imma, there are also these two aspects:
Every Keser has these two aspects. The Keser of Z’eir Anpin, for example, is formed from the Tiferes of Imma, the configuration of Binah.
הא׳ הוא נק׳ בחי׳ תחתונה שבעליון הב׳ נק׳ שרש וראש התחתון וזהו ענין ג׳ שלישים שיש בת״ת [בתפארת] דאימא כו׳ וע׳ במ״ח בתחלתו מענין זה.
the first is called the lowest level of the higher one; the second is called the root and head of the lower one. And this is the matter of the three thirds that are in the Tiferes of Imma, etc. And see Mishnas Chassidim, at its beginning, on this matter.
Its first aspect is called “the lowest level of the higher one,” and its second “the root and head of the lower one.” This is why the Tiferes of Imma is described as having three thirds; Mishnas Chassidim, a Kabbalistic work of Rabbi Immanuel Chai Ricchi, discusses this at its beginning.
The two-sided structure of Keser repeats at every level, for example in the Keser of Z’eir Anpin, formed from the Tiferes of Imma.
6וכך ג״כ בענין שער החמשים שהוא הממוצע בין מ״ט שערי בינה. ובין מה שלמעלה מהבינה.
And so too in the matter of the fiftieth gate, which is the intermediary between the forty-nine gates of Binah and what is above Binah.
The fiftieth gate, too, mediates: between the forty-nine gates of Binah and what is above Binah.
וכמבואר שבו ועל ידו יתייחדו המ״ט שערי׳ [שערים] במאצילן ב״ה שהוא גילוי אנכי מי שאנכי א״כ יש בו ב׳ הבחי׳ היינו הבחי׳ תחתונה שבו הוא הכולל כל המ״ט שערים כא׳ [כאחד].
And as is explained, in it and through it the forty-nine gates are united with their Emanator, blessed be He, which is the revelation of “Anochi: who I am.” If so, there are in it the two aspects: the lower aspect in it is what includes all the forty-nine gates as one,
Through it the forty-nine gates are united with their Emanator; this is the revelation of “Anochi: who I am,” a phrase for G‑d’s own Self, beyond every name and description. So it also has two aspects, and its lower aspect includes all forty-nine gates as one.
כענין מ״ש בע״ח [בעץ חיים] דהבחי׳ שבכתר הנק׳ שורש הנאצלים יש בו שרש כל הי״ס [הי׳ ספירות] בהעלם ודקות גדול שא״א לנאצל להיות יותר דקות ממנו.
like what is written in Etz Chaim, that the aspect in Keser called the root of the emanated has in it the root of all ten Sefiros, in concealment and great subtlety, such that it is impossible for an emanated being to be more subtle than it,
This parallels what Etz Chaim says of the aspect of Keser called “the root of the emanated”: it holds the root of all ten Sefiros in such hidden subtlety that nothing emanated could be subtler.
Like Keser, the fiftieth gate has a lower aspect that includes the forty-nine gates as their subtle root.
7ולמעלה מעלה ממהות המ״ט שערים שנמשכו אח״כ ממנו שהוא כענין המשכת הע״ס [העשר ספירות] משרש הנאצלים,
and far, far above the essence of the forty-nine gates that were afterward drawn from it, which is like the drawing forth of the Ten Sefiros from the root of the emanated.
That root is far above the forty-nine gates that later issue from it, just as the ten Sefiros issue from the root of the emanated.
אמנם הבחי׳ העליונה שבשער החמשים דבינה אין שייך לומר בו שהוא שרש המ״ט שערים כי הוא למעלה לגמרי מגדר שערי בינה כי אינו בגדר הבנה והשגה.
However, of the upper aspect of the fiftieth gate of Binah one cannot say that it is the root of the forty-nine gates, for it is entirely above the bounds of the gates of Binah, since it is not within the bounds of understanding and comprehension.
But the upper aspect of the fiftieth gate cannot even be called their root: it is entirely beyond the gates of Binah, beyond understanding and comprehension altogether.
The lower aspect of the fiftieth gate is the subtle root of the forty-nine gates; its upper aspect transcends them entirely and is not even their root.
And this is the matter that in Keser there is the lowest level of the Emanator, whom “no thought can grasp” at all: it is the level of “Anochi: who I am.”
This corresponds to Keser’s “lowest level of the Emanator,” of which Eliyahu’s prayer in the Tikkunei Zohar says that “no thought can grasp” it at all: “Anochi: who I am,” G‑d’s own Self.
ומעתה יבואר ג״כ הא דלפעמים נזכר ששער החמשים אין בנו כח להמשיך כלל אלא שנמשך מאליו וממילא בחג השבועות.
And from this it will also be understood why it is sometimes said that the fiftieth gate we have no power to draw down at all, but rather it is drawn down of itself and automatically on the Festival of Shavuos.
It explains the other statement, that we cannot draw down the fiftieth gate at all and that it comes of itself on Shavuos: that statement refers to its upper aspect.
The upper aspect of the fiftieth gate is the Emanator’s own level, which is why we cannot draw it down.
Marei mekomos
- 1דלית מחשבה תפיסא ביה כלל · Tikkunei Zohar 17a:10
“Your holiness” and “My holiness” ¶9–10
9וכאן נתבאר דספירת העומר הוא המשכת בחי׳ ומדרגת שער החמשים כו׳ והיינו כמשנ״ת [כמו שנתבאר] במ״א בענין פי׳ קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם1
And here it was explained that the Counting of the Omer is the drawing down of the level and rank of the fiftieth gate, etc. And this is as was explained elsewhere on the meaning of “My holiness is above your holiness”:
Here, by contrast, the count was said to draw down the fiftieth gate. The two fit together, as was explained elsewhere on the Midrash “My holiness is above your holiness.”
שמה שיש בכחנו להמשיך ע״י אתעדל״ת [אתערותא דלתתא] בקיום המצות זהו מבחי׳ התחתונה שבכתר הנק׳ שורש הנאצלים וזהו ענין קדושתכם אשר קדשנו במצותיו,
that what we have the power to draw down through an arousal from below (isarusa dilesata), by fulfilling the mitzvos, is from the lower aspect of Keser, which is called the root of the emanated; and this is the matter of “your holiness,” “who has sanctified us with His commandments.”
What we can draw down by our own service, the mitzvos, an arousal from below, comes from the lower aspect of Keser, the root of the emanated. That is “your holiness,” the holiness of “who has sanctified us with His commandments.”
אבל הבחי׳ שבכתר שהוא בחי׳ תחתונה שבמאציל זה א״א לנו להמשיך וזהו ענין קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם כלומר שזה נמשך אח״כ מלמעלה בתורת מתנה כו׳
But the aspect in Keser that is the lowest level of the Emanator, this we cannot draw down; and this is the matter of “My holiness is above your holiness,” that is to say, that this is drawn down afterward from above as a gift, etc.
The aspect that is the lowest level of the Emanator we cannot draw down; it comes afterward from above, as a gift. That is “My holiness is above your holiness.”
ואפשר שעד״ז ג״כ יש לפרש מה שאומרים בשבת ויו״ט [ויום טוב] קדשנו במצותיך אע״פ [אף על פי] שאומרים אשר קדשנו במצותיו שכבר קדשנו כו׳.
And possibly along these lines one may also explain what we say on Shabbos and Yom Tov, “Sanctify us with Your commandments,” even though we say “who has sanctified us with His commandments,” [meaning] that He has already sanctified us, etc.
Perhaps, the Alter Rebbe suggests, this is why on Shabbos and Yom Tov we pray “Sanctify us with Your commandments,” though we have already said “who has sanctified us with His commandments”: the request is for the higher holiness, which comes as a gift.
The two aspects of Keser explain the Midrash: our mitzvos draw down the lower aspect, “your holiness,” while the higher, “My holiness,” comes only as a gift from above.
Marei mekomos
- 1קדושתי למעלה מקדושתכם · Vayikra Rabbah 24:9
10וכמ״כ [וכמו כן] בענין ספה״ע [ספירת העומר] וחג השבועות, דאף לפמ״ש [לפי מה שכתוב] כאן דאפשר שע״י ספירת העומר אנו ממשיכים ג״כ גם מבחי׳ שער החמשים אכן זהו רק הבחינה תחתונה שבו היינו הבחי׳ שבו הכולל המ״ט שערים
So too in the matter of the Counting of the Omer and the Festival of Shavuos: even according to what is written here, that through the Counting of the Omer we may also draw down from the level of the fiftieth gate, this is indeed only its lower aspect, that is, the aspect in it that includes the forty-nine gates;
The same applies to the count and to Shavuos. If the count does draw from the fiftieth gate, it draws only its lower aspect, the one that includes the forty-nine gates.
וזה ממשיכים מעט מעט בימי ספה״ע [ספירת העומר]
and this we draw down little by little in the days of the Counting of the Omer;
That aspect is drawn down little by little, through the days of the count.
וזהו ענין היום שני ימים היום שלשה ימים כו׳,
and this is the matter of “Today is two days,” “Today is three days,” etc.
This is why we count “Today is two days,” “three days”: each day adds to one growing whole.
אבל הבחי׳ העליונה שבו שלמעלה משרש המ״ט שערים זה אין בכחנו להמשיך כלל אלא שלאחר שסופרין וממשיכין הבחינה הכוללת המ״ט שערים וזהו ענין היום מ״ט ימים כו׳ אזי ממילא ומאיליו מתגלה אח״כ בחג השבועות הבחינה העליונה שבו כו׳ שהוא ענין התגלות בחינה תחתונה שבמאציל.
But its upper aspect, which is above the root of the forty-nine gates, this we have no power to draw down at all; rather, after we count and draw down the aspect that includes the forty-nine gates, and this is the matter of “Today is forty-nine days,” etc., then automatically and of itself its upper aspect is revealed afterward, on the Festival of Shavuos, etc., which is the matter of the revelation of the lowest level of the Emanator.
The upper aspect, above the root of the forty-nine gates, we cannot draw down at all. But once we have counted “Today is forty-nine days,” drawing down the aspect that includes all forty-nine, the upper aspect reveals itself of its own accord on Shavuos: the lowest level of the Emanator, now revealed.
אמנם להבין איך שייך לומר דשער החמשים הוא הממוצע בין חכמה לבינה.
However, [we need] to understand how one can say that the fiftieth gate is the intermediary between Chochmah and Binah,
A question now arises: how can the fiftieth gate be called the intermediary between Chochmah and Binah?
Both explanations hold: the count draws down the lower aspect of the fiftieth gate, and its upper aspect, the Emanator’s own level, is revealed of itself on Shavuos.
Supreme Keser and gate of Binah; from barley to wheat ¶11–12
11ולעליונים דהיינו לגבי חכמה עילאה נדמה שהוא למטה. והלא בתיקונים וע״ח [ועץ חיים] אומר דשער החמשים הוא כתר עליון.
and that “to those above,” that is, in relation to the supernal Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah), it appears to be below. But do not the Tikkunim and Etz Chaim say that the fiftieth gate is the Supreme Keser?
How can it seem “below” in relation to supernal Chochmah, if the Tikkunim and Etz Chaim call the fiftieth gate the Supreme Keser, which is above Chochmah?
אך כי בלא״ה [בלאו הכי] צ״ל איך שייך לומר שהוא כתר עליון וגם הוא שער הנ׳ דבינה.
But in any case, even without this, we need to understand how one can say that it is the Supreme Keser and also the fiftieth gate of Binah.
And even apart from this, how can one level be both the Supreme Keser and the fiftieth gate of Binah? The next paragraph takes up the question.
The Alter Rebbe raises a difficulty: the fiftieth gate is called the Supreme Keser, so how can it be below Chochmah, and how can it be both Keser and a gate of Binah?
12ובהרמ״ז [ובהרב משה זכות] בפ׳ בראשית שם ובפ׳ פנחס דרנ״ג משמע דמ״ש שהוא כתר עליון1 ר״ל [רוצה לומר] כתר דז״א שנמשך לו מבחי׳ שער הנ׳ דבינה ממש.
And from the Ramaz on Parshas Bereishis there, and on Parshas Pinchas, folio 253, it is implied that what is said, that it is the Supreme Keser (Keser Elyon), means the Keser of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes), which is drawn to it from the level of the fiftieth gate of Binah (understanding) itself.
A first answer comes from the Ramaz: when the Tikkunim call the fiftieth gate “the Supreme Keser,” they mean the Keser of Z’eir Anpin, which Z’eir Anpin receives from the fiftieth gate of Binah itself.
וא״כ לפ״ז [לפי זה] שייך ג״כ לומר ששער זה החמשים הוא ממוצע בין חו״ב [חכמה ובינה]. אמנם גם לפי פשט לשון התיקונים דר״ל [דרוצה לומר] כתר עליון ממש עכ״ז [עם כל זה] יתכן לומר שהוא ממוצע בין חכמה שהיא בחי׳ אין לבחי׳ בינה
And if so, according to this one can also say that this fiftieth gate is an intermediary between Chochmah (wisdom) and Binah. However, even according to the plain sense of the wording of the Tikkunim, that it means the Supreme Keser itself, it is nevertheless possible to say that it is an intermediary between Chochmah, which is the level of ayin, and the level of Binah,
On that reading the fiftieth gate can indeed stand between Chochmah and Binah. But even if the Tikkunim mean the Supreme Keser literally, it can still be called an intermediary between Chochmah, which is ayin, and Binah.
ע״פ מ״ש בספר עמק המלך שער ט׳ דבחי׳ אין הוא חכמה והוא למעלה מבחי׳ אריך שהיא בחי׳ בינה כו׳
according to what is written in the book Emek HaMelech, Shaar 9, that the level of ayin is Chochmah, and it is above the level of Arich, which is the level of Binah, etc.
The book Emek HaMelech, by the seventeenth-century Kabbalist Rabbi Naftali Bacharach, teaches that the level of ayin, “nothing,” is Chochmah, and that it is above Arich Anpin (the configuration of Keser), which, relative to it, is the level of Binah.
וכן הוא בביאור האדרא מהאריז״ל [מהאר״י זכרונו לברכה] גבי ההוא ארחא אתפרשא לתרי״ג אורחין דאורייתא.2 (באדרא דקכ״ט א׳)
And so it is in the Arizal’s explanation of the Idra, concerning “that path that divides into the 613 paths of the Torah” (in the Idra, folio 129a).
The Arizal’s commentary on the Idra says the same, on the Zohar’s passage about the path that divides into the 613 paths of the Torah.
וז״ל [וזה לשונו] ודע שגלגלתא זאת המקיף את המוח הוא בינה שהוא היכל לחכמה כו׳.
And these are his words: “And know that this skull (gulgalta), which surrounds the brain, is Binah, which is a chamber for Chochmah,” etc.
There the Arizal writes that this skull (gulgalta), which surrounds the brain, is Binah, a chamber for Chochmah.
א״כ שפיר י״ל [יש לומר] דשער החמשים דבינה הוא הממוצע בין אין לבחי׳ בינה ועמ״ש עוד בענין אין בביאור ע״פ את שבתותי תשמרו.
If so, it can well be said that the fiftieth gate of Binah is the intermediary between ayin and the level of Binah. And see what is written further on the matter of ayin in the explanation on the verse “You shall keep My Sabbaths.”
On this view the Supreme Keser, Arich Anpin, is itself “Binah” relative to the ayin above it, so the fiftieth gate can be the intermediary between ayin and Binah. The Alter Rebbe refers to a discourse on “You shall keep My Sabbaths” for more on ayin.
(עוד יש לתרץ מ״ש בתיקונים דכתר עליון איהו שלימו דחמשים שערי בינה3 והוא ע״פ משנ״ת [מה שנתבאר] בפ׳ לך לך שהתגלות עתיק הוא בבינה דוקא וזהו ענין ה׳ שנתוסף לאברהם להיות מאב רם שהוא ח״ע [חכמה עילאה] אברהם כו׳ וקרוב לזה תירץ בפרדס שם פ״ז [פרק ז׳]).
(One may further resolve what is said in the Tikkunim, that the Supreme Keser “is the completion of the fifty gates of Binah,” according to what was explained in Parshas Lech Lecha, that the revelation of Atik is specifically in Binah; and this is the matter of the hei that was added to Avraham, [so that] from Av-ram, which is the supernal Chochmah (Chochmah Ila’ah), [he became] Avraham, etc. And close to this the Pardes resolved it, there, chapter 7.)
A further answer: the Tikkunim call the Supreme Keser “the completion of the fifty gates of Binah” because, as explained in Parshas Lech Lecha, Atik is revealed specifically in Binah. This is the hei added to Avram’s name: Av-ram means “exalted father,” and av, “father,” is Chochmah (Abba); the added hei, the letter of Binah, made him Avraham. In Torah Ohr, Lech Lecha, the Alter Rebbe explains that the added hei did not remove the “ram,” the exalted hidden level, but brought it into revelation (Torah Ohr, Lech Lecha 3:8). The Pardes gives a similar answer.
והנה ע״פ משנ״ת [מה שנתבאר] בשם המגיד נ״ע [נשמתו עדן] דשער החמשים הוא הממוצע בין בינה שהיא בחי׳ יש לחכמה שהיא בחי׳ אין, יובן ענין ספה״ע [ספירת העומר] שהוא מקציר שעורים עד קציר חטים.
Now, according to what was explained in the name of the Maggid, whose soul is in Eden, that the fiftieth gate is the intermediary between Binah, which is the level of yesh, and Chochmah, which is the level of ayin, the matter of the Counting of the Omer will be understood: that it is from the barley harvest to the wheat harvest.
Now the Maggid’s teaching, that the fiftieth gate bridges Binah (yesh) and Chochmah (ayin), explains why the Omer is counted from the barley harvest at Pesach to the wheat harvest at Shavuos.
כי הנה ענין שעורה שעור ה׳ שהוא ענין השגת הנפש לכל חד לפום שיעורא דיליה הנה שורש המשכה זו מבחי׳ בינ ה.
For the matter of se’orah (barley) [as] shiur hei (a measure of five), which is the matter of the soul’s comprehension, “each one according to his own measure”: the root of this drawing down is from the level of Binah.
Barley, se’orah (שעורה), is read as shiur hei (שעור ה׳), “a measure of hei,” the letter whose value is five: the soul’s comprehension, each according to his own measure. Its root is in Binah. In Likkutei Torah, Emor, the Alter Rebbe uses the same reading of the barley Omer, after the Zohar on Balak (Likkutei Torah, Emor 3:17).
אבל חטה שהוא ענין המשכת הדעת הנעלם שלמעלה מן הדעת המושג ומובן זהו בחי׳ חכמה וכמבואר במ״א (בד״ה להבין מ״ש בהגדה מצה זו) ענין מוחין דאבא שהוא למעלה מעלה ממוחין דאימא.
But wheat, which is the matter of the drawing down of the hidden Daas (knowledge) that is above the Daas that is comprehended and understood, this is the level of Chochmah; and as is explained elsewhere (in the discourse beginning “To understand what is said in the Haggadah, ‘This matzah’”), the matter of the mochin (intellect) of Abba, which are far, far above the mochin of Imma.
Wheat draws down the hidden Daas, above knowledge that is understood, and this is Chochmah: the mochin of Abba, far above those of Imma, as a discourse on “This matzah” in the Haggadah explains.
והממוצע ביניהם הוא שער החמשים דבינה וזהו ענין ספירת העומר שהוא המשכת שער החמשים לבחי׳ שעורה כו׳ ע״ד הנ״ל.
And the intermediary between them is the fiftieth gate of Binah; and this is the matter of the Counting of the Omer, which is the drawing down of the fiftieth gate to the level of barley, etc., along the lines mentioned above.
The fiftieth gate of Binah is the bridge between them, and the count of the Omer draws it down to the level of barley, as explained above.
והנה ע״פ האמור שבספה״ע [שבספירת העומר] ממשיכים ג״כ משער החמשים והמשכה זו היא למ״ט שערי בינה ממש לקשרם ולחברם לשער החמשים הממוצע כו׳. עפ״ז [על פי זה] י״ל [יש לומר] דזהו ענין מ״ט תיבות שבמזמור אלקים יחננו4 ומ״ט אותיות שבפסוק ישמחו.5
Now, according to what was said, that in the Counting of the Omer we also draw down from the fiftieth gate, and this drawing down is to the forty-nine gates of Binah themselves, to bind them and join them to the fiftieth gate, the intermediary, etc.: according to this it may be said that this is the matter of the forty-nine words in the psalm “May G‑d be gracious to us” and the forty-nine letters in the verse “Let them rejoice.”
Since the count draws from the fiftieth gate into the forty-nine gates themselves, binding them to it, this may be the meaning of the forty-nine words of Psalm 67, “May G‑d be gracious to us” (after its heading), and of the forty-nine letters the maamar counts in its verse “Let them rejoice.”
היינו שרומזים למ״ט שערי בינה ולמ״ט בחי׳ אלו הכלולים בשער החמשים שממשיכים ע״י ספה״ע [ספירת העומר] ממ״ט בחי׳ שבשער הנ׳ אל מ״ט שע״ב כדי להעלותן למקורן ושרשן ולייחדן במאצילן ב״ה
That is, they allude to the forty-nine gates of Binah and to these forty-nine levels included in the fiftieth gate, which, through the Counting of the Omer, we draw down from the forty-nine levels in the fiftieth gate to the forty-nine gates of Binah, in order to raise them to their source and root and to unite them with their Emanator, blessed be He.
These allude to the forty-nine gates of Binah and to the forty-nine levels within the fiftieth gate, which the count draws into them, raising the gates to their source and uniting them with their Emanator.
(בספר ע״ה ש״ז פ״ה איתא דחטה הוא בחכמה דעולם התהו ושעורה בבינה. ומחו״ב [ומחכמה ובינה] הנז׳ [הנזכר] נעשה אח״כ בעולם התיקון בחי׳ אין ואריך אנפין כו׳):
(In the book Emek HaMelech, Shaar 7, chapter 5, it is stated that wheat is in the Chochmah of the World of Tohu (Chaos), and barley in the Binah. And from the Chochmah and Binah mentioned, there were made afterward, in the World of Tikkun (Rectification), the level of ayin and Arich Anpin, etc.)
Emek HaMelech similarly places wheat in the Chochmah of the World of Tohu and barley in its Binah; from these, in the World of Tikkun, came the level of ayin and Arich Anpin.
The Alter Rebbe resolves how the fiftieth gate, called the Supreme Keser, can stand between Chochmah and Binah, and uses this to explain the count from barley (Binah) to wheat (Chochmah), with the forty-nine words and letters of Psalm 67 alluding to the gates.
The Tikkunei Zohar passage adds that this Supreme Keser, “the completion of the fifty gates of Binah,” is what was not given to Moshe: a source without end, which no one can grasp or find.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2ההוא ארחא אתפרשא לתרי״ג אורחין דאורייתא · Zohar, Idra Rabba 6:25–7:37
- 3מ״ש בתיקונים דכתר עליון איהו שלימו דחמשים שערי בינה · Pardes Rimmonim 13:7
- 4אלקים יחננו · Psalms 67:2
- 5ישמחו · Psalms 67:5
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
What a person can draw down by his own service, the mitzvos and the daily count, is “your holiness,” the root of all the levels, and he draws it little by little: “Today is two days,” “three days.” The higher holiness, “My holiness,” no effort can reach; but once he has completed his part, it is revealed of itself, as a gift from above, as Shavuos comes after the forty-nine days.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the Torah say “you shall count fifty days” if, as explained elsewhere, the fiftieth gate cannot be drawn down by counting?
- How does the Maggid’s explanation of “no man knows his burial place” show that the fiftieth gate is an intermediary between ayin and yesh?
- What are the two aspects of every intermediary, and why can the count draw the lower aspect of the fiftieth gate but not the upper?
- How do “who has sanctified us with His commandments” and “My holiness is above your holiness” parallel the count and Shavuos?
- How can the fiftieth gate be both a gate of Binah and the Supreme Keser, and how does this explain the count from barley to wheat?
Key terms in this maamar
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×27
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
- Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah)אבא ואמא
- The intellectual configurations.
- The intellect (mochin)מוחין
- Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×3
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×10
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×15
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration.
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×2
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×1