Likkutei Torah · Parshas Shir HaShirim · Maamar 42
ביאור ע״פ כי כאשר השמים כו׳
An explanation of “For just as the heavens…”
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The big idea
The present heavens and earth, “My throne” and “My footstool,” are drawn down through human service and reach only the outer dimension of the divine, its “back,” by way of a partition that lowers Atzilus to created beings; the new heavens and earth of the Time to Come will come by G‑d’s own initiative from the inner dimension of Atik, and will “stand before Me” above the partition.
The maamar in brief
The maamar explains Isaiah’s promise that the new heavens and earth will “stand before Me” by contrasting it with “The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool.” It builds a model from the soul: the faculties are vessels and the soul is their light, while chayah and yechidah encompass without vessels; in Atzilus too the attributes are vessels, but G‑d Himself is above light altogether. Since the attributes of Atzilus are beyond comparison with anything created, Gan Eden receives them only as a radiance through the partition between Atzilus and Beriah. That partition is the “throne,” through which the “body” of Atzilus is lowered, as a person lowers himself to sit. Its source is the “heavens,” the Tiferes of Imma that becomes the encompassing Keser, the yechidah, of Z’eir Anpin, and it is drawn down by the higher teshuvah, a will so complete that it is called yechidah. The “footstool” is humility and the yoke of Heaven, which draw Malchus down and also limit its descent. All this reaches only the outer dimension of Atik; the new heavens and earth will come from its inner dimension, and the present world will rise with them.
Outline
- Lights, vessels and encompassing lightsIn the soul and in Atzilus, the inner levels are lights enclothed in vessels, while chayah and yechidah encompass without vessels; G‑d’s essence is above light altogether.¶1–4
- The throne: the partition between Atzilus and BeriahThe attributes of Atzilus are beyond all comparison with created beings; they reach Gan Eden only as a radiance through the partition, which is called “My throne.”¶5–7
- The heavens and the higher teshuvahThe throne comes from the Tiferes of Imma, which becomes the encompassing Keser, the yechidah, of Z’eir Anpin, and it is drawn down by teshuvah “with all your might.”¶8–9
- The earth as footstoolHumility and the yoke of Heaven draw Malchus down to give life; the footstool also keeps it from descending too far, as in the time of the Temple and on Shabbos.¶10–11
- The new heavens and the new earthThe present heavens and earth come through human service from the outer dimension of Atik; the new ones come from its inner dimension by G‑d’s initiative, and all will stand before Him.¶12–14
Key concepts
- Lights and vesselsאורות וכלים
- Divine revelation and the forms that contain it. In the soul, the faculties are vessels and the soul is the light within them; in Atzilus the attributes are “His vessels” and the light in them is “His life-forces,” while G‑d Himself is above both.
- Encompassing light (makif)אור מקיף
- Light too great to enter a vessel, which surrounds it from without. In the soul, chayah and yechidah are encompassing lights; above, the Keser of Z’eir Anpin encompasses it from head to foot.
- Partition and screen (parsa, masach)פרסא ומסך
- The barrier between Atzilus and Beriah, through which only a radiance of the attributes of Atzilus passes. The maamar identifies it with the “throne” of the verse.
- The higher teshuvahתשובה עילאה
- Return to G‑d “with all your might,” a will from the depth of the heart that leaves room for no other desire. It draws down “The heavens are My throne.”
- Yechidahיחידה
- The highest level of the soul, a single, undivided will for G‑d; above, the Keser of Z’eir Anpin, which encompasses it equally from head to foot.
- Inner and outer dimension of Atikפנימיות וחיצוניות עתיק
- Everything drawn down now through human service comes only from the outer dimension of Atik, its “back”; the new heavens and earth will come from its inner dimension, its “face,” above the breaking of the vessels and their repair.
- Arousal from below and from aboveאתערותא דלתתא ואתערותא דלעילא
- Now every revelation above answers human service below; the new heavens and earth will come by an arousal from above alone, G‑d’s own initiative.
Lights, vessels and encompassing lights ¶1–4
1ביאור ע״פ כי כאשר השמים12 כו׳. הנה השמים בחינת תשובה עילאה כסאי הוא השפלת הגוף והמדות. הנה איתא בתיקונים3 שבאצילות איהו וחיוהי וגרמוהי חד בהון.4
An explanation of the verse “For just as the heavens…,” etc. Now, “the heavens” is the level of the higher teshuvah (teshuvah ila’ah); “My throne” is the lowering of the body and of the emotive attributes (middos). Now, it is stated in the Tikkunim that in the World of Atzilus (Emanation), “He, His life-forces and His vessels are one in them” (ihu vechayohi vegarmohi chad behon).
The maamar explains Isaiah 66:22, “For just as the new heavens and the new earth that I make stand before Me,” and sets it against Isaiah 66:1, “The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool.” It opens by naming its terms: “the heavens” are the higher teshuvah, and “My throne” is a lowering of the “body” and of the emotive attributes, as the maamar will explain. It then brings the Tikkunei Zohar’s teaching that in Atzilus G‑d (“He”), the lights (“His life-forces”) and the vessels (“His vessels”) are all one.
הנה נפש רוח נשמה יש להם בחי׳ כלים היינו שהם בחי׳ אור פנימי שמתלבש בכלי נשמה במוח ורוח בלב כו׳
Now, nefesh, ruach and neshamah have the aspect of vessels; that is, they are the aspect of an inner light that is enclothed in a vessel: the neshamah in the brain and the ruach in the heart, etc.
Of the soul’s five levels, the lower three, nefesh, ruach and neshamah, are inner lights: each is enclothed in a bodily vessel, the neshamah in the brain as intellect and the ruach in the heart as emotion. This is the model of light and vessel that the maamar will use.
ובחי׳ חיה יחדה אין להם בחי׳ כלים כ״א הם בבחי׳ מקיף לבד והם ב׳ מקיפים למ״ד מ״ם דצלם.
But the levels of chayah and yechidah have no aspect of vessels; rather, they are in the mode of an encompassing [light] (makif) alone, and they are the two encompassing [lights], the lamed and the mem of the tzelem (“image”).
The two highest levels of the soul, chayah and yechidah, are never contained in a vessel; they only encompass the person from without, as makifim (encompassing lights). In the Kabbalistic reading of the word tzelem (“image”), its letters lamed and mem stand for these two encompassing lights.
The opening names the maamar’s terms and sets up a distinction it uses throughout: nefesh, ruach and neshamah are lights enclothed in vessels, while chayah and yechidah are encompassing lights that no vessel contains.
The Tikkunei Zohar’s formula describes Atzilus, where even the vessels are not separate from G‑d. The next paragraphs read its three terms as the Essence (“He”), the lights (“His life-forces”) and the vessels (“His vessels”), and show that the analogy of the soul fits only in part, since the soul itself is the light in its faculties while G‑d is above light altogether.
Marei mekomos
- 1ביאור ע״פ כי כאשר השמים · הנחת כ״ק אדה״א בסה״מ תקס״ד ע׳ קמט. המאמר בס׳ מאמרי אדה״א — הנחות תקע״ז ע׳ קעו מיוסד על מאמר זה. נדפס גם באוה״ת בראשית כרך ג ע׳ תתקע.
- 2כי כאשר השמים · Isaiah 66:22
- 3איתא בתקונים · בהקדמה ג, סע״ב. [כ].
- 4איהו וחיוהי וגרמוהי חד בהון · Tikkunei Zohar 3b:9–10
2ויובן עד״מ באדם אנו רואים שיש בחי׳ אור וכלי בחכמה שבמוחו וגם לבוש דהנה כח השכלי המשכיל על כל דבר חכמה אינו מעצמות הנפש ממש כ״א הוא בחי׳ התפשטות הנפש
This will be understood by way of analogy from a person. We see that in the wisdom in his brain there is the aspect of light and vessel, and also [of] a garment. For the intellectual faculty, which grasps every matter of wisdom, is not of the very essence of the soul; rather, it is the aspect of an extension of the soul.
To explain lights and vessels, the Alter Rebbe turns to the human mind, where there is a light, a vessel and also a third element, a “garment.” The faculty of intellect is not the soul’s essence but an extension of it: the soul reaching out into a power through which it can think.
ולכן יש בו שינויים פעם הוא בגדלות ופעם לא כן שמוחו ושכלו אינו זך וצלול כ״א מבולבל כו׳ והנפש עצמה אין שייך בה שינויים
Therefore it undergoes changes: at one time it is in a state of expansiveness (gadlus), and at another time it is not so, for his mind and intellect are not pure and clear but confused, etc. Whereas to the soul itself changes do not apply.
The proof that the intellect is only an extension is that it changes: sometimes the mind is expansive and sharp (gadlus), sometimes muddled. The soul itself does not change.
אלא שכח השכל הוא בחי׳ כלי שמקבל השפע הנמשך לו מהנפש והנפש היא האור המאירה בתוך הכלי שהוא כח השכל
Rather, the faculty of intellect is the aspect of a vessel that receives the flow drawn to it from the soul, and the soul is the light that shines within the vessel, which is the faculty of intellect.
So the faculty of intellect is the “vessel,” which receives the flow of life that comes from the soul, and the soul is the “light” that shines inside that vessel.
(ומזה י״ל [יש לומר] שיובן ענין אוירא שלמעלה ממו״ס [ממוחא סתימאה] שי״ל [שיש לומר] שזהו האור המאיר לכח הכל וכמ״ש במ״א בענין אויר ואור) והדבר חכמה שמשכיל הכח השכלי
(And from this, it may be said, the matter of the Avira that is above Mocha Stima’ah (the hidden brain) can be understood: it may be said that this is the light that shines into the faculty of all, as is explained elsewhere on the subject of avir (air) and or (light).) And the matter of wisdom that the intellectual faculty grasps,
In a parenthesis the Alter Rebbe applies this to Kabbalah: Avira (“air”), the level above Mocha Stima’ah (the “hidden brain” of Arich Anpin), may be the light that shines into that faculty, as the soul shines into the mind; the printed text reads “the faculty of all,” where the faculty of intellect seems to be meant. After the parenthesis he turns to the third element, the actual wisdom that the intellect grasps.
כמו חכמת התכונה ודומיה מה שמבין איזה דבר פרטי זהו רק בחי׳ לבוש שמלביש את כח השכל וכמ״כ [וכמו כן] עד״מ בענין המדות כח האהבה מה שמתאוה לאיזו דבר
such as the science of astronomy and the like, [that is,] what he understands of some particular matter, this is only the aspect of a garment that clothes the faculty of intellect. And likewise, by way of analogy, regarding the emotive attributes (middos): the faculty of love, [namely] that one desires some thing,
The particular content a person learns, such as astronomy or any specific subject, is only a “garment” that clothes the faculty of intellect. The same threefold structure holds for the emotions, beginning with the faculty of love, the desire for something.
וכן כח החסד הוא בחי׳ כלי להנפש ע״ד הנ״ל בכח השכל וחיצוניות המדה מה שגומל חסד והיא השפעת החסד זהו בחי׳ לבוש
and likewise the faculty of Chesed (kindness), is the aspect of a vessel for the soul, in the manner mentioned above regarding the faculty of intellect. And the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of the attribute, [namely] that one performs kindness, which is the bestowal of Chesed, this is the aspect of a garment.
The faculty of kindness, like the faculty of intellect, is a vessel for the soul. Its outward expression, the actual act of doing kindness to another, is its “garment.”
(וכח החסד נק׳ חיצונית הכלי לגבי כח האהבה שהיא פנימית הכלי כמ״ש במ״א) אף שלכאורה נראה שהתהוות המדות הוא רק מהשכל
(And the faculty of Chesed is called the outer dimension of the vessel, relative to the faculty of love, which is the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the vessel, as is explained elsewhere.) Although at first glance it seems that the coming into being of the emotive attributes is only from the intellect,
In a parenthesis he adds a finer distinction within the vessel itself: love is its inner side and the faculty of kindness its outer side. He then raises an objection: perhaps the emotions come into being only from the intellect and are not vessels of the soul in their own right.
כי לפי שכלו יהולל איש1 באמת זה אינו דמ״מ הם ג״כ כלים להנפש ואור מהנפש נמשך ומאיר בהם
for “A man is praised according to his intellect,” in truth this is not so. For nevertheless they too are vessels for the soul, and light from the soul is drawn and shines in them;
The objection draws on the verse “A man is praised according to his intellect,” which seems to make a person’s qualities follow from his mind. The Alter Rebbe rejects it: the emotions too are vessels in which the soul’s own light shines.
רק שהם רחוקים יותר מהנפש ומקבלים מהנפש ע״י אמצעות חב״ד [חכמה בינה ודעת] שדרך המוחין נמדד ונמשך השפע ואור הנפש להכלים שהן המדות כו׳.
it is only that they are further from the soul, and they receive from the soul through the mediation of Chochmah (wisdom), Binah (understanding) and Daas (knowledge); for by way of the intellect (mochin) the flow and the light of the soul are measured and drawn to the vessels, which are the emotive attributes, etc.
The difference is only one of distance: the emotions are further from the soul and receive its light by way of the mind. The soul’s flow is measured out as it passes through Chochmah, Binah and Daas, and only then reaches the emotions.
נמצא כלל העולה שכל עשר בחינות הנפש חב״ד [חכמה בינה ודעת] ומדות הם רק כלים של הנפש והיא הנפש היא האור המאיר בתוכן אך בענין השכל יובן הדבר היטב יותר ממה שיובן בענין המדות וכנ״ל.
It follows, as the overall conclusion, that all ten aspects of the soul, Chochmah, Binah and Daas and the emotive attributes, are only vessels of the soul, and it, the soul, is the light that shines within them. But in the case of the intellect the matter is understood better than it is understood in the case of the emotive attributes, as mentioned above.
The conclusion: all ten faculties of the soul, the three of the intellect and the seven emotions, are vessels, and the soul is the light within them. This is easier to see in the intellect than in the emotions, since the emotions receive the soul’s light only through the mind.
Using the human soul as an analogy, the paragraph distinguishes three elements: the soul as the light, its faculties of intellect and emotion as the vessels, and their particular content or outward expression as the garments.
This threefold division prepares the application to Atzilus in the next paragraph, where “His life-forces” are the lights and the attributes of Atzilus are “His vessels.” The parenthesis on Avira and Mocha Stima’ah carries the same pattern up to the highest levels of Arich Anpin.
Marei mekomos
- 1לפי שכלו יהולל איש · Proverbs 12:8
3וכמ״כ [וכמו כן] יובן עד״מ למעלה ענין חיוהי וגרמוהי שהן בחי׳ אורות וכלים פי׳ גרמוהי נק׳ כלים דאצילות כמו עד״מ המדות דאצילות הם רק בחי׳ כלים של המאציל א״ס ב״ה
So too, by way of analogy, the matter of chayohi and garmohi (“His life-forces and His vessels”) above will be understood: they are the aspect of lights and vessels. That is, by garmohi are meant the vessels of the World of Atzilus (Emanation); for example, the emotive attributes of Atzilus are only the aspect of vessels of the Emanator, the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He,
The same pattern applies above, to “His life-forces” and “His vessels” in Atzilus: they are lights and vessels. The emotive attributes of Atzilus, for example, are only vessels of the Emanator, the Infinite One.
כמאמר אליהו1 חסד דרועא ימינא2 כו׳ שהם נק׳ בחי׳ גוף לגבי האור הנמשך ומתלבש בהם מא״ס ב״ה והאורות נק׳ חיוהי.
as in the saying of Eliyahu, “Chesed is the right arm,” etc., for they are called the aspect of a body relative to the light that is drawn down and enclothed in them from the Infinite One, blessed be He. And the lights are called chayohi.
Eliyahu’s prayer in the Tikkunei Zohar maps the Sefiros onto a body (“Chesed is the right arm,” Gevurah the left arm, and so on), so the attributes are called a “body” relative to the light from the Infinite One that is enclothed in them. That light is what “His life-forces” means.
אך המאציל א״ס ב״ה הוא למעלה מעלה מבחי׳ אור ולא כמו במשל נפש שהנפש עצמה היא האור המאיר בתוך הכלים משא״כ א״ס ב״ה הוא למעלה מעלה
But the Emanator, the Infinite One, blessed be He, is far, far above the level of light. It is not as in the analogy of the soul, where the soul itself is the light that shines within the vessels; whereas the Infinite One, blessed be He, is far, far above
Here the analogy breaks down. In a person the soul itself is the light within the faculties, but the Infinite One, the Emanator, is far above the category of light altogether.
(מבחי׳ אור של הכלים וזהו ישת חשך סתרו3 שהוא למעלה אפי׳ [אפילו] מבחי׳ אור מקיף כו׳)
(the level of the light of the vessels; and this is [the meaning of] “He made darkness His hiding place,” which is above even the level of encompassing light, etc.)
The verse “He made darkness His hiding place” describes this: G‑d’s essence is “darkness” and “hidden” in the sense that it is beyond even encompassing light. Light of every kind, inner or encompassing, is only something that comes from Him.
רק שממנו נמשכים האורות וזהו ענין איהו וחיוהי איהו היינו עצמות המאציל חיוהי הם הא ורות גרמוהי הם הכלים
only that the lights are drawn forth from Him. And this is the meaning of “He and His life-forces”: “He” (ihu) is the essence of the Emanator; “His life-forces” (chayohi) are the lights; “His vessels” (garmohi) are the vessels.
So the Tikkunei Zohar’s phrase has three terms: “He” is the essence of the Emanator, “His life-forces” are the lights that issue from Him, and “His vessels” are the vessels. The lights come from Him, but He is above them. (The printed Hebrew’s הא ורות is האורות, “the lights,” with a stray space.)
והנה זהו הכל בחי׳ נר״נ [נפש רוח נשמה] שהם בחי׳ אורות המתלבשים בכלים כנ״ל בענין המשל אבל חיה יחידה אין להם בחי׳ כלי להתלבש בה כ״א הם בחי׳ מקיפים:
Now, all this is the level of nefesh, ruach and neshamah, which are the aspect of lights enclothed in vessels, as mentioned above regarding the analogy. But chayah and yechidah have no aspect of a vessel in which to be enclothed; rather, they are the aspect of encompassing [lights] (makifim).
All of this, lights in vessels, corresponds to nefesh, ruach and neshamah in the analogy of the soul. Chayah and yechidah, however, have no vessel at all and remain encompassing lights, and the maamar will build on this distinction.
The paragraph applies the analogy above: in Atzilus the attributes are vessels and “His life-forces” are the lights within them, while G‑d’s essence is beyond light entirely; and as in the soul, only the inner levels have vessels, while chayah and yechidah remain encompassing.
The difference from the analogy is precise: in a person the soul is itself the light, but in Atzilus even the light is only a radiance from the Essence, as the summary that follows says. “Darkness” in the verse therefore points to the Essence, which is beyond both inner and encompassing light.
Marei mekomos
- 1כמאמר אלי׳ · ת״ז בהקדמה.
- 2חסד דרועא ימינא · Tikkunei Zohar 17a:16–17
- 3ישת חשך סתרו · Psalms 18:12
4(קיצור. ענין נר״נ [נפש רוח נשמה] יש להם כלים היינו כח השכל הוא כלי והשכל שמשכיל הוא לבוש להכלי
(Summary: The matter of nefesh, ruach and neshamah: they have vessels. That is, the faculty of intellect is a vessel, and the idea that it grasps is a garment for the vessel.
The summary restates the analogy: nefesh, ruach and neshamah have vessels. The faculty of intellect is the vessel, and the idea it grasps is the vessel’s garment.
ואמנם האור הוא הנשמה הנמשך בכח השכל ועד״ז הרוח במדות כמ״כ [כמו כן] למעלה זהו ענין חיוהי וגרמוהי כי למעלה גם האור אינו רק הארה מהעצמות והנה חיה יחידה הם אורות מקיפים שאין להם כלים):
But the light is the neshamah, which is drawn into the faculty of intellect, and in the same way the ruach in the emotive attributes. So too above: this is the matter of chayohi and garmohi; for above, even the light is only a radiance from the Essence. And chayah and yechidah are encompassing lights, which have no vessels.)
The light within the faculty of intellect is the neshamah, and the ruach is the light within the emotions. Above, these are “His life-forces” and “His vessels,” except that there even the light is only a radiance of the Essence; chayah and yechidah remain encompassing lights without vessels.
A brief summary of the first section: light, vessel and garment in the soul, their counterpart above in “His life-forces” and “His vessels,” and the encompassing levels of chayah and yechidah, which have no vessels.
The throne: the partition between Atzilus and Beriah ¶5–7
5ב ועתה צ״ל ענין השמים כסאי1 דהנה ידוע שבאמת עצמות א״ס ב״ה לאו מכל אלין מדות דאצילות איהו כלל ואצילות המדות הוא כדי לאנהגא בהון עלמין.2
2. Now we must understand the matter of “The heavens are My throne.” For it is known that in truth the essence of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, “is not [any] of these” attributes of the World of Atzilus (Emanation) “at all,” and the emanation of the attributes is “in order to conduct the worlds through them.”
Section 2 turns to “The heavens are My throne.” It starts from a principle stated in the words of Eliyahu’s prayer in the Tikkunei Zohar: G‑d’s essence is not any of the attributes of Atzilus, which were emanated only as the means through which He conducts the worlds.
אך באמת צ״ל כיון שהמדות דאצילות נק׳ עכ״פ [על כל פנים] גופא לגבי אור המאיר מא״ס ב״ה ואין ערוך כלל המדות שבנבראים דבי״ע לגבי המדות דאצילות
But in truth we need to understand: since the attributes of Atzilus are, at any rate, called “a body” relative to the light that shines from the Infinite One, blessed be He, and the attributes in the created beings of the worlds of Beriah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation) and Asiyah (Action) bear no comparison at all to the attributes of Atzilus,
The question: the attributes of Atzilus are, after all, only a “body” relative to the light of the Infinite One. Yet even they are utterly beyond comparison with the attributes of created beings in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.
כמו שאין ערוך הגוונים אדום ולבן גשמיים לגבי המדות חו״ג [חסד וגבורה] רוחניים שבנפש האדם שהרי גם הגוונים מורים על בחי׳ המדות חו״ג [חסד וגבורה] שנמשכו ממש ממדות עליונות
just as the physical colors, red and white, bear no comparison to the spiritual attributes of Chesed (kindness) and Gevurah (restraint) in the human soul. For the colors too indicate the attributes of Chesed and Gevurah, which were actually drawn down from the supernal attributes
An analogy: physical colors bear no comparison to the spiritual emotions of the soul, even though the colors derive from those emotions. Red and white are the far physical descendants of Gevurah and Chesed, drawn down from the supernal attributes.
בהשתלשלות רבות עד שנעשו למטה בחי׳ גוונין גשמיים גוון לבן נמשך ממדת החסד וגוון אדום מגבורה3 וכמ״ש בפרדס בשער הגוונים4 וכן כסף וזהב גשמיים מורים על חו״ג [חסד וגבורה] שנמשכו בהשתלשלות רבות
through many stages of descent (hishtalshelus), until below they became physical colors: the color white is drawn from the attribute of Chesed and the color red from Gevurah, as is written in the Pardes, in the Gate of Colors. And likewise physical silver and gold indicate Chesed and Gevurah, drawn down through many stages of descent.
Through many stages of descent the attributes became colors: white comes from Chesed and red from Gevurah, as the Pardes explains in its Gate of Colors. In the same way silver and gold correspond to Chesed and Gevurah.
והרי עכ״ז [עם כל זה] נראה בחוש שאין להם ערך ודמיון לגבי מדת חסד וגבורה רוחניים שבנפש האדם דמה דמיון גוון לבן לגבי חסד והאהבה כו׳
And yet, despite all this, it is plainly evident that they bear no comparison or likeness to the spiritual attributes of Chesed and Gevurah in the human soul; for what likeness is there between the color white and kindness and love, etc.?
Yet anyone can see that the color white bears no likeness to kindness and love. What derives from a source can be utterly unlike it.
כמ״כ [כמו כן] ויותר מכן אין ערוך המדות רוחניים שבנפש לגבי מקורם המדות דאצילות שנבראו מהן נר״נ [נפש רוח נשמה] שבאדם
So too, and even more so, the spiritual attributes in the soul bear no comparison to their source, the attributes of Atzilus, from which the nefesh, ruach and neshamah in man were created.
Likewise, and even more so, the emotions of the human soul bear no comparison to their own source, the attributes of Atzilus, from which the soul’s nefesh, ruach and neshamah were created.
שהרי מה שנק׳ הקב״ה רחמן א״א לומר שהוא מעין ואופן הרחמנות שבאדם שהוא בחי׳ התפעלות ממש
For when the Holy One, blessed be He, is called “Merciful,” it is impossible to say that this is of the kind and manner of the compassion in man, which is a state of actual emotional arousal (hispaalus).
For example, G‑d is called “Merciful,” but His mercy is not like human compassion, which is an emotional reaction in which a person is moved.
אבל הקב״ה כתיב ביה אני הוי׳ לא שניתי5 ואין שייך בו ית׳ התפעלות ושינוי כ״א בחי׳ הרחמים שלמעלה הוא באופן ומהות נעלה לאין קץ ממהות הרחמים שבנבראים
But of the Holy One, blessed be He, it is written, “I, Havayah, have not changed,” and arousal and change do not apply to Him, may He be blessed; rather, the level of mercy above is of a manner and nature infinitely higher than the nature of the mercy in created beings.
The verse “I, Havayah, have not changed” teaches that G‑d is not moved and does not change. Mercy above is therefore of a nature infinitely higher than mercy in created beings.
לכן גם הנביאים לא השיגו6 רק עד בחי׳ נו״ה [נצח והוד] שהוא תולדות של המדות ולא יוכלו להשיג המדות עצמן
This is why even the prophets grasped only Netzach and Hod, which are offshoots of the attributes, and not the attributes themselves. The Kehot note sends the reader to Tanya, Iggeres HaKodesh 19, on the prophets’ attainment.
וגם מה שהשיגו בחי׳ נו״ה [נצח והוד] היינו ע״י התלבשות גמור בבריאה כו׳ וגם משרע״ה [משה רבינו עליו השלום] שזכה להשיג בחי׳ המדות עצמן היינו ג״כ רק בחי׳ אחוריים וכמ״ש וראית את אחורי7 כו׳.
And even what they did attain of the level of Netzach and Hod was through a complete enclothement in Beriah, etc. And even Moshe our teacher, peace be upon him, who merited to attain the attributes themselves, [attained] this too only [in] the level of the back (achorayim), as it is written, “And you shall see My back,” etc.
Even their grasp of Netzach and Hod came only as those levels were fully enclothed in Beriah. Moshe, who reached the attributes themselves, saw only their “back,” as G‑d told him, “You shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”
Section 2 poses the problem that the throne will solve: the attributes of Atzilus are infinitely beyond anything in created beings, as colors are beyond the emotions they derive from, and even prophecy grasped only their offshoots or their “back.”
Moshe’s grasp of only the “back” (achorayim) of the attributes returns in section 5, where the Alter Rebbe explains that “My throne” draws only from the outer dimension of Atik, as one who sits places only his back on the seat, while the new heavens are drawn from its inner dimension, its “face.”
Marei mekomos
- 1השמים כסאי · Isaiah 66:1
- 2לאנהגא בהון עלמין · Tikkunei Zohar 17a:11–12
- 3גוון לבן נמשך ממדת החסד וגוון אדום מגבורה · Pardes Rimmonim 10:3
- 4בפרדס בשער הגוונים · פ״ג.
- 5אני הוי׳ לא שניתי · Malachi 3:6
- 6לכן גם הנביאים לא השיגו · ראה אגה״ק סי׳ יט.
- 7וראית את אחורי · Exodus 33:23
6וא״כ לפ״ז [לפי זה] צ״ל איך יכול להתהוות בחי׳ ג״ע [גן עדן] יושבין ונהנין מזיו1 שהוא תענוג של הנבראים איך יומשך זה
If so, accordingly we must understand: how can there come into being the level of Gan Eden, [where] “they sit and enjoy the radiance,” which is a delight of created beings? How can this be drawn
Given this gap, how can Gan Eden exist at all? There, in the Sages’ words, souls “sit and enjoy the radiance” of the Divine Presence, a delight felt by created souls, so how can it come from the attributes of Atzilus?
מהמדות דאצילות מאחר שאין ערוך כלל השכל והתענוג והמדות שבנבראים אל המדות דאצילות וכמ״ש במ״א ע״פ ואנכי עפר ואפר.23
from the attributes of Atzilus, since the intellect, the delight and the emotive attributes in created beings bear no comparison at all to the attributes of Atzilus, as is explained elsewhere on the verse “And I am dust and ashes”?
Created intellect, delight and emotion are utterly incommensurate with the attributes of Atzilus. The Kehot note identifies the reference to “And I am dust and ashes” as Tanya, Iggeres HaKodesh 15.
אך הענין הוא דהנה מבואר בע״ח [בעץ חיים] שמ״א שיש פרסא ומסך המבדיל בין עולם האצילות לבריאה4 ומה שנמשך מהמדות דאצילות בבריאה היינו הארה שלהם שעובר דרך המסך5 הנ״ל
But the explanation is this. It is explained in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 41, that there is a partition (parsa) and a screen (masach) that divides between the World of Atzilus and Beriah, and what is drawn from the attributes of Atzilus into Beriah is their radiance, which passes through the screen mentioned above
The answer comes from Etz Chaim: between Atzilus and Beriah stands a partition (parsa) and a screen (masach). What passes from the attributes of Atzilus into Beriah is only their radiance, which comes through that screen.
(ועיין בע״ח [בעץ חיים] שמ״ז פ״א6 בשם הרר״ג הלוי) ולא העצמיות המדות וע״י דוקא הוא שיוכל לימשך מהם ג״כ השפע בג״ע [בגן עדן] לנשמות הנבראים.
(and see Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 47, chapter 1, in the name of Rabbi Gedaliah HaLevi), and not the essence of the attributes. And it is specifically through this that the flow from them can also be drawn into Gan Eden, to the created souls.
The text sends the reader to another chapter of Etz Chaim, quoted in the name of Rabbi Gedaliah HaLevi, whose teachings Etz Chaim’s Sha’ar 47 brings several times, and the Kehot note says the chapter number follows the Shklov printing of 5560. Because only a radiance passes, and not the essence of the attributes, a flow from them can reach the souls in Gan Eden.
וזהו השמים כסאי פי׳ כמשל באדם כשיושב על הכסא שנשפל בחי׳ אחוריים של הגוף לישב על הכסא
And this is [the meaning of] “The heavens are My throne.” That is, as in the analogy of a person when he sits on a throne: the back part (achorayim) of the body is lowered to sit on the throne,
This is “The heavens are My throne”: when a person sits on a throne, the lowest part of his body is lowered onto the seat.
וגם על ידי זה נשפל ראשו שכשעומד ראשו ומוחיו גבוהים מן הארץ וע״י הישיבה נשפל קומתו כך הוא ענין הפרסא הנ״ל שנק׳
and through this his head is also lowered; for when he stands, his head and brain are high above the ground, and by sitting his stature is lowered. So too is the matter of the partition mentioned above, which is called
Sitting lowers the head as well: standing, a person’s head and mind are high above the ground, while seated his whole stature is lower. In the same way the partition between Atzilus and Beriah is called a “throne.”
כסא שבו וע״י נמשכים ונשפלים המדות דאצי׳ הנק׳ גופא ועובר ונמשך הארתם בהפרסא להאיר בבריאה כדי שיתהוו מזה תענוג נברא [ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה פתח אליהו:7
a “throne”: in it and through it the attributes of Atzilus, which are called “a body,” are drawn down and lowered, and their radiance passes and is drawn through the partition to shine in Beriah, so that a created delight may come into being from it. [And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “Eliyahu opened”:
Through the partition the attributes of Atzilus, called a “body,” are lowered, and their radiance passes through it to shine in Beriah, making a created delight, the delight of Gan Eden, possible. The bracket that opens here sends the reader to the discourse “Eliyahu opened,” which the Kehot note locates at the beginning of Parshas Vayeira in Torah Ohr.
The paragraph answers the problem: the attributes of Atzilus reach Gan Eden only as a radiance passing through the partition between Atzilus and Beriah, and that partition is the “throne,” through which the “body” of the attributes is lowered as a person lowers himself to sit.
The image of sitting is exact: only the lowest part of the body touches the seat, yet the whole body, head included, is lowered. So too it is the attributes as a whole, the “body,” that are lowered through the partition, though only their radiance passes through it.
Marei mekomos
- 1יושבין ונהנין מזיו · Berakhot 17a:12
- 2וכמ״ש במ״א ע״פ ואנכי עפר ואפר · הכוונה לאגה״ק סי׳ טו (כן מציין כ״ק אדמו״ר בספר המפתחות לתניא).
- 3ואנכי עפר ואפר · Genesis 18:27
- 4פרסא ומסך המבדיל בין עולם האצילות לבריאה · Sefer Etz Chaim 42:13
- 5הארה שלהם שעובר דרך המסך · Sefer Etz Chaim 47:2
- 6שמ״ז פ״א · בדפוס שקלאוו תק״ס.
- 7בד״ה פתח אליהו · תו״א ר״פ וירא.
7קיצור. כיון ע״ס [עשר ספירות] שבנבראים אין ערוך כלל לגבי מהות ע״ס [עשר ספירות] דאצילות איך אפשר שמע״ס [שמעשר ספירות] דאצי׳ יומשך ויתגלה בג״ע [בגן עדן] לנשמות דבי״ע אך זהו ע״י הפרסא שבין אצי׳ לבריאה והיא הנק׳ כסאי]:
Summary: Since the Ten Sefiros in created beings bear no comparison at all to the essence of the Ten Sefiros of the World of Atzilus (Emanation), how is it possible that [anything] from the Ten Sefiros of Atzilus be drawn down and revealed in Gan Eden to the souls of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah? But this is through the partition between Atzilus and Beriah, and it is what is called “My throne.”]
The summary restates the question and the answer: since the Sefiros in created beings are utterly beyond comparison with those of Atzilus, how can anything of Atzilus be revealed in Gan Eden to the souls of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah? It is through the partition between Atzilus and Beriah, which is called “My throne.”
A summary of section 2: the partition between Atzilus and Beriah, the “throne,” is what allows Atzilus to be revealed to created souls.
The heavens and the higher teshuvah ¶8–9
8ג והנה בחי׳ כסא הנ״ל נמשך מבחי׳ שמים פי׳ שמים הוא תפארת דאימא שת״ת [שתפארת] נק׳ שמים שכלול מאש ומים שהם חו״ג [חסד וגבורה] וגם שמים הם מקיפים
3. Now, the level of the throne mentioned above is drawn from the level of the heavens. That is, “heavens” is the Tiferes of Imma (Binah); for Tiferes (beauty) is called shamayim (heavens), since it is composed of esh (fire) and mayim (water), which are Chesed (kindness) and Gevurah (restraint). And also, the heavens are encompassing [lights] (makifim);
Section 3 asks where the throne comes from: it comes from the “heavens,” which are the Tiferes of Imma (Binah). Tiferes is called shamayim because the word joins esh (fire) and mayim (water), Gevurah and Chesed, which Tiferes harmonizes; and the heavens also stand for encompassing light.
והיינו תפארת דאימא שנעשה כתר לז״א אשר בחי׳ כתר הוא יחידה שהוא בחי׳ מקיפ והמקיף דיחידה הוא מקיף הראש והרגל בהשוואה אחת כמ״ש בע״ח [בעץ חיים] שער העקודים פ״ה בהג״ה [בהגהה] ממה״ק [ממהדורא קמא] שלכן נק׳ יחידה כו׳20
that is, the Tiferes of Imma that becomes Keser (the Crown) for Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes); for the level of Keser is yechidah, which is the level of an encompassing [light], and the encompassing light of yechidah encompasses the head and the foot equally, as is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar HaAkudim, chapter 5, in a gloss from the first recension (mahadura kamma), that this is why it is called yechidah, etc.
This Tiferes of Imma becomes the Keser, the crown, of Z’eir Anpin, and Keser corresponds to yechidah, an encompassing light. Etz Chaim notes that yechidah encompasses head and foot alike, and gives this as the reason it is called yechidah, “single.”
ולכן כמו שמקיף על חב״ד [חכמה בינה ודעת] דז״א מלמעלה עד״מ כך הוא מקיף ג״כ מתחת רגליו מלמטה
Therefore, just as it encompasses the Chochmah (wisdom), Binah (understanding) and Daas (knowledge) of Z’eir Anpin from above, by way of analogy, so too it also encompasses from beneath its feet, from below.
Because it encompasses equally on every side, this light surrounds Z’eir Anpin not only above its head, over its intellect, but also below its feet.
ולכן ממנו נמשך ג״כ הפרגוד והמסך שבין אצילות לבריאה (וכמ״ש בע״ח [בעץ חיים] שמ״א1 שהמסך הוא החשמל2 שנמשך מבחי׳ בינה3 ומבואר בהרמ״ז [בהרב משה זכות] ס״פ יתרו)
Therefore from it is also drawn the curtain (pargod) and the screen (masach) between the World of Atzilus (Emanation) and Beriah (as is written in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar 41, that the screen is the chashmal, which is drawn from the level of Binah; and it is explained in the Ramaz at the end of Parshas Yisro
The part below the feet is the source of the curtain and screen between Atzilus and Beriah. Etz Chaim identifies the screen with the chashmal, the outermost garment, drawn from Binah, and the Ramaz explains that the chashmal is in Tiferes, whether of Imma or of Z’eir Anpin.
(בדף ע״ח) שסוד החשמל הוא בת״ת [בתפארת] בין דאימא בין דז״א נמצא שהמסך הנ״ל נמשך מת״ת [מתפארת] דאימא וזהו השמים ממש כסאי
(on page 78) that the mystery of the chashmal is in Tiferes, whether of Imma or of Z’eir Anpin. It follows that the screen mentioned above is drawn from the Tiferes of Imma, and this is literally “The heavens are My throne.”
It follows that the screen derives from the Tiferes of Imma, the “heavens.” So the heavens are, quite literally, the source of the throne.
אלא שמ״מ מבואר שם בע״ח [בעץ חיים] פ״א4 ואל תטעה לומר כי זהו האור המקיף כו׳ ע״ש דהמסך הוא החיצוניות דת״ת [דתפארת] דאימא
Except that, nevertheless, it is explained there in Etz Chaim, chapter 1, “And do not err to say that this is the encompassing light,” etc., see there, that the screen is the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of the Tiferes of Imma.
A qualification: Etz Chaim warns not to identify the screen with Z’eir Anpin’s encompassing light itself. The screen is only the outer dimension of the Tiferes of Imma.
ואמנם היחידה והמקיף דז״א הוא עצמיות ת״ת [תפארת] דאימא ומ״מ המקיף עצמו הוא הגורם להיות בחי׳ כסא ומסך הנ״ל ולכן המסך הנ״ל נק׳ רקיע כנודע מענין יהי רקיע כו׳5 ויהי מבדיל כו׳
Whereas the yechidah and the encompassing light of Z’eir Anpin is the essence of the Tiferes of Imma. Nevertheless, the encompassing light itself is what causes there to be the level of the throne and the screen mentioned above. Therefore the screen mentioned above is called rakia (firmament), as is known from the matter of “Let there be a firmament,” etc., “and let it divide,” etc.
The yechidah, the encompassing light of Z’eir Anpin, is the essence of that Tiferes, while the screen is its outer side; still, it is the encompassing light that brings the throne and the screen into being. That is why the screen is called rakia, “firmament,” like the firmament of creation that divides between waters.
ולכן נק׳ ג״כ ג״ע [גן עדן] מתיבתא דרקיע לפי שהתענוג הנמשך בג״ע [בגן עדן] נמשך ע״י בחי׳ רקיע הנ״ל ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה קא מיפליג במתיבתא דרקיע אם בהרת כו׳ והגם שנאמר וממעל לרקיע כו׳ דמות כסא6 כו׳
Therefore Gan Eden is also called “the Academy of the Firmament” (Mesivta deRakia), because the delight that is drawn into Gan Eden is drawn through the level of the firmament mentioned above. And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “They were disputing in the Academy of the Firmament: if the bright spot,” etc. And although it is said, “And above the firmament,” etc., “the likeness of a throne,” etc.,
Gan Eden is called “the Academy of the Firmament” because its delight comes through this firmament. Against this stands Ezekiel’s vision, where “the likeness of a throne” is above the firmament, which suggests that throne and firmament are two different things.
אך כי יש כמה בחי׳ מסכים בין עולם לעולם יש שנק׳ רקיע ויש שנק׳ כסא וע׳ במק״מ [במקדש מלך] פ׳ נח (דע״א ב׳)
yet there are several levels of screens between one world and another: some are called “firmament” and some are called “throne.” And see the Mikdash Melech, Parshas Noach (page 71b),
The answer: there are several screens between the worlds, some called “firmament” and some called “throne.” The text refers the reader to the Mikdash Melech, a commentary on the Zohar, on Parshas Noach.
וס״פ ויגש ובע״ח [ובעץ חיים] שער כסה״כ [כסא הכבוד]7 והוא ג״כ הגורם שנשפל הגוף בבחי׳ אחוריים לישב על הכסא ומאירים המדות דרך המסך שיוכל להיות בחיי׳ [בחינת] השפעת חסדו בג״ע [בגן עדן] בחי׳ זיו כו׳
and the end of Parshas Vayigash, and Etz Chaim, Sha’ar Kisei HaKavod (the Gate of the Throne of Glory). And it is also what causes the body to be lowered in the mode of the back (achorayim) to sit on the throne, and the attributes shine through the screen, so that there can be the level of the flow of His kindness in Gan Eden, the level of radiance (ziv), etc.
Further references follow, to the end of Parshas Vayigash and to Etz Chaim’s Gate of the Throne of Glory, for which the Kehot note adds chapter 4. The encompassing light is also what lowers the “body” to sit on the throne, so that the attributes shine through the screen and the flow of G‑d’s kindness, the “radiance,” can reach Gan Eden.
והנה גם בין אריך לאצילות יש ג״כ בחי׳ פרסא תפארת דאריך כתר לאו״א [לאבא ואימא] (ועמ״ש בביאור ע״פ כי על כל כבוד חופה8 ועיין בפ׳ נח דס״ה א׳)
Now, between Arich and Atzilus there is also the level of a partition (parsa): the Tiferes of Arich [becomes] Keser for Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah) (and see what is written in the explanation of the verse “For over all the glory, a canopy,” and see Parshas Noach, page 65a).
There is a similar partition higher up, between Arich Anpin and Atzilus proper: there the Tiferes of Arich becomes the Keser of Abba and Imma. The text refers to its explanation of “For over all the glory, a canopy” and to Parshas Noach, page 65a.
והנה המשכת9 בחינת השמים כסאי הנ״ל הוא ע״י תשובה עילאה בכל מאדך10 רעותא דליבא שזהו בחי׳ הכתר דכנ״י [דכנסת ישראל] שהוא בחי׳ יחידה
Now, the drawing down of the level of “The heavens are My throne” mentioned above is through the higher teshuvah (return), “with all your might (me’odecha),” the will of the heart (re’usa deliba), which is the level of the Keser of Knesses Yisrael (the Community of Israel), which is the level of yechidah
How is “The heavens are My throne” drawn down? Through the higher teshuvah, serving G‑d “with all your might (me’odecha),” a will of the heart beyond all measure, which is the Keser of Knesses Yisrael, the level of yechidah in the soul.
(ועיין בד״ה כי על כל כבוד חופה הנ״ל וע״פ מקושש בענין עושין רצונו של מקום) שמתוקף רצון זה שמעומקא דליבא
(and see the discourse beginning “For over all the glory, a canopy,” mentioned above, and on [the passage of] the wood-gatherer (mekoshesh), on the subject of “doing the will of the Omnipresent”). For through the intensity of this will, which is from the depth of the heart (me’umka deliba),
After referring to the discourse on “For over all the glory, a canopy” and to the one on the wood-gatherer, which speaks of “doing the will of the Omnipresent,” the Alter Rebbe describes this will. It rises from the very depth of the heart.
אזי אין יוכל להיות במוחו שום הרהור ורצחן אחר ע״כ נק׳ יחידה שאין בלבו אלא אחד והוא
then there cannot be in his mind any other thought or will. Therefore it is called yechidah (“the single one”), for in his heart there is only one. And it is
When the will is that intense, no other thought or desire can enter the mind (the printed רצחן is a misprint for רצון, “will”). That is why this level is called yechidah, “single”: the heart holds one thing alone.
כמו עד״מ כשמוליכין את האדם לדון דיני נפשות אין לו שום מחשבה ורצון אחר רק לדבר זה להציל נפשו כו׳
like, by way of analogy, when a person is led away to be tried in a capital case: he has no other thought or will except for this one thing, to save his life, etc.;
An example: a person taken to be tried for his life has no other thought or wish than to save himself.
שרצון זה לפי שנוגע לעצמיות נפשו ממלא כל מוחו ולבו ומקיפו מראשו עד רגלו עד שא״א ליכנס במוחו שום רצון אחר משא״כ ברצון שאינו נוגע כ״כ [כל כך] עד מיצוי הנפש ממש אע״פ [אף על פי] שנוגע לו הרבה
for this will, because it touches the very essence of his soul, fills his entire mind and heart and encompasses him from his head to his foot, until it is impossible for any other will to enter his mind. This is not so with a will that does not touch him so deeply, to the very utmost of the soul, even though it touches him a great deal,
Because that will touches the core of his being, it fills his mind and heart and surrounds him from head to foot, leaving no room for any other will. A will that does not reach the soul’s core is different, however strong it may be.
כמו כשיעסוק בפרנסה ברצונו אעפ״כ [אף על פי כן] יכול להיות אצלו רצון אחר ועד״ז יובן ענין בחי׳ יחידה באלקות שנגע כ״כ [כל כך] הרצון עד שהנפש ממש ועד בכלל עד שאין לו שום רצון אחר כלל וכלל מעניני עוה״ז כו׳
as when he is occupied with [earning] a livelihood willingly; nevertheless he can have another will. In the same way the matter of the level of yechidah in G‑dliness will be understood: the will touches [him] so deeply, up to and including the very soul itself, that he has no other will whatsoever for the matters of this world, etc.
Even a strong desire, such as the wish to earn a living, leaves room for other wishes. Yechidah toward G‑d is a will that reaches the soul itself, so that no wish for anything of this world remains.
ועז״נ [ועל זה נאמר] מכפירי׳ [מכפירים] יחידתי11 לכן עי״ז ממשיכים ג״כ למעלה בחי׳ יחידה וכתר דז״א שיהיה השמים כסאי
And of this it is said, “From the young lions, my only one (yechidasi).” Therefore, through this, one also draws down above the level of yechidah and the Keser of Z’eir Anpin, so that there will be “The heavens are My throne.”
The verse calls the soul “my only one (yechidasi),” and this is its yechidah. By arousing it below, a person draws down above the yechidah and Keser of Z’eir Anpin, and so brings about “The heavens are My throne.”
ולכן פעם נקרא בחי׳ תשובה עילאה בינה ופעם נק׳ כתר היינו תפארת דאימא שנעשה כתר לז״א (ועד״ז נק׳ שער החמשים דבינה בשם כתר וכמ״ש במ״א וע׳ בזהר ויקרא)
Therefore the level of the higher teshuvah is sometimes called Binah and sometimes called Keser, that is, the Tiferes of Imma that becomes Keser for Z’eir Anpin (and in the same way the fiftieth gate of Binah is called by the name Keser, as is explained elsewhere; and see the Zohar, Vayikra
This explains why the higher teshuvah is sometimes identified with Binah and sometimes with Keser: it is the Tiferes of Imma, which is Binah, that becomes the Keser of Z’eir Anpin. In the same way the fiftieth gate of Binah is called Keser.
(דט״ו ע״ב ודף י״ו ע״ב) בענין תשובה וזהו נכון כסאך מאז12 ועפמ״ש [ועל פי מה שכתוב] סד״ה ביום השמיני שלח בענין אז תשמח13 כו׳
(page 15b and page 16b) on the subject of teshuvah). And this is [the meaning of] “Your throne is established from then (me’az),” and according to what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “On the eighth day he sent,” on the subject of “Then (az) shall rejoice,” etc.
The Zohar on Vayikra discusses teshuvah in these terms. The verse “Your throne is established from then (me’az)” also refers to the throne established through this teshuvah, and the text points to the end of the discourse “On the eighth day he sent,” on “Then (az) shall rejoice.”
וזהו שארז״ל [שאמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] גדולה תשובה שמגעת14 עד כסא הכבוד15 וזהו ענין בינה מקננא בכורסייא1617 ועי״ז נמשך תוספת אור בג״ע [בגן עדן]
And this is what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Great is teshuvah, for it reaches up to the Throne of Glory.” And this is the matter of “Binah nests in the Throne (Kursaya).” And through this, additional light is drawn into Gan Eden;
The Sages say that teshuvah reaches “up to the Throne of Glory,” and the Tikkunei Zohar says that Binah “nests in the Throne.” Through teshuvah, which is Binah, additional light is drawn into Gan Eden.
כי ולתבונתו אין מספר18 כתי׳ [כתיב] משא״כ על בחי׳ מל׳ נאמר המוציא במספר צבאם19 וע״י כורסייא נמשך בג״ע [בגן עדן] מבחי׳ בינה ולתבונתו כו׳ וזהו שבינה ותבונה נק׳ העולם הבא:21
for it is written, “And His understanding (tevunaso) is without number,” whereas of the level of Malchus (sovereignty) it is said, “He brings out their host by number.” And through the Throne (Kursaya) there is drawn into Gan Eden from the level of Binah, “And His understanding,” etc. And this is why Binah and Tevunah are called the World to Come.
Binah is without limit (“His understanding is without number”), while Malchus works by measure (“He brings out their host by number”). What is drawn into Gan Eden through the Throne comes from this unlimited Binah, which is why Binah and Tevunah are called “the World to Come.”
Section 3 traces the throne to its source in the “heavens,” the Tiferes of Imma that becomes the encompassing Keser, the yechidah, of Z’eir Anpin, and shows that it is drawn down by the higher teshuvah, a will so total that it too is called yechidah.
The structure mirrors the soul: just as yechidah surrounds a person “from his head to his foot,” the Keser of Z’eir Anpin encompasses it above and below, and its lower edge becomes the screen between Atzilus and Beriah. The Rebbe Rashab, cited in the Kehot note, sums up this passage and notes that it answers a difficulty from Etz Chaim, which elsewhere derives the partition from the ascent of Malchus.
Marei mekomos
- 1בע״ח שמ״א · בדפוס שקלאוו תק״ס. לפנינו ש׳ מ״ב (הנק׳ ש׳ דרושי אבי״ע). ועל״ק כאן. [כ].
- 2שהמסך הוא החשמל · ראה בארוכה סה״מ תקס״ג ע׳ רצא ואילך ביאור הע״ח ב׳ הנחות א׳ מכ״ק אדמו״ר האמצעי, והב׳ מהרה״ק ר׳ משה בן אדה״ז, (הנחה זו עם הגהות מהצ״צ באוה״ת פ׳ ואתחנן ע׳ קפו, ובספר החקירה נז, א). ובתו״א יב, ד. וראה הגהות לפתח אלי׳ — תרנ״ח קרוב לסופו שצ״ע למ״ש בפרדס שעה״כ ערך פרוכת שהפרסא שבין אצילות לבריאה הוא בחי׳ מל׳, ע״ש. וראה ג״כ ביאורי הזהר לכ״ק הצ״צ ע׳ קה.
- 3שהמסך הוא החשמל שנמשך מבחי׳ בינה · Sefer Etz Chaim 42:13–14
- 4בע״ח פ״א · בדפוס שקלאוו תק״ס. לפנינו הוא ש׳ מ״ב (ש׳ דרושי אבי״ע) (פי״ג). וכצ״ל כאן. [כ].
- 5יהי רקיע כו׳ ויהי מבדיל · Genesis 1:6
- 6וממעל לרקיע כו׳ דמות כסא · Ezekiel 1:26
- 7שער כסה״כ · (פ״ד) במ״ב, יעו״ש. [כ].
- 8כי על כל כבוד חופה · Isaiah 4:5
- 9והנה המשכת . לדון דיני נפשות · מובא באוה״ת כי תצא ע׳ תתקכט.
- 10בכל מאדך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 11מכפירי׳ יחידתי · Psalms 35:17
- 12נכון כסאך מאז · Psalms 93:2
- 13אז תשמח · Jeremiah 31:13
- 14גדולה תשובה שמגעת · יומא (פו, א). [כ].
- 15גדולה תשובה שמגעת עד כסא הכבוד · Yoma 86a:16
- 16בינה מקננא בכורסייא · ת״ז ת״ו.
- 17בינה מקננא בכורסייא · Tikkunei Zohar 23a:10–11
- 18ולתבונתו אין מספר · Psalms 147:5
- 19המוציא במספר צבאם · Isaiah 40:26
- 20והיינו מתפארת דאימא שנעשה כתר לז״א · בסה״מ תרס״ד (הוצאה תשנ״ד) ד״ה שלג ע׳ צ מציין לכאן וז״ל: ”ושם פ״ג [— הכוונה לכאן] דענין השמים כסאי למעלה מאצילות הוא שמת״ת דאריך נעשה כתר לז״א, וי״ל דשרשו מבחי׳ אור שלמעלה ממים דמשם דוקא שרש הרקיע כו׳ ועמש״ש [— כאן] לתרץ שלא יקשה ממ״ש בע״ח וכמ״ש בכ״ד דמבחי׳ העלי׳ דמל׳ נעשה מזה פרסא כו׳” ע״ש.
- 21
9(קיצור. והנה כסא ופרסא הנל שרשה נמשך מת״ת [מתפארת] דאימא שהוא כתר לז״א המקיף ונק׳ יחידה
(Summary: Now, the root of the throne and partition mentioned above is drawn from the Tiferes of Imma, which is the encompassing Keser of Z’eir Anpin and is called yechidah.
The summary: the throne and partition are rooted in the Tiferes of Imma, which becomes the encompassing Keser of Z’eir Anpin, called yechidah.
וגם בין א״א לאצי׳ יש ג״כ פרסא שנמשך מת״ת [מתפארת] דא״א שנעשה התר לאו״א [לאבא ואימא] והוא נמשך ע״י תשובה עילאה בכל מאדך1 יחדה שאינו סובל שושם רצן אחר כו׳ נכון כסאך מאז):2
And between Arich Anpin and Atzilus there is also a partition, which is drawn from the Tiferes of Arich Anpin, which becomes Keser for Abba and Imma. And it is drawn down through the higher teshuvah, “with all your might,” yechidah, which does not tolerate any other will, etc.; “Your throne is established from then.”)
A parallel partition between Arich Anpin and Atzilus comes from the Tiferes of Arich Anpin, which becomes the Keser of Abba and Imma. Both are drawn down through the higher teshuvah “with all your might,” the yechidah that tolerates no other will; this is “Your throne is established from then.” (The printed Hebrew here has several misprints: התר for כתר, Keser; יחדה for יחידה, yechidah; and שושם רצן for שום רצון, “any will.”)
A summary of section 3: the source of the throne and partition, and how the higher teshuvah draws it down.
Marei mekomos
- 1בכל מאדך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 2נכון כסאך מאז · Psalms 93:2
The earth as footstool ¶10–11
10ד והארץ הדום רגלי.1 היינו להשפיל א״ע [את עצמו] מי אנכי להתקרב ויירא מגשת אליו וגם התורה ירדה ונתלבשה בלבושים גשמיים
4. “And the earth is My footstool.” That is, to humble oneself: “Who am I to draw near?” and he is afraid to approach Him. And also, the Torah descended and was enclothed in physical garments;
Section 4 turns to the second half of the verse, “and the earth is My footstool.” In a person this is self-abasement, the feeling “Who am I to come near?” that makes one afraid to approach G‑d; it also corresponds to the Torah, which came down and was clothed in physical things.
רק בחי׳ שום תשים עליך מלך2 עול מלכות שמים ועול מצות וכמ״כ [וכמו כן] מעורר למעלה שיורד מדת מלכות להחיות נבראים (וזהו כמשל הרגל שיורדת למטה מהכסא ועמ״ש בזה בד״ה ותחת רגליו3 כמעשה לבנת הספיר)4
[there is] only the level of “You shall surely set a king over yourself”: the yoke of the kingship of Heaven and the yoke of the mitzvos. And likewise one arouses above that the attribute of Malchus (sovereignty) descend to give life to created beings (and this is like the analogy of the foot, which descends below the throne; and see what is written on this in the discourse beginning “And under His feet, like the work of the sapphire brick”).
Such a person serves through “You shall surely set a king over yourself”: accepting the yoke of Heaven and of the mitzvos. This arouses a parallel descent above, of Malchus, G‑d’s sovereignty, which comes down to give life to creatures, like a foot that reaches below the throne.
Therefore the building of Malchus is from the Gevuros (forces of restraint), and [that of] Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) from the Chasadim (forces of kindness) (and see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “And all your children,” on the matter of “Do not read ‘your children’ (banayich) but ‘your builders’ (bonayich)”).
So Malchus is built from the Gevuros, the forces of restraint and limitation, while Z’eir Anpin is built from the Chasadim, the forces of kindness. The text refers to the discourse on “And all your children,” with the Sages’ reading “not ‘your children’ but ‘your builders.’”
כי בחי׳ מלכות אין מלך בלא עם89 דינא דמלכותא דינא10 ולכן נק׳ מזבח דכתיב והאש תמיד תוקד על המזבח11 ונק׳ אשא תכלא12 דאכיל1314 כו׳
For [regarding] the level of Malchus: “There is no king without a people”; “The law of the kingdom is the law.” Therefore it is called an altar, as it is written, “And the fire shall burn on the altar continually”; and it is called “the blue fire that consumes,” etc.
Kingship means relating to others and ruling by law: “There is no king without a people,” and “the law of the kingdom is the law.” So Malchus is called an altar with its constant fire, and “the blue fire that consumes.”
ולפעמים נק׳ בחי׳ נר בהעלותך את הנרות15 שיש כמה גבורות שונים ומיני צמצומים בספי׳ [בספירה / בספירות] המלכות
And sometimes it is called the level of a lamp, “When you kindle the lamps,” for there are several different Gevuros and kinds of contraction (tzimtzum) in the Sefirah of Malchus.
Malchus is also called a lamp (“When you kindle the lamps”), because it holds many different Gevuros and kinds of contraction.
אבל הכלל שבנינה מן הגבורות ע״כ המשכה זו הוא ע״י קבלת עול כו׳ (ועמ״ש סד״ה זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק).16
But in general, its building is from the Gevuros. Therefore this drawing down is through accepting the yoke (kabbalas ol), etc. (and see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “Remember what Amalek did to you”).
Since Malchus is built from the Gevuros, it is drawn down through accepting the yoke, kabbalas ol, the service of “the earth is My footstool.” The text refers to the end of the discourse on “Remember what Amalek did to you.”
והנה בזהר פקודי (דרמ״א א׳) פי׳ ובגין דבעי לאתפשטא יתיר לתתא אמר הדום רגלי17 דהיינו כידוע מענין רגליה יורדות18 כו׳ שמתלבשת גם בהשרים של עובדי כוכבים להחיותם
Now, the Zohar on Pekudei (page 241a) explains: “And because it needs to spread forth further below, it says ‘My footstool.’” That is, as is known from the matter of “Her feet go down,” etc.: that it is enclothed also in the princes of the star-worshippers, to give them life.
The Zohar on Pekudei reads “My footstool” as Malchus spreading further down. As the phrase “her feet go down” suggests, Malchus extends its life-giving power even to the “princes,” the heavenly ministers, of the star-worshippers, to sustain them.
אבל בזמן בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] לא היתה מתלבשת בהם לכן נק׳ בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] הדום רגלי אלקינו19 (בדברי הימים) ועמ״ש סד״ה הנך יפה בענין
But in the time of the Holy Temple it was not enclothed in them; therefore the Holy Temple is called “the footstool of the feet of our G‑d” (in Chronicles). And see what is written at the end of the discourse beginning “Behold, you are fair,” on the matter of
In the time of the Holy Temple this did not happen, and so the Temple is called “the footstool of the feet of our G‑d”: Malchus rested there and did not descend further. The text refers to the end of the discourse “Behold, you are fair.”
הנה עין20 ה׳ אל יראיו כו׳ להציל ממות נפשם21 כו׳ ועד״ז משחרב בהמ״ק [בית המקדש] אין להקב״ה אלא ד״א [ד׳ אמות]22 של הלכה וזהו ג״כ והארץ הדום רגלי כי ארץ נק׳ תשבע״פ [תורה שבעל פה].
“Behold, the eye of Havayah is on those who fear Him,” etc., “to rescue their soul from death,” etc. And in the same way, since the Holy Temple was destroyed, the Holy One, blessed be He, has nothing but the four cubits of halachah. And this too is [the meaning of] “And the earth is My footstool,” for the Oral Torah is called “earth.”
That discourse (Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim 12:11, on “Behold, you are fair”) reads “the eye of Havayah” upon those who fear Him, “to rescue their soul from death,” as keeping Malchus, whose “feet go down to death,” from sending her flow down into the realm of the kelipos: the same restraint that the Temple, “the footstool,” brought about. Since the Temple was destroyed, G‑d’s place is “the four cubits of halachah,” and this too is “the earth is My footstool,” since “earth” is a name for the Oral Torah.
ואולי הדום זהו הפרסא שבבי״ע עצמו בין עולם לעולם או היכל ק״ק [קדש הקדשים] דיצירה ועשיה ועד״ז נאמר בשבת אם תשיב משבת רגלך.23
And perhaps “footstool” is the partition within Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah themselves, between one world and the next, or the chamber of the Holy of Holies of Yetzirah and Asiyah. And in the same way it is said of Shabbos, “If you turn back your foot from the Shabbos.”
A further suggestion: the “footstool” may be the partition within Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, between one world and the next, or the chamber of the Holy of Holies of Yetzirah and Asiyah. Something similar is said of Shabbos: “If you turn back your foot from the Shabbos.”
ועמ״ש ע״פ24 הזהר פ׳ קרח (דקע״ח ע״א) בשעתא דבעא יומא לאתקדשא25 כו׳ ועמ״ש בד״ה ויקהל משה26 בענין סמיכת שבת למלאכת המשכן
And see what is written on the Zohar, Parshas Korach (page 178a), “At the hour when the day is about to be sanctified,” etc. And see what is written in the discourse beginning “And Moshe assembled,” on the matter of the juxtaposition of Shabbos to the work of the Mishkan;
The text refers to its explanation of the Zohar on Korach about the moment when Shabbos begins, and to the discourse “And Moshe assembled,” on why Shabbos is placed next to the work of building the Mishkan.
כי אחר המשכה צ״ל א״ח [אור חוזר] שלא יומשך יותר מדאי ועמ״ש ע״פ המאמר שמות רבה פכ״ג ע״פ אז ישיר27 בענין אגוסטוס יושב כו׳ דמעלת הישיבה על העמידה שהרגלים נגבהים כו׳ והיינו שלא יהיה רגלי׳ [רגליים] יורדות.
for after the drawing down there must be returning light (or chozer), so that it is not drawn down excessively. And see what is written on the saying of Shemos Rabbah, chapter 23, on [the verse] “Then sang,” on the matter of “Augustus sits,” etc.: that the advantage of sitting over standing is that the feet are raised, etc.; that is, that “her feet” should not be “going down.”
The point is that after a drawing down there must be returning light, a movement back upward, so that the flow does not descend too far. The Midrash on “Then sang” contrasts the king, who stands, with “Augustus,” who sits; sitting is higher because the feet are lifted, so that Malchus’s “feet” do not “go down.”
וזהו ע״פ שני עדים כו׳ יקום דבר28 ופי׳ ברע״מ [ברעיא מהימנא] פ׳ שופטים (דער״ה א׳) דהיינו מ״ש העדותי בכם היום29 את השמים ואת הארץ30 כי
And this is [the meaning of] “By the mouth of two witnesses,” etc., “shall a matter be established”; and it is explained in the Raaya Mehemna, Parshas Shoftim (page 275a), that this is what is written, “I call to witness against you this day the heavens and the earth.” For
This is also the meaning of “By the mouth of two witnesses … shall a matter be established”: the Raaya Mehemna connects it with “I call to witness against you this day the heavens and the earth.” Heaven and earth are the two witnesses.
הנה פי׳ יקום דבר הוא עליית המל׳ להיות לה קימה מעלייתא וכינין אגוסטוס יושב וכמ״ש בפ׳ ויחי (דרל״ט ע״א) מתל למלכא דהוה יתבי בכורסייא כו׳
the meaning of “shall a matter (davar) be established (yakum)” is the ascent of Malchus, that it should have a superior “standing” (kimah); and like [the matter of] “Augustus sits.” And as is written in Parshas Vayechi (page 239a): “A parable of a king who was sitting on the throne,” etc.,
“Shall a matter (davar) be established (yakum)” refers to raising Malchus, the divine word, to a higher “standing,” like the honor of “Augustus sits.” The Zohar on Vayechi gives a parable of a king seated on his throne.
אקרי מלך עילאה כד נחית ואזיל לבי עבדיה מלך זוטא אקרי31 ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה והיה מדי חדש32 שזהו ההפרש בין שבת לחול שבשבת הוא עליות הדב ור לבחי׳ תענוג העליון וח״ע [וחכמה עילאה]
“is called the supreme king; when he descends and goes to his servant’s house, he is called a lesser king.” And see what is written about this in the discourse beginning “And it shall be, every New Moon”: that this is the difference between Shabbos and the weekday, that on Shabbos there is the ascent of speech to the level of the supreme delight and Chochmah Ila’ah (the higher Chochmah).
Seated on his throne, the king is called “the supreme king”; when he goes down to his servant’s house he is called “a lesser king.” The discourse “And it shall be, every New Moon” applies this to Shabbos and the weekday: on Shabbos speech, which is Malchus, rises to the supreme delight and the higher Chochmah.
וזהו אם תשיב כו׳ ודבר דבר כו׳ וז״ש [וזהו שכתוב] ותקם את דבריך כי צדיק אתה33 וקימה זו הוא ע״פ ב׳ בחי׳ הנ״ל דשמים וארץ כו׳
And this is [the meaning of] “If you turn back,” etc., “and speaking a word (daber davar),” etc. And this is what is written, “And You established Your words, for You are righteous.” And this establishing is on the basis of the two levels mentioned above, of heaven and earth, etc.:
This is the meaning of “If you turn back your foot” and “speaking a word” in the Shabbos verse, and of “You established Your words, for You are righteous.” The “word” is established on the basis of two “witnesses,” the two levels of heaven and earth.
רצוא ושוב34 כי השמים כסאי וזהו בחי׳ מלך עילאה כנ״ל והארץ הדום שלא יתפשט יותר מדאי כנ״ל:
“running and returning” (ratzo vashov): for “The heavens are My throne,” and this is the level of the supreme king, as mentioned above; and “the earth [is My] footstool,” so that it not spread forth excessively, as mentioned above.
These two are “running and returning”: “The heavens are My throne” is the ascent, the level of the supreme king, and “the earth is My footstool” is the return, which keeps the flow from spreading too far.
Section 4 explains “the earth is My footstool” as self-abasement and acceptance of the yoke, which draws Malchus down to give life, and shows that the footstool also limits that descent, so that heaven and earth together, “running and returning,” establish the divine word.
The two halves of the verse are two movements: the throne lowers the attributes of Atzilus toward created beings, while the footstool keeps Malchus from descending too far, as in the time of the Temple and on Shabbos. The Zohar’s king, “supreme” on his throne and “lesser” in his servant’s house, is what the maamar reads into “Augustus sits” and into the Shabbos ascent of speech.
Marei mekomos
- 1והארץ הדום רגלי · Isaiah 66:1
- 2שום תשים עליך מלך · Deuteronomy 17:15
- 3בד״ה ותחת רגליו · תו״א עז, ד.
- 4ותחת רגליו כמעשה לבנת הספיר · Exodus 24:10
- 5בד״ה וכל בניך · לעיל ראה כט, א.
- 6וכל בניך · Isaiah 54:13
- 7א״ת בניך אלא בוניך · Berakhot 64a:14
- 8אין מלך בלא עם · ס׳ החיים פ׳ גאולה פ״ב. בחיי וישב לח, ל. עמק המלך ש׳ שעשועי המלך רפ״א.
- 9אין מלך בלא עם · Rabbeinu Bahya, Bereshit 38:30
- 10דינא דמלכותא דינא · Gittin 10b:12–14
- 11והאש תוקד על המזבח · Leviticus 6:6
- 12אשא תכלא · ע׳ זח״ג (לג, א). והעיקר בזח״א (נא, א-ב). [כ].
- 13אשא תכלא דאכיל · Zohar, Bereshit 86:248–263
- 14אשא תכלא דאכיל · Zohar, Tzav 20:135–145
- 15בהעלותך את הנרות · Numbers 8:2
- 16זכור את אשר עשה לך עמלק · Deuteronomy 25:17
- 17ובגין דבעי לאתפשטא יתיר לתתא אמר הדום רגלי · Zohar, Pekudei 40:390–400
- 18רגליה יורדות · Proverbs 5:5
- 19הדום רגלי אלקינו · I Chronicles 28:2
- 20הנה עין ה׳ אל יראיו · Psalms 33:18
- 21להציל ממות נפשם · Psalms 33:19
- 22אין להקב״ה אלא ד״א · Berakhot 8a:18–19
- 23אם תשיב משבת רגלך · Isaiah 58:13
- 24ועמ״ש ע״פ האמור בשמות רבה פכ״ג מ, ע״פ אז ישיר · ראה אוה״ת בשלח ע׳ תצה, שם ע׳ תצ ואילך.
- 25בשעתא דבעא יומא לאתקדשא · Zohar, Korach 7:29–8:37
- 26ויקהל משה · Exodus 35:1
- 27
- 28ע״פ שני עדים כו׳ יקום דבר · Deuteronomy 19:15
- 29העדותי בכם היום · Deuteronomy 30:19
- 30העדותי בכם היום את השמים ואת הארץ · Zohar, Shoftim 3:11–4:20
- 31מתל למלכא דהוה יתבי בכורסייא כו׳ אקרי מלך עילאה כד נחית ואזיל לבי עבדיה מלך זוטא אקרי · Zohar, Vayechi 60:607–62:618
- 32בד״ה והיה מדי חדש · לעיל ברכה צז, א.
- 33ותקם את דבריך כי צדיק אתה · Nehemiah 9:8
- 34רצוא ושוב · Ezekiel 1:14
11(קיצור. ענין והארץ הדום כו׳ כי ארץ שפלות שמשפיל א״ע [את עצמו] בבחי׳ שוב ועד״ז למעלה המשכה בעשיי׳ [בעשייה] אך צ״ל הדום שרפרף כו׳ ואפ״ל [ואפשר לומר] שמים ג״ע [גן עדן] עליון כנ״ל ע״י כסאי.
(Summary: The matter of “And the earth is [My] footstool,” etc.: for “earth” is lowliness, that one humbles oneself in the mode of “returning” (shov); and in the same way above, a drawing down into the World of Asiyah (Action). But there must be a “footstool,” a stool, etc. And one can say: “heavens” is the higher Gan Eden, as mentioned above, through “My throne.”
The summary: “earth” is lowliness, a person humbling himself, the “returning” (shov) side of service; above, it corresponds to a drawing down into Asiyah. Yet there must also be a “footstool,” and “heavens” may be read as the higher Gan Eden, which receives through “My throne.”
והארץ ג״ע [גן עדן] התחתון שנמשך מבחי׳ רגלי נה״י [נצח הוד יסוד] מדלג ומקפץ כו׳ והדום ג״כ פרסא שבבי״ע עצמו בין עולם ועולם כו׳ ואולי היכל ק״ק [קדש הקדשים] דעשיי׳ [דעשייה] או דיצירה):
And “the earth” is the lower Gan Eden, which is drawn from the level of “My feet,” Netzach (victory), Hod (splendor) and Yesod (foundation), “leaping and skipping,” etc. And “footstool” is also the partition within Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah themselves, between one world and another, etc.; and perhaps the chamber of the Holy of Holies of Asiyah or of Yetzirah.)
“The earth” is then the lower Gan Eden, drawn from Netzach, Hod and Yesod, G‑d’s “feet,” which come “leaping and skipping.” The “footstool” is also the partition between the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, or perhaps the chamber of the Holy of Holies of Asiyah or Yetzirah.
A summary of section 4, adding a reading in which “heavens” and “earth” are the higher and lower Gan Eden.
The new heavens and the new earth ¶12–14
12ה ועתה צ״ל ענין ההפרש בין בחי׳ השמים כסאי והארץ הדום רגלי ובין בחי׳ השמים החדשי׳ [החדשים] כו׳.
5. Now we must understand the difference between the level of “The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool” and the level of “the new heavens,” etc.
Section 5 asks the maamar’s central question: how do “The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool” differ from the “new heavens” and new earth of Isaiah’s prophecy?
דהנה ידוע שג״ע [שגן עדן] הוא רק לפי שעה ועיקר הגמול הוא רק באלף השביעי למחר לקבל שכרם1
For it is known that Gan Eden is only temporary, and the main reward is only in the seventh millennium: “tomorrow, to receive their reward.”
Gan Eden, where souls are rewarded after life, is only temporary; the main reward comes in the seventh millennium, the Time to Come. The Sages call it “tomorrow, to receive their reward.”
והנה בזה הזמן הכל ע״י אתעדל״ת [אתערותא דלתתא] אתעדל״ע [אתערותא דלעילא] שלפי הערת המ״ן [המיין נוקבין] הוא המשכת המ״ד [המיין דוכרין] שהוא המשכת המוחין
Now, in this time, everything is through an arousal from below [eliciting] an arousal from above: according to the arousal of the mayin nukvin (feminine waters) is the drawing down of the mayin duchrin (masculine waters), which is the drawing down of the intellect (mochin).
In the present order everything above responds to what happens below. The raising of mayin nukvin (“feminine waters”), the service of the lower ones rising upward, brings down in proportion mayin duchrin (“masculine waters”), a flow of intellect (mochin) from above.
ולפי המוחין הוא הכתר שלפי ערך הפנימי כך הוא המקיף רק שכתר הז״א האמור למעלה הוא בחי׳ גדלות
And according to the intellect is the Keser (the Crown); for according to the measure of the inner [light], so is the encompassing [light]. Only, the Keser of Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) spoken of above is the level of gadlus (maturity).
The Keser, the encompassing light, also corresponds to the intellect, the inner light, since the encompassing light is always measured by the inner. The Keser of Z’eir Anpin described in section 3 belongs to its mature state (gadlus).
ואף בראשית בריאת העולמות שהיה שלא ע״י העלאת מ״ן [מיין נוקבין] אעפ״כ [אף על פי כן] הוא ע״י שעלה במחשבה התענוג מההעלאת מ״ן [מיין נוקבין] שיהי׳ [שיהיה] אח״כ
And even at the beginning of the creation of the worlds, which was not through the raising of mayin nukvin, nevertheless it was through this: that the delight from the raising of mayin nukvin that would come afterward arose in [His] thought,
Even the first creation, which no service below had prompted, came about because the delight G‑d would have from the service that would come later arose in His thought.
כמאמר בראשית בשביל ישראל23 שנק׳ ראשית ישראל עלו במחשבה4 שיעלו מ״ן [מיין נוקבין] וארז״ל [ואמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה] ע״פ עם המלך ישבו במלאכתו5 במי נמלך בנשמתן של צדיקים67 והיינו ע״י בחי׳ בכל מאדך8 נמשך הכתר כנ״ל.
as in the saying, “‘Bereishis’ (‘In the beginning’): for the sake of Israel, who are called ‘reishis’ (‘first’)”; “Israel arose in [His] thought,” that they would raise mayin nukvin. And our Sages, of blessed memory, said on [the verse] “With the king they dwelt, in his work”: “With whom did He consult? With the souls of the righteous.” That is, through the level of “with all your might,” the Keser is drawn down, as mentioned above.
So the Sages say that the world was created “for the sake of Israel, who are called ‘first,’” that “Israel arose in thought” before creation, and that G‑d “consulted with the souls of the righteous.” In this way, too, the Keser is drawn down through the service “with all your might.”
אמנם לע״ל [לעתיד לבוא] כתיב וגבה מאד9 פי׳ שגם המאד יוגבה ברום המעלות יותר מבחי׳ ההעלאה והמשכ׳ דבחי׳ בכל מאדך כי
However, of the Time to Come it is written, “And he shall be very exalted (vegavah me’od),” meaning that even the me’od will be exalted to the loftiest heights, beyond the level of the raising and drawing down of the level of “with all your might (me’odecha).” For
But of the Time to Come it is written, “he shall be very (me’od) exalted”: even the me’od, the service “with all your might,” will be raised far beyond what it reaches now.
הנה מאד אותיות אדם והענין כי בחטא אדה״ר [אדם הראשון] ירדו העולמות ולע״ל [ולעתיד לבוא] יתעלו העולמות כמו שהיה מקומם באמת.
me’od has the letters of Adam. And the matter is that through the sin of Adam, the first man, the worlds descended, and in the Time to Come the worlds will be raised up to where their place truly was.
The word me’od has the same three letters as Adam (alef, dalet, mem). When Adam sinned the worlds fell from their true places, and in the Time to Come they will be raised back to where they truly belong.
עיין מזה בספר הגלגולים פי״ז10 אך לא זו בלבד כ״א שיומשכו נשמות חדשו׳ [חדשות] מה שלא
See about this in Sefer HaGilgulim, chapter 17. But not only this; rather, new souls will be drawn down, which were not
Sefer HaGilgulim discusses this restoration. But the Time to Come brings more than restoration: new souls will come down.
נכללו באדה״ר [באדם הראשון] כלל והם גבוהים ומעולים מכל הנשמות שנכללו באדה״ר [באדם הראשון] וכמ״ש בספר הגלגולים פ״ז [פרק ז׳] שבחי׳ יחידה דנשמות אלו הוא למעלה גם מיחידה דאצי׳ שבאדה״ר [שבאדם הראשון]
included in Adam, the first man, at all, and they are higher and loftier than all the souls that were included in Adam, as is written in Sefer HaGilgulim, chapter 7: that the level of yechidah of these souls is higher even than the yechidah of the World of Atzilus (Emanation) that was in Adam.
These souls were not included in Adam at all and are higher than all the souls that were; Sefer HaGilgulim says that their yechidah is higher even than the yechidah of Atzilus in Adam. The Kehot note cites the Rebbe’s discussion of how this fits with another chapter of Sefer HaGilgulim.
והיינו לפי שהם יומשכו מפנימיות עתיק משא״כ בכל ההמשכות עכשיו הוא רק מחיצוניות עתיק ופנימית עתיק הוא למעל׳ [למעלה / למעלת] מהשבירה והתיקון והוא ענין אתעדל״ע [אתערותא דלעילא] שלמעלה מאתעדל״ת [מאתערותא דלתתא] לגמרי
This is because they will be drawn from the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of Atik, whereas all the drawings-down now are only from the outer dimension (chitzoniyus) of Atik. And the inner dimension of Atik is above the breaking [of the vessels] and the rectification; and this is the matter of an arousal from above that is entirely above an arousal from below.
These new souls come from the inner dimension of Atik, the innermost level of Keser, while everything drawn down now comes only from its outer dimension. The inner dimension of Atik is above the whole process of the breaking of the vessels and their repair, so it comes by an arousal from above that does not depend on any service below.
וזהו ענין השמים החדשים והארץ החדשה11 המשכת מקיפים ופנימים חדשים שלמעל׳ [שלמעלה] מהשבירה והתיקון כו׳ שהם מ״ן [מיין נוקבין] ומ״ד [ומיין דוכרין] כו׳
And this is the matter of “the new heavens and the new earth”: the drawing down of new encompassing and inner [lights], which are above the breaking and the rectification, etc., which are mayin nukvin and mayin duchrin, etc.;
This is “the new heavens and the new earth”: new encompassing and inner lights from above the breaking and the repair. The text identifies them with mayin nukvin and mayin duchrin.
אשר אני עושה שנמשכי׳ [שנמשכים / שנמשכין] באתעדל״ע [באתערותא דלעילא] לבד עומדים לפני לפני הפרסא וגם פי׳ לפני שהוא מפנימיות עתיק
“which I make”: which are drawn down through an arousal from above alone; “stand before Me”: before the partition. And “before Me” (lefanai) also means that it is from the inner dimension of Atik.
“Which I make” means that they are drawn down by G‑d’s initiative alone, and “stand before Me” places them before the partition, that is, above it. “Before Me” (lefanai) also points to pnimiyus, the inner dimension of Atik, since both words come from panim, “face.”
(וזהו ההפרש בין השמים כסאי כו׳ שנמשכים ע״י אתעדל״ת [אתערותא דלתתא] וא״א להמשיך רק מחיצוניות עתיק ע״כ נק׳ כסאי כמשל היושב על הכסא שרק אחוריים שלו נמשכים על הכסא ועד״ז נאמר וראית את אחורי ופני
(And this is the difference with regard to “The heavens are My throne,” etc., which are drawn down through an arousal from below, and it is impossible to draw down except from the outer dimension of Atik. Therefore it is called “My throne,” as in the analogy of one who sits on a throne, where only his back is drawn down onto the throne. And in the same way it is said, “And you shall see My back, but My face
By contrast, “The heavens are My throne” is drawn down by an arousal from below and can reach only the outer dimension of Atik. That is why it is a “throne”: one who sits rests only his back on the seat, as Moshe was told, “You shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”
לא יראו12 משא״כ בהשמים והארץ החדשים כתיב עומדים לפני דייקא שהם מפנימי׳ [מפנימיות / מפנימית] עתיק שלמעלה מעלה לאין קץ מבחי׳ אחוריים וחיצוניות ובמ״א נת׳ [נתבאר] שהמשכה זו שרשה מלמעלה מהקו וחוט כו׳ כמ״ש מזה ע״פ ואכלתם אכול).13
shall not be seen.” Whereas of the new heavens and earth it is written “stand before Me (lefanai)” specifically, for they are from the inner dimension of Atik, which is infinitely higher than the level of the back and the outer dimension. And elsewhere it was explained that the root of this drawing down is from above the kav (line of light) and the thread, etc., as is written about this on [the verse] “And you shall eat, eating.”)
The new heavens and earth “stand before Me (lefanai)”: they come from the inner dimension, the “face,” infinitely above the “back.” Elsewhere, in the discourse on “And you shall eat, eating,” the root of this drawing down is traced to a level above the kav, the line of light drawn after the tzimtzum.
אך השמים והארץ דכעת לא שיתבטלו לגמרי רק גם הם יתעלו ויעמדו לפני למעלה מהפרסא כי כעת הכל בירורים
But the heavens and earth of the present will not be entirely nullified; rather, they too will ascend and “stand before Me,” above the partition. For now everything is [the work of] refinements (beirurim),
The present heavens and earth are not discarded; they too will rise above the partition and “stand before Me.” Now, all of existence is engaged in refinement (beirurim), the work of separating and raising the good.
אבל לע״ל [לעתיד לבוא] שלא יהיה שייך עוד בירורין שכבר נתברר הכל בהיום לעשותם14 יעלו הם ג״כ לפני
but in the Time to Come, when refinements will no longer apply, since everything will already have been refined in “today, to do them,” they too will ascend before Me
In the Time to Come there will be nothing left to refine, since the work will have been finished in “today, to do them,” the time of service in this world. Then the present heavens and earth too will rise “before Me.”
(ועמ״ש כעין זה בביאור ע״פ והיה מספר15 בנ״י [בני ישראל] כו׳ אשר לא יספר כו׳ ובפי׳ הרמ״ז [הרב משה זכות] במדבר דקי״ז סע״ב [סוף עמוד ב])
(and see what is written along these lines in the explanation of the verse “And the number of the children of Israel shall be,” etc., “which shall not be counted,” etc., and in the commentary of the Ramaz, Bamidbar, page 117, end of side b).
For a similar discussion the text refers to its explanation of “And the number of the children of Israel shall be … which shall not be counted,” and to the Ramaz’s commentary on Bamidbar.
כחן יעמוד זרעכם כתיב אור זרוע לצדיק16 שבחי׳צדיקים זרוע להם האור מכבר ובבעלי תשובה זורעי על כל מים17 שזורעים תמיד ע״י שמהפכים חשוכא לנהורא כו׳
“So shall your seed stand,” it is written. “Light is sown for the righteous”: for the level of the righteous, the light has been sown for them long ago; and with penitents (baalei teshuvah), [it is] “those who sow beside all waters,” for they sow constantly, through transforming darkness into light, etc.
“So shall your seed stand” speaks of sowing, and there are two kinds. For the righteous, “light is sown” already, long since; penitents “sow beside all waters,” constantly, by turning darkness into light.
והבטיח להם הנביא שכ״ז [שכל זה] יעמדו לפני כנ״ל ושמכם הוא בחי׳ ויעש דוד שם18 היינו הארץ כו׳
And the prophet promised them that all of these will stand before Me, as mentioned above. And “your name” is the level of “And David made a name,” that is, the earth, etc.;
The prophet promises that all of these will “stand before Me.” “Your name” corresponds to “David made a name,” and David, the king, stands for Malchus, the “earth.”
יעמוד ג״כ לפני ועמ״ש בד״ה הבאים ישרש19 שבחי׳ הזריעה זהו דוקא בבחי׳ ארץ היא כנס״י [כנסת ישראל] וזהו ענין ושמכם.
[it] too will stand before Me. And see what is written in the discourse beginning “Those who come shall take root”: that the level of sowing is specifically in the level of “earth,” which is Knesses Yisrael (the Congregation of Israel); and this is the matter of “and your name.”
The “earth,” Knesses Yisrael, will also stand before G‑d. The discourse on “Those who come shall take root” explains that sowing belongs specifically to the “earth,” Knesses Yisrael, and this is the meaning of “and your name.”
Section 5 distinguishes the present heavens and earth, drawn down through human service from the outer dimension of Atik, from the new heavens and earth of the Time to Come, drawn by G‑d’s own initiative from its inner dimension; it adds that the present heavens and earth, and the righteous and penitents who served in them, will also rise to “stand before Me.”
The contrast of “back” and “face” ties the end of the maamar to section 2: the throne receives only the achorayim, the outer dimension, as Moshe saw only G‑d’s “back.” The new souls of Sefer HaGilgulim, whose yechidah is above that of Adam, belong to this future revelation from the inner dimension of Atik, which is beyond the breaking of the vessels and its repair.
Marei mekomos
- 1למחר לקבל שכרם · Eruvin 22a:5–6
- 2בראשית בשביל ישראל · Bereshit Rabbah 1:4–5
- 3בראשית בשביל ישראל · Rashi on Genesis 1:2
- 4ישראל עלו במחשבה · Bereshit Rabbah 1:4
- 5עם המלך ישבו במלאכתו · I Chronicles 4:23
- 6עם המלך . . במי נמלך בנשמתן של צדיקים · Bereshit Rabbah 8:7
- 7עם המלך ישבו במלאכתו במי נמלך בנשמתן של צדיקים · Ruth Rabbah 2:3
- 8בכל מאדך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 9וגבה מאד · Isaiah 52:13
- 10בספר הגלגולים פ״ז · ראה הערת כ״ק אדמו״ר בד״ה באתי לגני תשי״א הערה יט, וז״ל: ולכאורה צ״ע מס׳ הגלגולים פי״ט הובא בלקו״ת פ׳ צו ד״ה והניף [יז, א]. ואולי יש ליישב עפמ״ש בס׳ הגלגולים פ״ז הובא בלקו״ת שה״ש בסופו [נא, ג].
- 11השמים החדשים והארץ החדשה · Isaiah 66:22
- 12וראית את אחורי ופני לא יראו · Exodus 33:23
- 13ואכלתם אכול · Joel 2:26
- 14היום לעשותם · Deuteronomy 7:11
- 15והיה מספר · Hosea 2:1
- 16אור זרוע לצדיק · Psalms 97:11
- 17זורעי על כל מים · Isaiah 32:20
- 18ויעש דוד שם · II Samuel 8:13
- 19הבאים ישרש · Isaiah 27:6
“And it shall be, every New Moon,” etc. That is, there are two levels in the ascent of the souls in the Future, to stand before Him, may He be blessed: there are some that will ascend completely, so that they will stand there
The next verse speaks of coming “every New Moon” to bow down before G‑d. The Alter Rebbe reads it as a second level in the future ascent of souls, beside those who will rise completely and stand before Him permanently.
תמיד וע״ז נאמר כן יעמוד זרעכם2 ושמכם3 ויש שלא יתעלו לעמוד לפניו תמיד כי אם מיד חדש ומדי שבת יתעלו גם הם להשתחוות לפני כו׳:
permanently, and of this it is said, “So shall your seed and your name stand”; and there are some that will not ascend to stand before Him permanently, but every New Moon and every Shabbos they too will ascend “to bow down before Me,” etc.
Of the souls that rise permanently it is said, “So shall your seed and your name stand.” Others will not stand before G‑d always, but will rise to bow before Him every New Moon and every Shabbos.
The paragraph reads the next verse as describing two levels in the souls’ future ascent: standing before G‑d permanently, and rising to Him on each New Moon and Shabbos.
Section 4 cited the discourse on this verse, “And it shall be, every New Moon,” for the difference between Shabbos and the weekday, when on Shabbos speech rises to the supreme delight.
Marei mekomos
- 1והיה מדי חדש · Isaiah 66:23
- 2כן יעמוד זרעכם · ישעי׳ שם.
- 3כן יעמוד זרעכם ושמכם · Isaiah 66:22
14קיצור. ענין השמים החדשים1 כו׳ מקיפים ופנימים חדשים שלא באו עדיין בהשתלשלות ונק׳ עומדים לפני למעלה מהפרסא:
Summary: The matter of “the new heavens,” etc.: new encompassing and inner [lights] that have not yet come into the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), and they are called “standing before Me,” above the partition.
The final summary: the new heavens and earth are new encompassing and inner lights that have not yet entered the chain of descending worlds; that is why they are said to “stand before Me,” above the partition.
A summary of section 5.
Marei mekomos
- 1השמים החדשים · Isaiah 66:22
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
The maamar draws two kinds of service from the verse. “The heavens are My throne” is drawn down by the higher teshuvah, serving “with all your might”: a will for G‑d that reaches the core of the soul, like that of a person whose life is at stake, leaving no room for any desire for the things of this world. “The earth is My footstool” is humility, “Who am I to draw near?”, and accepting the yoke of the kingship of Heaven and of the mitzvos. Together they are “running and returning.”
Questions for discussion
- Why does the analogy of the soul, which is itself the light within its faculties, fail when it is applied to the Infinite One?
- How does the image of a person sitting on a throne explain the partition between Atzilus and Beriah?
- What makes the higher teshuvah “yechidah,” and how does the example of a person on trial for his life illustrate it?
- In what sense does the “footstool” both draw Malchus down and limit its descent?
- How do the new heavens and earth differ from the present ones, and what will happen to the present heavens and earth in the Time to Come?
Key terms in this maamar
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×7
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×28
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×15
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×3
- Lights and vesselsאורות וכלים
- Divine revelation and the forms that contain and express it. ×1
- The intellect (mochin)מוחין
- Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×3
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×8
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect. ×5
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×2
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×6
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion.
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence. ×6
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions. ×2
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one. ×1
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×2
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×3
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- Netzach (victory)נצח
- Perseverance, the drive to overcome.
- Hod (splendor)הוד
- Acknowledgment and yielding.
- Delightתענוג
- Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×6
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion. ×4
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×12
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration.
- Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah)אבא ואמא
- The intellectual configurations.
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×8
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×4
- Accepting the yoke (kabbalas ol)קבלת עול
- Submission to G‑d's will beyond understanding. ×1
- Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds.
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits.
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- An arousal from aboveאתערותא דלעילא
- Divine initiative, unprompted by us.
- The kav (line of light)קו
- The thin ray of light drawn into the space left after the tzimtzum. ×1