Likkutei Torah · Parshas Shir HaShirim · Maamar 7
ביאור ענין שחורה אני ונאוה
An Explanation of “I Am Black, yet Comely”
Biur · an explanation of maamar 6Kept on this device only. Sign in to save it on every device
The big idea
The Shechinah’s descent into the lower worlds makes her “black,” through the bitterness of distance and through being clothed in physical mitzvos, yet that very blackness makes her more “comely” than the souls that never left Atzilus. Through it she rises above the level of vessels to the lights, and to the essence of the Infinite One.
The maamar in brief
The maamar reads Song of Songs 1:5 as the Shechinah, Malchus of Atzilus, speaking to “the daughters of Jerusalem,” the souls as they exist in “gestation” within Atzilus before their “birth” into the lower worlds. Below Atzilus everything is limited, since the ray of the Infinite reaches only as far as Atzilus. The Shechinah is “black” in two ways: through bitterness at her distance from the higher unity, the “sun” that has withdrawn from her in exile, and through her clothing in physical mitzvos. Each blackness becomes beauty: subduing the sitra achra raises G‑d’s glory, and the 620 mitzvos reach Keser, the supernal will. So she is comelier than the souls of Atzilus, which remain vessels, and she rises to the lights and beyond. “The tents of Kedar” and “the curtains of Shlomo” are two kinds of encompassing light: one that sustains even the lowest realms and has a counterpart in kelipah, and a higher one with no counterpart, drawn down by Torah study for its own sake and revealed in the time to come. The verse “Before the hoary head you shall rise” alludes to the same structure in the mitzvos.
Outline
- The Shechinah and the daughters of JerusalemThe speaker is Malchus of Atzilus, descending into the lower worlds; the listeners are souls still in gestation in Atzilus, one with the Infinite Light, while everything below Atzilus is limited.¶1–2
- Two kinds of blackness, two kinds of beautyThe bitterness of distance from the higher unity and being clothed in physical mitzvos make the Shechinah black; subduing the sitra achra and the 620 mitzvos that reach Keser make her comely.¶3
- Comelier than the souls of AtzilusThe souls of Atzilus remain at the level of vessels, the letters of the Torah, while Malchus through her descent rises to the lights and to the essence of the Infinite One.¶4
- The tents of KedarEven the lowest realms live from an encompassing spark of holiness, like the frankincense among the spices; the Shechinah too has an encompassing light, and the mitzvos draw down higher ones.¶5
- The curtains of ShlomoHigher encompassing lights, named for shalom, the joining of opposites, are drawn down by Torah study for its own sake; they have no counterpart in kelipah and will be revealed in the time to come.¶6–7
- The hoary head and the elderLeviticus 19:32 alludes to the positive commandments (white hair), the prohibitions (black locks) and the rabbinic mitzvos (the fear of G‑d), all one in Havayah.¶8
Key concepts
- Gestation and birth (ibbur and leidah)עיבור ולידה
- The souls’ state within Malchus of Atzilus, still one with their source, and their emergence as separate, limited beings in the lower worlds.
- The daughters of Jerusalemבנות ירושלים
- The souls in gestation in Atzilus: “daughters” because they are held within Malchus, “Jerusalem” (yirah shalem) because they have complete awe and self-nullification.
- The higher unity (yichuda ila’ah)יחודא עילאה
- The level at which everything is nothing before G‑d; the “sun” whose absence makes the Shechinah black.
- Two kinds of blacknessב׳ בחינות שחרות
- The bitterness of distance from the higher unity, and being clothed in the physical things with which the mitzvos are performed.
- 620 and Keserתר״ך בחינת כתר
- The 613 mitzvos with the seven rabbinic ones equal the numerical value of Keser, the supernal will that stands between the Emanator and the emanated.
- Encompassing light (makif)מקיף
- Light that surrounds a level rather than entering it; the maamar distinguishes the makif that sustains even kelipah from higher makifim revealed only in the time to come.
- Peace (shalom)שלום
- The joining of two opposites: supernal lights that tend to rise, made to shine below, in the household above and the household below.
The Shechinah and the daughters of Jerusalem ¶1–2
An explanation of the matter of “I am black, yet comely.” This is the statement of the Community of Israel (Knesses Yisrael) to “the daughters of Jerusalem,” who are the souls divested of the body.
The maamar sets out to explain the verse “I am black, yet comely, O daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 1:5). The speaker is the Community of Israel, and the listeners, “the daughters of Jerusalem,” are identified as souls not clothed in a body.
והענין כי השכינה היא מל׳ דאצי׳ המתלבשת בבי״ע ושכנתי בתוכם.4 השוכן אתם בתוך טומאותם.5 היא האומרת ששחורה אני ואעפ״כ נאוה.
The matter is this: the Shechinah is Malchus of Atzilus, which enclothes itself in [the worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, [as it is written,] “that I may dwell in their midst,” [and] “Who dwells with them in the midst of their impurity.” She is the one who says, “I am black, and nevertheless comely.”
The Community of Israel is the Shechinah, G‑d’s indwelling Presence, which in Kabbalistic terms is Malchus, the last Sefirah of the World of Atzilus. It descends into the lower worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah and dwells even among Israel in their impurity, as two verses attest; it is she who calls herself black yet comely.
וביאור בנות ירושלים הוא כי הנה הנשמות מתחלה היו כלולים בבחי׳ עיבור באצי׳ ואח״כ נמשכים בבחי׳ לידה בבי״ע (ועמ״ש מזה בד״ה הים ראה6 וינוס)7
And the explanation of “the daughters of Jerusalem” is this: at first the souls were included [in their source] in the state of gestation (ibbur) in Atzilus, and afterwards they are drawn down in the state of birth (leidah) into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah (and see what is written on this in the discourse beginning “The sea saw and fled”).
Before the souls come into the lower worlds they exist within Atzilus like a child in the womb, held within their source; this is called “gestation.” Their coming forth into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, where each soul becomes a separate being, is called “birth.”
ואזי נעשו בעלי גבול כי אין בחי׳ א״ס אלא באצילות ששם מסתיים הארת הקו וחוט מאור א״ס כו׳ (ועמ״ש מזה בביאור ע״פ מי מנה עפר יעקב).8
And then they became limited beings, for the level of the Infinite (Ein Sof) exists only in Atzilus, where the illumination of the kav and the thread of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) comes to an end, etc. (and see what is written on this in the explanation of the verse “Who has counted the dust of Yaakov”).
Once born into the lower worlds, the souls become finite. The reason is that the kav, the ray of the Infinite Light, reaches only as far as Atzilus and stops there; below it, all existence is bounded.
משא״כ בבי״ע לא מיבעיא מלאכים מיכאל באהבה וגבריאל ביראה ופחד ג״כ קדוש בי״ב שעות כו׳ הכל הם בבחינת גבול כו׳ והמלאכים שקטרגו ואמרו מה אנוש9 הושיט אצבעו כו׳10
This is not so in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. Needless to say the angels—Michael with love and Gavriel with awe and fear, and likewise [those who say] “Holy” in the twelve hours, etc.—all of them are in a state of limitation, etc.; and the angels who accused and said, “What is man?”—He stretched out His finger, etc.,
Everything in the lower worlds is limited, starting with the angels: Michael serves with love and Gavriel with awe, and the angels who sing “Holy” have fixed hours. Their limitation is shown by the Talmudic account that when angels objected to the creation of man, asking “What is man?”, G‑d stretched out His finger and consumed them.
כי לא יוכלו לקבל יותר מבחי׳ גבול ומדה שבהם וז״ש להודיע לבני האדם גבורותיו11 וכבוד הדר מלכותו שלא כל מדת מלכותו ית׳ מלובשת בהם
for they cannot receive more than the level of limit and measure that is in them. And this is what is written, “to make known to the sons of man His mighty deeds, and the glory of the splendor of His kingship”: that not the whole measure of His kingship, blessed be He, is enclothed in them,
The angels could not grasp more than their own measured capacity allowed, and so they could not see the worth of man. The verse from Psalms says G‑d’s kingship is only “made known” to created beings: they receive a glimpse of it, not its full measure.
אלא כבוד וזיו ואעפ״כ זיו זה המעט מזעיר הדר הוא להם כו׳ אלא אפי׳ נשמות
but only glory and radiance; and even so, this radiance, a tiny fraction of [His] splendor, is theirs, etc. And not only [angels], but even souls,
What the angels receive is only a “radiance,” a tiny glimmer of G‑d’s splendor, and even that is overwhelming for them. The text then turns to show that not only angels but even souls are limited once they are in the lower worlds.
כמו נשמות האבות אברהם יצחק ויעקב12 יש בחי׳ אברהם יצחק ויעקב באצי׳ דאיהו וחיוהי חד. אבל אברהם יצחק ויעקב שבבריאה הם בבחי׳ בע״ג כו׳.13
such as the souls of the Patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov: there is a level of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov in Atzilus, where “He and His life-forces are one”; but the Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov that are in Beriah are in the state of limited beings, etc.
Even the Patriarchs’ souls have two levels: one in Atzilus, where the soul is wholly one with G‑d’s light (“He and His life-forces are one”), and one in Beriah, where it is a limited, separate being.
The paragraph introduces the verse and its two parties: the Shechinah (Malchus of Atzilus), who descends into the lower worlds, and “the daughters of Jerusalem,” the souls as they exist before birth into those worlds. It establishes that everything below Atzilus, angels and even the Patriarchs’ souls, is finite, because the ray of the Infinite reaches only as far as Atzilus.
The pairing of ibbur (gestation) and leidah (birth) is a Kabbalistic model for the stages by which a level emerges from its source: in gestation it is still included in the mother, Malchus of Atzilus; at birth it becomes a distinct entity below. The kav and chut (line and thread) of the Infinite Light pass through Atzilus, but between Atzilus and the lower worlds there is a screen (masach), as the Kehot note on this line puts it.
Marei mekomos
- 1וביאור ענין בנות ירושלים · מובא באוה״ת יתרו ע׳ תתק.
- 2ביאור ענין שחורה אני · הנחת כ״ק אדה״א במאמרי אדה״ז כתובים ח״ב ע׳ עג. ראה המשך בששה״ק תער״ב ח״א ע׳ שסא.
- 3
- 4ושכנתי בתוכם · Exodus 25:8
- 5השוכן אתם בתוך טומאותם · Leviticus 16:16
- 6
- 7בד״ה הים ראה וינוס · לעיל צו טז, ג. ס״ר נשמות ישראל שנמשכים מס״ר אותיות התורה נק׳ אחים להקב״ה.
- 8בביאור ע״פ מי מנה עפר יעקב · לעיל בלק סח, ג. כי עד מל׳ דאצי׳ נמשך הקו וחוט של אוא״ס ב״ה ומשם ואילך הוא נפסק. ובעמוד ד׳ שם מה מלגאו בפנימי׳ האצי׳ הוא שם מ״ה שהוא הארת אוא״ס ב״ה שנמשך ממצחא דא״ק וגילוי זה באצי׳, משא״כ מאצי׳ לבי״ע יש מסך.
- 9מה אנוש · Psalms 8:5
- 10מה אנוש . . הושיט אצבעו כו׳ · Psalms 8:2
- 11להודיע לבני האדם גבורותיו · Psalms 145:12
- 12
- 13ג״פ קדוש · ועל״ק (כט, ב). וש״נ. [כ].
And this state of limitation comes with the birth of the souls into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. Not so in the state of gestation in Atzilus: there “He and His life-forces and His vessels are one.”
Limitation begins only with the souls’ “birth” into the lower worlds. While they are still in “gestation” in Atzilus they share the state described in the Tikkunei Zohar, where G‑d, His life-forces and His vessels are all one.
כי שם מאיר אור א״ס ונשמות אלו שבבחי׳ עיבור נקראו בנות ירושלים שלפי שהן בבחי׳ עיבור במל׳ נקראו בנות ונקראו ע״ש ירושלים שמקבלות יראה שלם שלימות היראה בבחי׳ ביטול אמיתי דאיהו וחיוהי חד שבבחי׳ אצי׳.
For there the Infinite Light shines. And these souls that are in the state of gestation are called “the daughters of Jerusalem”: because they are in the state of gestation within Malchus they are called “daughters,” and they are called by the name of Jerusalem (Yerushalayim) because they receive complete awe (yirah shalem), the perfection of awe, in a state of true self-nullification (bittul), [that of] “He and His life-forces are one,” which is at the level of Atzilus.
Because the Infinite Light shines in Atzilus, the souls there are called “daughters,” since they are held within Malchus as in a womb. They are called “of Jerusalem” (Yerushalayim) because they receive “complete awe” (yirah shalem): a true self-nullification in which they feel nothing but G‑d.
The paragraph defines “the daughters of Jerusalem”: souls still in gestation within Malchus of Atzilus, united with the Infinite Light and possessing perfect awe and self-nullification.
The name Yerushalayim is read as yirah shalem, “complete awe,” a reading found in the Midrash and often used in Chassidus. The phrase “He and His life-forces and His vessels are one” describes Atzilus, where even the vessels are not separate from G‑d’s light.
Marei mekomos
- 1באצי׳ שם איהו וחיוהי וגרמוהי חד · Tikkunei Zohar 3b:9–10
Two kinds of blackness, two kinds of beauty ¶3
3והנה מאמר השכינה להם שחורה אני1 ואעפ״כ נאוה כי הנה שחורה אני בירידה בבע״ג כי נעשה שחרות מחמת מרירות על עוצם ריחוקה מיחו״ע
Now the Shechinah’s saying to them, “I am black, and nevertheless comely”: “I am black” in [her] descent among limited beings, for blackness came about through bitterness over how very far she is from the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah).
The Shechinah calls herself “black” because she has descended among limited beings, far from the higher unity, the state in which everything is nullified before G‑d. Her blackness is the darkening of bitterness at being so far away.
ועל זה נופל רחמנות גדולה כמאמר אלקי עולם ברחמיך הרבים כו׳ ואזי נקרא המל׳ שחרחורת ב׳ בחי׳ שחרות.
And over this great compassion is aroused, as in the saying, “G‑d of the world, in Your abundant mercy,” etc. And then Malchus is called “swarthy” (shecharchores): two aspects of blackness.
Such distance calls for great compassion, the kind asked for in the prayer “G‑d of the world, in Your abundant mercy, have mercy on us.” The next verse calls her “swarthy” (shecharchores), a doubled word that the text reads as two kinds of blackness.
הא׳ ממרירות הנ״ל ומבשרי אחזה2 מרירות האדם בנפשו לעורר רחמים רבים על נפשו שמרירות זו משכנה בלב בחלל השמאלי המלא דם כו׳
The first is from the bitterness mentioned above. And “from my flesh I behold” the bitterness a person [feels] in his soul, so as to arouse great compassion upon his soul, the seat of this bitterness being in the heart, in the left chamber, which is full of blood, etc.
The first blackness is the bitterness itself. As Job says, “from my flesh I behold”: a person knows from his own experience how bitterness over the soul’s state, felt in the heart’s left chamber, arouses great compassion for that soul.
ועל בחי׳ מרירות זו שבמל׳ כתיב ששזפתני השמש3 פי׳ יחו״ע שנקרא שמש ומגן4 שזפתני בזכרי על בחי׳ יחו״ע נעשה בחי׳ שחרות ומרירות כנ״ל וכדפירש בפ׳ תזריע (דמ״ה ע״ב)5 ששזפתני השמש דאסתלק מני שמשא מלאנהרא לי6 כו׳
And of this level of bitterness in Malchus it is written, “for the sun has gazed upon me.” That is: the higher unity, which is called “a sun and a shield”—“has gazed upon me”: when I remember the level of the higher unity, a state of blackness and bitterness comes about, as mentioned above. And as he explains in Parshas Tazria (page 45b): “for the sun has gazed upon me”—that the sun has withdrawn from me, from shining for me, etc.
The verse “the sun has gazed upon me” describes this bitterness. The “sun” is the higher unity, called “a sun and a shield”; remembering it darkens her, and the Zohar reads the verse as “the sun has withdrawn from shining for me.”
ע״ש:(וזהו ענין מארז״ל מצות נר חנוכה משתשקע החמה.7 פי׳ כי עיקר ירידת המל׳ לבי״ע היינו בזמן שאין בהמ״ק קיים ואז הוא בחי׳ דאסתלק מני שמשא כו׳ וזהו ענין משמשקע החמה.
See there. (And this is the meaning of the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, that the mitzvah of the Chanukah lamp is “from when the sun sets.” That is: the main descent of Malchus into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah is at the time when the Holy Temple is not standing, and then it is the state of “the sun has withdrawn from me,” etc.; and this is the meaning of “from when the sun sets.”
A parenthetical aside begins: the Sages say the Chanukah lamp is lit “from when the sun sets.” The text reads this as the time of exile, when the Temple does not stand and Malchus has descended into the lower worlds, so that “the sun has withdrawn” from her.
וכדי להאירה הוא ע״י נר חנוכה וכמ״ש מזה בביאור ע״פ רני ושמחי89 בת ציון כו׳ אור ושמן ופתילה כו׳ הכל ממשיכים גם למטה כו׳ ע״ש
And to give her light is through the Chanukah lamp, as is written on this in the explanation of the verse “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion,” etc.: light, oil and wick, etc., are all drawn down below as well, etc.; see there.
The Chanukah lamp is what gives her light in that state. Another discourse explains that its light, oil and wick all draw divine light down below.
והנה מצות נר חנוכה היא מדברי סופרים שהוא בחינת מקור האור כו׳ שעי״ז הוא המשכת בחינת ונאוה בבחינת שחורה אני כנ״ל) והשחרות הב׳ הוא הירידה עצמה להתלבש במצות מעשיות ולא מחמת ששזפתני השמש לבד
Now the mitzvah of the Chanukah lamp is of the words of the Scribes (divrei soferim), which is the level of the source of the light, etc., and through it the level of “and comely” is drawn into the level of “I am black,” as mentioned above.) And the second blackness is the descent itself, to be enclothed in the practical mitzvos; and [this is] not only because “the sun has gazed upon me,”
The Chanukah lamp is a rabbinic mitzvah, and the words of the Scribes are called the source of light; through it “comely” is drawn into “black.” After the aside, the text names the second blackness: the descent itself, into the practical mitzvos.
אלא מחמת גשמיות הירידה עצמה שמלובשת בענינים גשמיים שבהם נעשו המצות קרבנות מבעלי חיים ציצית מצמר תפילין מקלף כו׳
but because of the physicality of the descent itself, being enclothed in physical things, with which the mitzvos are performed: offerings from animals, tzitzis from wool, tefillin from parchment, etc.
The second blackness is not about missing the “sun” but about physicality itself: the mitzvos are done with material things, such as animal offerings, woolen tzitzis and parchment tefillin.
(ועמ״ש בפ׳ במדבר סד״ה וידבר10 כו׳ במדבר סיני מענין בחינת ומדרגת הרחמנות די״ב שבטים לעורר רחמים על ניצוץ אלקות שירד ממקום כבודו כו׳
(And see what is written in Parshas Bamidbar, at the end of the discourse beginning “And [G‑d] spoke, etc., in the wilderness of Sinai,” on the level and degree of the compassion of the twelve tribes, to arouse compassion upon the spark of G‑dliness that descended from its place of glory, etc.,
A second aside refers to another discourse on two degrees of compassion. The first, linked with the twelve tribes, is compassion on the spark of G‑dliness that fell from its place of glory.
והרחמנות דבחינת ע׳ נפש יוצאי ירך יעקב לעורר רחמים רבים מאד על נפשו ולא בשביל הירידה לבדה שירדה ממקום כבודה אלא אף גם זאת שנתלבשה בגוף החומרי ע״ש.
and the compassion of the level of the seventy souls who came forth from Yaakov’s loins, to arouse exceedingly great compassion upon one’s soul: not only on account of the descent, that it descended from its place of glory, but also that it became enclothed in the material body; see there.
The second, linked with the seventy souls who went down with Yaakov to Egypt, is a still greater compassion: not only because the soul came down from its place of glory, but because it is clothed in a coarse physical body.
וזהו ענין ב׳ בחינות שחרות הנ״ל הא׳ מה שירדה ממקום כבודה. הב׳ גם זאת שנתלבשה בגוף החומרי כו׳)
And this is the matter of the two aspects of blackness mentioned above: the first, that she descended from her place of glory; the second, that she also became enclothed in the material body, etc.)
These two degrees of compassion match the two kinds of blackness described here: the descent from on high, and being clothed in the physical.
והנה זאת נחמתה הגם כי שחורה אני אעפ״כ ונאוה שמזה השחרות דוקא נעשה בחינת ונאוה כי
Now this is her consolation: although “I am black,” nevertheless “and comely,” for from this very blackness the level of “and comely” comes about. For
Now comes the comfort: the Shechinah is comely precisely because of her blackness, not in spite of it. Each kind of blackness produces its own beauty.
through the blackness that lies in the bitterness of distance—of this it is said, “and much produce comes through the strength of the ox,” for “when the sitra achra is subdued, [the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He,] rises,” etc.
The bitterness of distance becomes the “strength of the ox” that brings “much produce” (Proverbs 14:4). The Zohar teaches that when the sitra achra, the side opposed to holiness, is subdued, G‑d’s glory rises in all the worlds; overcoming distance produces an elevation beyond what was there before.
וע״י השחרות בהתלבשות במצות מעשיות הנה המצות הן תרי״ג ארחין ועם ז׳ דרבנן תר״ך בחינת כתר13
And through the blackness of being enclothed in the practical mitzvos: the mitzvos are the 613 paths, and together with the seven rabbinic [mitzvos, they are] 620, the level of Keser,
The physical mitzvos are the 613 “paths,” and with the seven rabbinic mitzvos they number 620, the numerical value of Keser (the Crown). So being clothed in physical mitzvos connects her with the level of Keser.
דהיינו רצון עליון כי יש רצון תחתון המתפשט מחו״ב למדות. אבל רצון העליון הוא הממוצע בין מאציל לנאצלים כנודע.
that is, the supernal will. For there is a lower will, which extends from Chochmah and Binah to the emotive attributes (middos); but the supernal will is the intermediary between the Emanator and the emanated, as is known.
Keser is the supernal will, higher than the “lower will” that arises from intellect and spreads into the emotions. The supernal will stands between G‑d the Emanator and everything emanated, and so the mitzvos, which express it, reach above the orderly structure of the Sefiros.
The paragraph explains the two kinds of blackness of the Shechinah, the bitterness of distance from the higher unity and her clothing in physical mitzvos, and shows how each turns into her comeliness. Subduing the sitra achra raises G‑d’s glory, and the physical mitzvos connect her with Keser, the supernal will.
The parenthetical on the Chanukah lamp gives a concrete case of “comely” within “black”: a rabbinic mitzvah, lit at sunset, brings light into the time of exile. The number 620 (taryach plus the seven rabbinic mitzvos) equals כתר, so the mitzvos, though performed with physical objects, are rooted in the supernal will that stands above the Sefiros.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2
- 3ששזפתני השמש · Song of Songs 1:6
- 4שמש ומגן · Psalms 84:12
- 5בפ׳ תזריע (דמ״ה ע״ב) · מאי שחורות. ראה לעיל פ׳ שלח מג, ב.
- 6בפ׳ תזריע (דמ״ה ע״ב) ששזפתני השמש דאסתלק מני שמשא מלאנהרא לי · Zohar, Tazria 14:60–17:70
- 7מצות נר חנוכה משתשקע החמה · Shabbat 21b:3–4
- 8בביאור ע״פ רני ושמחי · לח, ב.
- 9
- 10בפ׳ במדבר סד״ה וידבר · לעיל שלח שם.
- 11ורב תבואות בכח שור · Proverbs 14:4
- 12דכד אתכפיא סט״א אסתלק · Zohar II, 128b
- 13תר״ך בחינת כתר · ע׳ בחקותי (מז, ב). וש״נ. [כ].
Comelier than the souls of Atzilus ¶4
4וזהו ונאוה יותר מבנות ירושלים שהן הנשמות שבאצילות שעם היות שמדורם ומשכנם באצילות עצמו ואין להם ירידה בבי״ע
And this is “and comely”—more than “the daughters of Jerusalem,” who are the souls in Atzilus. For although their abode and dwelling is in Atzilus itself and they have no descent into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah,
This is why the Shechinah is more “comely” than the daughters of Jerusalem. Those souls live in Atzilus itself and never descend into the lower worlds.
הנה חיותם וקיומם הוא מבחינת אותיות כי ס״ר נשמות הן ס״ר אותיות התורה1 והאותיות הן בחינת כלים אלא שהנשמות הן מבחינת פנימית הכלים ומ״מ בחינת כלים הם משא״כ ע״י ירידת המל׳
their life-force (chayus) and existence are from the level of letters, for the 600,000 souls are the 600,000 letters of the Torah, and the letters are the level of vessels; only the souls are from the inner dimension of the vessels, but vessels they are nonetheless. Not so through the descent of Malchus:
Yet even their existence comes from the letters of the Torah, for each of the 600,000 souls corresponds to one of its 600,000 letters, and letters are vessels, forms that contain light. The souls come from the inner side of those vessels, but they are still vessels; Malchus, through her descent, gains something more.
הנה היא עולה בבחינת האורות (ועמ״ש מזה ע״פ ושמתי כדכד)23 ולא עוד אלא שעולה מעלה מעלה עד רום המעלות עד עצמיות א״ס הפשוט כו׳:4
she rises to the level of the lights (and see what is written on this on the verse “And I will make [your windows] of kadkod”), and not only that, but she rises ever higher, to the loftiest heights, to the very essence of the simple Infinite One (Ein Sof), etc.
By descending, Malchus rises to the level of the lights themselves, above the vessels. And beyond that she rises to the very essence of the simple Infinite One, higher than any level she could reach without descending.
The paragraph explains “comely” as a comparison: the Shechinah, through descent, rises above the souls of Atzilus, which remain at the level of vessels, up to the lights and to the essence of the Infinite One.
This is the principle of “descent for the sake of ascent”: the vessels that go down into the lower worlds are raised above the lights that never left Atzilus. The Kehot cross-reference on “kadkod” ties this to the ascent “from below upward” of the vessels to the supernal lights on Shabbos and Yom Kippur.
Marei mekomos
- 1ס״ר נשמות הן ס״ר אותיות התורה · נסמן לעיל ו, ג.
- 2ע״פ ושמתי כדכד · לעיל פ׳ ראה כו, א.
- 3ושמתי כדכד · Isaiah 54:12
- 4
The tents of Kedar ¶5
5כאהלי קדר.12 אברהם שיצא ממנו3 כו׳45 בחינת קדר סיגים ופסולת6 אך מ״מ יש בו איזה חיות מועט דקדושה שאם לא כן היה כלה ונפסד
“As the tents of Kedar.” Avraham, from whom there came forth, etc.: the level of Kedar, dross and refuse. Yet nevertheless there is in it some small life-force of holiness, for otherwise it would cease to be and perish;
The text now explains “as the tents of Kedar.” Kedar was a son of Yishmael, and the Talmud’s phrase “Avraham, from whom there came forth [Yishmael]” is used in Kabbalistic terms: what separated off from Avraham’s holiness became “dross and refuse.” Yet even such a level must hold a small spark of holy life-force, or it could not exist at all.
אלא שהחיות ההוא הוא בבחינת מקיף והוא ענין לבונה שבי״א סממני הקטורת7 כי עשרה סממנים הן מתלבשים בקליפות והי״א הוא בבחינת מקיף שהוא בעצם לבן כו׳.
only that life-force is in the manner of an encompassing [light] (makif). And this is the matter of the frankincense among the eleven spices of the incense: for ten spices are enclothed in the kelipos, and the eleventh is in the manner of an encompassing [light], for it is white in its essence, etc.
That spark of life does not enter it directly; it surrounds it from outside, as an encompassing light (makif). The text compares this to the incense: of its eleven spices, ten are said to be clothed in the kelipos, while frankincense (levonah), whose name means “white,” stands above them as an encompassing light.
וזהו כאהלי קדר שיש להם אהל ומקיף. כך יש אצלי בחינת אוהל ומקיף מבחינת יחודא עילאה ששזפתני השמש כו׳ שמש ומגן כו׳
And this is “as the tents of Kedar”: they have a tent and an encompassing [light]. So too I have a level of a tent and an encompassing [light], from the level of the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah)—“for the sun has gazed upon me,” etc., “a sun and a shield,” etc.
“Tents” are a picture of a surrounding light, a covering from above. So the Shechinah says: I too have a “tent,” an encompassing light that comes from the higher unity, the “sun” that has gazed upon me.
(ור״ל דאם יש בחינת מקיף המחיה אותם שהם משבירת הכלים כו׳ מכ״ש וכ״ו שנמשךמ מקיפים עליונים בקיום המצות מעשיות שהוא תיקון ובירור8 ק״נ ולהיות ובערת הרע9 כו׳
(That is to say: if there is a level of encompassing [light] that gives life to them, who derive from the shattering of the vessels, etc., how much more so, many times over, are higher encompassing [lights] drawn down through fulfilling the practical mitzvos, which are the rectification and refinement of kelipas nogah, so as to bring about “and you shall eradicate the evil,” etc.
The parenthesis argues from the lesser to the greater. If an encompassing light sustains even the realms that come from the “shattering of the vessels” (the primordial breaking from which the kelipos derive), then far higher encompassing lights must be drawn down by the practical mitzvos, which refine kelipas nogah (the mixed realm of good and evil) and lead toward removing evil entirely.
ועמ״ש לקמן סד״ה לסוסתי ברכבי פרעה10 דמיתיך11 ועיין בד״ה ויהי בשלח פרעה12 בענין לעושי רצונו על אחת כמה וכמה):
And see what is written below, at the end of the discourse beginning “To a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots I have likened you,” and see the discourse beginning “And it came to pass when Pharaoh sent,” on the matter of “for those who do His will, how much more so.”)
The reader is referred to two other discourses for the same reasoning. It follows the Sages’ principle: if G‑d gives so much even to those who do not do His will, how much more to those who do.
The paragraph explains “as the tents of Kedar”: even the lowest realms are sustained by a spark of holiness that surrounds them as an encompassing light, and the Shechinah likewise has an encompassing light from the higher unity. The mitzvos draw down encompassing lights far higher still.
The pairing of ten spices clothed in kelipah with an eleventh that stays above them parallels the Kabbalistic teaching that kelipah receives its life only from a surrounding, transcendent light, never from an inner one. The text speaks of spiritual levels within the Kabbalistic framework, not of any people as they are today.
Marei mekomos
- 1כאהלי קדר · Song of Songs 1:5
- 2קדר · Genesis 25:13
- 3אברהם שיצא ממנו · Pesachim 56a:7
- 4אברהם שיצא ממנו כו׳ · בבוך 1101 דף תרצח, א. ובדף תרצט, א נוסף: ישמעאל.
- 5אברהם שיצא ממנו כו׳ · Sifrei Devarim 31:1
- 6בחינת קדר סיגים ופסולת · שם מבחי׳ סיגים. ראה גם לעיל פ׳ מטות פז, א.
- 7והוא ענין לבינה שבי״א סממני הקטורת · מובא באוה״ת דברים ע׳ יח.
- 8(ור״ל . . תיקון ובירור · מוסגר זה נמצא בבוך 1102 שם בדף תרצח, ג ושם מסיים: ”תיקון ובירור ניצוצות אלו כו׳)”. אבל בדף תרצט, ב הוא כבדפוסים שלנו.
- 9ובערת הרע · Deuteronomy 13:6
- 10לקמן סד״ה לסוסתי ברכבי פרעה · יא, ד שהחיות אלקות שיש בהם אינו נתפס.
- 11לסוסתי ברכבי פרעה דמיתיך · Song of Songs 1:9
- 12ויהי בשלח פרעה · Exodus 13:17
The curtains of Shlomo ¶6–7
6כיריעות שלמה.1 מקיפים יותר עליונים כי יש2 בחינות במקיפים האחד שמתגלים עתה. והב׳ שאין באים לידי גילוי אלא לימות המשיח (ועמ״ש מזה בפ׳ שמות בביאור על פסוק הבאים ישרש3 כו׳)4
“As the curtains of Shlomo”: more exalted encompassing [lights]. For there are [two] levels in the encompassing [lights]: the first, those that are revealed now; and the second, those that come to revelation only in the days of Mashiach (and see what is written on this in Parshas Shemos, in the explanation of the verse “[In days] to come Yaakov will take root,” etc.).
“The curtains of Shlomo” stand for still higher encompassing lights. There are two kinds: those that are revealed now, and those that will be revealed only in the days of Mashiach.
ואותן נק׳ יריעות שלמה ע״ש הפסוק או יחזיק במעוזי5 יעשה שלום לי פי׳ ענין שלום הוא התחברות ב׳ הפכיים
And these are called “the curtains of Shlomo” after the verse, “Or let him take hold of My strength, let him make peace (shalom) with Me.” Explanation: the matter of peace is the joining of two opposites,
The higher kind is named after Shlomo (Solomon), whose name comes from shalom, peace, as in Isaiah’s “let him make peace with Me.” Peace, in this sense, means bringing two opposites together.
דהיינו אורות עליונים שטבעם לעלות ולהסתלק למעלה יאירו למטה6 וב״פ שלום7 בפמליא של מעלה ושל מטה פמליא של מטה התחברות
that is, that supernal lights, whose nature is to rise and withdraw upward, should shine below. And “peace” twice: [peace] in the household above and [in the household] below. The household below: the joining of
The opposites are supernal lights, whose nature is to rise away from the worlds, and the lower places where they are made to shine. The Sages speak of peace in two “households,” above and below, and the text now explains each.
מל׳ דאצילות להיות עתיק לבריאה ופמליא של מעלה להיות המשכה והתחברות מבחינת א״ס דכולם בחכמה עשית8 שהחכמה נקרא עשייה גשמיות לפניו ית׳ להיות עתיק לאצילות
Malchus of Atzilus, to become Atik to Beriah; and the household above: that there be a drawing down and joining from the level of the Infinite (Ein Sof), [as it is written,] “You made them all with wisdom,” for Chochmah is called action, physicality, before Him, blessed be He, [so as] to become Atik to Atzilus
Peace below means that Malchus of Atzilus becomes “Atik,” the hidden inner source, for the World of Beriah. Peace above means that the Infinite One joins with Atzilus in the same way, so that even Chochmah, the highest wisdom, is as mere physical “action” before Him, as in “You made them all with wisdom.”
(and see what is written on this in the discourse beginning “Go forth and behold… King Shlomo”). And whoever engages in Torah for its own sake, by reading the letters of the Torah, draws this down.
This joining of the Infinite with the worlds is brought about by Torah study for its own sake. Saying and reading the words of the Torah draws the higher light down.
And this is “[all] who call upon Him in truth.” “In truth”—this is the Torah, for Chochmah is called truth, [and] “the Torah comes forth from Chochmah,” etc.
The verse “G‑d is near to all who call upon Him in truth” is read as a reference to Torah, since Chochmah is called truth and the Torah comes from Chochmah.
ויקראוהו באמת פי׳ בתוך אמת יקראוהו וימשיכוהו כו׳ ונקרא יריעות שלמה בה׳ ה׳ עילאה ה׳ תתאה.
“And they call upon Him in truth” means: within truth they call Him and draw Him down, etc. And it is called “the curtains of Shlomo” with a hei: the higher hei and the lower hei.
“Call upon Him in truth” is read as “call Him into the truth,” that is, draw G‑d into the Torah. The name Shlomo ends with a hei, which the text links to the two letters hei in the divine Name Havayah, the higher (Binah) and the lower (Malchus).
The paragraph explains “as the curtains of Shlomo” as the higher encompassing lights to be revealed in the days of Mashiach, named for shalom, the joining of opposites, in which the Infinite unites with the worlds. Torah study for its own sake draws this down.
“Atik” is the innermost aspect of a level as it serves as the hidden source of the level below it: Malchus of Atzilus becomes Atik of Beriah, and the Infinite, through Chochmah, becomes Atik of Atzilus. The Kehot note ties the two kinds of encompassing lights to the Torah Ohr discourse on “In days to come Yaakov will take root,” which distinguishes a makif that shines into the inner being from a general makif that surrounds all equally.
Marei mekomos
- 1כיריעות שלמה · Song of Songs 1:5
- 2כי יש ב׳ בחינות במקיפים · מובא בהמשך מים רבים תרל״ו ח״א פרק פג.
- 3הבאים ישרש · Isaiah 27:6
- 4בביאור על פסוק הבאים ישרש כו׳ · תו״א נד, ג. יש ב׳ בחי׳ מקיפים. בתרל״ו שם מוסיף: ”בענין ב׳ בחי׳ מקיפים, והמקיפים שיתגלו לע״ל”. נק׳ יריעות שלמה.
- 5או יחזיק במעוזי · Isaiah 27:5
- 6ולהסתלק למעלה יאירו למטה · בתרל״ו שם נוסף: ”זהו בחי׳ שלום והתחברות ב׳ הפכים יחד כו׳”.
- 7וב״פ שלום · Sanhedrin 99b:10–11
- 8דכולם בחכמה עשית · Psalms 104:24
- 9בד״ה צאינה וראינה · לקמן כה, ג. וראה בתרל״ו שם.
- 10צאינה וראינה במלך שלמה · Song of Songs 3:11
- 11אשר יקראוהו באמת · Psalms 145:18
- 12אורייתא מחכמה נפקת · Zohar II, 121a
- 13אורייתא מחכמה נפקת · Zohar, Yitro 21:378–22:389
7והנה ענין שלום ושלמה עצמן היינו בבחינת התלבשותו בעולמות ועושה שלום ביניהם. אבל כיריעות שלמה היינו מקיפים עליונים ואין לעומתם בקליפות כלל
Now the matter of shalom and Shlomo themselves is at the level of His enclothing in the worlds, making peace between them. But “as the curtains of Shlomo” refers to higher encompassing [lights], and there is nothing corresponding to them in the kelipos at all.
Shalom and Shlomo in themselves refer to G‑d as clothed within the worlds, making peace among them. “The curtains of Shlomo,” though, are the higher encompassing lights, and nothing in the kelipos corresponds to them.
כי אהלי קדר בחינת לבונה נגד בחינת מקיף דקדושה. אבל נגד יריעות שלמה אין לעומת זה כלל וזה יתגלה לע״לדוקא כו׳.
For “the tents of Kedar,” the level of frankincense, stand opposite the level of the encompassing [light] of holiness; but opposite “the curtains of Shlomo” there is no counterpart at all, and this will be revealed specifically in the time to come, etc.
The “tents of Kedar,” the frankincense, have a holy counterpart, the encompassing light of holiness. The “curtains of Shlomo” have no counterpart at all, which is why they can be revealed only in the time to come.
The paragraph contrasts the two encompassing lights: the “tents of Kedar” have a parallel in the realm of kelipah, but the “curtains of Shlomo” are so high that they have none, and they will be revealed only in the time to come.
In Kabbalah, holiness and kelipah generally mirror each other (“G‑d made one opposite the other”). The “curtains of Shlomo” are beyond that mirroring, so their revelation means that nothing can oppose it.
The hoary head and the elder ¶8
8וזהו שחורה אני בב׳ מיני שחרות הנ״ל ואעפ״כ ונאוה כנ״ל והנה כל זה מרומז ג״כ בפסוק מפני שיבה תקום1 כו׳.
And this is “I am black” with the two kinds of blackness mentioned above, and nevertheless “and comely,” as mentioned above. Now all this is also alluded to in the verse, “Before the hoary head (seivah) you shall rise,” etc.
The text sums up: the two kinds of blackness, and the comeliness that comes from them. It finds all this hinted at in the verse “Before the hoary head you shall rise, and honor the face of the elder, and you shall fear your G‑d; I am Havayah.”
פי׳ שיבה היינו מ״ש ושער רישי׳ כעמר נקא2 שהשערות הם בבחינת לבנונית והן ההלכות רבות שבמ״ע והדרת פני זקן היינו מ״ש קווצותיו תלתלים3 שחורות כעורב וכמארז״ל דפי׳ זקן היינו שקנה חכמה.4
Explanation: “seivah” is what is written, “and the hair of His head like clean wool,” for the hairs are at the level of whiteness, and they are the many laws in the positive commandments. And “honor the face of the elder (zaken)” is what is written, “His locks are wavy, black as a raven,” as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, that “zaken” means one who has acquired wisdom.
“The hoary head” is white hair, which recalls Daniel’s vision of G‑d with hair “like clean wool”; the white hairs are the many laws of the positive commandments. “The elder” recalls the beloved’s locks, “black as a raven,” in the Song of Songs; and the Sages read “elder” as one who has acquired wisdom.
והן ההלכו׳ שנמשכו ונתפשטו במצות ל״ת כו׳. ויראת מאלקיך היינו דברי סופרים וז׳ מצות דרבנן וכמארז״ל חמורים דברי סופרים מדברי תורה אני הוי׳ דכולא חד:5
And they are the laws that were drawn down and extended into the prohibitive commandments, etc. And “you shall fear your G‑d”: this is the words of the Scribes and the seven rabbinic mitzvos, as our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “The words of the Scribes are more stringent than the words of Torah”; “I am Havayah,” for all is one.
The black locks are the laws that extend into the prohibitions, the “black” side of the mitzvos. “You shall fear your G‑d” refers to the rabbinic mitzvos, which the Sages treat as even weightier than Torah law, and “I am Havayah” shows that all these levels are one.
The paragraph closes by finding the maamar’s theme in Leviticus 19:32: white hair and black locks stand for the positive and prohibitive commandments, and the fear of G‑d for the rabbinic mitzvos, all united in Havayah.
The white hair of Daniel’s vision and the black locks of the Song of Songs are classic Kabbalistic images of G‑d’s aspects of mercy and strength. Here they are applied to the mitzvos, echoing paragraph 3, where the seven rabbinic mitzvos complete the count of 620, the level of Keser.
Marei mekomos
- 1מפני שיבה תקום · Leviticus 19:32
- 2ושער רישי׳ כעמר נקא · Daniel 7:9
- 3קווצותיו תלתלים · Song of Songs 5:11
- 4זקן היינו שקנה חכמה · Kiddushin 35b:4–5
- 5חמורים ד״ס מדברי תורה · Sanhedrin 88b:14–15
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
The maamar teaches that the bitterness a person feels over his soul’s distance from G‑d, and the work of doing mitzvos with physical things, are not merely a loss: from this very “blackness” comes a beauty higher than that of souls that never descended. Subduing the sitra achra raises G‑d’s glory, the practical mitzvos connect with the supernal will, and Torah study for its own sake draws the higher encompassing lights down.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the maamar say that the souls in Atzilus, though one with the Infinite Light, remain at the level of “vessels,” while Malchus through her descent rises to the lights?
- What are the two kinds of blackness, and how does each one become a source of the Shechinah’s beauty?
- How does the Chanukah lamp, lit “from when the sun sets,” illustrate drawing “comely” into “black”?
- What is the difference between the encompassing light of “the tents of Kedar” and that of “the curtains of Shlomo,” and why does only the first have a counterpart in kelipah?
- How does the maamar read Leviticus 19:32 as an allusion to the positive commandments, the prohibitions and the rabbinic mitzvos?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Shechinah (Divine Presence)שכינה
- G‑d's presence as it dwells in the world. ×2
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds.
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×5
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence. ×2
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions.
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one.
- The kav (line of light)קו
- The thin ray of light drawn into the space left after the tzimtzum. ×1
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×1
- The higher unity (yichuda ila'ah)יחודא עילאה
- The world is nothing next to G‑d. ×1
- The sitra achra (the other side)סטרא אחרא
- The realm opposed to holiness.
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×1
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×3
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×5
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail.
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×1
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×2
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level.
- Kelipah (the husk)קליפה
- The forces of concealment that oppose holiness.
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.