Likkutei Torah · Sefer Shemos · Shabbos October 3
פרשת וזאת הברכה
Parshas V’Zos HaBerachah
6 maamarim of the Alter Rebbe on the parsha, in the Hebrew of the Kehot edition, with every marei makom opened right where it appears. Each small section with a faithful English translation and a short explanation.
Your progress in Parshas V’Zos HaBerachah
The maamarim 6
- ואתה מרבבות קדש And He Came from the Holy Myriads The Torah is rooted in the level of "myriads," far above the "hundred" that sustains the worlds, and that is why Torah and mitzvos can draw the deepest divine light down into physical things; yet for now it comes only as "ve'asa," the back, and above even the myriads is the One who is beyond number.
- תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה קהלת יעקב The Torah that Moshe commanded us is the inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov The Torah's bond with Israel is a marriage in two stages: on the festivals, betrothal and the chuppah; on Shemini Atzeres, the inner union of the Written and Oral Torah. On that day even the simplest Jew receives the essence of the Torah as an unearned inheritance.
- ביאור ע״פ תורה צוה An explanation of “The Torah that Moshe commanded us” The Torah we ordinarily study comes only from the “unripe fruit,” the outer side, of G‑d's hidden wisdom, and the Oral Torah receives just a glimmer of it, like a betrothal. On Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah, prepared by the prayer and teshuvah of Tishrei, the Written and Oral Torah are joined in a full “marriage” that draws down the very essence of the wisdom above, and every Jew shares in it.
- והיה מדי חדש בחדשו ומדי שבת בשבתו יבא… “And it shall be, every New Moon on its New Moon and every Shabbos on its Shabbos” The weekdays are divine wisdom descending into the world of action so that the world can be lifted back up; Shabbos is that ascent, revealed as delight, and Rosh Chodesh draws from wisdom itself, before creation. Beyond both lie "the Shabbos of Shabbos" and "the New Moon of the New Moon," a level above all the worlds that will be revealed with Mashiach, when "all flesh" will bow before G‑d.
- מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית כו׳ ולא שמחת אויבי לי “A psalm, a song for the dedication of the House…, and You did not let my enemies rejoice over me” The angels who objected to man's creation were silenced by the dedication of the Beis HaMikdash, because the human soul, though it descends into a physical body, surpasses the angels: it has no body of its own, its source is higher, and it shares its root with the Torah, so only souls can be nullified into G‑d like a candle into a torch and become a dwelling for the Shechinah below.
- מזמור שיר חנכת הבית לדוד A psalm, a song of the dedication of the House, of David What is lowest in the world has the highest root: food, clothing and houses correspond to the inner light, the encompassing light, and the "encompassing of the encompassing," so the stone house, like Malchus and the self-effacing soul, draws from a level above will itself, and joy must be brought into it from outside.
Learn it in seven days Sunday to Shabbos
The Rebbe asked that all the maamarim of the week’s parsha be learned in that week, spread over its seven days. Here is the parsha in seven portions of about equal length.