Torah Ohr · Parshas Lech Lecha · Maamar 5
שרי אשתך לא תקרא שמה שרי כי שרה שמה וגו׳
Sarai your wife: you shall not call her name Sarai
The big idea
How a new existence comes into being depends on the level: above, at the level of the higher Chochmah (Abraham), birth comes through contraction, the yud; below, at the level of the lower Chochmah (Sarah), it comes through expansion, the hei. That is why Sarah could bear Isaac only once her yud became a hei.
The maamar in brief
The Midrash teaches that Sarai could not give birth, but Sarah could. This is puzzling: the yud of Sarai stands for Chochmah, the level of ayin (nothing), which is the source of new existence, while the hei of Sarah stands for Binah, called yesh (something). Why would exchanging the higher letter for the lower one give her the power to bear a child? The Alter Rebbe answers that Abraham and Sarah are the higher and the lower Chochmah. Above, a new existence comes about only through tzimtzum: were the Infinite Light to spread forth as it is, nothing finite could ever arise. Below, the reverse is true: contraction would leave only darkness and concealment, and existence comes about through spreading out and expansion, which the broad letter hei expresses. The three tips of the yud and the shape of the two hei's illustrate this. Abraham too received a hei, but only to become 'the father of a multitude of nations', elevating what lies outside holiness; for Isaac, who belongs to holiness, whose nature is self-nullification, he did not need it. Sarah, however, needed the hei for Isaac's birth.
Outline
- The question: why a hei for Sarah?The name change gave Sarah the power to give birth; yet the yud (Chochmah, 'nothing') is the source of new existence and is higher than the hei (Binah, 'something'). The key: Abraham and Sarah are the higher and the lower Chochmah.¶1
- Contraction above, expansion belowAbove, new existence comes only through tzimtzum; below, at Sarah's level, it comes through expansion. Abraham's hei served his role as father of many nations, not Isaac's birth; Sarah needed the hei for Isaac.¶2
Key concepts
- Yud and heiיו״ד וה״א
- In Kabbalah the yud, a single point, stands for Chochmah and for contraction; the hei, which spreads out in width and length, stands for Binah and for expansion.
- Ayin and yeshאין ויש
- Chochmah is called ayin ('nothing'), the undefined source from which new existence comes; Binah is called yesh ('something'), where things have taken definite shape.
- The higher Chochmah and the lower Chochmahחכמה עילאה וחכמה תתאה
- Two levels of Chochmah. Abraham corresponds to the higher, rooted in the Chochmah of Atzilus; Sarah to the lower. Each brings new existence into being in the opposite way.
- tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light; at the higher level it is the only way a finite, new existence can come about.
- Spreading forth and expansionהתפשטות והרחבה
- At the lower level, where the light is already limited, new existence comes through expansion rather than further contraction, which would leave only darkness.
- self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- The nature of the side of holiness; because of it, Isaac's birth did not require Abraham's hei of expansion.
The question: why a hei for Sarah? ¶1
"Sarai your wife: you shall not call her name Sarai, for Sarah is her name," etc. Now, the change of Sarah's name was so that she would have [the capacity of] giving birth,
The maamar opens with G‑d's instruction to Abraham to change his wife's name from Sarai (spelled with a final yud) to Sarah (spelled with a final hei). The Alter Rebbe states the premise: the purpose of this change was to give her the ability to bear a child.
כמארז״ל שרי לא תלד3 כו׳ וא״כ צ״ל הלא מעלת היו״ד גבוה מן הה׳ כי יו״ד חכמה ה׳ בינה.
The Midrash says that as Sarai she could not give birth, but as Sarah she could. This raises a difficulty: in Kabbalah the letter yud stands for Chochmah and the letter hei for Binah, and Chochmah is the higher faculty. Why would exchanging a higher letter for a lower one bring about the ability to give birth?
ונודע כי עיקר הולדה מבחינת חכמה לפי שחכמה בחי׳ אין והחכמה מאין4 כו׳. משא״כ בינה נק׳ יש כו׳
And it is known that giving birth comes chiefly from the level of Chochmah, because Chochmah is the level of ayin (nothing), [as it is written,] "and Chochmah comes from ayin," etc.; whereas Binah is called yesh (something), etc.
The question is sharpened. Chochmah is called ayin, 'nothing', because it is the first flash of insight before anything is defined; bringing something new into being, 'something from nothing', is rooted there. Binah, where the idea is developed and takes on definite shape, is called yesh, 'something', an existence already there.
ואיך נהפוך הוא שלהיות לה כח ההולדה לוקח מאתה כח היו״ד וניתן לה כח הה׳ במקומו5 כו׳.
So how is it turned around, that for her to have the power of giving birth, the power of the yud is taken from her and the power of the hei is given to her in its place, etc.?
So the change seems backwards: to give Sarah the power to give birth, the yud, the letter of Chochmah and the source of new existence, was taken away, and the hei of Binah was put in its place.
וחענין כי אברהם ושרה הם בחי׳ ח״ע וח״ת כו׳ ששרש אברהם הוא בבחי׳ חכמה דאצי׳.
And the explanation is that Abraham and Sarah are the levels of the higher Chochmah and the lower Chochmah, etc., for Abraham's root is in the level of the Chochmah of Atzilus.
The answer begins. Abraham and Sarah correspond to two levels of Chochmah: Abraham to the higher Chochmah, rooted in the Chochmah of Atzilus, and Sarah to the lower Chochmah. What is true of how birth works at the higher level is not true of the lower one, as the next paragraph explains.
The paragraph poses the maamar's question: if the yud (Chochmah, 'nothing') is the source of new existence, why did Sarah receive the power to bear a child by exchanging her yud for a hei (Binah, 'something')? It then gives the key to the answer: Abraham and Sarah stand for the higher and the lower Chochmah.
Higher Chochmah and lower Chochmah are standard Kabbalistic terms: the Chochmah of Atzilus proper, and Malchus, which receives from it and is its reflection below. The yud is a single point, the letter of contraction, while the hei spreads out in width and length; the maamar's answer turns on which of these two modes brings a new existence into being at each level.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
שרי אשתך
How it connects
In this manuscript, a copyist's text of the maamar, the Tzemach Tzedek added in his own handwriting the word 'mugah', marking the text as proofread.our note
Where the note points
Manuscript volume (Buch) 1101, with a gloss by the Tzemach Tzedekכתב יד, בוך 1101manuscript 1101
Our explanationIt tells the reader that the version before us was checked.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Avodas HaLevi, by Rabbi Aharon HaLeviעבודת הלויParshas Lech Lecha, 16d
Our explanationRabbi Aharon HaLevi recorded his own transcript of this maamar in his book, under the heading 'as I heard it from the Alter Rebbe'. It is an independent record of the same teaching.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)The Rebbe's source notes (Tziyunim) on Torah Ohrציונים מכ״ק אדמו״רabove, in the notes on this parsha
Our explanationThe note refers the reader to the Rebbe's source notes printed earlier in the volume for further details on this maamar's sources and versions.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בבוך 1101 הוסיף כ״ק הצ״צ בגוכתי״ק על כת״י מעתיק: מוגה. הנחת מהר״א הלוי בספרו עבודת הלוי פ׳ לך לך טז, ד כותרת ”כי״ק בעת ששמע מאדמו״ר הזקן”.
ראה לעיל בציונים מכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
שרי אשתך לא תקרא שמה שרי
How it connects
G‑d tells Abraham that his wife is no longer to be called Sarai but Sarah. The verse opens the maamar, whose subject is why the change of one letter gave her the power to bear Isaac.our note
The source
Genesis 17:15בראשית י״ז:ט״וSefaria (opens in a new tab)14וְעָרֵל זָכָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יִמּוֹל אֶת־בְּשַׂר עׇרְלָתוֹ וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מֵעַמֶּיהָ אֶת־בְּרִיתִי הֵפַר: 15וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹקִים אֶל־אַבְרָהָם שָׂרַי אִשְׁתְּךָ לֹא־תִקְרָא אֶת־שְׁמָהּ שָׂרָי כִּי שָׂרָה שְׁמָהּ: 16וּבֵרַכְתִּי אֹתָהּ וְגַם נָתַתִּי מִמֶּנָּה לְךָ בֵּן וּבֵרַכְתִּיהָ וְהָיְתָה לְגוֹיִם מַלְכֵי עַמִּים מִמֶּנָּה יִהְיוּ:
14… his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant.’ 15And God said unto Abraham: ‘As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16And I will bless her, and moreover I will give thee a son of her; yea, …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
בראשית יז, טו.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
שרי לא תלד
How it connects
The Midrash says that Sarai does not give birth but Sarah does, linking her ability to have a child to the change of her name. The Alter Rebbe takes this as the premise that the new letter brought the power of birth.our note
The source
Bereshit Rabbah 44:12בראשית רבה מ״ד:י״בSefaria (opens in a new tab)Where the note points
Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהParshas Beshalach, 1b
ראו כי ה׳ נתן לכם השבת וגו׳. במדרש תלים (סי׳ צ״ב) מהו ראו א״ר יצחק כל עיסקא דשבתא כפול. עומר כפול. שני העומר לאחד. קרבנו כפול. וביום השבת שני כבשים כו׳. אזהרותיה כפולות זכור ושמור כו׳. וברבות בשלח ס״פ כ״ה ששקולה שבת כנגד כל המצות כו׳ ע״ש. וכ״ה בירושלמי ספ״ג דנדרים. הנה יש להבין למה אומרים בשבת קדשנו במצותיך דרך בקשה לעתיד כו׳ ובכל ברכות שבחול וגם בכל ברכות המצות אנו אומרים אשר קדשנו במצותיו שכבר קדשנו לעבר כו׳. אך הענין יובן ע״פ הקדמה להבין הטעם שנקרא התורה ומצות בשם דרך ה׳ כמ״ש דרכיה דרכי נועם כו׳. וכן ושמרו דרך הוי׳ כו׳. דהנה כתיב כי בי״ה ה׳ צור עולמים ביו״ד נברא העוה״ב כידוע. ויש להבין איך יתכן שום ציור אות למעלה כמו ציור אות יו״ד שבו נברא כו׳. שהרי אין …
Our explanationThat maamar, on 'See that G‑d has given you the Shabbos', discusses the verse 'For with Yah G‑d formed the worlds' and how the World to Come was created with the yud, asking how any shape of a letter can exist above. It is a parallel discussion of the yud and the hei, the letters at the heart of this maamar.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ב״ר מד, יב. תנחומא משפטים יא. ועי׳ בלקו״ת פ׳ בשלח א, ב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
והחכמה מאין
How it connects
The verse asks, 'And wisdom, where [me'ayin] shall it be found?' Chassidus reads me'ayin as 'from nothing': Chochmah comes from, and is, the level of ayin. The Alter Rebbe uses it to show that Chochmah is the source of new existence.our note
The source
Job 28:12איוב כ״ח:י״בSefaria (opens in a new tab)11מִבְּכִי נְהָרוֹת חִבֵּשׁ וְתַעֲלֻמָהּ יֹצִא אוֹר: 12וְהַחׇכְמָה מֵאַיִן תִּמָּצֵא וְאֵי זֶה מְקוֹם בִּינָה: 13לֹא־יָדַע אֱנוֹשׁ עֶרְכָּהּ וְלֹא תִמָּצֵא בְּאֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים:
11… streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light. 12But wisdom, where shall it be found? And where is the place of understanding? 13Man knoweth not the price thereof; Neither is it found in the land of the living.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
איוב כח, יב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 5
On the words
ואיך נהפוך . . וניתן לה כח הה׳ במקומו
How it connects
The Likkutei Torah maamar on Beshalach refers back to this passage, so its treatment of the yud and the hei can be read alongside this question of why the yud was exchanged for a hei.our note
Where the note points
Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהParshas Beshalach, 1b
ראו כי ה׳ נתן לכם השבת וגו׳. במדרש תלים (סי׳ צ״ב) מהו ראו א״ר יצחק כל עיסקא דשבתא כפול. עומר כפול. שני העומר לאחד. קרבנו כפול. וביום השבת שני כבשים כו׳. אזהרותיה כפולות זכור ושמור כו׳. וברבות בשלח ס״פ כ״ה ששקולה שבת כנגד כל המצות כו׳ ע״ש. וכ״ה בירושלמי ספ״ג דנדרים. הנה יש להבין למה אומרים בשבת קדשנו במצותיך דרך בקשה לעתיד כו׳ ובכל ברכות שבחול וגם בכל ברכות המצות אנו אומרים אשר קדשנו במצותיו שכבר קדשנו לעבר כו׳. אך הענין יובן ע״פ הקדמה להבין הטעם שנקרא התורה ומצות בשם דרך ה׳ כמ״ש דרכיה דרכי נועם כו׳. וכן ושמרו דרך הוי׳ כו׳. דהנה כתיב כי בי״ה ה׳ צור עולמים ביו״ד נברא העוה״ב כידוע. ויש להבין איך יתכן שום ציור אות למעלה כמו ציור אות יו״ד שבו נברא כו׳. שהרי אין …
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בלקו״ת בשלח א, ב מציין לכאן.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
Contraction above, expansion below ¶2
2והנה למעלה כך הוא המדה1 עיקר ההולדה להיות מציאות הולדה חדשה הוא ע״י צמצום דוקא2 כי אם הי׳ אא״ס ב״ה מתפשט
Now above, this is the rule: the essence of giving birth, so that a new existence is born, comes specifically through tzimtzum (contraction). For if the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, were to spread forth
Here the answer is given. At the higher level (Abraham's), a genuinely new existence comes about only through tzimtzum, the self-concealment of the Infinite Light. Without such contraction, nothing separate could arise.
כמו שהוא בבחי׳ א״ס לא הי׳ אפשר להיות שום התהדות מציאות כלל אפי׳ ע״י רבוא רבבות השתלשלות כי כשמו כן הוא אין סוף להתפשטותו וכו׳.
as it is, in the level of the Infinite, it would not be possible for any existence at all to come into being, even through myriads upon myriads [of stages] of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus); for as its name is, so it is: there is no end to its spreading forth, etc.
If the Infinite Light spread forth as it truly is, no finite existence could come into being, however many stages of descent it passed through, since its nature is to have no end. That is why, at the higher level, the yud, a single contracted point, is the letter of birth.
משא״כ למטה בבחי׳ שרה כו׳ הוא להיפך ממש שאם היה האור מתצמצם היה חשך והעלם והסתר גמור ועיקר התהוות המציאות הוא ע״י בחי׳ התפשטות והרחבה דוקא וכו׳
Whereas below, in the level of Sarah, etc., it is the very opposite: if the light were contracted, there would be darkness, concealment and total hiddenness; and existence comes into being chiefly through the level of spreading forth and expansion specifically, etc.
At the lower level, Sarah's, it is the reverse. There the light is already limited, so further contraction would leave only darkness and concealment; new existence comes about precisely through spreading out and expansion. The hei, a letter with breadth and length, expresses that expansion.
(וכנודע בענין ג׳ קוצין של3 היו״ד שהקוץ התחתון מקור וכח הבינה תלוי בקוץ העליון כו׳).
(As is known concerning the three tips of the yud: the lower tip, the source and power of Binah, depends on the upper tip, etc.)
The text's own parenthetical support: the yud is drawn with three tips, an upper, a middle and a lower one. The lower tip is the source of Binah, and it depends on the upper tip, which shows that the spreading out associated with Binah draws its power from what is above it.
And as is known concerning the shape of the two hei's. And as for the hei being added to Abraham: "Abram does not beget," etc.; Abraham is the level of the higher Chochmah, etc.
A further support is the shape of the two hei's in the Name Havayah, a letter that spreads out in width and length. The text then raises an objection: Abraham too received a hei, since the Midrash says 'Abram does not beget' but Abraham does; yet Abraham is the higher Chochmah, for whom birth should come through contraction, not expansion.
That is, as is stated explicitly in the verse, "for [I have made you] the father of a multitude of nations," etc., in the manner of the level of "the souls they had made in Charan," the level of elevations from the opposing side (zeh le'umas zeh), etc.
The answer: Abraham's hei was for what the verse states explicitly, that he would be 'the father of a multitude of nations', like 'the souls they had made in Charan', which our tradition understands as the people Abraham and Sarah drew to the service of G‑d. That is elevation from the side opposed to holiness, which requires expansion outward.
אבל להולדת יצחק8 סט׳ דקדושה לא היה צריך כי אדרבה כל סטרא דקדושה בחי׳ ביטול ולא התפשטות כו׳
But for the birth of Isaac, [who is of] the side of holiness, it was not needed; for on the contrary, the whole side of holiness is the level of self-nullification (bittul) and not of spreading forth, etc.
For the birth of Isaac, who belongs wholly to the side of holiness, Abraham did not need the hei, because holiness is by nature self-nullification (bittul), not spreading forth. So at Abraham's level the birth of a holy child still comes through the contraction of the yud.
משא״כ לשרה נתוסף הה׳ ללידת יצחק כו׳ (וע׳ לקמן פ׳ חיי שרה בד״ה יגלה לן טעמי) :
Whereas to Sarah the hei was added for the birth of Isaac, etc. (And see below, in Parshas Chayei Sarah, in the maamar beginning "Yegaleh lan ta'amei.")
Sarah, however, being the lower Chochmah, did need the hei for Isaac's birth, since at her level new existence comes through expansion. The text refers the reader to a maamar in Parshas Chayei Sarah, 'Yegaleh lan ta'amei', for more on this.
The paragraph resolves the question: at the higher level (Abraham, the higher Chochmah) new existence comes through contraction, the yud; at the lower level (Sarah, the lower Chochmah) it comes through expansion, the hei. Abraham's added hei served only his role as father of many nations, not the birth of Isaac, whereas Sarah needed the hei for Isaac himself.
The Kehot notes record that other treatments disagree on one point: the Mitteler Rebbe's Biurei HaZohar explains that the hei added to Abraham was for Isaac's birth, and the Tzemach Tzedek in Or HaTorah calls the reading in this maamar strained, suggesting instead that Abram needed the hei so that the soul would be drawn down into Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah, since a birth in Atzilus alone was not enough. Likkutei Torah (Beshalach) adds that this tzimtzum is not total concealment but like a teacher condensing a lesson for a student.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
והנה למעלה כך הוא המדה
How it connects
That passage explains that the worlds can receive only through narrow channels ('hairs'), and it quotes this maamar: above, birth comes specifically through tzimtzum, while below, at the level of Sarah, it is the very opposite.our note
Where the note points
Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהParshas Ki Seitzei, 37c
ע״י בחי׳ שערות כו׳. שאל״כ לא יוכלו העולמות לקבל כו׳. ועיין מ״ש במ״א ס״פ לך לך בד״ה שרי אשתך והנה למעלה כך היא המדה כו׳ ע״י צמצום דוקא כו׳ משא״כ למטה בבחי׳ שרה כו׳ הוא להיפך ממש כו׳ וע׳ בפ׳ תצוה בד״ה ועשית בגדי קדש במש״ש אבל בחי׳ ורב חסד כו׳ ודרך גילוי זה והמשכה זו כו׳ הוא כמ״ש כשמן ה טוב על ראש יורד על הזקן כו׳ ע״ש. וע׳ בפ׳ אמור בד״ה ונקדשתי בתוך כו׳ ובפרשת נצבים בביאור על פ׳ כי כארץ תוציא צמחה כו׳): והסירה את שמלת שביה. שמלה הוא בחי׳ מקיף ויש מקיף גם בזלעו״ז כי בבואה דבבואה לית להו אבל בבואה לחודא אית להו (ועיין מזה בפע״ח בכוונת הושענא רבה אך שם נת׳ ענין בבואה דבבואה באופן אחר) והיינו כמבואר למעלה שבקדושה יש ב׳ מקיפים ל׳ …
Our explanationIt applies the same principle to how divine light reaches the worlds.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
מובא בלקו״ת פ׳ כי תצא לז, ג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
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On the words
שו״ה ההולדה — הוא ע״י צמצום דוקא
How it connects
As the note quotes it, Likkutei Torah clarifies that this tzimtzum is not concealment and total hiddenness, but like the teaching that a person should always teach a student in a concise way.our note
Where the note points
Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהParshas Beshalach, 1a
ראו כי ה׳ נתן לכם השבת וגו׳. במדרש תלים (סי׳ צ״ב) מהו ראו א״ר יצחק כל עיסקא דשבתא כפול. עומר כפול. שני העומר לאחד. קרבנו כפול. וביום השבת שני כבשים כו׳. אזהרותיה כפולות זכור ושמור כו׳. וברבות בשלח ס״פ כ״ה ששקולה שבת כנגד כל המצות כו׳ ע״ש. וכ״ה בירושלמי ספ״ג דנדרים. הנה יש להבין למה אומרים בשבת קדשנו במצותיך דרך בקשה לעתיד כו׳ ובכל ברכות שבחול וגם בכל ברכות המצות אנו אומרים אשר קדשנו במצותיו שכבר קדשנו לעבר כו׳. אך הענין יובן ע״פ הקדמה להבין הטעם שנקרא התורה ומצות בשם דרך ה׳ כמ״ש דרכיה דרכי נועם כו׳. וכן ושמרו דרך הוי׳ כו׳. דהנה כתיב כי בי״ה ה׳ צור עולמים ביו״ד נברא העוה״ב כידוע. ויש להבין איך יתכן שום ציור אות למעלה כמו ציור אות יו״ד שבו נברא כו׳. שהרי אין …
Our explanationThe contraction that brings new existence is a condensing, not a hiding.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהBereishis, vol. 4, 723b
Our explanationThe Tzemach Tzedek's Or HaTorah on Bereishis discusses this maamar's teaching that birth above comes through tzimtzum; the note points there as a parallel treatment.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה בלקו״ת בשלח א, א: ”ואין זה הצמצום העלם והסתר גמור, אלא ע״ד לעולם ישנה אדם לתלמידו בדרך קצרה” ע״ש. וראה באוה״ת בראשית כרך ד תשכג, ב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
וכנודע בענין ג׳ קוצין של יו״ד
How it connects
the passage shares nothing with the noteour note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אורabove, 11b, and the marei mekomos there · not yet checked
However, they knew that to receive from the World of Tikkun is through the nullification of the “something,” as [explained] above concerning the Tikkun through the Name Mah; and they did not want this.
Our explanationThe note sends the reader to the earlier Torah Ohr maamar in Parshas Noach, on the generation of the Tower, and to Kehot's source notes there, for the idea of the three tips of the yud that this maamar says 'is known'.
Read it hereKehot’s note
ראה לעיל יא, ב. ובמ״מ לשם.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
אברם אינו מוליד
How it connects
The Midrash says that Abram does not beget but Abraham does, just as Sarai does not give birth but Sarah does. The Alter Rebbe uses it to raise the question why Abraham, the higher Chochmah, also needed a hei.our note
The source
Bereshit Rabbah 44:12בראשית רבה מ״ד:י״בSefaria (opens in a new tab)… ר' הונא בר רב יוסף אמר: אף שנוי שם ומעשה טוב. שנוי השם מאברהם, ולא יקרא עוד שמך אברם. מעשה טוב מאנשי נינוה, שנאמר (יונה ג) וירא אלקים את מעשיהם כי שבו וגו'. ויש אומרים: אף שנוי מקום שנאמר (בראשית יב): ויאמר ה' אל אברם לך לך. ר' מונא אמר: אף התענית שנאמר (תהלים כ): יענך ה' ביום צרה וגו'. רבא בר מחסיא ורבי חמא בן גוריון בשם רב אמר: יפה תענית לחלום, כאש בנעורת. אמר רבי יוסף: ובו ביום, ואפילו בשבת:
“He took him outside, and said: Look now to the heavens, and count the stars, if you can count them, and He said to him: So will your offspring be” (Genesis 15:5). “He took him outside” – Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi: Did He take him outside the world, that the verse should say: “He took him outside [haḥutza]”? Rather, he showed him the streets of the heavens, can also mean streets. just as it says: “While He had not yet made earth and the outer ranges [ḥutzot]” (Proverbs 8:26). Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: He took him up above the dome of the heavens. That is what He said to him: “Look [habet] now to the heavens” – [the expression] habata refers …
Hebrew: Daat Bereshit Rabbah (Public Domain) · English: The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah, 2022 (CC-BY) · via Sefaria
Zohar I, 90bזח״א צ, בSefaria (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ב״ר מד, יב. זח״א צ, ב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 5
On the words
אברם אינו מוליד
How it connects
The Kehot notes give this Zohar passage, alongside the Midrash, as a source for the saying that Abram does not beget. The Alter Rebbe uses the saying to ask why Abraham needed the added hei.our note
The source
Zohar, Lech Lecha 31:342–32:354ספר הזהר, לך לך ל״א:שמ״ב-ל״ב:שנ״דSefaria (opens in a new tab)Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 6
On the words
כי אב המון גוים
How it connects
The verse explains Abraham's new name: 'for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.' The Alter Rebbe reads this as the explicit purpose of Abraham's added hei.our note
The source
Genesis 17:5בראשית י״ז:ה׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)4אֲנִי הִנֵּה בְרִיתִי אִתָּךְ וְהָיִיתָ לְאַב הֲמוֹן גּוֹיִם: 5וְלֹא־יִקָּרֵא עוֹד אֶת־שִׁמְךָ אַבְרָם וְהָיָה שִׁמְךָ אַבְרָהָם כִּי אַב־הֲמוֹן גּוֹיִם נְתַתִּיךָ: 6וְהִפְרֵתִי אֹתְךָ בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד וּנְתַתִּיךָ לְגוֹיִם וּמְלָכִים מִמְּךָ יֵצֵאוּ:
4… My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be the father of a multitude of nations. 5Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for the father of a multitude of nations have I made thee. 6And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 7
On the words
הנפש אשר עשו בחרן
How it connects
When Abram left Charan he took with him 'the souls they had made in Charan'. The Alter Rebbe cites it as an example of elevating what lies outside holiness, the work for which Abraham needed expansion.our note
The source
Genesis 12:5בראשית י״ב:ה׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)4וַיֵּלֶךְ אַבְרָם כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֵלָיו ה׳ וַיֵּלֶךְ אִתּוֹ לוֹט וְאַבְרָם בֶּן־חָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים וְשִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה בְּצֵאתוֹ מֵחָרָן: 5וַיִּקַּח אַבְרָם אֶת־שָׂרַי אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֶת־לוֹט בֶּן־אָחִיו וְאֶת־כׇּל־רְכוּשָׁם אֲשֶׁר רָכָשׁוּ וְאֶת־הַנֶּפֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־עָשׂוּ בְחָרָן וַיֵּצְאוּ לָלֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן וַיָּבֹאוּ אַרְצָה כְּנָעַן: 6וַיַּעֲבֹר אַבְרָם בָּאָרֶץ עַד מְקוֹם שְׁכֶם עַד אֵלוֹן מוֹרֶה וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי אָז בָּאָרֶץ:
4… with him; and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the terebinth of Moreh. …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
בראשית יב, ה.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 8
On the words
להולדת יצחק . . לא הי׳ צריך
How it connects
As the note reports, Biurei HaZohar explains that the hei was added to Abraham's name for the sake of Isaac's birth, which differs from this maamar's statement that for Isaac it was not needed.our note
Where the note points
Biurei HaZohar, by the Mitteler Rebbeביאורי הזהר13b
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהBereishis, vol. 4, 724a
Our explanationAs quoted in the note, the Tzemach Tzedek finds strained the reading that Abraham's hei was for being father of many nations and not for Isaac, since in Atzilus revelation comes through the yud. He suggests that Abram needed to beget so the soul would be drawn down into Asiyah, and a birth in Atzilus alone was not enough; for birth in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah the hei was required.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Sefer HaErachin Chabadספר הערכים חב״דvol. 1, entry Avraham, notes 116-117
Our explanationThis encyclopedia of Chabad concepts gathers the sources on Abraham; the note points to its footnotes on the question of Abraham's added hei.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Sefer HaMaamarim 5627ספר המאמרים תרכ״זp. 300
Our explanationThe note points to a further discussion of this question in the maamarim of the year 5627 (1866-67).
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה ביאורי הזהר לכ״ק אדמו״ר האמצעי יג, ב דשם מבואר שהוספת הה׳ הי׳ בשביל לידת יצחק. באוה״ת בראשית כרך ד תשכד, א: ”ומ״ש אברם אינו מוליד היינו להיות אב המון גוים אבל לא בשביל יצחק זה דחוק, וההכרח שהביא לפרש כן היינו משום דהא באצי׳ הגילוי ע״י יו״ד, נ״ל דיש ליישב ולומר דהא אברם הוצרך להוולד שיומשך הנשמה בעשי׳ ולא די בלידה דאצי׳ א״כ לצורך הלידה בבי״ע צ״ל ה׳” ע״ש. ראה גם בספר הערכים-חב״ד ח״א ערך אברהם בהערה 116-7. ראה בסה״מ תרכ״ז ע׳ ש.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the Alter Rebbe call Chochmah ayin ('nothing'), and why should 'nothing' be the source of new existence?
- According to the maamar, why can nothing finite come into being unless the Infinite Light is contracted?
- Why would contraction at Sarah's level lead to darkness and concealment rather than to birth?
- What did Abraham's added hei accomplish, and why was it not needed for the birth of Isaac?
- How do the three tips of the yud illustrate that the lower level depends on the higher?
Key terms in this maamar
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×5
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×3
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d.
- Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds. ×1
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence. ×1
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×1
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×1