Torah Ohr · Sefer Bereishis · Shabbos December 12
פרשת מקץ
Parshas Mikeitz
15 maamarim of the Alter Rebbe on the parsha, in the Hebrew of the Kehot edition, with every marei makom opened right where it appears. 7 maamarim have the English translation and explanation; the rest are on the way.
Your progress in Parshas Mikeitz
The maamarim 15
- ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים ופרעה חולם וגו׳ “And it came to pass at the end of two full years, and Pharaoh was dreaming” The love of G‑d awakened in prayer lasts only when it is held in the vessels of Torah and aimed at G‑d’s purpose, a dwelling place below; prayer that seeks its own experience forgets “Yosef,” and its light fades like Pharaoh’s dream.
- ויהי מקץ שנתים ימים ופרעה חלם והנה עומד על היאור “And It Came to Pass at the End of Two Full Years” (second maamar) The Torah sustains all the worlds, yet its true essence is G‑d’s own delight, far above them; a person who learns with that delight draws down a supernal love that protects the good of prayer, while one who lacks it has only a dot of G‑dliness that his desires can soon consume.
- ענין חנוכה The subject of Chanukah Love of G‑d has two sources, both from above: the power to kindle it at all (“when Aaron kindles”) and the added love that enlarges it beyond human measure (“when he tends”). A person reaches both through the mitzvos, which, like the oil of a lamp, are dark to the mind yet draw down G‑d Himself.
- ת״ר מצות נר חנוכה כו׳ The Rabbis taught: the mitzvah of the Chanukah lamp… Beis Shammai say… The mitzvos are the soul’s garments and the soul is the wick that lets G‑d’s light catch them. Chanukah’s lights, like the eight “princes of men,” draw an encompassing light from above wisdom that must be built up from below step by step; that is why Beis Hillel’s rule, ascending from one to eight, prevails.
- כי עמך מקור חיים באורך נראה אור For with You is the source of life; in Your light we shall see light The flow of life to the worlds is only “with” G‑d, not His essence; through Torah, mitzvos and the self-nullification of the heart, Israel draws His essential light down so that it is seen, and Israel is seen in that light.
- ביאור על הנ״ל An Explanation of the Above G‑d’s own “mitzvos” are the descent of His Infinite Light into the Sefiros: the mochin are the “tefillin,” and the light entering them is His “putting them on.” A person’s mitzvos draw that light into Atzilus, while nullifying one’s will and loving G‑d without limit draw down the Will of all wills itself, the “bowl” atop Zechariah’s menorah.
- רני ושמחי בת ציון כו׳ “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion” The Midrash’s three names for Israel, daughter, sister and mother, are three ranks of divine service: the one who receives love from above, the master of Torah who refines the world, and the one whose self-sacrifice gives birth to the revelation of G‑dliness. In the Time to Come the “daughter,” the one refined, will be raised highest of all.
- רני ושמחי בת ציון כי הנני בא
- ביאור על הנ״ל
- מי כה׳ אלקינו המגביהי לשבת המשפילי לראות בשמים ובארץ
- ביאור על הנ״ל
- כי אתה נרי ה׳ והוי״ה יגיה חשכי
- ביאור על פסוק כי אתה נרי הנה בארוממך…
- נר חנוכה מצוה להניחה כו׳ משמאל, כדי שתהא…
- ביאור על הנ״ל
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.