Torah Ohr · Parshas Vayeishev · Maamar 4
בכ״ה בכסליו יומי דחנוכה כו׳ שכשנכנסו יונים להיכל וכו׳
On the Twenty-Fifth of Kislev
Kept on this device only. Sign in to save it on every device
The big idea
The Menorah and the incense, with the daily offering around them, model the whole of divine service: Torah lights up the emotions, mitzvos and charity lift even the lowest “inanimate” level, and self-sacrifice raises the animal soul. Chanukah is a “dedication” in which Israel’s self-sacrifice against the Greeks drew down the light of Torah anew, celebrated through Hallel (bringing G‑dliness into revelation) and thanksgiving (bowing before what remains beyond reach).
The maamar in brief
The maamar asks why Chanukah is marked with lamps, and what Hallel and thanksgiving mean, and answers through the Temple order. The seven lamps are the seven emotions; lighting them draws the light of Chochmah into the emotions to refine them, all seven at night, the principal lamp by day. This is Jacob’s yud reaching the heel, subduing Esau. The incense, made of tasteless spices, lifts the “letters” of thought, speech and action, which wisdom cannot reach, and its fragrance draws G‑dliness down. In prayer, the blood of the daily offering is the self-sacrifice of the Shema: the G‑dly soul at “One,” and the animal soul, rooted in the Chayos of the Chariot, at “Blessed be the name,” rising with a great noise from the heart’s fiery left chamber. Torah study is the lamps; charity, the sum of the mitzvos, is the incense and a “helmet of salvation” that draws down G‑d’s shining face; the fat is delight in G‑d alone. All creation is “small” before the Infinite, so it needs chinuch, dedication through great gifts, like the Princes’ gifts to the altar. The Hasmoneans’ self-sacrifice was that gift. Hallel reveals the hidden; thanksgiving acknowledges the unrevealed.
Outline
- The questions of ChanukahWhy lamps, and what are Hallel and thanksgiving? The answer begins with the Temple Menorah.¶1
- The lamps: wisdom refines the emotionsThe seven lamps are the seven middos; lighting them draws the light of Chochmah into the emotions, the yud of Jacob reaching the heel.¶2–6
- The incense: raising the lettersThe incense raises the inanimate “letters” of thought, speech and action, which wisdom cannot lift, and its fragrance draws Havayah down.¶7–9
- Prayer and the two kinds of self-sacrificePrayer replaces the offerings; self-sacrifice at “One” belongs to the G‑dly soul, and at “Blessed be the name” to the animal soul, for all the worlds are only G‑d’s Name.¶10–16
- The blood of the tamid: the animal soul’s fiery ascentThe animal soul, rooted in the Chayos, rises with a great noise from the heart, reaching “before Havayah,” and draws the Infinite Light down in return.¶17–21
- Torah, charity and the helmet of salvationTorah lights the intellect like the lamps; charity, like the incense, protects as armor and draws down G‑d’s inner face through the 620 pillars of light.¶22–31
- The limbs and the fat: delight in G‑dAfter yearning comes delight in G‑d alone, and the sweetness of the Torah as commanded by G‑d Himself.¶32–33
- Chanukah as dedicationAll creation is “small” before the Infinite and needs chinuch through great gifts; the Hasmoneans’ self-sacrifice against the Greek decree drew down the light of Torah anew.¶34–39
- Hallel and thanksgivingHallel brings hidden G‑dliness into revelation; thanksgiving is the “return,” bittul before the Infinite Light that is not yet revealed.¶40–43
Key concepts
- The seven lamps as the middosז׳ נרות – ז׳ מדות
- The Menorah’s seven lamps stand for the seven emotive attributes; lighting them means bringing the light of Chochmah into the emotions to refine them.
- Incense (ketores)קטרת
- Made of tasteless spices, the incense stands for the inanimate level, the “letters” of thought, speech and action and the physical mitzvos, whose fragrance rises and draws G‑dliness down.
- Two kinds of self-sacrificeב׳ פעמים מסירות נפש
- Self-sacrifice at “One” is the natural bittul of the G‑dly soul; self-sacrifice “with all your soul” is the subjugation and transformation of the animal soul, at “Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom.”
- Yud–ekevיו״ד עקב
- Jacob’s name read as the yud of Chochmah reaching down to the “heel,” the lowest levels, holding Esau in check.
- Helmet of salvationכובע ישועה
- Charity makes G‑d “turn” with His very Self, drawing down His inner dimension, the “shining face” and “crown of glory.”
- Chinuch (dedication, training)חינוך
- Training something that is far from its goal through many gifts; the altar and all creation are “small” before the Infinite and need such dedication.
- Hallel and hodaahהלל והודאה
- Hallel is praise that brings hidden G‑dliness into revelation; hodaah is acknowledgment and bittul before the Infinite Light that is not yet revealed.
The questions of Chanukah ¶1
1בכ״ה בכסליו1 יומי דחנוכה2 כו׳ שכשנכנסו יונים3 להיכל וכו׳. וכשגברו מלכות בית חשמונאי ונצחום לא מצאו4
“On the twenty-fifth of Kislev [begin] the days of Chanukah,” etc.: “for when the Greeks entered the Sanctuary,” etc., “and when the royal house of the Hasmoneans prevailed and defeated them, they found
The maamar opens with the Talmud’s account of Chanukah: the Greeks defiled the Temple, and when the Hasmonean kings defeated them, they searched for pure oil to light the Menorah. The Alter Rebbe quotes it in shortened form, marking the omissions with “etc.”
only one cruse of oil,” etc. “The following year they established them as eight festive days, with Hallel and thanksgiving.” We need to understand the matter of Hallel and the matter of thanksgiving.
Only one cruse of oil with the High Priest’s seal was found, enough for one day, yet it burned for eight. The Sages made the eight days a festival of Hallel (the psalms of praise) and thanksgiving, and the maamar sets out to explain what each of these two terms means.
וגם להבין למה תקנו בנס זה להדליק נרות זכר למקדש שמצאו פך א׳ של שמן כו׳ ולא תקנו כן בשאר נסים.7
We also need to understand why, for this miracle, they instituted the lighting of lamps in remembrance of the Temple, where they found one cruse of oil, etc., whereas they did not institute the same for other miracles.
A second question: other miracles were not commemorated by lighting lamps, so why was this one? The miracle took place with the Temple’s lamps, and the Chanukah lights recall them.
וגם מה ענין נרות להלל והודאה. אך הענין הוא דכתיב נר מצוה ותורה אור8 כו׳. ויובן בהקדים לבאר ענין המנורה שבבהמ״ק שארז״ל וכי לאורה הוא צריך9 כו׳.
And also: what do lamps have to do with Hallel and thanksgiving? But the explanation is that it is written, “For a mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah is light,” etc. This will be understood by first explaining the matter of the Menorah in the Holy Temple, of which our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “Does He then need its light?” etc.
A third question: what connects lamps to praise and thanksgiving? The answer begins from the verse comparing a mitzvah to a lamp and the Torah to light, and from the Sages’ remark that G‑d surely does not need the Menorah’s light; the Menorah must therefore stand for something spiritual, which the maamar now explains.
The paragraph poses three questions about Chanukah (what Hallel and thanksgiving mean, why the miracle is marked with lamps, and how lamps relate to praise) and announces that the answer requires first understanding the Menorah of the Temple.
The Sages’ question “Does He need its light?” (Shabbos 22b; Menachos 86b) is answered there: the Menorah is a testimony that the Shechinah dwells in Israel. The maamar builds on this by treating the lamps as a spiritual service whose effect reaches the soul.
Marei mekomos
- 1בכ״ה בכסלו · נאמרה בחנוכה תקנ״ט בק״ק וויטעבסק. ראה לקו״ד ח״א כא, א. ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. באוה״ת בראשית כרך ה תתקלב, ב הגהות. ראה גם ד״ה זה מכ״ק אדה״א (נדפס בקונטרס בפ״ע תשמ״ט), ובמאמרי אדה״א בראשית ע׳ שיג ביאור. בד״ה כי אתה נרי תשמ״ז מבאר הפלא שמצינו בדרושי חנוכה שבתו״א שנסדרו בתוך פרשיות וישב מקץ, ויש לפניהם דרושים מפ׳ השבוע, ולא נסדרו דרושי חנוכה בפני עצמם, והטעם משום שבשביל הבנת הדרושים דחנוכה שבפ׳ וישב צ״ל לפנ״ז לימוד וידיעת דרושי וישב, ובשביל הבנת דרושי חנוכה שבפ׳ מקץ צ״ל לימוד וידיעת דרושי חנוכה שבפ׳ מקץ, ע״ש. וראה גם ד״ה בכ״ה בכסלו תשי״ח. ד״ה זה נזכר לעיל ד, ב גבי נרות וקטורת. ובלקו״ת תצא לה, ב. בהמשך תער״ב פרק רמד מציין לכאן: ”בענין שמן המנורה שהוא בחי׳ אור החכמה”.
- 2בכ״ה בכסליו יומי דחנוכה · Shabbat 21b:10
- 3שכשנכנסו יונים · בתו״א בדפוס ראשון: שכשנכנסו עובדי כוכבים.
- 4וכשגברו מלכות בית חשמונאי ונצחום לא מצאו · בד״ה ואתה ברחמיך — תשמ״ח (נדפס בסה״מ מלוקט כרך ד ע׳ צט) מדייק ”ונצחום (אז דוקא) מצאו” ע״ש.
- 5בהלל והודאה · בלקו״ש ח״י ע׳ 142 ואילך מבאר שבגמרא הלשון ”בהלל והודאה” וברמב״ם כותב שהם (גם) ”ימי משתה” ע״ש. ובהערה 19 מבאר למה השמיט הרמב״ם תי׳ ”הודאה” ע״ש. ומביא שם בשם הטור או״ח סי׳ תר״ע שהלל לומר בהם הלל ולהודות לומר בו על הניסים ע״ש.
- 6לשנה אחרת קבעום ח׳ י״ט בהלל והודאה · Tur, Orach Chayim 670
- 7למה תקנו בנס זה להדליק נרות . . ולא תקנו כן בשאר נסים · ע״ד ב׳ שיטות בנס חנוכה ראה בארוכה לקו״ש ח״י ע׳ 143 ואילך. לקו״ש חנוכה ח״ל ע׳ 204 ואילך. ובד״ה ואתה ברחמיך — תשמ״ח הנ״ל.
- 8נר מצוה ותורה אור · Proverbs 6:23
- 9וכי לאורה הוא צריך · Shabbat 22b:2
The lamps: wisdom refines the emotions ¶2–6
2והנה כתיב ובהעלות אהרן1 את הנרות בין הערבים יקטירנה. ובבקר בהטיבו את הנרות יקטירנה.2 שבלילה היה מדליק כל ז׳ הנרות34 ולמחר מדשנם ומטיבם
Now, it is written, “And when Aaron kindles the lamps at dusk, he shall burn it [the incense],” and, “In the morning, when he prepares the lamps, he shall burn it.” For at night he would light all seven lamps, and the next day he would clear their ashes and prepare them,
The Torah pairs the kindling of the Menorah with burning the incense, both at dusk and in the morning. At night the Kohen lit all seven lamps; in the morning he cleaned out the ashes and prepared the lamps.
ולא היה מדליק אלא נר המערבי שהוא נר ששי5 שממנו היה מתחיל ובו היה מסיים.
and he would light only the western lamp, which is the sixth lamp, from which he would begin and with which he would conclude.
In the morning only the western lamp, counted here as the sixth, was actually lit: the lighting began from it and ended with it. The maamar will find meaning in this difference between night and day.
The explanation is that the lamps are the emotive attributes (middos): “Yours, G‑d, are the greatness and the might,” etc.; they are seven lamps, corresponding to the seven middos.
The seven lamps correspond to the seven emotive attributes (middos) listed in the verse “Yours, G‑d, are the greatness (Chesed), the might (Gevurah)…”. Lighting the lamps therefore means bringing light into the emotions.
The paragraph describes how the Menorah was lit at night and in the morning, and identifies its seven lamps with the seven emotive attributes.
The verse in Chronicles lists greatness, might, beauty, victory, splendor, “all that is in heaven and earth” and kingship, which Kabbalah reads as Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferes, Netzach, Hod, Yesod and Malchus. The Kehot note explains that lighting all seven at night follows Rashi, Tosafos, Ramban and others, while the Zohar’s statement that he lit at two times holds for all views.
Marei mekomos
- 1ובהעלות אהרן · Exodus 30:8
- 2ובבקר בהטיבו את הנרות יקטירנה · Exodus 30:7
- 3שבלילה הי׳ מדליק כל ז׳ הנרות · כן היא דעת רש״י, תוס׳ (מנחות פו, סע״ב) רמב״ן, ראב״ד, רשב״א ועוד. וכ״מ מנוסח העבודה דיוהכ״פ שתיקן יוסי בן יוסי כה״ג (פע״ח שער יוהכ״פ פ״ד) ונקבע בסי׳ האריז״ל וסי׳ רבינו. ומש״כ בזח״א (פח, ב. קפג, א) שהי׳ מדליק ב׳ זמני — זהו לכל הדעות. וכמש״כ גם בתו״א שהי׳ מדליק בבוקר נר הז׳ (ונר הוא״ו), וסרה קושית הניצוצי זהר שם. לקו״ש חכ״ג ע׳ שנד. ראה לקו״ש חי״ג ע׳ 193 שמאריך בזה.
- 4שבלילה היה מדליק כל ז׳ הנרות · Menachot 86b:3–5
- 5אלא נר המערבי שהוא נר ששי · ברשימת כ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע לפ׳ בהעלותך (חוברת מז) מבאר בארוכה בענין סדר המערכה שמבאר כאן. ראה בספר השיחות תשנ״ב ח״ב ע׳ 419 ובהערה 106.
- 6והענין כי הנרות הם המדות · קטע מכאן מובא באוה״ת נ״ך כרך ג ע׳ א׳שצו.
- 7לך ה׳ הגדולה והגבורה · I Chronicles 29:11
Now, in each and every attribute there is “the one opposite the other”: in kelipah (the husk), over against holiness, and they draw their nourishment from holiness.
For each holy attribute there is a corresponding attribute in kelipah, the realm that conceals G‑dliness. The kelipah has no life of its own; it draws its vitality from holiness.
כמו מאהבה שבקדושה נמשך בהשתלשלות המדרגות להיות תאוה גשמית. וכן מיראה שבקדושה יראה רעה וכעס וכה״ג.
For example, from love in holiness there is drawn down, through the chain of descending levels, [what comes] to be physical lust; and likewise from awe in holiness [comes] evil fear, and anger, and the like.
As love descends through the levels, it can become physical lust; holy awe can become fear of the wrong things, anger and the like. The unholy emotions are degraded forms of holy ones.
The paragraph explains that every holy emotion has an unholy counterpart that feeds on it, formed as the emotion descends into physicality.
“The one opposite the other” (Ecclesiastes 7:14) is the Kabbalistic principle that kelipah mirrors holiness. Because the negative emotions are fallen holy emotions, they can be restored to their source, which is the task the next paragraph describes.
Marei mekomos
- 1זה לעומת זה · Ecclesiastes 7:14
- 2והן יונקות מן הקדושה · ראה סידור נו, ג. אוה״ת משפטים ע׳ א׳קמא. מצה זו תר״מ סעי׳ מג ע׳ ריז. ושם מוסיף: אחר תי׳ ”הקדושה”: והיינו שנמשך בהשתלשלות המדריגות: נמשך.
4וצריך לבררם ולהפכם להתכלל בקדושה עליונה שתהיינה המדות כולן לה׳ בבחי׳ בטול לך ה׳1 הגדולה והגבורה כו׳.
And they must be refined and transformed, to be absorbed into supernal holiness, so that all the attributes will be for G‑d in a state of self-nullification (bittul): “Yours, G‑d, are the greatness and the might,” etc.
The fallen emotions must be refined and turned around so that they rejoin holiness. The goal is that all the emotions belong to G‑d, in the self-nullification expressed by “Yours, G‑d, are the greatness and the might.”
והבירור הוא בחכמה כי בחכמה אתברירו2 כו׳. והחכמה הוא בחי׳ אור להאיר את המדות ולזככן.
The refinement is through Chochmah (wisdom), for “through Chochmah they are refined,” etc. And Chochmah is a light, to illuminate the attributes and to purify them.
Refinement comes through Chochmah (wisdom), which sorts good from evil. Chochmah is compared to light because it illuminates the emotions and purifies them.
ובלילה שהוא זמן החשך היה צריך להאיר את כל ז׳ הנרות דהיינו להמשיך אור החכמה בכל מדה ומדה בפ״ע
At night, which is the time of darkness, it was necessary to light all seven lamps, that is, to draw the light of Chochmah into each and every attribute on its own,
Night stands for a time of darkness, when each emotion needs its own light of wisdom. That is why all seven lamps were lit at night.
whereas by day it was enough to light the sixth lamp, which is the principal channel of influence, and of itself the light of Chochmah would be drawn into all the attributes.
In the day it was enough to light the sixth lamp, the principal channel through which influence flows, and the light of wisdom would reach all the emotions by itself. The Kehot note links the sixth lamp to Yesod.
The paragraph explains the lighting of the Menorah as bringing the light of Chochmah into the emotions to refine them, lamp by lamp at night and through the main channel by day.
The Kehot note cites Or HaTorah: the sixth lamp is Yesod, “the righteous one is the foundation of the world,” Yosef, from whom added light flows to Malchus, the source of the lower worlds. The principle “through Chochmah they are refined” is the Arizal’s teaching that the sparks are sorted by Chochmah.
Marei mekomos
- 1
- 2בחכמה אתברירו · נסמן לעיל ה, ד.
- 3בהדלקת נר הו׳ . . נמשך אור החכמה בכל המדות · באוה״ת פ׳ תצוה ע׳ א׳תקנד: ”היינו כי נר השישי הוא בחי׳ וצדיק יסוד עולם בחי׳ יוסף שממנו נמשך תוספות האור למל׳ מקור דבי״ע”, ע״ש.
- 4לך ה׳ הגדולה · דברי הימים כט, יא.
- 5שו״ה כו׳ — ובלילה · בסה״מ תר״מ שם: ולכן בלילה.
5והנה יש עולם שנה נפש12 וכשם שהיה אהרן ממשיך המשכת אור החכמה בעולם שהן ז׳ בחי׳ ומדות עליונות שבסדר והנהגת העולם כך היה ממשיך אור החכמה בנפש ישראל
Now, there is “world, year, soul.” Just as Aaron would draw down the light of Chochmah into the world, [into] the seven levels and supernal attributes in the order and conduct of the world, so too he would draw down the light of Chochmah into the souls of Israel,
Sefer Yetzirah teaches that everything exists in three dimensions: world (space), year (time) and soul. Aaron’s lighting drew wisdom into the seven attributes that govern the world, and at the same time into the souls of Israel.
שהם יוצאי ירך יעקב שבעים נפש3 נגד בחי׳ ז׳ הנרות והם יוצאי ירך יעקב יו״ד עקב דהיינו בחי׳ יו״ד הוא בחי׳ חכמה הנמשכת ומשתלשלת בבחי׳ עקב וסוף המדרגות התחתונות.4
who are “those who came out of Jacob’s thigh, seventy souls,” corresponding to the seven lamps. They are “those who came out of the thigh of יעקב (Jacob)”: yud–ekev (“heel”), that is, the yud, which is Chochmah, drawn down and descending into the level of the heel, the end of the lowest levels.
Jacob’s descendants were seventy souls, ten times seven, matching the seven lamps. The name יעקב is read as yud (the letter of Chochmah) plus ekev (“heel”): wisdom drawn down to the lowest levels, the heel of the soul.
The paragraph extends the Menorah from the cosmos to the soul: the same light of wisdom Aaron drew into the world’s attributes he drew into the souls of Israel, whose father Jacob’s name means wisdom reaching the heel.
The yud, the first letter of Havayah, stands for Chochmah. Reading Yaakov as yud–ekev teaches that the task of Jacob’s descendants is to carry wisdom down to the very lowest point, the “heel.”
Marei mekomos
- 1יש עולם שנה נפש · ספר יצירה פ״ג. נתבאר בכ״מ בחסידות ראה בספרי מפתחות דא״ח, ולאחרונה במאמרי אדה״א בראשית ע׳ נו.
- 2יש עולם שנה נפש · Sefer Yetzirah 3:5–7
- 3
- 4יעקב י׳ עקב · נסמן לעיל כה, ג.
6וזהו וידו אוחזת בעקב עשו1 כי ידו אותיות יו״ד2 אוחזת את העקב של עשו לבלתי נתון לו תוקף התפשטות וממשלה רק להכניעו תחת הקדושה ולאכפי׳ לס״א.
This is [the meaning of] “and his hand was grasping Esau’s heel”: for ידו (“his hand”) has the letters of יו״ד (yud), which grasps the heel of Esau so as not to give it the strength to expand and rule, but only to subdue it beneath holiness and to subjugate the sitra achra (the other side).
At birth Jacob’s hand held Esau’s heel. ידו (“his hand”) has the same letters as יוד (yud): Jacob’s wisdom holds Esau, the root of kelipah, from below, not letting it spread and rule but keeping it subdued under holiness.
וזה היה ענין המשכת אהרן בהעלותו את הנרות להמשיך בחי׳ יו״ד של יעקב3 הוא אור החכמה לבחי׳ עקב כדי שתהיינה גם מדות הטבעיי׳ שבנפש הבהמית עולות ונכללות בקדושה.
And this was the meaning of what Aaron drew down when he kindled the lamps: to draw the yud of Jacob, the light of Chochmah, to the level of the heel, so that even the natural attributes in the animal soul will rise and be absorbed into holiness.
This is what Aaron did in lighting the lamps: he drew Jacob’s yud, the light of wisdom, down to the heel. The aim is that even the natural emotions of the animal soul rise and are absorbed into holiness.
The paragraph reads Jacob grasping Esau’s heel as wisdom subduing the kelipah at its lowest point, and identifies this with the work of lighting the Menorah.
Subduing the sitra achra (iskafya) comes before transforming it (is’hapcha); both terms return in paragraph 12. The Kehot note lists several parallels on reading ידו as yud.
Marei mekomos
- 1וידו אוחזת בעקב עשו · Genesis 25:26
- 2ידו אותיות יו״ד · ראה גם בסה״מ תקס״ב ע׳ קכז. תו״ח וישלח קפה, ב. שערי אורה ה, א.
- 3להמשיך בחי׳ יו״ד של יעקב · ע׳ מאמרי אדה״א בראשית ע׳ תנז ובאוה״ת פ׳ עקב ע׳ תקה.
The incense: raising the letters ¶7–9
Now, it is written, “And when Aaron kindles the lamps at dusk, he shall burn it,” and likewise, “In the morning, when he prepares the lamps, he shall burn it.”
The maamar returns to the verses about the Menorah and the incense, now to explain the incense itself.
בהעלות והדר יקטירנה וכן בבקר וכמ״ש בסדר המערכה הטבת שתי נרות קודמת לקטורת.3 ולהבין ענין הקטרת4 שהיה אחר הדלקת והטבת שתי נרות הוא כי
[First] “when he kindles,” and then “he shall burn it,” and likewise in the morning; as it is stated in the order of the Temple service, the preparing of two lamps precedes the incense. To understand the matter of the incense, which came after the lighting and after the preparing of two lamps: it is because
In both verses the lamps come first and the incense after, and the Mishnah’s order of the Temple service likewise puts the preparing of two lamps before the incense. The question is why the incense follows the lamps.
הנה ענין הנרות כבר מבואר למעלה שהוא ענין העלאת המדות שירדו ונשתלשלו בגשמיות הנה״ב שתהיינה עולות ונכללות בקדושה. אך הקטרת הוא ענין העלאת האותיות שהן במחדו״מ לבושי המדות שהן בחי׳ דומם.
the matter of the lamps has already been explained above: it is the raising up of the attributes that descended and were drawn down into the physicality of the animal soul, so that they rise and are absorbed into holiness. But the incense is the raising up of the letters, those of thought, speech and action, the garments of the attributes, which are of the level of the inanimate.
The lamps raise the emotions that descended into the animal soul. The incense raises something lower: the “letters”, the garments of thought, speech and action through which the emotions are expressed, which are like inanimate matter.
The paragraph distinguishes two tasks: the lamps elevate the emotions themselves, and the incense elevates their outer garments, the letters of thought, speech and action.
In Tanya the soul’s three garments are thought, speech and action. Here they are called “letters” and classed with the inanimate, the lowest of the four kingdoms, because in themselves they have no feeling.
Marei mekomos
- 1ובהעלות אהרן את הנרות בין הערבים יקטירנה · Exodus 30:8
- 2בבקר בהטיבו את הנרות יקטירנה · Exodus 30:7
- 3הטבת שתי נרות קודמת לקטורת · Yoma 33a:3
- 4ולהבין ענין הקטרת · ראה אוה״ת בראשית כרך ד תתלא, ב.
The letters of holiness are called “the wall of the daughter of Zion,” a wall of stones: “two stones build two houses,” etc., as is known.
Letters of holiness are compared to a wall of stones: Sefer Yetzirah calls letters “stones” and the words built from them “houses.”
And as is explained elsewhere on the verse, “Great is G‑d and much praised, in the city of our G‑d”: when is He called great? When He is in the city of our G‑d, etc.
G‑d’s greatness is revealed “in the city of our G‑d,” that is, when it is expressed and built up. The letters are the city in which His greatness is revealed.
The paragraph shows the importance of letters: they are the building stones in which holiness is revealed, like a city wall.
In Sefer Yetzirah, two letters (“stones”) make two words (“houses”), three make six, and so on. The maamar in Vaera cited by the Kehot note explains that greatness can be ascribed to G‑d only as He extends through His kingship, the city.
Marei mekomos
- 1חומת בת ציון · Lamentations 2:18
- 2שתי אבנים בונות שני בתים · ספר יצירה פ״ד מט״ז ע״פ נוסח האריז״ל.
- 3שתי אבנים בונות שני בתים · Sefer Yetzirah 4:12
- 4וכמ״ש במ״א ע״פ גדול ה׳ ומהולל מאד · ראה לקמן נו, ב.
- 5גדול ה׳ ומהולל מאד בעיר אלקינו · Psalms 48:2
9והנה אותיות של המחדו״מ שנפלו בגשמיות תחת ממשלת הקליפות וסט״א אין להם עלייה ע״י המשכת אור החכמה כי אין אור החכמה אלא במדות עצמן אהוי״ר כו׳
Now, the letters of thought, speech and action that fell into physicality, under the dominion of the kelipos and the sitra achra, have no ascent through the drawing down of the light of Chochmah, for the light of Chochmah is only in the attributes themselves, love and awe, etc.,
The letters of thought, speech and action have fallen into physicality under the kelipos, and the light of wisdom cannot raise them. Wisdom works only on the emotions themselves, love and awe.
שהן בחי׳ רוחניות (עמ״ש ע״פ וייצר1 כו׳ בפ׳ בראשית) אבל גשמיות האותיות אין להם עלייה כ״א ע״י הקטורת שסממני הקטרת היו מדברים שאין בהם טעם כלל ואינם ממין
which are of a spiritual nature (see what is explained on “And [G‑d] formed,” etc., in Parshas Bereishis). But the physicality of the letters has no ascent except through the incense: for the spices of the incense were of things that have no taste at all and are not of the category
Emotions are spiritual; the text refers the reader to its explanation of “And G‑d formed” in Bereishis. Physical letters rise only through the incense, whose spices had no taste and were not food.
מאכל כלל הרי הן בבחי׳ דומם2 ובהקטרתן נעשה בחי׳ ריח העולה למעלה שמשיב את הנפש אשה ריח ניחוח להוי״ה3 שע״י הריח נעשה ניחוח דהיינו ירידה להשתלשלות המשכת בחי׳ הוי״ה יו״ד חכמה כו׳:
of food at all, so they are of the level of the inanimate; and by burning them there comes to be a fragrance that rises upward and restores the soul: “a fire-offering, a pleasing fragrance to Havayah.” For through the fragrance there comes to be nichoach (“pleasing”), that is, a descent into the chain of descent, a drawing down of the level of Havayah, [whose] yud [is] Chochmah, etc.
Being tasteless, the spices are like inanimate matter, yet when burned they give off a fragrance that rises and restores the soul. The Torah calls an offering “a pleasing fragrance (re’ach nicho’ach) to Havayah”: nicho’ach suggests descent, and the fragrance draws down Havayah, whose yud is Chochmah.
The paragraph explains why the incense is needed: wisdom lifts the spiritual emotions, but only the incense, the inanimate turned into fragrance, lifts the physical letters, and its fragrance in turn draws G‑dliness down.
Fragrance is the subtlest of the senses and, as the Sages say, benefits the soul rather than the body. That is why it can lift the lowest, inanimate level: what has no taste of its own becomes, when burned, pure spirit.
Marei mekomos
- 1וייצר · Genesis 2:7
- 2הרי הן בבחי׳ דומם · ע׳ באוה״ת עקב ע׳ תריט.
- 3אשה ריח ניחוח להוי״ה · Leviticus 1:9
Prayer and the two kinds of self-sacrifice ¶10–16
Now, all this was in the Holy Temple, where they would offer sacrifices; and now prayer is in place of the sacrifices. We need to understand this in [terms of] prayer.
All this took place in the Temple through the offerings. Since its destruction, prayer takes the place of the offerings, so the same order must have a meaning in prayer.
הנה בסדר המערכה היה דם התמיד קודם להטבת שתי נרות ונרות לקטרת וקטרת לאברים נמצא שדם התמיד קודם לנרות וקטרת ואברי התמיד אחר נרות וקטרת.2
In the order of the Temple service, the blood of the tamid (the daily offering) came before the preparing of two lamps, the lamps before the incense, and the incense before the limbs. It follows that the blood of the tamid came before the lamps and incense, and the limbs of the tamid after the lamps and incense.
In the daily Temple order, the blood of the tamid, the daily offering, came before the lamps and incense, and its limbs were burned only after them. The offering was split in two, with the lamps and incense between.
ויובן ענין זה בעבודת ה׳ בתפלה. כי הנה עיקר העבודה בק״ש ותפלה הוא למסור נפשו בק״ש.
This will be understood in the service of G‑d in prayer. For the essence of the service in the Shema and prayer is to give over one’s soul in the Shema.
This order will be explained in terms of prayer. The heart of prayer is the Shema, where one gives over one’s soul to G‑d.
The paragraph turns from the Temple to prayer and poses a question: why was the daily offering divided, with its blood before the lamps and incense and its limbs after?
The Kehot note says the Mitteler Rebbe’s maamar on the same opening words poses exactly this question: why the tamid was split, and why the lamps and incense in particular separate its blood from its limbs.
Marei mekomos
- 1ועכשיו היא התפלה במקום הקרבנות · Berakhot 26b:7
- 2ואברי התמיד אחר נרות וקטרת · בד״ה בכ״ה בכסליו לאדה״א הנ״ל מבאר יותר ”ויש להבין למה נחלק הקרבת קרבן התמיד להיות דמו נקרב דוקא לפני נרות וקטורת ואברים אחר נרות וקטרת, ולמה הפסיק בנרות וקטורת דוקא בין הקרבת דמיו להקרבת אבריו”.
11והנה יש ב״פ מס״נ1 למסור נפשו באחד.2 ובכל נפשך3 אפילו נוטל את נפשך4 כו׳. ולהבין מהו ענין ב״פ מס״נ הללו
Now, there are two kinds of self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh): to give over one’s soul in “One,” and “with all your soul: even if He takes your soul,” etc. To understand what these two kinds of self-sacrifice are:
There are two kinds of self-sacrifice in the Shema: giving oneself over in the word “One,” and loving G‑d “with all your soul,” which the Sages explain as “even if He takes your soul.” The maamar asks what distinguishes them.
הנה למס״נ באחד קאי על נה״א שהיא בבחי׳ ביטול ממש וכמ״ש חי ה׳ אשר עמדתי לפניו.5 בחי׳ עמידה היא ביטול באוא״ס ב״ה ממש.
self-sacrifice in “One” refers to the G‑dly soul, which is in a state of actual self-nullification, as it is written, “As G‑d lives, before Whom I have stood.” The state of standing is self-nullification in the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, itself.
Self-sacrifice at “One” belongs to the G‑dly soul, which is already wholly nullified before G‑d. Elisha’s words “before Whom I have stood” show this: standing before G‑d means complete self-nullification in the Infinite Light.
The paragraph distinguishes two kinds of self-sacrifice in the Shema and assigns the first, at “One,” to the G‑dly soul, which stands wholly nullified before G‑d.
The Kehot note cites halachic sources (the Rashba, the Bach, Pri Etz Chaim) for the practice of intending self-sacrifice at the word “One.”
Marei mekomos
- 1ב״פ מס״נ · ראה בארוכה באוה״ת תרומה ע׳ א׳שסז. ובאוה״ת פ׳ נצבים ע׳ א׳ר. שרש מצות התפלה פמ״א. ד״ה את שבתותי ש״ת ע׳ 84.
- 2למסור נפשו באחד · ראה שו״ת הרשב״א ח״ה תשובה נה. ב״ח טוא״ח רסס״א. פע״ח שער הק״ש פי״ב.
- 3ובכל נפשך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 4ובכל נפשך אפילו נוטל את נפשך · Berakhot 54a:6
- 5חי ה׳ אשר עמדתי לפניו · II Kings 5:16
And the level of “with all your soul” means that the animal soul too should be in a state of subjugation and transformation (iskafya and is’hapcha), etc.; for this self-sacrifice is not in “One”
The second self-sacrifice, “with all your soul,” concerns the animal soul, which must be subdued and then transformed. This happens not at “One” but at the verse that follows it.
אלא בבחי׳ ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו2 כו׳. והענין כי הנה נודע שבחי׳ ממלא כ״ע וסוכ״ע הכל נק׳ בחי׳ שמי בלבד.
but in the level of “Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom,” etc. The explanation is that, as is known, the level of the light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin) and of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin) is all called only the level of “My Name.”
It happens at “Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom,” which speaks of G‑d’s “name,” not His essence. Both kinds of divine light, the light that fills all worlds and the light that encompasses them, are only G‑d’s “Name.”
The paragraph assigns the second self-sacrifice to the animal soul and ties it to “Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom,” then begins to explain that all divine light in the worlds is only G‑d’s Name.
This corresponds to the higher unity (the Shema’s “One”) and the lower unity (“Blessed be the name”). In Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim, the Alter Rebbe refers to this maamar as explaining the matter “in a somewhat different way,” and the Tzemach Tzedek adds that the two explanations agree.
Marei mekomos
- 1ובכל נפשך היינו שגם בחי׳ נה״ב · ראה לקו״ת שה״ש א, ב. באופן אחר קצת, ושם מציין כ״ק אדמו״ר הצ״צ בהגה״ה ”והמ״י שעולה בקנה א׳” ע״ש. ראה סה״מ תרס״ו ע׳ קלה.
- 2ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו · Pesachim 56a:5
13וכמאמר מלך משובח ומפואר עדי עד שמו הגדול. ועדי עד פי׳ כל העליות שמעולם עד עולם בעילוי אחר עילוי עוה״ב וג״ע העליון וימות המשיח ותחה״מ וכמה רבוא רבבות עולמות והיכלות המבואר בזוהר.
As in the saying, “King, praised and glorified forever and ever (adei ad), is His great Name.” “Forever and ever” means all the ascents from world to world, elevation after elevation: the World to Come, the Upper Garden of Eden, the days of Mashiach and the Resurrection of the Dead, and the many myriads of myriads of worlds and chambers explained in the Zohar.
The words come from the morning prayers, which praise G‑d’s “great Name” as glorified “forever and ever.” The Alter Rebbe reads “forever and ever” as the endless ascents of all the higher worlds, from the World to Come to the countless worlds described in the Zohar, and all of them are praise of His Name alone.
The paragraph supports the claim that all the worlds are only G‑d’s “Name”: even the loftiest worlds and eras belong to what the prayer calls His Name.
14ובאמת יש הרבה יותר עד אין קץ וכמ״ש ולגדודיו אין מספר1 וגדודיו הן מלאכים שהן בחי׳ חיצוני׳ העולמות ומכ״ש נשמות שהן פנימי׳ עולמות אין זה אלא בבחי׳ שמו שם כבוד מלכותו.
In truth there are far more, without end, as it is written, “His troops are without number”; His troops are the angels, which are the outer dimension of the worlds, and all the more so the souls, which are the inner dimension of the worlds. Yet all this is only at the level of “His Name,” the name of the glory of His kingdom.
The worlds are in fact endless, like the countless “troops” of G‑d, the angels. Angels are the outer side of the worlds and souls their inner side, yet even these belong only to G‑d’s Name, “the name of the glory of His kingdom.”
כמשל התפשטות המלך במדינה שרק שמו הולך בכל מדינות מלכותו ולא עצמותו ומהותו כך כביכול התפשטות החיות הנמשך
As in the analogy of the extension of a king through his country: only his name goes out through all the provinces of his kingdom, not his essence and being. So too, so to speak, the extension of the life-force drawn
A king’s name reaches every province of his realm, though he himself does not. In the same way, the life-force that spreads through the worlds is only G‑d’s “name.”
מאור א״ס ב״ה להחיות כל הברואים ונפש כל חי אין התפשטות והמשכה זו רק בבחי׳ שם שהוא רק זיו והארה בבחי׳ התפשטות בלבד ונק׳ אא״ס
from the Infinite Light, blessed be He, to give life to all the creatures and the soul of every living thing: this extension and drawing down is only at the level of a “name,” which is only a radiance and illumination, merely an extension, and it is called the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof).
The divine life in all creatures is only a “name,” a radiance and extension from G‑d, not G‑d Himself. This radiance is what Chassidus calls the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), as distinct from the Infinite One Himself.
אבל עצמות א״ס ב״ה ממש הוא רם ונשא כי אני ה׳ לא שניתי2 כתיב ואין ערוך אליו ית׳ אפי׳ כערך טפה מים אוקינוס כו׳.
But the very essence of the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, is exalted and lofty, for it is written, “For I, G‑d, have not changed,” and there is no comparison to Him, blessed be He, not even as a drop compares to the ocean, etc.
G‑d’s own essence is beyond all this and unaffected by it, as the verse says, “I, G‑d, have not changed.” All the worlds together bear no relation to Him, less than a drop bears to the ocean.
The paragraph explains that all the worlds, angels and souls receive only G‑d’s “Name,” an extension of radiance, while His essence remains exalted and unchanged.
The distinction between the Infinite Light (an extension, like a name or a ray) and the Infinite One Himself underlies all of Chassidus. A name exists for others, not for its bearer; so the divine life in creation exists for the creatures’ sake and does not touch the essence.
Marei mekomos
- 1ולגדודיו אין מספר · Chagigah 13b:13
- 2אני ה׳ לא שניתי · Malachi 3:6
15והנה הנשמה ונפש האלקי׳ מחמת שהיא בבחי׳ פנימי׳ העולמות היא בטלה ונכללת ביחוד עליון ב״ה לגבי אור א״ס ב״ה ממש מחמת ששורה ומאיר עליה אור
Now, the soul, the G‑dly soul, because it is of the inner dimension of the worlds, is nullified and absorbed in the higher unity (yichuda ila’ah), blessed be He, before the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself; because there rests and shines upon it the light
The G‑dly soul belongs to the inner side of the worlds, so it is naturally nullified before G‑d, absorbed in the “higher unity” in which all creation is nothing before Him. The Infinite Light rests upon it directly.
א״ס ב״ה ומשכלת ומתבוננת ברוממותו ית׳ איך שאין להעריך אליו ואני ה׳ לא שניתי1 כו׳. אבל בהשתלשלות וירידת המדרגות עד סוף המדרגות תחתונות דנה״ב המלובשת בגוף הגשמי ממש.
of the Infinite One, blessed be He, and it contemplates and meditates on His exaltedness, blessed be He: how nothing can be compared to Him, and “I, G‑d, have not changed,” etc. But in the chain of descent and the lowering of the levels, down to the end of the lowest levels, [that is, the level] of the animal soul enclothed in the actual physical body:
The G‑dly soul contemplates G‑d’s greatness and senses that nothing compares to Him. The animal soul, however, stands at the bottom of the chain of descent, clothed in the physical body.
הנה הגשמי הוא מסך מבדיל ומפריד היחוד עליון מחמת שנראה לעיני בשר ליש ודבר נפרד ומ״מ ע״י ירידת הנשמה ונפש אלקי׳ שלא ירדה בשביל עצמה
the physical is a screen that separates and divides [it] from the higher unity, because to eyes of flesh it appears as a being and a separate thing. Nevertheless, through the descent of the soul, the G‑dly soul, which did not descend for its own sake,
Physicality is a screen that hides the higher unity: to the physical eye things look independent and separate from G‑d. Yet the G‑dly soul descended into this world, and not for its own benefit.
שהרי גם קודם ירידתה היתה בבחי׳ אשר עמדתי2 כו׳ אלא הירידה היא צורך עליי׳ נפש הבהמית היא להאיר לה הארה מיחוד עליון ב״ה שתוכל גם היא לעלות וליכלל באא״ס ב״ה.
for even before its descent it was at the level of “before Whom I have stood,” etc.; rather, the descent is for the sake of the ascent of the animal soul: to shine upon it an illumination from the higher unity, blessed be He, so that it too can rise and be absorbed into the Infinite Light, blessed be He.
Even before coming down, the G‑dly soul “stood before G‑d.” It descended to raise the animal soul, shining upon it a glimmer of the higher unity so that it too can rise and be absorbed into the Infinite Light.
The paragraph explains why the G‑dly soul came down into the body: not for itself, since it was already nullified before G‑d, but to lift the animal soul, which the physical screen keeps from sensing G‑d.
This is Tanya’s theme that the soul’s descent is a “descent for the sake of ascent,” and that the ascent achieved is the refinement of the animal soul and the body.
Marei mekomos
- 1ואני ה׳ לא שניתי · Malachi 3:6
- 2אשר עמדתי · II Kings 5:16
16והארה והמשכה זו היא מבחי׳ ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד. דהיינו ע״י התבוננות שכל מה שנראה ליש ונפרד אין זה
This illumination and drawing down is from the level of “Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever”: that is, through contemplating that everything that appears as a being and separate is nothing
The light that the G‑dly soul shines into the animal soul comes from “Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom,” the lower level of G‑d’s Name. This comes about through contemplating what the world really is.
אלא בחי׳ זיו ושם כבוד מלכותו. ואי לזאת יהיה היש בטל כמו זיו השמש בשמש כו׳ וכמ״ש במ״א.
but a radiance, the name of the glory of His kingdom. Therefore the being will be nullified, like the radiance of the sun within the sun, etc., as is explained elsewhere.
Everything that seems separate is only a radiance of G‑d’s kingship. Once this is understood, the apparent “something” is nullified, like a ray of sunlight inside the sun, where it has no existence of its own.
The paragraph describes the meditation that lifts the animal soul: seeing that all apparent existence is only a radiance of G‑d’s Name, and so nullified before its source.
The image of sunlight inside the sun is Tanya’s (Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 3): within its source, the ray is not considered to exist at all. This is the “lower unity,” reached through understanding rather than the direct nullification of the higher unity.
The blood of the tamid: the animal soul’s fiery ascent ¶17–21
Now, in the ascent of the animal soul to be absorbed into the Infinite Light, blessed be He, very great and abundant is its power, for it is of the level of baalei teshuvah (those who return), who “draw with greater force.”
When the animal soul rises, its force is greater than the G‑dly soul’s, like that of people who return (baalei teshuvah), whom the Zohar describes as drawing with greater force than the wholly righteous.
For the animal soul was taken from the holy Chayos of the Chariot. And the Chayos carry the Throne, and “the likeness as the appearance of a man upon it from above.”
The animal soul is rooted in the holy Chayos, the living creatures of Ezekiel’s vision that carry G‑d’s Throne, above which is “the likeness as the appearance of a man.” Its root is therefore very high.
The paragraph explains why the animal soul’s ascent is so powerful: like a returning penitent it draws with greater force, and its root is the holy Chayos that carry the Throne.
The Kehot note cites Or HaTorah reading “man and beast” as the true unity of the G‑dly soul (the Name Mah, “man”) and the animal soul (the Name Ban, “beast”), which receives the self-nullification of Mah until they become one.
Marei mekomos
- 1והנה בעליית נה״ב . . אדם ובהמה תושיע ה׳ · באוה״ת ויקרא כרך א ע׳ רכד: ור״ל שאדם שהיא נה״א ובהמה שהיא הנה״ב מתייחדים יחוד אמיתי כיון הבהמה ב״ן מתייחד לקבל ביטול דמ״ה ונעשו עצם אחד, וכמו אדם מ״ה וחוה גימט׳ י״ט מילוי דמ״ה שהוא ב״ן שבמ״ה כו׳ עכ״ל ע״ש. ראה גם באוה״ת ויקרא כרך ב ע׳ תלא.
- 2דמשכין בחילא יתיר · Zohar I, 129b
- 3כי נה״ב נלקחה מחיות הקודש שבמרכבה · ראה לקו״ת נשא כח, ג ואילך ובמ״מ לשם.
- 4והחיות נושאות את הכסא · Shemot Rabbah 23:15
- 5והחיות נושאות את הכסא · Rabbeinu Bahya, Shemot 25:18
- 6והחיות נושאות את הכסא · Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 4:1
- 7ודמות כמראה אדם עליו מלמעלה · Ezekiel 1:26
18וברעש גדול מתנשאים. וזה היה ענין דם התמיד צפונה לפני1 הוי״ה שהקרבנות היו בנפש הבהמה להעלותה לשרשה שנלקחה מבחי׳ פני שור שבמרכבה.
“And with a great noise they rise up.” This was the meaning of the blood of the tamid, [slaughtered] “on the north side before Havayah”: for the sacrifices were of the soul of the animal, to raise it to its root, from which it was taken, the level of the face of the ox in the Chariot.
The Chayos rise “with a great noise,” as the morning prayers describe. So the tamid’s blood was offered “on the north side before Havayah,” since the offerings raised the animal’s soul to its root in the face of the ox in the Chariot.
The tamid was of the most holy offerings, which are slaughtered in the north, the level of Gevurah (restraint), which is from the left, the level of “a great noise.” Moreover, צפונה (“on the north side”) [is] צפון ה׳, “the hidden hei,”
The tamid was one of the most holy offerings, which are slaughtered on the north side of the altar. North is Gevurah, the left side, the source of the “great noise”; and צפונה (“north”) also reads as צפון ה׳, “the hidden hei.”
דהיינו בחי׳ ה׳ אחרונה של שם הוי״ה שהוא בחי׳ העלם וצמצום א״ס ב״ה שמחמת זה היה הרעש.
that is, the level of the final hei of the Name Havayah, which is the level of the concealment and tzimtzum (contraction) of the Infinite One, blessed be He; and because of this there was the noise.
The hidden hei is the final hei of Havayah, Malchus, where the Infinite One conceals and contracts Himself. The concealment is what causes the “noise,” the tumult of longing.
וזהו צפונה לפני הוי״ה. שמבחי׳ צפונה שהוא בחי׳ רעש גדול מתנשאים ונושאים את הכסא דמות כמראה אדם למעלה מבחי׳ אדם לפי ששרשם מעולם התהו לפני מלך מלך לבני ישראל.5
This is “on the north side before Havayah”: from the level of “the north side,” which is the level of “a great noise,” they rise up and carry the Throne, the likeness as the appearance of a man, above the level of man; because their root is from the World of Tohu, “before any king reigned over the children of Israel.”
From this place of noise the Chayos rise above the level of “man” itself, even as they carry the Throne with the likeness of a man on it. Their root is in Tohu, the world that existed “before any king reigned over Israel.”
The paragraph explains the tamid’s blood slaughtered in the north: it raises the animal soul to its root in the Chayos, whose noisy, fiery ascent from the hidden place of Gevurah reaches above the level of “man.”
The World of Tohu had intense lights in vessels too small to hold them; this is why powers rooted in Tohu, like the Chayos and the animal soul, have an intensity that can reach beyond the ordered level of Tikkun (“man”). The Kehot note brings Or HaTorah on the two sides of offerings slaughtered in the north: they come for sin, from “the north, where evil begins,” yet they rise to the highest levels.
Marei mekomos
- 1צפונה לפני ה׳ · Leviticus 1:11
- 2והתמיד . . ששחיטתן בצפון · ראה שערי אורה ד״ה בכ״ה בכסלו פכ״א, ובד״ה בכ״ה בכסליו לאדה״א הנ״ל כ׳ ”וזהו שהתמיד הוא ק״ק ששחיטתן בצפון דוקא כדי להעלותן לשרשן בבחי׳ גבורות דתוהו כו׳”. סה״מ תרע״ח ע׳ צב. סה״מ תש״ז ע׳ 202 ”והלא צפון הוא בחי׳ גבורה ולמה ק״ק שחיטתן בצפון דוקא” ע״ש. וע״ז ראה באוה״ת ויקרא כרך ב ע׳ תלא בקרבנות ששחיטתן בצפון יש ב׳ ענינים הפכים, הא׳ לכאורה לגריעותא לפי שבאו על חטא והוא מבחי׳ מצפון תפתח הרעה, והב׳ לשבח גדול שעולים בבחי׳ קד״ק ג״ר, משא״כ בקרבנות ששחיטתן בדרום שנקראו קדשים קלים שהם בז״מ . . אך באמת שניהם אמת, ע״ש בארוכה. אוה״ת חנוכה רפג, ב ואילך.
- 3והתמיד היה מקדשי קדשים ששחיטתן בצפון · Mishnah Zevachim 5:1
- 4בחי׳ גבורה שמהשמאל בחי׳ רעש גדול · ועי״ז ממשיך לפני הוי׳ מקור בחי׳ הוי׳ — אוה״ת ויקרא כרך ב׳ ע׳ תלא ואח״כ מציין בכמה מקומות בלקו״ת ע״ש.
- 5לפני מלך מלך לבני ישראל · Genesis 36:31
19והנה הוי״ה יו״ד חכמה כו׳ בחי׳ אדם. משא״כ ברעש גדול מתנשאים למעלה מבחי׳ אדם. וזהו לפני הוי״ה מקור בחי׳ הוי״ה שמשם נמשך להיות התהוות בחי׳ הוי״ה.
Now, Havayah, [whose] yud [is] Chochmah, etc., is the level of man; whereas “with a great noise they rise up” above the level of man. This is “before Havayah”: the source of the level of Havayah, from which is drawn the very coming-into-being of the level of Havayah.
Havayah, whose yud is Chochmah, corresponds to “man,” the ordered structure of the Sefiros. The ascent “with a great noise” reaches above it, to what the verse calls “before Havayah,” the source from which Havayah itself comes to be.
והנה כמו שדם התמיד היו מקריבים מנפש הבהמה ממש כך התפלה במקום הקרבנות היא בעליות והתכללות נפש הבהמית שבאדם שהיא ג״כ ברעש גדול בחי׳ רשפי אש1 והתלהבות בתשוקה וצמאון כו׳.
And just as they would offer the blood of the tamid, from the actual soul of the animal, so prayer, in place of the sacrifices, is the ascent and absorption of the animal soul within a person, which is also “with a great noise”: the level of flashes of fire and fervor, in yearning and thirst, etc.
Just as the Temple offered the blood of an actual animal, prayer lifts the “animal” in a person, the animal soul. Its ascent too comes “with a great noise”: burning fervor, yearning and thirst for G‑d.
The paragraph explains that the animal soul’s fiery ascent reaches “before Havayah,” above the level of “man,” and applies this to prayer, which lifts the animal soul as the offerings lifted the animal.
The Name Havayah is drawn as a human form: yud as the head (Chochmah), hei as the arms and body, vav as the torso, and the final hei. Ascending “before Havayah” means reaching past this ordered form to its source.
Marei mekomos
- 1רשפי אש · Song of Songs 8:6
This is “Man and beast You save, Havayah”: the beast within man You save, so that in it too there be a drawing down of the level of Havayah.
The verse “Man and beast You save, Havayah” is read as the beast within man. G‑d saves the animal soul too, so that the light of Havayah is drawn into it.
This thirst and this yearning are the level of “with all your heart.” For in the heart there are two chambers: the right chamber is full of air and breath,
The animal soul’s yearning is loving G‑d “with all your heart,” which the Sages read as with both inclinations. The heart has two chambers, and the right one holds air and breath.
וחלל השמאלי מלא דם שהדם הוא הנפש4 רביעית דם שהנפש תלוי בו משכנו בלב ששם יסוד האש והחום הטבעי.
and the left chamber is full of blood, for “the blood is the soul”; the revi’is of blood on which the soul depends has its dwelling in the heart, where the element of fire and the natural heat are found.
The left chamber holds blood, and “the blood is the soul”: the vital measure of blood (a revi’is) on which life depends dwells in the heart. There too are the element of fire and the body’s natural heat.
כנודע שכנפי הריאה5 מנשבי׳ על הלב לקררו מחמימות ושם הוא משכן התשוקה וצמאון האלקי להעלות ולהתכלל באוא״ס ב״ה:
As is known, the lobes of the lungs blow upon the heart to cool it from its heat. And there is the dwelling-place of the G‑dly yearning and thirst, to rise and be absorbed into the Infinite Light, blessed be He.
The lungs cool the heart’s heat. That hot left chamber is where the G‑dly yearning and thirst arises: the animal soul’s own fire, now directed toward being absorbed into G‑d.
The paragraph places the animal soul’s fiery yearning in the left chamber of the heart, and shows that when turned to G‑d it becomes loving Him “with all your heart.”
In Tanya ch. 9, the left chamber, full of blood, is the seat of the animal soul, and the right chamber the seat of the G‑dly soul’s love. Here the heat of the left side becomes the source of a thirst for G‑d.
Marei mekomos
- 1אדם ובהמה תושיע ה׳ · Psalms 36:7
- 2בכל לבבך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 3שבלב יש ב׳ חללים · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 9:1–2
- 4שהדם הוא הנפש · Deuteronomy 12:23
- 5שכנפי הריאה מנשבים על הלב לקררו · Zohar III, 234a
Now, after this ascent and absorption, “spirit brings spirit and draws down spirit”: to draw the Infinite Light, blessed be He, down below, “as water [reflects] face to face.”
After the soul rises, the Zohar’s principle applies: the spirit rising from below brings down spirit from above. As water reflects a face, G‑d answers the soul’s ascent by drawing His light down.
כשם שמבטל א״ע מיש לאין כך נמשך מלמעלה מאין ליש שתהא השראת אוא״ס ב״ה ממש למטה כמו למעלה.
Just as one nullifies oneself, from being to nothing, so there is drawn down from above, from nothing to being, so that the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself will rest below as above.
The soul makes itself “nothing,” and in response G‑d’s light comes down from “nothing” into “something.” The Infinite Light then rests below just as it does above.
The paragraph gives the second stage of prayer: after the soul’s ascent and self-nullification, the Infinite Light is drawn down into the world in response.
This is the “arousal from below” that draws an “arousal from above,” measure for measure: the self-nullification from being into nothing is answered by a descent from nothing into being.
Marei mekomos
- 1רוח אייתי רוח · Zohar II, 162b
- 2רוח אייתי רוח ואמשיך רוח · Zohar, Terumah 66:669–678
- 3כמים הפנים · Proverbs 27:19
Torah, charity and the helmet of salvation ¶22–31
22ובכל נפשך1 בכל כחות הנפש מחדו״מ. וגם כל נפש כלולה מנר״נ. ועיקר הנפש היא המשכלת2 כ״ח לפום שעורא דיליה. יש מארי מקרא. ויש מארי משנה ותלמוד.
“With all your soul”: with all the powers of the soul, thought, speech and action. Also, every soul comprises nefesh, ruach and neshamah. And the main part of the soul is the intellectual one, each according to his measure: there are masters of Scripture, and there are masters of Mishnah and Talmud.
“With all your soul” means with all the soul’s powers and garments, its levels of nefesh, ruach and neshamah. Chief among them is the intellect, and each person’s intellect has its measure, whether in Scripture or in Mishnah and Talmud.
וזהו ענין הדלקת הנרות. אלא שבין הערבים מדליק כל ז׳ הנרות ובבקר בשעת הטבת שתי נרות היה מדליק נר הששי אחר הטבתו ואח״כ מדליק נר הז׳.
This is the matter of lighting the lamps. Except that at dusk he lights all seven lamps, while in the morning, at the time of preparing two lamps, he would light the sixth lamp after preparing it, and afterwards light the seventh lamp.
Bringing the light of Torah into each person’s intellect is the lighting of the lamps. The maamar recalls the difference: at dusk all seven lamps were lit, and in the morning the sixth and then the seventh.
The paragraph applies “with all your soul” to the intellect illuminated by Torah, and connects this to the lighting of the Menorah.
The Kehot note quotes the Mitteler Rebbe’s maamar: the intellect is where the light of G‑d is first revealed, through binding one’s thought to the wisdom of the Torah, which “comes from supernal Chochmah.”
Marei mekomos
- 1ובכל נפשך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 2ועיקר הנפש היא המשכלת · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 3
23והוא כענין ותורה אור1 להיות מאיר אור התורה בכל נפשך נפש השכלי׳. ומזה בא לבחי׳ ובכל מאדך בכל ממונך2 היא בחי׳ הצדקה שהיא סתם מצוה מעשיית.
It is like “and the Torah is light”: that the light of the Torah should shine in “with all your soul,” the intellectual soul. From this one comes to the level of “with all your might,” with all your wealth, which is the level of charity (tzedakah), which is [what is called] “mitzvah” without qualification, a mitzvah of action.
“And the Torah is light” is the light of Torah shining in the intellect, the service “with all your soul.” From there one reaches “with all your might,” which the Sages read as “with all your money”: charity, which the Talmud simply calls “the mitzvah.”
כנודע שהמצות שהן בעשייה גשמי׳ הן בבחי׳ קטרת הנעשה מסממנים שאין בהם טעם ואינם ממין מאכל.
As is known, the mitzvos that are done in physical action are of the level of the incense, which is made of spices that have no taste and are not of the category of food.
All mitzvos done with physical action are like the incense. Its spices had no taste and were not food, just as physical actions carry no understanding of their own.
The paragraph moves from Torah study (light) to practical mitzvos, above all charity, which it compares to the incense.
In the Jerusalem Talmud and the Midrash, charity is often called simply “the mitzvah.” Charity gives away money earned by one’s labor and life, and so it represents all mitzvos of action.
Marei mekomos
- 1ותורה אור · Proverbs 6:23
- 2ובכל מאדך בכל ממונך · Berakhot 54a:6
24ומהם נעשה בחי׳ ריח העולה למעלה לחזק את המוח ולהשיב את הנפש שראשית גילוי כלליות הנפש הוא במוחין שבראש ופעולות הריח היא שלא תהיה הנפש בבחי׳ הסתלקות מן המוחין רק שתשוב ותתגלה מהעלם אל הגילוי.
From them there comes to be a fragrance that rises upward, to strengthen the mind and to restore the soul. For the first revelation of the soul as a whole is in the intellect (mochin) in the head, and the action of fragrance is that the soul should not be withdrawn from the intellect, but should return and be revealed, from concealment into revelation.
Like the incense, physical mitzvos give off a “fragrance” that revives the soul and strengthens the mind. When a person faints, fragrance brings the soul back to the brain, where it is first revealed; so the mitzvos keep the soul present and revealed.
The paragraph explains the effect of practical mitzvos through the image of fragrance, which restores the soul to the mind.
Fragrance is used to revive someone who has fainted, when the soul has withdrawn from the brain. The comparison suggests that mitzvos of action, though they seem “tasteless,” reach the soul at its root.
25וכך הוא ענין המצות. וכללותן היא מצות הצדקה.1 שעליה נאמר וצדקה תרומם גוי.2 שמתרוממת ועולה למעלה מעלה. וכתיב וילבש צדקה כשריון וכובע ישועה בראשו.
So it is with the mitzvos, and their sum is the mitzvah of charity, about which it is said, “Charity exalts a nation”: it is exalted and rises higher and higher. And it is written, “He put on charity as a coat of mail, and a helmet of salvation on His head.”
All the practical mitzvos are summed up in charity. “Charity exalts a nation” is read as charity itself rising higher and higher, and Isaiah describes G‑d putting on charity as armor, with a helmet of salvation on His head.
שריון הוא מקשקשים רבים. וכך הנה כל פרוטה ופרוטה מצטרפת3 לחשבון גדול.4 להיות בחי׳ שריון שהוא מגן לכל החוסים בו.
A coat of mail is [made] of many scales. So too, each and every coin adds up to a great sum, to become a coat of mail, which is a shield for all who take refuge in it.
Armor is made of many small scales. In the same way, each coin given adds to a great sum, and together they form a protective coat for all who shelter in it.
וכך הצדקה נעשה בחי׳ מגן ומחסה שלא יהיה יניקת הקליפה וסט״א. ונעשה בחי׳ כובע ישועה בראשו:
So too charity becomes a shield and a refuge, so that there be no nurture for the kelipah and the sitra achra; and it becomes a “helmet of salvation on His head.”
Charity shields a person so that the kelipah and the sitra achra cannot draw nourishment from him. Beyond that, it becomes the “helmet of salvation,” which the next paragraphs explain.
The paragraph presents charity as the sum of all practical mitzvos and, through Isaiah’s image, as both armor that protects and a helmet of salvation.
The Talmud (Bava Basra 9b) derives from this verse that small coins add up to a great sum, as scales make up armor. The Alter Rebbe distinguishes the armor (protection from kelipah) from the helmet (a revelation on the “head,” above).
Marei mekomos
- 1וכללותן היא מצות הצדקה · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 37:19
- 2וצדקה תרומם גוי · Proverbs 14:34
- 3וילבש צדקה כשריון . . כל פרוטה ופרוטה מצטרפת · Isaiah 59:17
- 4כל פרוטה ופרוטה מצטרפת לחשבון גדול · Bava Batra 9b:1
26וביאור ענין זה הנה כתיב עטרת תפארת1 שיבה2 בדרך צדקה תמצא. שמבחי׳ צדקה3 נעשה בחי׳ עטרת תפארת שיבה היא בחי׳ הדרת פנים יאר ה׳ פניו כו׳
The explanation of this: it is written, “A crown of glory is gray hair; it is found in the way of charity.” From charity there comes to be a “crown of glory, gray hair,” which is the level of the majesty of the face, “May G‑d make His face shine,” etc.,
Proverbs says the crown of gray hair “is found in the way of charity.” Gray hair stands for the majesty of the face, the shining of G‑d’s face in the Priestly Blessing, and this, the maamar says, comes from charity.
בחי׳ פנימיות היא בחי׳ תעלומות לב4 ופנימית הלב שמתאחדת עם המוח בבחי׳ תרין ריעין דלא מתפרשין. כי חיצוניות הלב אינה מתאחדת עם המוח שהמוח ברשותו להשכיל ולהתבונן בגדולת א״ס ב״ה.5
the level of the inner dimension, which is the level of “the hidden things of the heart,” the inner dimension of the heart, which becomes one with the mind as “two companions who never part.” For the outer dimension of the heart does not become one with the mind: the mind is in one’s power, to understand and contemplate the greatness of the Infinite One, blessed be He,
G‑d’s “face” means His inner dimension, which in a person corresponds to the inner heart, the “hidden things of the heart.” The inner heart is always united with the mind, but the outer heart is not. A person can choose to contemplate G‑d’s greatness with his mind, but, as the next paragraph says, the feelings of the outer heart are not in his control.
The paragraph begins to explain the “helmet of salvation” through the verse about the crown of gray hair: charity draws down G‑d’s “shining face,” His inner dimension, which in man corresponds to the inner heart that is one with the mind.
In Tanya the mind rules the heart by nature, but only its outer feelings are in a person’s power to stir. The inner heart and the mind are “two companions who never part,” a Zohar phrase used for Chochmah and Binah.
Marei mekomos
- 1הנה כתיב עטרת תפארת · מובא באוה״ת נ״ך כרך א ע׳ תריב. בד״ה עטרת תפארת תר״מ ח״ב ע׳ תרסה.
- 2עטרת תפארת שיבה · Proverbs 16:31
- 3שמבחי׳ צדקה · בד״ה בכ״ה בכסליו לאדה״א כ׳ ”לכאורה פלא [מה] שייכות יש לצדקה לעשות תפארת שיבה כו׳, אמנם הנה ענין פי׳ דתפארת שיבה היינו בחי׳ הדרת והארת פנים”, ע״ש. בלקו״ת ראה יח, ג מציין לקטע זה.
- 4תעלומות לב · Psalms 44:22
- 5יאר ה׳ פניו · Numbers 6:25
27ואעפ״כ חיצוניות הלב אינה ברשותו אבל פנימי׳ הלב היא מתאחדת ממש עם המוח. ומחמת הצדקה נעשה בחי׳ ריח המשיב את הנפש ומאיר גילוי המוח להתאחד בפנימית הלב.1
and yet the outer dimension of the heart is not in one’s power; but the inner dimension of the heart truly becomes one with the mind. And through charity there comes to be a fragrance that restores the soul and makes the revelation of the mind shine, to become one in the inner dimension of the heart.
The outer heart is not in a person’s control; the inner heart is always one with the mind. Charity produces a “fragrance” that revives the soul and lets the light of the mind shine into the inner heart.
וזהו שמן וקטורת ישמח לב.2 זה הקב״ה דכתיב צור לבבי.3 דכמו שהלב ממשיך חיות לכל האיברים. כך הנה כתיב ואתה מחיה את כלם.4
This is “Oil and incense gladden the heart”: this is the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, “the Rock of my heart.” For just as the heart draws life-force to all the limbs, so it is written, “And You give life to them all.”
Proverbs says “oil and incense gladden the heart,” and the Psalms call G‑d “the Rock of my heart.” As the heart gives life to every limb, G‑d gives life to all things, so the “heart” that is gladdened is G‑d Himself.
The paragraph explains that charity, like incense, gives off a fragrance that unites mind and inner heart, and reads “oil and incense gladden the heart” as bringing gladness to G‑d, the heart of all.
The Kehot note cites the Rebbe Maharash’s question: if the inner heart is always united with the mind, why is charity needed to make the mind’s revelation shine there? He answers at length in the maamar “Ateres Tiferes.”
Marei mekomos
- 1שו״ה ומאיר — להתאחד בפנימית הלב · בד״ה עטרת תפארת תר״ם שם העיר: ”שלכאורה צ״ל שמאחר שפנימיות הלב מתאחדת עם המוח למה צריכים לצדקה שע״י הצדקה יהי׳ נעשה בחי׳ ריח לעורר גילוי המוח שיתאחד בפנימיות הלב” ע״ש בארוכה.
- 2שמן וקטרת ישמח לב · Proverbs 27:9
- 3צור לבבי · Psalms 73:26
- 4ואתה מחי׳ את כולם · Nehemiah 9:6
28ושמחת הלב היינו בחי׳ גילוי פנימיות דהיינו בחי׳ פנימית אור א״ס ב״ה אין ערוך אליו כו׳.
The gladness of the heart is the revelation of the inner dimension, that is, the inner dimension of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, to which nothing compares, etc.
The gladness of the heart means the revealing of the inner dimension of the Infinite Light, which bears no comparison to anything else.
וע״י הצדקה שהוא בחי׳ בטול היש לאין שנותן חיי נפשו מיגיעו. נמשך מלמעלה המשכה ליש מאין ממש הוא בחי׳ פנימית אור א״ס ב״ה ממש.1
And through charity, which is the nullification of being into nothing, for one gives the life of his soul from his toil, there is drawn from above a drawing down into being from actual nothing, which is the inner dimension of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself.
When a person gives charity he gives away money earned by his toil, which is part of his very life; this is nullifying his “something” into “nothing.” In return, G‑d’s innermost light is drawn down from “nothing” into “something.”
The paragraph explains why charity draws down G‑d’s innermost light: giving away one’s hard-earned means is self-nullification, which is answered measure for measure from above.
Tanya (Iggeres HaKodesh) makes the same point: since a person’s livelihood comes from his life’s effort, giving charity gives his vitality to G‑d.
Marei mekomos
- 1וע״י הצדקה . . בחי׳ פנימית אור א״ס ב״ה ממש · ראה קו״א לתניא ד״ה וצדקה כנחל איתן, ובליקוט פי׳ שם. ד״ה עטרת תפארת תר״מ הנ״ל.
This is the level of “doing the will of the Omnipresent (Makom).” For will is subject to change, and it is written, “I, Havayah, have not changed.”
The Sages speak of Israel “doing the will of the Omnipresent (Makom, literally “Place”).” Will implies change, from not wanting to wanting, while G‑d says, “I, Havayah, have not changed.”
אלא ישראל עושים רצונו ש״מ להיות התפשטות רצונו ית׳ בבחי׳ מקום שהן הן המצות שהן רצונו ית׳ המלובשות בעשי׳ גשמית בבחי׳ מקום וזמן.
But Israel do the will of the Omnipresent, [causing] His will, blessed be He, to extend into the dimension of place: these are the mitzvos, which are His will, blessed be He, enclothed in physical action, in place and time.
Israel’s performance of mitzvos makes G‑d’s will extend into “place.” The mitzvos are His will clothed in physical actions, bound by space and time.
The paragraph reads “doing the will of the Omnipresent” as drawing G‑d’s will, which is above change, into place and time through the physical mitzvos.
Marei mekomos
- 1עושים רצונו של מקום · Berakhot 35b:5–6
- 2ואני הוי״ה לא שניתי · Malachi 3:6
30ותרי״ג מצות דאורייתא וז׳ דרבנן הם תר״ך עמודי אור.12 כמו עמוד המחבר מעלה ומטה להיות אוא״ס שבבחינת פנימית שלמעלה מעלה מגדר עלמין שורה ומתלבש בבחי׳ רצון בתרי״ג מצות דאורייתא וז׳ דרבנן המלובשות בגשמיות.
The 613 mitzvos of the Torah and the seven of the Rabbis are 620 pillars of light, like a pillar that connects above and below: so that the Infinite Light, blessed be He, of the inner dimension, which is far above the bounds of the worlds, rests and is enclothed, as will, in the 613 mitzvos of the Torah and the seven of the Rabbis, which are enclothed in physical things.
The 613 Torah commandments and the seven rabbinic ones make 620, the numerical value of כתר (Keser, “crown”), and they are called 620 pillars of light. Like pillars joining heaven and earth, they bring G‑d’s innermost light, far above the worlds, to rest in physical actions as His will.
The paragraph describes the mitzvos as 620 pillars of light that connect the Infinite Light, above all worlds, with the physical world.
The Kehot note cites Pardes Rimonim for the 620 pillars of light. Their number equals the value of Keser, the divine will, which is why the mitzvos are the vessels of G‑d’s will.
Marei mekomos
- 1ותרי״ג מצות . . וז׳ דרבנן הם תר״ך עמודי אור · פרדס ש״ח פ״ג.
- 2תר״ך עמודי אור · Pardes Rimmonim 8:5–6
31ולכך נק׳ מעשה הצדקה כובע ישועה. כי ישועה מלשון וישע1 ה׳ אל הבל2 כו׳. שפונה אל תפלתו דהיינו שגורם להיות הקב״ה פונה בעצמו ובכבודו להמשיך גילוי עצמותו ומהותו ממש.
Therefore the act of charity is called a “helmet of salvation (yeshuah).” For yeshuah is from the same root as “And G‑d turned (vayisha) to Hevel,” etc., meaning that He turned to his prayer: that is, [charity] causes the Holy One, blessed be He, to turn with His own Self and His glory, to draw down the revelation of His very essence and being.
Charity is called “the helmet of salvation (yeshuah)” because yeshuah is linked to “and G‑d turned (vayisha) to Hevel,” meaning He turned to his offering and prayer. Charity makes G‑d “turn” with His own Self to reveal His very essence.
וגילוי זה מתחלק לש״ע נהורין3 והוא מקור התפארת שיבה בחי׳ הדרת פנים כדכתיב גבי כהנים ומגבעות תעשה להם4 לכבוד ולתפארת שהמגבעות שהם בחי׳ הכובע ישועה נמשך להיות בחי׳ תפארת שיבה5 והדרת פנים.
This revelation divides into 370 lights, and it is the source of “the glory of gray hair,” the majesty of the face; as it is written of the Kohanim, “And you shall make them caps, for honor and for glory”: the caps, which are the “helmet of salvation,” are drawn down to become the “glory of gray hair” and the majesty of the face.
This revelation divides into 370 lights, the source of the “glory of gray hair,” the shining face. The priests’ caps, “for honor and for glory (tiferes),” are the helmet of salvation that becomes the tiferes of gray hair.
The paragraph explains the “helmet of salvation”: charity makes G‑d turn His very Self toward the world, and this revelation becomes the shining majesty of the face.
The 370 lights (ש"ע נהורין) are, in the Zohar’s Idra, the lights of the “face” of Arich Anpin. The Kehot note cites Or HaTorah quoting the Shelah on the crown and the priestly headdress.
Marei mekomos
- 1ישועה מלשון וישע ה׳ אל הבל · ראה אגה״ק סי׳ ג. בלקו״ת נצבים מט, ד. שמע״צ פב, ג. שה״ש מד, א מציין לכאן.
- 2וישע ה׳ אל הבל · Genesis 4:4
- 3לש״ע נהורין · ראה לקו״ת נצבים מט, ד.
- 4ומגבעות תעשה להם · Exodus 28:40
- 5שהמגבעות . . בחי׳ תפארת שיבה · באוה״ת תצוה ע׳ א׳תשנז מציין לכאן ומוסיף: ”והענין כמו שהביא בשל״ה דף ר״ט ע״א . . בענין הסר המצורפת והרם העטרה בזמן שמצנפת בראש כה״ג עטרה בראש כל אדם”. ע״ש.
The limbs and the fat: delight in G‑d ¶32–33
32וזהו עטרת תפארת שיבה וכ״ז בדרך צדקה תמצא1 כי מבחי׳ צדקה נעשה בחינת כובע ישועה להמשיך בחינת הדרת פנים יאר ה׳ פניו בחינת פנימיות כנ״ל. ואחר כך בחינת איברים. שבקרבנות היו שני דברים דם וחלב.23
This is “A crown of glory is gray hair,” and all this “is found in the way of charity”: for from charity there comes to be the “helmet of salvation,” to draw down the majesty of the face, “May G‑d make His face shine,” the level of the inner dimension, as explained above. And afterwards [comes] the level of the limbs; for in the sacrifices there were two things, blood and fat.
Summing up: charity produces the helmet of salvation, which draws down the shining face, G‑d’s inner dimension. The maamar now turns to the limbs of the offering: offerings had two parts, blood and fat.
The paragraph closes the discussion of charity and introduces the last element of the Temple order, the limbs, through the distinction between blood and fat.
Marei mekomos
- 1עטרת תפארת שיבה וכ״ז בדרך צדקה תמצא · Proverbs 16:31
- 2שבקרבנות היו שני דברים דם וחלב · באוה״ת פ׳ פינחס ע׳ א׳עא מביא קטע מכאן.
- 3יאר ה׳ פניו · Numbers 6:25
33והדם קודם לנרות. וקטורת היא בחינת בכל לבבך והאיברים שהן החלב היה אחר הנרות והקטרת.
The blood precedes the lamps. The incense is the level of “with all your heart,” and the limbs, which are the fat, came after the lamps and the incense.
The order was: blood first, then lamps and incense, then the limbs, identified here with the fat. The blood and incense correspond to loving G‑d “with all your heart,” the fiery yearning.
והענין כי החלב הוא בחי׳ התענוג כמו שאנו רואים שמי שהוא בעל תענוג יש לו רבוי חלב.
The explanation is that the fat is the level of delight, as we see that one who lives in delight has much fat.
Fat stands for delight: one who lives in pleasure grows fat. The limbs and fat therefore represent the soul’s pleasure.
That is, “all the fat is for Havayah”: that one should delight in G‑d with joy and gladness of heart, more than from an abundance of everything, and not have
“All the fat is for G‑d” means a person should take all his delight in G‑d, joyfully and gladly, more than in any abundance of good things.
לו תענוג אחר כלל ועי״ז והיו הדברים האלה3 אשר אנכי מצוך כו׳. ואנכי ממש מצוך כו׳ שעי״ז יהיה בעיניו מתיקות התורה כו׳:
any other delight at all. Through this, “these words which I command you,” etc., [will be upon your heart]; and “I” Myself command you, etc., so that through this the sweetness of the Torah will be in his eyes, etc.
He should have no other pleasure at all. Then “these words which I command you” are felt as commanded by G‑d Himself (“I”), and the Torah tastes sweet.
The paragraph explains the limbs and fat offered last: after yearning comes delight, when a person takes pleasure only in G‑d and tastes the sweetness of His Torah.
The parallel in Likkutei Torah, Pinchas explains that after the thirst of “with all your heart” comes the fat of satisfaction, the realization that the words of Torah are commanded by “I,” G‑d’s essence, not only by His Name.
Marei mekomos
- 1כל חלב להוי׳ · Leviticus 3:16
- 2בשמחה ובטוב לבב מרוב כל · Deuteronomy 28:47
- 3והיו הדברים האלה · Deuteronomy 6:6
Chanukah as dedication ¶34–39
Now we come to explain the matter of Chanukah, [and] why we bless “to light the Chanukah lamp”; and what is the matter of the dedication (chanukah) of the altar and the dedication of the House.
The maamar now turns to Chanukah itself, and to the blessing on its lamp. Chanukah means “dedication,” so it also asks about the dedication of the altar and of the Temple.
הנה כתיב חנוך לנער4 ע״פ דרכו. שהוא כשרוצים ללמדו. והרי הוא רחוק מזה צריך לחנכו.
It is written, “Train (chanoch) a youth according to his way”: that is, when one wants to teach him and he is far from it, one must train him.
Proverbs says “Train (chanoch) a youth according to his way.” Chinuch, training, is needed when the child is still far from the thing he must learn.
The paragraph opens the explanation of Chanukah through the meaning of chinuch: training someone who is still far from the goal.
Marei mekomos
- 1חנוכת המזבח · Numbers 7:84
- 2חנוכת המזבח וחנוכת הבית · ע׳ בלקו״ת ס״פ נשא בד״ה זאת חנוכת המזבח. ובסידור שער החנוכה בד״ה מזמור שיר חנוכת הבית. ובלקו״ש ח״כ ע׳ 449 הערה 26. וע׳ 633 וש״נ.
- 3וחנוכת הבית · Psalms 30:1
- 4חנוך לנער על פי דרכו · Proverbs 22:6
35והחינוך הוא במתנות רבות שנותנים לו.1 אך הנה כתיב נער הייתי שרו2 ש״ע אמרו שהחיות המתפשט בכל העולמות לכל חד לפום שיעורא דיליה הוא בבחי׳ נער.
The training is through many gifts that are given to him. But it is written, “I was a youth (na’ar),” [which, the Sages] said, the Prince of the World said: the life-force that spreads through all the worlds, to each according to its measure, is at the level of a youth.
A child is trained with many gifts. The Sages say that “I was a youth” was spoken by the Prince of the World, meaning that all the life-force spread through the worlds, to each by its measure, is on the level of a “youth.”
וכמ״ש והוא נער את בני בלהה3 כו׳. שם הקטנה רחל.4 ה׳ קטנה בחי׳ מל׳ ה׳ אחרונה של שם הוי״ה להיות ומלכותו בכל משלה.5 להוות הנבראים מאין ליש הוא בבחי׳ קטנה לפי שהיא בבחי׳ גבולים ומצרים.
As it is written, “And he was a youth with the sons of Bilhah,” etc.; [and] “the name of the younger one was Rachel.” The small hei is the level of Malchus, the final hei of the Name Havayah, so that “His kingship rules over all”; bringing the creatures into being from nothing to something is at the level of the small one, because it is in the level of bounds and limits.
Yosef “was a youth” with the sons of Bilhah, and Rachel was “the younger (small) one.” This small one is Malchus, the final hei of Havayah, through which G‑d rules and creates; it is “small” because creation requires limits.
The paragraph explains that all the divine life-force in creation, rooted in Malchus, is “small,” a “youth” that needs training and gifts.
The Prince of the World is the angel Metatron, who is called na’ar (“youth”) in Kabbalah; the Kehot note cites several places in the Zohar. The final hei of Havayah is Malchus, which is limited so that finite creatures can exist.
Marei mekomos
- 1והחינוך הוא במתנות רבות שנותנים לו · ראה לקוטי לוי״צ אגרות ע׳ שנח. ס׳ השיחות ה׳תשמ״ח ע׳ 161 ואילך.
- 2נער הייתי שרו של עולם אמרו · Psalms 37:25
- 3והוא נער את בני בלהה · Genesis 37:2
- 4שם הקטנה רחל · Genesis 29:16
- 5ומלכותו בכל משלה · Psalms 103:19
36ולגבי א״ס ב״ה שכשמו כן הוא אין לו סוף כו׳ נק׳ כל כללות החיות בשם קטנות שאין ערוך אליו ית׳. ולכן כתיב מי יקום יעקב כי קטן הוא.1
Relative to the Infinite One, blessed be He, Who, as His name is so is He, has no end, etc., the entire sum of the life-force is called by the name “smallness,” for it bears no comparison to Him, blessed be He. This is why it is written, “How will Jacob stand, for he is small?”
Compared with the Infinite One, all the divine life-force in the worlds is “small.” So the prophet says, “How will Jacob stand, for he is small?”
כי יעקב מבריח מן הקצה אל הקצה23 ומאחר שיש קצה בראש וקצה בסוף הרי יש לו בחי׳ גבול4 וה״ז בבחי׳ קטן לגבי א״ס ב״ה.5
For Jacob is the bar that runs from end to end; and since there is an end at the top and an end at the bottom, it has a limit, and so it is small relative to the Infinite One, blessed be He.
Jacob is the “middle bar” that runs from end to end. Anything with a top and a bottom end has a limit, so even Jacob is small before the Infinite.
The paragraph explains that everything with limits, even the level of Jacob that spans all levels, is small compared with the Infinite One.
The Kehot note quotes the Rebbe Maharash: “end to end” refers to the kav, the line of light with a beginning and an end, in contrast to the encircling light that surrounds the line equally, which has no top or bottom.
Marei mekomos
- 1מי יקום יעקב כי קטן הוא · Amos 7:5
- 2יעקב מבריח מן הקצה אל הקצה · Zohar III, 186a
- 3מבריח מן הקצה אל הקצה · Exodus 26:28
- 4ומאחר שיש קצה בראש . . הרי יש לו בחי׳ גבול · בד״ה להבין ענין שאוא״ס ב״ה לכ״ק אדמו״ר הצ״צ (באוה״ת ענינים) ובתורת שמואל תרכ״ז ע׳ תכו: ”והיינו בחי׳ השתלשלות ע״ס דיושר והקו וחוט שיש קצה בראש וקצה בסוף סיום הקו, וע׳ בד״ה ויושט המלך לאסתר בענין ותגע בראש השרביט כו׳ אבל בחי׳ העיגול שמקיף את הקו מראשו עד סופו בהשוואה א׳ זה בחי׳ למעלה עד אין קץ שאין שייך שם ראש וסוף כו׳”. ובאוה״ת פ׳ ויחי שצט, ב. דהקצה ראשון הוא ראשית הארת הקו וחוט כו׳.
- 5ולגבי א״ס ב״ה . . וה״ז בבחי׳ קטן לגבי א״ס ב״ה · ראה אוה״ת שלח ע׳ תקפ.
37וכדי להמשיך אוא״ס ב״ה ממש בקרבנות דם התמיד ונרות וקטרת ואברים היה המזבח קטן מהכיל
To draw down the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself through the sacrifices (the blood of the tamid, the lamps, the incense and the limbs), the altar was too small to contain [it].
The offerings (blood, lamps, incense and limbs) were meant to draw down the Infinite Light itself. But the altar, like all creation, was too “small” to contain it.
ולכן התנדבו הנשיאים לחנוכת המזבח רבוי מתנות לחנך את המזבח והיה מתנתם מרובה מזה שהקריבו עליו בכ״י את הכבש אחד1 כו׳ שהקריבו משל צבור של כל ישראל.
Therefore the Princes volunteered many gifts for the dedication of the altar, to dedicate the altar; and their gift was greater than what was offered on it every day, “the one lamb,” etc., which was offered from the communal funds of all Israel.
So the Princes of the tribes brought many gifts to dedicate the altar, more than the daily offerings brought from the funds of the whole community. Like the gifts given to a child in training, these “trained” the altar to hold the light.
The paragraph applies chinuch to the altar: it was too small for the Infinite Light, so the Princes’ generous gifts dedicated it, enabling it to receive.
Marei mekomos
- 1את הכבש אחד · Numbers 28:4
38והנשיאים לפי שהיו במעלה יותר משאר כללות ישראל נתנו לחנוכת המזבח מתנה מרובה קערות כסף1 ופרים וכבשים ועתודים
The Princes, because they were on a higher level than the rest of the community of Israel, gave a great gift for the dedication of the altar: silver bowls, bulls, lambs and he-goats,
The Princes of the twelve tribes stood higher than the rest of Israel, so they brought generous gifts for the altar’s dedication: silver bowls and many animals. This is the “many gifts” of chinuch applied to the altar.
כדי שיהיה כח בקרבנות של ישראל להמשיך אור דבר יום ביומו2 בקרבנות של כל יום ויום.
so that there would be power in the offerings of Israel to draw down light, “each day’s matter on its day,” in the offerings of each and every day.
Their gifts gave the daily communal offerings the power to draw down divine light day by day. The dedication enabled all that followed.
וכך היה ענין הנרות דחנוכה בימי חשמונאי שהיונים לא בקשו לשלוח ידם3 רק להשכיחם תורתך4 ולהעבירם כו׳ וכמארז״ל (בב״ר פ׳ ט״ז ופ׳ מ״ד) שאמרו כתבו לכם על קרן השור567 כו׳.
So too was the matter of the Chanukah lamps in the days of the Hasmoneans: the Greeks did not seek to lay hands on them, but only “to make them forget Your Torah and to make them transgress,” etc.; as our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Bereishis Rabbah, sections 16 and 44), that they said, “Write on the horn of the ox,” etc.
Chanukah is compared to this. The Greeks, as the Al HaNissim prayer says, sought not to kill the Jews but to make them forget the Torah; the Midrash reports that they demanded that Israel “write on the horn of the ox” (that they have no portion in the G‑d of Israel).
ופי׳ לפי שכל העובדי כוכבים יש להם נה״ב מפני שור אלא שהם מקבלים מבחי׳ הפסולת והשמרי׳ בחי׳ קרנים וטלפים שמרים ופסולת שאין
The explanation: all idol worshippers have an animal soul from the face of the ox, except that they receive from the level of the waste and the dregs, the level of horns and hooves, dregs and waste that do not
This part follows the Kabbalistic teaching of the Chariot and is an interpretive reading. The text says that the idol worshippers of which it speaks also have an animal soul rooted in the “face of the ox” of Ezekiel’s Chariot, but that it draws only from its outer, coarse parts, the “horns and hooves,” which do not rise into holiness.
עולים ונכללי׳ בקדוש׳ פני שור שבמרכב׳8 שנושאות את הכסא ודמות אדם שעליו מלמעלה שכח זה רק בהנפש אלקית שהוא מבחי׳ אדם שעל הכסא.
rise and become absorbed into the holiness of the face of the ox in the Chariot, [the Chayos] that carry the Throne and the likeness of a man upon it from above; for this power [exists] only in the G‑dly soul, which is from the level of the man upon the Throne.
The holy “face of the ox” carries the Throne with the likeness of a man upon it. According to the text, the power to rise into that holiness belongs to the G‑dly soul, which stems from the “man upon the Throne.”
The paragraph compares Chanukah to the Princes’ dedication of the altar and explains, from the Kabbalah of the Chariot, what the Greek decree “write on the horn of the ox” sought: to cut Israel off from the holy root of their souls.
The Kehot note brings the Rebbe’s comment: the Greeks laid hands on the Jews’ property and daughters, as the Rambam writes, but their aim was spiritual, to cut Israel off from the Torah. The four faces of the Chariot (lion, ox, eagle, man; Ezekiel 1:10) are read throughout Chassidus as roots of souls and powers.
Marei mekomos
- 1קערות כסף · Numbers 7:13
- 2דבר יום ביומו · Leviticus 23:37
- 3שהיונים לא בקשו לשלוח ידם · ראה בד״ה כי עמך מקור חיים תרל״ב (סה״מ תרל״ב ע׳ כז). עמש״כ שם היינו אם לא היו נשמעים להם לבטל תורה. מעיר ע״ז כ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע: עפ״ז מובן בפשיטות מש״כ בתו״א שם (ל, רע״א) שהיונים לא בקשו לשלוח ידם, אף שכ׳ הרמב״ם (ריש הל׳ חנוכה) ופשטו ידם בממונם ובבנותיהם (ובכלל — ממונם שאני. ובנותיהם — ה״ז להעבירם כו׳), עכ״ל שם.
- 4רק להשכיחם תורתך · ראה ד״ה ת״ר מצות נ״ח תשל״ח סעיף ג (נדפס בסה״מ מלוקט ח״ב ע׳ יט) ובהערה 33 שעיקר מלחמתם היתה נגד הרוחניות ”להשכיח את ישראל שהתורה היא תורת ה׳”. ע״ש.
- 5כתבו לכם על קרן השור · ראה באוה״ת נ״ך כרך ב ע׳ עט ובאוה״ת ענינים ע׳ א שמציין לכאן.
- 6כתבו לכם על קרן השור · Bereshit Rabbah 16:4–5
- 7כתבו לכם על קרן השור · Bereshit Rabbah 44:17
- 8פני שור שבמרכב׳ · Ezekiel 1:10
39והנה״ב היא מבחי׳ אדם שבחיות שבמרכבה ודמות אחד לארבעתן. ודמות פניהם פני אדם.1 ולכן יש להם כח להמשיך אור א״ס ב״ה ממש.
And the animal soul [of Israel] is from the level of man in the Chayos of the Chariot: “and the four of them had one likeness,” “and the likeness of their faces was the face of a man.” Therefore they have the power to draw down the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself.
This too is an interpretive reading from the Kabbalah of the Chariot. The text says that the Jew’s animal soul comes from the aspect of “man” within the Chayos, for Ezekiel saw that each of their faces had a human likeness, and so even it can draw down the Infinite Light.
והיונים נתקנאו בישראל ורצו שגם ישראל יכתבו על קרן השור שיקבלו מבחי׳ קרנים וטלפים כנ״ל שלא ליכלל בקדושת אדם העליון.
The Greeks were envious of Israel and wanted Israel too to write on the horn of the ox, so that they would receive from the level of horns and hooves, as above, and not be absorbed into the holiness of the supernal Man.
The Greeks, the text says, envied this and wanted Israel to “write on the horn of the ox,” that is, to draw only from its coarse outer parts. That would keep them from being absorbed into the holiness of the “supernal Man.”
This is [the meaning of] “that you have no portion,” etc. Israel were weak and few at that time, and nevertheless they gave their lives for the sanctification of the Name; and by the power of self-sacrifice
The decree was that Israel declare they had no portion in G‑d. Though weak and few, they gave their lives to sanctify G‑d’s Name.
הי׳ להם כח להמשיך אור התורה מחדש והמשכ׳ זו היא בבחי׳ חנוכה בחי׳ מתנה מרובה המשכת כובע ישועה להיות עטרת תפארת שיבה כו׳:
they had the power to draw down the light of the Torah anew. This drawing down is at the level of Chanukah (dedication), the level of an abundant gift, the drawing down of the “helmet of salvation” to become the “crown of glory, gray hair,” etc.
Their self-sacrifice drew down the light of the Torah anew. This is chanukah, “dedication,” the great gift that brings the “helmet of salvation” and the “crown of glory.”
The paragraph explains the Hasmoneans’ victory: the Greeks tried to cut Israel off from their holy root, and Israel’s self-sacrifice drew down the light of Torah anew, a new “dedication.”
The self-sacrifice here recalls paragraph 11: giving one’s life at “One,” beyond reason, which reaches the essence of the Infinite Light. The Kehot note cites the Mitteler Rebbe’s Shaarei Orah, whose introduction also treats the Hasmoneans’ self-sacrifice.
Marei mekomos
- 1ודמות פניהם פני אדם · Ezekiel 1:10
- 2שאין לכם חלק · ראה בליקוט פי׳ — חיטריק לאגה״ק סי׳ ז.
- 3ואעפ״כ מסרו נפשם על קדוש השם · ראה גם שערי אורה בהקדמה.
Hallel and thanksgiving ¶40–43
This is the matter of Hallel and thanksgiving. For hallel means praise, and it is also the language of “when His lamp shone (b’hilo),” etc.: illumination, in revelation.
The maamar now answers its opening question about Hallel and thanksgiving. Hallel means praise, but it is also related to Job’s “when His lamp shone (b’hilo),” meaning light and revelation.
וזה נמשך מזה כי מחמת השבח שמשבחים את האדם3 במעלות ומדות שיש בו מעוררים את המעלות ומדות שבו לצאת מהעלם לגילוי.
And the one follows from the other: for through the praise with which one praises a person for the virtues and qualities he has, one arouses the virtues and qualities within him to come out from concealment into revelation.
The two meanings connect: praising a person for his good qualities awakens those qualities and brings them out of hiding. Praise reveals what was concealed.
The paragraph defines Hallel as praise that brings hidden qualities into revelation, like a lamp’s shining, and so connects praise to lamps.
The Kehot note refers to a later maamar in Torah Ohr where calling someone generous brings out the kindness already hidden in his heart, even when he is angry.
Marei mekomos
- 1הלל ל׳ שבח וגם לשון בהילו נרו · ראה בשערי אורה בד״ה בכ״ה בכסליו פרק מג. סה״מ תקס״ח ע׳ שע. יהל אור קאפיטל קמו ע׳ תקנח. במילואים שם ע׳ תרצג. אוה״ת בראשית כרך ה תתקלה, א ואילך. בענין הלל — בלקו״ת עקב טז, ב מציין לכאן.
- 2בהילו נרו · Job 29:3
- 3מחמת השבח שמשבחים את האדם · ראה גם לקמן קב, א.
41וזהו הללויה שיצא שם י״ה מהעלם לגילוי להיות בחי׳ יו״ד חכמה כו׳ מלמעלה מן החכמה
This is “Halleluyah”: that the Name Yah should come out from concealment into revelation, so that there be the level of the yud, Chochmah, etc., from above Chochmah.
“Halleluyah” is read as hallel plus Yah: bringing the Name Yah, whose yud is Chochmah, from concealment into revelation. The light revealed comes from above Chochmah.
כי חכמה כ״ח מ״ה בגימטריא אדם1 והמשכת בחי׳ אדם שעל הכסא הוא מבחי׳ שלמעלה מעלה מבחי׳ אדם הוא בחי׳ אור א״ס ב״ה ממש ועי״ז נעשה בחי׳ שם י״ה תרין ריעין דלא מתפרשין2
For חכמה (Chochmah) is כ״ח מ״ה (“the power of Mah”), and מ״ה has the numerical value of אדם (“man”); and the drawing down of the level of the man upon the Throne is from the level far above the level of man, the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself. Through this there comes to be the Name Yah, “two companions who never part.”
Chochmah is read as koach mah, “the power of Mah,” and Mah (45) equals adam, “man.” The “man upon the Throne” is drawn from far above the level of man, the Infinite Light itself, and so Chochmah and Binah (yud and hei, Yah) become “two companions who never part.”
ואח״כ הללו את שם3 ה׳ להיות המשכת חכמה במדות שתהיינה גם המדות בבחי׳ בטול לך ה׳ הגדולה כו׳.
And afterwards, “Praise the Name of G‑d”: that there be a drawing down of Chochmah into the attributes, so that the attributes too will be in a state of self-nullification, “Yours, G‑d, is the greatness,” etc.
The psalm continues “Praise the Name of G‑d,” read as drawing Chochmah further into the emotions. Then the emotions too are nullified before G‑d.
אך כ״ז ההילול והשבח להמשיך מההעלם לגילוי הוא ע״י עבדי ה׳ שהם בבחי׳ עבדים שמקבלים עליהם עומ״ש בבחי׳ שום תשים4 כו׳
But all this praise and acclaim, to draw from concealment into revelation, is through “the servants of G‑d,” who are like servants who accept upon themselves the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven, in the manner of “you shall surely set [a king over you],” etc.
The psalm says “Praise, servants of G‑d”: this revelation comes through those who serve like servants, accepting the yoke of Heaven as one accepts a king (“you shall surely set a king over you”).
וכמ״ש במ״א שבחי׳ הלל והשבח הזה והמשכה זו היא בחי׳ מאה ברכות שחייב אדם לברך5 בכל יום שהוא בחי׳ הברכה והמשכה מהעלם אל הגילוי.
As is explained elsewhere, this level of praise and acclaim, and this drawing down, is the level of the hundred blessings that a person is obligated to recite every day, which is the level of blessing and drawing down from concealment into revelation.
This praise corresponds to the hundred blessings a Jew must say each day. A blessing (berachah) means drawing down from concealment into revelation.
The paragraph reads Psalm 113 as the stages of Hallel: revealing the Name Yah from above wisdom, drawing it into the emotions, through servants who accept G‑d’s kingship, as in the daily hundred blessings.
The Zohar calls Chochmah and Binah “two companions who never part.” The gematria מ״ה = אדם (45) links Chochmah to the image of man, which the maamar uses for the “man upon the Throne.”
Marei mekomos
- 1מ״ה בגימטריא אדם · נסמן לקמן נב, ב.
- 2תרין ריעין דלא מתפרשין · Zohar III, 4a
- 3הללו את שם ה׳ · Psalms 113:1
- 4שום תשים · Deuteronomy 17:15
- 5מאה ברכות שחייב אדם לברך · Menachot 43b:15–17
42וזהו יהי שם ה׳ מבורך מעתה ועד עולם.1 מעתה מהתחל׳ הזמן שהוא בבחי׳ מלכותו ית׳ שאז שייך ל׳ זמן מלך מלך כו׳
This is “May the Name of G‑d be blessed from now and forever.” “From now”: from the beginning of time, which is at the level of His kingship, blessed be He, for then the language of time applies, “[G‑d] is King, [G‑d] was King,” etc.,
The psalm continues, “May the Name of G‑d be blessed from now and forever.” “From now” is the beginning of time, which begins with G‑d’s kingship, Malchus: only there does the language of time apply, as in “G‑d is King, G‑d was King.”
כמ״ש במ״א2 ועד עולם היינו שיומשך ויתפשט עד סוף כל המדרגות שיהי׳ גילוי אלקות כו׳.
as is explained elsewhere. “And forever”: that it be drawn down and spread to the end of all the levels, so that there be a revelation of G‑dliness, etc.
Time is explained elsewhere as belonging to G‑d’s kingship. “And forever” means the blessing should spread down to the lowest levels, so that G‑dliness is revealed everywhere.
The paragraph reads “from now and forever” as the revelation starting from Malchus, the beginning of time, and spreading to all the levels.
Tanya (Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 7) explains that time and space come into being through G‑d’s Malchus, since there is “no king without a people.”
Marei mekomos
- 1יהי שם ה׳ מבורך מעתה ועד עולם · Psalms 113:2
- 2מהתחל׳ הזמן שהוא בבחי׳ מלכותו . . כמ״ש במ״א · Tanya, Sha’ar HaYichud 7:5
43וכ״ז בחי׳ הלל והללויה להמשיך מההעלם אל הגילוי. אבל בחי׳ הודאה הוא בחי׳ שוב שצ״ל רצוא ושוב1 ולמעלה נק׳ מטי
All this is the level of Hallel and Halleluyah, to draw from concealment into revelation. But thanksgiving is the level of “returning,” for there must be “running and returning”; and above it is called “reaching
Hallel draws the hidden into revelation. Thanksgiving (hodaah) is the opposite movement, “return”: the Chayos are described as “running and returning,” and on high this is called “reaching and not reaching.”
and not reaching.” For in truth the Infinite Light, blessed be He, is not actually revealed in this time, only in the Time to Come: “And the glory of Havayah will be revealed,” “for eye to eye,” etc.,
G‑d’s Infinite Light is not truly revealed now; that will happen only in the Time to Come, when “the glory of G‑d will be revealed” and seen “eye to eye.” So every ascent now both reaches and does not reach.
משא״כ עכשיו אין הגילוי רק בבחי׳ קול דודי דופק אני ישנה ולבי ער4 כו׳ ומשחרב בהמ״ק אין להקב״ה בעולמו אלא ד״א של הלכה5 כו׳
whereas now the revelation is only in the manner of “The voice of my beloved knocks,” “I sleep, but my heart is awake,” etc.; and since the Holy Temple was destroyed, the Holy One, blessed be He, has in His world only the four cubits of halachah, etc.
Now the revelation is like the beloved knocking while “I sleep, but my heart is awake.” Since the Temple’s destruction, G‑d’s presence in the world is found only in the “four cubits of halachah,” the Torah’s law.
ונמשך מזה בחי׳ הודאה ובטול לאור א״ס ב״ה הנמשך בתורתו ועבודתו. ודברי אשר שמתי בפיך.6 ואשים דברי בפיך.7 אני המשנה המדברת בפיך8 כו׳:
From this comes the level of thanksgiving and self-nullification before the Infinite Light, blessed be He, which is drawn down in His Torah and His service: “And My words which I have put in your mouth,” “And I have put My words in your mouth,” “I am the Mishnah speaking in your mouth,” etc.
Because G‑d cannot be fully grasped, the response is hodaah: acknowledging and bowing before the Infinite Light drawn down in Torah and divine service. G‑d’s words are placed in a person’s mouth, as the Mishnah said to Rabbi Yosef Karo, “I am the Mishnah speaking in your mouth.”
The paragraph defines thanksgiving (hodaah) as the “returning” side of divine service: acknowledging that G‑d is not fully revealed in this era, and bowing before the light drawn down in the Torah.
Hodaah means both thanks and admission: one admits what one cannot fully understand. Chanukah therefore has both Hallel (bringing light into revelation) and hodaah (bittul before what remains beyond reach).
Marei mekomos
- 1רצוא ושוב · Ezekiel 1:14
- 2ונגלה כבוד הוי״ה · Isaiah 40:5
- 3כי עין בעין · Isaiah 52:8
- 4קול דודי דופק אני ישנה ולבי ער · Song of Songs 5:2
- 5אין להקב״ה בעולמו אלא ד״א של הלכה · Berakhot 8a:18–19
- 6ודברי אשר שמתי בפיך · Isaiah 59:21
- 7ואשים דברי בפיך · Isaiah 51:16
- 8אני המשנה המדברת בפיך · בספר מגיד משרים בכ״מ.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
In prayer, a person should give himself over to G‑d at “One,” and then turn the fire of his own heart, the animal soul’s energy, into a thirst for G‑d. He should let the Torah light up his mind, and give charity from money earned by his toil, which draws down G‑d’s innermost light. Then he should take delight in G‑d alone. Like the Hasmoneans, even when weak and few, one draws the Torah’s light anew through self-sacrifice, and answers with both praise and humble acknowledgment.
Questions for discussion
- Why were all seven lamps lit at night but only the principal lamp in the morning, and what does this say about serving G‑d in times of darkness?
- Why can the light of wisdom refine the emotions but not the “letters” of thought, speech and action, and why does the incense succeed where the lamps cannot?
- What distinguishes self-sacrifice at “One” from self-sacrifice “with all your soul,” and why does the animal soul’s ascent carry greater force?
- How does giving charity from one’s hard-earned money draw down G‑d’s inner dimension, the “helmet of salvation”?
- How do Hallel and thanksgiving differ, and why does Chanukah need both?
Key terms in this maamar
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×14
- Kelipah (the husk)קליפה
- The forces of concealment that oppose holiness. ×2
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×2
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×17
- The sitra achra (the other side)סטרא אחרא
- The realm opposed to holiness.
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×3
- Love and aweאהבה ויראה
- The two 'wings' of divine service.
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- Self-sacrifice (mesirus nefesh)מסירות נפש
- Giving oneself over entirely to G‑d.
- The G‑dly soulנפש האלקית
- The soul that is 'a part of G‑d above'.
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- The light that fills all worlds (memalei kol almin)ממלא כל עלמין
- Divine light that enters each world and gives it life according to its measure.
- The light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin)סובב כל עלמין
- Divine light too great to enter the worlds; it 'surrounds' them and affects them from beyond.
- The outer dimension (chitzoniyus)חיצוניות
- The external, expressive aspect. ×2
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×3
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×8
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- The higher unity (yichuda ila'ah)יחודא עילאה
- The world is nothing next to G‑d.
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance.
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×3
- Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds. ×1
- The intellect (mochin)מוחין
- Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×2
- The Holy One, blessed be Heקב״ה
- ×3
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect. ×2
- Delightתענוג
- Pleasure; the inner root of will. ×3
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×1
- Abba and Imma (Chochmah and Binah)אבא ואמא
- The intellectual configurations.
- Accepting the yoke (kabbalas ol)קבלת עול
- Submission to G‑d's will beyond understanding.
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion. ×7
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×3