Torah Ohr · Parshas Vayeitzei · Maamar 2
ביאור על הנ״ל
An Explanation of the Above
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The big idea
Yaakov, whose name joins the yud to the heel, draws the Infinite Light that is above all worlds down to the lowest level: by raising lifeless “stones,” the letters and the self-effacing Chochmah of the soul, and by descending to Charan to transform its darkness, he makes even the lowest into a “house of Elokim,” so much so that in the future even Havayah as it fills the worlds will seem only a concealment, Elokim.
The maamar in brief
The maamar asks two questions about Yaakov’s vow: how Havayah can become “Elokim,” and how a stone can become a “house of Elokim.” It answers through the figure of Yaakov, yud-akev, through whom the 370 supernal lights and the Infinite Light above the chain of worlds reach every Jewish soul. The stones Yaakov took are letters, lifeless beside the meaning they carry, as all creation is less than a letter before G‑d; because they are lifeless, they can be raised highest, to the encompassing light. Only the yud, the vessel of self-nullifying Chochmah, has this power, and the pillar and the oil describe further stages: the ascent to the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy and the drawing down of supernal wisdom into the Torah, which should be studied with the awe of Sinai. Yaakov’s descent to Charan, the blocked “throat” where the kelipos draw nourishment, is for the sake of transformation, turning Charan into rinah, song, and bringing the laughter of Yitzchak. In the future, when evil is transformed, the Infinite Light itself will be revealed; the raised stone will be a dwelling for G‑d, and each endless ascent will pass through a “tithe,” the self-nullification of Keser.
Outline
- The questions and Yaakov’s nameHow can Havayah become Elokim, and a stone a house of Elokim? Yaakov is “salvations”: through him the 370 lights and all divine flows come down.¶1–2
- The light above the chain of worldsThe worlds live from a contracted ray; through Yaakov the Infinite Light itself, above all worlds, shines on every Jewish soul.¶3
- Stones are lettersLetters house meaning as stones house a person, and are lifeless beside it; all creation is one letter before G‑d. Being lifeless, letters can rise to the encompassing light, as the end of a circle joins its beginning.¶4–5
- The yud, the pillar and the oilOnly the yud, vessel of self-nullifying Chochmah, is raised; the pillar is a further ascent to the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy (yuds and vavs). A gloss explains why the vav here is higher than the yud, and the oil as a flow from the hidden mind into the laws of the Oral Torah.¶6–9
- Torah study with the awe of SinaiThe goal is the oil: supernal Chochmah drawn into the Torah, even its laws about worldly matters. Knowing this, one studies with the awe of Sinai, for before the Infinite Light nothing is hidden.¶10–12
- From Be’er Sheva to Charan, and the laughter of YitzchakYaakov descends from the source of the self-nullifying attributes to Charan, the choked throat where the flow is blocked, as in exile and in self-centered study, in order to transform it: Charan becomes rinah, and the joy of Yitzchak will be revealed with Mashiach.¶13–16
- Peace, and the fulfillment of the vowThe return comes through peace, which joins opposites. In the future the Infinite Light itself will be revealed, so Havayah in the worlds will be as Elokim, and the raised letters will become a house of Elokim.¶17–20
- The endless tithesEvery future ascent needs a remnant of the previous level as an arousal from below, the “tithe.” A parenthetical note explains this as Keser, the silent self-nullification between levels, doubled because Keser has two partzufim.¶21–22
Key concepts
- Yaakov as yud-akevיעקב — יו״ד עקב
- Yaakov’s name split into yud (the highest point) and akev (heel): he draws the light that is above all worlds down to the very lowest level.
- The 370 lightsש״ע נהורין
- Supernal lights, hinted in the letters ש״ע of yeshuos, “salvations,” which are revealed through Yaakov.
- Letters as stonesאבנים הן אותיות
- Following Sefer Yetzirah, letters are “stones”: they house meaning as stones house a person, and they are lifeless beside it; for that very reason they can be raised highest.
- Chochmah as koach mahחכמה — כ״ח מ״ה
- Chochmah read as “the power of ‘what’”: the self-effacing core of the mind and soul, the only vessel in which the Infinite Light rests.
- Yuds and vavsיודי״ן ווי״ן
- In the Kabbalistic image of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, the source-point of each hair is a yud and the extended hair a vav; the maamar maps Yaakov’s stone “at his head” and “as a pillar” onto these.
- Charan and rinahחרן — רנה
- Charan, the “parched throat” where the divine flow is blocked and the kelipos draw nourishment, is transformed into rinah, song, as the ches opens into a hei.
- Subjugation and transformationאתכפיא ואתהפכא
- Subduing the sitra achra and then turning its darkness into light; this brings the “laughter” of Yitzchak and is the purpose of the descent.
- Havayah and Elokimהוי׳ ואלקים
- Havayah is the inner light that gives life; Elokim is the concealment that shields it. In the future, even Havayah as it fills the worlds will be only “Elokim” beside the revealed Infinite Light.
- The tithe as Keserמעשר — כתר
- The remnant of each level that triggers the next ascent; it is the Keser, a tenth of the ten Sefiros, whose silent self-nullification lets a world rise to the one above.
The questions and Yaakov’s name ¶1–2
This heading marks the maamar as a further explanation of the discourse just before it in Torah Ohr on Parshas Vayeitzei. It takes up the same verses about Yaakov’s journey and the stone he set up, and explores them more deeply.
A heading: what follows is an explanation of the previous maamar on Vayeitzei.
According to the Kehot note, a transcript of this maamar by the Mitteler Rebbe survives, as does a shorter manuscript version with variants, and the Or HaTorah has glosses that seem to belong to it; later in Torah Ohr the Alter Rebbe refers back to this discourse.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
ביאור על הנ״ל
How it connects
The note says a transcript (hanachah) of this maamar by the Mitteler Rebbe is printed there, a parallel record of the same discourse.our note
Where the note points
Sefer HaMaamarim 5568ספר המאמרים תקס״חp. 634 (ע׳ תרלד)
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Manuscript 2057 (Chabad Library manuscript volume)בוך 205755a (נה, א)
Our explanationA shorter version of the maamar, with variants, in a manuscript whose hand resembles that of the Maharil, the Alter Rebbe’s brother (or possibly the Tzemach Tzedek’s hand in his youth), as the note describes it.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהVayeitzei, vol. 7, p. 1224b (כרך ז תתתכד, ב)
Our explanationThe note says glosses are found there which apparently are glosses and explanations on this maamar.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Torah Ohrתורה אורlater, 110a (לקמן קי, א) · not yet checked
Our explanationA later passage of Torah Ohr refers the reader back to this maamar, so the two discussions shed light on each other.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
הנחת כ״ק אדמו״ר האמצעי נדפס בסה״מ תקס״ח ע׳ תרלד. המאמר בקיצור בבוך 2057 נה, א — הכת״י דומה לגוכתי״ק מהרי״ל [?] אחי כ״ק אדה״ז [או שהוא כתי״ק מהצ״צ שכתב בצעירותו] — בשינויים.
אוה״ת ויצא כרך ז תתתכד, ב נמצא הגהות (כנראה שהם הגהות וביאורים לכאן).
לקמן קי, א מציין לד״ה זה.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
Yaakov’s vow at Beis El reads simply, “Havayah will be my G‑d.” The maamar reads it as a request that the Name Havayah, G‑d as He transcends the world, come to be at the level of Elokim, G‑d as He is present within nature; and that the stone Yaakov set up become a dwelling for G‑d. Both parts of the verse need explaining.
וכדי להבין3 איך תהיה האבן במדרגה גדולה כ״כ להיות מכון ומשכן להשראת קדושה עליונה עד שיהיה חל שם שמים על האבן שתהיה נק׳ בשם בית אלקים.
And in order to understand how the stone could be at so great a level as to be a foundation and a dwelling for the resting of supernal holiness, to the point that the Name of Heaven would rest upon the stone, so that it would be called by the name “house of Elokim,”
The second question: a stone is the lowest, most lifeless kind of matter. How could it become a place where supernal holiness rests, so that it is called by G‑d’s Name, “house of Elokim”?
we must understand the meaning of the whole portion, “And Yaakov went out,” etc. The matter [is this]: it is written, “Command the salvations of Yaakov.” The level of Yaakov is called “salvations” (yeshuos).
To answer, the Alter Rebbe turns to the whole parsha, starting from “And Yaakov went out.” He introduces a verse from Tehillim, “Command the salvations of Yaakov,” which links the name Yaakov with the word yeshuos, salvations.
וביאור מלת ישועות הנה שרש התיבה הוא ש״ע ושאר אותיות הם נוספות בתיבה כלומר שע״י בחינת יעקב מתגלין ש״ע נהורין6 עילאין
And the explanation of the word yeshuos: the root of the word is ש״ע [whose numerical value is 370], and the remaining letters are additions to the word. That is to say, through the level of Yaakov the 370 supernal lights (shin-ayin nehorin ila’in) are revealed.
The word ישועות is read as a root, ש״ע, with added letters. ש״ע has the numerical value 370, recalling the Kabbalistic teaching of 370 supernal lights. So “the salvations of Yaakov” means that Yaakov is the channel through which these lofty lights are revealed.
וגם ש״ע הוא מלשון וישע ה׳ אל הבל7 שהוא לשון הפנה דהיינו שכל פינות והמשכות עליונות פונות ונמשכות ע״י בחי׳ יעקב יו״ד עקב.
And also, ש״ע is from the expression “And G‑d turned to Hevel,” which is an expression of turning [toward]. That is, all supernal turnings and drawings-down turn and are drawn down through the level of Yaakov, [which is] yud-akev (a yud [and] a heel).
A second reading of ש״ע: in “And G‑d turned (vayisha) to Hevel and his offering,” the same letters mean turning toward, attending to. All of G‑d’s “turnings” toward the world, His flows of light downward, pass through Yaakov. The name Yaakov is split into yud (the first letter) and akev (heel): the yud, the highest point, reaches down into the heel, the lowest part.
The paragraph poses the maamar’s two questions (how Havayah becomes Elokim, and how a stone becomes a house of G‑d) and begins the answer: Yaakov, whose name joins the yud to the heel, is the one through whom the 370 supernal lights and all divine flows are drawn down.
The Kehot notes point to later works that discuss the 370 lights and cite Etz Chaim and Shemoneh She’arim for them, and to a discourse of the Mitteler Rebbe explaining the link between vayisha and yeshuos. The pun makes Yaakov both a “revealer of lights” and a “turning” of G‑d’s face toward below.
Marei mekomos
- 1
How it connects
Kehot’s note points to Genesis 28:22 for these words.
The source
Genesis 28:22בראשית כ״ח:כ״בSefaria (opens in a new tab)21וְשַׁבְתִּי בְשָׁלוֹם אֶל־בֵּית אָבִי וְהָיָה ה׳ לִי לֵאלֹקִים: 22וְהָאֶבֶן הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר־שַׂמְתִּי מַצֵּבָה יִהְיֶה בֵּית אֱלֹקִים וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּתֶּן־לִי עַשֵּׂר אֲעַשְּׂרֶנּוּ לָךְ:
21so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God, 22and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.’
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
- 2
On the words
והיה הוי״ה לי לאלקים והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה יהיה בית אלקים
How it connects
Yaakov’s vow after his dream at Beis El. The maamar reads it as a request that Havayah be drawn down to the level of Elokim, and that the stone become a dwelling for G‑dliness.our note
The source
Genesis 28:21–22בראשית כ״ח:כ״א-כ״בSefaria (opens in a new tab)וְשַׁבְתִּי בְשָׁלוֹם אֶל־בֵּית אָבִי וְהָיָה ה׳ לִי לֵאלֹקִים: וְהָאֶבֶן הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר־שַׂמְתִּי מַצֵּבָה יִהְיֶה בֵּית אֱלֹקִים וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּתֶּן־לִי עַשֵּׂר אֲעַשְּׂרֶנּוּ לָךְ:
so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.’
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 3
On the words
שו״ה אלקים — וכדי להבין
How it connects
A manuscript variant: this whole passage is missing there, and instead the manuscript reads, “It is known that the letters are called stones, as it is stated in Sefer Yetzirah.”our note
Where the note points
Manuscript 2057 (Chabad Library manuscript volume)בוך 2057on the passage from “And in order to understand” to “as it is stated in Sefer Yetzirah” (22a)
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
עד כב, א שו״ה והיינו — כמ״ש בס״י — ליתא בבוך 2057 ושם: הנה נודע שהאותיות נק׳ אבנים: כמ״ש בס״י.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
ויצא יעקב
How it connects
The opening of the parsha, Yaakov leaving Be’er Sheva for Charan. The maamar will read the whole journey as a descent with a purpose.our note
The source
Genesis 28:10בראשית כ״ח:י׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)9וַיֵּלֶךְ עֵשָׂו אֶל־יִשְׁמָעֵאל וַיִּקַּח אֶת־מָחֲלַת בַּת־יִשְׁמָעֵאל בֶּן־אַבְרָהָם אֲחוֹת נְבָיוֹת עַל־נָשָׁיו לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה: 10וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע וַיֵּלֶךְ חָרָנָה: 11וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם כִּי־בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו וַיִּשְׁכַּב בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא:
9… had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife. 10And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. 11And he lighted upon the place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 5
On the words
צוה ישועות יעקב
How it connects
“Command the salvations of Yaakov.” The Alter Rebbe reads yeshuos as containing ש״ע, the 370 supernal lights revealed through Yaakov.our note
The source
Psalms 44:5תהילים מ״ד:ה׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)4כִּי לֹא בְחַרְבָּם יָרְשׁוּ אָרֶץ וּזְרוֹעָם לֹא־הוֹשִׁיעָה לָּמוֹ כִּי־יְמִינְךָ וּזְרוֹעֲךָ וְאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ כִּי רְצִיתָם: 5אַתָּה־הוּא מַלְכִּי אֱלֹקִים צַוֵּה יְשׁוּעוֹת יַעֲקֹב: 6בְּךָ צָרֵינוּ נְנַגֵּחַ בְּשִׁמְךָ נָבוּס קָמֵינוּ:
4… hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou wast favourable unto them. 5Thou art my King, O God; command the salvation of Jacob. 6Through Thee do we push down our adversaries; through Thy name do we tread them under …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
תהלים מד, ה.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 6
On the words
ש״ע נהורין
How it connects
A later discourse on the 370 lights which, the note says, cites Etz Chaim and Shemoneh She’arim for the concept.our note
Where the note points
Sefer HaMaamarim 5632ספר המאמרים תרל״בvol. 2, p. 464
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Etz Chaimעץ חייםby Rabbi Chaim Vital, from the Arizal
The central work of the Arizal’s Kabbalah, in gates (she’arim).
Kehot’s note
ראה בסה״מ תרל״ב ח״ב ע׳ תסד שמציין לספר ע״ח ושמונה שערים.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 7
On the words
וישע ה׳ אל הבל
How it connects
“And G‑d turned to Hevel and his offering.” Here the letters ש״ע mean turning toward, so yeshuos also means the divine turnings and flows that come through Yaakov.our note
The source
Genesis 4:4בראשית ד׳:ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)3וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ יָמִים וַיָּבֵא קַיִן מִפְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה מִנְחָה לַה׳ 4וְהֶבֶל הֵבִיא גַם־הוּא מִבְּכֹרוֹת צֹאנוֹ וּמֵחֶלְבֵהֶן וַיִּשַׁע ה׳ אֶל־הֶבֶל וְאֶל־מִנְחָתוֹ: 5וְאֶל־קַיִן וְאֶל־מִנְחָתוֹ לֹא שָׁעָה וַיִּחַר לְקַיִן מְאֹד וַיִּפְּלוּ פָּנָיו:
3… to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering; 5but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Where the note points
Sefer HaMaamarim, by the Mitteler Rebbe (Bereishis)ספר המאמרים אדמו״ר האמצעי, בראשיתp. 281
Our explanationThe note says that there the Mitteler Rebbe explains the connection between the word vayisha (“and He turned”) and yeshuos, the reading used here.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בראשית ד, ד. ראה בסה״מ אדה״א בראשית ע׳ רפא שמבאר תי׳ וישע — ישועות.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
The light above the chain of worlds ¶3
3וענין נהורין והמשכות הללו היינו גילוי ההארות והמשכות מאור א״ס עצמו שכשמו כן הוא אין לו סוף כו׳.
And the meaning of these lights and drawings-down is the revelation of the illuminations and drawings-down from the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) itself, which, as its name is, so it is: it has no end, etc.
The “lights” and “drawings-down” are revelations of the Infinite Light itself. Its name, Ein Sof, “without end,” describes exactly what it is: boundless.
ואינו בגדר עלמין כלל וכולא קמיה כלא ממש חשיב ולית מחשב׳ תפיסא ביה ואין ערוך אליו כו׳.
And it is not within the bounds of worlds at all; “all before Him is considered as truly nothing,” and “no thought can grasp Him,” and there is nothing comparable to Him, etc.
The Infinite Light does not belong to the category of worlds at all. Compared with it, everything is as nothing, no thought can grasp it, and nothing bears any comparison to it.
כי מלכותך מלכות כ״ע1 והודו וזיוו על ארץ ושמים כו׳ זיו והארה בעלמא המתלבש׳ ומתפשטת בתוך עלמין להוות׳
For “Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds,” and “His glory” and His radiance “is over earth and heaven,” etc.: merely a radiance and illumination, which is clothed and spreads within the worlds to bring them into being
What does fill the worlds is only a ray of G‑d’s light. G‑d’s “kingship,” His relationship to the worlds as their King, is called a mere “glory” and “radiance” over earth and heaven: a glow, not the source itself. The Alter Rebbe adds the word “radiance” to the verse to make this point.
ולהחיותם להיות חיים וקיימים מאין ליש בבחי׳ העלם והסתר אור א״ס ב״ה עצמו שלא יבטלו העולמות במציאות ויחזרו להיות אין ואפס כמו שהיו
and to give them life, so that they be living and existing, from nothingness into being, in a manner of concealment and hiding of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself, so that the worlds would not be nullified out of existence and return to being nothing and naught, as they were [before];
This ray gives the worlds life and brings them into being from nothing. It must come in a concealed way: were the Infinite Light itself revealed, the worlds would be nullified and return to nothing, as they were before creation.
דהיינו ע״י כמה צמצומים והתלבשות שונות בירידת המדרגות כדרך וסדר ההשתלשלות אבל אור א״ס ב״ה בעצמו ובכבודו רם ונשא כו׳ והוא למעלה מעלה מבחינת ההשתלשלות
that is, through many contractions (tzimtzumim) and various enclothements in the descent of the levels, according to the way and order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus). But the Infinite Light, blessed be He, in Its essence and Its glory, is exalted and uplifted, etc., and is far, far above the level of hishtalshelus.
The concealment happens through many contractions (tzimtzumim) and garments, level after level down the chain of worlds. The Infinite Light as it is in itself remains exalted far above this whole chain.
וע״י בחי׳ יעקב יו״ד עקב2 נמשך אא״ס ב״ה שלמעלה מבחי׳ ההשתלשלות שיאיר למטה בגילוי הנפש אלקות שבכל א׳ מישראל להיות גילוי אור א״ס ב״ה ממש על נפשו.3
And through the level of Yaakov, yud-akev, the Infinite Light, blessed be He, which is above the level of hishtalshelus, is drawn down, so that it shines below, in a revelation to the G‑dly soul that is in each and every Jew, so that there is a revelation of the very Infinite Light, blessed be He, upon his soul.
Here is Yaakov’s unique role: through him, the light that transcends the chain of worlds is drawn down to shine openly on the G‑dly soul of every Jew. This is Yaakov as yud-akev: the highest reaching the lowest.
The paragraph distinguishes the contracted radiance that sustains the worlds from the Infinite Light itself, which is above the whole chain of worlds, and says that through Yaakov that transcendent light is revealed to every Jewish soul.
The Kehot note refers to an earlier maamar in Torah Ohr (Toldos) where Yaakov as yud-akev is discussed, and to the Or HaTorah, which adds that Yaakov is the “middle bar” (Tiferes) through which light reaches Malchus. The contrast of a “ray” (ziv) with the Infinite Light “in its essence and glory” is a recurring distinction in the Alter Rebbe’s teaching.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
מלכותך מלכות כ״ע
How it connects
“Your kingship is a kingship over all worlds.” Used to show that G‑d’s relationship to the worlds is through His attribute of kingship, Malchus, a mere ray.our note
The source
Psalms 145:13תהילים קמ״ה:י״גSefaria (opens in a new tab)12לְהוֹדִיעַ לִבְנֵי הָאָדָם גְּבוּרֹתָיו וּכְבוֹד הֲדַר מַלְכוּתוֹ: 13מַלְכוּתְךָ מַלְכוּת כׇּל־עֹלָמִים וּמֶמְשַׁלְתְּךָ בְּכׇל־דּוֹר וָדֹר: 14סוֹמֵךְ ה׳ לְכׇל־הַנֹּפְלִים וְזוֹקֵף לְכׇל־הַכְּפוּפִים:
12… the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glory of the majesty of His kingdom. 13Thy kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, And Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. 14The LORD upholdeth all that fall, And raiseth up all those that are bowed down.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 2
On the words
יעקב יו״ד עקב
How it connects
The earlier maamar (Toldos) explains how a great light from the Infinite Light itself shines even into the contracted life-force of Asiyah, the physical world, beyond the ordinary order of the chain of worlds.our note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אורearlier, 21a (לעיל כא, א)
אך להבין כ״ז והלא יעקב הוא בחי׳ קדושה ובלא״ה נמשכים בו כל האורות עליונים א״א ואו״א כנ״ל. אך הברכה היא בתוס׳ ורבוי המשכה מלמעלה מסדר ההשתלשלו׳ שאינו לפי ערך ההשתלשלו׳ כדי להיות ורב דגן ותירוש אלו הלכות ואגדות שנתלבשו בלבושים גשמיים זרעים בחסד כו׳ וכן כל התורה ספורי מעשיות כו׳ וכן נביאים שופטים מעשה דשמשון ופלגש בגבעה וכן כל מעשה המלכים וספורי מעשיות שבגמ׳ דרבב״ח ודומיהן הכל מרומז בהן סודות התורה, ועד״ז ג״כ מעשה המצות שע״י סוכה ולולב וציצית ותפילין גשמיים יהיה המשכת אוא״ס ב״ה שלמע׳ מעלה מהשתלשלו׳ שלפי ערך וסדר השתלשלות בעשי׳ החיות מצומצם מאד ובכדי שיאיר אור רב מאא״ס ב״ה בעצמו ובכבודו הוא ע״י יצחק דייקא שהוא שרש הגבורות בוצינא דקרדוניתא שהוא קו המדה שמודד להיות חכם כו׳ ומשם נמשך תוס׳ אור וגילוי גם בעשי׳ הגשמי׳.
But to understand all this: is not Yaakov the level of holiness, and even without this all the supernal lights, Arich Anpin and Abba and Imma, are drawn into him, as explained above? But the blessing is an addition and increase of drawing-down from above the order of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus), not in proportion to hishtalshelus, so that there be “an abundance of grain and wine”: these are the halachos and aggados, which are enclothed in physical garments: “Zera'im” in Chesed, etc. And likewise the whole Torah, the narratives, etc.; and likewise the Prophets, Judges, the story of Shimshon and of the concubine in Givah; and likewise all the deeds of the kings; and the narratives in the Gemara of Rabbah bar bar Chanah and the like: in all of them the secrets of the Torah are alluded to. And in the same way, too, the practical deeds of the mitzvos, that through a physical sukkah and lulav, tzitzis and tefillin there will be a drawing-down of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof), blessed be He, which is above, higher than hishtalshelus. For according to the measure and order of hishtalshelus, the life-force (chayus) in Asiyah is very contracted; and for a great light to …
Our explanationThat is the same theme as here: light from above the chain reaching the lowest level.
Read it hereOr HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהat the same place
Our explanationThe Or HaTorah adds that Yaakov is the “middle bar,” and that David’s plea “Turn to me and be gracious to me” refers to Malchus, which receives this turning through Yaakov, the attribute of Tiferes.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
נסמן לעיל כא, א. באוה״ת שם נוסף ”כי יעקב בריח התיכון, ודהע״ה אמר פנה אלי וחנני דהיינו לבחי׳ מל׳, והיינו ע״י יעקב ת״ת”.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
How it connects
“His glory is over earth and heaven.” The Alter Rebbe reads “glory” as a mere radiance, the glow of G‑d’s light that fills the worlds.our note
The source
Psalms 148:13תהילים קמ״ח:י״גSefaria (opens in a new tab)12בַּחוּרִים וְגַם־בְּתוּלוֹת זְקֵנִים עִם־נְעָרִים: 13יְהַלְלוּ אֶת־שֵׁם ה׳ כִּי־נִשְׂגָּב שְׁמוֹ לְבַדּוֹ הוֹדוֹ עַל־אֶרֶץ וְשָׁמָיִם: 14וַיָּרֶם קֶרֶן לְעַמּוֹ תְּהִלָּה לְכׇל־חֲסִידָיו לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַם קְרֹבוֹ הַלְלוּ־קָהּ:
12Both young men and maidens, Old men and children; 13Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. 14And He hath lifted up a horn for His people, A praise for all His saints, …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Stones are letters ¶4–5
And this is through his having taken “of the stones of the place, and he put [them] at his head.” Stones are letters, as it is stated in Sefer Yetzirah: “Two stones build two houses.”
Yaakov draws down the transcendent light by taking “the stones of the place” and putting them at his head. Following Sefer Yetzirah, which calls letters “stones” (two letters make two combinations, “two stones build two houses”), the stones are letters.
והטעם שנקראו אותיות בשם אבנים הוא כי כמו שע״י כמה אבנים נבנה בית לשבת אדם כו׳
And the reason that letters are called by the name “stones” is that, just as through a number of stones a house is built for a person to dwell in, etc.,
The first reason letters are called stones: just as stones are put together to build a house for a person to live in,
כך ע״י כמה צירופי אותיות נעשי׳ תיבות ומכמה צירופי תיבות נעשה ענין שלם שמתוכו מובן ומושג איזה השכלה והשגה
so through a number of combinations of letters words are made, and from a number of combinations of words a complete subject is made, from within which some concept and comprehension is understood and grasped.
so letters are combined into words, and words into a whole passage, and through that passage an idea can be understood.
And the intellect rests and is clothed in these letters, just as “with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house,” through combinations of stones. And there is yet another reason:
The idea “lives” in the letters as a person lives in a house built of stones; the Alter Rebbe borrows the phrase “the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house” from Yeshayahu. He then gives a second reason.
כמו שהאבנים הם דומם ואין להם ערך ויחוס לאדם הדר בבית שנבנה מהאבנים כך האותיות הן בחי׳ דומם לגבי השכל השורה ומתלבש בהם ואין להם ערך ויחוס אליו
just as the stones are inanimate and have no comparison or relation to the person who lives in the house built of the stones, so the letters are at the level of the inanimate relative to the intellect that rests and is clothed in them, and have no comparison or relation to it.
Stones are lifeless, and they have nothing in common with the living person who dwells among them. In the same way letters are, so to speak, lifeless compared with the idea they carry; they bear no comparison to it.
ולכן בטלים הם לגבי השכל (ועמ״ש בפ׳ בראשית בד״ה להבין בתוספת ביאור ענין וייצר) ולכן נק׳ הוי׳ צבאות אות הוא בצבא דילי׳5 שכל9
Therefore they are nullified relative to the intellect. (And see what is written in Parshas Bereishis, in the discourse beginning “To understand, with an additional explanation of the matter of ‘And He formed.’”) And therefore He is called “Havayah Tzevakos” [Havayah of hosts]: “He is a sign (os) among His host,” for all
Because letters are nothing next to the idea, they are wholly subordinate to it. The parenthesis sends the reader to a maamar in Parshas Bereishis on “And He formed.” This explains the Name “Havayah Tzevakos”: the Talmud’s phrase “He is a sign (os) in His host” is read with os meaning “letter.”
העולמות והברואי׳ נתהוו מבחי׳ אותיות שבעשרה מאמרות שנברא בהם העולם יהי אור יהי רקיע כו׳.
the worlds and the creatures came into being from the level of the letters of the Ten Utterances with which the world was created: “Let there be light,” “Let there be a firmament,” etc.
All worlds and creatures came into being from the letters of the Ten Utterances of creation, such as “Let there be light.” So every created thing is, at root, letters of G‑d’s speech.
וכל צבא השמים העליונים אלף אלפין ורבוא רבבן6 ולגדודיו אין מספר7 הם בטלים לגבי אור א״ס ב״ה כבטול האותיות שהן בחי׳ דומם לגבי השכל מאחר שהם בחי׳ גבול ת״ק שנה כו׳
And all the host of the upper heavens, “a thousand thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand,” and “to His troops there is no number,” are nullified relative to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, like the nullification of the letters, which are at the level of the inanimate, relative to the intellect. Since they are at the level of limitation, [a span of] five hundred years, etc.,
Even the vast heavenly hosts, described in Daniel as thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads, are nullified before the Infinite Light the way letters are nothing next to the idea. They are finite, limited even in measure, like the “five hundred years” used to describe the distances between the heavens.
ונבראים ומחודשים מאין ליש הרי אין ערוך אליו ית׳ וכנודע ענין הערך במספר8 שמספר א׳ לגבי אלף אלפים כו׳ יש לו איזה ערך ויחוס
and are created and brought into being anew from nothingness into being, there is no comparison [between them and] Him, may He be blessed. And as is known regarding comparison in number: the number one, relative to a thousand thousands, etc., has some comparison and relation;
Since they are finite and created from nothing, there is no comparison between them and G‑d. The example of numbers makes this sharper: even one next to millions is still a fraction of it, and so it bears some relation.
משא״כ אליו ית׳ שהוא א״ס ב״ה אין ערוך כלל ולכן נק׳ אות הוא בצבא דילי׳ שכל הצבאות אינן אלא בחי׳ אות א׳ לגבי אור א״ס ב״ה.
which is not so with Him, may He be blessed, who is the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He: there is no comparison at all. And therefore it is said, “He is an os among His host,” for all the hosts are nothing but a single letter (os) relative to the Infinite Light, blessed be He.
But between any finite thing and the Infinite there is no ratio at all. That is why the Sages say “He is an os among His host”: all the hosts together are no more than one letter before the Infinite Light.
The paragraph explains why the “stones” Yaakov took are letters: letters house meaning as stones house a person, and like stones they are lifeless next to what dwells in them. So too all creation, made of the letters of the Ten Utterances, is less than a single letter before the Infinite Light.
The Kehot note records a question from the Or HaTorah: even the creative letters are “inanimate” relative to supernal Chochmah, and creatures are further still, so the gap between creation and the Infinite is far greater than that between letters and intellect; how then can the one serve as an analogy for the other? The note sends the reader to the Or HaTorah for the answer and to the Mitteler Rebbe’s Torah Chaim. Letters, being “lifeless,” also prepare for the next paragraph, where just this quality lets them rise highest.
Marei mekomos
- 1
How it connects
Yaakov took of the stones of the place and put them at his head before sleeping. The maamar reads the stones as letters, raised to the highest level.our note
The source
Genesis 28:11בראשית כ״ח:י״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)10וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע וַיֵּלֶךְ חָרָנָה: 11וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם כִּי־בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו וַיִּשְׁכַּב בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא: 12וַיַּחֲלֹם וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה וְהִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹקִים עֹלִים וְיֹרְדִים בּוֹ:
10And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. 11And he lighted upon the place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
- 2
On the words
כמ״ש בס״י שני אבנים
How it connects
Other maamarim of Torah Ohr that also use Sefer Yetzirah’s image of letters as stones.our note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אורlater, 30a; 50a; 56b (לקמן ל, א. נ, א. נו, ב)
והנשיאים לפי שהיו במעלה יותר משאר כללות ישראל נתנו לחנוכת המזבח מתנה מרובה קערות כסף ופרים וכבשים ועתודים כדי שיהיה כח בקרבנות של ישראל להמשיך אור דבר יום ביומו בקרבנות של כל יום ויום. וכך היה ענין הנרות דחנוכה בימי חשמונאי שהיונים לא בקשו לשלוח ידם רק להשכיחם תורתך ולהעבירם כו׳ וכמארז״ל (בב״ר פ׳ ט״ז ופ׳ מ״ד) שאמרו כתבו לכם על קרן השור כו׳. ופי׳ לפי שכל העובדי כוכבים יש להם נה״ב מפני שור אלא שהם מקבלים מבחי׳ הפסולת והשמרי׳ בחי׳ קרנים וטלפים שמרים ופסולת שאין עולים ונכללי׳ בקדוש׳ פני שור שבמרכב׳ שנושאות את הכסא ודמות אדם שעליו מלמעלה שכח זה רק בהנפש אלקית שהוא מבחי׳ אדם שעל הכסא. והנה״ב היא מבחי׳ אדם שבחיות שבמרכבה ודמות אחד לארבעתן. ודמות פניהם פני אדם. ולכן יש להם כח להמשיך אור א״ס ב״ה …
Our explanationThe resolved passage (Vayeshev, on Chanukah) comes from the discussion around 30a; the other two places are not resolved here.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהBamidbar 8b (ח, ב)
ופירש שם בספר רוח דוד כי יום ולילה הם ז״א ונוק׳. אבל לעתיד שיהיה גילוי א״א כתיב לא יום ולא לילה והיה לעת ערב יהיה אור דלילה כיום יאיר. וענין אומרו דלית יום ולילה אלא מסטרא דילן. יובן ע״פ משנ״ת במ״א בד״ה וידעת היום כו׳ פי׳ כמו שהיום הוא עם הלילה ושניהם אחד כך והשבות אל לבבך שכמו שהוא בזמן כך הוא בנפש שהשני לבבות שהם היצ״ט והיצה״ר הם שניהם כאחד שגם היצה״ר ישוב לאהבת הוי׳ כד אתכפיא סט״א כו׳ ומזה וידעת כי הוי׳ הוא האלקים שנמשך להיות חיבור ויחוד שם הוי׳ עם שם אלקים שבאתעדל״ת תליא מלתא שע״י והשבות אל לבבך שיהיו ב׳ הלבבות כאחד שישוב גם היצה״ר להיות בטל לגבי היצ״ט נמשך כמ״כ למעלה שיהיה שמאלא אתכליל בימינא, וזהו ענין שמזכירין מדת לילה ביום ומדת יום בלילה בברכת …
Our explanationA parallel place in Likkutei Torah to which the note points for the teaching that letters are called stones; the resolved passage is only near the cited column, so the exact wording there is not shown.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
פ״ד מט״ז. וראה גם לקמן ל, א. נ, א. נו, ב. לקו״ת במדבר ח, ב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
וכתפארת אדם לשבת בית
How it connects
From Yeshayahu’s description of an idol carved “like the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.” The Alter Rebbe borrows only the image of a person dwelling in a house to describe intellect dwelling in letters.our note
The source
Isaiah 44:13ישעיהו מ״ד:י״גSefaria (opens in a new tab)12חָרַשׁ בַּרְזֶל מַעֲצָד וּפָעַל בַּפֶּחָם וּבַמַּקָּבוֹת יִצְּרֵהוּ וַיִּפְעָלֵהוּ בִּזְרוֹעַ כֹּחוֹ גַּם־רָעֵב וְאֵין כֹּחַ לֹא־שָׁתָה מַיִם וַיִּיעָף: 13חָרַשׁ עֵצִים נָטָה קָו יְתָאֲרֵהוּ בַשֶּׂרֶד יַעֲשֵׂהוּ בַּמַּקְצֻעוֹת וּבַמְּחוּגָה יְתׇאֳרֵהוּ וַיַּעֲשֵׂהוּ כְּתַבְנִית אִישׁ כְּתִפְאֶרֶת אָדָם לָשֶׁבֶת בָּיִת: 14לִכְרׇת־לוֹ אֲרָזִים וַיִּקַּח תִּרְזָה וְאַלּוֹן וַיְאַמֶּץ־לוֹ בַּעֲצֵי־יָעַר נָטַע אֹרֶן וְגֶשֶׁם יְגַדֵּל:
12… arm; Yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth; He drinketh no water, and is faint. 13The carpenter stretcheth out a line; He marketh it out with a pencil; He fitteth it with planes, And he marketh it out with the compasses, And maketh it after the figure of a man, According to the beauty of a man, to dwell in the house. 14He heweth him down cedars, And taketh the ilex and the oak, And strengtheneth for himself …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
ישעי׳ מד, יג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
ועוד טעם אחר
How it connects
A manuscript variant: according to the note, these words are missing in manuscript 2057.our note
Where the note points
Manuscript 2057 (Chabad Library manuscript volume)בוך 2057on the words “and there is yet another reason”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
תי׳ אלו ליתא בבוך 2057.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 5
On the words
אות הוא בצבא דילי׳
How it connects
The Talmud interprets the Name Tzevakos as “He is a sign among His host.” The maamar reads os as “letter”: all the hosts are like a single letter before G‑d.our note
The source
Chagigah 16a:3–4חגיגה ט״ז א:ג׳-ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)וְרֵישׁ לָקִישׁ אָמַר: ״ה׳ צְבָאוֹת שְׁמוֹ״ — אָדוֹן הוּא בַּצָּבָא שֶׁלּוֹ. וְרַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: ״לֹא בָרוּחַ ה׳ וְאַחַר הָרוּחַ רַעַשׁ לֹא בָרַעַשׁ ה׳. וְאַחַר הָרַעַשׁ אֵשׁ לֹא בָאֵשׁ ה׳ וְאַחַר הָאֵשׁ קוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה״, ״וְהִנֵּה ה׳ עוֹבֵר״.
And Reish Lakish said, "'Hashem of hosts is his name (Isaiah 48:2)-' he [ie. Metatron] is [merely] a general in his force." And Rabbi Chiya the son of Abba [said], "Rabbi Yochanan said, ''Not in the wind was Hashem-- and after the wind was an earthquake-- not in the earthquake was Hashem-- and after the earthquake was a fire-- not in the fire was Hashem-- and after the fire was a still small voice, and behold Hashem passed by (I Kings 19:11).' [Meaning, the impressive sights are not always indicators of the Divine.]'"
Hebrew: William Davidson, Vocalized Aramaic (CC-BY-NC) · English: Sefaria Community Translation (CC0) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
ראה חגיגה טז, א.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 6
On the words
אלף אלפין ורבוא רבבן
How it connects
Daniel’s vision of countless thousands serving before G‑d. The maamar cites it to show that even the vast heavenly hosts are nullified before the Infinite Light.our note
The source
Daniel 7:10דניאל ז׳:י׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)9… וְעַתִּיק יוֹמִין יְתִב לְבוּשֵׁהּ כִּתְלַג חִוָּר וּשְׂעַר רֵאשֵׁהּ כַּעֲמַר נְקֵא כׇּרְסְיֵהּ שְׁבִבִין דִּי־נוּר גַּלְגִּלּוֹהִי נוּר דָּלִק: 10נְהַר דִּי־נוּר נָגֵד וְנָפֵק מִן־קֳדָמוֹהִי אֶלֶף אַלְפִין יְשַׁמְּשׁוּנֵּהּ וְרִבּוֹ רִבְבָן קָדָמוֹהִי יְקוּמוּן דִּינָא יְתִב וְסִפְרִין פְּתִיחוּ: 11חָזֵה הֲוֵית בֵּאדַיִן מִן־קָל מִלַּיָּא רַבְרְבָתָא דִּי קַרְנָא מְמַלֱּלָה חָזֵה הֲוֵית עַד דִּי קְטִילַת חֵיוְתָא וְהוּבַד …
9… his head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire. 10A fiery stream issued And came forth from before him; thousand thousands ministered unto him, And ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; The judgment was set, And the books were opened. 11I beheld at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 7
On the words
ולגדודיו אין מספר
How it connects
An allusion to the verse “Is there any number to His troops?” describing G‑d’s innumerable heavenly hosts, which are still finite before Him.our note
The source
Job 25:3איוב כ״ה:ג׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)2הַמְשֵׁל וָפַחַד עִמּוֹ עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו: 3הֲיֵשׁ מִסְפָּר לִגְדוּדָיו וְעַל־מִי לֹא־יָקוּם אוֹרֵהוּ: 4וּמַה־יִּצְדַּק אֱנוֹשׁ עִם־אֵל וּמַה־יִּזְכֶּה יְלוּד אִשָּׁה:
2Dominion and fear are with Him; He maketh peace in His high places. 3Is there any number of His armies? And upon whom doth not His light arise? 4How then can man be just with God? Or how can he be clean that is …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 8
On the words
וכנודע ענין הערך במספר
How it connects
The note says the Or HaTorah asks how the analogy can hold, since even the creative letters of the Ten Utterances are “inanimate” relative to supernal Chochmah, and the gap between creatures and the Infinite is endlessly greater than that between letters and intellect.our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהBereishis, vol. 7, p. 1224b (כרך ז תתתכד, ב)
Our explanationThe answer is given there.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Torah Chaim, by the Mitteler Rebbeתורת חייםVayeitzei, 23c ff. (כג, ג ואילך)
Our explanationThe Or HaTorah refers to this discussion in Torah Chaim for the same question about the analogy.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה באוה״ת בראשית כרך ז תתתכד, ב, שצ״ע דאף המהוה הנבראים שהוא אותיות דע״מ הם דומם לגבי חכמה עילאה, וכש״כ הנבראים מהאותיות כו׳, וא״כ איך דימה ביטול הנברא לא״ס ב״ה כמו ביטול האותיות לגבי השכל דהרי אין ערוך יותר לאין קץ, וראה שם התירוץ, ומציין לעיין בתו״ח ויצא כג, ג ואילך.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 9
On the words
בד״ה להבין בתוס׳ ביאור ענין וייצר
How it connects
The maamar in Bereishis on “And Havayah Elokim formed” discusses how the inanimate and the speaking are at opposite extremes and are joined only through two divine Names.our note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אורearlier, 4a (לעיל ד, א), Bereishis
וחי סמוכים יחד משא״כ הדומם עם המדבר שרחוקים זמ״ז מהקצה אל הקצה ולכן כדי שיתחברו יחד הוא ע״י ב׳ שמות: ולהבין בתוס׳ ביאור ענין וייצר ה׳ אלקים את
With this we will understand what is written of the creation of man, "And Havayah Elokim formed," with two Names: since it is the joining of his soul and his body — speaking and inanimate — which are farther apart from each other in rank than the body is from the soul in all the other animals, for, as said above, the vegetative and the animal are adjacent to each other; whereas the inanimate and the speaking are distant from each other, from one extreme to the other. Therefore, in order that they be joined together, it is through two Names.
Our explanationIt fills out the idea here that letters are “inanimate” next to the intellect.
Read it hereTorah Ohr, Bereishis, maamar 4לעיל ד, אpage 4a, ¶6
ביניהם הפסק עוד מדרגה אחרת לכן נתהוו הבע״ח גופם ונפשם החיונית בבת אחת כנ״ל. משא״כ המדבר רחוק בדילוג הערך מהצומח ולכן לא הי׳ יכול לצאת עם הגוף כאחד:
Therefore they can be joined together, that is, they can come into being at once, since the level of the vegetative is adjacent to the level of the animal, with no further level interrupting between them.
Read it hereKehot’s note
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
5והנה באבני המקום שהם בחי׳ אותיות כתיב וישם מראשותיו1 שהגביה והעלה אותם למעלה מעלה מבחי׳ ההשתלשל׳ דהיינו לבחי׳ סוכ״ע
Now, concerning “the stones of the place,” which are the level of letters, it is written, “and he put [them] at his head”: that he raised and elevated them far, far above the level of hishtalshelus, that is, to the level of the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin).
“He put them at his head” means Yaakov raised the letters, the lowest level, far above the whole chain of worlds, to the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev), which transcends every level.
כי לפי שהאותיות הן בחי׳ דומם לכך יש להם כח ויכולת לעלות למעלה מעלה כנודע שנעוץ תחלתן בסופן דייקא וסוכ״ע הוא כמשל העיגול שממטה נעשה מעלה. וכמ״ש ומתחת זרועות עולם.2
For since the letters are at the level of the inanimate, they therefore have the power and ability to rise far, far above, as is known, that “their beginning is wedged in their end,” specifically; and sovev kol almin is like the analogy of the circle, in which what is below becomes above. And as it is written, “and beneath are the arms of the world.”
Precisely because letters are “lifeless” and have no sense of self, they can rise highest. Sefer Yetzirah teaches that the end is bound up with the beginning, and the encompassing light is like a circle, where the lowest point is as close to the source as the highest. The verse “and beneath are the arms of the world” is read the same way: the eternal “arms” reach to what is lowest.
The paragraph explains “he put them at his head” as lifting the lowly letters above the whole chain of worlds to the encompassing light, possible because the lowest, having no self, is joined to the highest, like the ends of a circle.
The image of a circle, in which there is no above or below, is the standard way Chassidus describes sovev kol almin, as against memalei kol almin, which is compared to a line with higher and lower levels.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
וישם מראשותיו
How it connects
“And he put them at his head.” Read as raising the letters to the level above all the worlds.our note
The source
Genesis 28:11בראשית כ״ח:י״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)10וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע וַיֵּלֶךְ חָרָנָה: 11וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם כִּי־בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו וַיִּשְׁכַּב בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא: 12וַיַּחֲלֹם וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה וְהִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹקִים עֹלִים וְיֹרְדִים בּוֹ:
10And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. 11And he lighted upon the place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 2
On the words
ומתחת זרועות עולם
How it connects
“And beneath are the arms of the world.” Cited to show that the highest divine power is found precisely below, as in a circle.our note
The source
Deuteronomy 33:27דברים ל״ג:כ״זSefaria (opens in a new tab)26אֵין כָּאֵל יְשֻׁרוּן רֹכֵב שָׁמַיִם בְּעֶזְרֶךָ וּבְגַאֲוָתוֹ שְׁחָקִים: 27מְעֹנָהֿ אֱלֹקֵי קֶדֶם וּמִתַּחַת זְרֹעֹת עוֹלָם וַיְגָרֶשׁ מִפָּנֶיךָ אוֹיֵב וַיֹּאמֶר הַשְׁמֵד: 28וַיִּשְׁכֹּן יִשְׂרָאֵל בֶּטַח בָּדָד עֵין יַעֲקֹב אֶל־אֶרֶץ דָּגָן וְתִירוֹשׁ אַף־שָׁמָיו יַעַרְפוּ טָל:
26… Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heaven as thy help, And in His excellency on the skies. 27The eternal God is a dwelling-place, And underneath are the everlasting arms; And He thrust out the enemy from before thee, And said: ‘Destroy.’ 28And Israel dwelleth in safety, The fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of corn and …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
דברים לג, כז.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
The yud, the pillar and the oil ¶6–9
Now, it is written, “He took of the stones of the place,” and not “all the stones,” because not all the letters have this power,
The verse says Yaakov took “of the stones,” some of them, not all. The Alter Rebbe reads this as a hint that not every letter can be raised to the highest level.
אלא אות היו״ד שהוא בחי׳ כלי לחכמה וחכמה הוא כח מ״ה בחי׳ בטול ולכך שורה שם ומתגלה אור א״ס ב״ה הסוכ״ע כי הוי׳ בחכמה2 כו׳ ואין אור א״ס ב״ה שורה ומתגלה אלא במי שבטל כו׳.
but only the letter yud, which is the level of a vessel for Chochmah (wisdom); and Chochmah is koach mah (the power of “what”), the level of self-nullification (bittul). Therefore the Infinite Light, blessed be He, the light that encompasses all worlds (sovev kol almin), rests and is revealed there, for “Havayah, with Chochmah,” etc.; and the Infinite Light, blessed be He, rests and is revealed only in one who is nullified, etc.
Only the yud can. The yud, the smallest letter, a mere point, is the “vessel” for Chochmah; and Chochmah is read as koach mah, “the power of ‘what,’” a mind that sees itself as nothing. The Infinite Light rests only where there is such self-nullification, as the verse “Havayah founded the earth with Chochmah” implies.
וזהו האבן אשר שם מראשותיו (ועמ״ש3 ע״פ מאמר הרע״מ פ׳ כי תשא בענין אבנא למשקל בה דא י׳) ואח״כ וישם אותה מצבה4 וכתרגומו ושוי יתה קמא5 שהוא
And this is “the stone that he had put at his head.” (And see what is written on the saying of the Ra’aya Mehemna in Parshas Ki Sisa concerning “a stone to weigh with: this is yud.”) And afterward, “and he set it up as a pillar,” and as the Targum renders it, “and he placed it standing,” which is
So “the stone he put at his head” is the yud, as the Ra’aya Mehemna says, “a stone to weigh with: this is yud.” Then Yaakov raised the stone into a standing pillar; Targum Onkelos renders this “he placed it standing.”
כמ״ש קמה אלמתיוגם נצבה שמה שהיתה האבן מונחת למטה בארץ אח״כ הקים אותה והגביה אותה עוד ממטה למעלה6
as it is written, “my sheaf arose and also stood upright.” That is, whereas the stone had been lying below on the ground, afterward he stood it up and raised it further, from below upward.
The same word is used in Yosef’s dream: “my sheaf arose and also stood upright.” The stone first lay on the ground and then was stood upright, a further raising from below to above.
והיינו עליי׳ אחר עליי׳ לבחי׳ ומקורות י״ג מדות רחמים עליונים שהן בחי׳ יודי״ן ווי״ן78 כי מקום יניקת השערה והגומא שלה הוא בחי׳ י׳ והשערה עצמה שהיא המשכה היא בחי׳ ו׳
And this is ascent after ascent, to the level and the sources of the thirteen supernal attributes of mercy, which are the level of yuds [and] vavs; for the place where the hair draws its nourishment, and its follicle, is the level of yud, and the hair itself, which is a drawing-down, is the level of vav.
This second raising reaches the source of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. In Kabbalah these are pictured as the thirteen “arrangements” (tikkunim) of the supernal beard, and each hair has two parts: the follicle, a contracted point where it draws its nourishment, which is a yud, and the hair itself, a line that carries the flow downward, which is a vav.
וזהו וישם מראשותיו וישם אתה מצבה שמתחלה כאשר שם מראשותיו היא בחי׳ יו״ד ואח״כ נעשה מצבה הוא בחי׳ וא״ו וכל בחי׳ הללו הם בחי׳ העלאה ממטה למעלה
And this is “and he put [them] at his head … and he set it up as a pillar”: at first, when he put it at his head, it is the level of yud; and afterward, when it becomes a pillar, it is the level of vav. And all these levels are levels of elevation from below upward.
So the two stages of the verse correspond to these two letters: the stone at his head is the yud, and the stone set up as a pillar is the vav. Both stages are ascents from below upward.
והיינו התעלות חכמה שבנפש לאור א״ס ב״ה השורה ומתגלה בה כי הנפש היא בחי׳ נברא ומחודש מאין ליש בבחי׳ אותיו׳ כו׳
That is, the ascent of the Chochmah in the soul to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, which rests and is revealed in it; for the soul is at the level of a being created and brought into being anew from nothingness into being, at the level of letters, etc.
In a person, this is the raising of the Chochmah of the soul to the Infinite Light that rests in it. The soul itself is a created being, made “from nothing” through divine letters, which is why it can be compared to the stones.
וצריך להעלות׳ ממטה למעלה לאור א״ס ב״ה הסוכ״ע וישוב אל9 ה׳ וירחמהו מבחי׳ י״ג מדות הרחמים והעלאה זו היא בבחי׳ חכמה דוקא כ״ח מ״ה:10
And one must raise it from below upward, to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, the light that encompasses all worlds: “and let him return to G‑d, and He will have mercy on him,” from the level of the thirteen attributes of mercy. And this elevation is specifically through the level of Chochmah, koach mah.
The soul must be lifted to the encompassing light, as Yeshayahu says, “Let him return to G‑d, and He will have mercy on him”: mercy from the level of the Thirteen Attributes. This ascent comes specifically through Chochmah, koach mah, the self-effacing core of the soul.
The paragraph explains that only the yud, the vessel of self-nullifying Chochmah, can be raised to the encompassing light, and reads Yaakov’s two acts, putting the stone at his head and then setting it up as a pillar, as two ascents, yud and vav, toward the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy; in the soul, this is Chochmah rising to the Infinite Light.
The Kehot notes point to other places (Torah Ohr, Vayechi; Likkutei Torah, Nitzavim) that explain the thirteen tikkunim as yuds and vavs: the yud is the light contracted within the skin that can only emerge through the follicle, and the vav is the extended hair. The Likkutei Torah passage cites the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah on Toldos, and the Or HaTorah records the teaching there that the word se’ar (hair) has the letters of eser (ten), a yud, which then becomes a vav.
Marei mekomos
- 1
How it connects
Yaakov took “of the stones of the place.” The partitive “of” is read as teaching that only one letter, the yud, has the power to be raised.our note
The source
Genesis 28:11בראשית כ״ח:י״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)10וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע וַיֵּלֶךְ חָרָנָה: 11וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם כִּי־בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו וַיִּשְׁכַּב בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא: 12וַיַּחֲלֹם וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה וְרֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה וְהִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹקִים עֹלִים וְיֹרְדִים בּוֹ:
10And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. 11And he lighted upon the place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. 12And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
- 2
On the words
הוי׳ בחכמה
How it connects
“Havayah founded the earth with Chochmah.” Cited to show that G‑d’s Name, His light, rests in Chochmah.our note
The source
Proverbs 3:19משלי ג׳:י״טSefaria (opens in a new tab)18עֵץ־חַיִּים הִיא לַמַּחֲזִיקִים בָּהּ וְתֹמְכֶיהָ מְאֻשָּׁר: 19ה׳ בְּחׇכְמָה יָסַד־אָרֶץ כּוֹנֵן שָׁמַיִם בִּתְבוּנָה: 20בְּדַעְתּוֹ תְּהוֹמוֹת נִבְקָעוּ וּשְׁחָקִים יִרְעֲפוּ־טָל:
18… to them that lay hold upon her, And happy is every one that holdest her fast. 19The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens. 20By His knowledge the depths were broken up, And the skies drop down the dew.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 3
On the words
ועמ״ש . . בענין אבא למשקל דא י׳
How it connects
The note directs the reader here for the explanation of the Ra’aya Mehemna’s phrase “a stone to weigh with: this is yud,” to which the text itself refers.our note
Where the note points
Biurei HaZohar, by the Tzemach Tzedekביאורי הזהרvol. 1, p. 281
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה ביאוה״ז להצ״צ כרך א ע׳ רפא.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
וישם אותה מצבה
How it connects
Yaakov set up the stone as a pillar. Read as a second ascent, from the level of yud to the level of vav.our note
The source
Genesis 28:18בראשית כ״ח:י״חSefaria (opens in a new tab)17וַיִּירָא וַיֹּאמַר מַה־נּוֹרָא הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה אֵין זֶה כִּי אִם־בֵּית אֱלֹקִים וְזֶה שַׁעַר הַשָּׁמָיִם: 18וַיַּשְׁכֵּם יַעֲקֹב בַּבֹּקֶר וַיִּקַּח אֶת־הָאֶבֶן אֲשֶׁר־שָׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתָהּ מַצֵּבָה וַיִּצֹק שֶׁמֶן עַל־רֹאשָׁהּ: 19וַיִּקְרָא אֶת־שֵׁם־הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא בֵּית־אֵל וְאוּלָם לוּז שֵׁם־הָעִיר לָרִאשֹׁנָה:
17… this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’ 18And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19And he called the name of that place Beth-el, but the name of the city was …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 5
On the words
ושוי יתה קמא
How it connects
The Targum renders the setting up of the pillar as “he placed it standing,” stressing that the stone was raised upright.our note
The source
Onkelos Genesis 28:18תרגום אונקלוס על בראשית כ״ח:י״חSefaria (opens in a new tab)17… הָדֵין לֵית דֵּין אֲתַר הֶדְיוֹט אֶלָּהֵין אֲתַר דְּרַעֲוָא בֵקהּ מִן קֳדָם יְיָ וְדֵין תְּרַע קֳבֵל שְׁמַיָּא: 18וְאַקְדֵּים יַעֲקֹב בְּצַפְרָא וּנְסִיב יָת אַבְנָא דִּי שַׁוִּי אִסָּדוֹהִי וְשַׁוִּי יָתַהּ קָמָא וַאֲרִיק מִשְׁחָא עַל רֵישַׁהּ: 19וּקְרָא יָת שְׁמָא דְאַתְרָא הַהוּא בֵּית אֵל וּבְרַם לוּז שְׁמָא דְקַרְתָּא בְּקַדְמֵיתָא:
Hebrew: Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009 (CC-BY-NC) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 6
On the words
והגביה אותה עוד ממטה למעלה
How it connects
A later discourse whose note 65 discusses this raising of the stone further from below upward.our note
Where the note points
Sefer HaMaamarim Melukatספר המאמרים מלוקטvol. 1, discourse beginning “Atah Echad,” 5732, note 65
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)The Rebbe’s maamar “אתה אחד” (5732)ד״ה אתה אחד תשל״בA maamar of the Rebbe, 5732
Find it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה ד״ה אתה אחד תשל״ב (סה״מ מלוקט ח״א) הערה 65.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 7
On the words
לבחי׳ ומקורות . . בחי׳ יודי״ן ווי״ן
How it connects
That passage explains the thirteen tikkunim of the beard as yuds and vavs: the yud is the light contracted beneath the skin that emerges only through the follicle, and the vav is the extension of the hair; Abba draws from the eighth mazal, Notzer.our note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אורlater, 48d (לקמן מח, ד)
וזהו ולבן שינים שהשינים עצמם נעשים לבנים מכח החלב שבשעת הבירור עדיין אינם לבנים מאחר שעוסק לראות ולפשפש כו׳. והוא בחינת קטנות משא״כ לבן שינים שנעשו לבנים ומאירים כו׳. שיש בירור אחר בירור כו׳ והכל הוא ע״י פותח את ידיך הוא בחי׳ י״ג ת״ד שהם יודי״ן ווי״ן שערות וגומות שאבא יונק ממזל הח׳ נוצר אותיות רצון כו׳ ועי״ז נעשה רצון גם לכל חי כו׳ והוא ע״י התו׳ אבא שממשיך אור אבא על נפשו ואבא יונק ממזל הח׳ כנ״ל ומתגלה בתוכה רצון שלמעלה מעלה כו׳ ומשל יודי״ן ווי״ן כי היו״ד הוא צמצום האור בעור הפנים המכסה ואינו יוצא אלא דרך גומא. והוא״ו הוא המשכת השערות כו׳ וד״ל:
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהBereishis, 374a (שעד, א)
Our explanationThe note says the Torah Ohr passage on yuds and vavs is quoted there.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Sefer HaMaamarim 5669ספר המאמרים תרס״טdiscourse beginning “Lemaan Da’as,” p. 45
Our explanationA later discourse that, according to the note, also brings this explanation of the yuds and vavs.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהParshas Nitzavim, 53a
אתעדל״ע דאתה החלות כו׳. וזהו ענין המלך הקדוש שאומרים בעשרת ימי תשובה דוקא דהנה פי׳ קדוש בוי״ו היינו המשכת י״ג ת״ד שהן בחי׳ יודי״ן ווי״ן שהשערות הן בחי׳ ווי״ן והאור שבתוך השערה הוא בחי׳ יו״ד כמ״ש בלק״ת ר״פ תולדות. אך מה שאומרים המלך הקדוש היינו שנמשך האור בי״ג ת״ד מבחי׳ מלכות דא״ס שהוא בחי׳ עתיק דאצילות שלמעלה מא״א ומשם מאיר האור הנמשך בי״ג ת״ד כו׳ וזהו המלך הקדוש והוא המשכה מבחי׳ קדושתי שלמעלה מקדושתכם כנ״ל. (ובזה מתורץ דהנה המצות שרשן מגלגלתא דא״א וא״כ איך הפגם שנעשה במעשה המצות יתוקן ע״י גילוי י״ג מדה״ר שהן י״ג ת״ד שהיא רק המשכה בבחינת שערות לבד והשערות אינו ערוך לעלצמיות המוח כו׳ אלא שהוא מטעם הנ״ל כי האור הנמשך ומתלבש בהן נמשך מבחי׳ עתיק שלמעלה מא״א ובמבוא שערים ש״ג ח״ב פ״ה שפנימית י״ג ת״ד …
Our explanationThere the hairs are called vavs and the light within each hair a yud, citing the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah on Toldos; the light that flows through the thirteen tikkunim comes from Atik, above Arich Anpin, which is why the Thirteen Attributes can repair what was damaged.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)The Rebbe Rashab’s maamar “למען דעת” (5669)ד״ה למען דעת תרס״טA maamar of the Rebbe Rashab, 5669
Find it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה לקמן מח, ד. מובא באוה״ת בראשית שעד, א. ובד״ה למען דעת תרס״ט ע׳ מה.
ראה גם לקו״ת פ׳ נצבים נג, א ”שהשערות הן בחי׳ ווין והאור שבתוך השערה הוא בחי׳ יו״ד כמ״ש בלק״ת [=להאריז״ל] ר״פ תולדות”.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 8
On the words
בחי׳ יודי״ן ווי״ן
How it connects
A manuscript variant: it adds that the yuds and vavs are supernal illuminations from the supernal “nothing,” by way of their nourishment, and that the hairs are yuds and vavs because of the place of their nourishment.our note
Where the note points
Manuscript 284 (Chabad Library manuscript volume)בוך 284137b
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהShir HaShirim, p. 225
Our explanationBrings, in the name of the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah on Toldos, that the word se’ar (hair) has the letters of eser (ten), which is a yud, and that it afterward becomes a vav.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Hemshech 5666 (Yom Tov shel Rosh Hashanah 5666)המשך תרס״וp. 410
Our explanationBrings the same teaching as the Or HaTorah: hair (se’ar) spells ten (eser), a yud, which then becomes a vav.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Likkutei Torah of the Arizalלקוטי תורה להאריז״לby Rabbi Chaim Vital, from the Arizal · Toldos
The Arizal’s teachings on the Torah, by parsha.
Kehot’s note
בבוך 284 קלז, ב נוסף: לפי שהן הארות עליונים מאין עליונים דרך יניקתם כו׳ כמ״ש במ״א והשערות הן בחי׳ יודין ווין: כי מקום יניקתם.
באוה״ת שה״ש ע׳ רכה ובהמשך תרס״ו ע׳ תי מביא זה בשם לקו״ת להאריז״ל פ׳ תולדות דשער הוא אותיות עשר שהוא בחי׳ י׳ ואח״כ נעשית וי״ו.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 9
On the words
וישוב אל ה׳ וירחמהו
How it connects
“Let him return to G‑d, and He will have mercy on him.” Used for the soul’s ascent that draws down mercy from the Thirteen Attributes.our note
The source
Isaiah 55:7ישעיהו נ״ה:ז׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)6דִּרְשׁוּ ה׳ בְּהִמָּצְאוֹ קְרָאֻהוּ בִּהְיוֹתוֹ קָרוֹב: 7יַעֲזֹב רָשָׁע דַּרְכּוֹ וְאִישׁ אָוֶן מַחְשְׁבֹתָיו וְיָשֹׁב אֶל־ה׳ וִירַחֲמֵהוּ וְאֶל־אֱלֹקֵינוּ כִּי־יַרְבֶּה לִסְלוֹחַ: 8כִּי לֹא מַחְשְׁבוֹתַי מַחְשְׁבוֹתֵיכֶם וְלֹא דַרְכֵיכֶם דְּרָכָי נְאֻם ה׳
6Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, Call ye upon Him while He is near; 7Let the wicked forsake his way, And the man of iniquity his thoughts; And let him return unto the LORD, and He will have compassion upon him, And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon 8For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 10
On the words
קמה אלמתי
How it connects
Yosef’s dream of his sheaf rising and standing upright. It shows the sense of raising up from lying to standing.our note
The source
Genesis 37:7בראשית ל״ז:ז׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)6וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם שִׁמְעוּ־נָא הַחֲלוֹם הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר חָלָמְתִּי: 7וְהִנֵּה אֲנַחְנוּ מְאַלְּמִים אֲלֻמִּים בְּתוֹךְ הַשָּׂדֶה וְהִנֵּה קָמָה אֲלֻמָּתִי וְגַם־נִצָּבָה וְהִנֵּה תְסֻבֶּינָה אֲלֻמֹּתֵיכֶם וַתִּשְׁתַּחֲוֶיןָ לַאֲלֻמָּתִי: 8וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ אֶחָיו הֲמָלֹךְ תִּמְלֹךְ עָלֵינוּ אִם־מָשׁוֹל תִּמְשֹׁל בָּנוּ וַיּוֹסִפוּ עוֹד שְׂנֹא אֹתוֹ עַל־חֲלֹמֹתָיו וְעַל־דְּבָרָיו:
6And he said unto them: ‘Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 7for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves came round about, and bowed down to my sheaf.’ 8And his brethren said to him: ‘Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
בראשית לז, ז.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
7הגה״ה
Gloss.
A gloss (hagahah) follows: a note set apart from the main text, answering a difficulty raised by what was just said.
This heading introduces a gloss on the yud and vav just discussed.
8לכאורה אינו מובן כי היודי״ן שבת״ד הוא גבוה מהוי״ו כמ״ש לעיל כי מקום יניקת השערה והגומא שלה הוא בחי׳ יו״ד דהיינו מקום יניקתה ממו״ס שהוא הגבה מאד נעלה מהשערות עצמן שהן בחי׳1 ו׳.
At first glance this is not understood, for the yuds in the tikkunim (arrangements) of the beard are higher than the vavs, as stated above: the place where the hair draws nourishment, and its follicle, is the level of yud, that is, the place where it draws nourishment from the Mocha Stima’ah (the Hidden Mind), which is exceedingly higher and more exalted than the hairs themselves, which are the level of vav.
The difficulty: in the beard’s tikkunim the yud, the follicle through which the hair draws from the Mocha Stima’ah, the “hidden mind” of the highest level, is far higher than the vav, the hair that extends out from it. So a move from yud to vav should be a descent, not a further ascent.
The gloss states the problem: the yud outranks the vav, yet the text called the move from “at his head” (yud) to “pillar” (vav) a further ascent.
The Kehot note refers to a later discourse (“Kol Hamaarich B’Echad,” 5678) where the relation of the yuds and vavs of the tikkunim is explained at length.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
כי היודי״ן שבת״ד הוא גבוה מהוי״ו . . מהשערות עצמן שהן בחי׳ ו׳
How it connects
The note says the point that the yuds of the tikkunim are higher than the vavs, the hairs themselves, is explained there.our note
Where the note points
Sefer HaMaamarim 5678ספר המאמרים תרע״חdiscourse beginning “Kol Hamaarich B’Echad,” p. 388
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)The Rebbe Rashab’s maamar “כל המאריך באחד” (5678)ד״ה כל המאריך באחד תרע״חA maamar of the Rebbe Rashab, 5678
Find it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
מבואר בד״ה כל המאריך באחד תרע״ח ע׳ שפח.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
9והרי בחי׳ וישם אתה מצבה משמע שהוא עלייה אחר עלייה למעלה מבחי׳ מראשותיו שהוא בחי׳ יו״ד. וזהו תרתי דסתרי.
Yet the level of “and he set it up as a pillar” implies that it is ascent after ascent, higher than the level of “at his head,” which is the level of yud. And this is two [statements] that contradict each other.
Yet the plain order of the verse makes the pillar, the vav, an ascent beyond “at his head,” the yud. The two claims seem to contradict each other.
אך פי׳ מראשותיו הוא בחי׳ חכמה דאצילות ואח״כ וישם אתה מצבה שנעשית בחי׳ ו׳ הוא בחי׳ אבא יונק ממזלא1 שבחי׳ השערות דת״ד שהן ווי״ן גבוה מהיו״ד דח״ע.
But the explanation is: “at his head” is the level of the Chochmah of Atzilus; and afterward, “and he set it up as a pillar,” when it becomes the level of vav, is the level of Abba, who draws nourishment from the Mazla; for the level of the hairs of the tikkunim of the beard, which are vavs, is higher than the yud of Chochmah Ila’ah (supernal Chochmah).
The answer: the two letters belong to different levels. The yud of “at his head” is the Chochmah of Atzilus, while the vav of the pillar is Abba (Chochmah) as it draws nourishment from the Mazla, one of the tikkunim of the beard. Those hairs, though only vavs, stand higher than the yud of supernal Chochmah, so the vav of the higher level surpasses the yud of the lower one.
אח״כ ויצק שמן על ראשה2 היינו המשכה ממו״ס ממש לתוך המזלות כו׳ ומזה ממש נמשך הגלוי למטה בהלכו׳ שבתורה שבע״פ ששרשן מנימין דמו״ס וע״ז נאמר סלסלה ותרוממך3 כו׳:
Afterward, “and he poured oil upon its top”: that is, a drawing-down from the Mocha Stima’ah itself into the mazalos, etc. And from this itself the revelation is drawn down below, into the laws of the Oral Torah, whose root is in the strands of the Mocha Stima’ah. And of this it is said, “Exalt her, and she will uplift you,” etc.
The oil Yaakov poured on the top of the pillar is a flow from the Mocha Stima’ah itself into the mazalos. From there it comes down into the laws of the Oral Torah, which are rooted in the strands of the hidden mind; hence “Exalt her (the Torah), and she will uplift you.”
The gloss resolves the difficulty by placing the yud and the vav at different levels: the vav of the beard’s tikkunim, from which Abba draws, is higher than the yud of Chochmah; the oil is a still higher flow from the hidden mind, which comes down into the laws of the Oral Torah.
That Abba draws from the Mazla is taught in the Zohar and in Etz Chaim, Sha’ar HaKelalim, as the Kehot note shows. The same passage in Torah Ohr, Vayechi, speaks of Abba drawing from the eighth mazal, Notzer.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
אבא יונק ממזלא
How it connects
That passage explains that Abba draws from the eighth mazal, Notzer, and that a person who studies Torah draws the light of Abba onto his soul, revealing a will that is far above.our note
The source
Zohar III, 289bזח״ג רפט, בSefaria (opens in a new tab)Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אורlater, 48d (לקמן מח, ד), and elsewhere
וזהו ולבן שינים שהשינים עצמם נעשים לבנים מכח החלב שבשעת הבירור עדיין אינם לבנים מאחר שעוסק לראות ולפשפש כו׳. והוא בחינת קטנות משא״כ לבן שינים שנעשו לבנים ומאירים כו׳. שיש בירור אחר בירור כו׳ והכל הוא ע״י פותח את ידיך הוא בחי׳ י״ג ת״ד שהם יודי״ן ווי״ן שערות וגומות שאבא יונק ממזל הח׳ נוצר אותיות רצון כו׳ ועי״ז נעשה רצון גם לכל חי כו׳ והוא ע״י התו׳ אבא שממשיך אור אבא על נפשו ואבא יונק ממזל הח׳ כנ״ל ומתגלה בתוכה רצון שלמעלה מעלה כו׳ ומשל יודי״ן ווי״ן כי היו״ד הוא צמצום האור בעור הפנים המכסה ואינו יוצא אלא דרך גומא. והוא״ו הוא המשכת השערות כו׳ וד״ל:
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Etz Chaimעץ חייםby Rabbi Chaim Vital, from the Arizal
The central work of the Arizal’s Kabbalah, in gates (she’arim).
Kehot’s note
ראה זח״ג רפט, ב. ע״ח שער הכללים פ״ה. ראה לקמן מח, ד. ובכ״מ.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
ויצק שמן על ראשה
How it connects
Yaakov poured oil on the top of the pillar. Read as a flow from the hidden mind into the mazalos and down into the laws of the Torah.our note
The source
Genesis 28:18בראשית כ״ח:י״חSefaria (opens in a new tab)17וַיִּירָא וַיֹּאמַר מַה־נּוֹרָא הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה אֵין זֶה כִּי אִם־בֵּית אֱלֹקִים וְזֶה שַׁעַר הַשָּׁמָיִם: 18וַיַּשְׁכֵּם יַעֲקֹב בַּבֹּקֶר וַיִּקַּח אֶת־הָאֶבֶן אֲשֶׁר־שָׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתָהּ מַצֵּבָה וַיִּצֹק שֶׁמֶן עַל־רֹאשָׁהּ: 19וַיִּקְרָא אֶת־שֵׁם־הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא בֵּית־אֵל וְאוּלָם לוּז שֵׁם־הָעִיר לָרִאשֹׁנָה:
17… this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’ 18And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19And he called the name of that place Beth-el, but the name of the city was …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 3
On the words
סלסלה ותרוממך
How it connects
“Exalt her, and she will uplift you,” said of wisdom. Cited for the Torah’s laws, rooted in the hair-like strands (salsalim) of the hidden mind, which uplift the one who studies them.our note
The source
Proverbs 4:8משלי ד׳:ח׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)7רֵאשִׁית חׇכְמָה קְנֵה חׇכְמָה וּבְכׇל־קִנְיָנְךָ קְנֵה בִינָה: 8סַלְסְלֶהָ וּתְרוֹמְמֶךָּ תְּכַבֵּדְךָ כִּי תְחַבְּקֶנָּה: 9תִּתֵּן לְרֹאשְׁךָ לִוְיַת־חֵן עֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאֶרֶת תְּמַגְּנֶךָּ:
7The beginning of wisdom is: Get wisdom; Yea, with all thy getting get understanding. 8Extol her, and she will exalt thee; She will bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. 9She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace; A crown of glory will she …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
משלי ד, ח.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
Torah study with the awe of Sinai ¶10–12
10אך אין זה תכלית המכוון רק שאח״כ ויצק שמן על ראשה שמן היינו המשכת חכמה עילאה שהיא התורה ורצונו ית׳ שנמשכו ע״י בחי׳ יעקב יו״ד עקב
However, this is not the ultimate intent; rather, [the intent is] that afterward “he poured oil upon its top.” Oil is the drawing-down of Chochmah Ila’ah (supernal Chochmah), which is the Torah and His will, may He be blessed, which are drawn down through the level of Yaakov, yud-akev,
Returning to the main text: the raising of the stone is not the goal. The goal is the oil, a drawing down of supernal Chochmah, which is the Torah and G‑d’s will, and this comes through Yaakov, yud-akev, the one who brings the highest down to the lowest.
כמ״ש ויקם עדות ביעקב1 ותורה שם בישראל להיות בעסק התורה שלמטה בגשמיות המחליף פרה בחמור כו׳
as it is written, “He established a testimony in Yaakov and set a Torah in Israel”: that in the study of the Torah below, in physical matters, [as in] “one who exchanges a cow for a donkey,” etc.,
“He established a testimony in Yaakov and set a Torah in Israel”: the Torah was given through Yaakov. Its purpose is that even when studying laws about physical matters, such as the case of someone who trades a cow for a donkey, a person should find G‑d’s wisdom there.
גילוי המשכת חכמה עילאה2 שכל פרטי הלכות שנפרדו הם יסודתם בהררי קדש3 עליון חכמה עילאה שכך חייבה חכמתו ורצונו ית׳.
there should be a revelation of the drawing-down of Chochmah Ila’ah; for all the details of the laws, which have become separate, have “their foundation in the mountains of holiness” above, in Chochmah Ila’ah, for so His wisdom and will, may He be blessed, determined.
Every detailed law, though it seems to stand apart as a matter of this world, is rooted in supernal Chochmah, “the mountains of holiness.” Each ruling is what G‑d’s wisdom and will determined.
The paragraph states the aim of the whole process: the oil poured on the stone, supernal Chochmah drawn down through Yaakov into the Torah, so that even laws about worldly matters reveal G‑d’s wisdom.
According to the Kehot note, the passage from “there should be a revelation” to “Chochmah Ila’ah” is missing in one manuscript.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
ויקם עדות ביעקב
How it connects
“He established a testimony in Yaakov and set a Torah in Israel.” Cited to link the drawing down of the Torah’s wisdom with Yaakov.our note
The source
Psalms 78:5תהילים ע״ח:ה׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)4לֹא נְכַחֵד מִבְּנֵיהֶם לְדוֹר אַחֲרוֹן מְסַפְּרִים תְּהִלּוֹת ה׳ וֶעֱזוּזוֹ וְנִפְלְאֹתָיו אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה: 5וַיָּקֶם עֵדוּת בְּיַעֲקֹב וְתוֹרָה שָׂם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה אֶת־אֲבוֹתֵינוּ לְהוֹדִיעָם לִבְנֵיהֶם: 6לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ דּוֹר אַחֲרוֹן בָּנִים יִוָּלֵדוּ יָקֻמוּ וִיסַפְּרוּ לִבְנֵיהֶם:
4… praises of the LORD, And His strength, and His wondrous works that He hath done. . 5For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; 6That the generation to come might know them, even the children that should be born; Who …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
תהלים עח, ה.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
שו״ה כו׳ גילוי — שכל פרטי . . חכמה עילאה
How it connects
A manuscript variant: according to the note, these words are missing there.our note
Where the note points
Manuscript 633 (Chabad Library manuscript volume)בוך 633on the words from “there should be a revelation” to “Chochmah Ila’ah”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בבוך 633 ליתא.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
יסודתם בהררי קדש
How it connects
An adaptation of “His foundation is in the mountains of holiness.” Applied to the laws of the Torah, whose foundation is supernal Chochmah.our note
The source
Psalms 87:1תהילים פ״ז:א׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)1לִבְנֵי־קֹרַח מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר יְסוּדָתוֹ בְּהַרְרֵי־קֹדֶשׁ: 2אֹהֵב ה׳ שַׁעֲרֵי צִיּוֹן מִכֹּל מִשְׁכְּנוֹת יַעֲקֹב:
1A Psalm of the sons of Korah; a Song. His foundation is in the holy mountains. 2The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
11ואי לזאת יהי׳ עסק התורה ג״כ עד״ז להמשיך חכמה עילא׳ בנפשו ועי״ז נעשה אתכפייא סט״א ואתהפכא כו׳.
Therefore the study of Torah must also be in this manner: to draw Chochmah Ila’ah into one’s soul. And through this the sitra achra (the other side) is subdued (iskafya) and transformed (is’hapcha), etc.
So Torah study should be done with this awareness: drawing G‑d’s supernal wisdom into one’s own soul. That is what subdues the sitra achra (iskafya) and even transforms it (is’hapcha).
ולכן ארז״ל מה להלן באימה וביראה אף כאן באימה כו׳ שתפול על האדם אימה ופחד בעסקו בתורה כמו בשעת קבלתו בהר סיני.
Therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “Just as there [it was] with dread and with awe, so here [it must be] with dread,” etc.: that dread and fear should fall upon a person when he occupies himself with the Torah, as at the time it was received at Mount Sinai.
This is why the Sages taught that just as the Torah was received at Sinai with dread and awe, so it must be studied with dread and awe. A person should feel the same fear when he studies as Israel felt when they received the Torah.
The paragraph draws the practical conclusion: Torah study should draw supernal wisdom into the soul, and so it should be studied with the awe of Sinai.
Now, there at Mount Sinai, “all the people saw the sounds and the flames,” etc.; “face to face G‑d spoke with you,” etc.
At Sinai the awe was natural: the people saw the thunder and the flames, and G‑d spoke to them “face to face.”
והאיך ימשיך כל אדם יראה זו עליו בכל זמן אלא כאשר ישים האדם אל לבו שהתורה שהוא לומד היא המשכת חכמה עילאה ושם שורה ומתגלה אור
And how can every person draw this awe upon himself at all times? Only when a person takes to heart that the Torah he studies is the drawing-down of Chochmah Ila’ah, and there rests and is revealed the Infinite Light,
How can a person feel that awe every day, without the thunder and lightning? By taking to heart that the Torah he learns is G‑d’s own wisdom drawn down, and that the Infinite Light rests in it.
א״ס ב״ה שלמעלה מעלה מגדר ההשתלשלות וקמיה כחשיכה כאורה4 מעלה ומטה רוחניות וגשמיות שוין א״כ אין כאן הסתר פנים כלל ע״כ מה להלן כו׳ הכל שוה.
blessed be He, which is far, far above the bounds of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus); and before Him “darkness is as light”: above and below, spiritual and physical, are equal. If so, there is no hiding of the Face here at all. Therefore, “just as there,” etc.: all is equal.
That light is above the whole chain of worlds, and to it “darkness is as light”: higher and lower, spiritual and physical, are all the same. So there is no concealment in Torah study; G‑d is as present as at Sinai, and the awe of Sinai applies now too.
The paragraph explains how the awe of Sinai is possible at every moment of study: the Infinite Light in the Torah is beyond all levels, so for it there is no difference between Sinai and today.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
ראו את הקולות
How it connects
Kehot’s note points to Exodus 20:18 for these words.
The source
Exodus 20:18שמות כ׳:י״חSefaria (opens in a new tab)17וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־הָעָם אַל־תִּירָאוּ כִּי לְבַעֲבוּר נַסּוֹת אֶתְכֶם בָּא הָאֱלֹקִים וּבַעֲבוּר תִּהְיֶה יִרְאָתוֹ עַל־פְּנֵיכֶם לְבִלְתִּי תֶחֱטָאוּ: 18וַיַּעֲמֹד הָעָם מֵרָחֹק וּמֹשֶׁה נִגַּשׁ אֶל־הָעֲרָפֶל אֲשֶׁר־שָׁם הָאֱלֹקִים: 19וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה כֹּה תֹאמַר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אַתֶּם רְאִיתֶם כִּי מִן־הַשָּׁמַיִם דִּבַּרְתִּי עִמָּכֶם:
17… come to prove you, and that His fear may be before you, that ye sin not.’ 18And the people stood afar off; but Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. 19And the LORD said unto Moses: Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel: Ye …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
שמות כ, יח.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
כל העם ראו את הקולות ואת הלפידים
How it connects
At Sinai the people “saw the sounds and the flames.” It describes the open revelation that brought awe.our note
The source
Exodus 20:15שמות כ׳:ט״וSefaria (opens in a new tab)14לֹא תַחְמֹד בֵּית רֵעֶךָ לֹא־תַחְמֹד אֵשֶׁת רֵעֶךָ וְעַבְדּוֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ וְשׁוֹרוֹ וַחֲמֹרוֹ וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לְרֵעֶךָ: 15וְכׇל־הָעָם רֹאִים אֶת־הַקּוֹלֹת וְאֶת־הַלַּפִּידִם וְאֵת קוֹל הַשֹּׁפָר וְאֶת־הָהָר עָשֵׁן וַיַּרְא הָעָם וַיָּנֻעוּ וַיַּעַמְדוּ מֵרָחֹק: 16וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה דַּבֵּר־אַתָּה עִמָּנוּ וְנִשְׁמָעָה וְאַל־יְדַבֵּר עִמָּנוּ אֱלֹקִים פֶּן־נָמוּת:
14… nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. 15And all the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of the horn, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar off. 16And they said unto Moses: ‘Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 3
On the words
פנים בפנים
How it connects
“Face to face G‑d spoke with you.” The Alter Rebbe contrasts this with “hiding of the Face,” which does not apply to the Infinite Light in the Torah.our note
The source
Deuteronomy 5:4דברים ה׳:ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)3לֹא אֶת־אֲבֹתֵינוּ כָּרַת ה׳ אֶת־הַבְּרִית הַזֹּאת כִּי אִתָּנוּ אֲנַחְנוּ אֵלֶּה פֹה הַיּוֹם כֻּלָּנוּ חַיִּים: 4פָּנִים בְּפָנִים דִּבֶּר ה׳ עִמָּכֶם בָּהָר מִתּוֹךְ הָאֵשׁ: 5אָנֹכִי עֹמֵד בֵּין־ה׳ וּבֵינֵיכֶם בָּעֵת הַהִוא לְהַגִּיד לָכֶם אֶת־דְּבַר ה׳ כִּי יְרֵאתֶם מִפְּנֵי הָאֵשׁ וְלֹא־עֲלִיתֶם בָּהָר לֵאמֹר:
3… our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. 4The LORD spoke with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire— 5I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare unto you the word …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
דברים ה, ד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
כחשיכה כאורה
How it connects
“Darkness is as light” before G‑d. Used to show that for the Infinite Light, spiritual and physical, Sinai and today, are equal.our note
The source
Psalms 139:12תהילים קל״ט:י״בSefaria (opens in a new tab)11וָאֹמַר אַךְ־חֹשֶׁךְ יְשׁוּפֵנִי וְלַיְלָה אוֹר בַּעֲדֵנִי: 12גַּם־חֹשֶׁךְ לֹא־יַחְשִׁיךְ מִמֶּךָּ וְלַיְלָה כַּיּוֹם יָאִיר כַּחֲשֵׁיכָה כָּאוֹרָה: 13כִּי־אַתָּה קָנִיתָ כִלְיֹתָי תְּסֻכֵּנִי בְּבֶטֶן אִמִּי:
11And if I say: ‘Surely the darkness shall envelop me, And the light about me shall be night'; 12Even the darkness is not too dark for Thee, But the night shineth as the day; The darkness is even as the light. 13For Thou hast made my reins; Thou hast knit me together in my mother's womb.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
From Be’er Sheva to Charan, and the laughter of Yitzchak ¶13–16
13והנה להבין תכלית ירידת יעקב יו״ד עקב להיות הש״ע נהורין בגילוי למטה וליקח מאבני המקום1 להעלותם למעלה ולהמשיך אח״כ בחי׳ שמן הוא בחי׳ חכמה עילאה מלמעלה למטה.
Now, [we need] to understand the purpose of the descent of Yaakov, yud-akev: that the 370 lights be revealed below, and to take “of the stones of the place” to raise them upward, and afterward to draw down the level of oil, which is the level of Chochmah Ila’ah, from above to below.
The maamar now asks why Yaakov had to descend at all: to reveal the 370 lights below, to raise the “stones,” and then to draw down the “oil” of supernal Chochmah.
וירידה זו הוא מ״ש ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע.2 באר הוא מקור ומעיין הנובע ז׳ מדות3 עליונות לך ה׳ הגדולה והגבורה4 כו׳ שהן בחי׳ לך בחי׳ ביטול.
And this descent is what is written, “And Yaakov went out from Be’er Sheva.” Be’er (well) is the source and flowing spring of the seven (sheva) supernal attributes, “Yours, G‑d, are the greatness and the might,” etc., which are the level of “Yours,” the level of self-nullification (bittul).
The descent is Yaakov’s leaving Be’er Sheva, read as “the well of seven”: the source of the seven supernal emotive attributes listed in “Yours, G‑d, are the greatness and the might.” Because they are all “Yours,” they are wholly given over to G‑d, a state of bittul.
“And he went toward Charan.” Charan (חר״ן), with the kollel, is numerically equal to garon (גרו״ן, throat). But the level of garon is when the voice goes out in its normal way, without hindrance and without obstruction;
He went to Charan. The letters of Charan (חרן) add up, counting the word itself as one, to the value of garon (גרון), “throat.” The throat is where the voice passes out freely and without obstruction.
אבל חר״ן אותיות נחר7 היינו מ״ש יגעתי בקראי8 נחר גרוני. והיינו כשגובר בו יסוד האש9 כי הקול כלול אש רוח ומים.
whereas charan has the letters of nichar, as it is written, “I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched (nichar).” And this is when the element of fire prevails in it; for the voice is composed of fire, air and water.
But Charan also has the letters of nichar, “parched,” as in “my throat is parched.” This is the throat when the element of fire overwhelms it; the voice is made of three elements, fire, air and water.
רוח הוא עיקר התפשטות הבל הלב ומים היינו לחלוחית הריאה ואש הוא המחלק את הקול להיות ההפסק להתחלק בה׳ מוצאות הפה כלי הדבור.
Air is the essential extension of the breath of the heart; water is the moisture of the lung; and fire is what divides the voice, making the pause so that it divides into the five articulations of the mouth, the organs of speech.
Air is the breath rising from the heart, water is the moisture of the lungs, and fire is what cuts the voice into separate sounds, the five groups of letters formed by the organs of speech.
The paragraph begins explaining Yaakov’s descent: from Be’er Sheva, the source of the self-nullifying supernal attributes, to Charan, a “throat” whose flow of voice is blocked by an excess of fire.
The Kehot notes mention that the link between Charan and nichar is drawn from the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah on Vayeitzei, and that the Yahel Or links the voice going out freely to the Zohar in Parshas Vaera on Moshe as “voice.” Several manuscript variants of the opening lines are also recorded.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
שו״ה ירידת יעקב — הש״ע נהורין בגילוי למטה וליקח מאבני המקום
How it connects
A manuscript variant: it reads, “the revelation of the 370 lights below, and to take of the stones of the place.”our note
Where the note points
Manuscript 633 (Chabad Library manuscript volume)בוך 633on “the descent of Yaakov” to “of the stones of the place”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בבוך 633: ”גילוי ש״ע נהרין למטה ולקחת מאבני המקום.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה
How it connects
Yaakov left Be’er Sheva and went toward Charan. Read as the descent from the source of the supernal attributes to a place where the flow is blocked.our note
The source
Genesis 28:10בראשית כ״ח:י׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)9וַיֵּלֶךְ עֵשָׂו אֶל־יִשְׁמָעֵאל וַיִּקַּח אֶת־מָחֲלַת בַּת־יִשְׁמָעֵאל בֶּן־אַבְרָהָם אֲחוֹת נְבָיוֹת עַל־נָשָׁיו לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה: 10וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב מִבְּאֵר שָׁבַע וַיֵּלֶךְ חָרָנָה: 11וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם וַיָּלֶן שָׁם כִּי־בָא הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וַיִּקַּח מֵאַבְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם וַיָּשֶׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו וַיִּשְׁכַּב בַּמָּקוֹם הַהוּא:
9… had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife. 10And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran. 11And he lighted upon the place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 3
On the words
שו״ה מבאר — שבע באר הוא מקור ומעיין הנובע ז׳ מדות
How it connects
A manuscript variant: the word “Sheva” is absent, and it continues, “Be’er is supernal Chochmah, the spring and source of the seven attributes.”our note
Where the note points
Manuscript 633 (Chabad Library manuscript volume)בוך 633on “from Be’er Sheva” to “seven attributes”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בבוך 633 תי׳ ”שבע” ליתא שם ואח״כ כ׳ ”באר הוא חכ״ע מעין ומקור שבע מדות”.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
לך ה׳ הגדולה והגבורה
How it connects
“Yours, G‑d, are the greatness and the might,” listing the supernal attributes. All of them are “Yours,” wholly nullified to G‑d.our note
The source
I Chronicles 29:11דברי הימים א כ״ט:י״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)10וַיְבָרֶךְ דָּוִיד אֶת־ה׳ לְעֵינֵי כׇּל־הַקָּהָל וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִיד בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹקֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָבִינוּ מֵעוֹלָם וְעַד־עוֹלָם: 11לְךָ ה׳ הַגְּדֻלָּה וְהַגְּבוּרָה וְהַתִּפְאֶרֶת וְהַנֵּצַח וְהַהוֹד כִּי־כֹל בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ לְךָ ה׳ הַמַּמְלָכָה וְהַמִּתְנַשֵּׂא לְכֹל לְרֹאשׁ: 12וְהָעֹשֶׁר וְהַכָּבוֹד מִלְּפָנֶיךָ וְאַתָּה מוֹשֵׁל בַּכֹּל וּבְיָדְךָ כֹּחַ וּגְבוּרָה וּבְיָדְךָ לְגַדֵּל וּלְחַזֵּק לַכֹּל:
10… said: ‘Blessed be Thou, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. 11Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and Thou art exalted as head above all. 12Both riches and honour come of Thee, and Thou rulest over all; and in Thy hand …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 5
On the words
שו״ה הגדולה — חר״ן (ע״ה) בגימט׳ גרו״ן
How it connects
A manuscript variant: it reads, “Charan is numerically equal, with the kollel, to garon.”our note
Where the note points
Manuscript 633 (Chabad Library manuscript volume)בוך 633on “the greatness” to “Charan is numerically equal to garon”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בבוך 633 חר״ן בגימט׳ עם הכולל גרון.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 6
On the words
כשהקול יוצא כדרכו
How it connects
The Tzemach Tzedek’s commentary on Tehillim notes on these words a reference to the Zohar in Vaera (25b) on Moshe as “voice.”our note
Where the note points
Yahel Or, by the Tzemach Tzedekיהל אורon Psalm 149, p. 586
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ביהל אור לקאפ׳ קמט ע׳ תקפו מציין ע״ז: ע׳ זח״ב פ׳ וארא דכ״ה ע״ב משה קלא.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 7
On the words
חרן אותיות נחר
How it connects
That passage cites the Arizal’s Likkutei Torah on Vayeitzei that Charan and nichar share a numerical value, and explains the throat as the narrowest place, where intellect has left its own state but has not yet become emotion.our note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אורlater, 58c (לקמן נח, ג)
עדיין לכלל מהות מדה. וזהו בחי׳ הפסק בין מהות שכל למהות מדה דהיינו ביני לביני ונק׳ מקום החתך כשירד ממהות הראשון שהיה מהות שכל ולמהותו השני שהיא מהות מדה עדיין לא הגיע (ולכן זהו המקום היותר צר שבכל הגוף דהנה המדות הם בבחי׳ התפשטות. ויש יותר אפי׳ מן השכל המולידם וכמשל המעיין שביציאתו הוא דק ואח״כ כשנמשך בהתפשטות נעשה ממנונהר גדול כו׳ כך אנו רואים שהמדה מתרחבת מעצמה בבואה בלב יותר מן השכל המולידה כמשל הכועס על חבירו מאיזה טעם שכשמתפשט הכעס בלב מתגדל יותר מכח הטעם שהולידו וכן באהבה כו׳. וזש״ש בלק״ת שבהיות המוחין בגוף הם בהתפשטות ומרחב יותר מבהיותן בראש. ועמ״ש בד״ה ששים המה מלכות בענין נהרא מכפיה מיברך. אמנם עכ״פ בעודן בראש הם ג״כ במרחב יותר מכשנמשכין בגרון שאז הן בתכלית הצרות להיות שירדו ממהות שכל ועדיין …
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהBereishis, vol. 1, 175a; Vaera, p. 178
Our explanationThe Or HaTorah (Bereishis) points to Likkutei Torah on Vayeshev, on “And it came to pass after these things,” for this teaching, as does Or HaTorah Vaera, which also discusses what is explained here.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Sefer HaMaamarim 5632ספר המאמרים תרל״בvol. 2, p. 491
Our explanationA later discourse that takes up the theme of Charan and the blocked throat explained here.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Sefer HaMaamarim 5633ספר המאמרים תרל״גvol. 1, p. 31 ff.
Our explanationA later discourse that also takes up this theme.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Yahel Or, by the Tzemach Tzedekיהל אורp. 586
Our explanationThe Tzemach Tzedek’s commentary on Tehillim, cited for what is explained here about the throat.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Likkutei Torah of the Arizalלקוטי תורה להאריז״לby Rabbi Chaim Vital, from the Arizal
The Arizal’s teachings on the Torah, by parsha.
Kehot’s note
לקמן נח, ג מציין לקו״ת להאריז״ל ר״פ ויצא ששניהם בגימטריא אחת. ובאוה״ת בראשית כרך א קעה, א מציין ללקו״ת פ׳ וישב ע״פ ויהי אחר הדברים האלה, וכ״ה באוה״ת וארא ע׳ קעח.
למה שנתבאר כאן ראה אוה״ת וארא ע׳ קעח. סה״מ תרל״ב כרך ב ע׳ תצא. תרל״ג כרך א ע׳ לא ואילך. יהל אור ע׳ תקפו.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 8
On the words
יגעתי בקראי
How it connects
“I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched.” The word nichar has the letters of Charan and describes a blocked throat.our note
The source
Psalms 69:4תהילים ס״ט:ד׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)3טָבַעְתִּי בִּיוֵן מְצוּלָה וְאֵין מׇעֳמָד בָּאתִי בְמַעֲמַקֵּי־מַיִם וְשִׁבֹּלֶת שְׁטָפָתְנִי: 4יָגַעְתִּי בְקׇרְאִי נִחַר גְּרוֹנִי כָּלוּ עֵינַי מְיַחֵל לֵאלֹקָי: 5רַבּוּ מִשַּׂעֲרוֹת רֹאשִׁי שֹׂנְאַי חִנָּם עָצְמוּ מַצְמִיתַי אֹיְבַי שֶׁקֶר אֲשֶׁר לֹא־גָזַלְתִּי אָז אָשִׁיב:
3… where there is no standing; I am come into deep waters, and the flood overwhelmeth me. 4I am weary of my crying; my throat is dried; Mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. 5They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; They …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
תהלים סט, ד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 9
On the words
כשגובר בו יסוד האש
How it connects
Places where the prevailing of the element of fire in the voice is discussed further.our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהVaera, p. 178; Bamidbar, p. 23
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ראה אוה״ת וארא ע׳ קעח. במדבר ע׳ כג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
And when the element of fire prevails excessively, it is what interrupts the voice, until it cannot go out in the continuous passage of its normal way.
Fire in moderation divides the voice into letters; in excess it chokes the voice altogether, so that it cannot flow out in its normal, continuous way.
וכך הוא בחי׳ חרן היינו בחי׳ המפסיק את הקול שהוא ההמשכה מחיות ואור א״ס ב״ה שלא להיות ההמשכה כדרכה בקדושה דוקא
And so is the level of Charan: that is, the level of what interrupts the voice, which is the drawing-down of the life-force (chayus) and light of the Infinite One, blessed be He, so that the drawing-down is not in its normal way, in holiness alone,
Charan is that choking of the voice. Spiritually, the “voice” is the flow of life-force and light from the Infinite One into the worlds, and in Charan that flow no longer runs in its proper channel, purely within holiness.
אלא שיש גם לקליפות וס״א יניקה ואחיזה בהמשכה זו ואזי נק׳ בבחי׳ נאלמתי דומיה2 שנפסק הקול וההמשכה ונעשה בחי׳ נפרד ובחי׳ זו הוא בין בהנהגת העולמות
but rather the kelipos (husks) and the sitra achra also have nourishment and a hold in this drawing-down. And then it is called by the level of “I was mute with silence,” for the voice and the drawing-down are interrupted, and there comes to be the level of separateness. And this level is both in the conduct of the worlds,
Instead the kelipos and the sitra achra, the forces that oppose holiness, draw nourishment from it. This is the state of “I was mute with silence”: the flow is cut off, and what remains feels itself separate from G‑d. It shows up on two planes, first in how the worlds are run,
שהוא ענין גלות ישראל ושעבוד מצרים ובבל מחמת תגבורת האש ותוקף הדין ובין בכל נפש מישראל בעבודת ה׳ שעסק התורה שלו הוא בבחי׳ נפרד
which is the matter of the exile of Israel and the subjugation of Egypt and Babylon, because of the intensity of the fire and the strength of judgment; and in every Jewish soul, in the service of G‑d, when his study of Torah is in a state of separateness
as in the exile of the Jewish people and their subjugation in Egypt and Babylon, which the maamar traces to an excess of fire, that is, of severe judgment. It shows up also in the individual Jew, whose Torah study can be done with a sense of self, apart from G‑d,
ולא בבחי׳ ביטול לאור א״ס ב״ה להיות גילוי חכמתו כו׳ מחמת תגבורת האש וחמימות שמצד גופו ונפש הבהמית אשר נמשך אחריהם.3
and not in a state of self-nullification (bittul) to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, so as to be a revelation of His wisdom, etc., because of the intensity of the fire and heat that come from his body and the animal soul, after which he is drawn.
rather than with self-nullification that lets G‑d’s wisdom be revealed in it. The cause is again “fire”: the heat and passion of the body and the animal soul, which the person follows.
אך הנה תכלית ירידה זו של בחי׳ יעקב מאגרא רמה מבאר שבע מקו׳ מדות העליונות שהן ביטול אליו ית׳ לך ה׳ הגדולה כו׳ לבירא עמיקתא מקום החרן המפסיק ומעכב את קול ההמשכה להיות בחי׳ נפרד.4
But the purpose of this descent of the level of Yaakov “from a lofty peak,” from Be’er Sheva, the source of the supernal attributes, which are self-nullification to Him, may He be blessed (“Yours, G‑d, is the greatness,” etc.), “to a deep pit,” the place of Charan, which interrupts and holds back the voice of the drawing-down so that it becomes the level of separateness,
Yet Yaakov’s descent had a purpose. He went “from a lofty peak to a deep pit”: from Be’er Sheva, the source of the supernal attributes that are all “Yours,” down to Charan, where the flow is blocked and separateness reigns.
הוא כדי להיות אתכפיא ואתהפכא ואזי נעשה מחרן רנה כי החי״ת נפסק ונעשה ה״א. כמ״ש בזהר ע״פ גער חית קנה56 שמחמץ נעשה מצה.
is in order that there be subjugation (iskafya) and transformation (is’hapcha); and then from Charan (חרן) is made rinah (רנה, joyous song), for the ches is broken open and becomes a hei, as it is stated in the Zohar on the verse “Rebuke the beast (chayas) of the reeds,” that from chametz (חמץ) is made matzah (מצה).
The purpose is to subdue and then transform the darkness. When that happens, Charan (חרן) becomes rinah (רנה), joyful song: the closed ches (ח) opens into a hei (ה). The Zohar makes the same point about chametz (חמץ) becoming matzah (מצה), where likewise a ches becomes a hei.
The paragraph explains Charan as the blocked flow of divine life, where separateness and the kelipos take hold, in exile and in a Jew’s own study, and states that Yaakov descended there in order to transform it, turning Charan into rinah, song.
The letters ches and hei differ by a small gap: the hei is open at the top-left, the ches closed. Turning a ches into a hei is thus a small change with a great effect, which is how Chassidus pictures the transformation (is’hapcha) of darkness into light. According to one manuscript variant recorded in the notes, the text cites the Idra Rabba here instead of the Zohar on Pinchas.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
המפסיק את הקול
How it connects
On the words “what interrupts the voice,” the Tzemach Tzedek’s commentary on Tehillim refers to the Zohar on Vaera (26a) for the voice being cut off.our note
Where the note points
Yahel Or, by the Tzemach Tzedekיהל אורat the same place (on Psalm 149, p. 586)
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ביהל אור שם: וע׳ זהר שם דכ״ו תחלת ע״א.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
נאלמתי דומי׳
How it connects
“I was mute with silence.” Used for the state in which the divine “voice,” the flow of light, is cut off.our note
The source
Psalms 39:3תהילים ל״ט:ג׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)2אָמַרְתִּי אֶשְׁמְרָה דְרָכַי מֵחֲטוֹא בִלְשׁוֹנִי אֶשְׁמְרָה לְפִי מַחְסוֹם בְּעֹד רָשָׁע לְנֶגְדִּי: 3נֶאֱלַמְתִּי דוּמִיָּה הֶחֱשֵׁיתִי מִטּוֹב וּכְאֵבִי נֶעְכָּר: 4חַם־לִבִּי בְּקִרְבִּי בַּהֲגִיגִי תִבְעַר־אֵשׁ דִּבַּרְתִּי בִּלְשׁוֹנִי:
2… my tongue; I will keep a curb upon my mouth, while the wicked is before me.' 3I was dumb with silence; I held my peace, had no comfort; and my pain was held in check. 4My heart waxed hot within me; while I was musing, the fire kindled; Then spoke I …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
תהלים לט, ג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
ובין בכל נפש . . אשר נמשך אחריהם
How it connects
The passage about each Jew’s Torah study being separate because of the heat of the body and the animal soul is quoted there.our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהBamidbar, p. 24
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
מובא באוה״ת במדבר ע׳ כד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
שו״ה מקום החרן — להיות בחי׳ נפרד
How it connects
A manuscript variant: it adds, “and not in a state of self-nullification to the Infinite Light, blessed be He.”our note
Where the note points
Manuscript 633 (Chabad Library manuscript volume)בוך 633on “the place of Charan” to “the level of separateness”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בבוך 633 נוסף ולא בבחי׳ ביטול לאוא״ס ב״ה.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 5
On the words
כמ״ש בזהר ע״פ גער חית קנה
How it connects
A manuscript variant: instead of the Zohar on this verse, it reads “as stated in the Idra Rabba.”our note
Where the note points
Manuscript 1824 (Chabad Library manuscript volume)בוך 1824on “as stated in the Zohar on the verse ‘Rebuke the beast of the reeds’”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
פ׳ פנחס רנא, ב. בבוך 1824: כמ״ש באד״ר.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 6
On the words
גער חית קנה
How it connects
“Rebuke the beast of the reeds.” The Zohar reads the word chayas (beast) as the letter ches that is “rebuked” and so becomes a hei.our note
The source
Psalms 68:31תהילים ס״ח:ל״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)30מֵהֵיכָלֶךָ עַל־יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם לְךָ יוֹבִילוּ מְלָכִים שָׁי: 31גְּעַר חַיַּת קָנֶה עֲדַת אַבִּירִים בְּעֶגְלֵי עַמִּים מִתְרַפֵּס בְּרַצֵּי־כָסֶף בִּזַּר עַמִּים קְרָבוֹת יֶחְפָּצוּ: 32יֶאֱתָיוּ חַשְׁמַנִּים מִנִּי מִצְרָיִם כּוּשׁ תָּרִיץ יָדָיו לֵאלֹקִים:
30Out of Thy temple at Jerusalem, Whither kings shall bring presents unto Thee. 31Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, The multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples, Every one submitting himself with pieces of silver; He hath scattered the peoples that delight in war! 32Nobles shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall hasten to stretch out her hands unto God.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
15וזהו ושבתי בשלום1 אל בית אבי ושבתי מחר״ן. אל בית אבי זהו בחי׳ יצחק ויצחק נק׳ ע״ש צחק עשה לי2 אלקים
And this is “and I shall return in peace to my father’s house”: “and I shall return” from Charan. “To my father’s house”: this is the level of Yitzchak; and Yitzchak is so called on account of “G‑d has made laughter (tzechok) for me,”
Yaakov’s vow, “I shall return in peace to my father’s house,” is read as the return from Charan. “My father’s house” is Yitzchak, whose name comes from Sarah’s words, “G‑d has made laughter for me.”
והוא בחי׳ רנ״ה שנעשה מחר״ן וכתיב כל השומע יצחק לי יצחק הוא לשון עתיד דהיינו בביאת המשיח ב״ב שאז אהפוך אל עמים3 וגו׳ דכד אתכפייא ואתהפכא
and it is the level of rinah, which is made from Charan. And it is written, “whoever hears will laugh (yitzchak) for me”: yitzchak is in the future tense, that is, at the coming of Mashiach, speedily in our days, for then “I will transform the peoples,” etc.; for when [the sitra achra] is subdued and transformed,
Yitzchak, laughter, is the same as rinah, the song made from Charan. Sarah also said “whoever hears will laugh for me,” and yitzchak there is future tense: the laughter belongs to the days of Mashiach, when, as Tzefaniah says, G‑d will transform the peoples to call on His Name, and the sitra achra will be subdued and transformed.
אזי נעשה בחי׳ צחוק וחדוה כמו עד״מ צחוק המלך והשרי׳ מענין התהפכות דבר רחוק וזר כמו מצפור מדברת שזהו דבר חידוש משא״כ מאדם המדבר שדרכו בכך לא שייך צחוק.
then there comes to be the level of laughter and joy; as, by way of analogy, the laughter of the king and the ministers at the transformation of something remote and strange, as from a bird that speaks, which is a novelty; whereas with a man who speaks, whose way is to do so, laughter does not apply.
Transformation brings laughter because laughter comes from surprise. A king and his ministers would laugh with delight at a bird that talks, since that is a wonder, but not at a man who talks, since that is expected. So too, darkness turned into light gives a unique delight above.
The paragraph reads “I shall return … to my father’s house” as the return from Charan to Yitzchak, the laughter and joy that come when darkness is transformed, a laughter that will be fully revealed in the days of Mashiach.
The analogy of the talking bird appears also in the previous maamar in Torah Ohr, where the delight of teshuvah is compared to the wonder of a bird that speaks.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
ושבתי בשלום
How it connects
Yaakov’s vow to return in peace to his father’s house. Read as the return from Charan to the level of Yitzchak, laughter.our note
The source
Genesis 28:21בראשית כ״ח:כ״אSefaria (opens in a new tab)20וַיִּדַּר יַעֲקֹב נֶדֶר לֵאמֹר אִם־יִהְיֶה אֱלֹקִים עִמָּדִי וּשְׁמָרַנִי בַּדֶּרֶךְ הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ וְנָתַן־לִי לֶחֶם לֶאֱכֹל וּבֶגֶד לִלְבֹּשׁ: 21וְשַׁבְתִּי בְשָׁלוֹם אֶל־בֵּית אָבִי וְהָיָה ה׳ לִי לֵאלֹקִים: 22וְהָאֶבֶן הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר־שַׂמְתִּי מַצֵּבָה יִהְיֶה בֵּית אֱלֹקִים וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּתֶּן־לִי עַשֵּׂר אֲעַשְּׂרֶנּוּ לָךְ:
20… way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 21so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God, 22and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
בראשית כח, כא.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
צחק עשה לי
How it connects
Sarah’s words at Yitzchak’s birth, “G‑d has made laughter for me; whoever hears will laugh for me.” The source of Yitzchak’s name and of the future-tense “will laugh.”our note
The source
Genesis 21:6בראשית כ״א:ו׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)5וְאַבְרָהָם בֶּן־מְאַת שָׁנָה בְּהִוָּלֶד לוֹ אֵת יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ: 6וַתֹּאמֶר שָׂרָה צְחֹק עָשָׂה לִי אֱלֹקִים כׇּל־הַשֹּׁמֵעַ יִצְחַק־לִי: 7וַתֹּאמֶר מִי מִלֵּל לְאַבְרָהָם הֵינִיקָה בָנִים שָׂרָה כִּי־יָלַדְתִּי בֵן לִזְקֻנָיו:
5And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 6And Sarah said: ‘God hath made laughter for me; every one that heareth will laugh on account of me.’ 7And she said: ‘Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should give children suck? for …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
בראשית כא, ו.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
אהפוך אל עמים
How it connects
“For then I will transform the peoples to a pure language.” Cited as the future transformation that brings the laughter.our note
The source
Zephaniah 3:9צפניה ג׳:ט׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)8… מִשְׁפָּטִי לֶאֱסֹף גּוֹיִם לְקׇבְצִי מַמְלָכוֹת לִשְׁפֹּךְ עֲלֵיהֶם זַעְמִי כֹּל חֲרוֹן אַפִּי כִּי בְּאֵשׁ קִנְאָתִי תֵּאָכֵל כׇּל־הָאָרֶץ: 9כִּי־אָז אֶהְפֹּךְ אֶל־עַמִּים שָׂפָה בְרוּרָה לִקְרֹא כֻלָּם בְּשֵׁם ה׳ לְעׇבְדוֹ שְׁכֶם אֶחָד: 10מֵעֵבֶר לְנַהֲרֵי־כוּשׁ עֲתָרַי בַּת־פּוּצַי יוֹבִלוּן מִנְחָתִי:
8… My fierce anger; For all the earth shall be devoured With the fire of My jealousy. 9For then will I turn to the peoples A pure language, That they may all call upon the name of the LORD, To serve Him with one consent. 10From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia Shall they bring My suppliants, Even the daughter of My …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
16ולכן ארז״ל במקום שבע״ת עומדין1 כו׳ משום דאתהפכא חשוכא כו׳. וגם ארז״ל אם ישראל עושין תשובה2 נגאלין כו׳ שזהו תכלית ביאת המשיח להיו׳ הצחוק והחדוה כד אתכפייא סט״א ואתהפכא חשוכא לנהורא.
Therefore our Sages, of blessed memory, said, “In the place where baalei teshuvah (returnees) stand,” etc., because darkness is transformed, etc. And our Sages, of blessed memory, also said, “If Israel do teshuvah, they are redeemed,” etc.; for this is the purpose of the coming of Mashiach: that there be the laughter and joy, when the sitra achra is subdued and darkness is transformed into light.
This is why the Sages say that where baalei teshuvah stand, even the completely righteous cannot stand: in teshuvah darkness itself is turned into light, which brings the greatest delight. And redemption depends on teshuvah, because the whole purpose of Mashiach’s coming is this joy of darkness turned to light.
וזהו מארז״ל שלעתיד יאמרו על יצחק3 כי אתה אבינו4 שתכלית ירידת הנשמה בגוף בעוה״ז ותכלית ירידת ישראל בגלות ושעבוד ודוחק פרנסה הוא כדי שיעלו ויבאו ויגיעו לבחי׳ יצחק הוא הצחוק והחדוה כו׳:
And this is [the meaning of] the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory, that in the future they will say to Yitzchak, “For you are our father”; for the purpose of the descent of the soul into the body in this world, and the purpose of the descent of Israel into exile and subjugation and the pressure of earning a livelihood, is so that they will ascend and come and reach the level of Yitzchak, which is laughter and joy, etc.
The Talmud relates that in the future Israel will say to Yitzchak, “You are our father.” The soul’s descent into a body, and Israel’s descent into exile and the struggle to earn a living, are all for the sake of reaching Yitzchak: the laughter and joy of transformation.
The paragraph ties the idea of transformation to the Sages’ teachings on teshuvah and redemption, and shows that every descent, of the soul and of Israel in exile, aims at the joy of Yitzchak.
The Kehot note refers to the previous maamar (Torah Ohr, Vayeitzei, 21c), where teshuvah is described as turning the fiery bad traits back to G‑d, making Charan into rinah, as chametz becomes matzah; that delight, it says, will be revealed only in the future.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
במקום שבע״ת עומדין
How it connects
The previous maamar explains that teshuvah turns the fiery bad traits back to G‑d, producing great delight above like that at a talking bird, turning Charan into rinah as chametz becomes matzah; this delight will be revealed in the future, when the spirit of impurity is removed.our note
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אורearlier, 21c (לעיל כא, ג)
בחי׳ זאת בחי׳ תשובה שהוא בחילא יתיר כו׳ דהיינו המדות רעות שהם ברשפי אש להפכם ולהשיבם לה׳ לבד כנ״ל (וזהו במקום שבעלי תשובה עומדין צדיקי׳ גמורים אין יכולים לעמוד). ועי״ז נעשה תענוג גדול למעלה והוא מבחי׳ אתכפיא ואתהפכא מחשוכא לנהורא שלמטה. וזהו יפה שעה אחת בתשובה כו׳ להיות שע״י בחי׳ תשובה דוקא נעשה התענוג למעלה כ״כ שהוא ממש כמשל צפור המדברת כנ״ל ואזי נעשה מבחי׳ חר״ן רנ״ה וכנודע על ענין חמץ ומצה שמאות החי״ת של חמ״ץ נעשה ה״א כמ״ש בזהר פ׳ פנחס ע״פ גער חי״ת קנה כו׳ ונעשה בחי׳ מצה. כמו״כ מחרן נעשה רנה כמ״ש באבוד רשעים רנה שהוא בחי׳ התענוג שנעשה למעלה מבחי׳ אתכפיא ואתהפכא כנ״ל. והנה בחי׳ התענוג הזה יתגלה לעתיד דוקא שאז ואת רוח הטומאה אעביר כו׳ שלא יהיה עוד בחי׳ חשך ובירורי׳ כמו שהוא עתה בעליות …
Now, the ultimate purpose of the descent and chain-descent of the light of G‑d so far, to a place of darkness and worlds of separateness, is so that there be subjugation and transformation of darkness into light, etc.: to transform all the bad emotive attributes (middos), which are the love and fiery flames for the vanities of the world, or anger, etc., to transform them so that they be for G‑d alone, and to be in a state of self-nullification of the will to G‑d alone, and not in a state of being something separate unto itself, etc. And this level is called teshuvah (return), which is “with greater strength,” etc.; that is, [taking] the bad attributes that are in fiery flames, to transform them and return them to G‑d alone, as mentioned above. (And this is [the meaning of] “In the place where penitents stand, the completely righteous cannot stand.”) And through this a great delight is brought about above, and it comes from the subjugation and transformation of darkness into light below. And this is [the meaning of] “One hour in teshuvah is more beautiful,” etc.: for specifically through teshuvah such delight is brought about above, exactly like the parable of the talking bird …
Read it hereTorah Ohr, Vayeitzei, maamar 1לעיל כא, גpage 21c, ¶17
קאי על יצחק וכמ״ש כי אתה אבינו שלע״ל יאמרו על יצחק כי אתה אבינו כו׳.
and afterward, “and he poured oil on it,” etc., as mentioned above. For “my father” refers to Yitzchak, as it is written, “For You are our father,” for in the time to come they will say of Yitzchak, “For you are our father,” etc.
Read it hereKehot’s note
ראה לעיל כא, ג.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
אם ישראל עושין תשובה
How it connects
The Talmud teaches that if Israel do teshuvah they are redeemed. Here it shows that redemption is bound up with transformation.our note
The source
Sanhedrin 97b:14–15סנהדרין צ״ז ב:י״ד-ט״וSefaria (opens in a new tab)אָמַר רַב: כָּלוּ כׇּל הַקִּיצִּין, וְאֵין הַדָּבָר תָּלוּי אֶלָּא בִּתְשׁוּבָה וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים. וּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר: דַּיּוֹ לָאָבֵל שֶׁיַּעֲמוֹד בְּאֶבְלוֹ. כְּתַנָּאֵי: רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר: אִם יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹשִׂין תְּשׁוּבָה – נִגְאָלִין, וְאִם לָאו – אֵין נִגְאָלִין. אָמַר לוֹ רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ: אִם אֵין עוֹשִׂין תְּשׁוּבָה אֵין נִגְאָלִין? אֶלָּא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַעֲמִיד לָהֶן מֶלֶךְ שֶׁגְּזֵרוֹתָיו קָשׁוֹת כְּהָמָן, וְיִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹשִׂין תְּשׁוּבָה וּמַחְזִירָן לְמוּטָב. תַּנְיָא אִידַּךְ: רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, אִם יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹשִׂין תְּשׁוּבָה – נִגְאָלִין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״שׁוּבוּ …
Hebrew: William Davidson, Vocalized Aramaic (CC-BY-NC) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
סנהדרין צז, ב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
שלעתיד יאמרו על יצחק
How it connects
The Talmud relates that in the future Israel will say to Yitzchak, “You are our father.” The Alter Rebbe reads this as the goal of all descent: the joy of Yitzchak.our note
The source
Shabbat 89b:2שבת פ״ט ב:ב׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)מִנַּיִן שֶׁקּוֹשְׁרִין לָשׁוֹן שֶׁל זְהוֹרִית וְכוּ׳. ״כַּשָּׁנִים״? ״כַּשָּׁנִי״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵקהּ! אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק, אָמַר לָהֶם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְיִשְׂרָאֵל: אִם יִהְיוּ חֲטָאֵיכֶם כַּשָּׁנִים הַלָּלוּ שֶׁסְּדוּרוֹת וּבָאוֹת מִשֵּׁשֶׁת יְמֵי בְּרֵאשִׁית וְעַד עַכְשָׁיו — כַּשֶּׁלֶג יַלְבִּינוּ. דָּרֵשׁ רָבָא, מַאי דִּכְתִיב: ״לְכוּ נָא וְנִוָּכְחָה יֹאמַר ה׳״ — ״לְכוּ נָא״? ״בּוֹאוּ נָא״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵקהּ! ״יֹאמַר ה׳״? ״אָמַר ה׳״ מִיבְּעֵי לֵקהּ! לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא יֹאמַר לָהֶם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְיִשְׂרָאֵל: לְכוּ נָא אֵצֶל אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם וְיוֹכִיחוּ אֶתְכֶם.
Hebrew: William Davidson, Vocalized Aramaic (CC-BY-NC) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
ראה שבת פט, ב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
כי אתה אבינו
How it connects
“For You are our father,” the verse the Talmud applies to Yitzchak in the future.our note
The source
Isaiah 63:16ישעיהו ס״ג:ט״זSefaria (opens in a new tab)15הַבֵּט מִשָּׁמַיִם וּרְאֵה מִזְּבֻל קׇדְשְׁךָ וְתִפְאַרְתֶּךָ אַיֵּה קִנְאָתְךָ וּגְבוּרֹתֶךָ הֲמוֹן מֵעֶיךָ וְרַחֲמֶיךָ אֵלַי הִתְאַפָּקוּ: 16כִּי־אַתָּה אָבִינוּ כִּי אַבְרָהָם לֹא יְדָעָנוּ וְיִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא יַכִּירָנוּ אַתָּה ה׳ אָבִינוּ גֹּאֲלֵנוּ מֵעוֹלָם שְׁמֶךָ: 17לָמָּה תַתְעֵנוּ ה׳ מִדְּרָכֶיךָ תַּקְשִׁיחַ לִבֵּנוּ מִיִּרְאָתֶךָ שׁוּב לְמַעַן עֲבָדֶיךָ שִׁבְטֵי נַחֲלָתֶךָ:
15… and Thy mighty acts, The yearning of Thy heart and Thy compassions, Now restrained toward me? 16For Thou art our Father; for Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us; Thou, O LORD, art our Father, Our Redeemer from everlasting is Thy name. 17O LORD, why dost Thou make us to err from Thy ways, And hardenest our heart …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
Peace, and the fulfillment of the vow ¶17–20
17אך כיצד ישוב מבחי׳ חרן לבחי׳ יצחק הנ״ל הנה לזה אמר הכתוב בשלום כי שלום הוא המחבר ומקשר ב׳ הפכים
But how does one return from the level of Charan to the level of Yitzchak mentioned above? For this the verse says, “in peace”; for peace is what joins and binds two opposites,
How does one get from Charan, blocked separateness, back to Yitzchak, joy? The verse answers: “in peace.” Peace is what joins two opposites into one.
כמ״ש עושה שלום במרומיו בין מיכאל1 כו׳2 שלום שלום לרחוק3 שנעשה קרוב כו׳ ובשלום ב׳4 שלום ממטה למעלה וממעלה למטה כמ״ש במ״א.5
as it is written, “He makes peace in His heights,” between Michael, etc.; “Peace, peace to the far and to the near”: to the far one who becomes near, etc. And beshalom (in peace) is two [kinds of] peace, from below upward and from above downward, as explained elsewhere.
The Midrash explains that G‑d “makes peace in His heights” between the angel Michael (water, kindness) and the angel Gavriel (fire, severity). Likewise “peace, peace to the far and to the near” means peace to the one who was far and has come near, that is, the baal teshuvah. The doubled word, and the letter ב (two) in beshalom, point to two kinds of peace, from below upward and from above downward.
The paragraph explains that the return from Charan to Yitzchak comes through peace, which unites opposites: from below upward and from above downward.
The Or HaTorah’s version of this passage completes the phrase as “between Michael and Gavriel” and makes explicit that the ב of beshalom means “two.” The Kehot note also points to the Tzemach Tzedek’s Biurei HaZohar at the start of Lech Lecha.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
עושה שלום במרומיו בין מיכאל
How it connects
“He makes peace in His heights.” The Midrash and Zohar explain it as peace between the angels of water and fire.our note
The source
Job 25:2איוב כ״ה:ב׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)1וַיַּעַן בִּלְדַּד הַשֻּׁחִי וַיֹּאמַר: 2הַמְשֵׁל וָפַחַד עִמּוֹ עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו: 3הֲיֵשׁ מִסְפָּר לִגְדוּדָיו וְעַל־מִי לֹא־יָקוּם אוֹרֵהוּ:
1Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said: 2Dominion and fear are with Him; He maketh peace in His high places. 3Is there any number of His armies? And upon whom doth not His light arise?
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Bamidbar Rabbah 12:5במדבר רבה י״ב:ה׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Zohar III, 12bזח״ג יב, בSefaria (opens in a new tab)Where the note points
Biurei HaZohar, by the Tzemach Tzedekביאורי הזהרbeginning of Lech Lecha
Our explanationThe note points there for a further discussion of the peace made between Michael and Gavriel.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
איוב כה, ב. במד״ר יב, ה. זח״ג יב, ב. וראה ביאוה״ז ר״פ לך לך.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
בין מיכאל כו׳
How it connects
Kehot’s note points to where this is explained further: Or HaTorah.
Where the note points
Or HaTorahאור התורהby the Tzemach Tzedek · Tzav, p. 22
The Tzemach Tzedek’s maamarim and notes on the Torah, arranged by parsha; many of them expand the maamarim of Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah.
Find it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
באוה״ת צו ע׳ כב נוסף: וגבריאל.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
שלום שלום לרחוק
How it connects
“Peace, peace to the far and to the near.” Read as peace for the one far away who has come near, and as two kinds of peace.our note
The source
Isaiah 57:19ישעיהו נ״ז:י״טSefaria (opens in a new tab)18דְּרָכָיו רָאִיתִי וְאֶרְפָּאֵהוּ וְאַנְחֵהוּ וַאֲשַׁלֵּם נִחֻמִים לוֹ וְלַאֲבֵלָיו: 19בּוֹרֵא נִיב שְׂפָתָיִם שָׁלוֹם שָׁלוֹם לָרָחוֹק וְלַקָּרוֹב אָמַר Havayah וּרְפָאתִיו: 20וְהָרְשָׁעִים כַּיָּם נִגְרָשׁ כִּי הַשְׁקֵט לֹא יוּכָל וַיִּגְרְשׁוּ מֵימָיו רֶפֶשׁ וָטִיט:
18… will heal him; I will lead him also, and requite with comforts him and his mourners. 19Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near, Saith the LORD that createth the fruit of the lips; And I will heal him. 20But the wicked are like the troubled sea; For it cannot rest, and its waters cast …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
ישעי׳ נז, יט.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 4
On the words
ובשלום ב׳
How it connects
Kehot’s marei makom for these words (its note is below).
Kehot’s note
שם נוסף היינו: ב׳.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 5
On the words
אך כיצד . . כמ״ש במ״א
How it connects
This whole passage on peace is quoted there; the notes record that there it reads “between Michael and Gavriel” and “beshalom: two, that is.”our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהTzav, p. 22
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
מובא באוה״ת פ׳ צו ע׳ כב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
18והנה כשיתגלה הצחוק העליון לעתיד כד אתכפיא ואתהפכא דהיינו שלא יהיה שליטה ויניקה לקליפות וסט״א כלל וכמ״ש ואת רוח הטומאה1 אעביר מן הארץ.
Now, when the supernal laughter is revealed in the future, when [the sitra achra] is subdued and transformed, that is, when the kelipos and the sitra achra will have no dominion or nourishment at all, as it is written, “And I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth,”
In the future the “supernal laughter” will be revealed, when evil is fully subdued and transformed and the kelipos have no hold at all, as Zechariah says, “I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth.”
אזי יזדכך חומריות העולם וגסותו שלא יהיה בבחי׳ יש ודבר נפרד בפ״ע רק הכל יוכלל בבחי׳ אין
then the materiality and coarseness of the world will be refined, so that it will not be at the level of something (yesh), a thing separate unto itself; rather, all will be included in the level of nothing (ayin).
Then the world’s coarseness will be refined. It will no longer feel itself as yesh, a separate “something”; everything will be absorbed into ayin, the G‑dly “nothing” from which it came.
כי זהו תכלית בריאת העולמות מאין ליש כדי לאהפכא מבחי׳ יש לבחי׳ אין ואזי והיה הוי׳ לי לאלקים.
For this is the purpose of the creation of the worlds from nothing into something: in order to transform [them] from the level of yesh to the level of ayin. And then, “Havayah will be to me as Elokim.”
That is the purpose of creating something from nothing: so that the “something” be turned back into “nothing,” consciously nullified to G‑d. And that is the fulfillment of Yaakov’s request, “Havayah will be to me as Elokim.”
כי הנה אלקי׳ היינו ההעלם והצמצו׳ להיות העולמות נבראים מאין ליש והוי״ה היינו בחינת פנימיות אור א״ס ב״ה המחי׳ ומהוה כו׳
For Elokim is the concealment and the contraction (tzimtzum), so that the worlds are created from nothing into something; and Havayah is the level of the inner dimension (pnimiyus) of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, which gives life and brings into being, etc.
To explain: Elokim is G‑d’s concealment and contraction, which lets the worlds exist as “something”; Havayah is the inner Infinite Light that actually gives them life and being.
וכמ״ש כי שמש ומגן2 הוי״ה אלקים שאלקי׳ נעשה בחי׳ מגן לשם הוי״ה שהוא בבחי׳ השמש כו׳.
As it is written, “For a sun and a shield is Havayah Elokim”: Elokim becomes the level of a shield for the Name Havayah, which is at the level of the sun, etc.
“A sun and a shield is Havayah Elokim”: Havayah is like the sun, and Elokim is the shield that screens it so that creatures can bear it.
אך כל זה הוא בבחינת ההשתלשלות וירידת המדרגות שהוא בבחי׳ זיו והארה שמאור א״ס ב״ה להוות ולהחיות נבראים כסדר ירידת השתלשלות המדרגות מדרגה אחר מדרגה.
But all this is in the realm of the chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus) and the descent of the levels, which is at the level of a radiance and illumination from the Infinite Light, blessed be He, to bring created beings into being and give them life according to the order of the descending chain of levels, level after level;
But this whole arrangement of Havayah hidden by Elokim belongs to the chain of worlds, where only a ray of the Infinite Light gives life to creatures step by step down the levels.
שמדרגות עליונים מקבלים אור היותר עליון ורוחני כו׳ וכל מה שלמטה מטה מתצמצם ומתלבש כו׳.
for the upper levels receive the most sublime and spiritual light, etc., and whatever is lower and lower is contracted and clothed, etc.
Higher levels receive a finer, more spiritual light; the lower the level, the more the light is contracted and clothed.
אבל לע״ל כשיתגלה הצחוק העליון שהוא מבחי׳ אתהפכא כו׳ יהיה גילוי אא״ס ב״ה בעצמו ובכבודו שלמעלה מעלה מבחינת השתלשלות
But in the time to come, when the supernal laughter is revealed, which is from the level of transformation, etc., there will be a revelation of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, in Its essence and Its glory, which is far, far above the level of hishtalshelus.
In the future, with the laughter of transformation, the Infinite Light as it is in itself, beyond the whole chain of worlds, will be revealed.
For “eye to eye they will see,” etc.; “and all flesh will see,” etc.; “and they will enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the dust, from before the terror of G‑d,” etc.
The prophets describe this: “eye to eye they will see,” “all flesh will see” together, and people will hide in caves “from before the terror of G‑d.” The revelation will be direct and overwhelming.
The paragraph explains the future fulfillment of “Havayah will be to me as Elokim”: when evil is transformed, the world will be absorbed into G‑dliness and the Infinite Light as it is in itself, beyond the chain of worlds, will be revealed.
The pairing of Havayah as “sun” and Elokim as “shield” is a key idea of the Alter Rebbe’s teaching: the Name Elokim conceals so that creation can exist. Here the future is described as a revelation so great that even Havayah as it shines in the worlds will seem only a “shield.”
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
ואת רוח הטומאה
How it connects
“And I will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth,” a prophecy of the future when evil will have no hold.our note
The source
Zechariah 13:2זכריה י״ג:ב׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)1בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה מָקוֹר נִפְתָּח לְבֵית דָּוִיד וּלְיֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם לְחַטַּאת וּלְנִדָּה: 2וְהָיָה בַיּוֹם הַהוּא נְאֻם ה׳ צְבָאוֹת אַכְרִית אֶת־שְׁמוֹת הָעֲצַבִּים מִן־הָאָרֶץ וְלֹא יִזָּכְרוּ עוֹד וְגַם אֶת־הַנְּבִיאִים וְאֶת־רוּחַ הַטֻּמְאָה אַעֲבִיר מִן־הָאָרֶץ: 3וְהָיָה כִּי־יִנָּבֵא אִישׁ עוֹד וְאָמְרוּ אֵלָיו אָבִיו וְאִמּוֹ יֹלְדָיו לֹא תִחְיֶה כִּי שֶׁקֶר דִּבַּרְתָּ בְּשֵׁם ה׳ …
1… To the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, For purification and for sprinkling. 2And it shall come to pass in that day, Saith the LORD of hosts, That I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, And they shall no more be remembered; And also I will cause the prophets And the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. 3And it shall come to pass that, when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
זכרי׳ יג, ב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 2
On the words
כי שמש ומגן ה׳ אלקים
How it connects
“For a sun and a shield is Havayah Elokim.” Havayah is the light, like the sun, and Elokim is the shield that conceals it.our note
The source
Psalms 84:12תהילים פ״ד:י״בSefaria (opens in a new tab)11כִּי טוֹב־יוֹם בַּחֲצֵרֶיךָ מֵאָלֶף בָּחַרְתִּי הִסְתּוֹפֵף בְּבֵית אֱלֹקַי מִדּוּר בְּאׇהֳלֵי־רֶשַׁע: 12כִּי שֶׁמֶשׁ וּמָגֵן ה׳ אֱלֹקִים חֵן וְכָבוֹד יִתֵּן ה׳ לֹא יִמְנַע־טוֹב לַהֹלְכִים בְּתָמִים: 13Havayah צְבָאוֹת אַשְׁרֵי אָדָם בֹּטֵחַ בָּךְ:
11… the threshold of the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 12For the LORD God is a sun and a shield; the LORD giveth grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. 13O LORD of hosts, happy is the man that trusteth in Thee.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
תהלים פד, יב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
עין בעין יראו
How it connects
“Eye to eye they will see,” describing the open revelation of G‑d in the future.our note
The source
Isaiah 52:8ישעיהו נ״ב:ח׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)7מַה־נָּאווּ עַל־הֶהָרִים רַגְלֵי מְבַשֵּׂר מַשְׁמִיעַ שָׁלוֹם מְבַשֵּׂר טוֹב מַשְׁמִיעַ יְשׁוּעָה אֹמֵר לְצִיּוֹן מָלַךְ אֱלֹקָיִךְ: 8קוֹל צֹפַיִךְ נָשְׂאוּ קוֹל יַחְדָּו יְרַנֵּנוּ כִּי עַיִן בְּעַיִן יִרְאוּ בְּשׁוּב ה׳ צִיּוֹן: 9פִּצְחוּ רַנְּנוּ יַחְדָּו חׇרְבוֹת יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם כִּי־נִחַם ה׳ עַמּוֹ גָּאַל יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם:
7… the harbinger of good tidings, That announceth salvation; That saith unto Zion: ‘Thy God reigneth! ’ 8Hark, thy watchmen! they lift up the voice, Together do they sing; For they shall see, eye to eye, The LORD returning to Zion. 9Break forth into joy, sing together, Ye waste places of Jerusalem; For the LORD hath comforted …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 4
On the words
וראו כל בשר
How it connects
“And all flesh together will see,” the future revelation of G‑d’s glory to the physical eye.our note
The source
Isaiah 40:5ישעיהו מ׳:ה׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)4כׇּל־גֶּיא יִנָּשֵׂא וְכׇל־הַר וְגִבְעָה יִשְׁפָּלוּ וְהָיָה הֶעָקֹב לְמִישׁוֹר וְהָרְכָסִים לְבִקְעָה: 5וְנִגְלָה כְּבוֹד ה׳ וְרָאוּ כׇל־בָּשָׂר יַחְדָּו כִּי פִּי ה׳ דִּבֵּר: 6קוֹל אֹמֵר קְרָא וְאָמַר מָה אֶקְרָא כׇּל־הַבָּשָׂר חָצִיר וְכׇל־חַסְדּוֹ כְּצִיץ הַשָּׂדֶה:
4… be made low; and the rugged shall be made level, and the rough places a plain; 5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.’ 6Hark! one saith: ‘Proclaim!’ And he saith: ‘What shall I proclaim?’ ’All flesh is grass, And …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 5
On the words
עין בעין יראו . . וראו כל בשר . . ובאו במערות צורים
How it connects
Kehot’s note points to Isaiah 52:10 for these words.
The source
Isaiah 52:10ישעיהו נ״ב:י׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)9פִּצְחוּ רַנְּנוּ יַחְדָּו חׇרְבוֹת יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם כִּי־נִחַם ה׳ עַמּוֹ גָּאַל יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם: 10חָשַׂף Havayah אֶת־זְרוֹעַ קׇדְשׁוֹ לְעֵינֵי כׇּל־הַגּוֹיִם וְרָאוּ כׇּל־אַפְסֵי־אָרֶץ אֵת יְשׁוּעַת אֱלֹקֵינוּ: 11סוּרוּ סוּרוּ צְאוּ מִשָּׁם טָמֵא אַל־תִּגָּעוּ צְאוּ מִתּוֹכָהּ הִבָּרוּ נֹשְׂאֵי כְּלֵי ה׳
9… Ye waste places of Jerusalem; For the LORD hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem. 10The LORD hath made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God. 11Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, Touch no unclean thing; Go ye out …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
ישעי׳ נב, י. מ, ה. ב, יט.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 6
On the words
ובאו במערות צורים ובמחילות עפר מפני פחד ה׳
How it connects
People will enter caves before the terror of G‑d. The Alter Rebbe cites it for the overwhelming force of the future revelation.our note
The source
Isaiah 2:19ישעיהו ב׳:י״טSefaria (opens in a new tab)18וְהָאֱלִילִים כָּלִיל יַחֲלֹף: 19וּבָאוּ בִּמְעָרוֹת צֻרִים וּבִמְחִלּוֹת עָפָר מִפְּנֵי פַּחַד ה׳ וּמֵהֲדַר גְּאוֹנוֹ בְּקוּמוֹ לַעֲרֹץ הָאָרֶץ: 20בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יַשְׁלִיךְ הָאָדָם אֵת אֱלִילֵי כַסְפּוֹ וְאֵת אֱלִילֵי זְהָבוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ־לוֹ לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺת לַחְפֹּר פֵּרוֹת וְלָעֲטַלֵּפִים:
18And the idols shall utterly pass away. 19And men shall go into the caves of the rocks, And into the holes of the earth, From before the terror of the LORD, And from the glory of His majesty, When He ariseth to shake mightily the earth. 20In that day a man shall cast away His idols of silver, and his idols of …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
19ואז יהי׳ בחי׳ הוי״ה שהוא אור א״ס ב״ה הנמשך ומתפשט להתלבש בתוך עלמין בסדר ההשתלשלות.
And then the level of Havayah, which is the Infinite Light, blessed be He, that is drawn down and spreads to be clothed within the worlds in the order of hishtalshelus,
Then the Name Havayah, the Infinite Light as it flows down and is clothed in the worlds,
נחשב בחי׳ אלקים דהיינו בחי׳ צמצום שבאמת אין זה אלא זיו והארה מצומצמת לגבי אור א״ס ב״ה בעצמו ובכבודו שלפניו מעלה ומטה שוין וכחשיכה כאורה.1
will be considered the level of Elokim, that is, the level of contraction; for in truth it is nothing but a contracted radiance and illumination compared to the Infinite Light, blessed be He, in Its essence and Its glory, before which above and below are equal, and “darkness is as light.”
will itself be seen as Elokim, a contraction. Compared with the Infinite Light in itself, before which above and below are the same and “darkness is as light,” even Havayah as it is in the worlds is only a contracted glow. This is the deeper meaning of “Havayah will be to me as Elokim.”
The paragraph explains the maamar’s opening question: in the future Havayah will become, relatively, “Elokim,” because the revelation of the Infinite Light itself will make even the light that fills the worlds look like concealment.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
וכחשיכה כאורה
How it connects
“Darkness is as light” before G‑d. Used for the Infinite Light, before which above and below are equal.our note
The source
Psalms 139:12תהילים קל״ט:י״בSefaria (opens in a new tab)11וָאֹמַר אַךְ־חֹשֶׁךְ יְשׁוּפֵנִי וְלַיְלָה אוֹר בַּעֲדֵנִי: 12גַּם־חֹשֶׁךְ לֹא־יַחְשִׁיךְ מִמֶּךָּ וְלַיְלָה כַּיּוֹם יָאִיר כַּחֲשֵׁיכָה כָּאוֹרָה: 13כִּי־אַתָּה קָנִיתָ כִלְיֹתָי תְּסֻכֵּנִי בְּבֶטֶן אִמִּי:
11And if I say: ‘Surely the darkness shall envelop me, And the light about me shall be night'; 12Even the darkness is not too dark for Thee, But the night shineth as the day; The darkness is even as the light. 13For Thou hast made my reins; Thou hast knit me together in my mother's womb.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
20והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה1 הוא בחינת יו״ד כלי החכמה שמבחי׳ אותיות בחי׳ דומם דהיינו בחי׳ התהוות מאין ליש רק לפי אשר שמתי מצבה שהגבהתי והעליתי כו׳
“And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar”: this is the level of yud, the vessel of Chochmah, which is from the level of letters, the level of the inanimate, that is, the level of coming into being from nothing into something. But since “I have set [it] up as a pillar,” for I raised and elevated [it], etc.,
Now the second question is answered. “This stone” is the yud, the vessel of Chochmah, a letter, lifeless and created from nothing. But because Yaakov raised it as a pillar, lifting it up,
לכך יהי׳ לה כח ויכולת להיות בית אלקים שיהיה בחי׳ אלקים זה שהוא אוא״ס ב״ה שבתוך עלמין שורה ומתגלה בבחי׳ אותיות הללו והאותיות תהיינה בבחי׳ משכן ומכון לשבתו ית׳.
therefore it will have the power and ability to be a “house of Elokim”: that this level of Elokim, which is the Infinite Light, blessed be He, that is within the worlds, will rest and be revealed in these letters, and the letters will be a dwelling and an established place for His abode, may He be blessed.
it gained the power to become a “house of Elokim”: the divine light within the worlds, which will then be called Elokim, will rest and be revealed in these letters, and the letters will become a dwelling for G‑d.
The paragraph answers how a stone can become a house of G‑d: the lowly letter, raised up through self-nullification, becomes a dwelling for the divine light in the worlds.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
והאבן הזאת אשר שמתי מצבה
How it connects
“And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be a house of G‑d.” The maamar now explains how the raised stone becomes a dwelling for G‑dliness.our note
The source
Genesis 28:22בראשית כ״ח:כ״בSefaria (opens in a new tab)21וְשַׁבְתִּי בְשָׁלוֹם אֶל־בֵּית אָבִי וְהָיָה ה׳ לִי לֵאלֹקִים: 22וְהָאֶבֶן הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר־שַׂמְתִּי מַצֵּבָה יִהְיֶה בֵּית אֱלֹקִים וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּתֶּן־לִי עַשֵּׂר אֲעַשְּׂרֶנּוּ לָךְ:
21so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God, 22and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.’
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
The endless tithes ¶21–22
21וכל זה הוא ע״י בחי׳ יעקב יו״ד עקב צוה ישועות יעקב1 גילוי הש״ע נהורין שבהן וע״י נזכה לכל בחי׳ האלו. וכל אשר תתן לי2 עשר אעשרנו לך.
And all this is through the level of Yaakov, yud-akev: “Command the salvations of Yaakov,” the revelation of the 370 lights that are in them; and through this we will merit all these levels. “And of all that You give me, I will tithe, tithe it (aser a’asrenu) to You.”
All this comes through Yaakov, whose “salvations” reveal the 370 lights. Then the maamar turns to the end of Yaakov’s vow, “of all that You give me I will tithe, tithe it,” where the Hebrew doubles the verb.
הענין הוא כי הנה נודע שיהיה עילוי אחר עילוי לאין קץ ימות המשיח ותחה״מ כמה שמיטין ויובלות כו׳ וכל עילוי גדול מחבירו.
The matter is this: it is known that there will be elevation after elevation without end, [in] the days of Mashiach and the Resurrection of the Dead, many Shemitah cycles and Jubilees, etc., and each elevation greater than the other.
It is known that the future will bring endless ascents, the days of Mashiach, the Resurrection, and cycle after cycle beyond, each higher than the one before.
אך קודם העילוי שאחר העילוי צריך להיו׳ נשאר מעילוי הראשון בבחי׳ אתעדל״ת לאתעדל״ע שבעילוי הב׳ ואתעדל״ת זו הנשארת מן העילוי הראשון נק׳ בחי׳ מעשר.3
But before the elevation that comes after [each] elevation, there must remain from the first elevation [something] in the manner of an arousal from below, for the arousal from above that is in the second elevation; and this arousal from below that remains from the first elevation is called the level of maaser (the tithe).
Each new ascent needs a trigger from below. Something of the earlier level must remain to serve as an “arousal from below” that draws the next “arousal from above.” That remnant is called maaser, the tithe.
The paragraph begins to explain the tithe of Yaakov’s vow: in the endless ascents of the future, each level leaves a remnant, a “tithe,” that becomes the arousal from below for the next ascent.
The Kehot note records that the Or HaTorah on Megillas Esther quotes this and adds an example: moving from “back to back” to “face to face” is an ascent, and it needs an arousal from the first level, the point beneath Yesod, which is the Keser of Malchus; that is the tithe.
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
צוה ישועות יעקב
How it connects
“Command the salvations of Yaakov.” Recalled from the start of the maamar: through Yaakov the 370 lights are revealed.our note
The source
Psalms 44:5תהילים מ״ד:ה׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)4כִּי לֹא בְחַרְבָּם יָרְשׁוּ אָרֶץ וּזְרוֹעָם לֹא־הוֹשִׁיעָה לָּמוֹ כִּי־יְמִינְךָ וּזְרוֹעֲךָ וְאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ כִּי רְצִיתָם: 5אַתָּה־הוּא מַלְכִּי אֱלֹקִים צַוֵּה יְשׁוּעוֹת יַעֲקֹב: 6בְּךָ צָרֵינוּ נְנַגֵּחַ בְּשִׁמְךָ נָבוּס קָמֵינוּ:
4… hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou wast favourable unto them. 5Thou art my King, O God; command the salvation of Jacob. 6Through Thee do we push down our adversaries; through Thy name do we tread them under …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 2
On the words
וכל אשר תתן לי
How it connects
Yaakov vows to tithe all that G‑d gives him. The doubled verb is read as endless tithes, one for each future ascent.our note
The source
Genesis 28:22בראשית כ״ח:כ״בSefaria (opens in a new tab)21וְשַׁבְתִּי בְשָׁלוֹם אֶל־בֵּית אָבִי וְהָיָה ה׳ לִי לֵאלֹקִים: 22וְהָאֶבֶן הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר־שַׂמְתִּי מַצֵּבָה יִהְיֶה בֵּית אֱלֹקִים וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּתֶּן־לִי עַשֵּׂר אֲעַשְּׂרֶנּוּ לָךְ:
21so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God, 22and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.’
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Kehot’s note
בראשית כח, כב.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
צריך להיות נשאר . . נק׳ בחי׳ מעשר
How it connects
It quotes this passage and adds that going from “back to back” to “face to face” is an ascent after an ascent, which needs an arousal from below from the first ascent: the point beneath Yesod, the Keser of Malchus.our note
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהMegillas Esther, p. 80, discourse beginning “Vayikach Haman,” section 2
Our explanationThat, it says, is the tithe.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
מובא באוה״ת מגלת אסתר ע׳ פ ד״ה ויקח המן סעי׳ ב ומוסיף: ”היינו עד״מ מבחי׳ אב״א לבוא לבחי׳ פב״פ זהו ודאי עילוי אחר עילוי, וצ״ל אתעדל״ת מעילוי הראשון והוא מה שנעשית בחי׳ נקודה תחת היסוד ונקודה זו זהו ענין כתר מל׳ . . וזהו ענין המעשר”.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
22וז״ש וכל אשר תתן לי1 לעתיד דהיינו כל העליות שיהיה עד אין קץ עשר אעשרנו ויהי׳ הרבה מעשרות לכל עילוי בחי׳ מעשר בפ״ע ותמיד עשר אעשרנו עד שיגיע לך לבחי׳ אור א״ס ב״ה עצמו
And this is what is written, “And of all that You give me,” in the future, that is, all the ascents that there will be without end, “I will tithe, tithe it”: there will be many tithes, for each ascent a level of tithe of its own, and always “I will tithe, tithe it,” until it reaches “to You,” to the level of the Infinite Light, blessed be He, itself.
“All that You give me” refers to the endless ascents of the future. The doubled “I will tithe, tithe it” means many tithes, one for each ascent, going on until the ascent reaches “to You,” the Infinite Light itself.
וכמו שהוא ית׳ א״ס כך יהיו עליות עד א״ס והכל ע״י בחי׳ יעקב יו״ד עקב כו׳
And just as He, may He be blessed, is infinite, so there will be ascents without end; and all is through the level of Yaakov, yud-akev, etc.,
Since G‑d is infinite, the ascents toward Him never end. All of them come about through Yaakov, the yud reaching down to the heel.
כנ״ל וד״ל:(ובענין מ״ש בפי׳ עשר אעשרנו ואתעדל״ת זו כו׳ נק׳ בחי׳ מעשר כו׳. נראה כי הכתר הוא הממוצע2 בין עולם העליון לעולם התחתון3 שהוא סוף בחי׳ עליונה ומקור וראש לבחי׳ תחתונה
as [explained] above; and this suffices for one who understands. (And regarding what was said in explaining “I will tithe, tithe it,” that this arousal from below, etc., is called the level of the tithe, etc.: it appears that Keser (the Crown) is the intermediary between an upper world and a lower world, for it is the end of the upper level and the source and head of the lower level,
The main text closes here, and a parenthetical note follows, explaining why the remnant that triggers each ascent is called a “tithe.” The key is Keser, the Crown: it is the point where two worlds meet, the lowest level of the higher world and the head of the lower one.
כמו מלכות דאצי׳ כתר לבריאה ומלכות דבריאה כתר ליצירה כו׳. ולכן הנה להיות עליית העולמות שיתעלה העשייה בקדוש׳ היצירה ממש הוא ע״י אמצעות הכתר דעשייה שהוא בחי׳ מעשר מע״ס דעשיי׳.
as Malchus (sovereignty) of Atzilus is Keser to Beriah, and Malchus of Beriah is Keser to Yetzirah, etc. And therefore, for the ascent of the worlds, so that Asiyah be elevated into the very holiness of Yetzirah, it is through the medium of the Keser of Asiyah, which is the level of a tithe of the ten Sefiros of Asiyah.
For example, Malchus, the last Sefirah of Atzilus, becomes the Keser, the first Sefirah, of Beriah, and so on down. So when Asiyah rises into Yetzirah, it does so through its own Keser, and Keser, being one of ten Sefiros, is a “tenth,” a tithe, of Asiyah.
והענין כי כתר הוא לשון שתיקה כמו כתר לי זעיר.4 ושתיקה הוא בחינת בטול וע״ז נאמר יונת אלם5 כו׳. והוא בחינת בעמדם תרפינה כנפיהן.6
The explanation is that keser is an expression of silence, as in “Wait (kaser) for me a little.” And silence is the level of self-nullification (bittul), and of this it is said, “the silent dove,” etc. And it is the level of “when they stood, they let down their wings.”
Why Keser? The word keser is linked to silence, as in the verse “Wait (kaser) for me a little.” Silence expresses self-nullification, like “the silent dove,” and like the angels in Yechezkel’s vision who “let down their wings” when they stood still.
וע״י בטול זה יוכל להתעלות אח״כ ליצירה כי א״א להיות עליי׳ ממהות למהות כי אם שיוכלל תחלה בבחי׳ אין ממש וזהו ענין העמוד שבין ג״ע התחתון לג״ע העליון כו׳
And through this self-nullification it is able afterward to rise to Yetzirah; for it is impossible for there to be an ascent from one essence to another essence unless it is first absorbed into the level of actual nothing (ayin). And this is the matter of the pillar that is between the lower Gan Eden and the upper Gan Eden, etc.
Only through such self-nullification can a level rise to the next one. A thing cannot pass from one definite state to another unless it first dissolves into “nothing.” This is also why, between the lower and upper Gan Eden, there is a “pillar” through which souls pass.
וכמו צמיחת התבואה מזרע הנזרע בארץ הוא ע״י שמתחלה מתבטל מהות הזרע ונעשה בחי׳ אין רק שנשאר כחו בכח הצומח ועי״ז אח״כ נעשה הגידול נפלא יותר מהיש שהי׳ תחלה כו׳.
And [it is] like the sprouting of grain from a seed sown in the earth, which comes about through the essence of the seed first being nullified and becoming the level of nothing, except that its power remains in the power of growth; and through this, afterward, the growth becomes more wondrous than the something that was at first, etc.
The analogy is a seed: it must first rot in the ground and lose its form, keeping only its power to grow; only then does it sprout into something far greater than the seed it was.
ועד״ז עליי׳ יצירה בבריאה צ״ל תחלה בבחינת בטול ואין והוא בחי׳ כתר דיצירה כו׳ וזהו ענין אשר שם שמות בארץ78 בחי׳ וחד חרוב ומה שהוא בבחי׳ אלף השביעי ולא בבחי׳ עשירית היינו
And similarly, the ascent of Yetzirah into Beriah must first be in the level of self-nullification and nothingness, and this is the level of the Keser of Yetzirah, etc. And this is the matter of “Who has made desolations in the earth,” the level of “and one [thousand years] desolate”; and that it is at the level of the seventh thousand and not at the level of a tenth, this is
So too Yetzirah can rise into Beriah only through self-nullification, which is its Keser. The same idea explains “Who has made desolations in the earth” and the teaching that of the world’s seven thousand years, one will be “desolate”: a time of nothingness before a higher state. But why is it the seventh thousand, a seventh, and not a tenth, as a tithe would be?
כי היכל ק״ק שהוא היכל השביעי כולל ג״ר אבל עיקר העליי׳ ע״י הכתר כו׳. וע״ד זה יש עליות אין קץ.
because the Heichal (chamber) of the Holy of Holies, which is the seventh heichal, includes the first three [Sefiros]; but the main ascent is through Keser, etc. And in this manner there are ascents without end.
Because the seventh chamber, the Holy of Holies, contains within it the first three Sefiros; still, the main ascent comes through Keser. This pattern, nullification then ascent, repeats without end.
ומ״ש עשר אעשרנו ב׳ עישורין היינו כי הכתר כלול מב׳ פרצופין עתיק וא״א כו׳ שהוא בחי׳ תחתונה שבמאציל ושרש הנאצלים כו׳ וב׳ בחי׳ אלו יחד נק׳ חומש כמ״ש ונתתם חמישית לפרעה910 כמ״ש במ״א):11
And what it says, “I will tithe, tithe it,” two tithes, is because Keser is composed of two partzufim (configurations), Atik and Arich Anpin, etc., being the lowest level of the Emanator and the root of the emanated beings, etc.; and these two levels together are called a fifth, as it is written, “and you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh,” as explained elsewhere.)
The doubled “tithe, tithe” means two tithes because Keser has two partzufim, Atik and Arich Anpin: Atik is the lowest level of the Emanator, G‑d Himself, and Arich Anpin is the root of what He emanates. Two tenths make a fifth, which is why the Torah speaks of giving “a fifth to Pharaoh.”
The paragraph completes the reading of Yaakov’s vow: endless future ascents, each one reached through a “tithe,” and a parenthetical note explains that tithe as Keser, the silent self-nullification through which every level rises to the next, doubled because Keser has two parts.
The idea that Keser is both the end of the higher world and the head of the lower is found in Etz Chaim, as the Kehot note shows, and is developed in Iggeres HaKodesh 20. The Or HaTorah reconciles the two meanings of keser, “surrounding” and “silence”: “a fence for wisdom is silence,” so Keser is the encompassing fence around Chochmah and is itself silence. According to the notes, one manuscript lacks this whole parenthetical note, and another places it before “However, this is not the ultimate intent.”
Marei mekomos
- 1
On the words
וכל אשר תתן לי
How it connects
Yaakov’s vow to tithe all that G‑d gives him. The maamar reads it as the endless tithes of the future ascents.our note
The source
Genesis 28:22בראשית כ״ח:כ״בSefaria (opens in a new tab)21וְשַׁבְתִּי בְשָׁלוֹם אֶל־בֵּית אָבִי וְהָיָה ה׳ לִי לֵאלֹקִים: 22וְהָאֶבֶן הַזֹּאת אֲשֶׁר־שַׂמְתִּי מַצֵּבָה יִהְיֶה בֵּית אֱלֹקִים וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר תִּתֶּן־לִי עַשֵּׂר אֲעַשְּׂרֶנּוּ לָךְ:
21so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then shall the LORD be my God, 22and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.’
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 2
On the words
הכתר הוא הממוצע
How it connects
Pointed to by the note for the idea of Keser as the intermediary between worlds.our note
Where the note points
Biurei HaZohar, by the Tzemach Tzedekביאורי הזהרvol. 1, p. 275
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Tanya, Iggeres HaKodeshתניא, אגרת הקודשEpistle 20 (130b)
איהו וחיוהי חד, איהו וגרמוהי חד בהון. (פירוש, עשר ספירות דאצילות; חיוהי הן האורות, ו״גרמוהי״ הן הכלים, שכולן אלקות, מה שאין כן בבריאה יצירה עשיה כו׳). וצריך להבין היטב, איך ה״אין סוף״ חד עם ״גרמוהי״ הן הכלים, הרי הכלים הן בבחינת גבול ותכלית, כמו שכתוב בעץ חיים. אמנם, הכוונה היא, לומר שהן אלקות לברוא יש מאין כמו ה״אין סוף״, ולא בבחינת השתלשלות עילה ועלול לבד. ומה שכתב הרמ״ק ענין השתלשלות עילה ועלול, וכן הוא בזוהר הקדוש פרשת בראשית, היינו, בהשתלשלות הספירות בספירות עצמן (בבחינת הכלים), שנקראות ״בלי מה״ בספר יצירה, שאינן בבחינת יש ומהות מושג, וכמו ה״אין סוף״ דלית מחשבה תפיסא ביה כלל, וכמו שכתוב: ״ופני לא יראו״. ונבואת משה רבינו עליו השלום והשגתו, היתה מפרק עליון דנצח ד״זעיר אנפין״. ובהשתלשלות העלול הוא מוקף מהעילה, ובטל במציאות אצלו כזיו השמש …
Our explanationIggeres HaKodesh 20 explains that Keser is the intermediary between the Emanator and the emanated, the lowest level of the one and the root of the other, which is the idea used here.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Likkut Perushim on Tanya, by Rabbi Aharon Chitrikליקוט פירושים (חיטריק)on Iggeres HaKodesh 20
Our explanationA collection of commentaries on Tanya, pointed to by the note for its comments on this idea in Iggeres HaKodesh 20.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Sefer HaMaamarim 5666ספר המאמרים תרס״וdiscourse beginning “Vayelech,” p. 165 ff.
Our explanationA later discourse where the note says Keser as the intermediary is discussed at length.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהYisro, p. 839
Our explanationPointed to by the note for a further discussion of Keser as the intermediary.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Torah Ohrתורה אורearlier, 19d (לעיל יט, ד)
להיותה בחי׳ אה״ר שהוא המדות שלמעלה מהשכל שהם בחינת התכללות כל המדות יחד ואין בהם התחלקות כלל (וכנ״ל שדעת כולל חו״ג שהן תרין עטרין הנמשכים מכתפין דאריך) כי בהמדות שעיקר התהוותן הוא מהשכל שייך התחלקו׳ המדרגה כי אותו השכל שמוליד אהבה הוא אינו אותה ההשכלה המוליד יראה ואותו השכל שמוליד יראה אינו המוליד אהבה. ולכן המדות הנולדים מהן הן בחי׳ ענפין מתפרדין זמ״ז משא״כ בלמעלה מהשכל אין שייך התחלקות כלל והוא ע״ד ההפרש בין עולם העקודים לעולם הנקודים. שבעקודי׳ כל הע״ס עקודי׳ בכלי׳ א׳ ואין בהם התחלקות כלל. משא״כ בנקודים הם י׳ נקודות מחולקי׳. והיינו משום כי נקודים הוא מבחינת חכמה (כי בענין טנת״א הנקודות בחינת חכמה כו׳) ושם שייך התחלקות אבל העקודים הוא מבחי׳ כתר דשם הוא למעלה מההתחלקות. ולכן בחי׳ המדות שלמעלה מהשכל הנק׳ אה״ר שיש בכל נפש …
And the second are the middos that are above the intellect; [this love] is called ahavah rabbah (great love), which is in every soul. And above, it is the level of the middos within Keser: the Chesed and Gevurah of Arich Anpin, which are above the intellect, that is, Chochmah and Binah, only that they are drawn by way of passage through Chochmah and Binah. And they are drawn through the Daas that stands in the middle line, aligned directly beneath Keser. Whereas Chochmah and Binah are Chochmah, Chesed and Netzach on the right [and] Binah, Gevurah and Hod on the left. Therefore, through this Daas, the middos of Keser, which are middos above the intellect, are drawn so as to be drawn into Z’eir Anpin. And below, it is the revelation in the middos of the heart, etc. And this level of ahavah rabbah is also present in everyone, as is written in Tanya (end of chapter 46) on the verse, “I was as beasts (behemos) with You” — behemos is plural, etc., the upper Daas that includes Chesed and Gevurah, etc.; see there. And this is the idea of Rivkah, which is the level of a tie and binding together of three or four cattle; for she is the level of ahavah rabbah, which is the middos above the …
Our explanationThat passage contrasts the world of Akudim, rooted in Keser, where all ten Sefiros are bound in one vessel without division, with the world of Nekudim, rooted in Chochmah, where they divide. It shows why Keser, above division, can serve as the meeting point between levels.
Read it hereEtz Chaimעץ חייםby Rabbi Chaim Vital, from the Arizal
The central work of the Arizal’s Kabbalah, in gates (she’arim).
The Rebbe Rashab’s maamar “וילך” (5666)ד״ה וילך תרס״וA maamar of the Rebbe Rashab, 5666
Find it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
ע״ח שער מ״א פ״ג. ראה ביאוה״ז להצ״צ כרך א ע׳ ערה. אגה״ק ס״כ (קל, ב) ובליקוט פירושים חיטריק שם. וראה בד״ה וילך תרס״ו ע׳ קסה ואילך. ובאוה״ת פ׳ יתרו ע׳ תתלט.
ראה לעיל יט, ד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 3
On the words
הכתר הוא הממוצע בין עולם העליון לעולם התחתון
How it connects
Etz Chaim teaches that the Keser of each world comes from the level above it, joining the two worlds, as the Kehot note shows. This is the basis for calling Keser the intermediary.our note
The source
Sefer Etz Chaim 41:3עץ חיים מ״א:ג׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 4
On the words
כתר לי זעיר
How it connects
“Wait for me a little.” The word kaser, “wait,” links Keser with silence.our note
The source
Job 36:2איוב ל״ו:ב׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)1וַיֹּסֶף אֱלִיהוּא וַיֹּאמַר: 2כַּתַּר־לִי זְעֵיר וַאֲחַוֶּךָּ כִּי עוֹד לֶאֱלוֹהַּ מִלִּים: 3אֶשָּׂא דֵעִי לְמֵרָחוֹק וּלְפֹעֲלִי אֶתֵּן־צֶדֶק:
1Elihu also proceeded, and said: 2Suffer me a little, and I will tell thee; For there are yet words on God’s behalf. 3I will fetch my knowledge from afar, And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Where the note points
Or HaTorah, by the Tzemach Tzedekאור התורהVaeschanan, p. 285
Our explanationIt explains that keser has two meanings, “surrounding” (as in “they surrounded Binyamin”) and “silence” (“wait for me a little”), and that they agree: “a fence for wisdom is silence,” so Keser is the fence around Chochmah and is silence. The note adds that these are the two interpretations of Rashi and Ibn Ezra, and refers to Ramban there.
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
איוב לו, ב. באוה״ת ואתחנן ע׳ רפה, שבכתר יש ב׳ פי׳ לשון מקיף כתרו את בנימין, ולשון שתיקה כתר לי זעיר. ושניהם עולים בקנה אחד, כי הנה סייג לחכמה שתיקה סייג היינו גדר ומקיף, וזהו כתר לשון מקיף לחכמה והוא בחינת שתיקה, ע״ש. והם ב׳ הפירושים של רש״י והאבן עזרא. וראה ברמב״ן שם.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 5
On the words
יונת אלם
How it connects
“The silent dove,” said in praise. Silence here expresses self-nullification.our note
The source
Psalms 56:1תהילים נ״ו:א׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)1לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל־יוֹנַת אֵלֶם רְחֹקִים לְדָוִד מִכְתָּם בֶּאֱחֹז אוֹתוֹ פְלִשְׁתִּים בְּגַת: 2חׇנֵּנִי אֱלֹקִים כִּי־שְׁאָפַנִי אֱנוֹשׁ כׇּל־הַיּוֹם לֹחֵם יִלְחָצֵנִי:
1For the Leader; upon Jonath-elem-rehokim. [A Psalm] of David; Michtam; when the Philistines took him in Gath. . 2Be gracious unto me, O God, for man would swallow me up; All the day he …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Where the note points
Likkutei Torahלקוטי תורהBamidbar 7c
כרחל לפני גוזזיה נאלמה (וכמ״ש מזה במ״א ע״פ והיה אור הלבנה כו׳). אבל בחי׳ כבד פה דמשה הוא להפך ממש שמצד התגלות הח״ע לא יוכל לדבר וזהו ענין עליית הדבור כו׳ (וזהו ענין יונת אלם דלשבח קאמר וכענין מלה בסלע משתוקא בתרין. והנה עכ״ז אינו מובן דמ״מ לפ״ז אין כאן דבור כלל ואיך נק׳ עליית המל׳ שהוא עליית הדבור. ואפ״ל עפמ״ש באגה״ק ע״פ ויעש דוד. שהאותיות הן בבחינת חומר וצורה הנק׳ פנימית וחיצונית כו׳ ועיקר בחי׳ המל׳ שנק׳ דבור היינו פנימית הדבור והוא המאיר בעולמות עליונים רק בעשייה נמשך ע״י התלבשות בחיצונית הדבור שהוא חומר וגוף האותיות. כמו עד״מ באדם הדבור היוצא לחוץ. ולעתיד שיהי׳ עליות העולמות לא יצטרך להיות ההתלבשות בחומר וחיצוני ות כו׳ וזהו עליית הדבור, גם כמו שתי רוחות מספרות זו עם זו הרי הסיפור והדבור שלהם …
Our explanationThere “the silent dove” is said to be praise: silence that comes from a revelation of supernal Chochmah too great for speech, as in “a word is worth a sela, silence two.”
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
תהלים נו, א. וראה בלקו״ת במדבר ז, ג: ”דלשבח קאמר”.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 6
On the words
בעמדם תרפינה כנפיהן
How it connects
In Yechezkel’s vision the living creatures let down their wings when they stood still. Read as the silence of self-nullification.our note
The source
Ezekiel 1:24יחזקאל א׳:כ״דSefaria (opens in a new tab)23וְתַחַת הָרָקִיעַ כַּנְפֵיהֶם יְשָׁרוֹת אִשָּׁה אֶל־אֲחוֹתָהּ לְאִישׁ שְׁתַּיִם מְכַסּוֹת לָהֵנָּה וּלְאִישׁ שְׁתַּיִם מְכַסּוֹת לָהֵנָּה אֵת גְּוִיֹּתֵיהֶם: 24וָאֶשְׁמַע אֶת־קוֹל כַּנְפֵיהֶם כְּקוֹל מַיִם רַבִּים כְּקוֹל־שַׁ־דַּי בְּלֶכְתָּם קוֹל הֲמֻלָּה כְּקוֹל מַחֲנֶה בְּעׇמְדָם תְּרַפֶּינָה כַנְפֵיהֶן: 25וַיְהִי־קוֹל מֵעַל לָרָקִיעַ אֲשֶׁר עַל־רֹאשָׁם בְּעׇמְדָם תְּרַפֶּינָה כַנְפֵיהֶן:
23… them had two which covered, and that one of them had two which covered, their bodies. 24And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings like the noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a noise of tumult like the noise of a host; when they stood, they let down their wings. 25For, when there was a voice above the firmament that was over their heads, as they …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Where the note points
Torah Ohrתורה אורlater, 40d (לקמן מ, ד)
וע״י התאחזותו בדבר גשמי נתהווה גילוי אור. אך אור זה צריך להמשיך על ידי עבודת האדם ורוח אייתי רוח ואמשיך רוח. אם ישים אליו לבו רוחו ונשמתו אליו יאסוף. וזהו ענין הדלקת הנרות להדליק ולהמשיך האור שיהא נאחז בפתילה. וזהו קרוב ה׳ לכל קראיו לכל אשר יקראהו באמת. דהיינו להיות אמת ה׳ לעולם. ואמתות ה׳ הוא שמעלה ומטה שוים לפניו ית׳ כחשיכ׳ כאורה וסדר ההשתלשלות הוא רק בערכנו ובערך כל העולמות הברואים מאין ליש שלא יבטלו במציאות ונק׳ כדמותנו דמות כבוד ה׳. אבל בצלמנו בצלם אלקים היינו אמתות יחודו יתברך בעליונים ובתחתונים בשוה. וכיצד נמשך אמת ה׳ לעולם אמר הכתוב כי גבר עלינו חסדו. מחמת תגבורת חסד ואור עליון יותר מערך השתלשלות. והיינו ע״י נה״ב כד אתהפכא ואתכפייא כי נה״ב הגם שלמטה בעוה״ז היא במדרגה שפלה מ״מ שרשה ומקורה העליון …
Our explanationThe note quotes that passage as describing this state as “whisper and hush.” The resolved text there speaks of G‑d’s truth, before which above and below are equal, drawn into the world through transforming the animal soul.
Open it on Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
יחזקאל א, כד. ”בבחי׳ לחש וחשאי” — לקמן מ, ד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
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On the words
אשר שם שמות בארץ
How it connects
Kehot’s note points to Psalms 44:9 for these words.
The source
Psalms 44:9תהילים מ״ד:ט׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
תהלים מד, ט.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 8
On the words
אשר שם שמות בארץ
How it connects
“Who has made desolations in the earth.” Linked to the thousand years in which the world is “desolate,” a stage of nothingness before a higher state.our note
The source
Psalms 46:9תהילים מ״ו:ט׳Sefaria (opens in a new tab)8ה׳ צְבָאוֹת עִמָּנוּ מִשְׂגָּב־לָנוּ אֱלֹקֵי יַעֲקֹב סֶלָה: 9לְכוּ־חֲזוּ מִפְעֲלוֹת ה׳ אֲשֶׁר־שָׂם שַׁמּוֹת בָּאָרֶץ: 10מַשְׁבִּית מִלְחָמוֹת עַד־קְצֵה הָאָרֶץ קֶשֶׁת יְשַׁבֵּר וְקִצֵּץ חֲנִית עֲגָלוֹת יִשְׂרֹף בָּאֵשׁ:
8The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our high tower. Selah 9Come, behold the works of the LORD, Who hath made desolations in the earth. 10He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 9
On the words
ונתתם חמישית לפרעה
How it connects
Kehot’s marei makom for these words (its note is below).
Kehot’s note
בראשית מז, מד.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
- 10
On the words
ונתתם חמישית לפרעה
How it connects
Yosef’s instruction that a fifth of the produce be given to Pharaoh. Cited because two tithes together make a fifth.our note
The source
Genesis 47:24בראשית מ״ז:כ״דSefaria (opens in a new tab)23וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף אֶל־הָעָם הֵן קָנִיתִי אֶתְכֶם הַיּוֹם וְאֶת־אַדְמַתְכֶם לְפַרְעֹה הֵא־לָכֶם זֶרַע וּזְרַעְתֶּם אֶת־הָאֲדָמָה: 24וְהָיָה בַּתְּבוּאֹת וּנְתַתֶּם חֲמִישִׁית לְפַרְעֹה וְאַרְבַּע הַיָּדֹת יִהְיֶה לָכֶם לְזֶרַע הַשָּׂדֶה וּלְאׇכְלְכֶם וְלַאֲשֶׁר בְּבָתֵּיכֶם וְלֶאֱכֹל לְטַפְּכֶם: 25וַיֹּאמְרוּ הֶחֱיִתָנוּ נִמְצָא־חֵן בְּעֵינֵי אֲדֹנִי וְהָיִינוּ עֲבָדִים לְפַרְעֹה:
23… your land for Pharaoh. Lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. 24And it shall come to pass at the ingatherings, that ye shall give a fifth unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.’ 25And they said: ‘Thou hast saved our lives. Let us find favour in the sight of …
Hebrew: Miqra according to the Masorah (CC-BY-SA) · English: JPS 1917 (Public Domain) · via Sefaria
Identified with the English translation and checked against Sefaria; not in Kehot’s notes.
- 11
On the words
(ובענין מ״ש . . כמ״ש במ״א)
How it connects
A manuscript variant: the entire parenthetical note is missing there.our note
Where the note points
Manuscript 1824 (Chabad Library manuscript volume)בוך 1824the whole parenthetical note
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Manuscript 17 (Chabad Library manuscript volume)בוך 1713a
Our explanationA manuscript variant: there this passage appears earlier, before the words “However, this is not the ultimate intent.”
Look for it in the Lubavitch Library (opens in a new tab)Kehot’s note
בבוך 1824 ליתא כל הקטע. בבוך 17 יג, א נמצא קטע זה קודם ד״ה אך אין זה.
From “Sources and References”, © Kehot Publication Society (CC BY-NC), via Sefaria.
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
Torah study should be the drawing of G‑d’s own wisdom into one’s soul, done with self-nullification (koach mah) and with the awe felt at Sinai, since before the Infinite Light nothing is hidden. The heat of the body and the animal soul, which makes study self-centered, is not to be escaped but transformed, turning Charan into song. And every step upward begins with bittul: only by first becoming “nothing,” like a seed in the ground, can a person rise to a higher level.
Questions for discussion
- Why does the maamar say that letters, and stones, can be raised higher than anything else precisely because they are lifeless? How does this relate to the image of the circle?
- What is the difference between the “ray” of divine light that sustains the worlds and the Infinite Light “in its essence and glory,” and how does Yaakov bridge the two?
- How can a person feel the awe of Sinai in ordinary Torah study, according to the maamar?
- Why must Yaakov descend to Charan at all? What does the transformation of Charan into rinah teach about exile and about personal struggle?
- In what sense will Havayah become “Elokim” in the future, and why does every future ascent need a “tithe”?
Key terms in this maamar
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being. ×3
- The Name Elokimאלקים
- G‑d as concealed within nature, measuring and limiting. ×11
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×8
- The G‑dly soulנפש האלקית
- The soul that is 'a part of G‑d above'.
- 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.
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×13
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×3
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×1
- Willרצון
- Desire; in G‑d, the level above intellect.
- The sitra achra (the other side)סטרא אחרא
- The realm opposed to holiness.
- The emotive attributes (middos)מדות
- Love, awe, compassion and the rest. ×4
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×1
- The animal soulנפש הבהמית
- The soul that animates the body and its drives. ×1
- Teshuvah (return)תשובה
- Returning to G‑d; not only repentance. ×1
- Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds. ×1
- The inner dimension (pnimiyus)פנימיות
- The innermost core of a level. ×1
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×9
- Malchus (sovereignty)מלכות
- Kingship: the level through which G‑d's word creates and rules the worlds. ×3
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence. ×3
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions. ×5
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one.
- The Sefirosספירות
- The ten divine attributes through which G‑d relates to creation.
- Yesod (foundation)יסוד
- The channel that connects and transmits. ×2
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×1
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion. ×1