Torah Ohr · Parshas Vayishlach · Maamar 4
ויקם בלילה הוא ויקח את שתי נשיו כו׳…
And He Rose Up That Night
Kept on this device only. Sign in to save it on every device
The big idea
Yaakov, the middle line that unites opposites, sought to join the encompassing light of Tohu, rooted in Eisav, with the inner light of Tikkun. In a person’s service this means a fiery ratzo, a love that strains beyond the soul’s capacity, always matched by an equal shov into Torah and mitzvos.
The maamar in brief
The maamar reads Yaakov’s crossing of the Yabbok as an ascent beyond Binah, the “river,” toward the Patriarchs’ root in Keser, so as to reach the encompassing light of Tohu that precedes Atzilus; he stayed behind himself to refine Eisav, who was still broken. Yaakov is Tiferes, uniting Chesed and Gevurah, and he seeks to unite Tohu’s encompassing light with Tikkun’s inner light. In service these are ratzo, a love that longs to leave the body, and shov, the return to draw G‑dliness down through Torah and mitzvos. Ben Azzai’s unbalanced ratzo killed him, while Rabbi Akiva, whose ratzo and shov were matched, left the Pardes in peace and became the source of the Oral Torah. The second part explains Yaakov’s minchah to Eisav: offerings raise “feminine waters,” and what rises from the physical world is a novelty that moves the Above, like a talking bird before a king. The offerings of Tohu, unknown in the Torah, were known to Yaakov. His gift and bowing refined the good in Eisav, whose embrace brought Tohu’s encompassing light into Yaakov and revealed Chochmah and Keser, and the brothers wept for joy, as Israel will in the future redemption.
Outline
- Crossing the YabbokYaakov rises beyond Binah, the river, toward the encompassing light of Tohu, raising all he has rectified while staying below to refine Eisav.¶1–2
- Uniting two oppositesAs Tiferes, Yaakov joins opposites; the encompassing light of Tohu and the inner light of Tikkun correspond to ratzo and shov in divine service.¶3–5
- The four who entered the PardesBen Azzai’s unbalanced ratzo led to his death; Rabbi Akiva’s balanced ratzo and shov, the middle line, made him the source of the Oral Torah.¶6–7
- Water in the wineYaakov’s aim is ratzo always matched by shov, symbolized by the water he mixed into wine, which makes him the perfection of the Patriarchs.¶8–9
- Why offerings are called minchahThe worlds receive only a descending radiance of G‑d, in inner and encompassing modes, matched by two kinds of love in prayer.¶10–13
- The lion and the oxWhat is higher cannot be enclothed below, so the lion is impure and Eisav, rooted in Tohu, was the firstborn; Yaakov’s contracted Yud enters within through the mitzvos.¶14–18
- Offerings as feminine watersOfferings raise feminine waters; the service of souls in bodies is a novelty, like a talking bird, and the peoples hold the sparks to be refined.¶19–22
- Yaakov’s offering to TohuYaakov’s gift was an offering of Tohu, including camels, which only he knew; through bowing he gathered the good in Eisav.¶23–26
- The embrace, the kiss and the weepingEisav’s embrace brings the encompassing light into Yaakov; the kiss reveals Chochmah, and their tears of joy foreshadow the redemption.¶27–30
Key concepts
- Tohu and Tikkunתהו ותקון
- Tohu is the primordial world of intense lights in inadequate vessels, which shattered; Tikkun is the ordered world where light is contained in fitting vessels.
- Encompassing light and inner lightאור מקיף ואור פנימי
- Inner light enters a vessel according to its capacity; encompassing light is too great to be contained and affects the vessel from beyond.
- Ratzo and shovרצוא ושוב
- Running and returning: the soul’s longing to rise out of the body into G‑d, and its return to draw G‑dliness down through Torah and mitzvos.
- Feminine watersמיין נוקבין
- The arousal from below, the recipient’s yearning upward, which calls forth a flow from above (mayin duchrin).
- Minchahמנחה
- A gift or offering; the maamar reads it as the raising of feminine waters and Yaakov’s gift to Eisav as an offering of Tohu.
- Levonahלבונה
- Frankincense; here the encompassing light that hovers over the kelipos and through which their sparks are refined.
Crossing the Yabbok ¶1–2
“And he rose up that night, and he took his two wives,” etc., “and he crossed the ford of the Yabbok; and he took them and brought them across the stream,” etc.
The maamar opens with the verses describing Yaakov’s night crossing of the Yabbok stream with his family, on the eve of his meeting with Eisav. The Alter Rebbe will read each step of the crossing as a stage in Yaakov’s spiritual ascent.
פי׳ יב״ק הוא יחוד ברכה וקדושה.4 והענין דהנה כתיב בעבר הנהר ישבו אבותיכם5 מעולם6 ופי׳ הנהר הוא בחי׳ בינה7 כמ״ש ונהר יצא מעדן8 כו׳
The meaning [of the name] Yabbok (יב״ק) is [the initials of] yichud berachah u-kedushah, the union of blessing and holiness. The matter is as follows. It is written, “Your fathers dwelt of old beyond the river”; and the meaning of “the river” is the level of Binah (understanding), as it is written, “And a river went out of Eden,” etc.
The letters of Yabbok are read as the initials of three words, “union, blessing, holiness.” Joshua’s words that the forefathers dwelt “beyond the river” are then brought in, and the river is identified with Binah, the Sefirah from which all flow issues, like the river that goes out of Eden.
ושרש האבות הוא מעבר הנהר היינו מבחי׳ הכתר שהוא למעלה מהנהר הנ״ל רק שמשם נמשכו האבות ונשפלו למטה בעבר השני של הנהר בז״א דאצילות9
The root of the Patriarchs is from beyond the river, that is, from the level of Keser (the Crown), which is above the river mentioned above; only that from there the Patriarchs were drawn down and brought low, below, to the other side of the river, into Z’eir Anpin (the emotive attributes) of Atzilus.
The Patriarchs are rooted “beyond the river,” in Keser, the level above Binah and above intellect altogether. From there they descended to the near side of the river, to Z’eir Anpin, the emotive attributes of Atzilus, which is where the Patriarchs are usually placed.
(וע׳ בזהר פ׳ אמור10 מ״ש ע״פ זה)11 ויעקב שרצה שימשיך לו המקיף דתהו הנ״ל שלפני אצילות הוצרך מתחלה לעבור את הנהר הנ״ל וזהו ויעבר את מעבר יבק
(And see in the Zohar, Parshas Emor, what is said on this [verse].) And Yaakov, who wished to draw down to himself the encompassing [light] (makif) of Tohu mentioned above, which is before Atzilus, needed first to cross the river mentioned above. And this is “and he crossed the ford of the Yabbok,”
Yaakov wanted to draw down the encompassing light of Tohu, the world that preceded Atzilus and whose lights were too great for any vessel. To reach it he first had to pass beyond Binah, the river, and this is the inner meaning of his crossing the ford of the Yabbok.
כי בחינת יחוד ברכה וקדושה הוא הכל בחי׳ נהר הנ״ל שעל ידו נמשכו כל השפעות ויחוד אורות עליונים כמ״ש ונהר יצא מעדן להשקות את הגן כו׳.
for the level of the union of blessing and holiness is entirely the level of the river mentioned above, through which all the flows of influence and the union of the supernal lights are drawn down, as it is written, “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden,” etc.
The union of blessing and holiness that the name Yabbok spells is itself the function of the river, Binah: through it all divine influence is channeled and the higher lights are joined. Crossing the Yabbok therefore means rising past the whole system of channeled flow.
The paragraph interprets Yaakov’s crossing of the Yabbok as an ascent beyond Binah, the “river,” toward the Patriarchs’ root in Keser, so that he can reach the encompassing light of Tohu that precedes Atzilus.
The Zohar in Parshas Emor reads “beyond the river” as the Patriarchs being drawn out of the supernal river. The Kehot note cites the Tzemach Tzedek’s Derech Mitzvosecha, which identifies “beyond the river” with the encompassing lights above Chochmah and Binah of Atzilus, above the whole chain of descent.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויקם בלילה · הנחה אחרת בסה״מ תקס״ה ע׳ צ. צד.
- 2ויקם בלילה הוא · Genesis 32:23
- 3ויקחם ויעברם את הנחל · Genesis 32:24
- 4יחוד ברכה וקדושה · ראה לקו״ת ברכה צג, ד.
- 5בעבר הנהר ישבו אבותיכם · Joshua 2:24
- 6בעבר הנהר ישבו אבותיכם מעולם · Joshua 24:2
- 7ופי׳ הנהר הוא בחי׳ בינה · פ׳ אמור צח, ב. ראה לקמן עה, ד.
- 8ונהר יצא מעדן · Genesis 2:10
- 9ושרש האבות הוא מעבר הנהר . . ונשפלו . . בז״א דאצילות · וכ״כ בדרך מצותיך פב, ב ”אבל עבר הנהר היינו מה שלמעלה מחו״ב דאצילות והוא בחי׳ המקיפים שלמעלה מהשתלשלות” ע״ש. ראה סה״מ תרל״ט ח״א בהנחת כ״ק מהורש״ב ע׳ קעז.
- 10וע׳ בזהר פ׳ אמור · צח, ב: ”בעבר הנהר ישבו ואפיק לון מגו נהרא עילאה כל הנהר ההוא דאשתמודע”. ע״כ. מובא גם לקמן עה, ד ובמ״מ. וראה הלשון באוה״ת נ״ך כרך א ע׳ ה ע״פ זה וז״ל: ”וא״כ מפרשו על ונהר יוצא מעדן בינה דאצי׳”. בענין עבר הנהר ברוב הדרושים מציין הצ״צ ללקו״ת פ׳ בחוקותי דרוש הראשון מה, א.
- 11וע׳ בזהר פ׳ אמור מ״ש ע״פ זה · Zohar, Emor 35:171–38:188
2וכשעבר את הנהר והגיע לבחי׳ שלמעלה מהנהר הנ״ל אז לא רחוק הוא מן המקיף דתהו הנ״ל שלפני האצילות וזהו ויעבר את אשר לו1 כל מה שתיקן העלה הכל לשם.
And when he had crossed the river and reached the level that is above the river mentioned above, he was then not far from the encompassing [light] of Tohu mentioned above, which is before Atzilus. And this is “and he brought across what was his”: everything that he had rectified, he raised it all up there.
Having passed beyond Binah, Yaakov stood close to the encompassing light of Tohu. “He brought across what was his” means he raised up to that level everything he had already rectified.
אך הוא בעצמו נשאר למטה עדיין כמ״ש ויותר יעקב לבדו23 כי רצה לברר את עשו שהוא עדיין בשבירה כמו שהודיעוהו המלאכים כו׳ והוא ענין ויאבק איש עמו כנודע:
But he himself still remained below, as it is written, “And Yaakov was left alone,” for he wished to refine Eisav, who was still in the state of the shattering, as the angels had informed him, etc. And this is the matter of “and a man wrestled with him,” as is known.
Yaakov himself stayed behind, “alone,” because Eisav was still in the shattered state of Tohu, as the messengers had reported that Eisav was coming with four hundred men. His remaining below to refine Eisav is the inner meaning of the night-long wrestling with the “man,” understood as Eisav’s angel.
The paragraph shows that Yaakov raised all he had rectified toward the encompassing light of Tohu, but stayed below himself in order to refine Eisav, who was still broken; this is the struggle with the angel.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויעבר את אשר לו · Genesis 32:24
- 2ויותר יעקב לבדו · Genesis 32:25
- 3
Uniting two opposites ¶3–5
3ולהבין כללות ענין כוונת יעקב בהמשכת המקיף דתהו לעולם התקון וגם יובן זה בעבודת ה׳
To understand the general matter of Yaakov’s intention in drawing the encompassing [light] of Tohu into the World of Tikkun (rectification), and so that this will also be understood in the service of G‑d:
The Alter Rebbe now asks why Yaakov wanted to bring the encompassing light of Tohu into the ordered World of Tikkun, and promises to explain it in terms of a person’s own service of G‑d.
הנה ידוע דיעקב הוא בחי׳1 ת״ת שמחבר ב׳ הפכים שהן חו״ג כי ע״י התכללות ב׳ הפכים יחד הוא עיקר הת״ת
Yaakov embodies Tiferes, which harmonizes Chesed (giving) and Gevurah (restraint). Its beauty lies precisely in holding these two opposites together.
(כמו בגוונים כשמורכבים ב׳ וג׳ גוונים יחד הוא עיקר היופי) והמשכת והתגלות אוא״ס בקו האמצעי כו׳
(as with colors: when two or three colors are combined together, that is the essence of beauty), and [it is] the drawing down and revelation of the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) in the middle line, etc.
Beauty in colors, too, comes from combining several shades rather than one alone. Tiferes is also the “middle line” of the Sefiros, the central column through which the Infinite Light is drawn down and revealed.
לכך רצה ג״כ לחבר ולייחד ג״כ המקיף דתהו עם האו״פ דתקון שהם ג״כ ב׳ הפכים שיתחברו יחד ואז יהיה גילוי אוא״ס (ועיין בזהר פ׳ תרומה דקע״ה ע״ב ע״פ והבריח התיכון ושם דף קע״ו ע״א):234
Therefore he also wished to join and unite the encompassing [light] of Tohu with the inner light (or pnimi) of Tikkun, which are also two opposites, so that they would be joined together; and then there would be a revelation of the Infinite Light. (And see in the Zohar, Parshas Terumah, page 175b, on [the verse] “And the middle bar,” and there, page 176a.)
Since uniting opposites is Yaakov’s very nature, he sought to unite another pair of opposites: the encompassing light of Tohu and the inner light of Tikkun. Their union would bring a revelation of the Infinite Light itself, as the Zohar explains on the middle bar of the Tabernacle.
The paragraph grounds Yaakov’s goal in his identity as Tiferes, the middle line that unites opposites; just as he joins Chesed and Gevurah, he seeks to join the encompassing light of Tohu with the inner light of Tikkun.
The middle bar of the Tabernacle, which ran “from end to end,” is read in the Zohar as the middle line, Yaakov, who joins the two sides. The Kehot note points to the Tzemach Tzedek’s Or HaTorah, where the meaning of the “bar” is explained.
Marei mekomos
- 1דיעקב הוא בחי׳ תפארת · זהר חדש תשא (מד, ב). נתבאר באוה״ת ויחי תתקצג, ב.
- 2בזהר פ׳ תרומה . . קע״ו ע״א · ראה באוה״ת תרומה ע׳ א׳תתקלב שמפרש פי׳ ”בריח”. וראה שם ע׳ א׳תתקיז וע׳ א׳תתקיח ואילך. וענין ”מן הקצה אל הקצה” באוה״ת ויחי שפה, ב.
- 3ושם דף קע״ו ע״א · Zohar, Sifra DiTzniuta 1:2–2:13
- 4
4וביאור הדברים הנה יש ב׳ בחי׳ בעבודת ה׳. הא׳ האהבה ברשפי אש בתגבורת מאד לצאת מן הגוף וליפרד מן הפתילה כו׳
The explanation of the matter: there are two levels in the service of G‑d. The first is love like fiery flashes, with very great intensity, to leave the body and to separate from the wick, etc.
The first mode of service is a fiery love so intense that the soul longs to leave the body, like a flame that leaps upward as if to break away from the wick.
והוא בחי׳ אה״ר שאין כלי הלב מכילה אותה כי לא יכיל הלב ההתפעלות העצומה. לכן לא יוכל לעמוד בכלי גופו וחפץ לצאת מנרתקה חומר הגוף.
This is the level of ahavah rabbah (great love), which the vessel of the heart cannot contain, for the heart cannot contain the immense excitement. Therefore [the soul] cannot remain in the vessel of its body, and it desires to leave its sheath, the matter of the body.
This “great love” overflows the heart; the emotion is too vast for the heart to hold. The soul then wants to leave its bodily “sheath” altogether.
והב׳ בחי׳ התפעלות המתיישב בכלי הלב ועיקר ענינה הוא בחי׳ המשכת אלקות מלמעלמ״ט דוקא בכלים מכלים שונים1 בתומ״צ. וזהו ענין רצוא ושוב.
The second is the level of an arousal that settles within the vessel of the heart, and its main point is the drawing down of G‑dliness from above to below, specifically into vessels, “vessels of diverse kinds,” in Torah and mitzvos. And this is the matter of ratzo and shov (running and returning).
The second mode is an emotion that settles within the heart and is directed toward drawing G‑dliness down into the world, into the varied “vessels” of Torah and mitzvos. The two modes together are ratzo, the soul’s running upward, and shov, its return to act below.
The paragraph defines the two modes of divine service, ratzo (a love that strains to leave the body) and shov (a settled emotion that brings G‑dliness down through Torah and mitzvos).
The terms ratzo and shov come from Yechezkel’s vision of the chayos, which “ran and returned” (Ezekiel 1:14); in Chassidus they describe the soul’s longing to rise and its commitment to return and serve within the body.
Marei mekomos
- 1
5והנה בחי׳ עולם התהו הנ״ל היה בבחי׳ רצוא לכן נסתלקו האורות מן הכלים כמו האה״ר ליפרד מן הפתילה והכלים כו׳.
Now, the level of the World of Tohu mentioned above was in the mode of ratzo (running); therefore the lights departed from the vessels, like the great love [that seeks] to separate from the wick and the vessels, etc.
The World of Tohu was all ratzo: its lights surged upward and would not stay inside their vessels, just as the great love of the soul strains to leave the body. That is why the vessels of Tohu shattered.
אבל התקון הוא בחי׳ שוב והוא בחי׳ תומ״צ ובע״כ אתה חי12 להיות בתוך הגוף להמשיך אא״ס בכלים מכלים שונים3.
But Tikkun is the mode of shov (returning), which is the level of Torah and mitzvos; and “against your will you live,” to be within the body, in order to draw down the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) into vessels, “vessels of diverse kinds.”
Tikkun is shov: light that stays within vessels, which in a person’s life means Torah and mitzvos. The Mishnah’s “against your will you live” expresses that the soul must remain in the body so as to draw the Infinite Light into the varied vessels of the mitzvos.
The paragraph maps the two modes of service onto the two worlds: Tohu is ratzo, whose lights fled their vessels, and Tikkun is shov, embodied in Torah and mitzvos performed within the body.
Marei mekomos
- 1ובע״כ אתה חי · אבות ד, כב.
- 2ובע״כ אתה חי · Pirkei Avot 4:22
- 3
The four who entered the Pardes ¶6–7
6וזה היה ההפרש ג״כ באותן ד׳ שנכנסו לפרדס1 בן עזאי הציץ ומת. וב״ז הציץ ונפגע. רק ר״ע נכנס בשלום2 ויצא בשלום.3
And this was also the difference among those four who entered the Pardes: Ben Azzai gazed and died; and Ben Zoma gazed and was harmed; only Rabbi Akiva entered in peace and left in peace.
The Talmud tells of four sages who “entered the Pardes,” the orchard of mystical ascent. Ben Azzai died, Ben Zoma was harmed, and only Rabbi Akiva entered and left in peace.
כי בן עזאי היה בבחי׳ רצוא דאה״ר הנ״ל בבחי׳ כלות הנפש ולא רצה להיות נשפל בבחי׳ שוב לכך לא רצה לישא אשה ואמר אפשר לעולם שיתקיים ע״י אחרים4
For Ben Azzai was in the mode of the ratzo of the great love mentioned above, in the mode of the soul’s expiring (klos hanefesh), and he did not wish to be brought low into the mode of shov. Therefore he did not wish to marry a wife, and he said, “It is possible for the world to be sustained through others.”
Ben Azzai’s service was pure ratzo, a longing so strong that his soul was ready to expire in G‑d. He did not want to descend into shov, which is why he never married, saying the world could be populated by others.
לכן הציץ ומת שנסתלק לגמרי מן הכלי כנ״ל כי עזה כמות5 אהבה כו׳ אכן אין זה דרך התורה שהיא בבחי׳ תקון כי לשבת יצרה6 ובע״כ אתה חי7
Therefore he gazed and died, for he departed entirely from the vessel, as mentioned above, for “love is fierce as death,” etc. However, this is not the way of the Torah, which is in the mode of Tikkun, for “He formed it to be inhabited,” and “against your will you live.”
His soul therefore left the body entirely, for love can be as strong as death. But the Torah’s way is Tikkun: G‑d formed the world to be inhabited, and the soul must go on living in the body.
לכן ר״ע שהיה מבחי׳ תקון נכנס בשלום ויצא בשלום שהיה המ״ן ומ״ד שלו דהיינו בחי׳ הרצוא ושוב במדה ומזיגה נכונה8 שלפ״ע הרצוא כן היה השוב אח״כ.
Therefore Rabbi Akiva, who was from the level of Tikkun, entered in peace and left in peace, for his mayin nukvin and mayin duchrin (feminine and masculine waters), that is, the ratzo and shov, were in the right measure and blend: according to the ratzo, so was the shov afterwards.
Rabbi Akiva, rooted in Tikkun, balanced his ascent and his descent, his “feminine waters” (the upward yearning) and “masculine waters” (the flow drawn down). The strength of his return matched the strength of his running, and so he left in peace.
The paragraph illustrates ratzo and shov through the four who entered the Pardes: Ben Azzai’s unbalanced ratzo led to his death, while Rabbi Akiva’s ratzo was matched by an equal shov.
Mayin nukvin (feminine waters) is the Kabbalistic term for the upward-reaching arousal of the recipient, and mayin duchrin (masculine waters) for the flow it draws from above. The Kehot note points out that “Rabbi Akiva entered in peace” follows the reading of the Ein Yaakov and the Jerusalem Talmud.
Marei mekomos
- 1ד׳ שנכנסו לפרדס · Chagigah 14b:8
- 2רק ר״ע נכנס בשלום · כגירסת העין יעקב שם. ירושלמי שם פ״ב ה״א.
- 3רק ר״ע נכנס בשלום ויצא בשלום · Jerusalem Talmud Chagigah 2:1
- 4אפשר לעולם שיתקיים ע״י אחרים · Yevamot 63b:18
- 5עזה כמות האהבה · Song of Songs 8:6
- 6כי לשבת יצרה · Isaiah 45:18
- 7ובע״כ אתה חי · Pirkei Avot 4:22
- 8היינו בחי׳ הרצוא ושוב במדה ומזיגה נכונה · ראה באוה״ת אחרי כרך ב ע׳ תקמא: ”ששרש נשמת ר״ע היתה במעלה ומדרגה גדולה לקבל הגילוי”. וראה במאמרי אדה״ז — ענינים ע׳ תו: ”ר״ע יצא בשלום מפני שירידתו היתה בקו האמצעי”.
7וזהו נכנס בשלום כו׳ הוא בחי׳ קו האמצעי המייחד ומחבר את הב׳ קוין ימין ושמאל שהם בחי׳ רו״ש לכך היה העלאת מ״ן שלו
And this is “entered in peace,” etc.: it is the level of the middle line, which unites and joins the two lines, right and left, which are the levels of ratzo and shov. Therefore his raising of mayin nukvin,
“In peace” signals the middle line, which unites the right and left lines of the Sefiros. Here right and left stand for ratzo and shov, so Rabbi Akiva’s peace means his ascent and return were joined.
שהוא ענין שנכנס לפרדס במדה ומזיגה נכונה בבחי׳ רו״ש ונכנס בשלום בבחי׳ מ״ן ויצא בשלום בבחי׳ המשכת מ״ד בחי׳ שוב.
which is the matter of his entering the Pardes, was in the right measure and blend, in the mode of ratzo and shov: he entered in peace, in the mode of mayin nukvin, and left in peace, in the mode of drawing down mayin duchrin, the mode of shov.
His entering the Pardes was his raising of “feminine waters,” the upward yearning, and his leaving was the drawing down of “masculine waters,” the return. Both were in right measure, so he entered and left in peace.
(ועמ״ש פ׳ ויצא גבי בשלום ב׳ בחי׳ שלום ע״ש בד״ה והיה) משא״כ בן עזאי ששרשו היה מבחי׳ תהו ששם הוא בחי׳ שני קוין כנ״ל בענין ויחץ כו׳
(And see what is written in Parshas Vayeitzei concerning “in peace,” two levels of peace; see there, in the discourse beginning “Vehayah.”) This is not so with Ben Azzai, whose root was from the level of Tohu, where there is the level of two lines, as mentioned above in connection with “And he divided,” etc.
The Alter Rebbe refers to his discourse in Parshas Vayeitzei on two kinds of peace. Ben Azzai, by contrast, was rooted in Tohu, where the two lines stand apart, as explained in an earlier maamar on Yaakov dividing his people into two camps.
לשני מחנות1 לכך לא הי׳ התחברות הרו״ש במזיגה נכונה והציץ ומת כו׳ התגברות הרצוא כו׳
“into two camps.” Therefore there was no joining of ratzo and shov in the right blend, and he gazed and died, etc., [through] the overpowering of the ratzo, etc.
Because in Tohu the lines are divided, Ben Azzai’s ratzo and shov were not blended. His ratzo overpowered him, and he died.
And therefore Rabbi Akiva was the source of the whole Oral Torah, for an anonymous Mishnah is Rabbi Meir, and an anonymous Sifra is Rabbi Yehudah, etc., and all of them follow Rabbi Akiva.
The Talmud says an anonymous Mishnah follows Rabbi Meir, an anonymous Sifra follows Rabbi Yehudah, and all of them follow Rabbi Akiva, their teacher. Rabbi Akiva is thus the source of the whole Oral Torah.
והוא לפי שהתורה ג״כ היא מבחי׳ התקון ויש בה התכללות ב׳ ההפכים דרו״ש כמ״ש מימינו אש דת למו4 כו׳ לכן היה גילוי התורה ע״י ר״ע שהיה בו בחי׳ זו כנ״ל:
This is because the Torah, too, is from the level of Tikkun, and in it is the inclusion of the two opposites of ratzo and shov, as it is written, “From His right hand, a fiery law for them,” etc. Therefore the revelation of the Torah was through Rabbi Akiva, who had this quality, as mentioned above.
The Torah itself belongs to Tikkun and unites opposites: it was given as “a fiery law” from G‑d’s right hand, fire (Gevurah) and right (Chesed) together. It was fitting, then, that it be revealed through Rabbi Akiva, whose soul unites ratzo and shov.
The paragraph identifies Rabbi Akiva’s balance with the middle line of Tikkun, contrasts it with Ben Azzai’s root in divided Tohu, and explains why the Oral Torah, itself a union of opposites, came through Rabbi Akiva.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויחץ כו׳ לשני מחנות · Genesis 32:8
- 2ולכן הי׳ ר״ע מקור כל התורה שבע״פ · ראה לקו״ש חכ״ב ע׳ 140.
- 3סתם משנה ר״מ · Sanhedrin 86a:3–4
- 4מימינו אש דת למו · Deuteronomy 33:2
Water in the wine ¶8–9
8ועתה יובן ענין כוונת יעקב לייחד ולחבר המקיף דתהו עם האו״כ דתקון היינו שיהיה תמיד רו״ש במזיגה אחת שלפ״ע הרצוא כן השוב דהיינו שיהיה האה״ר ברשפי אש ליפרד מן הפתילה כו׳.
Now Yaakov’s intention to unite and join the encompassing [light] of Tohu with the lights and vessels of Tikkun will be understood: that is, that there always be ratzo and shov in a single blend, so that according to the ratzo, so is the shov; that is, that there be great love like fiery flashes, to separate from the wick, etc.
Yaakov’s aim, uniting Tohu’s encompassing light with Tikkun’s lights and vessels, now becomes clear in terms of service: a constant ratzo and shov in one blend. The soul must have a fiery love that strains to leave the body.
And even so, there will afterwards be the mode of shov, to unify: “against your will you live,” in order to draw the Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof) down below specifically through Torah and mitzvos (as is written in Tanya, chapter 53).
Yet that love must be followed by an equally strong return, living in the body in order to draw the Infinite Light down through Torah and mitzvos. The Alter Rebbe refers to Tanya chapter 53, which describes how the Infinite Light rests on and is drawn down through Torah and mitzvos.
וה״ז יחוד והתחברות המקיף דתהו עם כלים דתקון. וז״ש ביעקב ויבא לו יין. ופי׳ בזוהר דארמי מיא לגו חמרא.4
And this is the union and joining of the encompassing [light] of Tohu with the vessels of Tikkun. And this is what is said of Yaakov, “And he brought him wine.” And the Zohar explains that he poured water into the wine.
Such balanced service is the union of Tohu’s encompassing light with Tikkun’s vessels. It is hinted in the verse where Yaakov brings wine to his father, which the Zohar says means he mixed water into the wine.
כי יין הוא בחי׳ רצוא גבורות ורשפי אש ממטה למעלה. ויעקב ארמי מיא בחי׳ שוב.
For wine is the level of ratzo, Gevuros and fiery flashes [rising] from below upward; and Yaakov poured water, the level of shov.
Wine, which heats and excites, stands for ratzo and the fiery Gevuros rising upward. Water, which descends, stands for shov, and Yaakov’s mixing them is the blend of the two.
The paragraph applies the model to Yaakov: his goal is a service in which intense ratzo is always matched by shov into Torah and mitzvos, symbolized by the water he mixed into the wine.
Marei mekomos
- 1ובע״כ אתה חי · Pirkei Avot 4:22
- 2להמשיך אא״ס למטה דוקא בתומ״צ · ראה ד״ה כתוב באוה״ח בסה״מ אתהלך לאזניא (ס״ע לג), ובארוכה ד״ה וכל הלבבות באוה״ת אחרי (כךר ב ע׳ תקלח). ד״ה אחרי מות תרמ״ט. לקו״ש ח״ג ע׳ 988 ואילך. לקו״ש חכ״ב ע׳ 140.
- 3כמ״ש בתניא פ׳ נג · Tanya, Likkutei Amarim 53:3
- 4ופי׳ בזוהר דארמי מיא לגו חמרא · Zohar, Balak 6:78–86
9ולכן ויבא לו יין1 כו׳ הוא בתרי טעמי שהוא התכללות הרו״ש מים ויין כו׳ ולכן איתא דיעקב הוא שלימו דאבהן2 כי לא כאברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל.34
Therefore “and he brought him wine,” etc., is with two cantillation notes, which is the inclusion of ratzo and shov, water and wine, etc. And therefore it is stated that Yaakov is the perfection of the Patriarchs, for [he was] not like Avraham, from whom Yishmael came forth.
The words “and he brought him wine” carry two cantillation notes, which the Alter Rebbe reads as the two elements, water and wine, shov and ratzo, joined together. This is why Yaakov is called the perfection of the Patriarchs: unlike Avraham, no unworthy offspring such as Yishmael came from him.
מפני שהיה אברהם מדת החסד הפשוט בלא מזיגה לכך נתפשט יותר מדאי עד שאמר לו ישמעאל5 כו׳
Because Avraham was the attribute of simple Chesed (kindness), without blending, he therefore spread out excessively, to the point that he said, “If only Yishmael,” etc.
Avraham embodied Chesed in its pure form, unmixed with restraint. Unchecked kindness spread too far, to the point that he pleaded “If only Yishmael might live before You,” extending his love even to a son who was not fit to continue his path.
ויצחק היה בבחי׳ גבורה כו׳ אבל יעקב הוא שלימו דאבהן התכללות ההפכים רצוא ושוב כנ״ל:6
And Yitzchak was in the mode of Gevurah (restraint), etc. But Yaakov is the perfection of the Patriarchs, the inclusion of the opposites, ratzo and shov, as mentioned above.
Yitzchak embodied Gevurah, restraint, which on its own is also one-sided. Yaakov combines the opposites, ratzo and shov, and so completes and perfects the Patriarchs.
The paragraph explains why Yaakov is “the perfection of the Patriarchs”: Avraham’s unblended Chesed and Yitzchak’s Gevurah were each one-sided, while Yaakov unites the opposites, as the water mixed into wine shows.
The discourse in Toldos to which the Kehot note refers describes Avraham as drawing G‑dliness down from above and Yitzchak, the digger of wells, as revealing it from below upward, ratzo and shov in the Patriarchs themselves.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויבא לו יין · Genesis 27:25
- 2דיעקב הוא שלימו דאבהן · Zohar I, 171b
- 3לא כאברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל · ספרי דברים לב, ט.
- 4לא כאברהם שיצא ממנו ישמעאל · Sifrei Devarim 312:1–2
- 5עד שאמר לו ישמעאל · Genesis 17:18
- 6ופי׳ בזהר · Zohar III, 189a
Why offerings are called minchah ¶10–13
10ויקח מן הבא בידו12 מנחה לעשו אחיו כו׳. הנה כל הקרבנות נק׳ בשם מנחה כמ״ש והבל הביא גם הוא מבכורות צאנו3 ומחלבהן וישע ה׳ אל הבל ואל מנחתו כו׳
“And he took from what came to his hand a gift (minchah) for Eisav his brother,” etc. Now, all the offerings are called by the name minchah, as it is written, “And Hevel, he too brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fats; and G‑d turned to Hevel and to his offering (minchaso),” etc.
A new section begins with Yaakov’s gift, a minchah, to Eisav. The Alter Rebbe notes that every offering can be called minchah, as Hevel’s animal offering is called “his minchah” in Bereishis.
(הגם שהיה קרבן מנחה4 בפ״ע5 כמו מנחת סלת ומחבת כו׳. אך כל התורה היא כלל ופרט וכן תפלה שכנגד קרבנות6 כל התפלות בכלל נק׳ מנחה ותפלת מנחה בפ״ע היא פרט ועיין בתשו׳ אמונת שמואל7 סי׳ כ׳)
(Although there was a meal-offering (minchah) as an offering in its own right, such as the minchah of fine flour and the [minchah of the] pan, etc. But the whole Torah is general and particular; and likewise prayer, which corresponds to the offerings: all the prayers in general are called minchah, and the Minchah prayer in its own right is a particular. And see the responsa Emunas Shmuel, section 20.)
There was also a specific meal-offering called minchah, but that is the particular use of a word whose general meaning covers all offerings. Likewise every prayer, which replaces an offering, is a minchah in general, while the afternoon Minchah prayer is the particular case; the Alter Rebbe refers to the responsa Emunas Shmuel, which discusses why the afternoon prayer is called Minchah.
הרי שהיו בכורות צאנו נק׳ בשם מנחה. ויובן זה ע״פ הקדמה כי נודע כי אני הוי״ה לא שניתי8 כתיב ולמת״ב9 ואינו בגדר עלמין כלל ואעפ״כ כי ממך הכל10 כתיב.
Thus the firstlings of his flock were called by the name minchah. This will be understood through an introduction. For it is known that it is written, “I, Havayah, have not changed,” and “no thought can grasp Him [at all],” and He is not within the category of worlds at all; and even so, it is written, “For all is from You.”
To explain why offerings are called minchah, the Alter Rebbe begins with a foundation: G‑d Himself is unchanged by creation and beyond all thought and all worlds. Yet everything comes from Him.
אך הוא ע״י זיו והארה הודו על ארץ ושמים11 כו׳ וגם הארה זו עצמה מעצמותו ית׳ לא היו העולמות יכולים לקבל חיות ושפע להיותן בבחי׳ גילוי עולמות כ״א ע״י השתלשלות דהיינו כשלשלת הארה והארה דהארה.
But it is through a radiance and illumination, “His splendor is over earth and heaven,” etc. And even this illumination itself, from His blessed essence: the worlds could not receive life-force and flow [from it], so as to exist as revealed worlds, except through hishtalshelus, that is, like a chain: an illumination, and an illumination of an illumination.
The worlds come not from His essence but from a mere radiance of it, His “splendor.” Even that radiance is too great for worlds to receive, so it must descend step by step, like the links of a chain, each an illumination of the one before.
The paragraph opens the second theme, Yaakov’s minchah to Eisav, shows that minchah is the general name for any offering, and begins an introduction on how the worlds receive only a descending radiance of G‑d.
The phrase “no thought can grasp Him at all” is from Eliyahu’s prayer in the introduction to Tikkunei Zohar. The word hishtalshelus comes from shalsheles, chain: each level receives only a diminished reflection of the level above it.
Marei mekomos
- 1ויקח מן הבא בידו · ב׳ הנחות אחרות נדפסו בסה״מ תקס״ה ע׳ ס. ראה ברשימות המאמרים שבסה״מ תקס״ב ח״ב בסופו הערה 39. ספר השיחות קיץ ת״ש ע׳ 50. ראה לעיל בציונים לכ״ק אדמו״ר זי״ע. בסה״מ תרכ״ז (הוצאת תש״ס) ע׳ מט, חלק מהמאמר עם הוספות וקיצורים שם (הוצאת תש״ס) ע׳ נג ואילך.
- 2ויקח מן הבא בידו · Genesis 32:14
- 3והבל הביא גם הוא מבכורות צאנו · Genesis 4:4
- 4שהי׳ קרבן מנחה · ירושלמי מגילה פ״א הי״א.
- 5הגם שהיה קרבן מנחה בפ״ע · Jerusalem Talmud Megillah 1:11
- 6תפלה שכנגד קרבנות · Berakhot 26b:5–6
- 7בתשובת אמונת שמואל · להרב אהרן שמואל ב״ר ישראל קאידנובר, נדפס לפעם הראשונה בפפא״מ שנת תמ״ג. השאלה למה קורין תפלת מנחה מנחה, ומבאר.
- 8אני ה׳ לא שניתי · Malachi 3:6
- 9ולמת״ב · ת״ז בהקדמה.
- 10כי ממך הכל · I Chronicles 29:14
- 11הודו על ארץ ושמים · Psalms 148:13
11וכל מה שיורד ומשתלשל מטה מטה הוא הארה דהארה מהעליון ממנו כו׳. וכל מיני מדרגות ברבוי התחלקות העולמות ועליות וירידות הכל הוא בבחי׳ זיו והארה אם רב ואם מעט.
And everything that descends and devolves lower and lower is an illumination of an illumination from what is above it, etc. And all the kinds of levels, in the many divisions of the worlds, and the ascents and descents, are all in the mode of radiance and illumination, whether much or little.
Every lower level receives only a reflection of a reflection from the one above it. All the many worlds, and all their rises and falls, are only degrees of this radiance, greater or smaller.
ויש בזה כמה מיני מדרגות זו למעלה מזו כמו עוה״ב ותחה״מ ואלף הז׳ יום שכולו שבת ומנוחה לחיי העולם1 שהוא עילוי אחר עילוי והכל הוא בזיו וההארה כו׳.2
And in this there are several kinds of levels, one above the other, such as the World to Come, and the Resurrection of the Dead, and the seventh millennium, “the day that is entirely Shabbos and rest for life everlasting,” which is ascent after ascent; and all of it is in the radiance and the illumination, etc.
Even the highest future states, the World to Come, the Resurrection and the seventh millennium, the everlasting “day that is entirely Shabbos,” are only higher degrees of the same radiance. None of them is G‑d’s essence itself.
The paragraph completes the introduction: every world and every future reward, however exalted, is only a greater or lesser degree of G‑d’s radiance, not His essence.
Marei mekomos
- 1יום שכולו שבת ומנוחה לחיי העולם · Mishnah Tamid 7:4
- 2והכל הוא בזיו וההארה כו׳ · בסה״מ תרכ״ז ע׳ נה יש הגה״ה לכאן.
Now, there are two kinds of hishtalshelus. [There is] the descent of the lights into vessels in the mode of the inner [light] (pnimi), which is according to the vessel, so that the vessel is able to delimit it.
The descent of light happens in two ways. The first is as an inner light, entering a vessel and shaped to the vessel’s capacity.
ויש בבחי׳ מקיף דהיינו שאינו מוגבל בכלי. ויובן זה בעבודת2 ה׳ שבלב זו תפלה3 ברשפי אש שכאשר האהבה באה מהתבוננות
And there is [descent] in the mode of the encompassing [light] (makif), that is, [light] that is not limited in a vessel. This will be understood in the service of G‑d that is in the heart, which is prayer with fiery flashes: when the love comes from contemplation
The second is as an encompassing light, which the vessel cannot contain or limit. The Alter Rebbe illustrates both through prayer, the “service of the heart,” and the love it awakens.
that He is your life and the life of the life of all the worlds, from this is drawn forth the soul’s longing, as much as it can bear, according to its temperament and nature.
Love born of contemplating G‑d as the life of the worlds corresponds to inner light. It is a longing the soul can hold, measured to each person’s temperament.
משא״כ כשהאהבה באה מחמת שישים אל לבו ויעמיק בעומקא דלבא כי אני6 ה׳ לא שניתי כתיב ולמ״ת כו׳. אשר ע״כ תכלה אליו נפש כל חי להבטל במציאות ולהתכלל באחד ממש.7
This is not so when the love comes because he takes to heart and reflects in the depth of the heart that it is written, “I, Havayah, have not changed,” and “no thought can grasp Him,” etc. Because of this, the soul of every living being will yearn out toward Him, to be nullified in its existence and to be absorbed in the One, literally.
Love born of contemplating G‑d as He is in Himself, unchanged and beyond all thought, corresponds to encompassing light. It makes the soul long to dissolve entirely into the One.
The paragraph distinguishes inner and encompassing light and illustrates them by two kinds of love in prayer: one measured by the soul’s capacity, the other a longing to be wholly absorbed in G‑d.
In a gloss quoted in the Kehot note, the Tzemach Tzedek asks how the soul can be absorbed into “I, Havayah, have not changed,” the Infinite Light above even the “life of life,” and refers to Tanya chapter 19, on the soul’s wish to be “nothing and naught” in G‑d.
Marei mekomos
- 1השתלשלות. השתלשלות · באוה״ת פ׳ פנחס ע׳ א׳קפה השתלשלות, האחד השתלשלות. ע״ש הגהות על קטע זה.
- 2ויובן זה בעבודת ה׳ · ראה אוה״ת פ׳ יתרו ע׳ תשצא.
- 3בעבודת ה׳ שבלב זו תפלה · Taanit 2a:11
- 4וחיי החיים של כל העולמות · באוה״ת דברים כרך ו ע׳ ב׳רסח וז״ל: ”(נ״ב לכאורה חיים חו״ב וחיי החיים כתר, וצ״ע, עכ״ה)”, עכ״ל. בענין הצ״ע ראה גם אוה״ת כי תשא ע׳ א׳תתסז.
- 5לפי מזגה ותכונתה · באוה״ת דברים כרך ו שם וז״ל: ”(נ״ב ע׳ בד״ה שמאלו תחת לראשי בפ׳ כי תשא שזהו האהבה דבכל לבבך, עכ״ה)”, עכ״ל.
- 6כי אני ה׳ לא שניתי · Malachi 3:6
- 7כי אני ה׳ לא שניתי . . ולהתכלל באחד ממש · באוה״ת שם וז״ל: ”(נ״ב, והגם שצ״ל איך אפשר שהנפש תכלל בבחי׳ אני ה׳ לא שניתי שהוא אור א״ס שלמעלה מחיי החיים, מיהו במ״א בדרוש המילויים כתבתי [אולי הכוונה להנדפס באוה״ת-ענינים ע׳ רמ ואילך] שי״ל ע״ד ענין המילויים של השמות ועמ״ש בד״ה תקעו בחדש, דרוש השני פ״ב, וע׳ בסש״ב פי״ט הגם שתהי׳ אין ואפס כו׳ ע״ש, עכ״ה)”, עכ״ל.
Therefore, when he also takes to heart his distance from the Infinite One (Ein Sof), blessed be He, how the soul has descended, and fallen astonishingly, into the world of separation (alma de-peruda), etc.,
A person can also reflect on how far his soul has fallen, from its source in the Infinite One to “the world of separation,” where G‑d is hidden.
תהי התגברות האהבה ביותר מאשר תוכל שאת עד שאין כח בנפש לכלוא את האה״ר וזהו בחי׳ בכל מאדך2 בחילא יתיר כו׳:
the love will intensify even more than [the soul] can bear, until the soul has no strength to contain the great love. And this is the level of “with all your might (me’odecha),” with surpassing strength, etc.
That awareness makes the love burst beyond what the soul can hold. This is the love “with all your might (me’odecha),” a love beyond one’s measure.
The paragraph adds that awareness of the soul’s distance from G‑d intensifies the encompassing love beyond the soul’s capacity, which is the love “with all your might.”
Marei mekomos
- 1ותרד פלאים · Lamentations 1:9
- 2בכל מאדך · Deuteronomy 6:5
The lion and the ox ¶14–18
14והנה כתיב1 פני אריה אל הימין2 ופני שור מהשמאל שבחי׳ פני השור הוא למטה ממדרגת האריה במרכבה שבחי׳ פני אריה הוא אל הימין כו׳ ואעפ״כ למטה בעוה״ז הרי השור הוא בהמה טהורה והארי הוא חיה טמאה.3
Now, it is written, “The face of a lion to the right, and the face of an ox from the left.” The face of the ox is lower than the rank of the lion in the Chariot, for the face of the lion is to the right, etc. And yet, below in this world, the ox is a pure domestic animal, while the lion is an impure wild beast.
In Yechezkel’s vision of the Chariot, the lion’s face is on the right and the ox’s on the left, so above the lion ranks higher. Yet in this world the ox is kosher and may be offered, while the lion is an impure beast; the Alter Rebbe asks why.
The paragraph raises a question: in the Chariot the lion outranks the ox, yet below the ox is pure and the lion impure.
Marei mekomos
- 1והנה כתיב · ראה אוה״ת פ׳ בראשית יד, א.
- 2פני ארי׳ אל הימין · Ezekiel 1:10
- 3ואעפ״כ למטה בעוה״ז . . חי׳ טמאה · ראה אוה״ת וירא צג, ב. וארא ע׳ קסד. נ״ך ע׳ תסו. כרך ב ע׳ א׳נז. מובא באוה״ת ואתחנן ע׳ תו. סה״מ תרכ״ז ע׳ נ. וראה גם בלקו״ת שה״ש ט, ד.
15והענין כי אדרבה1 מה שהוא למעלה במדרגה יותר גבוה אין לו התלבשות בכלי למטה להיות גילוי בחינתו כמו שהוא למעלה בקדושה
The explanation is that, on the contrary, what is above, at a higher rank, has no enclothement in a vessel below, so that its quality would be revealed as it is above, in holiness.
The answer reverses the expectation: precisely because a level is higher, it cannot be enclothed below in a way that reveals it as it is in holiness.
וכמו אריה שהוא בחי׳ גבורה גבור כארי2 שהוא התגברות האור במאד מאד עד שא״א להיות שורה ומתגלה קדושתו למטה בכלי שנכלל בקדושה
For example, the lion, which is the level of Gevurah, “mighty as a lion”: it is an intensification of the light, exceedingly great, to the point that its holiness cannot rest and be revealed below in a vessel that is included in holiness,
The lion is Gevurah, might, an intensity of light too great to rest openly in a vessel of holiness below.
וכמו בהמה טהורה אלא ע״י דרך נפילת האור ברפ״ח נצוצין שבשבה״כ בג׳ קליפות הטמאות ואז הוא בחי׳ חיה טמאה שמקבל חיות מנפילות הנצוצים מארי דקדושה.
as with a pure animal, except by way of the falling of the light into the 288 sparks of the shattering of the vessels, into the three impure kelipos. And then it is the level of an impure beast, which receives life-force from the fallen sparks of the holy Lion.
Unlike a pure animal, which receives holiness directly, the lion’s light reaches this world only by falling, through the shattering of the vessels, into the 288 sparks trapped in the three impure kelipos. So the lion below is an impure beast, living from sparks fallen from the holy Lion above.
אבל לא בהתגלות בחי׳ ארי׳ בדרך השתלשלות והתלבשות כבבהמה טהורה רק בחי׳ מקיף מלמעלה והוא בחי׳ לבונה כו׳ כמ״ש במ״א.3
But [this is] not through a revelation of the level of the lion by way of hishtalshelus and enclothement, as with a pure animal, but only as an encompassing [light] (makif) from above. And this is the level of frankincense (levonah), etc., as is explained elsewhere.
The lion’s holiness does not enter it as inner light, as with a pure animal, but hovers over it as an encompassing light. The Alter Rebbe calls this the level of levonah, frankincense, which he explained in an earlier maamar.
The paragraph answers the question: the lion is impure below because its source is too high to enter a vessel of holiness; its light fell through the shattering and touches it only as an encompassing light.
“Mighty as a lion” is from the Mishnah in Avos. The 288 (רפ״ח) sparks are the fragments of the shattered vessels of Tohu that fell into the kelipos and must be refined.
Marei mekomos
- 1כי אדרבה · באוה״ת פ׳ בראשית יד, א: כי הנה אדרבה. ראה ביאור התירוץ בביאוה״ז לאדה״א כז, רע״ד. ובאוה״ת בלק ע׳ א׳מז.
- 2גבור כארי · Pirkei Avot 5:20
- 3כמ״ש במ״א · לעיל בפ׳ תולדות ד״ה ראה ריח בני. וראה באוה״ת פ׳ פנחס ע׳ א׳קפו.
And this is why Eisav was the firstborn, for he is from the level of “before a king reigned,” etc., “in Mount Seir,” “in the land of Edom,” etc.
This explains why Eisav was the firstborn: he stems from the kings who reigned in Edom “before a king reigned” in Israel, which Kabbalah reads as the World of Tohu that preceded Tikkun.
ועשו היה מקור הז׳ מלכים שמלכו כו׳ וימת וימלוך3 וימת וימלוך כו׳ שהוא בחי׳ שליא המקפת על הולד שקדמה לולד.
And Eisav was the source of the seven kings who reigned, etc., “and he died, and [another] reigned; and he died, and [another] reigned,” etc., which is the level of the placenta that surrounds the fetus, which precedes the fetus.
The Edomite kings each “reigned and died,” as the lights of Tohu came and shattered. Eisav, their source, is like the placenta that surrounds the fetus and comes before it.
The paragraph applies the principle to Eisav: as the root of the kings of Edom, Tohu, he preceded Yaakov, as the placenta precedes and surrounds the child.
In the Zohar and the Arizal, the kings of Edom who “reigned and died” are the Sefiros of Tohu, whose vessels shattered. Tohu comes first in time, but Tikkun is the purpose.
Marei mekomos
- 1לפני מלך מלך · Genesis 36:31
- 2בהר שעיר · Genesis 36:8
- 3וימת וימלוך · Genesis 36:33
17והעיקר הוא הולד שנולד ובצאתו זורקין השליא כו׳ שאינו מקבל רק בחי׳ מקיף. לפיכך עליהם נאמר רם על כל גוים1 הוי״ה ויעקב יו״ד עקב2 הוי״ה אלקינו3 ואהבת את4 ה׳ אלקיך כו׳
But the main thing is the child that is born, and when it comes out the placenta is thrown away, etc., for it receives only the encompassing [light]. Therefore of them it is said, “Havayah is high above all nations.” And Yaakov is yud akev (a Yud [and] a heel): “Havayah our G‑d,” and “You shall love Havayah your G‑d,” etc.
The child, not the placenta, is what matters; the placenta is discarded at birth and relates only to the encompassing light. So of the nations it is said that G‑d is “high above” them, while Yaakov’s name is read as yud (the smallest letter, the start of the Name Havayah) and akev (heel), meaning that Havayah is “our G‑d,” drawn within.
הגם שיו״ד היא הארה מצומצמת5 הלא מצער היא6 ויכולה ליכנס בפנימי׳ ואין הכלי יכולה לקבל אלא ע״י צמצום כמו יו״ד כו׳
Although the Yud is a contracted illumination (“is it not a small one?”), it can enter within [as an inner light], for the vessel can receive only through tzimtzum, like the Yud, etc.,
The Yud is a contracted, small point of light, and that is exactly why it can enter within. A vessel can receive only light that has been contracted.
כדי שמזה יהיה לו רשפי אש והתלהבות בתפלה וכיוצא בה שמפני שהיא הארה מועטת יש כח בלב להיות מכילה.
so that from this he will have fiery flashes and ardor in prayer and the like; for because it is a small illumination, the heart has the strength to contain it.
Because that light is small enough for the heart to hold, it becomes an inner fire, ardor in prayer and in similar service.
The paragraph contrasts the encompassing light that stands “high above” the nations with the contracted Yud of Yaakov, which enters within and kindles an inner love the heart can hold.
This contrast describes the spiritual structure of light in Kabbalistic terms, as the tradition teaches it; it is not a statement about individuals. According to the Kehot note, Or HaTorah compares the Yud’s brevity to the teaching that one should always teach a student concisely.
Marei mekomos
- 1רם על כל גוים ה׳ · Psalms 113:4
- 2ויעקב יו״ד עקב · נסמן לעיל כא, א. קטע מכאן מובא באוה״ת פ׳ כי תצא ע׳ תתעא.
- 3הוי״ה אלקינו · Deuteronomy 6:4
- 4ואהבת את ה׳ אלקיך · Deuteronomy 6:5
- 5שיו״ד היא הארה מצומצמת · באוה״ת תבוא ע׳ תתרעב נוסף ”(ע״ד לעולם ילמד אדם לתלמידו בדרך קצרה, בבה״ז פ׳ אחרי דע״ט ע״ב)”. ראה באוה״ת פ׳ ראה ע׳ תשפה.
- 6הלא מצער היא · Genesis 19:20
18והמשכת אלקות מלמעלה ג״כ ע״י התלבשות כלים אשר קדשנו במצותיו רמ״ח אברין דמלכא. ובימי האבות שלא ניתנה תורה היו להם עובדות אחרים כמו בארות ומקלות כו׳.
And the drawing down of G‑dliness from above is also through enclothement in vessels, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments,” the 248 limbs of the King. And in the days of the Patriarchs, when the Torah had not been given, they had other forms of service, such as wells and rods, etc.
G‑dliness is drawn down into the soul through the mitzvos, called the 248 “limbs of the King,” in which G‑d’s will is enclothed. Before the Torah was given, the Patriarchs had other acts of service, like Yitzchak’s wells and Yaakov’s rods, that served the same purpose.
משא״כ עכו״ם לפי שהוא רם ונשא עליהם דהיינו בחי׳ המקיף בלבד אינו נכנס תוך פנימיותם להיות בטל אליו רק הוא יש ונפרד בפ״ע שאין לו שייכות כלל הגם דקרו ליה אלקא דאלקיא:1
This is not so with the idolaters: since He is high and exalted above them, that is, only in the mode of the encompassing [light], He does not enter within their inner being so that they would be nullified before Him; rather, [each] is a separate entity (yesh) unto itself, which has no connection at all [with Him], even though they call Him “the G‑d of gods.”
Idolaters, by contrast, relate to G‑d only as the encompassing light that is “high above” them: He does not enter within them so that they become nullified to Him, and they remain separate entities. Even their calling Him “G‑d of gods” acknowledges Him only as a distant, supreme power, not as one who dwells within.
The paragraph explains that inner light is drawn down through the mitzvos (and, before Sinai, through the Patriarchs’ own acts), while for idolaters G‑d remains only an encompassing light, “G‑d of gods,” who does not dwell within them.
This passage describes, in the tradition’s own terms, how idolatry relates to the divine: acknowledging a supreme deity while denying that He is the only reality. It is a metaphysical category drawn from the Talmud, not a judgment on any group today.
Marei mekomos
- 1דקרו לי׳ אלקא דאלקיא · Menachot 110a:5–6
Offerings as feminine waters ¶19–22
19והנה הקרבנות הם העלאת מ״ן להיות ריח ניחוח1 דהיינו כמו ריח שהוא משיב את הנפש כך הקרבנות הם מעלים מ״ן בבחי׳ ריח שיהיה ניחוח להוי״ה גילוי המשכת והשראת שכינתו שיהא שורה ומתגלה בחי׳ אלקות בנפשו
Now, the offerings are the raising of mayin nukvin (feminine waters), to be “a pleasing fragrance (rei’ach nicho’ach)”: that is, just as fragrance restores the soul, so the offerings raise mayin nukvin in the mode of fragrance, so that there will be nicho’ach to Havayah, the revelation, drawing down and resting of His Shechinah, so that the level of G‑dliness will rest and be revealed in his soul.
The offerings raise “feminine waters,” an arousal from below that calls forth a response from above. Their “pleasing fragrance” works like a scent that revives a fainting person: it brings about the revelation and resting of the Shechinah, so that G‑dliness is felt within the soul.
וזהו ניחוח לשון ירידה דהיינו שיהא ירידה והשתלשלות אלקות מעילה לעילה עד שיכנס ויתגלה בנפש האדם בתוכו ובפנימיותו ממש והטעם כי
And this is nicho’ach, a term of descent: that there be a descent and devolution of G‑dliness from level to level, until it enters and is revealed in the person’s soul, within him and in his very inner being. And the reason is that
Nicho’ach is read as related to descent, since its aim is that G‑dliness descend level by level until it is revealed in a person’s innermost being. The Alter Rebbe now explains why the offerings achieve this.
הנה ענין העלאת מ״ן היינו כמו שמביאין למלך דבר חדש בכדי שיפנה אל בקשה הקטנה והנמוכה לגבי מעלת ומדרגת המלך.
the matter of raising mayin nukvin is like bringing the king something new, so that he will turn to a request that is small and lowly in comparison with the king’s greatness and rank.
Raising feminine waters is compared to bringing a king something new, so that he will attend to a request that is tiny compared with his greatness.
שע״י דבר חדש הוא ממשיך לב המלך כמו ע״י צפור המדברת2 הגם שבנ״א מדברים בבינה יתירה
For through something new one draws the king’s heart, as through a talking bird: although people speak with much greater understanding,
A king who has everything is moved by novelty, such as a talking bird. People speak far more intelligently, but that is nothing new.
אך מצד החידוש שהצפור תדבר עי״ז ימשיך ויעורר לב מלכים אין חקר3 שיפנה לבקשת ההדיוט.
yet because of the novelty that a bird should speak, through this one will draw and arouse “the heart of kings, which is unsearchable,” to turn to the commoner’s request.
The wonder of a bird that talks stirs the king’s “unsearchable heart,” and so he turns to the commoner’s plea. Likewise, what is novel from below moves the Above.
The paragraph explains that offerings raise “feminine waters” to draw G‑dliness down into the soul, and illustrates why through the parable of a talking bird that moves the king by its novelty.
Likkutei Torah on Bamidbar brings the same parable: nothing is lacking in the king’s house, and no gold or silver matters to him, only something novel. The Kehot note reports that it appears in Likkutei Amarim in the name of the Maggid of Mezritch.
Marei mekomos
- 1להיות ריח ניחוח · Leviticus 1:9
- 2ע״י צפור המדברת · בלקו״ת במדבר כ, א מביא זה וכמ״ש בלקו״א בשם המגיד נ״ע, וראה במ״מ לשם. המשל הזה מובא גם בלקו״ת שה״ש לז, א. וראה בד״ה אם בחקתי תרמ״ג ע׳ קלג. קטע מכאן מובא בסה״מ תרכ״ז (הוצאת תש״ס) ע׳ רצד. תרכ״ט (הוצאת קה״ת תשנ״ב) ע׳ ג.
- 3לב מלכים אין חקר · Proverbs 25:3
20ולכן העלאת מ״ן תלוי באתעדל״ת דייקא נפשות ישראל המלובשים בגוף כו׳. הגם שהמלאכים עומדים ברום עולם ותמיד מששת ימ״ב בלי הפסק אומרים ביראה קדוש גם בדעת יותר ידברו שהשגתם גדולה ועצומה ומתענגים על ה׳ לאין קץ.
Therefore the raising of mayin nukvin depends specifically on an arousal from below, [that of] the souls of Israel who are enclothed in a body, etc. Although the angels stand at the heights of the world, and constantly, since the six days of Creation, without pause, they say “Holy” with awe, and also speak with greater knowledge, for their comprehension is great and immense, and they delight in G‑d without end.
Raising feminine waters depends on souls in bodies, not on angels. The angels praise G‑d constantly, with awe and deep understanding and endless delight, yet that is not new.
משא״כ למטה שיש מחשבות זרות רבות הטורדות ומפילות לב האדם וגם האהבה שמעורר חולפת ועוברת ויש לה הפסק וכו׳.
This is not so below, where there are many alien thoughts that distract and cast down a person’s heart; and even the love that he arouses passes and fades and has interruptions, etc.
Below, a person’s heart is pulled down by distracting thoughts, and even the love he awakens comes and goes.
אך בשביל החדוש שבזה שהרי כח זה באדם למטה להיות מדבר הוא מאכילה ושתיה.
Yet [it is precious] because of the novelty in this; for this power that a person below has to speak comes from eating and drinking.
What makes his service precious is its novelty: even his power to speak words of prayer depends on physical food and drink.
The paragraph explains why the arousal from below must come from souls in bodies: their flawed service is a novelty, like the talking bird, that moves G‑d more than the angels’ constant praise.
21ומי שאינו אוכל ג׳ ימים12 נעשה חלוש ואין לו כח הדבור בשלימות וכן כמה מניעות שתלוי בגשמיות כמו מניעת הקור כו׳
And one who does not eat for three days becomes weak and does not have the full power of speech; and likewise several hindrances that depend on physicality, such as the hindrance of cold, etc.
The dependence of speech on the body is plain: after three days without food a person cannot speak properly, and cold and other physical conditions can hinder it too.
הרי כח הדבור שלמטה שחיותו מדברים גשמיים דבר זה יקר מאד בעיני ה׳. וכמשל צפור הנ״ל. וכן כל הקרבנות כבשים ועזים הוא מהתלבשות בי״ע כו׳.
That speech rooted in physical life can praise G‑d makes it precious to Him, like the talking bird. The animal offerings likewise come from the lower worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah.
ולכן כשעולה למעלה הוא דבר חדש מה שלא נראה כן בעולמות עליונים ולכן הם המעלים מ״נ ולכן נק׳ בשם מנחה. מנחה ר״ת מ״ן מיין נוקבין.
Therefore, when it rises above, it is something new, which is not seen in this way in the higher worlds; and therefore they are what raise mayin nukvin, and therefore they are called by the name minchah. [The letters of] minchah (מנחה) [begin with] the initials M”N, mayin nukvin.
When something from these lower worlds rises up, it is a novelty unknown above, and so the offerings raise feminine waters and are called minchah. The first two letters of minchah, mem and nun, are the initials of mayin nukvin.
ח׳ חכמה ומזל הח׳ נוצר חסד34 ומשפיע בה׳ בה׳ בראם5 היא בחי׳ כנ״י (גם לשון מנחה מל׳ ניחוח) והנה לע״ל כתיב אז אהפך אל עמים6 שפה ברורה כו׳.
The ches is Chochmah and the eighth mazal, notzer chesed, which flows into the heh: “behibar’am,” “with a heh He created them,” which is the level of Knesses Yisrael (the Congregation of Israel). (Minchah is also a term related to nicho’ach.) Now, of the Time to Come it is written, “For then I will turn to the peoples a pure language,” etc.
The remaining letters are ches, Chochmah and its source in the eighth attribute of mercy, notzer chesed, and heh, the Malchus of the Talmud’s reading “with a heh He created them,” which is Knesses Yisrael. The Alter Rebbe then turns to verses about the peoples in the future, beginning with Tzefaniah’s prophecy of “a pure language.”
And likewise King David, peace be upon him, said, “Make known His deeds among the peoples,” and it is written, “Render to G‑d, O families of the peoples,” etc., “Say among the nations,” etc.
David also called for G‑d’s deeds to be made known among the peoples and for the families of the peoples to give Him glory.
ולהבין מה לנו להזכיר את עובדי כוכבים. אך הענין כי הנה כל הבירורין הוא מבחי׳ עמים ששם נפלו רפ״ח הנצוצין והוא
And [we need] to understand why we should mention the idolaters. But the matter is that all the refinements (beirurim) are from the level of the peoples, where the 288 sparks fell; and this is
The Alter Rebbe asks why Scripture speaks of the nations at all. Its answer: the work of refinement is among the peoples, where the 288 sparks fell in the shattering of the vessels.
ע״י בחי׳ לבונה שהוא המקיף שעליהם שהוא יתברר ויעלה למעלה בקדושה ויהיה עשו במדרגתו הגבוה לפני מלך מלך כו׳ מעולם התהו בקדושה
through the level of levonah (frankincense), which is the encompassing [light] over them, so that it will be refined and rise above in holiness, and Eisav will be at his high rank, “before a king reigned,” etc., from the World of Tohu, in holiness.
The sparks are refined through levonah, the encompassing light over the peoples. Then Eisav will be restored to his lofty root in the holiness of Tohu, “before a king reigned.”
כי יעקב י׳ עקב הוא בחי׳ פנימי׳ ויקם עדות ביעקב10 ותורה שם בישראל ואתם קרויים אדם11 אדם מ״ה עולם התקון ולע״ל יתברר גם עשו שמעולם
For Yaakov, yud akev, is the level of the inner [light]: “He established a testimony in Yaakov and set a Torah in Israel”; and “you are called adam (man),” adam, [equal in number to the Name] Mah, the World of Tikkun. And in the Time to Come Eisav, too, will be refined, who is from the World of
Yaakov, the Yud and the heel, is the inner light of Tikkun, the Torah placed “in Yaakov,” and Israel is called adam, whose numerical value (45) equals the Name Mah, the Name of Tikkun. In the future Eisav, rooted in Tohu, will also be refined.
התהו בחי׳ המקיף שיהי׳ בחי׳ מקיף דקדושה ויוכלל הכל ביעקב שיהי׳ ליעקב גם בחי׳ המקיף שהוא בחי׳ ומדרגה יותר עליונה שם ס״ג שהוא גדול משם מ״ה ואשת חיל12 כו׳:13
Tohu, the level of the encompassing [light], so that it will be an encompassing [light] of holiness, and everything will be included in Yaakov, so that Yaakov will also have the level of the encompassing [light], which is a higher level and rank, the Name Sag, which is greater than the Name Mah; and “a woman of valor,” etc.
Then Tohu’s encompassing light will become holy, and Yaakov will receive it too: the Name Sag (63), higher than Mah (45). This is hinted in “a woman of valor is the crown of her husband,” the lower level becoming a crown above.
The paragraph explains why offerings are called minchah: physical things rising from below are a novelty that raises feminine waters. It then explains why Scripture speaks of the peoples, since the sparks to be refined are there, and ends with the future refinement of Eisav, when Yaakov will receive the encompassing light of Tohu.
The Names Mah (45) and Sag (63) are the Name Havayah spelled out with different letter-fillings; in the Arizal’s system Mah is associated with Tikkun and Sag with a higher level. “A woman of valor is the crown of her husband” is read in Chassidus as the future elevation of Malchus, the recipient, above the giver.
Marei mekomos
- 1ומי שאינו אוכל ג׳ ימים · Nedarim 15a:2
- 2ומי שאינו אוכל ג׳ ימים · Shevuot 25a
- 3ח׳ חכמה ומזל הח׳ נוצר חסד · ”ואולי י״ל שבמ״ש אדה״ז ”מזל הח׳ נוצר חסד”, מוסיף רמז בר״ת ד”מנחה”, מזל נוצר חסד” (או מזל נוצר שהוא מזל הח׳)” — סה״ש תשמ״ח כרך ב ע׳ 521.
- 4ומזל הח׳ נוצר חסד · ראה זח״ג רפט, ד. ע״ח שער הכללים פ״ה. וראה גם לקמן מח, ד. סט, א. לקו״ת צו טו, ג. ובכ״מ.
- 5בה׳ בראם · Menachot 29b
- 6אז אהפך אל עמים · Zephaniah 3:9
- 7דהע״ה אמר הודיעו בעמים עלילותיו · I Chronicles 16:8
- 8הבו לה׳ משפחות עמים כו׳ ויאמרו הגוים כו׳ · Psalms 96:7
- 9ויאמרו בגוים · I Chronicles 16:31
- 10ויקם עדות ביעקב · Psalms 78:5
- 11ואתם קרויים אדם · Yevamot 61a:1–3
- 12ואשת חיל · Proverbs 12:4
- 13יעקב י׳ עקב · נסמן לעיל כא, א. ובאוה״ת תצא ע׳ תתעו מציין לכאן.
22והנה כפי ההמשכה שלמעלה כך צ״ל המ״ן שמלמטה וכדי להמשיך בחי׳ המקיף עליון דקדושה צ״ל העלאת מ״ן בבחי׳ מקיף דהיינו למעלה מכדי שתוכל נפשו שאת וכנ״ל.
Now, as is the drawing down from above, so must be the mayin nukvin from below. And in order to draw down the level of the supernal encompassing [light] of holiness, there must be a raising of mayin nukvin in the mode of the encompassing [light], that is, beyond what his soul can bear, as mentioned above.
The arousal from below must match what it hopes to draw from above. To draw down the higher encompassing light, a person’s feminine waters must themselves be “encompassing,” a love beyond what the soul can hold.
ובפרט כשרואה בנפשו הפחיתות מרבות מחשבות המעיקים וטורדים ומפילים אזי צריך הוא לצעוק אל1 ה׳ בצר לו למעלה מכדי שתוכל נפשו שאת.
And especially when he sees in his soul the lowliness caused by the many thoughts that oppress, distract and cast down, then he must “cry out to G‑d in his distress,” beyond what his soul can bear.
This applies above all when a person sees how low his distracting thoughts have brought him. Then he must cry out to G‑d from his distress with an intensity beyond his own measure.
The paragraph applies the principle to service: to draw the encompassing light, the arousal from below must itself exceed the soul’s capacity, especially in a cry from one’s own lowliness.
Marei mekomos
- 1לצעוק אל ה׳ בצר לו · Psalms 107:6
Yaakov’s offering to Tohu ¶23–26
23ולכן כשראה יעקב את עשו למטה קם עליו הקריב מנחה היא העלא׳ לעשו אחיו שלמעלה מעולם התהו ששם הוא אחיו
Therefore, when Yaakov saw Eisav below rising against him, he offered a minchah, which is a raising [of mayin nukvin], to Eisav his brother, who is above, from the World of Tohu, where he is his brother.
When Yaakov saw Eisav below coming against him, he sent a gift, an offering that raises feminine waters, to Eisav “his brother” above. In Tohu, Eisav’s root, the two are truly brothers.
כי יעקב יש לו ב׳ בחי׳ רו״ש. שוב בבחי׳ י׳ עקב ורצוא בבחי׳ ביטול לגמרי כו׳ להמשיך בחי׳ המקיף עליון.
For Yaakov has two levels, ratzo and shov: shov in the level of yud akev, and ratzo in the level of complete self-nullification (bittul), etc., in order to draw down the level of the supernal encompassing [light].
Yaakov has both ratzo and shov: shov as the Yud and heel, the inner light, and ratzo as complete self-nullification, which reaches the higher encompassing light.
ואזי יהי׳ עשו שלמטה ממילא בטל ואזי יקוים אז אהפך אל עמים1 כי מעשה אבות סימן לבנים23 שהם עשו הכנה לבניהם לע״ל במעשיהם.
And then Eisav who is below will be nullified of himself, and then “For then I will turn to the peoples” will be fulfilled; for the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children, since through their deeds they made a preparation for their children in the Time to Come.
Once that encompassing light is drawn down, Eisav below is nullified by itself, and the prophecy of the peoples turning to G‑d will be fulfilled. What the Patriarchs did prepared the way for their descendants in the future.
The paragraph reads Yaakov’s gift to Eisav as an offering to Eisav’s lofty root in Tohu, which draws down the encompassing light, subdues Eisav below and prepares the future transformation of the peoples.
Marei mekomos
- 1אז אהפך אל עמים · Zephaniah 3:9
- 2מעשה אבות סימן לבנים · Bereshit Rabbah 40:6
- 3מעשה אבות סימן לבנים · Ramban on Genesis 12:6
Now, the raising of mayin nukvin of Tikkun is revealed and known to us through the Torah: “two young bulls,” etc.
The offerings of Tikkun are spelled out in the Torah, down to the number of bulls for each festival.
בפסח כך. ובשבועות כך כו׳ משא״כ העלאת מ״ן לעולם התהו אין אתנו יודע עד מה3 האיך ומה הם הקרבנות ואיזה שיעור
On Pesach thus, and on Shavuos thus, etc. But the raising of mayin nukvin to the World of Tohu, “none among us knows how much”: how, and what the offerings are, and what measure;
Each festival has its own offerings. But no one knows what offerings reach up to Tohu, of what kind or in what amount.
רק יעקב אע״ה ידע ענינם וכך שלח קרבנות עזים מאתים4 כו׳ שהם קרבנות אחרים אשר לא כתובים בתורה בקרבנות דתקון ושיעורים אחרים.
only Yaakov our father, peace be upon him, knew their matter. And so he sent offerings, “two hundred she-goats,” etc., which are other offerings, not written in the Torah among the offerings of Tikkun, and other measures.
Only Yaakov knew them. His gift of two hundred she-goats and the rest were offerings of Tohu, in kinds and numbers not found among the offerings of Tikkun in the Torah.
The paragraph contrasts the known offerings of Tikkun with the unknown offerings of Tohu, which only Yaakov knew and which his gift to Eisav embodied.
Marei mekomos
- 1והנה העלאת מ״ן . . השוה ומשוה כו׳ · נזכר באוה״ת נ״ך כרך א׳ ע׳ תרנה. נתבאר בלקו״ת חקת נט, ד. בלקו״ת בחוקותי נ, ד. חקת ס, א. שה״ש לו, ב מציינים לכאן.
- 2פרים בני בקר שנים · Numbers 28:19
- 3אין אתנו יודע עד מה · Psalms 74:9
- 4עזים מאתים · Genesis 32:15
Therefore he also offered camels, which are impure in the offerings of Tikkun. But concerning the offerings of Tohu it is written, “Who can bring forth the pure from the impure?” etc.
Yaakov even sent camels, animals that could never be offered in Tikkun. In Tohu, however, what is impure can become pure, as Iyov’s question “who can bring forth the pure from the impure?” hints.
For there, “darkness is like light,” etc.; “small and great are there,” etc.; “He equalizes and makes equal,” etc. And this is the matter of “and he embraced him”: that Eisav embraced Yaakov.
At that level, darkness and light, small and great, are equal before G‑d. This is why Eisav could embrace Yaakov.
The paragraph explains why Yaakov’s gift included camels: in the realm of Tohu, beyond Tikkun’s distinctions, impure and pure, dark and light are alike, which leads to Eisav’s embrace.
“He equalizes and makes equal small and great” is from a liturgical hymn of the High Holidays.
Marei mekomos
- 1מי יתן טהור מטמא · Job 14:4
- 2ששם כחשכה כאורה · ראה אוה״ת פ׳ פנחס ע׳ א׳פא.
- 3כחשכה כאורה · Psalms 139:12
- 4קטן וגדול שם הוא · Job 3:19
- 5ויחבקהו · Genesis 33:4
26ובכ״מ הזכר מחבק וכמ״ש וימינו תחבקני1 שהמשפיע מחבק את המקבל ומקיפו מכל צד להגביהו למעלה כו׳. והיינו לפי שעשו שרשו מבחי׳ מקיף מעולם התהו.
And everywhere the male embraces, as it is written, “and his right hand embraces me”: the giver embraces the receiver and surrounds him on every side, to lift him upward, etc. And this is because Eisav’s root is from the level of the encompassing [light], from the World of Tohu.
Usually the male, the giver, embraces, surrounding the receiver and lifting him up. Eisav embraces Yaakov because Eisav’s root is the encompassing light of Tohu, higher than Yaakov.
אך הדרך שיגיע לזה הוא ע״י כי והוא עבר לפניהם2 בחי׳ והוא כו׳ ואח״כ וישתחו ארצה שבע פעמים בחי׳ נפ״א ללקט נצוצין. עד גשתו עד אחיו.
But the way by which he will reach this is through “and he passed before them,” the level of “and he,” etc.; and afterwards, “he bowed to the ground seven times,” the level of falling on the face (nefilas apayim), to gather sparks, “until he came near to his brother.”
Yaakov reached this through going ahead of his family, “and he” (read as the level called “He,” which in Chassidus denotes what is hidden), and bowing seven times, which the Alter Rebbe reads as the prostration of prayer (nefilas apayim) that gathers fallen sparks. So he came near to his brother.
פי׳ עד שגשש ופגע באחיו דהיינו שליקט את הטוב שבעשו בחי׳ לבונה שעי״ז הוא אחיו של יעקב שהמקיף והפנימי נלקחו ממקום א׳.
The meaning is: until he felt his way and encountered his brother, that is, until he gathered the good that is in Eisav, the level of levonah; through this he is Yaakov’s brother, for the encompassing and the inner [lights] were taken from one place.
“Until he came near” (ad gishto) is read as “until he felt his way” and met his brother: until he gathered the good in Eisav, the levonah. Then Eisav is truly Yaakov’s brother, for the encompassing and the inner lights share one source.
The paragraph explains Eisav’s embrace of Yaakov as the encompassing light surrounding the inner light, and shows that Yaakov reached it through bowing and gathering the sparks of good in Eisav.
Marei mekomos
- 1וימינו תחבקני · Song of Songs 2:6
- 2והוא עבר לפניהם · Genesis 33:3
The embrace, the kiss and the weeping ¶27–30
27ואזי וירץ עשו לקראתו.1 עשו הוא כח המלובש בעשו הגשמי רץ ממטה למעלה לקראתו וכמשל הנרות שבטלים לאבוקה כאשר נקרבו אורם לאור האבוקה כו׳.
And then, “Eisav ran to meet him.” Eisav [here] is the power enclothed in the physical Eisav, [which] ran from below upward toward him, like the parable of candles that are nullified to a torch when their light is brought near the light of the torch, etc.
Eisav’s running toward Yaakov is the holy power hidden within the physical Eisav, rising toward its source. It is like small candles whose flames are swallowed up in a torch once they are brought close to it.
ואחר שנברר בחי׳ הטוב שבו אזי ויחבקהו מלמעלה למטה שנכנס המקיף עליון ג״כ ביעקב.
And after the level of the good in him was refined, then “he embraced him,” from above downward, for the supernal encompassing [light] also entered into Yaakov.
Once the good in Eisav was refined, the embrace came from above downward: the higher encompassing light of Tohu entered Yaakov as well.
The paragraph reads Eisav’s running and embrace as two movements: the refined good in Eisav rising and being nullified in Yaakov, and then the higher encompassing light descending into Yaakov.
Marei mekomos
- 1וירץ עשו לקראתו · Genesis 33:4
28ונמצא שנכללו ביעקב כל הבחי׳ כנ״ל. ועי״ז וישקהו1 בחי׳ נשיקין ונקוד עליו2 בחי׳ נקודות הוא בחי׳ חכמה והיינו לפי שבשבירה היה הסתלקות חכמה ועתה אחר הבירור הנה נתגלה.
It follows that all the levels mentioned above were included in Yaakov. And through this, “he kissed him,” the level of kisses; and it is dotted above, the level of points (nekudos), which is the level of Chochmah. This is because in the shattering there was a withdrawal of Chochmah, and now, after the refinement, it was revealed.
With both the inner and the encompassing lights now in Yaakov, Eisav “kissed him,” and in the Torah scroll the word is marked with dots. Dots, the smallest points, stand for Chochmah, which had withdrawn in the shattering and is now revealed after the refinement.
And afterwards, “and they wept.” Now, weeping comes from joy or from bitterness; for through a contraction in the brain, it expels the superfluities in the moisture of the tears.
Then they wept. Weeping comes from either joy or sorrow; in sorrow the mind contracts and presses out tears, which the Alter Rebbe describes as excess moisture being expelled.
וע״י שמחה הוא כמ״ש בזוהר שה״ש5 גבי ר״ע שזלגו עיניו6 כו׳. והיינו לפי שהשמחה הוא התפשטות החיות כמ״ש ושמועה טובה7 טובה תדשן עצם.
And [weeping] through joy is as written in the Zohar on Shir HaShirim concerning Rabbi Akiva, that his eyes flowed with tears, etc. And this is because joy is the expansion of the life-force, as it is written, “Good news fattens the bone.”
Weeping from joy is illustrated by Rabbi Akiva, whose eyes streamed with tears when he heard the secrets of the Song of Songs, as the Zohar relates. Joy expands the life-force, as “good news fattens the bone.”
וכמעשה דאספסיינוס8 כו׳ הוא הילוך הדם בעורקים וכן ברוח החיות שבו וכן בהמשכות מוחין חדשים כי יש בחי׳ עבור יניק׳ מוחין.
And as in the story of Vespasian, etc., it is the flow of the blood in the veins, and likewise in the spirit of life within him, and likewise in the drawing down of new mochin; for there are the stages of ibbur (gestation), yenikah (nursing) and mochin.
The Talmud tells that when Vespasian heard he had been made emperor, his foot swelled so that he could not put on his shoe: joy made his blood surge. Joy likewise expands the vital spirit and brings new stages of intellect, which in Kabbalah grow through gestation, nursing and maturity.
The paragraph interprets Eisav’s kiss as the revelation of Chochmah after the refinement, and begins to explain the brothers’ weeping as tears of joy, joy being an expansion of life-force.
Ibbur, yenikah and mochin (gestation, nursing, mature intellect) are the Arizal’s stages by which the Sefiros of Z’eir Anpin grow. New joy brings a new stage of mochin.
Marei mekomos
- 1וישקהו · Genesis 33:4
- 2ונקוד עליו · Rashi on Genesis 33:4
- 3הנה בכיה . . בבכי יבואו · מובא בסה״מ תרכ״ט (הוצאת תשנ״ב) ע׳ שג בשינויים.
- 4דוחה המותרות בליחות הדמעות · ראה באוה״ת נ״ך כרך א ירמי׳ ע׳ שעב שכתב שיש להעיר ממ״ש בסידור שער הסוכות בענין ויעקב אמר אז יבקע. וממ״ש בת״א בד״ה יביאו לבוש. ע״ש.
- 5כמ״ש בזהר שה״ש · ראה מדרש הנעלם בזהר וירא צח, ב. לקו״ת תצא לז, ד. לקו״ש ח״ט ע׳ 208.
- 6כמ״ש בזוהר שה״ש גבי ר״ע שזלגו עיניו · Zohar, Vayera 1:14–5:78
- 7ושמועה טובה תדשן עצם · Proverbs 15:30
- 8וכמעשה דאספסיינוס · Gittin 56b:4
29והנה כשיש כלי למטה לקבל השמחה אז היא מתפשטת ונותנת מוחין חדשים. וכן עי״ז מתפשט רוח החיים לדשן עצם כנ״ל. אבל כשהכלי שלמטה קטן מהכיל אזי מתקבץ במוח ודוחה המותרות בליחות הדמעות.
Now, when there is a vessel below to receive the joy, it spreads out and gives new mochin; and likewise through it the spirit of life spreads out, to “fatten the bone,” as mentioned above. But when the vessel below is too small to contain it, it gathers in the brain and expels the superfluities in the moisture of the tears.
When a person has the capacity to hold his joy, it spreads through him, bringing new understanding and vitality. When the joy is too great for him, it concentrates in the mind and overflows as tears.
The paragraph explains that tears of joy come when joy is greater than the vessel that must receive it.
30וענין זה היה ג״כ גבי יעקב ועשו שהי׳ התגלות בחי׳ כתר למעלה מעלה כו׳ והיה רוב שמחה שנתקרבו כ״כ מעלה מעלה עם מה שנפל למטה מטה בריחוק בשבה״כ.
And this was also the case with Yaakov and Eisav: there was a revelation of the level of Keser, very high above, etc., and there was great joy that the very highest was brought so close to what had fallen very low, at a distance, in the shattering of the vessels.
At the meeting of Yaakov and Eisav, Keser, the highest level, was revealed, and the highest was joined with what had fallen lowest in the shattering. The joy was too great to contain, so they wept.
עשו ויעקב כמו שני אחין שלא ראו זא״ז זמן רב מאז היה שבה״כ. וז״ש לע״ל בבכי יבאו1 שע״י בחי׳ בכיה דוקא שהוא ע״י התגלות מדרגות הגבוהות כו׳. ובתחנונים אובילם אל נחלי מים:
Eisav and Yaakov were like two brothers who had not seen each other for a long time, since the shattering of the vessels took place. And this is what is said of the Time to Come, “With weeping they will come”: specifically through the level of weeping, which is through the revelation of the higher levels, etc.; “and with supplications I will lead them to streams of water.”
They were like brothers reunited after a long separation, apart since the shattering of the vessels. So too in the future redemption, Israel will come “with weeping,” the tears of joy at the revelation of the highest levels, and G‑d will lead them to streams of water.
The paragraph concludes that the brothers’ weeping was the overflowing joy of the revelation of Keser, uniting the highest and the lowest, and that the same weeping of joy will mark the future redemption.
Marei mekomos
- 1בבכי יבאו · Jeremiah 31:8
Finished the maamar?
Mark it as learned; it counts toward the week and the year’s siyum.
In one’s avodah
A person’s love of G‑d should reach beyond his own measure, especially when he feels how low distracting thoughts have brought him, and cry out to G‑d beyond what the soul can bear. Yet that ratzo must always be matched by an equal shov: remaining in the body and drawing G‑dliness down through Torah and mitzvos, as Rabbi Akiva entered and left in peace.
Questions for discussion
- Why was Ben Azzai’s intense love of G‑d not the way of the Torah, and what made Rabbi Akiva’s ascent different?
- How does the parable of the talking bird explain why the service of souls in bodies can move G‑d more than the angels’ constant praise?
- Why is what is higher above sometimes lower and impure below, as with the lion and the ox, and how does this explain Eisav’s being the firstborn?
- What does it mean in practice to match ratzo with shov, like water mixed into wine?
- Why did Yaakov and Eisav weep, and how does the maamar connect their weeping to the future redemption?
Key terms in this maamar
- Binah (understanding)בינה
- Developing and grasping an insight in detail. ×2
- Keser (the Crown)כתר
- The level above intellect: divine will and delight. ×2
- Z'eir Anpin (the emotive attributes)ז״א
- The six emotive Sefiros as one configuration. ×1
- The World of Atzilus (Emanation)אצילות
- The highest world, still one with G‑d. ×3
- Tiferes (beauty)תפארת
- Harmony of kindness and restraint; associated with compassion.
- Chesed (kindness)חסד
- Expansive giving. ×2
- Gevurah (restraint)גבורה
- Measure, limitation and judgment. ×2
- The Infinite Light (Or Ein Sof)אור אין סוף
- G‑d's light as it is, beyond all limits, before any contraction.
- Lights and vesselsאורות וכלים
- Divine revelation and the forms that contain and express it.
- The Name Havayahהוי׳
- The Tetragrammaton: G‑d as transcending time and bringing all into being.
- The chain of descending worlds (hishtalshelus)השתלשלות
- The step-by-step descent of divine light from the highest level down to this world. ×5
- Life-forceחיות
- The divine vitality that sustains every creation. ×4
- The Infinite One (Ein Sof)אין סוף
- G‑d's own boundless essence.
- Tzimtzum (contraction)צמצום
- The self-concealment of the Infinite Light that makes room for finite worlds. ×1
- The Shechinah (Divine Presence)שכינה
- G‑d's presence as it dwells in the world.
- An arousal from belowאתערותא דלתתא
- Human initiative that draws down a divine response.
- The World of Beriah (Creation)בריאה
- The first world of separate existence.
- The World of Yetzirah (Formation)יצירה
- The world of the angels and emotions.
- The World of Asiyah (Action)עשיה
- The lowest world, including our physical one.
- Chochmah (wisdom)חכמה
- The first flash of insight. ×3
- Self-nullification (bittul)ביטול
- Setting aside one's own sense of self before G‑d. ×1
- The intellect (mochin)מוחין
- Chochmah, Binah and Daas as a whole. ×3
- The kav (line of light)קו
- The thin ray of light drawn into the space left after the tzimtzum. ×2
- Daas (knowledge)דעת
- Deep connection to an idea, bridging intellect and emotion. ×1