English translation — מאמר בלילה ההוא תשכ"ה

With the help of Heaven.

Purim

(Maamar 1),

5725

"On that night the sleep of the king fled."

And it needs to be understood,

its saying "on that night,"

for seemingly,

even if it had said "on a night" simply, they would know that it refers to the night in which the events written in the preceding verses occurred.

And this can be explained based on what my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, brings in his maamar beginning with the word "Zeh"

that it is stated in the Minhagei Maharil

that from "on that night" one must raise his voice in its reading, because this is the essence of the miracle.

And he explains in the maamar based on what is stated in the Yalkut

that "the sleep of the king fled" refers to the King of the world.

For when Israel are in a state of sleep,

sleep is caused, as it were, in the King of the world.

And as it is written,

"I am asleep," and it is stated in the Zohar

"in exile,"

that through the sleep of Israel during the time of exile,

they cause sleep, as it were, above.

And this is that "on that night the sleep of the king fled" is the essence of the miracle,

"night" is the time of exile,

which is a time of sleep

(above),

and this—that "on that night"

(exile)

"the sleep of the king fled," the King of the world—is the essence of the miracle.

And based on this, we can explain the precision of the verse "on that night,"

it is a term of concealment, indicating hiddenness

(two times concealment,

"night" and "that"),

that in addition to the hiddenness and concealment of exile

("night")

in general,

behold then,

in the days of Achashverosh,

the hiddenness and concealment was even greater,

a double concealment.

And as it is stated in the Gemara,

"Esther from the Torah—where? 'And I,

hiding, I will hide.'"

And according to the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov

that the explanation of "hiding, I will hide"

(two times)

is that the concealment is itself concealed,

it can be said,

that so too is the explanation of "on that night,"

that the night of exile is in a manner of concealment,

meaning that they do not feel that the exile is night and darkness,

they place

darkness for light.

And the verse precisely states "on that night the sleep of the king fled,"

to emphasize more the greatness and intensity

of the miracle.

For although the sleep of Israel then was sleep to the utmost

[and according to what is explained elsewhere

the difference between sleep and deep slumber,

that those who sleep know that the dream is only a dream, which is false, unlike those in deep slumber who think the falsehood is truth],

which causes such sleep, as it were, also above,

nevertheless,

"the sleep of the king fled," the King of the world,

even ordinary sleep,

fled.

2)

And the maamar continues,

that this — that on that night the sleep of the King, the King of the world, fled

(the essential miracle of Purim)

was brought about by the self-sacrifice (mesiras nefesh) of Israel throughout the entire year.

And it needs to be understood:

Behold, at the time when Israel does the will of the Omnipresent,

then

(according to the order of the chain of descent)

He does

not slumber nor sleep.

And since Israel stood in self-sacrifice throughout the entire year,

what is the miracle, and moreover the intensity

of the miracle, in that the King's sleep fled?

Also, it needs to be understood:

For the simple meaning of "on that night the king's sleep fled" refers to King Achashverosh,

it is

that the things that occurred on that night caused the king's sleep to flee.

And according to the known principle that matters below descend from their counterpart above,

it is understood

that likewise, regarding this — that the sleep of the King, the King of the world, fled —

the matter of "that night" is what caused the King's sleep to flee.

And it needs to be understood:

Behold, "that night" indicates

(as above, section 1)

concealment and hiding and their magnitude,

the opposite of the concept that "that night" brings about the fleeing of the sleep of the King, the King of the world.

3)

And this will be understood by prefacing what is explained in Torah Or in the discourses of Purim,

and at length in the discourse of the Mitteler Rebbe,

that in "day"

(revelation)

and in "night"

(concealment),

in each of them,

there are two aspects: revelation and concealment.

And this is why sometimes it is written "this day" (hayom hazeh),

which indicates revelation,

and sometimes it is written "that day" (hayom hahu),

which indicates concealment

(as above),

and likewise regarding night, sometimes it is written "this night" and sometimes "that night."

And the point of the explanation

(as understood from the discourses)

is that the difference between day and night is in themselves,

for day is light and night is darkness, as it is written,

"And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night."

And there is another difference in the manner of day and night,

whether they are in a manner of revelation

("zeh" — this)

or in a manner of concealment

("hu" — that).

For the term "zeh" regarding day and night indicates the day and night as they are drawn down below in revelation,

and the term "hu" indicates the day and night as they are in their essence

(before they are drawn down in revelation),

and even higher — as they are in their root.

And this is why regarding the redemption from Egypt it is written,

"On this very day (etzem hayom hazeh), all the hosts of Hashem went out of the land of Egypt,"

and likewise regarding the giving of the Torah

(as it is now)

it is written,

"This day (hayom hazeh) Hashem your God commands you...,"

and regarding the future redemption it is written,

"And it shall be said on that day (bayom hahu)...."

For the revelation that was in the redemption from Egypt is the revelation of the light as it is drawn down below,

"this day,"

and in the future redemption there will be a revelation of the essence of the light as it is above drawing down and revelation,

"that day."

4)

And likewise regarding night,

the aspect of darkness that is above light

(above even the essence of light),

the darkness itself before it is drawn down in revelation

(and all the more so as it is in its root)

is called "that night" (leil hahu),

and when it is drawn down below it is called "this night" (leil hazeh).

However, regarding night,

"that night" is lower than "this night."

For since the darkness of night that is above light is the root and cause through which simple darkness is brought about,

therefore the concealment and hiding

(simple darkness)

that is brought about by the drawing down of the essence of darkness

(which is above),

"that night,"

is a greater darkness than the darkness brought about by the drawing down of darkness as it comes in a drawn-down manner,

"this night."

For "this night" is that the night is in a manner of "this,"

that it is felt in revelation

[to the extent of revelation that one can point with a finger and say "this"]

that it is night,

and "that night" is that the night is in a manner of concealment

("hu"),

that it is not felt that it is night.

[And to note,

that in the above discourses the concept of "this night" and "that night" is explained in a different manner.

For the concept of "day" is that there is a vision of G-dliness, or at least a comprehension of G-dliness32,

but when there is only faith, it is called by the name "night."

And the concept of "this night" is that the faith is with great intensity and with ultimate certainty,

in the manner of the certainty of vision.

And this is what is written33

"A night of watchings... it is this night,"

that the revelation that was then

(this)

was not in a manner that the darkness of night was nullified,

for they were still in exile34,

but rather their faith at that time was with absolute certainty,

like the certainty of vision.

[And it is explained there,

that their reaching the level of "this night" came about through their labor in Egypt with mortar and bricks.

And likewise now,

in order that there be "this night,"

that even during the time of exile there should be this level,

it is through toil and exertion in the study of Torah,

"mortar" refers to a fortiori reasoning and "bricks" refers to clarifying the halachah35,

and likewise through toil and exertion in the troubles of earning a livelihood, "by the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread"36,

and like "this night" of the Exodus from Egypt, which they attained through their labor with mortar and bricks,

mortar and bricks in their literal sense.

And this is what they said37

"Whoever accepts upon himself the yoke of Torah, they remove from him the yoke of worldly occupation"38

"and whoever casts off from himself the yoke of Torah, they place upon him the yoke of worldly occupation,"

for even through the yoke of worldly occupation one reaches the level of "this night"].

And according to this explanation

(in the discourses)

of "this night,"

it must be said,

that "that night" is when even the certainty of faith is lacking.

And there is yet another explanation of "this night" and "that night,"

that the words "this" and "that" refer to the night.

Whether the night is revealed

(this)

so that it is felt that it is night,

or whether the night is hidden

(that)

so that it is not felt that it is night].

5)

And this will be understood according to what is explained in many places39

in the explanation of the statement40

"Ein Sof is above above, without end, and below below, without limit,"

that "below below etc." is the aspect of the spreading forth and revelation of Ein Sof,

that it spreads forth and is revealed down to below below,

and "above above etc." is the aspect of the concealment and elevation within Ein Sof,

that it is elevated and concealed in concealment after concealment and in elevation after elevation,

above above.

And behold, even the concept of "below below etc." as it is in Ein Sof is a level of concealment.

For the entirety of the light before the tzimtzum is light included in His Essence41,

and light included in the Luminary is above revelation42.

And that it spreads forth and is revealed down to below below,

behold, the revelation drawn from it after the tzimtzum

(the light of the line,

and even the encompassing light)

is only an illumination from the light before the tzimtzum.

But nevertheless,

since that Ein Sof is "below below etc." is the power of spreading forth and revelation of Ein Sof,

behold, even as it is in its source,

it is the aspect of revelation.

And as explained in the continuation of the discourse of Hilula43,

that in His very Essence it is in a state of revelation.

But not so that Ein Sof is "above above etc.," which is that even in His Essence it is not in the category of revelation.

And it may be said,

that the root of the two concepts of day,

"that day" and "this day,"

is in the concept of "below below etc."

That the actual revelation

(after the tzimtzum)

is the root of "this day,"

and the power of revelation of Ein Sof

(before the tzimtzum)

is the root of "that day."

And the root of night

(which is above even "that day")

is in the concept of "above above etc."

6)

And behold, it is known that in tzimtzum there are two aspects.

That the tzimtzum is for the sake of revelation

[and within this itself there are two aspects.

That specifically through the tzimtzum there will be in the future the revelation of Ein Sof even in the worlds,

and that through the tzimtzum there will be the revelation of the inwardness and essence of Ein Sof, which is above even the light that shone before the tzimtzum]44,

and that in the tzimtzum itself is revealed the perfection of Ein Sof, that it is not, Heaven forbid, limited to the aspect of revelation, and it also has the power of concealment.

And it may be said,

that that there are two aspects in tzimtzum,

is,

because in the power of concealment of Ein Sof,

the root of tzimtzum,

there are two levels.

The power of concealment as it relates to the matter of revelation

[that even this level in the power of concealment of Ein Sof is above the power of revelation,

but nevertheless, it is connected to revelation],

for the tzimtzum drawn from this level is for the sake of revelation.

And the very essence of the power of concealment

(which is above revelation),

for the tzimtzum drawn from this level is

(not for the sake of revelation,

but rather)

that in the tzimtzum itself is revealed the power of concealment.

And based on this, there is additional explanation in that these two aspects of night

("that night" and "this night")

as they are below are in a manner opposite to how they are in their root,

for above, "that night" is higher than "this night," and as they are drawn below, the concealment

(for the worse)

of "that night" is a greater concealment than the concealment of "this night,"

for the two aspects of night that are above,

it can be said,

are the two aforementioned levels in the power of concealment of Ein Sof,

"this night" is the power of concealment

(night)

that relates to revelation

("this"),

and since the tzimtzum drawn from this level is for the sake of revelation,

therefore,

the night

(the concealment and hiding below)

is in a manner of "this,"

that it is felt in the revelation that it is night.

For this, that concealment brings about revelation, is specifically when the concealment is felt

[similar to the thirst for G‑dliness during the time of exile

(night)

which is greater than during the time of the Holy Temple,

which is the revelation that comes through the concealment,

and this is specifically through the concealment and hiding of the exile being felt].

And "that night" is the essence of the power of concealment that is above any relation to revelation,

for the tzimtzum drawn from this level is

(not for the sake of revelation,

but rather)

that in it the power of concealment is revealed,

and therefore the night below drawn from this aspect of tzimtzum is in a manner that it is not felt that it is concealment and hiding.

And the distinction between these two aspects in the service of man,

is,

that the service during night

(the darkness of exile,

and similarly the darkness of the entire physical world)

from the aspect of tzimtzum that is for the sake of revelation is the yearning and thirst to emerge from the darkness of night.

And the service during night from the aspect that in the tzimtzum the power of concealment is revealed is the contemplation etc. upon the root of the darkness of night itself,

whose root is in the essential concealment.

7)

And this is "on that night the sleep of the King fled," this is the King of the world,

for "that night" is what caused the sleep of the King to flee,

because the root of the lower "that night" is from the aspect of the supernal "that night,"

which is above the concealment of "that day" and even above the concealment of "this night."

And through Israel having stood then in mesirus nefesh throughout the entire year,

that their mesirus nefesh was from the aspect of concealment

[similar to what is explained elsewhere,

that during the time of exile the revelation of the power of mesirus nefesh is greater than during the time of the Holy Temple],

there was drawn

(in revelation)

the aspect of the supernal "that night" into the lower "that night."

And this is the connection of the two interpretations of "on that night the sleep of the King fled,"

that "that night" causes the matter of sleep

(and what is said "on that night the sleep of the King fled" is to emphasize the miracle,

that although it was on that night, nevertheless the sleep of the King fled)

and that "that night" caused the sleep of the King to flee,

for this, that "that night" causes the matter of sleep, is as it is in itself,

but through its root being drawn into it,

the aspect of the supernal "that night,"

then on the contrary,

it causes the sleep of the King to flee.

8)

And it should be added,

that "the sleep of the King fled" is above, even more than the supernal "that night"

[and "that night" is only a cause for the drawing down of "the sleep of the King fled"].

And the explanation is,

that day and night,

the power of concealment and the power of revelation in Ein Sof,

are two matters,

and therefore,

even after the drawing of the aspect of the supernal "that night" into the lower "that night,"

it remains night

[and even more,

"that night"],

for what is drawn into it is the power of concealment and not the power of revelation.

And similarly regarding this that they stood in mesirus nefesh throughout the entire year,

for since their mesirus nefesh came from the aspect of concealment

(as above in section 7),

that through the concealment the concealment of the soul that is above revelation is aroused,

this does not relate

(so much)

to the revealed powers,

and regarding the revealed powers they were

(even after the mesirus nefesh)

in a state of "that night."

And similar to what is explained in the maamar,

that this, that during sleep the superiority of one power over another is not discernible, is analogous to the powers as they are included in the essence of the soul,

where all the powers are in equality.

And from this it is understood,

that there is an advantage in sleep,

that specifically then the powers ascend to their source,

except that this advantage does not pertain to the revealed powers

(revelations),

and on the contrary,

in the revealed powers there is a deficiency and lack.

And this, that "on that night the sleep of the King fled,"

that "the sleep of the King fled" is the matter of the revelations drawn from this, that Ein Sof is below, below, without end

(the line of revelation),

it is the union of concealment and revelation.

And as explained in the aforementioned discourse of the Mitteler Rebbe, that this, that "on that night the sleep of the King fled," is like the parable of the deer with one eye open and one eye closed,

revelation and concealment together.

And he explains there,

that this, that there was then the union of the two opposites of concealment and revelation, is because then there was a revelation of Atzmus,

for regarding Atzmus,

concealment and revelation are not opposites.

And as explained elsewhere,

that this, that Atzmus has the ability to illuminate and the ability not to illuminate,

both are one matter.

And it can be said that what is stated in the maamar, that this, that "the sleep of the King fled" was brought about through the mesirus nefesh of Israel throughout the entire year,

the intention is also for the drawing down of Atzmus that occurred then,

for mesirus nefesh comes from the essence of the soul,

and therefore,

through mesirus nefesh they drew down Atzmus.

9)

And one should connect this with what is explained in the maamar,

that through the sleep of the King being disturbed, a connection of the encompassing (makif) with the internal (pnimi) is made,

so that even the light that is above the chain of descent (hishtalshelus)

(the encompassing light)

is drawn into the innerness,

for the root of the encompassing and the internal is revelation and concealment

[for the encompassing is from the aspect of revelation,

and the internal, which is drawn through tzimtzum (contraction), is from the aspect of concealment],

and through the drawing down of Atzmus (Essence) that occurred then,

by which concealment and revelation became united,

the union of encompassing and internal was also effected.

And through this, a general salvation was drawn for all of Israel,

for in the aspect of the encompassing,

the kelipot (husks) have more connection to receive from there,

for this is what Haman did—he made a tree fifty cubits high,

raising himself to receive from the gate of the Nun (fifty) that is above the chain of descent

(the encompassing),

and through the encompassing being drawn into the innerness,

"for the Jews there was light and joy and gladness and honor" was realized,

so may it be for us.