English translation — מאמר גן נעול תשמ"ז

With the help of Heaven.

Shabbos Parshas Tazria-Metzora,

3 Iyar 5747*

"A garden locked, my sister, my bride, a spring sealed, a fountain sealed."

And the Rebbe Maharash, whose birthday is the 2nd of Iyar, brings in the maamar of Parshas Tazria-Metzora in the continuation "Matzah Zo" of 5640,

the explanation of the Targum,

that just as the Garden of Eden is locked and no one can enter it except the souls of the righteous,

so too Israel lock their gates to their Master, the Holy One, blessed be He.

And he explains in the maamar,

that "gan" (garden) is delight,

and the concept of "a garden locked" is that the delight is only in G-dliness,

"and with You I do not desire."

And it is noteworthy that in the preceding maamar

he explains that "a garden locked" is "turn away from evil."

For the concept of "turn away from evil" is primarily in actual deed.

And the innovation in this maamar

(according to the explanation of the Targum)

is,

that "a garden locked" means that even his delight is only in G-dliness.

Now, in the Metzudas Dovid on the verse he explains,

that Israel are like a locked garden that no one can enter except the owner of the garden.

And it needs to be understood,

after all, that "gan" is delight is also in a simple garden,

and if so,

even from the parable of a simple locked garden it is understood that the concept of "they lock their gates" is that his delight is only in G-dliness,

and what is added in understanding the concept of "Israel lock their gates" through the explanation that "a garden locked" refers to the Garden of Eden?

And especially since "a garden locked" simply

(according to the explanation of the Metzudas Dovid)

seems to correspond more to the moral.

For since "a garden locked" in the moral is the delight of the person

(Israel)

that is locked and closed from delighting in the delights of the world,

the parable that corresponds to this, seemingly, is from a simple garden,

and why does the Targum explain that "a garden locked" refers to the Garden of Eden, which is

(from the outset)

the delight in G-dliness.

2)

And this will be understood based on what is said in the maamar,

that "a locked garden" is like the concept of betrothal.

And he explains this based on the known [teaching]

regarding the concept of "Sanctify us with Your commandments and give our portion in Your Torah,"

that "Sanctify us with Your commandments" is from the term betrothal,

for the concept of betrothal is designation,

that the woman who is betrothed is designated and set apart for her husband, and through this she is forbidden to all the world,

and "give our portion in Your Torah" is the concept of marriage,

a drawing down into the innerness,

to the point that the person absorbs the drawing down,

to the point that it becomes "our portion"

(of Israel).

And this is "Sanctify us with Your commandments and give our portion in Your Torah,"

that the drawing down through the mitzvos is in the aspect of surrounding [light],

and its effect upon the person who performs the mitzvah is

(primarily)

that he be separated from desires and from all evil attributes,

similar to betrothal,

for this that the woman is betrothed to her husband is

(primarily)

this that she is forbidden to all the world.

And through this he becomes a vessel to absorb the light of Torah,

"and Your Torah within my innards,"

marriage.

And one may add,

that the comparison of mitzvos and Torah to betrothal and marriage is in two matters.

In the manner of the drawing down,

that the drawing down of the mitzvos upon the person who performs the mitzvah is in the aspect of surrounding [light]

(betrothal)

and the drawing down of Torah upon the person who engages in Torah is in the innerness

(marriage)

as above.

And also in the drawing down itself.

For the drawing down of Torah is a more elevated and inner drawing down than the drawing down of mitzvos

[to the point that the drawing down of mitzvos is the aspect of hind-parts relative to the drawing down of Torah],

and therefore,

the drawing down of Torah is similar to the drawing down of the drop

(marriage)

which is an intrinsic drawing down.

And it may be said,

that also this concept is hinted at in "and give our portion in Your Torah."

For in the language "our portion" there are two matters.

That the Torah becomes our portion of Israel

(as above),

and that it is a portion of the Holy One, blessed be He,

for when you grasp a part of the essence, you grasp all of it.

3)

And one may add,

that this that "Sanctify us with Your commandments" is a preface to "give our portion in Your Torah,"

is one of the reasons that before the Exodus from Egypt the portion of HaChodesh was said,

which contains several mitzvos

[that are practiced for generations and are counted among the 613 mitzvos],

for with the Exodus from Egypt the concept of the Giving of the Torah began,

and therefore before the Exodus from Egypt they were commanded in several mitzvos,

which was a preface to the concept of the Giving of the Torah that began with the Exodus from Egypt.

And after this they were commanded ten mitzvos at Marah

which was a preparation for the actual Giving of the Torah.

And more generally it may be said,

that this that the Torah begins with Bereishis because of "the strength

of His works He declared to His people, to give them the inheritance of the nations"

is in the manner of the preface of the performance of mitzvos to Torah,

for most of the mitzvos are dependent on the Land

(the inheritance of the nations).

And it can be said,

that this is also one of the reasons for the fact that before the holiday of Shavuos, the time of the giving of our Torah, there are several specific mitzvos,

the mitzvos of the holiday of Pesach and the mitzvah of Sefiras HaOmer.

For just as each day,

when a person becomes a new creation,

(the main point)

the study of Torah is after the fulfillment of several mitzvos

(Krias Shema,

Tefillin,

Prayer, etc.),

so too is it in the seasons of the year,

that on the holiday of Pesach, each and every year, is the birth of Israel,

that after the fulfillment of the specific mitzvos of these times

(the mitzvos of the holiday of Pesach and the days of Sefiras HaOmer)

is the time of the giving of our Torah.

4)

And he continues in the maamar,

that just as the betrothal of a man and woman in its simple sense is by the man giving her an object

(a coin or something worth a coin)

with which she can purchase the life of her soul,

so too is it regarding the fact that the Holy One, blessed be He, sanctified us with His mitzvos,

that through the fulfillment of the mitzvos, vitality is drawn down to the person who fulfills the mitzvos,

as it is stated,

"which a person shall do and live by them."

And although the mitzvos are the Supernal Will,

for Will is a level of Sovev (Transcendent) which in its own essence is holy and separate from the worlds,

nevertheless,

from this light is drawn down vitality to the person who fulfills the mitzvos,

an inner vitality.

And it is also understood from this that the light drawn down through the mitzvos affects

(not only his thought, speech and action,

but)

also his emotions, and even his will and delight,

as brought above

(sections 1-2)

from the maamar,

that through the mitzvos he becomes separated from lusts and all evil traits,

and that the matter of "they bind their openings"

(which is accomplished through the mitzvos)

is that he has no delight except in Elokus.

However, all this is only in the externality of the heart and is not yet absorbed into the innermost depth of his heart.

Therefore she is called a betrothed woman.

And based on this, we can explain the interpretation of the Targum that "a garden locked" refers to Gan Eden, into which no one can enter except the souls of the righteous,

for the matter of "they bind their openings" in the aforementioned manner, that even his delight is only in Elokus,

is through the drawing down of light from above

(through the fulfillment of mitzvos),

and therefore the analogy for this is from Gan Eden,

a Divine delight

(from above).

And it can be said,

that this which the maamar brings

(at its beginning)

the interpretation of the Targum,

is,

because this interpretation is the foundation for the explanation in the maamar that "they bind their openings" is the matter of "You have sanctified us with Your mitzvos."

5)

And on a deeper level, we can say, by first prefacing the explanation in the maamar about the matter of "and grant our portion in Your Torah"

(which is the concept of marriage),

for seemingly,

behold, in this maamar he explains that "a garden locked" is the matter of "sanctify us with Your commandments,"

and what does it have to do here to explain the concept of "and grant our portion in Your Torah"?

And simply, we can say,

that this explanation here of the concept of "and grant our portion in Your Torah" is relevant to "a spring locked" that is in the continuation of the verse.

For it is brought in the Midrash33

"A garden locked" refers to virgins, "a spring locked" refers to married women,

and the Tzemach Tzedek explains34

that "a garden locked" is the aspect of betrothal and "a spring locked" is the aspect of marriage.

[And one can connect this with the Tzemach Tzedek's commentary35

that "a spring locked" is the concept of "unveil36

my eyes and I will behold wonders from Your Torah,"

for the main matter of marriage will be in the future to come37,

because then there will be38

the revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah39].

But,

since in this maamar

(the continuation of "this Matzah")

it speaks only about the matter of "a garden locked"

(and the explanation of "a spring locked" begins in the maamar that follows it40),

it is logical to say,

that what is explained in this maamar, the concept of "and grant our portion in Your Torah," is because through this, additional explanation is added in understanding the concept of "a garden locked."

For this, that through the service of "a garden locked"

("sanctify us with Your commandments")

one comes to "and grant our portion in Your Torah,"

absorption into the innerness,

is,

because the drawing down of the commandments, through which the betrothal is made, is in a manner of "and I will place in them a living spirit"

(as above, section 4).

However, the revelation of this matter is in the marriage of "and grant our portion in Your Torah."

6)

And this is "a garden locked... a spring locked...,"

that "a garden locked" is the service of fulfilling the commandments and "a spring locked" is the occupation with Torah, and particularly the inner dimension of Torah,

and both services need to be in a manner of "lechat’chilah ariber," as per the directive of the Baal HaYom Huledes (the one whose birthday it is)41.

And likewise is the progression of "they go from strength to strength"42,

from the level of betrothal

("a garden locked")

to the level of marriage

("a spring locked"),

that the progression and ascent must be in a manner of "lechat’chilah ariber."

And through an arousal from below, an arousal from above,

that also the drawing down and revelation from above, through these services, will be "lechat’chilah ariber,"

also in the value of the "lechat’chilah ariber" of man's service.

For in addition to this, that when the service is in a manner of "I have toiled,"

then "and I found"43,

that "finding" is not commensurate with the toil,

since a "finding" comes by way of absence of prior intent44,

the "finding" itself is in a manner of "lechat’chilah ariber."

And may it be His will,

that through speaking about these matters,

and especially through the service in this,

we will merit, very soon, the future redemption,

when there will be the perfection of "sanctify us with Your commandments" and "grant our portion in Your Torah,"

the perfection of the commandments – "and there we will serve You as Your commandments of Your will"45,

and the perfection of the Torah – "a new Torah from Me will go forth"46,

and all this will be in a manner that it will not delay us even for the blink of an eye47,

and this itself is in a manner of "lechat’chilah ariber,"

that it will not delay us even for the blink of an eye, literally.