English translation — מאמר לה"ע רשב"י תשמ"ה

With the help of Heaven.

Lag BaOmer 5745*

To understand the concept of Rashbi,

it is known the discourse of Lag BaOmer of the Rebbe Maharash1

(the one who taught "lechat’chilah ariber"2),

that what we find in the Zohar3

that they praised Rashbi with awesome praises4,

such as Rabbi Yehudah would call him "Shabbat"5,

and "Who is Panai"6

"The Lord God, that is Rashbi"7,

this is understood from the concept of the praises with which they praise the Creator, may He be blessed,

for at first glance it is perplexing,

does He, may He be blessed, need our praises8?

And the explanation of this is known9,

that because all the worlds are incomparable to Him, may He be blessed,

and the flow of influence to the worlds is a descent relative to Him, may He be blessed,

therefore, in order to arouse in Him, may He be blessed, the will to bestow upon the worlds, it is through praises.

And this is what our sages, of blessed memory, said10

"A person should always arrange the praise of the Omnipresent and then pray,"

for although prayer is a positive commandment from the Torah to request one's needs from the Holy One, blessed be He11,

and the commandment of the Torah is a granting of power,

nevertheless,

there must first be an arrangement of the praise of the Omnipresent,

through which they arouse in Him, may He be blessed, the will to bestow the needs of the one who praises.

And similarly, this is also regarding Rashbi,

that due to the extreme greatness of Rashbi relative to the other Tannaim,

that he was separate from them in an incomparable manner,

therefore,

in order to arouse his influence,

they needed to praise him.

And it can be said,

that what is said in the discourse, that the concept of the praises of Rashbi is understood from the concept of the praises of the Omnipresent,

is in addition to bringing proof that in order to arouse an influence that is incomparable, praises are needed,

but rather also,

that the incomparability of the other Tannaim relative to Rashbi is analogous to the incomparability of the created being relative to the Creator.

And this is also what is said in the discourse, that they praised him with awesome praises,

for the word "awesome" indicates a matter that is completely separate in value,

to the point that it inspires awe.

B)

And the concept is,

that it is written12

"And the Eitanim, the foundations of the earth,"

Eitanim is the letters of Tannaim13,

and they are the founders14

of the Oral Torah, which is called by the name "earth"15,

meaning that they draw down the aspect of Eitan into the Oral Torah.

And it can be said that the drawing down of Eitan to the Tannaim is through Rashbi,

for he was the intermediary between the aspect of Eitan and the Tannaim,

as is explained at length in the discourse16.

And the explanation of the matter

(the connection of the aspect of Eisan to Rashbi),

it is known,

that Eisan refers to the essence of the soul,

the aspect of Yechidah,

which is united with Divinity in ultimate unity.

And this is the connection of Eisan to Rashbi,

for Rashbi was in ultimate unity,

as he said of himself, "I am merely a sign,"

"I am bound to Him, to the Holy One, blessed be He, with a single bond,"

"I am attached to Him, I am absorbed in Him, I am cleaved to Him"

[as explained in the notes of my master, my father,

the matter of the three expressions],

which is the nullification and unity that comes from the aspect of Yechidah.

And this is also that Rashbi was the source of the inner dimension of the Torah,

the secrets of the Torah, which are the soul of the Torah,

and the secrets of secrets, which are the soul of the soul,

for within the soul of the soul, the aspect of Yechidah is also included.

Moreover, even his study of the revealed [Torah]

(in which most of his study consisted),

was in the manner of the study of the inner dimension of the Torah,

a drawing down of Divinity from above to below.

For the difference between the revealed dimension of the Torah and the inner dimension of the Torah is,

that the revealed dimension of the Torah is clothed in physical matters in order to refine sparks,

but the inner dimension of the Torah is above clothing,

and the study of the inner dimension of the Torah is

(primarily not in order to refine sparks,

but rather)

to draw down supernal lights.

And by Rashbi,

even in his study of the revealed, the inner dimension shone,

to the point that even his study of the revealed was a drawing down of Divinity from above.

And this is the superiority of Rashbi over the other Tannaim,

for all the Tannaim,

their main occupation was either in the revealed dimension of the Torah or in the hidden dimension of the Torah.

For most of the Tannaim,

their main occupation was in the revealed dimension of the Torah,

for the masters of Kabbalah were few,

and "Rav Yehudah—all his teaching was in [the tractate] Nezikin,"

for this part of the Torah is clothed in the most lowly matters of this physical world itself

(matters of damages,

claims of falsehood, etc.),

in order to also refine the sparks within these matters.

And those whose main occupation was in the hidden dimension of the Torah,

the Work of the Chariot,

did not occupy themselves so much with the revealed.

Like Rabbi Nechunyah ben HaKaneh, who authored the book HaKaneh,

behold, in the revealed dimension of the Torah, only a little is brought from him.

But Rashbi,

in addition to the fact that his engagement in the inner dimension of the Torah was in a far more elevated manner,

drew the light of the inner dimension also into the revealed,

as is known

regarding the matter of "I wounded and I will heal,"

that through Rashbi, the partition between the revealed dimension of the Torah and the hidden dimension of the Torah was healed and nullified,

to the point that the revealed and the hidden are one.

3)

And based on this, it will be understood that the superiority of Rashbi over all the Tannaim is an incomparable superiority,

therefore,

in order to arouse influence from him, they needed to praise him.

For the superiority of Yechidah over Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah-Chayah is an incomparable superiority,

and this is also understood from the fact that it is called Yechidah, a term of singular,

for the title "singular" indicates that there is no second to it.

For although Yechidah is also

(a spark)

a created being,

and all five levels

(including Yechidah)

belong to the soul that is clothed in the body and in the manner of "name," as the statement,

"Five names are called to her"

(to the soul in the body),

nevertheless,

the essence of Yechidah is what it receives from the aspect of the Singular One,

a created spark whose essence is that within it is clothed a spark of the Creator.

And from this it is understood, all the more so, regarding the matter of the general Yechidah

(of the totality of the chain of descent, and all the more so)

of the Torah,

which is incomparably higher even than the soul of the Torah,

and certainly than the body of the Torah,

i.e., the laws of the Torah, which are called

"the bodies of the Torah."

Therefore,

in order to arouse the influence of Rashbi

(the aspect of Eisan,

Yechidah),

and particularly the inner dimension within this

(the concealment that is for its own sake),

so that it be drawn into the study of the Torah

(the revealed dimension of the Torah,

even into Nezikin)

of the Tannaim, whose study

was in the manner of clothing to refine sparks,

they needed to praise him,

for to arouse an incomparable influence, it is through the precedence of praises,

as mentioned above.

4)

But it needs to be understood,

since Rashbi was separated in value from the other Tannaim, how could their praises affect him, to the point of arousing and renewing influence to them?

And even more so, it is not understood regarding the matter of praises with which they praise the Creator,

in order to arouse the will to bestow to creations,

behold, the arousal of the will is in the Essence of Ein Sof, which is above the chain of descent

[as understood from what is explained in many places,

that through praises, they arouse the will to be drawn down and clothed in the Sefiros],

and how can it be that our praises take hold in the Essence of Ein Sof?

And the matter regarding this is known,

that this—that the raising of Mayin Nukvin of the creations

(including the matter of praises)

arouses the drawing down—

is because it so arose in His will, blessed be He, that the raising of Mayin Nukvin of the creations should take hold before Him, blessed be He.

Moreover, through the raising of Mayin Nukvin of the creations, there will be, as it were, a change in the light,

so that it be drawn down below to a place that is utterly incomparable,

even though from its own perspective, it is separate from this.

And one can say the explanation of this,

that since the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have a dwelling place in the lower worlds,

the matter of "desired" is above reason, as the Alter Rebbe said,

"On a desire, there is no question,"

behold, since the desire and delight of the Above is a dwelling place in the lower worlds,

in a lower world beneath which there is no lower,

therefore, the raising of Mayin Nukvin of the creations affects the light.

And seemingly, one should add,

that this is also why the vast majority of praises

(in the order of praise of the Omnipresent in Pesukei DeZimrah before prayer)

are about His influence, blessed be He, upon creations,

for

[in addition to the fact that the praise must be of the same kind as the influence one wishes to arouse,

and in order to arouse influence below, the praises must be about this matter,

behold]

by praising before Him, blessed be He, His influence to the lower creations,

through this, they arouse and reveal the delight in a dwelling place in the lower worlds.

And likewise is the matter regarding the praises of Rashbi,

that through the praises they aroused that his influence be drawn down

(the aspect of Eitan,

Yechidah)

into the study of Torah of the Tannaim, whose study was to clarify clarifications,

this is from the side of the advantage in the matter of clarifications

(over the matter of revelations),

for the will and delight above is specifically in the matter of clarifications.

For this is what is written, "And the Eitanim"

(the letters of Tannaim)

"the foundations of the earth,"

"earth" from the term "will,"

and moreover, "earth" also relates to desire, as it is written,

"You have visited the earth and made it desirous,"

for the will, desire, and delight above is specifically in "earth,"

in the clarification of physical things,

and particularly in the clarification of the matters of damages,

which is done by the "Eitanim, the foundations of the earth."

And through the drawing down of the light of the inner dimension of Torah that is above the matter of clarifications,

the Torah of Rashbi,

to the "Eitanim, the foundations of the earth"

(by which an addition is drawn to them also in the matter of clarifications),

through this an advantage is made in the light,

for the advantage of light comes from

(the clarification of)

darkness.

And moreover, through the drawing down to the "Eitanim, the foundations of the earth"

(the matter of clarifications)

of the influence of Rashbi

(a light that is above the matter of clarifications),

there are two virtues,

the virtue of direct light and the virtue of reflected light,

analogous to "to bring back the righteous in repentance,"

the virtue of the righteous and the virtue of the penitents.

E)

And one may connect this with the statement of the Zohar,

"Once the world needed rain,

they came before Rabbi Shimon, Rabbi Yisa, Rabbi Chizkiyah, and the other comrades,

and through his expounding to them on the verse,

'Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together...' rain fell."

And it is explained in the discourses of the Tzemach Tzedek

and the Rebbe Maharash,

that although Rashbi drew down the falling of rain through the utterance of Torah in a manner from above to below,

nevertheless, this also required the raising of Mayin Nukvin of the comrades and the praises with which they praised him,

by which they effected an advantage in Rashbi, analogous to "from my students

more than all of them."

And it may be said,

that the connection of this matter to the falling of rain is,

for regarding rain it is written,

"For the Lord God had not caused it to rain... and there was no man to work the ground,"

that the falling of rain is through the work of man,

and particularly through the work of repentance, as our sages said

on the verse,

"May my teaching drop as the rain... when the creatures break their stiff-neckedness, immediately rain falls."

And in the falling of rain through the utterance of Torah of Rashbi

(from above to below)

and the raising of Mayin Nukvin of his disciples

(from below to above)

there were the two virtues,

the virtue of the righteous and the virtue of the penitents.

And seemingly one may add,

that the drawing down of the influence of Rashbi

(the aspect of Eitan,

Yechidah)

to the "Eitanim, the foundations of the earth" for the sake of the matter of clarifications,

is analogous to what is explained elsewhere

regarding the Yechidah of the soul,

that this that the Yechidah extends into a person's four cubits,

therefore

a person's four cubits acquire for him in any place,

even without his knowledge,

specifically in order to acquire an object placed within them,

the acquisition of a physical thing

(that is external to the person)

into the person's domain,

in order to clarify and refine it by using it for the sake of Heaven,

for the clarification of physical things specifically reaches the Essence.

And likewise is it regarding the Yechidah of Torah

(the Torah of Rashbi),

that it is aroused and drawn down for the sake of the matter of clarifications.

6)

And based on all the above, this will also be understood: that the praises with which they praised Rashbi

(as brought in the maamar)

in order to arouse the influence—"He is called Shabbat, and 'Who is the Face of the Lord Havayah, that is Rashbi'"—

for in these praises is hinted the drawing down of the Supernal

(which is incomparably separate)

below,

and even more so, that the drawing down is through the work of the lower being.

For, behold,

regarding Shabbat it is written,

"For it is holy,"

"Holy is an independent entity,"

meaning that Shabbat is separate and incomparable to the six days of work,

and nevertheless, the holiness of Shabbat is drawn into the days before it and after it,

for from the fourth day onward it is before Shabbat, and until the fourth day it is after Shabbat,

in addition to the fact that from Shabbat all the days are blessed.

And so too regarding man,

that despite Shabbat being inherently sanctified,

since the holiness of Shabbat is a most elevated holiness,

"Holy is an independent entity"

(as above),

it is not subject to the grasp of man's hand,

nevertheless, power is given to Israel to add to the holiness of Shabbat,

"Remember the Shabbat day to sanctify it,"

to the extent that Israel also adds to the delight of Shabbat,

as the Sages said,

"Whoever delights in Shabbat."

And so too regarding the matter of "Who is the Face of the Lord Havayah,"

for Havayah is the essential name, the explicit name, and the unique name,

unlike this, that He is called by the name Adon, as the Sages said,

"It is fitting for You to be called Adon, for You are Master over all Your creations,"

in addition to the fact that the name Adon is in the Sefirah of Malchus,

and in Malchus itself—as it descends into Beriah,

to bring the worlds into existence and to be Master over them,

behold, from the language of the Sages, "You are Master over all Your creations"

(specifically "Your creations")

implies that the name Adon

is over these creations that are mere creations

[and analogous to a master in simple terms,

that the title master is specifically over slaves].

And the matter of "the Face of the Lord Havayah" is the unification of Havayah

(the essential name)

with the aspect of Adon

(Master over all Your creations).

And this is also what is written regarding the mitzvah of pilgrimage,

"Every male shall see the Face of the Lord Havayah."

For, behold, the Sages said,

"Just as he comes to be seen, so he comes to see,"

for in addition to the fact that during the pilgrimage they saw Divinity tangibly

(for seeing is above comprehension)

and the seeing was also in the aspect of the inwardness of Divinity, as it says, "see... the Face of...",

behold, even more so,

that man's seeing of Divinity

(from below to above)

was in the same manner as the seeing above,

"Just as he comes to be seen, so he comes to see,"

"They shall gaze directly upon their face,"

that the seeing below and the seeing above are direct,

in equivalence.

Therefore, it is said regarding this, "see... the Face of the Lord Havayah,"

for in order for there to be the unification of the seeing below with the seeing above,

it is through the drawing down of the aspect of the Lord Havayah,

the unification of Adon with Havayah.

And one may add,

that in the mitzvah of pilgrimage is included the bringing of an offering

(the burnt-offering of pilgrimage)

as it is written,

"And they shall not appear before Me empty-handed."

In this is seen the greatness of the elevation of the work of refinement,

that through bringing a physical offering

[and according to one opinion,

the offering must be not from fowl but from an animal],

specifically through this they shall see the Face,

the revelation of the inwardness of Divinity and in a manner of seeing,

even to the aspect of "They shall gaze directly upon their face."

7)

And based on all the above, the connection of the passing of Rashbi with the counting of the Omer will also be understood,

to the extent that the day of his passing is called

(based on the custom of Israel, Torah it is92)

by the name Lag BaOmer93.

And the explanation is,

that the service of the counting of the Omer is the refinement of the midos of the Nefesh HaBahamis94,

and nevertheless

(and moreover,

because of this),

specifically regarding this mitzvah we say95

"and through this a great abundance will be drawn forth in all the worlds,"

for specifically the work of refinement reaches to the very highest level,

and draws down from there an abundance,

not a light that is merely an illumination, but an abundance that is the essence of the thing96,

and beyond this—a great abundance,

and because it is a great abundance, therefore97

(due to the multiplicity within it)

it is drawn and flows into all the worlds,

down to this lowest world,

and within this world itself, to the most lowly place, beneath which there is no lower.

And it can be said that this is the connection of the days of the counting

[and within them specifically,

the day of Lag BaOmer,

the end and completion of the service of the Omer counting in the primary midos98]

to the passing of Rashbi,

for the service of Rashbi was to heal and nullify the partitions between all matters,

and to draw down from the highest high to the lowest low,

from the aspect of "Eisan" to the aspect of "Eretz."

And this matter stands revealed on the day of his passing, on Lag BaOmer,

as explained in Igeres HaKodesh of the Alter Rebbe99

that on the day of passing, all of a person's service which he served throughout the days of his life stands revealed as it is in its source and root,

and as explained at length in the discourses of Lag BaOmer in the Siddur of the Mitteler Rebbe100.

And this matter extends downward to the lowest level, to simple joy101.

And to the extent that from this is drawn a very great joy,

to a joy that breaks boundaries102,

eternal joy103,

which breaks the boundaries of exile,

and brings the true and complete redemption through Moshiach Tzidkeinu,

for Moshiach comes to bring the righteous back in repentance55.

And this is also connected with the matter of the spreading of the wellsprings,

"When will the Master come? When your wellsprings spread forth outward"104,

speedily in our days, literally,

and in our time, quickly105.