English translation — מאמר ואברהם זקן תשל"ז

With the help of Heaven.

Shabbat Parshat Chayei Sarah,

Erev Rosh Chodesh Kislev, 5737.

"And Avraham was old, advanced in days, and Hashem blessed Avraham with everything."

And the Rebbe [the Rebbe Rashab]

(the Rebbe Shalom Ber)

of blessed memory, in his maamar beginning with this discourse

(from the year 5666),

precisely notes that it says "with everything" in a general way, and does not specify with what He blessed him.

And the point of the explanation:

"Everything" is the aspect of the essential concealment,

from which all revelations are drawn.

As it is brought in the Zohar

on the verse "And Hashem blessed Avraham with everything,"

that Avraham was blessed from the place from which all blessings emanate.

Therefore it says "with everything" in a general way and does not specify details,

because it is the aspect of the boundless, which is above details.

And one must understand the connection and relevance of the Zohar's interpretation that "everything" is the place from which all blessings emanate, with Rashi's commentary on the verse,

that "everything" refers to Yitzchak

("everything" in gematria equals "ben" [son]).

And also,

from the continuation of the verses it seems that this verse

("And Avraham was old, etc.")

is an introduction to "And Avraham said to his servant, etc., 'And you shall take a wife for my son, for Yitzchak.'"

And one must understand what is the connection of "And Hashem blessed Avraham with everything,"

that he was blessed from the place from which all blessings emanate,

to this—that he sent his servant to take a wife for his son.

Also, one must understand the greatness of the elevation of the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivkah, that it is loftier even than the aspect of "everything"

(the place from which all blessings emanate),

to the point that this—that Hashem blessed Avraham with everything—is only an introduction to the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivkah.

2)

And this will be understood by prefacing what is brought in the Midrash:

"The Holy One, blessed be He, does not elevate a person to greatness until He tests and examines him, etc. And so you find with Avraham our father: the Holy One, blessed be He, tested him with ten trials, and he withstood them, and afterwards He blessed him, as it is said, 'And Hashem blessed Avraham with everything.'"

And the Tzemach Tzedek explains,

that the ten trials correspond to the ten Sefiros,

whereas "everything" is the innermost aspect of Kesser, which is not

included in the count of the ten Sefiros.

For in that aspect,

no arousal from below reaches there.

And after Avraham withstood the ten trials corresponding to the ten Sefiros, in which arousal from below is relevant,

then He blessed him with "everything,"

the innermost aspect of Kesser.

And it can be said,

that this is also the precise language of the verse: "And Avraham was old, advanced in days, and Hashem blessed Avraham with everything"—

that this—that he was old, advanced in days,

even though it is a blessing from the Holy One, blessed be He,

the verse attributes it to Avraham

("And Avraham was old, advanced in days"),

whereas regarding "everything," it does not say that Avraham had "everything," but rather that "Hashem blessed Avraham with everything."

The explanation of this can be said:

That which he was blessed with old age and days is an arousal from above that is aroused and drawn down by means of an arousal from below,

the service of Avraham,

whereas that which he was blessed with "everything" is an arousal from above that comes from above, to which no arousal from below reaches.

[And that this blessing came specifically after he withstood the ten trials is because there must be a place

that is complete],

therefore it is written regarding it, "And Hashem blessed, etc."

3)

And although also "zaken ba bayamim" is the level of Atik Yomin,

as it is brought in the Midrash,

that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Avraham: "Come and wear My garments," as it is said, "And Avraham was old, coming with days,"

and the Kohanic gifts explain that this "coming with days" is a garment of the Holy One, blessed be He, because the Holy One, blessed be He, is called

"Atik Yomin,"

[and the Tzemach Tzedek

adds that also "zaken"

(the beard)

is a garment of the Holy One, blessed be He,

for regarding Atik Yomin it is written,

"His garment is white as snow,"

which is

the level of the thirteen tikkunei d'ikna],

it can be said,

that the intention in this is

(not to Atik itself,

but rather)

to Arich, which is also called by the name Atik Yomin,

[and it can be said that this that Arich is called by the name Atik Yomin is because the seven lower sefiros of Atik are clothed within it],

but "Kol" is Atik itself.

And furthermore,

that within Atik itself, it is the level of the first three sefiros of Atik that are not clothed in Arich,

and up to the level of the pnimiyus of Atik and higher,

and as mentioned above

(section 1)

from the maamar that "Kol" is the level of the essential concealment.

And this is that the matter of "zaken ba bayamim" is attributed by the verse to Avraham

("And Avraham was old, coming with days")

but not so regarding "Kol," where it says "and Hashem blessed Avraham with everything,"

because this that Avraham had the level of "zaken ba bayamim,"

which is the externality of Kesser,

he drew this down through his service.

And it can be said,

that this is also the connection of the interpretation that "zaken ba bayamim" is a garment of the Holy One, blessed be He, with the interpretation

that "zaken" is one who has acquired wisdom

(Torah)

and "ba bayamim" is the garments of the mitzvos,

because this that Avraham had the garment of the Holy One, blessed be He,

he drew this down through his Torah and mitzvos.

And this can be explained in more detail,

that "zaken" and "ba bayamim" are two levels.

"Zaken," which is the thirteen tikkunei d'ikna,

is in the Mocha Stima'ah of Arich,

and "ba bayamim" is Arich itself

[for this that Arich is called by the name Atik Yomin

is primarily in the atzmiyus of Arich],

the Gulgalta of Arich.

And this is the connection of these two matters

("zaken" and "ba bayamim")

above

(the garment of the Holy One, blessed be He)

with these two matters in the service of man,

because the Mocha Stima'ah of Arich is pnimi,

the root of Torah,

and the Gulgalta of Arich is makif,

the root of mitzvos.

And through Avraham's engagement in Torah,

"zaken who acquired wisdom,"

he drew down the level of the d'ikna and Mocha Stima'ah of Arich

("zaken"),

and through his being "ba bayamim,"

the garments of the mitzvos,

he drew down the level of the Gulgalta

of Arich

("ba bayamim").

But not so "Kol," which is the level of Atik,

arousal from below does not reach there,

and therefore it is written, "and Hashem blessed Avraham with everything,"

an arousal from above that comes from above.

However, this arousal from above

dwells and is revealed specifically after the completion of the service

(and the arousal from above that comes through the arousal from below),

therefore,

that which Hashem blessed Avraham with everything was specifically after he stood in ten trials,

as mentioned above

(section 2 at its beginning).

4)

And behold, also within the level of "Kol"

(Atik)

which is above "ba bayamim"

(Arich)

there are several levels.

And as understood from what is explained in the maamar

(beginning "And Avraham was old")

of the Tzemach Tzedek,

that at first he says,

that Avraham merited the level of "Kol" through the fulfillment of negative commandments, and also in this level of "Kol" he says it is the pnimiyus of Atik

[as explained there,

that this that "Hashem blessed Avraham with everything" is after it is said "ba bayamim,"

because "yamim" are positive commandments,

and through the service of "ba bayamim," the fulfillment of positive commandments, he merited the level of Arich

(the level of "ba bayamim" above),

but not so this that he merited the level of "Kol," which he merited through the fulfillment of negative commandments, is the pnimiyus of Atik which is above Arich],

and afterwards he says that Avraham merited this through the ten trials

(as above section 2 from the Midrash),

it can be said,

that the level of "Kol" that he merited through the trials is more elevated than the level of "Kol" that he merited through the fulfillment of negative commandments.

And the explanation in this can be said,

that the level of Atik

("Kol")

that he merited through the fulfillment of negative commandments,

has a connection to the chain of descent,

and therefore,

the service of man through which he merits this is service that depends on his will

(i.e., service that is in order and gradation),

except that within this itself,

since Atik is above the chain of descent,

therefore the service is not in action but in refraining and non-action,

negation.

But not so the level of Atik

("Kol")

that he merited through the trials,

it is completely removed and separate,

and as mentioned above

(section 1)

from the maamar that it is the essential concealment.

And therefore,

when the service of man depends on his will,

it has no likeness

to this level of Atik that is removed and completely separate.

And only through the service of trials, which does not depend on the will of man

[for it is forbidden for a person to place himself in a trial,

and furthermore, we are commanded to pray "do not bring us into trial"],

specifically through this does one merit the revelation of this level.

5)

And it can be said,

that this that "Hashem blessed Avraham with everything" specifically after he stood in the tenth trial,

is because the ten trials correspond to the ten Sefiros

(as above in section 2),

and the perfection of any matter is when it is included from all ten Sefiros.

And more deeply it can be said,

that in order to merit the aspect of "Kesser" that is removed and completely separate from Hishtalshelus,

it is specifically through service that is above measure and limitation entirely.

And since the ten trials correspond to the ten Sefiros

(Hishtalshelus),

and even that they correspond to the ten utterances

(which are lower than the Sefiros themselves),

behold, this that he stood in these trials is still connected with measure and limitation,

and therefore there needed to be the tenth trial,

which is the trial of the Akeidah,

the unique one of all the trials,

which is above measure and limitation.

For although even this trial is included in the ten trials,

it can be said,

that in this trial there is

(also)

a matter that is above the ten Sefiros.

And analogous to what is brought in the Midrash

on the verse

"Eleven days from Chorev," which refers to the utterance "Anochi"

(the first utterance of the Ten Commandments),

the unique one of the ten.

And it is explained in Chassidus,

that this that the utterance "Anochi" is called by the name "eleven,"

although it is from the count of the Ten Commandments,

it is,

because the utterance "Anochi" is in Kesser.

And since in Kesser there are two levels,

the externality of Kesser which is counted in the count of the ten Sefiros and the internality of Kesser which is not counted with them,

therefore,

this that the utterance "Anochi" is from the count of the Ten Commandments is from the aspect of its externality of Kesser,

but from the aspect of its internality of Kesser it is eleven, which is not in the count of the Ten Commandments,

"One and not in the count."

And it can be said,

that analogous to this is in the trial of the Akeidah,

which was a trial greater than the trials before it

(similar to Kesser which is above all the Sefiros),

that there are in this two matters.

This that although Avraham by his nature was a man of Chessed

(and the nature of his Chessed was from his root),

nevertheless he bound Yitzchak his son and took the knife to slaughter his son,

the opposite of his nature

(that is from his root).

And this is what is said,

"Now I know that you are a G-d-fearing man,"

specifically "now,"

because the trials before the trial of the Akeidah were not the opposite of the nature of Chessed,

and "now"

(after the trial of the Akeidah)

"I know that you are a G-d-fearing man,"

the attribute of fear and Gevurah.

And this that all the trials were regarding himself,

and the trial of the Akeidah was regarding his only son.

For a person's love for his son,

and especially for his only son,

is greater than the love for himself,

and "all that a man has he will give for his son."

And therefore,

the trial of the Akeidah is above the trials before the Akeidah.

And it can be said,

that the first matter in the trial of the Akeidah,

that this was the opposite of the nature of Chessed of Avraham,

since even this matter is regarding himself,

it has some relation to the trials before it,

except that it is elevated above them.

[And it can be said,

that this that the trial of the Akeidah proved that also the previous trials have substance,

is because there is a relation between them.

For in matters that have no relation between them,

it is not applicable to bring proof from this on that.]

Similar to the externality of Kesser

(Arich),

that although it is above the other Sefiros,

nevertheless it is their root and source,

and even that it is counted in the count of the Sefiros.

And the second matter in the trial of the Akeidah,

that this trial was regarding his only son,

is an entirely new matter that had no parallel in the trials before it.

And similar to Atik

(the internality of Kesser)

which is removed and separate.

And this is what is said,

"By Myself I have sworn,"

"By Myself" specifically, the aspect of Atik,

and the reason for this is because "since you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only one."

And according to all the above it is understood that after Avraham stood in the trial of the Akeidah,

then specifically "Hashem blessed Avraham with everything,"

because this that he bound also his only son is service that is above measure and limitation entirely,

and therefore then specifically "Hashem blessed Avraham with everything,"

the internality of Atik,

the essential concealment.

6)

And behold, the intent in the drawing down of the essential concealment that is drawn to Avraham is,

that this concealment should be not only as it is in its place,

in its essence,

but that from it should be drawn an influence without limit.

And as it is brought in the Zohar,

"What is 'Bakol'? A place of a river whose waters never cease for the worlds."

And this is the connection of the Zohar's explanation that "Bakol" is the essential concealment with Rashi's explanation that "Bakol" refers to Yitzchak

("Bakol" in gematria is "ben" [son]),

because Avraham is the Chessed of Atik and Yitzchak is the Gevurah of Atik,

and this is that by Yitzchak it is written,

"And I will multiply your seed and give you Yitzchak,"

that the multiplication of influence

("And I will multiply your seed")

is specifically from the Gevuros,

the intensification of influence,

as is explained at length in the Siddur

(with the Derech Chaim)

s.v. "L’havin inyan Tefillas Shacharis al pi kavanas HaBaal Shem Tov."

And although multiplication is a division into details,

behold, the multiplication that is drawn from the Gevuros of Yitzchak,

is in a manner that even in the details there is felt a revelation that the root of their drawing is from the simplicity of the essential concealment, "whose waters never cease for the worlds."

And by means of the fact that even in the details the simplicity is discernible,

through this its inwardness and essentiality is revealed,

which is not defined by any definition and is in His power to come

(in revelation)

also into the details.

And this is that in the future they will say to Yitzchak, "For you are our father, for Avraham did not know us,"

because in the future there will be the revelation of the internality of Atik,

and the revelation of the internality of Atik is specifically through the Gevuros of Yitzchak.

And this is that "Hashem blessed Avraham with everything" is a preparation for the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivkah,

And this is that "Hashem blessed Avraham with everything" is a preparation for the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivkah,

because the ultimate intent is that the internality of Kesser be drawn in revelation down to the very lowest,

and this is accomplished through the union of Yitzchak and Rivkah,

because Yitzchak and Rivkah,

the root of both of them is in the Gevurah of Atik,

except that Yitzchak is the aspect of Mah and Rivkah is the aspect of Ban,

and the revelation below is through the name Ban.

And this is that "Hashem blessed Avraham with everything" is only a preparation for the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivkah,

because the ultimate intent of this blessing is that the aspect of "everything" be drawn also in BiY"A,

in this lowest world,

and even in the place where Rivkah was,

"a rose among the thorns,"

that even there the revelation of the internality of Atik should be drawn.

9)

Now, that which is related in the Oral Torah, that Avraham merited the aspect of "all" by standing in ten trials, is

(like all matters in Torah, from the word "hora'ah" [teaching]60)

a teaching that it must be

(similar to61)

the service of trials,

namely,

that the service must be with great effort,

effort that is not in the ordinary way,

similar to the service of trials.

And this is what is stated in the Zohar there on the verse62

"No eye has seen, etc., He will do for those who wait for Him,"

"What is 'for those who wait for Him'? ... Those who press into the word of wisdom, etc."

[And this matter in the Zohar comes in continuation of the explanation of "what is 'all',"

as brought in the maamar],

that through effort in Torah,

effort that is not in the ordinary way

[and as explained in the maamar, "those who press into the word of wisdom" is effort in the manner of Or Chozer (returning light)],

and from this it follows that also the fulfillment of the mitzvos will be with great effort

(in the manner of our sages' statement63

"Great is study that brings to action"),

including also the effort in spreading the wellsprings outward,

for in addition to the effort that must be in the study and understanding of the wellsprings

("pressing into the word of wisdom"),

there must be a special effort to spread the wellsprings outward,

to bring the wellsprings also to those who are outside,

"among the thorns,"

and through this "the Master, King Moshiach, will come"64,

for then there will be the revelation of the hidden essential self (Atzmus),

"No eye has seen,"

speedily in our days, literally.