English translation — מאמר ויאמר לו יהונתן תשל"א

With the help of Heaven.

Shabbos Parshas Toldos,

Erev Rosh Chodesh and Erev Rosh Chodesh Kislev,

5731

(Unedited talk)

"And Yonasan said to him: Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be vacant."

This means that through the nullification of the recipient, which is the aspect of "your seat will be vacant,"

through this, a remembrance is made above

(as it is in its simple sense),

that through the concealment and hiding of the moon completely on the eve of Rosh Chodesh,

until not even a point remains of it,

through this "tomorrow" is made—a new month,

which is the rebirth of the moon anew,

which is the matter of the union of the sun and the moon.

And in avodah, it is that through the nullification of the recipient, renewal is brought about through this.

Now, in order for the matter of renewal to exist, it must be drawn from a level that is above the order of the chain of descent,

and as it will be in the future to come, when there will be a renewal in creation, because the drawing down will be from the aspect of the innerness of Atik.

For all the current drawngs down are only from the externality of Atik, unlike the future to come, when it will be drawn from the innerness of Atik itself.

And the revelations of the future depend on our deeds and our service during the time of exile,

therefore, the aspect of the rebirth of the moon on Rosh Chodesh, which is the matter of renewal,

is a foretaste of that which they are destined to be renewed like it in the future to come.

And similar to what is explained in the Midrash

regarding the matter of "They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness,"

that from the fact that a person is renewed every morning as a new creation, "great is Your faithfulness" is that it is an example of the resurrection of the dead, that the Holy One, blessed be He, revives them with the dew that revives.

However, the primary matter of renewal will be specifically in the future to come, as explained in Likkutei Torah,

that then there will be new souls.

And it is true that even now there are new souls, but this is not the true essence of the matter of renewal,

and the true essence of the aspect of new souls will be specifically in the future to come,

this being the matter of "and their crowns"

"on their heads"

etc.

But nevertheless, there is an example of the matter of renewal even now, on Rosh Chodesh, that through nullification etc. one reaches the aspect of Eden,

about which our sages, of blessed memory, said,

"All the prophets prophesied only about the days of Moshiach, but regarding the World to Come, 'No eye has seen a God besides You'"

etc.—this is Eden etc.

Now, it must be understood why it says "Elokim besides You,"

specifically the name Elokim.

And likewise, it must be understood in our portion,

the verse "And may Elokim give you of the dew of the heavens and of the fatness of the earth and abundance of grain and wine,"

and this is questioned in many places, and also in the continuation of the year 5666,

why it says Elokim,

for seemingly it should have said the name Havayah,

since the main aspect of blessings is specifically from the name Havayah,

and especially Yitzchak's blessings, which are most exalted blessings,

as explained in the Siddur at the end of Shaar HaTekios.

Also, it is not understood, as it is brought in Midrash Rabbah,

"dew of the heavens" refers to Scripture, "fatness of the earth" refers to Mishnah, "grain" refers to Talmud, etc.,

and it must be understood what is the concept of blessing him with Torah,

for seemingly a blessing for this is not applicable.

For the Torah was to be given to Israel anyway at the giving of the Torah,

since the primary intention in the creation of the worlds was for the sake of the Torah, as our sages said,

on the verse "In the beginning He created," etc.,

"for the sake of Israel who are called 'first,'" etc., "and for the sake of the Torah which is called 'first,'" etc.,

that the Torah was established in the nature of creation,

and in a manner of a condition, that when the condition is nullified, the thing is nullified,

and as it is brought in the Gemara,

on the verse,

"And there was evening... the sixth day,"

"The Holy One, blessed be He, made a condition with the works of creation: if Israel fulfills My Torah, etc.,"

and this is as it is written,

"From the heavens... the earth feared and was still," etc.,

"at first it feared, and at the end it was still,"

and if so, the giving of the Torah was a necessary thing, so how can a blessing apply to this?

Also, it must be said,

that whichever way you look at it,

if the intention of the blessing was for the study of Torah as it was before the giving of the Torah, surely no blessing was needed for this,

for there was already Torah study by the Patriarchs,

and as our sages said,

on the verse,

"And Avraham was old,"

"Avraham our Patriarch was old and sat in the study hall... Yaakov our Patriarch was old and sat in the study hall."

And also it cannot be said that the intention is for the Torah as it is after the giving of the Torah,

for the Torah of the Patriarchs

(which includes Yaakov as well)

was like a fragrance compared to the Torah after the giving of the Torah.

And seemingly it could be explained,

that this was according to Yitzchak's initial thought,

when he sought to bless Esav,

and therefore he blessed him with Torah, thinking that through this he would be refined,

and for Esav a blessing for this is applicable,

because the Torah is only obligatory for Israel.

But nevertheless, it is not understood,

for in actuality the blessings were given to Yaakov,

and as it is written,

"Now he has taken my blessing,"

and they make of the blessings a great matter, etc.,

and according to this, it is not understood what is the concept of the blessing to Yaakov regarding Torah, etc.

But the explanation is,

that the Torah as it was given at the giving of the Torah is the aspect of the Torah as it is in its own essence,

but Yitzchak's blessing was for the matter of toil in Torah,

about which it is said,

"He will do for those who wait for Him,"

and it is brought in the Zohar,

"those who press into the word of wisdom,"

that through this they reach a level above the aspect of the Torah as it is in its own essence,

for the Torah in its own essence is the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He,

and higher than that is the aspect of the Concealed Wisdom,

and through toil they reach the aspect of Eden, etc., about which it is said "No eye has seen," etc., as above,

which is entirely above the aspect of wisdom.

Based on this, Yitzchak's initial thought that he wanted to bless Esav so that he would be refined is also understood,

for seemingly how does this fit with the actual outcome

(and the Patriarchs are the Merkavah),

but rather, through the blessings that he blessed Yaakov regarding toil in Torah,

through this the power was given to refine Esav,

for since through toil they draw from the aspect of Eden,

therefore he can refine not only the kelipah of nogah but also the sparks within the three completely impure kelipot, etc.

And as explained elsewhere,

regarding "And Yaakov sent... 'I have sojourned with Lavan,'"

that then he completed the refinement with Lavan and went to refine Esav,

for Yaakov in his own essence was already prepared for this then,

and from Yaakov's side the refinement was then completed, etc.,

and this is through the blessings regarding toil in Torah.

The explanation is,

that from the aspect of the Torah in its own essence as it was given at the giving of the Torah, there was no matter of forgetfulness at all,

as our sages said,

on the verse,

"engraved upon the tablets,"

and consequently there would have been no need for the matter of toil,

only the matter of speech, etc.

And that speech was necessary in any case is because the giving of the Torah from above at Sinai was given through speech,

therefore it was necessary also in man to have the matter of speech in Torah,

in the manner explained in Torah Ohr,

on the verse,

"And Elokim spoke all these words, saying."

And as the language of our sages,

"Whoever reads and reviews, the Holy One, blessed be He, reads and reviews opposite him."

For seemingly it is not understood why speech is needed in Torah

(whether above or below),

for the matter of Torah is in understanding and comprehension, and it would seem that thought alone should suffice,

so why is the matter of speech necessary, which is an action

(at least a minor one)?

And one cannot answer based on what is said in the Gemara Eruvin

(brought in Tanya),

"If it is arranged in all 248 limbs it is preserved, and if not, etc.,"

for this was only after the second tablets were given,

when the matter of forgetfulness already existed in the world,

but before that, at the giving of the Torah, when there was no matter of forgetfulness, for it was "engraved," etc., as above,

it is not applicable to say so.

Rather, the reason for this is that "Behold, My words are like fire,"

for Torah is compared to fire,

and by way of analogy, when a flame is within the coal it is in a state of concealment,

and to draw the flame into revelation is through a blowing wind,

and similarly in Torah, the matter of speech in Torah was necessary, through which it is drawn from concealment to revelation,

for even from the aspect of the first tablets, the Torah was given specifically below and not above,

as explained in the discourses on the statement of our sages,

"When Moshe ascended on high,"

and therefore the matter of speech in Torah was necessary even without Yitzchak's blessing.

And the innovation in Yitzchak's blessing is regarding the matter of toil in Torah,

through which one can refine even the aspect of Esav,

which is the matter of the sparks in the three impure kelipot

(this was the innovation of the second tablets),

for through this one reaches the aspect of Eden, as above regarding "He does for those who wait for Him," for those who press into matters of wisdom,

and therefore they can refine Esav.

And this is what is said,

"No eye has seen, O Elokim, besides You,"

that they reach the aspect of Elokim that is above revelations,

and therefore it says specifically "And may Elokim give to you,"

that the blessings are drawn from the aspect of Elokim that is above all revelations, etc.

And this is what is said, "And Yehonasan said to him: Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be missed,"

that through "for your seat will be missed,"

which is the matter of total self-nullification, even of a point

(which comes through toil),

through this is brought about "you will be missed," which is the matter of renewal in the ultimate sense, like the aspect of Eden, as above,

until "Dovid the great"

etc.,

"and Dovid My servant shall be their prince forever,"

with the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily and truly.