English translation — מאמר ויאמר לו יהונתן תשמ"ה

B'Siyata D'Shmaya.

Shabbos Parshas Toldos,

Mevarchim HaChodesh and Erev Rosh Chodesh Kislev, 5745

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

And the Tzemach Tzedek explains in his maamar beginning with these words,

that Dovid

is the aspect of Malchus,

which includes all the souls of Israel,

for all of Israel are children of kings.

And the concept of "you will be missed, for your seat will be vacant" is,

that through the vacating

(the absence)

of the place of your seat,

[which is] nullification,

through this there will be "you will be missed,"

the drawing down of the remembrance

from above.

For remembrance is a very lofty aspect

(as will be explained below).

And this is the connection of "you will be missed, for your seat will be vacant" with "tomorrow is the new moon,"

because on the eve of Rosh Chodesh there is concealment and hiding of the moon,

until that in the moment before the molad not even a point remains of it,

and through this there is afterwards

(tomorrow)

a new month,

the renewed birth of the moon,

the drawing down of a new light from the sun to the moon,

which did not shine in it previously.

And so too is it with Israel, who are compared to the moon,

that through their nullification,

a most exalted light is drawn into them,

a new light.

And it can be said,

that this drawing down of the new light is called "you will be missed,"

[which is] remembrance,

because,

the drawing down of light that relates to worlds

(even a light that is above worlds but relates to worlds)

is not a true novelty,

and a new light is the light of Ein Sof that is beyond relation to worlds.

And this is that the drawing down of this light is called "you will be missed,"

because remembrance is in Ein Sof that is beyond relation to worlds.

And as explained elsewhere,

that just as in man the concept of remembrance applies only to something that is not significant in his eyes

(to the extent that it is easy to forget it),

so too is it above,

that the concept of remembrance is in Ein Sof that is beyond relation to worlds,

for everything before Him is considered as nothing.

And this is "you will be missed, for your seat will be vacant,"

that the drawing down of the light that is beyond relation to worlds

("you will be missed")

is specifically through nullification

("for your seat will be vacant").

For when a person's service is connected with his own existence

(an existence of holiness),

the drawing down that is drawn through the service is from the aspect of light that relates to worlds

(existence),

and in order for there to be a drawing down of the light that is beyond relation to worlds,

for everything before Him is considered as nothing,

it is through nullification,

"for your seat will be vacant."

2)

And the explanation of the greatness of the elevation of “you will be remembered”

(which is drawn through “your place will be remembered”)

in more detail,

will be understood according to what is explained in Likkutei Torah11

that in arousal from above there are three levels.

Arousal from above that is from itself,

arousal from above that is aroused and drawn through arousal from below

(the service of man),

and arousal from above that comes as a gift from above, but its drawing is specifically after the completion of service.

And it is explained there,

that the arousal from above that is from itself is from a place that arousal from below does not reach there

[namely,

that the drawing of this arousal from above is from the Ein Sof that is above worlds,

in relation to which,

arousal from below is considered as nothing12],

and the arousal from above that is drawn through arousal from below is from a place that arousal from below reaches there

[namely,

that in this place there is value to the creations,

to the extent that their service

(arousal from below)

arouses and draws arousal from above],

and the arousal from above that is in the manner of a gift,

its drawing is from a place that arousal from below does not reach there,

except that it does not dwell and become revealed except after the completion of service

[and the arousal from above that is drawn through it].

For although this arousal from above comes as a gift from above,

nevertheless, there must be some vessel for this,

for the Holy One, blessed be He, does not dwell except in a complete place13,

and therefore14,

in order for there to be the revelation of this arousal from above

(which comes in the manner of a gift)

there must be the completeness of the actions of the lower ones

[arousal from below and the arousal from above that is aroused and drawn through it].

And it can be said,

that the revelation of “you will be remembered” is more elevated

(also)

than the arousal from above after the completion of service15.

For that the completion of man’s service

(the actions of the lower ones)

is like a vessel for the revelation of the arousal from above,

indicates that man’s service has some value and connection to the arousal from above.

For in the Ein Sof that is above connection to worlds, where everything before Him is considered as nothing,

it is not applicable to say that the completion of the actions of the lower ones is a fit place

(a complete place)

for the revelation of the Ein Sof,

for since everything before Him is considered as nothing,

behold, in relation to this revelation,

this is not a complete place.

And the matter of remembrance

(and you will be remembered)

is in the level of Ein Sof where everything before Him is considered as nothing,

similar to the matter of remembrance which applies only to something that is not considered in his eyes

(as above).

3)

And it must be understood,

that in the level of Ein Sof where everything before Him is considered as nothing,

even man’s self-nullification is seemingly considered as nothing,

and how is it possible that man’s self-nullification

(“your place will be remembered”)

should arouse, as it were, in this level that there should be “you will be remembered.”

And to add,

that the arousal from above that is drawn after the completion of service,

although in relation to this level there is some value to man’s service

(as above in section 2),

nevertheless, it is not drawn through man’s service but from the side of above

(from the side of His kindness,

for He desires kindness16),

and that it is not drawn and revealed to man except after the completion of service is in order that man should be fit to receive the revelation

(but not that the service draws the revelation,

and certainly not that it arouses it),

and the matter of “you will be remembered,”

which is in the level of Ein Sof where everything before Him is considered as nothing,

is aroused, as it were, through man’s service

(self-nullification),

that through “your place will be remembered”

(of man)

it is brought about that there should be “you will be remembered.”

4)

And this will be understood according to what is explained in the discourses

[regarding] the connection of "And Yehonatan said to Dovid"

(the saying of Yehonatan to Dovid)

to "tomorrow [is the] new moon,"

for the concept of the new moon

(the birth of the moon)

is the drawing down of light

(new)

from the sun into the moon,

and it is known that sun and moon in their root are Zeir Anpin and Malchus.

For Zeir Anpin and Malchus are the influencer and the receiver,

analogous to the sun and moon.

And this is the connection of

("tomorrow")

[the] new moon to "And Yehonatan said to Dovid,"

for Dovid is the aspect of Malchus,

the moon.

As it is written

"And Dovid is the small one," and our Rabbis of blessed memory said

that he is called so because of the small luminary,

the moon.

And Yehonatan is Zeir Anpin,

the aspect of the sun of Havayah,

who draws down and influences into Malchus.

For this is that Yehonatan is "Yud-Heh-Vav" "Natan" [He gave],

the giving and influence of the aspect of Yud-Heh-Vav to Malchus.

And this is the connection of "And Yehonatan said to Dovid"

(the drawing down from Yehonatan to Dovid)

with "tomorrow [is the] new moon,"

for the concept of the new moon is the drawing down from Zeir Anpin

(sun)

to Malchus

(moon).

And to note,

that according to the above,

the concept of "And Yehonatan said to Dovid" relates to Rosh Chodesh,

for then is the drawing down from Zeir Anpin to Malchus,

and she is remembered [and filled].

And from that it is said "And Yehonatan said to Dovid, 'Tomorrow [is the] new moon,'"

it implies

that "And Yehonatan said to Dovid" relates

(also)

to the matter of "your seat will be missed,"

which is on the eve of Rosh Chodesh.

And one can say the explanation of this,

that in order for the matter of "your seat will be missed" to be,

and that through this there will be "and she is remembered [and filled],"

it is through the giving of power from above.

And this is "And Yehonatan said to Dovid, 'Tomorrow [is the] new moon,'"

for one can say,

that this which is stated "And Yehonatan said to Dovid" before the words "tomorrow [is the] new moon,"

is,

that "And Yehonatan said to Dovid" is the drawing down of the giving of power from Zeir Anpin to Malchus for the matter of "your seat will be missed"

(which is on the eve of Rosh Chodesh)

and that through this there will be "and she is remembered [and filled]"

(on Rosh Chodesh).

Therefore it is stated "And Yehonatan said to Dovid" before "tomorrow [is the] new moon,"

for "And Yehonatan said to Dovid" is the giving of power for the matter of "tomorrow [is the] new moon."

5)

And one can connect this with what is explained in the discourses

on the verse

"And these are the generations of Yitzchak son of Avraham; Avraham begot Yitzchak,"

for it needs to be understood,

behold it already says "Yitzchak son of Avraham," why is it repeated again "Avraham begot Yitzchak"?

And the explanation of this,

that Avraham is a drawing down from above to below, and Yitzchak is an elevation from below to above.

And behold, the elevation from below to above reaches a place more elevated than the place from which the drawing down from above to below comes.

And analogous to that which our Rabbis of blessed memory said,

"If a man emits seed first, a female is born; [if] a woman emits seed first, a male is born."

[If] a woman emits seed first, a male is born.

That the birth that comes through the elevation of Mayin Nukvin

(an elevation from below to above)

is more elevated than the birth that comes through the drawing down of Mayin Duchrin

(a drawing down from above to below).

However, initially there must be the drawing down from above to below, and afterwards there is the elevation from below to above.

And there are two reasons for this.

For it is impossible to have an elevation without the precedence of the drawing down

[and analogous to a woman emitting seed,

that even when a woman emits seed first, it is through the man arousing her].

And also the power that exists in the elevation from below to above to reach a very elevated place

(a woman emitting seed first gives birth to a male),

its drawing down

(its revelation)

is through the drawing down from above to below that precedes the elevation

[and analogous to "When a woman conceives and gives birth,"

that this birth that comes from the woman's seed,

is through the man].

And one can say,

that this [fact] that the power in the elevation from below to above to reach a very elevated place is through the drawing down from above to below

[even though the elevation reaches a place more elevated than the place from which the drawing down comes

(that precedes the elevation)],

is,

for the concept of elevation is the elevation of the lower one,

and therefore,

the power in the elevation to reach very high is in concealment,

and through the drawing down from above

(the drawing down of the upper one)

the power in the elevation of the lower one is revealed

(and it reaches higher than the place from which the drawing down from above comes).

And this is: "Yitzchak ben Avraham, Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak,"

"Yitzchak ben Avraham"

(that Yitzchak himself is the son of Avraham)

is that the elevation itself comes about through the precedence of the drawing down,

and "Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak"

—"gave birth" is a transitive verb, meaning he gives the power of procreation into Yitzchak—

it is

that the power in the elevation of the lower to reach the upper is drawn down

(revealed)

through the drawing down from above

(which precedes the elevation).

And it can be said

that this is the case in "And Yehonatan said to him: Tomorrow is the new moon,"

the drawing down of the giving of power from Zeir Anpin to Malchus concerning the matter of "tomorrow is the new moon,"

which contains two aspects,

analogous to the two aspects in the drawing down from Avraham to Yitzchak:

The giving of power concerning the matter of "your seat will be missed,"

the nullification and elevation of Malchus—like "Yitzchak ben Avraham,"

and the giving of power whereby "your seat will be missed" will bring about "and you will be missed"—like "Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak."

6)

Now, regarding the superiority of elevation from below to above over drawing down from above to below,

there are two aspects:

That the elevation from below to above arouses and draws down from a place more sublime than the drawing down that comes from above on its own.

[As brought above in the discourses, that the superiority of elevation over drawing down is like "if a woman emits seed first, she gives birth to a male,"

that the birth of love in the aspect of the male

(great love)

comes from the arousal from above,

except that the fact that the arousal from above is drawn from the inwardness of the light

(therefore great love is born from it)

is because its drawing down is through the arousal from below.]

And the superiority of the elevation itself,

which is more sublime even than the drawing down that comes through elevation.

And as explained in the discourses,

the superiority of the returning light

(elevation)

is that it returns to the very essence of the Emanator.

Therefore, in the future, specifically to Yitzchak it will be said "for You are our father,"

because then the superiority of the elevation itself will be revealed.

And it can be said

that these two aspects are related to each other.

For the fact that through elevation,

the drawing down is more sublime,

is due to the superiority of the elevation itself.

But now,

when the primary superiority is in the drawing down from above,

the superiority of elevation is that the drawing down through it is a more sublime drawing down,

but in the future the superiority of the elevation itself will be revealed.

And based on this, it can be said

that the concept of Yitzchak

[ben Avraham]

is more sublime than the concept of

[Avraham]

gave birth to Yitzchak.

For the concept of "gave birth to Yitzchak,"

the drawing down of the power of procreation into Yitzchak,

the birth of love in the aspect of the male through the elevation of the female waters

("when a woman conceives and gives seed"),

is the superiority of the drawing down that comes through elevation.

And the concept of Yitzchak

(ben Avraham)

is the superiority of the elevation itself.

And this is why in "Yitzchak ben Avraham," Yitzchak is mentioned before Avraham,

while in "Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak," Avraham is mentioned before Yitzchak,

because in "Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak,"

the primary superiority is in the drawing down,

so the beginning and the main thing is Avraham,

while in "Yitzchak ben Avraham"

(Yitzchak himself),

the primary superiority is in the elevation,

so Yitzchak is mentioned first,

because he is the main thing

(and afterwards it explains that the way to arrive at the elevation of Yitzchak is through a drawing down from above to below,

"ben Avraham").

7)

And likewise is it with Yehonasan and Dovid,

that is, Zeir Anpin and Malchus,

at present,

Zeir Anpin is above Malchus,

for Zeir Anpin bestows upon Malchus.

Therefore,

the primary virtue is in the drawing down of Zeir Anpin

(to Malchus),

and she is remembered.

And the virtue of "I will visit your dwelling place"

(the nullification and ascent of Malchus)

is that through this, "she is remembered" is effected.

And as explained in the discourses,

that the elevation of the eve of Rosh Chodesh is so that through this there will be the drawing down on Rosh Chodesh.

And in the future to come, the aspect of Malchus will be revealed as it is in its own essence,

that it will receive from Ein Sof Himself

(like Zeir Anpin).

And as it is written,

"And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun,"

that the moon will shine from itself,

like the sun.

And more than this,

that afterwards the root of Malchus will be revealed, which is above the root of Zeir Anpin, and then Malchus will be above Zeir Anpin,

"A woman of valor is the crown of her husband."

And this is what is stated

(in the haftarah for the day before Rosh Chodesh)

"Until Dovid became great,"

that Dovid is above Yehonasan.

And it is known

that the beginning of the ascent of Malchus is that it becomes nullified from its existence and becomes a point under the Yesod

[which in general is the matter of "I will visit your dwelling place"],

and through this it becomes a vessel for ascents above this,

up to the ascent of "a woman of valor is the crown of her husband."

And based on this, it can be said,

that this that the elevation of the eve of Rosh Chodesh

("I will visit your dwelling place")

is so that through this on Rosh Chodesh there will be the drawing down from Zeir Anpin

("and she is remembered"),

is now,

but in the future,

the virtue of "I will visit your dwelling place"

is that through this the revelation of the root of Malchus itself is drawn.

8)

And behold, this that sun and moon are Zeir Anpin and Malchus is like sun and moon in the matter of the Sefiros.

But above this,

sun and moon are the Holy One, blessed be He,

("Sun is Havayah")

and Israel

(who are comparable to the moon).

And as brought above

(at the beginning of the maamar)

from the discourses,

that "I will visit your dwelling place"

(of Dovid,

the moon)

is the self-nullification of Israel,

and through this "she is remembered" is effected,

that the Holy One, blessed be He, is, as it were, reminded of them and remembers them.

And it can be said,

that just as through "I will visit your dwelling place" of Malchus, its matter and root of Malchus itself are revealed,

that it does not need to receive from Zeir Anpin

(the sun),

and more than this, that through this there will be the ascent of Malchus above Zeir Anpin,

likewise is it regarding "I will visit your dwelling place" of Israel,

that through the self-nullification of Israel, their aspect above the aforementioned is revealed,

that Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, are completely one,

therefore they do not, as it were, need to receive from the Holy One, blessed be He,

for they are truly one,

and more than this,

that since "for the work of Your hands You long,"

Israel are, as it were, bestowers upon the Holy One, blessed be He,

"a woman of valor is the crown of her husband."

And this is "and she is remembered, for I will visit your dwelling place,"

that even though the matter of remembrance is in the level of Ein Sof, before Whom everything is considered as nothing,

nevertheless, the self-nullification of Israel

("I will visit your dwelling place")

arouses in this level that there be "and she is remembered,"

for this that in order to arouse above it is through the one who arouses having worth and importance,

is

when the one who arouses is an existence unto itself,

but through the self-nullification of "I will visit your dwelling place," their supernal aspect of Israel is revealed, that they are one with the Holy One, blessed be He,

truly one.

9)

And it was explained above

(at the beginning of the maamar)

that the matter of "tomorrow is the new moon" is

the drawing down of a new light.

And one may connect this with what is said in the discourses of the Tzemach Tzedek, that "tomorrow"

(the new moon)

refers to the future to come,

in the manner of our Sages' statement,

"tomorrow to receive their reward,"

for in the future to come there will be a revelation of a new light that did not shine even before the tzimtzum.

And through this, there will then be the most supreme renewal in all matters:

in Israel—that they are destined to be renewed like her,

in Torah—"a new Torah from Me shall go forth,"

and through Israel and Torah there will also be renewal in creation—"new heavens and a new earth."

And the verse continues,

"so shall your seed and your name stand,"

that even in the future to come,

when there will be new heavens and a new earth, the service of Israel

now

will stand and be recognizable, for through it the renewal is effected.

And the Holy One, blessed be He, will delight

(and will play)

with Israel,

for through them His longing and desire to have a dwelling place in the lower worlds is fulfilled.

May it be His will,

that the speaking of these matters,

and especially on Shabbat Mevarchim the month,

and moreover on the eve of Rosh Chodesh

[tomorrow is the new moon],

hasten and speed the revelation of Dovid, the king Messiah,

"Dovid, king of Israel, lives and endures,"

may he come and redeem us and lead us upright to our land,

in the true and complete redemption.

And all this in an immediate manner,

like the birth of the moon which is in an instant, in the blink of an eye,

"immediately they are redeemed."