English translation — מאמר אשר ברא תשל"ט

With the help of Heaven.

Night of the 14th of Kislev, 5739*

“Who created joy and gladness, groom and bride, exultation, song, delight, and cheer, love and brotherhood, peace and friendship.”

And the Rebbe, my father-in-law, brings in his maamar beginning with the words “This”

(in the pamphlet of wedding discourses of 5689)

the passage of the Zohar in Parshat Terumah

which explains there all seven blessings in detail,

and he says there regarding the seventh blessing

[which includes all the blessings],

“The seventh one sustains everything,

and from this seventh one all are blessed, certainly the inclusive principle of the ten utterances,

because this includes supernal and lower, and therefore it includes ten kinds of joy, etc.”

And he explains in the maamar,

that the inclusive principle of the ten utterances includes the Ten Commandments

(supernal)

and the Ten Utterances

(lower),

and since this blessing is the inclusive principle of the ten utterances, therefore it has ten expressions of joy

(aside from the words “groom and bride”)

which are the aspect of joy in each particular Sefirah

[for specifically through this the Sefiros are in their completeness,

as understood from what is explained in many places

on the verse

“The mother of the children is joyous”].

And the Zohar continues there

(brought in the maamar there)

regarding the seventh blessing,

“Fortunate are Israel, who merited below corresponding to the supernal pattern.”

And this is

that this blessing is

(also)

praise and thanksgiving to the Holy One, blessed be He, for that Israel, through their service, refine and purify the lower realm

(below)

so that it will be corresponding to the supernal pattern,

and through this they draw down the revelation of the Ein Sof, blessed be He, even into the supernal worlds

(above).

2)

And the explanation of the matter

(and also the connection of the matter of “merited below corresponding to the supernal pattern” to the matter of groom and bride),

is,

that all matters below are derived from their counterpart above,

and in the language of the Tanya

“that they were derived from them,”

and so it is with groom and bride

(below),

that they are derived from the groom and bride above,

the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel.

And as explained in the Midrashim of our Sages, that the groom and bride mentioned in Song of Songs refer to the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel.

And as our Sages, of blessed memory, said

“on the day of his wedding”

— this is the Giving of the Torah,

for the Giving of the Torah is the aspect of the marriage of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel.

And it can be said that this is the aspect of “and a good heart makes a constant feast,”

for every single day there is the matter of the Giving of the Torah,

as we say in the blessing over the Torah

(which we bless every day)

“the Giver of the Torah” in the present tense,

to the extent that every day, whoever reads and reviews, the Holy One, blessed be He, reads and reviews opposite him,

and the Alter Rebbe explains

that this that the Holy One, blessed be He, reads and reviews opposite him is exactly like it was at the time of the Giving of the Torah the first time.

Therefore they said

(regarding practical law)

“Just as there [it was] with awe, fear, trembling, and perspiration, so too here [it must be] with awe, fear, trembling, and perspiration.”

And particularly according to what is explained

that these four expressions

(awe, fear, trembling, and perspiration)

correspond to the four letters of the Name Havayah,

for at the Giving of the Torah there was the revelation of the Name Havayah to each and every Jew,

and this revelation is also present in the engagement with Torah now.

And behold, through engaging in Torah, one also affects the world so that it becomes a vessel for G-dliness.

For through the Torah having traveled and descended etc. until it became clothed in physical matters so that a person can grasp it in his thought, speech, and action,

through this one also draws down into the world.

For it is known

that the Ten Utterances with which the world was created

correspond to the Ten Commandments,

as it is brought in the Zohar

on the verse,

"Ten, ten the shekel for the holy shekel,"

and therefore through engaging in Torah

(the Ten Commandments)

one affects the Ten Utterances,

so that they too will be in the holy shekel.

And it can be said,

that this—that the Ten Utterances and the Ten Commandments are equivalent one opposite the other—

the intention in this is also that each one affects the other.

For just as the Ten Commandments affect

(as above)

the Ten Utterances,

and as the statement,

"He looked into the Torah and created the world,"

that the creation of the world is through the Ten Utterances as they are in the Torah,

which later descended in the aspect of "ordinary speech"

to bring the world into existence,

so too is it conversely,

that man's service in the matters of the world, which was created through the Ten Utterances of "ordinary speech," affects the Ten Commandments

[therefore there is an interpretation

in the Zohar's statement on the verse "Ten, ten" etc.,

that the Ten Utterances are higher than the Ten Commandments].

And it can be said that this is according to what is explained in Iggeret HaKodesh,

that the clarification of a law in Torah is specifically through a soul in a body,

and therefore the supernal ones come to hear novel Torah insights from the lower ones

(and as our sages said

on the verse,

"Friends hearken to your voice").

And to the extent that the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the ministering angels, "What are you asking Me? I and you will go to the court below."

And so too is it with a bridegroom and bride,

that despite the fact that the bridegroom and bride below are derived from the aspect of bridegroom and bride above,

whose concept in the Sefiros is Zeir Anpin and Malchus,

and higher still, the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah

(bridegroom and bride)

are the matter of Ein Sof before the tzimtzum and the line, as explained at length in the discourses of my master, the Rebbe Maharash,

to the extent that the concept of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah is also before the tzimtzum,

nevertheless,

specifically through the service below

(and in particular through the joy of the bridegroom and bride below)

they draw additional light into the bridegroom and bride above, even as they are in their first root before the tzimtzum.

And in the manner that specifically through engaging in Torah and mitzvos below, the union of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah is effected,

as explained in Tanya,

even as they are supernal beyond supernal.

3)

And the discourse38

precisely asks: why does it preface joy and gladness before groom and bride,

when the joy

(in this blessing)

is that which makes the groom and bride rejoice, as per the statement39

"How does one dance before the bride?"

Also, it is not understood40

regarding what is said: "which He created... groom and bride,"

for since the beginning of the concept of groom and bride is the supernal groom and bride,

how can one say about this "which He created,"

a term of creation?

And even the bride

(the supernal one),

the Sefirah of Malchus,

is included among the Sefiros of Atzilus

[ten and not nine41,

for Malchus completes the Sefiros,

"Anochi"42

"the peace of the faithful of Israel"43],

and certainly regarding the supernal groom, who is Zeir Anpin,

how can the term "creation" be said of him?

And it explains44 by prefacing what is said45

"Before Me no god was formed,"

which is not understood46

how the term "formation" can apply to the name Kel, which is one of the names of the Holy One, blessed be He,

from the seven names that are not erased47.

And the precision in this verse is even greater than the precision in the blessing "which He created,"

since formation

("formed")

is lower than creation

("created").

And the concept is,

as explained in the discourse44,

that the name Kel pertains to the worlds.

For the name Kel is in Chesed48,

and regarding the matter of Chesed it is written49

"For I said, 'The world is built with kindness,'"

the intent being that the building of the world is through the Sefirah of Chesed, and that the building of the Sefirah of Chesed is for the sake of the coming-into-being of the worlds50.

Therefore, the term "formation" applies to the name Kel, as it is the source for the worlds.

And similarly51

it is also regarding the aspect of the groom

(to which the term "creation" applies),

for "groom" is from the term "Chot Darga"52

[for although the distinction between Zeir Anpin

(groom)

and Malchus

(bride)

is that Malchus, even as it is in Atzilus, is the root and source of Biyah, unlike Zeir Anpin which is the end of the worlds of the Ein Sof

(as explained in Torah Or53

by the holy "Kiy"k Admo"r"),

nevertheless, "groom" is from the term "Chot Darga"],

descent,

and therefore the term "creation" applies to him.

4)

And the explanation of the matter:

It is known that the cause of the creation of the world and the entire order of the chain of descent is the kindness within Ein Sof,

as is explained at length in the discourse "Atah Echad" of the Mitteler Rebbe54

and in several of his discourses.

And the matter of the kindness within Ein Sof is the entirety of the principle of revelation,

and as the Tzemach Tzedek explains in his notes on Tehillim55

on the verse56

"Kel, Elokim, Hashem spoke and called to the earth,"

that these names exist even before the tzimtzum,

Kel

(kindness)

indicates the beginning of the revelation of the light

(that which filled the place of the void57).

Therefore the name Kel precedes the name Elokim,

for first is the matter of revelation, and it is the root and cause of coming-into-being,

and afterwards

(in order for their actual coming-into-being to be possible)

there was the tzimtzum,

Elokim.

And also in the coming-into-being itself, in which the tzimtzum precedes, as our sages said58

"At first it arose in thought to create the world with the attribute of judgment,"

nevertheless, in addition to the fact that the tzimtzum is for the sake of revelation

(as explained in the continuation of the discourse of Ta"aR"B59

and in many places),

the tzimtzum itself is also from the aspect of kindness,

and as the Maggid explains60

that the tzimtzum above is like a father who contracts his intellect etc. for the sake of his young son etc., love caused the tzimtzum.

That is, the tzimtzum is in order that the light be drawn down and received in the lower beings,

to the extent that there will be drawn down into them a revelation of a light more elevated than the light that shone in revelation before the tzimtzum61.

And to the extent that there will be a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He,

for His very Essence

[in the analogy of a person's dwelling,

that the person's essence dwells in the dwelling]62,

and that the Essence will be in them in revelation, as it is said63

"And your Teacher will no longer be concealed."

5)

And the cause of the structure of kindness

(in order that there be the coming-into-being of the world)

is that "He desires kindness"64.

And the matter of "He desires kindness" is above kindness

(not only above kindness as it is in the emotions, but above even its root as it is in the intellect etc.),

for its meaning is desire,

will and delight,

except that the desire is that there be kindness65.

And this desire is the cause of the structure of kindness from which the world is built.

And it can be said,

that "chatan" (groom), from the term "chot darga" (descending a level), is the aspect of desire

(kindness)

that is above kindness.

For this, that there was aroused in the will and desire that there be kindness, is a descent

(chot darga)

relative to the Essence of Ein Sof.

[And it can be said that this is what is said in the discourse66

that "chatan" is connection,

and it is that Ein Sof connected itself, as it were, to create the world,

for it can be said,

that this, that Ein Sof connected itself, as it were, to create the world, is the matter of will and desire.]

And since the descent to be "He desires kindness" is a descent beyond comparison,

therefore the term "creation" (briah) applies to it,

"which He created... the groom."

Based on this, it will also be understood why regarding the groom the term "creation" is used,

and regarding the name Kel the term "formation" (yetzirah) is used

("before Me no god was formed"),

for "He desires kindness"

(which is only a desire and will that there be kindness)

is above form,

and therefore only the term "creation" applies to it,

but not so regarding kindness

(the name Kel in kindness),

even as it is before the tzimtzum,

since it is a form

(of kindness),

the term "formation" applies to it.

6)

And this is "who created joy and gladness, groom and bride," etc.,

which refers

(also)

to the creation of the supernal groom and bride

(from whom the lower groom and bride are drawn down).

And that they are called by the name groom and bride

(for the name by which it is called in the Holy Tongue indicates the inner content of the thing, and even that it is the one that brings into being, enlivens, and sustains the thing, according to the well-known teaching of the Baal Shem Tov67),

is,

because "groom" (chasan) is from the term "chos" (degree), as explained above

(section 3),

and "bride" (kallah) is from the term "kilyon" (cessation) and from the term "kalta nafshi" (my soul yearns)68

[which are two aspects within the bride,

as explained in Likkutei Torah69].

And the intention in the creation of the supernal groom and bride is so that from them the lower groom and bride may be drawn down,

and as explained above

(section 3)

in the interpretation of the verse "For I said, 'The world is built with kindness,'" that the building of the Sefirah of Chessed is in order that there should be the coming into being of the world.

Therefore, through the service of Israel below, and particularly in this matter of bringing joy to the groom and bride

(in their simple, literal sense below),

through this they effect both above and below,

to the extent that it becomes "Gladden the beloved companions as You gladdened Your creation in the Garden of Eden from before"70

(before the sin)

when the world was in its fullness71,

"These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created"72,

"generations" is full73.

And moreover,

since the intention of the descent

(of the world)

that occurred through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge is for the sake of an ascent,

it is therefore understood that the ascent is to a place higher than it was before the descent,

and therefore,

through the service

(after the sin)

there will be an ascent even more elevated than it was at the beginning of creation,

"These are the generations of Peretz"74,

"generations" is full73,

for the "generations is full" in this verse is higher than the "generations is full" at the beginning of creation.

And the revelation of this ascent will be at the coming of Moshiach our righteous one,

as it concludes there

(in the generations of Peretz75)

"and Yishai begot Dovid,"

Dovid, the King Moshiach.

And this revelation will be very soon, and speedily in our days,

with kindness and mercy and with revealed and manifest good,

through our deeds and service during the six76

thousand years that the world has existed77

[which includes the aspect of time

(six thousand years)

and the aspect of place

(the world)

together],

and particularly through the service of "Your wellsprings will spread forth,"

the wellsprings of the Baal Shem Tov's teachings,

and particularly as they were revealed by the Alter Rebbe after Yud-Tes Kislev

[as is known the statement of the Rebbe

(the Rebbe Rashab)

of blessed memory78

that the matter of "Your wellsprings will spread forth to the outside" began primarily after Petersburg],

for through this "the Master, that is the King Moshiach, will come"79

for then there will be the marriage of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel80,

and also the marriage of the Holy One, blessed be He, and each individual of Israel,

in complete perfection,

as explained at length in many places81

on the verse82

"As in the days of your exodus from the land of Egypt, I will show him wonders," that the matters of the future will be wonders—nun (fifty) wonders—even relative to the miracles and wonders of the Exodus from Egypt,

for then the matter of the marriage will be in perfection,

very soon,

speedily in our days.