English translation — מאמר וכל בניך תשמ"א

With the help of Heaven.

Shabbat Parshat Vayishlach,

14 Kislev 5741*

"And all your children shall be students of Hashem, and great peace shall be to your children."

And the Rebbe, my master, father-in-law, the Rebbe [Rayatz], brings in his maamar beginning with the word "Zeh"

(in the pamphlet of wedding discourses of 1929),

the statement that "peace of your children" has two explanations.

The first,

that the explanation of "and great peace shall be to your children" is that there will be abundant peace for your children,

according to the explanation of the Metzudat Dovid and the Targum.

And the second,

that the explanation of "and great peace shall be to your children" is that through your children, an increase of peace is made in the world,

as the saying of our Rabbis, of blessed memory,

"Torah scholars increase peace in the world, as it is said, 'And all your children shall be students of Hashem, and great peace shall be to your children.' Do not read 'your children' (banayich) but rather 'your builders' (bonayich)."

And it is explained in the maamar,

that this that Torah scholars are called "your builders" is as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said,

"What are 'builders'? These are Torah scholars who occupy themselves with the building of the world."

And from this it is understood,

that this that Torah scholars increase peace in the world is not from the aspect of the virtue of Torah scholars

(the study of Torah)

as it is in itself,

but rather through this that they occupy themselves with the building of the world,

that through their occupation with Torah, the clarification of the world is accomplished.

And this is "And all your children shall be students of Hashem, and great peace shall be to your children,"

that here two matters are explained.

"And all your children shall be students of Hashem,"

that the explanation of "students of Hashem" is that they are taught in the Torah of Hashem

— the virtue of Torah scholars in themselves,

and afterwards it adds "and great peace shall be to your children; do not read 'your children' but rather 'your builders,'"

the clarification of the world

("your builders")

and the increase of peace in the world,

which is accomplished through the occupation with Torah.

And at the conclusion of the maamar,

that through the matter of "and great peace shall be to your children; do not read 'your children' but rather 'your builders,'"

builders who occupy themselves with the building of the world,

through this, "and great peace shall be to your children" will also be fulfilled in them,

as it is written,

"And may you see children of your children, peace upon Israel,"

that is,

that through the clarification of the world that is accomplished through the occupation with Torah of the Torah scholars,

an increase of peace is drawn down also to the Torah scholars themselves

(according to the explanation of the Metzudot and the Targum regarding "and great peace shall be to your children").

B)

And one can connect this with what is stated at the beginning of our parshah,

"And Yaakov sent messengers before him to Esav his brother, saying, 'Thus shall you say, "With Lavan I have sojourned and I have delayed until now."'"

For the implication of the verse is that Yaakov needed to come first to Esav,

and therefore he gave a reason for having delayed coming to him,

"With Lavan I have sojourned"

(and therefore)

"and I have delayed until now."

And it needs to be understood

why he needed to hurry to come to Esav, to the extent that he needed a reason for having delayed.

And also it needs to be understood

what Rashi explains: "I have sojourned" (garti) has the numerical value of 613,

"With Lavan I have sojourned and I have kept the 613 commandments,"

for Yaakov knew that Esav does not value the matter of keeping the commandments,

so what is he informing him by saying that he kept the 613 commandments?

And behold, the explanation of this is known,

that the blessings with which Yitzchak blessed Yaakov were in order to clarify Esav,

but in order that he could clarify Esav, he first needed to have his service in the house of Lavan.

And this is what Yaakov said: "With Lavan I have sojourned and I have delayed until now,"

for the reason that he delayed going to Esav to clarify him until now

(even though ostensibly he needed to clarify him immediately after receiving the blessings)

is that

(until now)

"With Lavan I have sojourned and I have kept the 613 commandments,"

and after he finished his service in the house of Lavan,

he immediately sent to Esav to clarify him.

3)

Now, the reason that in order to refine Esav, his work in the house of Lavan had to come first,

is explained in several discourses,

and at length in the discourse beginning "Vayishlach" in the continuation of the year 5672,

[concerning] two matters in this.

The first,

that in order to refine Esav, a most exalted light was needed,

and therefore his work in the house of Lavan had to come first,

[which is] the aspect of the supernal whiteness that is above the chain of descent.

And after, through his work in the house of Lavan over the course of twenty years, he drew down all the lights of the aspect of the supernal whiteness,

even to the matter of "And he [Lavan] arose early in the morning and kissed his sons and his daughters etc.",

the drawing down of the supernal whiteness in the aspect of kisses and the adhesion of spirit to spirit to all the matters of Yaakov,

(to the influencers and the recipients,

his sons and his daughters),

he was able to refine Esav.

And the second,

that the need for the preparatory work in the house of Lavan in order to refine Esav is

(not only from the side of the root of Lavan,

the supernal whiteness,

but also)

from the side of the lower Lavan,

Lavan of the kelipah.

For Esav is lower than Lavan,

for Lavan is [the sefiros of] Chochmah, Binah, and Daas of the side of impurity, and Esav is [the sefiros of] Zeir Anpin and Malchus of the side of impurity,

and therefore one must first refine Lavan,

and afterwards go to refine Esav.

4)

Now, the matter is,

that the refinements of Yaakov were, in general, in a manner of from above downward,

by means of the revelation of a supernal light.

For Yaakov is Torah,

[as is known,

that the three Patriarchs are the three lines: Torah, service, and acts of kindness,

Avraham—acts of kindness,

Yitzchak—service,

and Yaakov—Torah],

and the refinement that is through Torah is in a manner of from above downward,

as explained in the discourse beginning "Padeh BeShalom"

regarding the distinction between the refinement of prayer and the refinement of Torah,

that the refinement of prayer is in a manner of from below upward

(it engages with the thing being refined),

and the refinement of Torah is in a manner of from above downward.

For the distinction between these two matters is not only in the manner of refinement,

but also in the order of refinement.

For in the refinement that is in the manner of from below upward

(it engages with the thing being refined),

the order of refinement is also from below upward,

that first one refines the lower and afterwards the upper,

and the refinement in the manner of from above downward

(by means of the revelation of light from above)

is in an order of from above downward.

Therefore,

in the refinements now,

which are

(primarily)

in a manner of from below upward,

the order is that the refinement of the seven lower [sefiros] precedes the refinement of the three upper [sefiros],

and this is why at first there was the conquest of the land of the seven nations and afterwards

(in the future)

will be the conquest of the Keni, Kenizi, and Kadmoni,

and known is the explanation of the Baal HaGeulah of Yud Tes Kislev

[that the ascent of Yud Tes Kislev is on the Shabbos that follows it]

that in the conquest of Yehoshua only the seven [lower] sefiros were refined

(and the intellectual faculties that relate to the [lower] sefiros),

and the three upper [sefiros] will be refined in the future,

but not so in the refinements of Yaakov,

which were in a manner of from above downward,

the order was that first he refined [the sefiros of] Chochmah, Binah, and Daas

(Lavan)

and afterwards [the sefiros of] Zeir Anpin and Malchus

(Esav).

5)

Now, it is known,

that although in general the refinement in a manner of from above downward is more exalted than the refinement in a manner of from below upward,

there is an advantage in the refinement in a manner of from below upward over the refinement in a manner of from above downward,

for the refinement in a manner of from above downward,

since the refinement is from the side of the revelation of light

(and not from the side of the lower entity itself),

it does not relate so much to the lower entity itself,

but not so in the refinement in a manner of from below upward,

the lower entity itself becomes a vessel for Elokus.

And this is why even after Yaakov effected the refinement of Esav,

even to the point of "And Esav ran toward him and embraced him etc. and kissed him",

he [Yaakov] said to him,

"I will proceed slowly etc. until I come to my lord, to Seir",

and when will he go? In the days of Moshiach,

as it is stated,

"And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esav",

for the refinement of Esav that was done by Yaakov was through the revelation of light from above

(as above),

and therefore the refinement was not complete,

and the completion of his refinement in the days of Moshiach is through our deeds and service during the time of exile,

[which is] refinement in a manner of from below upward.

And it can be said,

that this, that his refinement first came about through Yaakov in a manner of from above downward, is a giving of power so that afterwards the refinement in a manner of from below upward could be.

6)

And it must be understood:

Behold, the Torah is eternal,

and all the stories and instructions in the Torah are eternal instructions,

and since the service now is in a manner of from below to above,

why is it written in the Torah,

and at length,

the story of "And Yaakov sent messengers... to Esav,"

whose content is a refinement from above to below.

And even more so, it requires explanation that it is recounted in the Torah

(which is eternal)

also the order of Yaakov's refinement,

the refinement of the three upper sefiros

(Lavan)

before the refinement of the seven lower sefiros

(Esav).

And one may say the explanation:

That this which by our forefather Yaakov the refinement was in a manner of from above to below is

(as all the deeds of the forefathers

are)

a sign and a giving of power to the children

for this very service.

And this means:

That in addition to this, that the refinement of Yaakov in a manner of from above to below is a giving of power for the refinement in a manner of from below to above

(the primary refinement of now),

it is a giving of power also for the matter of the refinement in a manner of from above to below of the children,

the refinement that is through Torah.

And within Torah itself — the refinement that is through the inner dimension of Torah,

for the primary matter of refinement in a manner of from above to below is in the inner dimension of Torah.

And as was explained previously

(in the discourse "Pidah B'Shalom")

at length,

that the refinement through the revealed aspect of Torah,

since it is clothed in the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in order to refine clarifications,

is analogous to the refinement in a manner of from below to above,

in a garment

(in a manner of war),

in contrast to the refinement through the inner dimension of Torah,

the Tree of Life

(which is not clothed in Good and Evil),

which is not in a manner of garment,

from above to below.

7)

And behold, the above distinction between the revealed aspect of Torah and the inner dimension of Torah is in general,

but in particular,

each of them contains both matters

(for the Torah was stated in general and in particular).

And the matter is,

as the Alter Rebbe,

the master of the redemption of Yud-Tes Kislev,

[for this Shabbat, from it are blessed all the days that follow it,

including the day of redemption, Yud-Tes Kislev]

wrote in Tanya,

that the study of the inner dimension of Torah is "a lofty and exalted commandment... and brings to a whole heart,"

and brings to a whole heart,"

meaning,

that in the study of the inner dimension of Torah there are two matters.

The first,

that it brings to a whole heart,

for this matter in the inner dimension of Torah pertains to the refinement of the emotions,

and the second,

that the study and knowledge of the inner dimension of Torah

(in its own right)

is "a lofty and exalted commandment" — a matter of the inner dimension of Torah that is above refinements.

And likewise, conversely,

that also in the revealed aspect of Torah there are matters that are above the matter of refinements.

Like the study in a manner of "expound and receive reward"

that does not pertain to action,

which is

(within the revealed aspect of Torah itself)

above the matter of refinements.

And this matter

(that also in the revealed aspect of Torah there is a matter above refinements)

is more emphasized in the Written Torah.

For the study of the Written Torah with understanding and comprehension,

and especially the study of its instructions

(both in the laws of the Written Torah and in its stories)

regarding action,

pertains to the matter of refinements,

in contrast to the study of the stories of the Written Torah as they are in themselves,

and all the more so the reading of the Written Torah that is above comprehension entirely

(for even one who does not understand even the meaning of the words fulfills the mitzvah of Torah study),

is like the inner dimension of Torah that is above refinements.

And as explained in Likkutei Torah

that the inner dimension of Torah is included in the third

in Scripture.

And likewise, conversely,

that also in the book of Tanya,

the Written Torah of Chassidus

(the inner dimension of Torah),

there is also a matter that pertains to refinements,

as the Alter Rebbe wrote in the introduction and also in the gate

(of the Tanya)

that it is founded on the verse

"For this matter is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it," to explain well how it is very near, etc.,

meaning that the intention and purpose of the book of Tanya is to explain how to do it.

But this matter

[that both in the revealed aspect of Torah and in the inner dimension of Torah there are both matters]

is in particular,

but in general,

the revealed aspect of Torah pertains to refinements

(and in a manner of garment),

and the inner dimension of Torah is the Tree of Life that is above the matter of refinements,

and the refinement that is accomplished through the study of the inner dimension of Torah is not in a manner of garment.

8)

And it may be said,

that just as the refinement of Yaakov,

being in a manner of from above to below

(through the revelation of supernal light),

was also in the order of from above to below,

that he refined the three upper sefiros before he refined the emotions,

so too is it in the inner dimension of Torah,

that through the study of Chassidus with understanding and comprehension,

there is accomplished a refinement of the intellect and also of the animal soul,

including also the intellect that is above connection to the emotions.

For the refinement through the revealed aspect of Torah is

(primarily)

in the emotions and in the intellects that are connected to the emotions,

in contrast, through the study of the inner dimension of Torah,

since it is "a lofty and exalted commandment" in its own right

(above this that it "brings to a whole heart"),

the refinement is accomplished also in the essence of the intellect.

And although the conquest of Kini, Kenizi, and Kadmoni

(the essence of the intellect that is above the emotions)

will be only in the future

(after the completion of the refinement of the emotions and the intellects connected to the emotions),

nevertheless,

a semblance of this is also now through the study of the inner dimension of Torah.

And this is what is recounted in the Torah about the manner of Yaakov's refinement

(through the revelation of supernal light)

and also the order of the refinement

(that he began with the refinement of the three upper sefiros),

that these two matters are

(like all matters in the Torah)

eternal instructions also now,

as above.

9)

And one must add,

that the lesson from the order of clarifications of Yaakov

(the three upper Sefiros before the seven lower Sefiros)

also applies regarding the order of the revealed and the inner dimensions of Torah.

For although the beginning of study is in the revealed dimension of Torah,

and in a manner of exertion,

and afterwards is the study of the inner dimension of Torah,

and as the Ari writes,

that the engagement in halachah of the Arizal was with exertion until he would sweat a great sweat in order to break the kelipah,

and from the greatness of his sharpness he would examine six ways in the halachah,

and only afterwards would he examine matters of sod,

nevertheless,

knowledge of the fundamental matters of the inner dimension of Torah in a manner of a simple premise that is above comprehension must be before the study of the revealed dimension of Torah,

so that through this,

even the study of the revealed dimension

(and the clarification through it)

is in a more elevated manner.

And the concept is,

that the revealed dimension of Torah is generally within limitation,

and the inner dimension of Torah is without limitation,

and through knowledge of the matters of the inner dimension of Torah in a manner of a simple premise as above,

and all the more so through the study of the inner dimension of Torah with understanding and comprehension,

and especially when the study itself is in a manner of "when He expands,"

above measure and limitation

[And simply,

that he does not take time into account,

whether he is still in the middle of the set time or whether it is already after the set time],

behold through this even the study of the revealed dimension is in a manner above measure and limitation,

and also the clarification through the study of the revealed dimension,

despite it being a clarification through enclothing,

is in a more elevated manner.

10)

And 4)

And behold, although that which through the study of the inner dimension of Torah an advantage is made in the study of the revealed dimension and in the clarification through it is seemingly a matter of descent relative to the study of the inner dimension of Torah as it is in itself,

nevertheless,

since the perfection of a dwelling place in the lower realms is that the lower realm itself should be a vessel for G-dliness,

and this matter is specifically through the clarification that is in the manner of enclothing

(as above section 5),

it must be said,

that through the drawing down of the inner dimension of Torah into the revealed dimension of Torah,

through which an advantage is made in the study of the revealed dimension and in the clarification through the study of the revealed dimension,

it is elevated to a level higher than it was in itself.

11)

A)

And this is "And all your children are students of Hashem, and great peace to your children,"

that "all your children are students of Hashem,"

they are taught in the Torah of Hashem,

is the level of the study of Torah,

and particularly the inner dimension of Torah

(the Torah of Hashem),

as it is in itself,

and "great peace to your children" — do not read "your children" but "your builders" — is the matter of clarification in the world through the engagement in Torah.

And since through this

(the clarification through the engagement in Torah)

an elevation of Torah is made from how it is in itself,

therefore the maamar explains and concludes,

that through the matter of "your builders,"

builders who engage in the building of the world,

it will also be fulfilled in them

(in the Torah scholars themselves)

"and great peace to your children."