English translation — מאמר ועתה ישראל תשכ"ח

B"S"D.

Shabbos Parshas Eikev,

Rosh Chodesh Elul,

23 Menachem Av 5728

"And now, Israel, what does Hashem your G-d ask of you, but to fear [Him]..."

And it is brought in the Gemara:

A person is obligated to recite one hundred blessings every day, as it is said, "And now, Israel, what (Mah) does Hashem your G-d ask of you,"

Do not read it as "Mah" but rather as "Me'ah" (one hundred).

And it needs to be understood,

for "Mah" and "Me'ah" are two different matters,

and furthermore,

they are opposites,

for the word "Mah" indicates that the matter

(being discussed)

is something small,

and "Me'ah" is

a large number, even the completeness of number

[And particularly according to what is explained in Chassidus,

that which is added,

in "Me'ah" over "Mah" is the letter Aleph, the letters of "Peleh" (wonder),

the Ohr HaSovev (Surrounding Light) that is above the chain of descent].

Also, one must understand what the Tur writes

in the name of Rav Natronai Gaon,

that this requirement to recite one hundred blessings every day is an enactment of King Dovid,

as it is written,

"The utterance of the man who was raised on high,"

"On high" (Al) in gematria is 100,

and the homiletic interpretation "Do not read it as Mah but rather as Me'ah" is merely an asmachta (support).

And the reason Dovid enacted the recitation of one hundred blessings is

(as the Tur writes there)

because every day one hundred souls from Israel would die, and they did not know why they were dying, until he investigated and understood through the Holy Spirit, and he instituted one hundred blessings each day.

And it needs to be understood,

that from the fact that the obligation to recite one hundred blessings each day is derived

(in the manner of an asmachta)

from the verse "What does Hashem your G-d ask of you," in which it is stated

(in the continuation of the verse)

"to fear Hashem your G-d... and to love Him,"

it is understood

that in order to come to fear Hashem and love Him, it is through one hundred blessings,

and nevertheless, for many generations

(all the time that one hundred souls did not die each day)

they did not institute the recitation of one hundred blessings each day.

B)

And this will be understood based on what is explained in the discourses that elucidate the matter of blessings

in the explanation of the verse,

"Blessed... from the world and until the world,"

that the matter of blessing is a drawing down from the hidden world (Alma d'Itkasiya) to the revealed world (Alma d'Itgalya),

for regarding the Sefiros, it is the drawing down from Binah

(the hidden world)

to Malchus

(the revealed world).

And regarding the Names, it is the drawing down of the upper Havayah into the lower Havayah.

And the connection of Binah and Malchus to the two Names Havayah is,

for the upper Havayah is Sovev (Surrounding),

and in Binah there is the revelation of Kesser

(Sovev),

and the lower Havayah is Memaleh (Filling),

which shines in Malchus.

And the matter of blessing is the drawing down of the revelation of the upper Havayah into the lower Havayah.

And it is explained in the discourses,

that the drawing down of the upper Havayah into the lower Havayah, which is accomplished through blessing, is in a manner that the two Names become joined together.

And although "Havayah Havayah" has a pause-trope (psik taima) between them,

the pause-trope is not a complete interruption

(like other separations),

and furthermore, it is brought in the Pardes

that the pause-trope between the two Names Havayah unites and connects them,

through the blessing,

the connection of the two Names is a complete connection and union.

3)

And according to the known principle

that the service of man

(an arousal from below)

through which the drawing down is effected

(an arousal from above)

must be commensurate with the drawing down,

it must be said,

that the service through which blessing and drawing down are effected from the hidden world to the revealed world,

is the love of "with all your soul."

And the explanation is,

that the meaning of "with all your soul" is with all the powers of the soul,

intellect and emotions.

And it must be said that the intention in this is,

that the superiority of the love of "with all your soul" over the love of "with all your heart" is,

that in the love of "with all your heart" the primary element is the emotion

[therefore it is said of it "with all your heart," for the heart is the place where the emotions reside],

because the comprehension that gives birth to this love is in the externality of the intellect that relates to the emotions,

and the comprehension of this level is

in the brain and does not illuminate the heart,

therefore the generation of love from the intellect is not in an automatic manner, but rather the intellect must actively produce the love.

And in the love of "with all your soul,"

the comprehension from which the love comes is in the innerness of the intellect,

so that the comprehension of this level illuminates

the heart,

and the drawing down of love from the intellect is in an automatic manner.

Therefore it is said of it "with all your soul,"

all the powers of the soul,

because in this love the intellect is also felt.

[And one may connect this with what is explained elsewhere,

that the love of "with all your heart" is only in the heart, and the love of "with all your soul" is

(not only in the heart,

but)

spread also throughout all the powers and limbs,

and it must be said that the intention in this is,

that in the love of "with all your heart,"

the fact that he fulfills the commandments because of his love for Havayah is in a manner that the love acts upon his deed,

and in the love of "with all your soul,"

his fulfillment of the commandments is in an automatic manner.

And it must be said,

that the drawing down of the emotions into the powers that are below them is analogous to the drawing down of the emotions themselves,

that the emotions are drawn from the intellect in a manner of active causation,

that the intellect must actively produce the emotion,

and their drawing down into the powers below them is in a manner of active causation.

And the emotions that are drawn from the intellect in an automatic manner,

because the intellect also illuminates the heart—their drawing down into the powers below them is in a manner that the emotions themselves spread throughout all the powers and limbs,

and their effect upon the powers and limbs is in an automatic manner].

And since the intellects are hidden things and the emotions are revealed things,

therefore,

through the love of "with all your soul,"

where the intellects also illuminate the heart,

blessing and drawing down are effected from the hidden world to the revealed world.

4)

And there is a further explanation of the distinction between the love of "with all your heart" and the love of "with all your soul,"

that the love of "with all your heart" is in the aspect of "He fills all worlds,"

for since the life-force of the aspect of "He fills all worlds" is enclothed within the creations in their innerness,

therefore, through contemplation, this life-force is felt also in the animal soul,

and the love is "with all your heart," with both your inclinations.

And the love of "with all your soul" is in the aspect of "He encompasses all worlds,"

for since the encompassing light is above enclothement in the worlds,

therefore, when one feels through it the wondrousness of Ein Sof

(the encompassing),

his love for Havayah is in a manner of self-sacrifice,

even if He takes your soul.

And based on this,

the connection of the love of "with all your soul" to the drawing down from the hidden world

(the matter of blessing)

is not only regarding the hidden world as it is in the Sefiros,

Binah,

but also regarding the hidden world

(the encompassing)

as it is in the totality of revelations

(the filling).

And it must be said,

that this—that through the love that comes from the feeling of the wondrousness of Ein Sof, the drawing down is effected from the hidden world

(the encompassing)

to the revealed world

(the filling)—

is primarily when this love,

which is from the aspect of Chayah

(the encompassing),

is felt also in his Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah

(the internal)

of him.

And through this, the union of the encompassing and the filling is effected.

5)

And it is known,

that in order for there to be the union of the encompassing and the filling, it is through the drawing down of Ein Sof that is above the encompassing and the filling.

And this is

"Do not read 'Mah' (what) but rather 'Me'ah' (one hundred),"

"Mah" is Malchus,

the filling,

"Me'ah" is Arich,

the encompassing,

and "Do not read 'Mah' but rather 'Me'ah'" means that even in "Mah"

(the filling)

there should be the drawing down of "Me'ah"

(the encompassing).

And the difference between "Me'ah" and "Mah" is that the letter Alef is added to it,

for Alef is the aspect of Atik

(the aspect of "one and not in number")

which is above the encompassing.

And it must be said,

that the reason for this—that by adding an Alef to the word "Mah" it becomes "Me'ah"—

is,

that Alef is the aspect of Atik,

through which the union of the encompassing

("Me'ah")

and the filling

("Mah") is effected,

and therefore,

through the

(addition of)

Alef, "Mah" becomes "Me'ah."

And likewise is it in the service of man,

that in order for there to be a connection of the aspect of Chayah

(encompassing)

with the aspect of Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah

(internal),

so that the love of "with all your soul" will be felt also in the internal powers

[and likewise the connection of the intellect and the emotions],

it is through the service of mesirut nefesh (self-sacrifice),

which is from the aspect of Yechidah.

And one can explain from the elucidations on this,

that by one giving himself over to G-dliness,

the essence of all his powers is to fulfill the will of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And since the encompassing and the internal

[and likewise the intellect and the emotions]

their essence is not their own existence but rather to fulfill the will of the Holy One, blessed be He,

therefore they do not contradict each other, and on the contrary, they become joined together.

6)

And this is that the enactment to recite one hundred blessings each day was specifically when one hundred souls died each day,

because the revelation of the power of mesirut nefesh is through concealments and veils.

[And according to the known principle

that in the time of exile,

and particularly in the generation of the footsteps of Moshiach,

the power of mesirut nefesh is more revealed than in the time of the Holy Temple].

And therefore,

the enactment to recite one hundred blessings was specifically after one hundred souls died each day,

because this that each day one hundred souls died

(for one hundred souls is the completeness of number)

is because they were then in a state opposite to freedom from the Angel of Death,

which is the evil inclination,

and through this the power of their mesirut nefesh was then aroused.

And therefore they enacted then to recite one hundred blessings,

through which is made the connection of the Surrounding and the Filling,

because through the revelation

(of the power of mesirut nefesh that is from)

the Yechidah, there is a drawing down of Atik,

the Alef of "one hundred,"

the aspect of "one and not in number,"

and through this is made the connection of "Mah"

(Filling)

and "Me'ah"

(Surrounding),

read not "Mah" but "Me'ah."

And based on this, we can also explain the statement of the Midrash

"There is no 'Now' except the language of repentance, as it is said, 'Now Israel, what does Hashem your G-d ask of you.'"

And according to the known principle

that all the interpretations of that verse are connected to each other,

it is understood

that this that "Hashem your G-d asks of you 'Mah'"

— one hundred blessings —

is related to the matter of repentance,

and "Now."

For since penitents conquer their inclination more than the completely righteous,

and in order for a person to be able to stand against his inclination, it is through remembering the matter of mesirut nefesh,

therefore,

the primary revelation of the power of mesirut nefesh is in penitents.

And this is "Now etc., 'What does Hashem your G-d ask of you,'"

for through the revelation of mesirut nefesh that comes through repentance,

"Now,"

it is possible to have the matter of one hundred blessings,

"What does Hashem your G-d ask of you."

7)

And it is necessary to understand,

that in the aforementioned study,

in order that "Mah"

(Malchut,

Memaleh)

should become "Me'ah"

(Arich,

Sovev)

it is through the Alef

(Atik)

that is added to it,

but from its own perspective, it does not have the concept of "Me'ah" at all,

not even in a concealed manner,

and from the language of our Sages, of blessed memory: "Do not read it as 'Mah' but as 'Me'ah',"

that "Me'ah" is the *kri* (how it is read) of the *ktiv* (how it is written) of "Mah"

(for *ktiv* and *kri* are concealment and revelation),

it implies

that in "Mah" itself there is the concept of "Me'ah," except that it is in concealment.

Also, it is necessary to understand what is stated in the first portion,

"with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might," and in the second portion it is stated

only "with all your heart and with all your soul,"

for at first glance,

since the second portion speaks of those who need to be warned, "Take heed

for yourselves, lest your heart be enticed, etc.,"

behold, in the second portion the matter of *mesirut nefesh* (self-sacrifice) is more relevant,

and nevertheless,

the concept of "Bechol Me'odecha"

(which seemingly is the matter of *mesirut nefesh*)

is stated specifically in the first portion.

And the explanation of this can be said,

that the concept of "Bechol Me'odecha" as it is in the form of love

("And you shall love... with all your might"),

since the matter of love is

(like all the *midot* [emotional attributes])

the feeling that one loves,

except that this love is without limit,

it is the revelation of the essence of the soul as it relates to revelation

(feeling).

For the love that comes from the revealed powers

(including also the love from the *makif* [encompassing light] of *Chayah*)

is limited,

and the love of "Bechol Me'odecha," which is without limit, is from the essence of the soul

(as it relates to revelation).

And the revelation of the essence of the soul that is above relation to revelation,

is in the matter of *mesirut nefesh*.

For this that every Jew,

even the most lowly,

sacrifices his soul for the sanctification of G-d's Name,

is not from the feeling of love,

for this that he sacrifices his soul is not from his own will,

but because he cannot separate himself, G-d forbid, from His Oneness.

And likewise, regarding the fulfillment of all 613 *mitzvot* through remembering the matter of *mesirut nefesh*,

that after one contemplates

(and feels within himself)

that through any transgression he becomes separated from His Oneness, like idolatry,

this that he does not transgress the sin is because he cannot separate himself, G-d forbid, from His Oneness.

And therefore, "Bechol Me'odecha" is not stated in the second portion of *Kriat Shema*,

for the guarding "lest your heart be enticed, etc." is

(not through the love of "Bechol Me'odecha,"

but rather)

through remembering the matter of *mesirut nefesh*, by virtue of which one cannot transgress the command of G-d.

8)

And this is: "And now, Israel, what does Hashem your G-d ask of you?"

"Mah" is self-nullification, like "And we are what (*Mah*),"

and it is the essential self-nullification that comes from the essence of the soul.

And the explanation of "what does Hashem your G-d ask of you" is that Hashem your G-d asks of you the self-nullification of "Mah."

And although this self-nullification

(that comes from the essence of the soul)

is always in a state of perfection,

behold, the self-nullification of "Mah" that exists in every Jew is in concealment.

And the concealment is not only because of the animal soul that conceals and hides it,

but also from its own perspective it is hidden,

because it is above revelation,

and "Hashem your G-d asks of you" to reveal the "Mah."

And in this request

(that Hashem your G-d asks to reveal the "Mah"),

there are two matters.

To reveal the "Mah" as it is, through remembering the matter of *mesirut nefesh*.

And also to reveal it through one hundred blessings

(as per the homiletic interpretation of our Sages: "Do not read it as 'Mah' but as 'Me'ah'"),

the connection of the aspect of *Chayah* with the aspect of *Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah*,

through which the "Mah" of the aspect of *Yechidah* is revealed

(for in order for there to be a connection of *Makif* and *Pnimi* [encompassing and internal], it is specifically through the essence).

And based on this, it will be understood that "Me'ah" is the *kri* of "Mah,"

for the self-nullification of "Mah" that comes from the essence of the soul is an aspect of concealment that is above revelation

(*ktiv*),

and "Me'ah,"

the connection of *Chayah* with *Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah* that is made through the revelation of the essence of the soul,

is the revelation

(*kri*)

of "Mah."

[And it should be added,

that also the Alef of "Mah,"

the aspect of *Yechidah* through which the connection of *Chayah* with *Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah* is made,

is lower than the aspect of "Mah."

For the aspect of *Yechidah* through which the connection of *Chayah* with *Nefesh-Ruach-Neshamah* is made

(the Alef of "Me'ah")

is the essence that relates to the revealed powers,

and the self-nullification of "Mah" is from the essence of the soul that is above relation to revelation].

And through the fact that Israel fulfill the request of the Holy One, blessed be He, to reveal the Mah of the soul in the two aforementioned manners — the revelation of the Mah itself as it is above form,

and its revelation as it is drawn into actuality in the particular levels of the soul

(Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah, Chayah, Yechidah)

— through this the Holy One, blessed be He, will fulfill the request of Israel,

both the general and essential request, "One thing I have asked"45

as it is in itself — "that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,"

and also as it is drawn into many particulars

("to behold the pleasantness of the Lord and to visit His Temple," etc.),

and the Holy One, blessed be He, gives each and every one of Israel a good writing and sealing46

for a good and sweet year in materiality and spirituality, below ten handbreadths.