English translation — מאמר והי' עקב תשמעון תשט"ז

With the help of Heaven.

Shabbos Parshas Eikev,

20 Menachem-Av,

the year 5716

(An unedited draft)

"And it will be, because you will listen to these ordinances and keep and do them, then Hashem your G-d will keep for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore [to your forefathers]."

And the precise point in this is known,

that the expression "tishme'un" (you will listen) means you will surely listen,

and this is because "eikev" refers to the time of the heels of Moshiach (Ikvasa d'Moshicha),

and since it is the very last generation,

therefore you will surely listen,

because it is the very last generation and it is impossible to wait any longer,

there is no time left to postpone the refinements (birurim),

and therefore you will surely listen.

Now, in the word "tishma'un" there are three interpretations.

"Tishma'un" from the term of understanding,

as it is written,

"Speak, for your servant is listening."

"Tishma'un" from the term of gathering,

as it is written,

"And Shaul gathered the people."

And "tishma'un" simply, from the term of hearing,

for the matter of hearing relates to thought,

since the ear is only the vessel through which one hears,

but hearing itself is in thought,

and the matter of hearing also relates to speech,

for one hears what is spoken.

And this is what is said: "Tishma'un, and you shall guard, and you shall do,"

for "tishma'un" is thought,

and as above, that hearing is in thought,

"and you shall guard" is speech,

as the saying,

"Guard" refers to Mishnah,

and it is the halachic ruling as it comes in speech,

for when the intellect is in thought,

it is still in concealment,

for there are aspects of permission and purity, and aspects of the opposite,

but when the intellect is revealed in speech,

then there is a halachic ruling.

And then there will be no sustenance for the external forces,

for when it is still in concealment, sustenance is possible,

but when it is revealed, they have no sustenance.

And this is "Guard" refers to Mishnah,

that the Mishnah, whose matter is the revelation of intellect in speech, is a guard against sustenance, etc.

"And you shall do" is action.

And this means that "tishma'un," "and you shall guard," and "and you shall do" are thought, speech, and action.

And the beginning of this is from the aspect of the source of thought, speech, and action within thought itself,

which are the three interpretations in the word "tishma'un,"

for hearing from the term of understanding is thought within thought,

and hearing from the term of gathering is action within thought,

and hearing simply is speech within thought,

for one hears what is spoken.

And this is "And it shall be, because you will listen," etc.,

for when you "listen" in the aspect of the source of thought, speech, and action within thought,

and afterward "listen," "guard," and "do" in actual thought, speech, and action,

then through this, "the L-rd your G-d will keep for you the covenant and the kindness which He swore,"

for these three matters

(covenant, kindness, and oath)

are the drawing down from above.

For covenant is action,

for the matter of cutting a covenant is that one cuts a whole thing into two and passes between them,

so that through this, love between them will be constant,

even in a situation where there is no reason for love,

neither from the aspect of speech,

nor even from the aspect of thought,

and nevertheless there will be love from the aspect of the covenant, which is a matter of actual action.

And kindness is thought,

for kindness is the feeling of the heart and mind,

and therefore it is included in thought.

And especially here it says "and He will keep the kindness,"

as explained

the difference between one who does kindness and one who guards kindness,

for one who does kindness is the doing of kindness,

and one who guards kindness is one who keeps the kindness in his heart and thought.

And oath is speech.

And this is "And it shall be, because," etc., for when there is the service from below upward in thought, speech, and action,

then there will be a drawing down of thought, speech, and action from above downward.

And one must understand the reason for the change of order,

that in the service from below upward, thought, speech, and action are stated in their order,

first thought, then speech and action,

and in the drawing down from above, action is stated first, then thought and speech.

For seemingly,

since the drawing down from above comes through the service of man,

therefore the order of the drawing down from above should be according to the order of service,

and what is the reason that in service the order is that action comes after thought and speech,

and in the drawing down from above, action comes before thought and speech.

B)

And the explanation is,

that the entirety of man's service comes through contemplation,

for the point of service is as the saying of our sages, of blessed memory,

"Which is the service of the heart? This is prayer,"

and before that is the contemplation of the Shema and the blessings of the Shema, etc.,

and it is written,

"Hear, O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One,"

now, the alef of "Echad" indicates the Ein Sof, the Aluf of the world,

and the chet indicates the seven firmaments and the earth,

and the dalet indicates the four directions.

And now,

the dalet is a large dalet,

and it is the aspect of the greatness of speech.

For dalet is the aspect of speech,

and a large dalet is the greatness of speech,

and it is the aspect of speech as it is in thought.

And the explanation is by way of analogy, as we see in man below,

that all the details of the utterances are first included in his thought,

in a single thought,

for this single thought is the source of all the particular utterances,

and not only is thought their source,

but thought includes within itself all the details of the utterances even after they are drawn from it.

And in this way it will be understood also above,

that all the details of the Ten Utterances are first included in a single thought that encompasses them,

and it is the aspect of the utterance of "Bereishis,"

as our sages, of blessed memory, said,

"'Bereishis' is also an utterance,"

for from this language two opposites are understood,

for on one hand it is understood that the utterance of "Bereishis" is included among the utterances,

and on the other hand it is understood that it is above them,

for it needs to be stated that "it is also an utterance,"

because the utterance of "Bereishis" is above the other utterances,

and it is the aspect of the utterances as they are included in thought.

And this is what they said,

"Could not the world have been created with one utterance?"

for "one utterance" refers to the utterance of "Bereishis," which includes within itself all the other utterances,

and therefore, from the one utterance of "Bereishis," all of creation could be created.

And this is the aspect of the large dalet, which is the matter of the particular utterances as they are included in the single thought that encompasses them,

which is the greatness of speech,

for this is not the true matter of thought,

but rather the matter of speech,

except that it is speech as it is still included in thought,

which is the aspect of the greatness of speech.

And this is the matter of "the L-rd is One,"

which is the nullification as it is from the aspect of the large dalet,

the greatness of speech.

However, who are those who contemplate and serve in this state of self-nullification?

This is as the verse says, "Shema Yisrael,"

for Yisrael ascended in thought.

And the explanation of "Yisrael ascended in thought" is that it refers to supernal thought,

which is above the level of thought as it comes in a limited form.

That is to say, not only is it higher in level than the thought that is in speech and the speech that is in thought,

but it is also above the level of thought within thought.

For,

the thought that is in speech is what one thinks about how to speak,

that is, how to explain the particular modes of speech,

and this is not the true essence of thought,

for it is the aspect of thought as it is clothed in the matter of speech,

thinking about how to speak.

And the speech that is in thought is the thought itself, which is above the matter of speech,

but nevertheless it includes speech,

as mentioned above regarding the greatness of speech, that it is the single thought that includes the particulars of speech.

And the true essence of thought is the aspect of thought within thought,

which is like thinking the essence of the intellect before it is clothed in letters,

which is higher in level than the aspect of the intellect after it is clothed in letters.

And the superiority of the intellect before it is clothed in letters over the aspect of the intellect after it is clothed in letters is in two matters.

The first,

that the intellect that is clothed in letters is already depicted in the particular modes of explanation,

which are the letters in which it is clothed,

for the letters are the particular modes of the explanation of the intellect,

but before it is clothed in letters it is not yet depicted in the particular modes of explanation,

and therefore it can be explained in several different ways.

And the second,

that the intellect before it is clothed in letters,

not only is it not depicted in the particular modes of explanation,

but furthermore,

even the intellect itself is in a state of simplicity,

being still abstracted from the particulars of the intellect itself

(not only from the modes of explanation).

However, the aspect of "Yisrael ascended in thought" is the aspect of supernal thought, which is above even the aspect of thought within thought,

for the aspect of thought within thought is still in a state of form,

for although it is devoid of modes and particulars,

nevertheless it is at least in the form of intellect,

but supernal thought is in absolute simplicity.

3)

However, according to this, it must be understood why the soul descended below,

for this is a descent from a high roof to a deep pit

literally,

since the root of the souls is in supernal thought,

then for what benefit did it descend below?

But the explanation is,

that this descent is for the sake of an ascent,

and the ascent is to a level that is above even the aspect of supernal thought.

And the explanation is,

for it is stated in the Gemara,

One verse says,

"And you shall gather your grain,"

and another verse says,

"And strangers shall stand and tend your flocks,"

Here, when Israel does the will of the Omnipresent,

there, when they do not do the will of the Omnipresent.

And the difficulty in this is known,

for the verse "And you shall gather your grain" is stated in the portion of "Vehayah Im Shamoa,"

in which it is said,

"And it will be, if you surely listen... with all your heart and with all your soul,"

so how can it be said about this that it is when they do not do the will of the Omnipresent?

And the Maggid answered,

that since the service is only "with all your heart and with all your soul,"

but the service of "with all your might" is lacking,

therefore it is called "not doing the will of the Omnipresent."

The explanation is,

that the meaning of "they do the will of the Place" is that one must make

(one must create)

the will in the Place.

For "Place" refers to the order of Hishtalshelus,

and Ein Sof Himself is above the aspect of place,

as it is brought in the Midrash24

on the verse25

"Behold, a place is with Me,"

He is the place of the world, but the world is not His place,

therefore one must make the will in the Place,

that is,

not only is the will in the aspect of Place a novelty,

but the matter of the will itself is a novelty,

for Ein Sof is not at all from any of these attributes26,

for He is above all the Sefiros and also above the aspect of will that is within them,

and in order for there to be will, this is a novelty,

as it is said, "May it be [His] will,"

meaning that the aspect of will should be renewed.

And in order for there to be the aspect of will, this is through the fulfillment of Torah and Mitzvos,

as per the statement27

"It is pleasing before Me that I said and My will was done,"

that by causing pleasure before Him, blessed be He, through the fulfillment of Torah and Mitzvos,

then "My will is done,"

meaning the aspect of will is renewed.

And all this is the renewal of will in general,

which is accomplished through the fulfillment of Torah and Mitzvos in general.

However, in order to do the will of the Place,

that is, to renew the will in the Place,

the fulfillment of Torah and Mitzvos alone is insufficient,

rather, this requires the love of "with all your might,"

for in order to make the will in general,

the service as it is from the aspect of "with all your heart and with all your soul" is also sufficient,

but in order to renew the will in the Place,

this specifically requires the service as it is from the aspect of "with all your might."

And this is that the second portion of the Shema is the aspect of "they do not do the will of the Place,"

because the service of "with all your might" is lacking in it,

and specifically through the service of "with all your might" does one do the will of the Place.

4)

The explanation is,

that behold, in will there are two levels,

lower will and higher will.

And these two aspects of will exist in the animal soul,

and from this it will also be understood in the divine soul,

and likewise it will be understood above.

For behold,

the lower will in the animal soul is like one who desires business,

for this will is born from intellect,

for when he understands how the matter of business is good for him,

then he desires it,

and from the will he thinks about the business,

speaks and acts regarding it,

and this will is the lower will,

since it is born from intellect.

And the higher will is a will that is above intellect,

like one who desires to live,

who desires his own existence,

for this will is not from intellect or reason.

And from this aspect of will that desires to live,

the will that desires business is also found,

that is, the will that desires to live is depicted through the intellect into particular wills according to the modes of intellect that he has understood what is good for him,

for all the particular wills are the will that desires to live as it has been depicted through the intellect.

And behold,

the difference between lower will and higher will is,

that lower will is limited,

for since it is born from intellect,

it is limited according to the limitation of the intellect.

And also, this will is only in the externality of the soul,

for being that it is only from contemplation,

it reaches only that place in the soul that the intellect reaches,

but not so the higher will, which is above intellect, is without limit,

and it is the will that is from the inwardness of the soul.

And from this it will also be understood in the divine soul,

that there is in it a lower will and a higher will,

for the lower will is what one desires in Divinity from contemplation,

and the higher will is the aspect of "to love Havayah your God, for He is your life"28,

which is not from reason,

but rather this is his life-force.

Like

(in the animal soul)

the will that desires to live.

And it is the aspect of the higher will, the ratzon that is the source of all wills29.

And likewise it will be understood above,

that the lower will is the will as it comes into Hishtalshelus through Chochmah,

and the higher will is the will that is above reason,

from which all wills are drawn

(and as above in the animal soul, that all wills are drawn from the will that desires to live),

the ratzon that is the source of all wills.

And this is the matter of "they do the will of the Place,"

that is, the making of the will that is above Hishtalshelus,

the higher will,

in the Place,

in Hishtalshelus,

for by drawing down the will that is above Hishtalshelus into Hishtalshelus,

then below there will be conduct that is without limit,

for even within the limitation of Hishtalshelus, the unlimited will shine.

And therefore, at the time that one does the will of the Place, then "strangers will stand and shepherd your flocks,"

for even below there will be conduct without limit.

And it is like the statement30

"On that day Havayah will be One,"

for now it is not as I am written, I am read31,

meaning that now Havayah is in concealment,

but not so in the future, Havayah will be revealed below.

And this drawing down is through the love of "with all your might"24,

for in order to reach the aspect of the unlimited that is above, this is through service with the unlimited that is in the soul,

for although this is not true unlimited,

for it is only "your might"32,

nevertheless, since in man it is at least without limit,

and it is the higher will in man,

behold through this he also draws down the higher will that is above,

and this is the matter of "they do the will of the Place."

5)

And this is: "Hear O Israel, Havayah our G-d, Havayah is One,"

that "Havayah our G-d" is Havayah that is above the chain of descent, as our power and vitality,

which is the aspect of the supernal Havayah,

and "Havayah is One" is the lower Havayah,

for Havayah is the contraction and expansion, the drawing down and spreading forth,

through which

(the lower Havayah)

can be one,

meaning the coming into being of the seven firmaments and the earth and the four directions.

And this is: "Hear O Israel, Havayah our G-d, Havayah is One,"

that "Hear O Israel" is the contemplation,

"Havayah our G-d,"

the supernal Havayah as our power and vitality,

and through this, behold Havayah

(the lower one)

is one,

meaning the bittul (self-nullification).

And this is the matter of the soul's descent below,

because specifically through contemplation below, the service of teshuvah is accomplished in it,

which is the service of "with all your might,"

through which one does the will of the Place (HaMakom),

that is, drawing down the Supernal Will,

which is above even the aspect of the supernal thought,

the root of the souls.

6)

And this is: "And it will be, because you will heed... and you will guard and you will do,"

which is the matter of the service of thought, speech, and action as it is from the aspect of the love of "with all your might,"

behold, through this service,

then "Havayah your G-d will guard for you the covenant and the kindness and the oath,"

for covenant, kindness, and oath are the drawings down that are above the chain of descent,

and this is the matter of "doing the will of the Place."

And this is what is written, "and He will guard the kindness,"

that the intention is in the manner of what is said in the Zohar

on the verse,

"And if a man takes his sister, it is a kindness,"

"a man" refers to the Holy One, blessed be He,

"who takes his sister" refers to the Congregation of Israel

(and this is the matter of the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Congregation of Israel,

the unification of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah),

and why is this? "It is kindness, it is certainly kindness,"

meaning that in order for there to be a drawing down below, this is through the kindness from Him, blessed be He.

And as it is written,

"Remember Your mercies and Your kindnesses, for they are from eternity,"

for the matter of remembering is only said regarding something that can be forgotten,

meaning that because the entirety of the chain of descent does not occupy a place before Him, blessed be He,

therefore we ask, "Remember Your mercies and Your kindnesses,"

for "Your mercies" is the matter of the thirteen attributes of mercy that are above the chain of descent,

as it is written,

"And Havayah passed before his face and called out, Havayah,"

for what is written "and Havayah passed" is the supernal Havayah that is above the chain of descent,

and "Your kindnesses" is the aspect of "abundant kindness" that is above the chain of descent,

"for they are from eternity,"

for "olam" (world) is a term of concealment,

meaning that they are in concealment in their root,

like the matter of the concealed Sefiros,

the Sefiros of the bound ones,

and it is necessary to draw down this aspect into the world in its simple sense,

meaning that even below there should be the drawing down of the unlimited,

and through this, "strangers will stand and shepherd your flocks."

And this drawing down is specifically through the love of "with all your might,"

meaning that it is not sufficient to fulfill the Torah and mitzvos with thought, speech, and action alone,

for thought, speech, and action are only garments that are incomparable to the soul's faculties,

and certainly to the aspect of the will,

as is known, that thought and speech are like cause and effect,

that thought is the cause relative to speech,

and likewise speech relative to action,

but thought, speech, and action relative to the soul's faculties, and especially relative to the will, are incomparable,

therefore the service of "with all your might" is specifically necessary,

through which there will be a drawing down of the Supernal Will.

However, in order for the love of "with all your might" to effect the drawing down of the Supernal Will from above,

a covenant is needed for this,

for since the creations do not occupy any place at all,

how can they draw down through their service?

Rather, it is from the side of the covenant that the service below will draw down the revelations from above.

And therefore the verse precedes the covenant to kindness and oath,

because the entirety of the drawing down is from the side of the covenant.

And this is: "And it will be, because you will heed,"

that in the time of the heels of Moshiach, "you will surely heed,"

because it is the very last generation,

and "no outcast of His will be rejected,"

and therefore "you will surely heed,"

in the aspect of "with all your might,"

and through this, "He will guard the covenant,"

that the redemption from the exile will be with an upraised arm,

through Moshiach our righteousness,

speedily in our days.