English translation — מאמר ושמתי כדכד שמשתיך תשט"ז

B'Siyata D'Shmaya.

Shabbos Parshas Re'eh,

Rosh Chodesh Elul,

the year 5716 *

(An unedited draft)

"And I will make your windows of kadkod"1,

And our sages, of blessed memory, said2,

One said they are shoham and one said they are yashfeh; the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let it be like this and like this.

Now, this verse is one of the promises that will be in the future redemption that will come through Moshiach Tzidkeinu, speedily in our days.

And there are two aspects in this,

[the aspects of] shoham and yashfeh,

And the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let it be like this and like this.

And to understand these two aspects in a spiritual sense,

that is, in the revelation of G-dliness that will be in the future,

This can be understood from the fact that these two stones were among the twelve precious stones in the Choshen of the Kohen Gadol,

corresponding to the number of the tribes of the Children of Israel,

Shoham corresponding to Yosef and Yashfeh corresponding to Binyamin.

And now,

Yosef and Binyamin are the Supernal Tzaddik and the Lower Tzaddik,

For the aspect of Yosef is the drawing down of G-dliness from above to below,

Yosef is the provider of bread3,

Who draws down G-dliness from Above to below,

And this means that even when the world has not yet been refined to the extent that it can receive within itself the revelation of a lofty light,

Nevertheless, light is drawn down in a manner of from Above to below.

And the aspect of Binyamin is refinement and ascent from below to above,

That is, he effects clarification, refinement, ascent, and connection in the souls of Israel and their portion in the world,

And consequently, also in the entirety of creation,

So that they can receive the light.

And by way of analogy, just as the brain of an animal is not a vessel for intellect, while the brain of a human is a vessel for intellect,

Because it is more refined,

So the service of Binyamin is an ascent from below to above that effects refinement in the brain and intellect of man until it becomes a vessel for a lofty G-dly light.

And now,

In these two aspects, each one has a unique advantage.

The advantage in the service of Binyamin,

Which is the matter of Yashfeh,

Is that the lower [realm] becomes more unified with the G-dly light,

For since the drawing down is due to the refinement that made it a vessel for the light,

Consequently, it is in complete unity with the light.

And the advantage in the service of Yosef,

Which is the matter of Shoham,

Is that a most lofty light is drawn down, not according to the manner of the lower [realm], but rather as it is from the perspective of the Upper [realm].

And about this the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let it be like this and like this,

That in the future, both advantages will be [present].

And as all the above is explained at length in Likkutei Torah in the discourses on "Vesamti Kadkod"4.

And now,

It is known that all the revelations that will be in the future depend on our deeds and service throughout the time of the exile5,

And since in the future there will be the aspects of from Above to below and from below to above,

It necessarily follows that also in the service during the time of the exile, these aspects exist as well.

And one must understand what is the matter of these two aspects of Shoham and Yashfeh in [divine] service.

And to understand this, we must first preface with what was explained elsewhere,

that "Eikev" refers to the time of the heels of Moshiach,

for then "you will surely listen,"

because it is the last generation,

and no one from it will be lost,

therefore in this generation you will surely listen.

And the entirety of the service is "you will listen, and guard, and do,"

which is thought, speech, and action,

and when his thought-speech-action are from the Nefesh HaElokis alone,

and it is the thought-speech-action of Torah and mitzvos,

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

that the thought-speech-action from above will be drawn down to him.

For in general, through his service, there is a unification of the worshiper with the Worshipped,

a unification of Neshama of Yisrael with the Holy One, blessed be He,

a unification face-to-face,

and through the love of "with all your might,"

he draws down revelations that are above the chain of descent.

However, this—that through his service he draws down the revelation from above—

is only from the aspect of the covenant alone,

for He is not at all from any of these attributes,

and in order that the action of created beings should take hold,

it is only from the aspect of the covenant.

2)

Now, the concept of the covenant is the Torah,

as it is written,

"the covenant which He made with us at Chorev,"

and in the Yalkut,

on the verse,

"These are the words of the covenant," it is stated,

"There is no covenant but Torah,"

meaning that the Torah is the covenant that unites the Neshama of Yisrael with the Holy One, blessed be He,

and as it is written,

"I stand between Hashem and you,"

"Anochi" is "I am who I am,"

which is not hinted at in any letter or any crownlet,

in general it is the Kesser,

it connects Yisrael and the Holy One, blessed be He, through the Torah.

And the explanation of the concept is,

based on the known principle that in every medium that connects two things, there are two aspects,

one aspect belonging to the upper,

and a second aspect belonging to the lower,

and through the two aspects within it, it becomes a connecting medium.

Similarly, it will be understood regarding the Torah, which is the medium connecting the Neshama of Yisrael and the Holy One, blessed be He,

that there is in the Torah an aspect belonging to the creations,

and an aspect belonging to the Holy One, blessed be He,

and through this it connects the Neshama of Yisrael and the Holy One, blessed be He.

For,

the Torah is clothed in physical matters, etc.,

and from this aspect it belongs to the creations,

and in general this is the matter of the revealed aspect of Torah.

And there is an aspect in the Torah as it is in spiritual matters,

and this is the aspect of the hidden aspect of Torah that speaks about G-dly matters,

therefore it is hidden

(relative to us),

for the Torah is the wisdom and will of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And through these two aspects, the Torah is a medium connecting Ein Sof, blessed be He, and the Neshama of Yisrael.

And the explanation of these two aspects in the Torah in greater depth,

it is known that what "the Torah emanates from Chochmah"

does not mean only lower Chochmah and upper Chochmah,

but rather Chochmah Sstimah,

for Chochmah Sstimah is the true medium.

For,

the entirety of Kesser is a medium between Ein Sof, the Emanator, and the emanated beings,

and this is through the two aspects in Kesser,

the lower aspect of the Emanator,

and the first aspect of Atzilus,

for through these two aspects

(the lower aspect of the Emanator and the source and origin of the emanated beings)

Kesser becomes a medium to connect Ein Sof, the Emanator, with Atzilus.

However, these two aspects as they are in Kesser,

they are two distinct levels,

and this is not the true concept of the medium,

and the true medium is the aspect of Chochmah Sstimah,

for in Chochmah Sstimah these two aspects

(the belonging to the Emanator and the belonging to Atzilus)

are not two distinct levels,

but rather they are as one,

therefore it is the true medium.

And this will be understood through an analogy, as we see below in the soul of man,

that in the power of Chochmah there are two opposite matters,

the power of abstraction and wondrous separation,

and the power of descent and clothing.

The matter of wondrous separation in Chochmah is that it has the power to abstract the intellect from material forms and also from physical forms and even from spiritual forms,

meaning it abstracts the intellect from all forms within it,

length, width, and depth,

and only the point remains,

which is the aspect of the point in Chochmah.

And the matter of descent and clothing of Chochmah is that the power of Chochmah can bring down the concept to the very lowest level,

like "he spoke three thousand proverbs,"

and even lower.

And,

these two matters in Chochmah are not two separate matters from each other,

but rather they are one matter.

For the power of descent is from the aspect of the power of wondrous separation,

for that which it has the power to bring down the concept to the very lowest level is because it grasfs the essential point of the intellect abstracted from all form,

and specifically because of this it is able to bring down the intellect to the very lowest level.

And similarly it will be understood above in the aspect of Chochmah Sstimah,

that the two aspects in Chochmah Sstimah,

the aspect belonging to the Emanator and the aspect belonging to Atzilus,

are not two separate matters from each other,

but rather they are one matter,

and therefore Chochmah Sstimah is the true medium.

And similarly it will be understood in the Torah,

that the two matters in the Torah,

that it is the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He,

and that it is clothed in physical matters,

are not two separate aspects from each other,

the revealed aspect of Torah and the hidden aspect of Torah,

but rather that "the Torah emanates from Chochmah"

(Sstimah)

"emerges,"

and from the aspect of the upper aspect of the Torah, specifically because of this it descended below and was clothed in physical matters.

And therefore the Torah is called a covenant,

which is the true medium between the Neshama of Yisrael and Ein Sof, blessed be He.

And likewise, the commandments are called a covenant,

because in the commandments there are also two aspects,

for they themselves are made from physical things,

and in them is the drawing down of the Supernal Will,

for Will is above wisdom.

And these two aspects in the commandments are not two separate matters,

but rather they are one matter,

for the commandments that are clothed in physical things,

they themselves are the Supernal Will,

for thus it arose in His Will to fulfill the commandments specifically in physicality.

And because He is the Will of the Blessed One that is above even wisdom,

therefore it descends below specifically into physical things.

However, this very thing—that through Torah and commandments it will be possible for the unification of the souls of Israel with Ein Sof—

for seemingly,

since Ein Sof is not at all from any of these attributes,

how can the action of lower beings take hold so that there will be a face-to-face unification,

since He is not at all from any of these attributes,

it is impossible for there to be a face-to-face unification,

whether from the side of Ein Sof or from the side of the souls of Israel—

concerning this it is said, "I stand between Hashem and you to tell you the word of Hashem,"

for "I am who I am" is the aspect of Keter that is above both of them,

and through the power of Keter, unification is effected through the Torah.

3)

And this is, "And it will be, because you will listen to these judgments,"

for behold,

the translation of "judgment" is "halacha,"

which is the matter of the laws of the Torah,

and this means that since this verse explains the unification of the souls of Israel with the Holy One, blessed be He, as above,

therefore it says "these judgments,"

for the unification is through the laws of the Torah.

And "you will listen" is an expression of gathering,

like "And Shaul gathered," etc.,

and the matter is to gather and collect all the scattered sparks of his Divine soul that became bound to foreign desires,

through the multitude of thoughts and the scattering of the soul,

for although it is written,

"And Hashem your God will bless you in all that you do" specifically,

that the action must be in physicality,

nevertheless,

the thought need not be immersed in this,

and as it is written,

"When you eat the labor of your hands,"

that it should be only the labor of the hands,

but not the labor of the mind and heart,

therefore one must gather the sparks that were scattered through the scattering of the soul,

and as it is written,

"If your dispersed will be at the ends of the heavens, from there He will gather you."

And just as one must gather the scattered sparks of his soul,

so too must there be gathering in the laws of the Torah,

for from the scattering that occurred in his soul,

there is caused for him concealment and hiding also in the Torah,

so that he cannot clarify and rule on the law in its truth,

and concerning this it says, "you will listen to the judgments,"

these are the laws,

for "you will listen" is gathering,

that there must be gathering in his soul and gathering in the laws of the Torah.

And this is also what is written,

"And you will gather your grain, your wine, and your oil,"

for the souls of Israel are called by the name "your grain, your wine, and your oil,"

and they are three divisions of levels in the souls of Israel,

Kohanim, Leviim, and Yisraelim.

"Your grain" refers to Yisraelim,

for just as in physicality, bread is the main thing,

for "bread sustains the heart of man,"

and the other foods are only additions to the bread,

so too in the souls of Israel, the main thing is Yisraelim,

for even Kohanim and Leviim are Yisraelim,

except that they have an additional advantage of Kohanim and Leviim,

therefore Yisraelim are called "your grain."

"Your wine" refers to Leviim,

for the service of the Leviim is in saying song,

and song is only said over wine.

"And your oil" refers to Kohanim,

for their service is in the aspect of oil,

in quietness and with a willing heart.

And this is, "And you will gather your grain, your wine, and your oil,"

which is the matter of gathering the scattered sparks in all three types of the souls of Israel.

Also, the interpretation of "And you will gather your grain, your wine, and your oil" is the matter of the gathering that must be in the Torah,

for the Torah is also called by the name "your grain, your wine, and your oil,"

and they are the divisions of levels that exist in the Torah.

"Your grain" is the revealed part of the Torah,

"your wine" is the inner dimension of the Torah,

the secrets of the Torah,

and "your oil" is the secrets of secrets,

like oil that floats on top of wine,

as explained in Imrei Binah

at length.

And this is, "And you will gather your grain, etc.,"

which is the matter of the gathering that must be in all parts of the Torah.

And this is, "And it will be, because you will listen to these judgments,"

that when there is the gathering of the scattered sparks of his soul and the gathering in the Torah,

and in general it is the service of "you will listen," "and you will guard," and "and you will do," which are from below upward,

through this there will also be drawn down from above downward,

so that there will be a face-to-face unification of the souls of Israel and Ein Sof, blessed be He.

4)

However, all this is in the service from below upward as it is from the side of the lower will born of intellect.

But in the service as it is from the side of the Supernal Will,

that is, the service of the will of the heart that is above reason and knowledge,

which in general is the love of "with all your might" stated in the first paragraph of the Shema,

behold, in this paragraph the verse "And you will gather your grain, your wine, and your oil" is not mentioned

(which is done from the matter of "if your dispersed will be," etc.)

as in the second paragraph of the Shema,

because from the side of the love of "with all your might,"

which is the matter of doing the will of the Place,

as mentioned above

in the name of the Maggid, that it is the matter of drawing down the Will of the Blessed One that is above the chain of descent,

behold, from the side of drawing down this aspect, there is no need for the service of gathering,

for rather, as it is written,

"And He will bless, etc., your grain, your wine, and your oil,"

so that there will not be in them the aspect of scattering of the soul to foreign desires, etc.,

for this matter applies specifically in the chain of descent,

but from the side of the love of "with all your might" that draws down the will that is above the chain of descent,

this matter does not apply.

And this is the true matter of the covenant of Torah,

for the matter of Torah is a drawing down from above to below,

that is, the drawing down of the Supernal light as it is

(not according to the measure of the created beings),

and it is the light that is above the chain of descent,

for prayer is an elevation from below to above,

"And you will gather your grain, etc.,"

but the Torah is a drawing down from above to below,

the drawing down of the light that is above the chain of descent,

and this is through the prior service of the will of the heart,

the aspect of "with all your might,"

for then through the Torah is drawn down the light that is above the chain of descent,

and this is the true matter of the covenant of Torah,

that the Torah connects and unifies the souls of Israel with the aspect that is above the chain of descent.

5)

And the root of the difference between these two aspects,

it is known that regarding the matter of covenant there are two modes.

One mode is like the covenant that Avraham Avinu made with Avimelech by means of seven ewes,

that both of them participated in the ewes,

that each one had a portion in this,

and through this they become unified.

And the second mode is,

that they take one complete thing and cut it in two, and those who make the covenant pass between the pieces.

And behold,

when one cuts one thing into two, this is seemingly the opposite of wholeness and is division, etc.,

but in truth, this is the true unity,

namely that each one by itself is only half a thing,

and has no existence whatsoever without the other.

And likewise it will be understood above as well,

that the aspect of the covenant of Torah in the service of "and you shall gather in your grain," etc.,

behold, even though through this a drawing down of light is effected,

nevertheless, it is an existence unto itself.

However, the Torah that comes after the prior service of will and desire and teshuvah,

for teshuvah is also a covenant,

as it is written,

"to pass you into the covenant of Havayah your G-d,"

this is in a more elevated manner,

that it has no existence unto itself, etc.,

and through this there is a drawing down of light that is above the chain of descent.

And with this will also be understood the matter of the covenant of Rosh Hashanah,

as it is written,

"You are standing today, etc., to pass you into the covenant,"

for seemingly it is not understood,

behold, also throughout the year there is a covenant of Ein Sof and Yisrael,

and what is the matter of the covenant of Rosh Hashanah?

But the explanation is,

that the covenant of the entire year is in the manner of the covenant of the seven ewes,

however on Rosh Hashanah it is the service of teshuvah,

which has no existence unto itself, etc.,

and it is the unity in Ein Sof Himself, the Master of Will.

6)

And with this will also be understood what Rashi explained on the verse "And it shall be, because (eikev) you will hearken,"

"if the light commandments that a person treads upon with his heel (eikev) you will hearken."

And this matter is as stated in the Zohar

on the verse,

"Why should I fear in days of evil, the iniquity of my heels surrounds me,"

which is the matter of the light transgressions that a person treads upon with his heel.

For behold,

regarding Yaakov it is written,

"and his hand was grasping the heel of Esav,"

for Yaakov means yud-eikev,

that he illuminates in all levels until the aspect of the heels,

and this is the matter of vigilance in all matters,

even in the lightest of the light,

and this is yud-eikev.

And the root of the drawing down of Yaakov—yud-eikev,

that there should be in him vigilance even in the lightest of the light,

is as it is written,

"the voice is the voice of Yaakov,"

"the first voice is deficient and the latter voice is full,"

"the latter voice that is full is the Torah,"

"and the first voice that is deficient is the voice that is not heard,"

and this is the matter of the service of will and desire.

And when "the voice is the voice,"

the first voice and the latter voice,

and it is the Torah that comes after the service of will and desire,

then there exists the matter of Yaakov,

yud-eikev,

which is the matter of vigilance even in the lightest of the light.

That is to say, when his service is according to reason and intellect,

then there is a distinction between the lightest of the light and the most severe of the severe,

but when he has the drawing down of Torah after the prior service of will and desire, which is above reason and intellect,

then there is no distinction at all between light and severe,

and this is "the voice is the voice of Yaakov,"

and when "the voice is the voice of Yaakov," then "the hands are not the hands of Esav" that rule.

And this is what is said: "Why should I fear in days of evil, the iniquity of my heels surrounds me,"

because the aspect of Yaakov—yud-eikev—is lacking,

and "his hand was grasping," etc.

And this is what Rashi explained on the verse "And it shall be, because (eikev) you will hearken,"

"if the light commandments that a person treads upon with his heels,"

because this verse explains the matter of the drawing down that is above the chain of descent,

which is through the Torah that comes after the prior service of will and desire,

and therefore Rashi explained that there must be vigilance even in light commandments,

for this is an indication that his service is above reason and intellect, therefore he is vigilant in the light as in the severe.

And since his service is above reason and intellect,

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

that the light that is above the chain of descent will be drawn down.

7)

And behold, these two modes in service,

the service of "the voice is the voice,"

prayer and Torah,

are the service that is in the manner of from below upward and in the manner of from above downward,

as is explained at length in many places.

And since in holiness there is inclusion and unification,

behold, also in the service of prayer itself

there exist these two modes,

the service of night and the service of day.

And it can be said that in this manner is also the distinction between the service of "with all your heart and with all your soul" and the service of "with all your might,"

and also within the service of "with all your might" there exist these two modes,

for "with all your might" includes the aspect of will and the aspect of delight.

And likewise in Torah itself

there exist these two modes,

and they are the Written Torah and the Oral Torah,

as explained elsewhere.

And through these two modes in our service during the time of the duration of the exile,

in the future there will be the two modes of shoham and yashfeh.

For now, in the time of exile, it is in concealment,

for both the ascent that is made in the world and the drawing down of light in the world are in concealment,

and in the future that which they effected through service in the time of exile will be revealed,

"and I will make your windows of kadkod, and your gates of kadkod, and all your borders of precious stones,"

and it will be like this and like that.