English translation — מאמר אשה כי תזריע תשכ"ה

With the help of Heaven.

Shabbos Parshas Tazria,

Rosh Chodesh Nissan,

5725

"A woman who conceives and gives birth to a male"

and our Sages, of blessed memory, said:

"If the woman emits seed first, she gives birth to a male; if the man emits seed first, she gives birth to a female."

And the Alter Rebbe brings

(in Likkutei Torah, the discourse beginning with the word "Zeh")

that the philosophers explained

that the reason for this—that if the woman emits seed first she gives birth to a male—is because when the woman emits seed first, the man's drop comes last, and the upper overcomes.

And the Alter Rebbe says that their explanation is a great difficulty.

And he explains, as is evident from the simple language, that the birth of a male comes from the woman's seed

(and not from the fact that the man's seed comes at the end).

And it can be said

that this that he brings in Likkutei Torah also the explanation that the birth of a male is from the man's drop

(which comes last,

because the upper overcomes),

and moreover,

that he precedes this explanation to the explanation that the birth of a male is from the woman's seed,

it is

because "man" and "woman"

(in spirituality)

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

for the Holy One, blessed be He, is called "Ish" (Man) and the Congregation of Israel is called "Ishah" (Woman).

And it is known regarding the matter of arousal from above and arousal from below,

that in each of them there is an advantage.

For the advantage in arousal from below is that the flow brought about through it is from the inwardness of the light,

and the advantage in arousal from above, in its own right, is that the flow is from a much loftier place that arousal from below does not reach there

(except that the flow from there is from the aspect of externality).

And it can be said

that from this are derived the two explanations of "a woman who conceives and gives birth to a male" in its simple sense.

For the explanation that the birth of a male is from the man's seed, that the upper overcomes,

is derived from the advantage in arousal from above,

and the explanation that the birth of a male is from the woman's seed is derived from the advantage in arousal from below.

And therefore he also brings the explanation that the birth of a male is from the man's seed

(even though in physicality,

this explanation is not in accordance with the conclusion),

in order to hint that there is also an advantage in arousal from above.

2)

And it can be added,

that the portion of Tazria is read

(in some years)

in the month of Nissan,

whose theme is arousal from above,

and therefore he brings this explanation

(that the birth of a male is from the man's seed)

before the explanation that the birth of a male is from the woman's seed,

because in the month of Nissan,

the emphasis is on the advantage in arousal from above.

And this that the conclusion is that the birth of a male is from the woman's seed,

because after the giving of the Torah,

even in the month of Nissan,

the emphasis is on the advantage of man's service

(arousal from below).

And this is also understood from the maamar beginning with the word "HaChodesh" of the Rebbe

(the Rebbe Rashab)

of blessed memory,

the baal hahillula of the 2nd of Nissan,

where he asks there

(at the beginning of the maamar)

"Why is service specifically with one's own power necessary, and what is the advantage in this? Are not the love and fear that come from above much higher?"

That this that he asks

(what is the advantage of service with one's own power),

even though in many discourses it is explained

(as above)

the advantage of arousal from below

(service with one's own power),

it can be said

that in the maamar "HaChodesh" the advantage of arousal from above is emphasized,

and therefore there is room for the question: what is the advantage of service?

But from this that this matter

(what is the advantage of service)

is only a question,

it is understood

that even in the month of Nissan

(the maamar "HaChodesh"),

in which the advantage of the flow coming from above is emphasized,

the conclusion is that there is

(also)

an advantage in service with one's own power

(arousal from below)

over the love and fear that come from above

(arousal from above).

And moreover,

that this matter

(the advantage of arousal from below)

is the primary advantage,

therefore,

the conclusion

(in Likkutei Torah)

is that the birth of a male is from the woman's seed,

the advantage of arousal from below.

3)

The explanation of the matter is,

that the superiority in the arousal from above

(which is from its own side)

is that the drawing forth is from a place that arousal from below does not reach there,

and the drawing forth is because

"He desires kindness".

And according to the known

matter of "Whom did He consult? The souls of the righteous"

("and Your people are all righteous"),

that this—that He is aroused, as it were, to desire kindness—is from the aspect that arose in thought

(essential thought,

which is above the revelation of the desire for kindness)

that in the future Israel will fulfill Torah and mitzvos and make a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He, in the lower realms.

It is understood,

that the root of the service of Israel is higher even than the matter of the desire for kindness.

And through the revelation of the desire for kindness being aroused and drawn forth by means of man's service,

there is added to it a more elevated superiority

(than as it is from its own side,

from the aspect of above),

for there is drawn into it from the essential thought that is above revelation.

And based on this, we can explain,

that this—that in the month of Nissan

(whose matter is a drawing forth from above)

we read "When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male"

(the emphasis on the superiority of arousal from below)

is,

because the primary elevation in the drawing forth from above

(and the revelation of the desire for kindness)

is when it is drawn forth through service.

4)

And this matter

(that a woman conceiving first gives birth to a male indicates the superiority in arousal from below)

is also according to the interpretation that the birth of a male is from the drop of the male that comes last, for "the upper one prevails".

However, according to this interpretation,

the superiority in arousal from below

(the woman's seed)

is that it causes the arousal from above drawn forth through it to be from a more elevated level

("the upper one prevails"),

and according to the interpretation that the birth of a male is from the woman's seed,

the superiority in arousal from below is

(also)

from its own side.

And based on this, we can say the hint in the order of the two interpretations,

that it precedes the interpretation that the birth of a male is from the male's seed,

even though the conclusion is that it is from the woman's seed,

because at the beginning of service,

the superiority of arousal from below is that the arousal from above drawn forth through it is more elevated,

and through this, the superiority in arousal from below itself is later revealed.

And this will be understood according to what is explained in Likkutei Torah

that there is a third level in arousal from above,

which is in the manner of a gift.

For even this arousal from above is drawn from a place that arousal from below does not reach there at all,

but in order for the revelation of this arousal from above to occur, there must first be the completion of the actions of the lower beings,

the arousal from below and the arousal from above drawn forth through it.

And one must understand,

behold, the intent that the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He, in the lower realms,

is that the making of the dwelling place should be through man's service,

from which it is understood,

that even the most elevated revelations,

even the light that is above relation to created beings

(where the power of arousal from below cannot reach),

and even up to the revelation of Atzmus,

are drawn forth through man's service.

And how does this align with what was brought above from Likkutei Torah, that through service only that level is drawn where arousal from below reaches,

and the drawing of the levels above that is in the manner of a gift from above?

And we can say the explanation of this,

that this—that arousal from below reaches only the light related to worlds—is from the aspect of the nature of created beings

[arousal from below as it is in the level of "lower",

which is separate from "upper"].

But from the aspect of the power of Atzmus that exists in the service of Israel

[and as was explained above

(section 3)

regarding the matter of "Whom did He consult? The souls of the righteous",

that the root of the service of Israel is in the essential thought in His very Essence,

which is above all revelations,

even the most elevated revelations],

there is no room to distinguish between "lower" and "upper",

for Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, are entirely one.

However, the revelation of this matter

(the root of the service of Israel as it is in the essential thought)

is specifically after all that pertains to man's service is completed,

the service itself

(arousal from below)

and the drawing forth from above

(arousal from above)

that comes through it.

Therefore,

the beginning of the drawing forth that comes through service

(before the power of Atzmus within it is revealed)

is only from the light related to worlds,

the place that arousal from below reaches,

but after the completion of service

(both the service itself and the drawing forth from above through it),

when its "innerness" is then revealed,

the gratification and delight that are above in the service of Israel,

"Gratification before Me that I spoke and My will was done",

for this gratification and delight

("My will was done",

by Israel)

is in His very Essence

("Gratification before Me"),

through service there is also drawn the light that is above relation to worlds,

and even up to the drawing of Atzmus.

5)

And based on this, we can explain the order of the two interpretations of "a woman who conceives first gives birth to a male,"

that initially

(before the "inner dimension" of the service of Israel was revealed),

the service of Knesses Yisrael and the drawing down from above are two separate things,

and consequently, the drawing down that comes through her is from the light that pertains to the worlds

(for the arousal from below reaches there),

and the advantage in the service of Israel then is that the service is the cause that the arousal from above drawn down through her will be from the innerness of the light — the first interpretation that the woman's seed is the cause for the dominance of the man's seed

(the upper one prevails),

and through this the inner dimension of the service of Israel is revealed,

the power of Atzmus within it

(from the aspect that Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, are entirely one),

and all the drawings down are through the service itself

(and not that the service is only a cause for the drawing down)

— the second interpretation that the birth of the male is from the woman's seed,

and the superiority of the drawing down from above

(the birth of the male)

is

(not only the drawing down of the innerness of the light that pertains to the worlds,

but also)

the drawing down of the light that is beyond relation to worlds,

and even to the drawing down of Atzmus.

6)

And this can be connected to the second day of Nissan,

for according to the opinion

that the world was created in Nissan,

that is, the creation of man was on Rosh Chodesh Nissan and the creation of the world was on the 25th of Adar,

the first Shabbat day was on the second of Nissan.

And according to the known

mediation between the two opinions regarding the time of creation,

that the actual creation was in Tishrei

(the 25th of Elul)

and the thought to create the world was in Nissan

(the 25th of Adar),

it can be said,

that in the actual creation which was in Tishrei, the revelation of "He desires kindness" is also included,

and regarding this, that in Nissan was the thought to create, it can be said that this thought is like the thought of "in whom He took counsel,"

the intention and purpose of creation that was not drawn into revelation in the creation.

And on the Shabbat day,

the 2nd of Nissan,

the perfection of the thought was accomplished.

And this can also be connected to the fact that the 2nd of Nissan is the yahrtzeit of the Rebbe

(the Rebbe Rashab)

of blessed memory,

and the day on which my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, was crowned

(his only son of the one whose yahrtzeit it is)

with the crown of leadership,

for the intention and purpose of creation is that there should be in the world the revelation of the Ein Sof that is beyond relation to worlds

(as above),

and this revelation is

(primarily)

through the study and dissemination of the inner dimension of Torah.

For the inner dimension of Torah in its own essence is beyond revelation

(the hidden aspect of Torah),

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

and especially through its dissemination outward

(even to the utmost outside),

they draw down the light that is beyond relation to worlds,

and even to the essence of the light that is beyond revelation,

so that it will be revealed in the world.

And this is the connection of the 2nd of Nissan,

the first Shabbat of the work of creation in thought

(in which was the perfection of the thought)

to the one whose yahrtzeit it is and to his only son who filled his place,

for through the discourses of the one whose yahrtzeit it is, who is the Rambam of the teachings of Chassidus

(matters that are explained until they are arranged in the mouth of everyone),

and in particular,

through the founding of Tomchei Temimim,

a new stage in the dissemination of the wellsprings began,

and after this,

through my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe,

the dissemination was carried out with even greater strength and vigor.

And this

(the dissemination of the wellsprings outward)

is the preparation and vessel for "the king Moshiach will come"

(for then the intention

of a dwelling place in the lower realms will be completed),

speedily in the near future.