English translation — מאמר אשרי תבחר ותקרב תשט"ז

With the help of Heaven.

Erev Shabbat Kodesh Parshat Chayei Sarah,

26 Marcheshvan 5716*

"Ashrei tevchar v'tekarev yishkon chatsereicha, nisbe'ah b'tuv beitecha, kedosh heichalecha"1,

Now, this verse is recited before the covenant of circumcision,

as it is brought in the Siddur, the order of circumcision.

And the source for this is what is stated in the Zohar2:

"The early pious ones... when they would bring their sons for this sacrifice, they would open and say, 'Ashrei tevchar v'tekarev yishkon chatsereicha...'"

[And although in the Zohar there it says "the early pious ones," etc.,

the Alter Rebbe wrote in his Siddur3

that this is a matter equal for every soul.]

And the explanation of the connection of this verse to the covenant of circumcision is,

that in this verse four matters are enumerated:

"Chatzereicha" (your courtyards) in the plural, two aspects of courtyard4,

"Beitecha" (your house), and "Heichalecha" (your palace).

And the order of the matters in the verse is from below upward.

As it is brought in the Zohar there,

"First 'chatzereicha,' then 'beitecha,' and then 'heichalecha,'

this one is more internal than that one, and this one is higher than that one."

And it can be said,

that these four matters correspond to the four worlds of Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah (ABiYA)

(as will be explained below, section 6).

Therefore, this verse is recited before the circumcision,

for through circumcision there is a drawing down from above the chain of descent,

and in order for this drawing down to be, there must first be the completeness of the chain of descent

(the four worlds)

as will be explained below

(section 7).

2)

And the explanation is,

that the difference between a courtyard and a house

(in their simple sense)

is,

that a house is a person's dwelling, and in the courtyard are found the animals and birds,

as it is brought in the Mishnah5:

"If one would place an animal in the courtyard... and raise chickens"6.

And within the courtyard itself there are two types:

a covered courtyard and an uncovered courtyard.

For the difference between a covered courtyard and an uncovered courtyard is also in halachah:

An uncovered courtyard

(when it is more than two se'ah, by Torah law it is a private domain, but by rabbinic law it is a karmelit, because it resembles a public domain7),

and a covered courtyard is a private domain even by rabbinic law8.

And the difference between them simply,

is that the guarding of animals is also in an uncovered courtyard

[and it only requires that the courtyard be surrounded by partitions],

and the guarding of birds

(which can fly over the partitions)

is specifically in a covered courtyard.

And this can be explained according to what is stated in the Gemara:

A beast that was created from dry land is kosher with two signs, etc.; a bird that was created from marshland is kosher with one sign.

And it is explained elsewhere,

that a beast created from dust

(dry land)

—therefore it has healthy and strong vitality—

alludes to the animal soul as it is in the strength of coarseness.

Therefore its kosher status requires two signs.

And a bird created from marshland,

water and dust,

alludes to the animal soul as it is in refinement.

Therefore its kosher status requires one sign.

And in more detail:

The beast is the animal soul

(itself),

which is from the lower levels of Nogah

(its coarseness),

and the bird is the intellectual soul, which is from the higher levels of Nogah

(its refinement),

therefore it is an intermediary

between the animal soul and the G-dly soul.

And this is that the bird flies in the air

(from time to time),

for this can be explained in two ways.

The flight in the air

(of the bird)

is from the side of the intellectual soul itself.

For the nature of the intellect

(even the intellect of the intellectual soul, although it is natural intellect,

intellect of Nogah,

nevertheless,

since it is intellect,

its nature)

is to be drawn after that which is above it.

And there is another aspect in this:

that through the clothing of the G-dly soul in the intellectual soul,

it is able to apprehend matters of G-dliness that are above the world.

However, even then it only agrees to the apprehension of the G-dly soul, but it remains in its essence—human intellect.

And it can be said,

that this [law]—that guarding beasts is also in an uncovered courtyard, while guarding birds is specifically in a covered courtyard

(even though birds are more refined)—

is because the refinement of Nogah is not so noticeable,

and therefore requires greater guarding.

And to add:

Just as in the physical,

the reason that birds are not guarded in an uncovered courtyard is because they can fly

(over the partitions),

so too is it in spirituality:

that the intellectual soul requires greater guarding because it has the characteristic of flight in the air.

That is,

since the intellect of the intellectual soul is drawn after that which is above it

[and moreover,

it apprehends

(through the clothing of the G-dly soul in the intellectual soul)

matters of G-dliness that are above the world],

therefore,

in order to find the evil in the intellect, it is specifically through contemplation that G-dliness is hidden from human intellect

[i.e., even the matters of G-dliness that are apprehended in human intellect,

the intellect does not grasp them as they are in their truth,

for since they are G-dliness,

they are without limit,

and as the intellect grasps them,

it necessarily limits them],

and through the intellectual soul

(bird)

feeling the hiddenness of G-dliness that is above intellect,

[being] covered by a roof,

through this the refined evil within it is clarified,

[and] it is guarded.

3)

And based on this, we can explain that the law that an uncovered courtyard is a karmelit is rabbinic,

for guarding the beast

(in the service of man)

is primarily regarding thought, speech, and action,

for from the desires of the animal soul one might stumble into some prohibition, G-d forbid,

and guarding the beast is by fencing the courtyard

(the place where the beast is located)

with partitions,

i.e., not doing what he wants, but only what he must do.

And guarding the bird

(in the service of man)

which is regarding the refinement of Nogah

(as above)

is primarily regarding the inner powers,

intellect and emotions.

For from the selfhood and pride within him

(from his being a man of intellect,

"seeing a wise man in his own eyes"),

it is not sufficient to fence the courtyard with partitions,

for even when he is bounded in his thought, speech, and action,

even to the level of a Beinoni who never committed a transgression in his life,

nevertheless,

from the pride and coarseness within him,

his intellect and emotions are in coarseness,

and therefore his courtyard must be covered with a roof,

so that the hiddenness of G-dliness is felt within him, as above.

And since the main thing is action,

therefore,

biblically, even an uncovered courtyard is a private domain,

the Unique One of the world,

but rabbinically

[whose function is to elevate and raise the person,

so that he becomes a vessel for G-dliness also from the side of his intellect and emotions],

in order for a person to be a private domain for His uniqueness, it is through [the courtyard] being covered with a roof.

4)

Now, since the intellect of the intellectual soul, in and of itself, is a category of yesh,

and moreover, it is from kelipas nogah,

therefore,

even after the intellect of the intellectual soul grasps the remoteness of its value relative to G-dliness

[for its comprehension of matters of G-dliness is with limitation and corporealization, and it does not grasp matters as they truly are],

through which it comes to a state of bittul,

its bittul is in no way comparable to the bittul of the Elokis soul.

For in the Elokis soul,

its bittul is in its very existence,

whereas in the intellectual soul,

its bittul is something additional to its existence,

and in its essence it is a category of yesh.

And this is that a courtyard roofed with a ceiling is a courtyard, which is a place where animals are found

(as above, section 2)

and not a human dwelling,

for Adam, whose gematria is 45,

is the bittul of the Elokis soul, which is called Adam, from the term "adameh l'Elyon" [I will be like the Most High],

in contrast to the bittul of the animal soul and the intellectual soul, which is bittul hayesh,

it is a category of chayah, which is below Adam.

Now, also regarding the bittul of the Elokis soul,

there are two general levels.

For it is known

that in order for the Elokis soul to act upon the animal soul and the intellectual soul, it is through the intellect and emotions of the Elokis soul coming into measure and limitation, in a way that they will be relevant to the intellectual soul and also to the animal soul,

to the extent that they become clothed in the intellect and emotions of the intellectual soul and the animal soul.

Thus,

in the intellect and emotions of the Elokis soul,

there are two levels:

as they are in themselves, and as they become clothed in the intellectual and animal souls.

And based on what is explained elsewhere,

that the power within the Elokis soul to effect the refinement and purification of the animal soul is according to the fact that the Elokis soul is G-dliness in its very essence,

it can be said,

that also in the intellect and emotions of the Elokis soul as they become clothed in the animal soul, there are two aspects.

In their revelation

(as they are relative to the intellectual and animal souls)

they are in measure and limitation,

and their bittul is similar to bittul hayesh

(therefore they act upon the intellectual and animal souls),

and in their inwardness they are G-dliness,

and their bittul is bittul bimetzius.

5)

And it can be said,

that the four matters mentioned above—the two levels of the courtyard, which are the refinement of the animal soul and the intellectual soul,

and the two aspects in the powers of the Elokis soul as they are in revelation and as they are in their very essence—are analogous to the four worlds ABY"A.

And the explanation is,

that Asiyah and Yetzirah are existence,

Beriah is only potential existence,

and Atzilus is the cessation of existence.

And among the distinctions between Asiyah and Yetzirah

(existence)

and Beriah

(potential existence)

is,

that the bittul in Asiyah and Yetzirah is bittul hayesh,

for since Asiyah and Yetzirah are existence,

their bittul is something additional to their existence.

And the bittul in Beriah,

which is only potential existence,

is bittul bimetzius,

meaning that its entire existence is bittul.

And this is

that Yetzirah is the abode of angels whose service is with natural awe and love,

and Beriah is the abode of the souls of the righteous whose service was with intellectual awe and love

(and also the angels whose service is with intellectual awe and love, their place is in Beriah),

for natural awe and love are the nature

(the existence)

of the created being,

and intellectual awe and love are that the love and fear are not from his nature and existence, but because the G-dly matter he grasped obligates that he must love G-d and fear Him.

However,

nevertheless,

since in Beriah there is the matter of comprehension,

and the bittul in Beriah is because the intellect obligates that relative to G-dliness there is no place for existence,

so even this bittul is existence,

and the true matter of bittul bimetzius is in Atzilus,

for the bittul in Atzilus is not from the grasp of intellect, but from G-dliness,

that He alone is, and there is nothing besides Him.

Therefore, in the world of Atzilus, the existence of angels does not apply

(not even intellectual angels),

and the world of Atzilus is the abode for the great tzaddikim who were in the category of a Merkavah, above intellect,

bittul bimetzius.

And although even in Atzilus there are ten Sefiros

(intellect and emotions),

nevertheless, the Sefiros of Atzilus are not existence

(unto themselves)

at all,

for He and His life are one, He and His limbs are one.

And this is that the four aforementioned matters in the service of man are analogous to the four worlds of ABY"A,

for the self-nullification in the animal soul and in the intellectual soul,

where the self-nullification is something additional to their existence,

is in the manner of the self-nullification of Asiyah and Yetzirah.

[And to add,

that the fact that a courtyard requires guarding is because Asiyah and Yetzirah are [real] existence,

and therefore the things that descended from them require guarding.

And the matter of "your courtyards" is in the plural,

for the service that stems from the world of Asiyah,

its essence is action in actual deed,

for which the guarding by means of partitions—an uncovered courtyard—suffices,

and the service that stems from Yetzirah, its essence is the emotions,

for which the guarding of a roof—a covered courtyard—is needed].

And the intellect and emotions of the Elokis soul that are clothed in the animal soul,

where the self-nullification within them is not something additional to their existence but is analogous to the nullification of the yesh—this is in the manner of the self-nullification of Beriah,

and the self-nullification of the Elokis soul itself

(including also the self-nullification of the level of the soul that is clothed in the animal soul as it is in its inwardness)

which is a self-nullification in [the sense of] existence—this is in the manner of the self-nullification of Atzilus.

6)

And this is: first "your courtyards," then "your house," and then "your palace,"

first "your courtyards"

(in the plural,

an uncovered courtyard and a covered courtyard)

is the clarification and refinement of the animal soul and the intellectual soul,

for even after their clarification and refinement they are on the level of animals.

Then "your house" is the revelation of the Elokis soul as it is clothed in the intellectual and animal souls,

whose self-nullification is analogous to the self-nullification in Beriah.

And it is called "house,"

for just as a house is a dwelling place for man, as it is written,

"The glory of man is to sit in a house,"

so too the world of Beriah

(the world of the Throne)

is the dwelling place of the Supernal Man,

for the primary dwelling of the Supernal Man in the created beings

is when their self-nullification to Elokus is in a manner that this

(the self-nullification)

is their entire existence.

And then "your palace" is the revelation of the soul that is above its clothing in the animal soul

(including also the inwardness of the level of the soul that is clothed in the animal soul),

whose self-nullification is a self-nullification in [the sense of] existence, like the self-nullification of Atzilus.

And it is called "your palace,"

for the matter of "your palace" is as it is written,

"And Hashem is in His holy palace—be silent before Him, all the earth,"

for in relation to Hashem in His holy palace,

(be silent)

all matter of existence is nullified

(all the earth),

to the point that even the possibility of existence is not applicable.

7)

And this is that before the covenant of circumcision we recite the verse "Ashrei temcherem vesarakev,"

for the four worlds of ABY"A are included in the order of Hishtalshelus,

and circumcision is above Hishtalshelus.

And as our sages, of blessed memory, said

on the verse

"For the conductor on the eighth, upon circumcision that was given on the eighth,"

and it is explained in Likkutei Torah

(in the discourse "Lamnatzeiach al Hashminis")

that the fact that Dovid's song was about circumcision being given on the eighth,

is,

for the eighth is the aspect of Adam Kadmon, which is above Atzilus.

And seemingly, one should add,

that circumcision is above not only the four worlds but also above the four letters of the Name Havayah

(the term "What brings into being")

from which the four worlds are brought into being.

And as it is written in Torah Or

on the verse

"Who will go up for us to the heavens,"

whose initial letters are [the letters of] Milah and final letters are [the letters of] Havayah,

for this—that Milah is the initial letters and Havayah is the final letters—is because circumcision is above Havayah.

But in order for the drawing down of the revelation that is above Hishtalshelus to be through circumcision,

the perfection of Hishtalshelus must first be present,

as our sages, of blessed memory, said,

"so that one Shabbos should pass over him,"

for Shabbos is the perfection of Hishtalshelus, and through this it is possible to reach the revelation that is above Hishtalshelus

(circumcision on the eighth).

And it can be said,

that this is what is written,

"Walk before Me and be perfect,"

that first there must be "and be" [which are] the letters of Havayah, and through this one then comes to the aspect of "perfect,"

the revelation through circumcision.

And therefore, before the covenant we recite the verse "Ashrei temcherem vesarakev, yishkon chatzarecha, nisbe'ah b'tuv beisecha, kedosh heichalecha"

[And also on the night before the covenant

(which is the beginning of the preparation for the covenant)

it is customary to study the maamar of the Zohar on this verse],

for the service in the four matters of this verse, which correspond to the four worlds and the four letters of the Name Havayah, is the preparation and vessel for the revelation that is above Hishtalshelus.