English translation — מאמר אתה הראת לדעת תשמ"ו

With the help of Heaven.

Monday of the festival of Shavuos,

the year 5746*

"You have been shown to know that Hashem is the Elokim, there is none else besides Him,"

is written in Mishneh Torah

(which Moshe said from his own mouth),

and our master the Alter Rebbe explains in Sefer HaTanya

that this matter was at the time of the Giving of the Torah,

for then there was the revelation of "You have been shown to know," etc.,

according to the teaching of the Alter Rebbe:

"You" — You, the Essence (Atzmus) of Ein Sof, blessed be He, "have been shown" — You have revealed Yourself, "to know" — that one should know You,

"that Hashem is the Elokim, there is none else besides Him,"

which are

two modes and matters of comprehension in the comprehensions of Divinity:

the first is the comprehension that Hashem and Elokim are entirely one, and the second is the comprehension of "there is none else besides Him."

And in the Tanya there, he explains,

that at the time of the Giving of the Torah there was this revelation

(of His Essence, etc.)

in a manner of "You have been shown"

(and he adds)

literally with sensory sight.

And the Tanya continues there,

that therefore

(Israel)

were in a state of actual self-nullification, as our sages said

(in the Gemara)

that at every single utterance their souls flew away, etc., and the Holy One, blessed be He, restored them with the dew with which He will revive the dead,

and as it is stated in the Gemara there that this is what King Dovid said

(whose yahrtzeit is on Shavuos)

"A generous rain You will pour down, O Elokim; Your inheritance, when it was weary, You established it,"

which refers to the dew of revival with which He revived Israel,

and the Tanya explains there,

that this dew is the dew of Torah, etc., as our sages said,

"Whoever engages in Torah, the dew of Torah revives him," etc.

2)

And behold, the explanation of our teacher the Baal Shem Tov is known

(whose yahrtzeit is on Shavuos),

that every matter in the world is a lesson in the service of man to his Creator.

And all the more so, a fortiori, every matter in the Torah,

as it is written,

"And Hashem commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Hashem our Elokim," etc.,

for from this verse it is proven

that the entire Torah

(all these statutes)

its purpose is a lesson in the service of Hashem,

"to fear Hashem our Elokim," etc.,

even down to the simple fulfillment of the commandments.

And from this it is understood

that also this matter in the Torah,

that at every single utterance their souls flew away and He restored them with the dew, etc.,

is a lesson in the service of man to his Creator.

And furthermore,

behold, our teacher the Baal Shem Tov explains in Kesser Shem Tov

on the statement of our sages,

"Know what is above from you,"

meaning: from yourself you shall know,

whatever attribute is aroused in you, so it is above

[and elsewhere

it is brought in the name of the Maggid,

and in a third place

it is brought in the name of the Alter Rebbe,

and there are variations in language between them,

and the place is not here].

And from this it is understood,

that when a person sees and knows in himself

(from yourself)

that for him it is the time of the Giving of our Torah

(since it is so explicitly stated in the Torah of Truth and the Torah of Life),

then it is understood from this,

that so it is also above,

that above it is the time of the Giving of our Torah.

That is to say,

that at the time of the Giving of our Torah, "You have been shown to know that Hashem is the Elokim, there is none else besides Him" was actualized,

You, the Essence of Ein Sof, blessed be He, revealed Yourself, etc.,

"You have been shown" literally with sensory sight,

and together with this, there was also drawn into Israel the dew with which He will revive the dead, which is the dew of Torah.

And this matter is drawn into all aspects of a person,

(in the manner of what is written,

"This is the Torah, man"),

that the Torah

(also the aspect of the dew of Torah)

penetrates the existence of a person until it becomes the true existence of each and every one of Israel,

including in all your ways and in all your deeds

(as explained elsewhere

the matter of this).

And from this it is understood even more,

that this matter

(the dew of Torah)

pertains to the service of man in the present time.

3)

Now, it was brought above,

that in the Gemara the verse was brought regarding this

(that Dovid said)

“A rain of freewill gifts You will pour forth, O G-d,” etc.,

and at first glance it needs to be understood,

behold in the verse it is written “rain of freewill gifts,”

specifically rain,

and if so, what is it that it concludes that He returned to them with dew, may it be life,

specifically dew.

And it is explained in another place,

that the quality of “rain of freewill gifts”

(not ordinary rain)

is similar to the matter of dew.

But still it needs to be understood why it is specifically called by the name “rain.”

And the explanation of the matter will be understood based on what is explained by the Mitteler Rebbe in his maamar beginning with “Inyan Tal Torah,”

(and it is a continuation of the discourse beginning “To understand the matter of the Omer of barley and the two loaves” that was stated above in this discourse of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek),

for it is written,

“May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech flow as the dew,”

(for this is written regarding the Torah,

since Moshe Rabbeinu said,

“Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it,” etc.,

to the extent that the Torah is called by his name),

behold there are in the Torah two levels: the aspect of dew and the aspect of rain.

And he explains regarding this,

for it is known that rain comes about because of vapors that rise from the earth, etc.

[And as it is written,

“And a mist ascended from the earth and watered the entire face of the ground,”

this being the rain that waters the face of the earth,

and as it is written,

“For as the rain comes down, etc., waters the earth and causes it to bring forth and sprout, etc.”],

but the dew is that which descends from above by itself, as the statement,

“Dew is not withheld.”

And correspondingly, there are two kinds of drawings and influences from above,

one drawn from above downward through arousal from below,

this being the aspect of rain,

like the rain drawn by the vapor ascending from the earth,

meaning through toil and work from below.

And as our sages, of blessed memory, said

on the verse “May my teaching drop as the rain,”

“When the creatures break their neck, immediately rain descends.”

And in the service of man, the aspect of “neck” is the aspect of the back

(the opposite of the aspect of the face),

“After the L-rd you shall go,”

and “the creatures break their neck” is the nullification of this matter

(of concealment and hiding)

that comes through work and toil.

And the intention in this is not the breaking of the body literally, heaven forbid,

but rather the soul is in the body,

a healthy body with all its 248 limbs and 365 sinews,

and the breaking is only the breaking of the heart alone

(and the breaking of the neck,

“What difference is there between killing the whole and killing half?”).

And on the contrary,

through the breaking of the heart the body comes to greater perfection,

as the well-known saying, “There is nothing as whole as a broken heart.”

And through this the rain descends from above,

and the rain waters the earth and causes it to bring forth and sprout, etc.

And the second drawing from above is the aspect of dew, which is drawn by itself without any arousal from below at all, like the dew that descends by itself,

as the statement, “Dew is not withheld”

(as above).

4)

And this is “May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech flow as the dew,”

for just as there are these two aspects

(arousal from above drawn through arousal from below, and arousal from above that is above arousal from below)

in the divine influences in general,

so too there are these two matters in the Torah

(“my teaching” and “my speech”).

For the matter of the flow of the light of Torah called “rain” is the aspect of the externality of Torah

(the revealed part of Torah)

drawn through man’s service and man’s toil.

And as the statement,

“I toiled and I found—believe,”

from this it is understood,

that the finding is measured according to the value of the toil.

And although it is explained elsewhere,

that the matter of “finding” is not commensurate with the toil

(like a simple find, where the one who finds it does not know from whom the find came to him,

and he finds it incidentally),

nevertheless, it has some value and connection to the toil,

for if one toils in a place where the find is not, he will not find it,

and as it is written,

“And you shall seek from there, etc.,”

and it is explained in Likkutei Torah

that what it says “from there” specifically is because it is impossible to find a lost object except in the place where it was lost.

But the dew of Torah is the aspect of an influence that is drawn by itself,

and it is the aspect of “the dew of the pearls,”

“the dew that drips from the Ancient Holy One,”

with which He will in the future revive the dead,

the aspect of the innerness of Torah.

And therefore it is said of it “my speech flow as the dew,”

for the matter of “flow” is from the term “liquid,”

meaning that it is drawn and descends downward, downward as it is in its source and root in the aspect of the mazal.

And the revelation of the aspect of the dew of Torah will be in the future,

as explained in the continuation of the discourse there, that this is what our sages, of blessed memory, said, “Whoever engages in Torah, the dew of Torah revives him,”

that through engagement in the revealed part of Torah in this time, the aspect of the dew of Torah will be drawn in the future,

the innerness of Torah.

[And as also explained elsewhere

regarding what our sages, of blessed memory, said,

“Fortunate is he who comes here with his learning in his hand,”

that through study of the revealed part of Torah

(“his learning”)

in this time, one merits the revelation of the secrets of Torah in the future.]

And this is also what is written,

“A new Torah will go forth from Me.”

That the revelation of the aspect of the new Torah

(the dew of Torah)

will be specifically in the future.

5)

And with this will also be understood that this aspect of dew is the dew with which He will in the future revive the dead,

for the innovation of the resurrection of the dead is that it is drawn from the aspect of arousal from above that is above arousal from below.

And as explained in several discourses

the innovation and change of the resurrection of the dead relative to the Garden of Eden.

For the resurrection of the dead is higher than the Garden of Eden,

as is proven from the wording of the blessing of Yotzer

(of Shabbos)

“There is no comparison, etc., and there is none besides You, our King, for the life of the World to Come”

(the Garden of Eden)

etc.

(and afterwards)

“And there is none like You, our Redeemer, for the resurrection of the dead,”

and nevertheless, regarding the Garden of Eden, man’s service is required,

both the service before this

(as preparation for the Garden of Eden)

and the service in the Garden of Eden itself,

this being the matter of the ascents in the Garden of Eden from level to level through the pillar that is between one Garden of Eden and another, etc.,

and not only this,

but not every person merits the Garden of Eden

(as the language is brought in many places)

(the upper one)

because it depends on service,

but regarding the resurrection of the dead we learned,

“All Israel have a share in the World to Come,”

and although it states in the continuation of the Mishnah “except for, etc.,”

nevertheless, it is explained in the Yerushalmi,

that through the clarification and refinement afterwards, they too will return to life.

And the reason for this is explained,

because the revelation of G-dliness in the Garden of Eden has its root in the aspect of arousal from above that is drawn through arousal from below,

from the aspect of that which fills all worlds,

and therefore it depends on man’s service,

but the revelation of the resurrection of the dead is from that which transcends all worlds,

arousal from above that is above arousal from below,

and therefore it does not depend on man’s service, but rather all Israel have a share in the World to Come.

And this is the matter of the dew of life,

as explained above,

that the aspect of dew is the aspect that is drawn by itself without any arousal from below.

6)

Nevertheless,

it is necessary to say, and it is understood and self-evident

(and it is a pleasure to say),

that this matter already exists now,

and as is known, everything was given at the Giving of the Torah.

And the explanation is,

that in Tanya

(ibid.)

our master, the Alter Rebbe, explains

(regarding the revelation of G-dliness that will be in the future, and particularly at the Resurrection of the Dead)

that there already was something similar in the world at the time of the Giving of the Torah, as it is written, "You have been shown to know..."

That is,

that this matter

(the revelation of the Resurrection of the Dead)

was already drawn down at the Giving of the Torah,

and moreover, he precisely phrases it as "there already was in the worlds" specifically.

And one can explain the intention in this,

that it was drawn into the boundaries of the world,

which includes the boundaries of time and the boundaries of place,

like the two interpretations of the word "olam"

(worlds),

which is the name by which it is called in the Holy Tongue,

He who brings into being, enlivens, and sustains it.

And it can be said that this is the explanation of the well-known saying that Matan Torah will not occur a second time,

for since everything was already given at the time of Matan Torah,

therefore there is no need

(one does not need)

for it to be drawn down again,

and since there is no need for the matter, it is understood that there will not be a second Matan Torah.

And analogous to what is explained in many places,

that the entire Torah is included in the Ten Commandments given at Matan Torah,

so too in our matter,

that all the levels of the Torah,

including the aspect of the "dew of Torah" of the future,

were all given at the Giving of the Torah.

And this matter was given to all of Israel,

as it is brought in the Midrash

that the Torah was given to each one according to his capacity,

including even infants and pregnant women, etc.

(meaning that even fetuses in their mothers' wombs were

(and received)

at the receiving of the Torah),

and not only that, but

also all the souls that had not yet descended into the world at that time,

or the souls that had already descended and ascended before that,

all of them were at the time of Matan Torah.

7)

And in this very matter

(that the aspect of the "dew of Torah" was already given at Matan Torah)

there are two ways.

For it is possible that this matter is hidden and concealed, like a treasure of precious wealth, hidden and sealed from the eye of every beholder,

and like the Torah in general was a hidden treasure

before the Giving of the Torah.

For even this matter effects an elevation in Israel,

as in the simple sense,

that one who owns a great treasure,

even though he does not use it for whatever reason,

nevertheless he has greater worth,

being considered a great wealthy person.

And so it is in halachah, in the laws of valuations, as it is written,

"According to what his hand can attain, the kohen shall value him,"

which depends on his financial capacity,

and if he has a great treasure

(even if he did not use it)

he is valued as wealthy,

and this is even understood simply by the merchants of Lud,

and in the custom of the land,

and even in the diaspora and among the seventy nations of the world.

And likewise it will be understood in the analogy,

when the aspect of the "dew of Torah" is in a manner of a hidden treasure in the possession of Israel

(from the time of Matan Torah),

it causes them to be valued in a most elevated manner by the kohen,

"your G-d is a kohen,"

and this matter even affects the seventy nations.

But nevertheless, this is not the true innovation of the Giving of the Torah,

for even before the Giving of the Torah, the Torah was in the aspect of a hidden treasure,

and the innovation of Matan Torah is that the Torah be drawn into Israel internally, revealedly, and simply.

And so too regarding the aspect of the "dew of Torah,"

it is not sufficient that this matter was already given

(in concealment)

at the time of Matan Torah,

but rather it must also act internally,

and as it is written,

"For it is your wisdom and understanding," etc.,

for the main point of the Torah is that it is in the aspect of wisdom and understanding,

the aspect of study with comprehension and grasp.

8)

And the explanation is,

that it is stated in the Mishnah,

"One does not expound upon the Workings of the Chariot with an individual, unless he was wise and understands from his own knowledge."

One can say,

that through the study of this individual in the Workings of the Chariot

(i.e., the inner dimension of the Torah),

he thereby extracts

all his students and all of Israel into comprehension and grasp of the inner dimension of the Torah.

But according to what was said, that the revelation of Matan Torah was for all of Israel,

it must be said,

that even this matter

(the comprehension and grasp of the aspect of the "dew of Torah")

must be in all of Israel.

And one can say,

that this is the innovation of the Torah of Chassidus,

that there be study of the inner dimension of the Torah

(the aspect of "the dew of the bedolach,"

"the dew that drips from Atik")

in a manner of comprehension and grasp,

and in a manner that "they will be sustained from it."

For although in previous generations there was the restriction of "one does not expound upon the Workings of the Chariot with an individual," etc.,

nevertheless in this time,

on Erev Shabbos,

the ruling in the Shulchan Aruch is

that on Erev Shabbos one must taste

from every dish of Shabbos,

"those who taste it merit life,"

and therefore there must now be a tasting of the revelation of the aspect of the "dew of Torah" that will be revealed in the future,

namely, the comprehension and grasp of the inner dimension of the Torah.

And with this will be understood what is written, "You will rain a generous rain, O G-d," etc.,

that the "dew of Torah" of Matan Torah is specifically called "rain"

(generous)

specifically,

for the purpose of this aspect of dew is that it also have the quality of rain,

to the point that it be drawn into comprehension and grasp, like the aspect of rain,

the revealed dimension of Torah.

9)

And this is "You were shown to know that Hashem, He is the Elokim, there is none else besides Him,"

that this matter was given at the time of the Giving of the Torah,

and in this manner it is drawn down in every year at the time of the giving of our Torah,

for at the time of the Giving of the Torah there was a revelation of the aspect of the dew of Torah,

the aspect of the dew of the bdellium that drips from the Ancient One,

which is one with the Awtsmoos of Ein Sof, blessed is He,

"You" are the very Awtsmoos of Ein Sof, blessed is He.

And it can be said that this is also what is known

that the holiday of Shavuos is connected with Moshe Rabbeinu,

who received the Torah at Sinai at that time,

and with King Dovid and the Baal Shem Tov,

for on Atzeres is the day of the yahrtzeit of King Dovid

[and this matter is emphasized especially in this year,

since Dovid died on Shabbos,

and in this year the second day of Yom Tov of Atzeres falls on Shabbos]

and also the day of the yahrtzeit of the Baal Shem Tov

(as mentioned above).

[And it can be said further,

that the holiday of Shavuos is also the day of the yahrtzeit

of Moshe Rabbeinu.

For at the time of the Giving of the Torah, the souls of all of Israel flew away and He returned them with dew, etc.,

and it is necessarily to say that this matter was in all of Israel,

from their smallest to their greatest,

for certainly the matter of the dew of resurrection

(the dew of Torah)

was drawn to each and every one of Israel,

including Moshe Rabbeinu.

And thus it is found that on this day there was also the matter of the departure of the soul

(their souls flew away)

in Moshe Rabbeinu,

the matter of a yahrtzeit].

And these three

(Moshe Rabbeinu, King Dovid, and the Baal Shem Tov)

are connected with the matter of drawing down the aspect of the dew of Torah

(the inner dimension of the Torah)

into Israel in a manner of understanding and comprehension.

For regarding Moshe it is written, "The Torah that Moshe commanded us is an inheritance for the congregation of Yaakov,"

that he gave and transmitted the entire Torah

(including the aspect of the dew of Torah)

to all of Israel in a manner of inheritance,

for the true essence of inheritance is when it is found in the full ownership of the heir,

meaning that there is in this understanding and comprehension, etc.

And in this manner was the matter of Dovid,

Dovid, the King Moshiach,

for the matter of Moshiach is the revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah in the future.

[And this matter is emphasized at this time,

close to the conclusion of Shabbos,

the time of the meal of Dovid, the King Moshiach].

And in this manner is also the matter of the Baal Shem Tov,

who revealed the inner dimension of the Torah in a manner of the spreading of the wellsprings outward.

For at the time of the Giving of the Torah, this matter

(the aspect of the dew of Torah)

was in concealment

(relatively),

and afterwards it was revealed more through Dovid,

and afterwards it was revealed even more through the Baal Shem Tov and his students and the students of his students,

until my master, father-in-law, the Rebbe, the Nasi of our generation,

whose innovation was the spreading of the wellsprings of the inner dimension of the Torah

(the dew of Torah)

outward.

10)

Now, the Torah is eternal,

meaning that it is an eternal instruction for all of Israel,

and He only asks according to their ability,

that to each and every one

[for even to women was the giving of the Torah and the receiving of the Torah,

and on the contrary,

it is written first,

"Thus shall you say to the house of Yaakov," these are the women,

and in a manner of gentle speech]

the power is given that there should be study of the aspect of the dew in the Torah,

and in a manner of understanding and comprehension.

And just as in every law of the Torah the main thing is the simple action,

so too is it in this matter of the revelation of the aspect of the dew of Torah in the future,

that the main thing is that it should be in simplicity,

"The word of Hashem, this is the law; we will come to the word of Hashem, this is the end,"

in the true and complete redemption through Moshiach our righteous one,

speedily in our days,

literally immediately.