English translation — מאמר ועתה יגדל נא תשי"ט

With the help of Heaven.

Shabbat Parshat Shlach,

28 Sivan,

Erev Rosh Chodesh Tamuz, 5719

"And now, please, let the strength of the Lord be increased, as You spoke, saying,"

And Rashi explains,

"And what is the speech? 'The Lord' –

slow to anger."

For the simple meaning of the verse's language is,

that the speech of the Holy One, blessed be He,

("as You spoke")

is that the strength of the Lord will be increased.

Therefore Rashi needed to explain that according to the simple interpretation, the meaning is "The Lord, slow to anger."

But from the fact that the verse is stated in this language, whose implication is that the speech is what will increase the strength of the Lord,

it implies that the intent of the verse is also regarding this matter.

And as it is brought in the Gemara,

"When Moshe ascended on high... [the Holy One, blessed be He] said to him,

(The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe)

'You should have helped Me

(by saying, 'May Your work succeed').

Immediately [Moshe] said to Him, 'And now, please, let the strength of the Lord be increased, as You spoke.'"

That is, "as You spoke" refers to the statement "You should have helped Me,"

for the matter of "help Me"

[that there should be help

(an addition)

in the power of the Supernal]

is "let the strength of the Lord be increased."

And one may add,

that the implication of the verse's language "as You spoke, saying" is that the speech

(of the Holy One, blessed be He)

is "saying"

(that Moshe should say).

And this is also understood from the aforementioned statement of our Sages, that "as You spoke" refers to what the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe, "You should have helped Me,"

that Moshe should say,

"May Your work succeed."

And according to what is known,

that all the interpretations of that same verse are connected to each other,

it is understood,

that these three interpretations of "as You spoke"

[that it refers to "let the strength of the Lord be increased,"

to "saying,"

and to "The Lord, slow to anger"]

are connected to each other.

And one must understand the connection between these three interpretations.

B)

And one may say the point of the explanation in this,

that Moshe's request "And now, please, let the strength of the Lord be increased... The Lord, slow to anger..." is

(as the verse continues)

"Please forgive the iniquity of this people...,"

pardon, forgiveness, and atonement for the sin of the spies.

And behold, in forgiveness there are two matters.

For the root of forgiveness is from a level that is above the chain of descent,

because in order to fill the blemish, there must be a drawing down from a most exalted place where blemish does not apply,

but in order for the forgiveness

(the filling of the blemish)

to be actual,

the drawing down must be below,

in the place where the blemish occurred.

And this is "And now, please, let the strength of the Lord be increased... The Lord, slow to anger...,"

for the root of forgiveness is from the aspect of "The Lord, slow to anger...,"

the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy,

which are above the chain of descent,

and "let the strength of the Lord be increased" is that there should be a drawing down below, in "Lord,"

in order to rectify the blemish.

For the name "Lord" is in Malchut,

and the blemish of the sin of the spies, who did not desire practical mitzvot,

is in Malchut,

and through the increase of the strength of "Lord," the blemish is rectified and filled.

3)

And the explanation of the matter in more particularity will be understood by prefacing the precise wording of the verse, "And now, let the power of Ado-nai be great, please,"

for there are two interpretations of this.

For in several discourses

it is explained that the interpretation of "let the power of Ado-nai be great" is that there should be drawn into Ado-nai its power

(the root and source of Ado-nai)

and through this there will be its greatness.

And the simple interpretation of "let the power of Ado-nai be great" is

(and so it is explained in several discourses)

that there should be a greatness

(also)

in the power of Ado-nai.

And based on this, one will understand

(more)

the connection of "let the power of Ado-nai be great, please" to "Hashem, slow to anger, etc."

(the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy that are above the chain of descent),

because in order for there to be the greatness in the power of Ado-nai

(the root and source of Ado-nai)

it is through the drawing down from a level that is above the chain of descent,

above even the root and source of the chain of descent.

4)

And the matter is,

that the name Ado-nai is in Malchus

(as above),

and the power of Ado-nai

(the root and source of Malchus)

is in Chochmah,

for "Abba founded the daughter."

And this will be understood by way of analogy from the letters of speech in a person

(for Malchus in general is speech),

whose source

is above the light

(the intellect or the emotion)

that is clothed within them.

For the fact that the same rationale,

each one says it in different letters and words,

is because the source of the letters is from the level of Chochmah,

the hidden intellect and the primacy of the intellect

that is in the soul,

which is above the revealed intellect.

And this is the reason that by bringing the intellect into speech, there is an addition in the intellect beyond what it was initially

(in thought),

for through speech, there is drawn from the level of Chochmah, the root and source of the intellect.

5)

And behold, this that the source of speech is in Chochmah is not only regarding the speech itself,

but also regarding the intellect and emotions that are clothed in the speech.

For through their being clothed in speech,

they become divided into many parts.

For when one speaks words of love,

the love in itself is one emotion,

and when it is clothed in the letters and words of speech, it is divided into several words,

each word containing a part of the emotion.

And similarly, when one speaks some intellectual rationale,

the rationale is one rationale,

and when it is clothed in the letters and words of speech, it is divided into several parts.

And this that the intellect and emotions come to division

(even though in themselves they are simple)

is because there is drawn into them from the level of Chochmah,

the primacy of the intellect.

6)

And based on this, the reason will be better understood

for why, by bringing the intellect into speech, there is an addition in the comprehension of the intellect beyond what it was before,

because the power that articulates the reasoning into the letters of speech has its root in the primordial intellect,

the source of the revealed intellect.

And this is also the reason why sometimes, when one learns a certain matter in thought and strong questions arise that he cannot resolve, by learning the matter in speech the questions and contradictions settle for him.

For the intellect, as it is from its source, is a clear intellect,

without dross or waste,

and therefore when he brings the intellect into speech,

whereby the intellect is drawn as it is in its root

(as above),

it becomes clear for him in a manner that there is no question or contradiction at all.

7)

And behold, also wisdom,

the aspect of the primordial intellect,

since it is the root and source of intellect,

necessarily is in the category of existence.

For just as intellect is an existence

(outside the soul),

so too is the root of intellect,

the primordial intellect.

And this is the superiority of will over intellect

(even over the primordial intellect),

that will is not an existence unto itself, and its entire matter is the inclination and drawing of the soul.

Therefore, will rules and dominates over all the powers,

even over the power of intellect,

as our sages, of blessed memory, said:

"A person should always study in a place where his heart desires,"

for by his desiring this,

he understands in a different manner.

And since will is above even the root of intellect

(the primordial intellect),

as above,

therefore,

the effect wrought in intellect through will is also in the root of intellect.

And therefore,

the addition in intellect through will is much greater than the addition through speech.

For the addition through speech is because speech arouses the root of intellect,

and since even the root of intellect is an existence and has form,

therefore,

the addition through drawing the root is in measure and limitation,

but the addition in intellect through will is not measured

(as much),

since the effect of will is also in the root of intellect.

And similarly, it will be understood above,

that in the magnification of the Name Adnus,

there are two modes.

The magnification in Adnus through drawing into it from the aspect of the power of Adnus.

And as brought above

(section 3)

from several discourses on the explanation of "yigdal koach Adnus" that it means there will be magnification in Adnus through drawing into it its power,

its root and source.

And the magnification in Adnus through the drawing from the aspect of the Surrounding that is above the chain of descent

(for the Surrounding is analogous to will),

this magnification is more elevated,

since this magnification is also in the power of Adnus

(the root of Adnus),

and according to the simple explanation of "yigdal koach Adnus,"

that there will be magnification in the power of Adnus.

8)

And behold, all the matters above,

their drawing down is through the service of man.

And this is "And now, please, let the strength of the Lord be increased, as You spoke, saying,"

for "as You spoke" refers to the speech of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moshe: "Be for me a help,"

that Moshe would say, "May your work succeed,"

that the increase of the strength of the Lord is effected through the service of man

(the speech of Moshe).

And according to the known principle

that the service of man

(an arousal from below)

through which the drawing down is effected

(an arousal from above)

must be of the same kind as the drawing down,

it is understood,

that in order for there to be an increase of the strength of the Lord

(the fill)

through drawing into it from the aspect of the Encompassing that is above the chain of descent,

it is through the increase

(addition)

in the service that is according to reason and understanding, by means of drawing and revealing the service that is above reason and understanding.

And as explained in Tanya

that the fulfillment of Torah and its mitzvos depends on this, that one always remember the matter of self-sacrifice for G-d, for through remembering the matter of self-sacrifice,

which is above the chain of descent within man,

there is an increase and addition in the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos,

which is the chain of descent within man.

And in more particular terms, it can be said,

that in order for there to be a drawing down of the Encompassing and an increase in the strength of the Lord,

one must connect the service that is above reason and understanding with the aspect of the primordial intellect.

And this is what our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said:

"Whoever answers 'Amen, may His great Name be blessed' with all his strength, they tear up his decree of seventy years,"

for "with all his strength" has two interpretations.

Rashi's explanation:

"With all his strength" means with all the strength of his intention,

and the explanation of Tosafos:

with a loud voice.

And one can explain this,

that through saying "Amen, may His great Name be blessed" with all his strength, there is an increase of the strength of the Lord.

For "His great Name" is His great Name,

the Encompassing that is above the chain of descent,

for through the drawing down of the Encompassing, there is an increase of the strength of the Lord, as above.

Therefore, through saying "Amen, may His great Name be blessed," they tear up his decree of seventy years,

for the decree is due to the blemish in the Name of the Lord,

and through the increase of the strength of the Lord, the blemish is rectified.

And in order for there to be a drawing down of "His great Name" into the aspect of the strength of the Lord,

it is through the two matters

(the interpretations)

of "with all his strength."

For "all his intention" is the intention of the desire of the heart that is above reason and understanding,

above the chain of descent within man,

and "a loud voice" is the speech that arouses the aspect of the primordial intellect,

the root of the chain of descent.

And through the fact that all his intention is not only in thought but comes in a loud voice,

through this the drawing down of "His great Name" into the strength of the Lord is effected.

9)

And behold, it is known

that the service of man reaches until the root of the creations,

the aspect of the chain of descent,

and that which through service is also drawn from above the chain of descent,

this is through a power given from above that was drawn down at the Giving of the Torah.

And this is "as You spoke, saying,"

that this, that through the service of man

("saying")

there is an increase of the strength of the Lord,

that the increase is through drawing down the Encompassing that is above the chain of descent,

this is "as You spoke,"

for "as You spoke" refers

(also)

to "saying"

(as above at the beginning of the maamar),

that through the speech of the Holy One, blessed be He, "Be for me a help,"

the power was given

(to Moshe,

and through him to every single Jew)

that through his service he can effect an increase of the strength of the Lord.

And according to what was brought above, that this power

(that through service, the light that is above the chain of descent will also be drawn down)

was drawn down at the Giving of the Torah,

it can be said,

that "as You spoke, saying" refers

(also)

to "And G-d spoke, saying"

that was said at the Giving of the Torah,

that also the explanation of "And G-d spoke, saying" is that G-d spoke so that Israel would say all these words

(which refers also to the entire Torah as a whole)

in the manner of "saying,"

to say the things that the Holy One, blessed be He, says.

That is, through the fact that man says words of Torah,

he causes that the Holy One, blessed be He, will say these words,

the drawing down of the Ein Sof light

(which is above the chain of descent)

into the Torah

(the chain of descent).

And through this, the power is drawn also into the entirety of man's service,

that through his service

(in a manner that the aspect above the chain of descent within man illuminates within the chain of descent within him)

he draws down the light that is above the chain of descent into the chain of descent,

the drawing down of the Encompassing into the fill.

And through this, the drawing down of the Encompassing is effected also below, in the world

(that the drawing down of the Encompassing in the world is also within its inwardness),

and through this, the intention of the dwelling place

for Him, blessed be He, in the lower realms is completed.