English translation — מאמר בשעה שעלה משה למרום תשכ"א

With the help of Heaven.

The first night of the festival of Shavuos,

towards morning,

the year 5721 (1961)*

(Unedited transcription)

When Moshe ascended to the heavens, the ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He, etc.: "What is a child of woman doing among us?" He said to them: "He has come to receive the Torah"

(on behalf of all of Israel,

and as the teaching states,

"Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, Yehoshua to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets transmitted it to the Men of the Great Assembly,"

and from them to all of Israel until the end of all generations),

they said before Him

(the angels):

"This hidden treasure that is hidden for You... before the world was created, do You seek to give it to flesh and blood?"

"What

is man that You are mindful of him... Bestow Your glory upon the heavens."

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe: "Return an answer to them," etc.,

and the answer that Moshe Rabbeinu gave them was: "Did you descend to Egypt?... Do you have an evil inclination among you?" etc.

And in the Midrash Tehillim on the verse,

it is stated: "In three places the angels argued against the Holy One, blessed be He:

at the creation of man,

at the giving of the Torah, and at the Mishkan."

When the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to create man, they said: "What is man that You are mindful of him,"

and the Holy One, blessed be He, showed them that His wisdom is greater than yours.

When the Holy One, blessed be He, came to give the Torah to Israel, they said: "What is man that You are mindful of him... Bestow Your glory upon the heavens,"

and similarly they argued also when the command was given: "Make for Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst."

That is to say,

the statement of the Gemara that the angels' claim was at the giving of the Torah

is explained in the Midrash in more detail,

that in three places the angels argued.

And as an introduction,

behold it is written,

"Ten ten per shekel of the holy shekel,"

that the Ten Utterances correspond to the Ten Commandments,

meaning that the Ten Commandments give permanence to the Ten Utterances,

for through the Torah the intention and purpose of the creation of the world is completed,

that the purpose of the creation of the world is to make the world a dwelling place and Sanctuary for Him, blessed be He,

and this intention is completed through the Torah.

And this is that the angels' claim was in three places:

at the time of creation,

at the Mishkan

(the ultimate intention of the creation of the world),

and at the giving of the Torah

(for through the Torah this intention is completed).

2)

And the explanation is,

that the claim of the angels regarding the giving of the Torah to Israel was not about giving the Torah to the souls

(of Israel),

for even the angels knew that souls are on a higher level than the angels,

rather their claim was about giving the Torah to the body,

as the Gemara states,

"Do You seek to give it to flesh and blood?"

And furthermore,

even regarding the body,

their claim was not about giving the Torah to a body in general

(a spiritual body),

but about giving the Torah to the human body, which is a physical body,

as the Gemara states

(above)

"Do You seek to give it to flesh and blood?"

And the explanation of the matter9,

behold, we find that the song of the angels is mentioned in the Prophets,

as it is stated in the Haftarah of Shavuot,

"And I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing"10,

and it is written, "The sound of their wings was like the sound of many waters, like the sound of Shaddai"11,

"And the Ofanim and the holy Chayot with a great noise"12,

but the song of the souls is not found in the Prophets.

And this is,

that there is also a song of the souls,

for the souls have constant ascents,

as it is stated13

"They go from strength to strength,"

and as it is stated14

"And it shall be, from month to month, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come,"

which is the matter of the movement and ascent of the souls, who ascend to the upper Garden of Eden and return to the lower Garden of Eden and ascend again to the upper Garden of Eden,

and it is known that every ascent is through song,

as per the statement15

"All who possess song go out with song and are drawn in with song,"

and since the ascent of the souls is higher than the ascent of the angels,

it is therefore understood that the song of the souls is also greater than the song of the angels,

and nevertheless, the song of the souls is not mentioned in the Prophets.

And the reason for this is explained in Likkutei Torah16,

because the angels possess a soul and a body,

for although they are called "separate intellects"17,

this is only in relation to the lower body,

but nevertheless, even the angels have a body,

as it is stated18

"He makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flaming fire,"

and the Ramban explained19

that this refers to the body of the angels.

And this is,

that it is impossible to interpret that it refers to the soul of the angels,

for in the soul of the angels, the matter of fire and spirit does not apply at all,

for although fire and spirit are two fine elements,

and in this itself, the angels are from the fineness of the elements,

as is evident from the Ramban's explanation,

nevertheless, they are elements.

And this matter does not apply to the soul of the angels,

which is the matter of the emotions of love and fear,

the camp of Michael in Chessed and the camp of Gavriel in Gevurah20,

and especially according to what is explained in Tanya21

in the name of the Zohar22

that there are intellectual angels,

for in the matter of emotions, and all the more so in the matter of intellect, the matter of even fine elements does not apply.

And it must be concluded that what is written "He makes His angels spirits" refers to the body of the angels.

And since the angels possess a body,

therefore their song is heard by the ears of the prophets.

But the song of the souls, who have no body at all,

and the matter of their song is the matter of comprehension and love and fear,

this cannot be heard by a prophet.

And just as it is regarding hearing,

so too is it regarding sight,

that the angels are perceived by sight,

as it is stated23

"And he saw, and behold, three men were standing by him,"

for since the angels have a body,

meaning that even in their standing and state they have a body,

therefore they can clothe themselves further below,

until they are perceived by sight, etc.

And from all this it is understood that the claim of the angels regarding the giving of the Torah to Israel was not from the aspect of the soul,

for the souls are higher than the angels,

but from the aspect of the body.

And this is,

that even the angels knew that the giving of the Torah must specifically be to souls in bodies,

and nevertheless they argued that the Torah should be given to them,

for since they too possess a body,

this would also suffice for the giving of the Torah,

and there would be no need to give the Torah to a body of flesh and blood,

for from the aspect of flesh and the heat of the blood, an undesirable matter could occur, etc.

And to this they were answered,

"Have you descended to Egypt?... Is there an evil inclination among you?"

meaning that the limitations and boundaries of the bodies of the angels are not sufficient,

rather, limitations and boundaries such that the evil inclination applies to them are needed,

and even that must be transformed into good,

as per the statement of the Baal Shem Tov24

on the verse25

"Turn from evil and do good,"

that one must turn away from evil and make it into good,

and therefore the Torah was given specifically to a body of flesh and blood26.

And likewise regarding the claim of the angels at the time of the creation of the world and regarding the Mishkan

[as was explained earlier that these three matters are related to each other,

that the sustenance of the Ten Utterances

(from which the world is constantly created,

according to the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov27

on the verse28

"Forever, O Lord, Your word stands firm in the heavens,"

that the word of God must constantly be in the created being to bring it into being, to enliven it, and to sustain it),

is drawn from the Ten Commandments in the Torah,

for the Torah completes the purpose of the intention of creation, that the world should be a Sanctuary and Tabernacle for Him, blessed be He],

that their claim was that the spiritual body of the angels is sufficient.

And to this they were answered that specifically a body of flesh and blood is needed,

because,

"Everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world, He created only for His glory,"

as it is stated29

"Everyone who is called by My name, and for My glory I created him, I formed him, even I made him"30,

and it is written31

"I have made the earth, and created man upon it,"

"I have made" is a term of making and perfecting32,

meaning that the purpose of creation is to perfect and elevate all of creation and to make it, through the Torah, a Sanctuary and Tabernacle for Him, blessed be He,

and for this, specifically a body of flesh and blood is needed,

for through this, even the lowest can be elevated.

And as is known the parable33

of raising a building, that one must raise it specifically from its foundation,

but if one raises it from its middle, then its foundation will not be raised.

3)

Now, the power to rectify and elevate even a physical and corporeal body is not within the power of the angels, but specifically within the power of the souls.

And the explanation is34,

that,

the entirety of creation is divided into four categories: inanimate, vegetative, animate, and speaking,

in which are also included the angels and souls.

And these four categories correspond to the four letters of the Name Havayah35.

And although sometimes it is explained36

the difference between angels and souls,

that the root of angels is from the Name Elokim,

as it is said37

"Give thanks to the God of gods,"

and the root of souls is from the Name Havayah,

as it is said38

"For the portion of Havayah is His people,"

nevertheless,

in a more general sense,

even the angels have their root from the Name Havayah,

for Havayah means "He who brings into being"39,

and He brings into being the entirety of all existences.

Therefore, the four categories in creation are included in the Name Havayah,

which has four letters,

corresponding to which are the four categories.

The final Hei,

the aspect of Malchus,

is the matter of the inanimate category.

The Vav,

the aspect of the emotions,

is the matter of the vegetative category,

for the emotions grow from smallness to greatness.

The first Hei,

the aspect of Binah,

is the matter of the animate category,

as it is said regarding Chavah40

"She was the mother of all life,"

which refers to the Sefirah of Binah,

and on a higher level it also refers to the aspect of the externality of Chochmah,

for even the externality of Chochmah is included in the animate category,

as it is said41

"And wisdom gives life"

(That is,

that in Chochmah there are two levels,

the Yud and the point of the Yud,

and the explanation that even Chochmah is in the animate category,

as it is said "and wisdom gives life,"

refers to the aspect of the externality of Chochmah).

And even the angels are called by the names vegetative and animate,

as it is said42

"Then all the trees of the forest will sing,"

and likewise they are called by the names beasts, animals, and birds43,

as it is said44

"The face of a lion... and the face of an ox from the left... and the face of an eagle."

And the letter Yud and its point,

the aspect of the innerness of Chochmah,

corresponds to the intellectual soul,

the speaking soul.

Now,

the letters Vav and first Hei have a connection with each other,

just as with the vegetative and animate, which are close to each other,

for the animate has the aspect of growth.

And so it is also regarding the emotions and the intellect, which are close to each other.

However, the final Hei,

the aspect of Malchus,

has no closeness with the Vav and the first Hei,

and its coming into being is from Chochmah,

the innerness of Chochmah,

as per the statement45

"Abba founded the daughter,"

except that this coming into being is in a manner of distance.

And just as the coming into being of Chochmah itself is in a manner of distance,

as it is said46

"And wisdom, from where is it found?"

for it is known that the coming into being of Chochmah from that which is above Chochmah is not similar to the coming into being of the Sefiros that are below Chochmah,

like the coming into being of Binah from Chochmah,

and likewise the emotions from Binah,

and likewise the innerness of Malchus from the emotions,

for their coming into being is in a manner of cause and effect,

but the coming into being of Chochmah from that which is above Chochmah is in a manner of yesh mei'ayin (existence from nothing),

and this means that the innerness of Chochmah is connected to the Ayin (Nothingness) from which it is found

(for what is said "and wisdom gives life" is in the aspect of the externality of Chochmah,

and what is said "and wisdom, from where is it found?" is in the aspect of the innerness of Chochmah,

the Mah of Chochmah),

as it is explained in Tanya47

that the level of Chochmah is the sensation that He alone is and there is nothing besides Him,

and likewise it is also regarding the matter of "Abba founded the daughter"45,

that the coming into being of Malchus

(the externality of Malchus,

the speech of Malchus)

from the innerness of Chochmah is in a manner of distance.

And the explanation is,

that the externality of Malchus is the aspect of the letters,

and the coming into being of the letters is not from the emotions and from the intellect in a manner of cause and effect,

as is known from the proofs regarding this,

for if it were said that the coming into being of the letters is from the emotions or from the intellect,

it would be necessary that the intellect of kindness and the intellect of judgment would be in different letters,

but in actuality we see that in those same letters themselves, both the intellect of kindness and the intellect of judgment are clothed,

and only the combination of the letters changes, but the letters themselves are the same in both.

And furthermore,

it is stated in the Zohar48

and in the Mikdash Melech that there are letters of kindness and letters of judgment,

and if so,

surely it would have to be that the intellect of kindness would specifically clothe itself in letters of kindness,

and likewise the opposite,

but we see that this is not the case.

And from this it is proven that the coming into being of the letters is not from the intellect, and certainly not from the emotions,

but rather they have a root of their own,

and from the aspect of their essential root there are letters of kindness and letters of judgment,

and their root is in the Kadmus HaSechel (the Antecedence of the Intellect)49

(which is above the intellect),

as is known regarding the matter of "Abba founded the daughter,"

that the drawing down of the letters

(the daughter)

from Chochmah

(Abba)

is from the aspect of Kadmus HaSechel.

And the coming into being of the letters from Kadmus HaSechel is in a manner of distance50.

And along these lines is also the difference between the vegetative and animate and the speaking,

that in the vegetative and animate, their body and soul are proportionate to each other and came into being

(the body and the soul)

together,

as it is said "Let the earth sprout..."51

"Let the earth bring forth..."52,

and also regarding the creations of the hidden world it is written "Let the waters swarm..."53,

that they were all created as they are now,

and as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said54

"They were created in their full stature and in their full form."

And so it is with the angels, whose body and soul came into being as one.

However, in the creation of man, his body was first made on its own without any living soul within it,

as it is said55

"And Havayah Elokim formed the man, dust from the ground,"

and as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said56

"In the first hour his dust was gathered, in the second an unformed mass was made"

(as it is said57

"Your unformed mass saw Your eyes"),

and only afterwards "He blew into his nostrils the breath of life"55.

For seemingly this is a deficiency, that for a period of time the body of man was an unformed mass,

but in truth,

behold, from this very thing we see the superiority of the speaking category,

that the soul of man, which is higher than the soul of the angels,

specifically clothes itself in the body of man,

which is the most lowly body,

in the manner that the coming into being of the letters is specifically from the innerness of Chochmah,

for "their beginning is wedged in their end and their end in their beginning"58.

4)

And an explanation of the superiority of the soul of man over the soul of the angels,

behold, it was explained above that the root of angels is from the Name Elokim,

and the root of souls is from the Name Havayah.

And from this, with additional explanation, the reason will be understood why the song of the angels is heard by the ears of the prophet and not the song of the souls,

because the angels, whose root is from the Name Elokim36,

are the aspect of the vessels,

and the vessels are in measurement and limitation,

but the souls, whose root is from the Name Havayah36,

are the aspect of the lights,

and the lights are not in measurement and limitation,

to the point that sometimes it is explained59

that the lights are simple.

And also according to what is explained elsewhere60

that even the souls have their root from the vessels,

behold, it is known that the root of the souls is from the innerness of the vessels61.

And the difference between the innerness of the vessels and the externality of the vessels is like what we see also in vessels below,

that the innerness of the vessel is unified with the liquid inside it,

but the externality of the vessel,

behold, the inner wall of the vessel separates between the liquid and the externality of the vessel.

And also the entire matter of the externality of the vessel is in order to bring the liquid to the place one desires,

meaning that its purpose is for the sake of another,

that is, for the sake of revelation.

And this is regarding vessels that are external to the person.

And likewise regarding the vessels within the person himself, which are the limbs,

behold, the externality of the vessel is not comparable to the innerness of the vessel,

for example, in the vessel of the brain,

that the externality of the brain, its purpose is to influence another,

behold, besides the fact that the entire matter of influence is only externality,

for "the inner content of the heart, people do not write"62,

and "it does not stand on the mind of his teacher"63,

behold, also the externality itself,

when the listener is not an intellectual, the influence will not benefit him at all,

as per the saying "one cannot put a head on someone"64,

and only when he himself is an intellectual will he receive the influence from his teacher.

And the reason for this is,

because the entire matter of influence from the externality of the vessel is only externality,

meaning only a radiation,

and not in a manner that gives him the essence.

However, regarding the matter of the influence of the drop, which is from the innerness of the brain,

behold, through this he begets something similar to himself,

because it is an essential influence.

And this is because the innerness of the brain is unified with the innerness of the light.

And the reason that this is so below,

behold, it is because this is so also above,

that the externality of the vessels is only a radiation,

and the innerness of the vessels is unified with the innerness of the light,

even with the aspect of the essence of the light,

which is Ein Sof.

And from this the superiority of the souls over the angels is understood,

that the souls, whose root is from the innerness of the vessels that are unified with the essence of the light,

have no limitations at all.

Behold,

an angel is limited in place,

as per the statement "an angel stands in a third of the world"65,

and likewise it is limited in time,

for time and place are related to each other66.

However, souls are not limited either in place or in time,

and this is what is said67

"And holy ones every day they praise You, Selah,"

whereas before this,

in the recitation of "Holy, blessed, He will reign"68,

"Selah" is not said,

and this is because "Holy, blessed, He will reign" refers to the song of the Seraphim, Chayos, and Ofanim,

whose song is in limitation,

for there is an interruption in their song,

but "And holy ones every day they praise You, Selah" refers to the song of the souls,

whose song is every day,

and furthermore,

the song is "Selah,"

for "every place where Netzach, Selah, and Va'ed are stated, it has no cessation"69.

And the explanation of the matter:

Behold, it was explained above that the angels were created with their body and soul as one,

And from this it is understood that just as their body is relative to their soul,

So too, their soul is relative to their body.

And the matter in this,

That the body of the angels is relative to their soul,

Therefore, when the angel says song,

Which is from the aspect of the soul,

Then nullification is also brought about in its body,

And as it is written,

"And the host of heaven prostrate themselves to You,"

Which refers to the spheres that revolve from east to west,

As is known,

That this is their prostration and nullification to the Shechinah,

For the Shechinah is in the west,

That this matter is from the aspect of the song that the soul of the spheres says,

And that is,

That the saying of the song from the aspect of their soul causes that the prostration is also made in their body,

That they revolve to the west.

And this is

That we find regarding Yehoshua, the student of Moshe

(As per the statement,

"Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua"),

That when he wanted to stop the sun,

He said, "Sun, be silent in Givon,"

He did not say "stand,"

Rather he said "be silent,"

"Be silent from saying song,"

And through this the sun stopped from moving.

And that is because the movement of the sun is from the aspect of the song of the angel's soul that also affects the angel's body,

From which is also drawn the movement of the sphere of the sun,

And when the angel's soul ceased saying song,

Then the movement of the sun automatically ceased.

And from all this it is understood that the angel's body is relative to its soul.

And likewise, on the other hand,

That the angel's soul is relative to its body,

For just as the body is limited,

So the soul is limited,

And therefore there is limitation and cessation in the song of the angels as above,

For although the song is from the aspect of their soul,

Nevertheless, there is in it limitation and cessation.

But the souls [of Israel] are not limited at all.

And the soul of man, which is not limited at all,

Is specifically clothed in a body of flesh and blood,

To rectify it and elevate it through the Torah,

For in this is completed the entirety of the intention of creation,

And as above in the parable of the building that must be raised specifically from its foundation,

To make the world a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He,

Because their beginning is wedged in their end and their end in their beginning.

5)

And this is [the meaning of] "When Moshe ascended to heaven and the angels argued, 'What is man that You are mindful of him? Give Your glory over the heavens,'"

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe Rabbeinu, "Return an answer to them,"

And that is, that the answer needed to be specifically from a soul in a body,

That a soul in a body showed them the superiority of a physical body specifically,

And then the angels conceded,

As it is stated,

"Hashem, our Lord, how majestic is Your name..." and "Give Your glory over the heavens" is not written,

And each and every one became a friend to him and gave him something,

As it is stated,

"You ascended on high, You led captivity captive, You took gifts for man,"

And afterwards they gave gifts to all of Israel,

That is, that six hundred thousand ministering angels descended and tied two crowns upon them,

Which is the matter of the assistance of the angels for the service of man,

And that is,

That in exchange for this that initially they prosecuted,

They themselves conceded and assisted the service of man

(And it is in the manner of what was explained above

(Section 2)

In the explanation of "Turn away from evil and do good").

And this concession was at the time that Israel said "We will do and we will hear,"

For "hearing" is a matter of understanding and comprehension,

This matter also exists in angels,

However, Israel preceded "we will do" to "we will hear,"

Which showed the superiority of action,

The superiority of the inanimate specifically,

And then the angels conceded regarding the giving of the Torah to Israel specifically below.

And included in this was also their concession regarding the making of the Mishkan

(For this is one of the three places where the angels argued against the Holy One, blessed be He),

For the making of the Mishkan is the ultimate purpose of creation,

And the main purpose is not in the Mishkan that was in the desert,

But rather in the Mishkan of Shiloh,

And primarily in the Beis HaMikdash,

And as it is written,

"For you have not yet come to the resting place and to the inheritance,"

Whereas the Mishkan was temporary,

And that is because the Mishkan was made of acacia wood standing upright,

Which is analogous to

"Seraphim stand,"

And in the Mishkan of Shiloh, stones were also added,

And the Beis HaMikdash was made of stones

(Inanimate)

Specifically,

This was the main thing

[And from this it is understood that if in the Mishkan, which man below makes, the main thing is in the inanimate and not in the vegetative,

Then certainly the main thing is not in the angels].

And furthermore,

That included in their concession regarding the making of the Mishkan is also the concession regarding the third Beis HaMikdash,

For regarding the Mishkan it is written,

"And so you shall do,"

And our Sages, of blessed memory, said

("You shall do")

"For [all] generations,"

That the main purpose in this is the third Beis HaMikdash, which will be more elevated even than the Beis HaMikdash that existed before,

For although it too was in a manner of permanence,

And not in a manner of temporariness like the Mishkan,

Nevertheless,

There was destruction and exile after it,

And only in the third Beis HaMikdash,

After which there will be no exile,

Will be the main matter of permanent dwelling,

And in a manner of a dwelling,

Like the parable of the dwelling of a king of flesh and blood who dwells in the dwelling with his entire essence.

And this matter was also included at the time of the giving of the Torah,

For just as at the time of the giving of the Torah the utterance "I am" was heard from all six directions,

So too in the future, "The glory of Hashem will be revealed and all flesh will see,"

That in every direction of the six directions they will see G-dliness.

And in the concession of the angels regarding the giving of the Torah below is also included their concession regarding the building of the third Beis HaMikdash,

For then it will be, "The glory of Hashem will be revealed and all flesh together will see that the mouth of Hashem has spoken,"

And "Hashem will be One and His Name One."