English translation — מאמר ארבעה ראשי שנים תשל"א

With the help of Heaven.

Wednesday, the fifteenth of Shevat, 5731.

There are four New Years: on the first of Nisan, etc., on the first of Elul, etc., on the first of Tishrei, etc., on the first of Shevat is the New Year for the tree, according to the words of Beis Shammai.

Beis Hillel says on the fifteenth thereof,

and the law is like Beis Hillel.

And it is necessary to understand the reason for the difference of the New Year for the tree from the first three New Years,

that the first three New Years are on the first of the month, and the New Year for the tree is on the fifteenth.

And to add,

that according to what is explained elsewhere,

that the connection of the three pilgrimage festivals

to the fifteenth day of the month is because on the fifteenth day is the fullness of the moon,

which also indicates the perfection of Israel, who count by the moon and are similar to the moon,

it must be said,

that this, that most of the New Years

[and according to Beis Shammai, all four New Years]

are on the first of the month,

at the time of the moon's birth when the moon is only a point,

is because the concept of a New Year is that on it the matter that is the New Year is drawn down into it,

and matters as they are at the beginning of their drawing down are only a point,

and based on this it is necessary to understand even more why the New Year for the tree is on the fifteenth.

2)

And this will be understood by prefacing what is explained in several discourses,

that the fact that the pilgrimage festivals were established at the times of the completion and gathering of the produce

[that the festival of Pesach must be in the season of spring

(the time of the completion of the barley)

and even more so in the festival of Shavuos, which is called by the name

"the festival of the harvest"

for the name of the first fruits of the wheat harvest,

and likewise the festival of Sukkos, which is called by the name "the festival of the ingathering"],

the intention is

(primarily)

for the spiritual produce,

which is Israel,

as it is written about them,

"Holy is Israel to Hashem, the first of His produce," etc.

And this, that the pilgrimage festivals must be at the times of the completion and gathering of the produce in the physical

[to the extent that for this reason we intercalate the year],

is,

because all matters in the physical are derived from their counterpart in the spiritual.

And based on this, it can also be said regarding the New Year for the tree,

that its main concept is that it is a New Year for the man

("you are called 'man'")

who is compared to a tree,

as it is written,

"For man is a tree of the field,"

and from this it is derived that it is a New Year for the tree in its simple physical sense.

And according to the saying of our sages, of blessed memory,

on the verse,

"For man is a tree of the field" — if he is a Torah scholar, etc.,

it can be said,

that this, that Israel are called by the name "produce"

(wheat, barley, etc.)

is from the aspect of their service in the fulfillment of the commandments

(as will be explained),

and this, that they are called by the name "tree"

("tree of the field")

is through their involvement in Torah.

And it can be said that this is what is written, "For man is a tree of the field"

(specifically "man"),

for the name "man" (Adam) is for the name of the intellect

(as is explained in many places the difference between "man" (Adam) and "man" (Ish)).

3)

Now, it is explained in the discourses

the connection of the three pilgrimage festivals to the times of the ripening of the grains,

for then

(on the three pilgrimage festivals)

is the growth of the spiritual grain that comes through the sowing.

And the concept is,

as it is written,

"And I will sow her for Me in the land,"

and it is known

that this refers to the descent of the souls

(the spiritual grain)

below to be clothed in a body and an animal soul

(land),

and more specifically, to the descent of the exile.

For the intention in this is for the sake of ascent,

similar to sowing in the earth

(in its simple sense)

which is for the sake of growth in greater multiplicity than was initially.

And the growth

(the ascent)

is through the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos, which is also called by the name "sowing."

In addition to the sowing of the descent of the soul below

(that the Holy One, blessed be He, brought the soul down below),

there must also be the work of sowing by Israel,

the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos.

For through the souls descending below,

and especially in the time of exile,

and nevertheless they fulfill Torah and mitzvos

(in a manner of subjugation and transformation),

through this the growth is effected—the drawing down of a revelation incomparably higher than the revelation that the soul had before its descent below.

And the main revelation of the growth will be in the future to come.

And an illumination from this shines even now,

on the three pilgrimage festivals.

On the first festival

(the Festival of Matzos)

which is the growth of the ripening of barley,

it is the matter of fear,

which is the first gate

through which one enters to cling to Him, blessed be He.

And this is that "se'orah" (barley) is the letters of "sha'ar HaShem" (the gate of HaShem),

"sha'ar" is from the term "gate" and the "hei" is the lower hei

(Malchus).

And on the second festival

(the Festival of Shavuos)

is the growth of wheat, which is human food,

it is the Torah, of which it is written,

"This is the Torah, a man."

And this is that "chitah" (wheat) has the numerical value of twenty-two, hinting at the twenty-two letters of the Torah.

And it is explained in the aforementioned discourses,

that this is the connection of Atzeres to the fruits of the tree

(Atzeres regarding the fruits of the tree),

for wheat is a type of tree

(according to one opinion),

which hints at man, as it is written, "For man is the tree of the field,"

and on Shavuos

(Atzeres)

the Torah was given,

"This is the Torah, a man."

And it can be said,

that since that wheat is a type of tree is only according to one opinion,

and even according to this opinion it is only a type of tree,

therefore the matter of the Torah hinted at in wheat is the level of Torah as it relates to mitzvos.

And the Torah itself, which is above the matter of mitzvos,

the essential matter of "man"

("This is the Torah, a man"),

is hinted at in the fruits of the tree.

4)

And the concept is,

that this that the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos is called by the name "sowing" is from two aspects.

Because through the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos, the refinement of the body and the animal soul is effected,

and through this the root of the body and animal soul is revealed, which is above the root of the G-dly soul—similar to sowing in its simple sense,

that through sowing the grain and the seed in the earth, the growing power within the earth is aroused and revealed.

And also,

because the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos must be

(not because of the reason, but rather)

in order to fulfill the command of the Holy One, blessed be He,

as per the wording in the blessing over mitzvos, "Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us,"

the self-nullification of acceptance of the yoke—similar to sowing in its simple sense,

that the rooting of the seed in the earth is through the rotting of the seed.

And this is the reason that the main growth is through the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos in the time of exile,

for in the time of the Holy Temple,

when there was a revelation of G-dliness

(including also the revelation through the fulfillment of mitzvos),

the self-nullification of acceptance of the yoke was not so felt,

since the revelation through the mitzvos was then felt.

And the main self-nullification of acceptance of the yoke is in the time of exile,

and especially in the generation of the heels of Mashiach,

to the extent that the fulfillment of mitzvos then is in a manner of "those who sow in tears,"

and specifically through this, "with joy they will reap."

5)

Now, it is known

the distinction between Torah and mitzvos,

that mitzvos are commands to man,

and Torah is the word of HaShem,

the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He,

except that it descended below and became clothed in human intellect.

From this it is understood,

that the two matters mentioned above regarding sowing

(the refinement of the body and animal soul, and the self-nullification of acceptance of the yoke)

are primarily in the fulfillment of mitzvos,

unlike Torah.

For in mitzvos, which are commands to man,

it is applicable to say that their intention is to refine the creations through them,

for the sake of the refinement and purification of the body and animal soul of the person who performs the mitzvah, and for the sake of the refinement and purification of the things in the world with which the mitzvah is performed.

But unlike Torah, which is the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He,

it is not applicable to say that it is a means, heaven forbid, to effect something in man and in the world.

And the effect that is brought about through it in the person who studies it,

is,

that through his study of Torah, the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, which is above the world, is drawn into him

[and the drawing of Torah into the person who studies it is in a manner that he becomes unified with it].

And similarly regarding the self-nullification of acceptance of the yoke

(the second matter of sowing),

in mitzvos, which are commands to man

(which indicates that in the level of mitzvos, man has a place of grasp),

man is an existence.

And that he fulfills the command is from the aspect of self-nullification of acceptance of the yoke,

like a servant

who fulfills the command of the king.

And in Torah, which is the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He,

there is no place given to an existence outside of Him,

not even to the existence of a servant,

and therefore the perfection of engaging in Torah is when his study is in a manner that the word of HaShem speaks from his mouth.

And this is what our sages said,

"Who are the kings? The Rabbis,"

for their study of Torah is in a manner that the word of HaShem speaks through them,

and therefore they are in ultimate self-nullification, above even the self-nullification of a servant,

to the extent that their entire existence is the King Himself,

for through Torah, Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, are all one.

And even one who is not on this level, that his study of Torah would be in this manner that the word of HaShem speaks from his mouth,

nevertheless,

the main emphasis in engaging in Torah is not on the matter of self-nullification and subjugation,

but rather, on the contrary,

on this—that his existence

(his understanding and comprehension)

should be one with the Torah.

And this is what they said:

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

for "desire" is a will that contains pleasure,

for although in Torah study there must also be the self-nullification of a servant

(the yoke of Torah),

and also the self-nullification of subjugation

(to review his chapter one hundred and one times),

nevertheless,

the main emphasis in Torah study is

that the Torah he studies should be his pleasure and vitality.

And one can give a reason for this:

since the matter of Torah study is that through it, Yisrael and the Holy One, blessed be He, become completely one,

therefore,

just as with the Holy One, blessed be He,

the Torah is the pleasure of the Holy One, blessed be He,

and "I was with Him as a delight"

so too must it be with the person who engages in Torah,

that the Torah he studies should be his pleasure.

[And even though the person's pleasure in the Torah he studies is from the aspect of its intellect,

as is also understood from the matter of "in a place where his heart desires,"

one can say

that in the inwardness of matters, his pleasure in Torah is because the Torah is the delight of the Holy One, blessed be He,

[and since Yisrael and the Holy One, blessed be He, are completely one,

therefore the Torah is also the pleasure of Yisrael],

except that in his revealed pleasure, he feels that his pleasure in Torah is from the aspect of its intellect].

6)

And one can say

that the two aspects in Torah are hinted at in wheat and a tree.

For wheat, which is grain

[even according to Rabbi Yehuda it is only a type of tree],

hints at the Torah as it relates to mitzvos

(that Torah study is in order to fulfill the mitzvah of Talmud Torah,

and the like),

and the Torah as it is in itself is hinted at by a tree.

For the advantage of a tree over grain is

that grain

(even wheat)

is something necessary for a person's existence,

whereas the matter of a tree is that it produces fruits,

which are not necessary for a person's existence,

but rather are things of pleasure.

And furthermore,

even the sight of a tree

(not only eating its fruits)

causes pleasure,

as it is written:

"And He caused to sprout... every tree pleasant to the sight..."

And as is seen in practice,

that strolling in a garden,

a place where trees grow,

is a pleasure.

Based on this, one can understand the superiority of Rosh Hashanah for trees over Rosh Hashanah for vegetables,

even though vegetables include wheat

(human food)

which hints at Torah,

for the drawing down on Rosh Hashanah for vegetables is regarding the fulfillment of mitzvos,

and even the drawing down regarding the occupation with Torah

(wheat)

is regarding the occupation with Torah as it relates to the fulfillment of mitzvos,

whereas the drawing down on Rosh Hashanah for trees is regarding the study of Torah as it is in itself,

the matter of the pleasure of Torah.

7)

And one can say

that since the mitzvos are drawn from the Torah,

and also that the fulfillment of mitzvos must be in the manner of the service of a servant is because the Torah said,

"And you shall serve the L-rd your G-d,"

through this, a semblance of the pleasure of Torah is drawn also into the service of accepting the yoke

(the service of a servant)

that is in the fulfillment of mitzvos.

And it is like the explanation in the continuation of 5666,

that this—that even a simple servant

[whose service is from the aspect of the master's yoke imposed upon him]

strives that the work he does should be for the beauty and glory of his master—

is because even a simple servant has pleasure in the work,

except that the pleasure of a simple servant is

[not from the aspect of the servant's own being and existence,

but on the contrary]

from the aspect of his self-nullification,

for since he has no independent existence, therefore the pleasure of the master is his pleasure.

And likewise in the service of G-d,

in the service of accepting the yoke there is also the aspect of pleasure,

except that the pleasure is the supernal pleasure.

And one can say

that this—that even in the service of accepting the yoke there is the aspect of pleasure—

is because even the service of accepting the yoke is drawn from the Torah,

for the Torah said, "And you shall serve the L-rd your G-d."

8)

The explanation is,

it is brought in Iggeret HaKodesh, the discourse beginning "Dovid, songs are called to You,"59

that all the upper and lower worlds are dependent on the precision of a mitzvah,

and he brings two examples for this,

a sacrifice and tefillin.

And my master, my father, the Rebbe, explains in his glosses to the Tanya,60

that the reason he seized upon these two mitzvos

(a sacrifice and tefillin)

is,

because the general concept of the mitzvos is elevation and drawing down,

ratzo and shov

(as is explained in Likkutei Torah, in the discourse beginning "This is the statute of the Torah"61),

and therefore he seized upon these two mitzvos,

for a sacrifice is elevation,

ratzo,

and tefillin is drawing down,

shov

(as is explained in Likkutei Torah, in the discourses on the libations62).

And it is necessary to understand,

what relevance does the matter explained in the aforementioned Iggeret HaKodesh

[that all worlds are dependent on the precision of a mitzvah]

have to the hint that the concept of the mitzvos is elevation and drawing down?

And it may be said,

that this which is explained in Iggeret HaKodesh, that all worlds are dependent on the precision of a mitzvah, is an introduction to what is stated there afterwards, that all worlds are nullified in existence relative to one detail of the details of Torah.

For this that Dovid said,63

"Songs were Your statutes to me," etc., is praise of the Torah

(as is explained in the aforementioned Iggeret HaKodesh at its beginning),

and the praise is that all worlds are nullified in existence

(and not merely dependent)64

relative to one detail of the details of Torah,

except that the revelation of this matter of Torah is through the fact that all worlds are dependent on the precision of a mitzvah.

And this is,

that regarding the mitzvos, which are commandments to man as to how he should conduct himself in the world,

there must necessarily be some value and place-occupancy to the worlds,

and this that the worlds are nullified in existence is

(specifically)

relative to

(one detail of the details of)

Torah.

And the proof of this is from the fact that all worlds are dependent on the precision of a mitzvah.

For this that the worlds are dependent on the precision of a mitzvah

(even on a light precision)

is because it is a precision of Torah,

relative to which the worlds are nullified in existence,

and therefore,

even after it is drawn down into mitzvos and becomes a "precision of a mitzvah,"

all the worlds are dependent upon it.

And in order to explain that even after the drawing down of the details of Torah into the mitzvos, the matter of Torah shines within them in revelation,

[the author of] Iggeret HaKodesh hints

(by bringing the examples of a sacrifice and tefillin)

that the concept of the mitzvos is elevation and drawing down,

ratzo and shov.

For it may be said,

that the concept of the elevation and ratzo in the mitzvos is that their source is felt within them as they are in the Torah, which is above the world,

and the concept of the drawing down and shov in them is that they are drawn down to be commandments to man,

and even then, it is felt within them that their source is in the Torah, which is above worlds

[for the concept of ratzo and shov is that even after the shov, the impression of the ratzo is recognizable65].

And one may take note from this of what we say in the blessing over mitzvos, "Who sanctified us with His mitzvos and commanded us,"

for it may be said,

that "Who sanctified us with His mitzvos" is the matter of elevation,

that He elevated us to the level of the supernal Holy of Holies, blessed be He, which is the holiness of the Holy One, blessed be He, in His glory and in His very Self,66

and "and commanded us" is the matter of drawing down,

that He commanded us.

And the reason for this, that we say in the blessing over mitzvos

(regarding the mitzvos that were given to us)

"Who sanctified us with His mitzvos,"

is,

because even after He commanded us

(and they became commandments to man)

they are His mitzvos of the Holy One, blessed be He, just as He is holy and separate from the matter of commanding to man.

9)

And this is that through the Torah, pleasure is drawn down even into the service of accepting the yoke in the fulfillment of the mitzvos.

For this that the fulfillment of the mitzvos is in a manner of accepting the yoke, like a servant who fulfills the command of the king

[that the servant is not the master, but rather he is nullified to the master]

is because the intent in the matter of the mitzvos

(commandments to man)

is that man should be an existence separate from Him

(who has no pleasure in Divinity)

and nevertheless be nullified to Him.

And through the drawing down of the Torah

(which is above the command to man)

into the mitzvos and into the service of accepting the yoke

(for the Torah said, "and you shall serve"),

it is felt,

that this that man is an existence separate from Him, blessed be He, is in order to complete the supernal intent.

And through this,

the nullification of accepting the yoke is in his entire existence,

meaning that even this that he became like an existence for himself is in order to complete the intent.

And therefore, his existence is not a contradiction to the pleasure he has in his service

(i.e., to the pleasure of the Master that is drawn into him),

because even his existence is in order to complete the intent.

And based on this, one will understand what was brought above

(section 7)

from the continuation of 5666,

that the fact that the servant strives that the work he does be for the beauty and glory of his master is because he has pleasure in the work, and his pleasure is the pleasure of the master.

For superficially it is not understood,

behold the connection of the servant to the master is to the level of the master that pertains to him

(that he is subjugated to the master),

and how is the pleasure of the master in the beauty and glory of the work, which is not related

(superficially)

to the subjugation and self-nullification of the servant to the master, felt within him?

And one may say the explanation in the analogue

(and from this it also cascades in the parable),

that through the self-nullification of Kabbalas Ol

(as it is from the aspect that the Torah said "and you shall serve" etc.)

is to complete the intention in this that the Holy One, blessed be He, contracted Himself, as it were, to command the human,

for this intention is in the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself, above the matter of the command,

therefore the matter of the pleasure of the Master Himself is also felt within him.

10)

And this is

that on the fifteenth of Shevat, the New Year for the Tree,

for the tree alludes to Torah

(as above, section 2),

that on this day, the giving of power is drawn down for the entire year regarding involvement in Torah,

that the study of Torah should be with diligence and persistence,

and that the Torah he learns should be his pleasure and his vitality

(for the tree is the matter of pleasure,

as above, section 6).

And based on the known principle67

that all four New Years are related to each other,

one may say,

that on the New Year for the Tree, the giving of power is drawn down that also all the matters of man's service

(which are drawn down in the first three New Years)

should be out of pleasure,

in the manner explained above in section 9, that through Torah,

even the service of Kabbalas Ol is with pleasure.

And this is that the New Year for the Tree is on the fifteenth, on which is the fullness of the moon,

and not like the first three New Years which are on Rosh Chodesh, when the moon is only a point,

for that the moon is only a point indicates the matter of self-nullification68,

and the pleasure in the service of G-d,

and particularly the pleasure of Torah,

is the matter of completeness.

And through the increase in our deeds and our service69,

and particularly in involvement with Torah, and in a manner that Torah is the pleasure and vitality of the person involved in Torah,

and all the more so through the involvement

(and dissemination)

of the inner dimension of Torah

[for in Torah itself, the aspect of the pleasure of Torah is the inner dimension of Torah],

also the New Year for Kings will be in ultimate perfection,

that it will be seen in revelation that all of Israel are children of kings70,

and beyond this—kings

(as is explicit in the Tikkunei Zohar71),

and the children of Israel will go out with an upraised arm72,

as befits kings,

through Dovid, the King Moshiach,

and My servant Dovid shall be king over them etc.73,

in the true and complete redemption,

speedily, literally.