English translation — מאמר אלה מסעי תשי"ג

B'S"D.

Shabbos Parshas Mattos-Masei,

Rosh Chodesh Menachem-Av*,

the year 5713

(An unedited transcription)

"These are the journeys of the children of Israel who went out of the land of Egypt etc. And Moshe wrote their goings out according to their journeys etc. And these are their journeys according to their goings out."

And the precise points

in this are known,

that it says "These are the journeys,"

which is in the plural,

and it concludes "who went out of the land of Egypt," which is only the first departure and journey.

Also, it is not understood why it says "And Moshe wrote,"

for Moshe Rabbeinu wrote the entire Torah,

so what does this inform us?

Also, what is the repetition of "their goings out according to their journeys" and "their journeys according to their goings out,"

and the reversal of order from the beginning to the end.

And in general, one must understand,

what is the relevance of the narrative and knowledge of the order of the journeys,

and even for that generation, the Midrash explains

a parable of a king and his son who traveled etc., when they returned they counted all the journeys and events within them,

but the Torah is eternal,

and therefore this narrative is relevant in all times and in all places.

And therefore, this narrative pertains to all times and all places.

2)

And to understand this, we must first preface an explanation of the request of Knesses Yisrael, "Remember, Hashem, what has befallen us; look and see our disgrace."

And the Baal Shem Tov explained,

"Remember, G-d, what has become of our Mah [the level of Mah] that is in the soul,

look and see and make us see our own shame."

This is the request of Knesses Yisrael from the Holy One, blessed be He.

And likewise, there is a request of remembrance from the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel,

as it is brought in the Zohar at the beginning of Parsha Bechukosai, on the verse, that this request from above

from Knesses Yisrael is also in the language of "Remember,"

as it is written,

"My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab plotted, and what Bilaam son of Beor answered him," etc.

And it concludes,

"What does Hashem ask of you? Only to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your G-d."

And it is written,

"Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the sun grows dark," etc.

And it is brought in the Midrash,

"The prophet said to Israel: Remember your Creator as long as the Beis HaMikdash stands, which is called the House of Choice,

as long as the covenant of the Kehunah [Priesthood] stands,

as it is stated,

'And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel to be a priest to Me,'

as long as the covenant of the Levi'ah [Levites] stands,

as it is stated,

'For Hashem your G-d chose him from all your tribes.'"

And this is "before the sun grows dark,"

for "the sun grows dark" refers to the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash,

and it must be said, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,"

in the time of the Temple, which is called the House of Choice.

And since during the time of the Temple, Bnei Yisrael did not fulfill the request from above, "Remember your Creator," etc.,

"Remember now... to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your G-d,"

this was the cause of the destruction,

and because of this, we request in the time of exile, "Remember, Hashem, what has befallen us; look and see our disgrace."

And we need to understand what is the concept of remembrance Above, regarding which we request, "Remember, Hashem, what has befallen us."

For, behold,

remembrance and forgetfulness are concepts of boundlessness and boundary,

for the concept of forgetfulness is from the aspect of limitation,

since a human being is limited,

and from this aspect, all his matters are within limitation,

therefore, even the impression made upon him by a thing he saw or heard is within limitation, and because of this it is later interrupted,

which is the concept of forgetfulness.

However, the concept of remembrance is boundless,

as we see even in a human being,

that a matter which touches him in his innermost core and the pnimiyus of his soul,

that is,

that it is above his limitations,

he remembers it always.

According to this, it is not understood what is the content of the request, "Remember, Hashem," etc.,

for Above, He is boundless,

so why is it necessary to request the concept of remembrance from Above?

3)

However, the concept is,

for, behold,

remembrance and forgetfulness are the concept of face and back,

pnimiyus and chitzoniyus,

and as it is in a human being below,

that a matter which touches him in his pnimiyus he remembers always,

but a matter that touches him only in his chitzoniyus

(which is the concept of back)

the concept of forgetfulness applies there.

And likewise, there are also Above, aspects of face, right, left, and back,

as it is brought in the Ramaz,

that they correspond to the four worlds of Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah.

For, behold,

the world of Atzilus is called "face,"

for just as in the face of a human being there is the pnimiyus of vitality,

so too, in Atzilus is the pnimiyus of Ein Sof,

to the extent that He, His life, and His organs are one.

And this means,

that even though Atzilus is after the tzimtzum,

and the totality of the light after the tzimtzum is in the aspect of a contracted and limited line,

nevertheless,

it is the same essence of the light.

And this is the difference between Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah and Atzilus,

that the coming into being of Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah is through the parsa,

but the coming into being of Atzilus is not through the parsa, but only through the tzimtzum,

as stated in Etz Chaim.

And the difference between tzimtzum and parsa is like the analogy of the difference we see below between light shining through a window or through a hole,

for even though the light is in diminution and contraction,

shining only to the measure that the window or hole can contain,

nevertheless, it is the same essence of the light,

but when light shines through a screen,

then the light is in a change of essence,

to the extent that the light that comes after the screen is called light of derivation.

And likewise, it is Above,

that the coming into being of Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah through the parsa is in a change of essence,

but the coming into being of Atzilus through tzimtzum,

behold, even though the light there is in contraction,

nevertheless, it is the same essence of light as before the tzimtzum.

And even though in Atzilus there are also parsas,

as is known, there is a parsa between Kesser and Chochmah,

between Binah and Zeir Anpin, and between Zeir Anpin and Malchus,

nevertheless,

the parsa in Atzilus is not comparable to the parsas of Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah,

for the parsas of Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah, their function is to conceal, and they conceal the light,

but the parsas in Atzilus reveal the light.

For, behold,

a parsa is like skin,

and Chazal said,

"These whose skin is like their flesh, the skin of a human being," etc.

(which is not like the skin of an animal, which is coarse skin),

and its analogue Above is the concept of the parsas that reveal the light.

And this is the difference between the letters of Mah

and the letters of Ban,

(and their concept in avodah is the difference between the letters of Torah and the letters of prayer),

for the letters of Ban conceal the light,

and from this aspect, the creations come into being as an entity and a separate thing,

but the letters of Mah do not conceal the light,

and on the contrary,

they reveal the light,

and therefore they effect bittul in the creations.

And this is "whose skin is like their flesh, the skin of a human being,"

for "Adam" [human being] in gematria is Mah,

and it is the concept of the parsas that reveal the light,

which are the parsas in Atzilus,

which are called by the name Mah,

as stated in the introduction to Tikkunei Zohar,

"The name Mah, which is the path of Atzilus."

And this is that Atzilus is called "face" because the revelation of Ein Sof shines there.

And the primary aspect of "face" is the aspect of Chochmah,

as in the verse,

"The wisdom of a man illuminates his face,"

and this means,

that in Atzilus, the light of Chochmah shines,

as per the statement,

"Abba Ilaah [the Supernal Father] dwells in Atzilus,"

and in Chochmah, Ein Sof shines,

as our master, the Alter Rebbe, stated in Tanya,

in the name of his teacher, the Maggid, that the level of Chochmah is that it alone is, and there is nothing besides Him,

and higher still,

that in Atzilus, the light of Kesser shines,

which is the concept of the name Mah, which is filled with alphin,

and Aleph is the Sefirah of Kesser.

And since Atzilus is the aspect of "face,"

the concept of forgetfulness does not apply there,

but in Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah, which are the aspect of "back,"

the concept of forgetfulness applies there.

And behold,

all this is the difference in the worlds,

but the souls of Israel, even when they are below, are in the aspect of pnimiyus,

for the souls of Israel arose in thought,

meaning in the most elevated level within thought,

and it is written,

"Face to face, Hashem spoke with you,"

for through this that Hashem spoke with you, the pnimiyus of Israel became the pnimiyus of Above.

However,

all this is from the aspect of the soul itself,

but from the aspect of its descent below and its enclothing in the body and the Nefesh HaBahamis, and especially in the time of exile,

in the time of exile it is written,

"And I will surely hide My face,"

and this means,

that since they turned their back to Me and not their face,

that is,

that the avodah was in the aspect of "back,"

therefore, even Above, there was a "hiding of the face,"

and from this aspect, it is necessary to request the concept of remembrance,

"Remember, Hashem, what has befallen us."

4)

And to understand more deeply that the souls of Israel are in the aspect of pnimiyus (innerness),

it is written,

"And now, Israel, what does Hashem your G-d ask of you, but to fear [Him]..."

And our sages, of blessed memory, said,

"Is fear then such a small matter?"

"Yes, relative to Moshe it is a small matter."

And behold,

what is said, "but to fear,"

refers to the lower fear,

for this is what is meant by "but to fear,"

that is, it is the most inferior level of fear,

and therefore relative to Moshe it is a small matter.

And the explanation of this is,

for it is written,

"For a G-d of knowledge is Hashem,"

[meaning] two types of knowledge,

higher knowledge and lower knowledge.

Higher knowledge is that above there is [true] existence and below there is none,

that is,

one sees with tangible vision that above is the true existence and below is nothing,

and lower knowledge is that creation is yesh me'ayin (existence from nothingness),

that is, below there is existence and above there is none,

since he sees only the created existence,

therefore he calls what is below "existence" and what is above "nothingness."

And according to the difference between these two types of knowledge, there is also a difference in their bittul (self-nullification),

that the bittul stemming from lower knowledge is only the nullification of the yesh (the sense of self-existence),

for since he sees the yesh,

he is in a state of existence,

except that nevertheless he also has a matter of bittul,

the nullification of the yesh,

but the bittul stemming from higher knowledge is a bittul bimetzius (nullification of [one's very] existence),

for since he sees that below is nothing,

therefore the bittul is a nullification of existence.

And this is that relative to Moshe, lower fear is a small matter,

for behold, Moshe is in the aspect of higher knowledge,

as our sages, of blessed memory, said,

"All the prophets prophesied through 'koh' (thus), but Moshe prophesied through 'zeh' (this),"

for "zeh" is the vision of the essence,

the aspect of higher knowledge,

by virtue of which he was in the state of bittul bimetzius,

and therefore relative to Moshe, who is in the aspect of higher knowledge,

bittul bimetzius,

behold, lower fear, which is only in the aspect of nullification of the yesh,

is a small matter.

And behold,

even though lower fear is a lowly level,

a small matter,

about which it was said "but to fear,"

nevertheless,

it is demanded

(one demands)

specifically lower fear,

because the ultimate intention and primary delight is in lower fear more than in higher fear,

as it is written,

"Laughter has G-d made for me,"

that specifically through effecting the matter of bittul in the things that come from the name Elokim, which are in the aspect of yesh,

the nullification of the yesh to the ayin,

then the primary matter of laughter and delight is brought about Above,

and likewise it is written,

"The Leviathan, which You formed to sport with it,"

for Leviathan is from the term connection,

as it is written,

"My husband will be joined to me,"

and the matter of connection applies specifically when there are two distinct things separate from each other,

and this matter is specifically in the service of nullification of the yesh,

for the yesh and the ayin are two distinct things separate from each other,

and nevertheless one effects the nullification of the yesh to the ayin,

and through this specifically the matter of laughter is brought about,

"to sport with it."

And this is,

that although the service of is'hapcha (transformation) is higher than the service of is'kafya (subjugation),

this is only regarding the matter of revelations,

but the primary delight is specifically in the service of is'kafya.

However, we still need to understand what is said, "relative to Moshe it is a small matter,"

for at first glance it is not understood,

after all, it is written "from you" (i.e., it is asked of every Jew).

But the explanation is,

as explained in Tanya,

that every single soul of the house of Israel has within it from the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu,

a spark from the soul of Moshe,

and it is the aspect of Mah (What) that is in every Jew,

which is the matter of bittul bimetzius

(as above),

and this is because the root of the souls is from the aspect of Chochmah (Wisdom),

as it is written,

"You are children to Hashem your G-d,"

and it is written,

"My firstborn son is Israel,"

and just as a son is drawn from the very essence of his father's brain,

so too, the souls are from the very essence of the aspect of Chochmah,

which is the aspect of Mah.

And therefore the souls are in a state of ultimate bittul,

bittul bimetzius,

as it is written,

"As Hashem, the G-d of Israel, lives, before Whom I stand,"

which refers to all souls,

that they are in a manner of standing,

which is the matter of bittul.

And this is, "And now, Israel, what (Mah) does Hashem your G-d ask of you, but to fear,"

since all of Israel are in the aspect of Mah,

from the spark of Moshe that is in every Jew,

behold, "what does Hashem your G-d ask of you, but to fear,"

that fear is a small matter relative to the spark of Moshe that is in every Jew.

And in order to reveal the aspect of Mah in the soul,

behold, for this they instituted one hundred blessings,

as our sages, of blessed memory, said,

"Do not read 'Mah' (what) but 'Me'ah' (one hundred),"

from which they learned that a person is obligated to bless one hundred blessings every day,

for one hundred blessings is in the manner of what is written,

"And Yitzchak sowed in that land and found... one hundred gates, and Hashem blessed him,"

and this is,

that through the service of tzedakah (charity/righteousness),

"sows acts of righteousness,"

the blessing and drawing down from Above is effected, so that the aspect of Mah in the soul is revealed.

However, in the time of exile, the service is not in the aspect of Mah, which is the pnimiyus (innerness) of the soul,

but only in the aspect of externality and the hind-part (achorayim) alone,

therefore, Above as well, there is "I will surely hide My face"

(as above),

and therefore we ask, "Remember, Hashem, what has befallen us,"

what has become of our Mah,

that the Mah is in concealment and hiding.

And even though it is in concealment,

nevertheless, the matter of remembrance applies,

for ultimately, the essence, root, and very core of the soul is in the aspect of Mah.

And the verse continues, "look (habatah) and see,"

for behold,

the difference between seeing (re'iyah) and looking (habatah) is

that seeing is from close proximity,

as it is written,

"and he saw that he could not prevail against him,"

and looking is from a distance,

as it is written,

"Look from heaven and see,"

and therefore,

the matter of seeing from close proximity cannot be in the time of exile,

and for this we ask for "looking,"

which is the revelation in the aspect of makif (encompassing),

and even though it is in the aspect of makif,

nevertheless, it effects also in the pnimiyus (innerness),

and especially regarding the effect on the kelipot (husks of impurity),

for the encompassing light blinds the eyes of the external forces.

5)

And the explanation of the matter:

Behold,

just as there is an aspect of Mah in holiness, so too there is an aspect of Mah in the other side,

and this is the matter of “and his concubine, and her name was Re’umah,”

“Re’u Mah” (see what).

And the matter in this:

Behold,

the possibility for matters of the other side is because they have a place given to them in holiness,

and as we see in the service of the soul,

that when one serves his service in self-nullification,

but in a manner that he feels the self-nullification,

behold this is a giving of place that from this will come an aspect of yeshus (selfhood),

and this is,

that initially the self-nullification will be in a manner of yeshus,

this is the matter of the klipah of Re’umah,

“Re’u Mah,”

and afterward it will come to complete yeshus,

which is absolute evil.

And so too it is in the chain of descent of the worlds,

that through the klipah of Re’u Mah, which is opposite the world of Atzilus,

behold, in the multiplicity of descent, absolute evil branches forth from it,

the aspect of Mah of the other side.

And concerning this it is said,

“He who sheds

the blood of man within man,”

for “man” (Adam) in gematria is Mah,

behold, through sins he sheds the blood of the man of holiness,

the aspect of Mah of holiness,

into the man of Belial,

which is the aspect of Mah of the other side.

And the matter in this:

Behold,

the 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments correspond to the 248 limbs and 365 sinews,

for the matter of the limbs is that they draw down the life-force,

and they limit the life-force so that it will not be drawn outward,

and when one cuts the limb, then the life-force is drawn outward,

and likewise regarding the sinews, through which is the flow of blood,

and so too when one transgresses a positive or negative commandment, he causes the life-force and blood of holiness to be drawn outward.

And this is what is said,

“And he who pierces the Name of Havayah,”

for behold, all the commandments are dependent on the Name Havayah,

and when one sinned and blemished and diverted the path, by this that he transgresses one of the commandments of Havayah,

behold he pierces the Name of Havayah,

and through this he sheds the blood of the man of holiness into the man of Belial.

And this is also what our sages, of blessed memory, said,

“Titus cut the Curtain and blood came out of it,”

and this is,

that they showed him how it is possible for the matter of the destruction to be,

that it is not in his own power,

but only through the blemish that was made by this that they spilled the blood,

the innerness of the life-force,

of the man of holiness,

into the man of Belial.

And based on this, there is yet another interpretation of what is said, “Remember, Havayah, what (Mah) has been to us,”

that our Mah has become the Mah of the other side.

And this matter is accomplished through the first interpretation of “what has been to us,”

that the aspect of Mah of holiness is in concealment and hiding,

and from this it descends further downward,

so that the aspect of Mah of holiness becomes the aspect of Mah of the other side,

in the manner of the matter of “he who sheds the blood of man within man.”

6)

And the verse continues, “Look and see our disgrace.”

And the matter in this:

Behold, it is written,

“The disgrace of your widowhood you shall no longer remember,”

for in the time of exile the Congregation of Israel is called a widow,

as it is said,

“She has become like a widow,”

and our sages, of blessed memory, said,

“Like a widow, but not a literal widow,

like a woman whose husband has gone to a country overseas.”

Behold,

the woman is the Congregation of Israel and her husband is the Holy One, blessed be He,

and “a woman whose husband has gone to a country overseas” means that the union of the Congregation of Israel with the Holy One, blessed be He, is lacking,

and in the matter of the Sefiros it is the union of Zeir Anpin and Nukvah,

for the woman is the aspect of Malchus,

and her husband is the aspect of Zeir Anpin,

and “a woman whose husband has gone to a country overseas” means,

that the aspect of Zeir Anpin

(is not drawn down to Malchus,

but rather)

has departed to the aspect of the sea of Chochmah,

and this is that in the time of exile, Kudsha Brich Hu ascends higher and higher,

Kudsha Brich Hu is the aspect of Zeir Anpin,

and in the time of exile He ascends higher and higher,

higher to the aspect of Binah and higher to the aspect of Chochmah.

And this is the matter of “widow” (almanah),

as it is stated in the Pardes,

that “almanah” is “El manah,”

“manah” is one hundred zuz,

twice fifty,

and this is the fifty gates of Binah, as they are from below upward and from above downward,

through which is accomplished the elevation of the emotions and the drawing down of Ein Sof in the aspect of the emotions,

so that through this it will be drawn down below in the aspect of Malchus.

And this is also the matter of the journeys,

“their goings forth according to their journeys… their journeys according to their goings forth,”

which is the matter of elevation and drawing down.

But in the time of exile it is “El manah,”

that the matter of the elevation and drawing down through the fifty gates is lacking,

and therefore it is not drawn from the aspect of Zeir Anpin to Malchus to be the union of Zeir Anpin and Nukvah,

and this is the matter of “widow” (almanah).

And there is another interpretation of “almanah,”

as stated in Sefer HaShorashim,

that “almanah” is from the word “ileim” (mute).

Behold,

according to the interpretation that “almanah” is from “El manah,”

that her ketubah is a manah,

it is not understood why a male is also called “alman,”

and it must be said that because a woman is called “almanah,”

therefore a male is also called “alman.”

But according to the interpretation that “almanah” is from the word “ileim,”

it works out well that a male is also called “alman,”

because the joy of the union of the husband with his wife is lacking.

And the matter in this:

For when the revelation of the voice shines in speech, then the speech shines in revelation,

and when the speech shines in revelation, then “He will subdue peoples under us”

(for through “y’daber” from the word for speech, it also becomes “y’daber” from the word for governance),

that Israel are in the supreme level, etc.,

but when the voice is not in revelation, then the speech is in concealment in exile,

and this is the matter of “almanah” from the word “ileim.”

And concerning this we ask, “Look and see our disgrace,”

for even though “looking” (habatah) is an aspect of makif (encompassing light),

nevertheless,

behold it is effective also in the innerness,

as it is said,

“For Havayah your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you…,”

“to deliver you” means to be a shadow over your head,

which is an aspect of makif,

and nevertheless through this is accomplished “to deliver you” in its simple sense,

from the word for rescue,

and particularly regarding the effect on the klipot,

behold, the encompassing light blinds the eyes of the external forces

(as above).

And this is what is said, “Remember, Havayah, what (Mah) has been to us…,”

Behold,

the Holy One, blessed be He, demands of Israel, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,”

as long as the Holy Temple stands, which is called the House of Choice,

as long as the covenant of the priesthood stands,

and as long as the covenant of the Levites stands,

and the demand is to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God,

but when the service of “walking humbly” is lacking,

which is the opposite of the matter of “Re’u Mah,”

then the Mah of the other side is made.

And for this we ask, “Remember, Havayah, what has been to us,”

that the Mah of holiness is in concealment and hiding,

and even to the point that through this the Mah of the other side is made,

and therefore, “Look and see our disgrace,”

until “the disgrace of your widowhood you shall no longer remember.”

7)

And this is the explanation of the verse, "And these are the journeys of the children of Israel who went out of the land of Egypt,"

for behold,

all the exiles

are called Mitzrayim,

Mitzrayim meaning a strait and boundary,

and until they come

to the Yardein of Yericho,

Yericho meaning scent,

a service that is above reason and intellect,

this is still a level of strait and boundary,

and in the future redemption through our righteous Mashiach, this level will be revealed,

as it is written,

about him, "He will not judge by the hearing of his ears, nor by the sight of his eyes, but he will smell the fear of Hashem," he smells and judges,

encompassing levels that are above Chochmah and Binah,

and until one arrives at this is the matter of the journeys.

And the service within the journeys is the descent of the soul and its enclothing in the strait of the body in general,

and in particular, during the time of the Mitzrayim (straits) of concealments and hidden things within the exiles,

behold, the empowerment for this comes from the aspect of "their origins,"

an expression like, "and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail,"

the root and essence of the soul,

the Mah of the soul,

and through a drawing down from "their origins" to "their journeys,"

which is accomplished through the aspect of Moshe within each and every Jew,

"and Moshe wrote,"

the aspect of Mah is revealed also within the soul that is in the body, and through this he performs his service.

And the service is the journeying and elevation from below to above,

"their journeys" to "their origins."

And a verse does not depart from its simple meaning,

the journeys of the generation of the wilderness in the wilderness of the nations,

for that which a person has the ability to draw down the Mah of the soul in revelation and to overcome his body and his animal soul,

and especially in the time of exile and the generation of the heels of Mashiach,

a darkness doubled and redoubled,

a time of trials etc., as mentioned above,

is through the deeds of the Patriarchs who subdued the source of the husks by traveling and encamping in the wilderness of the nations, the serpent, the fiery serpent, and the scorpion,

"And it was when the Ark traveled... and Moshe said... scatter Your enemies and let those who hate You flee,"

therefore also the branches will be subdued afterwards by the person throughout all the generations,

through that which "and Moshe wrote" within each one, "their origins" to "their journeys" and "these are their journeys" to "their origins,"

and this is in the manner of the general and the particular,

until they come to the Yardein of Yericho,

"he smells and judges" in his service in particular,

and afterwards to the general redemption, the coming of our righteous Mashiach, who "will not judge by the hearing of his ears, nor will he decide by the sight of his eyes, but he will smell the fear of Hashem," he smells and judges,

in the future redemption that will come speedily in our days.