English translation — מאמר יבחר לנו את נחלתינו תשכ"ג

B'Siyata Dishmaya.

Monday of Rosh HaShanah, 5723.

"He will choose our inheritance for us, the pride of Yaakov, whom He loves forever."

And the Rebbe, my father-in-law, the Rebbe, brings in his maamar beginning with this discourse

(in the continuation of Rosh HaShanah 5703)

the translation of the Targum,

"He will choose for us to inherit our inheritance, the Temple of Yaakov, which He loves forever."

And he makes a precise point about this:

Behold, the Holy Temple belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written,

"And they shall make for Me a Sanctuary"

[for Israel only builds the Sanctuary,

but the Sanctuary itself belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He].

So why is it called "the Temple of Yaakov"?

Also,

what is the connection of "the pride of Yaakov," which refers to the Holy Temple, to "our inheritance"?

And he explains in the maamar,

that "our inheritance" is the point of Judaism that dwells in the point of the heart, which is the "Temple of Yaakov,"

as it is written,

"And they shall make for Me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell in their midst,"

"in it" is not said, but rather "in their midst,"

within each and every one of Israel.

And behold, the simple explanation of "He will choose for us... the pride of Yaakov" is,

that in the future He will return our Holy Temple to us.

And one must understand the connection between the explanation

(in the maamar)

that "the pride of Yaakov" refers to the Holy Temple within each and every one of Israel, and the explanation

(the simple one)

that "the pride of Yaakov" refers to the Third Holy Temple that will be built speedily in our days.

B)

And behold, this verse is in the Psalm that is recited seven times before the Shofar blast,

and the connection of this Psalm to the Shofar blast

(simply)

is,

for in this Psalm

it is stated, "God has ascended with a blast, the L-rd with the sound of the Shofar,"

and our Sages, of blessed memory, said,

that at first the Holy One, blessed be He, sits

(and ascends)

upon the Throne of Judgment,

"God has ascended with a blast,"

and by means of Israel taking their Shofars and blowing before the Holy One, blessed be He, He rises from the Throne of Judgment and sits upon the Throne of Mercy,

"the L-rd with the sound of the Shofar,"

and He is filled

with mercy for them, and has mercy upon them, and turns for them the attribute of judgment into mercy.

Therefore, we recite this Psalm before the Shofar blast in order to bring a proof from the Torah

regarding the drawing down

(of His rising from the Throne of Judgment and sitting upon the Throne of Mercy)

that is brought about by the Shofar blast.

Now, from the fact that before the shofar blast they recite

(not only this verse,

but)

the entire psalm,

it is understood

that all the verses of the psalm are related to the matter of rising from the Throne of Judgment and sitting on the Throne of Mercy, which occurs through the shofar blast.

And all the more so the verse "Yivchar Lanu" which is adjacent to the verse "Alah Elokim B'Teruah,"

indicating

that this verse is connected to "Alah Elokim B'Teruah."

And it must be understood,

that the matter of "Yivchar Lanu" is that the Holy One's choice of Israel is from His own essence

(and not that the service of Israel arouses Him to choose them),

and moreover,

the matter of choice is

in the Awtsmoos,

where the concept of arousal from below does not apply.

That is to say,

in addition to the fact that the actual choice is from His own essence and not aroused by arousal from below,

rather, in this place

(where the matter of choice is)

it is entirely impossible to arouse through arousal from below.

And the matter of "Alah Elokim B'Teruah" is,

that the shofar blast of Israel arouses that He rise from the Throne of Judgment and sit on the Throne of Mercy.

And from the adjacency of the two verses it is implied that the two matters are related to each other.

That is to say,

that by Israel taking their shofars and blowing before the Holy One, they draw down not only the mercy that is aroused through service

(arousal from above that is aroused by arousal from below),

but through this they also draw down the mercy

that stems from the Holy One's choice of Israel,

"Yivchar Lanu."

3)

And it may be added,

that the above matter

(that by Israel blowing the shofar they also draw down the matter of the choice of the Awtsmoos, where it is impossible to arouse through arousal from below)

is also understood from what is known

that the essential

matter of Rosh Hashanah is the building of Malchus,

as the Sages said,

"Recite before Me [verses of] Kingship so that you make Me King over you."

And what they said,

"The mitzvah of the day is with the shofar,"

is because the matter of "you make Me King over you" is through the shofar blast,

as follows from the above statement of the Sages, "And with what? With the shofar."

And the connection of Rosh Hashanah to the building of Malchus

(simply)

is,

because on Rosh Hashanah is the renewal of the act of Creation.

As we say,

"This day is the beginning of Your works,"

for on every Rosh Hashanah all the worlds are brought into being

anew, as they were the first time.

And the matter is,

that the coming into being of all the worlds is from the attribute of His Kingship.

And the drawing down of Malchus on every Rosh Hashanah

(including also the first Rosh Hashanah at the beginning of Creation)

is only for one year,

and on the eve of Rosh Hashanah at nightfall

it returns and ascends and is absorbed into its source.

However, the ascent and removal is only in the inwardness of Malchus,

which is the delight and will within Malchus.

And the vitality of the world on Rosh Hashanah

(even before the matter of "you make Me King over you")

is from the externality of Malchus,

analogous to a person who does work when he is tired and weak-handed, having no delight in it.

And as per the well-known saying,

that on the night of Rosh Hashanah

(before the matter of "you make Me King over you")

the world is in a state of fainting.

And this is [the meaning of] "Recite before Me [verses of] Kingship so that you make Me King over you,"

that He should have will and delight in the kingship.

And it is known

that the removal on Rosh Hashanah is in all levels

(action,

speech,

thought,

emotions and intellect),

for all things return to their original state.

And the drawing down of Malchus

(will and delight in the kingship)

on Rosh Hashanah is by drawing from the Awtsmoos of Ein Sof.

And from the fact that the matter of "you make Me King over you" is through the shofar blast as above,

it is understood

that the shofar blast reaches the Awtsmoos of Ein Sof.

And it must be understood,

but the shofar blast is a mitzvah,

and the matter of commandments

(mitzvos)

applies specifically after He has become King,

as the statement,

"Accept My Kingship first, and then I will decree decrees upon you,"

and in order for there to be "you make Me King over you"

(that Israel make Him King)

it is by reaching the Awtsmoos of Ein Sof as it is before

(above)

He became King,

so how is it possible that through the shofar blast

(the fulfillment of the mitzvah and command of the King)

they make Him King?

And from this it is understood,

that in the shofar blast there are two matters,

the mitzvah of the shofar blast,

and this [other matter] that through the shofar blast they reach the Awtsmoos of Ein Sof which is above the aspect of King.

d)

And elsewhere,31

the reason for this is explained—that in order for the building of Malchus to occur, it must be through a drawing down from the essence of Ein Sof,

for Malchus is the matter of revelation.

And even the Malchus within each Sefirah is the power of revelation of that Sefirah.32

However, the revelation through the Malchus of the Sefiros is in Atzilus,33

and in order for there to be revelation in Biyah, it is through Malchus as a separate Partzuf.

This is analogous to speech in a person

(Malchus is the matter of speech,

Malchus of the mouth34)

which is revelation to another.

And the matter of the building of Malchus on Rosh Hashanah is,35

that the revelation should be not only in the spiritual creations of Biyah, but also in physical Asiyah,

and within this itself—to the lowest level,

even to the inanimate,

as we say in the Rosh Hashanah prayers, "And every formed being shall know that You formed it,"

so that even the inanimate

(which is in Asiyah)36

shall know that You formed it.

And this is the meaning of the statement, "Recite before Me the verses of Kingship, so that you make Me King over you... and with what? With the shofar."

Among the reasons for this—that reciting the Kingship verses is insufficient and one must also blow the shofar—

is,37

that the matter of "you shall make Me King" on Rosh Hashanah is that the revelation be drawn into Asiyah,

and this is accomplished through the physical act of blowing the shofar.

And through the fact that the act of blowing the shofar is that one blows into a shofar from an animal,

the revelation is drawn also into physical matters,

the animal within man.

And in order for the revelation to be drawn further downward, even to the inanimate,

the shofar horn that one blows must be detached

(and not attached to the animal),

inanimate.

Now, the more the drawing down is to a lower level,

the more it is through the source of the drawing down being higher.

And as brought38

the analogy for this from the power of abstraction in Chochmah,

the descent is according to the manner of abstraction.

For in order to bring down the intellect and clothe it in a parable

(and that the parable be precise),

it is specifically when one knows the essence of the matter.

And to note,

that in the power of descent of the intellect there are two matters.

That it is able to contract the intellect to be commensurate with the student,

and that it is able to conceal the intellect by clothing it in a parable.

And even to contract the intellect requires a higher power.

And it can be said,

that the reason the maamar brings the matter of the descent of clothing in a parable,

is,

because it speaks here of the power of abstraction

(abstraction)

that is in Chochmah,

and regarding this matter, the descent of clothing in a parable is more relevant.

For although the matter of clothing in a parable

(unlike the descent of contraction)

is seemingly the opposite of the matter of abstraction,

nevertheless,

in that one clothes the intellect in a parable, the power of abstraction of Chochmah is recognized and revealed.

For that clothing in a parable is the opposite of abstraction is when the abstraction is defined and imagined in the conception of being above clothing in a parable,

but from the perspective of the true essence of abstraction,

clothing in a parable is also possible.

And it can be said,

that the revelation through Malchus as it is within the Sefiros of Zeir Anpin,

is revelation in Atzilus,

is like the descent of tzimtzum,

and the revelation through Malchus as it is a partzuf by itself,

is revelation in Biyah,

is like the descent of enclothement in analogies39.

And from this is understood the greatness of the superiority of the drawing down through which the building of Malchus is done

(and particularly the building of Malchus of Rosh HaShanah)

that is not defined by the definition and depiction of above enclothement,

therefore,

through this drawing down,

revelation is drawn down and enclothed also in Biyah,

and in Biyah themselves — even in the inanimate,

that even the inanimate shall know that You have made it.

5)

And it can be said,

that according to this explanation,

that the reason that in order for there to be the building of Malchus it is through a drawing down from the Essence of Ein Sof is because in order for there to be a descent downward downward

(and in a manner of enclothement)

it is through the drawing down of a wondrous power that is not defined,

the descent

(the revelation of Malchus)

has a relation to the wondrous power.

For since its wondrousness is that it is not defined specifically in the depiction of above and it is within its ability also to descend below,

behold the descent below is a revelation of its wondrousness.

And furthermore,

that the revelation of its wondrousness is also in the manner of descent.

For the more wondrous it is, the more it is within its ability to descend below.

And from this it is understood,

that what is said in the discourses

(in which this explanation is explained)

that on Rosh HaShanah there must be the drawing down from the Essence of Ein Sof,

the intention in this is for the wondrousness of Ein Sof

(which is not defined),

and not for the Essence itself.

But unlike the explanation above

(section 3)

that the reason that the drawing down of Malchus on Rosh HaShanah must be from the Essence of Ein Sof is because the ascent and removal of Malchus is in all levels

(and therefore the drawing down must be from the most elevated place),

the drawing down is from the Essence of Ein Sof itself.

6)

And it is known40

that on Rosh HaShanah there are two matters.

The primary matter of Rosh HaShanah

(the first of Tishrei)

is that on this day man was created,

and every year on this day the matter of the creation of man is renewed,

for you41

are called man42.

And there is another matter on Rosh HaShanah,

that since man is the purpose of creation,

therefore,

every year,

on the day of the creation of man,

the entirety of creation that was created on the 25th of Elul43 is also renewed.

And it can be said that this is what is said: "This day is the beginning of Your works, a remembrance of the first day,"

that "this day is the beginning of Your works" refers to man44

(the primary of Your works)

who was created on this day itself,

and "a remembrance of the first day" is that on Rosh HaShanah there is a remembrance of the first day of creation

(the 25th of Elul)

on which the world was created.

And this that on Rosh HaShanah there is the building of Malchus is for the sake of these two matters.

In order that through Malchus the worlds will be brought into being anew

(as above section 3),

and the primary matter of the building of Malchus is for the sake of the offspring of souls

(the creation of man),

for souls and Malchus are one matter45

as is also understood from this that Malchus is called the Congregation of Israel.

And based on this,

in order to effect that there be a building of Malchus, one must draw from a place where there is no

(not only the existence of the worlds,

but where there is no)

also the existence of souls.

And one must understand,

how is it possible that souls, through their service, will reach a place that is above their existence.

And the point of the explanation in this,

is that this, that at the time of the removal of Malchus

(in the levels above Malchus)

there is seemingly no place for souls and their service

(for souls and Malchus are one matter),

is regarding the existence of souls,

and the matter of "Make Me King"

(that Yisrael request and beseech the Holy One, blessed be He, that He be King)

is the inner self-nullification from the aspect of the essence of the soul,

which is rooted in the Awtsmoos.

And when the essence of the soul is revealed, it draws down the Awtsmoos.

And through this, the building of Malchus is also effected.

7)

And the explanation of the matter of the building of Malchus that is effected through the drawing down of the Awtsmoos, which is through the revelation of the essence of the soul,

one may say,

based on what is explained in many places

regarding the matter of "Yisrael arose in thought",

that this thought is Essential Thought.

For thought in general is outside the thinker

[And like a person who thinks about some thing,

the thought about the thing is below the person himself,

and consequently it is like outside of him],

but the thought of Yisrael is one with the Thinker Himself.

And this is "Whom did He consult? The souls of the righteous"

(and "Your people are all righteous"),

that the consultation of "Whom did He consult" was not only about the creation of the worlds

(whether to create worlds or not to create),

but also about the thought of the coming into being of the worlds

(whether there would be the thought of the coming into being of the worlds or not),

from which it is understood,

that the souls of Yisrael

(with whom He consulted whether there would be the thought of the creation of the worlds)

are above this thought.

For the thought of the creation of the worlds,

even as it is in the most elevated level,

is analogous to a person thinking about some thing

(a thought to create worlds),

that the thought is outside of him,

but Yisrael arose in Essential Thought.

And it is explained there,

that the reason for this, that the consultation about the thought of the creation of the worlds was with Yisrael who arose in Essential Thought

(even though Essential Thought is above the thought of the creation of the worlds),

is,

because in Essential Thought there are two modes.

One thinks about himself,

and one thinks about something separate from him, and nevertheless the thought is not outside of him because he himself is the thinker.

And this that Yisrael arose in thought is the second mode in Essential Thought,

that the Awtsmoos thinks, so to speak, about something else

[And this is "You are children to Hashem your G-d",

for since the root of the souls is in Essential Thought,

that the Awtsmoos thinks, so to speak, about something else,

therefore,

even after they come into a drawing down, they are like children,

for in a child

(analogous to)

the two aforementioned matters.

The child is separate from the father, and nevertheless there is within him from the father's very essence].

And therefore the consultation about the thought of the worlds was with Yisrael.

For the purpose of the creation of the world

[that the lower ones be a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He]

is completed through the souls.

And it can be said,

that the connection of souls to Malchus as they are in their source in the Essential Thought,

is,

that this—that the Essence thinks, so to speak, about something other than itself—is analogous to Malchus,

for the concept of Malchus is specifically about another,

there is no king without a nation.

And based on this, we can explain the reason for this, that through the revelation of the essence of the soul

(which is through the sounding of the shofar)

the building of Malchus is effected,

for through the revelation of the root of the soul as it is in the Essential Thought,

thereby the drawing down of Malchus from its true source, as it is in the Essential Thought, is effected.

8)

And it must be understood,

that according to the above, that through the sounding of the shofar the concept of "make Me king over you" is effected, is because through the sounding of the shofar the root of the soul is revealed as it is rooted in the Essence, which is above the matter of mitzvos,

and from this that the sounding of the shofar is a mitzvah,

it is understood,

that the concept of "make Me king over you" also pertains to the mitzvah of sounding the shofar.

And this will be understood based on what is explained by my father-in-law, the Rebbe, in the aforementioned continuation for Rosh HaShanah,

that in the desire of "I will reign,"

there are three levels.

Revealed will,

hidden will, and the absolute will in His Essence.

And these three levels are divided into two categories.

For the revealed and hidden will,

both of them are in revelation in themselves,

and the difference between them is regarding the effect,

for the revealed will is an arousal that pertains to the effect,

and the hidden will is only an agreement that does not pertain to the effect

(and therefore it is called "hidden,"

because it is hidden and distant from the effect).

And the absolute will in His Essence is completely hidden,

meaning it is hidden even relative to itself.

[And analogous to the desire for a house,

for every person has

(from the essence of his soul,

even when he does not know of it)

a desire for a house,

because it pertains to the essence of his existence].

And there is another difference between the revealed will and the hidden will,

that the arousal of the revealed will is through an arousal from below,

through Israel accepting upon themselves the yoke of His kingship and requesting that He reign over the entire world in His glory.

And this matter

(that the arousal of the revealed will is through an arousal from below)

also existed at the beginning of creation,

except that the arousal of the will then was through the elevation of the female waters from Him and within Him.

As the statement, "Whom did He consult? The souls of the righteous,"

for through the pleasure that would be taken in the service of the righteous rising before Him,

and "Your people are all righteous,"

through this the revealed will for kingship was aroused.

[Analogous to a human king,

whose desire

(the revealed one)

for kingship is aroused by the coronation of the people].

And the arousal of the hidden will is not through an arousal from below, but rather it is aroused by itself.

And it is explained there,

that this—that through an arousal from below the revealed will is aroused—

is not because of the virtue of the arousal from below in itself,

for it is a created thing, incomparable to the Creator

(even relative to the level of the revealed will,

and especially since even the revealed will is in the Ein Sof that precedes the tzimtzum),

but rather because it so arose in His will, in the hidden will,

and on a higher level, because it was so determined in the absolute will in His Essence,

that an arousal from below should arouse the revealed will.

And it can be said,

that this which was decreed in the absolute will, that the arousal of the revealed will should be specifically through an arousal from below,

is,

so that His kingship over the worlds will be

(also)

from the perspective of the worlds.

[And analogous to how it is in an earthly kingdom,

that through the kingship being established by the coronation of the people,

"You shall surely set a king over you,"

the people's self-nullification to the king is from the perspective of their own existence.]

And based on this, the connection of "Make Me king over you"

(also)

to the mitzvah of shofar blowing will be understood,

for the fulfillment of the mitzvah of shofar blowing is the arousal from below that arouses the revealed will.

For the self-nullification from the perspective of the essence of the soul in shofar blowing

is not an arousal from below to arouse the revealed will,

because the concept of an arousal from below is that the service of the lower one

(existence)

arouses the drawing down.

Therefore, both aspects are needed.

That the arousal from below which arouses the revealed will is the fulfillment of the mitzvah of shofar blowing.

And the drawing down of the absolute will

[that this, that through an arousal from below the revealed will is aroused, is because it was so decreed in the absolute will]

is through the self-nullification from the perspective of the essence of the soul in shofar blowing.

9)

And behold, even in the absolute will there are two aspects.

As it is in relation to the revealed will,

that through the drawing down of the absolute will, the revealed will is aroused by an arousal from below, even though the arousal from below is incomparable,

for this matter is the wonder of the Essence of Ein Sof, which is not defined by any definition, and it is within His ability that the arousal should also be through something that is incomparable

[and analogous to what was explained above

(section 5)

regarding the concept of wonder,

that the wonder is that which is not defined, and it is within His ability to descend below].

And the absolute will itself,

which is from the perspective of the choice of the Essence.

For that it was decreed by Him to will thus is not because through this His wonder is revealed,

but rather that He so chose in His free choice.

And it can be said,

that this is that in shofar blowing there are three aspects

(in general).

The mitzvah within it,

the aspect of teshuvah,

and the inner self-nullification from the perspective of the essence of the soul.

That the fulfillment of the mitzvah of shofar blowing is the arousal from below that arouses the revealed will

(as above).

And through the teshuvah of shofar blowing,

for the aspect of teshuvah is that one goes out from his limitations,

the wonder is drawn

(without limit)

that is in the Essence of Ein Sof,

that the arousal

(of the revealed will)

is through something that is incomparable,

the absolute will that pertains to the revealed will.

And through the revelation of the essence of the soul that comes through shofar blowing, the absolute will itself is drawn,

the choice of the Essence.

10)

And 4)

And it may be said,

that the inner reason for this, that on every Rosh HaShanah all things return to their original state,

is,

that because the drawing down of malchus

(also the drawing down of malchus that is for the worlds)

is through saying before Him verses of Kingship,

the nullification from the aspect of the essence of the soul, which reaches and draws down the absolute will itself,

through this a more elevated revelation is drawn down also into the world.

For although regarding the worlds it is

(primarily)

the drawing down of the revealed will,

nevertheless,

since the arousal and drawing down of the revealed will

(through an arousal from below)

is through the drawing down of the absolute will that comes through the nullification from the aspect of the essence of the soul,

something similar to this is drawn down also into the world.

And through this the intention of the creation of the worlds is completed,

that there be a dwelling place for Him in the lower realms.

10)

A)

And this is "He will choose our inheritance for us, the pride of Yaakov,"

that the request of this verse

(and likewise the entire psalm)

which is recited before the shofar blast is,

that through the service of the shofar blast there will be

(in addition to the fulfillment of the commandment of shofar,

and the matter of repentance of shofar)

also a revelation of the essence of the soul as it is rooted in Atzmus,

for that the souls are rooted in Atzmus is because He chose in His free choice,

"He will choose for us."

And He draws down "our inheritance, the pride of Yaakov,"

for the revelation of this matter is in the point of Judaism,

"our inheritance,"

which dwells in the point of the heart in each one of Israel,

the holy Temple of Yaakov.

And according to what was explained above

(section 10)

that through the revelation of the root of souls, something similar to this revelation is drawn down also into the world, through which the intention of a dwelling place in the lower realms is completed,

one may explain the connection between the interpretation that "the pride of Yaakov" refers to the Holy Temple within each one of Israel and the interpretation that it refers to the Third Holy Temple,

for the main matter of a dwelling place in the lower realms will be in the Third Holy Temple

which will be built speedily in our days through our righteous Moshiach.

And it may be said,

that in addition to the connection of the verse "He will choose for us" etc. to the entire matter of the shofar blast,

it has a special connection to the verse

(that follows it)

"God ascended with a blast, Hashem with the sound of a shofar,"

about which our Sages expounded that when Israel take their shofars and blow before the Holy One, blessed be He, He rises from the Throne of Judgment and sits on the Throne of Mercy.

And the matter is,

that the mercies drawn down through an arousal from below are limited according to the arousal from below.

And the connection of the two verses is,

that this taking of their shofars and blowing by Israel is not only an arousal from below, but through this the choice of Atzmus in Israel is revealed,

and therefore the mercies drawn down through this are unlimited mercies.

And there is drawn down from the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself

(from Atzmus)

to each and every one of Israel a writing and sealing for a good and sweet year, in the revealed and manifest good.