English translation — מאמר שובה ישראל תשל"ז

With the help of Heaven.

Thursday,

the 6th of Tishrei, 5737*

"Return, O Israel, until Hashem your G-d,"

And the precise point in this is known, that it says "until Hashem your G-d,"

for ostensibly it should have said "to Hashem your G-d."

And also, what is mentioned here, the two names, Hashem and Elokim.

Also, it requires explanation, what the verse continues, "for you have stumbled in your iniquity,"

for this, that repentance

("Return")

is for sin and iniquity, is understood by itself,

what does the verse innovate with "for you have stumbled in your iniquity"?

2)

And the explanation is,

that in the service of man there are two matters in general.

"Turn from evil and do good."

And it is known

that the service of "turn from evil" pertains

(primarily)

to the name Elokim,

and the service of "do good" to the name Hashem.

And the explanation is,

as it is brought in the Shulchan Aruch,

that when one mentions the name Hashem, one must intend that He is the One who was, is, and will be,

and when one mentions the name Elokim, one must intend that He is the Mighty and Strong One, who has the ability in the upper realms and the lower realms.

And from the distinction between these two matters is,

that this One who has the ability in the upper realms and the lower realms is in the G-dliness that is relative to the worlds,

which in general is "He fills all worlds,"

and this One who is the One who was, is, and will be as one

is in the G-dliness that is above the worlds,

"He encompasses all worlds."

And the explanation is,

that the definition of a world is place and time,

for so it is also in the spiritual worlds, which are defined by the definition of place and time,

except that the place and time within them are a spiritual place and time.

And since the light that fills is a light relative to the worlds,

it is understood,

that also in the light that fills there is something analogous to place and time,

[And as is known

that in the light of the line,

which in general is the light that fills,

there exist the matters of above and below

(place)

and precedence and posteriority

(time)],

which is the root of place and time in the worlds.

And this that Hashem is the One who was, is, and will be as one, above the division of time,

is,

because Hashem is the light that is above the worlds.

However, even so,

from this that we say that Hashem is the One who was, is, and will be as one

[for "was, is, and will be" are matters of time,

except that it is above division],

it is understood,

that also Hashem relates to time

(worlds),

for this is also what Hashem is a term meaning "He brings into being,"

for the bringing into being of all the worlds is from the name Hashem.

Except that the worlds as they are brought into being from the name Hashem are not so limited,

therefore,

the past, present, and future are as one.

And this is that Hashem and Elokim are "He encompasses all worlds" and "He fills all worlds,"

for the bringing into being from the light that fills,

since it is relative to the worlds and a source for them,

is in a manner of enclothing.

Therefore, the worlds that are brought into being from it have existence,

for the matter of enclothing is that it enclothes itself to bring the worlds into being,

and the bringing into being from the encompassing light,

since the worlds have no value relative to it,

is in a manner of automatically,

analogous to an action that comes from the will

(for will is a parable for the encompassing),

for the will is only a cause for the action and does not enclothe itself within it.

Therefore, the worlds that are brought into being from the encompassing light are not in the category of existence,

for just as the will itself is not an existence and is only a revelation of the essence

[and analogous to the will in the soul of man, which is only an inclination and extension of the soul],

so too is it regarding the bringing into being from the will,

that its matter is

(not that worlds are brought into being,

but rather)

that through the bringing into being, the will is completed.

And this is the connection of the encompassing light and the light that fills to the names Hashem and Elokim,

for the light that fills is called by the name Elokim, from the word meaning "power,"

for it is analogous to a power, whose matter is to act.

Except that since the existence of the worlds is through this, that the G-dly power brings them into being every moment from nothing to something,

therefore the intention in the name Elokim is "who has the ability in the upper realms and the lower realms,"

that the dominion and rulership of Him

(Elokim from the word meaning "authority")

over the upper realms and the lower realms is also after they have been brought into being,

and the rulership over them is also regarding the essence of their existence

(whether to bring them into being or not).

And the encompassing light is called by the name Hashem,

the One who was, is, and will be as one,

for since the bringing into being from the encompassing light, its matter is that through the bringing into being, the will is completed,

therefore there is no distinction in this between past, present, and future,

the One who was, is, and will be as one.

And this is the connection of the two services of "turn from evil" and "do good" to the two names Elokim and Havayah.

For it is known

that in "turn from evil" is also included the caution not to transgress positive commandments

(for the nullification of a positive commandment is a prohibition,

evil),

except that in "turn from evil,"

since his caution in fulfilling the commandments is because he fears

to transgress the command of the King,

his fulfillment of the commandments is only to the extent that he is obligated.

And the innovation in the service of "do good" is,

that his fulfillment of the commandments is

(not only because he is compelled in this,

in order not to transgress the command,

but rather)

in a manner of "doing,"

and "do good."

And as it is explained in Likkutei Torah

that the concept of "and do good" is that he toils himself in Torah and mitzvos,

and even to the point of exertion beyond his nature and habit.

And this is that the service of "turn from evil" pertains to the name Elokim and the service of "do good" to the name Havayah,

because that he fears to transgress the commandments of the King,

and even to the point that from his fear he conquers his evil inclination

(even when his inclination burns like fire)

because he fears to transgress the command of the King,

is through his feeling that He, blessed be He, rules and dominates over him,

Elokim.

And the service of "do good,"

that he toils himself in Torah and mitzvos more than his nature and habit,

is through the revelation of the light of the Surrounding that is above worlds,

Havayah that is above nature.

3)

And an explanation of the connection of the service of "do good" to the Surrounding light in more particularity,

it was explained above,

that even the Surrounding light has a connection to worlds,

except that the significance of the worlds with respect to the Surrounding light is

(not their existence,

but rather)

that through them the will is completed.

And likewise is it in the service of "do good,"

for since the service of "do good" is because he loves Havayah and desires to cleave to Him,

behold his service of G-d is connected with the existence of the person,

his love and his will.

Except that his love for Havayah is in a manner that this

(love of G-d)

becomes his entire being,

therefore his service of G-d is in a manner that he does not take into account the limitation of his nature.

And this is the superiority in the service of "seek peace,"

which is the occupation of Torah,

over the service of "do good,"

for the Torah is called "the parable of the Primordial One,"

that it is a parable and garment for the aspect of the Primordial One of the world,

namely for the Atzmus of Ein Sof that is not in the category of worlds at all,

and therefore,

the self-nullification of the occupation of Torah is utter self-nullification.

And as is explained in Torah Or

the difference between Torah and mitzvos,

that in the fulfillment of mitzvos,

the person who fulfills the mitzvos is like a servant who fulfills the command of the King,

for the existence of the servant is not the existence of the Master.

And even when his fulfillment of mitzvos is from love with delights,

nevertheless there is one who loves.

But not so in the study of Torah, he is the King Himself.

For when the occupation of Torah is with self-nullification,

then "and I place My words in your mouth,"

My actual words.

Meaning

(that it is not the person who speaks,

but rather)

that "the word of Havayah, this is the halachah"

speaks from within his throat.

4)

And now, likewise is it in the service of love of G-d,

that there are three levels in it.

"With all your heart,"

"with all your soul,"

"and with all your might."

And it is explained in many places,

that the love of "with all your heart" is through contemplation upon the G-dly light that is invested in creations to give them life,

which in general is the light that fills.

For by contemplating that the life-force of every thing is G-dliness,

and his contemplation is in a manner that this will be understood also in the intellect of the animal soul,

through this he will come to love Havayah "with all your heart, with both your inclinations."

And the love of "with all your soul" is through contemplation that the light that gives life to the worlds is merely an illumination and that this illumination is incomparable relative to Ein Sof,

which in general is the Surrounding light,

through this he will come to the love of "with all your soul,"

that his love for Havayah is in a manner of self-sacrifice,

"even if He takes your soul."

And the love of "with all your might" is through the revelation of the Atzmus of Ein Sof that is not in the category of worlds at all,

that through this revelation,

the love is beyond measure and limitation.

And although even the love of "with all your soul" is "even if He takes your soul" and the matter of self-sacrifice is beyond measure and limitation,

nevertheless the self-sacrifice

that is in the love of "with all your soul,"

which is generally in the aspect of Chayah,

is in a manner that he wants to sacrifice his soul

[and moreover, this will is analogous to

the will based on reason,

from the aspect that all matters are incomparable relative to Ein Sof].

And the love of "with all your might,"

which is generally in the aspect of Yechidah,

is not from his will but because he cannot be separated, G-d forbid, from His Oneness.

For self-sacrifice in this manner is the true matter of self-nullification,

since the self-sacrifice is not from his will

(existence)

but from the aspect of G-dliness.

And analogous to what was explained above

(section 3)

regarding the superiority of the service of "seek peace" over the service of "do good."

And it can be said,

that this is the reason that in the second portion of the Shema it is only stated "with all your heart and with all your soul"44,

because the love of "with all your very being,"

since it comes through the revelation of the Ein Sof that is not within the category of worlds at all,

is not [demanded] of every individual45.

And that which is demanded of every individual is the love that comes from the aspect of the light that fills and the light that surrounds.

And similarly regarding the three matters of "turn from evil, do good, and seek peace,"

in many places only the two matters of "turn from evil and do good" are mentioned.

5)

And it is known46

that this, that through repentance the forgiveness of sins is effected,

(for the true meaning of forgiveness is that the person should be pleasing before Him as before the sin,)

is,

because through repentance one draws down a new will from the Ein Sof, the Master of Will,

which is above the will of the Torah and mitzvos.

And this drawing down is through his repentance being in the manner of "with all your very being,"

above measure and limitation.

As is known47

that through the love of "with all your very being" one "does the will of the Place,"

and the explanation of "does the will of the Place" is that they make the will.

For through the love of "with all your very being,"

they reach the Ein Sof that is above will,

and through this,

they draw down from there a new will48.

And according to the known principle49

that the service of man through which the drawing down is effected must be similar to the drawing down,

it can be said,

that the two matters in "doing the will of the Place"—

that the drawing down is from the Ein Sof that is above the aspect of will, and that the will drawn from there is also higher than the will as it is in itself—

are effected through the parallel of these two matters in the love of "with all your very being."

For since the love of "with all your very being" is above will

(and as mentioned above in section 4, that the self-sacrifice of "with all your very being" is not that he wants to give his soul, but that he cannot separate, G-d forbid, from His Oneness),

therefore it reaches the Master of Will50.

And this, that through the love of "with all your very being" an elevation is also effected in the love of "with all your heart and with all your soul,"

through this,

also the will that is drawn from the Master of Will is more elevated.

6)

And this is "Return, O Israel, until Hashem your G-d,"

that the reason the two names Havayah and Elokim are stated here is,

because the matter and service of each Jew is with these two names.

And since the matter of repentance is that he return and go back to his place,

therefore the two names Havayah and Elokim are stated here.

And this that it says "until Hashem your G-d"

(and not "to Hashem your G-d")

is,

according to the explanation of the Alter Rebbe51,

that the measure of repentance52

is until Havayah becomes your G-d.

That is,

that repentance must be in the manner of "with all your very being,"

above measure and limitation,

through which is the drawing down from the Ein Sof that is above Havayah,

for this matter

(that the drawing down is from the Ein Sof that is above Havayah)

is revealed in that Havayah is your G-d, your strength and your vitality.

For in order for the union of the Surrounding

(Havayah)

and the Filling

(Elokim)

to be, it is through the drawing down being from the Ein Sof that is above Havayah53.

And this is what the verse continues, "for you have stumbled in your iniquity,"

which is the reason that repentance must be in this manner,

for since you have stumbled in your iniquity,

therefore the service of "with all your heart and with all your soul" that comes from the names Elokim and Havayah is insufficient,

and the service of "with all your very being" is required,

in order that there be a drawing down from the Ein Sof that is above Havayah.

9)

And another explanation of "Return O Israel until Hashem your G-d,"

that the teshuvah must be until Hashem is only a level of Elokim and tzimtzum relative to the Ein Sof that is above Hashem.

And the difference between the two explanations is,

that according to the explanation of "until Hashem your G-d" that Hashem will be your G-d, your power and vitality,

what is drawn in revelation is the names Hashem and Elokim, except that the connection of the two names is through a drawing from the Ein Sof that is above Hashem and Elokim.

And according to the explanation of "until Hashem your G-d" that Hashem will be only a level of Elokim and tzimtzum relative to the Ein Sof that is above Hashem,

the light itself

(which is above Hashem)

is drawn in revelation.

For this, that Hashem becomes a level of Elokim and tzimtzum relative to the Ein Sof that is above Hashem, is specifically when this light shines in revelation.

And it can be said,

that the difference between the two explanations is analogous to the difference between the shofar blast and the recitation of the Shofarot verses.

For it is explained in the Hemshech of 5666,

that Malchuyot and Zichronot are in the light that fills and the light that surrounds,

and the drawing through the shofar is from the Ein Sof that is above the filling and surrounding,

and up to the drawing from the concealment of the Essence,

that through this drawing the unification of the surrounding and filling is effected.

And the drawing

through the recitation of the Shofarot verses is higher even than the drawing through the shofar blast.

For the drawing through the shofar blast is only the surrounding light and the filling light,

except that because the drawing is from the Ein Sof

[and higher than the concealment of the Essence],

they become connected and unified.

And through the recitation of the Shofarot verses, the concealment of the Essence itself is drawn,

in the manner of the revelation that will be in the future.

And this is

what in the Shofarot verses they recite the Shofarot verses of the Giving of the Torah and conclude with the matter of the shofar of the future,

for in the future there will be the revelation of the concealment of the Essence.

And likewise was the revelation at the Giving of the Torah.

8)

And behold, the shofar of the future is more elevated than the shofar of the Giving of the Torah,

as it is brought in Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer

regarding the two horns of the ram of Yitzchak,

that the right horn is larger than the left,

for with the left He blew at Mount Sinai and with the right He will blow in the future to come.

And also in the shofar of the future itself there are several levels,

"And Ad-noy Elokim will blow a shofar,"

"and He will blow a great shofar."

For "Ad-noy Elokim" are names,

except that these names

(Ad-noy Elokim with the vowelization of Elokim)

are most elevated,

as explained at length in Likkutei Torah.

For this revelation will be at the beginning of the redemption.

And afterwards "He will blow a great shofar,"

"He will blow" without specifying who is the blower,

for this blowing is a drawing and revelation from the aspect of the Concealment of all Concealments.

And it can be said,

that this, that in the Shofarot verses of Rosh Hashanah they also recite the verse "He will blow a great shofar,"

is,

because through the service of Rosh Hashanah they also draw this matter.

And based on this it can be said,

that this, that they say in the haftarah of Shabbat Shuvah "Return O Israel until Hashem your G-d,"

that in this Hashem is also included the matter of "Hashem Ad-noy" with the vowelization of Elokim, which is a most elevated level,

and nevertheless they say that teshuvah must be until Hashem is only a level of Elokim and tzimtzum relative to the Ein Sof that is above Hashem,

because through the service of Rosh Hashanah they also draw the matter of "He will blow a great shofar,"

and relative to this level,

even the name Hashem Ad-noy is considered like Elokim.

9)

And it is known what is written in Igeres HaTeshuvah,

that the superior level of teshuvah (teshuvah ila'ah) is with great joy.

And from this it is understood a fortiori regarding the teshuvah of Shabbos Teshuvah,

that in the superior teshuvah itself, it is an exceedingly lofty level,

to the point that even Havayah Ado-nai is considered like Elokim,

that it must be with great and intense joy.

And since joy breaks boundaries,

behold, through joy during the Ten Days of Repentance,

and especially on Shabbos Teshuvah,

they break all measures and limitations,

"Answer me with the expanse of Yah,"

and this is drawn down upon and throughout the entire year,

in spiritual matters,

that the service of Torah and mitzvos will be with expansiveness and in a manner of breaking through,

and also in physical matters—with ample children, life, and sustenance,

and up to the true expansiveness that will be with the coming of Mashiach Tzidkeinu,

"and it will be spacious... upward, in the future Yerushalayim will be expanded, etc.,"

"In the future Yerushalayim will spread throughout all Eretz Yisrael, and in the future Eretz Yisrael will spread throughout all lands,"

with the coming of Mashiach Tzidkeinu, very soon.