English translation — מאמר כנשר יעיר קנו תשמ"ב

B"S.

Shabbos Parshas Haazinu,

12 Tishrei 5742

(A discourse)

“As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, etc.”¹

Now, what is written before it?²

“He found him in a desert land,”

And afterwards it concludes:³

“Hashem alone will lead him.”

Now, the simple explanation of this is,

that the Holy One, blessed be He, conducts Himself with the Jewish people with mercy, like the eagle that hovers over its young

(as Rashi explains).

That is to say,

that there is the mercy of an eagle in its simple sense,

and there is a mercy that is like an eagle and above it.

Now, all the matters in the Torah exist in all the worlds, up to the highest level,

and from this it is understood,

that just as there are these two levels in this physical world

(an eagle and like an eagle),

so too is it in the worlds above it,

the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah,

up to the world of Atzilus,

for even though it has ten Sefiros, it is a world of unity,

nevertheless, within it there is also the aspect of “eagle,” which is the attribute of mercy of Atzilus,

and within it there is the aspect of “like an eagle,”

meaning a mercy that is above the attribute of mercy.⁴

However, even so, the essence of the Torah is below, as the statement:⁵

“The Torah is not in heaven,”

and as the teaching of the Maggid of Mezeritch⁶

on the Sages’ statement:⁷

“Know what is above you,”

that all the matters above are dependent upon you,

upon the service of man who is below,

and particularly after the Giving of the Torah, when the Torah was given below and is not in heaven

(as above).

And furthermore,

that everything higher descends lower,⁸

meaning that the most elevated matter

(in the Torah)

is found specifically below,

and from this it is also understood regarding the matter of the eagle,

that this verse includes both extremes,

that the most supernal mercy is drawn down specifically below, in the place where there is the simple mercy of an eagle.

And the explanation is,

for it is written,

"Three things are too wondrous for me... the way of the eagle in the sky..."

And it is explained elsewhere

that the wonder is how there can be the face of an eagle, which is an unclean bird, in the supernal Chariot.

And it needs to be understood,

for in the Chariot there is also the face of a lion to the right,

which is an unclean animal,

so why is the wonder specifically about the eagle?

And the explanation of this is,

based on what is explained elsewhere,

that the way of the eagle

(the face of the eagle in the Chariot)

is the matter of the central line.

And this is why he wonders specifically about the face of the eagle,

for the face of the lion is to the right,

for the face of the lion in the Chariot is in the right line, which ascends only in the externality of Kesser,

and this is not so wondrous,

but not so the face of the eagle, which is in the central line, ascending into the innerness of Kesser,

it is exceedingly wondrous how there can be the face of an unclean bird in the innerness of Kesser.

And the explanation of the matter,

for specifically because the attribute of mercy is rooted in the innerness of Kesser,

therefore it falls to the very lowest level,

and this is why it is called "nesher" (eagle), from the term "neshirah" (falling) and "nefilah" (fall),

for it falls from its level,

even to an unclean bird outside the place of holiness.

And with this the continuation of the verses will be understood,

for it is written before it, "He found him in a desert land,"

for a desert is a place where no man dwells,

meaning it is outside the dwelling of the supernal man,

and likewise outside the dwelling of the Children of Israel, who are called "man"

—"I will liken him to the supernal one"—

for in every Jew there is a holy soul, which is literally a part of G-d above,

and as it is written before this,

"For the portion of Havayah is His people,"

and therefore they have no connection whatsoever to the place of the desert

(which is outside holiness),

and not only does no man dwell

(meaning Israel)

there,

but no man even passed there,

meaning that Israel have no connection to this place.

And this is what continues, "Like an eagle stirring up its nest,"

for to this place the aspect of "nesher" fell.

However, even regarding this place it is said, "He found him in a desert land,"

for even from there "Havayah your G-d will gather you, and from there He will take you."

And the elevation and return from this place is through the revelation of the aspect of "nesher" (eagle) at the very highest level,

the aspect of the innerness of Kesser,

for "from it and within it, the axe is thrown into it,"

and through this they ascend to the innerness of Kesser.

For since whatever is higher descends lower, therefore specifically by ascending from such a distant place,

the ascent is to the highest level.

And this is like what is explained in many places

(from the teachings of the AriZal)

in the explanation of the verse,

"For not by bread alone does man live, but by everything that comes from the mouth of Havayah does man live,"

that the desert needs "that which comes from the mouth of Havayah" in the still, silent, and mineral (domem, tzomeach, chai),

because from the fact that the sparks fell to the very lowest level

(in the still, silent, and mineral below the desert),

it proves that their root is higher,

and therefore specifically through their power they can enliven "that which comes from the mouth of Havayah" in the desert.

And likewise it will be understood below this,

regarding the aspect of "nesher" (eagle), whose matter is the fall outside the place of holiness,

that specifically through the ascent from this place, one ascends to the innerness of Kesser.

And this is the reason for the descent of the soul from a high roof to a deep pit,

from the aspect of "the soul that You placed within me" to "that which You breathed into me"

in this lowly world,

so that in this world there will be an ascent from the very lowest,

specifically in the ladder "planted on the earth,"

specifically,

and through this "its head reaches the heavens,"

to the very highest,

until "the spirit returns to G-d who gave it."

And this is

what continues,

"He formed us as the pupil of His eye,"

for "ishon" (pupil) is the black of the eye, as our sages said,

"A person does not see through the white of the eye, but through the black of the eye,"

for the matter of the black of the eye is the blackness, concealment, distance, etc.

For through contemplating that one is in a place of concealment,

in a distant place,

and "evil and bitter is your forsaking Havayah,"

through this one comes to repentance from the depths of the heart, until intentional sins become for him like merits, and also merits.

And this is "As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, etc."

For hovering over its young indicates the mercy of the eagle in its simple sense,

that through the service of teshuvah from the aspect of "nesher" below, one ascends to the aspect of "kenesher ya'ir kino" above and beyond.

And along the lines of what is stated elsewhere,

that there is a will and there is a will,

for the lower will is a vessel and draws down the upper will.

And similarly, lower awe is a vessel for higher awe, and lower wisdom is a vessel for higher wisdom.

Thus, in this manner, through the aspect of "nesher" one ascends to the attribute of mercy above, until the mercy that is above and beyond any attribute.

And this is "He found him in a desert land, etc."

For "finding" applies to something that was lost,

meaning that even those who were lost in a desert land, from there He will gather you, etc.,

to the point that it is an aspect of "finding,"

a matter that is not commensurate with the effort,

because the Holy One, blessed be He, did not, so to speak, reckon within Himself

(did not consider)

that He would find the G-dly portion in its perfection in the desert,

since "everything is in the hands of Heaven except for the fear of Heaven."

And because of this, the Holy One, blessed be He, is in a state of arousal from the service of Israel.

To the point that this brings about great delight,

and according to the simple explanation of the matter,

the delight of one who earned [his reward] commensurate with his labor is not comparable

(as it is stated,

"One who works his land will be sated with bread")

to one who finds a found object, which is not commensurate with the effort.

And this is what draws down

"He carries him on His pinions,"

because through the service of teshuvah one ascends above and beyond,

until above the aspect of "His pinions,"

meaning above the 248 limbs of the King,

for Israel preceded the Torah and the commandments, as brought in Tanna D'vei Eliyahu,

"And I say Israel preceded," as it is stated,

(in the Torah)

"Speak to the children of Israel, say to the children of Israel, etc."

And until one ascends to the place concerning which it is said, "Hashem alone will lead him, etc.,"

Israel and the King alone,

that Israel and the Awtsmoos of the Holy One, blessed be He, are entirely one.

Now, since these matters are learned in the Written Torah, and then in the Oral Torah, and up to the Torah of Chabad, whose purpose is explanation, to the point that they are sustained from it,

this contemplation brings about action,

searching and refining the sparks in every place,

and especially when one encounters these sparks through Divine Providence,

and through this one comes to the fulfillment of the prophecy, "Hashem alone will lead him, etc.,"

as it is stated,

"And Israel dwells securely, alone, the eye of Yaakov,"

speedily, literally,

in the true and complete redemption through our righteous Moshiach,

may he come and redeem us and lead us upright to our land,

speedily in our days, literally.