English translation — מאמר בראשית ברא תשל"ח

B"S.

Motzaei Shabbos Bereishis – in his room – 5738

"In the beginning, G-d created the heavens and the earth."

And our Sages, of blessed memory, said:

Rabbi Yitzchak said: The Torah should have begun only from "This month is for you," etc.

Why did it begin with Bereishis? Because of "the power of His works He declared to His people, to give them the inheritance of the nations,"

So that if the nations of the world say to Israel, "You are robbers, for you conquered the lands of the seven nations," they will say to them, "All the earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it and gave it to whomever is upright in His eyes. By His will He gave it to them, and by His will He took it from them and gave it to us."

And this is explained in the discourses of our Nesi'im,

That this matter—that the Torah should have begun from "This month is for you"—is,

Because the concept of "this month" is the unification of Sovev and Memaleh.

For "month" (Chodesh) is the aspect of Malchus,

"The month of his wife,"

The aspect of Memaleh Kol Almin,

And "this" (Zeh) is the concept of revelation

[As our Sages, of blessed memory, said:

He showed with his finger and said "this"],

Yesod and Z'eir Anpin,

The unification of Sovev Kol Almin and Memaleh Kol Almin.

And the meaning of "this month

(for you)

" is that within the aspect of Memaleh Kol Almin

(month)

there will be a revelation of Sovev Kol Almin

(this).

And the Torah should have begun from "This month is for you,"

Because the purpose of the Torah and its mitzvos is the matter of the unification of Sovev and Memaleh.

B)

Now, the concept of drawing down the Sovev through Torah and mitzvos, in its first root, is the drawing down of the Ein Sof that precedes the Tzimtzum.

And as it is brought in the beginning of the Emek HaMelech,

That the creation of the worlds was through the first Tzimtzum that occurred in the Ein Sof, leaving a void and empty space,

And from this is the root of the coming into being of the vessels and the existence of the worlds

(the matter of Maaseh Bereishis).

And what is written:

"And He placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it"

[Which refers to the service of Torah and mitzvos,

"To work it" refers to the 248 positive commandments, and "to guard it" refers to the 365 negative commandments]

Is to draw down additional lights through the line (Kav) from the Ein Sof that precedes the Tzimtzum,

Until in the future there will be a revelation of the Ein Sof in the place of the void, as it was before the Tzimtzum.

And this is why the Torah should have begun only from "This month is for you," etc.,

Because the narrative of Maaseh Bereishis is entirely after the Tzimtzum,

And since the essence of the Torah is the drawing down of the Ein Sof that is above the Tzimtzum,

It was necessary to begin the Torah

(not with Maaseh Bereishis,

but rather)

From "this month," which is the matter of drawing down the aspect of the Sovev

("this"),

Whose root is the drawing down of the Ein Sof that precedes the Tzimtzum.

3)

And what is the reason that it opens with "Bereishis"? Because of "the power of His works He declared to His people, to give them the heritage of the nations."

That is, the matter of "the power of His works... to give them the heritage of the nations" is more elevated even than the matter of drawing down the encompassing [light],

the aspect of the Ein Sof that preceded the tzimtzum.

For, behold, the ultimate intent

(of the Torah and the mitzvos)

is to draw down an aspect of a new light,

namely, the aspect of the Essence of the Ein Sof that is above the light that filled the void.

And the drawing down of this light is specifically through the service of refining the sparks.

And this is the advantage of "the power of His works... to give them the heritage of the nations" over the matter of "this month,"

for the matter of "this month" is the drawing down of the encompassing light,

which in its source is the aspect of the light that filled the void,

and through

the service of refining the matters of the world that fell from the kings of chaos,

the kings of Edom that "in His will He gave to them" — as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said,

"He builds worlds and destroys them" — and the children of Israel refine and inherit

them, and they become the heritage of Yaakov,

[thereby] drawing down an aspect of a new light that is above the light that filled the void.

And just as it is in the general [principle] of the world

(the worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah,

for "from there it is divided"),

so too does it come in the particular refinement of the conquest of the lands of the seven nations,

which Israel transforms into the Land of Israel.

4)

And now, since this that "in His will He gave to them"

(for a specific time)

is so that afterwards "in His will He took it from them and gave it to us,"

behold, it is simple,

that if one decides with firmness,

then one refines most easily the lands of the seven nations,

and the entire world,

so that it becomes a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He.

And this is what appears to require toil and labor,

to the point that the nations of the world claim regarding every refinement,

"You are thieves!" — this is due to the greatness of the concealment and hiding,

[such that] it is not felt in the world that "the entire earth is of the Holy One, blessed be He,"

(and "for

from You is everything").

But behold, the ultimate intent of the concealment and hiding is so that "you will seek from there,"

that the Jews should seek and find the Supreme One in all matters of the world,

in the concealments and hidings,

[as in the parable of the father who hides himself from his young son in order to demonstrate the son's wisdom in understanding that the hiding and concealment is only so that he will seek him and find him],

and the Torah promises that when "you will seek from there," then certainly "you will find,"

[meaning] that they conquer the entire world and make from it a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He,

until then "I will turn to the nations a pure language... to serve Him with one accord."

"And the kingdom shall be the Lord's."

5)

And one can connect this also with the matter of "and Yaakov went on his way"

(which occurs at the conclusion of Shabbos Bereishis),

[meaning] that even though he goes on his way

(also)

in matters of the permitted and in mundane activities throughout the entire year,

nevertheless, he is not afraid of this,

for rather,

he goes his way securely,

and with joy and a good heart.

And this is also what [happens] at the conclusion of Shabbos

[and specifically at the conclusion of Shabbos Bereishis,

for then begins

(primarily)

the order of "and Yaakov went on his way"]

[when] we say,

"Fear not, My servant Yaakov,"

for "at the conclusion of Shabbos, the extra soul departs, and one must return and descend to the level of 'Yaakov My servant' throughout the six weekdays to refine sparks in [the worlds of] Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, etc. Therefore, we say, 'Fear not, My servant Yaakov, etc.,' from descending there,

and with this, strength and power are given, etc."

And the reason for this

(regarding the matter of "fear not")

is that "the Lord his God is with him,"

for each and every one of Israel

(even one who is at the level of Yaakov),

in every place and in every time and in every matter

(even outside the Land and on weekdays and in mundane activities),

"the Lord his God"

(He)

is with him,

to the point that he becomes a partner with the Holy One, blessed be He, in the act of Creation,

for he effects a renewal in creation

(like the Holy One, blessed be He, so to speak).

For through his service in the service of refining sparks to make the world a dwelling place for Him, blessed be He,

he effects a renewal in creation

[and this is also what [happens] on Shabbos Bereishis, when we read in the Torah, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,"

for through this, the creation of the heavens and the earth and all their hosts is brought about anew and in a new manner],

to the point that there will be "the new heavens and the new earth," etc.