English translation — תצא א

A.

In connection with the verse in our parshah¹

"And if a man has a sin worthy of death and he is put to death and you hang him on a tree,"

it is known²

that in the eulogy that the AriZal eulogized the Ramak, he interpreted the verse:

"And if³

a man has a sin worthy of death,

meaning that there is lacking

(sin from the term lack)

the reason for the death sentence because he did no evil, and why should he die,

and you hang him on a tree because of the Tree of Knowledge that decreed⁴

death,

therefore he died."

From the surface of the language it is implied<sup>5</sup>,

that the content of the sermon is like the statement of Chazal<sup>6</sup>

"Four died by the counsel of the serpent" - that just as the four had no sin and their death was only because of the "serpent",

because of the sin of the Tree

of Knowledge

(by the counsel<sup>7</sup>

of the serpent)

was "decreed<sup>8</sup>

a decree of death upon all descendants of Adam the First" - likewise it was by the Ramak,

that his "and you shall be put to death" was only because of the "Tree

(of Knowledge)

And it could be said,

that it is not only that the AriZal expounds the verse on the matter of "died because of the serpent's counsel,"

but with this he says and innovates a <b>new</b> definition.

B.

And with an introduction to the distinction between the two matters mentioned above: the Gemara says "died <b>because of the serpent's counsel</b>,"

the AriZal

(interprets and learns the verse)

- "and you shall hang him on a <b>tree</b>"; which is a distinction

(not only in language,

but)

in <b>content</b>:

“Eitz

(His advice)

of the serpent” - that he advised Chava to &lt;b&gt;eat &lt;/b&gt;from the Tree of Knowledge - speaks about &lt;b&gt;evil&lt;/b&gt;,

&lt;b&gt;advice for the deed of sin&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;9&lt;/sup&gt;

; “and you shall hang him on a &lt;b&gt;tree&lt;/b&gt;”

(which the Arizal stands upon it)

speaks about the thing through which Adam committed the sin,

but the “tree” itself is not a matter of deficiency&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;,

and on the contrary,

according to the simple meaning of Scripture - as Rashi&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;

- it was a fig tree,

of the species &lt;b&gt;that are praised &lt;/b&gt;with them

the Land of Israel&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;.

Also its name is “Tree of &lt;b&gt;Knowledge&lt;/b&gt;”,

that it deals with the matter of knowledge&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;.

And even the sin to which it can bring - eating from the Tree of Knowledge,

is

(according to the words of our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, etc. it is)

it was only

(during the three hours)

until Shabbos&lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;.

4.

5.

The AriZal speaks about cause of causes etc. according to a prior and subsequent cause — not about the sin of the Tree of Knowledge which brought the decree of death in actuality,

but about that

("Tree")

which gave the possibility for the matter of death

(if one will eat from it

(when it is good and evil¹⁵)

is "you shall surely die"¹⁶).

In a different style

(and according to the language of the midrash¹⁷)

: at the time of creation, the Most High thought that there should be death in the world¹⁸

(for which "from the first day the angel of death was created"¹⁹),

but from the aspect of the "awe

Accusation against human beings”&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;

was set up such,

that the death sentence in actuality should come through the human.

And therefore did the Most High place the human before the great trial of the Tree of Knowledge - by planting in the Garden of Eden “every tree desirable to look at and good for food”&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

also the Tree of Knowledge etc. - through which all this came out the decree in actuality.

3.

And this is the difference between the two matters - “died through the advice of the serpent” and “and you shall hang him on a tree”:

The concept of "died by the serpent's bite" which is said in the Gemara - the revealed part of the Torah - speaks about the concept of death as it became <b>in actuality and openly</b>

(in the "revealed [part]")

However, the concept of "and you shall hang him on a tree" - which the AriZal revealed,

and in connection to the Ramak,

whose subject is²²

the revelation of the Torah of the secret,

<b>the innermost part</b> of the Torah - speaks about how it is in innerness,

that from the perspective of the innerness of the matter it is connected

(not with "the serpent's bite",

but)

with the "<b>tree</b>" - the test of the "Tree of Knowledge",

which the <b>Supernal One</b> set before Adam from the aspect of His will, may He be blessed, and His intention in creation.

4.

In more depth,

are the two matters

("counsel of the serpent" and "and you shall bind

it upon a tree")

are connected with two types of righteous ones:

"Die because of the serpent" are those whose death comes from the sin; but there is a type of righteous ones&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;,

whom the "cause of the serpent" cannot touch,

and the matter of death by them is related,

"And you shall hang him",

only from the aspect of - "on a tree".

The explanation in this:

The Alter Rebbe explains in Torah Or²⁴,

that "they died by the serpent's counsel" is because the four righteous ones,

even though they were completely righteous,

there still remained in them "some trace of the serpent's contamination²⁵

that they could not remove entirely",

and as he explains this in Avodas HaAdam,

that the serpent's contamination is the matter of "haughtiness of spirit that became part of man's nature ..

he sees himself and recognizes his lack or knows that this is good for him" — one feels "oneself".

D.

H.

"The serpent's counsel" means,

that the sin of the Tree of Knowledge caused a defect in the righteous one,

which causes death.

But this defect was caused not by the righteous one himself, G-d forbid,

but by the <b>serpent</b> that brought "contamination" into the world²⁵.

And this is the advantage of "and you shall hang him on a tree" regarding "they died through the serpent's instigation":

The defect of a sin can affect only the externality of a Jew,

but the inwardness of a Jew remains always whole,

"even at the time of sin, she was faithful to Him"²⁶,

and especially from the aspect of the inwardness of the soul which is from the outset higher than the entire matter of sin²⁷.

From this is also understood regarding the "impurity of the serpent" that was through the sin of the Tree of Knowledge,

that the "impurity" of the serpent only affected the externality of Jews,

but not, heaven forbid, the internality of a Jew.

And therefore,

when the innermost soul of a Jew is shining within him <b>revealedly</b>,

until it permeates his externality,

the matter of "they died by the serpent's venom" does not apply to him.

And this the AriZal says: "And if a man has a sin worthy of death,

i.e., that the taste of the judgment of death is lacking because he did no evil" - meaning that by this he intends to include also the "taste of the judgment of death" from the "serpent's venom" -

Then "you shall hang him on a <b>tree</b>",

that what by <b>him</b> exists the matter of death,

is it only from the side of that which "He deals terribly with the sons of man",

which the Most High made

(through the Tree of Knowledge)

the matter of death in the world²⁸.

And based on this will be understandable the connection of this matter to the Ramak and Ariza"l,

whose subject is,

as mentioned above,

the revelation of the inner dimension of the Torah — because the revelation of the "hidden aspect of the Torah" is connected with the revelation of the "hidden aspect of the soul"²⁹

which is higher than the "counsel of the serpent".

And as is known³⁰,

that the inner dimension of the Torah is the "Tree of Life"

(the Tree of Life)

which is higher than the "Tree of Good and Evil"

(the Tree of Knowledge).

Since from the time of the Ariza"l it is "a commandment to reveal this wisdom"³¹,

therefore even though,

that "who is he and which one is he whose heart is bold"³²

to say that he has a connection to the above-mentioned levels of the Ramak and the Ariza"l — nevertheless,

since they have told us also about <b>this </b>matter it is understood,

that "the edge of it and a smidgen of it"³²

pertains to every Jew.

And in the manner as they say regarding Moshe Rabbeinu³³

that even though "who is he and which one is he whose heart is bold to approach to comprehend even one part in a thousand of the level of the love of Ra'aya Meheimna, nevertheless, the edge of it and a smidgen of it etc. illuminates for all of Israel in every generation."

And in our discussion,

is <b>on the contrary</b>: the matter of "they died by the serpent's bite" - that one has no other sin and deficiency,

only that which one could not remove "the venom of the serpent ..

completely" - pertains to the level in the soul where the "venom" can touch.

That

5.

is

in the externality of man and his revealed faculties,

that such perfection and elevation

(also)

in the levels of <b>externality </b>is appropriate only for unique individuals and this does not pertain to every single person.

But not so the matter of "sin judgment death ..

that the taste of judgment of death is lacking" from the aspect of the hiddenness of the soul

(where the "serpent's bite" cannot touch)

and certainly in the essence of his soul - this is so for <b>every Jew</b>; for the inwardness of every Jew,

be he whoever he may be and in whatever state he may be,

is higher than any venom of sin.

Until that it can come out in actual revelation and affect in actual deed and in practical halachah.

as one sees it,

that a Jew who says openly and with all force that he will not fulfill the verdict of the court, meaning he brings a sacrifice — the court coerces him until he says "I want," and then the Torah of truth says that this is his true will.

and everyone in our time who is commanded to reveal this wisdom can and is commanded to bring it out in revelation,

through that which one reveals within oneself "the hidden of the soul,"

which comes through the study of "the hidden of the Torah" in a manner that the "hidden" becomes "revealed" — that

they will be sustained from it³⁵

one understands it in Chabad that is in the soul,

until it takes through the person entirely.

and at the time the "wellsprings" of the soul take through also the "outside" that is in the person,

he becomes in a state that he is not connected to a sin.

6.

The practical directive from all the above:

It must be — "May your springs spread forth outward": one must disseminate the <b>springs</b> of the inner dimension of the Torah,

so that they should come out in revelation until into the outside,

to every

A Jew.

And until the outside of a Jew the lowest

(in spirituality).

For every Jew,

from the aspect of the inwardness of his soul,

is connected with the inwardness

(wellsprings)

of the Torah.

And through this very thing that one learns with him the inwardness of the Torah — although that in order to learn with him one must translate it into another language and give him to understand in a style that he can understand in his present state — this awakens his inwardness of the soul and lifts him up from his standing and his state.

And through this conduct one nullifies the "our sins"

(including - the sin of the Tree of Knowledge)

- which is the <b>only cause</b> for the exile,

because "for our sins we were exiled",

and it becomes <b>automatically</b> nullified the cause

("we were exiled"),

and there comes the true and complete redemption through Mashiach our righteous,

and speedily in our days, literally.

(From the talk of Shabbat Parshat Matot 5741)