English translation — נח א

Sicha 1<pg>16</pg>

A.

It is stated in the Midrash<sup>1</sup>

: "From the beginning of the creation of the world, the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, did not ascend except from the water,"

and after "the generation of the Flood stood and rebelled against Him..

the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let these depart and stand, and let those who sat in them previously come; this is that which is written<sup>2</sup>

And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights."

According to this, it is understood,

that the state of the world when it was flooded with the waters of the Flood is similar to its state at the "beginning of its creation"³,

when it was "the entire world entirely water in water"⁴,

that this is a very great elevation — a world that praises the Holy One, blessed be He

(that "the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He" arises specifically from water).

And seemingly it requires explanation: how does this matter of the waters of the Flood fit with the content of their matter simply,

that they came "to destroy all flesh"⁵?

In Rashi's commentary<sup>6</sup>

we find,

that "when He brought them down He brought them down with mercy, if they would repent they would be rains of blessing, and when they did not repent they became the flood" — thus the bringing down of the water was "with mercy",

that they would be "rains of blessing"<sup>7</sup>.

However,

this was only at first and in a conditional manner — if the people of the generation of the flood would "repent" and do teshuvah

(then the waters would not destroy the earth,

but would be "rains of blessing")<sup>8</sup>,

and since they did not repent,

the waters were not "rains of blessing" but flood waters; but according to the words of the Midrash it emerges,

that even in actuality,

when the flood waters overflowed and covered the world,

there was in this a matter of superiority.

Also known is the explanation of the Alter Rebbe<sup>9</sup>,

that the waters of the flood came not only to punish the generation of the flood,

but also to "purify the land",

like purification through a mikveh

[therefore the rain fell for forty days,

like a mikveh whose measure is forty se'ah].

However, also according to this explanation,

the action of the waters of the flood — purification of the world — is connected with the sins of the generation of the flood,

which brought impurity into the world¹⁰,

and through the flood the world was purified from this impurity;

But according to the Midrash,

that the state of the world when it was covered by the waters of the flood is similar to the state of the world at the beginning of creation,

when it was "the entire world, water in water" — then the flood effects not only the negation and removal of impurity,

but also a positive matter which is good<pg>17</pg>

and holiness in essence¹¹

— and like the state of the world was

(that "the entire world was water in water")

at the beginning of its creation,

that it was not connected to any matter of sin

(also not purity from sin),

since there was not yet any existence of sin in the world,

and all its matter was only "the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He."

2.

And one could say,

that in these words of the Midrash is hinted a fundamental and general matter in relation to Torah — and as an introduction:

Known is the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory¹²

that the Torah is among the things that "preceded the world",

and as they said¹³

"Two thousand years the Torah preceded the world".

That is,

although Scripture never departs from its plain meaning¹⁴,

and the "plain meaning" of the words of Torah is specifically as the Torah is studied in this physical world — nevertheless "the Torah preceded the world",

for in every single word of the Torah there is

(also)

an inner and spiritual interpretation,

as the Torah is studied in the higher spiritual worlds

(which are far above physical matters).

And it is understood,

that this principle applies not only to the commandments of the Torah,

but also to the narratives of the Torah.

Since every story in the Torah happened simply in all its details as related in the Torah,

nevertheless,

because the Torah preceded the world,

it necessarily follows that also the narratives of the Torah contain a spiritual content¹⁵

corresponding to the reality of the Torah in the higher worlds¹⁶.

[And on the contrary — as per the well-known statement&lt;sup&gt;17&lt;/sup&gt;,

that the Torah "speaks primarily about the supernal beings and alludes secondarily to the lower beings": not only can the words of the Torah be interpreted also according to their spiritual content

(as the Torah is "in the supernal realms"),

but rather the opposite: the source and beginning of the Torah is "in the supernal realms"

(as it is written&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;

"And I was with Him etc. delights etc.",

and as our sages, may their memory be blessed, said&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;

"a hidden treasure that is hidden for You",

and more),

and from there the Torah "descended" and was drawn down until below and into physicality

(in the language of the verse&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;

From the heavens I spoke with you; from the heavens He made you hear His voice etc.),

therefore,

"primarily" the Torah speaks about the supernal realms and spirituality,

except that when it "descends" below into this world,

it is given to be interpreted in its simple interpretation as it is "in the lower realms"].

And we thereby learn an additional matter: since with the Holy One, blessed be He, "evil cannot dwell"&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

— it necessarily follows,

that even these matters in the Torah which according to their simple interpretation

("in the lower realms")

are undesirable matters

(bad deeds,

punishments and the like),

nevertheless, in the Torah as it is in the supernal realms

(where there cannot be any existence of evil)

they are interpreted in a manner that all is holy and good&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;.

&lt;pg&gt;18&lt;/pg&gt;

And to note from the words of the Rambam&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;

that "there is no difference between..

and Timna was a concubine&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;,

and between I am the Lord your God and Hear O Israel&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;,

for all is from the mouth of the Almighty,

and all is the Torah of the Lord, perfect, pure, holy, and true": even though the plain meaning intended in these words

("Timna was a concubine")

is about a woman who was at the utmost descent etc.

(to the extent that her birth was in a manner opposite to the fulfillment of the seven Noachide laws&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;)

— the extreme opposite end from the holiness of "I am the Lord your God" — nevertheless this does not affect the holiness of these words as they are written in the Torah,

to the point that there is no difference at all between the holiness of these words and the holiness of the words "I am the Lord your God",

for "all is the Torah of the Lord, perfect, pure, holy, and true".

For the discussion is not about the existence of "Timna",

but rather the discussion in the Torah about her,

and this discussion that is in the Torah is perfect, pure, and holy in truth.

And all the more so and how much more so as the Torah is "in the upper realms",

that there the matter of "Timna was a concubine" from the outset is only a spiritual matter that exists in a world that is entirely holiness

(since there "evil cannot dwell").

3.

This principle also explains the story,

seemingly perplexing,

about the reading of the "Rebuke"

(in Parshat Ki Tavo)

by the Alter Rebbe:

It is related²⁷

:

Our master the Alter Rebbe himself was the one reading the Torah.

One time there was not in Liozna on Shabbat Parshat Ki Tavo,

And the Mitteler Rebbe heard — and he was still a youth before his bar mitzvah — the reading from another.

The anguish from the curses in the admonition brought him to heart pain,

Until on Yom Kippur our master the Alter Rebbe was uncertain if he could fast.

When they asked the Mitteler Rebbe,

But every year we read this portion,

He answered: When Father reads, "one does not hear any curses."

And seemingly requires explanation: When our master the Alter Rebbe read the Torah — with utmost precision in all the words and letters with the vowels and cantillation marks etc. — certainly the content of the reading was heard in its simple sense

(In accordance with the rule¹⁴

"A verse does not depart from its simple meaning")

— And what is,

then,

the interpretation of the words of the Mitteler Rebbe "When Father reads, one does not hear any curses"?

And the explanation — according to the above: The matter of the curses in their simple meaning is only as the matter is learned below in the world of plain meaning.

However, according to that "the Torah speaks about supernal matters,"

in a world that is entirely holiness that has no connection to the existence of evil

(and consequently also not to the punishment for evil)

— behold, also these matters

(the curses)

their content is only holiness and blessing.

[And as the Alter Rebbe explains²⁸

regarding the matter of the curses of Parshat Bechukotai,

that "in truth they are only blessings,"

and he brings the Tzemach Tzedek²⁹

an example of this from the story brought in the Talmud³⁰,

that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai sent his son to the sages who happened to be in his place that they should bless him,

however, they blessed him "in the language of a curse"³¹

and he was distressed about this.

And when he returned, the words of the sages before his father, he said to him "all these are blessings"³²].

<pg>19</pg>

And therefore,

when the Alter Rebbe would read from the Torah,

there was heard in his reading

(by the Mitteler Rebbe)

the content of the explanation of the matters as "the Torah speaks about the supernal realms",

that there

(also)

the portion of rebuke is fundamentally a matter that is entirely good and blessing.

[And it is sweetened according to what the Alter Rebbe explains³³

the phrase "reads from the Torah" — "that through the study of Torah

(the person)

calls to the Holy One, blessed be He, to come to him, as it were, like a person who calls his friend to come to him, and like a small child who calls his father to come to him to be with him in togetherness"³⁴

— and so in our matter,

that through the Torah reading of the Alter Rebbe,

he called and drew down the Torah as it is in the supernal realms,

by the Holy One, blessed be He³⁵

(for there "evil does not sojourn",

as above)].

4.

And so it is the explanation in the words of the Midrash concerning the waters of the flood:

That the flood came to punish the people of the generation of the flood,

and also to purify the land from the impurity of the sins of the generation of the flood,

this is only as the matter is below and according to its simple meaning; however, since the matter of the flood is recounted in the Torah — it is necessary to say that the matter of the flood with all its details exists also in the Torah as it is "in the supernal realms,"

in a "world" in which there is no relevance of any matter of evil and sin.

And this is what the midrash tells us,

that the existence of the waters of the flood upon the entire earth³⁶

is

(also)

a matter entirely of holiness³⁷

— analogous to the "beginning of the creation of the world",

when "the entire world was water within water",

because "the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, arose only from the water".

And it may be said,

that this is the inner content in the explanation of the aforementioned Alter Rebbe that the waters of the flood were analogous to the waters of a mikveh³⁸

— for we find immersion in a mikveh which is only for an addition of holiness

(and not to purify from impurity)

[like the immersions of the High Priest on Yom Kippur,

that after the first immersion he was already purified from any concern of impurity^*38,

and all of them are only for an addition of holiness,

that he ascends from level to level in holiness itself],

<pg>20</pg>

And so it can be said regarding the waters of the flood&lt;sup&gt;39&lt;/sup&gt;,

that they are analogous to a mikveh: that the flood came to purify the land from the impurity of the sins of the generation of the flood is only as the matter of the flood descended from above and came down and is found "in the lower realms",

but its essence in the "upper realms"

(in a world that is entirely holiness)

is — the immersion required for ascending from one level in holiness to a higher level.

A simple example in human life,

even if they are not from the children of Israel,

in this physical and material world: a father's love for his son — which is in its truth and strength in the father's heart and is entirely love and goodness.

When the son sins — it descends from this love that he punishes the son with a rod, and as the love in the father's heart grows — the son's punishment will increase.

And even to the point that he who spares&lt;sup&gt;40&lt;/sup&gt;

his rod hates his son.

5.

Explanation of the superiority in the waters of the flood — in more detail:

The Rambam wrote at the end of Hilchos Mikvaos⁴¹

that the waters of the mikveh allude to "the pure waters of knowledge"⁴²

; and just as by immersion in water the entire person is covered in the waters of the mikveh until nothing is seen but the waters of the mikveh,

so it is in the "hint" in the mikveh,

the bringing of the soul into the waters of knowledge,

that there must be submersion in the "waters of knowledge" in a way that the existence of the person is not seen,

but only that of the "waters of knowledge" in which he is submerged.

And this is the spiritual content of the matter of the flood

(when the entire world is covered with water)

— that the entire land is "sunk" in the waters of knowledge until the existence of the land is not seen&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;

but only of "the waters of knowledge".

And likewise is the spiritual content of the waters of the flood in the days of Noah — that they came "to destroy all flesh"&lt;sup&gt;5&lt;/sup&gt;,

"to destroy the earth"&lt;sup&gt;43&lt;/sup&gt;

— that is, to nullify

("to destroy")

with utter nullification

(of "fleshiness" and "earthliness")

in "the waters of knowledge",

until no existence is seen besides Him, blessed be He.

And regarding the state of the world in the future⁴⁴,

and as the words of the Rambam at the conclusion and seal of his book,

that "at that time..

there will be no occupation⁴⁵

of the entire world except to know G-d alone..

as it is said⁴⁶

for the earth will be filled with knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the sea" — that the state of the world in the future is similar to the "Flood"⁴⁷

("as the waters cover the sea"),

that the occupation with "knowledge of G-d"

("waters of knowledge")

will be in a manner of "the earth will be filled with knowledge"

(even that "there will be no occupation of the entire world except to know G-d alone"⁴⁸).

And in this level was the state of the world at the beginning of creation,

when it was "the entire world entirely water in water",

and "the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, did not ascend<pg>21</pg>

except from the water" — that is, that the world does not appear at all as an existence in itself

(like something that is immersed

(letters are nullified⁴⁹)

in water)⁵⁰,

but rather its entire existence is only the divine power that brings it into being and sustains it.

6.

However,

according to the explanation stated in the inner content of the matter of the flood

(as it is "in the upper realms")

— it tilts to the other side: since the matter of the flood indicates such a great elevation

(that the entire land is nullified in the "waters of knowledge")

— what is the inner content

("in the upper realms")

of the oath of the Holy One, blessed be He, that "I will not again"⁵¹,

"there will no longer be a flood to destroy the earth"⁴³

(and since this oath was written in the Torah,

it is understood,

that it negates

(also,

and moreover — in truth)

the matter of the flood according to its spiritual content mentioned above)?

And one could say the point of the explanation in this:

That at the beginning of creation "the entire world was water in water" — it is because the existence of dry land had not yet been created⁵²

; whereas the matter of the flood is,

after the existence of the earth had already been created,

and as it is in its existence — the water covers it.

And the difference between them

(in spirituality)

:

The superiority of "the entire world was water within water" at the beginning of the creation of the world — that the world was not visible as an independent existence but was utterly nullified in the Divine power that sustains it

(as above)

— was not felt in the reality of the world itself

(because it was not yet worthy of this),

And the superiority of "the entire world was water within water" was only because the dry land had not yet been created

(the earth)

;

However, the ultimate intention is,

that this nullification be drawn and activated in the reality of the land itself.

And this is the precise wording of the verse

(regarding the future)

"The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea",

that is,

not that the earth will turn into "water",

but rather as it is in the reality of earth, it will be filled with "knowledge of the Lord as waters

(with the prefix of comparison)

cover the sea",

meaning that the elevation of "as waters cover the sea" is in the earth itself.

But in order to effect this elevation in the earth itself, there must be the preparation of the "immersion" of the earth in the "waters of the flood" — "to destroy the earth",

to nullify temporarily the existence of the earth until it is completely covered by water; and this nullification itself gives the power,

that even when afterwards "the earth dried"⁵³

("it became dry land according to its law"⁵⁴),

this nullification will be drawn into the dry land itself.

And this is also the concept of the waters of the flood

(according to their spiritual content)

— that they came to prepare the existence of the world so that it would be a "vessel" for this nullification⁵⁵

which will be revealed in the future,

when "the earth will be filled with knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."

[Based on this, it will also be understood what is written in the Midrash⁵⁶

on the verse⁵⁷

"And the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord<pg>22</pg>

"Like the days of old and like the years of antiquity" — "Like the days of the world, like the days of Noah."

For at first glance it is perplexing: the verse "And it shall be pleasing to the L-rd, etc." refers to the time of the true and complete redemption,

when the world will be at the ultimate perfection,

and if so, how can it be said that it is "like the days of the world — like the days of Noah"⁵⁸?

!

However, according to the above it is understood — that the beginning of the world's preparation and its readiness for its perfection at the time of the redemption

("[the earth] will be filled [with knowledge of the L-rd] as the waters cover the sea")

was in the days of Noah⁵⁹,

by means of the waters of the flood that covered the world].

7.

According to the above, it will also be explained this that the Holy One, blessed be He, swore that "there will not again be a flood to destroy the earth":

The ultimate purpose is that the existence of the world specifically be,

"He formed it to be inhabited"⁶⁰,

and in a manner of "they shall not cease"⁶¹,

and as the world is in its existence, it will be a vessel for all the most elevated matters,

as above.

[Because the Holy One, blessed be He, did not want the world to remain in the state of "all water in water" — even though then "the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, ascended" — but rather the Holy One, blessed be He, contracted this revelation until "the dry land appeared"⁶²,

the world as it appears to our eyes]⁶³.

And since this preparation and this power were already given to the world through the immersion in the waters of the flood,

therefore there is no longer a need "to destroy",

to nullify its existence,

and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, swore that "there will no longer be a flood"

(because,

on the contrary,

the ultimate intention is that the existence of the earth be⁶⁴).

8.

Known are the words of the Shelah⁶⁵,

that in Rashi's commentary on the Torah are hinted "wondrous matters".

And in our matter: the spiritual elevation that is in "the dry land appeared"

(when there exists the reality of land)

relative to the spiritual elevation that is in "the waters of the flood"

(which is analogous to the elevation of "water in water" at the beginning of creation)

— is hinted in Rashi's language on the verse "the dry land appeared" — "it became dry ground as is its law"⁶⁶

:

The waters of the flood hint at the level of the Torah

("waters of knowledge")

as it is still above the existence of the world; whereas "the dry land" is the Torah as it descended below and became clothed in matters of land — this world.

And specifically through this "descent"

(of the Torah)

into this world the aspect of halachah that is in the Torah is revealed.

As is known that the Torah is not in heaven&lt;sup&gt;67&lt;/sup&gt;,

and the ruling&lt;pg&gt;23&lt;/pg&gt;

Halachah can only be through a soul in a body specifically&lt;sup&gt;68&lt;/sup&gt;.

For the concept of halachah is — the knowledge of how to conduct oneself in actual deed,

halachah for practice.

And likewise — their aspect of halachos is to affect the world,

in the language of the verse&lt;sup&gt;69&lt;/sup&gt;

"The ways of the world are His,"

"Do not read 'ways' but rather 'halachos'"&lt;sup&gt;70&lt;/sup&gt;,

that is,

that the effect of the Torah upon the world — "the ways of the world,"

is through the halachos that are in the Torah.

And so much so that the world becomes a way.

And it can be said that this is the hint in Rashi's language "made dry land according to its law" — from the word halacha,

that this is the elevation in "the earth became dry" relative to the waters of the flood that preceded them,

that through "the earth became dry" one reaches the ultimate purpose in the matter of the Torah,

which is the action in worldly matters through the part of halacha in the Torah

("according to its law")⁷¹.

9.

The aforementioned explanation regarding the matter of the flood also relates to the time of year in which we read Parshat Noach — the beginning of the month of Marcheshvan:

Month of Tishrei,

which is "abundant in festivals"⁷²,

is a kind and elevation of the matter of the flood "in the upper realms",

in which man is immersed and submerged

(and nullified)

in matters of good and holiness,

until he "forgets" his physical matters,

and since his thought is only in spirituality — also the existence of man

(the thinker)

is in spiritual matters⁷³,

And when they go out from the month of Tishrei to the month of Marcheshvan, they read in the Torah the story of the flood and its conclusion,

to teach us,

that the purpose of the matter of the "flood" of the month of Tishrei and its completion,

is the state of "the earth dried" afterwards,

that is,

that he should draw this nullification of the "waters of the flood" into the dryness of the earth.

And simply,

that the purpose of the festivals of the month of Tishrei is — to draw the holiness etc. that they absorbed in this month into daily life throughout the entire year "in the land"⁷⁴,

until the service of G-d will be

(also)

in all his physical matters — "all your deeds shall be for the sake of Heaven"⁷⁵,

and "in all your ways know Him"⁷⁶.

And through this service we will merit the anticipation of the fulfillment of the prophecy "for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the L-rd as the waters cover the sea",

and very soon.

(From the talk of the first day of Rosh Chodesh Marcheshvan 5746)