English translation — וישלח א

Sicha 1<pg>148</pg>

A.

In the prohibition of the sciatic nerve, the reason for the prohibition is also explained in the Written Torah¹

— "Therefore the children of Israel do not eat the sciatic nerve which is upon the hollow of the thigh, until this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sciatic nerve."²

And this reason also determines the specific manner of the prohibition: the prohibition is only on the sinew that is on the socket of the thigh

; a fowl — which has no socket of the thigh — its sinew is permitted

; there is a dispute between R. Yehuda and the Sages

whether the sciatic sinew applies only to the right thigh or also to the left thigh,

and the reason for the dispute

— that according to R. Yehuda the angel touched only the right thigh of Yaakov,

and the Sages hold that "He dislocated both of them"

("He struck both of them until they were dislocated from their places and ascended"

and therefore both of them were prohibited.

And it requires explanation:

In explaining the reason that in the verse "Therefore the children of Israel shall not eat etc. because he touched etc." it is brought in the commentaries<sup>8</sup>,

that it is "as a memorial of the might of Yaakov and the miracle that the Holy One, blessed be He, did for him etc.",

that is,

this is not only a memorial of the touch of the angel of Esav on the hollow of Yaakov's thigh,

but rather on the entirety of the event of Yaakov's battle and his rescue from the hand of the angel.

And the reason that they make a memorial specifically for this rescue — even though we find explicitly in the Written Torah several miracles and matters of rescue regarding Avraham,

and also regarding Yaakov himself,

nevertheless a memorial for them was not established for generations — is understood from what the Chinuch says<sup>9</sup>

(and other commentaries<sup>10</sup>)

in the "roots" of this commandment,

that it is "a hint to Israel that even though they will pass through many troubles in exile from the hand of the nations and from the hand of the children of Esav, they should be confident that they will not be lost, but rather their seed will stand forever etc.".

And this is that this rescue is connected with a most general matter in the life of the people of Israel.

And according to this, it is to be understood: When one makes a "remembrance" of a certain event or matter, the one who remembers must be similar to the matter being remembered — like the remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt on the holiday of Passover,

which is by doing "all the actions of this night in a manner of freedom"¹¹

; the remembrance of the act of Creation on Shabbat by means of refraining from work, etc.;

Why,

then,

is the remembrance of such a fundamental and general matter

(the rescue of Jacob, which is a hint to the rescue of the entire Jewish people from the hand of the children of Esau)

only in the particular prohibition of the sciatic nerve¹²

(which is only one detail of the event¹³)

; and furthermore:

The prohibition is limited in its manner and details according to the details of the event of the touching of the hollow of Jacob's thigh,

as above

(even though there is no importance in these details,

apparently,

in the generality of the event and the rescue¹⁴)

— and this is not a fitting "remembrance" for

(the generality)

of the rescue etc.

And one may add in this: Since the Torah is precise to write the reason for the prohibition

[and to such an extent,

that according to the opinion of the Sages,

this verse

("Therefore the children of Israel shall not eat etc.")

"was said at Sinai¹⁵

but was written in its place to know for what reason it was forbidden to them",

that is,

it is so important to know "for what reason it was forbidden" that this verse was written immediately,

not in the place of its utterance]

— it is logical to say,

that also these two extremes in the prohibition of the sciatic nerve

(a remembrance for a most general event; and its "limitation" to the most particular detail within this event)

are not a decree of the verse whose reason has not been revealed¹⁶,

but rather there is in them a "reason"

(intellectual).

2.

And this will be understood with an introduction to the explanation of one of the virtues in His providence, blessed be He, over the children of Israel

[for this is the content of the commandment of the sciatic nerve,

as above — to mention regarding the guarding and providence of the Holy One, blessed be He, over His people Israel, that they should not be lost, heaven forbid, in the exile of the nations]

in relation to the providence over the rest of the creatures — and with an introduction:

Known is the explanation and innovation of our teacher the Baal Shem Tov¹⁷

regarding the matter of the providence of the Holy One, blessed be He, over His world,

that there is particular providence not only over the species of the speaker,

but over all creatures — also animal, plant, and inanimate.

For several of the sages of Israel until the Baal Shem Tov held that particular providence is only over each and every one of the species of the speaker, while in animal, plant, and inanimate there is only general providence over the species¹⁸

; and the Baal Shem Tov explained and innovated that also the particulars

(the events of)

inanimate, plant, and animal are according to His providence, blessed be He.

[And as discussed multiple times,

that all the matters explained in Chassidus have their source in the revealed part of Torah

(whether explicitly or at least by way of hint)

— and so in this matter,

that there is an explicit proof from the revealed part of Torah that Divine Providence is also on inanimate, vegetable, and animal

(which the Alter Rebbe brought<sup>19</sup>

— the master of the joy and redemption of Yud-Tes Kislev)

— from the words of our Sages in tractate Chullin<sup>20</sup>

: "Rabbi Yochanan, when he saw a shalach

(a bird "that pulls fish from the sea")

said, 'Your judgments<sup>21</sup>

are the great deep',"

and as Rashi explains<sup>22</sup>

"that You have prepared the shalach to judge and to take Your vengeance on the fish of the sea to kill those appointed to die" — behold, it is explicit and clear,

that there is judgment and justice also on the individual fish of the sea,

to the extent that the Holy One, blessed be He, prepares a specific bird in order to kill this specific fish that is appointed to die].

<pg>150</pg>

And the definition of this particular Providence the Baal Shem Tov explained<sup>23</sup>

— "that not only are all the particular movements of the creations according to their kinds under particular Providence from the Creator, blessed be He",

but "furthermore, a particular movement of a particular creature has a general relation to the entirety of the purpose of creation..

for even one movement of a particular blade of grass completes the supernal purpose in the matter of creation".

[And as discussed many times, a simple example of this in a person's life: The way of a woman of valor<sup>24</sup>,

a successful housewife is,

that in addition to her supervising well all the details of the things that are in her house,

that each thing is in its proper place and everything is conducted with precise order — there is yet this,

that all the details of her household objects have a part in the general purpose of the management of the house,

so that everything is with calculation and precision in a manner of lacking not and exceeding not — nothing is lacking for the management of the house and there is nothing superfluous

(that does not serve this purpose).

And if this is the case in the life of a simple housewife — all the more so, with distinctions beyond limit, regarding the Creator of the world and its Leader,

that in addition to all the details of the events of all the creatures in the world of the Holy One, blessed be He, being according to His providence,

behold each one of them pertains to the completion of the supernal intention in the matter of creation].

3.

It is understood,

that also according to the method of the Baal Shem Tov

(that there is particular providence over all created beings)

there is a fundamental difference between the particular providence over all created beings and His providence, may He be blessed, over the children of Israel.

And as brings the Rebbe, my father-in-law, the Admor, in the name of the Baal Shem Tov²⁵,

that although particular providence is over all created beings and also over the smallest detail — nevertheless,

the matter of particular providence over the nation that is close to Him, may He be blessed, is impossible to depict and impossible to understand

("that one cannot at all depict..

that which pertains to a Jew is with particular providence that one cannot understand").

And from the simple meaning of the language it is understood,

that this elevation is also regarding the particularity of Divine Providence.

That is,

in what measure each and every detail is supervised by Him, blessed be He, and completes the supernal intention.

For it is known²⁶

that there are several levels and manners in Divine Providence — among them,

in the language of the verse²⁷

"The eye of the Lord is toward those who fear Him",

"The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous"

(with one eye or with two eyes²⁸)

— that the difference between them²⁹

one could say

(at first glance)

is not in the "particularity" of Providence but only in its manner,

and for example: whether Providence is clothed and hidden in the ways of nature,

or whether it is revealed Providence in the eyes of all

(to the extent that it leads to miraculous conduct etc.).

But from the simple continuity of the language of His Holy Honor our Master Teacher and Rebbe

(in the name of the Baal Shem Tov)

the aforementioned implies,

that the elevation in providence over the nation close to Him, blessed be He, is not only in a general manner but also in its particularity.

The fact that individual Divine providence is over all creatures,

to the extent that every single detail pertains to the completion of the general intention in the matter of creation — nevertheless,

there is<pg>151</pg>

a wondrous elevation in the providence over every single detail of the nation close to Him

(and such an elevation that is above intellect).

4.

And one should say the explanation in this:

Even though all the creations "exist only from the truth of His existence"³⁰

and are supervised by Him, blessed be He — nevertheless,

(the main point)

the will and choice of the Holy One, blessed be He, is only in Israel,

that "He chose us from all the nations"³¹,

and it is said³²

"I loved you, said the Lord, etc., Esau is a brother to Jacob, etc., and I love Jacob."

And it can be said that this is also the content of the statement of our Rabbis, of blessed memory³³

that the world was created "for the sake of the Torah..

and for the sake of Israel": Israel and Torah are the intention of creation

(and as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said³⁴

"I

(not^*34)

was created

(but^*34)

to serve my Master"),

His will and His choice of the Holy One, blessed be He, is in them themselves;

but the rest of the creations are not an end and purpose in themselves but only a "means" through which the intention of the Holy One, blessed be He, in Torah and Israel is completed,

and as the statement of our Rabbis, of blessed memory³⁴

that "they were not created except to serve me",

that His will, blessed be He, is not in them for their own sake and they are only "servants"

("means")

for Torah and Israel.

And behold the nature of the matter of will

(and choice)

is³⁵,

that when one wants

(and chooses)

some thing, it is possible that the will in all parts and details of the thing be equal

(with the same intensity),

despite the differences in importance and superiority of the details

(from the perspective of their content themselves)

[to the extent that when one detail of the thing is missing

(even a small and seemingly secondary detail)

the whole entirety is lacking,

since his will was not fulfilled].

And as we find regarding the matter of the commandments,

that they are the will of the Most High, blessed be He

(decrees of the King³⁶),

that even though we find differences from one extreme to the other in the commandments of the Torah,

in the language of our Sages of blessed memory³⁷

that there is "the lightest of the light" and there is up to "the most severe of the severe" — nevertheless they said³⁷

"Do not sit and weigh the commandments of the Torah" but rather one must be equally careful in all the commandments; because despite the differences between the commandments in their content

(in the language of the Chinuch "the roots of the commandment")

and the like — all of them are His will, may He be blessed,

"Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us"³⁸,

and this is truly equal in all the commandments.

For just as the Holy One, blessed be He, wants the severe ones, so He wants the light ones,

with the same will³⁹.

[And it can be said that from the aspect of this matter regarding mitzvos,

we find sometimes,

that when one detail is missing — the entire whole is missing.

And like: A convert who accepted upon himself the entire Torah except for one thing

(even from the words of the scribes)

we do not accept him⁴⁰

; and likewise "one who says that the Torah is not from Hashem, even one verse, even one word..

this is<pg>152</pg>

a denier of the Torah"⁴¹,

"And there is⁴²

(in this)

no difference between 'And the sons of Ham: Cush and Mitzrayim'⁴³

and 'the name of his wife was Meheitavel'⁴⁴..

and between 'I am Hashem your G-d'⁴⁵

etc.'"].

5.

And based on this, the superiority in Divine Providence over Israel, the nation close to the Holy One, blessed be He, is understood, in relation to Divine Providence over the other matters of creation.

Among the other creations,

even though every single detail pertains to the completion of the general intention

(as above),

nevertheless,

since the importance of the details depends on their level

[Like the human body,

that even though its perfection is when it has all the limbs

(and also hairs and nails),

nevertheless one cannot at all compare the importance of the limbs on which the soul depends to the rest of the parts of the body

(and all the more so to hairs and nails which are the most subordinate details)]

Therefore,

also the providence over each and every detail is in "each one according to its level"⁴⁶

(to what extent it "serves" the Torah and Israel).

But not so with Israel, His close people,

since His providence over them is a result of His will and His choice in them,

behold, in addition to this that there is providence over every single detail

(and in a manner that every detail completes the general intention in the matter of creation)

— behold, the manner of providence over the details is not only according to the individual importance of each and every detail

(in which there are distinctions according to the importance of the detail),

but the providence is in an equal manner over all of them.

Because from the aspect of His will and His choice in Israel,

behold, each and every detail among them "touches" in an equal manner⁴⁷.

6.

According to all this, one must explain the reason why the "remembrance" for Jacob's rescue was established specifically in one detail of the event,

and in this itself — they are precise in the detail within the detail

(whether only the sinew of the right thigh or also of the left, etc.)

— because through this comes to expression the definition and manner of His providence over Jacob our father

(and consequently — also over the people of Israel,

the children of Jacob)

:<pg>153</pg>

His providence, may He be blessed, is in such a manner,

that not only is every single detail supervised by Him, blessed be He,

(and beyond that — that every single detail pertains to the completion of the general intention)

— but furthermore,

that in the matter of completing His will, blessed be He, the most important details or the details that appear as secondary and of little value,

all are supervised by Him, blessed be He, in an equal manner.

And this matter is emphasized in the commandment of the sciatic nerve,

that the mention of the entirety of the event of Jacob's rescue was established specifically on the most minor detail of the event — to teach us,

that even a secondary detail etc. was relevant to the entirety of the rescue.

7.

However, the matter is still not entirely clear,

for it is true that through the establishment of the memory in the particular detail of this event, the elevation in His providence over Bnei Yisrael is hinted at,

in the manner of providence over every single detail as mentioned above — but nevertheless,

after all, it would have been more appropriate,

seemingly,

to establish the memory in a general matter.

That is: by establishing the memory in such a manner, the memory of the entire salvation is seemingly lacking — for after all, the sciatic nerve is only a detail of the event⁴⁸?

And the explanation of this can be said by prefacing another matter regarding the relationship of Bnei Yisrael to the Holy One, blessed be He⁴⁹

: Regarding Bnei Yisrael it is said⁵⁰

"For the portion of G-d is His people",

that they are like "a portion of the essence"⁵¹,

and analogous to a son who is a portion of his father's essence.

That is: in addition to this that the Holy One, blessed be He, chose His people Israel and loves them

(in which there is still felt that there are two here,

chooser and chosen,

lover and beloved),

but rather they are one essence, as it were.

[And as the well-known parable from the holy maggid⁵²,

"that even before Israel were created, their form was engraved in thought, as our sages of blessed memory said⁵³

Israel arose in thought" — that is,

also "before Israel were created" to be an existence in itself,

"their form was engraved in thought",

and it can be said that this is the precise term "engraved" — for engraving is from within and within,

for Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, are entirely one].

And behold, the well-known statement⁵⁴

"when you grasp a part of the essence, you grasp all of it",

for the "essence" is found in all its essence in all its parts⁵⁵.

And along these lines we find an example of this regarding the matter of mitzvos — "one who is engaged in a mitzvah is exempt from the mitzvah"⁵⁶,

that the explanation of this is,

that it is considered "as if he also fulfills this"⁵⁷

(the second mitzvah),

because every mitzvah includes all the other mitzvos.

And it is explained in this⁵⁸,

that the supernal will in the 613 mitzvos<pg>154</pg>

is an essential will,

and therefore by grasping a "portion" of this will

(the fulfillment of one mitzvah)

one grasps it in its entirety,

and it is considered as if he also fulfills the other mitzvah⁵⁹.

And likewise we find regarding the children of Israel — that also "one soul from Israel" is a "full world"⁶⁰,

And to such an extent that

(In the laws of danger to life)

We find sometimes that "one soul from Israel" has the importance of many and the collective.

And to such an extent that gentiles who said to a group of Israel "Give us one of you and we will kill him, and if not, we will kill all of you — let them all be killed and let them not hand over to them one soul from Israel"⁶¹

— That one of the explanations of this is,

That in every "portion" of the collective of Israel "the whole is grasped",

That is,

That in the "essence" that is in every Jewish person, the essence of the entire collective is grasped.

8.

And with this will be understood in greater depth the superiority that is in the particular providence over Israel, His near people:

In these matters in which comes to expression and revelation this unity that is between Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He

(that they are "a part of the essence")

— behold the providence in them is in a manner

(not only that the Holy One, blessed be He, oversees every single detail of them,

and in a manner that in several matters every single detail matters equally to the completion of the general intention,

but furthermore this)

that in every single detail of this providence over His people Israel "they grasp in His entirety",

the entire essential connection between them.

And so it was in this event of the rescue of Jacob from the hand of the angel of Esau,

which was a matter most general in the life of Jacob,

until it touched upon his very essence.

And for this reason the remembrance was established on the rescue of Yaakov

(not in a general matter,

but rather)

specifically on the most particular detail

(as above)

— to indicate the most profound matter in the providence and protection of the Holy One, blessed be He, over Israel,

that this providence

[as it is expressed in Yaakov,

who is the essence of the entirety of Israel&lt;sup&gt;62&lt;/sup&gt;,

and his soul was "included from all the souls of Israel from eternity to eternity"&lt;sup&gt;63&lt;/sup&gt;]

— is in a manner,

that in every single detail,

down to the smallest and most insignificant detail,

they grasp "in His entirety."

(From talks of Erev Chag HaShavuot 5746; Simchat Torah 5748)