English translation — תשא ב

Talk <pg>191</pg>

A.

It is said in the Gemara<sup>1</sup>

: An extra soul is given to a person on Friday evening; on Saturday night it is taken from him, as it is said

[In our parshah<sup>2</sup>

: And on the seventh day]

He rested and was refreshed; because he rested, woe, the soul is lost

(“Vayinafash” is expounded as an acronym: “Vai nefesh”<sup>3</sup>).

And the early authorities wrote<sup>4</sup>

(And so it is in the Zohar<sup>5</sup>)

That this is the reason for the Sages’ enactment to smell spices every Saturday night — in order to restore the soul that grieves over the loss of the extra soul on Saturday night

[And so the Alter Rebbe ruled in his Shulchan<sup>6</sup>

: The Sages instituted to smell spices every Motzaei Shabbat in order to restore the soul that grieves over the departure of Shabbat because of the extra soul that has gone; therefore they settle and cheer it with a good fragrance].

However, on Motza'ei Shabbat that coincides with Yom Tov, we do not recite a blessing over spices — and the Rishonim disagree on the reason for this:

the Rashbam⁷

wrote "because on Yom Tov as well we have an additional soul, as on Shabbat."

And in Tosafos⁸

they asked "for if so, on the conclusion of Yom Tov why did they not institute spices

(and continues)

And therefore it seems that on Yom Tov there is no extra soul",

And that on Yom Tov that falls on the conclusion of Shabbos they do not bless over the spices — "because the joy of Yom Tov and eating and drinking is effective like spices"^*8

(And in another place Tosafos wrote⁹

"since he has important and good foods, his mind is calmed automatically without the scent of spices").

[And so ruled the Alter Rebbe in his Shulchan¹⁰,

that when Yom Tov falls on the conclusion of Shabbos "he does not need spices, for the delight of Yom Tov and its joy restore the soul"].

And it needs clarification: in what do they disagree,

for it is forced to say that they disagree about reality, whether on Yom Tov there is an additional soul.

And especially in the Zohar¹¹

it is explicit that also on Yom Tov there is an additional soul.

2.

And now, in the explanation of the words of the Rashbam — which are seemingly perplexing,

like the question of the Tosafot,

that if so they would have to recite a blessing over spices also at the conclusion of Yom Tov — one must say that his intention is according to what the Ran wrote¹²

regarding the reason that they do not recite a blessing over spices from Shabbat to Yom Tov,

and this is his language: that from Shabbat to a weekday, when one goes from complete rest to great toil, the soul needs refreshment through spices, but from Shabbat to Yom Tov<pg>192</pg>

Behold, there is on Yom Tov also somewhat of rest, and from Yom Tov to weekday also is not a departure from complete rest, for he toiled in food preparation, and therefore we do not recite a blessing over spices on either of them.

And in this manner one may explain according to Rashbam,

that what he said that also on Yom Tov there is an additional soul,

his intention is not that it is on the same level of the additional soul of Shabbos,

but on a lower level

[And as is explicit in the Zohar&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;

that there is an additional soul not only on Yom Tov but even on Rosh Chodesh

(where there is not even the blessing of Havdalah),

and it must be said that there are several levels in "additional soul"],

therefore there is no blessing of spices also at the conclusion of Yom Tov,

for such a grieving of the soul that requires a good scent comes only from the departure of the additional soul that came on Shabbos

(which is a high level etc.),

but from the departure of the additional soul of Yom Tov the soul does not grieve to the extent of requiring spices.

And in any case, on a festival that falls on motzaei Shabbat, we do not recite a blessing over spices

(even though the additional soul of Shabbat has departed)

— because since there exists an "additional soul" of the festival,

the soul does not yearn so much to require spices to "settle the soul"

(in the manner of the words of the Ran mentioned above).

3.

Based on this, we can also explain the dispute between the Rashbam and the Tosafot:

According to the Rashbam, the difference between the extra soul of Shabbos and the extra soul of Yom Tov is not great enough to require "resting the soul with spices"; unlike according to the Tosafos,

also the departure from Shabbos to Yom Tov causes grief to the soul to such an extent that one needs calming and restoration of the soul,

except that the joy and delight of Yom Tov take the place of the action of the spices.

And it will be understood by prefacing an explanation of the matter of "extra soul" according to the revealed aspect.

For in the Zohar¹⁴

it is explained that the matter of "extra soul" is the drawing down of an "additional soul" from above on the day of Shabbos

(as is the simple understanding of "extra soul")

; however, in the revealed part of Torah, the matter of extra soul is explained in a different manner¹⁵

:

Rashi in his commentary on the Talmud

(in Tractate Beitzah¹⁶)

<pg>193</pg>

Explains "extra soul" — "breadth of heart for rest and joy and to be open to ease and he will eat and drink and his soul is not constricted over it."

And in another place

(in Rashi's commentary on Taanit¹⁷)

Explains extra soul "that they broaden his mind for eating and drinking"¹⁸.

And in the Tosafot Rid¹⁹

It states "And the reason for the spices on Saturday night is because of the extra soul that he had from the rest of Shabbat and he is distressed now when that rest departs from him and he smells spices to settle his soul."

And in the responsa of the Rashba²⁰

: And some explain extra soul, that is the rest and delight that the soul finds on Shabbat as if it is an extra soul, and when it passes from him and he enters the days of toil and affliction, it is as if an extra soul is lost from him and he becomes weak.

And we understand from this,

that the meaning of "extra soul" is not in the simple sense — an additional soul — but rather a spiritual state that comes as a result of the rest of Shabbos and the delight of Shabbos.

And based on this, one can say that the dispute between the Rashbam and Tosafos is regarding the definition of rest and the prohibition of melacha on Yom Tov,

whether it is in the same definition of rest and prohibition of melacha as Shabbos,

and the difference is only in quantity — that certain melachos

(melacha of ochel nefesh)

are permitted; or that it is a difference in the quality of the rest,

and the prohibition of melacha on Yom Tov is an entity of a different rest from the rest of Shabbos²¹

:

According to the Rashbam

(and also the Ran)

The rest of Yom Tov is of the same type and category as the rest of Shabbat²²

except that it is lesser than it,

a difference in quantity,

and therefore when Yom Tov comes immediately after Shabbat,

it is possible for the rest of Yom Tov to be considered as a kind of continuation of the rest of Shabbat,

and the soul does not grieve from the departure of Shabbat to Yom Tov;

But not so according to the Tosafot,

The rest of Shabbat is an entity of a different rest,

The difference between the rest of Shabbat and the rest of Yom Tov is not only a difference in quantity but also a difference in quality.

[And it can be said that in this vein one can learn from the precise language of the Rambam at the beginning of Hilchos Shabbos&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;

And at the beginning of Hilchos Shevisas Yom Tov: In Hilchos Shabbos he opened with the obligation "Resting on the seventh [day] from work is a positive commandment, as it is said&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;

And on the seventh day you shall rest",

Whereas in Hilchos Shevisas Yom Tov he opened with the prohibition "These six days that the Scripture prohibited regarding doing work etc. are called Festivals, and the resting of all of them is equal, that they are&lt;pg&gt;194&lt;/pg&gt;

forbidden in any work of labor etc."&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;

— because on Shabbos the main thing is the positive aspect,

the rest of Shabbos&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;,

and on Yom Tov the main thing is the prohibition and the negation].

And for this reason, when going out from Shabbos to Yom Tov, according to the law they would have needed spices,

except that the joy of Yom Tov and eating and drinking are effective like spices.

4.

However, the matter is still not settled in the golden language of our elder Rebbe,

who wrote in his Shulchan²⁷

regarding the reason that we do not recite a blessing over spices at the conclusion of Yom Tov — because "on Yom Tov a person does not have an additional soul at all",

meaning that he adds to the language of the Tosafos

(mentioned above)

the word "at all".

And superficially,

According to the above that according to everyone there is some level of "extra soul" also on Yom Tov — why does the Alter Rebbe add and emphasize that "on Yom Tov there is not...

at all".

And one can say the explanation in this — that according to the Alter Rebbe's view, it can be said that the dispute between the Rashbam and Tosafos is regarding the very definition of the extra soul

(And therefore,

according to the method of Tosafos,

even though they do not dispute with the Rashbam regarding the reality,

nevertheless,

on Yom Tov there is no extra soul at all).

Explanation of the matter:

The reason that the state of the rest of Shabbat is called by the name "additional soul" — it can be said,

Because the rest and delight of Shabbat are not a side and incidental matter,

But rather they effect a change in the essence of the person²⁸,

To the extent that it is as if an additional soul has entered into him.

And one can say that this is also understood from the source of the study for the matter of the extra soul,

that is learned

(as above)

from what is said in our parshah "Shabbos Vayinafash":

The novelty of the topic of Shabbos in our parshah relative to the topic of Shabbos in the Ten Commandments²⁹

is,

that in the Ten Commandments the definition of the essence of the Shabbos day is its being a day separated from the other days,

"For six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth etc.,

and He rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Shabbos day and sanctified it"³⁰

; whereas in our parshah the definition of the essence of the Shabbos day is — "It is a sign between Me and you for your generations, to know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you"³¹,

"Between Me and the children of Israel it is a sign forever"³².

That is: in the portion of VaEtchanan it speaks about the object of the Shabbat day in itself; whereas in our portion it explains about the activity of Shabbat&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;

in Israel,

that on the Shabbat day a change occurs in the subject,

in the children of Israel,

from the rest of the days of the week.

&lt;pg&gt;195&lt;/pg&gt;

And particularly according to what Rashi explains on the verse "for it is a sign between Me and you" — "a great sign it is between us that I chose you when I bequeathed to you the day of My rest for rest",

that the meaning of the matter,

that the rest of man on the Shabbat day is not merely rest plain from the toil of work,

but that

(this is the day of rest of the Holy One, blessed be He,

and consequently)

the rest of man on this day effects in him a change and elevation in his state.

And so it is emphasized in the language of Rashi³⁴

"Shabbos Shabbason" — "a rest of repose and not a temporary rest",

the rest of the day of Shabbos is that the person changes completely in his state of soul to a state of "repose",

and not only that he rests from the toil of work.

And for example: when a person rests from work on another day

(even a rest from all work),

it will not be a rest that effects in him a change of person,

a rest of repose,

but rather only a "temporary rest"

(like when a son of Noach rests completely on the day of Shabbos,

that he will not come thereby to a complete rest³⁵),

and only on the day of Shabbos is given to Yisrael the day of rest of the Holy One, blessed be He,

and through His rest it is sanctified and a change is made in the person from the six days of the week³⁶.

And this is what we learn from the verse "On the seventh day He rested and was refreshed" specifically in this portion,

that there is an additional soul — for the explanation of additional soul is the change of the person that comes about through this that "He rested and was refreshed",

the rest of the Holy One, blessed be He³⁷

that was given to man and in man.

5.

And based on this, the dispute between the Rashbam and Tosafos regarding Yom Tov is understood:

According to Rashbam, the rest of Shabbat and the rest of Yom Tov are one category,

and the difference is only in quantity

(as above sec. 3),

and therefore also the rest of Yom Tov is in the category of "extra soul";

[And perhaps one could say,

that according to Rashbam the matter of "extra soul" is connected primarily

(not with the rest of Shabbat,

but)

with the delight and joy of Shabbat³⁸,

and as the simple language of Rashi above³⁹

that "extra soul" is "breadth of heart for rest and for joy and to be open wide and to eat and drink etc."⁴⁰

; and this matter applies also to Yom Tov, for there is in it the commandment of joy and eating and drinking on the Festivals in general, it is a positive commandment⁴¹,

and "they are accustomed to increase in types of foods on Yom Tov more than on Shabbat"⁴²

(even though it is understood that it is not comparable to the extra soul of <pg>196</pg>

Shabbos,

since on Shabbos there is complete rest,

which is necessary for the completeness of the delight and joy)]

;

but according to the view of the Tosafos,

that there is rest on Yom Tov is not that same quality of rest of the day of Shabbos

(as above section 3)

and this rest does not effect a change of person to be called by the name "neshamah

(yeseirah)

" of the person,

for neshamah yeseirah exists only in that category of complete rest,

"rest of tranquility" from all work that is on Shabbos.

[And as explained in the Rashba there²⁰

: "And some explain that the extra soul is the rest and delight that the soul finds on Shabbat, as if it were an extra soul, and when it passes from it and enters the days of⁴³

toil and suffering, it is as if an extra soul was lost from it, and it becomes weak.

And according to this explanation,

on Shabbat an extra soul is added to him because it is a day of rest, even from the work of food preparation, unlike on Yom Tov"⁴⁴].

And it can be said that this is also the intention of the Alter Rebbe in his writing²⁷

that on Yom Tov "a person has no extra soul at all" — even though on Yom Tov there is also rest,

and likewise there is an obligation of delight and joy⁴⁵

— because this innovation that on Shabbat,

the change in the person through "I am the Lord who sanctifies you,"

was not explained

(so much)

on Yom Tov.

And the reason that he is precise to add this emphasis — because in this his words are explained in the reason that we do not recite a blessing on spices at the conclusion of Shabbat to Yom Tov — "because..

that the delight of Yom Tov and its joy&lt;sup&gt;46&lt;/sup&gt;

restores the soul"&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;,

from which it is understood,

that essentially they would need spices except that the delight of Yom Tov and its joy are in place of spices

(which restore the soul)&lt;sup&gt;47&lt;/sup&gt;,

and this is that since on Yom Tov there is no extra soul at all,

therefore the soul grieves

(also)

at the departure of Shabbat to Yom Tov,

except that they restore it,

i.e., that they do not allow it to depart by means of the delight of Yom Tov and its joy before this&lt;sup&gt;48&lt;/sup&gt;,

like the action of spices after it departed at the departure of Shabbat.

[But if there were some matter of "extra soul" on Yom Tov,

even if it were not in the same manner as on Shabbat,

then there would be room to say&lt;pg&gt;197&lt;/pg&gt;

that they do not need spices because the soul does not grieve

(in the manner of the words of the Ran mentioned above)].

6.

And behold, although several early authorities brought the matter of the extra soul as the reason for the blessing on spices at the conclusion of Shabbat — the Rambam did not mention it,

and this is his language

(in Hilchot Shabbat&lt;sup&gt;49&lt;/sup&gt;)

: And why do they bless over the spices at the conclusion of Shabbat? Because the soul grieves at the departure of Shabbat&lt;sup&gt;50&lt;/sup&gt;

they cheer it and settle it with a pleasant scent.

And even though in the Hagahot Maimoniyot he cites regarding this the Gemara's statement "extra soul etc.",

and it seems that his intention is to say and explain that what the Rambam said "the soul is distressed at the departure of Shabbat" is what the Gemara said that at the conclusion of Shabbat they take from a person the extra soul that was given to him — behold, from the Rambam's unqualified language "because the soul is distressed at the departure of Shabbat"<pg>198</pg>

and he did not mention the extra soul mentioned in the Gemara,

at first glance it seems that his intention is not⁵¹

to the extra soul,

but that the soul

(generally)

is distressed at the departure of Shabbat

(in general)⁵².

[And this is another essential change in the content — whether the anguish of the soul is from the departure of Shabbos itself,

or

(only)

from what is taken from him

(extra soul)

by the departure of Shabbos].

Also one may be precise,

that in the vast majority the Rambam's way is not to write in his language the reasons for the commandments&lt;sup&gt;53&lt;/sup&gt;

and the customs,

and when he writes a reason it is because it touches the essence of the law,

that there is a practical difference for halacha in this and the like.

And it is to be understood in our case — why did the Rambam write the reason for the blessing on spices at the conclusion of Shabbos

(and especially that he did not write the reason that we bless on the light on Motza'ei Shabbos by itself,

rather — in a place where it touches halacha&lt;sup&gt;54&lt;/sup&gt;).

And one cannot say that his intention in this is to explain what is written in the previous law⁵⁵

that at the conclusion of Yom Tov

(and Yom Kippur)

one does not need to recite a blessing over spices,

and he continues in this law "And why do we recite a blessing over spices at the conclusion of Shabbat

(specifically)

because the soul grieves over the departure of Shabbat etc.' — for according to this the main point is missing from the book,

why does the soul grieve over the departure of Shabbat and not over the departure of Yom Tov and the like:

According to the approach that the grief of the soul is because of the extra soul that departed — the reason for the distinction between Shabbat and Yom Tov is understood,

for on Yom Tov there is no extra soul as explained above at length

(and the concept of "extra soul" and its departure at the conclusion of Shabbat is learned from what is written "and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed"

(as above)

and in the verse it speaks of Shabbat and not of Yom Tov and Yom Kippur)

; but in the language of the Rambam "because the soul grieves over the departure of Shabbat" there is seemingly no reason or rationale in what distinguishes Yom Tov and Yom Kippur that one does not recite a blessing over spices on them,

and why do we not say regarding them that the soul grieves over the departure of Yom Tov and the like.

[In the Magid Mishneh&lt;sup&gt;56&lt;/sup&gt;

it is explained "that the soul is not distressed except at the departure of Shabbat when it had rested from all work"

(and like the words of the Ran above).

But this distinction is not hinted at in the language of the Rambam "because the soul is distressed at the departure of Shabbat"&lt;sup&gt;57&lt;/sup&gt;.

And especially earlier in this chapter&lt;sup&gt;58&lt;/sup&gt;

the Rambam wrote explicitly "Just as one sanctifies on the nights of Shabbat and makes havdalah at the departure of Shabbat, so too one sanctifies on the nights of Festivals and makes havdalah etc. for all of them are Shabbatot of Hashem"].

And it must be said that the Rambam did not intend here to explain the distinction between Shabbat and Yom Tov, but rather to explain the essential connection of the blessing of spices to Motza'ei Shabbat.

7.

And one could say,

that his intention in this is to define the connection of the blessing on spices to Havdalah,

that it is not a peripheral matter,

but rather it is from the very essence of the content of the matter of Havdalah.

That is to say: that which we bless over spices on Motzaei Shabbat at the time of Havdalah is not only in order to gladden and settle the soul from its sadness,

but rather this is connected to the very obligation of Havdalah.

Explanation of the matter:

At the beginning of the chapter⁵⁹

The Rambam wrote that the commandment of sanctification of the day of Shabbat is: "Remember it, remembrance of praise and sanctification, and one must remember it at its entrance and at its exit etc. and at its exit with Havdalah",

And this is that also Havdalah is a matter of fulfillment of the commandment "Remember the Shabbat day to sanctify it"⁶⁰,

whose content — "remembrance of praise and sanctification"; and the purpose of this remembrance at the exit of Shabbat is

(as explained elsewhere⁶¹)

in order to extend the remembrance of Shabbat also into the weekdays that follow,

as is also understood simply that through remembering the holiness of Shabbat at the time when one goes out from Shabbat to the weekdays, one remembers the Shabbat day during the weekdays.

And this is also the connection of the blessing on spices to Havdalah,

for in order to remember it "the remembrance of praise and sanctification" at the conclusion of Shabbat

("at its departure")

one needs a matter of joy etc.,

And it is understood that there is no place for "remembrance of praise and sanctification" in a state of "a grieving soul"⁶².

And seemingly this is the intention in the book Pardes by Rashi⁶³

(after he explains that through the spices "he dispels his sorrow and will not be saddened in his heart when he remembers the six days of action")

— "And all this they instituted so that the remembrance of Shabbat should be in his heart and he should be happy even at its departure."

And based on this the reason is understood why the Rambam did not bring the matter of the departure of the "additional soul",

but rather wrote "because the soul grieves at the departure of Shabbat" — for this emphasizes

(more)

the connection of the blessing on spices to the obligation of Havdalah,

which is connected with the departure of Shabbat

(in general)

— and not only with the departure of the additional soul from man.

That is, the blessing on spices is not only to rectify a matter that is at the conclusion of Shabbat

(the grief of the soul)

but its matter is

(also)

the drawing down of the effect and remembrance of Shabbat into after Shabbat,

and therefore it is a part and completion of the remembrance of Shabbat

(in Havdalah)⁶⁴.

<pg>199</pg>

8.

Based on this, we can further explain several differences between the language of the Rambam and the language of the Alter Rebbe in his Shulchan Aruch:

In the Rambam it is written "

(Because the soul is distressed etc.)

they cheer it and settle it with a pleasant fragrance"; while the Alter Rebbe writes "in order to restore the soul which is distressed etc. therefore they settle and cheer it with a pleasant fragrance",

that is, the Rambam placed "they cheer" before "they settle",

and the Alter Rebbe places "they settle" before "they cheer":

According to the reason that the blessing on spices is because of the departure of the extra soul,

behold the main action of the spices is the restoration of the soul — because the taking of the extra soul causes weakness⁶⁵

of vitality etc.,

and therefore they need to restore the soul; except that afterwards the Alter Rebbe adds also "they gladden it" — to explain the essence of the restoration of the soul through the spices,

because after all there is not here a literal restoration of the soul

(for the action of the spices is not to restore the soul as it was on Shabbos before the extra soul was taken)

but only "they gladden" the soul

(plainly)

;

But according to the Rambam the main matter of the blessing on spices is to gladden the soul,

the opposite of the grief of the soul

(its pain etc.)

over "the departure of Shabbos",

so that the departure of Shabbos should be with joy,

and therefore it begins with the main point — "they gladden it etc.".

9.

According to this explanation in the view of the Rambam — that the blessing on spices belongs to the essential matter of Havdalah — one must explain simply⁶⁶

the reason for the law that on the night of a festival that falls on Saturday night one does not recite a blessing on the spices⁶⁷

:

In the mitzvah of Kiddush and Havdalah of Shabbat, the Rambam wrote

(as above)

"Just as one sanctifies on Shabbat nights and makes Havdalah on Saturday nights, so too one sanctifies on festival nights and makes Havdalah on their nights and on the night of Yom Kippur, for all of them are Shabbatot of the Lord."

And therefore,

when a festival occurs on the night after Shabbos,

behold, there is drawn from the rest and holiness of Shabbos into the days of the festival that come immediately after it

[And in particular, according to halachah we hold

(and so ruled the Rambam⁶⁸)

that the order of blessings on a festival that occurs on the night after Shabbos is "He sanctifies the sanctification of the festival etc. and afterwards he recites Havdalah"]

in a manner that the rest and joy of Shabbos are drawn into the festival,

and consequently there is no place for spices,

for there is no grief of the soul here,

but rather joy of the soul.

(From sichos of Shabbos Parshas Bechukosai and Shabbos Parshas Bamidbar 5745; 13 Nissan 5746)