English translation — חה"ש א

Sicha 1<pg>18</pg>

1.

The Rambam wrote<sup>1</sup>

: "It is a widespread custom that they read on the first day of Yom Tov

(of Atzeret)

in the third month<sup>2</sup>

and the haftarah is the Merkavah"<sup>3</sup>

(and its source is in the Baraisa of Megillah<sup>4</sup>,

as written in the Kesef Mishneh).

And so it is ruled as halachah in the Tur and Shulchan Aruch<sup>5</sup>.

And the reason for the matter that they read the haftarah of the Chariot of Ezekiel, according to Rashi

(And brought in the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe)

"Because it was revealed

at Sinai with myriads of myriads

thousands of shinan"

And at greater length it is explained in the Levush

— "They read the haftarah of the Chariot of Ezekiel because on that day, at that chosen occasion, they all attained the level of prophecy,

and all of them, their small and their great, heard 'I am' and 'You shall not have' from the mouth of the Almighty

and without doubt they all attained at that occasion the Maaseh Merkavah in all that Ezekiel attained, as the matter that is said

and all the people saw the voices, which alludes entirely to Maaseh Merkavah; therefore they also read the haftarah of Maaseh Merkavah, which is similar to the event."

And it is explained in the Radak on Ezekiel

in the name of our Rabbis, of blessed memory,

"that Israel on the day of the giving of the Torah saw the Chariot as Ezekiel saw it, until they said that the smallest of their women is greater than Ezekiel

son of Buzi"

And superficially, this reason

(for the haftarah of the Chariot of Ezekiel)

requires explanation: That the haftarah must be "similar to the event"

its simple meaning is that the haftarah speaks

(not about a secondary matter of the event,

but rather)

about the essence of the event.

And in our matter,

the vision of the Chariot at the Giving of the Torah is not,

superficially,

the body and essence of the matter of the Giving of the Torah — which is the revelation of the Name to all of Israel and the giving of the Torah to the children of Israel;

And based on this it fits more, seemingly,

that-

The reading of the portion of the Giving of the Torah on the first day

("which is

The essence of the day on which the Torah was given"¹⁹),

they will haftarah in Habakkuk²⁰

"that speaks²¹

at the giving of the To­<pg>19</pg>

rah²²

These­v²³

From Teman will come at the giving of the Torah

(speaks²⁴)

".

And furthermore: even if you say that this too was among the fundamental matters of the Giving of the Torah — that the revelation of the Shechinah was with the Merkavah,

and as it is written in the Levush

(there)

"that on that day at that occasion etc. they all attained the level of prophecy..

Maaseh Merkavah etc." — then ostensibly the main emphasis is not on the vision of the Merkavah,

but on the revelation

(of the glory)

of God,

and that they all heard "I am" and "You shall not have" from the mouth of the Almighty.

And especially what is stated in the words of our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;,

that from the vision of the Merkavah there later branched forth the incident of the Golden Calf, may He spare us.

And even if you say that the haftarah should be about the Merkavah,

ostensibly it would be more fitting to read the haftarah in Isaiah&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;,

the Merkavah that Isaiah saw,

because there the emphasis is on the vision of the glory of God,

"And I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and exalted, and His train filled the Temple; seraphim stood etc.",

and concerning the Merkavah briefly

(and as indeed they read the haftarah in Parshat Yitro about the Merkavah of Isaiah),

but not so in Ezekiel — length and details concerning the Merkavah — and briefly concerning God.

And one should add: The revelation of the honor of G-d that was at the Giving of the Torah is not similar to the revelation of the honor of G-d that was in the Chariot of Yechezkel,

but rather it is more similar to the prophecy of Yeshayahu,

and even more than this, like the level of Moshe, the greatest of the prophets,

as it is said

"Face to face G-d spoke with you on the mountain"

(And in the manner,

as above that "I am" and "You shall not have" from the mouth of the Might we heard them).

And according to this, an explanation is also needed in the words of the Radak mentioned above,

that at the Giving of the Torah there was a revelation of the Chariot of Yechezkel — since there was a revelation

(of the honor)

of G-d that is higher and above this — then a candle in the daytime, what benefit does it provide?

Also needs explanation in the body of the law that "one may conclude with the Merkavah" — even,

that "one does not expound..

the Merkavah

(even)

to an individual unless he was wise and understands from his own knowledge"&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;,

and for this reason "and it is customary in some places that a great and wise person reads this haftarah&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;

and a support for the matter: and not in the matter of the Merkavah unless he was wise and understands from his own knowledge"&lt;sup&gt;32&lt;/sup&gt;,

and according to the Tanna Kamma&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;

one does not conclude with the Merkavah "lest he come to ask and to investigate it"&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;.

In Tosafot Yom Tov&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;

explains "the reason for the matter that we are not concerned

(lest he come to investigate)

it seems to me that in any case if he is wise he knows that these matters the heart of the intelligent will not grasp them and his silence is better than &lt;pg&gt;20&lt;/pg&gt;

His speech,

And if not, is he fit for this? Indeed, a fool who is silent is considered wise³⁶

And the deaf person will be silent in his foolishness and will not ask about these matters, knowing that he is not worthy that they should answer him any response."

But also based on this, it requires clarification:

What is the benefit of reading the matter in public,

That the intention of the reading is not only for the select individuals whom God has graced with understanding, who comprehend the Chariot,

But for each and every one who is present in the synagogue and hears the reading and the haftarah,

Most of whom are not on the level of a wise person who understands on his own etc. — the comprehension of the Maaseh Merkavah.

And it must be said that in the Chariot of Yechezkel there is a special matter in which the innovation of the Giving of the Torah is emphasized

(therefore the revelation of the Chariot was at the time of the Giving of the Torah),

and therefore this haftarah is "akin to the event",

the general innovation of the Giving of the Torah

(and even more than the prophecy of the Chariot of Yeshayahu)

— and this special matter in the Chariot of Yechezkel

(that in this it is "akin to the event" of the Giving of the Torah)

is given to each one of Israel to understand³⁷

(even though the details of the matters in the Chariot of Yechezkel are hidden,

and are not within the understanding of ordinary people,

for "the depth of the work of the Chariot..

is distant from the knowledge of the masses"³⁸).

2.

And the explanation in this is to be said:

It is explained in the Gemara³⁹

the difference between the chariot that Isaiah saw and the chariot that Ezekiel saw — "All that Ezekiel saw, Isaiah saw; why is Ezekiel compared to a villager who saw the king, and why is Isaiah compared to a city-dweller who saw the king."

And now, according to its simple meaning, it seems that the difference between them is not in what they saw but in what they recounted,

for Isaiah "did not⁴⁰

trouble to explain everything,

because he was of royal lineage and grew up in the palace, and a city-dweller who sees the king is not startled and is not amazed and does not trouble to recount."

But from this very fact that Isaiah is described as a "city-dweller" because he was of royal lineage and grew up in the palace, and Ezekiel as a "villager",

whose place is not in the king's palace⁴¹

— it is understood that Isaiah's prophecy is superior and more complete⁴²,

and as our Sages, of blessed memory, said⁴³

that Isaiah is called "the greatest of the prophets"⁴⁴

and the level of his prophecy and his comprehension was above the comprehension of Ezekiel.

And it must be said,

that the distinction is emphasized in this itself,

that in the words of Yechezkel come and are detailed all the details of the matters of the Merkavah, whereas by Yeshayahu is emphasized primarily the matter of seeing the King Himself

(and not the details of the Merkavah)

— and this corresponds to the distinction in simple terms between a village son who saw the king and a city son who saw the king: a city son who sees the king,

since he grew up in the palace of the king he has some comprehension of the greatness of the king,

therefore the seeing of

(the multitude of details of the matters of)

the Merkavah&lt;pg&gt;21&lt;/pg&gt;

the king and the like does not add for him wonder at the loftiness of the king,

but only the seeing of the king himself; but not so a village son who has no knowledge and comprehension of the greatness of the king,

when he sees matters of his greatness and the great preciousness of his kingship,

this arouses in him excitement from the greatness of the king

(even though then too he has no comprehension of the essence of the greatness of the king)&lt;sup&gt;45&lt;/sup&gt;.

And so is the distinction between Yeshayahu and Yechezkel — that the prophecy of Yeshayahu,

"the greatest of the prophets",

was like a city-dweller who has comprehension of the greatness of the king, and therefore the greatness of the king's chariot does not occupy a place for him,

but not so Yechezkel,

whose primary vision was in the Chariot,

except that this vision brought him to some knowledge and excitement from the greatness of the king himself.

And one may align this with what is explained in the book Avodas HaKodesh⁴⁶

in the explanation of the Chariot of Yechezkel,

and this is its language: "From that he saw and comprehended in the lower Chariot, he knew of the upper one..

for there is a throne above a throne and a chariot above a chariot and a Rider above a rider and glory above glory,

and from that he saw four Chayos below, he knew and recognized that there is their counterpart above in true unity, for so it was received, and from that he saw below a chashmal surrounding the throne called the outer chashmal, he knew that there is above its counterpart, the inner chashmal, etc., and in this manner, everything he saw below, he knew that there is its counterpart above" — and he goes on to explain

(in Avodas HaKodesh⁴⁷)

regarding all the verses, how they speak of the lower and hint to the upper".

That is: The Chariot of Yechezkel its content and its subject is that the matters below are "the likeness of the supernal ones"⁴⁸,

and therefore it details

(Yechezkel)

and elaborates on all the details of the Chariot and its wheels,

and emphasizes⁴⁹

"And from within it a likeness etc. a likeness of a man upon them..

And the likeness of their faces etc. and the likeness of the Chayos etc."

And it can be said that this is the precise wording "likeness",

which indicates a thing and its opposite: on one hand seeing the likeness indicates that he does not see the thing but only its "likeness",

And like the parable of one looking in a mirror who sees in it only the likeness of the thing; and on the other hand "likeness" indicates that there is no reality in it except a likeness of the thing.

And this is that not only that through seeing the likeness it is possible to know exactly how the thing itself appears,

but beyond this — that all the "reality" of the "likeness" is not a reality except that it is similar to the thing.

And this is what Yechezkel saw in all the particular details of the lower things,

that their entire content is this and only this, that they are "the likeness of the supernal things"⁵⁰.

But not so Yeshayahu,

since he was a city-dweller — he does not explain and detail all the particulars of the Merkavah.

For from the outset he did not see the "likeness" as it is below,

but rather the essence of the thing above.

For since he was a city-dweller who grew up in the palace,

behold, all matters besides the king did not occupy a place for him,

to the extent that they were not felt by him as a reality.

And therefore he says "And I saw the Lord<pg>22</pg>

"He sits on a high and exalted throne" and specifies only the seraphim that "stand above Him,"

meaning that this is a detail in the vision of "my Lord sits on a throne."

3.

Based on this, the connection of the haftarah of Ezekiel's chariot to the reading of the portion of the Giving of the Torah on the day when the Torah was given is understood — because it is from the matter of the day and akin to the event,

namely the content of the innovation of the Giving of the Torah:

The revelation of the Shechinah at the giving of the Torah was not only a temporary thing,

but rather so that through this the children of Israel would elevate themselves through their service&lt;sup&gt;51&lt;/sup&gt;

and cleave to the Holy One, blessed be He,

that the power for this comes to them from the revelation of the Name at the giving of the Torah,

that through this was fixed in our hearts forever the standing at Mount Sinai,

that our eyes saw and not a stranger, etc.&lt;sup&gt;52&lt;/sup&gt;.

And this is also the content of the words of the midrash&lt;sup&gt;53&lt;/sup&gt;,

that the descent of the L-rd upon Mount Sinai was not only a temporary revelation,

but rather the beginning of a completely new state of the world,

through the permanent nullification of the decree,

that the upper ones would not descend to the lower ones and the lower ones would not ascend to the upper ones — and the results of this nullification of the decree and its revelation depend upon and through the service of Israel.

Explanation of the matter:

From this very thing that they are described with the name "upper ones" and "lower ones" it is understood that in essence there is a connection and more than that — a bond between them.

And in particular according to what is explained in many places that the existence of every created being below has its root and source above and from it it is derived,

that the root of the ox below is because of the ox in the Merkavah and the like — and up to its root and source which is the word of G-d and the breath of His mouth that brings it into being and gives it life every moment and moment⁵⁴.

And also its "growth" afterwards comes from its mazal above, as our sages of blessed memory said⁵⁵

There is not a single blade of grass etc. that does not have a mazal etc. grows.

But before the Giving of the Torah there was a "decree" — from the term cut and sever — between the created being below and its source in the upper realms,

and

(at the Giving of the Torah)

when the decree was nullified, the power was given to each one through his service⁵⁶

to draw down and "see" in every created being below its root and source above,

until he reveals through this the truth of its existence,

that it exists only from the truth of His existence⁵⁷.

And since all beginnings are difficult etc.⁵⁸,

therefore at the Giving of the Torah there was

(for then "I am the beginner"⁵³)

a most elevated revelation

[as it is written in the Zohar&lt;sup&gt;59&lt;/sup&gt;

"At that time, all the secrets of the Torah and all the supernal and lower secrets did not depart from them, because they saw eye to eye the radiance of the glory of their Master, which was not like that day from the day the world was created, when the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself in His glory on Mount Sinai.

And if you say, behold we have learned that a maidservant saw at the sea what the prophet Ezekiel did not see, it could be&lt;pg&gt;23&lt;/pg&gt;

like that day when Israel stood on Mount Sinai,

it is not so,

because on that day when Israel stood on Mount Sinai, the impurity passed away from them" — that also at the time of the Splitting of the Red Sea "a maidservant saw at the sea what the prophet Ezekiel did not see",

and at the Giving of the Torah it was more than this]

— But the primary intention for the worlds was the "Chariot of Yechezkel",

to reveal in the world how that the entire reality of all its details is nothing but a "likeness" to the reality of the detail above

[And therefore there was then the revelation of the Chariot].

And therefore this matter was established specifically for the haftarah of the day of the Giving of the Torah.

And also the above question is resolved — why they established a haftarah about the Workings of the Chariot which cannot be understood by most people,

for even though the details of the matters of the Chariot that are detailed in the haftarah are not in understanding and comprehension as above,

nevertheless it is in the power of each and every one to understand and grasp the general content of the haftarah,

that all the details of the Chariot that Yechezkel saw are a "likeness",

through which Yechezkel knew and recognized the "supernal likenesses".

4.

And based on this we can also explain the reason for the custom "to conclude

(this haftarah)

with the verse⁶⁰

And a spirit lifted me up, etc."⁶¹

(that they skip a chapter and a half)

"even though it is not written at all in connection with the Merkavah"⁶¹,

and on the contrary,

according to the simple meaning of the verses⁶²

the verse speaks about the departure of the glory of God after the speech — because in this verse

("And a spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing: Blessed be the glory of God from His place")

the main innovation and the aforementioned content of the Merkavah of Yechezkel is emphasized.

And the concept:

One of the differences between the chariot of Isaiah and the chariot of Ezekiel is,

that in the chariot of Ezekiel it speaks about the chayot and the ofanim,

and in the chariot of Isaiah — about the seraphim.

And the ofanim and chayot, their service is with noise,

as is known that "a sound of great noise" this is from the ofanim as it says in the blessings of Shema "and the ofanim and the holy chayot with great noise rise up opposite the seraphim, opposite them they praise and say, Blessed is the glory of the Lord from His place",

but not so the service of the seraphim is not with noise.

And in the reason of the matter it is explained⁶³,

that the difference between seraphim and ofanim is like the difference between a city dweller who saw the king and a village dweller who saw the king: the noise comes from the novelty,

and therefore this is specifically by a village dweller who saw the king,

that seeing the king and his majesty causes him noise,

because of the novelty of the matter,

but not so by a city dweller for whom it is not novel in his eyes

(etc.),

there is no noise by him.

And in this manner is the difference between the seraphim and the ofanim.

And in more particularity⁶⁴

:

The seraphim comprehend how the Holy One, blessed be He, is holy and separate from the worlds, and the worlds do not occupy a place relative to Him,

but the ofanim comprehend how the Holy One, blessed be He, brings into being every thing from nothing to something,

and the existence of the world comes into being from the truth of His existence,

and because of this their excitement is with a great noise,

because they comprehend the truth of how it is the opposite of what appears to the eyes,

that the world appears as a something and a thing,

and in truth it is nullified completely,

and therefore comes the great noise,

like a person who comprehends a new comprehension opposite to what appears to the eyes, and therefore there will come about for him a noise.

<pg>24</pg>

And this is the content of the aforementioned novelty of the Giving of the Torah,

that also in the reality of the world,

in the lower ones,

the truth of His existence will be evident.

5.

According to the above, one can also explain that at the Giving of the Torah there were "voices and lightning and the sound of a shofar very strong, and all the people who were in the camp trembled"⁶⁵

:

If we explain it simply — that the intention and purpose of the thunder and lightning was to cause fear and trembling in the world,

in the children of Israel,

then seemingly the revelation of the honor of God Himself,

"You have seen that from the heavens I spoke with you"⁶⁶,

is enough to cause in them this fear and trembling,

and moreover,

the trembling because of thunder and lightning etc. is a trembling that pertains mainly to the body, whereas the fear and trembling from the revelation of the honor of God face to face,

is a deep and great effect and causes

(also)

in the soul and even in the soul of the soul.

And nevertheless were thunder and lightning etc. a primary matter in the revelation of the Giving of the Torah?

But rather these are the very things,

that the content of the matter of the "quake" at the Giving of the Torah

(the thunder and quake etc.,

and all the people who were in the camp trembled,

and in the language of the verse⁶⁷

"the earth quaked")

is not only a quake heard by the physical ear that was an additional detail in the preparation and introduction to the Giving of the Torah,

but it is a quake in our spiritual content: because of the innovation of the Giving of the Torah that in every detail of creation and the entire creation it was seen that the true reality of it is not what appears and is revealed to the eyes of flesh,

that it is a thing and entity in itself,

but rather its source that it came into being from the true existence of the Creator.

6.

Torah is from the word hora'ah (teaching)⁶⁸,

and all the more so and how much more so when arrives the day in the year on which the Torah was given to Israel,

these days are remembered and done⁶⁹

— that each and every one of Israel must learn a lesson from the reading of the Torah and the haftarah of the day of Shavuot.

And according to the above, it can be said,

that there is in this a lesson in two particulars,

in his service in himself and in his service with others:

Although regarding the Work of the Chariot it is said "one does not expound etc. unless he was wise and understands from his own knowledge"³⁰,

this is specifically "in the Work of the Chariot" as it is in the Written Torah and the Oral Torah — written in the language of the secret in the Torah⁷⁰

(the details of the Chariot of Ezekiel,

the Sifra deTzniuta etc.)

; but regarding the study of the inner dimension of the Torah as it was revealed by the AriZal and explained by him,

and he said that the time has come that "it is a mitzvah to reveal this wisdom"⁷¹,

behold each and every one is obligated in this⁷²,

and especially after further time — that it was explained in Chassidus,

and particularly and after that it was explained in the language of Torah scholars in the language of understanding and comprehension in a manner of "they will be sustained"⁷³,

behold this is "a mitzvah⁷⁴

exalted and lofty..

Know⁷⁵

the God of your father etc. and it brings to a perfect heart".

<pg>25</pg>

And through this they come to see and recognize in every single thing the true reality of its existence that was brought into being from the true reality of His existence.

And likewise it is understood also regarding work with another,

that the dissemination of Torah and Judaism among the community of Israel must be done with a voice of great noise⁷⁶,

And on the contrary,

when the service of man is still within,

within the four cubits of Torah and holiness,

sometimes the manner of service as it is suffices,

with a still small voice;

But when one goes out beyond the aforementioned four cubits,

into the "noise of the multitude of Rome"⁷⁷,

then in order to nullify this voice it is through a great noise of holiness,

and through this one merits soon to "the great shofar shall be sounded"⁷⁸

specifically great, the shofar of the future,

together with "a voice announcing, announcing and saying"⁷⁹

— the announcer of the redemption,

very soon.

(From sichos of Shabbos Parshas Nasso 5745,

Shabbos Parshas Yisro 5740)