English translation — בראשית ב

Talk, p. 7

A.

After the story of the creation of the world and Adam etc.,

it is told in Parshat Bereishit about the descendants and generations of the two sons of Adam,

Cain¹

and Seth².

And simply,

they are different from each other from one extreme to the other,

for Cain indicates the opposite of the building of the world,

who killed Abel³,

and was a wanderer and fugitive on the earth⁴,

while Seth, indeed from him the world was founded⁵,

for after the flood the building of the world was through Noah⁶,

from the seed of Seth.

And we find in this a wondrous thing,

that both of them had a descendant named Chanoch<sup>7</sup>

— the son of Kayin and one of the descendants of Sheis<sup>8</sup>

— and in both of them a content opposite from that of their father is emphasized: regarding Chanoch the son of Kayin it is stated<sup>9</sup>

"And he was

(Kayin)

building a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son Chanoch",

and regarding Chanoch from the descendants of Sheis it is stated<sup>10</sup>

"And Chanoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him",

that is, regarding Chanoch the son of Kayin, the Torah emphasizes a matter of "building" and permanence

(the opposite of the matter of Kayin),

whereas regarding Chanoch who came from Sheis,

the opposite of the matter of permanence is explained about him

(the foundation of the world),

"and he was not"<sup>11</sup>.

Also it requires understanding,

for behold it is simple that all the details that were stated and explained in the Torah in the account of "the generations of Adam"<sup>12</sup>

pertain to the continuation of the generations of Adam throughout the subsequent generations.

And as is understood simply,

that from the fact that the Torah relates only these details from what occurred over more than a thousand years,

even though there were many events during that time,

it is understood,

that only in these details is there relevance to the continuation of the generations<sup>13</sup>.

And based on this it is puzzling: from the fact that the Torah specifies regarding Chanoch who is from the descendants of Sheis,

"And Chanoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him",

behold this is understood simply

(in addition to the exposition of our sages of blessed memory<sup>14</sup>),

that this is<pg>8</pg>

Part of the story of the continuation of those generations,

in which each one it is said "and all the days of so-and-so were etc. and he died",

and therefore it details regarding Enoch that with him it was in a different manner,

"and he was not, for God took him".

But what is said in connection with Enoch the son of Cain,

"and he was building a city and he called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch",

is not understood,

what does this have to do with the continuation of the generations of Adam?

[In the Midrash on the verse¹⁵

it is stated,

that

(also)

in this the verse comes to tell of the disgrace of Cain

("Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue forever¹⁶..

what do the wicked think etc.'"),

and likewise according to several commentators of the Torah this indicates his evil deeds

("that it did not say 'and he built a city' as it says 'and he built¹⁷

Nineveh etc.' because all his days he was building the city, for his deeds were cursed and he built a little with toil and labor and he wandered and moved from that place etc.'"¹⁸),

but at first glance from the plain sense of the verses it does not seem so,

and also from the style of Rashi who simply says "and Cain was building a city and he called the name of the city in memory of his son Enoch"

(even though in several places in the portion he explains the reason for the telling of several details and matters¹⁹),

it does not seem that it is a detail in the telling of his disgrace and deficiency but rather the opposite²⁰,

a matter of building].

And in particular according to the words of the Zohar that Torah is from the term instruction²¹

It is understood,

that also in this there is instruction for generations.

2.

In simple terms, one must say:

This verse "And Cain knew etc. and she bore Enoch and he was building a city etc.",

comes in continuation of the story of Cain's answer that he said<sup>22</sup>

"My sin is too great to bear" and his punishment etc. "And Cain went out from before the Lord etc."<sup>23</sup>

that he went out happy<sup>24</sup>

that his repentance was accepted.

And this is what the verse teaches us in the story of the birth of his son Enoch and the building of the city,

that in the work of repentance it is not enough confession and recognition of the sin<sup>25</sup>

("My sin is too great to bear"),

and also not the punishment that was decreed upon him from the Lord,

and even to exile "And he dwelt in the land of Nod — in the land where all exiles wander"<sup>26</sup>,

"that exile atones for sin because it causes him to be humbled and to be meek and lowly of spirit"<sup>27</sup>

— rather one must do an action "to do some mitzvah opposite to the transgression that he committed..

for by this his perversion will be corrected"<sup>28</sup>,

that after he lost one soul — he brought forth another soul "And Cain knew his wife and she conceived and bore Enoch".

And furthermore,

that he goes and builds the world "And he was building a city and he called the name of the city after the name of his son Chanoch",

that he emphasized and publicized the order of repentance,

that it is not enough that "he cries out always before<pg>9</pg>

God with weeping and supplications etc.'"<sup>29</sup>,

but rather he must effect a "building" in the world outside of himself,

which requires an opposite movement from the humility and lowliness of spirit of the penitent.

And just as we learn from him the essence of the matter of repentance

(as it is stated in the Midrash²⁴

that Adam the first man learned from Cain "the power of repentance"),

in this manner is the content and the continuation of this verse from which we learn the way of repentance.

And according to this, the contrast in the second Enoch is also explained

(from the descendants of Seth)³⁰

"And Enoch walked with God etc. And all the days of Enoch etc. And Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him",

for with this the verse teaches us,

that when a person's conduct is only in a manner of service for himself,

this is not the desired service³¹,

for there is no effect from this in the world,

to the extent that his days themselves were shorter than the rest of the people in that time,

for he was taken before his time³².

3.

However, this teaching is from the interpretation of the verses according to their simple meaning,

that here it speaks about repentance for a very severe sin of Cain.

But according to the inwardness of the matters³³

behold

(the root)

the aspect of Cain is most elevated from the time he was born,

that he was called Cain after "I have acquired a man with the Lord"³⁴,

and the entire narrative concerning Cain from the time of his birth as it is in the verse,

that "the Torah

(that)

speaks essentially about supernal things"³⁵,

is on a most elevated level.

And therefore it can be said,

that the teaching from these verses regarding Enoch the son of Cain,

and also regarding Enoch from the descendants of Seth,

is not only regarding the service of the penitent,

but also regarding the service of each and every one of Israel in every place and at every time

(and it also relates to this that the name of both of them was Enoch),

and especially according to what the Tzafnat Paneach said³⁶

on the verse "This is the book of the generations of Adam,"

that "all the occurrences that happened then are for eternity,

so in the individual man and so in the collective man..

for everything that is written is not for the moment, only every moment and moment is a new reality."

4.

Explanation of the matter:

In the entirety of creation we find two periods — the period before the flood,

which had no endurance,

that all existence was wiped out³⁷,

and after the flood,

when then endurance was effected in the world in the manner of "they shall not cease"³⁸.

And likewise after the flood itself — there are two periods: the generations before the Giving of the Torah and after the Giving of the Torah.

For before the Giving of the Torah the world was in a state of "the earth trembled"³⁹,

and after the Giving of the Torah it became in a state of "and it was calm"³⁹.

And an example of two periods

(and states)

these we found in the service of the children of Israel also after the giving of the Torah

[And furthermore — that all this is part of "this is the book of the generations of Adam"^*39,

which is told in the Torah,

meaning that it is an eternal instruction for each and every one of Israel until the end of all generations]

— that in the service of God there are in general two ways⁴⁰

— service in the manner of ben Azzai who did not engage in the fulfillment of<pg>10</pg>

the world,

did not take a wife and said "What shall I do, for my soul desires the Torah"⁴¹,

and the service of those who engage in the settlement and maintenance of the world.

And in the style of the teachings of Chassidut — the service of "ratzo",

to go out of the boundaries of the world,

and the service of "shov",

to return and engage within the matters of the world.

That the order of divine service must be to engage in the settlement of the world

(And "whoever does not engage in procreation and multiplication..

as if he sheds blood and diminishes the image"⁴²),

behold "this is nothing but the advice of sages who teach a person the straight path that he should choose for himself,

but there is no prohibition at all in the matter,

if he desires to study Torah all his days and not to marry a wife at all like ben Azzai"⁴³,

behold that even this conduct is according to Torah.

And in more detail, behold divine service in general has these two lines and movements,

and as we find regarding all three pillars⁴⁴

of Torah, service

(prayer)

and acts of kindness

(commandments)

:

In Torah: in the study of Torah two aspects: the study in the manner of "magnify Torah and glorify"⁴⁵

— "inquire and receive reward"⁴⁶,

and study to arrive at the true sense of the halachah.

And in particular and more precisely: the study of Torah for its own sake "that our souls be absorbed in the essence and spirituality and holiness of the source of the Torah's origin..

cleaving to its holiness and to His Shechinah, blessed be He"

(as the Bach⁴⁷ elaborated

in the content of the matter of the blessing of the Torah),

and the study for the sake of fulfilling the commandments,

to know the deed that one should do.

In prayer: the essence of prayer is the intention that "one should see oneself as if standing before the Shechinah"&lt;sup&gt;48&lt;/sup&gt;,

and "the pious and men of deed

(that)

would meditate and concentrate in their prayer until they reached divestment of corporeality and the strengthening of the intellectual spirit until they reached close to the level of prophecy"&lt;sup&gt;49&lt;/sup&gt;

; the content of the commandment of prayer is requesting one's needs from the Holy One, blessed be He&lt;sup&gt;50&lt;/sup&gt;,

that He fulfill his lack and his requests,

even for his material needs,

Healer of the sick, Blesser of the years&lt;sup&gt;*50&lt;/sup&gt;.

In commandments: the fulfillment of the commandments for their own sake,

to bring satisfaction to his Maker,

that I said and My will was done&lt;sup&gt;51&lt;/sup&gt;,

until the ultimate perfection in this,

service with all your might,

beyond measure and limitation; the fulfillment of the commandments "to refine the creatures"&lt;sup&gt;52&lt;/sup&gt;,

for the sake of clarification and purification of the world&lt;sup&gt;53&lt;/sup&gt;,

that this service must be done in an orderly manner in accordance with the boundaries of the world.

And the source for these two conducts for superiority is in the two manners that are in the generations of Adam,

for superiority — Cain and Seth:

For Cain and his descendants there was no existence⁵⁴,

and it is the root and the principle for the entirety of the state of the world before the Giving of the Torah,

and for the service of G-d in the manner of Ben Azzai who is above the order and settlement of the world; and Seth and his descendants from whom the world was founded through Noah,

<pg>11</pg>

that he "will comfort us from our work etc."⁵⁵,

it is the root and the principle in "the generations of Adam" for the state of the world after the giving of the Torah,

and in the service of G‑d itself — the service of settling and sustaining the world.

5.

And according to this, one must explain the lesson from this that Cain had a son named Chanoch,

and he built a city by this name,

and among the generations of Seth there was also a son by this name Chanoch,

but "and Chanoch walked with G‑d and he was not, for G‑d took him" — for from this we learn,

that each one of the two aforementioned movements must also be included in the service of the second type,

as by Cain, whose subject is the departure from the boundaries of the world, there is the service of "he builds a city",

the order of service of building,

and in the order of Seth,

from whom the world was established,

there is also the order of service of "and he walked etc. with G‑d and he was not",

above the world^*55.

And the explanation of the matters — in Torah, prayer, and commandments:

Also one whose main study is in the manner of making Torah great and glorious,

demand and receive reward,

must have for himself study to raise the discussion according to the halacha,

and likewise together with the occupation of Torah to cleave to its holiness, the study must be in order to know the deed which they shall do

[And regarding the general matter of Torah and commandments: whoever says, "I have only Torah," even Torah he does not have⁵⁶

Rather, one must have Torah and acts of kindness⁵⁷]

; and likewise conversely,

In the service that is in order and gradation — in study to raise the discussion according to the halacha and study in order to know the deed — there must be felt a matter of study to make Torah great and to cleave to its holiness etc.

And likewise in prayer: even in the ultimate attachment and divestment from physicality that is in prayer, the intention must be to affect the world outside of oneself,

and as is known⁵⁸

in the explanation of our Sages, may their memory be blessed,⁵⁹

that one who prays must place his eyes downward and his heart upward,

that even in the ultimate attachment and the running of prayer,

the intention must be that he will affect through his service and the powers of his soul as he is below after prayer — "his eyes downward"; and likewise in the request of his needs in prayer, there must be felt in him the ultimate self-nullification and attachment of standing before God "like a servant before his master"⁶⁰.

And that same thing regarding commandments,

that even when engaging in commandments in a manner of self-sacrifice and great love of "with all your might" he must fulfill the commandments in physicality and in an ordered manner; and on the other hand,

even at the time of engaging in ordered service in the clarification and refinement of his animal soul and the refinement of the world, there must be the feeling of the running of "with all your might."

6.

According to this, we can also explain the hint in the name "Chanoch":

"Chanoch" is from the term "chinuch"⁶¹,

that the matter of chinuch,

even though externally it is not an essence and purpose in itself,

as in the mitzvah of chinuch,

that the purpose is that the minor will grow and afterwards fulfill mitzvos as one obligated in the matter,

nevertheless, internally the matter of chinuch is a foundation for all of a person's life,

as it is said, "Chanoch⁶²

to the youth according to his way, even when<pg>12</pg>

"when he grows old he will not turn away from it".

For the true essence of education⁶³

is not only that the child should learn,

but the habituation and entry into holiness⁶⁴,

whose meaning is the connection of his soul with holiness and the Holy One, blessed be He,

therefore "even when he grows old" and ascends in the service of G‑d and the fulfillment of the commandments,

"he will not turn away from it",

and this gives the permanence and strength in his fulfillment of Torah and commandments in all situations.

That is,

that the work of settlement and building included in the work of ratzo in Torah, prayer, and commandments

(the aspect of Kayin),

and likewise conversely,

the work of ratzo

("and he walked etc. with G‑d and he is not"),

included in the work of settling the world

(the aspect of Sheis)

— this is not merely a detail and secondary to the main work,

but rather this is the foundation of his service,

and it is that which effects permanence in his service in the manner of the concept of education.

For even though they are two opposite movements,

a movement of relating to the matters and boundaries of the world

(study in order to know the deed which one should do,

seeking one's needs,

clarification of the world),

and a movement of ascent and attachment and ratzo,

that it is impossible for both to be together in man — yet since both depend on each other,

it is understood that in practice it is possible for them to be together,

except that this is not from the side of the created being,

but from the side of the power of the Creator that is in this service,

similar to education whose inner content is self-nullification and self-attachment to the Holy One, blessed be He.

7.

And the explanation of this is:

In order that he should intend for the halacha to conclude the discussion according to the halacha,

it is when he reaches a more elevated level in the study and understanding of the Torah⁶⁵,

and likewise in service [of God],

in order to intend for the halacha it is necessary that he have in this the self-nullification to Divinity,

as our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said⁶⁶

"And Havayah was with him⁶⁷

that the halacha is like him",

that specifically Havayah which is above the name Elokim causes that "the halacha is like him"⁶⁸.

And as explained elsewhere⁶⁹

that in order to intend for the halacha for actual practice in deed, the study must be out of completeness of fear [of Heaven]⁷⁰.

And likewise it is regarding the matter of prayer,

that the necessity that even when he engages in requesting his needs it should be with a movement of self-nullification,

it is not because the self-nullification etc. is like one thing that assists and strengthens a second thing,

but because in the depth and inwardness of the matter this is one thing,

and according to the explanation of the Mitteler Rebbe⁷¹

on "One does not stand to pray except out of heaviness of head"⁷²,

"Even though he requests the needs of himself, his intention should be that the thing should not be lacking Above, Heaven forbid, because the soul is a part of God above and it is a limb of the limbs of the Shechinah, and this is the essence of the request, that it be filled and flow forth Above".

And as explained elsewhere⁷³,

that this, that in requesting his needs it is necessary that it be felt that the intention in this is that the will of God be filled and the lack of the Shechinah be filled,

they are not two things,

but rather the fulfillment of his needs is from the aspect of the filling of the lack Above, as it were,

because he is literally a part of God above.

<pg>13</pg>

And likewise in the fulfillment of the commandments,

that the action upon his animal soul and his portion in the world in their clarification and refinement is in its perfection when he feels that his place and his true level is not below but above,

as the soul is "embraced and cleaving to You"⁷⁴,

and is not connected to the needs of the body and the world at all⁷⁵

(also not for the sake of their clarification),

that specifically then there is the power in his service in the fulfillment of the commandments to act upon the animal soul and the world to clarify and refine them.

And just as it is in the service of "return",

that for the sake of its perfection and proper fulfillment there must be in this the feeling of ratzo,

so too is it on the other hand,

that this which is in the movement of ratzo,

the ultimate goal of cleaving to G-dliness must also be the movement of shov,

it is not only in order that there be existence for the ratzo

(for without this it is liable to go out of the vessels entirely to cleave to G-d,

and no action in Torah and commandments will come from this),

but rather this pertains to the essence of the movement of ratzo.

For the touchstone for this that his ratzo to G-d is a true matter and is not only because the nearness of G-d is good for me,

to satiate his thirsty soul,

is⁷⁶

when together with it there is the movement of shov,

that he detaches himself from the greatness of his cleaving to G-d and descends below to fulfill the will of the Holy One, blessed be He⁷⁷,

in Torah — the study to arrive at the halachic conclusion,

to know the deed which they shall do,

and likewise in prayer and commandments,

to serve with his body and his animal soul and his portion in the world to clarify and refine them.

And moreover: this is not only the touchstone for the soul's attachment,

but rather that through this there is an ascent and perfection in the ratzo and his attachment to Hashem,

and even also an ascent in the soul to a higher level than it was before its descent below⁷⁸.

8.

These two matters are particularly connected to Parshat Bereishit,

which speaks about the creation and coming-into-being of the world,

for also the word of Hashem which gives life to the worlds every moment

(according to the well-known teaching of the Baal Shem Tov⁷⁹

on the verse⁸⁰

"Forever, Hashem, Your word stands firm in the heavens,"

that "Your word" which You said "Let there be a firmament" stands and endures forever within the firmament of the heavens etc. to give them life, and likewise with all the creations in all the upper and lower worlds),

its attachment to its source is in the manner of ratzo vashov,

as explained in many places⁸¹,

that the divine power which brings into being and gives life to the creations is a level of a separate power,

for the divine life-force which is in attachment to its source and is not a thing in itself,

it is impossible that from this there should be an action,

and all the more so and certainly to become clothed in the creations and bring them into being,

and therefore the coming-into-being is specifically through the ten utterances⁸²

specifically,

which are the divine power as it becomes separate from its source, so to speak,

but on the other hand,

it is not within the power of a separate power to bring into being something from nothing,

for creation of something from nothing is only in His power and ability, blessed be He, which has no cause or reason that preceded it, G-d forbid⁸³,

therefore,

in order that He bring into being and give life to the creations, there must be felt in it its source in Divinity,

as it is above giving a place to creation⁸⁴,

and that is that the attachment is<pg>14</pg>

In the aspect of ratzo v'shov and through this it is renewed from its source constantly.

And also in this matter they are not two different matters that relate to each other,

for the ratzo affects the level of shov — rather,

this that the word of G-d from the ten utterances is clothed in all creations to bring them into being and to sustain them,

even though from one side their essence is a separate power to bring into being,

nevertheless together with this it is felt in them themselves,

that their true place is not as they are a separate power and bring into being the creations but as they are in their source,

and this that they are clothed below in the creations is only from the intention of the Essence,

behold it is found that in the "place" and state of separation itself their attachment to their source is felt⁸⁵.

9.

According to all this, the connection of the portion of Bereishis to Simchas Torah will also be understood.

On Simchas Torah, Bnei Yisrael are found after the service and revelations of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and the festival of Sukkos, when they ascend in elevation after elevation from below upward,

and there is also an influence from above downward in inwardness through the taking of the four species on the festival of Sukkos.

And therefore, on Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, the children of Israel are in attachment,

that the children of Israel rejoice with the Torah with joy and dances that are above all measure and limitation,

the aspect of Israel and the King alone.

But together with this and in continuation of this, they read the portion of Bereishit,

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth⁸⁶,

to teach that the true attachment of the children of Israel with the Holy One, blessed be He, is in the return,

that the children of Israel go out into the world,

to make for Him, blessed be He, a dwelling place in the lower realms⁸⁷,

that the glory of His kingship, blessed be He, be revealed throughout the entire world,

And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; on that day the Lord shall be One and His name One⁸⁸,

and new heavens and a new earth are made⁸⁹,

with the coming of Mashiach our righteousness, immediately and truly.

(From the talk of 20 Menachem Av 5732)