English translation — בא ב

Sicha on page 53

A.

When Israel went out of Egypt,

we find in the verse that they were then called a new title — "Tzevaot",

as it is written in our parshah "for on this very day I brought out your hosts from the land of Egypt"¹,

"And it was on this very day, all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt"²,

"And it was³

on this very day the Lord brought out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts"

(and so it is written in the previous verse⁴

"And I will bring out my hosts, my people the children of Israel, from the land of Egypt").

And according to the known [fact] that at the time of the Exodus from Egypt, Israel became a nation and a people by themselves,

as it is said⁵

"to come to take for Himself a nation from within a nation",

it seems to say the reason of the matter,

that this name

("Tzva'ot")

emphasizes

(not only a particular quality in the children of Israel,

but rather)

a fundamental thing in the essence of the people of Israel.

2.

And one must explain this with an introduction of the explanation of the name "Tzva'ot" which is one of the names of the Holy One, blessed be He,

and a dispute⁶

about the matter,

for the Tanna Kamma in the Baraitha⁷

holds that "Tzva'ot" is included among the names that are not erased,

and "Rabbi Yosi says: Tzva'ot entirely is erased, for it is called Tzva'ot only after Israel⁸

as it is said: 'And I will bring out My hosts, My people the children of Israel, from the land of Egypt'"⁹.

This dispute we also find in Masekhet Soferim¹⁰,

and there the language is "Rabbi Yosi says Tzeva'ot is unconsecrated",

and following this "Said Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar: The house of Agudah were scribes in Jerusalem and they would erase Tzeva'ot because they treated it as unconsecrated, as it is said¹¹

And they shall appoint officers of the armies at the head of the people."

And in Avot deRabbi Natan¹²

it is explained in the words of Rabbi Yosi himself — "Said Rabbi Yosi: We disputed about Tzeva'ot, as it is said: And they shall appoint officers of the armies at the head of the people."

And similarly it is in the Yerushalmi¹³

"It was taught: Rabbi Yosi says: The house of Chagirah were skilled scribes in Jerusalem; they would erase Tzeva'ot, for it is a common name elsewhere: And they shall appoint officers of the armies at the head of the people."

And one must understand the reason for the differences in the words of Rabbi Yosi,

that in our Talmud he brought a proof for his view

(that Tzeva'ot is not among the names that may not be erased)

from that it is the name of Bnei Yisrael "as it is said: And I shall bring out My hosts etc.",

and in Masekhet Soferim and in Avot deRabbi Natan

(and likewise in the Yerushalmi)

the verse "And they shall appoint officers of the armies at the head of the people" is brought.

Also needs explanation of what is written in our Talmud "that it is not called Tzevaot except in the name of Israel"<pg>54</pg>

— behold even if Tzevaot refers to the host of heaven

(angels and the like)¹⁴,

is it not a holy name of the Holy One, blessed be He?

3.

And it appears to say that the Bavli and Masekhet Sofrim

(and Yerushalmi)

differ in the method of R. Yosi regarding the definition of the name "Tzevaot":

In Masekhet Sofrim the language is — "Rabbi Yosi says Tzevaot is profane",

that is, that according to R. Yosi it is not a name of the Holy One, blessed be He, at all,

and in the phrase "Hashem Tzevaot"

(and the like),

the word "Tzevaot" is not an attribute of the Holy One, blessed be He,

but rather in the manner of the statement¹⁵

"Hashem Elokei haTzevaot":

And according to the Bavli,

where the language is that "Tzeva'ot is entirely erased"

(and not "Chol"),

the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael is not that "Tzeva'ot" is actual Chol,

but rather that holiness does not apply to it to become a name that is not erased,

but nevertheless it is a title of the Holy One, blessed be He,

like "the Great, the Mighty, etc., Gracious and Merciful, etc.,"

which are called in the Baraitha¹⁶

"names that are erased,"

meaning that they are names of the Holy One, blessed be He, but they have no holiness¹⁷

and they are erased¹⁸.

And this is also the reason for the distinction between the verses cited in our Talmud and in Masekhet Soferim

(and Yerushalmi)

:

In Masekhet Soferim

(and Yerushalmi)

brings proof that it is profane,

and therefore the verse took that the attribute Tzevaot does not apply to the Holy One, blessed be He, at all,

but completely profane,

"And they shall appoint officers of the hosts at the head of the people":

Whereas in our Gemara the intention of Rabbi Yosi is that even though it is a designation for the Holy One, blessed be He, nevertheless it is not among the holy names that cannot be erased,

because "it was called Tzevaot only after Israel",

that the intention is not

(according to the superficial language)

that Tzevaot applies only to the children of Israel and not to the Holy One, blessed be He

(for then it should have said "they were not called Tzevaot except Israel"),

but rather that this that the Holy One, blessed be He, is called by the name Tzevaot is because "after Israel" who are called "My hosts",

therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, is called by this name¹⁹.

And for this reason the definition and law of names that are not erased does not apply to it,

because these names the Holy One, blessed be He, is called by them from His own perspective,

in their foundation they are names of the Holy One, blessed be He

[except that since these words also have a secular meaning,

they were borrowed also for secular things in the world

(like "and he took the mighty of the land"&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;,

and also "Elokim" which is used for judges&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;,

and the like)&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;,

and since they were borrowed for secular things they are not

(then)

in the category of a name of the Holy One, blessed be He]

; whereas the name Tzevaot in its foundation is not a name of the Holy One, blessed be He,

but rather a name of the children of Israel,

except that it is used also as a title of the Holy One, blessed be He.

4.

And one must examine the proof in Masekhet Soferim

(and Yerushalmi)

from the verse "and you shall appoint officers of hosts&lt;pg&gt;55&lt;/pg&gt;

"Chief of the people" — and also the names El Elokim and others are a secular term in another place,

as above

(like "and the chiefs of the land he took",

"Your righteousness is like the mountains of El"²³,

"Elokim you shall not curse"²⁴),

and why is the proof that the name Tzevaot is called secular in another place? The reason is that when they call it regarding Him, may He be blessed, it is erasable and is not a holy name²⁵.

And it seems to me that according to all opinions, these verses

(which were brought as proof for the view of Rabbi Yosi)

are not the foundation of his view,

and they were brought in order to explain an additional matter,

as follows:

The foundation of Rabbi Yosi's view that Tzevaot is not among the holy names,

is in this, that we do not find this name in the Torah,

And as it is brought in the Gemara²⁶,

that the epithet "Tzevaot" regarding the Holy One, blessed be He — "Hashem Tzevaot" and the like — we find for the first time in the words of the prophets and in the language of Chazal "from the day that the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, there was no person who called the Holy One, blessed be He, Tzevaot until Chana came and called Him Tzevaot".

And Rabbi Yosi holds,

that the names of the Holy One, blessed be He,

must come first in the Torah,

which is the word of Hashem literally.

That the words of the prophet are the word of G-d,

"The spirit of G-d spoke through me, and His word is on my tongue"²⁷,

Nevertheless,

Since the matter of prophecy is that "G-d prophesies to human beings"²⁸,

That the word of G-d is clothed in the mind, comprehension, and style of the prophet

(As explained elsewhere at length²⁹),

Thus "Just as no creature can comprehend its Creator, so too it cannot comprehend His attributes"³⁰

(Which are His names, may He be blessed),

Therefore Rabbi Yosi holds,

That it is not possible that the name of the Holy One, blessed be He,

(That is, a title of the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself³¹)

Be revealed through a prophet.

And therefore he interprets "Lord of Hosts" — "God of the hosts",

That it is not a title of the Holy One, blessed be He, but actually profane.

[And the view of the first Tanna — and so is the halacha³²

— That Hosts is among the names that may not be erased,

It is,

That since the words of the prophet are the word of G-d that is clothed in him,

Therefore also this name has holiness³³

Such that it may not be erased].

And the verse "and they shall appoint officers of hosts etc." that is brought in Maseches Sofrim is to indicate the existence and the law,

that what "they would treat it as ordinary" means ordinary literally

(and not like names that are erased),

and therefore brings a verse in which the word hosts is ordinary literally

(and the phrase "that is said" means — "like that which is said",

"they would treat it as ordinary

[like that]

which is said and they shall appoint officers of hosts etc.'",

ordinary literally).

[And based on this,

that the foundation of Rabbi Yosi that "hosts is ordinary" is from this that it is not mentioned in the Torah,

will be sweetened that in Maseches Sofrim no verse was brought as proof in the words of Rabbi Yosi and only says "hosts<pg>56</pg>

Chol"

(And the verse was brought only in the words of R. Shimon ben Elazar in continuation of the matter "that they were treating it as chol")].

5.

And according to the method of the Bavli that R. Yosi said "it is entirely erased because it is not called Tzeva'ot except in the name of Israel"

(which is a name by which the Holy One, blessed be He, is called, except that it is permitted to erase it)

— one can say³⁴

:

The Bavli holds,

that according to Rabbi Yosi,

even though it is possible that a name of the Holy One, blessed be He, will be revealed through a prophet

(since the words of the prophet are the words of God),

nevertheless,

since prophecy is as the word of God clothes itself in the comprehension etc. of the prophet

(as above),

therefore this name does not have holiness like the holiness of the names that are explained in the Torah.

That is to say: just as prophecy is,

the word of God as it clothes itself in a human being

(a created being),

so too is the definition of the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, that is revealed through a prophet,

that this is not a description of the Holy One, blessed be He, in His own essence,

but rather a description of the Holy One, blessed be He, as He has a connection, as it were, with the limitations of created beings

(and therefore it is erased)³⁵.

And this is also the content of the explanation of "He is not called

(the Holy One, blessed be He)

Tzevaot except after the name of Israel".

And one could say,

that in this is also hinted,

that this is as the Holy One, blessed be He, enclothes Himself in the comprehension of the prophet

(Israel).

6.

And one should add explanation in this in the manner of the discourse,

according to what is said in the Midrash³⁶

in the explanation of the name "Tzevaot" — "The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses..

according to My deeds I am called etc. when I wage war against the wicked I am called Tzevaot":

Even though according to this midrash,

all names of the Holy One, blessed be He, are "according to [His] deeds",

that this is in the connection of the Holy One, blessed be He, to creation and to His deeds

(like: when I judge the creatures I am called Elokim; when I have mercy on My world I am called Havayah),

nevertheless, in these deeds there is no existence similar in its existence to the Creator; not so with the name Tzevaot which is&lt;pg&gt;57&lt;/pg&gt;

"When I make war against the wicked",

the content of war is with something that opposes.

And therefore Rabbi Yishmael holds that one should not say that the name Tzevaot is a holy name that cannot be erased,

for this is a name that indicates the deed of the Holy One, blessed be He, as He, may He be blessed, gives power to the thing that opposes Him, as it were,

and in this deed the holiness of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not apparent,

for He is holy and separate from the world&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;.

And according to the first opinion it must be said,

that this that it is called Tzevaot "when I make war against the wicked",

is not contradictory to this that it is a holy name,

for the intention and emphasis is not on the opposing thing,

but on its nullification,

and the attribute of victory is on the contrary a thing most elevated in Him, blessed be He,

as is known,

that in one who is greater,

the attribute of victory is greater,

and therefore the essence of the attribute of victory is specifically with the Holy One, blessed be He,

and it is above His other attributes³⁸.

7.

According to the above it is possible to explain the reason that the children of Israel are called by the name "Tzevaot Hashem" at the time of the Exodus from Egypt:

According to the above, it is understood,

that the definition of the name Tzevaot is according to how the Holy One, blessed be He, enclothes Himself within the limitations of human beings and creations,

therefore this name was revealed specifically through prophets,

that the word of G-d enclothes itself in their comprehension etc.

And this was

(also)

the innovation that occurred in Israel at the Exodus from Egypt,

even though also before the Exodus from Egypt "the sons of Jacob" studied Torah,

and "there came into being in the world a nation that knows the L-rd"³⁹,

nevertheless, through the iron furnace of Egypt⁴⁰

a fundamental change occurred in the children of Israel,

that they were clarified and refined until they themselves became a dwelling place for His presence.

And therefore we find that our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said⁴¹

A maidservant saw at the sea what the greatest of the prophets did not see,

for since the definition of prophecy is,

that the word of G-d is clothed in the comprehension and intellect of the prophet,

it necessarily follows that also in the Exodus from Egypt at the time of the Splitting of the Sea the prophecy of all Israel was also in such a manner,

except that then this was temporary⁴²,

and in detail and openly this was done afterwards at the Giving of the Torah, "all the people seeing the sounds" etc.⁴³,

and afterwards through the building of the Tabernacle,

as it is said⁴⁴

"And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst,"

"in it" is not said, but rather "in their midst," within each and every one of Israel⁴⁵,

that the Holy One, blessed be He, dwells upon each and within each one.

And the culmination and completion of this then was at the end of forty years,

as Moses said to them⁴⁶

"You have seen all that the L-rd did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, the great trials which your eyes saw, those great signs and wonders,"

and

(only)

then "the L-rd gave you a heart to know and eyes to see and ears to hear,"

that is, during the forty years that Israel were in the wilderness,

all the matters of revelation of the Holy One, blessed be He, that were in the Exodus from Egypt were absorbed in them and within them,

that at the Splitting of the Sea etc.,

until the <pg>58</pg>

inner unity in their reality,

that this is "a heart to know and eyes to see and ears to hear".

and so it will be for us,

at the conclusion of the victory of the war that is through Bnei Yisrael at the end of the time of exile,

that according to all the signs in the Shas it is this generation of ours,

and especially in our being forty years

(event,

'_dyn_edn_2')

"&gt;* from the passing of the holy yahrtzeit of His Holiness, our master and teacher, the Rebbe, the Nasi of our generation,

for the day of his yahrtzeit he gave to learn his well-known discourse beginning with the words "Basi LeGani" and in it he explains

(lengthened according to the simple understanding)

this that Bnei Yisrael are called by the name "Tzivos Hashem",

and the service of Bnei Yisrael in this,

And through the power of Moshe Rabbeinu of our generation — the Rebbe, my father-in-law, the Rebbe, certainly during forty years each one succeeded in fulfilling his mission and function as "the legions of Hashem",

And already the matters of "Hashem has given you a heart to know and eyes to see and ears to hear" have come,

And a person sets his mind on the mind of his teacher⁴⁷,

In the ultimate revelation — and the completion will be with the coming of Mashiach Tzidkeinu⁴⁸

Very soon, immediately in our time,

Your teacher will no longer be hidden, and your eyes will see your teacher⁴⁹,

And the glory of Hashem will be revealed, and all flesh together will see that the mouth of Hashem has spoken⁵⁰.

(From the discourse

(and talks)

10 Shevat