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Main teachings · ליקוטים
bp-p110-m01 · bereishit 18:1
פרשת וירא
Torah portion: Vayairuh
מי שחס על עצמו, אזי אף כשמתגברים הסט״א ורוצים לדחותו, אינו מוותר וממשיך לשבת על פתח הקדושה עד שיתנו לו להכנס
One who has compassion on himself, then, even when the Other Side gains strength and wants to drive him away, does not give up and continues to sit at the entrance to holiness until they let him enter.
One who has compassion on his true, eternal life: the more he sees that the Other Side, which is the aspect of the chambers of exchanges, gains strength, spreads itself out, and expands more and more, so too he strengthens himself, exerts himself, and makes greater haste to draw close to the blessed God, because he sees that they want, God forbid, to drive him away entirely, God forbid. This is the aspect of distancing that is the ultimate drawing near, and descent that is the ultimate ascent.
And this is the aspect of his having given him advice concerning circumcision—that is, to circumcise the foreskin of his heart. For precisely through the aspect of ‘Mamre,’ the aspect of the chambers of exchanges that grew so strong and spread themselves out against him, precisely through this he took counsel to circumcise his heart.
And this is ‘while he was sitting at the entrance to the tent in the heat of the day.’ Sitting is an expression for remaining a long time, as in ‘you remained in Kadesh many days.’ That is, he merited that the Lord should appear to him because he sat and remained many days at the entrance to the tent, which is the entrance to holiness, which is the aspect of kingship—the first level, through which one must ascend until one reaches the above-mentioned attainment. It is called an entrance and a gate, as is known, the aspect of ‘this is the gate to the Lord.’76
But when one wants to enter there, the Other Side, which is the chambers of exchanges, gains great strength and expands against him. And the closer he is to the entrance, the more exceedingly they gain strength and expand against him, until there are many who were already at the entrance but turned back, may the Merciful One save us, because they did not know that they were already at the entrance, or because they spread themselves out against him so exceedingly that it is difficult for him to break them, as this is explained in his holy words (in Likutay Moharan, second collection, teaching 51). But he sat and remained at the entrance to the tent.
‘In the heat of the day’ is the aspect of the growing heat of the evil inclination, concerning which it is said, ‘where do you pasture, where do you make the flock lie down at noon?’ For that is a bad time to pasture the flock, as Rashi explains there. For noon is the aspect of the heat of the day: this is the aspect of the heat of the inclination, when it is a bad time for the holy flock whom the righteous man shepherds, who wish to approach holiness. And many were distanced through this, may the Merciful One save us, as it is written, ‘until the day breathes, etc.’ As Rashi explains there—see there—Israel were close to the blessed God in greatness and honor until ‘the day breathes,’ when the heat of the day grew strong, etc., and through this the Temple was destroyed.
But one who does not wish to deceive himself and truly thinks about his eternal purpose does not turn back under any circumstances in the world, come what may. Rather, he sits and waits and remains at the entrance for many days, however long it may be, and even so they allow him to enter within the entrance, while the heat of the day scorches him exceedingly. And nevertheless he does not leave his place, but sits and remains at the entrance to the tent of the righteous and the upright until mercy is shown from Heaven—the aspect of ‘while he was sitting at the entrance to the tent in the heat of the day,’ as above.
(הלכות אישות הלכה ד׳ אות י״ט)
(Halachos of Marriage, Halacha 4, item 19)
bp-p111-m01 · bereishit 18:5
אברהם אבינו נתן להם לאכול כדי שיראו המלאכים באיזה דברים האדם נמצא כאן בעולם, וממילא לא יהיה להם פתחון פה לקטרג עליו שלא יקבל את התורה
Avraham our father gave them something to eat so that the angels would see amid what things a person finds himself here in the world, and consequently they would have no opening to accuse him, that he should not receive the Torah.
"וְאֶקְחָה פַת לֶחֶם וְסַעֲדוּ לִבְּכֶם"
"And let me take a piece of bread, and sustain your hearts."
Therefore, when the angels came to Avraham, he gave them something to eat, for through this he showed them that they should not accuse Israel, who wish to receive the Torah, even though they are destined to sin.
And this is what is brought in the Midrash: when Moshe ascended on high to receive the Torah, the ministering angels sought to strike Moshe, etc.; “Is this not the one at whose home you ate?” For then, when the angels came to Avraham, the first glimmer of receiving the Torah began, since Avraham had already been circumcised, which is the first mitzvah that he was commanded. And they also came to announce to him that Yitzchak would be born, from whom all Israel, who would receive the Torah, would descend. Therefore, then Avraham our father endeavored to save Israel, so that the angels would not be able to accuse them, even though they are as they are.
And therefore he gave the angels something to eat, so that through this they would know and understand everything that a person must endure in this world: that he is compelled to eat, and that it involves such processes of purification that, in the end, he must purify it within the body of such refuse. And therefore one should not accuse a person if, God forbid, he has stumbled in whatever he has stumbled, since he is in such places, where he must purify from the aspect of actual vomit and excrement, from such filthy places.
And therefore, in truth, the aforementioned angels, even though they ate with great holiness, as befits angels, and each successive [portion] disappears, as our Sages of blessed memory said, nevertheless did not emerge clean then, for they stumbled (in their perfection) [in their mission], as our Sages of blessed memory said, until they were compelled to linger in this world and could not ascend until the days of Yaakov; and one did not ascend until the days of Manoach, as is brought.
For it is very difficult to emerge from this world completely clean, as is brought: when an angel comes to this world, he cannot ascend to his place until he immerses himself several times in the River of Fire. And the principal purification of the good from the defilement in this world is encompassed in the aspect of eating, as above. For the principal defilement took hold through the sin of Adam, the first man, which concerned eating.
And therefore Avraham our father, peace be upon him, honored the angels through the matter of eating, and through this he showed them and hinted to them at the great intensity of the toil and bitterness that this wretched person must endure in this world. Therefore they no longer have any opening to accuse Israel, that they should not receive the Torah, for certainly it is necessary to give us the Torah, for it is impossible to withstand this world except through the Torah, which is called eating in holiness, as above at length.
And therefore, when they wished to accuse Moshe when he ascended on high to receive the Torah, [God] formed his visage like Avraham’s and said to them, “Is this not the one at whose home you ate?” As is written in the aforementioned Midrash. That is, God, blessed be He, answered them: how do you have any opening to accuse concerning receiving the Torah in this world? Did you not eat at his home? “You ate,” specifically, for through this you tasted a little of what a person must endure in this world, to the point that it is impossible for him to live and subsist without the Torah, as is written: “Were Your Torah not my delights,” etc.
And therefore, when the angel came to Manoach and he also wished to honor him with something to eat, he answered him that he did not wish to eat anymore, as is written (Shoftim 13:16): “If you detain me, I shall not eat your bread.” For then his time had already come to return and ascend; therefore he did not wish to eat anymore, so as not to be delayed further, for he had already tasted the great heaviness of the purification of eating at Avraham’s, as above, through which he had been delayed so much, as above. And this is what he said there on his ascent to his place: “acting wondrously,” for his ascent to his place was by way of a great wonder, for it is difficult to ascend and return to his place, to cleanse himself of the defilement of this world, as above.
(הלכות בציעת הפת הלכה ה׳ אות מ״ט)
(Halachos of Bitseyas HaPas [Breaking Bread], Halacha 5, item 49)
bp-p112-m01 · bereishit 18:19
סמיכות פסוק זה לענין סדום, שהכח לבטל גזירות בתפילה הוא על ידי שיש צדקה במשפט
This verse is placed next to the matter of Sodom because the power to annul decrees through prayer comes through charity within judgment.
Therefore this verse is placed next to the matter of the passage of Sodom, where God, blessed be He, said: “Shall I conceal from Avraham what I desire to do in Sodom,” etc., “and Avraham shall surely become,” etc., “for I have known him,” etc. That is, God, blessed be He, desires and longs for the prayers of the righteous, and He very much desired that Avraham pray before Him for Sodom. This is understood from the Midrash, which brought a parable there: God, blessed be He, was taking delight in Avraham’s prayer. For although Avraham did not accomplish his request to save Sodom from their decree, nevertheless his prayer is not lost. And in truth he also accomplished a very great deal, for the merit of his prayer to save Sodom brought about that through this Lot and his offspring were saved, from whom the illumination of Dovid, Mashiach, would unfold and emerge, as our Sages of blessed memory said.
For although the angel had already been sent to rescue, nevertheless they still needed an awakening from below, to increase prayer and supplications, to complete the salvation: to save Lot from amid the overthrow and bring forth Dovid and Mashiach from him.
And therefore the above verse, “for I have known him,” which speaks of the above charity and judgment, is placed next to this. For all the power of prayer to annul the decree comes only through this: that one petitions God, blessed be He, although He wishes to bring some judgment and decree, God forbid, which is certainly also truly due according to His judgment. Nevertheless, He has an aspect of charity within judgment, which the righteous can arouse through their prayers until such charity and kindness are drawn into the judgment that He sits to judge and adjudicate, until He annuls the decree entirely. For He, blessed be He, performs charity in judgment. This is among His exceedingly hidden wonders of wonders, which it is impossible to understand. And therefore God, blessed be He, mentioned precisely this matter of charity and judgment before revealing the decree of Sodom to Avraham, so that he would pray for them. For the principal power of prayer comes only through this.
And this is: “For I have known him, so that he will command his sons and his household after him, and they will keep the way of God, to perform charity and judgment.” For it is certainly the way of God to perform charity and judgment, namely that within judgment He performs charity, which is utterly impossible to understand, as above. For it is the aspect of the ways of God that it is impossible to understand. Concerning this Moshe Rabbainu, peace be upon him, asked, “Make Your ways known to me, please”: he asked to know the ways of God, the ways of His judgments and His charity, how He conducts His world with charity and judgment, so that he would know how to pray for Yisrael.
(הלכות מתנה הלכה ה׳ אות כ״ט)
(Halachos of Matunuh [Gifts], Halacha 5, item 29)
bp-p113-m01 · bereishit 19:27
מה שאברהם תיקן שחרית היה תיקון לכל העולם, כי גם קודמיו התפללו כבר
Avraham’s institution of the morning prayer was a rectification for the entire world, for his predecessors, too, had already prayed.
There were several great righteous people, but they did not engage in rectifying the world to reveal His Godliness and kingship in this physical world as did Avraham our forefather. He was the first to engage in rectifying the contractions in such a way that His light, blessed be He, would be revealed gradually and in measure, etc., until he revealed His kingship to all. As Rashi explained concerning the verse, “God, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth”: at first He was called only the God of the heavens; only through Avraham was He called “and the God of the earth,” for he revealed His Godliness in the world.
And therefore Avraham began rectifying prayer, for the principal revelation of His kingship, blessed be He, is through prayer, as mentioned above. And he instituted the morning prayer, when all the rectifications of prayer are drawn down, which are the ascent of all the worlds, etc., as explained in the mystical intentions.
And the principal rectification that Avraham—and likewise all the forefathers—instituted was for the world. For certainly the earlier righteous people, Noach, Misooshelach, Shaim and Aiver, etc., also engaged in prayer. But they did not draw the rectification of prayer down to all who enter the world, to reveal His kingship in the world. And Avraham was the first to reveal His kingship to the entire world, which is the principal revelation of kingship, for there is no king without a people. And therefore he began rectifying prayer and instituted the morning prayer, which is the aspect of the revelation of His light, blessed be He, through all the rectifications of prayer within the morning service. Then is the principal rectification of prayer with all its rectifications, as understood from the mystical intentions. For then the mochin—the spiritual mental powers—are drawn down with all the rectifications to all who merit this through their service.
(הלכות מנחה הלכה ז׳ אות פ״ב)
(Halachos of Minchuh [Afternoon Prayer], Halacha 7, item 82)
bp-p114-m01 · bereishit 19:27
אברהם תיקן שחרית, שעיקר כבוד הקב״ה הוא הבקשות, יותר מהשבחים, שבבקשות מפרסמים שהוא משגיח בבריאה ומשנה הטבע לפי מה שמבקשים ממנו
Avraham instituted the morning prayer because the principal honor of the Holy One, blessed be He, is the requests, more than the praises: through requests it is made known that He watches over creation and changes nature according to what is requested of Him.
The principal, greatest honor of God, blessed be He, comes precisely through prayer: through praying and requesting from God, blessed be He, all one’s needs, everything one lacks physically and spiritually. As it is written, “Call upon Me on the day of distress; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me,” for this is His principal honor. And therefore the prayer of the Eighteen Benedictions is very lofty and more precious than the entire order of prayer, as understood from the mystical intentions.
For although through all the verses of song and the blessing of the luminaries His honor, blessed be He, is magnified, and it is made known that He, blessed be He, is unique in His world and created everything for His honor, nevertheless the principal, fullest magnification of His honor comes through prayer. For through praying for one’s needs, one thereby acknowledges that God, blessed be He, conducts His world and watches individually over everything in the world; that it is in His power to change nature; and that He gave us the power and permission to win His favor and appease Him through prayer and supplications, until He turns from the attribute of judgment to the attribute of mercy, to annul all the decrees that are not good and fulfill everything we lack. And this is His principal honor in its fullness.
For as long as this is not made known and publicized, His honor, blessed be He, has still not been fully revealed. For although He is praised and glorified, and it is acknowledged that He, blessed be He, is very great and creates everything, etc.—all of which certainly magnifies His honor—nevertheless it has still not been made known explicitly that He watches over His world even now and that He annuls His will before the will of Yisrael when they increase prayer and supplications. This is the principal fullness of His honor, for which He created everything. As explained in the teaching “God, do not be silent” (Likutay, Part 1, teaching 97), the principal purpose of creation was that He foresaw that He would receive delights from Yisrael, who would rule through their prayers, etc.; see there.
For this is the principal honor that He receives specifically from the human being, for which He created everything, as above: namely, that through the greatness of His mighty wonders He created such a creature—the human being who possesses free choice—who has the power to rule over Him, blessed be He, so that He conducts the world according to that person’s will. All this is certainly exceedingly, exceedingly remote from human understanding; but these, these are His mighty deeds, these, these are His tremendous awe-inspiring deeds.
For the principal magnification of His honor, blessed be He, is when we acknowledge all the matters that are exceedingly remote from our understanding: it is utterly impossible to bring this matter within human understanding. Nevertheless, we believe in His greatness, blessed be He, whose thoughts and ways are exceedingly, exceedingly exalted and elevated beyond our understanding. As it is written, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts,” etc. And as our master, teacher and rebbe of blessed memory wrote, questions must necessarily be difficult concerning God, blessed be He; for otherwise His understanding would, God forbid, be like our understanding; see there. And therefore His honor is principally magnified through prayer, through which His mighty wonders are seen to the greatest degree.
And this path of prayer was revealed to us by our forefathers. The first was Avraham, who labored and exerted himself greatly in his service, broke and annulled all his desires, and devoted his life to Him, blessed be He, all his days; and he greatly increased prayer and supplications until he drew the path of prayer into the world and instituted the morning prayer for us.
And likewise afterward Yitzchak and Yaakov came and instituted further the afternoon and evening prayers. And likewise all the true righteous people after them, until this day, all walked in their ways and strengthened us to increase prayer and supplications. And we must annul our exceedingly inferior and deficient understanding, walk in the ways of our forefathers and teachers, increase prayer about everything, and believe that it is in our power to prevail over Him, blessed be He, to turn His disposition from judgment to mercy. Although it is impossible to understand all this, nevertheless this is the truth. And this is the principal magnification of His honor in its fullness, as above; and therefore the principal fullness of honor is through prayer.
(הלכות תפלת המנחה הלכה ו׳)
(Halachos of Tifilas HaMinchuh [The Afternoon Prayer], Halacha 6)
bp-p116-m01 · bereishit 20:6
האמת לאמיתו הוא רק כשאדם נקי מתאוות והאמת של העלם הוא לדעת שהוא רחוק מהאמת
Truth in its fullest sense exists only when a person is free of desires; the truth of the world is to know that one is far from the truth.
This is the aspect of what the blessed God said to Avimelech: ‘I too knew that you did this in the integrity of your heart, and I withheld,’ etc. And Rashi explained: It is true that you did not initially think to sin, but there is no cleanliness of hands here.
For one cannot attain truth in its fullest sense unless one is entirely clean and pure of all desires, and principally of the all-inclusive desire. For guarding the covenant is an aspect of truth, the aspect of ‘wholly a seed of truth,’ as explained elsewhere. For falsehood arises principally through the clouding of the blood, as explained at the beginning of the above teaching: one cannot tell a lie unless one clouds his blood, etc.; see there. And all desires, particularly the all-inclusive desire, arise through the clouding of the blood. Therefore, when the adversary entices a person, misleading him onto some bad path by means of his own truth, particularly when he entices him to persist in controversy because of his own truth, he must examine himself to see whether he is pure and clean of desires, particularly of the above desire.
And since he knows within himself that he is not clean, how can he insist upon his own truth, particularly to persecute a Jewish person, all the more so many people? For only the true tzaddik attains clear truth, the aspect of truth in its fullest sense: he is truly of clean hands, clean of all desires, particularly entirely free of the all-inclusive desire, so that he has no clouding of the blood whatsoever; only he attains truth in its fullest sense. And the rest of the world's essential truth is to know that they are far from attaining true understanding; rather, they must strengthen themselves in faith, as above.
זה מה שאמר הקב״ה לאבימלך
This is what the Holy One, blessed is He, said to Avimelech.
And this is what the blessed God said to Avimelech: ‘I too knew,’ etc. For Avimelech was wholly righteous in his own eyes, as though he were a man of truth and Avraham had misled him with his lie, saying, ‘She is my sister.’ Therefore it seemed to him that he had a great complaint against the blessed God for striking him without cause. Therefore he argued and said, ‘Will You kill even a righteous nation? Did he not tell me, “She is my sister,”’ etc., ‘in the integrity of my heart and with the cleanliness of my hands I did this.’
It follows that, according to Avimelech's words, he is a man of truth, while Avraham is a liar, God forbid. The blessed God answered him: ‘I too knew that you did this in the integrity of your heart.’ For the truth is certainly with you, that you genuinely did this in the integrity of your heart, but there is no cleanliness of hands here, as Rashi explained and as above. For had you been of clean hands—that is, had you not been such a man of desire—you certainly would not have come to such a stumbling block.
For from the outset the argument is refuted: what business have you asking Avraham whether she is his wife or his sister? And as Avraham indeed answered when he asked him, ‘What did you see, that you did,’ etc., he answered him, ‘For I said: There is simply no fear of God in this place.’ And as Rashi explained: when a guest comes to a town, do they question him about his wife? etc. And since you are such a man of desire and are not of clean hands, your truth caused you to stumble until you took her for yourself. And when the blows came upon you, you cry out that you are righteous and that Avraham had caused you to stumble through his lie; and you pay no attention to the fact that the clouding of your blood caused you to stumble, to stray from the path and not to attain truth in its fullest sense. Yet since, even so, your intention was not to commit a grave prohibition, therefore, ‘I too withheld you from sinning against Me,’ etc.
For the blessed God has compassion upon a person when He sees that he sincerely desires [the truth], but is misleading himself. He has compassion upon him and signals to him, in His wondrous ways, that he should turn back from his error. But at any rate you must take to heart that you are not of clean hands, and for this reason you came to err like this through your own truth.
And this is what is said: ‘Who shall ascend the mountain of God, and who shall stand in His holy place? One of clean hands and a pure heart, who has not borne My soul toward vanity,’ etc. Specifically, ‘clean hands and a pure heart’: for specifically when one is of clean hands, one specifically attains the aspect of a pure heart, ‘who has not borne toward vanity,’ etc.; he is saved from vanity and falsehood and attains truth in its fullest sense, and only he merits ascending the mountain of God and standing in His holy place.
And therefore Avraham was compelled to conceal the truth and say that she was his sister, for a tzaddik is permitted to deal deceptively with a deceiver. For when the tzaddik sees that there is no truth in the world, he is compelled to conceal the truth in various ways in order to save his life, and specifically through this he brings truth into the world, and as Yaakov conducted himself with Lavan and Aisav, etc.
(הלכות רבית הלכה ה׳ אות ל״ד)
(Halachos of Ribis [Interest], Halacha 5, item 34)
bp-p117-m01 · bereishit 21:6
השחוק בלידת יצחק משום השמחה הגדולה בכל העולמות שהוא נולד בקדושה
The laughter at Yitzchak's birth is because of the great joy in all the worlds that he was born in holiness.
This is the aspect of ‘And these are the generations of Yitzchak son of Avraham,’ for Yitzchak is the first holy birth in the world. For until Yitzchak was born, there had been no person born in such holiness, in the holiness of Israel. For since the sin of the first man there had been no birth in holiness as is proper, until Avraham came, who was the first to begin drawing the holiness of Israel into the world. But our father Avraham himself was not yet born in the holiness of Israel, and the first who was born in the holiness of Israel was our father Yitzchak; this is the first birth in the world in which one was born in the holiness of Israel.
וזהו ענין השמחה הגדולה שיש בחתונה
And this is the matter of the great joy that there is at a wedding.
And therefore there was then great joy in all the worlds, and he was named after the joy, the aspect of ‘God has made laughter for me,’ etc. For in truth, all the celebrations with which people rejoice at a wedding are apparently a wonder, as I heard this explicitly from the mouth of the holy one, who said that the world does not know at all what this joy is, that this one marries that one—for certainly it is not appropriate to rejoice over this matter. Yet in truth the essential joy of a wedding is the joy of Israel. For the essential joy of holiness is because we know and believe that this matter at its root is very, very exalted, as is known, and from this Israel will be born, who will sanctify His name, as above, until great tzaddikim emerge, until the Messiah comes from our offspring and rectifies everything. And this is our essential joy, and in this we certainly have much cause to rejoice at the wedding.
And this joy began specifically with Yitzchak, who was the first birth in the world in the holiness of Israel, as above. And therefore Sarah truly said then, ‘God has made laughter for me; all who hear will laugh for me.’ For certainly now that Yitzchak was born, then all saw and heard the wonders of God—that there had never been such a novelty in the world, that from the union of a man and a woman such an offspring would be born, from whom all the seed of Israel would emerge until the Messiah comes. And certainly this is laughter and great joy and delight in all the worlds, the aspect of ‘All who hear will laugh for me,’ for from this holy birth began the chain of Israel's lineage.
For our father Avraham himself, although he was the first of the patriarchs, the first who began to reveal His Godliness in the world, nevertheless was not himself born in the holiness of Israel. But he labored and toiled with the force of his service until he merited sanctifying himself so greatly that he merited that the births of Israel's holiness would begin from him, so that from then onward the chain of Israel's lineage would not cease: from him Yitzchak would be born, the first born in such holiness; and from him Yaakov emerged, and from Yaakov emerged all the seed of Israel until the end, until the Messiah comes, who will emerge from their seed and rectify everything and reveal His Godliness before all eyes. This is the aspect of ‘And the threefold cord is not quickly severed,’ for the three patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, were very holy in the holiness of the covenant, until they merited drawing forth their offspring in such holiness that the bond of Israel's holiness would never cease, so that through every birth among Israel, however it may be, an aspect of rectification of the covenant would be drawn forth.
And after that, from this birth the seed of Israel will spring forth, who are the rectification of all the worlds, as above, and therefore he was named after joy and delight, the aspect of ‘God has made laughter for me; all who hear will laugh for me,’ for it is all fitting for them to rejoice over such a birth, as above.
(הלכות שבת הלכה ו׳ אות כ״ג)
(Halachos of Shabbos, Halacha 6, item 23)
bp-p118-m02 · bereishit 22:1
מה היה גודל הנסיון הרי הקב״ה אמר לו מפורש כך לעשות, אלא מה שלא הרהר אחר מדותיו יתברך ועשה רצונו בלי להבין, זה היה עיקר הנסיון
What was the magnitude of the trial, when the Holy One, blessed is He, explicitly told him to do this? Rather, his not questioning His blessed attributes and doing His will without understanding—this was the essence of the trial.
This is the aspect of the trial of Avraham and Yitzchak at the binding. For the world's questions about the great commotion over the trial of the binding are known: in view of Avraham's great righteousness, apparently this is not such a great trial. For it seems to us that even ordinary people would withstand this trial—that when the blessed God explicitly tells him to slaughter his only son, he would certainly fulfill His words and slaughter him.
Yet the essence of the trial was that he did not question His blessed attributes, and as brought concerning this and as is understood from the words of our rabbis of blessed memory, and brought in Rashi's commentary, from what he said afterward, ‘I shall explain my conversation before You: yesterday You told me, “For through Yitzchak seed will be called yours,” and afterward You told me to offer him as a burnt offering,’ etc. It is understood from this and other places that this was the essence of his trial. And as our rabbis of blessed memory said concerning the verse, ‘And I and the lad shall go as far as here,’ and it is brought in Rashi's commentary: ‘I shall see where that is which He told me, “Thus shall your seed be.”’
But Avraham strengthened himself in faith and did not question His attributes, and said: Although I do not understand His ways, certainly such is the principle—that it is impossible to understand God's ways, and I am obligated to do my part, to take my only son to slaughter. And nevertheless I believe that the blessed God will fulfill all His words which He promised me, for His ways are impossible to understand at all; for He can bring about two opposites in one subject, and as I heard much about this from him, of blessed memory.
(הלכות מתנה הלכה ה׳ אות מ״ז)
(Halachos of Matunuh [Gift], Halacha 5, item 47)
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עיקר ענין העקידה הוא הכיסופין וההשתוקקות לרצון ה׳ מכח שהם עמדו בנסיון זה מוטבע בנפשינו למות על קידוש ה׳
The essential matter of the binding is longing and yearning for God's will. By virtue of their standing firm in this trial, dying for the sanctification of God is imprinted in our souls.
The essential merit of Yitzchak's binding is the aspect of holy will and longing, which was the essential excellence of Avraham and Yitzchak's trial. For the essential merit is that they consented to be slaughtered and to die for the sanctification of God. And because they truly consented to this with complete willingness, it is reckoned as though he had been slaughtered and offered upon the altar, although in truth he did not stretch out his hand to him and did nothing to him. It follows that the essential merit of the binding is only holy will and longing.
And because Yitzchak then attained such holy longings in truth, with such self-sacrifice, from there was drawn the holiness of the souls of Israel who emerged from him, so that in each and every Israelite there is a holy soul that is willing always to give up its life for the sanctification of God.
It follows that the soul and will of every Israelite are always strong toward the blessed God, for every Israelite is prepared to die for the sanctification of God; for within his soul his will is very, very strong toward the blessed God. And this is because we are all children of our father Yitzchak, who was bound upon the altar and wished to die for His blessed sake.
פא.
81.
(הלכות אומנין הלכה ד׳ אות י׳)
(Halachos of Oomuneen [Artisans], Halacha 4, item 10)
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אף שמתקרב להקב״ה צריך לדעת שעדיין הוא רחוק
Even when drawing near to the Holy One, blessed is He, one must know that one is still far away.
One must know that sometimes, when the blessed God helps him so that some illumination flashes for him and he sees some drawing near, although in truth this is a genuine drawing near from His blessed Self, and it is a great and wondrous kindness—that the blessed God makes His kindness wondrous toward him—nevertheless he must not mistakenly think that he is already close and near to the blessed God, to the Torah and to the tzaddikim.
For one must know all the above: however much closer one is, one is still very, very far away, for His greatness is beyond investigation. And it is impossible to explain this well, as explained in the above teaching. But nevertheless one must know that the salvation and kindness of any drawing near and any connection whatsoever are a wondrous kindness, for this is genuine drawing near and one's eternal salvation. Yet nevertheless one is still very far from the ultimate fulfillment of one's salvation, and one must still stand and await His blessed salvation greatly, until one merits being saved completely, emerging from what one must emerge from and drawing near to what one must draw near to.
And this is the aspect of what is written concerning our father Avraham: ‘And he saw the place from afar.’ And likewise, ‘And his sister stood from afar’; and it is stated that they looked toward the salvation from very far away. For this was Avraham's essential trial: the blessed God promised him to multiply his seed and that he would inherit the land where the holy place of the Temple is, and afterward commanded him to slaughter Yitzchak. And nevertheless he did not question His blessed attributes, and went in his integrity to slaughter him. And on the third day it is written, ‘And Avraham lifted his eyes and saw the place from afar’: he saw with his eyes the place, Mount Moriah, where his seed are destined for all greatness and good and to recognize His blessed Self. And he saw the place very, very well, all the good hope that his seed would attain there, but he saw it from very far away, for nevertheless, after all, he is now taking Yitzchak to slaughter.
And likewise Miriam initially prophesied concerning Moshe that he would save Israel, and afterward she saw that they were casting him into the water. And indeed our rabbis of blessed memory said that her father arose and slapped her on her head, etc. But she went and stood from afar, for she was awaiting from afar the fulfillment of her prophecy, in which she had seen that he would save Israel, even though they were now casting him into the water.
וכן הוא תמיד בכל דור בכללות ובפרטות
And so it is always, in every generation, collectively and individually.
And so it is in every generation, collectively and individually, and in each particular detail, which is impossible to explain. And one who looks carefully can see in Avraham's own case that even afterward, when the blessed God saved him and commanded him, ‘Do not stretch out your hand,’ etc., and Yitzchak was saved, immediately afterward he was reflecting on finding his marriage match, as our rabbis of blessed memory said. And afterward, when he was informed that Rivkah had been born, and saw this salvation too, it was nevertheless still very far away, for she was one day old while Yitzchak was already thirty-seven years old. And afterward he came home and found that his righteous wife, our mother Sarah, had died, and he had nowhere to bury her—except with great toil, when the blessed God helped him with a wondrous miracle to obtain the Cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite.
And afterward, when the blessed God helped him in this too, he was compelled to exert himself and seek greatly for Yitzchak's marriage match to come to his house, as the holy Torah elaborated on this at length, recounting all that happened in this matter. For great and very awesome miracles were needed for this: to bring Rivkah out of the house of Besoel and Lavan, to bring her to Yitzchak to establish offspring from whom the congregation of Israel would emerge in the world. And likewise all that happened afterward to Yitzchak, whose wife was barren, etc., and particularly what happened to Yaakov, more than to all of them, etc., etc.; and on each occasion the blessed God helped them greatly. Yet nevertheless the complete ultimate salvation was still far away.
And even now, in this generation, when the blessed God has already helped our fathers, who established the congregation of Israel in the world, and gave us the Torah and built us the chosen House, etc., and there is no number to all the good things and wonders He has done for our fathers and for us until this day, so that we say, ‘Were our mouths full of song,’ etc.—nevertheless we are still very far from the ultimate salvation. And one who looks at truth in its fullest sense sees God's salvation and the wonders of His kindness every day and at every moment, as we say, ‘For Your miracles that are with us every day, and for Your wonders and good things at every moment, evening, morning and noon,’ etc. And nevertheless the complete salvation is very far from us, for because of our many sins we are placed in the intensity of exile, in which the burden bearer's strength has almost failed; and particularly the exile of the soul, which is the principal thing, as each person knows within his soul the afflictions of his heart and his pains. And nevertheless we see God's salvation and the wonders of His kindness at every moment.
And even one who has no understanding with which to see His kindnesses and salvations every day must at least believe. For the words of our fathers and our rabbis of blessed memory are certainly true and just, and they instituted for us to say three times every day, ‘For Your miracles that are with us every day, and for Your wonders and good things at every moment,’ etc. And likewise in several verses, as it is written, ‘Blessed is God, day by day He bears [a burden] for us, the God of our salvation, forever.’ And as it is written, ‘God's kindnesses, for we have not come to an end; new every morning, great is Your faithfulness,’ etc. And Rashi explained that the kindnesses are renewed every morning, and see what is explained elsewhere concerning this verse: one who has no understanding with which to see the renewal of the kindnesses and His wonders every day must at least believe that every day new wonders are performed for our eternal good. This is alluded to in this very verse, ‘new, great is Your faithfulness’: one must have great faith that every day wondrous new kindnesses are drawn forth, the aspect of ‘new every morning,’ etc.
It follows that in truth we see and believe that each and every day the blessed God does wondrous kindnesses and exalted salvations for us. Yet all the salvations are in the aspect of ‘And he saw the place from afar’: one sees the salvation at every moment, but it is still very far away. And nevertheless we see the salvation with our own eyes at every moment, for after all we see that we merit putting on a prayer shawl and Tefillin every day and fulfilling various mitzvos. And as our rabbis of blessed memory said, even the transgressors of Israel are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate. And certainly this is a wondrous salvation for us, for this alone is the ultimate purpose of the whole world: nothing will remain for us but what we snatch from this passing world—His blessed Torah and mitzvos, which are our eternal life. And particularly one who merits tasting some taste in Torah, particularly in the novel insights of Torah, and the counsels and wonders of true tzaddikim, etc., so that one merits tasting some taste of true understanding—one certainly sees the wonders of His kindnesses and His salvation every day and at every moment.
על ידי זה יחזיק מעמד בכל מה שעובר עליו
Through this one will hold one's ground through everything one undergoes.
But one must know that nevertheless everything is in the aspect of ‘And he saw the place from afar,’ etc., and in the aspect of ‘From afar God appeared to me.’ Specifically ‘from afar’: and specifically through this each person, according to his level, can strengthen himself and remain firm at every moment, through everything that may happen to him, in the aspect of ‘From afar she brings her bread’—her bread of Torah—for one cannot receive the counsels of Torah and divine service except specifically from afar, in the above aspect of ‘Peace, peace, to the far and to the near.’
—and in his spiritual existence, all of it is drawn forth and comes from very, very far away, for in accordance with his material condition he is very, very far from salvation, as it is written, ‘Far from my salvation are the words of my roaring.’ But His blessed compassion is exceedingly great, and He brings his bread from very, very far away. And even after He brings his bread of Torah, which is his salvation, he is still very, very far away; and this alone is his drawing near, for becoming distant is the ultimate drawing near. For when one knows that one is very far away, one specifically is close to His blessed Self with the ultimate closeness; and as soon as one thinks one is close, one is very far away, as above.
(הלכות שילוח הקן הלכה ה׳)
(Halachos of Sheeloo'ach HaKain [Sending Away the Mother Bird], Halacha 5)
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אברהם ראה את הישועה אך ראה מרחוק והבין שאי אפשר לעמוד עליו אלא להאמין ולהמתין עד שיגיע ולא לדחוק את השעה
Avraham saw the salvation, but saw it from afar, and understood that it is impossible to fathom it: one must only believe and wait until it arrives, and not force the appointed time.
This is the aspect of what is written: ‘And Avraham called the name of that place “Hashem will see”; as it is said today, “On the mountain of Hashem He will be seen.”’ For all the holy patriarchs understood and saw from afar that the principal ultimate purpose and hope would come only at the very last end, when Mashiach comes. And as our Rabbis of blessed memory said concerning the verse, ‘And also the nation whom they will serve’: this includes subjugation to the kingdoms. And likewise in several places: they all saw this bitter, final exile, which is so long.
But despite the immense greatness of their attainment and holy spirit, they could not fathom the final end, which is the end of wonders, which is exceedingly concealed and hidden from every eye. And as our Rabbis of blessed memory said concerning the verse, ‘And Yaakov called his sons,’ etc.: he sought to reveal to them the end of the redemption, and the Divine Presence departed from him.
And this is the aspect of what is written of Avraham, ‘And he saw the place from afar’: he saw the hope, which is the holiness of the place of the Bais HaMikdash, which is the house of our life, and there is all our hope. But he saw the place from afar, for it is impossible to fathom when we shall return to this holy place. Yet nevertheless he saw it with a clear and lucid vision: we shall certainly merit this holy place in the end, at the very end; only, it is far away
(And as explained at length in our words concerning this, to draw allusions from this, each person for himself, concerning his soul’s personal redemption; see there in Halachos of Sending Away the Mother Bird, Halacha 8).
And this itself is the aspect of ‘And I and the lad will go as far as koh [there],’ for the aspect of ‘koh’ alludes to something seen from very far away. And as Rashi explained in the portion of Matos: Moshe prophesied with ‘koh [thus],’ and all the prophets prophesied with ‘koh’; Moshe surpassed them by prophesying with ‘this is the word.’ For all the prophets prophesied through a mirror that does not shine: they saw their prophecy from very far away. But Moshe also prophesied with ‘this is the word,’ which is the aspect of his seeing the prophecy with a clear and lucid vision. Yet Moshe too prophesied with koh, for there were several prophecies that even he was compelled to see from very far away.
And this itself is the aspect of ‘And I and the lad will go as far as koh,’ said concerning Avraham. For he believed that although he was leading his son to slaughter, nevertheless His words, blessed be He, would certainly be fulfilled—what He said, ‘For through Yitzchak shall offspring be called yours.’ But it is the aspect of ‘koh,’ which is very far away and impossible to understand; one sees it only from afar, and as above.
And therefore, afterward, when Hashem, blessed be He, saved Yitzchak and [Avraham] offered up a ram in his place, Avraham then understood still more that it is impossible to understand His ways and fathom the ultimate meaning of His words, especially concerning the final end. All the promises He had made to him—to give him offspring and to grant them the land as an inheritance—were all for the sake of the final end, for only then will all the promises be fulfilled completely. But it is impossible to fathom the ultimate meaning of the matter in any way. We are only obligated each day to fulfill the words of Hashem, blessed be He, and His commandments, and to believe that through this the end will draw nearer, and to await its coming every day. And nevertheless, if it does not come on that day, we shall wait on another day until, in the end, at the very end, it comes. As they said, ‘Though it tarry, wait for it, for it will surely come; it will not be late.’
And this is ‘And Avraham called the name of that place “Hashem will see,”’ which apparently has no explanation, and Rashi was hard pressed in his explanation. But now it can be explained in its plain meaning: he called the place of the Bais HaMikdash, which is the principal hope, as above, ‘Hashem will see.’ That is, only Hashem will see this place so as to cause His Divine Presence to dwell there, for only He, blessed be He, alone knows the end. But we are forbidden to calculate any end for this at all. And as our Rabbis of blessed memory said, it rests upon us only to do our part each and every day: to turn away from evil and do good each and every day, for through this the redemption draws nearer.
And as our Rabbis of blessed memory said, that he asked Eliyahu, ‘When will the master come?’ He said to him, ‘Today—today, if you listen to His voice.’ And if there have already been several righteous and upright people who [served] Him, blessed be He, each and every day, and nevertheless he has not yet come, this is because of the corruption of others, who delay his coming. Yet nevertheless, each person, according to his service, brings the redemption nearer on that day. And in the end, at the very end, the flashes of redemption that the righteous and upright people awakened each and every day will gather together, and through this the redemption will come. And as our Rabbainu of blessed memory wrote concerning the saying of Rabbah bar bar Chanah, ‘When its back grew hot, it turned over,’ in section 2; see there.
And this is ‘As it is said today, “On the mountain of Hashem He will be seen.”’ And as Rashi explained, this refers to every day of all the coming generations who read this verse, etc.; see there. That is, the aspect of ‘Today, if you listen to His voice,’ mentioned above: each day the redemption draws nearer according to the service of each and every person who serves Hashem, blessed be He. And as we bless each day: ‘Who causes the horn of salvation to sprout.’
And this is ‘As it is said today’: that is, on each and every day of every person in each and every generation, today Hashem will be seen by His people in this place, as Rashi explained there. For each day the redemption flashes forth, and Hashem is seen in this place, as above. But nevertheless, as for fathoming the ultimate matter—when the complete redemption will come at the final end—concerning this he said, ‘Hashem will see,’ for only Hashem, blessed be He, Himself will see this, as above. Yet nevertheless, ‘As it is said today’: that is, each and every day, ‘On the mountain of Hashem He will be seen,’ as above.
And see what is explained in section 272 concerning this verse, ‘Today, if you listen to His voice’: the principal counsel for serving Hashem, blessed be He, is to think each and every day that one has only this day alone, etc.; see there. And it pertains to the matter above, for it is all one: it is forbidden to force the appointed time, and one must think only of that day, in the aspect of ‘This is the day Hashem has made,’ etc. And through this one will merit His service, blessed be He. And likewise, one will merit that no delay of Mashiach will arise from him at all. Rather, according to the service of Israel who fulfill this and serve Hashem each day, so does the sprouting of the horn of salvation flash forth each day, as above, until, in the end, at the very end, all their service gathers together and the redemption comes in completeness. And each person, according to his share in bringing Mashiach nearer, will then merit to delight in Hashem and to be sated with His great goodness that He will bestow upon us then.
(הלכות מתנה הלכה ה׳ אות מ״ז)
(Halachos of Gifts, Halacha 5, item 47)
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עו.
76.
שספירת המלכות היא הספירה הראשונה מלמטה והיא הפתח להעלות לשאר הספירות, והיא נקראת פתח ושער. כמ״ש בזוה״ק פרשת בראשית (דף נ״א ע״א):
For the divine emanation of kingship is the first emanation from below, and it is the entrance for ascent to the remaining emanations; it is called an entrance and a gate. As it is written in the holy Zohar, the section Beraishis (folio 51a):
מאן דעאל למלכא, לא עאל אלא מההיא קרתא קדישא, נטיל ארחא למלכא, דארחא מהכא אתתקן, הדא הוא דכתיב (תהלים קיח כ) זה השער ליהו״ה צדיקים יבואו בו. כל שליחותא דבעי מלכא, מבי מטרוניתא נפקא.
One who enters to the King enters only from that holy city; he takes the way to the King, for the way is prepared from here. This is what is written (Tehillim 118:20): ‘This is the gate to the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.’ Every mission that the King desires goes forth from the house of the Matron.
ע״כ. ועוד טובא.
End of quotation. And there is much more.
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עז. ועי׳ גם להלן בפרשת כי תשא בפסוק "ומשרתו יהושע בן נון נער" וגו׳.
77. And see also below in Parshas Kee Sisa, on the verse “and his attendant Yehoshua son of Noon, a youth,” etc.
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עח. בגמרא ברכות דף כ״ו ע״ב: אברהם תיקן תפילת שחרית, שנאמר וישכם אברהם בבקר אל המקום אשר עמד שם ואין עמידה אלא תפילה.
78. In the Gemara, Berachos, folio 26b: Avraham instituted the morning prayer, as it says, “And Avraham arose early in the morning to the place where he had stood”; and standing means nothing other than prayer.
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עט. בגמרא ברכות דף כ״ו ע״ב: אברהם תיקן תפילת שחרית, שנאמר וישכם אברהם בבקר אל המקום אשר עמד שם ואין עמידה אלא תפילה.
79. In the Gemara, Berachos, folio 26b: Avraham instituted the morning prayer, as it says, “And Avraham arose early in the morning to the place where he had stood”; and standing means nothing other than prayer.
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פ. וראה עוד להלן בפסוק ׳ויקרא אברהם שם המקום ההוא ה׳ יראה׳
80. And see further below, at the verse ‘And Avraham called the name of that place: God will see.’
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פא. וכן הנצי״ב מוולוזין ז״ל בהעמק דבר (סוף פרשת וירא) כתב: וזכה אברהם במעשה זו שישיגו בניו גדלת הנפש למסור עצמם ברצון בשביל קדוש יתברך, ואמר ה׳ שיהיה רבוי זה בשני אופנים, הא׳ ככוכבי השמים. הן המה גדולי הדעת שהמה מזהירים בדורם ככוכבי שמים וגם מזכים את הרבים במה שהם נמסרים ונהרגים על קה״ש. והב׳ וכחול אשר על שפת הים. הן המה המון העם כשמגיעים לקה״ש מוסרים עצמם בטוב לב. ע״כ.
81. And likewise the Netziv of Volozhin, of blessed memory, wrote in HaAmek Davar (at the end of Parshas Vayairuh): And through this deed Avraham merited that his children should attain greatness of soul, to give themselves up willingly for the sake of sanctification [of God], blessed be He. And God said that this multiplication would be in two manners: the first, ‘like the stars of the heavens.’ These are the great in understanding, who shine in their generation like the stars of heaven and also bring merit to the multitude through their being surrendered and killed for the sanctification of God's Name. And the second, ‘like the sand upon the shore of the sea.’ These are the masses of the people, who, when faced with the sanctification of God's Name, give themselves up with a good heart. End of quotation.
