Torah 105

Torah 105 From the language of the companions My strength and song יָהּ [G-d], and He has been to me for salvation.

[Song of the Sea, Exodus 15:2] “My strength and song יָהּ [G-d], and He has been to me for salvation Behold, the world needs great rachamim [compassion/mercy, root רחם], both in spirituality and in physicality. And every single person seeks rachamim , but he does not know where it is, yet rachamim is right before everyone’s eyes, just as it is written: “It is not far from you, nor in heaven,” etc. [Deuteronomy 30:12]. And behold, it is said in the Zohar [Naso 137b]: רַחֲמִים – there is rachamim and there is rachamim . There is simple rachamim [ordinary compassion, associated with ze’ir anpin (lesser divine countenance)], and there is great rachamim [extraordinary compassion, associated with atika stima'ah (ancient hidden one)], as it is written: “and with great rachamim I will gather you in” [Isaiah 54:7]. And we need rachamim . But, due to our many sins, in this generation there is no one to pray in such a way that he could draw down the rachamim , because there is no one who recognizes the greatness of the Creator so much, because of the great exile and constriction. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, Himself, needs to pray about this, as it is said in the Gemara Berachot 7a]: From where [do we know] that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays? As it is stated: “And I will gladden them in My house of prayer.” It does not say ‘their prayer,’ but rather תְּפִלָּתִי [My prayer]. From this we learn that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays. And what does He pray? “May it be My will…” etc. And through what can it come about that He, may He be blessed, prays? Through the Torah. For in every person, there is in him a part of the totality of all the worlds and combinations [of אוֹתִיּוֹת (letters)]. And to whatever he connects himself, there he connects his part. And when he follows the stubbornness of his heart and his lust, he connects his part and the letters and the combinations to the other side [forces of impurity], G-d forbid. And the letters and the combinations become confused, and the da’at [awareness/knowledge] also becomes confused. And this is the exile of the Shechinah [Divine Presence]. And anyone who does not have da’at , does not have the attribute of rachamim , as it is written: “Anger rests in the bosom of fools” [Ecclesiastes 7:9]. Therefore, anyone who does not have da’at , it is forbidden to have rachamim on him, as our Rabbis, may their memory be for a blessing, said [ Berachot 33a], because he does not have the attribute of rachamim . But when he returns with complete teshuvah [repentance/return], his parts from the totality of the worlds and the letters and the combinations also return to their place, and then the da’at is complete, and rachamim is awakened. “And G-d your G-d will return your captivity” [Deuteronomy 30:3] (see the Targum there). That is to say, the part from the totality of the worlds that is captive there, then “and He will have rachamim on you.” For the da’at is complete [Megillah 12b], on the verse: “and he did not go into exile,” that anything that is in its place, its da’at is complete. And behold, in everything that is in holiness, there are three things: ibur [conception], yenikah [nursing], and mochin [brains/maturity]. For as long as the thing is in potential, it is called ibur . [For it is concealed, and when it comes from potential to actual, it is called] leidah [birth] and yenikah . And when the thing extends itself to perform the necessary action, then it is called mochin . And when one learns Torah, there also need to be these three things mentioned above. For when he sits to learn and puts his thought and his heart into the Torah, and is concealed within it, it is called ibur , for he is concealed within it like an embryo in its mother’s womb. And when he learns the Torah and understands it, it is called leidah and yenikah , as it is written: “Her breasts will satisfy you at all times” [Proverbs 5:19]. And after that, when he understands one thing from another thing and wants to innovate in it, it is called mochin , as it is said in the Gemara [Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah, chapter ‘They saw him in the court’]: on the verse “from afar she brings her food,” because the Torah is called עֲנִיָּה [poor] in its place and עֲשִׁירָה [rich] in another place, meaning that one needs to bring proof from another place. And that is why it is called chachmah [wisdom], in the manner of: “I said I will be wise, and it is far from me” [Ecclesiastes 7:23]. It turns out that when one understands one thing from another, it is called mochin , that is, chachmah .

And when he learns in this manner, then it is a complete teshuvah. And he connects the letters and the combinations that are in his part from the totality of the worlds to their root and to their place. And he becomes a new creation, and then the da’at is complete, and rachamim is awakened. And behold, by way of an example, when there are two compassionate people, one is only able to have rachamim in a small matter, and the second, when he has rachamim , he accomplishes with his rachamim a complete salvation. Therefore, one who needs rachamim , why should he use the rachamim of the first, and there will be only a small salvation? It is better for the first compassionate person to pray to the second compassionate person, and he will accomplish with the first one’s rachamim a complete salvation. So too, Hashem, with His simple rachamim , He prays and has rachamim on Israel with great rachamim , which is the da’at . And the prayer is Azzi [My strength].

And there is no strength except Torah [see Zevachim 116a].

Zimrat Y-ah [song of G-d] – that is, the prayer and the rachamim of Hashem. Then, va-yehi lishua [and He has been to me for salvation]. Also this Torah is from the language of the companions, and was not written with proper clarification. But afterwards, I heard from his holy mouth itself the matter of the prayer of Hashem that is explained here]. And it is because there is by Hashem simple rachamim [compassion/mercy] and great rachamim [as is written in the holy Zohar, as mentioned above]. And behold, for example, when there are two rich people in a city, one has simple wealth, and the second is a very great and extraordinary rich man with immense wealth and a great deal of money, that it is impossible to value his wealth. And a certain person needed a great salvation that would amount to a great sum, and he is not able to get close to ask for his request, except to the lesser rich man, for he is not able to come to the great rich man. But this lesser rich man, even though he wants to help him with all his ability, even so, he will not be able to receive his request from him, for it is not in his ability to fulfill the wishes of this person, for his wishes are greater than his ability. Therefore, the advice given to this person who needs a salvation is that he should do this: that he should go to this lesser rich man to whom he can easily get close, and to awaken rachamim to him, that he should come to him and say to him, “Behold, I need a great salvation, and I know that you desire to have rachamim on me, but it is not in your ability to fulfill my wishes. Therefore, my request from you, since you desire to have rachamim on me, let this be your rachamim on me, that you should go to the very great rich man to ask for rachamim from him, that he should fulfill my wishes, for because of his immense great wealth, he is able to fulfill my wishes, many times over. It is just that I am not able to enter and come to such a great person. But you can come to him. Have rachamim on me in this way, to ask from him for my sake that he should fulfill my wishes. And through this, you will certainly save me in all the needs of my salvation completely.” So too is it exactly, as it were, that we ask by the simple rachamim that they should awaken rachamim by the great rachamim , and from there we will receive rachamim to save us in all our needs completely. And this is the aspect of the prayer of the Holy One, Blessed be He, that our Sages, may their memory be for a blessing, said: From where [do we know] that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays? That is to say, that , as it were, the aspect of the simple rachamim ask and pray and awaken the great rachamim , for we do not have the strength except to awaken the simple rachamim , which are the aspect of ordinary rachamim ze’ir anpin [lesser divine countenance]. But these rachamim have a limit. And, according to the measure of these simple rachamim , G-d forbid, it is impossible to save us. Therefore, we need to ask that the ordinary rachamim that we awaken in our prayer by Hashem, that these rachamim themselves should pray and awaken the great rachamim , that many rachamim should be drawn upon us from there. And through this, we will certainly have salvation. And this is the aspect of the prayer of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as mentioned above. And understand well, for these are very wondrous and awesome words. I heard further, that this is the explanation of the verse: אֵל נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ – “G-d, please, heal, please, her” [Numbers 12:13]. For at first glance it is very astonishing, the doubling of the word [please].

But now it is well explained, that Moshe Rabbeinu, may he rest in peace, requested this from Hashem, that Hashem, Himself, as it were, should pray and ask from Himself that He should heal her. And now, how sweet is this fitting of the verse! And this is, אֵל נָא, that is to say, that Moshe Rabbeinu, may he rest in peace, prayed before Him, and said to Him, “G-d, please, and ask and pray by Yourself, before You, heal, please, her” – that is to say, as mentioned above, that Moshe prayed to Hashem, and asked Him, that He Himself should pray and ask, רְפָא נָא לָהּ [heal, please, her]. And now the doubling of the word is precisely and well explained. And the sum of these matters is that through the Torah one merits teshuvah [repentance/return], meaning, to return all the matters and all the combinations and the letters that were driven out because of his sins to the place from which they were driven out and exiled from their place. For because of this the da’at [awareness/knowledge] was not settled, for as long as they are not in their place, the da’at is not settled, etc., as mentioned above. For through sins, the parts of the letters and the combinations that are in all the worlds, according to the root of his soul, are driven out from their place.

And this is the aspect of the exile of the Shechinah [Divine Presence]. And because of this, the da’at is not settled, as mentioned above. And because of this, one is not able to awaken rachamim [compassion/mercy], as mentioned above. And he needs to do teshuvah. And the main part of teshuvah is through the Torah, which is עֲנִיָּה [poor] in its place and עֲשִׁירָה [rich] in another place. And through this, he brings close and connects all the letters and the combinations that were distanced from their place, and returns all of them to their place. And then the da’at is settled, and he merits to awaken rachamim , for the main part of rachamim depends on da’at , for anyone who does not have da’at , it is forbidden to have rachamim on him, etc. [as this is explained several times in other places in the words of our Rebbe, may his memory be for a blessing, see there]. It turns out that through Torah one merits teshuvah and the da’at is perfected, and then one merits to awaken rachamim by Him. And the main rachamim is that we awaken rachamim by Him, that with these rachamim , He will Himself awaken the great rachamim to which we are unable to reach. Rather, He Himself needs to pray for this, as mentioned above. That is to say, that with His simple rachamim that we awaken, with these rachamim He will have rachamim on us, and will awaken in them His great rachamim , which are the great rachamim atika stima’ah [ancient hidden one], and from there we will certainly have salvation. And this is: Azzi [My strength]. There is no strength except Torah, that through this one merits teshuvah and da’at , that through this one awakens rachamim by Him, until He Himself, as it were, prays for us, as mentioned above. And Zimrat Y-ah [song of G-d], precisely, that is, the prayer of Hashem. And va-yehi lishua [and He has been to me for salvation], certainly. For through Zimrat Y-ah, which is the prayer of Hashem, that He prays with His simple rachamim to awaken His great rachamim , then he will certainly receive a complete salvation, as mentioned above. For His great rachamim never cease. And when Hashem has rachamim on us with these rachamim , certainly no sin or blemish will stand as a barrier before these great rachamim . And we will certainly have a complete salvation, amen and amen.