The Essence of Birth Depends on the Hai

53 - The Essence of Birth Depends on the Hai [In the language of our Rebbe, of blessed memory] The essence [ikkar] of holadah (birth) depends on the hai (fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, symbolizing divine knowledge), in the aspect of:Behold for you zerah [seed Genesis 47:23] [hai lach zerah], and Abraham and Sarah did not give birth until they reached this hai/span> [see Zohar Chadash Song of Songs on "Pleasant are your cheeks"].

For the essence [ikkar] of holadah is through the da’as (knowledge) in the aspect of:And Adam yada [knew]etc. [Genesis 4:1], and a katan (small one) does not give birth [Sanhedrin 68b]. The core [ikkar] of the da’as is that he employs his da’as, namely, that he brings his saichel (intellect) from koach (potential) to po’al (action). For even a katan possesses da’as, but in the katan, the da’as remains in koach and not in po’al, for he has not employed his da’as nor brought it from koach to po’al. One who is shalem (complete) in his da’as, having brought it from koach to po’al and attained in his da’as what a person can attain, is close to the da’as of Hashem, blessed be He. There is no difference between the da’as of man and the da’as of Hashem, blessed be He, except five things, as brought [in traditional sources]. Then, his da’as draws sustenance from the da’as of Hashem, blessed be He, which is the aspect of hai, and then he gives birth. To complete his da’as (knowledge), so that it is shalem (complete), is possible only through aisek (engagement), by engaging with people to draw them near to the service of Hashem, blessed be He.

Through this, his da’as is perfected, for they sharpen his da’as, in the aspect of: And from my talmidai (disciples) more than all [Makkot 10a]. For this reason, talmidim are called banim (sons) [Sifri parsha Va'etchanan on the verseAnd you shall shinantam [teach them] to your banecha [sons]Deuteronomy 6:7], because through them comes holadah (birth). Thus, Abraham and Sarah exerted themselves to convert gerim (converts), for through this they perfected their da’as and drew near to this hai, which is the da’as of Hashem, blessed be He, and they merited banim. For through gerim, their da’as was enlarged, in the aspect of: And from my talmidai more than all. But one who is not shalem (complete) in his da’as (knowledge), and is far from the da’as of man, all the more so from the da’as of Hashem, blessed be He, which is the aspect of hai, is a katan (small one) and does not give birth. This is why the tzadikim (righteous) exert themselves and pursue people to draw them near to His service, blessed be He. This is not to increase their kavod (honor), Heaven forbid , but to perfect their da’as in the aspect of: And from my talmidai more than all. For this reason, it is in the power of the tzadikim to visit akaros (barren women) [i.e., to enable them to conceive], for they are complete in da’as and close to the upper da’as. There is no difference between their da’as and the da’as of Hashem, blessed be He, except these five things, as above. These five things constitute the da’as of Hashem, blessed be He, from which holadah comes. It is taught [Berakhot 57b]: Three things expand the da’as (knowledge) of a person: a beautiful woman, a dwelling, and vessels. Woman refers to the chomer (matter), called by the name woman, meaning he must have chomer tempered in an even temperament, suitable to receive saichel (intellect). A beautiful dwelling refers to yirah (fear), as it is said [Shabbat 31b]: Woe to one who has no courtyard, for one needs his yiras chet (fear of sin) to precede his chokhmaso (wisdom) [Avot chapter 3]. Vessels refer to proper talmidim (disciples) who receive from him. When he has all these preparations, he can achieve completeness of da’as. These are the five things that distinguish His mada’o (knowledge) from our mada: The first: In His mada, one knows many yedios (knowledges), yet there is no reeboy (multiplicity) in His mada. The second: He knows things before their existence, even when they have no havayah (being) at all. The third: His mada encompasses things that have no tachlis (end). The fourth: There is no sheenoy (change) in His yedi’aso (knowledge), whether He knows the thing in koach (potential) or afterward in po’al (action).

The fifth: His yedi’aso does not bring the thing out from its efsharuso (possibility).

[Up to here, in the language of our Rebbe, of blessed memory] Second Version [written by the scribe, likely Rabbi Natan, based on what he heard]: When a person merits shlaimus hada’as (completeness of knowledge), meaning he knows that it is impossible for a person to know more, there is a difference between the da’as (knowledge) of man in its completeness and the da’as of Hashem, blessed be He, in five aspects, as explained in the books.

A person must strive to reach the completeness of da’as, beyond which no human can know, so that the only difference between his da’as and the da’as of Hashem, blessed be He, is these five things. These five things cannot be known by human saichel (intellect), except by one who transcends the human kind. To merit shaimus hada’as is through gerim (converts), as our rabbis, of blessed memory, said: Much I learned from my masters and from my talmidai (disciples) more than all. For each one questions and asks, as each has a meni’ah (obstacle) to the service of Hashem, blessed be He, and one must answer each one’s question. Through this, his da’as is perfected, and through this, he merits banim (sons). For a katan (small one) does not give birth, having no complete da’as. But when he merits complete da’as, he merits banim. Thus, Abraham, who converted men, and Sarah, who converted women [Beraishis Rabbah parsha 39], through this merited shlaimus hada’as, so that there was no difference between his da’as and the da’as of Hashem, blessed be He, except these five things. Through this, he merited the hai aforementioned . Therefore, Abram does not give birth; Abraham gives birth [Beraishis Rabbah parsha 44], for through shlaimus hada’as, which is the aspect of hai, he merited to give birth.