Running Commentary on Torah 22 — Chosam b'Toch Chosam

Beginner: **Frame**: **Perek Chamisha'ah d'Sifra d'Tzni'usa** — Chapter 5. Intermediate: **Perek Chamisha'ah (Sifra d'Tzni'usa)**

Beginner: **Sifra d'Tzni'usa opening**: **"'Bereshis bara' — 'Bereshis' = ma'amar; 'bara' = chatzi ma'amar; av u'ven; stim v'galya; Eden ila'ah d'stim v'ganiz, Eden tata'ah."** 'In-the-beginning created' — **Bereshis = full ma'amar, Bara = half-ma'amar**, **father and son**, hidden and revealed, upper Eden concealed and treasured, lower Eden. Intermediate: **"Bereshis bara: Bereshis=ma'amar; bara=chatzi ma'amar; av+ben; stim+galya; Eden ila'ah d'stim v'ganiz, Eden tata'ah."**

Beginner: **Section א — There is a *chotam* (seal), and a *chotam b'soch chotam* (seal within a seal). The outer chotam: *mochichei ha'dor* (the generation's rebukers), who are called *raglin* = *limudei Hashem*. They receive the din-Torah and *seal it* so chitzonim can't suckle from it.** **Principle**: **"Da she'yeish *chotam*, v'yeish *chotam b'soch chotam*"** — 'know that there is a seal, and a seal within a seal.' **Outer chotam = mochichei ha'dor = raglin**: **"Chotam hu — ki yeish *mochichei ha'dor*, v'heim bechinas *raglin*"** — 'the [outer] chotam = the generation's rebukers, who are *raglin* (feet).' **"V'nikra'im raglin al sheim she'heim *limudei Hashem*, heyno she'lomdim k'viyachol es Hashem, she'nosnin lo eitzos"** — 'they are called *raglin* because they are *limudei Hashem* — they 'teach' (advise) Hashem, offering eitzos.' **Yeshayahu 54:13** **"V'chol banayich *limudei Hashem*"** — 'and all your children are taught of Hashem' / 'Hashem's pupils-teachers.' **Why 'raglin' = eitzah + shelichus**: **Rashi Shemos 11:8** on **"V'chol ha'am asher *b'raglecha*"**: **"Ha'holchim achar *atzascha*"** — 'those walking after your *advice* (counsel).' **"V'al sheim ha'halichah she'holchin bi'sh'lichuso l'hochi'ach"** — 'and because they *walk in His errand* to rebuke.' Raglin = (1) eitzah, (2) shelichus-walking. **Chotam = concealing the din-Torah**: **"U'k'she'Hashem Yisbarach gozer g'zar din ba'olam, v'ha'din hu ha'Torah, ki tzarich li'h'yos *din Torah*; u'mei'chamas she'heim limudei Hashem, hu misya'eitz imahem u'm'galeh lahem ha'din-Torah she'nigzar al ha'dor"** — 'when Hashem decrees din, and the din is *Torah* (for it must be a *Torah-din*), because they are limudei-Hashem He consults them and reveals the decreed din.' **"V'heim m'chasim zeh ha'din-Torah v'chosmin oso"** — 'they *cover* this din-Torah and *seal* it.' **The pasuk — *ma'yan chasum***: **Shir ha'Shirim 4:12** **"Gal na'ul, *ma'yan chasum*"** — 'a locked garden, a *sealed spring*.' **"She'lo yinku mimenu ha'chitzonim, she'lo yih'yeh na'aseh mimenu, chas v'shalom, *din achzari*"** — 'so chitzonim not suckle from it and it not become, chas v'shalom, a *cruel din*.' **Yeshayahu 8:16** **"*Chasom Torah b'limuday*"** — 'seal Torah among My taught-ones.' **"Heyno b'*limudei Hashem* nechtam ha'din-Torah, she'lo yinku mimenu ha'chitzonim"** — 'in limudei-Hashem the din-Torah is sealed, so chitzonim cannot draw from it.' **Mussar-time — extra concealment**: **"V'heim, k'she'nigleh lahem ha'din-Torah, holchim u'mochichim ha'dor, k'dei l'hachziram l'mutav l'hamtik ha'din"** — 'when the din-Torah is revealed to them, they go and rebuke the generation to return them to good and *sweeten the din*.' **"Va'afilu bi'sh'as mussar niz'harin l'hachtim u'l'hastir, she'lo yinku mimenu ha'chitzonim"** — 'and *even during the mussar itself* they are careful to seal and conceal [it] so chitzonim not feed.' **Iyov 33:16** **"U'v'mosaram *yachtom*"** — 'and *in their [dispensing of] mussar He seals*' — the mussar itself bears a chotam. **Riboi ha'shalom**: **"V'eilu ha'limudei Hashem *marbim shalom* ba'olam"** — 'these limudei-Hashem *increase shalom* in the world.' **Yeshayahu 54:13** (full) **"V'chol banayich limudei Hashem *v'rav shalom banayich*"** — 'and all your children are limudei-Hashem, *and great is the shalom of your children*.' **"Ki holchim *l'fasheir v'la'asos shalom bein Yisrael l'avihem she'ba'Shamayim*"** — 'they go to *reconcile and make shalom* between Israel and their Father in Heaven.' **The advocate-mechanism**: **"U'l'fanav Yisbarach *maktinim ha'davar u'mamlitzin tov ba'adam*"** — 'before HKBH they *minimize the matter and advocate well* for Israel.' **"V'li'fnei Yisrael *magdilim ha'cheit me'od*"** — 'and before Israel they *magnify the sin greatly* (so they repent).' **Model — Moshe**: **"K'mo she'matzinu eitzel Moshe"** — 'as we find by Moshe Rabbeinu.' (Before Hashem: *ana chatah ha'am hazeh chata'ah g'dolah* + advocating; before Israel: *va'yosem ha'am mei'ein ha'chet u'lfnei Am Yisrael higdil ha'cheit* — Shemos 32:30-32 read inverted directions.) Intermediate: **Ois א — Outer *chotam*** = **mochichei ha'dor = raglin = limudei Hashem** (**Yesh 54:13**). • Raglin = eitzah (**Rashi Shem 11:8 'holchim achar atzascha'**) + halichah-shelichus. • Limudei-Hashem advise Hashem → shown the din-Torah → seal it so chitzonim don't suckle: **SH 4:12 "ma'yan chasum"**; **Yesh 8:16 "chasom Torah b'limuday"**. • Even *during* mussar they re-seal: **Iyov 33:16 "u'v'mosaram yachtom"**. • Marbim shalom: **Yesh 54:13** v'rav shalom banayich — l'fasheir; l'HKBH maktinim, l'Yisrael magdilim (model: Moshe, Shem 32:30-32).

Beginner: **Section ב — The *inner chotam* = *yadayim* = *emunah*, which receives the mussar. It needs extra guarding — if the outer chotam is breached, chitzonim can reach the inner chotam (emunah) and turn *chotam* into *nidah/dam-nidah* = avodah zarah.** **Inner chotam = yadayim**: **"V'yeish chotam she'hu l'ma'alah mi'zeh ha'chotam, heyno bechinas *yadayim* ha'*m'kabeil mussar* mei'eilu ha'mochichim"** — 'there is a chotam higher than [the outer] — the bechinah of *hands that receive mussar* from those rebukers.' **Iyov 37:7** **"B'yad kol adam *yachtom*"** — 'in every man's hand He seals.' The inner seal is *on the yadayim themselves*. **Yadayim = emunah**: **"V'ha'yadayim — zeh bechinas *emunah* she'nis'kabeil bah ha'mussar"** — 'yadayim = *emunah*, by which the mussar is received.' The pasuks that equate yadayim ↔ emunah: - **"Ka'asher dibeir Hashem *b'yad Moshe*"** — 'as Hashem spoke *by the hand of Moshe*' (pasuk-form throughout Torah; Moshe's hand = conduit of emunah). - **Shemos 17:12** **"Va'yehi *yadav emunah*"** — 'and his hands were *emunah*' — explicit yad=emunah. **This chotam needs *sh'mirah yeseirah***: **"V'zeh ha'chotam tzarich *sh'mirah yeseirah* she'lo yiskalkeil, heyno she'lo *yiskalkeil ha'emunah*"** — 'this [inner] chotam needs *extra guarding* — that emunah not be corrupted.' **Cascade of corruption — outer breach → inner breach**: **"Ki k'she'chas v'shalom nis'kalkeil *ha'chotam ha'chitzon* (= raglin/mochichim), yuchlu l'his'kareiv la'*chotam ha'pnimi*, vi'kalkilu ha'chotam ha'pnimi al y'dei kilkul ha'chotam ha'chitzon she'hu ha'emunah"** — 'if the outer chotam is damaged, [chitzonim] can approach the inner chotam and corrupt it — corrupting emunah.' **The emunah-failure = k'firos = emunos kozviyos**: **"U'ch'she'chas v'shalom nis'kalkeil zeh ha'chotam ha'yadayim, na'aseh mi'zeh *k'firos* — she'hi heifech ha'emunah — v'na'aseh *emunos kozviyos*"** — 'when the yad-chotam is corrupted, the result is *k'firos* (denial) — the opposite of emunah — and *false faiths* (idolatries).' **Why AZ has no power without yadayim**: **"Ki ikar ha'avodah zarah ein lah ko'ach, ela al y'dei she'mekabeil mei'ha'yadayim eilu"** — 'avodah zarah has *no power* except through the yadayim receiving it.' **Shemos 32:4** **"*Va'yikach mi'yadam* va'yatzar oso ba'cheret"** — '*and he took from their hands* and fashioned it with a stylus.' Aharon *took from their hands* — that is the enabling act. **Zohar Ki-Sissa 192a**: **"B'mah atzlachu b'uvda da? Bi'g'in d'*va'yikach mi'yadam*' v'chulei — eilu kad natal mi'y'dayhon hava shada l'ar'a; v'af al gav d'yitol lah l'vasar — lo hava atzlach uvda bisha da"** — 'with what did they succeed in that [egel-]act? Because *he took from their hands* — had he [instead] taken [it] and *cast it to the ground*, and even if he later picked it up, this evil act would not have succeeded.' The yad-transfer is what gave the avodah zarah its power. **Tikkun also via yadayim**: **"V'gam tikuno hu gam kein rak al y'dei bechinas ha'yadayim"** — 'its *tikkun* also comes *only via yadayim*.' **Bereishis 35:4** **"Va'yitnu el Ya'akov es kol elohei ha'neichar *asher b'yadam*"** — 'they gave Ya'akov all the foreign gods *that were in their hands*' — the tikkun is again yad-mediated (handing them to Ya'akov). **The gematria — *chotam* → *nidah***: **"Ki mi'*'chotam'* na'aseh *'nidah'*"** — 'from *chotam* becomes *nidah*.' **Yeshayahu 1:15** **"*Y'deichem damim malei'u*"** — '*your hands are full of bloods*.' **"Ki 'yad' b'miluy (k'zeh: yod-dalet) hu mispar *nidah*"** — '*yad* spelled-out (yod-dalet = 10+4 = 14 = נד; with the two letters = נדה by count-alternative expansions) = *nidah*'; the word **"heyno avodas elilim she'm'tam'ah *k'nidah*"** — 'avodah zarah defiles *like nidah*.' **Shabbos 82a** — AZ defiles like *nidah* at every stage. Intermediate: **Ois ב — Inner chotam = yadayim = emunah**. • **Iyov 37:7 "b'yad kol adam yachtom"**; **Shem 17:12 "va'yehi yadav emunah"**; **"ka'asher dibeir Hashem b'yad Moshe."** • Outer chotam breached → chitzonim reach emunah → *k'firos*, *emunos kozviyos*. • AZ has no ko'ach without yadayim: **Shem 32:4 "va'yikach mi'yadam"**; **Zohar Ki-Sissa 192a**: had he cast it to earth, evil act would have failed. • Tikkun also via yadayim: **Ber 35:4 "asher b'yadam"** (Ya'akov collects foreign gods from their hand). • **Chotam → nidah**: **Yesh 1:15 "y'deichem damim malei'u"**; yad b'miluy (yod-dalet) = nidah-count; AZ m'tam'ah k'nidah (**Shab 82a**).

Beginner: **"ג. Must see to **fill the yadayim (emunah)** via illumination from the **7 ro'im** (general leaders of the dor) — **'shivas yamim t'male yadam'** (Shemos 29:35). They **shepherd emunah** — thus called **ro'im** from **'u'rei emunah'** (Tehillim 37:3); ikkar emunas Yisrael comes from them. **'Kol kedoshav b'yadecha'** (Devarim 33:3) = kelalus of manhigei ha'dor. **'V'im kedoshim ne'eman'** (Hoshea 12:1). **Moshe** — the **one** encompassing all 7 (**moser nefesh al klal Yisrael**)."** Intermediate: **ג. Fill yadayim via 7 ro'im** ("shivas yamim t'male yadam," Shem 29:35; "u'rei emunah," Teh 37:3; "kol kedoshav b'yadecha," Dev 33:3; "v'im kedoshim ne'eman," Hoshea 12:1). Moshe encompasses all 7.

Beginner: **Section ד — One cannot reach the *ro'im* (the 7 shepherds = the totality of kedushah) except via *oz d'kedushah*. Opposing them are the *ro'ei ha'sitra-achra* whose kingship is built on the opposite — *oz d'kelipah* — which dresses as dogs' brazenness. Only *countering oz with oz* breaks through. And every *kol* (cry, sigh, shofar, zemer) is itself a bechinah of oz.** **Principle — oz is required to enter kedushah**: **"V'ei efshar *lavo el eilu ha'ro'im*, she'heim *k'laliyus shel ha'kedushah*, ela al y'dei *oz*"** — 'one cannot come to these shepherds (= the generalized essence of kedushah) except by *oz*.' **Avos 5:20**: **"Hevei *az ka'nameir* v'kal ka'nesher v'ratz ka'tz'vi v'gibor ka'ari la'asos r'tzon avicha she'ba'Shamayim"** — 'be *brazen as a leopard*, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, strong as a lion, to do the will of your Father in Heaven.' **Shemos 15:13**: **"*Nihalta v'oz'cha* el neveh kodshecha"** — '*You led with Your oz* to the habitation of Your kedushah.' **"Heyno, al y'dei *oz* nichnasin l'soch ha'kedushah"** — '*via oz* — entry into kedushah.' **Opposing — ro'ei ha'sitra-achra**: **"Ki yeish *ro'im shel ha'sitra-achra*, v'heim gam kein *m'fursamei ha'dor* (the famed/influential of the generation), v'kofin anashim l'sachas shibudayhu"** — 'there are sitra-achra shepherds who are also 'famed leaders' of the generation, who coerce men under their authority.' **"V'ikar malchusam hu al y'dei *oz*"** — 'their kingship is built on oz.' **Sanhedrin 105a** **"*Azus malchusa b'lo taga*"** — '*brazenness is kingship without a crown*' — the sitra achra grasps rule purely via oz (without divine crowning). **Dogs-model**: **"V'heim *ka'k'lavim* b'azusam"** — 'they are *like dogs* in their brazenness.' **Yeshayahu 56:11** **"V'ha'k'lavim *azei nefesh* heimah ro'im"** — '*the dogs are brazen-souled* — they are the shepherds [of the sitra achra]!' **"V'heim '*p'nei ha'dor ki'f'nei ha'kelev*'"** — 'and they are '*the face of the generation is like the face of a dog*' (**Sotah 49b** describing ikvisa d'Meshicha). **Counter-oz = the *only* escape**: **"V'al kein k'dei l'hinatzeil mei'hem, mi'tachas memshaltam, ei efshar rak al y'dei *oz*, la'amod negged azusam"** — 'to escape them and their dominion — possible *only via oz* to *stand against their azus*.' **"V'azai: 'nihalta v'oz'cha el neveh kodshecha' — she'nichnas l'soch ha'kedushah"** — 'then: *You led with Your oz to Your kedushah* — entering kedushah.' **All kolos = oz**: **"V'chol ha'kolos — hein shel *tze'akah*, hein shel *anachah*, hein *kol shofar*, hein *kol zimrah* — kulam heim bechinas *oz*"** — 'all voices — *cry, sigh, shofar, zemer* — all are the bechinah of oz.' The cry for help is oz. The sigh of remorse is oz. The shofar-blast is oz. The song of simchah is oz. Every outward-directed sound-act = oz-expression breaking through the dog-barrier. **The pasuk**: **Tehillim 68:34** **"Hein *yiten b'kolo kol oz*"** — 'behold He *gives in His voice a voice of oz*.' The pasuk itself equates *kol* with *oz* — every kol is kol-oz. Intermediate: **Ois ד — Entering kedushah requires *oz***. • **Avos 5:20 "hevei az ka'nameir."** • **Shem 15:13 "nihalta v'oz'cha el neveh kodshecha."** • **Ro'ei ha'sitra-achra** = m'fursamei-ha'dor of the wrong kind; rule via oz: **Sanh 105a "azus malchusa b'lo taga."** • Dogs-model: **Yesh 56:11 "ha'k'lavim azei nefesh heimah ro'im"**; **Sotah 49b "p'nei ha'dor ki'f'nei ha'kelev."** • Only counter-oz breaks through. • **All kolos = oz** (tze'akah/anachah/shofar/zimrah): **Teh 68:34 "yiten b'kolo kol oz."**

Beginner: **Section ה — *Rachamim on the basar ha'guf* — every man must have mercy on the flesh of his body, refining it so it can know the neshamah's hasagos. A clear, illuminated body becomes the *means of re-ascent* when the neshamah falls. But when the body is brazen (*azei nefesh* = dogs), the neshamah cannot approach it — the body-azus traps her in its ta'avos.** **The obligation**: **"V'tzarich kol adam *l'racheim me'od al basar ha'guf*, l'har'os lo *mi'kol he'arah u'mi'kol hasagah* she'ha'neshamah masegess, she'ha'guf gam kein yeida mi'zos ha'hasagah"** — 'every man must have great mercy on the flesh of his body — to *show it every illumination and hasagah* his neshamah grasps, so that the *body too may know* this hasagah.' **Yeshayahu 58:7** **"*U'mi'b'sarcha lo sisalam*"** — 'and *from your own flesh do not hide* [yourself].' **"'Mi'b'sarcha' dayka — she'lo ta'alim einecha *mi'l'racheim al b'sarcha*, heyno basar gufcha"** — '*from your flesh* precisely — do not avert your eyes *from having rachamim on your flesh* = your body's flesh.' **Reason — the guf is the carrier**: **"Ki ha'neshamah shel kol adam hi *ro'ah u'masegess tamid* d'varim elyonim me'od, aval ha'guf *eino yodei'a mei'hem*"** — 'every man's neshamah *constantly sees and grasps* exalted matters, but the body *does not know them*.' Hence the need to *refine the guf* until the neshamah can *inform it* of what she sees. **The re-ascent mechanism**: **"U'ch'she'ha'guf hu bi'v'chinah zo, hi tovah la'neshamah — she'lif'amim *nofeles mi'madreigasah*. U'ch'she'ha'guf tzach v'or, tuchal ha'neshamah *l'hisromeim v'lachzor l'madreigasah al y'dei ha'guf*"** — 'when the body is in this state, it is *good for the neshamah* — because she sometimes falls from her level. When the body is *clear and luminous*, the neshamah can *rise and return to her level via the body*.' **How the guf helps her rise**: **"Heyno, al y'dei *ta'anugei ha'guf* tuchal liz'kor v'la'alos *l'ta'anugim shelah*, ki mei'achar she'ha'guf gam kein tov v'kasheir, eino nilkad b'ha'ta'anugim — v'al kein tuchal ha'neshamah lachzor al y'dei ta'anugei ha'guf l'ma'alasah, l'ta'anugim shelah"** — '*via the body's pleasures* she can *remember and ascend to her pleasures* — because the body is *good and worthy*, it is *not trapped in the ta'anugim*, and so the neshamah can *return via the body's ta'anugim to her level*.' The reined-in good body is a *ladder*. **R'shimos-memory**: **"V'chein gam kein *al y'dei ha'r'shimos* she'yeish ba'guf, al y'dei he'aros she'he'irah bo ha'neshamah mi'kedem, tuchal atah liz'kor v'la'alos v'lachzor l'madreigasah"** — 'so too, *via the residua* that remain in the body from prior neshamah-illuminations — she can now *remember and re-ascend*.' The guf stores imprints of past spiritual events as aide-mémoire. **The pasuk — *mi'b'sari echezeh Eloka***: **Iyov 19:26** **"U'mi'b'sari echezeh Eloka"** — 'and *from my flesh I shall behold Eloka*.' **"'Mi'b'sari' dayka — heyno al y'dei *basar ha'guf* yechezeh Eloka, heyno *hasagos Elokus*"** — '*from my flesh* precisely — *via the body's flesh I shall perceive G-d* = *hasagos of Elokus*.' **"Heyno she'ha'adam b'gufo yir'eh v'yechezeh hasagos elyonos she'ha'neshamah masegess tamid"** — 'the man *in his body shall see and behold* exalted hasagos his neshamah constantly grasps.' **The blocker — oz of the guf**: **"Aval k'she'yeish la'guf *oz mi'b'chinas 'v'ha'k'lavim azei nefesh'* — ein ha'neshamah y'cholah lismoch atzmah u'l'his'kareiv el ha'guf, l'hodi'a lo mei'ha'hasagos shelah, ki *tuchal l'hilaked* b'ha'ta'avos v'ta'anugei ha'guf"** — 'but when the body has *oz from 'the dogs are brazen-souled'* — the neshamah *cannot rely on it and draw near it* to inform it of her hasagos — for she would be *trapped* in body's ta'avos/ta'anugim.' **Bottom line**: **"Nimtza she'im ha'guf tzach — hu *suleim l'aliyah*; v'im ha'guf az — hu *pach*"** — 'a *clear body is a ladder for ascent; an az body is a trap*.' The entire question of neshamah-body co-operation hinges on *which kind of oz the body carries* — oz d'kedushah (alignment with neshamah) vs azei-nefesh-of-kelev (dogs' azus). Intermediate: **Ois ה — *Rachamim* on basar ha'guf**. • **Yesh 58:7 "u'mi'b'sarcha lo sisalam."** • Neshamah masegess — guf doesn't know → refine guf to receive her hasagos. • Clear body = *ladder* for neshamah's re-ascent (via ta'anugei-ha'guf + r'shimos of past he'aros). • **Iyov 19:26 "u'mi'b'sari echezeh Eloka."** • Blocker: guf-oz of **Yesh 56:11 "ha'k'lavim azei nefesh"** — neshamah can't draw near without being trapped in ta'avos.

Beginner: **"ו. In the klal of people too there is **etzem u'basar**: the **chacham ha'emes** is etzem/neshamah; the am (people) below him are **basar** vis-à-vis him. When they are in bechina of basar (like body-basar to a person's etzem), they **hear the kol anachah** — the chacham's voice — and it **breaks their guf** — **'anachah shoveres guf'** — and he can draw near to them, bechina of **'mi'kol anchasi davkah atzmi li'b'sari'** (Tehillim 102:6). When they are not in bechina of basar, they don't hear the kol anachah at all."** Intermediate: **ו. Etzem/basar in klal**: chacham=etzem; am=basar. Basar-state → hear kol anachah of chacham → "anachah shoveres guf" → "mi'kol anchasi davkah atzmi li'b'sari" (Teh 102:6). Non-basar → don't hear.

Beginner: **Section ז — *Kol ha'harah* (the echo-voice): when a *kol d'kedushah* rises, a *kol d'sitra-achra* counter-rises. The aveiros *shout inside us*. If we are not 'basar l'chacham' (refined flesh to the tzaddik), we only hear the *echo* (aveiros' counter-cry), not the kedushah-voice itself.** **Mechanism**: **"V'kol ha'harah hu — da, ki k'she'nisoreir *kol d'kedushah*, azai nisoreir mimenu *kol d'sitra-achra*"** — 'when a holy voice stirs, a sitra-achra voice *stirs off of it*.' **The reason — m'chablim from aveiros**: **"Ki al y'dei ha'aveiros nivra'im *m'chablim*, v'heim tzo'akim: *hav lan m'zonei! Hav lan chayei!*"** — 'from aveiros are created *destroyers*, who cry: *give us food! give us life!*' **Dormancy vs activation**: **"U'ch'she'ein misgabeir u'misoreir kol d'kedushah, heim *nachim*; ach teikef she'misoreir kol d'kedushah — heim misorerin teikef u'mas'chilin litz'ok u'l'kateig negdo"** — 'when no holy voice rises, they *slumber*; the moment one rises, they *instantly* wake and cry to accuse against it.' **"V'zehu *kol ha'harah* she'yotzei mi'kol ha'kedushah"** — 'that is the *echo-voice* emerging from the holy voice.' **The pasuk**: **Yirmeyah 14:7** **"Im *avoneinu anu vanu*"** — 'though our sins *testify against us* (*anu* = cry).' **"'Ein aniah ela l'shon tze'akah'"** (see Rashi on *v'anisa* Devarim 26:5; Sotah 32b) — 'aniah = crying.' **"Heyno she'ha'avonos *tzo'akin banu b'socheinu mamash* al y'dei she'nisoreir kol d'kedushah"** — 'our sins *shout inside us*, literally, because a holy voice has risen.' **Proof-case — the Tzarfatis (widow of Tzarfas)**: **Melachim I 17:18** **"Basa *eilai l'hazkir es avoni*"** (she said to Eliyahu) — 'you came to me *to remind [G-d of] my sin*.' **"Heyno: kol z'man she'lo hayah sham Eliyahu, v'lo haysah ha'kedushah goveres kol kach, hayu ha'avonos shelah *nachim*"** — 'as long as Eliyahu was not there and kedushah was not overpowering, her sins were *quiet*.' **"Ach al y'dei she'nisoreir sham kedushas Eliyahu, hayu nizkarim v'nisorerim avonoseha litz'ok u'l'kateig aleha"** — 'the moment Eliyahu's kedushah arrived, her sins *awoke to cry and accuse her*.' **"V'zehu: *im avoneinu anu vanu* — she'ha'avonos tzo'akin b'socheinu"** — '*our sins cry within us* — literally.' **The problem — we only hear the echo**: **"Va'afilu k'she'anu tzo'akim eizeh kol d'kedushah, ein anu zochin li'sh'mo'a kol d'kedushah b'atzmo, l'shabeir al yado azus ha'guf, ki im *kol ha'harah*, she'hu *kol ha'avonos* she'nis'orerin negged kol d'kedushah"** — 'even when we cry a holy voice, we merit to hear only *the echo* — the *aveiros' counter-cry* — and not the holy voice itself, which is what breaks the body's azus.' **Ha'ashem ase l'ma'an shmecha**: **"V'heim tzo'akim b'socheinu: '*Hashem ase l'ma'an shmecha*' — she'atah b'atzmecha ta'aseh l'ma'an shmecha v'sracheim aleinu *l'ma'ancha l'vad*"** — 'they [aveiros] cry within us: '*Hashem, act for Your own sake*' — i.e., *You alone* act for Your own sake and have rachamim on us *for Your sake alone*.' (The aveiros concede we ourselves have no merit — a counter-cry that mimics t'shuvah but lacks the basar-l'chacham connection.) **The criterion — basar l'chacham**: **"U'ch'she'eino b'chinas *basar l'chacham*, she'hu b'chinas ha'etzem — azai eino shomei'a ha'kol b'atzmo ha'nal, rak *kol ha'harah*, heyno kol ha'avonos she'nisorerim mi'zeh ha'kol"** — 'when he is not *basar l'chacham* (= flesh to the tzaddik, who is *the etzem* [bone]), he doesn't hear the kol itself — only the echo-aveiros.' The talmid-tzaddik bond is what makes the kol-d'kedushah *directly audible*; without it, only the echo reaches him. **Shofar-in-a-pit**: **Rosh Hashanah 27b** **"Ha'tokei'a b'bor"** — 'one who blows shofar in a pit' (the borderline case whether the *kol* or the *kol ha'harah* is heard). **Tehillim 88:7** **"*Shatani b'vor tachtiyos*"** — '*You have placed me in the lowest pit*.' **"V'hu mis'aneiach v'sokei'a al..."** — 'he sighs and blows upon [his own confinement]' — the archetype of one blowing from deep sheinah/katnus, where *only the echo reaches his own ears*, not the outgoing kol itself. Intermediate: **Ois ז — *Kol ha'harah* (echo).** • Kol d'kedushah awakens → kol d'sitra-achra awakens alongside. • Aveiros → *m'chablim* crying *hav lan m'zonei, hav lan chayei*; dormant until kedushah-voice provokes them. • **Yirm 14:7 "avoneinu anu vanu"** (*anu*=cry, Rashi Dev 26:5, Sotah 32b). • **MelI 17:18 Tzarfatis: "l'hazkir es avoni"** — aveiros silent until Eliyahu's kedushah activates them. • Without *basar l'chacham* (flesh to the etzem=tzaddik), one hears only echo — the counter-cry says 'Hashem ase l'ma'an shmecha' (concedes own bankruptcy). • **RH 27b ha'tokei'a b'bor**; **Teh 88:7 "shatani b'vor tachtiyos."**

Beginner: **"ח. Becoming **bechina of basar** — via **shimmush** (personal service): by serving the chacham, one becomes basar to him. Similarly serving the neshamah via mitzvos ma'asiyos makes the guf basar to the neshamah. Then: **'v'li'Yrushalayim m'vaser eten'** (Yeshayahu 41:27) — from **basar ha'nimol** (circumcised flesh) Yerushalayim = **'kiryah ne'emanah'** (Yeshayahu 1:21) is completed — i.e., arrives at emunah = kelalus ha'kedushah from tzaddikei ha'dor — accessible only via azus d'kedushah."** Intermediate: **ח. Basar-state via shimmush** (chacham / guf→neshamah through mitzvos). **"V'li'Yrushalayim m'vaser"** (Yesh 41:27; basar=nimol) completes **"kiryah ne'emanah"** (Yesh 1:21)=emunah=tzaddikim, reached via azus d'kedushah.

Beginner: **"ט. **Azus d'kedushah via simchah** — **'ki chedvas Hashem hi ma'uzchem'** (Nechemia 8:10). Simchah is bechina of **'na'aseh v'nishma'** (Shabbos 88a): when Israel said na'aseh v'nishma, **60 ribo malachim** descended and placed **2 crowns** on each. When they sinned they were taken; HKBH will return them l'asid — **'v'simchas olam al rosham'** (Yeshayahu 35:10). Thus **na'aseh v'nishma = simchah = simchas olam al rosham.**"** Intermediate: **ט. Azus d'kedushah via simchah** ("chedvas Hashem hi ma'uzchem," Neh 8:10). **Na'aseh v'nishma** (Shab 88a): 60 ribo malachim, 2 crowns each. L'asid returned: **"v'simchas olam al rosham"** (Yesh 35:10).

Beginner: **Section — The *two adayim* (crowns) crowned at Chorev — *na'aseh* and *nishma* — are *bereishis bara*. *Na'aseh* = *niglos* = *Torah*; *nishma* = *nis'taros* = *tefillah* (dibbur-she'sviv-ha'mitzvah, dveikus b'Ein Sof).** **Source — Sifra d'Tzniusa on *Bereishis bara***: **Zohar Sifra d'Tzniusa chapter 5**: **"'Bereishis' — da *ma'amar*; 'bara' — *chatzi ma'amar*; da *Eden ila'ah, Eden tata'ah*; *chochmah ila'ah, chochmah tata'ah*; *Av u'Ven*"** — '*Bereishis* = a full ma'amar; *bara* = half-ma'amar; these are *Upper Eden* and *Lower Eden*; *Upper Chochmah* and *Lower Chochmah*; *Father* and *Son*.' **The two adayim = na'aseh + nishma**: **"V'heim b'chinas *bereishis bara*"** — 'and they [the 2 Chorev-crowns] are the b'chinah of *bereishis-bara*.' The na'aseh/nishma duality *is* the Eden-ila'ah/Eden-tata'ah, Chochmah-ila'ah/Chochmah-tata'ah, Av/Ben duality. **Na'aseh = niglos; nishma = nis'taros**: **"Ki *na'aseh v'nishma* hu b'chinas *nisarot v'niglos*: na'aseh hu b'chinas *niglos*, heyno ha'mitzvos she'efshar l'chol echad l'kayeim l'fi madreigaso; v'nishma hi b'chinas *nis'taros*, mah she'hu *gavoha v'nistar* mimenu, she'eino yachol la'asos avodah b'zeh"** — '*na'aseh v'nishma* = *nis'tar v'nigleh*: na'aseh = the *revealed* — mitzvos each can perform per his level; nishma = the *hidden* — what is too high for him to 'work on'.' **Every mitzvah has two orbits**: **"L'mashal: eitzel kol mitzvah yeish *d'varim she'sevivos ha'mitzvah* — ki mi'l'vad ha'tzivuy ha'ne'emar ba'Torah l'kayeim ha'mitzvah, yeish od l'zeh *d'varim ba'Torah* — k'gon 'va'y'dabeir Hashem el Moshe', u'sh'ar *diburei ha'Torah* she'sevivos ha'mitzvah"** — 'each mitzvah has *surrounding matters* — beyond the command itself there are *Torah-words* around it — e.g., 'and Hashem spoke to Moshe', and other *diburei ha'Torah* that *orbit* the mitzvah.' **The hidden avodah in the surrounding words**: **"V'avodah she'yeish b'diburei ha'Torah ha'lalu she'sevivos ha'mitzvah, heim b'chinas *nishma*, b'chinas *nistar* — ki ha'mitzvah b'atzmah anu y'cholim l'kayeim, ach ha'avodah she'yeish b'eilu ha'diburim *ein anu yod'im*"** — 'the avodah *embedded in the Torah-dibburim that surround the mitzvah* is *nishma/nistar* — the *mitzvah itself* we can perform, but the *avodah in the surrounding words* we *don't know*.' **Equation: nishma ↔ tefillah**: **"V'zeh b'chinas *Torah u'tefillah*: 'na'aseh' hu b'chinas *Torah*, heyno ha'niglos, mah she'yodei'a l'kayeim; u'nishma heim b'chinas *nis'taros*, b'chinas diburei ha'Torah she'heim ha'diburim shel ha'Torah she'sevivos kol mitzvah, she'heim b'chinas *nistar* ka'nal, she'eino yodei'a eich la'avod b'zeh es Hashem Yisbarach — b'chinas *tefillah*, she'hi *dveikus*"** — 'this is the b'chinah of *Torah v'tefillah*: *na'aseh = Torah* (niglos, doable); *nishma = nis'taros = tefillah = dveikus*.' **Why nishma = tefillah**: **"Ki '*sh'miah talya b'liba*'"** (Tikunei Zohar 58) — '*hearing hangs on the heart*.' **Melachim I 3:8** **"V'nasata l'avdecha *lev shomei'a*"** — 'give Your servant a *hearing heart*.' **"Va'avodah she'ba'lev zo *tefillah*"** (Ta'anis 2a) — 'the avodah of the heart is *tefillah*.' Therefore *nishma* (hearing) = heart-avodah = tefillah. **Tefillah = bitul + dveikus to Ein Sof**: **"Heyno *bitul v'dveikus l'Ein Sof*"** — 'tefillah = *bitul and dveikus to the Ein Sof*.' **"Ki Ein Sof hu b'chinas *mah she'ein bo t'fisah*, u'mei'achar she'ein lo t'fisah b'zeh (heyno b'diburei ha'Torah ha'nal, ki hu b'chinas *nistar* ka'nal) — hu b'chinas *tefillah, dveikus*, she'hu rak *bitul l'Ein Sof*"** — 'the Ein Sof is *not graspable*; since one cannot grasp [the surrounding-diburim-avodah], it is *tefillah/dveikus* — purely *bitul to the Ein Sof*.' Intermediate: **Ois ט — Two Chorev-adayim = *na'aseh* + *nishma* = *bereishis bara***. • **Sifra d'Tzniusa 5**: bereishis=ma'amar; bara=chatzi; Eden ila'ah/tata'ah, Chochmah ila'ah/tata'ah, Av u'Ven. • Na'aseh = niglos = **Torah** (doable mitzvos). Nishma = nis'taros = **tefillah** (surrounding diburei-ha'Torah of each mitzvah). • **Sh'miah talya b'liba** (Tikkunei Zohar 58); **MelI 3:8 "lev shomei'a"**; **Ta'an 2a** avodah she'ba'lev=tefillah. • Tefillah = bitul + dveikus l'Ein Sof (ein bo t'fisah).

Beginner: **Section י — In every *dargah* and *olam*, there is a *na'aseh* and a *nishma*. When one ascends to a higher dargah, what *was* his nishma becomes his new *na'aseh*, and a *higher nishma* opens above. So every person and every world has its own pair. This is *Toras Hashem* (for him, nishma/nistar) becoming *Toraso* (niglah/na'aseh).** **Universal pairing**: **"V'yeish b'chol *dargah v'dargah*, v'chein b'chol *olam v'olam* b'chinas *na'aseh v'nishma*"** — 'in every dargah and every olam, there is a na'aseh and a nishma.' **Personal scale**: **"Ki kol echad l'fi *madreigaso* yeish lo b'chinas 'na'aseh', b'chinas Torah — heyno *ha'niglos lo* — u'b'chinas 'nishma', she'hi b'chinas *nistaros*, b'chinas tefillah ka'nal"** — 'each per his level has a *na'aseh* (what is revealed *to him*) and a *nishma* (what is still hidden *to him*).' **Ascent mechanism**: **"Mi she'ba l'madreigah *gavohah* mei'ha'rishonah — azai na'aseh mi'ha'*'nishma' shelo* b'chinas *'na'aseh'*, v'azai yeish lo b'chinas *nishma* acheres [gavohah yoseir]"** — 'one who comes to a higher level — *his old nishma becomes his new na'aseh*, and he now has a *new, higher nishma*.' **Inter-world scale**: **"V'chein b'chol olam yeish b'chinas na'aseh v'nishma, ki *mah she'hu l'olam hazeh b'chinas 'nishma'* — hu *l'olam ha'galgalim b'chinas 'na'aseh'*, v'yeish lahem b'chinas nishma gavoha mimenu"** — 'each olam has its own pair; *what is nishma to our world is na'aseh to the sphere-world*, which then has a higher *nishma* above it. And so up.' **The source in AZ**: **Avodah Zarah 19a** **"Zeh ha'chasid *shoneh Halachaso me'ah pe'amim* — rishonah hi *nikreis b'sheim Toras Hashem*, v'acharonah — *Toraso*"** — 'the pious one who reviews his learning 100 times — the first time it's called *Toras Hashem* (G-d's Torah), the last time *his Torah*.' The transformation: what started as *external/revealed-by-G-d* becomes *internalized/his own*. **In our vocabulary**: **"Mi'tchilah *Toras Hashem*, she'hu b'chinas *nistar*, '*ha'nistaros la'Hashem Elokeinu*' (Devarim 29:28); v'achar kach k'she'hu b'madreigah gavohah mimenah, na'aseh *Toraso*, she'na'aseh mei'ha'*nishma* *na'aseh* — she'hu b'chinas '*v'ha'niglos lanu u'l'vaneinu*'"** — 'at first *G-d's Torah = nistar = 'the hidden things are Hashem's G-d's' — then on a higher level it becomes *his Torah = nigleh = 'the revealed things are for us and our children''* = what was nishma has become na'aseh.' **The pasuk decoded**: **Devarim 29:28** **"Ha'nisaros la'Hashem Elokeinu *v'ha'niglos lanu u'l'vaneinu ad olam la'asos es kol divrei ha'Torah hazos*"** — 'the hidden things are to Hashem our G-d, and the revealed are to us and our children *forever to perform all the words of this Torah*.' **"Hanisaros" = nishma**: **"'Ha'nistaros la'Hashem Elokeinu' — zeh b'chinas *nishma*"** — 'the hidden = nishma.' **"V'ha'niglos" = na'aseh**: **"'V'ha'niglos lanu u'l'vaneinu' — zeh b'chinas *na'aseh*"** — 'the revealed = na'aseh.' **"Ad olam la'asos" = continuous dargah-ascent**: **"'Ad olam la'asos es kol divrei ha'Torah hazos' — she'yeileich *mi'dargah l'dargah*, she'yavo l'olam she'yih'yeh mei'ha'nishma na'aseh"** — '*forever to do* = he should go *dargah to dargah*, reaching an olam where his old *nishma* becomes *na'aseh*.' **"Kol divrei ha'Torah" = the surrounding dibburim**: **"Divrei ha'Torah — heim *dibburei ha'Torah she'sevivos ha'mitzvah*, k'gon 'va'y'dabeir' ka'nal, she'heim b'chinas *nishma* ka'nal — yih'yeh na'aseh mei'hem b'chinas *na'aseh*"** — 'divrei ha'Torah = the *dibburim-around-the-mitzvah* (e.g., 'va'y'dabeir'), which are *nishma* — should be *transformed into na'aseh*.' **"V'zehu: *ad olam*, she'yeileich mi'dargah l'dargah u'mei'olam l'olam, *la'asos* — *la'asos* dayka, b'chinas *na'aseh*, es kol divrei ha'Torah hazos; divrei ha'Torah — heim b'chinas dibburei ha'Torah she'sevivos ha'mitzvah, she'heim b'chinas ha'nistaros, b'chinas *nishma* ka'nal, yih'yeh na'aseh mei'hem b'chinas *na'aseh*, b'chinas niglos ka'nal"** — '*ad olam la'asos* = go from level to level, world to world — *la'asos* precisely (= make them into *na'aseh*) = transform every surrounding Torah-word from *nishma* to *na'aseh*.' The pasuk encodes the *entire upward conversion dynamic*. Intermediate: **Ois י — Na'aseh/nishma in every dargah + olam.** • Ascent mechanism: old *nishma* → new *na'aseh*; new *nishma* opens above. • Inter-world: what is *nishma* to olam-hazeh = *na'aseh* to olam-ha'galgalim. • **AZ 19a**: shoneh halachaso 100× — rishonah *Toras Hashem* → acharonah *Toraso*. • **Dev 29:28 decoded**: *nisaros la'Hashem Elokeinu*=nishma; *v'ha'niglos lanu u'l'vaneinu*=na'aseh; *ad olam la'asos*=dargah-to-dargah ascent; *kol divrei ha'Torah*=dibburei-ha'Torah-she'sevivos-ha'mitzvah → convert from nishma to na'aseh.

Beginner: **Every person must ascend mi'dargah l'dargah u'mei'olam l'olam** -- from level to level and world to world -- each time attaining a higher **na'aseh v'nishma**. How does this work? What is currently your **nishma** (nistar, tefilah, the words of Torah that surround the mitzvah, Toras Hashem) becomes on the next level your **na'aseh** (nigleh, Torah, toraso), and now you receive a new, even higher **nishma**, and so upward. **The apex:** One keeps ascending until **reishis nekudas ha'briyah** (the starting-point of Creation) = **techilas ha'atzilus** (beginning of Atzilus). There too is na'aseh v'nishma -- and there **the nishma is literally Toras Hashem**, because nothing is higher than that. (On every lower world, what is called "Toras Hashem" is really only *by borrowed name* (sheim ha'mush'al), because it is hidden from us; once you reach it, it becomes your own Torah. But at the reishis, the nishma is Toras Hashem **b'emes**.) **Above that: inclusion in Ein Sof.** There the na'aseh = **Toras Hashem mamash** and the nishma = **Tefilas Hashem**. Proofs that there is such a thing as Toras Hashem and Tefilas Hashem: - **Toras Hashem**: Yerushalmi Bikurim / RH -- 'ani kiyamtiha techilah' -- the Ribono shel Olam Himself observes the mitzvos first. Sotah 14a -- HKB"H malbish arumim u'm'vaker cholim ('clothes the naked, visits the sick') -- He does acts of chesed. Berachos 6a -- min'ayin she'HKB"H maniach tefilin -- He lays tefilin. - **Tefilas Hashem**: Berachos 7a -- min'ayin she'HKB"H mispalel? 'v'sim'achtim b'veis tefilasi' (Yeshayahu 56:7) -- 'My house of prayer' (= His own). When a person merits to be **nich'lal b'Ein Sof** (included in Ein Sof), his Torah becomes literally Toras Hashem and his tefilah becomes literally Tefilas Hashem. **Supporting Gemara -- Bava Kama 92a:** 'Ha'mevakesh rachamim al chaveiro v'hu tzarich l'oso davar, hu ne'eneh techilah' -- 'One who asks mercy for his friend when he himself needs that very same thing is answered first.' **Why?** Because someone who needs the thing himself yet does not pray for himself is operating in **b'chinas ayin** (the aspect of nothingness -- self-nullification), which is the aspect of **techilah** (before Creation, Ein Sof). Therefore -- being in b'chinas techilah -- he is answered techilah. **[Reb Nosson's bracketed note]**: At first glance this Bava Kama piece seems disconnected from the topic. But it ties beautifully to the whole Torah: all these matters (attaining higher na'aseh v'nishma, kelaliyus in Ein Sof, before Creation, Tefilas Hashem) are only possible **via true humility = b'chinas ayin** -- total self-effacement, as if one is not in the world at all. That is why the Gemara about 'Elazar Ze'ira being suspected of gadlus and imprisoned' belongs to this Torah -- the whole path requires anavah b'emes, and pride blocks it utterly. Praying for one's friend while needing the same thing is itself an expression of this anavah -- one dissolves oneself and feels only his friend's pain. That nullification = ayin = techilah = Tefilas Hashem -- therefore answered techilah. **Av u'Ven / Ma'amar v'Chatzi Ma'amar (Father-and-Son / Complete-Saying and Half-Saying):** - **Na'aseh** = nigleh, Torah, **bara** (created), **ben** (son), eden tata'ah (lower Eden), chochmah tata'ah (lower wisdom), **chatzi ma'amar** (half-saying) - **Nishma** = **Bereshis** (the whole of 'In the beginning'), **ma'amar ha'shalem** (complete saying), chochmah ila'ah (upper wisdom), eden ila'ah (upper Eden), **av** (father), **tefilah**, nistar **The analogy:** When an av (father) speaks, he speaks a **ma'amar shalem** (whole coherent sentence). When his little ben repeats it, he speaks only a **chatzi ma'amar** (a half-stammer). So too every dargah relative to the dargah above it is only chatzi ma'amar, while the one above is ma'amar shalem relative to it. All humans, beasts, birds, plants, all things in this world are only chatzi ma'amar relative to the world above -- they are merely **remazim** (hints) to the higher things. World by world, until kelaliyus ha'briyah (totality of Creation) vs. kodem ha'briyah (before Creation) -- the former is chatzi ma'amar; the essential shleimus is in Ein Sof, which is the ma'amar ha'shalem. **Bara vs. Bereshis:** 'bara' = kelaliyus ha'briyah = chatzi ma'amar; 'bereshis' = kodem ha'briyah = tefilah. **Bereshis = 'yarei bo'shes'** (fears shame) -- Tikkunim Tikkun 7 -- this is the tefilah, the aspect of **'yir'as Hashem hi tis'halal'** (Mishlei 31:30) -- ma'amar ha'shalem. **Therefore emunah is called Yerushalayim** -- because its binyan is primarily from Bereshis = **yir'ah sheleimah** -- for 'taman yir'ah, taman shalem' (there is yir'ah, there is shalem) -- see Bereshis Rabbah Vayera 56. Bereshis = yarei bo'shes = ma'amar ha'shalem. The chain: emunah comes from the ro'im (shepherds); kirvah to ro'im comes via azus; azus comes via simchah; simchah comes via na'aseh+nishma (= Torah+tefilah); but **shleimus of simchah comes via yir'ah** -- for 'gilu bi'r'adah' (Tehillim 2:11, Berachos 30b) -- 'rejoice with trembling' -- essential gilah is via tefilah which is yir'ah which is nishma which is ma'amar ha'shalem -- source of all shleimus. **Therefore Tehillim 19:8**: **'eidus Hashem ne'emanah'** -- eidus = the **adi'im** (adornments) mentioned above; **ne'emanah** -- through them emunah is built. **Bereshis 49:24**: **'mi'sham ro'eh even Yisrael'** -- Targum (Onkelos): **av u'ven**. This is ma'amar ha'shalem = **av u'ven k'chada** (father and son together). Chatzi ma'amar = ben alone; ma'amar ha'shalem = av+ben together -- only there is everything included, and only through this can one arrive at the aspect of ro'im. Intermediate: **Ascent mi'dargah l'dargah**: each level's nishma (Torah hidden) becomes the next level's na'aseh (revealed Torah), yielding a new higher nishma. Apex: **reishis nekudas ha'briyah = techilas ha'atzilus** -- there nishma = **Toras Hashem b'emes**. Above: **nich'lal b'Ein Sof** -- na'aseh = Toras Hashem mamash, nishma = **Tefilas Hashem**. Proofs: **Toras Hashem** (Yerushalmi Bikkurim/RH 'ani kiyamtiha techilah'; Sotah 14a HKB"H malbish arumim/m'vaker cholim; Ber 6a maniach tefilin); **Tefilas Hashem** (Ber 7a 'v'sim'achtim b'veis tefilasi,' Yesh 56:7). **Bava Kama 92a**: mevakesh rachamim al chaveiro v'hu tzarich l'oso davar -- ne'eneh techilah. Reason: he is in **b'chinas ayin = b'chinas techilah**, therefore answered techilah. **[Reb Nosson bracket]**: ayin/anavah is the sine qua non of all this ascent -- hence connection to 'Elazar Ze'ira / gadlus / imprisonment' (below). Praying for chaveir while himself needy = anavah = ayin = kodem ha'briyah = Tefilas Hashem. **Av/Ben, Ma'amar/Chatzi Ma'amar**: Na'aseh=nigleh/Torah/**bara**/ben/eden+chochmah tata'ah/chatzi ma'amar. Nishma=**Bereshis**/ma'amar shalem/eden+chochmah ila'ah/av/tefilah/nistar. Father speaks whole sentence, small son stammers half -- so every dargah vs higher = chatzi vs shalem. Kelaliyus ha'briyah vs kodem ha'briyah = chatzi vs shalem; essential shleimus in Ein Sof. **Bereshis = 'yarei bo'shes'** (Tikkunim 7) = tefilah = 'yir'as Hashem hi tis'halal' (Mishlei 31:30). Emunah=**Yerushalayim**=yir'ah sheleimah ('taman yir'ah taman shalem,' BR Vayera 56). Chain: emunah<-ro'im<-azus<-simchah<-na'aseh+nishma; shleimus simchah via yir'ah ('gilu bi'r'adah,' Teh 2:11; Ber 30b). **Teh 19:8** 'eidus Hashem ne'emanah' -- eidus=adi'im, through them emunah built. **Ber 49:24 'mi'sham ro'eh even Yisrael'** (Targum: **av u'ven**) = ma'amar shalem = av+ben k'chada -- kli for ro'im.

Beginner: **Section יא — *Yeridah tachlis aliyah* (descent is the purpose of ascent). To cross from one *na'aseh v'nishma* to a higher one, a *descent* = *michsholah* (stumbling) = *aveirah* is required — then via teshuvah it becomes *zechus*, and the old aveiros *themselves* become the new Torah.** **Principle**: **"Ach k'she'rotzim la'tzeis mi'madreigas 'na'aseh v'nishma' zeh *l'madreigas 'na'aseh v'nishma' gavohah mimenah*, tzarich li'hyos *yeridah kodem ha'aliyah*, ki ha'yeridah hi *tachlis ha'aliyah*"** — 'to cross from one na'aseh/nishma to a higher one, *descent before ascent* is required — descent is the *purpose* of ascent.' **Source — Avodah Zarah 4b**: **"Lo hayah David ra'ui *l'oso ma'aseh* v'chulei; lo hayu Yisrael *re'uyim l'oso ma'aseh*, ela she'nasan Hashem Yisbarach lahem *michshol l'tovas ha'olam*"** (the gemara: David was not truly fit for the Bas-Sheva episode; Israel was not fit for the egel-episode — yet Hashem caused the stumbling so they would be living models of teshuvah for all generations). **"L'horos teshuvah"** — 'to teach teshuvah [to the public].' The fall was *engineered by HKBH as a mass-pedagogy of teshuvah*. **The pasuk — *v'ha'michshelah ha'zos***: **Yeshayahu 3:6** **"*V'ha'michshelah ha'zos tachas yadecha*"** — '*and this stumbling-block under your hand*.' **"'Eilu divrei Torah, *she'ein adam omed aleihem ela im kein nichshal bahem*'"** (Shabbos 120a; Gittin 43a) — 'this refers to *divrei Torah* — which a man cannot *stand upon* unless he *stumbled in them*.' **Decoding**: **"*Divrei Torah* — heim b'chinas *ha'dibburim she'sevivos ha'mitzvah*, she'heim 'va'y'dabeir Hashem el Moshe' v'chulei ka'nal, she'heim b'chinas *nistar*, b'chinas *nishma*, b'chinas *tefillah* ka'nal"** — '*divrei Torah* = surrounding-dibburim = nistar = nishma = tefillah.' **"*Omed aleihem*" = tefillah**: **"*Omed aleihem* — zeh b'chinas tefillah, ki *'ein amidah ela tefillah'*"** (Berachos 6b) — '*omed aleihem* = tefillah, for 'no standing except tefillah'.' **The mechanism**: **"V'la'asos mei'ha'*divrei Torah*, she'hu b'chinas *nishma*, yih'yeh na'aseh mimenu b'chinas *na'aseh*, ad she'yih'yeh ha'amidah (= tefillah) yih'yeh *aleihem* — heyno she'yih'yeh lo b'chinas amidah/tefillah/nishma *gavoha yoser*, ki k'she'yih'yeh mei'ha'nishma na'aseh yih'yeh lo nishma gavoha mimenu ka'nal; v'zeh ei efshar ela im kein *nichshal bahem*, ki la'alos mi'dargah l'dargah tzarich *yeridah* techilah, she'hi ha'michshol"** — 'to convert the divrei-Torah/nishma → na'aseh, until the standing (= tefillah) is *above them* — i.e., a *higher* tefillah/nishma opens — *requires prior stumbling*, for ascent between dargos needs preliminary descent = the michshol.' **Le'asid la'vo — all sins sought**: **Yirmeyah 50:20** **"Ba'yamim ha'hem u'va'eis ha'hi, n'um Hashem, *y'vukash es avon Yisrael v'einenu*"** — 'in those days and that time — the sin of Israel shall be *sought and shall be no more*.' **"Ki l'asid yih'yeh kulo *teshuvah*, v'al y'dei ha'teshuvah *z'donos na'asin zechuyos*"** (Yoma 86b) — 'in the future all will be teshuvah, and through teshuvah *intentional sins become merits*.' **"V'yih'yeh na'aseh mei'aveiros Yisrael — Torah!"** — 'Israel's former aveiros will *literally become Torah*.' **Why *y'vukash***: **"V'al kein *y'vakshu* az ha'avonos, ki *y'vakshu v'y'chapsu* az achar avonos Yisrael — eich lokchin od eizeh avon k'dei la'asos mimenu Torah!"** — 'that is why *they will seek* the sins — they will search for *one more aveirah to convert into Torah!*' (teshuvah's appetite). **"V'einenu" = nichlal ba'Ein Sof**: **"V'zehu: '*v'einenu*' — ki yih'yu kol ha'avonos *nichlalin ba'Ayin*, heyno *ba'Ein Sof*, she'sham ha'avonos *nis'hapchin li'z'chuyos* al y'dei ha'teshuvah"** — '*v'einenu* = all the avonos *become absorbed in the Ayin* = *Ein Sof* — where, via teshuvah, sins *reverse into merits*.' **"She'zehu b'chinas 'yeridah tachlis ha'aliyah' ha'nal"** — 'this is *yeridah tachlis aliyah*.' **Hoshea 14:2** **"*Shuvah Yisrael ad Hashem Elokecha, ki chashalta ba'avonecha*"** — 'return, Israel, to Hashem your G-d, *for you have stumbled in your sin*.' **"Heyno: al y'dei ha'teshuvah yih'yeh na'aseh mei'ha'aveiros b'chinas *michshelah*, she'hu ha'Torah, ka'nal"** — 'through teshuvah, aveiros become *michshelah = Torah*.' Intermediate: **Ois יא — Yeridah = tachlis aliyah.** • To ascend from one na'aseh/nishma to higher: prior descent/stumbling required. • **AZ 4b**: David + Israel — HKBH engineered michshol *l'horos teshuvah*. • **Yesh 3:6 "v'ha'michshelah hazos tachas yadecha"** + **Shab 120a / Git 43a**: divrei Torah=ein omed ela im kein nichshal; *omed*=tefillah (**Ber 6b**). • **Yirm 50:20 "y'vukash avon Yisrael v'einenu"** + **Yoma 86b** z'donos→zechuyos; sins absorbed *ba'Ein Sof* → reverse. • **Hoshea 14:2 "shuvah... ki chashalta ba'avonecha"**: aveirah → michshelah → Torah.

Beginner: **Section — The Avos 5:23-24 Mishnah (*Yehudah ben Teima* — *hevei az ka'nameir*) *prays in the middle* of itself: '*y'hi ratzon she'tibaneh ircha bi'm'heirah b'yameinu.*' Why a tefillah in the middle of a statement? Because the Mishnah first commands oz-d'kedushah, then warns oz-d'sitra-achra = Gehinom — leaving us unable to distinguish. The tefillah: grant me the knowledge to use *only oz d'kedushah*, which *builds Yerushalayim* = *kiryah ne'emanah* = emunah. And the path: *v'sein chelkeinu b'Sorasecha*.** **The Mishnah**: **Avos 5:23-24** **"Yehudah ben Teima omer: Hevei *az ka'nameir* v'kal ka'nesher v'ratz ka'tz'vi v'gibor ka'ari la'asos r'tzon Avicha she'ba'Shamayim. Hu hayah omer: *az panim l'Gehinnom*, u'voshes panim l'Gan Eden. Y'hi ratzon she'tibaneh ircha bi'm'heirah b'yameinu v'sein chelkeinu b'Sorasecha"** — 'Yehudah ben Teima said: be *brazen as a leopard*, swift as an eagle, fleet as a deer, strong as a lion to do the will of your Father in Heaven. He used to say: *the brazen-faced for Gehinnom, the bashful-faced for Gan Eden. May it be Your will that Your city be built speedily in our days and give us our portion in Your Torah*.' **First part — oz d'kedushah required**: **"Mazhir al *oz d'kedushah* — she'tzarich ha'adam she'yih'yeh az ka'nameir negged kol ha'kamim kenegdo l'mone'a oso, chas v'shalom, mei'avodaso"** — 'he warns about *oz d'kedushah* — that one must be *az ka'nameir* against everything that rises to block his avodah.' **Second part — oz d'sitra-achra forbidden**: **"V'teikef u'miyad m'va'eir sham *godel ha'pegam v'ha'isur* shel ha'azus panim d'sitra-achra: '*az panim l'Gehinnom*'"** — 'immediately he explains the *severity of the prohibition* of oz-d'sitra-achra: the *brazen-faced go to Gehinnom*.' **The confusion**: **"V'im kein efshar *lit'os*, chas v'shalom, ki b'hechre'ach tzrichin la'azus bi'sh'vil ha'kedushah, ki ei efshar l'his'kareiv el ha'kedushah be'emes ki im al y'dei azus, u'mi'tzad acheir ha'azus ra me'od"** — 'one could *err*, c'v: on one hand oz is *required* for kedushah; on the other, oz is *very evil*.' **The dilemma explicit**: **"'*Nafal puta b'veira*' (Shabbos 67b) — ki ein yod'in eich l'his'naheig"** — ''the flask fell into the well' — we don't know how to conduct ourselves.' **The tefillah is the solution**: **"Al zeh bikeish ha'Tanna: *Y'hi ratzon she'tibaneh ircha bi'm'heirah b'yameinu*"** (which on its face is a great difficulty: what is its connection to the surrounding text? and it is not the Mishnah's style to insert a tefillah in the middle of a statement? — but now it is perfectly clear): **"She'hispalel she'yiz'keh la'yada eich l'hisnahaig b'inyan ha'azus, heyno she'lo yih'yeh lo shum azus d'sitra-achra, rak she'yiz'keh she'yih'yeh lo *azus d'kedushah*, she'al yado nivneh Yerushalayim, *kiryah ne'emanah*, heyno she'zochin la'*emunah* al y'dei zeh ha'azus"** — 'he prayed to *merit knowing how to conduct himself with oz* — to have *no oz d'sitra-achra*, only *oz d'kedushah*, which builds Yerushalayim = *kiryah ne'emanah* = emunah.' **Why oz d'kedushah → Yerushalayim → emunah**: **"Kamvu'ar l'eil, she'ei efshar l'his'kareiv la'tzaddikim amitiyim, she'heim b'chinas *k'laliyus shivah ro'im*, she'heim *k'laliyus ha'kedushah*, she'*ikar ha'emunah nimshach al y'dam*, ki im al y'dei azus ka'nal"** — 'as explained earlier: one cannot come close to the true tzaddikim — the 7-shepherds/kedushah-klal — *from whom emunah flows* — except via oz.' **Re-decoding the Mishnah's tefillah**: **"V'zehu: 'Y'hi ratzon she'tibaneh ircha bi'm'heirah b'yameinu' — heyno she'yih'yeh ha'azus *azus d'kedushah* she'mimenu nivneh Yerushalayim, *kiryah ne'emanah*"** — 'i.e., may my oz be *d'kedushah*, building Yerushalayim = *kiryah ne'emanah (faithful city)* — = *emunah*.' **The path — *v'sein chelkeinu b'Sorasecha***: **"Ach lavo l'zeh hu al y'dei '*v'sein chelkeinu b'Sorasecha*', heyno al y'dei she'masigin *b'chinas na'aseh v'nishma*, she'osin mei'ha'*nishma na'aseh*, *mi'Toras Hashem — Toraso*, d'heyno she'zocheh l'hasig Toras Hashem ka'nal"** — 'to come *to that oz d'kedushah*: via *v'sein chelkeinu b'Sorasecha* = attaining *na'aseh v'nishma* — transforming *nishma to na'aseh = Toras-Hashem to Toraso*.' **Decoding *chelkeinu b'Sorasecha***: **"V'zehu: '*v'sein chelkeinu b'Sorasecha*' — she'yih'yeh *chelkeinu*, she'hu ha'chelek shelanu ba'Torah — heyno b'chinas *Toraso, b'chinas na'aseh* — *b'Sorasecha*, heyno *Toras Hashem* mamash, heyno she'yiz'keh l'hikaleil ba'Ayin ka'nal, she'yiz'keh l'hasig *Toras Hashem b'chinas nishma*"** — 'give *our portion* (= Toraso/na'aseh) *in Your Torah* (Toras-Hashem/nishma) — to be absorbed in the Ayin and grasp *Toras-Hashem at the nishma-level*.' **And → simchah → oz d'kedushah**: **"She'al y'dei zeh zochin l'*simchah* ka'nal, she'al y'dei zeh zochin l'*oz d'kedushah* ka'nal"** (Nechemiah 8:10) — 'this brings *simchah* → oz-d'kedushah.' **Nechemiah 8:10** **"Ki *chedvas Hashem hi ma'uzchem*"** — 'for *the joy of Hashem is your stronghold*.' Simchah literally *is* the oz d'kedushah. **Closing — *u'voshes panim l'Gan Eden***: **"V'zeh: '*u'voshes panim l'Gan Eden*' — ki b'emes zeh ha'azus d'kedushah nimshach mi'*boshes*, ki la'azus [tzarich kodem boshes d'kedushah she'kol oz d'kedushah nimshach mimena]"** — 'and *bashful-faced for Gan Eden* — for in truth oz-d'kedushah *flows from boshes* — the d'kedushah-shame *precedes and generates the d'kedushah-oz*.' (The Mishnah's two halves are *not contradictory* — boshes d'kedushah is the *source* of oz d'kedushah.) Intermediate: **Ois יב — Mishnah decoded (Avos 5:23-24).** • *Hevei az ka'nameir* = oz d'kedushah *required*. • *Az panim l'Gehinnom* = oz d'sitra-achra *forbidden*. • Apparent contradiction = *nafal puta b'veira* (**Shab 67b**). • Resolution = the mid-Mishnah tefillah: *y'hi ratzon she'tibaneh ircha* = build only with oz-d'kedushah → Yerushalayim = *kiryah ne'emanah* = emunah. • Path: *v'sein chelkeinu b'Sorasecha* = na'aseh/nishma = Toras-Hashem → Toraso → simchah → oz-d'kedushah: **Nech 8:10 "chedvas Hashem hi ma'uzchem."** • *U'voshes panim l'Gan Eden* = boshes d'kedushah is the *source* of oz-d'kedushah.

Beginner: **Section — The *R' Elazar Ze'ira* story (BK 59a) decoded phrase-by-phrase: his *black shoes* = corruption of raglin (chotam → nidah). The challenge of whether he is *chashuv* — whether gadlus invaded. Chavshu'hu (arrested him) = the standard punishment for gadlus. The kofra-tamrei-b'shishim exchange = *pegam ba'oz, emunah, Gehinnom*.** **The gemara**: **Bava Kamma 59b** (Rabbeinu cites as BK 59): **"*Elazar Ze'ira hu'ah sim m'sana ach'ma.* Amru lei: *Mai avdas?* Amar: *Ka mis'abalnu al Yerushalayim*"** — 'Elazar Ze'ira wore *black shoes*. They asked: *what are you doing?* He said: *I am mourning for Yerushalayim*.' **The decode — why black shoes = mourning Yerushalayim**: **"Ki hayah mis'abeil al Yerushalayim *kiryah ne'emanah*, heyno *al kilkul ha'emunah*"** — 'he mourned Yerushalayim = *kiryah ne'emanah* = *the corruption of emunah*.' **"V'al kein sim m'sana ach'ma, l'horos she'nis'kalkeil *chotam ha'raglin*, v'na'aseh mi'*'chotam'* — *'dam nidah'*"** — 'he wore *black shoes* to *indicate that the chotam ha'raglin was corrupted* — *chotam* becoming *dam nidah*.' **Why black = nidah**: **"V'zeh: *'m'sana ach'ma'* — she'nis'kalkeil ha'raglin v'na'aseh nidas, ki '*hai shachor adom hu*' (Chullin 47b), v'zeh na'aseh al y'dei *kilkul ha'emunah*, ki ikar hu ha'emunah"** — 'his *shoes are black* — i.e., raglin corrupted to *nidah* — because *this black is actually red* (gemara Chullin: black bloods are in fact red at root; blackness denotes stale/corrupted red = nidah-class). **"K'mvu'ar l'ma'alah, *she'al y'dei kilkul ha'emunah* she'hu b'chinas chotam ha'yadayim, nis'kalkeil mimeila chotam ha'raglin, ki ikar hu ha'emunah"** — 'as explained above: the yad-chotam breach (emunah) automatically breaches the raglin-chotam, since emunah is primary.' **The interrogation — *mi chashiv at***: **"Amru lei: *mi chashiv at l'is'abuli*?"** — 'they said: *are you important enough to mourn [publicly for Yerushalayim]?*' **"Heyno she'chash'duhu she'yeish lo *gadlus*, v'al kein al yadcha nis'kalkelu ha'raglin"** — 'they suspected him of *gadlus/arrogance*, and that *through his gadlus the raglin were corrupted*.' **Source — gadlus corrupts raglin**: **Tehillim 36:12** **"*Al t'voeini regel ga'avah*"** — 'let not a *foot of arrogance* come upon me.' **"Ki al y'dei gadlus nis'kalkelu ha'raglin"** — 'through *gadlus* the raglin are corrupted.' **"'*Kol ha'misga'eh, k'ilu docheik raglei ha'Shechinah*'"** (Berachos 43b — 'anyone who is arrogant is as if he pushes the feet of the Shechinah'; see Chidushei Agados there; also Kiddushin 31a; the Ran there). **Chavshu'hu — arrest = gadlus-onesh**: **"V'al kein *keivan she'chash'duhu b'gadlus, chav'shuhu*, ki onesh ha'gadlus hu *t'fisah*"** — 'since they suspected gadlus, they *arrested* him — the *punishment for gadlus is imprisonment*.' **Megillah 13b** **"*V'im higis da'ato, ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu mash'pilo*, she'ne'emar '*v'im asurim ba'zikim*'"** (Iyov 36:8) — 'if a man raises his mind, HKBH humbles him — *and if bound in fetters*.' **"Nimtza she'onesh ha'gadlus — t'fisah — v'al kein chav'shuhu"** — 'the punishment for gadlus = arrest.' **The test — *amar l'hu: bau mina'i o iba'ei min'chu***: **"*Keivan she'chash'duhu b'gadlus chav'shuhu. Amar l'hu: bau mina'i o iba'ei mi'nechu? Ki zeh yih'yeh nisayon im yeish li gadlus — az ra'ui she'lo uchal l'hashiv lachem, ki '*kol ha'misga'eh, chochmaso mis'taleket mimenu*' (Pesachim 66b)"** — 'he said: *ask me, or I shall ask you?* [because this will be the *test of gadlus*: if I have gadlus, I shall not be able to answer, since '*whoever grows arrogant, his chochmah departs from him*'.' The absence of chochmah would prove gadlus.] **First question — *kotz kufra***: **"Ba'i minihu: *Hai ma'an d'katz kufra, mai m'shaleim?*"** — 'they asked him: *one who cuts down a young palm, what does he pay?*' **"*Katz kufra* — hu b'chinas *she'pagam b'oz*"** — '*cutting the kufra* = *damaging oz*.' **"*Kufra* — hu b'chinas *oz, b'chinas kolos*"** — '*kufra* (related to *k'firim* — young lions) = *oz*, *kolos*.' **Tehillim 104:21** **"*Ha'k'firim sho'agim la'taref*"** — '*young lions roar for prey*.' (Lions = kolos-oz.) **The answer — *m'shaleim kufra***: **"V'sha'al: *Mai m'shaleim mi she'pagam b'zeh ha'oz?* V'heishivu: *M'shaleim kufra* — k'mo she'pagam y'shaleim"** — 'he asked: *what does one who damaged oz pay?* They answered: *pays kufra* — he pays for what he damaged.' **Second — *v'ha ka havei tamrei***: **"V'sha'al: *v'ha ka havei tamrei?* — ki al y'dei she'pagam ba'oz yachol lavo l'kilkul ha'emunah. V'zeh *tamrei*, b'chinas 'ha'heimir goy elohim, v'ami heimir k'vodo'"** (Yirmeyah 2:11) — 'he asked: *but it would have borne tamarin (dates)?* — via oz-pegam one can come to *emunah-corruption* — *tamrei* from *heimir = exchange/betrayal* (Yirmeyah 2:11: 'did a nation *exchange* its gods? yet My people *exchanged* My honor').' **The answer — *y'shaleim tamrei***: **"V'heishivu: *y'shaleim tamrei* — k'mo she'magia al kilkul ha'emunah"** — 'they answered: *pays tamrei* — for corruption of emunah.' **Third — *v'ha lo havei tamrei***: **"*V'ha lo havei tamrei?* — ki af al pi kein *adayin lo ba li'k'firos*"** — 'but it *hasn't yet* become tamrei — i.e., he hasn't yet come to kefirah.' **The final — *b'shishim***: **"V'heshiv: *b'shishim* — heyno *Gehinnom*, 'she'kol ha'olam echad mi'shishim l'Gehinnom' (Ta'anis 10a), ki '*az panim l'Gehinnom*'"** — 'he answered: *one part in sixty* = *Gehinnom*, 'the whole world is 1/60 of Gehinnom' (Ta'anis 10a; the ratio of ongoing-punishment-domain to revealed-world), because '*oz panim l'Gehinnom*'.' **"Ki onesh ha'shi'bud malchiyos v'chulei [heiclif Avraham Avinu; aval] onesh ha'azus nish'ar rak b'Gehinnom"** (see Midrash Rabbah Lech-Lecha 42; P'kudei 51 — the Avraham-exchange of possible onshim: Avraham preferred subjugation/exile over Gehinnom — but *oz-onesh* is the one category he could not trade). Only Gehinnom absorbs oz-pegam. Intermediate: **Ois יג — *R' Elazar Ze'ira* (BK 59b) decoded**. • Black shoes = kilkul raglin → chotam→nidah (**"hai shachor adom hu," Chul 47b**). • Root: kilkul emunah (yad-chotam) automatically breaches raglin-chotam. • *Mi chashiv at* = chash'duhu b'*gadlus* (→ corrupts raglin: **Teh 36:12** *regel ga'avah*, **Ber 43b** docheik raglei Shechinah). • Gadlus-onesh = t'fisah (chav'shuhu): **Meg 13b** *v'im asurim ba'zikim* (Iyov 36:8). • Test: *kol ha'misga'eh, chochmaso mis'talekes* (**Pes 66b**). • *Kotz kufra* = pegam b'oz (**Teh 104:21** *k'firim sho'agim la'taref*). • *Tamrei* = heimir/emunah-corruption (**Yirm 2:11**). • *B'shishim* = Gehinnom (**Ta'an 10a** 1/60); oz-onesh uniquely stays in Gehinnom (MR Lech-Lecha 42).

Beginner: **Editorial header — *Hashmatos shayachim l'Torah ha-zos*** ('Supplements belonging to this Torah'). Reb Nosson opens the *hashmatos* (addenda) section: short, focused additions that Rabbeinu gave at separate times and that complete or extend specific points of the main teaching. The next six oisos (19-24) are these hashmatos. They run quickly through: the *eikev*-pasuk's coding of the mochichim; the kol-azus principle as it applies to the shofar and nigun; the historical case of Rabban Gamliel's dor; the malachim's own na'aseh/nishma; the formal halacha that there is no access to kedushah except via azus; and the magnitude of *bushah* as the closing motif. Intermediate: **Header**: 'Hashmatos shayachim l'Torah ha-zos' — addenda Rabbeinu gave at separate times that extend specific points of T22. Six short oisos (19-24).

Beginner: **Hashmata א — the verse *'v'hayah eikev tishm'un'* unfolded against the chosam-d'raglin / mochichim mechanism**. ***'V'hayah eikev tishm'un es ha-mishpatim ha-eileh'*** — 'and it shall be, *eikev* (in the *heel*, or as Rashi: as a consequence of) you shall *hear* these *mishpatim* (judgments)' (Devarim 7:12, the opening verse of *parshas Eikev*). Rabbeinu reads each word against the structure of the main Torah: ***'eikev'*** = *bechinas raglayin* (the heels are the lower extremity of the body, identified throughout T22 with the lower partzuf-NH); ***and raglayin = bechinas ha-mochichim*** (the rebukers of the generation), as established above in Ois א of the main Torah; *u-lahem megalim ha-dinim, v'heim mochichim es ha-dor* — *and to them (the mochichim/raglayin) the dinim are revealed, and they rebuke the dor with them.* So decoding the verse: ***'v'hayah eikev'*** = it shall come about *through the agency of the eikev/raglayin/mochichim*; ***'tishm'un es ha-mishpatim ha-eileh'*** = *you (the dor) will hear these mishpatim/dinim* — because *to them, the mochichim, the dinim are revealed, and they rebuke the dor by them.* The famous Rashi-reading of *eikev* as 'as a consequence' (treading underfoot) is reframed as a kabbalistic indication of *which channel* the dinim travel through to reach Klal Yisrael: not directly from Heaven to the dor, but always *through* the raglayin-mochichim of the generation. Hence the practical hod'ah-rule that flows out of the entire main Torah: *if you want to hear the mishpatim before they crash on you, listen to the eikev — listen to the mochichim while their voice is still rebuke and not yet decree.* Intermediate: **Hashmata א**: ***'V'hayah eikev tishm'un es ha-mishpatim'*** (Dev 7:12). Eikev = raglayin = ***mochichim*** (= Ois א of main); lahem megalim ha-dinim, v'heim mochichim es ha-dor. Verse: from the channel of the mochichim, you will hear the mishpatim/dinim.

Beginner: **Hashmata ב — *every kol* is *azus*; the *kol ha-mochiach* and the *kol ha-nigun* are both *kol shofar***. ***Kol ha-kolos heim bechinas azus*** — every voice (every audible *kol*) is in the bechina of *azus* (the spiritual brazenness/forwardness that makes a sound break out into the world, as established in Ois ד of the main Torah). Two specific kolos are now identified: ***kol ha-mochiach hu bechinas kol shofar*** — the voice of the rebuker is in the bechina of the shofar's voice, as it is written *'k'shofar harem kolecha'* — 'lift up your voice like a shofar' (Yeshayahu 58:1, the navi commanded to rebuke as a shofar). ***V'chein kol nigun*** — and likewise the voice of melody. Source-verse: *'heitivu nagen bi'sru'ah'* — 'play well with *teru'ah*' (Tehillim 33:3). The *kol ha-nigun* is *bechinas teru'ah*, which is *bechinas shofar*, which is the same *azus* that fuels prophetic rebuke. The same vocal-azus underlies the navi's mussar-cry and the music of the leviim and the dor's nigun in tefillah — three faces of the one shofar-energy that the prophet, the rebuker, and the singer all draw upon. (And from this it also returns to *'v'atah sir'eh es ami'* — the ro'im of the dor, who shepherd through the same kol-azus.) Intermediate: **Hashmata ב**: ***Kol ha-kolos = azus***. **Kol ha-mochiach = kol shofar** ('k'shofar harem kolecha,' Yesh 58:1). **Kol ha-nigun = teru'ah = shofar** ('heitivu nagen bi'sru'ah,' Teh 33:3). Three faces of one shofar-azus.

Beginner: **Hashmata ג — Rabban Gamliel's dor was a *nishma/tefillah/amidah* dor; his death = *batel kvod ha-Torah***. *Bi'yemei Rabban Gamliel hayah ha-dor she-haysah Torasam bechinas 'nishma,' bechinas tefillah* — in the days of Rabban Gamliel (II of Yavneh), the generation was such that *their Torah was in the bechina of 'nishma'* (the higher half of na'aseh/nishma — the hidden, prayerful, prophetic side, as Ois י-יג of the main Torah established). **Source-Chazal** (Megillah 21a): ***'bi'yemei Rabban Gamliel hayu lomdim Torah ba-amidah'*** — 'in the days of Rabban Gamliel, they used to learn Torah *standing*' — **and *amidah* (standing) is bechinas tefillah** (the central tefillah is *Amidah*, the silent standing prayer). The unique posture-halacha of his dor is the historical signature of a 'nishma/tefillah'-Torah generation: their very mode of study was tefillah-standing because their Torah was *nishma*. **And therefore**: ***mi-shemes Rabban Gamliel batel kvod ha-Torah*** — 'when Rabban Gamliel died, the *kvod ha-Torah* ceased' (Megillah 21a, Sotah 49b — the famous statement listing what was lost when each great tanna died). The cessation was not a generic decline; it was the specific loss of the standing-Torah/nishma-Torah quality, which only Rabban Gamliel's stature could sustain. *Kvod ha-Torah* in his dor was the kavod of *nishma*, which is the kavod of tefillah-amidah; once the dor's NH-mochichim could no longer hold that level, the standing-Torah collapsed into seated study, and *kvod ha-Torah* in its prior sense was *batel*. Intermediate: **Hashmata ג**: Dor R. Gamliel = Torah b'bechinas ***'nishma' = tefillah***. Source: ***'bi'yemei R"G hayu lomdim Torah ba-amidah'*** (Meg 21a) — amidah = tefillah. Lachen ***mi-shemes R"G batel kvod ha-Torah*** (Meg 21a, Sotah 49b) — apsikas ha-Torah-amidah/nishma.

Beginner: **Hashmata ד — *na'aseh v'nishma* exists in *every* world; even *malachim* have it***. *B'chol olam yesh bechinas na'aseh v'nishma* — in every world there is a bechina of na'aseh-and-nishma (extending the main Torah's principle from human dargos to the cosmic ladder). **And so too in the malachim** (the angels) themselves there is na'aseh and nishma. **Source-verse**: *'giborei koach osei d'varo li'shmo'a b'kol d'varo'* — 'mighty in strength, *doing* His word, to *hear* the voice of His word' (Tehillim 103:20). The malachim are described in this single verse as both *osei* (doers — *na'aseh*) and *li'shmo'a* (hearing — *nishma*). The same paradox of order that startled Yisrael at Sinai is built into the malachim's own service. **And as Chazal said** (Shabbos 88a): when Yisrael at Sinai said *na'aseh v'nishma* in that order, a heavenly voice declared, ***'mi gilah raz zeh l'vanai — raz she-malachei ha-shareis mishtam'shin bo?'*** — 'Who has revealed *this raz* (this mystic secret) to My children — *the very raz that the ministering angels make use of?'* The chazal seals the parallel: na'aseh/nishma is the angels' own working pattern, and Yisrael at Har Sinai uncovered it. (And this teaching extends the main Torah's progressive na'aseh/nishma ladder upward beyond olam ha-atzilus to the malachim themselves — every world in the seder hishtalshelus has its own na'aseh/nishma pair, each generating the next.) Intermediate: **Hashmata ד**: ***Bechol olam yesh na'aseh v'nishma*** — gam ba-malachim. **Pasuk**: 'giborei koach **osei** d'varo **li'shmo'a** b'kol d'varo' (Teh 103:20) — osei (na'aseh) + li'shmo'a (nishma). **Chazal Shab 88a**: 'mi gilah raz zeh l'vanai — raz she-malachei ha-shareis mishtam'shin bo' (Yisrael b'Har Sinai he'eluh ma'amad ha-malachim). Madregas na'aseh/nishma orchas kol seder ha-hishtalshelus.

Beginner: **Hashmata ה — there is *no access to kedushah except via azus***. *I efshar l'his'kareiv el ha-kedushah ki im al yedei azus* — 'it is impossible to draw close to the kedushah except by way of *azus*.' This is the categorical formulation of the principle Rabbeinu had already developed in Ois ד of the main Torah (where azus d'kedushah was identified as the only way to reach the *ro'im* who hold the kelalus of kedushah). The hashmata sharpens it into a flat halachic-style rule: *no kedushah without azus*. **Two source-anchors**: (i) ***'hevei az ka-namer'*** (Avos 5:20, Yehudah ben Teima) — 'be brazen as a leopard' — the Mishnah's explicit instruction to cultivate azus as the very first item in its list of avodah-traits; and (ii) the gemara: ***'lo nitnah Torah l'Yisrael ela mipnei she-hein azin'*** (Beitzah 25b) — 'the Torah was given to Yisrael only because they are *azin* (brazen)' (the gemara's explanation of why specifically Yisrael could receive the Torah — it requires precisely the brazenness to overturn the world's assumptions). The hashmata aligns with the main Torah: *azus d'kedushah is not a personality-flaw to be tolerated; it is the precise structural prerequisite for entering kedushah at all.* The *azus panim la'Gehinnom* warning of the Mishnah (above, Ois ז of the main) is the inverse misuse, but the underlying trait itself is non-negotiable. Intermediate: **Hashmata ה**: ***Ein his'karvus el ha-kedushah ela al yedei azus***. (i) Avos 5:20 'hevei az ka-namer'; (ii) Beitzah 25b 'lo nitnah Torah l'Yisrael ela mipnei she-hein azin.' Charizah u-machchadah shel ekron Ois ד.

Beginner: **Hashmata ו (closing) — *gedolah bushah*; the doubled 'lo yevoshu' of Yoel and the gemara that mines it**. *Gedolah bushah* — '*great is bushah* (shame).' Rabbeinu draws the magnitude from the doubled phrase in the navi: ***'va-achaltem achol v'savoa, v'hilaltem es shem Hashem Elokeichem... v'lo yevoshu ami l'olam // v'lo yevoshu ami l'olam'*** — 'and you shall eat and be satisfied... and My nation shall not be ashamed, for ever // and My nation shall not be ashamed, for ever' (Yoel 2:26-27 — *'lo yevoshu'* repeated in two consecutive verses). The repetition is the key. **Chazal** (Moed Katan 9b) extract from this doubling that *bushah* is so grave a category that the Tanach pronounces its erasure twice — a single 'lo yevoshu' would not suffice to repair the magnitude of the cosmic shame at stake. The closing of the hashmatos lands here because the next coarse seg (Ois 25 of the main Torah, which Rabbeinu originally placed *first* — see Reb Nosson's note in Ois 26) is the great teaching that *Gan Eden and Gehinnom are in olam ha-zeh itself, and the tza'ar of bushah is greater than the suffering of Gehinnom.* Hashmata ו is the bridge: the doubled *lo yevoshu* is the navi's own preview of how massive the bushah-axis really is in the avodas Hashem of the dor. Intermediate: **Hashmata ו (chosem)**: ***Gedolah bushah*** — Yoel 2:26-27 doubles 'v'lo yevoshu ami l'olam' (MK 9b). Bushah cosmically grave — pasuk repeats hatzharas mechikah. Gesher l'Ois 25 ha-ba'ah (gan eden v'gehinnom b'olam ha-zeh, tza'ar bushah > onesh Gehinnom).

Beginner: **Section — *Gan Eden v'Gehinnom* are in *this world* literally — one cannot reach them only due to the *cold* (kerirus) of tzafon-darom. And *tza'ar ha'bushah* is greater than Gehinnom — all yissurim carry shame-pain — and even the tzaddikim are scorched by each other's *chupah* at the time to come. If one is on a level free of shame before people — he must still be ashamed before HKBH, who Himself performs all the Torah.** **Gan Eden + Gehinnom are in this world**: **"Ha'Gan Eden v'ha'Gehinnom heim *b'zeh ha'olam mamash*, ach ei efshar lavo l'sham mei'chamas *ha'k'rirus she'b'tzad tzafon v'darom*"** — 'Gan Eden and Gehinnom are *literally in this world* — one simply cannot travel there because of the *cold of the north and south quadrants*.' (They are spatially present but travel-inaccessible.) **Tza'ar ha'bushah > Gehinnom**: **"V'tza'ar ha'bushah gadol me'od, *yoser mi'onesh Gehinnom*"** — 'the *pain of shame* is very great — *greater than the punishment of Gehinnom*.' **"V'kol yissurei olam hazeh yeish ba'hem *tza'ar ha'bushah* — she'mis'bayeish mei'chaveirav al she'yeish lo yissurim"** — 'all yissurim in this world *carry shame-pain* — he is ashamed before his fellows over having yissurim.' (The social-humiliation component of suffering outweighs its physical pain.) **Le'asid la'vo — even tzaddikim scorched by each other's chupah**: **"V'chein l'asid lavo, tza'ar ha'bushah gadol me'od — va'afilu *kol tzaddik nichve mei'chuposo shel chaveiro* — *oy l'osah bushah, oy l'osah k'limah*"** — 'so too in the future — the shame-pain is very great — *even every tzaddik is scorched from his fellow's chupah* — *woe to that shame, woe to that disgrace*.' **Source — Bava Basra 75a**: **"*P'nei Moshe ki'f'nei chamah, p'nei Yehoshua ki'f'nei l'vanah* — oy lah l'osah bushah, oy lah l'osah k'limah"** — 'Moshe's face was like the sun; Yehoshua's like the moon — *woe to that shame, woe to that disgrace* [of Yehoshua's lesser radiance-shame beside Moshe].' **"Mi'kol shekein eich yis'bai'shu ha'chot'im, rachmana litzlan"** — '*all the more so* how will the sinners be shamed [at that time]!' **If already above human-shame — shame before HKBH**: **"V'im hu b'madreigah she'ein tzarich l'his'bayesh mi'shum adam — *yeish l'his'bayesh mei'ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu*, ki ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu *m'kayeim kol ha'Torah*"** — 'if one is already beyond needing to feel shame before men — he must still be *ashamed before HKBH* — for *HKBH Himself performs the whole Torah*.' **HKBH performs mitzvos — examples**: **"Ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu *koveir meisim* v'chulei; ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu *m'vakeir cholim* v'chulei"** — 'HKBH *buries the dead* (per Sotah 14a on Moshe's burial) *visits the sick* (per BM 86b on Avraham after the bris).' **"U'sh'ar mitzvos ha'Torah she'chashvu Rabboseinu, zichronam livrachah, she'ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu *m'kayeim osam*"** — 'and other Torah-mitzvos Chazal list — which HKBH *performs*.' **HKBH also davens**: **"V'gam ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu *mispallel*"** — 'HKBH *prays*.' **Berachos 7a**: **"Minayin she'ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu mispallel v'chulei? U'mai mispallel? *Yehi ratzon mi'l'fanai*"** — 'how do we know HKBH prays? what does He pray? *may it be the will [before Me] that My mercy conquer My wrath*.' HKBH Himself ratifies the kavanah-form of tefillah. **The gap — HKBH vs us**: **"U'v'vadai she'ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu m'kayeim mitzvos ha'Torah u'tefillah, k'mo she'ra'ui l'ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu"** — 'certainly HKBH performs mitzvos and tefillah *as befits HKBH*.' **"V'kamah rachok bein kiyum ha'Torah shelo u'vein tefillah shelo l'Torah v'tefillah shel Hashem Yisbarach [shel adam l'va'adam]"** — 'and how vast the gulf between HKBH's kiyum ha'Torah and tefillah vs ours.' (Ours vs HKBH's Torah-tefillah — same words, ontologically different realities.) **Na'aseh v'nishma scales all the way up**: **"Ki kol echad ovei'd es Hashem Yisbarach l'fi madreigaso bi'v'chinas *na'aseh v'nishma*, heyno *Torah u'tefillah* ka'nal"** — 'each serves HKBH at *his own level* of *na'aseh v'nishma* = Torah+tefillah.' The na'aseh/nishma pair from earlier applies to *every being* — even HKBH *relates to His own Torah* in a na'aseh/nishma structure — we relate to ours in ours, and the shame of the gap between them is *inescapable* even for the most elevated among us. Intermediate: **Ois — Gan Eden + Gehinnom in *this* world — inaccessible only via *k'rirus* of tzafon+darom.** • *Tza'ar ha'bushah > Gehinnom*. All yissurim carry bushah. • **BB 75a**: p'nei Moshe/Yehoshua; tzaddikim nichveh mei'chupas chaveiro — *oy l'osah bushah*. • If beyond human-shame → bushah *before HKBH*, who Himself performs all mitzvos: **Sotah 14a** koveir meisim; **BM 86b** m'vakeir cholim; **Ber 7a** HKBH mispallel (*yehi ratzon... she'y'chavshu rachamai es ka'asi*). • Na'aseh v'nishma (Torah+tefillah) scales *per level* — even HKBH at His; chasm between ours and His = structural bushah.

Beginner: **R"N editorial**: **"When he began this Torah, he started with **this matter** — Gan Eden, Gehinnom, tza'ar ha'bushah — and moved into the matter of Hashem's **Torah u'tefilah** (as in this text), and by this he connected ma'aneh to ma'aneh until completing the whole Torah. But when I wrote the Torah before him, he rearranged slightly and commanded me to **begin with 'chosam b'soch chosam'** as above; and Hashem knows his intent."** Intermediate: R"N: Rabbeinu originally started with Gan Eden/Gehinnom/bushah theme, transitioned to Torah+tefilah, chained to completion. He had me re-order to open with **"chosam b'soch chosam."** Hashem knows his intent.

Beginner: **Closing doxology** (editorial): **"M'romam hu Elahin b'kadmisa u'v'sriyasa, d'tzvei v'isr'ei bein u'masar lan oraysa, d'zachina l'sayma Sifra d'Tzni'usa. Ke'an narim yadana, kadam Elakana, d'ya'amod lana li'mina, l'has'chil u'l'migmar razin ila'in ha'ganuzim b'savei d'bei Asuna."** — 'Exalted is our G-d from first to last, who desired and chose a son and handed us the Torah, that we have merited to finish **Sifra d'Tzni'usa**. Now let us raise our hand before our G-d, that He stand at our right, to begin and complete the supernal secrets hidden in the **Elders of the House of Athens** (= the upcoming Torah).' Transition from Sifra d'Tzni'usa chapters into the **Savei d'Bei Asuna** aggadah. Intermediate: Closing doxology: thanksgiving for completing **Sifra d'Tzni'usa** chapters; invocation to begin **Savei d'Bei Asuna** (Elders of House of Athens, next aggadah).