Parshas Balak describes the story of Bilam, including Bilam’s intended curses, which Hashem transformed into blessings. One of the curses was as follows: (Bamidbar 23:10)
Chapter 1:
“Who can count the dirt of Yaakov, or the number of רֹבַ ע - one-fourth of Yisrael? May my (Bilam’s) soul die like the upright people and may my end be like theirs!”
This blessing (that Hashem said through Bilam) means that ‘One cannot count the Jewish people, since they will be numerous like the dust.’ However, we need to understand two points:
- Why does it say that there is a number for the “one-fourth of Yisrael,” implying that there is a limited number of Jews, if the verse said previously that the Jewish People cannot be counted, implying that they have no number?
- What is the idea of saying, “Or the number of רֹבַ ע - one fourth of Yisrael?” What is the significance of “one fourth” in terms of counting the Jewish People?
The Alter Rebbe will begin to analyze the above verse and explain these questions:
“רֹבַ ע” has two explanations: One explanation is that it means “one fourth.” The second explanation is that it means “a total of four.” To understand the significance of the number four in counting the Jewish People, we need to explain that there are four main aspects of the Jewish person, as will be clarified later.
The idea is as follows: It is written (Yeshaya 43:7), “Everything that is called by My Name and exists for My Glory, I have created it, formed it, and also made it.” These three stages (created, formed, made) correspond to the three aspects of thought, speech, and action.
Three Aspects: Thought, Speech, and Action
“I have created it” is the aspect of thought, which is similar to creation of something from nothing comparable, just like thought comes from the subconscious, which is not comparable to conscious thought.
“I have formed it,” is the aspect of speech, which is when a form is applied to the letters of thought, causing the letters of thought to take on a more defined form.
“I have also made it,” is the aspect of action. The verse uses the word “also” in terms of action, since action becomes separate from the person’s thought and speech. It is unlike how speech compares to thought, where it simply forms the actual letters of thought into speech, since what a person thinks is what he says. This is not the case with physical action, which becomes its own expression of the person without a direct link showing its connection to what the person is thinking.
By looking at what someone does, we cannot necessarily know what that person is thinking or feeling, whereas, by hearing his words, we can become aware of what he was thinking, since speech is a revelation of inner thoughts.
The Fourth Aspect
Now, there is another “fourth” aspect, which is higher than the three aspects mentioned previously: thought, speech, and action, and is hinted to in the word “also.” This is because the word “also” is used to include something else not mentioned explicitly in the verse, which as an aspect of the person that is above and beyond the three aspects discussed before.
The Purpose of the Soul’s Descent
In order to explain this, we first need to understand the purpose for which our Divine souls had to come down into this world. As is known, this descent is needed to reach an even higher ascent.
We need to understand what exactly is this elevation that is accomplished? Before the soul came down into this world, it was enjoying the radiance of the Divine Presence (a great, revealed awareness of Hashem). What greater possible elevation can there be than this?
We also need to properly comprehend the idea of the “thought, speech, and action” of Hashem, which is expressed in the way “He created it, formed it, and made it (all the created beings),” since it is written, (Yeshaya 55:8) “(Hashem says), My thoughts are not like your thoughts,” and like we believe: “He (Hashem) has no bodily form,”
Hashem does not have thought, speech, and action in the sense that a person has these abilities. With regard to Hashem, these three faculties are just analogies for Hashem’s power to express Himself. So, what exactly is the analogy?
The idea is that the process through which the worlds leave their hidden state (in Hashem’s Oneness, as expressed on the level of Atzilus), and become revealed (as independent entities, separate from Hashem) is called “the words of Hashem.”
Just as a person’s speech reveals to other people what was previously hidden in his thoughts, so, by way of analogy, “with Ten Statements the world was created,” which are “statements” and the combination of letters of those statements, which come out and reveal Hashem through the creation of worlds, something from nothing.
Now, “with one statement Hashem could have created the world,” as it is written (Tehilim 33:6), “And with the breath of His mouth He created all their hosts.” The meaning of “the breath of his mouth” is the “breath from Above,” which is the “one statement,” which includes all the other statements. This is also hinted at in the phrase (from the daily prayers, Baruch Sheamar), “Blessed is He who said and made,” meaning that He made everything with one statement.
It is just that the “speech” of Hashem is what divides up and differentiates the “breath” of Hashem into many different letter combinations (which become the names of the particular creatures). This is expressed in the great diversity of the different worlds and their inhabitants, like it says, (Daniel 7:10) “Thousands and millions of angels serve Him, and tens of thousands, and hundreds of millions of angels stand before Him,” and the verse says, (Iyov) “It is impossible to count His legions of angels.”
The Gemara (Chagiga 13b) explains these two verses to mean that each “legion” of angels contains at least one million angels, but there is no limit to how many legions Hashem has.
In physical speech there are two elements: The breath which comes from the lungs, and the vocal cords and articulatory organs that use the breath in order to produce different sounds. The breath that underlies all speech sounds is exactly the same breath in all sounds. The only factor that distinguishes between one sound and another is the vocal cords and articulators, which manipulate the flow of air to produce each distinct speech sound.
This last statement is puzzling: We just quoted that “with one statement Hashem could have made the world,” but, instead He made it with Ten Statements. How are we explaining this phrase from Baruch Sheamar to mean that He actually made the world with one statement?
The idea is that on the level of Hashem’s “thought,” the world was actually created all at once, with one statement of thought. But in “speech” it took ten statements, as will be explained.
Similarly, in the process of creation there is one simple force that animates all of creation equally. This force is called “the breath of the One Above,” which is also referred to as the “one statement” that Hashem could have used to create the world (rather than the “ten utterances,” which Hashem actually used). This “one statement” can be divided into infinitely many different types of creations, through the various “letters” of Hashem’s “speech.”
Thought and Speech: The Analogy
The maamer will also explain a second analogy from speech:
Thought and speech are inherently linked, inasmuch as speech is a revelation of thought. This means that one’s inner thoughts find outward expression in his speech. However, in thought one can go through a great amount of information in a given period of time, compared to how long it would take to go through and explain that same amount of information in speech. This is because thought is a higher-level faculty than speech, and is more closely connected to one’s soul than speech is. Speech functions to express ideas to other people, whereas thought expresses ideas to oneself and within oneself. This is the reason that information exists on a higher level in thought than in speech. And this is also the reason that thought contains a much greater revelation than is speech.
Similarly, the lifeforce and template of every created being originally existed in Hashem’s “thoughts,” on the level of Atzilus, which is totally unified with Hashem. Similarly, a person’s thoughts are unified with a person, and then become separate from a person through the faculty of speech, which results in the creation of beings that perceive themselves as separate from Hashem. In Hashem’s “thoughts,” everything existed all at once, like information that is condensed into one idea in a person’s thought, and only through Hashem’s “speech” does every created being become differentiated from every other being.
In general, a created being can only access its source in the level of speech, but cannot reveal a direct connection to its own source in Hashem’s thoughts (the exception to this rule is Adam, the first man, and the Jewish People, who can connect to their source). However, Adam and Avraham and every Jew are still connected to Hashem’s “thoughts” on a revealed level, allowing us to be aware of the fact that we are not separate from Hashem.
This is the idea of what it says, (Tehilim 103:20) “Bless Hashem, His angels, who are strong and powerful to fulfill His word, and listen to the sound of His word.” Only “His word” are they able to listen to, since they receive their life and existence only from the “word of Hashem,” which is a revelation from “what comes out of the ‘mouth’ of Hashem” to bring into existence the great diversity of created beings.
The combinations of letters from which each created being receives life are their “names.” These are the names of all the creations, each one with its specific name, like “the Camp of the Angel Michael,” and so too, the names of all the creations according to their varieties.
Like it is written, (Bereishis 2:20) “And Adam called names to all the creatures,” meaning that he called forth their real names, which are the letter combinations of “what comes out of the ‘mouth’ of Hashem” to create and enliven each particular creature through a specific letter combination (name) for each one.
Revealed and Hidden Worlds
Now, all of this is only the “revealed worlds.” However, there are also “hidden worlds that are not revealed,” which are the source for the “revealed worlds.” Whatever exists in the “revealed worlds” must also have a source in the “hidden worlds.”
As is mentioned by our Sages, (Bereishis Rabba 10:6) “No blade of grass exists below that does not have a spiritual source Above.” This is true on all levels, each level receiving from a higher level, until the highest of all possible levels, like it is written, (Koheles 5:7) “Each guardian angel has a higher-level angel above him, and there is always a level even higher than that.”
Now, the verse says, “Yisrael came up in Hashem’s ‘thoughts’,” meaning, they existed in the “hidden worlds” of Hashem’s thoughts. Just like a person’s thoughts have two elements: 1- His thoughts are hidden behind his speech, since speech reveals and expresses what one is thinking; 2- The amount of information that, in thought, can be captured in a single glance, requires many words to convey through speech.
These two aspects of thought come from the fact that thought is a higher level than speech. This is because thought is called “the inner garment of the soul,” and is totally united with the soul of the person, which is why [the transition from the realm of thought to that of speech] is actually considered like something from nothing.
Therefore, it is written, “And Adam called names to all the animals and to all the birds of the sky,” which is also a reference to the angels (who are the spiritual source of the animals and birds), as they are described in Yechezkal (1:10) as having “the face of lion, and the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle,” meaning that he called the angels by their names of Michael and Gavriel etc., which are the letter combinations through which they receive existence from the “word of Hashem.”
However, as this verse finishes, “Adam called names to all of the animals and birds of the sky and creatures of the field, but Adam did not find ‘a helper for himself.’” Meaning that the ‘helper’ he was missing was a “name.”
This is because, the Divine soul, prior to entering the world and the body, does not have a name at all.
