Chapter 3:
And this is the meaning of the verse, “And who can count the number of רֹבַע-one fourth of Yisrael?”
Now, it is written, (Hosheia 2:1) “And the number of the Children of Yisrael will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured, nor can it be counted.”
And the Gemara (Yoma 22a) asks on this verse, “It is written, ‘And the number of the Children of Yisrael,’ implying that there is a number, and then the verse continues, ‘Which cannot be measured nor counted,’ implying that there is no number for them?
The answer is that when they fulfill the Will of Hashem, then they will have no number, and when they do not fulfill the Will of Hashem, then they will have a number.”
We need to explain: What is the idea of saying that when the Jewish People are ‘not fulfilling Hashem’s Will’ then they will have a number, only as much as the ‘sand of the sea?’ What is the idea of the comparison to sand in terms of counting the Jewish People?
We find that the earth around oceans and rivers becomes sand, which is dried out and crumbles into small pieces. This is not the case with the rest of the earth of the land, which are solid clumps of earth that are moist and somewhat stuck together.
This is because the waters of the oceans and rivers draw out the moisture from the earth surrounding them, which is why the earth remains dried out and broken down into tiny pieces of sand.
This is an analogy for the general lifeforce of all worlds, which comes from the “Words of Hashem” and the “Breath of His Mouth,” in terms of how He brings into existence of all of the creations to be something from nothing:
It is written, (Melachim I 7:23-25) “And He (King Shlomo) made a mikveh for the Kohanim in the Beis Hamikdash and he called it “The Sea,” made of one piece of cast metal, ten amos in diameter, the top part was circular; it was five amos high, and its circumference was thirty amos. It stood on top of twelve metal statues of cows, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east, and “The Sea” was situated on top of them, and all these metal cows had their backs facing towards the center (so that from the outside, what was visible was only their front sides).”
The mikveh for Kohanim that King Shlomo made, which he called “The Sea,” represented the level of Malchus of Atzilus, “the Words of Hashem’s Mouth,” through which Hashem creates everything. King Shlomo put it on top of twelve metal cows, which faced four directions. This represented the four camps of the angels: Michael, Gavriel, Refael, and Uriel. This was done in order to show that Malchus of Atzilus is exalted above all the angels.
The spiritual significance behind this: Because this level of “The Sea” (Malchus of Atzilus) stands “above” and distant from them (the angels), they become like “twelve cows,” meaning divided up and separated into the number twelve.
Malchus of Atzilus separates itself from the angels that derive from it and thereby conceals the intense revelation of Hashem that exists in Atzilus and unifies everything in Hashem’s presence. Therefore, they all feel not only separate from Hashem, but also separate from each other, to the extent that they are divided from four categories into twelve categories, and then into even more categories, etc.
This is because the process of creation something from nothing, through the aspect of Hashem’s Malchus-Kingship, which is “exalted above the days of the world,” and “Your Kingship is a Kingdom of all worlds.”
And because He is “elevated and exalted” above the creations, therefore, they become a עָּם-nation, with the word עָּם-nation related to the word ‘עוֹמְמוֹת-darkened coals,’ which are removed from the fire and extinguished. So too, the creations are removed from the fiery revelation of Atzilus, which causes them to become things other than holiness, and develop a feeling of separateness from Hashem.
The is because “There is no King without a nation,” and the process by which they are created to be separate from Him as His nation is from the King making Himself exalted. This automatically causes the creation to become lower and separate until they can be a ‘nation.’
The analogy for this is a king who sits on his royal throne; because of this display of his lofty status, everyone trembles before him and lowers themselves before him.
Shaar HaYichud Vehaemuna of Tanya (Chapter 7) notes that if a king has many children or servants, he cannot rule over them. He can only rule over people who are totally separate from himself. These separate individuals much willingly choose to give themselves over to the king and to accept his rulership. So too, Hashem has enjoyment from the created beings who feel separate from Him, and then choose to serve Him. This is the idea of Hashem’s “Kingship.”
Now, because the aspect of Hashem’s Malchus-Kingship is Infinite, and it is from this Divine attribute that the limited worlds of Beria, Yetzira, and Asiya were created, therefore, even in those worlds there is an aspect of infinity, like it says, (Iyov 25:3) “Is there a number for His legions of angels?”
This implies that there is an infinite number of legions of angels, even though each angel is limited. From this, we see that even the finite spiritual worlds contain an aspect of infinitude, reflecting their source in the infinite attribute of Hashem’s Malchus-Kingship.
However, since they receive life and existence from the process in which Hashem’s Malchus-Kingship elevates itself above them, “Who is elevated above the days of the world,” therefore, they descend into separation and become divided into many different varieties.
We need to understand how it is possible for them to receive their very life from Hashem’s attribute of Malchus-Kingship, which is exalted and removed from them?
In truth, regarding this question, it is written, (Tehilim 84:12) “Like the sun and its protective covering are Hashem’s Names of Havaya and Elokim,” meaning that Hashem’s Name Elokim, which conceals the revelation of His Name, Havaya is also a Divine Attribute, showing how Hashem can do anything; He even conceal and hide His Infinite Light. And this brings out His true Might.
The fact that the Divine life-force from Malchus is directly involved in creating and giving life to everything, and at the same time is totally hidden from the creations, is part of the miracle of creation, which is beyond human understanding. This wonder brings out the true Might of Hashem: At the same time, He is creating and enlivening us in the closest possible proximity, He is simultaneously hiding Himself from us so that we should not even know (directly) that He is creating us!
This answers the question of how can we receive life from Malchus if it is exalted above us, since Hashem is capable of giving life directly and, at the same time, making Himself totally exalted. This is impossible for any created being to do (simultaneously reveal and conceal itself).
But, in general, the exaltedness of Hashem’s Malchus is connected to the withdrawal and removal of revelation, so that too much lifeforce should not descend to the creations.
This is similar to how the water of the seas and rivers draw the moisture out of the earth and into themselves, causing the ground surrounding them to turn into sand, which is made of separate pieces of sand (compared to clumps of moist earth).
Now, this “number” of legions of angels isn’t really a limited number, like it is written “is there a number for His legions?” Rather, it is in the category of having a number, because it is divided into countable parts. Therefore, theoretically, a number could be applied to them. But, in actuality there is no defined number, since “they are too many to count.”
