In Parshas Bo, the Torah describes how the Jewish People left Egypt. The Alter Rebbe will analyze the name given to the Jewish People at that time, and analyze the idea of Hashem’s Names in general, and in the context of our service of Him:
“On that very day (the 15th of Nisan) the ‘צִּבְאוֹת ה '-Army of Hashem” left the land of Egypt.” (Shemos 12:41)
The First Use of the Name “Tzevaos”
Now, our Sages of blessed memory said (Brachos 31b) about Chana (the mother of the prophet Shmuel):
“From the day that Hashem created the world, there was no human being who identified Him by the Divine Name ‘צְּבָּאוֹּת-Master of Assemblies,” until Chana came along and called Him that Name.”
That is, she was the very first person to refer to Hashem as: ‘הֲוָּיָּ''ה צְּבָּאוֹּת-Havaya (Hashem), who is the Master of Tzevaos (Assembled Multitudes).’ (See Shmuel I, 1:11)
In the Midrash (Shochar Tov, 2:5) it records the response that Hashem told her: “In the future, your son (Shmuel) will also begin his prophecy with this Name, as it is written (Shmuel I, 15:1-2), “Shmuel said...so says Hashem Tzevaos: I have remembered [what Amaleik has done to the Jewish People when they left Egypt. Go and destroy them...]’’
In fact, the prophets who lived later than Shmuel also prophesized employing this Name – Tzevaos, especially Chagai, Zcharya and Malachi, (who were the final prophets), who used this Name more than all the other prophets.
It is an established Halacha (see Shavuos 35a) that “Hashem Tzevaos” is one of Hashem’s Seven Holy Names that may not be erased.
Understanding Hashem’s Names
Now, to understand the specialty of this particular Name, we first have to understand the concept of Hashem’s Names in general:
Also, we must understand what distinguishes Hashem’s Name "הֲוָּיָּ"-Havaya” over the remaining Names. This will allow us, with Hashem’s help, to understand the meaning of the Divine Name “Tzevaos.”
It is well known, that the very Essence and Being of Hashem, who is Infinite, blessed be he, is absolutely plain and undefined. It is therefore impossible to attribute any type of descriptive Name to Hashem’s Essence and Being, even the descriptive titles found in the Torah, the Chumash, and in the words of the Nevi’im and the Rabbis, that they applied to Him, such as ‘the Wise One, the Kind One, the Merciful One,’ etc.
This is because in truth Hashem is uplifted, exalted, and removed from any type of definition or description. For even the attribute of wisdom, which is the highest attribute of created beings, is considered insignificant relative to Hashem, as a physical action is insignificant relative to the highest levels of wisdom. Therefore, wisdom cannot be a proper description of Hashem, since even the highest levels of wisdom are completely insignificant to Him.
And certainly, is He not identified by one of the emotional attributes. As it says (Tikunei Zohar 17b): “He is not identified in any way by the attributes of the Sefiros of Atzilus,” such as Chesed-Kindness of Atzilus or the other attributes, as is known.
Hashem’s Attributes and Humility
If Hashem is far removed from the level of Wisdom, even the Wisdom of Chochma of Atzilus, how much more so He is far removed from the lower Sefiros of Atzilus, which are the emotional attributes of Atzilus, as it were. Thus, we cannot define Him by any of His attributes, not even by His Sefiros of Atzilus, which are His Wisdom, His Kindness etc.
Yet, nevertheless, we find many descriptive terms for Hashem in the Tana”ch and in the words of our Rabbis, how do we understand this?
The explanation is as we find in the words of the Sages (Megilla 31a): “wherever you find reference to the greatness of Hashem, is where you find His humility,” for Hashem descends and invests Himself in the ten attributes of Atzilus, the attribute of kindness and severity etc. and the three intellectual faculties Chochma Bina Daas (wisdom, understanding and knowledge).
It is in this framework that he can be called by these Names e.g. Chochom-wise, as he functions through the wisdom of Atzilus. As Eliyahu HaNavi said (as quoted in the Zohar): “You are He who is described as ‘Wise,’’’ which describes the Divine humility in that He lowers himself manifesting in the vessel of Chochmoh, though in essence He is infinitely removed from that as mentioned earlier.
Similarly, He lowers himself, manifesting in the attribute of kindness, which then he can be identified as Hagodol-Great or Chossid-Kind. This is why his greatness as we know it is His “humility,” for only through His humility that He manifests and contains himself in the attribute of kindness can we then identify him as “Great.”
However, His very being and essence is completely removed from any type of description or name as mentioned earlier.
The Seven Divine Names and the Sefiros
Now, these (7) Divine Names of the Holy One blessed be He are describing the “Keilim-vessels/defined modes of existence/attributes” of the Ten Sefiros of Atzilus, that His Infinite Light becomes invested within and completely united, to the point that “His Light and the Keilim become one thing.”
Even though Hashem Himself is essentially beyond any limitation or definition, but He “brings Himself” down to relate to us in a way of wisdom that we can understand (on some level) and in a way of kindness that we can relate to and punishment (severity) that we can understand (on some level). So, His attributes, or Sefiros, are not something other than Him, G-d forbid, even though they do not represent His truly Infinite reality. While He is infinitely transcendent, He is also immanently involved in the details of our physical lives.
So, when we refer to Hashem as “Wise” or “Kind” we are not referring to the attribute of wisdom or kindness by itself, but rather, to Hashem Himself, as He relates to us in a way of wisdom or kindness.
The “Infinite Light” of Hashem refers to the expression of Hashem’s Infinite reality beyond all definition; and the “Keilim” refer to the attributes Hashem uses to relate to us on our level. The “complete unity” of these two ideas means that it is Hashem Himself, as He is Infinite, that comes down to relate to us in our physical lives through His attributes (Sefiros), and there is “split” between these two aspects of Hashem, G-d forbid.
The seven Divine Names of Hashem that represent Hashem’s attributes (Sefiros) are thus actually referring to Hashem Himself, just as He is manifest in the context of those attributes.
Understanding the Soul’s Powers and Hashem’s Names
To understand the next part of the maamar, we must bring the explanation of the Mittler Rebbe in Toras Chayim on this maamar:
In a person’s expression of his soul powers, for example, the power of wisdom, there are two things: A- the brain, that receives the power of intellect, and, B- the light of intellect, the spiritual power of intellect that shines forth from the soul and becomes invested in the brain. When the brain understands ideas, it does so only through the spiritual power of wisdom invested in from the soul. The brain by itself, without the soul, is just a piece of meat. However, when the soul invests its wisdom in the physical brain, the person can understand things on a physical level, instead of on the abstract spiritual level of understanding the soul has in Gan Eden.
Now that the soul’s power of intellect is invested in the brain, we can divide up the soul’s power of intellect into three categories:
- The power of intellect used to understand a specific idea (like having figured out an argument in the Gemara).
- The potential power for intellect, that he could figure out something, and is better at figuring out certain concepts than other concepts (before it comes into actually figuring out the Gemara).
- The essential capacity for all types of wisdom equally; this power is rooted in the deepest part of the soul and never fully revealed.
The difference between A and B, between potential for figuring things out and the intellect invested in figuring out a specific idea, is like the difference between the “outer aspect” of a vessel or container and its “inner aspect”: The outer aspect of a vessel, like a cup, is meant to hold it so you can pour its contents in the direction you desire. In other words, the “outer aspect” of a container or vessel is its functionality, what it does or is used for. The “inner aspect” of a vessel is the fact that it contains something, and can receive those contents.
For example, a cup of wine: Its inner aspect is where it holds the wine, and its outer aspect is how you hold it so you can pour it in your mouth to drink the wine, or pour it into someone else’s cup.
Similarly, the “outer aspect” of the intellect is how it is being actually “held” in your mind and being “poured” into a specific idea you are figuring out. The “inner aspect” of intellect is how your mind contains the potential power of intellect that could be “poured” into a specific idea.
But just as the wine in the cup must be poured from the original bottle or keg of wine to before it can be limited to a specific cup, the potential intellect power in your mind must be “poured” in it from a much greater “reservoir” of intellect hidden in the deeper parts of the soul.
From this we understand that category B, the potential power contained in the “inner aspect” of the vessel, is an intermediary stage that connects from the relatively unlimited reservoir of spiritual power to the to limitation of the practical application of that power in the “outer aspect” of the vessel.
Based on this, we can understand the difference between Hashem’s Names:
The Outer and Inner Aspects of Hashem’s Names
The Names of Hashem of א-ל, אלקים, אדנ'י refer to the “outer aspect” of the Keilim of Atzilus of Chesed, Gevura, and Malchus.
The Name הוי' refers to two things: It refers to the “inner aspect” of all the Keilim of Atzilus, since it is the intermediary force that binds the Infinite Resevoir of Light and “pours” it into the limitation of the “outer aspect” of the Keilim, that becomes applied in specific actions (of Hashem towards us).
It also refers to the Kli of the Sefira of Tiferes, since in Tiferes the “inner aspect” of the Kli is strongly manifest even in the “outer aspect” of the Kli. This is because Tiferes is about merging the opposite attribues of Kindness and Severity, like how the Name הוי' merges the opposites aspects of Infinite Light and finite expression of the Keilim of the other Sefiros.
Meaning, Hashem’s Name א-ל refers to Him as He is manifest in the “Kli-vessel/attribute” of Chesed-Kindness, and His Name אלקים refers to Him as he is manifest in the Kli of Gevura-Severity, and His Name אדנ'י (Master of the world) refers to Hashem as He is manifest in the Kli of Malchus-Kingship.
The Mittler Rebbe explains in Toras Chayim: The Name אדנ'י refers to the aspect of Malchus as it remains in Atzilus. However, the Name צְבָאוֹת refers Malchus as it descends into the created worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, as will be further explained in the maamar.
However, the Divine Name הֲוָּיָּ''ה (also) refers to the “inner aspect” of the other Names (that refer to Him) as He is manifest through the Keilim-attributes (of the other Sefiros, in addition to how He is manifest in Tiferes), for it (the Name הוי') is the Light that originally becomes invested in the (inner aspect) of the Keilim, that allows for the Light to be expressed in a more specifically defined manner through the outer aspect of the Keilim.
For example, "א-ל" is the Divine Name that refers to Hashem as He is manifest in the (outer aspect of the) Kli of Chesed-Kindness, yet the Divine Light that is drawn forth from the Infinite Light of Hashem to become invested in it (the inner aspect of the Kli of Chesed) is referred to by the Name of הוי'.
We explained above the three stages of how power from the soul is manifest, in the outer and inner aspect of the vessel and as it transcends the vessel entirely. In all three stages, it is the same “person” expressing himself at different levels.
Similarly, Hashem’s power is manifest in three stages: In the inner and outer aspect of the Keilim of the Sefiros, and as His Light transcends the category of Sefiros. In all three stages, it is the same Hashem who is expressing Himself at these stages. When expresses Himself in doing kindness to us, we refer to Him as א-ל. When He does things that we can notice but cannot comprehend, such as in supernatural miracles, we refer to Him to as הוי'. (This level is like the “inner aspect” of the Sefiros, it is how Hashem relates to us in a way we can see, but not based on our level.) When He does things that are beyond anything we can fathom at all, we refer to Him as the Infinite One, or the One Above.
Similarly, the Divine Name אלקים which refers to Hashem as He is manifest in the (outer aspect of the) Kli of Gevura-Severity, invested in (the inner aspect of) it is the Name הוי', since it the Light that derives from the Infinite Light (and serves as an intermediary level) that becomes invested in the (inner aspects of) the Keilim of the Sefiros, as mentioned above.
Similarly, all the other “Divine Names which may not be erased” refer to the (outer aspect of) the Keilim, while the Name הוי' refers to the Light is invested in (the inner aspect of) them.
All the Names are thus connected through the Name הוי'.
