Yud Shvat 5740 from the Lubavitcher Rebbe
The phrase “tzivos Havayah” refers to the Jewish people, as it says, “It was on that very day that HaShem took the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt in their legions.” (Shmos 12,41)
However, we need to understand why the Jews are referred to as tzivos Havayah.
The name [of HaShem] Tzva’os (related to the word tzivos) is not mentioned in chumash [it is only mentioned in the nevi’im, indicating that it is “lower” than the other names], but in these pesukim [which describe the time when the Jews were leaving galus Mitzrayim and there was an extremely high revelation of G-dliness] it uses the term tziva’os to refer to the Jews as “tzivos Havayah.” [Why are the Jews referred to with this “lower” name of HaShem and not one of the “higher” names of HaShem?]
Similarly, at the time when the Jews left Mitzrayim the Torah mentions their “legions”, as it says, “On this very day I have taken your legions out of the land of Egypt.”
We can understand the significance of the word tzava (the singular form of tziva’os) by analyzing its three meanings.
- The first meaning is “an army”.
- The second meaning is “a limited time”, as it says, “Does a person not have a tzava (limited time) on earth?” (Iyov 7,1)
- The third meaning is “form”, as the Gemara (Rosh haShana 11a) interprets the pasuk, “And HaShem completed [the creation of the] Heavens... and all their tzva’am (varied creations)” (Bereshis 2,1), as “tzivionam” (their varied forms), saying that “the heavens were created in their varied forms.”
Applied to the Jewish people, it refers to the souls of the Jews of all different levels: some people have deep understanding who are “masters of Torah, masters of secrets and supernal mysteries, masters of wisdom”, and some are simple people who are only “masters of good deeds” and fulfill Torah and Mitzvos with pure simplicity and support – each one according to this capability – the learning of Torah with their physical effort and wealth.
This “varied forms” of the Jewish people is like the ultimate beauty which is composed of many colors, as a single color doesn’t have beauty. Only multiple “colors” can express beauty, which is why the Jews are called tzivos Havayah, as they are an “army” of many “colors” that draws down the level of Havayah through their service of HaShem.
And regarding the explanation that tzava means “a limited time” (or “set time”), this is like the pasuk, “[a set amount of] days are “created” [destined to be created], but not one of them has been created yet,” and refers to the fact that a person has a “limited time on earth”, a set amount of days that were destined for his lifetime.
When one fills one’s available days with the work of refining the world through eskafia and eshapcha, then one can be considered part of “tzivos Havayah” (the army of Havayah).
And this is the meaning of the pasuk, “On that very day, all tzivos Havayah went out of Mitzrayim.” Tzivos Havayah is the Jewish people, as through their work of refining creation with eskafia and eshapcha, they refine and purify the world.
When one learns Torah and performs Mitzvos [with the physical world], one transforms it into a keresh (a beam of the Mishkan) which is made of vertical beams of shittim wood that are like pillars which connect the ohr ein sof [with this lowest physical world]. This is why the Jews are called tzivos Havayah, as they reveal and draw down the revelation of Havayah.
And (as explained above) tzava means “limited time”, as all their efforts in the “days which were created” that are given to each person, should be focused on (as the pasuk continues), “and one should have One [the revelation of HaShem’s unity] in them”, that the level of HaShem echad (HaShem is one) should shine and be revealed through one’s efforts.
