Summary of the Maamar on Yitzchok and the Field

Summary

1. The verse says, (Bereishis 24:63) “And Yitzchok went out to talk in the field before night, and he lifted up his eyes and he saw that there were camels coming [and Eliezer and Rivka were coming on them].” The simple meaning of the verse is that Yitzchok went out before nightfall to pray Mincha, or to learn Torah, and while he was in the field, he saw Eliezer and Rivka coming.
2. The Alter Rebbe explains the deeper meaning of the verse by first explaining the significance represented by the “field,” as opposed to the “city.” The field is where grain grows, which is then used to provide sustenance for the people; but people don’t live in the field, they only live in the city. Similarly, there are two aspects of learning the Oral Torah (Torah SheBaal Peh): Mishna and Beraisa. The Mishna teaches the most essential teachings of the Torah laws (the Halacha), and the Beraisa explains the details of the application of those laws. In the Mishna, where the laws are presented in a general form, we are able to understand and explain much of the reasoning. However, in the Beraisos, where the details and possible applications are presented, we find that we are not able to explain their reasoning. Rather, they are just the essential Will of Hashem.
3. Even though it would seem that the Beraisa and Gemara are on a lower level than the Mishna, the truth is that they have a great advantage, since only through them can we know the actual application of how to fulfill the Mitzvos in all of their details. This advantage of the Beraisa (and Gemara) over the Mishna is similar to the advantage of the field over the city: Even though the field is not where people live, all the sustenance comes from the field, and the city (where people do live) cannot be sustained without the grain derived from the field. So too, even though our minds grasp the Mishna and it’s reasoning more easily than the Beraisa, nonetheless, our main spiritual sustenance is from the Beraisa, where the details are specified, since only with the details can we fulfill Mitzvos.
4. Now, we can give a mystical interpretation of the verse as follows: “And Yitzchok went out.” His attribute is fear of Hashem, meaning that when a G-d fearing Jew goes out “to talk/to bend down” from learning the Mishna into a seemingly lower level of “in the field” a reference to the Beraisa and Gemara “before night,” the intention of this is “to clear out” the spiritual “darkness” of this world by revealing the details of the Torah laws as they apply within our physical world. Even though in our world there are ‘dark’ situations of unholiness, like dealing with people who are lying, the Torah shows us how to reveal Hashem in those situations. Only through defining the details of the halacha in the Beraisa and Gemara are we able to deal with and refine the darkness of the physical world.
5. The Alter Rebbe adds another explanation of the verse: “And Yitzchok went out,” when a Jew goes out of his own limitations to really fear Hashem, which is accomplished through the morning prayers with an awareness of Hashem, ie. “to talk/to bend down,” then, through this talking to Hashem in prayer he is able to ‘bend down,’ to draw down Hashem’s Infinite Light “into the field,” a reference to the Beraisa and Gemara, meaning into the Torah that he studies afterwards, “before night,” thereby causing “to clear out” the superficial “darkness” of the Beraisa and Gemara, which discuss physical matters and unholy situations, by revealing how Hashem Himself is actually ‘hiding’ in the Gemara. By learning Gemara with the proper intention, a Jew is connecting to Hashem much more deeply than if he had only learnt parts of the Torah that are more obviously “lit up” and reveal Hashem.