There is a Possuk in this week’s Parsha that reads: וְנִקְדַּשְתִי בְתוֹךְ בְנֵי יִשְרָאֵל גּוֹ׳ “I shall be sanctified amidst the B’nei Yisroel...”
In Likkutei Torah (The Chassidishe Parsha) at the Beginning of our Parsha The Alter Rebbe highlights certain inferences in this Possuk. Amongst them the Alter Rebbe asks: what is the significance of the word בְתוֹךְ which we translated as ‘Amidst’, as in ‘Amidst the B’nei Yisroel?’
Furthermore, regarding the Mitzvah of Nozir the Torah says: קָד ש יִהְיֶה גַּּדֵל פֶרַּע שְעַּר ר אשוֹ “it shall be sacred, and he shall allow the growth of the hair of his head to grow wild”. What is the significance of this ‘sacred holiness’ that the Torah also uses this term ‘Kodoish’? (there are further inferences there that the Alter Rebbe mentions).
The central point of the answer is that from the implication in the Possuk וְנִקְדַּשְתִי בְתוֹךְ בְנֵי יִשְרָאֵל גּוֹ׳ it is understood that the Hamshocho of holiness amidst the B’nei Yisroel is drawn down by the B’nei Yisroel, therefore the sanctity is extended in [to them] ‘amidst them’.
This happens as a result of the B’nei Yisroel reciting ‘Kedusha’ when they say: קָדוֹש | קָדוֹש קָדוֹש ה׳ צְבָאוֹת מְל א כָל־הָאָרֶץ כְבוֹדוֹ “Holy, holy, holy is HaShem the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”
In addition, the B’nei Yisroel [in their Davening] recite a fourth thing. As we continue in prayer with the phrase: וְחַּיּוֹת הַּק דֶש בְרַּעַּש גָּדוֹל מִתְנַּשְאִים לְעֻמַּת םוְהָאוֹפַּנִי שְרָפִים. לְעֻמָתָם מְשַּבְחִים וְאוֹמְרִיםהַּ “Then the Ofanim and the holy Chayos, with a great noise raise themselves towards the Serofim. Facing them they give praise saying”: בָרוּךְ כְבוֹד־ה׳ מִמְקוֹמוֹ “Blessed is the glory of HaShem from His place." This is a fourth thing.
This recital loosely represents a person’s Avodah, but from a more detailed perspective of a person’s general Avodah this recital falls within the Avodah strand. As the Talmud asks: Which Avodah can be done with our hearts? This is the Avodah of prayer.
This is why we say ‘Kodoish’ three times every day in prayer and then say Boruch K’vod HaShem Mimkomo. This is so because: Greater than the supernal spiritual level of ‘Kodoish’ (holy) there is the loftier state of ‘Koidesh’ (holiness). Koidesh is a noun and consititutes separateness and [its status quo] is thus completely detached from any state of Hamshocho.
At the essence of a person’s ‘Avodah’ is the drive to draw down the ‘Supernal Koidesh’ which is [located] higher than anything; so that it should be drawn down [initially] into the three ‘Kedushos’ as mentioned earlier. And then drawn down even further below into the fourth state that of ‘Boruch K’vod HaShem Mimkomo’.
We see a similar idea regarding the sanctity of the Yomim Tovim (as mentioned in our Parsha). Regarding Shabbos as in ‘Shabbos Koidesh’ which is ‘Koidesh-the-noun’, a person’s Avodah is to draw that aspect of Koidesh [all the way] down. It is for this reason that the commandment for Shabbos was given to us before the commandment for all of the Yomim Tovim.
In contrast the Yomim Tovim are just referred to as ‘Mikro’ei Koidesh’ (the ‘callers of Koidesh’) because their mission is to draw down this aspect of (Shabbos) Koidesh into the three states and then the fourth state. As is explained in several places regarding the advantage of the fourth leg of the Merkovoh over the quantity of three.
In a similar way that we see in the Avodah of each individual, so too is it generally regarding drawing down the Divine Hamshocho of Elokus below. That the Divine Hamshocho extends from the supernal ‘Koidesh’ above to right down below. As is known from the teaching of the Maggid on the words of our sages of Blessed memory: לְמַּעְלָה מַּה דַּע מִמָךְ (which would normally translate as: “know what is above you”.) The Magid translates the words to mean: “Know that all that happens above is because of you”.
This means that all matters that occur up above happen as a result of the Avodah of a person down below.
There is a Possuk in Koheles that says: גַּּם אֶת־הָע לָם נָתַּן בְלִבָם “Also the world He put into their hearts”. That the whole Seder Hishtalshelus to all the upper worlds are all dependent upon the heart of man.
What transpires is that this is how the Hamshocho operates in all of the upper worlds; because in essence the upper lights are separate and detached from all matters below; and there needs to be a division and contraction so that they continue on to extend below.
[This leads on to the symbolism that] this division can be comparable to one’s hair. This is because the growth of a person’s hair is energised by the excess energy of a person’s brain. This is because the brain is so bright [and spiritual] that the physical brain cannot contain all of its power. However, nevertheless, in order for the hair to grow there must be a barrier between the hair and the brain which is the skull.
So too above, that the extension of the light from above happens through a Tzimtzum-contraction through which thereafter the ‘Kav’ comes into being. This ‘Kav’ is a short and contracted light beam.
With this, we can understand that which the Possuk says concerning a Nozir: קָד ש יִהְיֶה גַּּדֵל פֶרַּע שְעַּר ר אשוֹ “[his hair] shall be ‘sacred’, and he shall allow the growth of the hair of his head to grow wild”- identifying the connection between hair and holiness. Because drawing down the upper supernal holiness...
