The verse in Parshas Korach describing the service of the Leviim (Levites) in the Mishkan says (Bamidar 18:23):
"וְעָּב דַַׁׁה ל ֵּוִיַׁ,ַַַׁׁׁא וה [ תַ קֻח םָנֺוֲע ואְ שִי םֵהְו דֵעֹומ לֶהֹא תַדֹבֲע־תֶא אֹל לֵאָרְ שִי יֵנְ ב ךֹותְב ו םֶכיֵתֹרֹדְל םָלֹועיִנְחֲלו נַחֲלָה]׃ " (רָּ בְדִּ מַּ ב יח, כג) :
“And the Levi, he will perform the service in the Ohel Moed (Mishkan), [but if others perform it] then they [the Leviim] will bear the burden of their sin [since they are responsible for preventing others from performing the service]; this is a fixed law for all time, throughout all generations; [because the Leviim are busy performing the service] they will not have an inheritance of land in Eretz Yisrael among the Jewish People.”
The Alter Rebbe will explain the mystical meaning behind the first three words of the above verse:
"וְעָבַד הַל ֵוִי הו א"
The literal meaning of these words is, “And he, the Levi, will serve [in the Mishkan],” and the word הו א"-he” is referring the Levi himself (or to the tribe of Levi, in general). Here, we explain these words to mean, “And the Levi will work with ‘He.’” The word הו א"-he" in this verse refers to the level of Bina-Understanding.
Chochma and Bina: The Intellect of the Father and Mother
As it is written in the Zohar, the entire service of the Leviim was to draw down and reveal from the level called א וה"-He," which is a reference to the level of Bina (Understanding), called the Hidden World, and make it revealed into the Revealed World.
According to the Zohar, the meaning of "וְעָבַד הַל ֵוִי הו א" is that a Levi’s service is to reveal “He,” meaning Bina, which is hidden, from being directly expressed in one’s feelings and actions. The word “He” is in the third person, referring to someone who is not present and is hidden from sight. This refers to Bina, as Bina is usually hidden, but can be revealed with effort.
One’s intellect is generally for oneself; one can learn and understand without any interaction with someone outside of oneself. Emotions, however, only exist in the context of how one relates to someone outside of oneself. Compared to emotions, intellect is hidden from others. To take one’s intellect and use it to affect one’s emotions (the “revealed world”) takes work. This is the spiritual service of the Levi.
The Difference Between Chochma and Bina
To explain what this means, to work to reveal Bina-הוּא , we need to explain the difference between Bina and Chochma:
This idea will be understood by preface: We need to understand the difference between מוֹחִין־ד ְ א ב ָּא" -The Intellect of the Father" and מוֹחִין־ד ְ אִימ ָּא"- The Intellect of the Mother."
The meaning of מוֹחִין־ד ְ א ב ָּא"-The Intellect of the Father" is the recognition of Hashem in a way that one forgets about oneself. This comes from the level of חָּכְמָּה"-Chochma/Wisdom,” which is the same letters as -כ ֹח ַׁ־מָּה" the ability to forget about oneself,” like Moshe Rabeinu, who said about himself and Aharon (Shemos 16:7): “הָּמַׁ ונְח נְו- and what are we?” He totally forgot about himself and his ego, because he was completely focused on Hashem.
This level of awareness of Hashem is expressed in what appears to be “coldness.” This coldness means that one is not aflame with excitement for Hashem, since he doesn’t think of himself enough to be excited; rather, he is totally focused on fulfilling the mission that Hashem gave him.
Someone who is preparing himself to receive a mission from the king becomes lit up with excitement at the tremendous upcoming experience. But, when he is standing before the king, there is no more room for excitement. He totally forgets about himself and just listens carefully to the king’s instructions. So too, when a Jew reaches this level of recognition of Hashem, he is so focused on listening to Hashem and fulfilling His desire that his excitement has “cooled” off.
This level is also connected to a level of fear of Hashem called יִרְ אָּה־עִיל ָּאָּה" -the Higher Level of Fear of Hashem,” also known as יִרְ אָּה־ב וֹש ַׁת"-the Fear of Hashem in a manner of Shame.”
The higher level of recognition of Hashem (in the presence of the king) creates a higher level of fear of Hashem. In contrast, the lower level of fear is to refrain from sin, because one commits to do Hashem’s Will so as not to disappoint Hashem. But, one does not feel overwhelmed from Hashem’s presence. This is like someone who fulfills the king’s commands because he knows that there is a king and that it is proper to fulfill his commands. But he never personally saw the king.
The higher level of fear is like someone that is standing in the presence of the king and feels overwhelmed by his greatness. When that happens, he feels “ashamed” or “embarrassed” of his own smallness in comparison to the greatness of the king. This is the analogy for the higher level of fear, where the person feels ashamed of his own lowliness in comparison to the infinite greatness of Hashem.
This is also expressed in the verse (Iyov 28:12), “And Chochma is found from a feeling of being nothing compared to Hashem.” This is a level of completely forgetting about oneself.
However, the idea of מוֹחִין־ד ְ אִימ ָּא"-The Intellect of the Mother" is the level of Bina-Understanding, which is described in the verse (Mishlei 8:21) as, “To give something substantial as an inheritance to those who love Me,” which is a revelation of the greatness of Hashem that comes into the actual comprehension and grasp of one’s soul.
This verse is describing the reward of the Torah and Mitzvos in the spiritual world of Gan Eden after a Jew passes away. The reward is that the soul attains a profound knowledge of Hashem and the deeper meaning behind the Mitzvos he performed. This reward is called יֵש "-something substantial and tangible,” since this knowledge is something that the soul can fully grasp and internalize. This is what “an inheritance” means: the reward one “inherits” in Gan Eden, and it is for those that love Hashem and fulfill His Torah and Mitzvos.
However, in addition to this verse referring to the reward (inheritance) for the soul after it leaves the body, it also refers to the “reward” and “inheritance” that a person receives in this world by coming to a deep understanding of Hashem. When a Jew studies about the greatness of Hashem (through Torah in general and Chassidus in particular), he can grasp knowledge about Hashem’s existence. This will awaken in him a great love for Hashem. This is another interpretation of the verse, “To give an inheritance (a portion) of something substantial (a tangible knowledge of Hashem, as explained in Chassidus), and this will make them into those who love Me.” This is what the Alter Rebbe will now explain.
Through this comprehension of Hashem’s greatness, there is born and revealed in the person’s heart a strong love for Hashem, like a mighty flaming fire of love for Hashem.
Prayer and the Two Intellects
Now, during davening a Jew needs both aspects, מוֹחִין־ד ְ א ב ָּא"-The Intellect of the Father " and מוֹחִין־ד ְ אִימ ָּא"- The Intellect of the Mother.”
The aspect of מוֹחִין־ד ְ אִימ ָּא"-The Intellect of the Mother" is the idea of רָּצוַֹׁא"-Yearning" to become spiritually included “Above” in the Infinite Truth of Hashem with a fiery, flaming love for Hashem, which comes from meditative reflection on the greatness of Hashem. This is the main idea of מוֹחִין־ד ְ אִימ ָּא"-The Intellect of the Mother,”
When a Jew thinks about how Hashem’s Existence is a completely different and greater dimension of existence than anything else, then he will realize that there can be no greater enjoyment than to leave all worldly limitations and experience the absolute reality of Hashem, unobstructed by the limitations of worlds. He will feel a strong yearning to become “included Above,” meaning to experience how he is, in truth, merely a part of Hashem’s greater existence. This is the main accomplishment of מוֹחִין־ד ְ אִימ ָא"-The Intellect of the Mother.” One’s own Bina-Understanding is used to create a yearning for Hashem.
Similarly, this is the deeper explanation of the verse (Mishlei 2:3), -כ ִי אִ ם לַב ִינָה תִקְרָ א "-For if you will call to Bina (then you will understand the fear of Hashem).” The simple meaning of the verse is that if someone will call upon their understanding and work hard, then he will understand how to fear Hashem.
Here, we explain the verse as if the word אִם"-if" written with a חִירִ יק was written אֵם"-mother" with a צֵירֶ ה. We then read the verse: “For Bina is called the Mother,” since from [Bina] one comes to a רָּצוַֹׁא"-Yearning" for Hashem, as explained. One’s understanding of the greatness of Hashem is the “mother” of one’s feelings of love and yearning to experience Hashem’s true existence.
מוֹחִין־ד ְ א ב ָּא"-The Intellect of the Father,” represents the idea that after the yearning to leave the world and experience Hashem’s True, limitless existence, one must then ש וַֹׁב"-Return" to this world to fulfill Hashem’s Will as it is in the Torah and Mitzvos, as it says in Sefer Yetzirah, “If your heart runs to leave this world in yearning for Hashem, then you must return to reveal the Oneness of Hashem within this world.”
After yearning to experience the reality of Hashem beyond the worlds, one comes to the realization that this goal is impossible to attain on one’s own. The only way to experience Hashem is through the Torah and Mitzvos that He gave us to fulfill in this world. Even though “no thought can grasp Him at all,” Hashem made Himself “graspable” to every Jew through the Torah and Mitzvos, when they are fulfilled out of acceptance of Hashem as our King (as explained in the Tanya, Chapters 4 and 5).
This is also the idea of -יִרְ אָּהַַַׁׁׁעִיל ָּאָּהַׁ" - the Higher Level of Fear of Hashem,” also called יִרְ אָּה־ב וֹש ַׁת"-the Fear of Hashem in a manner of Shame,” as explained above. This is the main idea of מוֹחִין־ד ְ א ב ָּא"- The Intellect of the Father,” that one accepts upon himself the obligation of serving Hashem as our King through the fulfillment of the Torah and Mitzvos.
Why Both Levels Are Needed
Now, even though the level of מוֹחִין־ד ְ א ב ָּא"- The Intellect of the Father " is higher than the level of מוֹחִין־ד ְ אִימ ָּא"-The Intellect of the Mother,” one also needs to attain the level of מוֹחִין־ד ְ אִימ ָּא"-The Intellect of the Mother,” and it needs to be the first level he attains, since the main goal of the Torah and Mitzvos is to reveal Hashem in the physical body of a Jew.
This process of revealing Hashem in the physical body is most strongly accomplished through awakening a revealed and strong love for Hashem in the heart, through using one’s power of understanding (Bina). This has a great effect on the body, since the heart is spiritually closer to the physical body than the brain is.
(Since Chochma is expressed mainly in the brain alone, whereas Bina is expressed also in the heart; and the heart is spiritually closer to the body.)
Even though the brain and the heart both control the body in different ways, the brain is more spiritually refined than the rest of the body. Therefore, intellectual awareness of Hashem does not excite the body, since it remains too distant. However, the heart and emotions, which are on a lower spiritual level, are closer to the physicality of the body, and thus, a holy emotion of love for Hashem is more able to influence the physical body. (See also Tanya chapter 16 where this concept is explained further).
The level of מוֹחִין־ד ְ א ב ָּא"-The Intellect of the Father" is higher than the level of Bina, so why is this higher level not sufficient?
The answer is that just as Hashem, Who is Infinite, is incomparably higher than what can be grasped by the level of מוֹחִין־ד ְ אַב ָא "-The Intellect of the Father,” to the extent that “No thought can grasp Him at all,” and yet, this greatness of Hashem doesn’t affect the person at all, since he cannot perceive it, so too, in the analogy of the level of מוֹחִין־ד ְ א ב ָּא"-The Intellect of the Father,” since at that level one’s love for Hashem is hidden in his mind, which is higher than the body, and this love is unable to affect the physicality of the body enough to make it holy.
This is why one needs to create a love for Hashem during davening in particular, and reveal the hidden love, in order to reveal Hashem in the physical body.
This is accomplished through the contemplation during davening on the greatness of Hashem, which this contemplation is from the level of מוֹחִין־ד ְ אִימ ָּא"-The Intellect of the Mother.” This level is known as the “mother” due to the fact that it produces “children,” referring to the love of Hashem and all the other holy feelings for Hashem (like awe, joy, etc.). Only afterwards can one then reveal into those holy feelings, a revelation from the level of מוֹחִין־ד ְ א ב ָּא"-The Intellect of the Father,” so that he will attain true selflessness and dedication to Hashem in all of his feelings.
The first thing is to excite a feeling of love for Hashem in the physical heart, thus refining the body. After this is accomplished one can reveal in those feelings a sense of selflessness and dedication to fulfill Hashem’s mission. He will then have both levels; he will be refining the body through holy feelings, and he will be totally dedicated to Hashem through the intellectual recognition of Him.
The Service of the Leviim: Revealing the Hidden
Now, we return to what we asked at the beginning of the maamar: What is the meaning of "וְעָבַד הַלֵּוִי הוּא"?
This was the idea behind the service of the Leviim (Levites) in the Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash: Like it says (Bamidbar 18:23), “And the Levi will work to reveal Him.” This means that their entire work was to reveal the hidden love and fear of Hashem, from the level of הו א"-Him,” which is referring to the hidden world of one’s own understanding, to be revealed as actual emotions in one’s heart, which is accomplished through contemplation (also coming from הו א "-Him " which is a reference to Bina, one’s power of contemplation).
Therefore, their service of Hashem was to sing with their mouths, use their voice, and make music using musical instruments, and with many different types of instruments, as it is written (Tehillim 150:3-5), “Praise Him with the sounding of the shofar, praise Him with the harp and other stringed instruments, praise Him with the drum and with dancing, etc.”
Varieties of Emotional Excitement in Divine Service
This variety was needed since there are many different types of revealed emotional excitements for Hashem: There is a yearning and flaming excitement for Hashem with joy and happiness, and there is a love for Hashem in a manner of bitterness and a broken heart. All of these types of excitement are revealed in the heart.
There are also, correspondingly, many types of musical instruments.
