Chapter 1
“Yaakov’s family who arrived [in Mitzrayim] took root, and from that Yisroel flourished and blossomed...” (Yeshaya 27:6)
This verse in Yeshaya is describing the entry of the Jewish People into Mitzrayim (Egypt). It describes them with the name “Yaakov,” with the analogy of a plant taking root in soil. When the Jewish People grew numerous and were eventually redeemed, they were like the plant that after taking root in the ground, it blossomed and flourished. When they flourished, they are described as “Yisrael.”
The maamar will explain the analogy of a seed taking root in the ground and blossoming, and the concept of Exile and Redemption:
Understanding the Connection Between Taking Root and Entering Egypt
The verse says, “So says Hashem: Who created you, Yaakov? Who formed you, Yisroel?” (Yeshaya 43:1)
The Midrash on this verse comments: “Hashem asked the world, ‘Who created you? Yaakov created you, and Yisroel formed you, as it says, ‘Yaakov created you, Yisroel formed you.’” (Vayikra Rabbah 36:4)
The simple meaning of this Midrash is that the world was created in the merit of the Jewish People and their Torah and Mitzvah observance. (See Yefai Toar on the Midrash there, and further in this maamar.)
Why Yaakov is Associated with Creation and Yisroel with Formation
We need to understand: Why regarding the name Yaakov it says “create,” and regarding the name Yisroel it says “form?” The concept of Yisroel is superior to the concept of Yaakov, so creation should come from Yisrael and formation from Yaakov?
In the creation of the physical world from the Divine world of Atzilus (Emanation), there are three descending stages: Beriah-Creation, Yetzirah-Formation, and Asiyah-Action. Beriah is the initial stage of creation directly receiving from Atzilus; Yetzirah receives from Beriah, and Asiya receives from Yetzirah, which in turns is expressed in our physical world. We see that Beriah is higher than Yetzirah.
The Jewish People are called by two names, Yaakov and Yisrael. Yaakov represents the way soul descends into the body and the material world and fights to transform them into holiness. Yisrael represents the source of the Jewish People in Divinity, where they transcend the spiritual limitations of this world.
Since Yisroel is a name showing on a higher dimension of the Jewish People, it should have been associated with Beriah-Creation, the highest level of the creative process, and the name Yaakov, which shows on the lower dimension of the Jewish people should have been associated with the lower level of Yetzirah-Formation. Why does the verse connect Yaakov to Beriah and Yisroel to Yetzirah?
The Purpose of the Soul’s Descent
It is known that the soul descends into this world for “Doing the Mitzvos ‘today’ [i.e., in this physical world].” (Devarim 7:11)
The purpose for the Creation of the worlds is described as “בְּרֵאשִׁית-For the First,” meaning, for the sake of Yisroel, who are called “רֵאשִׁית-First,” as the verse says, “Yisroel is sacred to Hashem, the “רֵאשִׁית-First” of His grain.” (Yirmiyah 2:3)
We need to understand, what does this have to do with Yisroel, in what way are they considered ‘the first of His grain?’ Also, what is the idea of ‘grain’ regarding Hashem?
Mitzvos as Garments
Now, regarding mitzvos, the Zohar says that they are like garments, and every Jew has to fulfill all the 613 mitzvos, aside from the mitzvos that the king fulfils on behalf of all Jewish people.
All of the mitzvos must be performed by everyone, and [if not performed in a person’s lifetime then] it must be done during different incarnations or fulfilled through becoming incorporated as part of a different soul, [for example the soul of a Kohen or Levi who have specific mitzvos that other Jews do not have], in order for the soul to become clothed in all the 613 mitzvos [garments]. And if one mitzvah is missing, then one garment is missing.
Now, by doing mitzvos, a garment is created in the lower Gan Eden, and by having kavanah during mitzvos, a garment is created in the upper Gan Eden. Therefore, Moshe requested to enter the Land of Israel, in order to fulfill the mitzvos which require being there.
Mitzvos as Fruits
In the Gemara [at the end of Maseches Sotah (46a)] regarding the Eglah Arufah (a calf brought as atonement for finding a murdered Jewish body), the Sages compared the actions of mitzvos to fruits, saying that the murderer caused his victim “to be unable to bear fruit.”
The Gemara questions what ‘fruits’ is it referring to. If you answer that ‘fruits’ means ‘children,’ then finding a corpse of an older man or a eunuch would not require an Eglah Arufah for atonement. But the Torah does not differentiate. Rather, what are the ‘fruits’ referring to here? They are the ‘mitzvos.’
When a dead body of a killed Jew is found outside of a city, the elders of the nearest city need to bring atonement for not ensuring that no traveler would leave their city without an escort. The atonement was to bring a calf that never had children and break its neck in a valley that the ground cannot produce crops. The reasoning given is that the killer didn’t allow this victim to produce ‘fruits,’ therefore we kill a calf in an unfruitful area. Which ‘fruits’ does every Jew produce, regardless of age or situation? Performing mitzvos.
Similarly, the verses say, “Sow righteousness for yourselves,” (Hosheia 10:12); “fortunate are you, who sow by all waters,” (Yeshaya 32:20); “for he who sows righteousness, causes salvation to sprout forth,” (Daily Shachris Prayers). Thus, we see that the Torah refers to mitzvos with the term ‘sowing.’
The Divine Dwelling in the Lower Worlds
Now, in order to understand all this, our Sages say (Midrash Tanchuma, Naso), “Hashem desired to have for Himself a dwelling in the lower world.”
Seemingly it is difficult to understand the idea of this ‘dwelling.’ For, (as it says in the Zohar) “There is no place devoid of Him,” and the verse says, “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” (Yirmiyah 23:24)
Since Hashem is everywhere all the time, in what way does He ‘dwell’ in a specific place more than any other place?
Memalei Kol Almin and Soveiv Kol Almin
However, there are two levels: The level of ‘Memalei Kol Almin-Permeating all the Worlds’ and the level of ‘Soveiv Kol Almin-Encompassing all the Worlds’:
Memalei Kol Almin is the level which becomes invested in all beings in a revealed way, giving them life, as the verse says “And ‘אַתָּה-you’ give life to them all,” (Nechemya 9:6). This means that Hashem gives Life to the creation in a revealed manner through the level of Malchus-Kingship, referred to as ‘אַתָּה-You,’ since the word ‘אַתָּה’ is made of the letters א. ת. ה., representing the 22 letters from א through ת, which are ‘spoken’ through the ה-5 ‘parts of the mouth used in speech.’
The level of Soveiv Kol Almin also related to all beings, but it is concealed from them and does not become invested in them in a revealed way.
Therefore, our Sages taught (Menachos 43b), “One is obligated to say 100 ‘בְּרָכוֹת-blessings’ each day,” in order to draw this G-dly revelation from concealment into revelation.
This is the idea of a ‘בְּרָכָה-blessing,’ from the term ‘בְּרֵיכָה-pond’ in which the water comes from concealment in an underground spring to revelation into a pond of still water.
The idea of the ‘בְּרָכָה-blessing’ is to draw down and reveal the Encompassing Light into the Permeating Light. This flow from a concealed level to revealed level is like the flow of water from an underground reservoir into a pond.
Since the “בְּרֵיכָה-pond” of Light is drawn from a concealed state, in order to create revealed existence, it needs to come through a process which corresponds to the four letters of the name ‘הֲוָיָה-Havaye,’ which is a Yud- contraction, Hei-expansion, etc.
The third word of a ‘בְּרָכָה-blessing’ is Hashem’s Four-Letter Name of י-ה-ו-ה, which is not pronounced directly, and only referred to by rearranging the letters as ‘הֲוָיָה-Havaye.’ These four letters represent the process of how the hidden Encompassing Light is drawn down to the level of the Permeating Light:
- י-Yud is shaped like a dot, representing contraction of the Light into one singular point, like an initial flash of insight,
- ה-Hei is shaped like a box on three sides, representing length, width, and depth, showing how the point of Light is now expanded in thought, like an idea is expanded through contemplation,
- ו-Vav is shaped like a line or hook, showing how this expanding Light is drawn down, like how an understanding is drawn down into emotions,
- ה-the second Hei is showing on a final level of expansion, like the expansion of speech or action, which takes the expansion of thought to complete fruition. This level is Malchus, where the Permeating Light is expressed in creation.
However, drawing G-dly Light from concealment into revelation is done only through the service of a Jew.
As the verse says, “The House of Yisroel, [should] bless Hashem.” (Tehillim, 135:19)
This power to reveal Hashem comes from the fact that every Jew has the ability to sacrifice his/her soul for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name. This total nullification to Hashem gives them the ability to draw down Hashem’s revelation.
Therefore, the verse specifically states, “The House of Yisroel [should] bless Hashem.” This is the idea of ‘אֱלֹקֵינוּ-our G-d,’ our life and strength. His power and revelation are specifically bound up with us, the Jewish People, due to our power of self-sacrifice.
Now, the count of our days is 70 years, each year comprised of 365 days, all of these days exist in order to draw down G-dly revelation through these 100 blessings, from concealment into revelation.
In the Future Time there will be the ultimate revelation of what these “blessings” accomplished, “For every eye will behold Hashem’s return to Tzion.”
Thus, the words of the blessing/drawing down of Hashem’s Light:
- בָּרוּךְ-Blessed: The source of blessing, the hidden source of the Light, as it Encompasses all Worlds,
- אַתָּה-are You: The permeating Light that we see directly and call it “You,” that is Malchus who creates with the 22 Letters from א through ת, which are ‘spoken” through the ה-5 “parts of the mouth used in speech,’
- הוי-Havaye: This Light comes through a process of ‘י’ contraction, ‘ה’ expansion, ‘ו’ drawing down, ‘ה’ final expansion until reaches Malchus in a manner of Permeating Light that is then invested in our world,
- אֱלֹקֵינוּ -our G-d: This process of drawing down Hashem’s Light is specifically through the Jewish People saying these 100 blessings, since they have the power of self-sacrifice for Hashem,
- מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם-King of the world: Through this process of the Jewish People drawing down Hashem’s Encompassing Light until it reaches the level of being a Permeating Light, that is how Hashem expresses His Kingship in the creation, sustaining, and rulership over the created beings in our world.
Chapter 2
Now, these 100 blessings are fulfilled through speech, but how do they draw G-liness from concealment to revelation into the physical objects of this world?
That is by performing the actions of mitzvos.
The Analogy of Sowing Seeds
Using the analogy of sowing seeds of plants, where most planting is from garden vegetation, the seeds of which are not eaten, since they are inedible. However, when these seeds are planted in the soil and the ground’s latent potential for growth enters the seed, edible fruits grow, even though the seed itself was not edible whatsoever.
There are also kernels of grain which are edible, but nevertheless, by planting them, the grain becomes quantitatively and qualitatively greater.
Similarly, with regard to performing mitzvos, which is Hashem’s Will as it is implanted in physical objects, such as tefillin written on physical parchment and tzitzis made from physical wool, and similarly with the other mitzvos. And when a Jew lays those [tefillin] on his head, this generates a revelation of Hashem’s G-dliness.
The section of the tefillin with the passage of “Kadesh” (Shemos 13:2) written in it reveals “קַדֶּשׁ” (Bo 13:2) – in Chochmah; “וְהָיָה כִּי יְבִיאֲךָ” (ibid., 11) – in Binah, etc.
