Self-awakening: Isarussa Dil’Tatoh literally means an arousal from below, usually after someone gets a quick inspiration from above either by way of an internal feeling or being inspired from seeing something or hearing something outside of himself, or just that a person on his own consciously decides to make a concerted effort to serve Hashem and does something about it.
Initiated inspiration: Through his Isarusa Dil’Tatoh on his own effort, he is rewarded by a stronger Divinely inspired motivation to do the right thing. Like his effort was a trigger for this Divine inspiration. Perhaps this is parallel to that which the Talmud states on the Possuk: “Sanctify yourselves and you will be sanctified” a person who sanctifies himself a bit, they sanctify him and assist him greatly. Or as the Malbim and others say ‘Someone who comes to purify himself they help him from above”. Or “on the same route that someone takes they take him there”.
Far-removed from the self-awakening: This superior level of Divine inspiration cannot be triggered by man, whatever he does, this level of Inspiration comes from such a high lofty level of Divinity that man does not exist there and has no potential of even triggering anything on that level. However, Hashem chooses to come down into this world and if someone was to be in a spiritually perfect wholesome condition, in his thought speech and action, then he might merit this supernal Divine inspiration.
Not rest: Hashem wants to rest in this material world as the Torah writes make for me a sanctuary and I will dwell amongst them; the Torah tells us ‘Them’ that Hashem wants to dwell in the heart and soul of every Jew if he will allow Hashem’s presence. Allowing means to rid any negative traits and qualities that contradict Hashem’s presence.
Wholesome: The word in Aramaic is ‘Shalim’ which could also mean complete and perfect, and it is really all these things, that for Hashem’s ‘Atzmus’ to dwell the place i.e. the person must be wholesome, complete and perfect in his service of Hashem and must have already rid himself of any negative traits etc.
Supernal Divine Inspiration: This ‘Isarusa Dil’eilah’ mentioned earlier.
Perfect: For him first to prepare himself for that inspiration, in Chassidus it explains that Hashem desires to dwell in this lowly realm so we need to prepare his dwelling place and just like in a dwelling before we bring in the furniture in preparation for the King’s arrival we need to first clear out all the undesirable stuff, so too with us we need to first ‘Steer away from evil, before doing good’ and clear out all our undesirables from the dwelling.
Does not play an active role: Because the level from where this inspiration comes is beyond the reach of any human.
Aligned: Even though one cannot cause this inspiration to come, one still needs to do some sort of preparation and adjustments of that place to align up with that inspiration i.e. make sure the place (him) is wholesome and perfect.
With this place: Meaning that this place which is him the Jewish person has to justify himself that he meets the needs of perfection.
Above: The same system that we discussed with regards to the highest level of Divine inspiration AKA Isarusa Dil’eilah, is the same system that operates with the revelation of Hashem’s holy ‘Atzmus’.
Be rid: To clear out all undesirables in preparation of the holy visit, by means of ‘Bittul’ of self-nullification.
All Concealments, Obscurities and Confusions: Or anything that might be an obstacle to Hashem’s presence. The Primary obstacle is one’s haughtiness, ego and self-worth.
Wholesome: Being completely and perfectly prepared for Hashem’s holy visit within.
Trembled: This trembling is itself a shaking-off of all the concealments, obscurities and confusions, when they shook into shape, like a ‘Bittul’ of their previous self-worth and ego.
From Afar: So, this moving backwards is a result of the intensity of the shake up to remove all the concealments, obscurities and confusions.
Understood: We still need to understand how in fact does being shaken up by the trembling and voices bring one to be suitable as a receptacle to receive Hashem’s holy Essence?
Dibbur Hamaschil: In another Maamor with the same opening words.
וְכָל־הָעָםֵּרֹאִים: Lit: and all the people saw.
Hemshech Ayin Beis 5672: A series of Chassidic discourses from the Rebbe Rashab starting in the year 5672 (1911-12). This series of Chassidic essays are considered a fundamental work of Chabad mysticism for its original treatment of many Chassidic concepts. The Ayin Beis series is the longest series of Maamorim from any Chabad Rebbe. This series was written and delivered over the course of several years. In its final form, the series consists of 144 discourses, a number of which were never delivered publicly. The work is also referred to as Hemshech Tehrav from the letters of the number of the year in which it was started.
Absence: This idea is illustrated by the seed from a fruit which after it has been planted in the ground first needs to disintegrate and become nothing before its DNA can become empowered by the earth’s potential to make things grow and only then can it start to develop into what will finally be a fruit bearing tree.
Tzimtzum: Contraction; In the beginning, a simple Divine light filled the entirety of existence. . . . When there arose in His simple will the desire to create the worlds, He contracted His light, withdrawing it to the sides and leaving a void and an empty space in its centre to allow for the existence of the worlds. (However, this was not an absolute void, for there remained a residue of the Divine light within the void.) He then drew a single line of His infinite light into the void to create and illuminate the worlds.
Before the revelation: As the Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya by using the model of a ray of light that comes off the sun and illuminates in the world below. This ray itself might act as an individual light source whilst down here below, but whilst in the body of the sun has absolutely no prominence at all; it ceases to exist in the face of the sun being that the sun is so much more powerful than this insignificant little ray of light. So too, were Hashem not to contract and conceal His light, we would not be able to exist in the face of Hashem’s awesome light.
Trepidation: As mentioned earlier that this trepidation caused an aspect of ‘Bittul’ of withdrawal and diminishment which was the absence needed to move forward.
This is the absence: This trembling which is one’s withdrawal and a reduction in size is absent of one’s former self-worth and pride.
That comes before the Creation: Which in our case we are talking about an absence of ego. When he rids himself of all concealments, obscurities and confusions in order to make room for the presence of Hashem’s holy ‘Atzmus’.
Bittul: Self-Nullification, and a reduction in haughtiness, ego and self-worth.
Receive: And contain, so to speak.
Matan Torah: That came down to this world starting with the giving of the Torah.
Receptacle: The absence itself is what causes the created being to become a receptacle.
True existence: Hashem is the only true existence, as we say in the Oleinu prayer ‘Ein Oid Milvado’ there is nothing that exists other than Hashem Himself, or in the words of first of the Rambam’s thirteen principles of faith: “Belief in the existence of the Creator, who is perfect in every manner of existence and is the Primary Cause of all that exists.”
This concept: That there needs to be an absence before creating something new.
Last Golus: The exile which are in now and have been for nearly two thousand years.
Ikvasa Dimeshicha: Litteraly means the heel of Moshiach. The very last moments before Moshiach comes. It has several connotations firstly we are the lowest level due to the descent of the generations just before Moshiach, or that Mashiach’s approaching footsteps can be heard.
Yetzias Mitzrayim: In order for the Jews to be on the level to receive the Torah they needed to first be enslaved in Egypt and then have an exodus from Egypt.
Preparation: That the concealment and obscurity, of the Egyptian exile were the preparation and introduction to Matan Torah.
Absence: Of freedom, absence of clarity, and absence of G-dliness.
Torah of Moshiach: As the Possuk in Isaiah states: “A Torah shall emanate from Me” and our sages have translated it and said in the times of Moshiach: “A New Torah will emanate from Me” elsewhere it is written that: “Hashem is sitting and expounding the Torah that He is yet to give through Moshiach”, and it is also written that: “The Torah of today is incomparable to the Torah of Moshiach”.
Penimiyus Hatorah: Is the inner dimension of Torah, the esoteric, the Kabbalistic, Chassidus.
Concealment: That G-dliness is scarcely revealed in our lives, we live in an Olam Sheker.
All exiles: The Beginning: Egypt 1523 BCE – 1313 BCE, Babylon 423 BCE - 371 BCE, Persia/Media 371 BCE – 318 BCE, Greece 318 BCE - 138 BCE, Rome 60 CE – Present.
This last Golus: Which is the deepest, darkest Golus of all, the fact that today it feels like we are living in an atmosphere where we are not persecuted nor are we in an environment of servitude or bondage, we actually suffer the most today without even realising it because G-dliness is so well concealed.
Bitter Golus: This last Golus which is really many exiles rolled into one spanning nearly two thousand years: in the year 3829 (69 CE), The Jewish people were butchered and slaughtered, their homes ransacked, and the Holy Temple burnt to the ground. And since then, the Jewish people have been persecuted and exiled. In the year 1096, the First Crusade destroyed Jewish communities across Europe and in Israel. In 1144, the first recorded blood libel took place. In 1190, Jews were massacred in England during the Third Crusade. A public burning of the Talmud took place in Paris in 1242. In 1290, all Jews were expelled from England. The Spanish inquisition occurred in 1478. In 1648, Jews were massacred by Chmielnitzki’s forces (what is known as Gezeiras Tach V’Tat). In 1918, over 60,000 Jews were killed during the Russian revolution. Finally, during the Holocaust: six million Jews were slaughtered. Today, the fact that it is so difficult for most of us to really feel and internalize what it is that we are missing is itself the worst Golus.
Greatest absence: Perhaps because it is the longest exile, with the longest time that we have not had a revealed relationship with Hashem that is the greatest absence and that is what makes it the most bitter.
Ultimate existence: The greatest fall for the greatest lift, if the main reason for Golus is as a descent to accommodate an ascent, then the ascent will be the greatest ascent ever.
Golus: By definition if there was to be another exile after the redemption like there was in the past redemptions, then by definition it was never a proper redemption. Rashi comments in the Torah by the blessings of Yevorechecho Hashem VeYishmerecho, that only Hashem can give us something and guarantee that no one will ever take it from us. By definition, the fact that the Beis Hamikdosh and the freedom was taken away from us proves that it was never given to us properly in the first place, unlike the up and coming redemption which we are guaranteed that there is no exile thereafter because it is the most truest redemption ever.
Impossible: What could be worse, we have been butchered, persecuted, slaughtered, killed, massacred, mistreated worse than animals, used for experiments, and similar on the painful side. on the other end of the spectrum when we have had it good so to speak, we suffer from a terrible absence of G-dliness to the extent that we are suffering from intermarriage and missionary organisations, baseless hatred and all of the ailments and excuses not to stay close to Judaism and to Hashem, so what could be worse.
As a result: As the Possuk in Tehilim states: “Cause us to rejoice according to the days that You afflicted us, the years that we saw evil” or the Possuk in the Prophets states: “it is a time of distress for Jacob, and from it he shall be saved”.
Than it: Will even be wondrous at the standards already set in Egypt.
The will of Hashem: Let the merits of the study of this subject itself bring a New will to Hashem.
Mamosh: In a tangible revealed way
Very soon: Like the blink of an eye.
Upright: Standing Tall, Proud and confident, unlike slaves who are bent over.
Our Aged: From the request of Moshe Rabeinu to leave Mitzrayim with our youth and with our aged... with our sons and with our daughters. As the Possuk states in Sefer Shmos for Parshas Bo (10:09) וַיֹאמֶר מֹשֶה בִנְעָרֵינוּ וּבִזְקֵנֵינוּ נֵלֵךְ בְבָנֵינוּ וּבִבְנוֹתֵנוּ בְצֹאנֵנוּ וּבִבְקָרֵנוּ נֵלֵךְ כִי חַג ה׳ לָנוּ “Moshe said, "With our youth and with our elders we will go, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our cattle we will go, for it is a festival of HaShem to us”
Free translation of Maamor ‘V’chol Ho’om Roim Es HaKolos’ delivered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe on Shabbos Parshas Yisro, 17th Shevat, 5744. published in www.dvarmalchus.org For Shabbos Parshas Yisro 5774, Translation republished for Shabbos Parshas Yisro 5780. Translated by Mendy Levy, authored by Menachem Mendel Levy, typeset by Mendel Levy, published by Menachem Levy, funded by Menachem Mendy Levy Translated by Menachem Mendel Levy Funded by Mendy Levy Thank you, Reb Avrohom de Keyser & Mr. Jeremy Travers, for proofreading. Thank you for your input Rabbi Sholom Osdoba
