Translation:Likutei Moharan/22

The fifth chapter of Sifra De’ Tzniuta [states]:

“‘In the beginning, the Lord created.’ ‘In the beginning’ is a complete-statement; ‘He created’ is a half-statement. Father and son. Hidden and revealed. Upper Eden, which is hidden and concealed. Lower Eden.” (Zohar II, 178b)

[The Seal]
Know! there is a seal and there is Chotem B’tokh Chotem (a seal within a seal).

A seal. For there are those who rebuke the generation. They correspond to the feet and are called feet because they are “the teachers of God”—i.e., they teach God, as it were, giving Him advice. And they go as His emissaries to the Jewish people, rebuking them and returning them to the Holy One. By virtue of this they are called feet, because of the advice; as Rashi comments on, “And all the people that are at your feet” (Exodus 11:8): “who go in the ways of your advice.” And [they are called feet] by virtue of the going, for they go as His emissaries to rebuke.

Now, when the Holy One issues a decree of judgment in the world—the judgment is the Torah, for it has to be a Torah-judgment—and because they [the tzaddikim] are “the teachers of God,” He takes counsel with them and reveals to them the Torah-judgment which has been decreed against the generation. They [the teachers] cover over this Torah-judgment and seal it—corresponding to (Song of Songs 4:12), “a spring sealed up”—so that the outside forces do not draw nourishment from it, so that it should not be made into a harsh judgment, God forbid. This corresponds to (Isaiah 8:16), “Seal the Torah among My disciples”—that is, the Torah-judgment is sealed by “the teachers of God,” so that the outside forces should not draw nourishment from it.

And they, when the Torah judgment is revealed to them, they go and rebuke the generation in order to have them improve their ways, so as to mitigate the judgment. And even when they reprove, they are careful to seal and conceal [the judgment], so that the outside forces do not draw nourishment, as in (Job 33:16), “With their reproof it is sealed up.” Because of this they are synonymous with the concept of seal.

Expulsion and dispute, the very opposite of peace, abound in the world. This is as in (Job 18:18), “And from the world he will be banished”— chotem (seal) becomes nidat (banished), for they are numerically equivalent, as is brought. These “teachers of God” increase peace in the world; as is written (Isaiah 54:13), “And all your children shall be the teachers of God, and great shall be the peace of your children.” For they go to mediate and make peace between the Jewish people and their Father in heaven. Before the Holy One, they minimize the matter and offer endorsement on their behalf. But before the Jewish people, they magnify the transgression greatly. This is what we find of Moshe, he said to the Holy One (Exodus 32:11), “Why unleash Your wrath against Your people?”; And when the evil of the generation overpowers the seal and destroys it, God forbid, the peace in the world is then destroyed. whereas to the Jewish people he said (ibid.:30), “You have committed a terrible transgression.”

[Seal of the Hands]
There is also a seal which is above this seal—corresponding to the hands which receive reproof from those who rebuke, as in (Job 37:7), “By the hand of every man is it sealed.” And the hands are synonymous with faith, through which reproof is received, as in (Numbers 17:5), “As God said, in the hand of Moshe, to him,” corresponding to (Exodus 17:12), “And his hands were faith.”

Now, this seal needs extra safekeeping so that it should not be destroyed—so that the faith is not destroyed. For if, God forbid, the outer seal is damaged, it becomes possible for them to get close to the inner seal. They will break the inner seal by having damaged the outer seal, which is faith.

And if, God forbid, this seal of the hands is damaged, heresy—the very opposite of faith—and mistaken beliefs  ensues. Principally, idolatry has no power other than what it receives from these hands, as in (Exodus 32:4), “He took [the rings] from their hand, and formed it [the gold] in a mold.”

{As is explained in the Zohar (II, 192a) on this verse concerning the making of the Golden Calf: “What was is that made this action successful? It was because ‘[Aharon] took from their hands.’ If, when he took it from their hands, he had thrown it to the ground, then even if he had taken it afterwards, this terrible deed would not have been successful.” See there.}

His rectification is also through the concept of hands, as in (Genesis 35:4), “They gave Yaakov all the idolatrous artifacts that were in their hands.”

Chotem becomes nidat, as in (Isaiah 1:15), “Your hands are full of blood.” For YaD (a hand), when spelled out {as such: YOD DaLeT }, is numerically equivalent to NiDaT —namely idolatry, which makes impure as a menstruating woman (Shabbat 82a).

[Seven Shepherds]
And one has to see to fill the hands, which are faith, with the illumination of the Seven Shepherds. They are the embodiment of all the leaders of the generation, as in (Exodus 29:35), “For seven days you shall fill their hands.” They tend the faith, to rectify and perfect it. This is why they are called shepherds, as in (Psalms 37:3), “… and shepherd faith.”

It is they who draw the essence of Jewish faith to the generation. This corresponds to (Deuteronomy 33:3), “All his holy ones are in Your hands”—for they are synonymous with the embodiment of all the generation’s leaders. And this corresponds to (Hoshea 12:1), “With the holy ones He is faithful.” And this is why Moshe, who is one of the Seven Shepherds, is called the Faithful Shepherd .

[Boldness]
But it is impossible to come to these shepherds, who are the embodiment of holiness, except through boldness. As our Sages teach (Avot 5:20), “Be bold as a leopard,” as is written (Exodus 15:13), “Boldly You led [them] to Your holy shrine.” In other words, by means of boldness one enters into holiness.

This is because there are shepherds from the Other Side who are also the prominent leaders of the generation. They force people to submit to their control. Primarily, their rule stems from brazenness; for “brazenness is kingship without a crown” (Sanhedrin 105a).

With their brazenness, they are like dogs, as in (Isaiah 56:11), “The dogs are brazen, [they never have enough]; they are shepherds [who cannot understand].”

And similarly (Sotah 49b), “The face of the generation is as the face of the dog.”

Therefore, it is impossible to be saved from them, from their authority, except through boldness—standing up against their brazenness. And then, “Boldly You led [them] to Your holy shrine”—entering into holiness.

And all sounds: whether of crying out, or of sighing; whether the sound of the shofar, or the sound of song—they all are the concept of boldness, as in (Psalms 68:34), “Behold, He puts into His voice a bold sound.”

[Compassion for the Flesh]
And every person must show great compassion for the flesh of the body, illuminating it with every insight and perception that the soul perceives. The body should also be informed of this perception, as in (Isaiah 58:7), “Hide not from your own flesh.” Specifically from “your own flesh.” Do not hide your eyes from showing compassion for your flesh—the flesh of your body.

For it is necessary to show great compassion for the body, to see to purify it, so as to be able to inform it of all the insights and perceptions which the soul perceives. This is because the soul of every human being is continuously seeing and comprehending very exalted things. But the body knows nothing of them. Therefore, every person must show great compassion for the flesh of the body. He should see to purify the body so that the soul will be able to inform it of all that she is always seeing and comprehending.

Now, when the body is in this category, it benefits the soul. For there are times when she falls from her level. However, if the body is clear and illuminated, the soul is capable of picking herself up and returning to her level because of the body. That is, through the pleasures of the body, she will be able to recall and ascend to her own pleasures. For now that the body is also good and right, it doesn’t get trapped in the pleasures. Thus the soul is capable of returning by means of the pleasures of the body, to her position and her pleasures.

Likewise, by means of the lasting impression which the body has because of the enlightenment with which the soul previously illuminated it, she can now recall and ascend and return to her level. This corresponds to (Job 19:26), “From my flesh I will behold God”—specifically “my flesh.” In other words, by means of the flesh of the body he will behold God, that is, perceptions of Godliness. That is, the person—with his body—will see and behold exalted perceptions; that which the soul is always perceiving.

But when the body possesses brazenness—corresponding to, “The dogs are brazen”—the soul cannot support herself and draw closer to the body, to inform it of her perceptions. This is because she might become ensnared in the aggressiveness and brazenness of the body—that the body is brazen and strong in [its attachment to] the desires.

Thus it is necessary to have holy boldness—i.e., sounds, as above. With this, the brazenness of the body is broken. For “Sighing breaks a man’s body” (Ketuvot 62a). And by breaking the brazenness and aggressiveness of the body, the soul is able to bring herself closer to the body. She will not be ensnared there.

This corresponds to (Psalms 102:6), “From the sound of my sighing, my bone has clung to my flesh.” “ATZMi (my bone)” is the soul, which is the ÆTZeM (the essence) of a person. This is because man’s principal essence—that which man calls “I”—is the soul. She is the essence that is eternal.

But because of the brazenness of the body in its desires, the soul—which is the essence of man—is then distant from his flesh and his body. However, by means of the sound of sighing—the concept of holy boldness—the brazenness of the body is broken. And then the essence draws closer to the flesh—i.e., the soul to the body. This is, “From the sound of my sighing, my bone has clung to my flesh.”

And the concept of the sound of the tekiah (shofar blasts) corresponds to “from the sound of my sighing.” It breaks man’s body, as in (Amos 3:6), “Shall a shofar blast be sounded in the city, and the people not be afraid?” And through them, a person will be able to come to the shepherds, mentioned above. This is the concept of ''tekiah, shevarim, teruah. Tekiah'': these are the sounds, the “sound of boldness” . SheVaRim: because through them [the sounds], the brazenness of the body is ShaVaR (broken). TeRuAH: this corresponds to (2 Samuel 5:2), “You TiR’AeH (shall tend) My people,” as explained above. They are the shepherds of holiness to whom it is impossible to draw close except by means of holy boldness, which is the sounds of holiness/the sound of the shofar.

And this is (Genesis 17:23), “He circumcised the flesh of their foreskin, on that etzem (very) day.” And it is written (ibid.:26), “On that very day Avraham was circumcised.” “That day” alludes to the sound of the shofar: it is to be blown during the day (Rosh HaShanah 28a), as in (Psalms 20:2), “God will answer you on the day of your distress.” Through this, the foreskin of the flesh is circumcised and broken, and he receives the light of the etzem (essence).

[Essence]
Similarly, in the general category of human beings there is the concept of essence and flesh. That is, the true sage—he being the soul of the nation, for they are below him—is synonymous with the essence. Vis-à-vis him, the nation is synonymous with the flesh.

And when they as the flesh of the body is to man’s bone, they hear the sound of sighing—that is, the voice of the sage. It breaks their body, as in, “Sighing breaks a man’s body.” This enables him to come near, to draw closer to them, as in, “From the sound of my sighing, my bone has clung to my flesh.”

But when they are not in the category of flesh, they do not at all hear the above mentioned sound of sighing. And even if they hear, they don’t hear the essence of the sound, but only its echo.

[Sound of Holiness]
An echo is: Know! when the sound of holiness is aroused, then, through it, the sound of the Other Side is aroused. This is because as a result of the transgressions, destroying forces are created. “And they cry out: ‘Give us sustenance! ’” (Tikkuney Zohar #6, p.22a). When the sound of holiness does not strengthen and arouse itself, they are quiescent. But as soon as the sound of holiness is aroused, they immediately become aroused and begin to cry out and petition against it. This is the echo: it stems from the sound of holiness.

{“Though our transgressions bear witness against us, God, do it for the sake of Your name” (Jeremiah 14:7).} This corresponds to, “Though our transgressions bear witness against us”—bearing witness implies nothing other than crying out (Rashi, Deuteronomy 26:5). That is, the transgressions cry out in us—within us, literally—because the sound of holiness has been aroused.

As it is written of the woman of Tzarfat (1 Kings 17:18), “Have you come to me to recall my transgression?” That is, as long as Eliyahu was not there and the holiness not so overpowering, her transgressions were quiescent. But, because Eliyahu’s holiness had been aroused there, her transgressions were remembered and aroused to cry out and accuse her.

And this is, “Though our transgressions bear witness against us.” The transgressions cry out within us. And even when we cry out [with] some sound of holiness, we do not merit hearing the sound of holiness itself—so that we might use it to break the brazenness of the body—but only the echo, the sound of our sins which are aroused against the sound of holiness. They cry out within us. [Therefore] “God, do it for the sake of Your name.” You Yourself should do it for the sake of Your name, and take pity on us for Your sake alone.

However, when one is not in the category of flesh of the sage, he [the tzaddik] being the concept of the etzem, then he doesn’t hear the sound itself. Rather, [he hears] the echo—namely, the sound of the transgressions which are aroused by this sound.

'''{The Talmud teaches: “Someone sounds the shofar inside a pit, [what is the law for one st anding outside]? If he heard the sound of the shofar, he fulfilled his obligation; but if he heard the sound of the echo, he did not fulfill his obligation” (Rosh HaShanah 27b).}''' And this is, “Someone sounds the shofar inside a pit.” It corresponds to (Psalms 88:7), “You placed me in the lowest of pits.” He sighs and trumpets. “Those standing outside”—[this alludes to] those not in the category of flesh. “If he heard the sound of the shofar— yaTZA (he fulfilled his obligation).” That is, he is able la’TZAit (to depart) from his evil. “But if he heard the sound of the echo—he did not yaTZA,” as explained.

Thus, if one is not in the category of flesh, he does not hear the sound of his own sigh. For the body is so very distant from the essence/soul that it is not in the category of flesh, and can therefore not hear the sound of his sighing. Likewise, the sound of the sage’s sigh; if one is not in the category of flesh of the sage, he doesn’t hear its sound, but only an echo, as explained.

[Jerusalem]
Now, the concept of flesh is achieved through service. By serving the sage, one becomes the flesh of the sage. Similarly, by the body serving the soul through the performance of precepts which require action, the body becomes the flesh of the soul.

And when the BaSaR (flesh) is in this category, then (Isaiah 41:27), “To Jerusalem, a m’VaSeR (a messenger of good tidings) I will send”—from the BaSaR of the one that is circumcised, Jerusalem is made complete. For she is [called] “a faithful city” (ibid. 1:26).

In other words, one merits to achieve faith—the encompassing of holiness—which is received from the true tzaddikim of the generation. For it is impossible to draw close to them except through holy boldness, which corresponds to all the sounds of holiness. By means of this, the brazenness of the Other Side, the brazenness of the body, is broken and one merits drawing closer and being attached to them. And through this, one merits to complete faith, corresponding to, Jerusalem, “a faithful city.”

[Joy]
Now, holy boldness is achieved through joy, as in (Nechemiah 8:10), “For the delight in God is your boldness.” In other words, [it is achieved] through the concept of “naaseh v’nishma (we will do and we will hear)” (Exodus 24:7). This is the concept of joy. As our Sages said (Shabbat 88a): “At the time that the Jewish people said, ‘We will do and we will hear,’ 600,000 angels descended and placed two crowns on the head of each one of them… and when they sinned, they were taken away. But in the Future the Holy One will return them [the crowns] to them, as is written (Isaiah 35:10), ‘an everlasting joy on their heads.’” Thus, “we will do” and “we will hear” are synonymous with joy, corresponding to “an everlasting joy on their heads.”

And know! these two ornaments with which they were crowned at Chorev as a result of “we will do and we will hear” correspond to “In the beginning, He created.” As is brought in the fifth chapter of Sifra De’Tzniuta: “‘In the beginning’—this is a complete-statement; ‘He created’—a half-statement. This is Upper Eden, Lower Eden; upper wisdom lower wisdom; father and son.”

For “we will do and we will hear” corresponds to [concepts] hidden and revealed. “We will do” is synonymous with the revealed—i.e., the precepts that each and every person can fulfill commensurate with his level. And “we will hear” is synonymous with the hidden—that which is elevated and hidden from him, so that he is incapable of serving [God] with this.

For example: Every precept has that which accompanies it. Aside from the command recorded in the Torah to fulfill the precept, there are additional statements in the Torah, such as, “And God spoke to Moshe,” as well as the other statements of the Torah surrounding the precept.

Now, the service which is contained in these Torah statements accompanying the precept corresponds to “we will hear,” the hidden. For the precept itself, can fulfill, . But the service contained in these statements, we have no knowledge of—corresponding to “we will hear,” the hidden.

This corresponds to Torah and prayer. “We will do” is synonymous with Torah—the revealed, that which we know to fulfill. “And we will hear” is synonymous with the hidden, corresponding to the statements of Torah. These are the statements of Torah accompanying each precept—the concept of hidden, with which one does not know how to serve the Holy One. It corresponds to prayer, a cleaving [to God]. This is because “hearing is dependent upon the heart” (Tikkuney Zohar #58), as is written (1 Kings 3:9), “Give Your servant a hearing heart.”

And the service of the heart is prayer (Taanit 2a) —namely, negation [of the self] and cleaving to the Infinite One. This is because, conceptually, the Infinite One is that of which we have no grasp. And, because one has no grasp of this {namely, of the above mentioned statements of the Torah, for it is the concept of hidden}, it corresponds to prayer/cleaving to God—which is nothing other than negation [of the self] to the Infinite One.

[We Will Hear]
The concept of “we will do and we will hear” applies on each and every level, and likewise in each and every world. Each individual, commensurate with his level, possesses the aspect of “we will do”/Torah—namely, that which is revealed to him. And [he possesses] the aspect of “we will hear”—which corresponds to the hidden/prayer. For when someone comes to a level higher than the first one, then his “we will hear” takes on the aspect of “we will do,” and he then has an aspect of “we will hear” . And so it is from level to level. Each person, relative to his level, also possesses the concept of “we will do and we will hear.”

Likewise, in each world, there is the concept of “we will do and we will hear.” That which for this world is the aspect of “we will hear,” is, for the extraterrestrial world, the aspect of “we will do.” And they possess an even higher aspect of “we will hear” than this. And so it is from world to world. {“Hidden things pertain to God our Lord, but that which has been revealed applies to us and our children, forever; to do all the words of this Torah” (Deuteronomy 29:28).}

This is also the concept of the “Torah of God” and “his Torah” (Psalms 1:2). [Our Sages say] (Avodah Zarah 19a): “At first it is ‘the Torah of God.’” This is the aspect of hidden,  “Hidden things pertain to God our Lord.” And afterwards,  higher than this one, it becomes “his Torah.”  “we will hear” becomes “we will do,” which is “… but that which has been revealed applies to us and our children.”

Thus, “Hidden things pertain to God our Lord”—this corresponds to “we will hear.” “But that which has been revealed applies to us and our children”—this corresponds to “we will do.” “Forever; to do all the words of this Torah”—he should go from level to level, so that he comes to a world where “we will hear” becomes “we will do.” And this is, “To do all the words of this Torah.” The “words of Torah” refers to the statements of the Torah accompanying the precept, such as “And God spoke,” as explained. They correspond to “we will hear,” as above. They will be made into the aspect of “we will do.”

And thus [the verse says] “ahd olam (forever).” He should go from level to level and from olam (world) to olam. “To do”—specifically “to do,” the aspect of “we will do.” “All the words of this Torah”—the “words of Torah” correspond to the statements of the Torah accompanying the precept. They are the aspect of hidden/”we will hear,” as above. They will made into the aspect of “we will do”/the revealed.

And each person must go from level to level and from world to world, so that he is always meriting even higher aspects of “we will hear and we will do.” For him, the aspect of “we will hear”/hidden/prayer/Torah-statements-accompanying-the-precept/”Torah of God,” will each time be made into “we will do”/revealed/Torah/”his Torah”; and he will have an even higher aspect of “we will hear.” And so, each time he will be going from level to level and degree to degree, until he comes to the genesis of Creation—this being the first stage of Atzilut (the World of Nothingness).

And there, too, there is the concept of “we will do and we will hear.” The aspect of “we will hear” which is there is the true “Torah of God.” For in each world and level, “Torah of God” is but a borrowed name; only because is it called “Torah of God.” But when he comes to there, it becomes “his Torah.” However, the aspect of “we will hear” which is at the first stage of Atzilut is truly the “Torah of God.” For there is nothing higher than there, [there is] only God’s Torah itself. Then afterwards, when he is encompassed in the Infinite One, then the “we will do” corresponds to God’s Torah itself. And the “we will hear” corresponds to God’s prayer.

For there is God’s Torah, as our Sages said (Yerushalmi, Bikurim 3:3): “I fulfilled it first”; and as they said (Sotah 14a): “The Holy One clothes the naked and visits the sick”; and our Sages said (Berakhot 6a): “How do we know that the Holy One wears tefilin?” Likewise, there is God’s prayer, as our Sages said (ibid. 7a): “How do we know that the Holy One prays? For it is written (Isaiah 56:7), ‘I will make them joyful in My house of prayer.’” Thus we find that there is God’s Torah and there is God’s prayer. And when one merits being encompassed in the Infinite One, then his Torah is God’s Torah literally, and his prayer is God’s prayer literally.

And this is what our Sages said (Bava Kama 92a): “Someone who requests mercy for his fellow when he needs the very same thing, he is answered first.” Needing the very same thing and not asking it for himself—this is the result of his being in the aspect of nothingness, which is the aspect of “first,” namely, prior to Creation. And because he is in the aspect of first, he is consequently answered first.

{It would seem that this subject has no firm connection to that which preceded it. But actually, this subject is very clear to one who somewhat looks into it. For it is explained above and further on, that the concept of God’s prayer corresponds to pre-Creation/the concept of the Infinite One, which is the aspect of first. And because this aspect is synonymous with the aspect of nothingness, there is therefore no one who can merit to this except one who is in the aspect of nothingness. In other words, he is truly humble. And he negates himself entirely—to the nth degree of negation—as though he were not in the world, until he is encompassed in the Infinite One, wherein lies the concept of God’s prayer.

With this, a firm connection is made [to] that which is brought further on regarding the teaching of the Sages: Elazar Ze’ira… who was suspected of haughtiness and was therefore arrested. See there. For it would seem that there is no connection between the subject of haughtiness and this lesson. The subject of haughtiness is not, on the face of it, mentioned here at all. Yet, in fact, based on what has been explained, [its connection] is clearly visible. This entire matter of meriting to a higher aspect of “we will do and we will hear”—corresponding to encompassment in the Infinite One/the genesis of Creation—is impossible, except through true humility/nothingness, as explained above.

And we now have a clear explanation for how the topic of “someone who requests mercy for his fellow when he needs the very same thing” is connected to this lesson. This is because the person who prays for his fellow, even though he needs that very same thing—this is the concept of humility/nothingness. He negates himself, showing no concern for himself whatsoever. Instead, he is sensitive to the suffering of his fellow Jew. And through this negation, he is encompassed in nothingness—corresponding to pre-Creation/”we will hear”/God’s prayer. He is therefore answered first, because he is in the aspect of first, as explained.}

This is the concept of “father and son, a complete-statement and a half-statement.” For the “we will do” corresponds to revealed/Torah/”He created”/son/Lower Eden/lower wisdom/a half-statement; as opposed to the “we will hear,” which corresponds to “in the beginning”/the complete-statement/upper wisdom/Upper Eden/father/prayer/hidden. This is because each level, vis-à-vis the level above it, is a half-statement. It is like the father who, when he speaks, utters a complete-statement; yet when his small son speaks after him, he utters only a half-statement. So it is with every level vis-à-vis the level above it: it is a half-statement, whereas the level above it is by comparison the complete-statement.

And so it is from one level to the next. For all the humans, animals, birds, plants and all things in this world, are only a concept of a half-statement vis-à-vis the world which is above this world. This is because they are only representations of things higher than themselves. And so it is from one world to the next; and likewise, Creation vis-à-vis pre-Creation is a half-statement. For completeness is in the Infinite One ; which is where the concept of the complete-statement exists.

This is [what is meant by], “He created”—which embodies the entire Creation—is a half-statement vis-à-vis “in the beginning”—which corresponds to pre-Creation/prayer.  BeREIShYT (in the beginning) is YaREI BoSheT (fear, embarrassment) (Tikkuney Zohar #7), which is prayer, as in (Proverbs 31:30), “Fear of God shall be praised”—[and prayer] is the complete-statement.

Accordingly, faith is called YeRuShaLayiM (Jerusalem), as mentioned. This is because its principal construction is from “in the beginning,” corresponding to complete fear—for where there is YiRah (fear), there is ShaLeM (completeness): BeREIShYT / YaREI BoSheT /the complete-statement.

 is from the shepherds. But it is impossible to draw closer to the shepherds except through boldness; and one merits to boldness through joy; and one merits to joy through the concept of “we will do and we will hear”—corresponding to Torah and prayer, etc. However, the main completeness of joy comes through fear, for it is written (Psalms 2:11), “rejoice with trembling fear.” In other words, the principal rejoicing and joy is through prayer/fear/”we will hear”/the complete-statement—wherein lies principal completeness.

It follows, that the principal construction of faith—corresponding to Jerusalem “a faithful city”—is achieved through prayer/fear/the complete-statement. Faith is therefore called Jerusalem, which is complete fear. Her principal construction is through fear/the complete-statement, which corresponds to BeREIShYT—YaREI BoSheT, the complete-statement.

And this is (Psalms 19:8), “The testimony of God is faithful.” “EyDut (the testimony) of God”—the EDiyim (ornaments) mentioned above—”is faithful.” Through it, faith is constructed.

This is (Genesis 49:24) “… from there the Shepherd, the evan (the Rock) of Israel.” Onkelos translates [“ÆVaN” as a composite of] AV and VeN (father and son). This is the complete-statement: father and son as one. For a half-statement corresponds to the son alone, but the complete-statement is father and son as one. Everything is encompassed there, and through this one can come to the concept of shepherds, as above. Hence this is the meaning of, “… from there the shepherd, the ÆVen of Israel.”

[Fall Prior to the Ascent]
However, when one wants to emerge from this level of “we will do and we will hear” to a higher level of “we will do and we will hear,” there must be a fall prior to the ascent. This is because the ultimate purpose of the fall is the ascent [which follows]. As our sages taught (Avodah Zarah 4b): “David did not deserve [to fall victim] to that deed… the Jewish people did not deserve [to fall victim] to that deed.” It is only that the Holy One presented them with a stumbling block, for the benefit of the world. As our sages said: to teach repentance.

And this is [what our Sages teach (Shabbat 120a)]: “‘Let this stumbling block be under your hand’ (Isaiah 3:6) —these are the words of Torah. A man does not have a clear grasp on them unless he stumbled in them [first].” “The words of Torah” correspond to the statements accompanying the precept—they are, “And God spoke to Moshe,” etc.—corresponding to the hidden/”we will hear”/prayer.

“OMeiD (clear grasp) on them” is the concept of prayer, for “AMiDah (standing) is nothing other than prayer” (Berakhot 6b). He makes the words of Torah/”we will hear” into the aspect of “we will do,” so that the Amidah /prayer will be “on them”—that is, he will have an even higher aspect of Amidah /prayer/”we will hear,” for when the “we will hear” becomes “we will do,” he will have a higher “we will hear.” And this is only possible if he has “stumbled in them.” This is because in order to ascend from one level to the next there must first be a fall. This is the “stumbling block.”

And this is (Jeremiah 50:20), “In that time, the transgression of the Jewish people will be sought, and there shall be none.” This is because in the Future, all will be repentance, and through repentance “deliberate sins become merits” (Yoma 86b). The sins of the Jewish people will become Torah. Therefore, the transgressions will then be sought. For they will then seek and search after the transgressions of the Jewish people, hoping to find yet another transgression, so as to make it into Torah.

Thus, “and there shall be none.” This is because all the transgressions will be encompassed in nothingness—that is, in the Infinite One; there the transgressions are turned into merits through the repentance. This is the concept of “The ultimate purpose of the fall is the ascent [which follows],” mentioned earlier.

And this is (Hoshea 14:2), “Return, Israel… for you have stumbled in your transgression.” In other words, by means of repentance, the sins become the aspect of stumbling blocks—this being the Torah, as explained.

[Holy Boldness]
'{“Rabbi Yehudah ben Teima says: ‘Be bold as a leopard….’ He would say, ‘The brazen-faced person [is destined] for Gehennom'', whereas a shamefaced person [is destined] for the Garden of Eden. May it be Your will God our Lord that You construct Your city speedily in our lifetime, and grant us our share in Your Torah’” (Avot 5:23, 4).}''' This is the explanation of the Mishnah: “Rabbi Yehudah ben Teima says: ‘Be bold as a leopard….’” We can conclude from this that he was alerting to [the importance of] holy boldness. A person must be “bold as a leopard” in the face of all those who stand up against him to prevent him from his service, God forbid. He then promptly and immediately explains there [in the Mishnah] the seriousness of the blemish and the prohibition of brazenness of the Other Side. As it is written there: “He would say: ‘A brazen-faced person [is destined] for Gehennom (hell).’”

If so, it is possible to err, God forbid. It is certainly necessary to possess boldness for the sake of holiness, as explained. This is because it is impossible to truly draw closer to holiness except through boldness. As he himself said: “Be bold as a leopard.” Yet, on the other hand, brazenness is very evil. This is someone who is bold not for the sake of holiness {and all the more so when he is brazen against holiness, acting brazenly towards those who fear God, and the like}. Such brazenness is very evil, for “a brazen-faced person [is destined] for hell.”

And if so, [it is like] “a bouquet of medicinal herbs that fell in a pit” (Shabbat 66b) —for it is not clear how we should conduct ourselves [with this quality]. Regarding this, the Sage [Rabbi Yehudah ben Teima] requested: “May it be Your will that You construct Your city speedily in our lifetime.” {On the face of it, this is a great wonder and everyone is puzzled by this. What relationship does this prayer have to what preceded it? In addition, it is not the style of the Mishnah to offer a prayer and a request in the middle of its text. Yet, now, it is very clear.}

In other words, he prayed that he merit knowing how to conduct himself in the matter of boldness. That is, [he asked] that he not have any brazenness of the Other Side, but instead merit to possess holy boldness through which Jerusalem “a faithful city” is constructed. As explained earlier, one merits faith through this boldness. For it is impossible to draw closer to the true tzaddikim—who are the embodiment of the Seven Shepherds, the embodiment of holiness, for the principal faith is drawn through them—except by means of boldness, as above. And thus, “May it be Your will that You construct Your city speedily in our lifetime.” In other words, that the boldness be holy boldness, from which Jerusalem “a faithful city” is constructed.

Yet, this is [only] achieved through: “Grant us our share in Your Torah.” That is, by attaining the concept of “we will do and we will hear”—making the “we will hear” into “we will do”—”the Torah of God” becomes “his Torah.” In other words, he merits comprehending the Torah of God, as above.

And thus, “Grant us our share in Your Torah.” “Our share,” which is our portion in the Torah—i.e., the concept of “his Torah,” corresponding to “we will do”—should become “in Your Torah”—i.e., the Torah of God itself. That is, he should merit being encompassed in nothingness, as explained. He should merit comprehending the “Torah of God”/”we will hear” through which one merits joy. Through this one merits holy boldness, corresponding to, “For the delight in God is your boldness.”

And this is: “A shamefaced person [is destined] for the Garden of Eden.” This is because the truth is that holy boldness stems from embarrassment. For holy boldness is merited through joy and delight, corresponding to, “For the delight in God is your boldness.” And one merits to “delight in God” through the concept of “we will do and we will hear,” as explained.

Now, the principal completeness of joy is through fear/”we will hear”/prayer. And fear is embarrassment— yarei boshet. Thus, this holy boldness stems from embarrassment. Hence, “A shamefaced person [is destined] for the Garden of Eden.” For this boldness of holiness, which is synonymous with embarrassment, corresponds to Eden—Upper Eden, which corresponds to “we will hear”/fear/prayer.

So, in order to come to this boldness, he prayed: “May it be Your will that You construct Your city speedily in our lifetime,” as above.

[Brazenness]
And this is the explanation of (Bava Kama 59b): '''{Elazar the Small put on black shoes and went to the market in Nahardea. The servants of the Exilarch saw him. “What’s this, that your wearing black shoes?” they asked. “I am mourning for Jerusalem,” he replied. “Are you so important that you can mourn [in public]?” they questioned. They saw this as a public display of haughtiness and had him arrested. “But I am an important person,” he protested. “Who says so?” the servants countered. He said, “Either you ask me something [difficult], or I’ll ask you.” “You ask,” they said. He asked them: “Someone who cuts down a budding date tree [belonging to his neighbor], what does he have to pay?” “He pays the price of date buds,” the servants replied. “But the buds would have become full grown dates!” he retorted. “So let him pay for full grown dates.” “But he didn’t take full grown dates!” “Then you tell us,” the servants said. “He should pay a sixtieth,” Elazar replied.}'''

'''Elazar the Small put on black shoes. What’s this? they asked him. I am mourning for Jerusalem, he replied''' — He was mourning for Jerusalem “a faithful city”—that is, for the degeneration of faith. This is why he put on black shoes, to indicate that the seal of the feet has been damaged. The seal becomes the blood of menstruation.

This is, “black shoes.” The feet were damaged and became bloodied, for this black is actually red (Niddah 19a). It happens when there is damaging of faith, because faith is primary, as has been explained. {When faith, which is the seal of the hands, is damaged, the seal of the feet is automatically damaged. For the main thing is faith.}

'''Are you so important that you can mourn in public? they questioned''' — In other words, they suspected him of haughtiness. Thus [they said to him], “It is your fault that the feet have been damaged,” as in (Psalms 36:12), “Let not the foot of the haughty come to me.” This is because haughtiness damages the feet, as in (Berakhot 43b), “Anyone who is haughty, it is as if he pushes away the feet of the Divine Presence.”

Therefore, because they suspected him of haughtiness, they had him arrested. For the punishment for haughtiness is imprisonment, as our Sages said (Megillah 13b): “And if he grows haughty, the Holy One knocks him down; as is written (Job 36:8), ‘And if they are bound in chains….’” Thus, the punishment for haughtiness is imprisonment, which is why they had him arrested.

He said, Either you ask me something difficult, or I’ll ask you — [Elazar reasoned,] “This will be the test to see if I am haughty. [If I am,] then it would be expected that I should not be able to answer you, for ‘anyone who is haughty loses his wisdom,’” (Pesachim 66b).

He asked them: Someone who cuts down a budding date tree belonging to his neighbor, what does he have to pay? — “Cuts down a budding date tree” alludes to a blemishing of boldness. KuFRa (a budding date tree) corresponds to boldness, the sounds, as is written (Psalms 104:21), “The KaFiRim (young lions) roar after prey.” He asked: “What does he have to pay?”—someone who blemishes with this boldness. And they answered:

He pays the price of date buds —  And he asked:

But the buds would have become full grown dates? — By having blemished the boldness, a damaging of faith becomes possible. This is: “taMRei” (full grown dates), corresponding to (Jeremiah 2:11), “Has a nation heiMiR (exchanged) its gods? But my people has exchanged its glory without benefit.” And they answered:

So let him pay for full grown dates — As is due for the damaging of faith.

But he didn’t take full grown dates! — For, even so, he has not as yet come to heresy. And he answered:

He should pay a sixtieth — Namely, Gehennom: this entire world is one sixtieth of hell (cf. Taanit 10a). For “A brazen-faced person [is destined] for hell.” Our patriarch Avraham, of blessed memory, exchanged all forms of punishment for subjugation under foreign rule. Yet the punishment for brazenness remained exclusively in Gehennom. Hence, the person who blemishes holy boldness through brazenness of the Other Side, pays “a sixtieth”—namely, in hell.

[Tishrei]
And holy boldness corresponds to [the month of] Tishrei, which is why it is called “the month of the firm” (1 Kings 8:2), indicating firmness and boldness.  cry out [with their] voices and the sound of the shofar, for the sounds all correspond to boldness, as mentioned.

And therefore, the two seals are then sealed and rectified: chotem b’tokh chotem (a seal within a seal). This is because through holy boldness one merits to faith, which is the seal of the hands. And, as a result, one merits receiving reproof from those who rebuke the generation, this being the seal of the feet. This is the concept of the two seals: a seal within a seal, as explained.

And this is Tishrei, which is numerically equivalent to twice chotem with [two more added for] the two words. Thus the month of Tishrei joyous time for the Jewish people. This is because boldness comes through joy, “For the delight in God is your boldness”; and this verse is said of Rosh HaShanah.

Excerpts related to this lesson:

[Rebuke]
This is (Deuteronomy 7:12), “Ekev (In the end), if you will listen to these laws.” “Ekev” corresponds to the feet. And feet is synonymous with those who rebuke, as mentioned above. The judgments are revealed to them, and they rebuke the generation. Thus “Ekev (the heel), if you will listen.” That is, from the concept of the feet/those who rebuke, “you will listen to these laws”—the judgments. For they are revealed to them, and with this they rebuke the generation.

[Shofar]
And all sounds are the concept of boldness. The voice of the one who rebukes corresponds to the sound of the shofar, as is written (Isaiah 58:1), “Lift up your voice like a shofar.” The same is true of the sound of music, as in (Psalms 33:3), “Play skillfully, with a blast.” The sound of music is synonymous with a TeRuAh (blast)/a shofar, corresponding to, “You TiR’AeH (shall tend) my people,” as above.

[Prayer]
In the time of Rabban Gamliel, the generation’s Torah study corresponded to “we will hear”—synonymous with prayer. This is what our Sages said (Megillah 21a): “In the time of Rabbi Gamliel, they would study Torah while standing.” Amidah (standing) is synonymous with prayer, as explained. Therefore, as our Sages said (ibid.): “When Rabbi Gamliel passed away, the glory of Torah was eliminated.”

[Strong Warriors]
The concept of “we will do and we will hear” applies in each and every world. Likewise, in the [world of] angels there is “we will do and we will hear.” As is written (Psalms 103:20), “Strong warriors who do His word, so as to hear the sound of His word.” And as our Sages said (Shabbat 88a): “[When the Jewish people preceded ‘we will hear’ with ‘we will do,’ a heavenly voice rang out:] ‘This secret which the ministering angels employ, who revealed it to My children?’ As is said, ‘Strong warriors….’”

[Leopard]
'''It is impossible to draw closer to holiness except through boldness. As is written, “Be bold as a leopard.”''' As explained above. So, too, have our Sages said (Beitza 25b): “The Torah was only given to the Jewish people because they are bold.”

[Embarrassment]
So important is embarrassment that [as our Sages taught (Moed Katan 9b)] it is repeated twice in the verse (Joel 2:26,27), “… shall never be embarrassed… and My people shall never be embarrassed.”

[Supernal Secrets]
The [place known as] the Garden of Eden and the [place known as] Gehennom are in this world, literally. However, it is impossible to get there because of the freezing cold in the north and south. Furthermore, the pain of embarrassment is very great—greater than the punishment of hell. And in all the forms of suffering of this world there is the pain of embarrassment; the suffering which he experiences causes him to feel embarrassed in front of his friends. Likewise in the Future, the pain of embarrassment will be very great. Even “every tzaddik will be singed by the canopy of his comrade.” Oy! What embarrassment! Oy! What disgrace! as our Sages said (Bava Batra 75a). And they said there: “Moshe’s face was like the face of the sun, Yehoshua’s face was like the face of the moon. Oy! What embarrassment! Oy! What disgrace!” How much more so will the sinners be embarrassed, God save us!

And if he is on a level where he has no reason to feel embarrassed in front of any person, he should be embarrassed before the Holy One. This is because the Holy One fulfills the entire Torah. As our Sages said: “The Holy One buries the dead… the Holy One visits the sick,” as well as the other Torah precepts which the Holy One fulfills, as reckoned by the Sages. The Holy One also prays, as our Sages said: “How do we know that the Holy One prays? And what does He pray? He prays: ‘May it be My will….’” And certainly the Holy One fulfills the Torah’s precepts and prays in a way which is fitting for the Holy One, blessed be He. Thus, how removed is his fulfillment of the Torah, his prayers, from the Torah and prayers of God. For each person serves God commensurate with his own level, corresponding to “we will do and we will hear”—i.e., Torah and prayer, as above.

When the Rebbe began this lesson, he started with this topic of the Garden Eden and Gehennom, and the pain of embarrassment, etc. This led him to talk about God’s own Torah and prayer, as recorded here, and so on from topic to topic until he completed the lesson. However, when I later transcribed the lesson in his presence, the order was changed around a bit. He instructed me to begin with the topic of chotem b’tokh chotem (a seal within a seal), for reasons known only to God.

Exalted is the Lord, from beginning to end

That He favored and desired us and gave us the Torah

That we were worthy to complete the Sifra De’Tzniuta.

Let us now lift up our hands to our God

That He stand for us on our right

That we begin and conclude the Supernal secrets

Hidden in the “Wise Men of Athens.”