Dei Chochmah LNafshechah

Parshas Terumah

Shalosh Seudos1 of Parshas Terumah 5767

" : , , . ". , ; ,
And they shall make an ark of acacia-wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, within and without shall you overlay it, and shall make upon it a crown of gold round about.2

Rashi explains: Within and without shall you overlay itBetzalel made three arks; two of gold and one of wood, and each had four walls and a bottom and were open from above. The wooden one was placed between the two arks of gold... A crown of goldit was [a border] like a crown that surrounded it from above at its edge. The outermost ark was made higher than the inner one so that it extended slightly above the thickness of the kapores. When the kapores sat upon the thicknesses of the walls of the inner two arks, the crown extended somewhat higher than the thickness of the kapores, and it was meant to represent the crown of Torah. The Soul of Moshe Rabbeinu It is well known that Moshe Rabbeinu was the root of all of the souls of future Torah scholars, and this is why the sages were also sometimes referred to as Moshe as in, Moshe, well said.3 There is an aspect of the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu that is enclothed within each and every limb of true Torah scholars.4 However, this is on the

1 2

The lesson was delivered at the third meal of Shabbos. Shemos 25:10-11 3 Shabbos 101b; See Likutei Moharan I:4. 4 Likutei Moharan I:72 3

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condition that the scholar studies every part of the Torah, both its revealed and hidden elements, and does not only focus on a single subject. The soul of Moshe Rabbeinu comprises aspects of the souls of both redeemers, Moshiach ben Yosef and Moshiach ben Dovid. The former is associated with the hidden Torah, and the latter with the revealed Torah. For this reason, if a person wants a spark of the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu to be enclothed within him to the extent that he himself is called after Moshes name, he must study every part of the Torah. Then he will be able to render halachic decisions that are absolutely Torah-true. This conforms with the teaching of the Chida, zl, that it seems as though it would be impossible for any scholar to properly decide Torah law unless he derived from the tribe of Levi [who were blessed to be the teachers of the Jewish people]. However, by virtue of the scholar binding himself to the light of Moshe Rabbeinu who did indeed derive from the tribe of Levi, Moshe Rabbeinus soul is enclothed in him and he is able to render Torah-true judgments. Moshe Rabbeinu Transmitted the Torah to Yehoshua It is vital to be aware that the only one to receive the entire Torah was Moshe Rabbeinu, and he transmitted it with self-sacrifice to Yehoshua.5 [The term for transmission in Hebrew is mesirah, which is meant to also convey the concept of selfsacrifice or mesirus nefesh.] Yehoshua is the paradigm of the true tzaddik who binds himself to the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu, and by doing so becomes worthy of receiving from him the entire Torah. Without such binding, the scholar is only learning Torah at the lesser levels of Yehoshuas transmission to the elders, and the elders to the prophets... This transmission was to multiple people at each level after the first, it is more diffused, and it is lesser than the receiving attributed to Moshe Rabbeinu alone.6 It was only Yehoshua who, by completely binding himself to the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu, merited to receive Torah in its entirety.
5 6

Pirkei Avos 1:1 Sefer Halikkutim, Parshas Ekev #8 4

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The Mystery of Chanoch The Raavad in his commentary to the Sefer Yetzirah and the Bris Menuchah both explain that, to receive the Torah in its entirety, Moshe Rabbeinu had to ascend to the level of MaTaT [this is the angel/spiritual channel responsible for the Divine conduct of the weekdays, and is associated with the Mishnah, Zeir Anpin, and the world of Yetzirah / Formation], the spiritual being into whom Chanoch ben Yered was transformed. [This is not meant to be understood literally; these are symbolic references to soul states.] Chanoch ben Yered was Moshe Rabbeinus spiritual mentor.7 This is why any Jew who wants to merit to receive the crown of Torah must become incorporated within the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu, which is the revelation of the level of MaTaT / Chanoch. We know that Chanoch ben Yered was a shoemaker who made yichudim with each and every stitch. Rav Menachem Azariah MiPano explains that he recited Boruch Shem with every single stitch.8 Shoes represent all that exists outside the form of Adamthe lower worlds of Beriyah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah which have a character of division and separation. This was the greatness of Chanoch; that he was able to sew shoesto sew and bind up all of the lower worlds to their source by drawing down the light of Hashems G-dliness into every area of obscurity. The letters of the word for sewing, ,"are a re-shuffling of the letters of the word ,"as in, Ben Porat Yosef...the biblical praise of Yosef HaTzaddik. The word [including its kollel] has a numerical value of 687, which is the total gematria of the permutations of the Divine Name: ", ", ", ", ", ", " [72+63+45+52+161+143+151=687]. This joining of the external and the internal is symbolized by the two golden keruvim that overshadowed the kaporesthe pair represented the angels MaTaT and SaNDaL, each associated with the respective worlds of Yetzirah and Asiyah, the respective aspects of Zeir Anpin [masculine] and Nukvah [feminine].9 The angel MaTaT constantly unites the aspects of the Holy One and His
7 8

Likutei Torah, Bereishis Asarah Maamaros III:22, Eim Kol Chai 9 See Kehillas Yaakov on the subject of the keruvim. 5

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Shechinah in the most lofty manner; he rises to the level of SaNDaL through sewing shoes, and by bestowing Hashems light onto the darkest places, he merits the light of the source of the Torah, the Torah of Atikah Sesimaah. The Three Lights of Chashmal Before his sin, Adam HaRishon existed on the level of nefesh-ruach-neshamah within the world of Atzilus and embodied the aspect of the supernal shine.10 Chanoch was also at this level of the supernal shine, and the verse referred to him when it said, I have been a youth and I have also aged, and I have never seen a tzaddik abandoned and his progeny begging for bread.11 First, Chanoch came to the aspect of holy youth or the mochin dachor [Divine awareness which is less complete and requires preliminary explanation], then he came to the aspect of holy age or mochin dpnim [Divine awareness that is more complete], and finally he arrived at the level where he was able to make use of both types of awareness. [This is the implication of, I have been a youth and I have also aged...] This is the meaning of his name: Chanoch ben Yered, Chanoch who yarad, descended, to ensure that the lights of the highest levels reached all the way to the lowermost places so that they could be bound up with their source. These three levels are alluded to in the concept of Chashmal [this is the electric flashing fire of Yechezkels vision, which comprises the chash or quiet energy, along with the mal or noisy energy].12 At first, the true tzaddik apprehends the Torahs teachings in the aspect of malin that he speaks words of Torah and shares them with the public. Afterward, the tzaddik ascends to the level of chash, of silence, when he begins to apprehend Hashems light that transcends the Torahs teachings that can be shared orally. This is the aspect of the Torahs inner dimension and mysteries which are not meant to be shared publicly. Whatever the tzaddik actually shares is in the

10 11

Zohar Shir HaShirim, Maamar Adam vChanoch; Emek HaMelech 5:32; Nahar Shalom 22b Tehillim 37:25 12 Yechezkel 1:27 6

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aspect of mal, the externalized aspect of the Torahs secrets and not the secrets themselves. At first, the tzaddik exists in the state of holy youthwhen he reveals Torah teachings publicly. Later, he ascends to the state of holy agewhen he is silent. When that happens, it is possible to receive more illumination from him through seeing his face than it is from hearing his words of Torah. Ultimately, the tzaddik reaches the level of Chashmal, where both aspects of youth and age exist simultaneouslythis is called the 370 lights of the crown. At this stage, the tzaddik resumes sharing Torah teachings orally without it being any kind of a descent from the level he achieved in the silent state. He has ascended so high that he is bound up with Hashem Himself, and he is transformed into a spinner of parables like Shlomo HaMelech and other tzaddikim, and those stories are associated with the light of Chashmal as the Baal HaTanya explains. The tale / maaseh / "contains the same letters as the compound ,"-" that the aspect of MH / Zeir Anpin can approach the level of the 370 lights of the crown ( .)"This is the inner meaning of Megillas Esther; it is a deep tale that is at the high level of the 370 lights, like the stories of the tzaddik who makes use of the mochin dachor [which requires the use of introductions and parables] in order to get to the mochin dpnim, complete Divine awareness which is at the heart of the matter. Then, the aspects of youth and age are combined into something that is greater than the sum of its parts. The construction of the ark embodies the process of attaining these three levels. First, the outermost level is of gold; the tzaddik shares Torah teachings publicly, teachings that are more desirable than gold, than an abundance of the finest gold.13 Then, the tzaddik enters into the state of silent dveikus. This parallels the middle-most box of shittim [cedar] wood, because in the silent state, the tzaddik appears to be a shoteh, a fool, who has nothing worthwhile to say. Afterward, the
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Tehillim 19:11 7

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tzaddik comes to the ultimate level of unified Chashmal, at which his words of Torah have been infused with the light of dveikus. He returns to the aspect of gold, but this time for the purpose of sharing the crown of Torah with even the most benighted of Jewish souls. The two keruvim assumed the form of children to teach us that this is what Hashem really wants from us; to connect to Him in a simple and childlike way that surpasses logic and thinking, and that even surpasses lights and feelings. Just as a father, out of love for his child, will lower himself to teach his son the alphabet, so too does the surrounding crown sit upon the outermost ark, which represents reaching out to teach the Jewish people. The crown rises up past the level of the kapores and approaches the keruvim to represent the preciousness of the efforts of even the simplest Jew to connect to Hashem. Bearing the Ark We find in the Gemara that Dovid HaMelech was punished because he called Torah teachings, melodies.14 As the verse says, Your injunctions were melodies to me...15 He called them melodies because he had reached the level of the 370 lights, " ,where the Torah is a pure delight and where he took pleasure, ,in his study. However, the sages taught that Dovids statement led to the Divine orchestration of his stumbling into an error that even young children would have known to avoid: he had the returning ark carried on a wagon rather than borne on the shoulders of its carriers, as the Torah mandates.16 The shoulders are associated with the mochin dachor, the youthlike mentality where holy concepts still must be explained through introductions and parables, and it is precisely on such shoulders that Hashem wants the ark to be carried. The bearing of the ark on the shoulders symbolizes Hashems desire that we serve Him not only when His
14 15

Sotah 35a Tehillim 119:54 16 Divrei HaYamim I:13 8

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words are melodious to us, but when we must put our shoulder to it and carry the yoke no matter what we are going through in our lives. And it is only those tzaddikim who lower themselves to share Torah with even the simplest of Jews who really have a soul connection with the entirety of Torah; the word Yisrael itself is an acronym of the phrase There are six hundred thousand letters to the Torahand each Jewish soul parallels a letter. Only tzaddikim like Moshe Rabbeinu and Mordechai HaYehudi, who worked to save the greatest to the least, from the youngest to the most aged,17 merit to receive the crown of Torah. All of this is represented by the shoulders, for it was upon the shoulders that the kohen gadol bore the ephod where all of the names of the twelve tribes were inscribed. Only those who bear the twelve tribes on their shoulders are worthy of receiving the crown of Torah. This was Dovid HaMelechs errorthat he placed the ark on the wagon. The word for wagon, ,has a numerical value of 108, which is the sum of the two Divine Names "and .]801=78+12[ These two Names are associated with the levels of Binah and Malchus within the world of Atzilusand this teaches us that Dovid HaMelech was only connected at that time to the feminine aspect in the highest of the four worlds, at a time when he needed to be connected with all of the souls in the lower three worlds, to draw down Hashems light so that these souls would be uplifted. In the end, however, the sages taught that Dovid HaMelech did bear the ark upon the shoulder, and was worthy of the crown of Torah. Standing before Hashem A tzaddik with the character of Chanoch ben Yered, who has passed through these three levels into the center of the ark where the tablets actually rest, doesnt make distinctions between the times when he feels more or less elevated spiritually. It doesnt matter to him whether or not he feels inspired by Shabbos or by his prayers, because he is living the truth of the teaching of the Baal HaTanya, that when a person really knows that he is speaking directly to Hashem in prayer, it isnt possible for him to lose his
17

Esther 3:13 9

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focus. He is always in the state of face-to-face contact with Hashem. So too, anyone who wants to experience the Torahs light face-to-face must also never lose his focus. Even if he is temporarily in a slump, even if he is feeling the bitterness which is the work of Amalek [ ; = " = "Amalek has the same gematria as the word for pride as well as bitterness] and despairs of ever reaching his spiritual goals, he must learn to do as the tzaddikim do. They ignore these feelings and doubts which are the work of Amalek and which are only designed to make them forget that they are in Hashems presence, and return to the awareness of the face-to-face relationship that exists. When facing Hashem, there isnt any time to pay attention to thoughts of bitterness and doubt, the experience is one of dveikus, and it is in the merit of such focus that they come to have the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu enclothed within them. This is also true of Torah study, since the Torah is constantly being given by the Giver of the Torah, Hashem Himself. One must study Torah in the face-to-face state, just as the Torah was givenHashem spoke with you face to face...18 When we fail to do this, the Torah falls into the hands of the Pelishtim, as it were, who were the first to place the ark within the wagon when it was captured among them. They placed it there to obstruct the Jewish peoples ability to bear it on the shoulder, to reveal Hashems glory in every single place and situation. The essence of the Pelishtim was cynicism, and their mission was to dampen the enthusiasm of the Jewish people for dveikus.19 This is the exact opposite of our purpose here in this worldwe are to stand against the heretical opinion of Amalek and his ilk who claim that it is impossible to have a relationship with Hashem. There is no situation that is divorced from the possibility of dveikus. This lesson can be learned from the verse, I will fulfill the number of your days...20 The sages taught that this indicates that Moshe Rabbeinu died on the same day

18 19

Devarim 5:4 Avodah Zara 19a 20 Shemos 23:26 10

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he was bornthe seventh of Adar.21 The light of Hashem is revealed from the very place of darkness and obscurity, and the tzaddik is not discomfited by the challenge because he knows that Hashem wants him to uplift all of the Divine sparks from the furthest places. This is why the name of Shlomo HaMelech, who married a thousand women from every nation in his attempt to rectify the klippas nogah, bears the same letters as the word, to Moshe .Only someone like Shlomo HaMelech merits to have the soul of Moshe enclothed within him. The Power of Simplicity We find in the verse that when the Pelishtim placed the ark on the wagons, the heifers began to sing.22 [Literally, the phrase means that the cattle took the straight way even though they were not driven, however the use of the word vayashorna can also be read to mean, and they sang.] When the Shechinah descends like Esther into the place of impurity, into the three lower worlds, and the Jewish soul feels distant from Hashem, we must remember the secret of the heifers that sang when the ark was upon them. The song of the cattle represents the singing of the angels that are compared to different holy paradigms of beasts. Whenever a Jew feels bitter because of his distance from Hashem, he should feel abashed for having forgotten that he is really always standing before Him. The feeling of distance was only orchestrated from above so that he would remember the secret of the heifers that sang. If he will only continue to do his simple Divine service of praising Hashem and reciting prayers and Tehillim, he will merit to embody the loftiest service of the angels who also sing Hashems praises. Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin taught that the recitation of Tehillim is the hardest Divine service of all for the tzaddikim; in truth, it is the loftiest form of service to recite Tehillim just as the simplest Jew does, with complete simplicity, like the heifers that sing. It was for this reason that Mordechai was known as Mordechai HaYehudi
21 22

Yalkut Shimoni, Devarim #3 Shmuel I:6:12 11

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Mordechai the Jewbecause it was his highest aspiration to be a plain, simple Jew. This means knowing that we are always face-to-face [ , which also means in the innermost place of the ark], that the only thing that really exists is Hashem Himself. When a person knows that, he is constantly inspired to sing Hashems praises and is in a constant state of dveikus. Then, the keruvim embrace and the smoke of the offerings rises straight to heaven, to symbolize that closeness with Hashem and all of our fellow Jews is the real offering that Hashem desires from us. He wants us to make no distinction between the greater and the lesser, just as He wants us to pay no attention to the difference between how we feel when we are succeeding more or less in attaining our spiritual goals. Let Your Soul Know Wisdom This is the meaning of: "" Let your soul (nefesh) know (dei) wisdom (Chochmah) and it will be a crown (Kesser) for your head.23 We must acquire the Torahs wisdom in a way that it can penetrate down to the level of nefesh, Malchus. This relates to the Talmudic teaching that Mordechai taught the laws of kemitzah to the scholars of his time. Kemitzah is the technique of taking an exact handful for part of the offerings, but it also alludes to contraction within oneself the need for a person to occasionally close himself off from others so that he can develop a one-on-One relationship with Hashem. Afterward, he needs to take the light of this private contact with Hashem and use it to uplift other Jews, like the terumah and tenufah offerings, and help them to learn Torah in a state of dveikus. Through this, he will come to another meaning of kemitzahthe aspect of Kesser [which is associated with the vowel komatz]. It will be a crown to your headto the three head-points of the Kesser which allude to the three parts of the ark. For this reason, Mordechai HaTzaddik, the Baal Shem Tov, and many other tzaddikim taught children, because they were like the keruvim and teaching them is the ultimate expression of their ability to descend to the level of each and every Jew to help
23

From the Shabbos zemer Dror Yikrah, based on Mishlei 24:14. 12

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them become closer to Hashem. Similarly, the megillah itself appears to only be a simple story, yet it is filled with hints and allusions to the Divine Namefor the tzaddik is always revealing that which is hidden [Megillas Esther = megaleh hester = revealing the hidden]. May Hashem help us to enter into all of these aspects of Divine service so that we will never be thrown off course by any darkness in any situation. On the contrary, may any encounter with darkness inspire us to devote ourselves to study Torah in the way of the face-to-face relationship. The clearest and best way to do this is to recite Kriyas Shema with love for Hashem. May we merit to study Torah knowing and feeling how vital it is for us, in a state of dveikus. Then we will come to the level of the two keruvim and raise Queen Esther, the Shechinah, out of her exile with the arrival of our righteous redeemer, speedily and in our days. Amen

Translated and Adapted by Rav Micha Golshevsky.

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The Light of Bitul Nesiv Mitzvosecha, Nesiv Emunah, Pathway 2.4: "'Whether Hashem is in our midst or not [ayin]'1 Whether it is Ze'ir Anpin which is called 'Hashem,' or whether it is Atika Kadisha, which is called 'Ayin'" The speculative statement, "Whether Hashem is in our midst or not," is actually referring to two different forms of Divine conduct. The "rule of Torah" is called Ze'ir Anpin, and it indicates justice. If a person serves Hashem as is fit, he receives reward. And if he sins, he receives punishments. This is the Divine conduct referred to as Ze'ir Anpin. But there is another form of Divine conductthat of Atika Kadisha. It is the rule of yichud, and under it the main task of a person is to trust in Hashem, to know that there is a way to rectify any sin, and to believe in Hashem's mercythat if he will repent, everything will be repaired. The Jewish people asked if HaVaYaH was in their midst, or Ayin: "In which manner of Divine conduct are we being led now? Is our task to expend great effort in Torah study and keep the focus of our belief on reward and punishment, or is it that of Ayin, where our main mission is to rely on Hashem's simple and abundant mercies?" But if this question was of such great depth, why then were they punished for having asked it? The Zohar explains that it was because they made as if there was a division between the two forms of Divine conductas if they are not, truly, all one. "Why, then, were they punished? It was only because they made a division, and they did it as a test and did not [ask the question] from love" While it is permitted to contemplate G-dliness in an attempt to understand Hashem's ways, the question cannot be posed in a manner that is provocative and divisive. Rather, it must come from a place of love for the Creator.

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"The implication of this is as follows: One must not try to investigate as to whether he has a place in the world to come" In general, a servant of G-d who studies mussar works is following the path of conduct of Ze'ir Anpin; this is clear from all of the Torah works on ethicsif you merit to do good deeds, you are rewarded. And each and every mitzvah comprises many details that one must perfect until he can fulfill them completely. On the other hand, if a person sins he will be punished, G-d forbid. One must therefore fast a great deal in order to repent what he has done wrong. Truthfully, this is the Divine conduct in accordance with the Torah from a superficial perspective, and it is known as the conduct of Ze'ir Anpin. Nevertheless, at the internal level, the innermost truth is that there are two manners of Divine conduct that work in tandem. While superficially we have the "justice" form of conduct, deep within there is the potential to bind oneself to the tzaddikim and arouse G-d's simple and abundant mercies. This is also a potential within the Torah, because the thirteen attributes of mercy are found in the Torah itself. What appears to be two distinct forms of conduct are actually two manners that operate as one. If a person lives only along the lines of "justice" he is always scrutinizing himself to see where and to what extent he has erred, and this can make him feel as though he is a lost cause and his final destination is going to be the lowest rung of Gehinnom. All day long this person is obsessed with whether or not he is righteous, if he has a place in the next world or not. The problem is that all of this hyper-focus is the product of his ego, and because his vision of Hashem's conduct of the world is so threatening to his sense of self, he is always broken and afraid. This is why the Komarna Rebbe teaches us that this path is incorrect. "The reason is as follows: One should not try to investigate as to whether he has a place in the world to come, or seek to know for oneself what effects all of his actions and prayers and mitzvos have on high, because this stems from ego. Harsh judgments apply to such speculations, and sometimes it causes [the reward]
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to be deferred. Many times, it is of great benefit for a person to completely lose hope of reward in this world and the next. In this world, a person faces all kinds of troubles that discourage him a great deal, and this also makes him lose hope of the next world. He sees that there is no one in the world as bad off as him" This is describing a person who feels broken to pieces because he imagines that he has no portion in the world to come since he has failed in his avodas Hashem. He has no life in this world because the only thing he really wants is to serve G-d, but he also feels like he has lost the next world because his avodas Hashem has not yielded the fruits for which he had hoped. No matter what he does, he feels as though his learning is deficient, his prayers are deficienthe doesn't have this world or the next world. The "many discouraging troubles" that the Komarna Rebbe speaks of here are the multitude of internal voices that tell a person that he doesn't learn and he doesn't pray, and he is nothing. He doesn't have this world or the next. This makes him feel like the most miserable and worthless person that exists. We will see, however, that this outlook is a lie. "[When a person comes to such a state of bankruptcy in himself], if it is entirely truthful, he can actually reach a level of self-nullification until he loses all sense of self entirely because of the great light that shines upon him from above. 'From where [Ayin, which is also the state of bitul] will my help come?'2 He literally becomes one with the Shechinah" Uplifting Ze'ir Anpin to Mercy Hashem created the Divine conduct that follows the course of justiceZe'ir Anpinbut this system receives its vitality from a world that is much higher than Binah, higher than Chochmah, higher than Kesser. The level of Kesser is associated with Ayin or bitul. Just as the avodah of Torah study and prayerthe work of Ze'ir Anpin and Malchusare part and parcel of a system of obligation which is "justice," nevertheless
2

Tehillim 121:1 16

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the innermost essence of all avodah is Shema Yisrael. This is the point of yichud that must be made through all of our duties performed, and this is accomplished through focusing the mind on revealing G-dliness in the world. We do this with the faculty of Binah, by contemplating reality to discover G-dliness inherent within it; the faculty of Chochmah, by nullifying the self to Hashem; and the level of Kesser by achieving total loss of awareness of self with absolute self-sacrifice. When a person feels that all of existence is against him and he has no portion in this world or the next, and despite that he is determined and binds himself to Hashem, he approaches the bitul of Kesser. When he reaches this point, he uplifts Ze'ir Anpin to Ayin above, which is the highest form of yichud. When Ze'ir Anpin receives from Binah, a "small" yichud is formed; when it receives from Chochmah it makes the yichud of Shabbos; and when it receives from Kesser it makes the loftiest yichud, which is that of Shavuos. Whenever a Jew occupies himself with Torah study and mitzvos he certainly arouses some yichud. But the loftiest yichud of all, of total self-nullification, is really the path of the tzaddikim since it is a very difficult avodah to do. It is possible sometimes for Ze'ir Anpin to be uplifted to Kesser all at once, to "jump," so to speak. That is what happens when a more ordinary person feels utterly broken from his failure to attain his spiritual goals and feels like he has lost his place in both worlds. At that instant, when he feels like absolutely nothing, he uplifts Ze'ir Anpin all the way to Kesser, and everything that he has accomplished becomes infinitely valuable. [Note: We are not speaking here of a person who is a state of depression and despair because his goals and desires haven't been fulfilled. The person described here is someone who really does want to serve Hashem, but he has fallen short and feels completely at a loss because his genuine yearning for G-dliness does not seem to have brought him anywhere.] This sentiment was echoed by Rav Abahu when he quoted the verse, "And I said: I have toiled in vain."3 It can seem to the tzaddik that he hasn't accomplished
3

Yeshayah 49; Bereishis Rabbah 62:2 17

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anything, but at the same time he nullifies himself absolutely to Hashem, and in this way he merits to make a yichud between Hashem and His Shechinah which is at the highest levelthe level of Shavuos and Matan Torah. "All of this is when a person has complete faith that there is no reality other than Hashem, and he pours his soul out to Hashem, and all of his deeds are for the sake of heaven. Then he can come to this level." Moshiach within Every Jew When even an ordinary person reaches this point of self-nullification disappointment with himself and endless yearning for G-dlinesshe comes into contact with the point of Moshiach that exists within him. [Note: Dovid HaMelech's attribute was humility. The sages said that when he studied Torah he was as meek as a worm, and when he went out to battle he was upright and strong as a beam. Since the absolute humility of the tzaddik does not stem from depression or other negative traits, his meekness does not preclude him from accomplishing great things boldly when Hashem sends him to do them.] When the Komarna Rebbe speaks about the point of Moshiach within each person, he does not mean the universal Moshiach; rather, he refers to the individual redeemer, the degree to which a person taps the potential of redemption within himself. When the entire Jewish people awaken this point within themselves fully, it will certainly trigger the general redemption as well. This is the point of yechidah within the soul, and we touch it when we strengthen ourselves and give ourselves chizuk at the moment when we feel most lost. This quality was demonstrated by Dovid HaMelech. Even when his opponents broke him to pieces he acted with complete self-sacrifice to begin again. It was specifically when he was humiliated and hounded that he merited to be anointed as Hashem's chosen king. Every person can come to this, if he only takes advantage of the opportunity presented by the failures that break him. If, from the state of ayin, he pours his heart out before Hashem, he will give rise to his own salvation at that moment. Nesiv Mitzvosecha, Nesiv Emunah, Pathway 3.1:
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"It is an axiom of faith implanted within the heart of the Jewish people, that all vitality both physical and spiritual, and all movements that a person makes, everything stems from the light of Ein Sof that pours down from His light constantly. And He is the one who gives life to all and who causes everything to exist. There is nothing separate from Him, and there is no reality that exists without it being His will, with wondrous wisdom. And existence was created in a single instant, and this is its rectification" When the Komarna Rebbe writes of every single movement in the world he means both physical"children, health and livelihood"and spiritualTorah, prayer and mitzvah observance. All of reality is a reflection of Hashem's infinite light; it is revealed in everything and it gives existence and vitality to everything. "But the Jewish person binds his vitalitythat he lives by virtue of the Hashem's infinite light that shines upon him constantlyand all of his actions and his every movement will be for the sake of heaven" The main element of avodas Hashem is that of yichudthat a person contemplates Hashem's absolute existence and nullifies himself completely before Hashemuntil Hashem's light shines upon him at all times. The tzaddikim reach one level of bitul after the other, and they make true yichudim with their every motion, as we know from the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov. How did they come to be able to do this? Their self-nullification before Hashem made it impossible to forget Him, and so they naturally were bound to the Shechinah, to faith, to the Torah and the holy sheimos. This is what enabled them to make yichudim at all times, with every motion. The Ramban taught that the "heart of [the tzaddikim] is not with them" " " . Even when a tzaddik speaks of some matter with another person, his heart is burning constantly before Hashem and he is completely nullified before Hashem. On the surface, he still appears to be like any other person having a conversation.4

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"As the light of Yisrael [the Baal Shem Tov] taught on the verse, 'I take myself walking in the broad streets'I can walk through the markets and the thoroughfares and speak with each and every person'For I have sought Your teachings'5and everywhere I go, I am seeking yichudim and ways to uplift and adorn the limbs of the Shechinah. And I believe with complete faith that there is nothing, small or great, that exists without life-force and the will of the Ein Sof providing it with G-dly vitality; it is only that it is hidden because of iniquity and sin. And when a person repents, he should have faith that Hashem's great light will be revealed to him, a sweet delight of the light from above, without the distortion that derives from klippas nogah" The obfuscation and error caused by klippas nogah is due to the effect of sin. If a person repents and nullifies himself before Hashem completely, he will be worthy of experiencing the Divine light upon him without the distortion of klippas nogah. When a person's dveikus is only at the level of Binah-type contemplation, he is prone to falling into klippas nogah because his good intentionsproper prayer, for exampleare mixed together with his impulse to impress those around him by making certain motions or speaking in a certain way. But the moment he reaches true bitul, everything in the world around him only helps him to achieve greater dveikus. "Because every motion and vitality derives from the infinite light, he should make certain that every motion is for the sake of heaven, without ulterior motives. Then he will accept and meet each person with joy and a happy heart, and make yichudim with every matter small and great, and it will be good for him" All of the souls of the Jewish people are part of a single organic whole, and every single Jew helps the tzaddikim be incorporated within G-dliness. The Baal Shem Tov taught about the two jokers who merited great spiritual reward for having brought joy to the Jewish people. Through joy, the souls of the Jewish people are bound up with Hashem at all times. In general, a person who bring joy and unites Jewish souls lives in
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a state of constant yichud. In contrast, a person who puts others down and draws divisions among Jews cannot really attain dveikus with Hashem. This is why the Komarna Rebbe warns us to accept every person with joy. It is this joyful bonding of Jewish souls that enables the seeker to make yichudim through everything he encounters, both small and great. Then it is truly good for him. We now return to our study of the Arizal's teachings in Otzros Chaim. In prior lessons, we discussed the nature of the lights of the "ear, nose and mouth" of Adam Kadmon. During those discussions, we learned that there are two types of light: inner and surrounding. That concept is also to be applied here, to the teachings we have just learned from the Komarna Rebbe. The "inner" light [ ] parallels that of the Divine conduct of Z"A and "justice"light that fits within a vessel is, by its nature, limited by the capacity of the vessel. That is a measure of justiceonly so much and no more. However there is also a "surrounding" light [ ,] and it parallels the higher Divine conduct which feeds into the lower, measured form but which far surpasses it in quantity and quality. We learned that the lights of the "ears" are at the maximal distance; those that emerge from the "nose" are somewhat closer; and those that are sourced in the "mouth" emerge together from a single place. It is at this point that the world of Akudim emerges and it extends there. After it, the world of Shevirah emerges from the "eyes" of Adam Kadmon and it extends downward until the "navel" of Adam Kadmon. After it, the world of Berudim which is that of repair emerges from the "forehead" of Adam Kadmon and also extends from the "navel" of Adam Kadmon down through the rest of its length. This is the world of Atzilus rectified.

Sha'ar Ha'Akudim, Chapter 1: "Afterward came the lower musical notes that sit beneath the lettersthey are like the lights that emerge from the mouth of Adam Kadmon, from there and outward. Here the lights joined together in an absolute bond because they emerge from a
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single channel. All the while that the lights are at a distance and spread outward down below, it is possible to apprehend them and receive them. That is why there is no worry if the surrounding lights join with the inner lights as one. But here, because the surrounding and inner lights already joined, from this point vessels begin to be formed, yet they are still most exceedingly refined, as we have written. Therefore, only one vessel is revealed here, but the lights actually subdivide into ten parts, and these lights are called Akudim" We can now return to what we began earlier. We are learning now about the "mouth" of Adam Kadmon, which is the world of Akudim. They are "bound" lights because they emerge so close together that both the surrounding and inner lights are essentially joined. At the level of the "ears" and "nose," the two basic forms of Divine conduct are distinct, they even contradict with one another. In any case, they do not meet. This distinction has many manifestations, such as in the paradoxical relationship between Divine foreknowledge and human free will. We can rely on the explanation that free will applies before the choice is made, but afterward we have to bind ourselves to the light of Divine foreknowledge and affirm that everything was determined by Hashem. When we discuss it that way, it seems to reconcile the two concepts, nevertheless even this contains a certain degree of contradiction. The way in which the two are reconciled is by setting one concept in one place, and the other in another, and we can then contemplate the two aspects one after the other. This parallels the "ear" of Adam Kadmon, where the inner [left side, Z"A, free will] and surrounding [right side, Kesser, Divine knowledge] lights are distant from one another. At the level of the "nose" they come together a bit more, but they still do not meet at a single place. This is not so when it comes to the "mouth" of Adam Kadmon. There, G-d's manners of justice and mercy join, as do bechirah and yediyah, being and nothingness. It is the place where two contradictory concepts join together, and when they do there is a beating between them that gives rise to a vessel.

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The Vessel of Faith It is important to understand that it would seem as though the order should have been reversed; we would think that if the lights emerged from a higher place, they ought to be more connected since they are closer to their source. The Arizal therefore explained that there is a reason why the lights emerged from the "ear" are more distantif they had been joined too high, the light would have been too lofty for created beings to receive. Hashem therefore made it so that they would only join at the mouth. The mouth represents faith"Malchus is the mouth." Faith is a mystery, because with faith it is possible to believe two things that seem to contradict one another. Its power to unite two contradicting concepts is because it is below the ten sefiros, and so it is a vessel that can receive opposites. [Note: Malchus receives all of the influence that comes from above it, whether it descends via the right-hand side or the left.] It can receive them because it can accept them without requiring an explanation. The tzaddik enters into the path of faith and prayerhe speaks before Hashemeven if he fails to grasp much at the level of the understanding (Binahear) or the emotions (Z"Anose). Yet through the power of the mouth it is possible to express faith and develop a bond with Hashem through faith, and to know that there really is no contradiction between the concepts and both are true. At the very moment that Hashem acts through the system of justice by rewarding those who do His will and punishing those who violate it, he simultaneously acts with His simple mercyone can, at any time, repent and repair everything in an instant. Even though one cannot contemplate this too much since the inner and surrounding lights at the level of the ear are distant, one can have some sense of itat the level of the nose, the lights are closer together. Closer, but still not together. It is only at the mouth, the place of faith and prayer, that the lights are truly joined as one. This is why faith and prayer have qualities and advantages that surpass even contemplation and emotional arousal. Even though the mouth is lower than all the others, at its root it is actually higher.
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[This is why the Komarna Rebbe warns us not to focus on whether we have reward in the next world or not. One must focus on the Divine conduct of Z"A only enough to arouse in oneself a fear of sinning, and immediately transfer his focus to the light of Kesser, which is faith that Hashem accepts our teshuvah at all times.] The Baal HaTanya taught that when one lives with faith in the yichud of justice and mercy, one merits to apprehend a greater revelation of G-dliness. Emunas ha'yichud gives rise to the words of Torah. Because he makes no division between the light of Z"A and Atika, his faith gives birth to the vessel of Torah. The level of Atika within Atzilus receives its vitality from Reisha d'lo Isyadah, and it, in turn, receives its vitality from the world of Akudim where there is faith that everything is one. At the "mouth" of Adam Kadmon, it is as though Hashem Himself speaks words of Torah. The Unity of Avodah " But here, because the surrounding and inner lights already joined, from this point vessels begin to be formed, yet they are still most exceedingly refined, as we have written. Therefore, only one vessel is revealed here, but the lights actually subdivide into ten parts, and these lights are called Akudim" The Me'or V'Shemesh writes that there are people who serve Hashem, and when you ask them what their Divine service consists of, they say, "I do a number of things. I learn Torah, I pray, I have a connection to the tzaddik, I work on my personal purity, love and fear of Hashem, joy, etc." But there are also people who don't have many avodosthey really only have one, which is that they seek Hashem. They seek the Creator, and this winds up including all other forms of avodah. When a person is bound to the lower world, he has ten vessels with which he serves Hashem [the ten lights that are the sefirah-subdivisions of the light from the mouth of Adam Kadmon]. But when he is bound to the higher world, to the world of Akudim which is the root of the world of Atzilus, he only has a single vessel.
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The Baal HaSulam once said while traveling to the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron, "At the start of the journey, I have myriads of thoughts about what to ask for and focus on when I reach the tzaddik. The further we travel, the fewer requests I have, because I begin to see that a number of issues that I thought were separate are really part of a single matter." In the end, he would only pray for a very brief moment in Meron and then he would return home. Everything was part of a single request; this is the path of Akudim, where everything is bound up into a single vessel, which is faith. "We can understand the matter through that which is written in the verse. 'And I saw in the dream, and behold the he-goats that came upon the flock were banded, spotted and grizzled.' The verse also says, 'I have seen all that Lavan does to you' This verse hints to all of these aspects of which we speak here, because Lavan represents the Loven Ha'elyon [supernal whiteness] which precedes all of this Atzilus and it was that which made all of these aspects, which are Akudim, Nekudim, u'Verudim for the purpose of Atzilusso that it should emanate after them. This is what is called Yaakov" "I have seen all that Lavan does to you"I have seen all that simple faith [supernal whiteness, the light where everything is one] at the level of Akudim does to the tzaddik, who is the aspect of Yaakov, Atzilus. "He began with Akudim because the light that emerges from the mouth of Adam Kadmon is where the vessels began to be revealed through ten inner and surrounding lights that are bound together as one within a single vessel. For this reason they are called Akudim, from the language of, 'And he bound Yitzchak,' as we will explain. But the upper lights of the ears and the nose were not referred to clearly because at their level the existence of the vessel is not yet revealed. Afterward we will explain Nekudim and Berudim. "Now, the inner and surrounding lights are joined together at the mouth, and when they emerge together from the mouth bound as one they bang against each other and beat against one another, and from their contact the existence of vessels
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is formed. That is why this place is called a mouth [ ,]because that word has a total value that is equal to the gematria of [ "one of the permutations of the Shem HaVaYaH] and the twenty-two letters of the alef-beis. The letters are themselves vessels, as is known, and this is why the mouth alludes to the 63-Name together with the twenty-two letters, to hint to what was written, that the revelation of the existence of vessels originated there, revealed by the twenty-two letters" Reconciling Contradictions The "beating together" of the lights has its application to our personal Divine service as well. Sometimes two concepts "strike one another" like two people who argue over their difference of opinions. With one thought the person knows that the basis of avodah is good action and improving himself, with another he is certain that the main thing is working on bitul. This "conflict" causes the beating described by the Arizal [betishah]. When a person who really seeks Hashem immerses himself in the former avodah, he is involved so deeply that there is nothing else for him but refining himself further and further. And when he considers that there is nothing but Hashem, this thought drives away everything else. In this way, the concepts "beat against each other" within him. And the two really do contradict one another because effort is the product of the self, and bitul is the nullification of the self and the realization that everything is Hashem. They really do seem to conflict. To rise above this, one must get to the place of emunah, where there is no conflict. The person expends all of the effort that he can, and at that very instant he believes that success is not in his hands at all. Now the concepts collide, and the collision produces Torah [because he is in a state of bitul and still produces all of the effort needed to clarify Torah] at the place of his mouth. Blessed is Hashem forever. Amen, amen.

Translated and Adapted by Rav Micha Golshevsky.

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