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Shalosh Seudos1ofParshas 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
1The lesson was delivered at the third meal of Shabbos.
2Shemos 25:10-11
3Shabbos 101b; SeeLikutei Moharan I:4.
4Likutei Moharan I:72
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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 theteaching 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 self-
sacrifice or mesirus nefesh.] Yehoshua is the paradigm of the true tzaddikwho 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.
5Pirkei Avos 1:1
6Sefer Halikkutim, Parshas Ekev #8
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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 ofMaTaT[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 iswhy 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
recitedBoruch Shem with every single stitch.8
Shoes represent all that exists outside the
form of Adamthe lower worlds ofBeriyah, 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 bydrawing 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 angelsMaTaTand SaNDaL, each associated with the respective worldsofYetzirah and Asiyah, the respective aspects ofZeir Anpin [masculine] and Nukvah
[feminine].9 The angel MaTaTconstantly unites the aspects of the Holy One and His
7Likutei Torah,Bereishis
8Asarah Maamaros III:22, Eim Kol Chai
9See Kehillas Yaakov on the subject of the keruvim.
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Shechinah in the most lofty manner; he rises to the level ofSaNDaL through sewing
shoes, and by bestowing Hashems light onto the darkest places, he merits the light of
the source of the Torah, the Torah ofAtikah Sesimaah.
The Three Lights ofChashmal
Before his sin, Adam HaRishon existed on the level ofnefesh-ruach-neshamah
within the world ofAtzilus 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 tzaddikabandoned
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 tzaddikapprehends the
Torahs teachings in the aspect of malin that he speaks words of Torah and shares
them with the public. Afterward, the tzaddikascends to the level ofchash, 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 tzaddikactually shares is in the
10Zohar Shir HaShirim, Maamar Adam vChanoch;Emek HaMelech 5:32;Nahar Shalom 22b
11Tehillim 37:25
12Yechezkel 1:27
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aspect of mal, the externalized aspect of the Torahs secrets and not the secrets
themselves.
At first, the tzaddikexists 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 tzaddikreaches the level
ofChashmal, where both aspects of youth and age exist simultaneouslythis is called
the 370 lights of the crown. At this stage, the tzaddikresumes sharing Torah teachingsorally 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 ofMH/Zeir Anpin can approach the level of the 370 lights of the
crown ( " ). This is the inner meaning ofMegillas Esther; it is a deep tale that is at thehigh level of the 370 lights, like the stories of the tzaddikwho 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 thefinest gold.13 Then, the tzaddikenters into the state of silent dveikus. This parallels
the middle-most box ofshittim [cedar] wood, because in the silent state, the tzaddik
appears to be a shoteh, a fool, who has nothing worthwhile to say. Afterward, the
13Tehillim 19:11
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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
14Sotah 35a
15Tehillim 119:54
16Divrei HaYamim I:13
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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 isrepresented by the shoulders, for it was upon the shoulders that the kohen gadol bore the
ephodwhere 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 [21+87=108]. These two Names are associated with the levels
ofBinah and Malchus within the world ofAtzilusand this teaches us that Dovid
HaMelech was only connected at that time to the feminine aspect in the highest of thefour 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 tzaddikwith 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
17Esther3:13
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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 thatexists. When facing Hashem, there isnt any time to pay attention to thoughts of
bitterness and doubt, the experience is one ofdveikus, 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 thereto 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
18Devarim 5:4
19Avodah Zara 19a
20Shemos 23:26
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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 ofTehillim 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
Yalkut Shimoni,Devarim #322
Shmuel I:6:12
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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 noattention 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 ofnefesh, Malchus. This relates to the Talmudic teaching that Mordechai taught
the laws ofkemitzah 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 ofkemitzahthe aspect ofKesser[which is associated
with the vowel komatz]. It will be a crown to your headto the three head-points of
the Kesserwhich 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
23From the Shabbos zemerDror Yikrah, based onMishlei 24:14.
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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 reciteKriyas 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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Nesiv Chaim 11
The Light ofBitul
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
asZe'ir Anpin. But there is another form of Divine conductthat ofAtika Kadisha. It is
the rule ofyichud, 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 ifHaVaYaH 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 Zoharexplains 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.
1Shemos 17:7
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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 mussarworks is following the path of conduct ofZe'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 superficialperspective, and it is known as the conduct ofZe'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 thefruits 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 isentirely 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 ofbitul] will my help come?'2
He literally
becomes one with the Shechinah"
UpliftingZe'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 thanBinah,
higher than Chochmah, higher than Kesser. The level ofKesseris associated withAyin
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
2Tehillim 121:1
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the innermost essence of all avodah is Shema Yisrael. This is the point ofyichudthat
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 ofKesserby 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 ofKesser. Whenhe reaches this point, he uplifts Ze'ir Anpin toAyin 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
Kesserit makes the loftiestyichud, which is that of Shavuos. Whenever a Jew occupies
himself with Torah study and mitzvos he certainly arouses someyichud. But the loftiest
yichudof 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 toKesserall 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
3Yeshayah 49;Bereishis Rabbah 62:2
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anything, but at the same time he nullifies himself absolutely to Hashem, and in this way
he merits to make ayichudbetween Hashem and His Shechinah which is at the highest
levelthe level of Shavuos andMatan 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-nullificationdisappointment 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 theindividual 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 chizukat 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 Softhat 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 hemeans 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 ofavodas
Hashem is that ofyichudthat a person contemplates Hashem's absolute existence and
nullifies himself completely before Hashemuntil Hashem's light shines upon him atall 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 tzaddikspeaks of some matter with another person, his heart isburning 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
4Sichos HaRan #16
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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 willbe revealed to him, a sweet delight of the light from above, without the distortion
that derives fromklippas 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 ofklippas nogah.
When a person's dveikus is only at the level ofBinah-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 makingcertain 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
makeyichudim 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
5Tehillim 119;45
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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" ofAdam
Kadmon. During those discussions, we learned that there are two types of light: innerand 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 ofZ"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 thatemerge 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 ofAkudim emerges
and it extends there. After it, the world of Shevirah emerges from the "eyes" ofAdam
Kadmon and it extends downward until the "navel" ofAdam Kadmon. After it, the world
ofBerudim which is that of repair emerges from the "forehead" ofAdam Kadmon and
also extends from the "navel" ofAdam Kadmon down through the rest of its length. This
is the world ofAtzilus 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 ofAdam 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 calledAkudim"
We can now return to what we began earlier. We are learning now about the"mouth" of Adam Kadmon, which is the world ofAkudim. 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 byHashem. 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" ofAdam Kadmon. There, G-d's
manners of justice and mercy join, as do bechirah andyediyah, 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 tzaddikenters 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 anddevelop 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 ofZ"A only
enough to arouse in oneself a fear of sinning, and immediately transfer his focus to the
light ofKesser, which is faith that Hashem accepts our teshuvah at all times.]
The Baal HaTanya taught that when one lives with faith in theyichudof 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 ofZ"A
andAtika, his faith gives birth to the vessel of Torah.The level ofAtika withinAtzilus receives its vitality from Reisha d'lo Isyadah,
and it, in turn, receives its vitality from the world ofAkudim where there is faith that
everything is one. At the "mouth" ofAdam Kadmon, it is as though Hashem Himself
speaks words of Torah.
The Unity ofAvodah
"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 calledAkudim"
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 ofavodah.
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 ofAdam Kadmon]. But when he is bound to the higher world, to the world of
Akudim which is the root of the world ofAtzilus, 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 ofAkudim, 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. 'AndI 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 theLoven Ha'elyon [supernal whiteness] which precedes all of this
Atzilus and it was that which made all of these aspects, which areAkudim,
Nekudim, u'Verudim for the purpose ofAtzilusso 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 ofAkudim does to the
tzaddik, who is the aspect of Yaakov,Atzilus.
"He began withAkudim because the light that emerges from the mouth ofAdam
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 calledAkudim, 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 explainNekudim andBerudim.
"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 thegematria of " [one of the permutations of the Shem
HaVaYaH] and the twenty-two letters of thealef-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 Divineservice 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.