Re'ehSeeBased
on a discourse of the Alter Rebbe parshat Re’eh by Rabbi Yossi Marcus
“See,
I place before you today blessing and curse. The blessing….”
On the
literal level, this is a statement about man’s freedom choice. But as explained
in the following discourse, the verse in fact describes the inner workings of
the soul and the strength it possesses to achieve its mission. Every soul contains within
it the Divine Name y-h-v-h (referred
to henceforward as Havayah). Yud:
The Yud (y) of Havayah is Chochmah. Yud, the smallest letter
of the Hebrew alphabet, reflects transparency and selflessness. Chochmah, on the
human level, refers to the soul’s inherent desire to cleave to the Divine, a desire
and awareness of the Divine that cannot be articulated. [The level of Chochmah spoken
of here is not a part of the rational process but rather of belief. Chochmah can
also refer to the initial flash of insight, the “aha” moment of understanding.
The common denominator between the two is that the person experiencing the belief
or insight is entirely subordinate to the experience. In the case of the insight,
at the moment of Chochmah, the person feels that he understands the concept entirely
yet he cannot articulate it. Articulation comes in the next stage, Binah. This
is because in the stage of articulation the focus is on the person and therefore
requires Binah to be understood. In the stage of Chochmah, however, the focus
is on the concept and the person is subordinate to the concept and therefore “understands”
it. Similarly in the case of the soul’s belief in the oneness of G-d and its aversion
to any form of denying this fact, the person is entirely transparent in the experience,
the trademark of Chochmah.] It is this aspect of the
soul that explains the sporadic and rationally unjustifiable devotion of those
who are otherwise spiritually indifferent. It accounts for the phenomenon of utterly
irreligious individuals who throughout our history have sacrificed their lives
rather than reject G-d’s oneness. [Many people throughout
history have given up their lives. Some to defend their country, their freedom,
and some for a place in paradise. But all of these sacrifices can be rationally
explained and—even if not selfish—are self-oriented. “Liberty or death” is not
irrational since a life without freedom, to some, is not worth living. And one
whose entire life is devoted to his religion cannot imagine living in contradiction
to it. But only the Yud of the
neshamah, the Divine soul, can explain one who ignores G-d all his life
then gives it away rather than deny His oneness for even a moment.] Hey: The first Hey (h) of Havayah is Binah, Rechovot Hanahar,
and contains length and breadth etc.,
like the letter Hey. [Rechovot Hanahar, which
can be translated as “Avenues on the River” signifies the expansiveness and elucidation
that takes place in Binah. (The term Rechovot Hanahar appears in the Torah as
the origin of one of the kings of Edom.
The Zohar states that Rechovot Hanahar alludes to Binah.) On the human level, Binah
comes as the result of pondering the awesomeness of the Creator. Each person according
to his capacity meditates upon G-d’s omnipresence and on the fact that all is
naught before Him. Chochmah and Binah, the
Yud and the Hey, must always remain together in one’s Divine worship. As the Zohar
states regarding the supernal Chochmah and Binah: they are “two friends that never
part.” Similarly on the human level,
the instinctive knowledge of G-d and the one acquired through meditation must
never come apart. A person must ponder the infinity of the Divine with his own
human faculties and at the same time remain conscious of the selflessness inherent
to the soul and its capacity for self-sacrifice that reaches beyond reason. Meditation alone, even one
that inspires love and awe of G-d, will not create a lasting experience. The person
will eventually fall, chas v’shalom. Thus it is written “and
Chochmah keeps its master alive.”
True there is an advantage
to Binah, in that the person’s mind grasps Divinity, but Chochmah is the one that
gives life. It is called “nekudah biheichalei—the point in the Chamber,”
and the point gives life to the entire chamber. If there is no point, the chamber
is useless. On the other hand, if there
is no chamber to host the point, the point is useless. Thus they must always remain
together, remaining “two friends that never part” below as Above. [The Zohar speaks of a “primal
point” of light that is translucent, pure, and beyond reason. This point is vested
in a “heichal” (palace or chamber) which acts as a “garment” for the “point.”
This “point” is understood to refer to Chochmah, while the “chamber” refers to
Binah. (The Rebbe Maharash explained
this as follows: A point is similar to a Yud, Chochmah. Heichal (chamber) is made
up of the letters Hey and Yud, which spells Hey, which is Binah—then Chof and
Lamed, which equals 50, alluding the 50 gates of Binah.)
Maintaining a proper balance
of Chochmah and Binah is challenging but crucial. Challenging because the two
are in a sense opposites: Chochmah is selflessness, while Binah requires the involvement
of the self to fully comprehend and articulate a concept. But with all the elaboration
of Binah the point can become lost. There is no such fear in Chochmah, where the
point is dominant and the person nonexistent. Yet the person’s uninvolvement in
Chochmah is also its disadvantage, since without his involvement the point can
be lost to him as well. Hence the statement of Sefer
Yetzirah:
“Chacham b’vinah, v’haven b’chochmah—be wise (Chochmah) in understanding
(Binah) and understand in wisdom”—i.e.,
retain an awareness of the seminal point while absorbing it and applying it.]
(Gloss of the Tzemach Tzedek:
According to this it can be said that the jug of oil that was found in the heichal
of the Holy Temple [and with which the miracle of Chanukah occurred] is identical
to the “point in the Chamber,” since oil symbolizes supernal Chochmah.) Vov: The Vov (v) of Havayah refers to the descent of
Chochmah and Binah into the six emotions to imbue them with Divine consciousness. [The length of the Vov symbolizes
descent, alluding to the “descent” of the intellect into the emotions. In addition,
Vov equals six, the number of the basic emotions.] Hey: The final Hey of Havayah
refers to thought, speech and deed—alluded to in the three lines of the letter
Hey—which must conform to the laws of the Torah. (Hence the statement of
the Talmud: “When a fetus is in its mother’s womb, a flame is lit over its head
and they teach it the entire Torah.”
The flame is the Yud and the teaching of the entire Torah is the final Hey. I.e.,
while the person is in the womb he is impressed with the four letters, from Yud
to the final Hey. This way when he leaves the womb and enters the air of the world
he can more easily grasp these concepts in his mind and heart and reveal them
from their concealment.) Division But our sages have said:
“During the time of Exile the Name is not complete.”
This means that the letters Vov and Hey are separated from Yud and Hey. In Divine worship this means
that although the person ponders the awesomeness of G-d, and also evokes the soul’s
inherent nullification to
G-d, which transcends reason,
nevertheless, these efforts do not translate into emotion. Thus we pray “yihay shmay
rabba mivarach liolam uliolmei olmaya—may His Name be great,
blessed (or drawn forth) forever and ever.” Yihay shmay rabba… Shmay is spelled Shem-Yud
Hey. So we are saying that Yud Key—
Chochmah and Binah—should be great in our minds until they are— Mivarach “drawn forth” (normally
translated as blessed) into the six emotions. And then even further— Liolam uliolmei olmaya to the three concealments,
thought speech and deed, which must be imbued with Yud Key and consecrated for
holiness. [The word olam stems
from the word helem, which means concealment. (The phrase Liolam uliolmei
olmaya is usually translated as “forever and ever.”)] the
verse This is the meaning of the
verse “See, I place before you today blessing and curse. The blessing….”The word used here for “I”
is Anochi, the same word that begins the Ten Commandments given at Sinai. Anochi
refers to the inner essence of G-d that cannot be named and is only described
as “I, whoever I Am.” This “I” spoke to the “I” of the people, the inner self
of every soul. Hence the verse: “Face to face I spoke to you at Sinai.”
Indeed it was at Sinai that
every soul received the light of the Name Havayah: “I am Havayah your G-d,”
meaning that Havayah will be revealed in you in such great measure that He can
be called by your name, “your G-d.” So it is this Anochi, the
Anochi of Sinai, which permeates the inner soul of every person (hence lifneichem
(to your inner self), not lachem (to you)) and allows the soul to achieve
bracha, to draw Yud Key into Vov Key through the fulfillment of Torah and
Mitzvot, as the verse states, “The blessing: that you listen to the commandments
of Havayah your G-d….” This in turn brings to Re’eh,
the ability to see (as opposed to hear),
i.e., the level of transparency of the supernal Chochmah. &
| 
