“He was mindful of His lovingkindness and His faithfulness toward the House of Israel; all ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our Lord.” (Psalms 98:3)
The matter is as follows: All the worlds were created only for Israel, as it is written (Isaiah 43:7), “for My glory have I created, formed and made it.” In other words, Creation, Formation and Action were created only for “My glory.” And “My glory” is Israel, for it is written “and I will dwell in them” (Exodus 25:8)—which our Rabbis, of blessed memory, expounded: It does not say “in it” but “in them,” to teach that the Holy One, blessed be He, causes His Divine Presence to dwell in each <and every> one of Israel. From this we see that each Jew is called a garment, and a garment is called glory, as Rabbi Yochanan would call his garments “my glorifiers” (Shabbat 113a) .
Thus we see that all the worlds were created only for Israel, in order to provide them with great good. But when their sins render them incapable of receiving, He suffers <greatly, as it were>, as the verse states (Isaiah 63:9): “In all their suffering, He suffers.”
Even so, because the light of lovingkindness is so pure, it is impossible to receive it as it is. He must <contract the light in His holy speech>. That is, when He wants to provide great good, He must speak [the words], “Let it be so.” This is as is written (Psalms 33:6), “By the word of God the heavens were made.” For the letters are contractions: [the light that is] the letter aleph extends to here; [the light that is] the letter tav extends to there.
However, because of our many sins, speech, too, is in exile. This is as it is written (Chronicles 15:24), “Relate His glory among the nations”—i.e., speech and Israel are together in exile. The verse thus states (Isaiah 40:5): “Then the glory of God will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together that the mouth of God has spoken.” That is, when Israel will be redeemed, then, speech too will <be redeemed> with the Blessed One, as it were.
2. Now, our Rabbis, of blessed memory, taught: Every person must say: “The world was created for my sake” (Sanhedrin 37a), and he is obliged to improve it. What is its rectification? The matter is as follows: One must see to raise up all the sparks in all things. <As brought elsewhere,> these sparks are letters. Thus we see that one raises up letters, and the letters become words, so that through speech great good is provided to Israel.
Yet how can a person raise up the sparks to God? The advised course of action is as follows: When a person observes some object, he must immediately believe with complete faith that this object contains letters and sparks. From this faith the zayin is made, as the verse states (Psalms 33:4), “All His acts are done with faith.” The “doing” is the six days of the week, and faith is the seventh, <as is known to those proficient in the mystical tradition>.
“The God of your father” corresponds to faith, as in: They retain their fathers’ practices (Chullin 13b). We have faith in God, that He is the God of our fathers; this being the main thing. And “know” refers to wisdom and intellect. Wisdom is [the letter] yod, as Rashi explains: “Then Moshe will sing” (Exodus 15:1)—it does not say “ShaR (sang)” but “YaShiR (will sing)”—it is to thought that the Yod refers.
And from the aforementioned yod and zayin, an ayin is made. This is because in Hebrew letter numerology, zayin times yod is ayin. In addition, the AYiN indicates wisdom, for the wise of the community are called “AYNei (the eyes of) the community” (Numbers 15:24).
{“You shall make a tzitz (head-plate) of pure gold, u-petachta (and you shall engrave) on it the seal inscription: ‘Holy to God’” (Exodus 28:36).} Automatically, when a person with such an eye looks at something of the world, the sparks certainly ascend. This is as it is written, “You shall make a tzitz of pure gold.” Tzitz connotes looking. When, as mentioned above, it is pure—with faith and wisdom—then “u-PeTaChta on it the seal inscription.” In other words, by means of such an eye, tiPhTaCh (you will open) the sparks sealed in all things and raise them up: “Holy to God.”
These sparks are letters. The letters become words. And through words, [God] provides great good to Israel. Also, when one raises up sparks from an object, that object then becomes worthless, because they are its life-force.
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וְזֶה פֵּרוּשׁ שֶׁל הַפָּסוּק:
3. This is the explanation of the [opening] verse: {“He zakhar (was mindful) of His lovingkindness and His faithfulness toward the House of Israel; all afsei (ends of) the earth have seen æt (the) salvation of our Lord.”}
and His faithfulness toward the House of Israel—<That is, he combines faith with the House of Israel>, which is wisdom, as the verse states (Proverbs 24:3), “A house is built with wisdom.” <And then>
ÆT— This alludes to the letters, from Aleph to Tav, namely the sparks. [They] become salvation of our Lord—The sparks become words, and this causes the Blessed One to provide great good. This is the meaning of “salvation of our Lord,” for this is His delight!
זָכַר חַסְדּוֹ וֶאֱמוּנָתוֹ לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל רָאוּ כָּל אַפְסֵי אָרֶץ אֵת יְשׁוּעַת אֱלֹקֵינוּ (תהילים צ״ח:ג׳):
“He was mindful of His lovingkindness and His faithfulness toward the House of Israel; all ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our Lord.” (Psalms 98:3)
הָעִנְיָן הוּא כָּךְ, שֶׁכָּל הָעוֹלָמוֹת לֹא נִבְרְאוּ אֶלָּא בִּשְׁבִיל יִשְׂרָאֵל, דִּכְתִיב (ישעיהו מ״ג:ז׳): לִכְבוֹדִי בְרָאתִיו יְצַרְתִּיו אַף עֲשִׂיתִיו, דְּהַיְנוּ בְּרִיאָה יְצִירָה עֲשִׂיָּה לֹא נִבְרָא אֶלָּא לִכְבוֹדִי. וּכְבוֹדִי הַיְנוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל, דִּכְתִיב (שמות כ״ה:ח׳): וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם, וְדָרְשׁוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (עיין של"ה [מסכת תענית] דף ס]: בְּתוֹכוֹ לֹא נֶאֱמַר אֶלָּא בְּתוֹכָם, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ־בָּרוּךְ־הוּא מַשְׁרֶה שְׁכִינָתוֹ בְּתוֹךְ כָּל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל. נִמְצָא כָּל אֶחָד מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל נִקְרָא לְבוּשׁ, וּלְבוּשׁ נִקְרָא כָּבוֹד, כִּי רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן קָרֵי לְמָאנֵהּ מְכַבְּדוּתָא (שבת קיג).
The matter is as follows: All the worlds were created only for Israel, as it is written (Isaiah 43:7), “for My glory have I created, formed and made it.” In other words, Creation, Formation and Action were created only for “My glory.” And “My glory” is Israel, for it is written “and I will dwell in them” (Exodus 25:8)—which our Rabbis, of blessed memory, expounded: It does not say “in it” but “in them,” to teach that the Holy One, blessed be He, causes His Divine Presence to dwell in each <and every> one of Israel. From this we see that each Jew is called a garment, and a garment is called glory, as Rabbi Yochanan would call his garments “my glorifiers” (Shabbat 113a) .
נִמְצָא כָּל הָעוֹלָמוֹת לֹא נִבְרְאוּ אֶלָּא בִּשְׁבִיל יִשְׂרָאֵל, כְּדֵי לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ לָהֶם רַב טוּב. וּכְשֶׁאֵינָם יְכוֹלִים לְקַבֵּל מֵחֲמַת עֲווֹנוֹתֵיהֶם, יֵשׁ לוֹ צַעַר, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיהו ס״ג:ט׳): בְּכָל צָרָתָם לוֹ צָר.
Thus we see that all the worlds were created only for Israel, in order to provide them with great good. But when their sins render them incapable of receiving, He suffers <greatly, as it were>, as the verse states (Isaiah 63:9): “In all their suffering, He suffers.”
אַךְ מֵחֲמַת בְּהִירוּת אוֹר הַחֶסֶד, אִי אֶפְשָׁר לְקַבְּלוֹ כְּמוֹת שֶׁהוּא, וְצָרִיךְ לַצִּמְצוּם הַקָּדוֹשׁ, הַיְנוּ כְּשֶׁרוֹצֶה לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ רַב טוּב, צָרִיךְ לְדַבֵּר: יִהְיֶה כָּךְ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (תהילים ל״ג:ו׳): בִּדְבַר ה' שָׁמַיִם נַעֲשׂוּ. וְהָאוֹתִיּוֹת הֵם צִמְצוּמִים, עַד כָּאן אוֹת א', עַד כָּאן אוֹת ת'.
Even so, because the light of lovingkindness is so pure, it is impossible to receive it as it is. He must <contract the light in His holy speech>. That is, when He wants to provide great good, He must speak [the words], “Let it be so.” This is as is written (Psalms 33:6), “By the word of God the heavens were made.” For the letters are contractions: [the light that is] the letter aleph extends to here; [the light that is] the letter tav extends to there.
אַךְ בַּעֲווֹנוֹתֵינוּ הָרַבִּים הַדִּבּוּר גַּם כֵּן בְּגָלוּת, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (שם צו): סַפְּרוּ בַגּוֹיִם אֶת כְּבוֹדוֹ, וְהַיְנוּ הַדִּבּוּר עִם יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּגָלוּת. לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר (ישעיהו מ׳:ה׳): וְנִגְלָה כְּבוֹד ה' וְרָאוּ כָל בָּשָׂר יַחְדָּו כִּי פִי ה' דִּבֵּר, וְהַיְנוּ כְּשֶׁיִּגָּאֲלוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל, אָז הַדִּבּוּר גַּם כֵּן כִּבְיָכוֹל יִהְיֶה עִם הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ.
However, because of our many sins, speech, too, is in exile. This is as it is written (Chronicles 15:24), “Relate His glory among the nations”—i.e., speech and Israel are together in exile. The verse thus states (Isaiah 40:5): “Then the glory of God will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together that the mouth of God has spoken.” That is, when Israel will be redeemed, then, speech too will <be redeemed> with the Blessed One, as it were.
וְאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (סנהדרין לז): חַיָּב כָּל אָדָם לוֹמַר, בִּשְׁבִילִי נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם, וְחַיָּב לְתַקְּנוֹ. וּמַהוּ הַתִּקּוּן, הָעִנְיָן הוּא כָּךְ, שֶׁיִּרְאֶה שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה כָּל הַנִּיצוֹצוֹת שֶׁבְּכָל דָּבָר, וְהַנִּיצוֹצוֹת הֵם אוֹתִיּוֹת, נִמְצָא מַעֲלֶה אוֹתִיּוֹת. וְהָאוֹתִיּוֹת נַעֲשִׂים דִּבּוּרִים, וְעַל יְדֵי הַדִּבּוּר נִשְׁפָּע רַב טוּב לְיִשְׂרָאֵל.
2. Now, our Rabbis, of blessed memory, taught: Every person must say: “The world was created for my sake” (Sanhedrin 37a), and he is obliged to improve it. What is its rectification? The matter is as follows: One must see to raise up all the sparks in all things. <As brought elsewhere,> these sparks are letters. Thus we see that one raises up letters, and the letters become words, so that through speech great good is provided to Israel.
אַךְ כֵּיצַד יְכוֹלִין לְהַעֲלוֹת נִיצוֹצוֹת לְהַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ, הָעֵצָה הוּא כָּךְ: כְּשֶׁיִּסְתַּכֵּל בִּדְבַר מָה, תֵּכֶף יַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה שֶׁיֵּשׁ בַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה אוֹתִיּוֹת וְנִיצוֹצוֹת. וּמִן הָאֱמוּנָה הַזֶּה נַעֲשֶׂה זַיִ"ן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהילים ל״ג:ד׳): וְכָל מַעֲשֵׂהוּ בֶּאֱמוּנָה, וְהָעֲשִׂיָּה הִיא שֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי הַחֹל, וְהָאֱמוּנָה הִיא הַשְּׁבִיעִית.
Yet how can a person raise up the sparks to God? The advised course of action is as follows: When a person observes some object, he must immediately believe with complete faith that this object contains letters and sparks. From this faith the zayin is made, as the verse states (Psalms 33:4), “All His acts are done with faith.” The “doing” is the six days of the week, and faith is the seventh, <as is known to those proficient in the mystical tradition>.
וְאַחַר־כָּךְ יְצָרֵף אֶל הָאֱמוּנָה הַחָכְמָה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (דברי הימים א כח): דַּע אֶת אֱלֹקֵי אָבִיךָ.
Afterwards, he should combine the faith <with> the wisdom, as it is written (1 Chronicles 28:9), “Know the God of your father.”
וֶ"אֱלֹקֵי אָבִיךָ" הִיא בְּחִינַת אֱמוּנָה, כְּמוֹ: מַעֲשֵׂה אֲבוֹתֵיהֶם בִּידֵיהֶם (חולין יג:), שֶׁאָנוּ מַאֲמִינִים בּוֹ יִתְבָּרַךְ, שֶׁהוּא אֱלֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, שֶׁזֶּהוּ הָעִקָּר. וְ"דַע" הִיא הַחָכְמָה וְהַשֵּׂכֶל. וְחָכְמָה הִיא יוּ"ד, כְּמוֹ שֶׁפֵּרֵשׁ רַשִׁ"י (שמות ט״ו:א׳): אָז יָשִׁיר – שָׁר לֹא נֶאֱמַר אֶלָּא יָשִׁיר, יוּ"ד עַל שֵׁם הַמַּחֲשָׁבָה נֶאֶמְרָה.
“The God of your father” corresponds to faith, as in: They retain their fathers’ practices (Chullin 13b). We have faith in God, that He is the God of our fathers; this being the main thing. And “know” refers to wisdom and intellect. Wisdom is [the letter] yod, as Rashi explains: “Then Moshe will sing” (Exodus 15:1)—it does not say “ShaR (sang)” but “YaShiR (will sing)”—it is to thought that the Yod refers.
וּמֵהַיּוּ"ד וְהַזַּיִ"ן הַנַּ"ל, נַעֲשֶׂה עַיִן, כִּי ז פְּעָמִים י בְּגִימַטְרִיָּא ע. וְעוֹד, הָעַיִן הוּא חָכְמָה, כִּי חַכְמֵי הַעֵדָה נִקְרָאִים עֵינֵי הָעֵדָה (במדבר טו).
And from the aforementioned yod and zayin, an ayin is made. This is because in Hebrew letter numerology, zayin times yod is ayin. In addition, the AYiN indicates wisdom, for the wise of the community are called “AYNei (the eyes of) the community” (Numbers 15:24).
וּמִמֵּילָא כְּשֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ עַיִן כָּזֶה, כְּשֶׁמִּסְתַּכֵּל בְּדָבָר מֵהָעוֹלָם, בְּוַדַּאי נִתְעַלִּין הַנִּיצוֹצוֹת. כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב (שמות כח): וְעָשִׂיתָ צִּיץ זָהָב טָהוֹר, צִיץ – מִלְּשׁוֹן הִסְתַּכְּלוּת, כְּשֶׁהוּא טָהוֹר כַּנַּ"ל, בֶּאֱמוּנָה וּבְחָכְמָה, אָז: וּפִתַּחְתָּ עָלָיו פִּתּוּחֵי חוֹתָם; הַיְנוּ שֶׁתִּפְתַּח עַל־יְדֵי עַיִן כָּזֶה הַנִּיצוֹצוֹת הַחֲתוּמִים בְּכָל הַדְּבָרִים, וְתַעֲלֶה אוֹתָם קֹדֶשׁ לַה'.
{“You shall make a tzitz (head-plate) of pure gold, u-petachta (and you shall engrave) on it the seal inscription: ‘Holy to God’” (Exodus 28:36).} Automatically, when a person with such an eye looks at something of the world, the sparks certainly ascend. This is as it is written, “You shall make a tzitz of pure gold.” Tzitz connotes looking. When, as mentioned above, it is pure—with faith and wisdom—then “u-PeTaChta on it the seal inscription.” In other words, by means of such an eye, tiPhTaCh (you will open) the sparks sealed in all things and raise them up: “Holy to God.”
וְהַנִּיצוֹצוֹת הֵם אוֹתִיּוֹת, וּמֵאוֹתִיּוֹת נַעֲשֶׂה דִּבּוּרִים, וְעַל־יְדֵי הַדִּבּוּרִים מַשְׁפִּיעַ רַב טוּב לְיִשְׂרָאֵל. וּכְשֶׁמַּעֲלֶה נִיצוֹצוֹת מֵהַדָּבָר, אֲזַי הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה נַעֲשֶׂה אֶפֶס, כִּי הַנִּיצוֹצוֹת הֵם הַחִיּוּת שֶׁל הַדָּבָר.
These sparks are letters. The letters become words. And through words, [God] provides great good to Israel. Also, when one raises up sparks from an object, that object then becomes worthless, because they are its life-force.
וְזֶה פֵּרוּשׁ שֶׁל הַפָּסוּק:
3. This is the explanation of the [opening] verse: {“He zakhar (was mindful) of His lovingkindness and His faithfulness toward the House of Israel; all afsei (ends of) the earth have seen æt (the) salvation of our Lord.”}
זָכַר חַסְדּוֹ – זָכַר, לְשׁוֹן הַשְׁפָּעָה. הַיְנוּ כְּשֶׁרוֹצֶה לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ חֶסֶד לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲזַי יְצָרֵף
He zakhar His lovingkindness—Zakhar connotes providing. In other words, when He wants to provide lovingkindness to Israel, then…
וֶאֱמוּנָתוֹ לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁהִיא הַחָכְמָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי כ״ד:ג׳): בְּחָכְמָה יִבָּנֶה בָּיִת. בְּוַדַּאי
and His faithfulness toward the House of Israel—<That is, he combines faith with the House of Israel>, which is wisdom, as the verse states (Proverbs 24:3), “A house is built with wisdom.” <And then>
רָאוּ כָל אַפְסֵי אָרֶץ – הַיְנוּ הָאַרְצִיּוּת שֶׁל הַדָּבָר נַעֲשֶׂה אֶפֶס.
all ÆFSei the earth have seen—In other words, the physical matter of the thing becomes EFeS (worthless) <and emptiness, as explained above>. Thus:
וְאֶת – הַיְנוּ הָאוֹתִיּוֹת מֵא' עַד ת', הַיְנוּ הַנִּיצוֹצוֹת, נַעֲשֶׂה יְשׁוּעוֹת אֱלֹקֵינוּ – כִּי מֵהַנִּיצוֹצוֹת נַעֲשֶׂה דִּבּוּרִים, וְעַל־יְדֵי־זֶה מַשְׁפִּיעַ הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ רַב טוּב לְיִשְׂרָאֵל. וְזֶהוּ יְשׁוּעַת אֱלֹקֵינוּ, כִּי זֶה תַּעֲנוּגוֹ:
ÆT— This alludes to the letters, from Aleph to Tav, namely the sparks. [They] become salvation of our Lord—The sparks become words, and this causes the Blessed One to provide great good. This is the meaning of “salvation of our Lord,” for this is His delight!