The explanation of this subject is discussed frequently in Zohar and Tikkunim: Binah is the superior teshuvah—“The mother crouching over the chicks….”1Deuteronomy 22:6. Binah is the “mother” and emotions the “offspring,” or as the verse has it, the “chicks.”
These emotions are man’s creations, the product of his efforts. They are results of intellectual endeavor, not gift or heritage. He is to meditate profoundly and with concentration on the greatness of G–d, and through his intellectual comprehension arouse a sense of intellectual reverence and love on rational grounds. This love is that of the verse, “To love the L–rd your G–d” for “He is your life….”2Deuteronomy 30:20. He will not be content with the endowed,3See Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 44, etc., and Part II, pp. 284-286, on the concealed and created love. latent love alone…. So, too, with fear of G–d, and terror or shame…as is known. This is the import of “The mother crouching over the chicks….”
Ahavah, love, is primarily the cleaving of spirit to spirit, as “He kisses me with the kisses of his mouth…,”4Song of Songs 1:2. as is known. This cleaving of spirit is the meaning of “With all your soul,”5Deuteronomy 6:5. with every aspect of your soul, with intellect, emotions, and their garbs of thought, speech, and deed. All cleave to Him.
Man’s emotional faculties are bound up with His—“as He is merciful….”6Jerusalem Talmud, Peah 1:1; Sotah 14a; Shabbat 133b; Maimonides, Hilchot Deot 1:5, 6.
Man’s thought is devoted to G–d’s, and his speech is the word of G–d, the halachah,8Cf. Shabbat 138b. as in the passages, “I have placed My word in your mouth,”9Isaiah 51:16. and “My words that I have placed in your mouth.”10Ibid., 59:21.
Man’s deeds shall be works of charity, to revive the spirit of the fallen,11Ibid., 57:15. thus cleaving to G–d’s actions, as in, “For six days G–d wrought….”12Exodus 20:11. as is known elsewhere.
This is the cleaving of spirit to spirit—the ultimate attachment and union as a result of love…. Since the violation of the covenant through wasteful emission, to say nothing of stark immorality or unions prohibited by Torah or the Sages (for the words of the Sages are more grave…),13Cf. Berachot 4b; Eruvin 22b; Sanhedrin 88b. causes a blemish in the mind, therefore his rectification is that he occupy himself with Torah that derives from chochmah.
In Tanna Dvai Eliyahu we find, “A man commits a sin and is liable to death before the Almighty, what shall he do and live? If he was accustomed to studying one page, he shall study two, to studying one chapter, he shall study two chapters….” This parallels the illustration of the cord severed and then reknotted—the place of the knot is so much thicker than the unaffected portion. So it is with the “cord of His possession.”
Similarly, the sin of the house of Eli will not be atoned by sacrifices and offerings,16Cf. I Samuel 3:14. but will be pardoned through Torah and good deeds, as explained in Rosh Hashanah, end of ch. 1.1718a.
וּבֵיאוּר הָעִנְיָן, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב בַּזּוֹהַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ וְתִיקּוּנִים בְּכַמָּה מְקוֹמוֹת, דְּבִינָה – אִיהִי תְּשׁוּבָה עִילָּאָה, ״וְהָאֵם רוֹבֶצֶת עַל הָאֶפְרוֹחִים״ וְכוּ׳.
The explanation of this subject is discussed frequently in Zohar and Tikkunim: Binah is the superior teshuvah—“The mother crouching over the chicks….”1Deuteronomy 22:6. Binah is the “mother” and emotions the “offspring,” or as the verse has it, the “chicks.”
דְּהַיְינוּ, שֶׁעַל־יְדֵי שֶׁמִּתְבּוֹנֵן בִּגְדוּלַּת ה׳ בְּהַעֲמָקַת הַדַּעַת, וּמוֹלִיד מֵרוּחַ בִּינָתוֹ דְּחִילוּ וּרְחִימוּ שִׂכְלִיִּים, וּבְטוּב טַעַם וָדַעַת, כָּעִנְיָן שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״לְאַהֲבָה אֶת ה׳ אֱלֹקֶיךָ״, מִשּׁוּם ״כִּי הוּא חַיֶּיךָ וְגוֹ׳״, וְלֹא דַי לוֹ בְּאַהֲבָה טִבְעִית הַמְסוּתֶּרֶת לְבַד וְכוּ׳, וְכֵן בְּיִרְאָה וָפַחַד אוֹ בּוּשָׁה וְכוּ׳, כַּנּוֹדָע – אֲזַי נִקְרֵאת ״הָאֵם רוֹבֶצֶת עַל הָאֶפְרוֹחִים״ וְכוּ׳.
These emotions are man’s creations, the product of his efforts. They are results of intellectual endeavor, not gift or heritage. He is to meditate profoundly and with concentration on the greatness of G–d, and through his intellectual comprehension arouse a sense of intellectual reverence and love on rational grounds. This love is that of the verse, “To love the L–rd your G–d” for “He is your life….”2Deuteronomy 30:20. He will not be content with the endowed,3See Likkutei Amarim, Part I, ch. 44, etc., and Part II, pp. 284-286, on the concealed and created love. latent love alone…. So, too, with fear of G–d, and terror or shame…as is known. This is the import of “The mother crouching over the chicks….”
וְהִנֵּה, עִיקַּר הָאַהֲבָה הִיא ״אִתְדַּבְּקוּת רוּחָא בְּרוּחָא״ כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״יִשָּׁקֵנִי מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת פִּיהוּ וְגוֹ׳״, כַּנּוֹדָע. וְעַל זֶה נֶאֱמַר: ״וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ״, שֶׁהֵם הֵם כָּל חֶלְקֵי הַנֶּפֶשׁ: שֵׂכֶל וּמִדּוֹת, וּלְבוּשֵׁיהֶם: מַחֲשָׁבָה דִּיבּוּר וּמַעֲשֶׂה, לְדָבְקָה כוּלָּן בּוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ.
Ahavah, love, is primarily the cleaving of spirit to spirit, as “He kisses me with the kisses of his mouth…,”4Song of Songs 1:2. as is known. This cleaving of spirit is the meaning of “With all your soul,”5Deuteronomy 6:5. with every aspect of your soul, with intellect, emotions, and their garbs of thought, speech, and deed. All cleave to Him.
דְּהַיְינוּ, הַמִּדּוֹת – בְּמִדּוֹתָיו יִתְבָּרֵךְ, ״מַה הוּא רַחוּם וְכוּ׳״.
Man’s emotional faculties are bound up with His—“as He is merciful….”6Jerusalem Talmud, Peah 1:1; Sotah 14a; Shabbat 133b; Maimonides, Hilchot Deot 1:5, 6.
וְהַשֵּׂכֶל – בְּשִׂכְלוֹ וְחָכְמָתוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ, הוּא עִיּוּן הַתּוֹרָה, דְּ״אוֹרַיְיתָא מֵחָכְמָה נָפְקָא״:
Man’s intellect adheres to His intellect and wisdom, assiduous Torah study, for “Torah issues from Wisdom.”7Zohar II:85a.
וְכֵן הַמַּחֲשָׁבָה – בְּמַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ יִתְבָּרֵךְ: וְהַדִּיבּוּר – בִּדְבַר ה׳, זוֹ הֲלָכָה, וּכְמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״וָאָשִׂים דְּבָרַי בְּפִיךָ״, ״וּדְבָרַי אֲשֶׁר שַׂמְתִּי בְּפִיךָ״:
Man’s thought is devoted to G–d’s, and his speech is the word of G–d, the halachah,8Cf. Shabbat 138b. as in the passages, “I have placed My word in your mouth,”9Isaiah 51:16. and “My words that I have placed in your mouth.”10Ibid., 59:21.
וְהַמַּעֲשֶׂה – הוּא מַעֲשֵׂה הַצְּדָקָה, לְהַחֲיוֹת רוּחַ שְׁפָלִים, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: ״כִּי שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים עָשָׂה ה׳ וְגוֹ׳״, כַּנּוֹדָע בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר.
Man’s deeds shall be works of charity, to revive the spirit of the fallen,11Ibid., 57:15. thus cleaving to G–d’s actions, as in, “For six days G–d wrought….”12Exodus 20:11. as is known elsewhere.
וְזוֹ הִיא ״אִתְדַּבְּקוּת דְּרוּחָא בְּרוּחָא״ בְּתַכְלִית הַדְּבֵיקוּת וְהַיִּחוּד, כְּשֶׁהִיא מֵחֲמַת אַהֲבָה וְכוּ׳. וּלְפִי שֶׁפְּגַם הַבְּרִית בְּהוֹצָאַת זֶרַע לְבַטָּלָה, וְאֵין צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר בַּעֲרָיוֹת, אוֹ שְׁאָר אִיסּוּרֵי בִּיאָה דְּאוֹרַיְיתָא אוֹ דְרַבָּנָן (כִּי חֲמוּרִים דִּבְרֵי סוֹפְרִים וְכוּ׳) פּוֹגֵם בַּמּוֹחַ, לָכֵן תִּיקּוּנוֹ הוּא דְּיִתְעַסֵּק בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, דְּמֵחָכְמָה נָפְקָא.
This is the cleaving of spirit to spirit—the ultimate attachment and union as a result of love…. Since the violation of the covenant through wasteful emission, to say nothing of stark immorality or unions prohibited by Torah or the Sages (for the words of the Sages are more grave…),13Cf. Berachot 4b; Eruvin 22b; Sanhedrin 88b. causes a blemish in the mind, therefore his rectification is that he occupy himself with Torah that derives from chochmah.
וְזֶהוּ שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּתָנָא דְבֵי אֵלִיָּהוּ: ״אָדָם עָבַר עֲבֵירָה וְנִתְחַיֵּיב מִיתָה לַמָּקוֹם, מַה יַּעֲשֶׂה וְיִחְיֶה? אִם הָיָה רָגִיל לִקְרוֹת דַּף אֶחָד – יִקְרָא ב׳ דַּפִּים, לִשְׁנוֹת פֶּרֶק אֶחָד – יִשְׁנֶה ב׳ פְּרָקִים וְכוּ׳״. וְהַיְינוּ, כִּמְשַׁל חֶבֶל הַנִּפְסָק וְחוֹזֵר וְקוֹשְׁרוֹ, שֶׁבִּמְקוֹם הַקֶּשֶׁר הוּא כָּפוּל וּמְכוּפָּל, וְכָכָה הוּא בְּ״חֶבֶל נַחֲלָתוֹ״ וְכוּ׳.
In Tanna Dvai Eliyahu we find, “A man commits a sin and is liable to death before the Almighty, what shall he do and live? If he was accustomed to studying one page, he shall study two, to studying one chapter, he shall study two chapters….” This parallels the illustration of the cord severed and then reknotted—the place of the knot is so much thicker than the unaffected portion. So it is with the “cord of His possession.”
וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב: ״בְּחֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת יְכוּפַּר עָוֹן וְגוֹ׳״, ״וְאֵין אֱמֶת אֶלָּא תּוֹרָה וְכוּ׳״.
This is the meaning of the verse, “With kindness and truth is sin forgiven…,”14Proverbs 16:6. and “There is no ‘truth’ but Torah….”15Cf. Berachot 5b.
וַ״עֲוֹן בֵּית עֵלִי בְּזֶבַח וּמִנְחָה הוּא דְאֵינוֹ מִתְכַּפֵּר – אֲבָל מִתְכַּפֵּר בְּתוֹרָה וּגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים״, כִּדְאִיתָא בְּסוֹף פֶּרֶק קַמָּא דְרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה:
Similarly, the sin of the house of Eli will not be atoned by sacrifices and offerings,16Cf. I Samuel 3:14. but will be pardoned through Torah and good deeds, as explained in Rosh Hashanah, end of ch. 1.1718a.