Parashat Tsav 3
For Pesach
Likutei Torah p. 32
By Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Gedalia Potash and William Schecter, MD
This draft has neither been edited nor approved by Rabbi Potash
“He will raise His hand over the Euphrates with the might of His wind and break it into seven wadis, so that it can be trodden dry-shod.” (Isaiah 11:15) Here the Reed Sea has the attribute of Malchut (the lowest of the 10 attributes) in the World of Atzilut which has the attribute of the Supernal Word which is the end (lowest) of all the spiritual levels of the Word of G-d. The Heavens were made and all the ten utterances of G-d (Let there be Light etc. required to create the World) which are drawn down from the 10 Sephirot in the World of Atzilut and clothed in the letters of the utterance: “Let there be Light” which is the drawing down of the attribute of Chochma (Wisdom), etc. and the Word conceals and covers up the Light which is drawn down. By way of analogy, in man, the letters of speech are the tool which we use to think and learn and the attributes which they drawn down and are enclothed by the letters. But, the letters conceal the intellect within them and hide it within them. By way of analogy a child may understand all the letters and words and may say them perfectly but even so he does not understand the concept expressed by the letters. Only one who has previously achieved wisdom is able to understand the concept being conveyed by the letters. But the essence of the letters has the attribute of concealment vis à vis the essence of the intellect and the attributes (Chochma, Bina, Da’at, Hesed, Gvurah, etc.) And therefore, above (in the Heavens) the creation of Chochma (Wisdom) in the Worlds of Briah, Yetzirah and Asiyah is only from the Supernal Speech and not like, for example, someone who learns because he has previously achieved wisdom (been educated). For the speech and the letters of Malchut (the lowest of the 10 attributes) in the World of Atzilut conceal and cover up the three intellectual attributes (Chochma, Bina and Da’at) and the remaining 7 emotional attributes in Atzilut which are enclothed in the speech which is not revealed at all in the World of Briah (the next lower world in spirituality below Atzilut) except through the minute enlightenment drawn down through hair.
Rabbi Potash explains. In Chasidic thought hair is used as a metaphor. Although hair is part of the body and draws its life force from the body, it can be cut without causing pain or harm. Here the Elter Rebbe is saying that the attributes (which are our perceptions of the Ten Sephirot) are concealed in each of the worlds but occasionally we may get a glimpse of them just as the hair is part of the body but we can’t really understand the body just by looking at hair.
Now we are about to get to the issue of the parting of the Sea of Reeds in the story of Pesach and its relevance to this whole concept of concealment. Let’s continue and see what the Elter Rebbe says.
And the sea is called the World of Concealment. Or else, speech is called concealment according to its name which is drawn from the intellect and is enclothed in the speech but this is only the externality of intellect but the internality of the intellect is impossible to be revealed by the letters and the speech. What does this have to do with the sea? We are about to find out. The parting of the Reed Sea is a transformation of the concealed to the revealed meaning to say that the supernal speech will not conceal the supernal lights that are enclothed within it which are the intellectual attributes and the emotional attributes by way of analogy they are the 10 Sephirot in the World of Atzilut which will be revealed to the Souls in the World of Briah as it is in the World of Atzilut. The issue is that the Parting of the Reed Sea is the connection of the World of Briah with the World of Atzilut without any barrier and therefore the sea was split into 12 parts corresponding to the 12 tribes of Israel in the World of Briah corresponding to the 12 attributes. And the angels in Briah are the 12 oxen and the sea (Malchut) is upon them from above.
What is going on here? Let’s first talk about the 12 tribes which during the 40-year sojourn in the desert were split into 4 groups of 3. They were camped in a square around the tabernacle. 3 tribes to the north, 3 to the south, 3 to the east and 3 to the west.
Why is the Elter Rebbe talking about 12 attributes when we have said all along that there are 10. Rabbi Potash explained that the attributes in the illustrations are connected by diagonals which number 12. In order to explain the 12 attributes, think of a room with four walls, a roof and a floor. Each wall intersects with the roof (4 corners), each wall intersects with the floor (4 corners and each wall intersects with another wall creating another 4 corners. So, we have 12 intersecting points. Similarly, the 10 attributes (one of many possible illustrations is shown here) have multiple diagonals connecting one to the other. There are 12 possible connections. But I found the analogy of the room with four walls, a roof and a floor the easiest way to understand what is fundamentally a very complex concept.
Now back to the Elter Rebbe’s argument. Now we have to explain the angels, the 12 oxen and the sea upon them from above. The sea is a synonym for the attribute of Malchut (concealment) in the World of Atzilut which of course is above the World of Briah. The angels are separated into four groups of three headed by Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel according to the Elter Rebbe.
Now that we have explained this, let’s return to the Elter Rebbe’s own words. And as it is written from there it will separated to four heads (referring to the four rivers flowing out of Gan Eden). Each one will split into three just like the twelve tribes were separated into four groups of three and just like the arm and the leg are composed of 3 major joints separating them into three parts. And here also, the 12 tribes in the World of Briah have their roots and source in the 12 diagonals of the Zair Panim (the small Face of G-d) revealed in the World of Atzilut and this is the connection and elevation of Briah in Atzilut, the connection and elevation of the 12 tribes in Briah with the 12 boundaries of the diagonals of the Zair Panim in Atzilut and therefore the sea was split into 12 areas so that each tribe could follow its own path each according to its ability.
The metaphor of the sea is a powerful tool to understand Divine concealment. There is a vast world of living creatures beneath the sea with many as yet undiscovered species. We only perceive what is on the top of the sea and perhaps a few meters below the surface. But we are unaware of the vast undersea world which exists. Similarly, we only see what is shown to us in the material world but the true reality is concealed from us. The splitting of the Reed Sea then is a metaphor for the revelation which will come two months after the Exodus at Mount Sinai.
The splitting of the Reed Sea is the attribute of supernal speech. That is, the speech and the letters are not concealed. Indeed, in the future it is written “He will lift his hand upon the river” (Isaiah 11:15) and the issue is that because the splitting of the Reed Sea was supposed to enable the subsequent receipt of the Torah and, as the Rabbis said at the end of Masechet Pesachim 118:a (in the Talmud) “The sea saw it and fled the mountains danced”
This last quote is taken from a discussion of the Hallel Prayer (the Prayer of Praise) which is recited at Festivals and on the occasion of the beginning of each month. To put this quote in context, I will quote the relevant section of the Talmud: “The Gemara elaborates: The exodus from Egypt, as it is written: “When Israel came forth out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language” (Psalms 114:1). And the splitting of the Red Sea, as it is written: “The sea saw it and fled; the Jordan turned backward” (Psalms 114:3). The giving of the Torah, as it is written: “The mountains skipped like rams” (Psalms 114:4), which is similar to the description of the giving of the Torah found elsewhere in the books of the Prophets. The resurrection of the dead, as it is written: “I will walk before the Lord in the lands of the living” (Psalms 116:9), which follows the verse: “For you have delivered my soul from death.” (Masechet Pesachim 118:a:15)
The mountains dancing refers to the giving of the Torah because the object of performing the Mitzvot is to draw down the revelation of the Eternal Light in the Worlds of Briah, Yetzirah and Asiyah as it reveals itself in the Ten Sephirot of World of Atzilut which there איהו וחיוהי חד איהו וגרמוהי חד (Ihu, vechiyuhi chad ihu vegarmuhi chad). This is the Aramaic name of a section of the Zohar and means “His Essence and His Vitality (the lights-vitality-in the Sephirot) and the Vessels (or the Sephirot) are One”.
If so, the Worlds of Briah, Yetzirah and Asiyah are separate worlds in the attribute of existence (יש) and a separate thing and through the Mitzvot which are the 248 organs of Malcha the revelation of the Supernal Unity in Atzilut is brought down go be revealed in the worlds of Briah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. Therefore, the splitting of the Reed Sea was supposed to be the beginning of the crack in the separation between Atzilut and Briah to the point where the Children of Israel were able to walk on dry land within the sea and by doing so were afterwards able to receive the Torah from the World of Atzilut so to bring down the revelation to the lower Worlds. And here the issue of the giving of the Torah is active performance of the Mitzvot today—the study of the Torah being the most important (תלמוד תורה כנגד כולם). Our discussion ended at this point.
