Today's Chitas

Chumash: Ha'azinu #3 · Tehillim: Ch.119 · Tanya: Igeret HaKodesh ch.17

## Chumash: Ha'azinu [God] set them atop the highlands,To feast on the yield of the earth;Nursing them with honey from the crag,And oil from the flinty rock, Curd of kine and milk of flocks;With the bestebest Lit. “fat.” of lambs,And rams of Bashan, and he-goats;With the very finestfvery finest Lit. “kidney fat of.” wheat—And foaming grape-blood was your drink. So JeshurungJeshurun A poetic name for Israel. grew fat and kicked—You grew fat and gross and coarsehcoarse Meaning of Heb. kasitha uncertain.—They forsook the God who made themAnd spurned the Rock of their support. They kindled wrath with alien things,Provoked anger with abominations. They sacrificed to demons, no-gods,Gods they had never known,New ones, who came but lately,Who stirred not your forebears’ fears.iWho stirred not your forebears’ fears Meaning of Heb. uncertain; Arabic shaʻara suggests the rendering “Whom your forebears did not know.” You neglected the Rock who begot you,Forgot the God who labored to bring you forth. --- ## Tehillim 119–119 [Psalm 119] א Happy are those whose way is blameless,who follow GOD’s teaching. Happy are those who observe God’s decrees,who turn to the divine wholeheartedly. They have done no wrong,but have followed God’s ways. You have commanded that Your preceptsbe kept diligently. Would that my ways were firmin keeping Your laws; then I would not be ashamedwhen I regard all Your commandments. I will praise You with a sincere heartas I learn Your just rules. I will keep Your laws;do not utterly forsake me. ב How can youths keep their way pure?—by holding to Your word. I have turned to You with all my heart;do not let me stray from Your commandments. In my heart I treasure Your promise;therefore I do not sin against You. Blessed are You, O ETERNAL One;train me in Your laws. With my lips I rehearseall the rules You proclaimed. I rejoice over the way of Your decreesas over all riches. I study Your precepts;I regard Your ways; I take delight in Your laws;I will not neglect Your word. ג Deal kindly with Your servant,that I may live to keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may perceivethe wonders of Your teaching. I am only a sojourner in the land;do not hide Your commandments from me. My soul is consumed with longingfor Your rules at all times. You blast the accursed insolent oneswho stray from Your commandments. Take away from me taunt and abuse,because I observe Your decrees. Though princes meet and speak against me,Your servant studies Your laws. For Your decrees are my delight,my intimate companions. ד My soul clings to the dust;revive me in accordance with Your word. I have declared my way, and You have answered me;train me in Your laws. Make me understand the way of Your precepts,that I may study Your wondrous acts. I am racked with grief;sustain me in accordance with Your word. Remove all false ways from me;favor me with Your teaching. I have chosen the way of faithfulness;I have set Your rules before me. I cling to Your decrees;O ETERNAL One, do not put me to shame. I eagerly pursue Your commandments,for You broaden my understanding. ה Teach me, O ETERNAL One, the way of Your laws;I will observe them to the utmost.ato the utmost Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Give me understanding, that I may observe Your teachingand keep it wholeheartedly. Lead me in the path of Your commandments,for that is my concern. Turn my heart to Your decreesand not to love of gain. Avert my eyes from seeing falsehood;by Your ways preserve me. Fulfill Your promise to Your servant,which is for those who worship You. Remove the taunt that I dread,for Your rules are good. See, I have longed for Your precepts;by Your righteousness preserve me. ו May Your steadfast love reach me, O ETERNAL One,Your deliverance, as You have promised. I shall have an answer for those who taunt me,for I have put my trust in Your word. Do not utterly take the truth away from my mouth,for I have put my hope in Your rules. I will always obey Your teaching,forever and ever. I will walk about at ease,for I have turned to Your precepts. I will speak of Your decrees,and not be ashamed in the presence of kings. I will delight in Your commandments,which I love. I reach out for Your commandments, which I love;I study Your laws. ז Remember Your word to Your servantthrough which You have given me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction,that Your promise has preserved me. Though the arrogant have cruelly mocked me,I have not swerved from Your teaching. I remember Your rules of old, O ETERNAL One,and find comfort in them. I am seized with ragebecause of the wicked who forsake Your teaching. Your laws are a source of strength to meba source of strength to me Or “songs for me.” wherever I may dwell. I remember Your name at night, O ETERNAL One,and obey Your teaching. This has been my lot,for I have observed Your precepts. ח GOD is my portion;I have resolved to keep Your words. I have implored You with all my heart;have mercy on me, in accordance with Your promise. I have considered my ways,and have turned back to Your decrees. I have hurried and not delayedto keep Your commandments. Though the bonds of the wicked are coiled round me,I have not neglected Your teaching. I arise at midnight to praise Youfor Your just rules. I am a companion to all who fear You,to those who keep Your precepts. Your steadfast love, O ETERNAL One, fills the earth;teach me Your laws. ט You have treated Your servant well,according to Your word, O ETERNAL One. Teach me good sense and knowledge,for I have put my trust in Your commandments. Before I was humbled I went astray,but now I keep Your word. You are good and beneficent;teach me Your laws. Though the arrogant have accused me falsely,I observe Your precepts wholeheartedly. Their minds are thick like fat;as for me, Your teaching is my delight. It was good for me that I was humbled,so that I might learn Your laws. I prefer the teaching You proclaimedto thousands of gold and silver pieces. י Your hands made me and fashioned me;give me understanding that I may learn Your commandments. Those who fear You will see me and rejoice,for I have put my hope in Your word. I know, O ETERNAL One, that Your rulings are just;rightly have You humbled me. May Your steadfast love comfort mein accordance with Your promise to Your servant. May Your mercy reach me, that I might live,for Your teaching is my delight. Let the insolent be dismayed, for they have wronged me without cause;I will study Your precepts. May those who fear You,those who know Your decrees,turn again to me. May I wholeheartedly follow Your lawsso that I do not come to grief. כ I long for Your deliverance;I hope for Your word. My eyes pine away for Your promise;I say, “When will You comfort me?” Though I have become like a water-skin dried in smoke,I have not neglected Your laws. How long has Your servant to live?when will You bring my persecutors to judgment? The insolent have dug pits for me,flouting Your teaching. All Your commandments are enduring;I am persecuted without cause; help me! Though they almost wiped me off the earth,I did not abandon Your precepts. As befits Your steadfast love, preserve me,so that I may keep the decree You proclaimed. ל GOD exists forever;Your word stands firm in heaven. Your faithfulness is for all generations;You have established the earth, and it stands. They stand this day to [carry out] Your rulings,for all are Your servants. Were not Your teaching my delightI would have perished in my affliction. I will never neglect Your precepts,for You have preserved my life through them. I am Yours; save me!For I have turned to Your precepts. The wicked hope to destroy me,but I ponder Your decrees. I have seen that all things have their limit,but Your commandment is broad beyond measure. מ O how I love Your teaching!It is my study all day long. Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies;they always stand by me. I have gained more insight than all my teachers,for Your decrees are my study. I have gained more understanding than my elders,for I observe Your precepts. I have avoided every evil wayso that I may keep Your word. I have not departed from Your rules,for You have instructed me. How pleasing is Your word to my palate,sweeter than honey. I ponder Your precepts;therefore I hate every false way. נ Your word is a lamp to my feet,a light for my path. I have firmly swornto keep Your just rules. I am very much afflicted;O ETERNAL One, preserve me in accordance with Your word. Accept, O ETERNAL One, my freewill offerings;teach me Your rules. Though my life is always in danger,I do not neglect Your teaching. Though the wicked have set a trap for me,I have not strayed from Your precepts. Your decrees are my eternal heritage;they are my heart’s delight. I am resolved to follow Your lawsto the utmostcto the utmost Meaning of Heb. uncertain. forever. ס I hate the double-minded,but I love Your teaching. You are my protection and my shield;I hope for Your word. Keep away from me, you evildoers,that I may observe the commandments of my God. Support me as You promised, so that I may live;do not thwart my expectation. Sustain me that I may be saved,and I will always muse upon Your laws. You reject all who stray from Your laws,for they are false and deceitful. You do away with the wicked as if they were dross;rightly do I love Your decrees. My flesh creeps from fear of You;I am in awe of Your rulings. ע I have done what is just and right;do not abandon me to those who would wrong me. Guarantee Your servant’s well-being;do not let the arrogant wrong me. My eyes pine away for Your deliverance,for Your promise of victory. Deal with Your servant as befits Your steadfast love;teach me Your laws. I am Your servant;give me understanding,that I might know Your decrees. It is a time to act for GOD,for they have violated Your teaching. Rightly do I love Your commandmentsmore than gold, even fine gold. Truly by all [Your] precepts I walk straight;dby all [Your] precepts I walk straight Or “I declare all [Your] precepts to be just.” I hate every false way. פ Your decrees are wondrous;rightly do I observe them. The words You inscribed giveeThe words You inscribed give With Targum; or “The exposition of Your words gives”; meaning of Heb. uncertain. light,and grant understanding to the simple. I open my mouth wide, I pant,longing for Your commandments. Turn to me and be gracious to me,as is Your rule with those who love Your name. Make my feet firm through Your promise;do not let iniquity dominate me. Redeem me from being wronged by others,that I may keep Your precepts. Show favor to Your servant,and teach me Your laws. My eyes shed streams of waterbecause others do not obey Your teaching. צ You are righteous, O ETERNAL One;Your rulings are just. You have ordained righteous decrees;they are firmly enduring. I am consumed with rageover my foes’ neglect of Your words. Your word is exceedingly pure,and Your servant loves it. Though I am belittled and despised,I have not neglected Your precepts. Your righteousness is eternal;Your teaching is true. Though anguish and distress come upon me,Your commandments are my delight. Your righteous decrees are eternal;give me understanding, that I might live. ק I call with all my heart;answer me, O ETERNAL One,that I may observe Your laws. I call upon You; save me,that I may keep Your decrees. I rise before dawn and cry for help;I hope for Your word. My eyes greet each watch of the night,as I meditate on Your promise. Hear my voice as befits Your steadfast love;O ETERNAL One, preserve me, as is Your rule. Those who pursue intrigue draw near;they are far from Your teaching. You, O ETERNAL One, are near,and all Your commandments are true. I know from Your decrees of oldthat You have established them forever. ר See my affliction and rescue me,for I have not neglected Your teaching. Champion my cause and redeem me;preserve me according to Your promise. Deliverance is far from the wicked,for they have not turned to Your laws. Your mercies are great, O ETERNAL One;as is Your rule, preserve me. Many are my persecutors and foes;I have not swerved from Your decrees. I have seen traitors and loathedfloathed Or “have contended with.” them,because they did not keep Your word in mind. See that I have loved Your precepts;O ETERNAL One, preserve me, as befits Your steadfast love. Truth is the essence of Your word;Your just rules are eternal. ש Princes have persecuted me without reason;my heart thrills at Your word. I rejoice over Your promiseas one who obtains great spoil. I hate and abhor falsehood;I love Your teaching. I praise You seven times each dayfor Your just rules. Those who love Your teaching enjoy well-being;they encounter no adversity. I hope for Your deliverance, O ETERNAL One;I observe Your commandments. I obey Your decreesand love them greatly. I obey Your precepts and decrees;all my ways are before You. ת May my plea reach You, O ETERNAL One;grant me understanding according to Your word. May my petition come before You;save me in accordance with Your promise. My lips shall pour forth praise,for You teach me Your laws. My tongue shall declare Your promise,for all Your commandments are just. Lend Your hand to help me,for I have chosen Your precepts. I have longed for Your deliverance, O ETERNAL One;Your teaching is my delight. Let me live, that I may praise You;may Your rules be my help; I have strayed like a lost sheep;search for Your servant,for I have not neglected Your commandments. --- ## Tanya: Igeret HaKodesh, Chapter 17 SEVENTEEN.1See see Igrot Kodesh Admur Hazaken (Kehot, 2012), pp. 374-375, for the opening paragraph of this section. It is known that an arousal from below, when man arouses in his heart the trait of kindness and compassion for all those in need of compassion, this elicits an arousal from above, i.e., an arousal of great compassion upon him from the source of compassion,2See above, Epistle 4, note 44. to effuse to him the “Fruits in this world, while the principal remains for the World to Come.”3The principal and the fruits of the good deeds.—Mishnah, Peah 1:1. This means: “the fruits” refers to the effluence effusing from the Source of compassion and Fountainhead of life,4Lit., The Life of life (cf. Yoma 71a; Tikkunei Zohar 19 (41b); ibid., 69 (115a); and see below, end of Epistle 22a). blessed is He. It issues netherward, in the mode of the evolution of the worlds from above downward…, until it vests itself in this world in children, life, and sustenance….5See above, Epistle 11, note 5. The “principal” is, as it is written: “Mitzvatecha (Your commandment) is very wide.”6Psalms 119:96. Now it should say mitzvotecha—in plural form!7Cf. Rashi, ad loc. (8Brackets appear in the text.The phraseology of “is wide” is also not comprehensible.) However, the express form of mitzvatecha refers to the precept of charity, which is truly the mitzvah of the L–rd, which the Holy One, blessed is He, Himself, in all His majesty, performs at all times by animating the worlds, and will do so in the future with exceeding uplifting and force.9Par. Genesis 49:3. And thus it is written:10Genesis 18:19. “And they shall observe the way of the L–rd, to do tzedakah….”11See Zohar III:113b. Metaphorically speaking, like a road on which one goes from one city to another,12Tzedakah is called the “way of the L–rd” because it is like a roadway that enables man to travel from one place to another. so, too, charity is a capacity for a manifestation and radiation of the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, which encompasses all worlds,13The or sovev, or or makif; see above, Epistle 3, note 12. so that in the future, at the Resurrection of the Dead, it will radiate, and become manifest, even to this world, through the arousal from below as an expression of charity and gratuitous kindness, [with an uplifting and force infinitely exceeding the state of manifestation of the radiation in the upper and lower Gardens of Eden]. For in the future all the souls of the tzaddikim, and of the Tannaim and the prophets that are now in the Higher Garden of Eden, at the peak of levels, will become vested in their bodies, and they will arise at the time of the resurrection to derive pleasure from the splendor of the Shechinah. That is, the manifestation and the radiation as it is in the Garden of Eden is of the level of memalei kol almin.14Permeating all worlds (thus the or pnimi); see above, Epistle 3, note 12. This is a level of the evolution from one rung to another by means of immense contractions,15This radiation of the Divine immence, the or pnimi, is an immensely screened derivative of the or makif, the radiation of the Divine transcendence. As the worlds develop from higher to lower, the or pnimi is contracted ever more. and as the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory: “The World to Come was created by the yud”16Menachot 29b.—See above, Epistle 5.—the sphere of the supreme chochmah,17Above, Epistle 5, note 16.—The yud, by its very form as a simple point, indicates the immense contraction of the Divine light contained in it. The or pnimi thus is related to the sefirah of chochmah (cf. above, Epistle 3, note 12). referred to as the upper Eden,18Ibid., note 17. and evolving and vesting itself in all the worlds, as it is written: “You have made them all with chochmah…”19Psalms 104:24. and “chochmah animates….”20Ecclesiastes 7:12.—See Addendum, Mystical Concepts in Chassidism, s.v. Chochmah (cf. above, beg. of Epistle 5; Epistle 11, note 10; Epistle 14, note 14). In the Garden of Eden (the sphere of chochmah) is in a state of manifest apprehension to each according to his measure.21See Zohar I:129b; ibid., 135b (Midrash Hane’elam). For as known, the delight of the souls in the Garden of Eden derives from the apprehension of the secrets of the Torah with which one busied oneself in this world with the revealed (parts of Torah) [as mentioned in the sacred Zohar, section Shelach,22See Zohar III:169b; cf. ibid., 159b ff. and in the Gemara23See Bava Metzia 86a. with reference to the occurrence with Rabbah bar Nachmeni]. The manifestation of the radiation at the time of the resurrection, however, will be from the level of sovev kol almin,24“Encompassing all worlds,” thus the or makif; see above, Epistle 3, note 12. which is not in a state of contraction (tzimtzum), measure, and limit, but without limit and end [as the concept of sovev kol almin has been explained in Likkutei Amarim, ch. 48, not to be in its literal sense—like a circle, Heaven forfend, but only that it is not in a state of investment…, note there carefully]. And this is the meaning of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “And their crowns on their heads, and they take delight….”25Berachot 17a; Maimonides, Hilchot Teshuvah 5:2. Cf. Tikkunei Zohar 36 (78a). A crown (atarah) is something that encompasses and encircles and is called keter 26Crown; garland. Cf. Tikkunei Zohar 70 (135a) on the subtle distinction between keter and atarah. [an idiom of koteret27Capitol.—See Etz Chaim 23:2 and cf. Pardes Rimonim 23:11, s.v. Keter. Cf. below, Epistle 29 (note 34, ad loc.).]. It is the aspect of the intermediary which joins the radiation of the Emanator, the En Sof, blessed is He, to the emanated,28See Etz Chaim 42:1; cf. Pardes Rimonim 3:1 ff.—See Addendum, ibid., s.v. Keter. and in the future it will radiate and become revealed in this world29The or makif thus is related to the sefirah of keter, transcending chochmah and its apprehension in Eden (cf. above, Epistle 3, note 12). to all the righteous who will rise with the resurrection (30Brackets appear in the text. “And Your people, they are all righteous…”31Isaiah 60:21.). And this is the meaning of what our Sages, of blessed memory, said: “In the future the righteous will be addressed as holy.”32Bava Batra 75b. Holy is a rank of being separated;33See above, Epistle 7, note 7. it is not subject to apprehension and knowledge, because it transcends the rank of the wisdom and knowledge which there is in the Garden of Eden.34Kadosh, holy, thus refers to keter, the sefirah which is separate and distinct from the sefirot transcending them all. (See Addendum, ibid.) Chochmah, in itself also distinct and inapprehensible (ibid.), is also referred to as “holy” (see above, Epistle 10, note 41). In that context keter is then called kodesh hakedoshim, the “holy of holies,” i.e., the essential, absolute holiness. See Zohar II:121a. Thus Scripture states: “Chochmah shall be found from ayin”35Job 28:12.—i.e., (from) the rank of the supreme keter36See Zohar II:42b; 121a; III:290a; and note following. which, in the sacred Zohar,37Zohar III:end of 256b; cf. also references cited above, note 36, and above, Epistle 11, note 11. is called ayin;38Naught; cf. above, Epistle 13, note 40. its effluence and radiation are in a state of manifestation only when [after the resurrection] the soul is vested in a pure and clear body. For “Their beginning is wedged—expressly—in their end,”39Sefer Yetzirah 1:7. and “The result of the act is first in thought…,”40Liturgy, Hymn of Lecha Dodi. as known. But it is impossible to reach this level until one has been first in the Garden of Eden, to apprehend the aspect of the supreme chochmah41In the text appears here (in brackets): etc. A parenthesis suggests instead: each one. according to his measure, and “the dew of Torah revives him”42Tikkunei Zohar, Introduction 12a; ibid., 19 (38b) (see Ketuvot 111b; cf. Shabbat 88b; Chagigah 12b; et passim).—“And when you will awaken43At the Resurrection of the Dead. it44The Torah, which is called keter (cf. Avot 4:13, and below, Epistle 29). will speak for you…,”45Proverbs 6:22. Enabling man to reach a level he could not attain previously; Zohar I:185a; and Nitzutzei Orot, ad loc. Set also Zohar I:175b; and cf. Avot 6:9; Sotah 21a; Tikkunei Zohar 31 (75b-76a). and suffice it for the initiated. And this is the meaning of “mitzvatecha is very wide,” i.e., the precept of charity, which is a vessel and a very wide area in which the radiation from the light of the En Sof, blessed is He, is invested (46Brackets appear in the text.and as it is written: His garment is tzedakah47Piyut Atah Hu Elokenu (Machzor, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur).) which in the future will radiate without limit and end, because of the gratuitous kindness in the arousal from below, called “the way of the L–rd.” And that is the meaning of the phraseology “very (wide),” because it is without limit and end.48See Targum on Psalms 119:96; Eruvin 21a and Rashi, ad loc. But “To every tichlah I have seen an end”:49Beginning of the verse (Psalms 119:96). tichlah is an idiom of kalot hanefesh, the yearning of the soul in the Garden of Eden, for there it is in a mode of end, limit, and contraction, as mentioned above. And (the reason it says) “to every tichlah” is because there are numerous levels and rungs of Gan Eden, one higher than the other, to the topmost of levels,50See Zohar Chadash, Bereishit 18a. as mentioned in Likkutei Hashass by the Arizal,51See above, Epistle 5, note 103. in explanation of the saying of our Sages, of blessed memory: “Scholars (of Torah) have no rest…,”52Berachot 64a. because they rise constantly—from level to level—in the apprehension of the Torah, which had no end…, until after the resurrection, when they will have rest….